Page 7

Jamie

Being a wolf is awesome so far.

I’m fast, faster than I’ve ever been.

The colors of the world are different in this form, but my eyesight is sharper, like I’m looking at everything through HD lenses.

Then there’s all the scents… The world has never smelled sweeter, a kaleidoscope of aromas that bring color and life to the world around me.

And then there’s him. Anders. And he smells the best of all. Cinnamon and coffee and that used-book smell that always brings a smile to my face. Except now his scent is driving me wild. I want him to chase me, catch me, and do whatever the hell he wants with me.

The moment I caught his scent, it was like everything clicked into place. I understood why no guy has ever worked out for me, and it’s because they weren’t him. My mate. Mine.

Of course, I still barely know the guy, and he’s got a crap personality.

But honestly? The big grump isn’t that bad.

He had no reason whatsoever to save my neck when he could have just taken what he wanted.

He sure didn’t have to teach me about this amazing side of myself I never knew existed.

He’s, dare I say, kind of a sweetheart. Even if he pretends not to be.

I lose momentum as I run, worry suddenly weighing on my shoulders.

This… isn’t good. I’ve always been the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and dives in headfirst, regardless of the consequences.

I fall hard and fast, often giving my all and receiving nothing back.

It’s gotten me badly hurt in the past. I shouldn’t like Anders, and yet, damn it, I do.

I think beneath all that scowling and grumbling, there’s a big, frigid heart waiting to be warmed up.

Shaking my head, I take off running again, needing to leave these pesky thoughts behind.

Don’t go there. No matter what these weird wolfy instincts are telling me, Anders and I can have our fun, but that’s all it will be.

Fun. He’s made it clear he has every intention of returning to his timeline and leaving me behind, regardless of our bond.

The wind whips through my fur as I run, spraying leaves and dirt behind me. Pursuing paws thunder the ground. He’s gaining on me, and my heart races in exhilaration at being caught, at being claimed.

The wind goes out of me as Anders leaps onto my back, pinning me beneath him. His breath scorches my neck, his low growls vibrating against my skin and forcing a shiver from me. All my instincts scream to submit, to give him everything he needs until I’m all used up, but only in the best way.

The shift recedes as I surrender, prey grateful to be caught.

A cold nose brushes the back of my neck, and his hot breath scorches my skin.

Anders’s growl vibrates over me. The predatory sound makes my heart gallop and my breath hitch.

Somehow, though, I know he won’t hurt me, even though I realize I might want him to.

I roll over and submit, baring my throat to my mate. “Please,” I whimper, and I hope he understands what I’m asking for—everything he can give me.

The wolf above me shifts to Anders the man. His emerald eyes are black with lust, fangs sharp as he bares them at me. “Please what, pet?” He purrs the words as he sweeps his fingers down my jaw.

“Please, just… I need—”

I need him, all of him, with such intense, primal yearning I can’t hope to put it all into words. My body burns hot, my cock so hard it aches.

“What is this?” I rasp, hips gyrating against him before I can control myself. The answering response of his cock, grinding on my own, has me arching up for more.

“Your wolf recognizes his mate. He’s gone into heat. Wants me to claim him.”

Embarrassment flames my cheeks. That’s what’s happening to me? It feels like I’ll burn to ashes unless he shoves his cock in me. “I… There’s no pressure. You can ignore it.”

Anders snarls above me. “Ignore it? How am I supposed to walk away when I can smell your cock leaking for me, pet?”

“I just mean if you don’t want to—”

“I have never wanted anyone more. I wouldn’t leave your side if Ragnarok itself were upon us.”

“A-and Ragnarok is?”

Anders nips the shell of my ear. “The end of the world and the beginning of another.”

That’s what being with Anders feels like, the end of my normal, empty life… and the beginning of something brand-new and exhilarating.

“Want you,” I say with a groan, rocking my hips against his. “Now. Hurry.”

I know I’ve pleased him when he yanks down my jeans and boxers in one go. His hand is around my cock, squeezing and stroking. A cry escapes me as I buck into his fist, chasing the pleasure, but it isn’t enough. I don’t want to take things slow.

“Fuck me, Anders. Please. Need it.” I fumble in my bag, which is strapped around my shoulders. It somehow didn’t fall off when I shifted, nor did any of my clothes rip. It was like the fur cloak grew over everything I was wearing. That’s convenient, though right now, I’d really prefer to be naked.

“What is this?” Anders asks, inspecting the lube I hand him.

“It’s lube. It’ll make things slick and painless. Oh, I’ve got condoms in there too.” I’d stuffed those in my bag last night, hoping my date might end on a pleasurable note. Looks like I’ll get to use them after all.

“And those are?”

“To protect against STDs. That’s diseases you can get during sex.”

Anders tilts his head. “Ulfhednar do not get sick or diseased.”

He’s immune? Huh. That’s really convenient. “Then forget the condom. Want to feel every inch of that heat you’re packing, big guy.”

I fumble with Anders’s trousers, practically salivating at the outline of his impressive cock straining the fabric taut.

Tugging them down to his knees, I’m gifted with the sight of the holy mother of all cocks.

It’s so long and thick, the shiny, leaking head protruding from his foreskin.

I have got to taste him, make him come in my mouth, but not tonight.

I help him out of his shirt, and I hiss at him to be gentle when he almost rips my shirt to shreds in his haste.

With a curious expression I shouldn’t find endearing, Anders gets the lube open and drizzles some in his palm.

He sniffs the slick, then rubs it over his cock.

He gasps, eyes fluttering shut. “Gods. This is… it feels so good.” He strokes himself, marveling at the easy glide of his hand up and down that thick length.

