Mating Behavior (8 page)

“I do.” Her breathing was irregular at best
as Alan tightened his grip on her wrists and thrust himself to the
hilt in her. She screamed, suddenly fuller than she’d ever been.
The pain quickly ebbed away, making room for pleasure as Alan
worked himself in and out of her.

Katie gave into him, allowing Alan to
orchestrate their love making. He pummeled her, striking his lower
abdomen against her clit perfectly. Another orgasm built deep
within her and Katie met Alan thrust for thrust. A tremor tore
through her as she peaked. Her pussy clenched him, holding tight to
his shaft, pulling him back into her silken depths.

Alan shook and slammed into her with a force
that made the bed move. She cried out as he held firm, filling her
with his hot seed. “Ah, Katie.”

He released his hold on her wrists and Katie
wrapped her arms around his neck, holding his face to her neck.
Alan’s body went rigid and for a brief moment Katie thought she
felt his back ripple. Something sharp pinched her shoulder and
before she knew it, Alan was pumping in and out of her again as if
he had never come. The pain raced away being replaced by the steady
build of yet another orgasm.

Katie clung to Alan, too tired to give as
good as she got, but needing the feel of him. Alan continued,
sinking into her with his head buried in her neck. They peaked
together, his seed jetting forth and filling her as she cried out.
Alan pulled back and in a hoarse voice, shouted, “Mine!”

Katie’s power slammed into them both and
began weaving a link between them. Katie tried to push Alan off
her, fearful of what was happening, but he didn’t budge. Instead,
he pressed his mouth to hers and she tasted the faintest hint of
blood.

Odd.

He kissed her tenderly then and drew in a
deep breath. “Mmm, mine. Katie, I’ve waited so long to take you, to
make you mine.”

“Alan?” she asked, puzzled as to his odd
phrasing.

Bersh’s words filtered back to her. She
stilled beneath him. “Alan, what did Bersh mean when he said
something about us being true mates even though I’m only a
human?”

A long howl prevented Alan from answering.
The noise came from outside and sounded as if hundreds of wolves
were answering. Katie gasped as Alan withdrew quickly. Her pussy
tried and failed to hold him to her. She sat up and felt very
naked. Embarrassed by what had taken place between them, Katie
glanced down to find her shirt and panties in shreds on the bed.
Those weren’t the only things she found. Drops of blood were near
where her head had been.

“Alan?”

He was at the window, looking out, not
bothering to shield his nudity. He pounded a fist against the thick
log walls and growled. The sound matched that of the wolves outside
and Katie couldn’t help but stare at him. Her power tingled,
alerting her to danger. She gulped, forcing the lump in her throat
down.

“Alan, baby?”

He glanced towards her and then the hallway.
“Katie, I need you to listen to me. You have to go to the loft
and…”

The moonlight trickled in the window,
illuminating his face. This time Katie was almost positive Alan’s
eyes were amber. She squinted, trying to see better, but the sound
of something rapping on the cabin door caused her to jolt upright.
She yanked the comforter around her naked body and watched as every
muscle in Alan’s body rippled as he stalked towards the
hallway.

“Alan, what’s going on?”

He didn’t answer.

Katie stood and as she did, she caught her
reflection in the mirror above the dresser. Red was smeared on her
shoulder and neck. She touched it and came away with a sticky,
almost tacky substance. Confused, she yanked the quilt around her
tighter and went to follow Alan, but stopped when she sensed
something nearing the window.

“Who’s there?” she called out, suddenly
uneasy. The only answer Katie received was a howl.

Alan thrust the front door open and stepped
back as Bersh stumbled in. Bersh went to his knees and the smell of
fresh blood assailed Alan. He slammed the door shut quickly and
bent to check on Bersh. “You’re hurt.”

Bersh offered a half smile. “You’re
naked.”

Rolling his eyes, Alan growled and shoved
Bersh before standing. “What happened to you?”

Bersh ran a hand tentatively down his side
and came to a stop where blood was pooling. “Noelle knew I’d go for
Brone. She had an ambush waiting for me.”

