Authors: Janet MacDonald
Chapter Thirteen
Her soft,
delicate fingers crept up into his hair, and she returned his kiss with a
feverish intensity. Their tongues slipped together, sliding along one another
in a more intimate dance. With a delicate touch, his traced the outline of her
face and trailed down her slender neck, his hands making a slow descent toward
her breasts. Anya moaned into his mouth as he fondled her with a light touch. He
smelled her excitement, and he moaned as her need fed his erection.
Her body stiffened
slightly as he pulled his own clothes off. Their mouths not releasing the kiss
as her shaky fingers traced the muscles across his chest on their way to his
lower stomach.
“Anya, I want to
make love to you,” he murmured against her mouth. She gasped lightly as he continued
to massage her breast. Dante pulled away from her mouth, kissing his way around
her jaw line and down her neck. The taste of her skin sent a rush to his groin,
and he wanted to taste all of her.
Dante found a
nipple and teased it with his tongue until it stood at attention to his touch,
and he blew lightly on the wet tip, causing her to gasp again. Her puckered
nipples were very responsive, and he loved how they sat glistening in the
candlelight from the wetness of his tongue. His gaze traveled over her as her
fingers tickled his short, dark curly hairs before they feathered ever so slightly
over his erection.
Anya’s hand
gingerly encircled him, her fingertips not able to touch. She blushed and
nipped his lip. It had his wolf quivering at its meaning, and he gasped as he
opened his mouth to taste her sweet lips once more.
*
Dante kissed his
way down from her lips until he found her nipple and licked the sensitive
flesh. He nibbled lightly as he slid his fingers into her. Her breathing became
very heavy. Anya shook, she’d never felt such pleasure before being with him,
and she felt as if she were in a dream.
Dante kissed
her slowly all over, and when his mouth found its way to the softness between
her thighs, his tongue teased her slowly. As soon as she squirmed, it slid into
her. The sensation was incredible.
“Oh, my god,” she
breathed and grabbed the sheets with both hands as he worked his tongue slowly past
the soft folds of sensitive flesh and then rubbed it along the hard nub of her
clit.
Dante continued
to go slow and hard, his heated breath tickling her flesh as he tormented her.
He held on to her hips as her body arched, and when she shuddered, he worked her
faster.
“Dante,” she
cried as she shook. Then
a flash of warmth flared inside her and seared
its way up over her body, causing an uncontrollable
wave of
incredible pleasure to rock her body. She’d never wanted anyone more, never
dreamed of how good it would feel to be in her lover’s arms again. Never had
she imagined how delicious it was to feel the void of everything other than the
ecstasy of the orgasm Dante gave her.
When she
finished trembling, Dante slid up over her until he found her lips again. As he
kissed her, she ran her hand along his body, giving him goose bumps. The
largeness of his erection against her inner thigh scared her a bit, and her
heart raced. That first night with him had hurt so badly, but then he’d made it
feel so good.
He lifted his
head and looked her in the eyes as he tried to push into her wetness. It hurt a
little. Anya winced, and he stopped.
“Anya?” he asked
as her hands trembled.
Anya swallowed
hard. She was so embarrassed, her voice sounded shy, and she felt silly. “I’m
still a bit nervous,” she told him.
Dante looked at
her and smiled with bemusement in his eyes as his fingers ran along her heated
cheek. “It’s okay. I’ll be gentle.” He kissed her ever so softly.
The kiss was so
very passionate as he held her face in one hand and his other entwined with her
fingers as he tried to gently push himself into her. Anya let out a small gasp
as he worked himself slowly back and forth, trying to penetrate her a little
more with each movement. It was a tiny bit uncomfortable, and it stung a little
again. Not like their first time. This was much more tolerable, and because he
moved ever so gently into her it quickly faded.
*
He’d never ached
so badly for anyone before. His whole body shivered at the touch, taste and
smell of Anya’s body. Dante kept his movements slow and careful, kissing her
soft full lips tenderly as he tried to push into her. She was such a tiny
little thing that if he wasn’t careful he could hurt her as he had the first
time. The heady smell of her musk caused him to tremble a bit, and the more he
struggled to not just plunge into her the harder it got.
Dante’s
breathing became faster. His back was getting slick with a fine sheen of sweat.
He’d tried so hard to be very gentle, but it was now more than he could bear. He
kissed her harder as he thrust his hips forward, plunging himself completely
into her, and he gasped as the heat of her body covered him. The feeling of
finally being joined with her again was incredible, and he shuddered.
