"Nafarius, please..." Sam felt her body begin to tighten. "I want...so close..." She was panting, her hips rocking faster and faster.
Nafarius shifted, removing his fingers and surging forward to impale her on his cock. Throwing his head back, he nearly howled as she seared the length of him. "On my cock," he said, thrusting forward again. "I want to feel you cum on my cock."
Sam gripped at his arms, her fingers digging into muscles gone tense with strain.
Nafarius knew she was almost there, could feel her tighten beneath him. Bracing himself on his forearms, he lifted her knees, pressed them to his hips and settled deeper inside of her.
He kissed her gently, a silent apology for what was to come, and lowered his head. He nuzzled her neck, keeping his face turned towards the column of her throat and started to shift.
Sam sensed something changing, a tingling of warning working its way up her spine. Nafarius still moved above her, his body seemingly growing harder, bigger. "Nafarius?"
"Shhhh..." he whispered. Slipping his hand between them, he stroked her clit, lengthened his strokes until she was once again withering beneath him. He struggled to focus, to control his shift. He didn't need to shift completely, he could infect her with a bite while in human form. But the best way to break the skin, hit the muscle without causing any unnecessary pain was to use his canines.
"Nafarius, please." Sam reached for it.
Responding to the need in her voice, his own climax close, Nafarius thrust home, quickly drawing back and thrusting again and again until he felt her passage clamping down around him.
Sam cried out once in pleasure...
Nafarius bared his teeth and struck, biting into the muscle between neck and shoulder.
...and she cried again in pain.
Immediately, she tried pushing him off, the pain shattering the haze of pleasure.
Nafarius held on, a growl of warning rumbling up from his throat. The taste of her filled his mouth, saturated his senses. Still buried inside of her, he grew almost painfully hard, couldn't stop the thrust of his hips or the rush of his release. As the first wave of his seed hit her womb, the mating bond snapped into place.
Sam fisted her hands in the blanket beneath her. Eyes shut tight, she tried to keep from struggling. The first flash of pain and panic had passed, Nafarius' growl of warning reminding her that he could easily rip out her throat if she didn't submit. She tried to breath through the pain, let the last of her body's pleasure wash over her as blood from her neck and shoulder ran down onto the bed beneath her.
She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, locked together in such a violent and intimate manner. Eventually, Nafarius started to stir. Moving slowly, he found her hands, linked their fingers and gave her a gentle squeeze.
Sam's breath caught as he withdrew his teeth from her neck, a fresh flood of blood spreading out beneath her.
Nafarius licked at the wound, his saliva carried both the infection and a healing agent. Tightening his control, he willed his canines to retract, his face shifting fully into human form. Lifting his eyes, he searched her face. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears but otherwise she looked okay. "How do you feel?"
Sam reached up, her fingers hesitating over the wound before lightly brushing at the torn skin. "I uhhh...I'm not sure how I feel. That was amazing and intense" she said, hesitating, "...and painful. But I think I'm okay."
"I'm sorry," Nafarius stared down at the wound on her neck. There were several large teeth marks, red and still weeping blood.
"It's okay," she lifted her hand, forced him to look at her. "You warned me."
"I wish there had been an easier way," he said. "But I wanted to make sure to infect you." He could feel her pain and fatigue through the bond. It wasn't a definite thing, not like his own emotions but more a general sense of if. It was a lot like the bond he had with the rest of the pack, but closer and more intimate.
Sam was aware of Nafarius, felt his concern. She frowned, she could really
feel
his concern. Turning inwards, her eyes growing unfocused, she asked, "What is that?"
Nafarius nuzzled her chin, not surprised when she flinched a bit before giving him access. "The beginning of the mating bond."
"The what?" Sam could sense him, felt fur brushing up against her mental insides. "Oh, wow."
Nafarius jerked his head back, knew his eyes had gone gold. His wolf had surfaced, responded to her presence through the bond. Something it had never done with any of the pack. "All members of the same pack share a bond. It's stronger between a member and their alpha and strongest between mated pairs."
