Authors: Lorie O'Clare

WithHerHunger (8 page)

BOOK: WithHerHunger

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As his bones lengthened, joints popped and reshaped and his
spine stretched and moved with gravity to pull him down on all fours. His new
physical appearance took form. Fur spread over his bare flesh. His senses
ignited with new life. His vision grew clearer. He suddenly smelled everything
around him, from the lingering exhaust coming from parked cars to the remaining
burning embers behind Rousseau’s den that had cooked the kill he’d eaten with
the rest of the pack members.

The night air rushed over his fur, lifting it so Luther felt
the intensity of it against his hide. He heard every movement of every living
creature around him. Even the breeze rustling through the trees grabbed his
attention. Luther focused on the only scent that mattered to him.

Once in his fur, Luther had a completely different
perspective on everything he’d just experienced. He let go of all harsh
emotions and his growing temper he’d been unable to prevent from creating a
stench before he’d changed. Things were now black or white. Luther didn’t
hesitate or pause to consider how his actions would be interpreted by others.
Call it a more primitive, focused way of seeing things. The moment the change
influenced his brain, Luther knew what he would do and exactly how to do it.

Luther took off racing after Mariah’s scent. He tore across
the meadow behind the row of dens where Rousseau’s litter lived. Every small
creature around him smelled the predator who was suddenly too close for
comfort. Luther heard each one of them race for cover. They could run and hide.
It didn’t matter. Nor did the few deer that caught his scent and ran as fast as
they could for their lives bother him. Luther only planned on hunting one creature
tonight.

Her scent filled his lungs and he dug his deadly claws into
the earth as he bounded after his petite, sexy
lunewulf
female.

Y
ou will be mine—and all mine,
he roared as he leapt
into the night and proved Cariboo
lunewulf
were blessed with speed too.

Luther raced over uneven ground, following Mariah’s scent as
it grew stronger. The little lunewulf might have the grace of speed, but Luther
was larger, more muscular, and could clear just as much ground in as little
time as she could. If she thought she could outrun him, he had no problem
proving to her otherwise. She might be pissed, but Mariah would learn he would
always be there for her. He slowed when the strength of her scent began growing
weaker.

Circling back around, Luther padded between a rocky incline
and the thick nest of trees and undergrowth. Mariah’s scent was the strongest
here. She was either up on the rocks or watching him through the thick trees.

Where are you, my little lunewulf?
he grumbled in his
throat.

His body tightened with need as he breathed in her aroma.

He leapt onto the ledge of rocks above him and spotted her.
Mariah lay just above him. Her eyes glowed from the moonlight and her white
coat looked silky smooth. Luther ached to rub against every inch of it.

The moment he jumped from where he was to the larger, secure
patch of grass above him where Mariah lay hiding from him, she jumped from her
hiding space and backed up, roaring at him.

His low growl made his meaning clear when he stood before
her.
We can fight if you want, my little lunewulf. But we’ll work this out
together.

Mariah arched her back, her hackles up. She lowered her head
as she began moving from the back of the large ledge, trying to circle around
him. She curled her lip, issuing a warning. He could so easily mount her right
now and impale that hot, soaked pussy of hers. Even as she snarled, he smelled
her lust growing stronger the longer they were together on the ledge.

In spite of his primal urge to fuck her, Luther smelled
Mariah’s pain, her embarrassment, and understood her urge to run. It was in
their nature. Running cleared their soul, freed them of all emotions and
allowed them to return to their flesh refreshed and able to take on their
problems.

Talking had never been one of his strong points. He would
rather fight than discuss something. Right now, though, the only way they would
work anything out was to discuss it. Luther didn’t want to think about what it
might mean if he was willing to tuck away his claws and howl instead of attack.
Forcing the change, Luther engaged the burning as it started in his spine but
quickly moved in his bloodstream through his veins. In spite of not wanting to
think his actions through too clearly, he already sensed the truth. It smelled
dangerously of love.

The night dimmed around him, making it harder to see. His
hearing muted, all the life around him growing silent and only the drifting of
the breeze through the trees remaining. His human hearing and seeing might suck
but his sense of touch and feeling were impacted by the frigid night air, and
his naked body was soaked with sweat.

Luther ignored the cold, not even taking time to shiver as
his adrenaline took over.

“Change,” he ordered the moment he was able to utter the
word.

Instead of listening to him, Mariah leapt into the air. She
flew toward his shoulder, a white blur coming straight at him. He smelled her
defiance, but not fear. He also smelled her lust.

This wasn’t a game for her. From what Luther knew about
Mariah so far, she was defiant, determined and willful. All traits he once
swore would turn him off in a female. But they smelled hot as hell on Mariah.

He leapt into the air.

Luther didn’t think about being in his human form. He didn’t
focus on how much stronger Mariah was in her fur than he was standing on two
legs. Luther wrapped his arms around her and knocked them both to the ground.

