Maggie had the feeling she might’ve pushed Dolf too far when he lowered his head until they were almost nose-to-nose, and said, “Prove it.”
His lips closed over her own, stealing her breath away. He was gentle at first, not demanding in any way. As Dolf continued to move his mouth along hers, as if trying to coax a response from her, Maggie closed her eyes and sighed.
Dolf seemed to take that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. His tongue swept along the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. She opened, her body seeming to sway closer as her nipples tightened under her shirt.
His tongue twined with hers, as if Dolf were thoroughly tasting her. Maggie felt herself being swept away on a tide of desire. But that soon ended when he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his body. Feeling suddenly trapped and overwhelmed, she pushed at Dolf’s chest, a whimper of fear bubbling out of her.
She yanked her mouth away from his. But lifting her gaze to meet Dolf’s, and seeing his eyes had gone wolf—the irises taking up most of the whites—Maggie lost it. She cried out, hitting and punching Dolf until he let her go. Once he did, she lurched away, feeling as if she were on the verge of hyperventilating.
“Maggie,” Dolf said softly. “It’s okay. Just slow your breathing down, baby.”
A cold sweat broke out over her body as her chest rapidly rose and fell at too fast a pace. She started to feel a bit lightheaded. But she couldn’t tear her gaze off Dolf’s eyes, even after they’d returned to normal. And it was as if she’d become frozen in place.
“Maggie,” he said again. “Talk to me. You’re not in any danger.” He stepped closer and ran the back of his fingers down her cheek.
The simple touch was enough to have her snapping out of the terror that’d taken her over. She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t. Not ever again.”
“Yes, you can. We just have to take it slow, really slow. You were fine up until the time I held you close.”
“I’m damaged goods, Dolf,” she said, her voice choked.
“We’ll work through this. We’re meant to be together.”
Tears streaming down her face, Maggie walked away backward. “You have to let me go.” She swung around and ran out of the alley, feeling as if she’d just made a huge mistake.
*
Dolf ground his teeth together so hard his jaw ached as he held back the howl of sorrow that wanted to break free. He’d been so damn close. He’d had Maggie responding to him. The scent of her arousal had gone straight to his head, making him crave more of his mate. He still had the taste of her on his tongue, and it made his cock hard as a rock.
He turned and slammed the bottom of his fist against the brick wall in front of him. Now that he’d kissed Maggie, and had her return it with equal passion, he couldn’t walk away. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and make love to her, hear her call his name as she came. And he wanted that forever with her—the one that Tiw would give them.
Dolf smacked the wall once more before he headed out of the alley to the sidewalk. Once there, he searched for Chris and found the werewolf standing in front of the coffee shop.
“I take it things didn’t work out well,” Chris said as Dolf approached.
“No, not really. It’s my fault, though. I jumped the gun a bit and scared her.”
“Maggie looked pretty upset when she left.”
“Fuck. This is killing me.”
Chris met his gaze. “Tell me what happened to her. You haven’t told me much other than she’s your mate and she’s afraid of werewolves, because of the pack leader abducting her. What did he do to her?”
Dolf jerked his head for Chris to follow him as he started down the sidewalk toward his car. “We really don’t know for sure, because she refuses to talk about it, even with Cydney.”
“He didn’t…” Chris’ words trailed off.
“No. That much we’re sure of, but if we hadn’t gotten her out of the den when we had, I’m sure that wouldn’t have been the case. Though the bastard had smacked her around a bit. Typical behavior for Fenris’ get. They’re nothing but beasts.”
Chris cleared his throat loudly. “Ah, not all. Remember what I am.”
Dolf looked at the other man and chuckled. “I did forget there, for a little while.” Now at his car, he used the remote to unlock the doors. “Still no bloodthirsty yearnings?”
“No,” Chris said with a smile. “Though, there’s been one thing I’ve felt since you took me to your place.”
“And what’s that?”
