“Who challenges for Ellie?”
She held her breath as Rica stepped forward. The crowd of men had thinned to four, and those remaining shuffled their feet. Two blended back into the larger group, but the other two stepped forward. The taller one spoke. “We challenge for the outsider.”
There was a definite growl in Rica’s voice. “I challenge for Ellie.”
The shorter, stocky man stepped up to Rica. He inclined his head, sending long strands of dark-blond waving around his face. “I will begin the challenge.”
Viggo nodded, raising his voice. “Vitoro and Tristin challenge Rica for Ellie. Vitoro will fight first.”
Ellie didn’t think Vitoro could beat Rica, but she wondered what would happen to his position of Alpha if someone did defeat him. Would they take over leadership of the Pack too? She bit her lip, watching the two men circle each other after they transformed.
Rica made the first attack. He made a low leap at his opponent, catching Vitoro’s front paws and knocking him to the ground. The other man howled his anger, but he wasn’t hurt. He was quick to regain his feet. Even as he appeared to be steadying himself, he leapt at Rica. Vitoro’s teeth ripped into Rica’s side, but he didn’t make a sound.
He backed away and watched Vitoro with a wary stance. His attention was focused on Vitoro, who feinted forward, but didn’t actually attack. Ellie’s eyes remained glued to the battle, until she saw movement with her peripheral vision. She turned her head in time to see Tristin morph to wolf-form and leap. She called out a warning, and Rica’s head snapped in her direction, instead of Tristin’s.
He yelped when the other man landed on his back, as Vitoro darted forward to join the attack. Ellie found her feet carrying her toward the men, and she intended to throw herself into the fracas. Viggo caught her around the waist. She glared up at him. “Stop this. It isn’t fair.”
“It is, Ellie. It isn’t an honorable way to fight, but it’s accepted. If your man is strong enough, he will defeat them.”
Her glare intensified. “What happens if they defeat Rica? Will they get leadership of the Pack as well?”
He nodded.
She wrenched free of his hold, but forced her feet to stay in place as Rica battled his opponents. She heard a long, low cry of pain and held her breath. Seconds later, the brownish wolf limped away, dragging his rear leg. A few steps from the ring, he collapsed and returned to his human form.
She felt a stir of hope when the match was once again fair. The hope fled when she caught sight of Rica. Blood smeared his coat, and he seemed to be moving with effort, while Vitoro’s feints were still lithe and full of energy. He was faster than Rica too, darting in and out to nip at him.
Ellie clasped her hands together as Rica’s muscles bunched. He crouched low to the ground, and his sides heaved. She couldn’t tell if he were about to collapse or attack. As Vitoro lunged forward, Rica moved with a burst of energy. He blocked the other man’s assault, using his greater size to propel Vitoro back and pin him to the ground. His teeth clamped over Victor’s throat, without penetrating the skin.
Viggo walked over to them. “Do you yield, Vitoro?”
Vitoro gave a barely perceptible nod. Rica withdrew and transformed into his man form. A cry of shock escaped Ellie when she saw the wounds marring his body. She wanted to run to him, but knew how important it was to follow the ceremony. She retraced her steps to take her post in front of Golatia, while watching him through the veil of her lashes.
He moved slowly, with a visible limp. There was blood smeared across his body, and he swiped a heavy patch from his chest without care as he stopped in front of her. The air sizzled around him, and when Ellie met his gaze, she forgot how to breathe. Primal feelings stirred in her. She had to resist the urge to throw back her head and howl at the tumescent moon. She blinked, wondering where the compulsion came from.
She stood before him, trembling under his hot gaze, not from the coldness of the snow she stood on, nor the chill wind cutting through the clearing. Ellie bowed her head, as her instincts told her to submit. When Rica briefly caressed her shoulder before dropping his hand, she shivered at the contact.
Viggo came to his brother’s side, and Golatia stepped forward. “Will you give this union your blessing, Guardian?”