"You didn't tell me," Sam said, searching his face.
"I wasn't sure how it would work, if it would work."
"Because I'm human?"
"You
were
human," Nafarius clarified.
"We don't know..."
Nafarius cut her off with a kiss.
"Oh...my..." Sam said, when he let her back up for air.
Her eyes were slightly out of focus again, her concentration centered on their bond. She could feel the warmth of him, and knew that all of his focus was on her. She caught hints of guilt, and long slow waves of desire. Everything coursed between them, a steady flow of emotion.
Slowly, she slid her hand down between their bodies, wrapped him in her fist. "I can feel your desire warring with your guilt."
Nafarius' hips jerked.
"I say we go with desire," she smiled.
Nafarius growled. Surging through her fist, he buried himself in his mate.
* * *
They lay tangled in the dark, limbs entwined, bodies glistening in the light of the last candle as their breathing slowly returned to normal.
They'd made love twice more, each time slower than the time before as the edge of lust gave way to something tender.
Sam lay quietly beside him.
"You're thinking too hard," Nafarius said.
She trailed the tips of her fingers across the arm he had sprawled across her chest, smiling at the whisper of his response along the bond. "It's like waking up and realizing I've been blind all this time."
Nafarius let her explore. He was wide open, had been since the bond had slipped into place. He wanted her to know him, to learn the feel of him and wanted that in return.
"I get...not exactly glimpses," she said. He could picture her frowning in the dark, her brows pulling down over green eyes. "Flashes...no, it's not an image...I don't know how to explain it."
Nafarius chuckled. "I'm familiar with the phenomenon."
Sam gave him a poke in the ribs. "I know...I'm just trying to figure it out."
"Think of it this way," he said. Rising up, he looked down into her face. "You have a new sense, this one tied to emotion. The way you experience it is going to be new as well. Emotions aren't sight or sound, you won't experience them that way."
"Some seem clearer than others," she said.
He noticed that her eyes went a little out of focus when she tried concentrating on the bond.
"I can name some of what you're feeling," she said. "Some of it is more like a fuzzy kind of
knowing
."
Nafarius nodded. "Stronger emotions are easier to sense."
"What's it like with the pack?"
"I've never really thought about it," he said. "But, it's...muted. I get a more general sense of well being - or not - with the pack as a whole. I can sense disturbances, especially if they are mentally or physically charged."
"Do you sense individuals?"
"If I concentrate, but even then it's not as strong as what I sense with you."
Sam liked the sound of that. "I like feeling connected," she admitted quietly.
Nafarius stared down into her face. He knew a little bit about her history, knew that she had grown up in the foster system. "Will you tell me about it some time?"
She looked away, nodded. "It wasn't bad, really. It could have been much worse." She thought about the girls she'd met in the system that had been raped, beaten. "But not tonight," she said.
Nafarius' head suddenly swung towards the room's entrance. A moment later, he slipped out of bed and disappeared.
"Nafarius?" Sam sat up, wrapped a blanket around her chest. He wasn't gone long, returning with two plates piled high with hot food. "There is a God," she said, eyeing the plates. "What are you having?"
Nafarius laughed and handed her the bigger of the two plates.
"Maddie?" she asked.
Nafarius nodded, too busy chewing to answer. Swallowing, he said, "she also left these," and passed her a beer.
"I could kiss her!" Sam took a long drink, her eyes turning to where Nafarius sat facing her, his back up against the footboard. "I caught that," she said, her eyes lit with laughter.
"What?" Nafarius tried for innocent, knew he'd failed when she smiled at him.
"That little spike of interest."
"This mating bond is going to be damned inconvenient," he muttered, aware that she could hear him.
Sam laughed. It felt good, right, to be here like this...with him. And she knew, no matter what happened, she wouldn't be leaving.
They'd devoured the food, made love again and then finally slept. She'd roused briefly when Nafarius slipped out of bed, willing to listen when he'd told her to go back to sleep.
