Page 42 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)
CHAPTER 42
EMME
H unter’s warning howl rang out in the distance, and it spurred me on faster. My body was nimble as a wolf, and smaller than Hunter’s beast, which was why I chose the most overgrown, least accessible part of the forest to escape into.
He’d made it clear that there was no chance I’d outlast him in this primal chase, but I wouldn’t give up without a fight.
As I barreled deeper into the forest, my surroundings grew darker, the natural light eliminated by a heavier canopy. My wolf’s sight was strong enough to keep us from getting into too much trouble, and it was both soothing and a touch unnerving to hear only my panting and the soft pattering of paws over the icy ground.
The few rabbits and foxes I’d disturbed were long gone, leaving me alone… for now. Hunter was already behind me, tracing my scent and path, and while he didn’t feel close yet, an eerie feeling of being watched persisted.
Snow fell in soft drifts around me, most of it blocked by the foliage. Covered by fur, I barely felt the cold at all. When I reached an open section of forest, the ground was muddy from melting ice and flakes of snow, and I rolled in the muck until my white fur was brown, hiding my unique coloring and scent in one action—another part of my plan to remain out of his clutches until sunrise.
A crash echoed behind me, and whether it was Hunter or another creature, it jolted me to keep moving. My fur stiffened as the mud dried, and with each step the fear in my chest grew and grew. I couldn’t figure out why my beast was afraid, the fur on the back of my neck standing up as I sprinted, my tongue lolling from my mouth to keep cool.
My heart raced until it was all I could hear, this frantic thump thump thump in my ears. Shadows rose up around me as the foliage thinned out, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable.
By instinct, I changed directions, and another shadow washed over me. My wolf struck first, and I ended up with a mouthful of big cat. Big non-shifter cat .
The cougar was close to my size, already snarling and swiping at my face. This must have been what stalked me as I ran, but I was a wolf shifter, and wouldn’t bow to no fucking feline.
We tumbled together and my jaws clamped on to its throat, tearing through the fur. I didn’t go for a killing bite yet, giving it a chance to respect my dominance. Thankfully, it did just that, scampering away when I released it.
It was odd that these larger animals remained within shifter territory at all, which made that one a confident, top tier predator. Just not top tier enough.
Mild fatigue hit me as the adrenaline eased, and when I moved again I chose strategic rather than in a flat-out sprint. Another tingle ran down my spine as I lowered myself to my belly and crawled through dense bushes. I got the sense that this tingle was from Hunter .
Dammit . I hadn’t even been running for twenty minutes.
If I ever had to flee the cities, I needed a plan for how to keep myself hidden. These alphas were locked on to me now, locked on and unwilling to let go.
A rumble filled the forest; he was even closer than I’d thought. Just out there, playing with his prey. Asshole.
Unwilling to roll over and surrender, I changed trajectory, heading for a row of huge trees I’d passed earlier. One of them had a hollow log spanning across its base from a long-ago fallen trunk. I should be small enough to hide in it, and hopefully Hunter’s beast would be too large to follow. Even if he found me before sunrise, he wouldn’t be able to catch me , which should satisfy the rules.
When I felt him breathing down my neck, I picked up the pace. The log came into view, and a burst of adrenaline had my legs moving so fast that I was in real danger of tumbling over my own feet. Just as my head reached the opening of the trunk, Hunter leapt from the bushes and barreled me over. We rolled across the snow and undergrowth, and the whole time that fucker smirked a wolfie smirk. Yeah, he’d been playing with me. I’d never stood a chance.
When we came to a halt, I was sprawled on my side with Hunter’s weight holding me down. It would be futile to struggle, so I lurched up and locked my jaws around his throat, which he’d left woefully unguarded. These dominant, arrogant wolves always underestimated other shifters, too used to letting their dominance do half the work in a battle.
Hunter stilled as I tasted the first drop of his blood, warm and rich, with just the hint of his mocha scent. My chest rumbled, and I wasn’t sure if it was due to a desire for more blood or more Hunter, but either way, my wolf was content to lie under the bulk of her mate.
The way he’d hunted us had her all but ready to lift tail and give him exactly what he wanted.
