Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild)

9

Alex shifted. Lily had always loved the way his wolf looked. She thought the glossy black fur with silver tips on his rough outer coat made him look very much like his father. When she was little, she’d had a horrible crush on Stefan Aragat. Like his son, he was handsome and smart and too funny for his own good.

Alex glanced toward both girls before trotting out of the big cavern, following a long, winding tunnel that would eventually lead them up and out of the caves higher on the mountain.

Annie and Lily quickly undressed and shoved their clothes in a corner. Lily completed her shift, but she stopped in her tracks and stared at Annie’s wolf. I never would have recognized you. Your coat used to be almost as dark as mine.

Now Annie was a pale gray with black tips, an almost perfect mirror image of Alex’s black and silver. It changed while I was in England. Dad blames it on the lack of sunlight.

Lily’s snort was pure wolven humor. Padding on big paws, she led Annie away from the artificial light in the main cavern, along twisted tunnels and through huge caverns, so familiar with the various routes that the utter darkness didn’t slow her down. It was dark outside by the time they took the narrow tunnel that led to an opening high on the mountain above the valley where most of the pack lived.

Alex waited for them, his eyes glimmering in the moonlight. Lily felt Annie’s excitement practically bursting out of her as the gray wolf scampered through a narrow crevice between two huge boulders and took the lead. With Alex close behind on her right and Lily on the left, she led them down the steep hillside, away from the caverns, and into the forest. The moon wouldn’t be full until tomorrow night, but it glowed so brightly in the big Montana sky that light shimmered between the huge pines and cedars and filled the open meadows with an ethereal silvery glow.

Lily followed easily, holding the steady pace Annie set, head high, ears pricked forward, with her tail waving behind her. The air was fresher here, the scent of cedar and pine, of bay and damp, mushroomy humus, and the drying needles crackling beneath their feet an almost overwhelming cry of home.

She missed this. Missed the freedom to run without fear, to breathe air unpolluted by the stench of so many humans living so close together.

Wolves were not meant to live in cities.

Wolves aren’t meant to live alone, either.

She refused to think of Sebastian. Not tonight. Tonight she was with friends she knew she could trust.

They paused on a hilltop beneath a towering oak. Lily raised her head and sniffed the air. Faint, so fragile a scent she could barely catch it, but she knew Sebastian had run this way. Not recently. No, it could have been as much as a week ago or longer, but he’d been here, on Chanku property.

But why? His father owned thousands of acres. Not as much as Anton Cheval, but more than enough to give him room to run. He didn’t need to come on their land.

Unless this was the oak he’d mentioned, the one he used to shift. Lily had long sensed the spirit that resided here, the strength inherent in the tree that had dominated this promontory for hundreds of years. She knew it was somehow linked to the same huge tree she’d sat beneath on the astral, though how she understood that was a complete mystery to her.

Still, there was a sense of familiarity about the oak. A feeling that she knew the entity that lived within. A dryad, perhaps? A wood nymph? Sebastian drew on the natural energy of the world around him to power his magic. Had he called on the spirit of this particular tree? Would she ever know for sure?

Damn. The man confused the hell out of her. Confused her and at the same time, fascinated her. Somehow, she had to find the answers she sought. But not tonight.

She gazed out over the valley below. Lights from her parents’ house twinkled brightly in the distance, lighting up the meadow and surrounding forest. More homes, some nearby, others scattered farther out from the center glowed with their own light. Others were dark. Her own tiny cottage was lost in shadows, but she hadn’t left any lights on. She’d not expected to be away this late.

Nothing about today had gone as planned.

Annie spun and kicked up loose dirt as she took off again. It was impossible to ignore her high spirits. Just as impossible to ignore the pheromones arcing between Annie and Alex. Lily followed the two of them, almost drowning in the scents and sense of need and want, of desire that raised her arousal right along with theirs.

She tried to concentrate on the night around them, on the almost soundless flitter of bats overhead, the soft hoot of an owl, the scream of a panther off in the distance.

Igmutaka, maybe? She wouldn’t be surprised, as surly as the big cat sounded. The spirit guide had taken to spending most of his time in his puma form since his charge, Star Fuentes, had gone off to Yale without him. None of the pack really knew the details, but apparently Star had grown weary of the Ig’s overenthusiastic guardianship as she’d reached adulthood. He’d watched over her father and all the males of his line going back beyond memory, but Star had been his first female charge.

