Alphas on the Prowl (49 page)

He shot her a rueful grin. “Do you really want to know?”

She laughed out loud. Maybe Lothar wasn’t as bristly on the inside as he looked on the outside.

“And what do
you
need three days for?” Lothar went on, cocking an eyebrow.

She grinned wider. “Do you really want to know?”

Lothar shook his head quickly, and the spark in his eyes said he enjoyed the back-and-forth. Too many months in boar form would probably do that to a man. Lana came close to an open grin herself, but Ty and the grizzled javelina on the left still made disgruntled noises, so she went on. “Why don’t you go to town, have a little fun?”

Not too much fun
, her wolf added, picturing a barroom brawl.

“You can get yourselves cleaned up and come see us when we’re back at work. In fact, there’s a place in town that’s offering a new special. Hand-shaves for men.”

Lothar ran a thoughtful palm over his stubbly chin, and even the boar on the left went quiet.

“Hand-shave, huh?” A hint of nostalgia softened his voice.

Even Ty slowed his pacing at the suggestion, and Lana promptly filed the idea in the back of her mind. She and Ty and a very close shave. They might have to try that sometime.

As for their visitors, she could imagine it perfectly: the three shifters crowding into Audrey’s shop, squeezing their giant frames into chairs, and tipping their heads back for a good lather and shave. They’d be solemn as churchgoers until Audrey worked her magic and got them chuckling—or as close to chuckling as their gritty voices could get. Then they’d head to the oldest, most run-down saloon in town, huddle in a dark corner, and drink to the good old days. Hell, if she convinced Ty’s father to go join them, the whiskey would really flow, and who knew? She and Ty might even win an extra day of peace and quiet before the javelinas turned up at the ranch for business.

“The parlor is run by a packmate of ours,” she finished. “It’ll be on the house.”

“Shave. A rest. Good idea.” Lothar nodded in agreement and started backing away with the other two shifters at each side.

Ty swung his head to her, his eyes wide.
You, my love
,
are a genius.

It’s called diplomacy, wolf. You might try it sometime.

I don’t know
, he shot back.
I think this good cop/bad cop thing works pretty well.

She hid her chuckle.
Yeah, we are a pretty good team.

We’re a great team
, he growled.

The heat rose up inside her, and suddenly all she wanted was to fast-forward in time until it was just her and Ty, hot and tangled and close. Sinfully close. And alone. All alone.

Believe me, my love, I’m on it,
he said, reading her mind.
I’m on it.

CHAPTER SIX

Ty kept firm watch over the javelinas as they retreated into the bush, then gave his coat a good shake. He still couldn’t believe it. For a minute there, things could have gone either way, and his wolf would have gladly jumped into action. With Lana pregnant, the instinct to fight first and ask questions later was stronger than ever, even if that meant taking on a couple of hundred pounds of muscle on the hoof.

It was the usual deal: the old guard eyeing him like an impostor and him glaring right back. The standoff could have gone on all night. But once again, Lana stepped in with just the right words spoken in just the right tone to defuse things. Not only that, but she’d already won Lothar over, which would go a long way toward a renewed alliance. The pack could always use another ally. It was a dark, dangerous world out there, even though his mate filled it with sunshine.

His mate. His amazing, intelligent, tough-ass mate. His gorgeous she-wolf, who stood at the door to the cabin like the gatekeeper to a secret realm only he had permission to enter.

His body screamed to take up the invitation, to wind his wolf body around her legs, then shift and let his human take her to bed where they could finally, finally finish where they’d left off. But that wouldn’t do right now; he had to let the javelinas know just who they were dealing with in the new alpha of Twin Moon pack.

He shadowed them through ten miles of scrub, keeping upwind so his scent would carry to them, just like he made sure his footfalls were loud enough to let them know he was right on their heels, and he was not amused.

Replaying the encounter in his mind, he decided the message was loud and clear. The javelinas knew just who they were dealing with: a formidable alpha pair. He and Lana. How his father managed as alpha for all those years on his own baffled him.