I yipped when Hunter shifted back, leaving me pinned under a very naked male. “Oh, my stealthy little omega,” he drawled, big hands running through my mud-caked fur. “You did much better than I anticipated. I’m impressed.”
My wolf preened under her alpha’s praise, and I felt the same, even as I held on to a sliver of annoyance at being bested so easily. When I forced out a growl, Hunter’s touch slowed, gentling, and his expression was a mix of desire and need. My wolf arched, and I decided it was time to switch back.
My beast didn’t fight, content with what had happened this evening, leaving me to deal with the human side of our claiming. She’d claimed this pack long ago, and now it was time for me to do my part.
Hunter’s eyes darkened as he examined my face, like he committed every single detail to memory. “You’ve never looked more beautiful,” he rasped, his nostrils flaring as he leaned down and dragged his nose along my throat. “Even covered in mud, you can’t hide your scent from me. I could follow it through multiverses.”
A chuckle bubbled up from me, even as my cheeks pinkened and core throbbed. “Nerd,” I teased. “Always thinking in terms of multiverses.”
He nudged more firmly against my cheek, scraping through the dried mud, which was rough against my sensitive skin. I gasped when he licked me, no doubt tasting half the forest at the same time, but Hunter didn’t appear to care. I wiggled against him, my center throbbing, but he had me pinned as he kissed and licked a path down my throat and over my chest, until his tongue encircled my left nipple.
“Hunter,” I cried, wound up, swirls of desire growing in arcs through my core.
There was a real possibility I might explode if he didn’t claim me this second.
“What do you want me to do, Emme?” he murmured against my breast. “You know the deal, baby girl. Use your words to tell me what you want .”
His voice lowered over those last words, and as he rocked his hard, naked length against me, I was nearly delirious with desire. “I want you to claim me, Hunter. Please. Claim me. Bite me. Fuck me. I want it all.”
His chest rumbled in a deep, satisfied purr, and I felt his pleasure even though there was no tangible connection between us yet. “Ah, my sweet omega. I’ve waited a long time to hear you say that. Before I could even put a face to my mate, I knew your soul. And it’s mine.”
He kissed me hard and I cried out, wondering if my drenched lower half was about to explode like a freaking bomb and kill us both. As dramatic as that sounded, the pressure felt like destruction at its purest form. I wanted to scream and thrust against his hard thigh just for some relief. “Hunter, please,” I cried, dragging myself against him, “I can’t wait. We have to seal the bond.”
Fighting fate had been the hardest path I’d ever taken in my life, and after what happened with Kellan, I hoped I could change paths. Kellan hadn’t lost his mind and started taking my power. In fact, none of the alphas had even tried to dig deeper into what I did that day, accepting that whatever it was, it had saved Kellan. It was as if the power didn’t matter to them, and I had to trust my gut here, which told me to claim a second alpha. Now .
When he leapt gracefully to his feet, Hunter dragged me up with him, and I groaned as we crashed back into the huge tree that sheltered the fallen trunk. His hands cushioned my landing, and I craved every part of this moment. Even the pain.
“How did you know this was the exact ancient band of redwoods where I wanted to seal my claim?” he rasped, kissing my lips between each word.
I’d had no idea of course, but fate was in control today, so it made perfect sense to me.
“I know you, Hunter Reeves,” I told him, believing with every part of me that was the truth. “I know your soul and heart, and I fucking want them both.”
With a rumble, our lips clashed, the kiss rough and desperate. Growls ripped from our throats, and I knew this would not be a gentle, sweet claiming like Kellan’s. This was animalistically fueled by the primality between predator and prey.
My body was on fire, the wet heat of my need dripping down my thighs as Hunter and I battled… for something . Control, pleasure, relief, need. When his strong hands gripped my thighs, tearing them apart, he thrust up in a mindless movement.
Despite my delirium, arousal, and need consuming me, there would always be pain with an alpha of Hunter’s size. The first stretch of him against my inner walls was a delicious burn, and I threw my head back to scream my way into an orgasm. He never even made it a third of the way inside, but the decadent feel of his body entering mine was enough to send me reeling.