Golatia nodded her consent before stepping behind Ellie.
He turned his gaze on her. “Will you accept Rica as your mate?”
Now was the time to let reason reassert itself. She should give a resounding no as her answer and walk away, before the culture of the Pack absorbed her. Ellie raised her head to give her response. Rather than the strong negative reply she knew she
should
give, she whispered, “I will.”
She was in his arms in the blink of an eye. Ellie looked up to meet his gaze. The heat in his blue eyes made her burn. It was so intense, she felt a trace of fear. His mouth descending on hers washed away any emotion but desire. She opened her mouth as Rica’s tongue swept inside. Whether or not she had yielded, he would have branded her with his kiss. She recognized that on an instinctive level. Rather than stir her feminine ire, the notion stoked her desire.
She was vaguely aware of him moving her into the center of the circle, but tried to block out the presence of the others. It was only she and Rica, sharing this night under the moon. Gradually, her awareness of the others faded completely, as she got lost in his kisses.
His mouth traced a hot line from her lips to the column of her throat. He nuzzled at the bend of her neck, inhaling her scent. Ellie clung to him, unable to stand on shaking legs. Rica must have realized she had lost her strength, because he lifted her against him, supporting her as his nose moved lower, to nestle between her breasts. She threw back her head and buried her fingers in his hair as he inhaled her scent.
“Rica,” she said with a moan when he lifted her higher and moved his mouth to take possession of her nipple. His tongue was hot and urgent as it laved the beaded peak. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed his head against her, urging him to take more. She closed her eyes and whimpered.
He responded to the invitation by nipping the tingling bud. The slight wrench of pain heightened her pleasure when he cupped her other breast in his hand. He rolled the nipple between his fingers, tugging in a rhythm simpatico to his suckling. Ellie arched her pussy against his stomach, aching for more. She couldn’t remember ever being so turned on so quickly. All she wanted was for Rica to bury his cock inside her and claim her as his.
Her arms tightened around his neck as he lowered her to the ground. She tensed, anticipating contact with the snow. Instead, her back encountered soft fur. Someone had thoughtfully laid down a robe while she had been immersed in Rica’s touch. Her eyes snapped open with the reminder. It took a moment for those surrounding the fire to come into focus. When her eyes adjusted, she saw the Pack watching them.
What she glimpsed in those few moments surprised her. She might have expected anger from some, and there was that in Belia and Istal’s eyes. She certainly would have expected to feel as though they were gaping at her, but most of the expressions bordered on solemn. They were the same expressions one might see at a wedding or funeral. The consummation was about more than sex for most of the Pack. Only a few of the young men and women showed signs of arousal.
Was she depraved for not being able to regard making love with Rica in a holy light? Her body clamored for his possession. All the eyes on her served to increase her ardor, rather than diminish it. She couldn’t think about the solemnity of the ceremony with Rica’s mouth feasting on her breast. Was it the same for all the brides, or was it because she was an outsider?
Rica distracted her from her thoughts when his fingers plunged inside her. Ellie winced. Her pussy was tight from having gone without a lover for several months, although she had gotten an injection on a regular basis, out of habit. She briefly wondered if the Depo-Provera shot she had taken three months ago would still guard against pregnancy, but then his thrusting finger washed away practicality.
Ellie arched her hips as Rica brought another finger inside her. He plunged both into her pussy as far as they would go, giving her a deliciously achy sensation of fulfillment. He encountered no resistance. Her body was slick and welcoming, without the residual muscle tightening. She couldn’t wait any longer.
“Rica,” she managed to say again, with a gasp. She wondered at her inability to speak her mind. Was it another effect of the primitive atmosphere lingering in the air? All she seemed capable of doing was grunting and moaning.
The sound of his heavy breathing swayed her thoughts. Ellie parted her thighs further, as Rica settled between them. The soft hair on his legs chafed her thighs when she wrapped her legs around him. His fingers withdrew from inside her to open her lips. She cried out with pleasure when Rica’s cock surged inside her. He filled her to her limits. Still, she arched her hips, struggling to take in more of him, although she had his full length already.
