Mating Behavior (5 page)

The man laughed softly. “Noelle won’t hurt
your bitch. Not until I give her the signal.”

“And you are?” Alan asked, every muscle in
his body ached to return to wolf form and tear the man’s throat
out. Alan held the beast and his temper in check for the time
being.

“Bersh.” The man released his cock and took
a step away from the tree. “The one you and your bitch got a rise
out of watching fuck Noelle. I’m also the one who will enjoy
watching you fuck your bitch.”

“What?” Alan’s brow crinkled as he tried to
understand what was going on. He didn’t remember a Bersh being with
his father’s pack, then again, he never bothered to get to know any
of them. Playing the card of being a council member's son could be
a double-edged sword. He might be permitted to live, but they’d
surely kill Katie because Alan should have known better than to
bring a human into their midst.

There was no way he’d permit Katie to suffer
because of his stupidity. He would not let them be made examples
of. For now, he’d keep the secret of who he was to himself.

“You know, city boy,” Bersh said. “I’d like
to think even you know the way of our kind. You watched me fucking
a woman, so I get to watch you. Either fuck your female or one of
our females. Makes no difference to me.” A slow smile spread over
his face. “Though, I have to admit, I want to see what your bitch
has hiding under those clothes. Maybe I’ll sample her for myself.
Noelle’s a bit predictable and rather tiresome.”

Alan’s temper flared. “You won’t touch
Katie.”

“Katie?” he said, sneering. “Cute name for a
cute human. That’s what she is, city boy, isn’t she? She’s a human,
or is she? You know our kind is forbidden from taking a human mate.
We can fuck them, but we can’t commit to them.” He tipped his head.
“Not unless we turn them. They’re not to know of our kind.” Bersh
sniffed the air and grinned mischievously. “Smell the power.”

All I smell is a man I will kill if he dares
to harm my mate.

Alan’s blood pumped.
My mate? No. She
can’t be.

“We’ll leave. I didn’t know the wolves here
would be weres. She doesn’t have a clue werewolves exist. I’ll take
her and go.” Alan readied himself for a possible attack.

The man laughed. “Go? Now why would I want
you to do that? I told you already, I want to sample your
bitch—your cute human, Katie. I might settle for getting to watch
you mount her. Maybe not. Depends on my mood.”

Alan made a move to rush him and Bersh
tossed his hand up. “One word from me and Noelle rips Katie’s
throat out, city boy.” He grinned. “Take your pick. Are you fucking
your human or one of the bitches from our pack? We’ve got more if
you don’t like the ones with us. In fact, all in all, there are
about two hundred members of our pack at the ready should we put
the call out.”

It was an extreme threat and Alan knew the
man wasn’t kidding. That many weres would mean the death of Katie
for sure. He swallowed hard, trying to maintain his cool. “We don’t
have that kind of relationship. She’s my best friend, not my—”

“Bullshit,” Bersh snapped. “I could smell
her wet cunt while I was fucking Noelle. She wants you and you’re a
liar if you try to tell me you don’t want the bitch too. The anger
coming off you is thick enough to cut with a knife, city boy. You
act as if she’s already your mate.” He glanced in the direction of
the tent. “But, if you don’t want her, I’ll happily take her off
your hands. I’ve always wanted to turn a human while fucking
her.”

Red flags went up in Alan’s head. His hands
trembled and his entire body filled with dread at the thought of
Katie being taken by the man and then turned. He would die before
he let that happen.

“I’ll do it,” Alan said, his voice low.

“You’ll do what?” the man asked.

“I’ll take her myself. No other, just Katie
and just me. We watched the two of you from afar. You can do the
same for us. Understood?”

The man tossed his head back and laughed. “I
like your spunk, city boy. Don’t think you’re calling the shots
here. But, I’m willing to see how well you hold up your end of the
bargain so I’ll agree to watch from afar. For now.”

It took everything in Alan to not attack
Bersh.

Bersh lifted a sardonic brow. “We’ll be
watching you.”

The man shifted quickly into wolf form and
howled. A light grey female wolf came bounding out from the other
side of the tent and ran off into the forest with the beta.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

I shouldn’t have left her. Hell, I shouldn’t
have even brought her.

