"Did I hurt you?" Nafarius demanded, his wolf stirring unhappily at the idea.
"I'm fine," Sam said, confused by the sudden shift from playful to pissed. "I might be a little sore tomorrow but it's nothing that won't heal."
Nafarius scrubbed at his head. "I'm sorry, I should have been more careful."
"I believe my exact words were 'more' and 'harder'..."
Nafarius gave her an unreadable look.
"Are you regretting this?" Sam gestured at the space between them.
"No." God, he wasn't entirely sure what had happened here but no, he would never regret it. "I hurt you, I'm not used to..."
"You seem to do very well for a man not used to it."
Nafarius rolled his eyes. "With a..."
"If you say
human,
I will smack you myself," Sam felt the afterglow slipping away.
Nafarius stepped back between her legs. Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her gently. "I rarely couple with anyone not a werewolf. With my greater strength, it is too easy to get lost in the moment and do some serious damage." As he watched, the frown lines on her face smoothed out. "Though, now that my brain is back between my ears, I realize something else."
"What?" Sam didn't have a good feeling about where this conversation was going.
Why is it men insist on talking after sex?
Nafarius sighed at the note of suspicion. "We didn't use any protection. Werewolves don't carry disease other than the obvious..."
"Shit, is it sexually transmitted?" Sam hadn't given that possibility a thought. Of course, she hadn't been thinking in general.
"No, only a scratch or a bite can spread the infection," Nafarius assured her.
"Oh." That wasn't a note of disappointment she just heard in her voice, was it?
"...don't know how it works with humans..."
"What? Sorry, I missed that."
"I said, wolves know when they are fertile but I don't know how it works with humans."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
Nafarius felt Sam shut him out as clear as if there were a closed door standing between them. Her entire demeanor changed from open and sexually satisfied to 'don't touch me'. Still, he needed to be sure. "I know there is birth control that lasts several months, even years at a time. But you've been up here for a while now with no mention of..."
"I can't have children," Sam said, and slipped off the boulder. Quickly, she walked around him, putting some space between them. "Old injury plus scar tissue equals no babies. So, no worries."
Nafarius watched as Sam straightened her dress and looked everywhere but at him. He had the impression that if he were to reach out and touch her in that moment she just might break. Knowing how little she would appreciate that, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans and stayed put. "Okay."
Sam nodded, grateful to let the subject drop.
"Look, I don't know where we go from here." Nafarius was
soooooo
not good at this sort of thing. "I mean, that is, this doesn't change anything."
Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you suggesting that I fucked you in hopes that it would change your mind about letting me go home?"
Nafarius frowned. "I hadn't thought about it like that..."
"Then what exactly are you getting at?"
Scrubbing at his face with his hands, he was reminded of why he avoided such entanglements. "I just meant that as far as a relationship goes..."
"For the love of..." she started. "Why is it men always assume that if you sleep with them you expect a
relationship
?"
"Every female that I've ever been with has," he said, a little defensive.
What was so wrong with having a relationship with him,
he wondered.
"That's because you're alpha," Sam said. Straightening her dress, she tried brushing out the wrinkles. Running a quick hand through her hair she hoped for the best before starting back to the den.
Nafarius fell in step behind Sam. "You're right. Most females see sleeping with me as a opportunity to mate and become alpha. It's usually more trouble than it's worth."
Sam cast him a look he couldn't decipher over her shoulder. "Is that why you picked me? No chance of those pesky entanglements?"
Nafarius' hand snaked out, grabbed Sam and spun her around. Her surprised gasp allowed him to sweep in for a kiss designed to curl her toes. "I picked you," he said, releasing her. "Because I wanted you. I didn't give much thought beyond anything else." Stepping around her, he frowned at the truth in his words knowing it wasn't like him to be so rash.