His irises were gold at this point, threaded through with stormy darkness, and as he thrust again, he dropped his head to my throat. My body opened to him, piece by piece, the pleasure and pain intermingling into a hurricane—a fitting sensation for this alpha.
The bark of the tree bit into my back, the mud on my skin cracked and shattered around us. I had never felt wilder or freer as Hunter seated himself fully inside me. When our bodies were joined as intimately as was shifterly possible, my mate threw his head back and howled to the sky, bringing the ghostly visage of my wolf to the surface, where she frolicked with Hunter’s beast. They’d formed a bond long ago, but after this claiming, their souls would have the tangible connection to go along with it.
I tilted my head to the side and presented him the unmarked shoulder. “Please, Alpha,” I begged, recalling our deal and how I would capitulate. “Please claim me. Claim us .”
Hunter’s voice seeped out in a deep, overpowering growl of dominance. “Tell me why now, Omega? Why did you change your mind?”
There were a million reasons, but in my sex and desire addled brain, I revealed what tipped me over the edge. “You knelt for me,” I sobbed, arching into his hold. “An entitled alpha never kneels for another, and yet you did… You—” His hips moved against mine and I cried out. “Oh goddess. You showed me that—” He thrust again and I was just senselessly babbling, but he didn’t seem to care.
When I finally stopped word-vomiting all the reasons he’d destroyed me, his unwavering gaze held me. “Keep your eyes on me, baby girl,” he said, voice a deep, hypnotic rumble. “Even a king should kneel before his queen. You will never accept anything less, from anyone, including those in our pack. Promise me.”
I couldn’t speak, my voice lost in the sensation of his cock buried deep enough to hurt. Pleasurable pain.
Hunter pulled half out of me, and then thrust in again, and again, over and over, claiming my body with his. “Promise me, Emmeline Anders. Promise me you will make them all kneel.”
“I… I… AHHHHH ,” I screamed as another orgasm ripped through me, Hunter’s length pulsing inside to prolong the pleasure.
His lips tilted in a satisfied smirk. “You will make them all kneel, because you’re the fucking queen.”
“I promise,” I gasped. “Please, Alpha. Bite me. Claim me. I need you…”
He thrust hard, a frantic energy taking him over until I panted and shouted his name, the building pressure indicating my next orgasm would be of the gushing, squirting variety. These alphas played my body like they held expert knowledge of every nerve ending.
Hunter’s right hand slid up my side and across my chest, wrapping around my throat. As he tightened his hold on either side, the air restriction heightened the sensation of building pleasure, and I embraced the darkness dancing in my peripherals.
“Mine,” he growled, his gold gaze branding my soul.
My wolf howled in my chest, and I heard Hunter respond as he tilted his hand collar to graze his teeth across my throat: “Mine,” he repeated, and there was a tingle of power as he shifted his jaw.
When he pierced the side of my throat, our wolves danced together in a soul-binding moment. My orgasm exploded until I was calling Hunter’s name and writhing against his firm hold. Pleasure consumed me for what felt like an eternity, and yet it was far too short.
Hunter remained locked on my throat for just as long, sealing the bite as he thrusted inside me. If he kept that up, he’d have me coming again. Even as wrecked as I was, I never wanted this to end. He was everywhere all at once, filling me in more than just the physical sense.
My jaw ached as I longed to shift and bite him too, but I was at his mercy until he decided to release me. My previous orgasms made a wet, dirtily delicious squelch between us as he fucked me like both of our lives depended on it. When his jaw finally unlocked, and he licked across the wound, sealing his bite, I felt the shimmer of his power and need, deep inside where my shifter essence resided.
Fuck me . Hunter’s desire was like a depthless pool of lava, burning and destroying everything in its path. I’d had no idea how he’d felt, not really, but now we were bonded, Hunter’s feelings filtered through our connection.
So strong that my eyes burned, and my jaw shifted to claim him just as thoroughly.
He tilted his head, and I clamped down on the space between his shoulder and neck, letting his deliciously sweet lifeforce flow into my mouth. Without the dying part to impact the moment, this sealing of the bond was cataclysmic in a different way to mine and Kellan’s.
With Hunter, I was washed away in a tsunami, or more accurately, a hurricane.