Ice Claimed

Ice Claimed

Marisa
Chenery

Book five in the Werewolf Sentinels series.

Finding his mate is something Durlach has longed for, but
being in his wolf form at the time throws things off—including his mate, who
just happened to be on the back of the horse Durlach spooked. Not a ladies’ man
by any means, his challenge is coming up with a plausible way to meet her in
his human form and sweep her off her feet.

Meadow is surprised by how tame the wolf is and realizes he
must be a domesticated pet. And when his hunky master comes looking for him,
she has sexy visions of taming
him
too. Little does she know the secrets
he’s keeping.

As Durlach tries to ease his mate into his world, seducing
her bit by bit, the dark wolves take steps to become more of a threat. Not only
are werewolves in their line of sight, but so are the mortals who live amongst
them.

A
Romantica®
paranormal erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Ice Claimed

Marisa Chenery

Chapter One

Durlach stepped out onto the back deck and dragged in a deep
breath of the early-summer air. His dire wolf quickly rose to the surface,
causing him to itch to go out on a run. It was something that happened more
often than not. Unlike the rest of the sentinels, his wolf was closer to the
surface, always waiting for the opportunity to be let loose. Because of that he
tended to take on his animal form frequently and went for runs in the acres of
trees that were part of the property he owned with his wolf brothers.

Walking down the steps that led to the lawn, Durlach took
another deep breath. It had been two years since his alpha’s mate, Cassidy, had
found him along with Edensaw, Wachei, Ketah, Kajakti and Capac sleeping in an
ice cave on a glacier in Alaska. The tribe’s shaman had put them there to wait
for the time when the dark wolves would rise. He’d also been the one to turn
them into the very first werewolves.

He headed straight to where the trees met the grass. He had
adjusted to his new, modern life in Juneau, but there was still a part of him
that longed for the past when he’d only been an ice age hunter.

Durlach reached for the spark of magic deep inside him and
took on his dire wolf form. He headed off into the trees at an easy, loping
stride. Once the house disappeared behind him, he ran faster. The usual rush he
got when out on a run surged through him.

At the edge of the property that bordered with their
neighbor’s, Durlach didn’t stop and turn around as he usually did. This time he
continued on. He didn’t know who lived beside them, neither he nor his wolf
brothers had taken the time to seek them out and make introductions. They kept
to themselves, finding it easier that way. Any mortal friends they were to make
would eventually realize he and the others never aged. And the secret of them
being immortal werewolves had to be kept.

He raced out of the brush and onto a trail that had been cut
through it. Durlach didn’t realize there was a woman on horseback on it until
it was too late. In his dire wolf form he spooked the horse, which caused the
animal to rear as its eyes rolled wildly. The woman ended up being thrown,
landing on her back where she lay, stunned. Her mount let out a neigh and made
a run for it.

Concerned that his presence might have caused her to be
hurt, Durlach slowly approached her, staying in his dire wolf form. Just before
he reached her, her scent filled his nose and he stumbled as his mating urge
kicked in. Now completely focused on the mortal woman who was to be his, he
padded closer, his whole body totally aware of her.

* * * * *

Meadow hadn’t been able to pass up the opportunity to go out
for a horseback ride. The day was just too nice. As an archeologist who
specialized in ice age Tlingit artifacts, she’d recently finished a dig and had
earned some much-needed time off. So she planned to make the most of it. It had
been a while since she’d been able to go out riding on her property. Her bay
mare Dancer had been just as eager as she to hit one of the trails through the
trees.

Only fifteen minutes in and her relaxing afternoon went
south in a real hurry. A large wolf appeared to come out of the trees from
nowhere, which spooked Dancer. Her mare reared, tossing Meadow from the saddle
to land, hard, on her back. All the air rushed out of her lungs in a
whoosh
.
Of course her horse didn’t stick around after that.

Trying to catch her breath, Meadow grew very still as she
watched the wolf slowly walk toward her. It didn’t appear to show any signs of
aggression, but that didn’t stop her heart from almost beating out of her
chest. There was no telling if his calm demeanor would change at any second,
though.

She studied the wolf as it came closer and sucked in a
breath. It couldn’t be possible since the animal had been extinct for thousands
of years, but Meadow swore it was a black dire wolf she stared at. It
definitely wasn’t a native timber wolf, not with its shorter legs, larger head,
longer and sharper teeth and stockier build.