They were both inside the car before Chris answered Dolf’s question. “It’s kind of hard to describe. Being around you, Raed, Algar, Garrick, Wulfric and Brand, it feels as if I were meant to be with you. After I’d been bitten, I had this faint sensation of needing to be some place.”
Dolf furrowed his brow. “You told me you’d never felt drawn to the werewolf pack’s den.”
“I’d lied, all right? Only about that part, mostly because I was sweating bullets when you told me those things about the werewolves. And then, when you took me to the mansion, I wasn’t sure if I should say anything or not.”
“Why?”
“A couple of days ago, I’d followed where my gut had told me to go.” Chris paused. “I’d wound up at the end of the drive to your mansion.”
Dolf couldn’t believe what he heard. “You’re telling me you were drawn there?”
“Yeah. I didn’t try to proceed any farther, though everything inside me told me that was where I belonged. I kinda figured I was losing my mind, since the area was too rich for me, and I didn’t know anyone in that neighborhood.”
“I’ll be damned,” he said with a chuckle. “From what you just told me, I’d say my fellow warriors and I somehow became your pack. You’re one fucked up werewolf.”
“Screw you,” Chris said with no heat in his words. “So are you going to tell the others what I just told you?”
“Of course, and I think Tiw should be told as well. It looks as if we might be stuck with you, because once werewolves find their pack, they typically don’t leave it.”
“What’ll you do if others like me show up, thinking the same thing I did? Will you take them in?”
Dolf snorted. “No fucking way. I hate to say it, Chris, but I think you’re an anomaly. Out of the hundreds of years I’ve hunted my prey, not once has one been anything like you. Not ever. For some unknown reason you turned out to be a good werewolf. Maybe that’s why you ended up going to the mansion. But I do have to say if others of Fenris’ get come and they are the typical bloodthirsty beasts, it’ll make it that much easier to take them down.”
“What shall I do?”
“Do?”
“Yeah, what should I be doing to help in your battle against Fenris’ get? I can shift into a werewolf and wolf form just like you and the others. I can fight on your side.”
Dolf was about to put the car into first gear, but stopped at Chris’ words. “No. You’d never survive one night.”
“Then teach me how to take one of them down. I didn’t ask to be turned. Being a werewolf has made my life a bloody mess, until I met you, that is. I think I have the right to hold a grudge against them, and I want to do something about it.”
“I can understand you feeling that way, but being able to fight with teeth and claws sometimes isn’t enough. Besides, when you shift, you lose your ability to think and speak like a human. You’re more beast than man, unlike Tiw’s warriors.”
“The hell you say,” Chris said vehemently. “That’s bullshit. In my werewolf and wolf forms, I don’t lose any of that. The only thing I can’t do is talk while I’m a wolf. Other than that, it’s still me inside, thinking, knowing the difference between right and wrong.”
Dolf found himself shocked for a second time in a matter of minutes. “I need you to prove that to me. Shift into your werewolf form.”
Chris looked out the car windows before he turned his gaze back on Dolf. “Now? Are you fucking crazy? It’s daylight and someone might see me.”
“Of course not. We’ll go where no one will be around.”
Dolf drove them to the back of a small commercial building that was out of business and closed down. “All right. Show me.”
Chris’ eyes turned wolf as his body blurred and shifted into his werewolf form. Much larger than when in his human one, he now took up a lot more space in the Porsche. He met Dolf’s gaze squarely, then said in a gruffer, deeper voice, “See, I still have the ability of speech. And I haven’t turned into a ravenous beast.”
“Fucking hell,” Dolf said as he shook his head. Chris was so different from other werewolves it wasn’t even funny. “Okay, you’ve given me all the proof I need, but that still doesn’t mean you’re capable of taking down prey. For one thing, if anything happened to you, Maggie would never forgive me.”
“Then train me. I’m a quick learner.”
“No.”
All of a sudden, a sheathed sword appeared on Chris’ lap, and Tiw’s voice filled Dolf’s head.
