Winter's Dawn (15 page)

“Go, Max!” Susie yelled. “I saw them in human form. They’re all beautiful. Go!”

Max took off then, feeling a rush of adrenaline and excitement he had never expected. He broke into the large crowd of wolves and stopped to growl at the black wolf in the center. Though larger than nearly all the wolves in attendance, he was dwarfed by Max. Arctic wolves were stronger than most due to the harsh elements they preferred, but Max was exceedingly large, even for an arctic. When the black wolf didn’t back down, Max leaped at him, grabbing the nape of his neck, not hard enough to kill, but hard enough to hurt. The black wolf finally whined and rolled over onto his back in symbol of submission.

Max found himself hoping Susie had seen his father roll over to him like an omega wolf would have. It would be years before he would find out Susie had collapsed onto the terrace in hysterical sobs the moment he had turned his back on her. Right then, he wasn’t supposed to know that she had cried in Maggie’s arms for most of the night and it was only fifteen tranquilizers and three bottles of whiskey that had finally stilled her tears.

He left his father in that prone position of submission and took off into the woods. The female arctic wolves followed him. Several had grabbed blankets, a job that was typically the male’s, but it seemed none of the usual rules applied to Max. They didn’t stop running for a while. The feeling of cold wind in his fur was new to Max and he enjoyed it, but eventually the more primal call of the running won out and he stopped at a large, open spot by the frozen lake. He stared out at it, remembering all the times he and Susie had gone ice-skating.

“We’ll take care of you, Your Highness,” a soft voice whispered in his ear. “Until your queen is ready.”

Max turned to see a female with deep indigo blue eyes and long, blonde hair that fell in twin braids down to the curve of her waist. She stroked his fur, touching it reverently.

Max changed forms and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Oh,” she gasped, giving him a bright smile. “My, you are handsome.” She ran her hands through his dark hair with the same reverence she had used to stroke his fur. “Natasha, come look!”

“Serena was right,” said another female, this one with long hair as black as Max’s. Hers fell in a single braid down to the middle of her back. “You are by far the most handsome wolf I have ever seen.”

“Aren’t we lucky that the head king should be an arctic wolf?” the first female said, before she buried her face into the curve of Max’s neck.

“Arctic wolves are the most superior,” crooned the one Max knew now as Natasha. “I’ve always told you that.”

Max closed his eyes and growled as the two females combined scents washed over him. “Please, if you could just tell me your names.”

“I am Natasha. This is my sister Nadia.”

Max nodded as he worked hard at holding himself back. “And the others? Where have they gone?”

“They went to hunt for His Highness.”

Max took a deep breath that only hurt him. It filled his senses with the smell of both females so ripe with need as the moon quickly pushed them into full heat.

“I’m supposed to hunt,” he growled.

“We thought you might—” Nadia started and then shrugged and lowered her face shyly. “Want to do other things first.”

Max closed his eyes and growled again, hating how right they were in their assumptions that he had no desire to hunt. He turned to Nadia first, because something in her shyness appealed to him. She was less bold and her hair was blonde, not black like her sister’s. He needed that familiarity the first time.

He pulled Nadia to him and kissed her before he died from the wanting. Her small body molded into his and she moaned as her lips parted to his in a way Susie’s hadn’t when he kissed her earlier.

When he finally pulled away, his breathing was ragged. “Can I, Nadia? I’m sorry, I just—Gods, I feel like I’m going mad.”

She gave him a sweet smile and then grasped both his hands and pulled him back towards the blanket Natasha had already laid out.

“Can you really make it snow, Your Highness?” Nadia sat on the blanket and then looked at the spot next her expectantly.

Realizing she wanted him near, he crawled over and sat down next to her as he answered, “I could cover this whole place with ice if I wanted.”

“Oh, would you?” Natasha asked excitedly as she also kneeled down on the blanket. “We’re hopelessly homesick.”

“Not that we aren’t pleased to be here with you, Your Highness,” Nadia added.

Placing their accents now as Danish, he realized they were probably both from the northern parts of Greenland. The temperatures there would be far colder than that of February in New England.

“Ice would be difficult for the humans,” he offered. “But, more snow I will gladly offer.”

Nadia gave him another beaming smile, reminding him strongly of Susie and he was pleased to bring in a cold north wind for both of them. Snow flurries started to form and Natasha squealed with pleasure and jumped up when the snow started falling furiously.

No longer able to wait, he took advantage of Natasha’s distraction to kiss Nadia once more. She moaned in approval and fell back against the blanket, pulling Max with her. The wolf rose again, this time fiercer and he pulled at her dress without permission. He wanted this sister first, but he knew he’d need both and he took without thinking to ask.

Answering the call to roam did more than kill the last of his puppyhood. It killed his humanity too.

When Natasha and Nadia were both spent and curled up together in their wolf forms, sleeping contently now that their cycle had been eased for the evening, he went to search for the others. He never once stopped to think on the fact that it would take another male wolf all night to relax one female in heat, let alone two.