The harsh reality of inter-pack politics
normally came down to survival of the fittest so Alan couldn’t say
he was shocked, but still. It looked as if Noelle’s flunkies had
tried to gut Bersh. Sure, the guy was a pain in the ass who Alan
wanted to kill ninety percent of the time, but he’d been doing the
right thing. As much as he wanted to let Bersh rot for having
started it all, he couldn’t. He sighed. “Where can I find
Brone?”

A half laugh, half cough came from Bersh.
“You, city boy, can’t find your ass with both hands out here so get
the idea out of your …”

“I’m Alan Becker.”

A pregnant pause followed before Bersh
glanced around the cabin. “If you find Brone he’ll help you.”

“I’m currently worried your crazy ex is
going to go medieval on your ass, but I do want to get Katie off
this mountain.” He bent to check on Bersh again, but Bersh waved
him away. “What makes you so sure Brone will help me?”

“Because your father saved our lives,” Bersh
said, his breathing shallow. “Our father seized hold of the pack
and ruled through fear. Brone and I tried to stop him, but he
turned on us. Your father’s the one who intervened, saving our
lives. Brone will help you. Just tell him who you are.”

The sound of glass breaking jerked Alan away
from thoughts of his father. “Katie!” He took off running in the
direction of the master bedroom. He yanked the door open and
stared, stunned at the scene before him. Katie, wrapped in a quilt,
stood with one hand out, glaring at Noelle—who stood over what
looked to be a dead shifter lying on the floor. Instantly, his
heart leapt to his throat. “Katie?”

She didn’t turn to face him. Instead, she
remained focused on Noelle. “Go, Alan.”

“Go?” he asked, unable to believe his ears.
“I’m not leaving you with…” It was then he noticed that Noelle
wasn’t moving to attack. No. She was standing so rigidly still that
it looked as if invisible hands held her in place. Alan sniffed the
air. “I smell magik.”

Noelle’s gaze flickered to him and then to
Katie. Fright was evident, but that was absurd. Why would Noelle be
scared of Katie? Something brushed past Alan’s side, reminding him
he was naked.

Bersh grabbed Alan’s shoulder for support.
“Noelle, no!”

Noelle didn’t move or say a word. Katie, on
the other hand, did. “Alan, leave here now!”

Alan was about to comment when Bersh
collapsed, drawing Katie’s attention. In that split second, Noelle
burst free and lunged at Katie. Alan’s breath caught as he charged
forward, allowing his claws to emerge from his fingertips and fur
to sprout on his body. A moment before he would have slammed into
Noelle an unseen force beat him to it, lifting her up and off her
feet.

“I told you not to move, bitch!” Katie
shouted, the air around her buzzing.

Alan’s hackles rose as he looked around the
room for the source of the power. Katie glanced over her shoulder
at him and her eyes widened. “A-Alan?”

He stopped and stared down the length of his
body. He was in partial shifted form. This wasn’t how he wanted
Katie to find out about him. From the look upon her face, he’d more
than shocked her. She dragged her gaze back up him, her mouth
agape.

“Katie, it’s okay, honey. I can explain.
Don’t be—”

Laughter erupted from her, shocking him. Had
his secret caused her to go mad? Alan double checked that Noelle
posed no threat to Katie before snatching his discarded jeans off
the floor and willing his body to return to human form. Katie’s
laughter increased, reaching an almost cackling proportion.

She snorted as she clutched the quilt to her
with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. “A wolf? All
this time and you’re a wolf?”

“Katie.” Alan put his hand out to touch her,
but she stepped back, laughing as she went.

“You really could have shown me how wolves
mate in the privacy of my home,” Katie said, shaking her head.
Tears formed in her eyes and Alan wasn’t sure if they were due to
laughter or if she was truly scared of him. His supernatural senses
were askew due to the overwhelming amount of magik riding the
air.

“A wolf,” she repeated, seeming to favor the
phrase.

Bersh groaned, drawing Alan’s attention.
Katie looked in his direction as well and shook her head. “He’s
hurt.”

“I know.” Alan tipped his head slightly.

“Is he a wolf too?”

He nodded.

Katie tugged on her bottom lip, seeming to
think about something, before nodding as well. She lifted her free
hand in the air and whispered something, sounding remarkably like
Latin. Power coated the area and Bersh’s body lifted off the ground
about a foot before white light surrounded it. He jerked, then was
eased to the floor. Bersh blinked and gasped before touching his
stomach.