She’d left for college almost fourteen years ago after leaving Ig with explicit instructions that he wasn’t welcome to come along. Lily wondered if Star was ever coming back. Probably not, as long as Igmutaka insisted on protecting her from everything under the sun—especially any young men she might meet.

Anton Cheval might be an overprotective father, but Igmutaka, spirit guide, was a whole lot worse. Lily really did feel sorry for Star. Having a gorgeous spirit guide getting in the way of every potential relationship had to be beyond frustrating.

Annie’s sharp yip pulled Lily out of her thoughts. The gray wolf veered off the trail. She’d found a narrow path through a patch of wild blackberry vines and raced beneath the tangle with Alex close on her heels. Lily followed, leaving a few tufts of thick fur in the brambles before bursting out into a moonlit meadow. A steaming pool glimmered at one end.

She’d not been here for years—one of the more isolated hot springs on the huge piece of property—but it had always been one of her favorite places. The water was always warm, even when snowdrifts made the trail hard to follow, and the smell of minerals lay heavy on the still night air.

Annie shifted first and Lily was right behind her. The night was still, the thick grass damp beneath their feet. Small patches of snow lingered in the dark corners of the forest even in June, but here, near the warmth of the spring, the air was warm and humid. Lily glanced at Alex—he’d been quiet throughout the run, which wasn’t at all like him. He hadn’t shifted. In fact, he crouched as if to run, his body tense, hackles slightly raised. His sharp gaze was fixed on Annie.

Alex? What’s going on?

Look at her, Lily. Just look.

Okay, that was definitely not typical Alex behavior, but she tried to see Annie as Alex might.

She was absolutely breathtaking, small for Chanku, just under five and a half feet tall, with slim shoulders, small breasts with dark nipples, slightly rounded hips, a tiny waist, and long, long legs. She stood with one foot in the warm water and gazed at Alex with painful longing.

Lily glanced at Alex. His eyes glowed like amber jewels in the moonlight, and his body was so filled with tension he quivered. He jerked his head around and stared frantically at Lily. His thoughts punched into her like a fist.

I’ll be back. I promise, but I can’t stay right now. I can’t, Lil. I’m sorry! He’d barely completed the thought before he spun about and raced back through the brambles.

“Where’d he go?”

Annie looked so crestfallen, Lily moved closer and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I don’t know,” she said. “He’ll be back. The pond was a great idea. C’mon.”

She took Annie’s hand and led her out into the water and over to the far side beneath a cliff of solid granite. There was a natural ledge along this end where the two of them sat. Even sitting up straight, the water lapped at Annie’s chin while barely covering Lily’s breasts.

“It’s a good thing you’re not any shorter.” Lily tightened her arm around Annie and pulled her close. “I just don’t get it. Your mom is tall, and your dad’s a moose. How come you’re so petite?”

Annie snorted. “I think they saved all the tall genes for my brothers. Have you seen Mike and Ricky lately?”

“How can you miss them? They’re huge! Bigger than Tinker.”

“Exactly.” Annie shivered.

“Are you cold?”

She shook her head and hugged herself. “No. Just really aroused. I haven’t run in ages. I forgot what it feels like, that all-consuming f*ck-me-now-before-I-scream need to get laid.” She gazed wistfully in the direction Alex had run. “I wonder how long Alex will be gone?”

Lily’s laughter echoed against the stone walls of the grotto. “Hang on for a few minutes. He shouldn’t be gone long, wherever he’s off to. You and I used to have a pretty good time together, before you left. Let’s wait. It’ll be more fun with Alex. Three’s always better.”

“Lily, I can’t.” Annie scooted away from her. “I’ve never . . . I mean. I just can’t.”

“What? You can’t what? Have sex?”

Annie glanced off to the side. “Have sex with Alex.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I’ve . . . it’s complicated.” Annie’s cheeks flushed dark, and she shook her head, then shrugged and looked away.

Bemused, Lily just stared at her for a minute. When Annie didn’t say anything more, she asked, “How complicated? Spill, Annie. What’s going on?”

“You’ll laugh at me.”