Hours later, Sam stretched and knew that she had to get out of bed. She couldn't avoid the pack forever. They knew she was back, and if she stayed in Nafarius' room much longer, they would know she was hiding.
I'm not a coward
, she reminded herself, before tossing back the blankets.
Sam rose, slipped into her jeans and pulled one of Nafarius' t-shirts over her head. She'd only taken her own clothes with her when she'd left, leaving the borrowed dresses behind with Maddie. Looking at her small pack, she realized that she was going to need to talk to Nafarius about retrieving some of her things.
Still barefoot, she made her way down the tunnel and back to the den. Raising her chin, she met the gazes of those few present without flinching. She didn't bother hiding the bite mark on her neck, or the smell of sex that clung to her.
Sam's nose twitched. There were more scents in the air, and those she'd noted before seemed stronger. A thrill of excitement went through her. It was proof that Nafarius' bite was changing her.
Happy with the thought, she zig-zagged through the den and stepped out into the afternoon. It was later than she had thought, most of the pack spread out taking care of various chores, while Nafarius stood watching Roland sparring with a young male.
"Show him how it's done, Roland!" Nafarius hollered, watching as his beta grappled with another pack member. Roland was the larger of the two males and had years of experience on his side.
"Come on, Jaxs! Take the old man down!" Marcus jeered. Jaxs was smaller then Roland but he was quick and looking to impress his watching alpha.
Sam watched with fascination as the two males locked together in battle. Nothing about the exchange hinting at the fact that it was just practice. There were body blows and punches, Roland's head snapping back, blood splattering the watching pack when Jaxs broke his nose with an impressive right hook.
Despite the violence,
or maybe because of it
, Sam thought, there was an almost festive air. The gathered men were shouting taunts and encouragements equally. Not wanting to disturb the convivial mood, Sam bypassed the group and headed towards the nearby stream.
Nafarius saw Sam step outside, watched her hesitate. Opening himself up, he let her feel him through the bond. Her smile was almost instantaneous, her green eyes glowing. With a small wave, she set off, hips swaying, into the forest. He noted her direction, knew that she was likely heading to the stream to wash up, so he turned back to watch Roland.
He didn't like seeing her hesitate. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, hoping for. Most wolves were affectionate by nature, taking comfort in touch. And mated pairs were rarely far from each other, linked not just by the bond but by something deeper. His parents, mated for many, many years, had it. Their life filled with endless small touches. He realized he wanted that with Sam, wanted to give that to her.
It wasn't something he'd thought about before. He'd known from an early age that his would likely be a political mating. That fact alone didn't preclude love, but it certainly changed the nature of things.
Thinking of politics, Nafarius realized that he was going to have to deal with Dimitri. The sooner, the better.
"Enough," Nafarius ordered, ending training for the day. Motioning for Roland to stay, he waited until the others dispersed. "We need to send a very carefully worded message to Dimitri."
"He's not going to be happy," Roland reached for a towel, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"He'll want blood." Nafarius frowned. "The message should come through you..."
"That isn't going to happen." Roland thought of Natasha, and the invitation in her eyes. He wondered what would happen to her now that Nafarius was mated to another.
Nafarius shook his head. "No, you're right. Dimitri wouldn't let you into their territory, let alone meet with you. Who's next?"
"Marcus."
Nafarius considered, nodded. "I'll put the message together while you prep Marcus. Make sure he understands that this is a delicate matter.
Everything
counts."
Roland nodded, and went to find Marcus. The strongest male next to Nafarius and him, Marcus was still relatively young. He trained hard, was good at taking orders, but could be trusted to make decisions on his own. He was Roland's right hand, stepping in for the beta when need be. Still, the idea of sending the young male into another pack's territory left Roland feeling itchy.
He hadn't said anything when Nafarius finally emerged later than usual that morning. He didn't have to. The entire pack was aware of what had gone on, could feel the shadow of the mating bond, knew it was there. There was no turning back. Their alpha had chosen his mate and chances were good that she would soon be the new alpha female. Shit was about to get interesting.