Mark of the Wolf (24 page)

He was halfway embedded inside of her. He
paused briefly, waiting for her to adjust, then groaned, unable to
wait any longer. He abruptly collapsed forward, sinking into her to
the hilt. She screamed at the burst of pain as her barrier was
broken, and he started moving in and out of her, kissing her face
and neck, his teeth grazing her skin. He didn't wait for her to
recover or adjust. His mouth lowered to her nipples and she felt a
hint of pleasure, but mostly discomfort as he moved inside of her.
He held her tight, his arms like vices, strong and demanding. She
buried her head into his shoulder and clung for dear life – he was
taking her, pushing his cock in and out of her wet hole, forcing
her to moan, forcing her to breathe.

“
Good girl,” he whispered against her,
his voice hot and deep. “Move with me.” And his hips thrust against
hers, teaching her his rhythm, showing her the dance of fire. She
cried out when he sunk to the hilt again, feeling him deep inside
of her, angling her hips for better penetration. Then suddenly he
touched against something immensely pleasureful. She felt a wave
growing, a shimmering, writhing pleasure that built in her body,
centered deep inside of her. She moved faster, desperate, no longer
in control; her hips pushed against his eagerly, rising to meet
him, to take him back in with each thrust. Then the wave crashed
over her and she screamed, her body clenching his, her hole finally
having something to clamp down on. He kissed her mouth, pulling her
cries into him, swallowing her whole.

And then he pulled out. She was wet, sweaty,
and exhausted — but still unsatisfied. She frowned in confusion –
he hadn't come yet. Then why...?

His hands grabbed her hips and flipped her
onto her stomach, stretching her arms out in front of her, pressing
her butt into the air. When he entered her, it was in one fast,
smooth stroke, burying himself to the hilt in her heat. She
screamed, her muscles complaining and tightening down on him,
pleasure and pain mixing inside of her. Then he folding himself
over her, pressing her towards the ground. She felt his teeth on
the back of her neck, holding her as he moved powerfully in and
out. His pace was fast and bordering on painful – she was a virgin,
after all, and her untried hole wasn't used to the abuse. She began
to pant and whimper, submitting under him even as her spirit
rebelled. She couldn't see him anymore – instead she was stuck
staring into the eyes of dozens of wolves, all of which were
growling and snapping, teeth glinting in the firelight.

Terror suddenly gripped her. She was naked,
exposed, and being fucked senseless in front of these wild, rabid
animals. They could tear her apart in seconds. Perhaps Gareth was
their leader, but he couldn't defeat all of them if they decided to
rebel. She shook her head and tried to twist him off of her, and he
released her slightly, probably out of surprise.

“
No!” she said, struggling to get away
from him, though his arms held her immobile. “Stop! Please
stop!”

He held her fast, and she could feel his
heartbeat against her back, smooth and solid as he pumped into her.
His balls slapped against her ass.

“
I can't,” he murmured, his voice
rough against her ear. “I have to finish. This is
necessary.”

“
It's not necessary!” she panted.
“Please stop, please!” She felt tears starting to leak from her
eyes.

“
Shh,” he hushed her, and his hands
went to her clit, teasing it until she grew wet again. She gasped
as he kissed her, trailing his tongue across her lips, stroking
them. She calmed down as his tongue entered her, but not by
much.

“
Please,” she whispered.

His arms wrapped around her harder, but he
didn't answer. His teeth sank into the back of her neck, demanding
obedience, and he pressed himself deeper into her hole. She was
trapped, immobile, and then his hand reached down between them to
stroke her clit, playing with her folds as he took her. The
pleasure began to mount again, blooming inside her cunt, tendrils
swirling up to her breasts. She panted, crying out, moaning as he
shifted his position, his cock pressing against nerve endings she
didn't recognize from this angle. It felt good. Really good.