“I won’t. I promise.” It was so quiet, Annie’s breaths, even her heartbeat seemed to echo in Lily’s head.

“I’ve never been with a man. I wouldn’t know what to do.”

The silence hung in the air. Annie stared down at the dark water. Lily stared at Annie.

Finally she took a deep breath. Annie was Chanku. They were ruled by a libido so powerful it took a lifetime to learn to control the needs they felt. Their parents hadn’t known of their own Chanku heritage until much later in life, and they’d all fought their own sexual demons without understanding how their Chanku genetics affected them even before they’d ever shifted.

They’d learned the hard way, the effect shifting had on the Chanku libido. Arousal took on an entirely new level of meaning, so powerful, so demanding that abstinence wasn’t an option.

Lily didn’t know a single Chanku capable of abstaining after shifting. Even her father, with his brilliant mind, his magical powers, and all his strengths admitted that fighting the need for sexual release after a shift was the closest thing to hell he could imagine, if such a place existed.

“Annie, you and I’ve had sex. I mean, it was years ago, but you were certainly no blushing virgin. But you’re thirty years old. You’re saying no guys? Ever?” Lily couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

Annie nodded. “With girls, sure. I mean, we all learned how to bring each other off when we were teens, when we felt the first stirrings after shifting.” She raised her head and grinned at Lily. “Thank goodness we didn’t get aroused when we were real little. That could have been awkward.”

“No kidding. I don’t get it, though. Pregnancy’s not an issue. Human diseases don’t affect us so we’re not limited to Chanku males. You could have slept with a human. Why no guys?” She laughed. “Hell, all men are interested even if they haven’t shifted. They don’t have to be Chanku for the sex to be good.”

Annie stared off in the direction Alex had gone. Lily waited, tempted to look at Annie’s thoughts.

She was glad she hadn’t snooped when Annie sighed softly and said, “I didn’t want you to hate me, Lil.” She turned and looked directly into Lily’s eyes. “I’ve never wanted any man but Alex. I’ve always loved him. Since I was a little girl and he used to protect me from the bigger kids.”

She bit her lip and looked away. “I was always small for my age and such a serious kid, but he made me laugh. I’ve loved Alex for as long as I can remember, but he was yours. We all knew that.” She turned and smiled at Lily. “It was like the two of you were mated in the crib, or at least betrothed by your parents, which put him firmly out of bounds. I didn’t want casual sex with Alex. I wanted Alex. Unfortunately, no other man ever appealed to me. I figured if I couldn’t have the one I loved, I didn’t really care about sex with any other guy. Why do you think I chose to study in England?”

Lily hugged her close. “Oh, Annie. I’m so sorry you felt like you had to go away, that you couldn’t see what was right in front of your eyes. Alex and I were never meant to be mated. Besides, I think every girl in the pack has loved him, but he’s never looked at any of them the way he looks at you. He’s always loved women, and he’s more tomcat than wolf, but I have a feeling Alexander Aragat’s days of chasing around have come to an end.”

Annie’s eyes glowed like two amber saucers in the moonlight. “Do you really think that? And you don’t mind?”

Laughing softly, Lily leaned against the slick granite wall behind her. “Everyone, including our parents, have had us in love and bonded since we shared the same crib. I do love Alex, but not in the way of mates, and he doesn’t love me that way, either.”

She turned and cupped both hands on Annie’s shoulders. “He needs a woman like you, Annie. Someone who will love him, who appreciates his manic side, who knows what a brilliant, amazing man he is under all the silly jokes and laughter. He’s tender and sweet and very brave. I think he’s very much like his dad.”

Tears sparkled in Annie’s eyes. “I’ve always adored Uncle Stefan. He’s a lot like your dad, but without the scary vibe.”

“Scary vibe?” Laughing so hard she could barely get the words out, Lily hugged Annie close. “What’s that?”

“That look he’s got. He can stop anyone in their tracks with that look. Except you, of course.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever stopped me,” she said. But a shiver raced down her spine. One man had that power. Only one.

Sebastian’s image filled her mind. Firmly, she pushed him aside.


Goddess, he was such a f*cking idiot, but he’d run like a scared rabbit the moment the girls shifted. Lily was beautiful, a truly striking woman, especially naked, but when he saw Annie McClintock naked for the first time, it hit him like a speeding locomotive. She stood there beside Lily, looking so petite and perfect, and he’d realized that whatever he’d ever felt for Lily Cheval paled beside the feelings he had for Annie.