Mariah rolled out of his arms and stood, backing away and
growling as she shook herself until her fur lay smoothly again.

“Change,” he demanded again, crawling toward her and away
from the edge of the ledge.

Her body began transforming and he watched in lustful awe.
Her shimmering white fur receded until damp, smooth flesh appeared. Her large,
almond-shaped silver eyes transformed to a beautiful shade of blue and took
their smaller, human shape. As her face changed, he smelled her emotions, raw
and too fresh in her now-human body for her to conceal from him. Luther
breathed in her excitement, the intoxicating scent of her desire and sexual
arousal, and the salty smell of nervousness. It was the clean, pure and
incredibly intoxicating smell, a unique scent that was a mixture of both of
them that damn near knocked him backward. He wasn’t sure he had ever smelled
love before but somehow knew it was what he smelled now.

The moment Mariah’s damp body trembled on the rocks, and she
stumbled, trying to stand, Luther grabbed her and pulled her against him. She
was breathing hard and her perky, round breasts pressed against his chest. Her
nipples were instantly hard. Her flesh was silky smooth against his rough,
seasoned skin. He ran his hands over her long, tousled pale blonde hair then
gathered it in his hands.

“I lost my temper and ran. I humiliated myself,” Mariah
whispered, her words coming out broken as her voice trembled from the cold.

Luther barely noticed the cold. “I agreed with you,” he told
her, his voice raw with emotion. He wasn’t sure what to say about the new aroma
he smelled on both of them. She had to smell it too. He let go of her and
untangled his clothes from around his neck.

After laying his clothes on the ground to create a makeshift
bed for them, he untied her clothes from around her neck and draped her sweater
over her shoulders. “We’re going to make love until we wish it were colder
outside to cool our bodies off.”

He laid her down on his clothes and adjusted her sweater so
it became a pillow for her. Then, stretching out next to her, he draped one of
his legs between hers, pinning her underneath him. She smelled a mixture of the
outside and a mixture of emotions that created an intoxicating scent he would
be drunk off of soon.

“If you’re doing this just because I got upset about Rock
Toubec growling about me being under his protection…”

“That’s exactly why I’m doing this.”

When Mariah started to scoot away from him, Luther tightened
his grip on her, preventing her from moving.

“I’m doing this because I want you under my protection,” he
stressed, and kissed her.

Her complaint turned into a soft moan. After a moment,
Mariah opened for him and their tongues began a wicked, promising dance of
lovers. Her small hands moved over his body, causing his muscles to twitch and
harden under her touch.

Their relationship had started with wild lovemaking under a
sky full of stars. Tonight it would be seared into something stronger.

“I want you as my mate,” he grumbled, his teeth slightly
sharper than they were a moment before when he tore his mouth from hers and
began kissing her neck.

“We’re already mated.”

Luther raised his head and stared down at her. It was one
thing to smell her emotions, but he had to know her mind. Maybe then he would
understand his own.

“Are we mated out of lust?” he asked.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

He couldn’t hide his happiness, and Mariah smiled, her
happiness mixing with his.

“I won’t have our mating challenged,” she added. “We might
always have to run according to our laws and traditions. But I don’t care if
you’re Cariboo and I’m
lunewulf
. And if that means living outside the
pack, we don’t need their protection
.
”

Her nose twitched adorably as she sniffed the air between
them. “And how do you feel about me?” she asked.

“I have fallen in love with you, my little
lunewulf
,”
he grumbled, barely able to voice the words and kissed her again. They would
come stronger with time. He wasn’t an expert on the emotion but he knew it
would grow stronger as they ran together. Although right now, he couldn’t
imagine it being any stronger than it was now.

Luther was fairly certain Mariah told him she loved him too.
He didn’t need to hear the words though. As he mounted her and they began to
make love, Luther smelled her love for him, and that was enough.

About the Author

All my life, I’ve wondered at how people fall into the
routines of life. The paths we travel seem to be well-trodden by society. We go
to school, fall in love, find a line of work (and hope and pray it is one we
like), have children and do our best to mold them into good people who will
travel the same path. This is the path so commonly referred to as the “real
world”.

The characters in my books are destined to stray down a
different path than the one society suggests. Each story leads the reader into
a world altered slightly from the one they know. For me, this is what good
fiction is about, an opportunity to escape from the daily grind and wander down
someone else’s path.

Lorie O’Clare lives in Kansas with her three sons.

Lorie welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email address on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Also by
Lorie O’Clare

Black Jag 1:
Black Seduction

Black Jag 2:
Black Passion

Black Jag: Black
Surrender

Blue Moon

Cariboo
Lunewulf 1: Taming Heather

Cariboo
Lunewulf 2: Pursuit

Cariboo Lunewulf
3: Challenged