Untamed Wolf (20 page)

Mason gave his mating his blessing, then told him to ignore the border for a few days. He had other Hunters who could take over the patrol. Until Chrystal was settled, she was his only concern.

“What do you think?” she asked, chewing on her thumbnail.

“I think you’re beautiful, and I love you, and I want you to be happy.”

Her smile chased away her maudlin expression. “I meant about being an Omega. It sounds like I could cause a lot of problems for all of you, and I don’t want to do that.”

“You won’t.” If anything, Chrystal made life brighter. Her genuinely kind spirit and optimism had already illuminated all the dark places in his life. “Until you, I had no idea how lonely I was or how much I didn’t really get my parents. I did what I was good at. I flirted because it was fun. Then I flirted because everyone expected me to do it. I was good at tracking people down, better at running my rotations. Nothing really held me bound anywhere…life was simply something I did. You reminded me of all the things I enjoy, and that what I take for granted is a blessing.”

When she held her hand out to him he scooped her out of the chair and snuggled her into his lap again. “It’s a lot of responsibility.”

“It is. It’s a lot like being a Hunter. We have to put the pack first. Or like being Alpha. Mason has a mate and a child, but he is always looking after everyone else. Lending his strength, discipline when it calls for it, or teaching, if necessary. Or—delegating. He has a lot on his plate. He has to think three steps ahead, but he also relies heavily on his advisors. Experienced wolves in their areas, all of them. They give him good advice. You would give him good advice.”

“How will I know what’s good, and what’s just me being an idiot?”

“Because you will believe yourself eventually as much as I do… Until then you can always talk it over with me, then we can take it to Mason.” Until he said it aloud, he hadn’t realized how committed to her task he would be. Julian’s warning in Three Rivers echoed through him.

“Julian told me it was a good thing to get in touch with my wolf, but that I would also know what others were really like and I’d see the hidden agendas…” She bit her lip. “But when I see you, all I see is love and faith in me.”

“Godlike love.” He tapped her nose lightly. “Godlike faith.”

Her laughter shimmered in his soul. “You are never going to forget that.”

“Oh, hell no. When your mate tells you you’re godlike, you hold the information, and her, close forever.” Nuzzling a kiss to her cheek, he sobered. “You don’t have to make any decisions about anything until you are ready. I will protect you from everyone. I will be your advocate in everything.”

She studied him, her normally expressive face solemn. “You would even leave Willow Bend for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” No hesitation. It would cut out a piece of his heart, but she owned all of him. Where she led, he would follow. “You are my mate. I love you.”

Cupping his face in her hands, she pressed her lips to his. “Do we have to call Mason if I say yes?”

“Why would we have to call Mason?” He frowned. “You’re not mating him. He’s taken.”

“I meant about the pack thing…”

“Oh,” Dylan smiled slowly. “Are you saying yes to mating or yes to the
pack
thing?” He knew the answer. So did his wolf. Her confidence eddied in the nuances of her scent.

“Hmm.” She gave him a coy look. “I think with a little godlike persuasion…” He closed his mouth on hers, then nipped her.

“You can play with me on anything, pretty girl, but don’t torture me.”

“I love you, Dylan.” She kissed him. “I want to be with you. Willow Bend is your home. Where you are, I will stay. I don’t know if I will be a good mate or a bad one, or even if I’ll be very good as an Omega, but I will do everything I can to make you happy and proud.”

“Chrystal?” His wolf clawed at him. It was done with the conversation.
She’d said yes, right?

“Yes?”

See, she said yes
. Hiding a smile, he said, “Will you be my mate? Will you let me be yours?”

“Yes.”

“Everything else can wait.” He cupped her breast. “Yes?”

“Oh,” she exhaled the sigh, then kissed him. “As my god wishes…”

It was his turn to laugh. “Anything for my
mate
.”

A
fter graduating
college and spending a summer breaking the law, Shiloh Sullivan needs to make amends and accomplish something for Willow Bend. When she returns home, her best friend—the wolfish and playful Matt Montgomery—distracts her. In an effort to make his mother feel better, Matt cons Shiloh into telling his mother that she came home for him. The little fib, he promises, is all his mother needs to feel better about his sister’s recent mating and exodus across the ocean. Pretending a relationship with a wolf is impossible and, while Shiloh might be human, she knows the rules...