He’d wanted to beg her to shift back to her wolf form so he could mate with her right then and there with Lily as their witness, and wasn’t that just the dumbest thing ever.

They hardly knew each other. She’d been gone for six years. He’d not seen her once, not on any of her visits home, and why was that? Had she been avoiding him? Had he somehow known this was going to happen and stayed away?

He raced as if an army hunted him, ran until his sides were heaving and foam covered his lips and realized he’d made a huge circle and was almost back to the hot spring where the girls waited. What the hell was he going to say? What should he do?

He’d never imagined this feeling. He’d heard his parents and the other elders talk about meeting one another, how they’d known from the beginning when they’d found their one true mate, or two as the case may be. Star’s parents, Tala, AJ, and Mik, certainly made their relationship work.

How did he court Annie? He didn’t have a clue. His relationships weren’t relationships at all. They were serial one-night stands with human women, or hot, no-holds-barred sex with Lily whenever they got together.

He’d avoided most of the girls in the pack as they’d grown older because he didn’t want to get entangled with anyone in particular. Now he couldn’t imagine not being tangled with Annie.

He slowed to a trot. Wished he could get Lily off by herself and ask her for advice. Of course, he’d have to put up with her snarky “I told you so.” He’d just have to man up and handle it.

A rabbit jumped up under his feet and took off across the meadow, and suddenly it all came very clear. Alex leapt after the foolish creature. He knew exactly how to win Annie’s heart.


“What am I going to say when he comes back?” Annie hugged herself, terrified and thrilled, apprehensive and anxious, and so tied in knots she thought she might throw up.

Lily thought Alex loved her? Impossible, but what if it was true? She shivered and her stomach lurched.

Lily wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I’ve got an idea how to take your mind off Alex until he gets back. One that requires sharing body heat. Among other things.”

A frisson of awareness raced across her skin and settled right between her legs. “I think that’s a marvelous idea. I’m a wreck.” Talk about your understatements. Before she could talk herself out of it, Annie wrapped her arms around Lily’s shoulders and pulled her close for a kiss.

Warm, firm lips, the tip of a tongue, the taste of her own kind, of Chanku. “It’s been so long,” she breathed, opening to Lily’s searching lips. This was comfort. Familiar ground, a woman she’d been with before. One she had known intimately when they were teens, admired greatly as an adult, and would always love.

The one she’d thought would stand between her and Alex. She felt so stupid now, thinking of all the wasted years, time when she might have been with him.

“Not wasted.” Lily smiled against her mouth before running kisses across her jaw, along her throat. “I’m not snooping. You’re broadcasting your thoughts, sweetie. Don’t feel as if you wasted time. Those were the years Alex needed to grow up, to mature enough to be the man who could possibly love you back. And it was a chance for you to explore life without the pack to fall back on. That’s huge.”

Annie’s lips were busy, but she had so much to say. She slipped into mindspeak, connecting easily with Lily. I was so lonely at school. I wanted to come home, but I couldn’t bear to see him. I didn’t want to see him with you.

And you would have seen us together. We’ve been each other’s safety net all our lives. I hope that if you and Alex end up as a mated pair, you’ll include me on occasion. He’s been my closest friend since we were babies.

I doubt he’d want it any other way. Look at the relationship your parents and his have had over the years.

Laughing, Lily slid off the stone shelf, dipped down into the warm water, and grinned up at Annie. “Which is exactly why they’ve wanted Alex and me mated. Ain’t gonna happen.”

She wrapped her hands around Annie’s thighs and easily lifted her to sit on the smooth stone edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the warm water. Shoulders deep, Lily leaned forward between Annie’s knees.

Shivering, as much from anticipation as from Lily’s sensual touch, Annie closed her eyes as her arousal blossomed. Lily left soft, sucking kisses along her inner thighs and then bathed those sensitive spots with her tongue. Moaning, Annie’s nipples ruched into tight peaks, and it was hard to catch her breath. Biting back a sob, she lay back against rock still warm from the sun. When Lily’s tongue stroked a line of fire over her labia, her entire body jerked. Arousal once blossoming now exploded.