*
His lips crushed
hers, and Anya let out a muffled sob. It was a little more painful than she
thought it should be. But he was a large man and so was his erection.
“Anya, I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Dante told her after he pulled his lips from hers.
“It’s okay,”
Anya said as she looked at him, her tears filling her eyes.
“No, I hurt you.”
He began to pull out of her.
“I’m okay,” she
whispered.
She moved her
hips up, making him fill her again, and she held her breath. The first night had
hurt too, and now she wondered if every time they would mate it would be like that.
Anya pulled his head down to hers and pressed her lips hard against his again,
not wanting the feeling of them joined like this to ever end. The tight
overfilled feeling was soon replaced with one of intense stirrings of pleasure,
and she grabbed a hold of his hips, pulling him closer.
They clasped desperately
to one another, a hum of warmth spread up from Anya’s womb and filled her
entire body. As if he’d sensed her increased excitement, Dante pinned her hands
down beside her and intertwined his fingers with her own. Their bodies moved
together, and his breathing grew very heavy. His grip on her hands tightened as
he thrust harder and faster into her.
“Oh, god,” he
cried as he twitched deep inside her.
Anya’s body
reacted to his, and she trembled again. Her breathing quickened and she curved
her back as she shuddered more with every movement of Dante.
“Oh, Anya.” He
moaned deeply just before his lips crushed against her own. Her eyes slid
closed as her orgasm swept over her, and she became lost in the feeling of her
lover joining her with his own climax.
Dante collapsed
on her, panting deeply for a moment before rolling off her and pulling her
close to his chest. They snuggled in each other’s arms. He gently kissed her
neck and whispered, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She panted. She was still out of breath. She was so peaceful and weary in such
a good way she didn’t want to move. Yet as much as she hated to she had to
leave, return to the house she hated and the man she didn’t want to be forced
to mate.
* * * *
The entire way
home Dante’s mind was on Anya. If she couldn’t convince her brother to let them
be together he would have to do something, something that might start another
feud. Now as he sat in his brother’s home, he and the rest of his family tried
to come up with a plan, a way to ensure he and Anya would be able to be together.
She’d told him
she would tell her brother. Let him know she’d already been claimed, and that
she was in love with him. As he sat with Chris and Beth, he saw the doubt in
their eyes.
“I can’t see it
happening,” Chris said with a scowl.
“Me neither, but
what else can I do?”
“Go take her,
bring her back here where she belongs.” His brother growled.
“You know I can’t
do that.”
“Why the hell
not? Look what they did to our mother,” Chris said, his eyes glowing amber in
the light of the lanterns on the table.
Beth cleared her
throat and both of them looked at her. She had that look on her face that meant
she was a little more than irate. “I agree with Chris,” she said. It left both
Dante and Chris staring at her in disbelief. Beth was not one to stir up that
kind of trouble.
“Anya belongs
here. I really don’t think she wanted to leave in the first place,” Beth
explained.
“But a war,”
Dante said.
“Yes, I know. But
we out number them. We live on an island that is easily defended by the rocky
outcropping in the surrounding waters, and they would be stupid to attack.”
He looked at
Alex and Cora and waited to see what the young man would say. When he didn’t
offer up anything, Dante asked him straight out. “What do you think?”
“Well, I don’t
want to see a war, and I know Anya doesn’t either. But I know my brother. He’ll
never agree to this,” Alex said. “You’ll have to go get her and bring her
back.”
“Do you think he’ll
retaliate?” Chris asked.
“Ah, hell yeah.
He still holds a grudge just as badly as you do.” Alex huffed.
“That needs to
stay in the past,” Beth interjected before Chris could say anything. “This is
about Anya and Dante and no one else.”
“I agree. But
Anya won’t leave without Mitch’s permission,” Dante told them.
“Then steal her,”
Alex said. Dante stared at him, a smile slipping over his little sister’s mate’s
face. “I’ll even help you do it if you want.”
“Really now.”
Dante chuckled. He liked Alex and was so very happy Cora had picked him for a
mate.
“All right, it’s
settled then. We go and kidnap her,” Chris said with a near roar as he stood
abruptly.
“Easy, big guy,”
Beth said, pulling him back down to his chair. “This needs a carefully thought
out plan.”
“Yes, I agree,
but first I want to find out if Mitch will allow it. If not, we’ll need to have
things set to bring her back,” Dante said.
For the following
several hours, they talked about how best to go about their mission to
recapture his mate. The next time Anya was supposed to meet him was at three in
the morning, and he wanted everyone ready if it didn’t turn out the way he hoped.
