Ice Claimed (8 page)

After watching her pace back and forth a couple more times,
Durlach asked, “Won’t you come sit with me?”

Meadow didn’t stop. “I think better when I’m moving.”

“Well, I find it very distracting.” Durlach stood and caught
her around the waist to halt her pacing once she was within reach. “You said
you wanted to talk with me in private but so far you’ve been lost inside your
head. It makes me wonder what you’re thinking.”

She gave him a small smile. “Sorry. It’s all so much to take
in.”

“I know. Talk to me, ask me questions so I can help you
understand.”

“There are so many I don’t know where to start, but okay.
You sound so certain I’m your mate. How would you know that already? We just
met yesterday.”

“Actually, it was the day before that.”

Meadow remembered her first meeting with the “wolf hybrid”.
“That’s true.”

“Even in dire wolf form I knew the instant I smelled your
scent that you were the one for me. You set my mating urge off and only a mate
can do that.”

“So it can be set off even if you don’t love me?”

Durlach kissed her forehead. “Why would you think that? I
fell in love with you almost from the time I set eyes on you. When werewolves
find their mates we tend to fall in love at first sight.”

“You love me?”

“Of course. I know mortals usually take longer, but I hope
your feelings for me run deep enough that you will be able to.”

Had she already fallen for Durlach? Meadow was almost
certain she had. The thought of turning down what he offered her and never
seeing him again made her stomach clench, and not in a good way. Plus, he was
literally offering her an eternity. And once he claimed her and their souls
joined, he would never leave her, even if she spent months on a dig and she got
caught up in her work. Hell, he could be part of her work.

“Can you shift for me again?” she asked. “This time I won’t
be afraid.”

“Okay.”

Durlach took a step back. Meadow watched with fascination as
his body blurred and shimmered before the familiar black dire wolf took his
place. He closed the small distance between them and nudged her hand with his
wet nose. She squatted and scratched the top of his head. This was Kèitel. The
“wolf hybrid” she saw on the trail when Durlach had supposedly come looking for
his pet had to have been one of his wolf brothers.

“Who was the other wolf who came running up the trail
yesterday?”

She heard Durlach chuckle in her mind.
That was my wolf
brother, Capac. Carson, our newest sentinel, thought it would help with my
story about looking for my wolf hybrid if we actually found one. He didn’t
think you’d notice the differences between Capac and me in dire wolf form.

“Well, he wouldn’t have known I can be very observant. And
now that I know what kind of wolf you are, there is no way I would ever be able
to see you as a hybrid. You are a dire wolf. I’ve studied so much about the ice
age I’ll have no problem spotting the difference. And you know I’ll be pumping
you for information about your former life, you and your wolf brothers.”

I’ll be more than happy to tell you whatever you want to
know.

She ran her hand down his back. “And once you turn me, will
I be the same type of werewolf like you?”

Yes. You’ll be the fifth mate to be turned. So if you
need any help adjusting, you can always look to Cassidy, Eryn, Haven and Jaren.
They’ve been through it.

“You said that when you claim me our souls will join. Will I
be able to feel that?”

Only when the mating bond forms. But once we’re mated we
won’t be able to stand to be apart from one another. Our minds will play tricks
on us, making us think something has happened to the other. We call that
separation anxiety. I’ll do everything in my power to keep us from ever
experiencing it.

“So I would have to take you with me on digs because I don’t
think I could ever give up what I do.”

It would be no hardship for me to do that. I’ll be happy
just to be with you.

“Shift back.”

Durlach’s wolf body blurred and shimmered and he was man
once more. “The decision to accept me as your mate is yours, Meadow. I don’t
know what my mating urge will do to me if you reject me, but I will never force
you.”

She knew he wouldn’t. Durlach didn’t come across as the type
of man who would take what he wanted. And that was part of the reason why she
had fallen for him.

Meadow gave him a small smile. “Once mated, will you take
over all of the cooking?”

He grinned in return. “Are you asking me to move in with
you?”

“Well, it sounds pretty crowded at your place since you have
to share a room with Ryder. And I don’t want to give up mine. It means too much
to me. I don’t know how close pack members stay together, but you wouldn’t be
too far away from the others.”

“I’d love to move in here. The others won’t mind, I’m sure.
Carson doesn’t live with us so I wouldn’t be the only pack member not to be
living under the same roof.”

Meadow went on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to Durlach’s.
Against his lips she said, “Make love to me and make me yours. I didn’t really
know it, but I think being claimed by an ice age Tlingit hunter turned werewolf
was something I’ve always wanted.”