She was still crying slightly, but now it was
from the overwhelming mixture of fear and pleasure. He was using
her body against her, making her shudder and whimper, groaning from
his fingers. It hit her suddenly – her cunt tightened and she
orgasmed, her body succumbing to his, fire coursing through her
veins. She wanted to scream out her submission, to welcome him
deeper into her body, deeper, deeper.... He kept thrusting and she
came again, milking his cock, and she heard his roar behind her.
With a hard, deep thrust, he spewed his hot seed into her, his
thick cock throbbing inside her channel, pounding and jerking. She
could feel the thick fluid against her inner walls. It made her own
orgasm even more sweet.

Her senses soared. Maddy had been crying out,
panting against the ground, but suddenly her vision changed. It was
as though her mind had split into two bodies – she could suddenly
feel the strain of his shoulders, the bite of the wound in his
side, the stab of each breath. She could smell all of the wolves
around her, their individual breaths and scents, hear their
heartbeats, their excited yips and barks. She could feel her own
body beneath her, warm and wet; smell herself in a way that went
deeper than just the skin. It was as though she could feel what
Gareth felt, sense what he sensed.

Then she was sucked back into her own body.
They collapsed on the ground together, his deep, masculine groan
tingling across her skin. He held her for a long, silent moment,
his tongue lapping over the tiny cuts in the back of her neck where
his teeth had punctured the skin. His arms wrapped around her,
tight and possessive.

For a long minute all Maddy could do was
breathe, then the world slowly began to filter back through her
senses. The wolves were howling at the top of their lungs, as loud
as when the fight had first taken place, and they were pacing and
prancing back and forth, jittery and excited. She was on the dirty
ground, her cheek smudged, blood smeared along her body, probably
from Gareth's wounds. Her lips felt tingly and bruised, her hair
wet with sweat. Somehow her senses still seemed heightened – her
eyesight was better, her ears more sensitive, and every smell
rubbed against her nose. She pushed up into a sitting position and
Gareth followed her, his hand on her arm.

“
Maddy....” She turned to look at him,
his voice hoarse and tense. She met his eyes and the jade-green
depths glinted at her in concern.

It almost broke her heart. Suddenly she
couldn't breathe. All she could think about was that this man had
just taken her virginity on a dirty floor surrounded by a pack of
wolves. He hadn't even asked, he had just dragged her down with
him. It had been terrifying and unexpected. He hadn't even warned
her first.

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. Now
that she had had sex with him, her arousal felt sated and calm and
her thoughts were cold and clear. He had used her. Whether it was
to ensure her place in the pack or not, it didn't matter. She was
supposedly his lifemate and all he had ever done was lie to
her.

“
Get away from me,” she said, scooting
away, seeing the sudden hurt in his expression. She had to stop
looking at him or else the pain she saw there would make her
forgive him, and she couldn't do that again. He would just keep
stepping on her, and she needed him to know that it wasn't
okay.

“
Maddy, wait-” he reached out, but
suddenly the pack of wolves surged forward, pushing her aside as
they overcame him. At first she was afraid, thinking they would
attack him, but instead she saw the waves of animals press up
against his body, pushing their nose into his neck, licking his
chin, lying down and displaying their bellies. Maddy didn't know
what to think, but the wolves seemed fine with ignoring her. A few
gave her passing licks and nuzzles to her shoulder. She continued
to scoot away, picking up shreds of her clothing in the process.
She grabbed his jacket, her panties, then finally dragged herself
back to where her jeans were folded up against the wall. The zipper
was useless but at least she wouldn't be naked.

Her whole body ached, but she dressed
quickly, ignoring the pain between her legs. Finally she was able
to stand up, and she backed along the wall towards the door at the
side. She had to get out of there – the smell of the animals and
the stench of spilled blood was beginning to make her sick. Finally
she cleared herself of the wolves and walked quickly to the door.
She looked back once she reached the long corridor and saw Gareth
staring at her, his green eyes glinting. His hands were buried in
the pack, touching their heads and pressing their noses. She could
feel him through the new strange bond that they shared – she could
tell that he wanted to come after her, but his duties as the new
Alpha kept him tied to the ground. He had to establish his
relationship to the pack while it was still fresh.