Could he do it if he had to? Yes. Did he want to? Hell no!

He watched the javelinas cross the westernmost edge of Twin Moon territory. Another potential threat defused; a potential ally found. Not that he would take any chances with the javelinas. He only turned back to the cabin once his packmate Kyle came in to take over surveillance the rest of the way into town.

Ty ran swift and free, because he was running to his mate. He ducked under graythorn, cut around patches of prickly pear, and thundered through the night until the soft yellow of an oil lamp appeared at the crest of the hill. Home.

Mate.

He paused at the open doorway and looked in.

Lana lay on her side in bed, her eyes closed, and the glow of the lamp cast soft shadows across her face. The man in him itched to step over and press his lips to hers, but the wolf wasn’t quite ready to let go. So he padded silently over on four feet and carefully worked his head under her hand. He didn’t need her to wake up and scratch; he just needed her touch.

But she did wake up, and she did scratch—absently at first, still half-asleep. The motion gradually became more deliberate as her fingers stroked his ears, rubbing and soothing the residual tension out of him. Because even with a happy ending, it was a hell of a thing to have three shifters come crashing out of the night unannounced, a potential threat to his mate and unborn child.

That was the worst thing about love. Before he met Lana, nothing scared him. Now, a hell of a lot did—a feeling that doubled with a baby on the way. But if love made him vulnerable, it also made him stronger, because he had something tangible worth fighting for—a fuel even more powerful than duty and honor. That, he wouldn’t trade for anything.

Wouldn’t trade this ear massage for anything, either. Lana was right: they could let worst-case scenarios haunt them every day and night, or they could live. Love. Enjoy.

He purred so loud the rafters echoed with the sound. The wolf was nearly sated; soon the man would have his turn, and an ear-rub wouldn’t be all he wanted.

He caught Lana watching him, and the hungry look in her eye said she was definitely on board with that plan.

“Javelina shifters, huh?” she said aloud.

His wolf gave the wolf equivalent of a shrug and leaned hard into her hand, insisting she keep the pressure up.

The Berkshires have sasquatch. We have javelinas out here.

She laughed. “Yeah, but sasquatch are supposed to be big. Javelinas—man, I’ve never seen any as big as that.”

I’ll show you big
, he growled and pulled away.

Everything blurred momentarily as he shifted then color seeped back into his black-and-white world. He was human again, still crouched by the bed, reaching out to cup Lana’s slender face.

“I’m waiting, alpha,” she cooed, her voice sultry.

“Not for long,” he shot back and slid under the sheets beside her.

He was already thinking about how they’d engineer sex this time, because the baby was getting big enough to make him-on-top a challenge. But Lana, as usual, was three steps ahead in her thoughts. She slid sideways to make space for him in bed then came to her knees and straddled him, leaning low to nuzzle his face. Her hair made a curtain that hid their first kiss, as if maybe the stars would come to peek at what they’d do next. The first kiss, and the second, and the third, each deeper and needier until the room filled with a primal hum.

Worth fighting for
, his wolf purred.
My mate.

Her hips teased him, sliding up and down his body but never quite letting his cock find home. Not until he worked his hands up her torso and worked her full breasts, scraping his coarse thumbs across the nipples until they were tight and hard and begging for his mouth. When she dipped down to offer him a taste, his lips closed and his mouth filled with the taste of her.

He sucked hard and long on one nipple, then the other, while his hands lifted and massaged the flesh of her breasts.

“God, that’s so good,” she breathed.

And not just for you
, his wolf grinned inside.

He twirled his tongue around her taut nipples and pulled hard, needing her as much as she needed him. Wanting more than a mouthful, aching for the physical connection that would release the last pent-up tension inside. Let the outside world fade away for a little while; let it just be the two of them, creating their own natural high.

Lana made a choked sound and leaned back, catching his gaze with a look that said,
Ready to ride?

Ready? He was born for her, and she for him. He was always ready for his mate.