Teach him to be a warrior.
Then he was gone.
“I heard Tiw,” Chris said with a satisfied looking smirk. “He’s given me a sword and has told you to show me how to use it. I don’t think you can tell him no without getting your arse in trouble.”
Chris was right. Dolf couldn’t ignore what was basically an order from Tiw. He sighed. “Fine, but don’t expect me to take it easy on you. And just to let you know, out of all of Tiw’s warriors, I’m the one best known for being the fighter.”
“Bring it on. You can be as much of a wanker as you want, but I won’t give up.”
Dolf snorted. “All right, tough guy. Let’s get back to the mansion and see just what you’re made of.”
After arriving home, Maggie sat in the car for not quite a minute before she felt as though she’d herself pulled together enough to face her mother. It’d taken almost the entire drive home to get her body to stop shaking.
She took a deep, calming breath and opened the driver’s door before she stepped out onto the driveway. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit some of the shaking had to do with the kiss she and Dolf had shared. Kissing him had been like nothing she’d experienced with other men. It’d made her crave more of him, to rub up against him and relieve the ache that had pounded deep inside her pussy. But then, he’d put his arms around her and his eyes had gone wolf, which had ruined it all.
Maggie walked to the front door of the house and opened it. After she stepped inside, she heard the sound of her mother’s voice coming from the living room. She headed in that direction and found the door to that room open. Stepping into it, her gaze landed on the two people who were there with her mum, which caused her to draw up short.
Her mother noticed her first. “Maggie, you’re home. Cydney and Wulfric stopped by for a visit. I told them you were out, but they decided to hang around until you got back. And they brought someone with them.” When Maggie didn’t make a move to proceed any farther into the room, her mum said, “Don’t just stand there. Come and say hello. You don’t want to be rude.”
Maggie walked around the couch to where Cydney and Wulfric sat. It wasn’t until she stood in front of them did she see what at first glance looked like a large dog sitting at Cydney’s feet. After a second look at it, once it had come to its paws, Maggie realized she’d been wrong. That was no dog, but a wolf. She would’ve backed out of the room as fast as she could, but before she had the chance, the animal closed the distance between them and sniffed and licked her hand.
Her mother chuckled. “It looks as if you have a new friend,” she said. “He seems to like you.”
Maggie met Cydney’s gaze as the wolf’s head butted her in the leg as if he wanted her to pet him. “Cyd, who—” she cleared her throat, “—what’s his name?”
Her friend gave her a smile that said she knew damn well Maggie didn’t like being put in a situation like this. “It’s Brand. Oh, and by the way, he needs to go outside. Why don’t you take him, Maggie.”
“Take him out to the back garden, dear,” her mum said. “He really is friendly.”
Before Maggie could protest, the wolf gently took her wrist in his mouth and pulled her toward the room’s entrance. Not wanting to make a scene her mother would question, she went along with him. But once outside in the hallway, she tried to jerk her arm free. The fear that seemed to be never too far away slowly threatened to take her over.
“Stop,” she hissed.
Brand ignored her and towed her along until they reached the door that led to the garden at the back of the house. He released her then. Maggie quickly opened it and stood to the side, hoping against hope he’d continue on without her. And then, she’d shut him out of the house.
That plan backfired when Brand maneuvered behind her and used his body to push her out the doorway. Once outside, she stomped across the grass to a section of the garden sheltered from the house and neighbors by some large trees along with some hedges. The wolf caught up and kept pace with her.
Maggie came to a stop after she was certain no one would be able to see them and turned to face the animal that looked up at her. “All right. What do you think you’re doing? And don’t just stare at me like that. I know you understand me. Cydney told me you guys can, even after you shift.”
Her heart felt as if it leapt into her throat as the wolf’s body blurred and a large man with long, black hair that fell past his shoulders, took its place. His dark, blue-eyed gaze met hers. She vaguely remembered Brand when the warriors had rescued her from the werewolves’ den.