Meadow clamped her mouth shut to keep back a small whimper
that threatened to bubble out of her when the wolf came to a stop at her side.
It sniffed the air around her, then did something totally unexpected—it
head-butted her chin until she reached up and scratched behind its ear.

Her fear slowly slipped away the longer she petted the wolf,
and it seemed to enjoy the attention, leaning against her to give her better
access. The entire situation was surreal. Here she was, lying in the middle of
a trail, having a very close encounter with a wild animal that appeared quite
happy to have her run her hands along its fur.

After a full minute, Meadow said in a soft and even tone, “I
think that’s enough. I need to get up and see where my horse took off to.”

As if he understood her—the wolf was definitely a male
because she looked—he backed away a bit to give her some room. Meadow stood and
brushed the grass and leaves from her clothes wherever she could reach as she
stared down at him. It didn’t look as if he wanted to leave any time soon. In
fact, he sat on his haunches and gazed up at her as if asking what they would
do next.

Meadow shook her head as a smile spread along her lips.
“You’re welcome to come with me, but keep some distance until I can catch
Dancer. I don’t need you spooking her all the way back to the stable. I still
want to do some more trail riding.”

The wolf lifted his head, then let it down in what looked to
be a nod. Meadow chuckled. Either she was seeing more into his actions or he
was a lot smarter than most of his kind.

He walked at her side in the direction Meadow thought Dancer
had gone. Every once in a while he’d brush up against her leg as if to give her
a reminder that he was still with her. Once her mare came into view—calmly
nibbling on some grass—he stopped, allowing her to approach the horse by
herself. She shook her head over his show of intelligence.

With careful steps, Meadow walked toward Dancer. Luckily the
wind blew downwind of them so her mare hadn’t scented the wolf yet. Her horse
lifted her head and looked at her as she munched on a mouthful of grass and
blew a puff of air out of her nose. Meadow quickly snatched up the dangling
reins and patted Dancer on her neck, telling her how good she was.

She walked her mare over to the wolf. Dancer pranced in
place, acting as if she wanted to bolt once more, but Meadow held tight to the
reins.

“It’s all right,” she said in a soothing tone as she stroked
the horse’s nose. “He’s friendly, which has me thinking he’s really not a wild
wolf. He could be one of those hybrids that are half dog. He could be someone’s
pet and that’s why he’s used to being around humans. Anyway, he wants to hang
out with us so you have to get over your fear just as I did. Think of him as a
big, old friendly dog.” The wolf sneezed, the sound sounding very much like a
snort. Meadow laughed. “I guess he doesn’t like to be called that.”

With some persuading, Meadow managed to get Dancer to lower
her head enough to sniff the hybrid. Meadow even petted him for good measure.
Once her mare no longer tried to shy away from him, she climbed into the saddle
and continued on her trail ride. The hybrid fell in step beside Dancer as if it
were the most natural thing in the world to do.

Durlach matched the pace the horse set. He looked up at his
mate. He wanted to shift to his human form and take her into his arms, kiss her
with all the longing that fired his blood. But if he were to do that he’d
really scare her. Instead, he settled for reading her thoughts to learn what
her name was and any other information he could get about her. It was one of
the gifts his old shaman had given Durlach and his wolf brothers with the turn.

It surprised him to learn what Meadow did for a living, but
made sense that she would have an interest in the life he’d once led. Finding
out she was indeed his neighbor, Durlach wanted to kick himself for not
investigating the property that bordered on theirs earlier. He could have found
her a lot sooner than this.

The important thing was that he had. Now he had to figure
out how he could meet her in his human form. He couldn’t keep seeing her as a
dire wolf, eventually he had to be with her as a man. But today wasn’t going to
be that day. Meadow had already been through one fright when he’d spooked her
horse and she’d taken a fall.

Durlach stayed with her for the rest of her ride and even
followed her back to her place. Once Meadow had put her horse into a stall at
the stable, she gave him one last pat, then a little wave before she headed
inside the house.

He swung around and took off at a run back to the bush. Once
he was deep inside the trees, and no longer had to worry about Meadow seeing
him, Durlach shifted to his human form. Some of the tension left his body.
While a dire wolf, his mating urge rode him harder, his animal instincts
pushing for him to claim his mate.