T
he friendly-with
-benefits arrangement suits Matt fine. It makes his mother happy, helps the pack forgive his best friend, and gives him a reason to pry into the secrets Shiloh’s been keeping. Still, the closer they get and the more rules they break, the more Matt’s wolf wants to change their con game into a mating game. Two problems stand in his way—Shiloh’s very human parents never wanted their children to take the bite, and a wolf from across the line has his eye on her, too. Can Matt keep his best friend and mate her too?

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B
lake Woolven is
the bad boy CEO of Woolven Industries, but he’s badder than the luscious, BBW Randi Rutger would’ve guessed. After Woolven took down her father’s company and devoured it like a shaking rabbit, she’s determined to get close to him and make all the Woolvens pay for destroying her father. Blake knows Randi’s agenda, but the wolf inside him will do anything to have her. Even expose the Woolven family secret. When Randi sees Blake and his brothers shed their skins beneath the moon, she’s terrified. But it’s just what she needed to bring him low—that and the silver nitrate plasma gun her father designed. With her loyalties torn, Randi must choose between avenging her father and the big bad wolf who clawed his way into her heart.

C
hapter
One

B
lake Woolven
, notorious bad boy billionaire, was currently living up to his reputation by fucking Marchessa de la Luna in his penthouse office suite.

She wasn’t his mate by any means, but she’d do.

They had to keep their human skins, since it was the full light of day in the middle of the city. He couldn’t risk exposure, but he could definitely risk burying his cock in her tight little sheath.

“Are you going to stare at it or fuck it, Big Bad?” the she-wolf growled.

Mmm
. It gave him a perverse kind of pleasure when she called him that. Made him think about running her down like prey and devouring her in the best of ways until she screamed his name—howling—while she came.

“I don’t know.” He slipped his hand down her black lace covered ass and gave it a swat. “Are you playing Little Red?”

“That sanctimonious little fool?” she drawled, deep and throaty. “Not a chance. I’m the hunter.” She growled low in her throat.

And indeed, she was the hunter. She was a predator, just like him. In fact, part of the thrill of mounting the evil little she-demon was that they were currently at war with the de la Lunas. This had crossed from the forbidden into madness some time ago, but he couldn’t resist.

He filled his palms with both taut globes. “Oh really? So you think you’re going to gut me?”

“I’ll eat your heart out, Blake,” she promised, her voice low and close to the Change.

There was little chance of that. Blake Woolven wouldn’t settle for just any gold digging, social climbing, delectable-assed she-wolf. No, he wouldn’t take any but his intended mate. Being the heir, he had that privilege. It was up to the lessers, the betas, to mate for social standing, pack order, resources…

He was Alpha. He made his own rules.

Blake tangled his hand in her long, blond hair and tugged it back so she arched up off his desk, all spread out for him and wanting.
Yeah, I’ll do her just like this.

The intercom buzzed. “Your one o’clock is here.”

He snarled, “Cancel.”

The elder wolf on the line sighed. “You asked me to remind you, sir. It’s Randi Rutger.”

He snarled again, the Change coming over his features as he fought to keep his animal at bay. “Give me five.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re really going to fuck me in five minutes?” Marchessa turned her head to look at him, green eyes flashing like St. Elmo’s Fire.

As much as he’d be sorry to miss out on Marchessa’s charms, Ms. Rutger held priority as she was currently trying to sabotage his company. “No. You’re going to put on your clothes, and you’re going to leave.”

“Are you kidding me?” She bared her teeth.

“Do I look like I’m kidding? I have important pack business.” He straightened, pulling the cool veneer of propriety down over his wolf, locking it down inside of him. It snarled at the cage, rammed at the bars, but Blake knew he couldn’t indulge the beast at the moment.

“You’re an asshole.” She stuffed her feet into her shoes.

“That’s what they say.” He arched a brow.
What happened to eating my heart?
Blake rather imagined asking her the question wouldn’t go over well, but it could be fun to watch.

The door was flung open just as Marchessa was leaving, almost knocking the pretty she-wolf in the head.

“Excuse me,” a voice said.