“Alan, is that you?” Katie called out.

He rushed for his clothing and put his jeans
on quickly, before realizing he’d shredded his shirt. A human would
have been cold in what Alan considered mild air. A werewolf, like
Alan, wasn’t bothered. He regulated his body temperature
easily.

“I’m here, honey.”

Honey? Why in the hell do I keep calling her
hon or honey?

Katie came out from behind the other side of
the tent as he was zipping his jeans. Her dark brown eyes widened
as she stared at him. “Well, okay then. I didn’t realize you were
going to get naked or I’d have chased after you.”

I wish.

“What’s up?” he asked, groaning as his cock
decided to harden at the sight of her again.

She beamed. “The female wolf, the one we
watched mate with the beta, she wandered right up to our camp!”

Alan’s gut clenched. “She did?” he asked,
pretending he didn’t already know.

“Yeah and she lingered for a bit too. I’ve
never been that close to a wild wolf before, Alan. It was amazing!
Do you think the others will approach us too?”

I sure the fuck hope not.

Forcing a smile to his face, he grabbed his
boots and headed towards Katie. “I don’t know. We should probably
try to keep our distance. They’re wild, you know.”

She pulled the knit cap off her head,
letting her mass of unruly, long hair spill forth. Alan raked a
hand through his own hair, his mouth suddenly dry. As Katie
unzipped her fleece, his heart thumped madly, trying to break free
of his chest. She pulled it off, leaving her standing in a thin
t-shirt and jeans. Her nipples pressed against the fabric, making
his cock twitch and his blood boil with need.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on
end, indicating danger was near. He already knew the beta male was
close. So was his female. They were waiting for him to deliver on
his promise to claim Katie in view of them. His cock was in full
agreement. His mind however, told him how very wrong it was to not
only expose Katie, unknowingly, to prying eyes while he attempted
to seduce her, but to then claim her for all eternity without
sharing his secrets first.

“Umm, what are you doing?” he asked.

Katie shrugged as she began taking her boots
off. “Getting ready to go to sleep. Isn’t that what you’re doing
too?” She glanced at the tent. “Looks like we’ll be sleeping in
tight quarters, huh?”

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t take her
without her knowing who and what he truly was. He ran a hand over
his face and sighed as the weight of the situation settled on his
shoulders. “Go ahead. I need to gather a few more things. I’ll be
back in a bit.”

Her eyes widened. “Alan, it’s getting
dark.”

He knew. He also knew the beta male would
bring the wrath of the pack down on Katie should he not carry out
his end of the bargain. The man had offered up a female from his
pack. Alan didn’t want to have to resort to that, but it beat
fucking Katie while others watched. She wouldn’t want that. Hell,
she wouldn’t even really want him, let alone an audience.

Katie covered the distance between them and
grabbed hold of his arms. “Alan, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

Liar.

Her brown eyes widened. “Alan, talk to me,
please. Ever since we set up camp here, you’ve been different…
distant and—“

That’s because I can’t fight the need to be
in you.

He held back from confessing the truth and
decided to take a different approach. “Listen, Katie, no offense,
but I need some space.”

“Space?” she asked, hurt evident in her
voice.

His chest tightened. “Yeah. Space. Back home
I can shut myself in my room, go for a walk, whatever to get some
breathing room from you.”

As the pain from his words moved over her
face, Alan fought the urge to pull her into his arms and admit he
was a liar. He didn’t want space. He wanted her. All of her, but
not this way. Not on display for others—when she didn’t know the
truth.

She pulled away from him and Alan had to
turn to keep from going to her. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Whatever,” she said, her tone even. “Take
all the
space
you need, Alan.”

He stared out into the darkness and clenched
his fists. A bitter breeze seemed to come out of nowhere. Thunder
rolled and Alan shivered. There were no storms predicted for the
area. Another blast of cold air struck him and he had the fight the
urge to glance back at Katie. That was ridiculous. She didn’t have
anything to do with the weather.