By the time they’d all agreed to have a hunting party ready and set to head out
if he returned without her, it was nearly time for them to be getting up.
Beth had to get
to bed and so did everyone else. They agreed to meet again for lunch and finish
cementing the plan. As Dante returned to his home loneliness seeped in again.
This was her home, and she should be there with him. Not in one of a virtual
stranger whom she didn’t want to be made to marry. If he had to, Dante would
storm even Craig’s den to bring her back.
Chapter Fourteen
As she passed
the living room to go up stairs, the light came on. Anya wheeled around and saw
Craig sitting in the armchair.
“Where the hell
did you go?”He snarled as he stood.
“I went for a
drive. You said I could use the car when you weren’t.” She stepped back more. If
he got closer, he’d smell Dante all over her.
“At three in the
morning?” he asked as he advanced more. “Where could you possibly need to go at
that hour for so damn long?”
She moved again and
backed into the wall. The need to run grew as she saw his dark eyes nearly
glow, and panic filled her as she knew he’d gotten Dante’s scent. His nostrils flared,
and his eyes went wide. With a fast grab, he gripped her by the arm and yanked
her closer. Craig pinned her up against him and sniffed her face and hair.
A deep, throaty
growl rumbled from his chest, and Anya knew she was in trouble. He tried to be
aggressive, tried to dominate her into backing down. “Let go of me,” she
snapped.
“You were with
someone.” He snarled. “You mated someone else.”
“Yes, and there’s
nothing you can do about it,” she snapped recklessly.
“Really,” he
said in such a deadpan tone she felt fear.
Anya jerked free
from him and turned and raced for the door. The air was sent out of her lungs
as he toppled her to the floor with a hard crash. With a twist, he pinned her,
and she shifted. Her clothes tore away as her body morphed into her wolf form.
Craig had turned as well. They snarled at one another, circling, and Anya held
her tail tight under her body.
He lunged at
her, his teeth biting into her neck as he toppled her over onto her back. With
desperate struggles, she pawed at him, snapping her teeth, trying to get free.
For a brief moment, his let go, and she squirmed to get out from under him.
Then his fangs gripped her throat, holding her in a dominate grip. He was going
to force her submission.
She yelped
loudly as she tried in vain to get away, his teeth digging a little deeper
until she wore herself out in her struggles. When she stopped moving all
together, he released her. The wolf in her had yielded, but the woman had not.
She twisted back up onto her paws and lunged for the stairs. She looked for a
place to escape to as she made the landing. His body slammed into her, knocking
her down. She rolled to get back up, but this time he pinned her with his full
weight.
Her inner wolf
would do nothing to protect her from him now. He’d laid claim to it when she’d lain
still downstairs under him. Her tail went lax, and she if she didn’t morph the
wolf would let him mate her. Anya shifted again, hoping Craig would leave her alone
in this form. He shifted too, but didn’t leave her be.
It was the way
of their kind. Humans would never understand it. Hell, she thought, she didn’t
understand it herself. When their wolf side submitted, the human was forced to
follow. It was a primal instinct, purely animal, and there was nothing their
kind could do to change their base natures. No matter how much the human side
of her didn’t want to be mated to him, her inner wolf overruled her. Craig took
full advantage of that fact.
* * * *
She woke up in
the morning and noticed Craig was still asleep beside her. The man snored
loudly, and the human in her wanted to suffocate him with a pillow. But her
wolf would not allow it, would never willingly let her do anything to harm him.
Such was the way of their beasts, and Anya hated it.
Soon they were
to join as husband and wife, but last night he’d coerced her inner wolf into
being submissive, the wolf in her allowing him to mate with her. Now she was
his, and that thought left her chest sore with grief. Pain and sorrow filled
her. He would never let her go, never allow Dante within a foot of her to be
able to reclaim her. Even though her heart only belonged to Dante, he would
never be hers again.
Anya stood in
the kitchen as she prepared breakfast. It was as if a robot had taken her over.
Everything was done without emotion or desire. As she fried some eggs, an arm
wrap around her waist from behind. Craig nuzzled her ear and then kissed her
cheek. Her human side wanted to slap him. The urge welled up inside, but it was
quelled as her wolf side took over. It forced her not to react negatively to
him and to be complacent with her unwanted mate.
Anya was
thankful when he left to tend to the farm chores, leaving her alone to dwell on
her despair. She sat at the table and simply stared off into space, not knowing
what to do. A horrible void sat within her, and it was cold and dark. The
feeling spread, and in her heart, she truly would rather be dead than live the
rest of her life without Dante.