“That’s the wonders of modern sex life for you. You have got to try sex toys sometime.” He’s in for a treat.

Slicking his fingers with more, he presses them between my legs. I lift my knees up, biting my lip to stifle my groan as he slides them easily inside me.

“Gods above, pet. You feel like Valhalla itself. So perfect,” Anders breathes, eyes falling shut as he swirls his fingers. The full sensation makes me whimper, rolling my hips to take him in deeper.

“Want you inside me. Now,” I pant.

Anders’s mouth quirks against mine. “Then roll over, pet. Offer yourself to me.”

I’m embarrassed by how quickly I’m on my hands and knees for him. I arch back, presenting myself. Little pants escape me as his bare thighs knock against my lower body. The blunt head of his cock pushes against me, then in, and I whimper as he stretches me, fills me.

A thunderous growl escapes Anders, and his claws dimple my hips.

“Feel how well you take my cock, pet?” With a groan, he rocks his hips, sinking deeper into me.

My body burns with the intrusion, even as pleasure sings through every nerve and has me clawing up the grass beneath my palms. “So gods damned perfect for me.”

The fire in me only burns hotter at his words.

Having him inside me is the only thing that will extinguish this roaring flame.

I grind my teeth, fighting back the urge to demand more of him as he rocks into me agonizingly slowly.

I’m not a demanding guy. I give and give, never liking to take or ask for more.

But with him, I can’t help myself. “Anders,” I croak, unable to hold back.

His thick fingers curl in my hair. “Tell me what you need.”

I arch back against him, smacking my ass against his pelvis. “Fuck me. Please. I can take it. Don’t hold back. I need… I just—” But words fail me as Anders tugs my hair, shoving my face into the dirt.

With a snap of his hips, he slams into me, his balls slapping my ass. My hoarse cry echoes into the woods, a mix of pain and pleasure that feels so right, it brings tears to my eyes.

“This what you want, pet?” Anders snarls in my ear as he pounds back in. “To be taken, bred by my cock?”

“Anders,” I gasp, “yes, yes, yes —oh fuck!” I cry out again as he drives into me, and this time, he doesn’t let me catch my breath. Anders sets a brutal pace, gripping my hips hard enough to leave bruises as he pounds me with speed and force no human guy could ever hope to match.

I can’t speak. All I can do is moan again and again until I know my voice will be hoarse.

Anders takes me apart, leaving me drooling in the dirt, completely mindless with pleasure.

I submit everything I have, all my thoughts, all my worries and cares, and let him take care of me in a way I hadn’t known I needed.

All my life, I’ve taken care of other people. Finally, just for this moment, I can trust someone else to give me what I crave. It feels selfish to have something all my own, something just for me. But damn it, I don’t fucking care.

All I care about is Anders’s heaving chest against my back, his animalistic grunts and snarls in my ear that would be terrifying under any other circumstances, his thick, hot cock stretching me full to bursting.

“Close,” I pant. “So, so close. Please. Don’t stop.”

To my horror, Anders pulls out, leaving me gaping and empty. Suddenly, I’m flipped onto my back. Anders looms over me, cock flushed red and leaking, slick with lube. “Want to see that beautiful face when you come for me, pet,” he says, then shoves my knees to my chest.

He practically folds me in half, but it’s worth it when I can watch the blissed-out look on his face as he slides back in, chasing away that horrible emptiness. It sucks that this one time is all I’m allowing us to have. I’d love to have his big dick rearranging my insides every day and night.

My eyes roll to the back of my head, and I fist my cock and stroke. Every muscle in my body coils tight, ass clenching hard around Anders’s cock. I’m so close, but only Anders can push me over the edge.

“Have I pleased you, pet?” Anders’s eyes glow preternaturally, his fangs sharp in his mouth.

“Yes, Anders, yes!”

He curls his hand around my cock and squeezes. “Then be a good pet and come for me!”

His name escapes me in a hoarse scream as I come, splashing his chest and stomach with my release.

Anders’s pace never falters as he relentlessly pursues his own orgasm. “Gods, Jamie. Want to knot your tight, perfect ass.”

Yes. That. It all sounds perfect. “What?” I slur.

“My knot will tie us together. It will give you the relief you need. I promise.”

Wow. My life really is a smutty shifter book.

“Give it to me, all of it. Please.”

With a low, desperate groan, Anders slams all the way in, and something at the base of his cock expands. The pressure inside me, the way I stretch around him, is all too much. The fire beneath my skin erupts as I come again and again, clutching onto Anders.

A bestial roar escapes him as with one final slam of his hips, he comes inside me, flooding me with his thick, hot seed.

His knot swells inside me. A gasp escapes me, and when I squirm, I’m alarmed to find our bodies are stuck together.

Anders kisses my hair and whispers, “Be still. It will not hurt. Breathe.”

He’s right. It doesn’t hurt. It feels amazing, actually, to be so full, to be tied to him in such an intimate way. It makes my wolf howl in delight, so I decide to trust my animal instincts. Finally, the beast within me knows nothing but sated relief.

We catch our breath on the forest floor, bathed in warm sunlight.

Anders drapes his furs over both of us. Big, warm hands cradle my head with tenderness no hookup has ever shown me.

Chest tightening, I fight to remind myself he’s only being nice because he wants my necklace, and I’m surprised by how much that hurts.

“Did I please you?” Anders asks, voice hoarse and satisfied.

I smile, curling my fingers in his wild mane of dark hair. “Yeah, puppy dog. You did.”

His indulgent smile makes my heart sing, and I know I made the right choice to end things after this. I always fall too easily, hope too quickly, dream too big.

Anders can never be mine, no matter how sweetly my wolf sings for him.