Grayslake: Furrever Yours (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

Heather turned to run, but then she saw that Sasha was getting the best of Olive. She grabbed a thick stick from the ground and ran back. As Sasha lunged for Olive’s throat, Heather brought the stick down on Sasha’s snout as hard as she could.

Sasha reared back, her jaws bloodied, and let out a rumbling snarl. Olive latched on to Sasha’s leg with her jaws, and Sasha yelped and twisted around to bite Olive hard. Heather screamed when she saw the blood flowing from Olive’s flank, and she hit Sasha again, so hard that the shock vibrated up the stick and hurt her hands.

Then a giant wolf barreled into the fray and tore an enormous strip of flesh from Sasha’s side. Sasha went flying, sending a spray of red blood everywhere.

Olive’s wolf lay on the ground, whimpering, blood matting her gray fur.

Knox quickly shifted back to human form, and Sasha did too.

“I didn’t break any laws! You haven’t claimed her yet! You can’t hurt me!” she wailed.

“You bitch, you attacked the woman I plan to claim. I’m not going to hurt you.” Sasha’s face lit up with hope. “I’m going to kill you. And I’m going to claim Heather as my mate.”

Sasha shifted back into wolf form in mere seconds, and ran for her life.

Knox knelt down and scooped Olive up in his arms.

“She won’t get far,” he growled. “Heather, you okay?”

“I’m fine. Olive. I don’t know anything about werewolf medicine. What do we do for her? Take her to the hospital?”

“No, our healer will take care of it. She’s a tough old bird. She’ll be fine.” Heather could hear the worry in his voice, though. Olive, still in wolf form, managed a wink, although the blood was flowing freely and splattering on the ground.

They ran back to the house at full speed.

“How did you know where to find me?” Heather panted as they ran up the front steps.

“I had a bad feeling that you’d be in danger, so I came home,” Knox said. “Fated mates have that kind of intuition about each other.”

The pack crowded around them, uttering cries of dismay. Knox growled orders, and issued a command that Sasha’s family was to be evicted from their property and banished from the county. Sasha was to be taken into custody; he’d deal with her personally.

“She’ll be fine,” the pack healer, Orson, assured them as he stood over Olive. She was now in human form, tucked into bed. “Just give me a little time with her. And we all need to make sure that she doesn’t get out of bed for at least the next week. You know what a stubborn old…uh…person, she is.”

“I’ll old
you
. Bite my furry ass,” Olive murmured faintly.

“Yep, she’s fine,” Knox said with a relieved grin.

Then he grabbed Heather by the arm and led her out of the room.

“No more delays,” he said. “I need to protect you. You’re my woman. I love you. I want to father your cubs and have you by my side forever. Do you feel the same?”

“Oh, yes,” she breathed, feeling her heart grow bigger in her chest. “From the first minute I met you. Except I didn’t know our children would be called cubs.”

He stalked to the end of the hallway and stuck his head through the door, yelling into the living room.

“Listen!” he called out to the assembled pack. “Anyone who comes upstairs to my room before tomorrow morning dies. No exceptions.”

Well, that was embarrassing. Now everybody knew what they’d be doing.

And yet, when she thought about what was going to happen in just a minute, she forgot about the rest of the pack, forgot about everything except Knox, her lover, her mate…

He all but dragged her up the stairs to his room. Not that she needed a lot of dragging – just the thought of finally having his impressive cock inside her, of being claimed as his forever and maybe making a start on a cub or two, had her creaming her panties. She felt like she was burning up from the inside out.

Judging from the way he started to shed his clothes as soon as the door closed behind them, and the magnificent bulge straining the front of his fly, he was just as ready as she was.

He quickly lost patience with his shirt and just yanked at the fabric. The buttons scattered, bouncing on the carpet, and he stripped the garment over his arms, balled it up and tossed it over his shoulder. Heather’s blouse would have met a similar fate, but she danced backwards away from him as she unbuttoned it. They weren’t animals, after all. Well…
she
wasn’t. The predatory look in his eyes reminded her that, law man or not, Knox was as wild as they came.

By the time she’d struggled out of her shirt and bra, Knox had already stripped off his jeans and underwear, kicked off his shoes, and was stalking towards her with an intent, determined look on his handsome face.

Butterflies danced in her belly, partly from nerves, but mostly from anticipation and a building sexual excitement that made her feel as if she might jump out of her skin. She could feel a blush spreading over her cheeks and down her throat, creeping over her décolletage. As she skimmed her pants over her thighs and discarded the tangle of denim and panties, she could feel his gaze running over her body, caressing her skin and worshipping her curves.

He pulled her into his arms and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down so she could kiss him, pouring into it every ounce of passion she felt. His hands were everywhere, touching and tempting. He ran his fingers down her spine, making her shiver, caressed her plump backside. Then he dipped her back, pressing the hot length of his body against her and making her head swim and her heart skip a beat.