“I’m healed,” he said, sounding as stunned
as Alan felt.

“Katie?” The power had come from her? No.
That couldn’t be. He would have sensed if she was a supernatural as
well. He would have known.

You can’t know everything, baby.

As her voice pushed through his erratic
thoughts, Alan froze.

Katie?

Yes.

You can hear what I’m thinking?

She gave him a questioning look. “No, not a
word.”

Alan stumbled over his own two feet and
fought to regain his balance. The knowledge that Katie was not only
a supernatural, but could hear his thoughts nearly did him in. All
in all, it meant their mating wasn’t just successful. No. It was a
perfect pairing. That only happens between true mates.

The audience they’d drawn watched with
curious looks as Katie lifted her hand towards Alan. Several of the
weres gasped, as if they expected her head to turn all the way
around and green soup to spew forth from her lips. Alan didn’t care
if it did. Katie was his and no one could take her from him.

He covered the distance between them,
yanking her against his chest and crushing her lips with his own.
She tasted divine. Alan ran his fingers through her hair, forcing
her head back more, allowing him deeper access to her mouth. He
took full advantage of it, caressing her tongue with his, making
her whimper. His cock hardened at the sound of his wife giving into
him.

My wife.

“Mmmhmm,” Katie mumbled between kisses.
“Your wife.”

“What? You got me out of bed for this?” a
deep, somewhat familiar voice came from behind them. “Christ, I
thought I’d find Noelle and her gang of followers slaughtering
humans. And from the way you all went on, I thought Bersh would be
on death’s doorstep.”

“Me too, brother,” Bersh said. “Me too.”

Brother?

Alan drew back slightly from Katie, still
holding her close. He glanced behind him to find an exact replica
of Bersh standing in the doorway to the master bedroom. He smiled.
“You must be pack alpha—Brone.”

Brone nodded as he raked his gaze over Alan
and Katie. “And you two must be our newlyweds. Congratulations on
the claiming and on the future lil’ one.”

Future little what?

Alan drew in a sharp breath and ran his hand
down Katie’s smooth stomach. Was it true? Did they create life?

The corners of Katie’s lips drew up just
enough to show a weak smile. “Alan, you’re the one who has to break
this news to my family. My father turned my sister’s boyfriend into
a cat for a week once, because he didn’t ask for his blessing up
front.”

“A cat?” Bersh asked aghast. “Gee man, let
me kill you now and put you out of your misery.”

Alan didn’t care if Katie’s father truly did
zap him into the form of another animal for a week so long as in
the end Katie remained his. He caught her chin lightly and lifted
her head. He bent, pressing his lips to hers and savoring the sweet
taste of her lips. “Mmm, I suggest everyone gets the hell out of
here or risk seeing me take my wife because right now, I need to be
in her.”

Bersh began to make a rude comment and Brone
slapped him in the back of the head. “We’re going. Welcome home,
Alan Becker.”

Alan stared at the man. “How do you know my
name?”

Brone smiled. “Your mother called to inform
me you were bringing your mate here for the week to claim her. I’m
the one who saw to it the cabin was stocked.” He glanced towards
the top dresser drawer. “Do you even want me to tell you what your
mother forced me to put in there?” He licked his lips. “It involves
bondage.”

The tops of Alan’s ears heated from
embarrassment. “No! Out now!”

Laughing, Brone shoved Bersh towards the
body of the were on the floor. “Grab Henry, the little witch
apparently hit him with a hefty dose of power. Thank the gods his
wife is one too so he’s conditioned to survive. I’ll take Noelle
with me. I think exile is in order here. Let’s see how long she and
her followers last without the protection of the pack.”

Noelle whimpered, but never said a word as
if afraid of drawing Katie’s attention back to her.

“Smart woman,” Katie whispered. She put her
head against Alan’s chest and ran her fingers down his spine. “Even
smarter man to finally make me his.”

He chuckled. “What a subtle way to tell me I
took long enough.”

“Well you did.”

He grinned sheepishly. “I hope you’re ready
for a long week, honey, because I’m planning on making up for lost
time.”

She nipped at his chest. “Promises.
Promises.”