Capturing the Alpha (Shifters of Nunavut Book 1) (19 page)

It was early the next morning when they left, though Ginnifer had no hand in their late departure. At his announcement that he was leaving again, half of the den suddenly had issues that needed his immediate attention. It started with serious issues, such as melting snow causing flooding in one of the lower chambers, but then the problems gradually devolved into interpersonal troubles. At one point, Ginnifer had seen Zane mediating a dispute over stolen figurines.

A lot of it seemed like stuff he could easily delegate, and usually did so far as she’d seen, and Ginnifer almost suspected that he wanted to stall leaving as well. She’d dismissed the notion though, as it had been Zane’s idea to leave in the first place.

Her arm did hurt a lot, but Indigo was right about one thing—Ginnifer had a miserable tolerance for pain. Although she disliked the way the pain medicine made her feel, the memory of being jostled around on Zane’s back without it was still fresh in her mind, and she got a small supply to take with her on the trip.

Despite what Zane had told her, she didn’t pack everything. She left most of the clothes she’d packed in Boaz’s room, as well as two of the three outfits that had been made for her since she’d arrived at Siluit. She left all of her extra toiletries with Indigo, which made the young shifter so happy that she almost forgot that she was still mad at Ginnifer.

Ginnifer was tempted to leave the footage behind, but before she could make up her mind, Boaz unloaded all of his SD and Compact Flash cards on her. She reluctantly packed them up with her tablet, camera, and her own memory sticks.

She didn’t give anyone more than a quick goodbye; after all, the plan was to come back. But as she was boarding the boat to cross the inlet, all of her essential possessions in her backpack, she couldn’t help but feel that this was final.

Of course, she’d been wrong about that before. The night that she’d lain under the stars with Zane, fresh from the hunt, she’d thought that it would be the last time they’d be intimate. And then the following week, they’d blown intimacy out of the water with their torrid, animalistic sex.

Ginnifer had secretly hoped they’d have sex again on the way to Port Trent, but when they finally stopped to rest on the open tundra, Zane remained in his wolf form. She told herself that this was so that he could keep her warm, so that his large body could shield her from the snow and wind. But as she lay curled up beside him, she couldn’t help but remember his insistence on having her return to the states.

Nighttime seemed to conjure up all of her insecurities, and when she dreamed, it was of coming back to the den to find Zane mated to Coral. When he saw Ginnifer, he greeted her with his perfunctory smile, and then carried on as though she weren’t there. She woke with tears in her eyes and shame swelling inside her chest.

When they reached the forest the following morning, Ginnifer recognized that they’d taken the south road. Zane was careful to watch his steps, and would often stop to sniff the air or seemingly random tree trunks, but they still covered a lot of ground by nightfall.

They stopped in a grove of closely-knit pines, which blocked some of the chilly wind. While snow had been dumped on the east, the last of the snow on the south road had melted, leaving the ground hard, but dry.

Ginnifer dropped her bag onto the ground and then crumpled down beside it. With her usable hand, she massaged each of her legs in turn, working out the tension from a day spent riding. The moon was a bright orb, casting light over the woods, and she wished she could go for a walk. But between bear traps and rival wolves, Zane wouldn’t have let her go anywhere, even if she were crazy enough to ask.

While Zane scouted the area, she took her medicine, had a few bites of the food she’d brought, and then busied herself with combing the tangles from her hair until it was straight and glossy in the moonlight. With only one hand, everything took twice the time, and even though Zane was gone for a while, she had only just finished by the time he got back.

He was in his wolf form still, and although she looked at him expectantly, he didn’t shift. The sleek brown wolf stretched his limbs and yawned, before settling down a short distance from Ginnifer and closing his eyes. She cast him an acerbic look that she knew he couldn’t see, and it didn’t make her feel any less annoyed.

Zane had only shifted once during the past two days, and even then, he’d barely said more than a couple words to her. He was being deliberately cold, though she wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve it. Insecurity told her that he was pushing her away, that he’d told her to pack all of her things because he didn’t want her to have a reason to come back.

Joke’s on you, jerkface. I left my favorite panties between your bed furs.

Refusing to be ignored two nights in a row, Ginnifer got up and walked over to the wolf. She’d planned on giving his ear a tug, but as soon as her hand came in contact with the soft fur, she found herself gently stroking him. His ear twitched, and a golden eye cracked open to regard her.

“Can we talk?”

He stared at her for a few seconds, and then shifted in place, coming into his human form on the ground beneath his pelt. She fell to her knees beside him, smiling before she could think better of it.

“Shape shifting never ceases to amaze me,” she said. “You make it look so easy.”

“It is easy. Though it can grow tiring if done too much. What did you need to talk about?”

She sat back on her rear and chewed her lip for a moment. There hadn’t been anything specific she’d wanted to talk about, she’d only wanted to spend time with him. It was bad enough not talking to anyone for a full day, and even worse when she was feeling depressed.

Ginnifer asked the first thing that popped into her mind. “Who’s Raine?”

“Where did you hear that name?” he asked, appearing deceptively calm.

“Around.”

Zane arched a brow, but Ginnifer shook her head emphatically.

“I keep my sources confidential.”

He grinned, and the sight of it turned her insides to mush.

“Raine is my mother,” he told her.

“She’s alive?”

“Possibly,” he said with a slight shrug. “She was the alpha of a western pack, Iluk. They held the den where Amarok resides now.”

“What happened? Did Amarok take over her pack?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Iluk was well before Amarok’s time. Their den was invaded by Sivuak, a pack with a very unstable alpha. I was a pup at the time, but from what I’ve heard, most of the Iluk wolves fled, and the rest were killed.”