She whimpered and ached. So long. It had been so damned long since she’d felt this perfect touch, this molten fire racing through her veins, sizzling along her skin, and stoking a climax that kept building, building higher and hotter. Lily clutched her thighs with strong, long fingers, lifting her hips, tonguing her *. She slipped her fingers deep inside Annie’s clenching sheath, curling forward against the sensitive inner walls, until the fire raced from * to womb and back again.

Too good. Over the top good. The damp sweep of Lily’s beautiful hair, the perfect pressure of her lips, her teasing tongue and long fingers touching and stroking. On the edge, gasping for air, Annie raised her head and glared at Lily. “What about you? I don’t want to come without you.”

“Good. Me either.” Laughing, Lily lunged out of the water as Annie quickly turned and scrambled into the thick grass beside the pool. She was so much shorter than Lily, but somehow, laughing and giggling, they made it work with Annie on her back in the soft but chilly grass while Lily knelt above her, caging her in warm arms and strong legs.

The grass warmed quickly beneath her body. Annie sighed. This was something familiar. Comfortable, this touch and taste between women. Between herself and someone she’d known so well, so long. She used her tongue and her fingers, teeth, and lips to nibble and suck, to penetrate and caress.

Lily responded, her senses obviously as tightly wound as Annie’s, and she whimpered when Annie clasped her sensitive * between her lips and used her tongue and even her teeth to tease the sensitive bud.

Yet even as the pleasure between them grew, Annie wondered vaguely when Alex would return. If he would return. Then Lily was touching and tasting, quickly bringing her back to her peak, and Annie lost herself in taking and giving pleasure with one of her dearest friends.

Even dearer, now that she knew Lily held no claim to Alex.

Opening her thoughts, she found Lily waiting to connect. Mind to mind, she promised. I’m never leaving again, Lily. Whether or not Alex loves me, I’m not walking away from the pack.

Good. The pack needs you. Your mom and dad have missed you. I’ve missed you.

She answered Lily with laughter. I’ve missed this! She felt the swipe of Lily’s tongue running from her butt to her *, swirling a tight circle around that sensitive nub. Whimpering, Annie arched closer to Lily’s mouth. And dear goddess, Lily, but you do this so well.

Gasping, hanging on to Lily’s slim hips, Annie opened to the boiling need, the familiar sense of overwhelming arousal and soul-deep yearning that was both the blessing and the curse of shifting, of running as the wolf. She’d forgotten what it was like to satisfy that need with one of her own kind.

With someone she loved. And with that thought in mind, with Lily’s taste on her lips and tongue, Annie gave in to the rush, the heat, the amazing climax she shared with Lily Cheval.


Lily had sensed Alex’s presence just before she and Annie reached their shared peak, and she’d wondered what his reaction would be.

He’d done nothing. No, he’d just stood there beside the pond, not five feet away from them, his ears forward, eyes bright, holding a freshly killed rabbit in his mouth. Now he sat motionless, still holding the rabbit, still watching Annie, his amber eyes glittering in the last shimmering rays of moonlight as it passed behind the mountain.

Substitute that damned dead rabbit with a duck or pheasant, add a shotgun next to his feet, and he’d look like one of those old paintings: faithful hunting dog bringing in the kill.

She wouldn’t laugh. She couldn’t. Not when she could sense how deeply Alex had been affected by Annie. She had the distinct feeling he hadn’t expected this at all.

Lily touched Annie’s shoulder and nodded in Alex’s direction, heard the catch in Annie’s breath, and realized she’d been totally unaware of his presence. As far as Alex was concerned, Lily wasn’t even in the picture. She quietly slipped away from Annie and back into the pool, leaving Alex and Annie to work this out on their own.

Her body still thrummed with the force of her orgasm. The warm water should have soothed her, but she was so sensitive that the small current abraded her sensitive nipples instead.

Gliding through the water, she swam to the far side and found an outcropping where she could sit and yet remain almost entirely submerged. She wanted them to forget she was here, but she didn’t want to miss this, either.

It didn’t appear that would be a problem. Alex waited until Annie regained her composure. Then he stood and walked over to her and gently laid the dead rabbit down in front of her.

Annie’s eyes went wide. She shot a quick glance toward Lily as if looking for confirmation. Lily didn’t say a word. This was for Annie to figure out.