Durlach’s arms came around her and held her tight against
him. He took her mouth fully, angling it for a tighter fit. Arousal surged
through Meadow like a freight train. It more than felt right to be held by him.
No other man had made her feel like that before. And she liked it.

Once they were both breathing hard, Durlach released her
mouth. “Are you really sure this is what you want?”

She nodded. “Positive. If my feelings for you didn’t change
once I saw you shift into a dire wolf, I don’t think anything will do that.”

He picked her off her feet and carried her toward the stairs
to the upper level. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. I waited
thousands of years to find you. I promise I will never make you regret your
decision.”

At the top of the staircase, Meadow directed Durlach to her
bedroom at the end of the hall. She held on tight as he put on a burst of speed
no mortal would ever be capable of achieving.

As he took her lips in a heated kiss, the mattress met
Meadow’s back. Durlach stretched out next to her, his mouth not leaving hers as
he ran his hands over her body. An ache built deep inside her pussy. Oh how
much she wanted this man. He knew just how to touch her to give her the most
pleasure.

Meadow yanked at Durlach’s t-shirt until he roughly tore it
off over his head. She lifted her hands to his chest to stroke the smooth
muscles there. Everything about him turned her on.

He lifted his head and removed her shirt, then her bra.
Durlach looked down at her. “My mate is beautiful. There will never be another
for me.”

She gave him a crooked smile. “And my mate isn’t so bad
himself.”

The passion ignited between them as Durlach took her lips
again. The more he touched her, the more sure Meadow was that she’d made the
right decision. She couldn’t get enough of the man who was her mate. He made
her body sing with the slightest of touches.

Soon Meadow wanted more. She tugged at Durlach’s jeans until
he stripped them off along with his underwear. Once he was naked he removed the
rest of her clothing as well. Skin to skin, she rubbed herself along his hard
cock, causing wetness to leak from her pussy.

Durlach thrust his hips, not entering her, coating himself
in her juices. Meadow lifted hers, desperately needing the hard length of him
buried deep inside her. She clutched at his back, urging him closer when there
was no more space between them.

“Please, Durlach. Now. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He met her gaze, his eyes glowing. “I won’t.”

He slowly entered her, pushing more of his cock into her
pussy with each stroke until she’d taken all of him. He stretched her to
capacity. Meadow moaned, then held on to his biceps as he pulled back only to
sink into her once more.

She kept her gaze latched on to Durlach’s. Meadow saw the
love he had for her inside his eyes. She met him stroke for stroke, his shaft
plunging deep. The pleasure built, her orgasm growing in strength. His erection
grew even harder as he stepped up the pace.

It was then Meadow felt something she never had before while
making love. It was as if a part of her soul actually reached out for Durlach.
And much to her surprise, a part of his did the same, meeting hers, wrapping
around it until they became one. Once they did, her orgasm crashed over her.
She let out a long, keening moan. Her climax was intense and seemed as if it
would never end. A wolf’s howl joined the noises she made as her mate threw
back his head, his cock pulsing inside her pussy.

After the last contraction of her inner muscles around Durlach’s
cock, Meadow could only hold him close after he collapsed on top of her. All
the feelings she had for him instantly intensified, blooming into true love.

She said in wonder, “I love you, Durlach.”

He chuckled where his face was buried in the crook of her
neck. “I know you do, my mate. I love you as well. You are mine now.”

Meadow pushed on Durlach’s shoulder until he rolled over
onto his back, taking her with him. She sat up. His cock was still hard and
buried inside her. “As you are mine. You’ve claimed me, but I think we’re going
to be a little too busy for the rest of the day for you to turn me. I have a
hankering for another type of ride.”

She leaned over and put her hands on the mattress on either
side of Durlach’s head. He lifted it and sucked a nipple into his mouth. His
hands went to her hips as she slowly rode him up and down. Being on top, she
took him deeper. She squeezed her inner muscles around him as she set a faster
pace.

Durlach switched to her other nipple. With each pull of his
mouth there was a corresponding sensation inside her pussy, increasing her
pleasure. Her mate lifted his hips to match her downward thrusts. Low growls
rumbled out of him. Meadow found them sexy as hell.

She was close to another orgasm. She wanted to hold back as
long as she could, but Durlach pushed her over the edge when he found her clit
and rubbed a finger back and forth. Meadow didn’t fight her climax, she let it
have its way with her. He pushed up into her one final time, lifting her knees
off the bed, and followed her into release.