His fingers moved to caress her clit as he withdrew and thrust into her again. Ellie moaned when her tight muscles loosened even further, allowing more of his cock to fill her. She tightened her thighs around him and returned his thrusts as best she could. He didn’t break rhythm as he thrust in and out of her, while caressing her clit. She didn’t need the extra stimulation, but she couldn’t find her voice to tell him his cock driving into her was enough.
It was almost painful to have him stroking her clit while his cock plunged into her, but the line between pleasure and pain was too fine to allow her to separate the emotions. Ellie dug her nails into Rica’s back as he surged inside her with a hard thrust. Her pussy spasmed around him, and his cock reciprocated. An orgasm washed through her as his fluid pumped into her. Her supersensitive clit recoiled from his stroking fingers, and he withdrew them.
She pressed closer to Rica, milking his cock for the last bit of his satisfaction. Her heart raced in her ears, and a cry burst from her. It sounded eerily like a howl, and the members standing around the circle echoed her. It was a shocking reminder of their presence, but not an intrusive one. Somehow, it felt right to lie with Rica in front of them, to not hide their passion from the Pack.
She briefly wondered why civilized marriage ceremonies didn’t conclude this way, but couldn’t imagine her straight-laced parents consummating their marriage in such a fashion. She didn’t think any of the people she knew in her real life could give in so uninhibitedly to their desires in front of strangers. She wondered at her own ability to lose control as Rica stood up and lifted her into his arms.
She decided to save the analysis for later. Right now, she owed it to herself and all those who would read her study of the Pack someday to immerse herself in the ceremony. She snuggled against Rica, but made no move to hide her nakedness. She felt him wince and raised her head. Lines of pain grooved his face, and she wondered where he had found the stamina to mate with her when he was obviously in a lot of pain.
She tried to withdraw from his arms, to ease his pain, but his hold only tightened. Ellie ceased trying to pull away. She turned her head when she felt someone draping something over her shoulders. She smiled at Golatia as the older woman wrapped her parka around her.
“Welcome to the Pack,” Golatia said with a twinkle in her eyes.
Chapter 8
Ellie didn’t remember the trip back to Rica’s house. Although in pain, he had carried and tucked her into his large bed. She remembered him brushing a kiss on her cheek before covering her with a warm quilt, but she didn’t recall if he had come to bed then or not, since she had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as her eyes closed.
When she opened her eyes early the next morning, she turned her head and saw Rica lying beside her. His eyes were wide open and watching her. She licked dry lips, feeling shy. Her gaze darted around the room, and she heard inane chatter pour from her. “The carvings on the footboard are marvelous.” She studied the intricate swirls that formed an abstract design as if the answers to life were in the wood.
His hand on her chin brought her back to face him. “Thank you.”
She forced herself to look at him. She wanted to cringe with embarrassment when she remembered how they had made love with such abandon in front of the Pack. There wasn’t a trace of shame in his gaze. Her eyes dipped lower, and she noticed the gash on his shoulder had healed. Her hand insisted on touching the place, finding it baby-smooth. “How is this possible?”
“I transformed after I brought you to bed. My body was on its way to healing by then, and the process sped up with turning into a wolf.” Rica shrugged. “Maybe it’s because when we transform, our molecules get rearranged. Our natural state reasserts itself.”
“So you can heal from anything?” Why were they discussing this when he was so close, and his warm hand was trailing up her thigh under the blanket?
He shrugged again. “Almost anything, I guess. If I were seriously injured, I probably wouldn’t have the strength to change until I began healing.”
“Oh.” Her response turned more to a moan when Rica’s hand brushed against her pussy before moving onto her stomach. He pressed his palm against her skin, and the heat he transferred to her seeped directly into her womb. She shifted impatiently, earning a low chuckle.