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T hat damn dress.

It wasn’t that it was cut in a design meant to be sexy.

Hell, no. The smoke-gray material, the same color as his wolf’s fur, had a sweetheart neckline, for fuck’s sake.

On another woman, and in the sunlight of a spring day through a meadow, it possibly would have had a different effect.

However, on Morlie, at minutes until midnight, during a lunar pull in the middle of the woods, it was downright, fucking erotic.

He'd never seen her look so soft; her femininity beguiled and made him want to muss her, displace all her short, neat coils with his hands, and turn her wild.

Chanin watched Morlie converse with the women she had begun to bond with as they all hovered at the tail end of a big group of rowdy revelers coming directly from the festivities, howling and carrying on.

Morlie and her crew had attended a couple of hours of the lunar moon celebration.

On his way to his meeting, he spotted her laughing and dancing with Rudie and Amira as Lovel cheered them from the seat of the dunking booth—where Chanin was sure Bleddyn’s first mate had volunteered to sit.

Lovel was a badass she-wolf who would do anything for the Pack.

That same vibe and excitement was palpable among everyone who had come out for the run. The senior wolves in the Pack didn’t usually participate, and if the Pack had pups, they would have remained with the Wise old Lupine.

However, none had been born in over twenty years; he glanced at his Beta’s mates and felt the same hope for his pride he always did when he saw Amira blossoming in her pregnancy.

Amira still had a couple of months to go; female wolf-shifters carried for a blended term of their human and wolf selves, at about five months to full term.

Soon, that would be Morlie.

And in a breath, his gaze was back to his mate.

Morlie sashayed into the open space with her small group, the same she-wolves who had kept his mate occupied and away from him all day.

She appeared refreshed, and he knew she’d rested.

He had smiled at the exhausted snores of her wolf as it came through the mind link when he unblocked to check on her.

He knew she had to be worn out physically if even her wolf had dozed so soundly as Morlie slept.

Their wolves kept a level of alertness even within them. In times of danger, a wolf could force a shift to protect its human.

However, right now, the primary threat to his Pack on such a night as this had been annihilated. The only current threat was to Morlie—Minsi.

Chanin scanned the crowd until he spotted Faolan gathered by a big tree beside the river's edge.

The southern clearing was where the Pack met to run along the river that cut a path through his Pack's territory.

With the water being fresh, it provided a source of hydration for the wolves throughout such a long night of running and lust.

He observed that even though Faolan was among his half-shifted Fang Warrior brethren, even chatting and laughing, the male stared out into the distance. Chanin hoped the warrior had taken his advice and planned to go she-wolf hunting tonight, for one in particular.

Chanin was betting on the fact that Minsi’s rage would be tempered if she were mated. However, even if that were the case, she’d publicly attacked Morlie, and that action still needed to be accounted for.

Having to deal with his cousin and now the preternatural council meeting at dawn were the only reasons he had not called Minsi out before the Pack to answer for the unprovoked assault. However, once he returned, it was a priority on his agenda.

Most of the Pack would be on the run tonight; it was a bonding time for his kind as a collective and mates.

In the large crowd, he hadn’t seen his parents, and they were still young enough and didn’t have grand-pups yet to keep them from the run.

Something they loved to do, especially his father, Conan, since the run was the only time Rieka gave up control and allowed him to take the lead, hunt down a fresh kill to present to her; Conan and Wolcott had already released over twenty rabbits into the area.

So, Chanin would have expected his father to be here to chase Rieka into the night.

Chanin hoped his parents hadn’t decided to sit it out.

His father had linked with him after he’d met Morlie today. Like Chanin’s mother, who had approved of Morlie’s fierceness and bravery, his father approved of Morlie’s kind heart.

Yes, his mate was a perfect combination.

His gaze was drawn to Morlie again, even as he stood at the arc of the clearing that bordered the woods beside Bleddyn, Raul, Boris, Dolf, and Wolcott, who was at the run for the first time since he’d reached adulthood.

They had all been in a meeting, one they conducted before each preternatural council meeting, discussing issues Chanin would bring before the council, mainly the information from Farkas.