Satiated and weak, Meadow lowered herself onto Durlach’s
chest. Her ice age mate had well and truly claimed her. And she was sure he
would do the same for many years to come.

Epilogue

It was time. Tanner had made all the preparations, had all
the ingredients he needed for the spell to work. He’d locked himself inside his
room. Andre was busy out looking for mortals to turn. Not that Tanner would
allow that to happen once he’d made himself the leader of the dark wolves.

He sat on the floor cross-legged. Symbols of dark magic
drawn in chalk surrounded him. A bowl with the mixture of herbs and other
ingredients was in front of him. From memory, Tanner whispered the words of the
spell. The candles he’d lit flickered before flaring to a brighter flame. An
unnatural wind whipped through the room, tangling his long hair around his
shoulders.

As the last words of the spell left Tanner’s mouth, voices
whispered around him, all jumbled, making it so he couldn’t understand the
words. Then they suddenly grew silent. Just as he thought that was it, the pain
slammed into him. The sensation of something burrowing inside him, going deep
as if to his very soul, had him fighting not to scream.

Tanner lost track of time as the unrelenting pain spread
throughout his entire body, burning a path wherever it touched. He was on the
verge of passing out when it just disappeared. Instead of being weakened from
it a surge of unbelievable power shot through him. Knowledge of how to use his
new dark magic filled his mind. And along with it came the need to hurt, to
maim.

The sound of a growl of rage reached his ears as he stood.
Andre had felt the new darkness inside Tanner, as Tanner felt it in Andre.
Ready for what had to be done next, Tanner left his room to confront the
werewolf who had been his maker.

Andre stalked toward him, his face a mask of rage. “How dare
you take what was never to be yours?” he snarled.

“I dare what I want. And you can’t stop me.”

Tanner held up his hand and quickly spoke the words of the
second spell he’d memorized. The shock on Andre’s face gave Tanner pleasure. A
black, smoky mass left his ex-maker’s body and absorbed into him. Taking
Andre’s dark magic from him made Tanner’s increase twofold. Once he’d taken
everything, Andre’s body turned to dust.

The other members of his pack came rushing to the scene.
Tanner met each of their gazes until they dropped theirs. “I’m now pack leader.
You will do as I say or meet the fate of Andre. The first order of business is
to increase our numbers. We will bring no more mortals into our midst, unless
they are for our amusement. As of today we bring every werewolf we find over to
the dark side, whether they are willing or not. Then we go after the
sentinels.”

* * * * *

Durlach finished emptying the last drawer from his dresser
and placed the clothes in the box he would use to take them over to what was
now his and Meadow’s house. The others of his pack had had no problem with his
moving out, which he’d figured they wouldn’t.

He looked up to see what else he needed to pack as he
listened to Meadow and Taylor talking inside the walk-in closet. He’d turned
his mate the night before, and she’d taken to it as if she’d been born to it.
They’d already gone for a run in dire wolf form through the trees that connected
the two properties. Much to Durlach’s surprise, Taylor had shifted to his
cougar form and gone along with them.

Durlach heard Meadow let out a cry of pleasure, then smiled
when she came rushing out of the closet with the furs, clothes and weapons from
his days as an ice age hunter.

She carried them over to him. “Are these what I think they
are? Are they from your former life?”

“Yes.”

“Hot damn. You don’t mind if I study them?”

He laughed at Meadow’s enthusiasm for something he thought
wasn’t out of the ordinary. “You can have them for as long as you want.”

She gave him a hard kiss before she turned to carefully pack
them away. Durlach looked over at Ryder, who had been helping get Durlach’s
things ready to be moved. The shaman sat on the queen-sized bed that was now
his. There was a far-off look on his face.

“Ryder?” The other man blinked, then looked at him. “Are you
okay?”

“The power has shifted. The dark wolves will now be more of
a threat. The time is coming for the final fight that will decide all our
fates.” Ryder looked at Durlach. “I can no longer hold off on embracing my full
powers. If I do, I’ll doom us all.”

A chill raced down Durlach’s spine as he glanced at his
mate. “We won’t let them win.”

“I have to go talk to Edensaw.”

As the shaman left the room Durlach crossed over to Meadow
and took her into his arms. He loved her with all his heart. If a war between
the sentinels and dark wolves was eminent, he’d fight until his last breath
left him to keep her safe. As he told Ryder, they couldn’t let the dark side
win. And they wouldn’t. There was too much at stake.

The End