“There’s no excuse for you, I’m sure.” The she-wolf looked the other female up and down, then lifted her nose in the air, scenting. “That’s what I thought.”

His one o’clock, Miss Randi Rutger, narrowed her eyes right back. “Same to you.”

Randi Rutger obviously had no idea what Marchessa was doing, smelling her to see just what kind of creature she was—finding her human and therefore lacking. But Randi was obviously an Alpha female and didn’t seem to care what Marchessa intended, only in giving her the same derision in turn.
Good for her.

Bad for him.

She wasn’t going to make this easy.

Especially since she smelled like…
his
.

No, no, no. Not okay
. He looked up at the ceiling, as if the remedy for this situation was written there in gold. Or excrement. He’d take anything, but what he thought it was.

Had to be Marchessa’s scent, he reassured himself. He’d been taking her much too often and his body was starting to identify her as his mate. That had to be it.

Not a puny human.

Especially not
this
puny human.

From the burning hellfire in her eyes, she’d see him dead rather than speak to him. That was an awful lot of hate to be packed into a human heart. If she were Turned with that kind of sour in her soul, it would be an ugly thing, to be sure. Everything was more intense as a wolf—all sensations, especially feelings. As a wolf, that rage would make her a monster.

Goddess, but she smelled delightful. Like sex, chocolate, and all things good and true.

She narrowed her eyes. Apparently, she’d been speaking while he’d been mentally stripping her out of that black pencil skirt with his teeth.

Mine.

Nope.

Mine.

Nuh-uh.

Mine.

Damn it.

“Well, I assume you know who I am, since you requested this meeting.” She put her hands on her deliciously rounded hips.

“Of course I know who you are, Ms. Rutger. You’re the woman trying to destroy Woolven Industries. My question is why you’d submit your resume under those circumstances. Using your real name? What did you think that would accomplish?” He cocked his head to the side and tried not to think about how hard his cock was and how much he’d love to see it cradled between her amazing breasts.

Blake scented no fear on her, only her innate scent that fired his blood.

“A job. If Woolven has nothing to hide, then you should hire me. After all, it’s your fault my father is dead, along with our bank account. The least you can do is give me a job.”

He laughed. She had balls, he’d give her that.

“If I killed your father, heartless bastard that I am, why would I give a damn if you don’t have a job or a trust fund?” He tossed that at her, careless and cruel, trying to figure out her motivations as much as put some distance between them.

“I don’t know. If you didn’t plan on hiring me, why would you take time out of your oh-so busy bastarding to talk to me?” She lifted her chin and her generous breasts heaved with the acceleration of her heartbeat.

He stepped closer to her and to her credit, she didn’t back down. She was tall in her heels, as tall as he was. His fingers itched to grab her, to touch her, to see if her curves were really as plush as they looked.

That’s just what he needed—calling her in for a meeting and getting slapped with a very public EEO suit.
No thanks
.

“Maybe I just wanted to take your measure. Perhaps it’s part of my ‘bastarding,’ as you put it. Call you in, raise your hopes, then crush you under my heel the way I crushed your father.”

Her eyes flashed, and her scent changed. Her anger boiled just under the surface. He shouldn’t have intentionally riled her, but the more she hated him, the better. Distance was what they needed. She couldn’t be his mate. If she was, he was fucked.

And not in any way one wanted to be.

Because it
was
his fault David Rutger died. The Woolven Secret drove the man mad.

She took his measure, just as he’d said he was doing to her. She looked him up and down and, based on her expression, found him lacking. His wolf bristled at the thought then clawed toward the surface, intent to show her he was not lacking in any way.

Not in any way a true wolf mate would think, anyway.

She lifted her chin. “I think you’re going to give me the job. I think my father left tech unfinished that you need to deliver to your shareholders.”

“I have an entire team of scientists. Why would I need you?” He didn’t like that she already knew his plans. Her behavior, so blasé about showing her cards could only mean she kept big plays hidden elsewhere.

He had to protect the company, the pack, and the family at all costs.

“My father left his research in code. I’m the only one who knows how to read it.”

He arched a brow, maintaining his cool façade. “Why the charade? Why bother to submit your resume at all? Why not just call me?”

“I know how the game works, Mr. Woolven. I drop the scent, you chase.”