He scooped her up in his arms, lifting her with easy grace, and strode towards the bed, where he dropped her into the middle of the mattress. She bounced, and he clambered in beside her, rolling on top of her and covering her with his body.

He hitched her leg up against his hip so his erection was pressing against her mound, and she felt a liquid melting sensation low in her body as he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss. He worked his pelvis against her in an insistent writhing motion, sending sensation sizzling through her lower body, sparks flying to her erect nipples. She felt hot, almost feverish, and she writhed beneath him, inviting him to push inside her, burn her, brand her as his own.

But instead Knox rolled onto his back, pulling her with him, arranging her limbs so she was straddling him, her palms resting on his warm, broad chest. He reached down with one hand and positioned the head of his cock at her slick entrance, stroking it back and forth, spreading the slickness of her excitement and the stickiness of his pre-cum. It was an erotic torture, a tempting taste of things to come, and she moaned and squirmed on top of him, willing him to push inside her.

And then he did. Despite her excitement, he had to press his cock into her inch by slow inch, allowing her to accustom herself to his size. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relish the sensation of being filled by him, possessed by him…owned by him.

When he was fully inside her, she circled her hips, exploring the sensation of his satin-over-steel shaft seated snugly inside her. It felt glorious. She braced herself against his chest with her hands, and drew back, sliding off him until he was barely inside her at all, then sinking back down until they were pressed together so tightly she felt as if they were a single being. He groaned, and she felt it deep within her.

Then she began to move in earnest, rising and falling, rising and falling, and she was swept away by the moment. Her sense of self flew away, and all she knew was the pressure of his fingers on her hips, on her waist, the feeling of fullness, the desperate drive towards completion.

She rode him with a kind of blind desperation, seeking not just orgasm but a true melding of souls, and when she started to tilt towards orgasm, despite the intensity of the sensations radiating through her body, she felt a pang in her heart, a lack of fulfillment.

Knox thrust up towards her, countering each shimmy of her hips, meeting her stroke for stroke. He reached up and took her full breasts in his hands, squeezing her creamy flesh between her fingers, pinching and teasing the pink, pert nipples. She mewled.

She lay against his firm chest, rocking against him, burying her face against his warm golden flesh as she sought her orgasm…which flashed into fire and roared through her, searing everything in its path and setting every nerve ending aglow.

Before she’d had the chance to catch her breath, Knox flipped her over onto her belly. Then his masterful hands on her hips drew her back so she was on all fours, presenting herself to him. She should have felt self-conscious about how open she was to him, how vulnerable – the wet pink folds of her pussy vulnerable to his gaze. But all she knew was a driving desire to feel him inside her again.

This time he thrust into her hard, seating himself in her to the hilt without hesitation. She cried out not just from the feeling, but because of how right it felt.

Knox braced his arms on either side of her. His body was a warm weight against her spine. His labored breath was hot against the nape of her neck. And he began to move inside her.

His strokes were smooth and steady at first. He slid inside her and withdrew again, steady and controlled. He whispered endearments in her ear. He was making love to her. She wanted him to fuck her. She wanted him to be wild for her.

She arched up towards him and she clenched her internal muscles, locking herself tight around him, and he groaned. Her wordless whimper in response was all she could give him – the way they moved together was the single, thrilling center of her being.

He nuzzled the frizz of her hair at her nape, then freed a hand for a moment to smooth it away from one side of her neck. He held it in a kind of loose ponytail and, as he pistoned his cock in and out of her greedy body, he wrapped the ponytail around his fist, wrenched her head to the side and sank his teeth into her neck.

There was a flash of pain and the bright, coppery smell of blood, and Heather spasmed around him. Pleasure swept everything else aside. She felt charged with electricity, but drained, as if her limbs were not her own. She flashed back to the love bite she’d left on Knox’s neck – a symbol that he was hers, and only hers. And she realized that with this bite, he was claiming her. Making her his, forever. It felt…right.

Heather sincerely hated having to lie to Knox, especially right after he had claimed her, but she had to go check on Margaret. Eugene had arrived in town that day, and Knox was visiting the Redby pack to try to keep him pacified, for now.

And she’d had to rope Olive and Janet into the scheme, which was even worse, but as soon as Janet heard that a teenaged girl was in danger, she insisted on helping.

Now Heather was with Olive in the kitchen. Olive was still a little pale, but she’d walked down the hallway without so much as a limp.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked Olive as she helped her lie down on the kitchen floor.

“What do I look like, a piece of fine china?” Olive groused. “Everyone needs to stop worrying about me. You go help that girl. Now scoot, you’ve got ten seconds.”

Heather was wearing Janet’s scarf and housecoat and her big black sunglasses. She had the keys to Janet’s car. Janet was at the barn with her husband, so if Knox asked her, she could claim she had no idea what was happening. Plausible deniability.