He lowered his voice to a level he knew a
human couldn’t pick up on and spoke to the wolves he knew were
watching him. “Not tonight. I gave you my word and I’ll do it, but
not tonight. Go. You’ve had all the fun you’re going to have with
us this evening.”

He sensed it then, the werewolves pulling
back. Alan could also sense Bersh’s amusement with the situation.
The man currently had Alan over a barrel and there wasn’t a whole
lot Alan could do about it. At least when they reached the cabin
he’d be able to have some sort of protection for Katie. Not that a
cabin, isolated high in the mountains, was going to do much to
stave off two hundred plus pissed-off werewolves, but it was a far
sight better than a tent.

Turning his attention back on Katie, he
found her in the tent with it zipped fully. Her anger overflowed,
hitting him hard and shaming him instantly. He’d pushed her
away.

Alan walked towards the tent and knelt. As
he brought his hand to the zipper he sighed.

Tell her you’re sorry.

The words didn’t come.

Beg her to understand you’re only trying to
protect her.

Still, nothing happened.

Tell her you’re a werewolf.

As his conscience plagued him, Alan’s
stomach curled and he set one hand on the ground to steady himself
as a wave of nausea ran over him. Losing Katie wasn’t an option. He
hardened his nerves, doing his best to push his feelings aside in
the process.

He laid on his side, ignoring the cold bite
of the ground on his bare upper body and focused instead on the
sounds of the forest. If the weres tried to come back, he’d be
ready for them. That was of little comfort to Alan since he knew
Bersh would bring numbers that no one werewolf could defeat.

Katie glanced around the cabin and couldn’t
help but smile for the first time since Alan’s temper tantrum. The
cabin was perfect. Just as she’d pictured one to be. Various
hunting gear hung along the far wall. Thick quilts with the design
of wolves on them were draped over display rods on the opposite
wall. An oversized, stone fireplace covered the length of the back
wall. The cabin, while only one room, had a loft. The ladder to it
was thick wood, made to appear unfinished. Alan had explained his
father’s love of working with wood. As Katie stared around the
cabin, it was easy to see his father was not only talented, but
loved his hobby greatly.

Tiny carved animals lined the mantel of the
fireplace. A pack of wolves were prominent. Extra time had been
taken with the cubs. They were as breathtaking as the cabin
itself.

“Are you planning on talking to me at all
today?” Alan asked, his voice as surly as his mood.

Katie ignored him, looking instead at the
quilts once more. She wondered if his mother made them. They too
were beautiful. Large arms wrapped around her and yanked her back
against an expansive chest.

Alan’s warm breath slid over her ear.
“Katie, I’ve apologized endlessly—all morning. I don’t know what
came over me last night.” Something in his voice was off and she
knew he was lying. He knew why he behaved the way he did, but
wasn’t telling her. “I don’t need or want space.”

It was difficult to ignore the lure of
Alan’s toned body and masculine scent. When she’d woken to find him
asleep on the frost-covered ground, without so much as a shirt on
let alone a sleeping bag, it broke her heart. Katie thought for
sure he’d develop a case of pneumonia or something. Before his eyes
opened, she drew upon her magik, coating him in warmth and love. So
far, on their trip, she’d used her power three times. That was
three times more than she’d used it in the last year. Once to have
it on standby should the female wolf attack her. Another because
her anger got the better of her as she blasted Alan with cold air,
and the latest to warm him from having been so mean to him the
night before.

She headed towards her backpack, which was
propped against the wall, near the front door of the cabin. As
Katie reached down, something furry raced past her. She screamed
and practically launched herself into Alan’s arms.

With a soft chuckle, Alan held her close.
“It was just a mouse, honey. That’s all.”

Honey.

Regardless of how mad at him she was, she
couldn’t deny how good it felt to hear him refer to her as honey.
He twisted her in his arms and pressed his lips to her forehead,
sending shockwaves of need crashing through her. She whimpered, not
wanting to give in to Alan’s pull so soon. His comments, whether he
meant them or not, hurt her.

He cupped her face and forced her gaze
higher. As his blue eyes soaked her in, Katie found herself
reaching up and running the back of her hand over his scruffy
cheek.