He didn’t have to look far, three more females peeked their heads shyly out from the cover of trees they had been hiding behind. All of them were arctic wolves, identical to ones found in the wild. Their coats gleamed white in the moonlight that was still bright in the sky. One held a blanket in her mouth. The other walked away for just a moment and then returned dragging a small doe.

Max shook his head and pointed to the one holding the blanket. “Come.”

She walked towards him, changing forms as she did. Like Nadia, she also had blonde hair. Her skin was as pale as the sleeping sisters, her eyes a lighter blue. Susie was alpha, so none of them could truly equal her beauty, but this one was the closest yet.

Max studied her as she laid out the blanket, his breathing ragged with need. She tilted her head to look up at him, smiling as she pushed one of her braids behind her back. The strap to her leather dress fell to her arm. That was all the invitation necessary.

He growled and went to her. Falling heavily to his knees, he reached down and pulled her dress off. Her form was slimmer than the sisters, her breasts smaller. This was the one he should have chosen first.

“I am pleased,” he told her as he admired her body.

She beamed at him, her smile brilliant and unrestrained. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

He grazed the curve of one breast with his fingers. “You look much like the queen.”

“I am a beta of the royal alpha line like your father,” she said proudly. “My name is Serena. We’re cousins, Your Highness.”

“Ah,” he said, knowing her now despite having never met her.

Her father had left England long ago. Brother to Max’s grandfather, they were the only two beta males produced by the former Winter King and Queen before they died. It seemed that though his grandfather had only black wolves for offspring, his brother had no problem producing more arctic wolves, perhaps because of his decision to relocate to Canada. Genetics were strange in the royal family. There was not much rhyme or reason to their offspring.

“Serena Wellington, I have heard many nice things about you.” Max smiled, though he knew it to look dark and devious. “Am I to feel honored that such a powerful member of our Government wishes to be with me?”

She shook her head and smiled again. “The honor is all mine, Your Highness. Emma sends pictures often of you and your queen. The photos hardly do you justice.”

The wolf couldn’t care less that she was his cousin. He pulled her to him and kissed her, savoring the way her mouth parted as willingly as the others had.

“Let me taste you,” he growled against her lips. “Open to me.”

Serena pulled away and fell back against the blankets, opening herself to him obediently. She moaned in a wild desperation when he ran his lips over her body.

“Gods, Your Highness,” she gasped, her fingers tangling in his hair when he found what he was looking for.

It never occurred to him to tell any of them to address him more casually despite the intimacy. He had sex with five females for three full days and not one of them once called him Max.

The moon belonged to him—and he knew it.

Chapter Eight

Max lingered at the edge of the woods, silently watching the Winter Palace light up in the early morning sun. It’s exterior was so pale, the white marble seemed to glow orange for a few moments. Shades of purple, pink and light yellow rolled over the multitude of terraces that decorated the back of the palace and the view from the woods was riveting. He had never noticed how truly beautiful his home was.

“The others have all gone in, Your Majesty.”

He nodded, deciding to ignore his change in title that meant his puppyhood was gone forever. “I know.”

“Are you scared to face her?”

Max frowned and turned back to his cousin Serena. Her hair was mussed. It seemed that more hair had escaped her braids than remained in them. Despite the smudges of dirt on her cheeks, and the gleam on her pale skin from oil that was nearly impossible to get off, she was still beautiful.

He reached out and plucked a twig out of her hair. “Yeah, Serena, I’m a little scared.”

Serena wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his bare back. “Growing up is difficult, but this will pass, Your Majesty. One day all this terribleness will be a hazy memory. You and your queen will be happy, I promise.”

“How can you promise such a thing?”

He felt her smile against his skin. “Have you never asked your father how he knew coupling with humans would produce the alpha pair we needed?”

“I assumed doctors told him that.” Max gently tugged at Serena’s arm, bringing her forward to face him. “Our people cannot have babies, but humans can. It makes sense for the curse to be lifted when humans were involved. Was I wrong in my assumption?”

“You were.” She looked at her nails for a moment and then took the effort to clean them out. “It is more complicated than just humans being able to make babies. While a few humans have bonded to werewolves over the centuries and taken on wolf traits and immortality, your father and Aunt Susan were able to produce puppies without being bonded to the humans they choose. That has
never
happened before, but they needed their partners to be fully human in order to produce offspring free of the curse to our people. It had to do with timing, and the alignment of the sun, and a whole host of other things that would probably bore you to tears.”

“And who took the time to make this prediction?”

Serena was still working on her nails with precise care. Max looked at them on instinct, noticing they were perfectly groomed despite the dirt currently under them. Serena was a very wealthy and pampered female.

When she was done with her work, she looked up at him. “I am President of the Canadian werewolves, Your Majesty. While I may not have the same responsibilities as your father, who was Head of Werewolves, it is still a tedious and tiring job that keeps me up to all hours of the night. Why do you think I have missed every single party at the palace since your birth? It was not a choice. I am insanely busy. I have no mate. A hobby was the only way I could keep my sanity.”

“I see.” Max narrowed his eyes at her. “Would this hobby be predicting things?”

“I have a fairly good track record.”

“How good?”

She beamed at him. “A hundred percent if we’re counting.”