Page 3 of The Wolf Guard’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #3)

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OLIVE

I closed my eyes, my hips arching as liquid heat seemed to trail from my chest to my core.

Hunter had pulled out far too soon and started pacing near the window. His cock was still hard, and I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on to be honest.

I’d always heard about wolves having a thing for biting, so it hadn’t really surprised me when mine pushed me to nip at Hunter’s shoulder after we screwed. It had surprised me when he bit me hard enough to draw blood—and when my wolf took over and did the same to him.

The way Hunter ditched me in bed like hell was on his heels surprised me even more.

It took a few minutes, but I eventually remembered the way a few of the guys in the bar had joked about the full moon earlier that night. Then, everything suddenly made more sense.

Because exchanging a bite beneath the full moon created a mate bond.

A permanent one.

And we had done exactly that.

Which would definitely concern me… if I wasn’t currently going into heat.

Nova and Aspen had mentioned going into heat right after sealing their mate bonds at our girls’ night when my sister and her man had come back from their cabin. They’d been teasing Sydney about it, knowing she and Fletcher were trying to decide when to make their relationship permanent.

So yeah, I’d definitely freak out about the mate bond.

After I dealt with the intense need that was currently making it hard to think at all.

My hips arched again, and I finally slipped my hand between my thighs again. A moan of relief escaped me.

Hunter snarled near the window. “What the hell are you doing?”

Something told me we were done being playful.

“Burning up,” I whispered.

Realization dawned in his eyes. “Heat comes with the bond.”

“Yeah.” I moaned again, dragging my fingers through the slickness over my clit. It was my release and his—evidence that he hadn’t been nearly as pissed off a few minutes earlier.

“Fuck,” he said again, more viciously.

“Just call Jake,” I whispered, and the man legitimately roared. Like an actual animal.

He was on the bed with me a heartbeat later, his hands shoving my thighs open as he glared at me. “If Jake ever touches you, I will remove his head from his body and set it on the nightstand so he can watch me claim you from the fucking grave,” Hunter snarled—and drove into me hard. “Understand?”

“Yeah,” I choked out, need and relief melding as he finally gave me what I needed.

Hunter’s hands were rough as he slammed into me again and again, his thumb rocking against my clit.

I came fast, with a cry of pleasure, and Hunter roared again as he lost it too.

The base of his cock thickened just inside me, holding us together as insane pleasure overwhelmed me.

The sex with Hunter had been incredible, but this was something else entirely. Something magic. Something otherworldly.

We were both struggling to breathe when his knot softened, our eyes glassy.

“Wow,” I mumbled.

He didn’t respond—heat was already kicking back in again.

And again.

And again.

When it finally ended, the sun was rising and we both collapsed on the mattress, boneless.

I closed my eyes.

Hunter’s feet were quiet on the rug and tile as he left me in bed. The shower started, and I let out a slow breath.

We were mated.

Permanently.

Shit.

I didn’t think I’d manage to sleep given the immensity of what we’d just done, but I crashed. Hard.

I had no idea how much time had passed when I woke up with my upper body draped over my Jeep’s low, center console. The vehicle was definitely running, and because no music played, I could clearly hear tires on the road.

Shoving hair off my face, I slowly lifted myself into a seated position, wincing at the aches and pains that followed.

Thank goodness for fast healing, because ouch .

I rubbed my eyes, battling the blurriness as I tried to figure out where I was.

Hunter was definitely in the driver’s seat. There were buildings around us.

My vision finally cleared, and I read a sign over the top of one. It didn’t take long to realize where we were.

Greenview.

I’d never been to Greenview before, but Nova had mentioned Hunter having a place there.

The snow on the ground was really thick, and the forest around us looked wilder than the one back in Crimson River.

“Taking me to your mansion to kill me?” I drawled, dragging my hair out of my face again as I silently surveyed myself.

All I had on was the black t-shirt Hunter had been wearing at the bar. There was a disturbing amount of gunk crusted on my inner thighs and core. Probably on the seat, too.

“Killing you would turn me rogue.” Hunter’s voice was eerily neutral. I glanced over at him, and found him staring straight ahead. His expression was blank, his hair perfectly-done, and he was wearing a clean pair of clothes.

So basically, I was a sleepy, cum-covered troll. And he was Mr. Sexy.

I sighed.

I should’ve pushed his stupidly gorgeous face away when he tried to kiss me outside my Jeep. And told him to take a hike.

Curse my horniness.

“Then why are you taking me there?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Did you grab my phone?” I checked, opening the console to search for it. It wasn’t in there, so I looked in the glove box too.

It wasn’t there, either.

“I did,” Hunter said.

I held out my hand for it, but he ignored me.

“Where is it?” I pressed.

“In my bag. Where it’s going to stay until I reinforce the security on it and go through your contacts.”

I glared at him. “You better be joking, Hun .”

“I’m not. And that nickname is just as bad as the others you’ve tried.”

“Give me my phone and maybe I’ll try to come up with a better one.”

“No.”

I leaned over the console, looking in the back seat for any sign of his bag.

It was empty.

I huffed, turning back around. “If Nova thinks I’ve been abducted, she’ll get your brothers involved.”

“Enzo is aware of what happened. He’ll tell Clay eventually. Neither of them will get between me and my mate.”

“I’m not just your mate, Hunter. I’m a person. What I want matters too.”

He didn’t respond.