Maddy knew all of this logically, but she
still felt an emotional stab of pain. She was running away, and
just like back at Isak's house, he was refusing to follow her. He
was busy with his pack, which was apparently more important. It was
a selfish thought, but one that she couldn't help. She had done all
of this for him, and in the end, he had used her.

Then abruptly another figure rose out of the
pack, this one in human form. It took Maddy a moment to recognize
her, but finally the moon glinted off of her white-blond hair, and
Maddy's breath caught. Yvonne grabbed Gareth's jaw and pressed her
lips against his, kissing him in a way that made Maddy's stomach
flip.

Tears in her eyes, she turned from the room
and fled, her bare feet flying over the hard ground. She didn't
know where she was going or where she would end up, but she didn't
care anymore. She just had to get away.

Somehow she found a door that led her into
the dark night, and she kept going, not bothering with Gareth's
car; she had dropped the keys somewhere back in the warehouse,
anyway. She made her way off the lot and through the town, running
blindly past street lights and around corners, empty of
direction.

The moon continued to shine overhead, despite
the approaching dawn. It was her beacon through the night.

Chapter 14

He could smell the fear and the hurt on her
when she left the room.

Part of him knew it was the only reaction to
expect; she was running again, just as she had run from her
stepfather. And as usual, he would run into the forest in a few
minutes – or in this case, into the city – and find her. But for
now he needed to focus on his pack, on the relationships between
them, on his new status of Alpha.

The first thing he did was shove Yvonne to
the ground and growl at her. The rest of the wolves backed away
too, growling in unison.

“
Idiot!” It was Isak that spoke this
time. The man had changed back to human form and had managed to
pull on a pair of pants before coming to wrestle with his sister.
“He has a lifemate, Yvonne – is that too hard to
understand?”

“
She is human!” Yvonne snapped, her
fangs still elongated. Gareth couldn't remember whether the woman
had fully changed during the fight or not, though he didn't really
care.

“
I have done the Right of Claiming,”
Gareth growled, and moved to his feet, realizing he was naked but
not caring. “Are you purposefully disrespecting me? Because we can
deal with this now.”

“
Gareth, it's not like that, I swear,”
she replied, her tone pleading, a high whine in the back of her
throat. “Please, just think about it – we would make a powerful
alliance! Our two families, united. The blood of the great Devon
mingling with your own – our pups would be beautiful!”

Gareth felt sick at the idea of mating with
this woman. He had been entranced by her when he was younger; she
had been beautiful, alluring, the most sought-after female in the
pack, and he had been dazzled by the fact that she'd wanted him.
But now he saw through her facade, through her spoiled little eyes
and into her dark heart.

He didn't have to put up with this anymore.
She had given him the ultimate insult, kissing him in front of his
lifemate. Any sexual contact would have been intolerable, but in
front of Maddy... that was a threat to his status.

“
Yvonne, I am evoking the right to
discharge you from the pack,” he growled.

“
What?” she asked, her eyes going wide
in shock.

The rest of the pack howled in support at
this – apparently the woman had lost popularity in the past few
years. Gareth couldn't keep the bitter smile from his face. He
showed his teeth. “You're no longer in the pack. Get out of here...
before we chase you out.”

“
B-but... you can't do that!” she
shrieked, though she backed away fearfully, looking around with
wild eyes. “My father was pack leader! I-I... I was born to this
pack! You can't make me leave it!”

“
I just did,” he murmured.

A few wolves split off from the tail end of
the group, barking and snarling at Yvonne's heels. She let out a
shriek of terror and turned to run, Changing into her wolf-self in
the process, a smaller white wolf with a long, bushy tail. Gareth
could smell her fear as she skidded out into the hallway, the two
other wolves following her, snapping and growling just inches from
her legs. He knew they wouldn't hurt her; it was to ensure that she
went far and never returned. One final threat for if she ever
entered their territory again.