Annie’s eyes were shining with what could only be tears. She knelt and ran her fingers over the rabbit’s soft fur. Then she raised her head, looked directly into Alex’s eyes, and shifted.

Now in her wolven form, she sniffed at the offering Alex had brought.

Lily watched and wondered. Did Annie understand the significance ? For a Chanku male, sharing a fresh kill went way beyond a corsage for the prom. Lily relaxed as soon as Annie took a bite, holding the body down with her front paw, tearing through fur and skin while Alex watched. She swallowed it down, licking blood from her muzzle before sitting back.

Lily grinned. Good girl, she thought, but the words stayed behind her shields. Annie was doing exactly as she should, offering the rest of the kill to Alex. He stared at her for a moment. Then he finished the rabbit in a couple of bites.

When he’d cleaned his bloody muzzle on the grass, Alex shifted. There was no way to ignore his blatant arousal, and Lily realized she was enjoying this chance to sit back and admire him. He really was a beautiful man.

What did Annie see when she looked at Alex? Nudity was nothing unusual, but Lily realized she couldn’t remember much about Annie when they ran as a pack. She’d usually arrived in whatever form she was taking and would head back to her parents’ house, still in her animal form.

Their few sexual encounters had been fun and open, but now that she thought of it, none of the guys had ever been around when she’d had sex with Annie. How could she have missed that? But it explained Annie’s hesitation as she gazed up at Alex.

Then she shifted, sooner than Lily expected. Another good sign. Lily had no intention of interfering or even reminding them she was here. At least, not this first time, but she wasn’t about to leave, either. She felt Annie’s need, her insecurities, and even some fear.

Not of sex with Alex, but that he would be disappointed, that he’d expect her to know more, to be more experienced.

Okay. A little interference was warranted.

Tell him, Lily said. He needs to know.

Annie nodded and stepped into Alex’s embrace.


She was warm and sleek and absolutely perfect. Her hesitancy only made him want her more. She trembled, and he wondered if she was as nervous about this as he was.

Sex was as natural as breathing. Sex with Annie? Goddess, but he’d never felt nervous about sex with any woman. Right now he was actually shaking.

He sensed Lily, knew she waited nearby, close enough for Annie, yet far enough to give them at least a sense of privacy. He’d always loved Lily. Loving her was just a part of who he was, how he saw himself, but watching her make love with Annie had hit him like a blow to the heart. He’d stared at the two women, both so beautiful yet so unique. He’d watched them reach their climax together, and it was then that he realized his attention hadn’t been on Lily at all.

No. His focus had been entirely on Annie McClintock. He’d often wondered if this day would ever come, if he could look at another woman and feel something, anything remotely as powerful as the feelings he had for Lily.

It had finally happened.

He felt more than something for Annie. Emotions so powerful he didn’t even mind the fact he’d have to admit, once again, that Lily was right. He nuzzled his chin in Annie’s tousled hair, and kissed her temple and the fading bruise over her cheek. A couple more shifts, and it should be gone by the time she returned home.

Running his hands along her back, he cupped her bottom and lifted her, pulling her close against his erect cock. She smelled so damned good, like the forest at night and clear, fresh water, in spite of the minerals in the pool. Her skin against his was dark silk, but as he held her close, she shuddered.

He felt the tension in her body, thrumming like the string on a guitar. Opening his thoughts, he tried to read her, but her shields felt like a brick wall between them.

“Annie? Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”

She tilted her head and turned her face against his chest. He wanted to ask Lily, but she’d moved away for a reason, a reminder that this was something he needed to figure out on his own.

He really hated when she did that, but this wasn’t about teasing or playing games. This was about Annie, and a future that had opened itself to him so unexpectedly, so perfectly, that he really didn’t want to screw it up.

He lifted Annie higher, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to a fallen log worn smooth by time. Almost hyperaware of her damp sex against his belly, of the fullness of her small but perfect breasts pressing against his chest, he sat down with her in his lap, his hands linked at the small of her back, hers behind his neck.

Her buttocks, so round and firm, rested upon his thighs, and his sinfully erect cock pressed tightly in the crease between her buttocks, throbbing in time with his racing pulse. He took a deep breath and searched for control. For focus.