However, they also had strategies to address other matters that might arise from the other entities, such as the situation with the Vampires that the Prince of Darkness particularly needed to bring to the council's attention.

When Chanin returned from the meeting the next day, he and his Pack leaders would get together again.

Now, though, he didn’t care about Farkas, the vamps, Minsi, or the damn meeting, because his mind, body, and wolf were all set on one thing—Morlie.

An incredible evening breeze blew and fluttered the hem of the dress's long, billowy skirt, giving him a teasing glimpse of Morlie’s bare feet and ankles, and his dick grew harder.

Fucking, impossible , he growled.

Because his damn cock had been a steel rod in his pants all fucking day. Not even at half-mast, something that he could cover up or shift to a more comfortable position. No.

The only thing that kept it from sticking straight out and operating like a damn homing beacon to his mate was the material of his jeans posing at least some level of resistance.

And now, Morlie’s fucking ankles were turning him on like it was the year 1850.

He’d already spent days and hours licking and tasting her entire body.

Still, his desire for Morlie and the need of his wolf to claim hers had him at such a high level that everything from her full mouth, perfect almond-shaped eyes, bare arms, and her ten toes had him in a frenzy to drive inside of her.

His wolf wasn’t any better. If Chanin could open himself up, he was sure he’d see track marks from his wolf’s extended claws digging into his core, eager to get out. And the dastardly beast was pissed at being tethered within.

But his beast was too primeval to recognize that Chanin also had a leash on himself. Neither could get what they desired until the time was right.

And time was ticking down to the last couple minutes before midnight, and Chanin, like all the other Lupine, could feel it.

“You ready, Alpha?” Bleddyn’s words came out rough, probably because the wolf-shifter wasn’t staring at him, but the male’s gaze remained locked on his two mates, who were constantly giving each other light caresses as they tossed Bleddyn wicked glances.

His Beta was in for it tonight.

“Hell, yes.” The low timbre of his voice was a heavy growl, more animal than man.

No announcement or speech was needed for the night lunar run to commence; as soon as Chanin reached over his head and grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt, then dragged it up past his shoulders and off before tossing it to the ground, it started a chain reaction.

Wolves all over the clearing were shedding their clothing, but Chanin only had his eyes set on one.

Morlie turned toward him, and he knew that she had been aware of where he was the entire time.

Regardless that most of the day, he had kept the link between them closed for his sanity.

As mates, they were still hyperaware of each other.

Her gaze made a languid caress of his naked body from his big, wide feet up. He saw the rise and fall of her chest increase to a rapid pace by the time her eyes met his. His heartbeat pulsed heavy and strong below his navel—blood and pulse were all in his cock.

She stared at him, still dressed among many nude forms; her slow, seductive smile told him her being clothed was deliberate.

Unable to hold his wolf back any longer as the hour struck midnight, in a breath, Chanin shifted.

The anxiety was in the air, and the Pack was ready and waiting for their Alpha.

Glancing at Morlie, he watched her catch the spaghetti straps of her sweet dress with her thumbs and bring them down over her delicate shoulders before she shimmied out of it, letting it drift to the ground around her feet.

It was on.

His wolf lowered its haunches, lifted its muzzle as it tipped its head way back, and released a howl so high pitched the branches shook on the trees, and rabbits and small creatures rustled in the bush and scurried over the ground, making their futile escapes as they heard the beast’s warning.

Wolves barked, dug their feet into the earth, kicked dirt around at others, violently wagged tails, growled, and snapped their teeth, ready for the kill, ready for the run, ready to find a mate, for life or the night.

Then, one last look at Morlie, standing bare like Venus in a sea of fur bodies.

He only paused for a moment to ensure she didn’t have difficulty in releasing her wolf.

Once the Alpha wolf saw the silken maple of its mate's fur, it let out a second howl to release the hounds.

“Awwwwwww!”

Like the gunshot signals racers, the Omega Pack tore into the woods led by their Alpha. He didn’t wait for Morlie; this was a night to let instinct lead them.

His mate needed to use her senses to track him even as he tracked their prey.

Find me, mate, he commanded.

Chanin . The relief in her voice was evident as she realized their connection was back and without restraints. Where are you?