Durlach continued walking toward home, his thoughts full of
Meadow. His cock grew hard just thinking about her. If he’d met her as a man,
he would have at least been able to set up a date to see her again.

Different scenarios of how he wanted Meadow to meet the
other him playing through his mind, Durlach stepped out of the trees and onto
the lawn of the backyard. It took him a few seconds to realize someone called
his name.

“Durlach,” Carson said as he walked across the grass toward
him. “What’s up?”

Once his wolf brother stood in front of him, Durlach
replied, “Not too much.”

“Doesn’t look like it. I had to call your name three times
before you heard me. Something has you distracted.”

“Maybe a little.” Durlach smiled. “I found her. I found my
mate.”

“Damn, not you too? You’re my main bro. I figured you and I
would have more time to hang out together without a mate interfering.”

“You’ll still be my BFF.”

Carson shook his head and laughed. “A dude does not call
another dude a BFF. Only women do that.”

Durlach, thanks to Carson, had learned most of the modern
sayings but he sometimes still mixed them up. He shrugged. “You know what I
mean.”

“Yes, I do.” His wolf brother reined in his laughter. “Just
don’t call me that out in public.”

“I won’t. You do realize that one day you’ll find your mate
as well.”

Carson snorted. “Hey, I’m not over ten thousand years old,
nor did I have an ancient shaman promise me I’d find one. As far as I’m
concerned, I’m quite happy being unmated. I don’t think I’m ready for that kind
of commitment with the fairer sex.”

“Maybe not, but it isn’t as if you’ll have much choice in
the matter once you find the woman meant to be yours. The mating urge won’t
allow you to do anything else but claim her.”

“Still, I won’t complain if it doesn’t happen until years
from now. Even ten years would be fine. So what’s this mate of yours like? Did
you just meet her now?”

“Her name is Meadow and she happens to be one of our
neighbors. I met her out on one of the trails on her property. She was
horseback riding.”

“That’s where you were coming from. I guess you have a hot
date set up for tonight?”

Durlach shook his head. “No, not tonight. I haven’t asked
her out on one yet.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I happened to be in my dire wolf form when I met her
on the trail. I spooked her horse and she was thrown. And when Meadow set off
my mating urge, I kind of got lost in the moment and approached her without
thinking.”

“Oh man. So she only knows you as a wolf.”

“Actually, she thinks I’m someone’s hybrid since I was so
tame and friendly. I stayed with her until she finished her ride and followed
her home.”

Carson laughed once more. “You’d better not let my sister
hear about that one or Eryn will call you Dog as she does Kajakti. I think it’s
hilarious that you guys end up being thought of as half dog.”

“You shift into a dire wolf as well since Wachei turned you.
It might happen to you yet. But seriously, I have no idea how to introduce
myself to Meadow as a man. I was never very good with women, even as a mortal.”

“You had to be good with at least one because you knocked
her up before you went for your long sleep.”

“I didn’t love her, and she wasn’t my mate. She was a very
good friend who offered to bear my child to continue the werewolf race.”

Carson put his arm around Durlach’s shoulders and turned him
in the direction of the house before he got them walking toward it. “I consider
myself a bit of an expert when it comes to women. You listen to me and you’ll
land your mate in no time.”

* * * * *

Meadow peeked outside her living room window but couldn’t
see the wolf hybrid anywhere. He must have gone home. She let go of the curtain
and it dropped back into place. Whoever owned him had done a great job of
training him. He’d stayed by her horse’s side for the rest of her ride, even
when a rabbit had shot out across the trail in front of them. He hadn’t chased
after it. That had surprised her. Most dogs she knew wouldn’t have had that
much restraint.

She hated to admit it, but she’d really enjoyed the company
of the hybrid. It just went to show how much of a non-people person she could
be. That was part of the reason why she’d chosen the career she had. Meadow
spent so much time digging in the dirt and lost in research she didn’t have
much time to go out and make a whole bunch of friends. Not that she missed
doing that.

A knock on the back door had Meadow heading in that
direction. She answered it to find Taylor, a caretaker of sorts, who she’d
hired on to look after Dancer and the property. He lived in the one-bedroom
apartment above the stable. Since he’d come to work for her they’d struck up a
friendship.

“Hey, Taylor,” Meadow said as she opened the door wider.
“You want to come in for a coffee?”