If only she knew how truly she spoke. She’d dropped the scent, to be sure. The scent of lust, of the thrill of the chase, the even more intense thrill of the catch.
A hot and wet culmination under the goddess moon and her stars
… he practically salivated at the thought.

He turned away from her, striding to his desk, intensely aware of her scrutiny on his back. If her eyes could’ve burned him, his bones would be smoking. Right then, he could still toss her out on her plush derriere, and he’d protect himself and the secret. But then he wouldn’t be able to smell her, see her, taste her…

Mine
.

This was insane. Utterly, justifiably—“If I were to hire you for, say, VP of Tech, what would your salary requirements be?”

Her heart literally skipped a beat; he heard it. He’d surprised her.

Good
. It gave him an advantage. He needed an advantage.

“Why would you do that? I don’t have a degree or any experience.”

“Come now, we both know that’s not true. Don’t insult my intelligence. How else would your resume have ended up in
my
inbox? HR wouldn’t have passed it on to me if you weren’t qualified. I know exactly what your skillset is, and how you use it.” He looked her up and down. “Besides, only the VP of Tech, aside from those working on the projects, has clearance. It’s the job I would’ve given your father, and you’d be taking over his work.”

Her heart thundered in her chest like a stampede of wild horses. He rather imagined she was torn between joy at having gotten more than she’d come for and fury at the mention of her father.

“Of course, you’d have to sign a non-disclosure. You’d also have to be approved for top secret clearance. The military has acquired our latest project.”

“So, it’s not just the shareholders.” She nodded. “Why would you tell me that? I want to ruin you. If I walk away now, you’ll never decode his notes.”

He arched a brow. “The same reason you have no qualms about telling me you want to ruin me, I suppose. Nice to have all our cards on the table, isn’t it?”

She obviously wasn’t expecting his candor, but he hadn’t expected hers, either. He liked how ballsy she behaved. He knew she wouldn’t give up, and he didn’t want her to. He liked her fire, but he wanted to control her access to information, yet get what he needed at the same time. Bringing her on board would keep her just close enough to protect the business…and unfortunately, drive his wolf insane.

Randi eyed him, and he met her scrutiny squarely.

“You make no sense.”

“Don’t you want to know what your father was working on that was worth his life?” He twisted the knife deeper.

“You’d trust me with this, knowing I might use it to bring you down?”

Blake flashed her a sly look. “Maybe it will drive
you
mad, too.”

“The project didn’t drive him mad. You did when you devoured his company like a wolf would a rabbit—swallowed it whole and took everything from him.”

“It was business.”

“And when I destroy you, it will be
personal
.”

“Glad we had this chat.” He turned away from her, his wolf burning just beneath his skin. Goddess, he hadn’t been like this since he’d been a teen undergoing his first Change. Fangs filled his mouth; his body on fire as his bones prepared to reshape and reform. Suddenly, all he could hear was her heartbeat. All he could smell, her scent.

“Don’t turn your back on me, Woolven.”

Her snarl made his cock harder than it had ever been in his life. Goddess, but there was something wrong with him. This shouldn’t turn him on, but it did—more than even the taboo of fucking Marchessa de la Luna.

He summoned every last bit of his will and caged his wolf before turning to face her. She’d closed the distance between them. To what end, he wasn’t sure.

Her lips parted in a gasp then he scented something new. She desired him as much as he desired her. He couldn’t help the smirk that curved his lips.

“It stinks like sex in here, Woolven. I’m well aware of your reputation, and I am not impressed with your pretty hair or your broad shoulders. Or your stupid smirk.”

But she was. He could smell it.

Blake quirked a brow. “I didn’t sleep with her.”

“I don’t care what you do.” She crossed her arms over her chest, standard defensive body language.

“Still, I didn’t. Whether you care or not doesn’t change the facts. If I’m going to be punished for something, I’d prefer it to be a punishment I’ve earned.” He wondered if she could smell his desire. Even though she was human, her body would’ve been made to accommodate their mating. In her DNA would be a secret code which allowed his bite to Turn her.

His fangs elongated in his mouth just thinking about it.

Thinking about David’s bloated corpse killed his desire. Would that knowledge of the Woolven Secret drive her mad as it had her father?