As Heather hurried out the back door, she heard Olive yell, “Help, I fell down! I’m in the kitchen, help me, I can’t get up! I’m on the floor! What’s taking so long? I’m a weak little old lady, doesn’t anybody care?”

Immediately she heard shouts and footsteps thudding towards the kitchen.

Weak little old lady my butt, Heather thought.
But that would distract everybody who was in the house long enough for Heather to get off the property.

She slid into Janet’s car and drove off quickly. As she headed out of the county, she kept checking carefully behind her to make sure that nobody was following her. As far as she could tell, she was free and clear. Her hope was that nobody would follow her, since she was driving someone else’s car and was semi-disguised.

Heather loved to hike, and she’d discovered some old caves during one of her jaunts into a thickly forested area of Grayslake. She’d had Margaret hide there.

She pulled up and parked on the narrow dirt road that ran through the woods near the cave, climbed out, and grabbed the bag of groceries she’d packed for Margaret. Then she dashed towards the cave, checking around her as she ran. She had her .38 with her, but she also knew it would be basically useless against any of the people who might be chasing her.

“Heather! Are you alone? Where’s Olive?” Margaret stepped out from behind an oak tree.

“She had a little accident, but she’s okay,” Heather said. “She kept everyone distracted so I could sneak out.”

She handed Margaret the bag of groceries.

“Have you made any progress?” Margaret asked. “Olive told me that Kevin and my father have been saying lots of lies about me. I never stole anything from anyone. You believe me, don’t you?”

“Of course I believe you,” Heather reassured her. “I met your father. He came to the hospital with your picture, looking for you. He was every bit as horrible as you said.”

“Did he hurt you?” Margaret’s eyes widened with alarm.

“No, Knox chased him off. He’s like all bullies; total coward when he comes up against somebody he can’t push around.”

“And they really said I got hurt because I was drunk and started a fight? I don’t drink alcohol; I’m only fourteen.”

“Fourteen!” Heather was scandalized. “Seriously, that is just sick that they’re trying to marry you off like that. How old is Kevin?”

“Really old. Thirty.” Margaret made a face. “Gross, right?”

“For a fourteen-year-old, hell yes. I mean, heck yes?”

At that, Margaret laughed. “I’m fourteen, not four,” she said.

Then she stiffened. “I hear something,” she said. “Another car. It’s about a quarter mile away. Coming fast.”

Heather felt a stab of alarm. This area was pretty remote. The odds of somebody else just casually driving by in the middle of the day were slim.

“Let’s get in my car and get out of here, then, just in case,” Heather said.

They ran and jumped into Janet’s car, and drove off as quickly as possible. They reached a red light, made a quick right, and dodged through several streets before they ended up on a main road.

“That should do it,” Heather said. “Just watch behind us.”

A few minutes later, Margaret glanced in the rearview mirror and said, “There’s a car following us.”

Heather drove as fast as she could, blasting through red lights when there was no other traffic, quickly dodging down side roads. Every time she thought she’d lost them, they were right on her tail again.

“How are they doing that?” Heather groaned. “I’ve lost them like ten times now, and then they find me again. Could they be tracking me somehow? They can’t be tracking the car – it isn’t even my car.”

“What about your purse?” Margaret asked. She began scrabbling through Heather’s purse. She came up with a small black square that was blinking red.

“GPS tracking device! Throw it out the window!” Heather said.

Margaret hurled it out the window into the woods, and then Heather sped up again, driving at a breakneck pace and running stop signs until they finally lost them.

Twenty minutes later, she drove onto Knox’s property.

Margaret stiffened up as they drove down the long dirt driveway.

“This is pack property. I smell wolf. Why are we here?” she demanded.

“Margaret, Knox is a very decent man, and also, he has claimed me. I will not let anything happen to you, and he will not let anything happen to me. I don’t know where else to hide you. This is the safest place for you right now.”

Margaret’s fearful expression said that she was far from convinced, but she reluctantly followed Heather up to the main house, clinging to her arm.

Knox was on the front porch, waiting. “Why did you leave without telling me?”

“I’m sorry, Knox, but I did what I had to do,” Heather said. “I cannot let those people have her. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to have to choose whether or not to tell the Southeast Alpha.”

She and Margaret followed him inside the house, where most of the pack had gathered.

“And by the way, somebody put a tracking device in my purse,” Heather informed him. “And there were people using it to follow me.”

“Probably Sasha or someone in her family,” Clarence said. “I thought I picked up a fresh scent from Peter in the house this morning, and we’ve heard that the family has joined Eugene’s pack.”

Knox’s lip curled in disgust. “Either way, this ends today,” he said. “Both the Southeast and Northeast Alpha are on their way here.”

Margaret let out a low moan of fear, and shrank up against Heather.