Sam felt a
zing
shoot into her core. Too late, she realized Nafarius had walked past and was already almost to the den entrance. Hurrying to catch up, she followed him into the pack's den. Never truly empty, the place was humming with the low murmur of the afternoon's activities. It didn't take long for a wave of silence to spread out, all eyes turning to stare. Belatedly, she realized that returning to a den of werewolves with their superior sense of smell and without bathing first, may not have been the wisest decision she'd made today.
Nafarius stood silently beside Sam. Scanning the room, he caught the eye of every member present, holding their gaze until they dropped their eyes.
She's mine
, he thought.
She's ours
, his wolf growled.
Sam watched as across the room, Rose glared daggers before turning her back and disappearing into the pack's private quarters.
Indicating his usual place in the den, one hand at the small of her back, the two went to sit down. A few minutes later, Maddie joined them followed by Roland. Sam watched as the beta's nostrils flared wide, his eyes darting to her face. She braced herself for some cutting remark, reminding herself that there was little she could do to change his opinion of her.
Roland caught their combined scent, knew that there was only one way to create such a combination. Looking from Sam to Nafarius and back again, he remembered the way she had stood against Rose. "You did good today," he said.
Sam felt herself flush and knew that her face was quickly becoming a furious shade of red. "Excuse me?" she choked out.
Roland nodded in Maddie's direction.
"Oh!" She said. 'Right, I doubt it endeared me to any of the pack..." she said.
"Is that why you did it?" Roland accepted a plate of sandwiches from Maddie, started in on his meal. "To prove something to the others?"
"No." Why was it so hard for any of them to believe that she did it because it was right? "Maddie's my friend," Sam said, pleased when Maddie heard and turned to smile at her. "I couldn't stand by and watch someone hurt or humiliate her."
Roland looked up at Sam, caught the curious glances of a few of the pack close enough to hear her explanation. "Well, you certainly made an enemy in the process."
Sam shrugged. "It was worth it."
Roland grunted, stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "We'll have to see if you still feel that way when Rose kills you while you sleep."
"Gee, thanks for those lovely words of comfort." Sam caught Nafarius watching her, unquenched heat simmering behind his eyes.
Roland shrugged. Nodding his thanks for the meal, he handed his plate to Maddie before heading back outside.
"A regular ray of sunshine," Sam muttered, surprised when someone behind her burst out laughing.
Later that night, Nafarius slipped into the alcove and into her bed. Taking the time to strip her bare, he made love to her thoroughly, slowly, touching and tasting until they both shuddered in release.
* * *
Nafarius scanned the tree line, his eyes passing over thick greenery to penetrate dark shadows. Behind him, Roland paced restlessly.
"We should be on neutral territory," Roland insisted. "I don't like bringing him here."
Nafarius silently agreed with his beta, but refrained from saying so aloud.
"How long until they get here?" Roland asked.
"Craig will want to make an appearance," Nafarius said.
Roland snorted with derision.
"Behave," Nafarius warned Roland. Craig, Dimitri's beta, was a dandy, but he was still beta and right now they couldn't afford to offend him. "They're here," Nafarius said. A moment later Craig stepped out of the forest and into the clearing, a young woman following close behind.
Nafarius held his ground and forced the beta to come to him.
Craig slipped his hands into his slacks...
Jesus,
Roland wondered,
were those pleats in his pants?
...and strolled across the clearing. A small smile played at the corner of Craig's lips, suggesting he recognized Nafarius' small show of dominance. "Nafarius, always nice to see you."
"Craig," Nafarius said. He didn't offer to shake hands. "You remember Roland, my beta."
"Of course," Craig said, again the small smile appeared.
Roland noted that the smile didn't quite reach the beta's eyes.
Craig gestured to the woman beside him. "I'd like to introduce Natasha, Dimitri's daughter."
"Natasha?" Nafarius was momentarily taken aback. "The last time I saw you, you were a babe in your mother's arms."
Nafarius barely remembered Natasha's mother. Fifty years ago she had been just another in a long line of females sharing Dimitri's bed. But Nafarius remembered the babe, a wee little thing with a shock of red hair.