I had the urge to claw his eyes out—but my wolf was too busy basking in the delicious scent of him to offer me her claws.

Guess she was the horny one now.

I was suddenly regretting ever deciding that I should hop off the abstinence train.

I stabbed the button on the screen for Hunter’s music streaming app. His phone was obviously connected to my car’s Bluetooth, though I couldn’t see it.

An idea struck, and I leaned closer, pressing a few more buttons.

“What are you doing?” He sounded a little less neutral, and a little more irritated.

I took a page from his book, and straight-up ignored him.

Scrolling through his contacts, I finally stopped on the names that started with N, and hit the button I was looking for.

The phone started ringing, and Hunter scowled.

Nova answered pretty quickly, though. “Hey, Hunt?—”

“It’s Olive,” I said, not bothering to wait for her to get through the pleasantries. “I’ve got a problem. A Savage one. And you’re the local expert.”

“I think Aspen holds that title, but why do you have Hunter’s phone? What happened?”

I leaned back and pinched the bridge of my nose. “It’s a long story, but basically, Hunter and I screwed last night. He bit me. I bit him back.”

“ What ? Under a full moon? Are you fucking insane?” Nova shouted.

“It was a heat of the moment thing.”

“You got yourself permanently mated to your brother-in-law in the heat of the moment?” Nova’s voice raised.

“I am not her fucking brother-in-law,” Hunter growled.

“Anyway, he decided to abduct me while I was asleep after all of that happened, because we’re in Greenview. He won’t tell me why he’s taking me to his mansion, and I don’t even have a change of clothes. Can you arrange a rescue?”

Hunter scoffed. “No one is arranging anything. I am taking my mate to my house until I am ready to see her around other men without killing someone.”

“Sounds like Hunter has everything under control,” Clay said, his voice as upbeat as ever. “We’ve got to go before I make his kill list. Good luck!”

The line went dead.

I glared at the call ended message, and at the map when the message disappeared.

Hunter didn’t say another word to me through the rest of the drive.

After we made it out of the city and into the middle of nowhere, we finally reached a gate and a large fence. Hunter pulled up an app on his phone (it had been hidden in his pocket) and pressed a button before leaning over to the keypad and typing in a code. I tried to watch, but his fingers moved too fast.

“The code changes every hour. By the time you could get away from me, this one won’t do you any good,” Hunter said, holding the phone out to me.

I took the device and scanned the code anyway.

There were eight numbers.

Definitely excessive. Especially considering his mansion was so far off any main road that no one would ever stumble upon it. Or get over his fence. Or through his gate, even if it just had a normal lock.

I handed his phone back, and he set it down on the Bluetooth charger between us.

Guess he’d decided letting me near a device wasn’t as dangerous as he thought.

I stared out the window, watching the trees and snow as we drove down a smooth, paved road.

When I finally saw the mansion in the distance, my nerves eased slightly.

It wasn’t a stuffy, elegant old structure. It was modern and tasteful, with huge glass windows and stone accents. The siding was black, drawing your eye back to the windows.

Hunter pulled into an expansive garage, and my gaze moved over the line of vehicles.

A Hummer that looked like it could double as a tank.

A black sports car.

A huge pickup truck.

A black SUV.

A snowmobile.

A side-by-side.

“What do you usually drive in Crimson River?” I asked.

“The same thing you do.”

Oh.

Huh.

“So you bought my sister the same exact vehicle you drove?” I asked, eyeing him.

I wasn’t feeling possessive. Not exactly.

But now that I thought about it, being mated to my twin sister’s sort-of ex was going to be weird in a lot of ways.

“The pack owns three hundred of the same vehicle. Putting one in Nova’s name would hardly qualify as buying her the same vehicle I drive.”

Hmm.

He had a point.

“What about the cabin you gave her?” I asked. It was technically mine, because Clay and Nova had their own, but he’d still given it to her.

“What about it?”

“Why did you pick that one?”

He flashed me a look that I couldn’t describe. “It was the only available cabin none of our prospective move-ins were interested in, and it was in the center of the land. Between security and avoiding pissing anyone off, it was the obvious choice.”

“And her studio?”

“We had multiple conference rooms that were rarely used. I picked the one closest to Clay’s office, for obvious reasons.”

“I thought you were against them getting together.”

“I thought it could cost me my brother. When I realized how much they cared about each other, I assumed they’d work it out eventually, and put her studio by his office.”

“Right.”

“You don’t believe me?” Hunter sounded surprised.

“Why would I? I barely know you. For all I know, you really did only screw me last night because I look like Nova.”

Hunter’s expression was thunderous when he turned toward me, taking my chin in his hand. “I haven’t wanted anyone in a century and a half, Olive. I took you to that hotel room because I couldn’t get you out of my head. You have been under my skin since the moment I met you. It has nothing to do with your sister. The next time you suggest otherwise, I’ll be the one accusing you of screwing me for looking like my brother. Understand, mate ?”

Oh, shit.

He was passionate about that.

I gave him a sweet smile. “Got it, Honey .”

He bared his teeth at me.

I stretched my lips in a smirk.

He was pissed—but he couldn’t hurt me. Not while we were mated.

And there was no way for him to get away from me anymore.

Hunter finally released my chin and stepped out of my Jeep. He slammed the door behind himself, disappearing into the house.

Maybe I didn’t need a rescue after all.

Maybe I’d piss the big, bad Gamma off so much that he’d just let me leave.