Chapter 2
Kyran
I shouldn’t be doing this.
For weeks, there has been only one thing on my mind: the existence of my mate, and the fact of having to hold myself back from her.
The alpha of a clan does not have the luxury of going on whims and thinking only of himself.
Accepting a wolf as my mate would be deadly—if not for me, for other members of my clan, who wouldn’t stand for it.
They might do something stupid like start a fight with a pack of wolves, much larger and stronger than our dwindling numbers.
I’ve spent the days battling instinct, fighting against nature itself. Determined to do everything in my power not to lead my clan down a dangerous road.
I should’ve known fate wouldn’t be so easily brushed aside. I should have known the little wolf would find me. That if I didn’t go to her, she would be the one to lose the battle with what her nature demands.
If only she didn’t do it while I was already out hunting with a handful of others. It isn’t that we need to hunt, but rather that we want to hold on to some of the old ways. She would choose this exact moment to breach our borders, wouldn’t she?
And now, she’s gone the extra step of kissing me, and I feel my resolve slipping away with every second that passes.
So warm, soft, and supple. Full at the hips, with firm tits that beg to be fondled.
Her ripe body is pressed against mine, almost like she’s forcing her scent on me.
Does she have any idea what she’s doing, or is this all blind instinct?
She’s young, so young. She trembles against me—is that inexperience or the fear of knowing she’ll die here and now the moment I give the word?
Her lips are plump, yielding under mine when there’s no choice but to kiss her back with everything I’ve struggled to deny ever since I first set eyes on her in the clearing.
The longing—relentless enough to keep me awake until all hours of the night, sweating and almost clawing at my sheets.
My bear rejoices, pulling her closer, compelling me to touch my tongue to hers.
She releases a strangled moan, her nails dancing through my chest hair, and in my mind’s eye, I see myself taking her here and now, in front of everyone.
It would leave no room for doubt or argument. She is mine.
I have no right to make her mine. An alpha cannot pick and choose which laws are convenient for him to uphold. Others in the clan might have the luxury, but not me.
So stop this. Reject her. I hear the disapproval all around—growls, grunts, paws slapping the ground in growing frustration and impatience. They’re ready to make an example of this little wolf while all I can do is soak her in as long as possible. My mate. Mine. It just isn’t meant to be.
It’s me who breaks the kiss that should never have happened in the first place, pulling back to look at her with disappointment and regret. “This cannot be,” I whisper even while my dick presses hard against her, demanding more. And gods, how I want to give in.
There’s fear in her eyes, but it isn’t the fear that heats my blood. It’s desire. Without a word, she is giving herself to me. She wants to follow fate, even if she knows it’s against our laws.
I have a duty.
I have a fated mate.
Lucas, my cousin and closest friend, growls loudly enough to snap me out of my frozen indecision. There’s one thing I know now, having held her and felt her and tasted her: I cannot kill her. I cannot allow her to be killed.
But what do I do with her otherwise? Alpha or not, they won’t accept me walking away now and sending her home. Not without a fight that would end with her being destroyed. So what do I do?
For lack of a better plan, I lift her easily and throw her over my shoulder.
She lets out a breathless gasp but doesn’t fight, instead letting her hands roam my back and shoulders in a very dangerous way.
If we had the time, I would explain how easy it is to inflame a man—as it is, I can barely function with her pussy so close to my face.
The sweet, intense aroma of her arousal wraps itself around me like a hypnotic fog, promising release, escape, pleasure beyond anything I thought possible.
Before I know what I’m doing, I turn to take her home. Why am I doing this? Why am I making all of this so much more difficult? Why not let them do what needs to be done? Every step I take is one step further away from performing my duty.
But I keep walking, and they know better than to try to stop their alpha.
“Where are we going?” she asks in a whisper. I don’t bother answering—she’ll find out when we get there. We aren’t far from the cottage that’s been home my entire life. Since back when I had a family. It’s the only place I can keep her while working through this problem.
We don’t usually lock our doors around here, meaning nothing stops me from taking the wooden plank steps up to the front porch and opening the door into my living room.
Now she twists around on my shoulder, trying to get a look at her surroundings.
“If you don’t want to be dropped on this ass of yours, you’ll stop wiggling so much,” I warn, because being angry is easier to handle than being devastatingly, mind-numbingly horny.
And I am angry when I enter my bedroom to the right of the living room and toss her on the bed. “Don’t even think about going anywhere,” I warn, swallowing back the saliva that floods my mouth at the sight of her, sprawled out the way she is. Like a ripe fruit waiting to be plucked.
“But what are you going to do to me?”
Talk about a loaded question. I know what I would like to do. I know what my bear demands I do. “Just stay here. If you try to escape, I will know—and I won’t be merciful this time.” I make sure I lock the door once it’s closed, then try to ignore her mournful whimper.