When Kari called
just before suppertime, Anya broke down in tears. She told her what had
happened, told her what Craig had done. Kari, although sympathetic, also knew
how it worked. If not last night then it would have happened on their wedding
night or later on. Either way Anya was lost to the man she loved. Tomorrow
night she was supposed to meet Dante, but there was no way she would be allowed
to leave. No way her wolf would ever let her willingly go to him now.
* * * *
Dante waited by
the fountain. She should have made it there first. He was becoming anxious. For
the last twenty minutes, there had been no sign of her. Now as he paced back
and forth, he had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t show. She was supposed to tell
Mitch they’d mated, tell him she would not be with Craig. Something had to have
gone wrong.
By the time the
sun started to rise, she still had not shown up. He knew Mitch had refused her.
Now he would have to go to him, demand his mate. But he would not go alone.
Alex would be with him. After all, the young man had given his blessing. It
meant something to their kind, even the alpha would have to take that into
consideration. If not, Cora and Memphis would ensure Anya got out of the house
one way or another.
While they would
be bickering over it, Cora and Memphis would be in place. Cora had snuck in and
out of Alex’s home for over a year without being caught. It was something he
wasn’t sure if he should be proud of or shocked by. How the two had done so
without leaving her scent behind wasn’t explained to him, but it was how they
were going to get Anya.
As he stepped into
Mitch’s home behind Alex, Dante heard a commotion from within. Many voices were
all talking at once, and he could easily hear a woman’s worried voice mingled
in them. They walked into the kitchen and he saw it was packed with Silverback
males. Everyone in the room stopped talking and stared at them. It was easy to
see they were a hunting party, and that had Dante suddenly feeling a little
trapped. But as soon as he saw the near enraged state of Mitch, he knew
something else was wrong.
“What the hell
is he doing here?” Mitch snarled and stepped forward along with his beta.
“Easy. We’re
here to talk. That’s all,” Alex said. “What the hell’s going on?”
“Anya’s gone,
she ran away from Craig’s and no one can find her,” a very pregnant woman
sobbed out.
“Kari, what
happened?” Alex asked.
“This is not for
his ears,” Mitch snapped as he stood in a defensive pose.
“Mitch, he might
be able to help. After all, she’s in love with him,” Kari said.
That earned
Dante an even harder glare, but he stood his ground. His Anya was in some sort
of trouble, and like hell would he step aside without finding out what was
going on.
“Why did she run
away?” Dante asked. He was in a near state of rage himself.
The look on
Mitch’s face hardened. His jaw muscles bulged, and he saw the man was near
ready to kill someone. “Craig…she ran away because of Craig.” He growled.
“Why? What
happened?” Dante asked, his own jaw clenching tightly as he had a sense it was
Craig who Mitch was furious with.
“He forced a
claim on her,” Kari said, looking very distraught.
Dante’s mind
snapped. Images of what those words meant filled his brain. It was more than
either the wolf or man could take. His body trembled in anger. The need to
defend his mate and to avenge her honor filled him. “Where is he? I’m going to
kill him.” He growled.
“We need to find
Anya first. She was so upset. Now we can’t find her anywhere,” Kari told him,
the worry in her words seeped into him. “No one has seen or talked to her since
suppertime.”
That was over
two hours ago, and she could be just about anywhere given that amount of time. “Was
she on foot?” he asked.
“No, she took
Craig’s car, but now no one can find it or Craig either,” Mitch said. “We were
already at the farmhouse and searched all over it for her.”
“Would she go to
friends, another relative, maybe somebody from another pack?” he asked.
“No, we checked
with everyone she knows. We thought she may have gone to Temple Island,” Mitch
said, his voice faltering a little.
“She didn’t. I swear
to god she didn’t,” Alex put in.
“Where have you
looked?” Dante asked.
If she wasn’t
with any of her friends and not on the island, he had a hunch as to where to
find her. She’d told him her favorite place to go, and that she’d never revealed
it to anyone else. It was the spot she liked to go and think, to get away from everyone,
and it would make sense that she would go there now.
As the rest of
the Silverbacks explained where they had searched, he learned the one place
they hadn’t was Maiden’s Bluff. “I think I know where she went,” he told them. Though,
he had a bad feeling as they headed out of the house. Dante stepped outside and
whistled a high-pitch call to Cora and Memphis. The two came slinking from
around the back of the house, smelling to the high heaven of pine trees.
After explaining
to them both what was going on, Cora stayed behind with Kari and the rest left
to go find Anya. A dire need to find her washed over Dante. The fear and worry was
more than he’d ever felt in his life.