He wanted to look into her eyes, but she’d pressed the side of her face too close against his chest to see them. Her entire body trembled. What was she so afraid of? “Tell me. Please, Annie. Whatever has you upset needs to be fixed before we go any further.”

She nodded, but she still wouldn’t look at him. “I know. Lily said to be honest with you, but it’s hard to say the words.”

“Then open your thoughts. Let me in.”

She didn’t speak, but he felt her shields drop, sensed the turmoil in her mind. And when he finally heard her mental voice, he realized he hadn’t expected anything like this.

I’ve never been with a man. She tucked her head even closer against his chest, and he wondered if she’d noticed that his heart skipped a beat. Or more. It took him a minute to digest the magnitude of what she admitted. She was Chanku. They’d all had sex with one another throughout their teen years. All but Annie?

He hadn’t really thought about it, but he realized now she’d never fully been a part of their closely knit group.

He stroked her short curls and then lifted her chin, forcing her to face him. And that’s bad, why?

She pulled back and finally looked him in the eye, but her confidence had returned. Sort of. You’ll think I’m a freak.

He shrugged, doing his best to keep his voice level. Goddess, but he wanted her so much. Wanted to bury himself deep in her welcoming heat. Wanted to claim her, both as woman and as wolf. But not yet. Not until she was sure she wanted to take this step.

Is the reason you’ve not had sex with any guys freaky?

She shook her head. I dunno. Maybe. You might think so.

He realized he was smiling in spite of the odd situation. She was absolutely precious to him, her confidence coming and going with each thought. I want the truth, Annie. I want to know you, without secrets. Definitely without any fear. Why have you chosen to wait? And don’t try and tell me it wasn’t a choice. You’re Chanku. Your drives are as strong as the rest of ours. Your needs just as powerful.

She took a deep breath and faced him again. Licked her lips, took a long, slow breath. There was no one else I wanted. Only you. Never anyone else. Since I was a kid, it’s always been you.

That definitely sucked all the air out of his lungs. He looked into those gorgeous amber eyes and wanted to shout. A rousing cheer, maybe? At least a few cartwheels should be in order, but he kept his voice calm and softly said, “Oh, Annie. Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you let me know? Guys can be pretty clueless.” He chuckled softly. “According to Lily, I’m one of the worst.”

Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Annie finally looked up at him and said, “I couldn’t. You were Lily’s. At least that’s what I thought.”

He’d sort of figured the same thing for most of his teen years. He’d been Lily’s, though she’d never really been his. It was easier than thinking for himself. Easier than going against what the pack appeared to have agreed upon. “That’s what everyone thought, because that’s what our parents wanted. Lily and I do love each other, but we figured out a long time ago that it’s the love of very dear friends. We’re not meant to be mated.” He laughed. “Trust me, we both know it would never work.”

“That’s what Lily said.” She shrugged. “I don’t think I really believed her, but if you’re agreeing . . .”

“Sweetie, Lily and I will never lie to you. What she said is the truth. Another truth? I want to make love with you, Annie. Tonight, not just because our need is strong after the shift, but because you’re finally opening to me. We’ve got a connection like I never imagined. I want to keep it. Hold it close. Build on it.”

“I want that, too. I want you.” She looped her arms loosely over his shoulders. “I never thought you’d be interested.” She kissed him, and it was sweet and perfect, just an innocent kiss, but it left his blood boiling and his cock rising to press even harder against that hot and secret place between her thighs.

He stood up, still holding Annie close but feeling pretty stupid when he realized he was blinking away tears. “Believe me, Annie. I’m interested. Way more than interested.”

Then he carried her to the same soft, grassy spot where she and Lily had made love. Kneeling on the flattened patch of grass, he waited while she unfolded her legs from around his waist and sat. He knelt in front of her. Held her hands in both of his, and the solemnity of the moment had him pausing, thinking of what they were about to do. In more ways than he could possibly imagine, this was a first time for him, too. “I’ll do my best to make it good for you. I promise.”

Her fingers squeezed his, and she took a long, deep breath. “Alex, I’ve loved you since I was little. I never thought I’d have the chance to say that. Never expected we’d ever be able to do this. It’s already good.”

He leaned close, and kissed her hard and fast. “Wonderful. Then let’s make it better.”