"A shame she wasn't born male," Dimitri said, casting a baleful eye at the young's mother. "But she still has worth," he said to Nafarius. "Together, you two will unite the packs as mates."
If Nafarius had been surprised by Dimitri's attitude towards his offspring, he hadn't shown it. Dimitri was an Old One. Nafarius guessed his age back then at around seven hundred years old. It was rare for a wolf to live that long, especially an alpha wolf. Alpha wolves tended to die at the hands of a challenger before reaching their advanced years. Those that didn't die went insane, the long passage of time unhinging something inside.
"My father sends his regards," Natasha offered quietly, her voice shaking Nafarius from the past.
"He is well?" Nafarius asked.
"He is...Dimitri," Craig answered before Natasha could comment.
"Hmmm," Nafarius muttered. "Come sit," he said, waving his hand to a waiting table and chairs. As members of another pack, Craig and Natasha would not be welcome within Nafarius' den, but the negotiations were sure to take time. There was no reason they could not pass the time comfortably.
"Thank you," Craig said, tipping his head slightly before escorting Natasha across the clearing. Taking a seat, he could see inside the pack's den. It was mid-morning and the day was warm. Most of the pack appeared to be out doing other things.
"Maddie? Who is that?" Sam asked from inside the den.
Maddie looked up from the book she'd been reading. It was late in the afternoon. They were sitting just inside the den's entrance, the clearing spread out before them while the common area sat empty and quiet at their backs. "That's Craig, Dimitri's beta."
"And the woman?" As she watched, Craig motioned to the young woman standing behind him, drawing her into the conversation with Nafarius and Roland.
"Natasha, Dimitri's daughter."
"What are they doing here?" Sam knew from listening to the men that Dimitri was alpha of a neighboring pack.
Maddie shrugged, and went back to her book. "Probably discussing the terms of the mating."
"What mating?" Sam felt something akin to dread forming in her stomach.
If there was a note of something out of sorts in Sam's voice, Maddie missed it. "Nafarius has been negotiating with Dimitri to join the packs through a mating with Natasha."
"Oh." Sam stared at the pretty little redhead, easily picturing her with Nafarius.
"Are you okay?" Maddie asked, concerned.
"What?" Sam was still staring.
"You're...growling." Maddie looked from Sam to Natasha and back again.
"I"m fine," Sam said as she got to her feet. "I just have a headache. I think I'll go lay down for a while."
"Okay." Confused, Maddie watched as Sam quietly slipped out of the den.
Back in her alcove, Sam paced.
I don't care
, she insisted to herself.
It's none of my business.
Nafarius would certainly agree with that.
It's pack business.
God, she was so sick of hearing that!
She didn't belong here. Nafarius' protection or no, she wasn't pack. Maddie and occasionally Roland, were the only members of the pack that were willing to spend time with her. Rose had been ordered to maintain her distance while the rest were still wary of her.
She didn't know how to bridge the gap, how to make them see beyond the fact that she was human. And it surprised her that she even cared to try. She had been alone her entire life, adrift with no friends or family to hold her in place. Raised in the foster system, she had never had a family of her own. She'd moved from group home to foster home and back again, and every time the complaints from her foster parents were the same.
We can't keep her, can't seem to get through to her. Samantha can't connect with us or the other children
. They had tried, most of them had honestly wanted to get through to her. None of them understanding that Sam didn't know how to let them in.
Once again, Sam thought, she stood on the outside looking in.
Out in the den, Natasha stood watching Craig and Nafarius negotiate. She had no delusions. She was here because her father considered her a bargaining chip. Dimitri knew there was no way Nafarius would ever let him rule as alpha over the joined packs. The next best thing Dimitri could hope for was a mating between her and Nafarius, his blood line eventually ruling through his grandchildren.
The thought of mating, of eventually bearing Nafarius' children left Natasha feeling cold. The man in question stood face to face with her beta, his arms crossed over his chest, his body ridged with leashed power. She had the distinct impression that he could and would snap her beta in half.