“And you…still hold out hope?”

His lips twisted into a mirthless smile. “Do we really have to talk about my mother all night?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just that this is the most you’ve spoken to me since we left the den. I’d be willing to talk to you about Boaz’s peanut allergy at this point.”

Zane gave her a small smile, but only told her to get some rest. She inwardly kicked herself for reminding him that he was supposed to be giving her the silent treatment.

Ginnifer remained beside him as she debated her next move. The edge of his pelt was under one of her knees, and she knew that if she stood up, he would shift back into his wolf form.

Sabotaging him out of spite, she lifted his pelt and crawled beneath it. Cocooned in his warmth, she wormed out of her coat and outermost sweater, while Zane watched her with a tight expression.

She was genuinely surprised when she felt his erection brush against her thigh. Of all the things that amazed her about Zane, chief among them was how virile he was, and the effect it had on her own body. Just knowing that he was aroused made the folds of her sex begin to throb, growing wet in anticipation of him.

For a few minutes, she resisted her arousal. Zane did as well, feigning sleep beside her. Then, a small smile curved her lips. Closing her eyes, she felt for his hand. She lifted it by the wrist, and then guided it beneath her shirt and up her belly, until she placed it on top of her bare breast.

He said nothing, but she refused to be dissuaded. Putting her hand on top of his, she used it to massage her breast in slow circles.

When they’d had sex before, Zane had set the pace, even when she’d been the one to initiate things. She expected him to do the same this time, but quickly found herself growing impatient when he didn’t respond. She wondered if he was teasing her, but then discarded the thought.

He’d be torturing himself as much as me.

***

Zane loosened his grip on her breast as she took his hand again. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of having seduced him, but at the same time, he found himself increasingly aroused by the way she moved his hand, to the point that he couldn’t resist squeezing the plush mound. His fingers moved of their own accord, tugging and rolling her nipple to a stiff peak.

She let out a soft moan, and he clenched his jaw against another surge of arousal. Hot blood pulsed in his cock, and he ached to be inside of her. Still, he didn’t give in, even when she guided his hand down, pushing it beneath her pants, and then beneath the sheer material of her undergarment. He’d been able to smell her arousal, but it was one thing to know that she wanted him, and another to feel her, hot and wet, slick silk against his fingertips.

Instinct had him pinning her down with a heavy leg. He had to remind himself that he was still in control, not her—no matter what her scent or her needy whimpers did to him, and not his wolf—no matter how hard he was clawing to get out.

Zane took a deep breath to anchor himself, and then ran his fingers along her folds, until he found her firm nub and began slowly stroking it. She gasped, her hips bucking against his touch and her fingernails digging into his arm. Excitement flared within him, but he applied pressure to her with his leg to keep her still.

As he continued to stroke her, Zane listened to the cadence of her breathing, letting it guide his fingers. All other females he had been with tended to pant when they neared climax, but she did the opposite. She took in air in short gasps, letting it out just as quickly, her face scrunching in concentration during the intervals between each breath. To Zane, it seemed as though she was directing so much focus towards her impending climax that she forgot to breathe, and he found not only endearing, but also ripe for exploitation.

When the spaces between her breaths began to stretch out, he slowed his pace, letting her fall back from the edge, until she was panting again. The first few times, she appeared to be enjoying the game, but after a few more times, her brows began to furrow, her lips reflexively parting into a pout. The next time he did it, her lips became pinched, and he could hear her teeth clicking together. It amused him so much that he was able to stave off the beckoning of his own arousal.

Beneath his fingers, the firm nub had stiffened, becoming more sensitive. She neared climax quicker each time, and she began to squirm, struggling to free her hips, but he held her in place, until finally she let out a growl worthy of a wolf.

“Stop that!”

It was an effort not to smile. “Stop what?”

Anger flared in her eyes. “Doing what you’re doing!”

Zane abruptly pulled his hand back from under her pants, earning himself a smack on the chest.

“That’s not what I meant,” she huffed.

He gave her a lazy smile. “You’ll have to be more specific. What exactly is it you want from me?”

She gave him a hard stare, the effects of which were all but negated by her beautifully flushed cheeks and her racing heartbeat. His cool demeanor remained in place, and eventually she grumbled and threw the pelt over her head.

Zane laid on his back, amused, but also annoyed with himself for upsetting her. He hadn’t planned on coupling with her tonight, not with her arm injured as it was, but now it was all he could think about.

His thoughts were cut short as he felt her warm, sweaty palm wrap around the base of his cock. Throat constricting, he looked down to see that she had moved under the pelt, becoming a concentrated lump at his hips. He grasped his pelt to pull it back, but froze as he felt something hot, wet, and tight close over the head of his cock. He let out a shuddering breath, the sound of his pulse hammering in his ears.

Sitting upright, he pulled the pelt back enough to uncover her head. She was looking up at him, but Zane could not tear his eyes off the sight of her pink lips, pulled taut around his crown. Her hand began moving back and forth. It was not large enough to encompass him, making him look even bigger and fuller than he’d felt. Another surge of arousal shot through him, and then another, and another, coming in tandem with each stroke of his shaft.

He knew that she was trying to play the same game as him, but she couldn’t. Even if she knew how to read him, could tell when he was on the brink of release, she wouldn’t understand that it would already be too late.

“Stop.” He had never issued a command with such lack of conviction.

She kept going, giving him a coy look. Zane had to squeeze his eyes shut and block out the sight of her before he could continue.

“If you bring me any closer, I’m going to grab hold of your hair and thrust into your mouth until I come.”