She straddled him wider, letting his cock align with her cunt. He could feel heaven there, teasing his aching crown.

“Lana,” he groaned. There was only so long he could hold back from grabbing her hips and shoving her down.

“Yes, my love?” she cooed. Yeah, his tough she-wolf could do vixen, too.

“I’m waiting.” It came out a mix of human chuckle and wolf growl.

“Promise no more Chapter Six,” she said.

“Blackmail,” he groaned.

“Promise.”

“No more Chapter Six, and you ease off work.”

“Deal.” She gave a nod of satisfaction, as if she’d won her battle.

Well, he won, too. And he was about to win even more than that, because Lana walked her hands down his chest, getting into position. She leaned back and took him in, inch by luscious inch, holding his gaze the whole time. Her pussy was wet and warm and wide. It was all he could do to keep his eyes from rolling back or his dick from plunging ahead in a single greedy thrust. Eyelids at half-mast, he watched as she arched backward and worked him deeper. Canting his hips up and pulling hers down, he slid in and listened to her sing his name. He did it again; thrust up, pull down, hold.

Fill her. Fill our woman,
his wolf urged.

“So good,” Lana mumbled. “So deep.”

He echoed her words in her mind because speaking was outside the realm of his control right now.
So good. So deep.

He repeated the move, and this time, Lana drove down and clamped so hard over him that his vision flared. He stretched one hand so the fingers were locked on her hip while his thumb worked her clit. She started to dance, making whimpering sounds. And every time he thought she would come unglued, she’d pull back and torture him before driving back down.

“Lana, you’re killing me,” he managed to rasp.

“My poor mate,” she cooed. “Suffering so much.”

He let her keep it up, because yeah, death never looked so appealing as at the hands of his lover. Her eyes shining, hair swaying, breasts jiggling as she rode him like a bronc. Well, maybe a bronc who wasn’t trying too hard to throw her. Because he wanted to keep this up forever, this mating dance.

He shifted his knees a tiny bit, just enough to change the angle and make Lana cry out. The sound flipped a switch in him and then all he could do was hang on for the ride, because his body took over, pulsing into her again and again in an insatiable need to claim. To possess.

His wolf howled, egging him on.
Mate! Mine!

He moaned something even he couldn’t understand, and every inch of his body rode the movement. His cock screamed in pleasure at the thrill of sliding along her tight walls. She was flying high, too, and when he exploded inside her, his whole body shook, then went hard, and every sense tuned to the glory of filling his mate.

She let out a low, slow breath and slumped to his chest in small, satisfied increments. Then she eased down completely and curled up beside him, her nose snuggled into his neck.

God, he could do this forever. Hold her. Fill her. Love her.

Her lilting chuckle sounded in his mind.
Be my guest, my love. Be my guest.

<<<>>>

Thank you for reading Desert Wolf 2! I hope you enjoyed following Lana and Ty’s story—a story that started in Desert Moon, Book 1 in the Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch series and continued in Desert Wolf 1. You’ll see more of Ty and Lana in the background of the next books in the series, too. That close, hot shave Ty fantasizes about comes to fruition in Desert Blood: Book 2 of the series.

You’ll get to know and love other characters, too. Ty’s brother Cody gets his chance at love in Book 2, Desert Blood—if he can stop a bloodthirsty band of vampires in time to save his destined mate. Then there’s the Hunter mentioned in this story: Rae is one of my favorite characters, along with her mate Zack, the Harley-riding wolf-coyote shifter you’ll meet in Desert Hunt, the prequel to this series. Enjoy reading each and every one!

Desert Moon (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch: Book 1)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TEEHDPS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00TEEHDPS&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwannalowebo-20&linkId=UXEVIR7DPBKQMJTQ

Desert Blood (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch: Book 2)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TIUEVL2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00TIUEVL2&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwannalowebo-20&linkId=YSAIQVX5QFH3FU4L

Visit Anna Lowe on her website and sign up for a free story:

www.annalowebooks.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Lowe-Books/677291092359521?ref=hl