I am going to explode. All I want to do is break the door down and take her hard, fast. I have fought so hard to stay away from her, knowing she was on the other side of the border, knowing she was meant for me. Knowing it was the right thing for my clan. No matter how wrong it felt.
My cock is granite, demanding satisfaction.
I haven’t felt this way in at least twenty years, when all it took was a stiff breeze to wake me up.
I need her. I will die without her. Leaning against the wall beside the door, my hand flexes into a fist, and it takes all my might to keep from tearing the door down so I can take her.
Sweat beads on my skin. I’m short of breath. What am I supposed to do about this?
The only thing I can do. I rush a few steps to the bathroom and barely get the door closed before taking myself in one hand and stroking hard, fast. I’m already so close, and I can still smell her on me, all over me.
It’s like nothing I’ve ever known—that smell.
Sweet and musky, intoxicating. My cock strains, swelling in my fist.
I almost took her there, in front of the rest of them.
I was so close. The relief it would be after all this fighting, trying to deny what fate has put in place.
I would only have to lay her down and part her legs—she was ready, wanting me the way I wanted her.
Someone as small as her would be tight, so tight, gripping me like a vise, threatening to break me the way she’s broken my will.
What would it be like to taste her? My eyes close as I lean against the door, panting as I imagine what she would be like on my tongue.
Sliding through her hot, wet silk, catching every last drop of the rich nectar that pours out for me.
Only for me. I feel her nails grazing my scalp and shoulders.
I hear her moans rising over my breathless grunts.
Her body would undulate, her hips lifting so she could ride my face.
Close, so close. My balls tighten and a familiar tingle builds at the base of my spine as I imagine eating her sweet pussy before impaling her on my cock until she can’t take any more.
I have no choice but to let go, spraying my fist and my abs with come until my ears ring and my heart throbs almost painfully.
It takes a minute for me to come back to my senses once the fantasy slowly fades.
Reality trickles back in, leaving me not completely satisfied, but knowing I needed to take the edge off.
And I did—I still want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but I can manage it.
There won’t be any regrettable impulsive moments.
There can’t be. The alpha can’t afford to forget his responsibilities.
There’s barely time for a brief shower before a heavy knock sounds at the front door.
I knew it was coming. No way would they leave me alone after what happened back there.
After pulling on the robe hanging over the back of the bathroom door, I walk barefoot through the living room to greet my visitors on the front porch.
The disapproval I expected shines in their eyes, but it’s the anger that goes along with it that brings me up short. Lucas stands in the center of the group—he’s the only one who doesn’t look like he’d consider cutting my throat for what took place.
Joseph is one of the few clan elders left after losing so many from our ranks.
He strokes his salt and pepper beard, scowling.
“You went off plan back there,” he announces, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble much like mine.
And much like me, he knows how to disguise his true thoughts. Always a diplomat.
“There wasn’t a plan,” I remind him. “We scented the wolf and tracked her down.”
“Do we really have to discuss plans when it comes to trespassers on our land?” Lydia, Joseph’s wife, doesn’t believe in diplomacy like her husband does. “What did you do to her? She shouldn’t be breathing right now, you know that. What are you trying to do to the clan?”
“Last I checked, I was leading this clan,” I remind her. “And if the clan didn’t matter,” I add with more than a touch of bitterness, “I would have taken her then and there to complete the bond. I didn’t, because the clan comes first.”
“We all know that,” Lucas murmurs, shooting a sharp look at Lydia that snaps her mouth shut. “This can’t be easy.”
“Easy, nothing,” Lydia snaps. “We’re talking about the law. Does that not matter anymore? The punishment is death. It doesn’t matter who the wolf is.”
“No one is more aware of the law than I am.” I am going to rip her head off if she doesn’t shut up. How Joseph puts up with her, I’ll never know. Their temperaments are polar opposites.
“But this is delicate. I will find a way through it,” I announce, my voice firm. “And as members of my clan, I expect you to trust me.”
They leave slowly, almost like they’re regretful. What? Were they hoping I would slice the girl up in front of them? I bet that’s exactly what they were hoping for. They wanted blood. I’m not interested in pandering tonight.
“Don’t worry,” Lucas murmurs as he takes the porch steps slowly while scrubbing a hand over his cropped black hair.
“I’ve got your back.” Not that I expected anything different, but it’s good to know he’ll speak up for me when they all gather together to bitch and moan and wonder how long it will be before they get their bloodthirsty satisfaction.
In the meantime, I have to work this out somehow. We can never be together. That much is obvious and always has been.
Still, it’s one thing to live without my fated mate, and another to order her execution. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel… would it?