Alpha Wolf: Black Mesa Wolves #2 (Werewolf Shifter Paranormal Romance) (5 page)

“Sara!” Rafe said, his voice a mix between a bark of
surprise and—pleasure? Ears flicked back, she could hear him pause for the
briefest moment. Then a light whoosh disrupted the air behind her, followed by
a thump as he hit the ground after vaulting over the fence.

Faster,
Sara's human urged. She wasted no time
stretching out, lengthening her body to the maximum speeds it could reach. Her
muscles flexed and worked, eliciting a happy mental groan at how good it felt.

Sara raced through the dusk-covered forest. She leapt over
downed logs, dodged a low-hanging branch or three, whipped around trunks
bristling with new piney growth, and absorbed a beautiful maelstrom of scents
from millimeters to miles away. When she rounded a small yet thick stand of
Douglas firs, she almost collided with a sudden ponderosa. Her shoulder and fur
scraped by and released an intoxicating scent of vanilla and butterscotch from
the tree.

Smells like baking cookies,
her human thought. Sara
wrinkled her nose a bit and shrugged mentally. Sometimes, her human mentioned
things that had little place in the mountain forests or the desert cliffs and
buttes. Sara found it best to simply continue racing and leaping and hunting
and running, letting her human giggle quietly somewhere in the back of her
mind.

Rafe's scent whipped into her nostrils: sharp and wild, he
also smelled like crushed fern and a whiff of aspen bark where he must have
rubbed too close to one. She imagined sensible Rafe having an unexpectedly
close encounter with a tree and twisting madly to avoid crashing into it. Her
tongue lolled out for a moment even as she ran, a grin splitting her jaw. Her
canines must have gleamed for a moment, because a short huffing noise somewhere
to her left let her know Rafe was nearby and quite aware of her presence.

Sara always found running an activity that cleared her mind,
whether as woman or wolf. Everything else fell away. Worries, thoughts, fears
all melted off when she ran, when she exercised her muscles hard. Her mind
soothed to a simple mechanism of action and movement.

Even Rafe briefly left her mind. Air sucked into her lungs,
rich spring earth and a mingling of smells both wild and human from the trees
and mountains and scattered homes zipped by as scents detected in mere seconds.
The promise of renewed life about to burst from the ground invigorated Sara's
legs even more. She flowed over the earth in that state of singularity between
thought and doing, losing herself for joyous moments as merely a creature
peacefully and completely at one with her surroundings and her own simple
being.

This Sara had nothing to prove. This Sara simply lived to
run and exist and enjoy this moment.

Although the hot springs would feel very nice after such
a great run,
her human thought somewhere deep inside. Her voice sounded a
little wistful yet teasing.
I wonder how long this run has been?

Sara snorted softly. Time had no meaning to wolves. Only to
humans.

Someone has to get up in the mornings and show up for
duty. Running isn't everything.
Her human shrugged, then started picturing
the hot springs. Soothing billows of steam rising, deliciously hot water to
sink into, Rafe naked and willing in the spring with her....

Sara took a misstep at the fierce longing in her human's
mind. Finally, she was showing some sense.

A cocked ear and sharp inhale let her know Rafe easily kept
up about ten yards away, now to her right and just behind her tail. Slipping
through the trees with her, enjoying the run as much as she did. She wondered
if he, too, forgot about everything else when he ran.

Never,
her human whispered.
He's going to be an
alpha. Alphas never forget anything.

Sara looped around the next tree and began loping back to the
hot springs. The lights of people's houses glinted through branches here and
there. Sara ignored them and let the smell of the hot water guide her back. All
she needed was her nose and her sure feet.

And maybe a certain wolf.

Chapter
4

Rafe admired Sara's flashing shape ahead of him as they
neared the springs again. Small but compact, she was a very well-proportioned
wolf. She easily she negotiated the terrain of their home, both mountain and
desert.

Glancing up, Rafe took in the massive form of Black Mesa
itself rearing high above town, just south of the hot springs. The western edge
of the valley signaled the change between mountains and red rock desert, from
high elevation pine trees and wildflowers to junipers, sage, buttes and mesas.
The Pack den sat near that change, still in the pine trees but close enough to
reach the canyon country in a short run. Rafe loved his home with a loyalty
born of deep connection with the land and simple enjoyment of its beauties and
enormous space.

We'll be leaving it soon,
his human reminded.

Yes. To start a new pack, as quietly ordered by the Alpha.
Rafe had long known he would never lead the Black Mesa Pack. His natural
abilities as an alpha were strong enough that his father wanted him to begin a
new pack of wolves, much farther north, one that would function fully by itself
while still always deferring to the Black Mesa Pack as the dominant one.
Strong, healthy packs were necessary to the survival of shifters for
generations to come. Rafe's father had long anticipated the need for
strengthening their borders to the far north. With his decision to also start a
nearby pack led by the rogue—Luke, he forced himself to acknowledge—he knew the
Black Mesa Pack would need as much fortification as necessary.

Not to mention a pack hovering around forty wolves was
simply too large. It was time to branch out and let some of the younger wolves
make names and traditions for themselves in new packs.

Sara continued to glide downhill, lightly jumping logs and
weaving between the white bark of aspen trees. Rafe wondered how she would take
it when he broke the news to her that he would be leaving Black Mesa.

Hot spring,
his human murmured deep in his mind.
Warm
and nearby.

Rafe grinned and leaped hard after Sara. Her sleek shape vaulted
over the metal fence at the back of the hot springs property. He followed in a
single breath.

They landed on the upper level, next to the hottest pool
that beckoned to weary bones. A black plastic cover draped over the top of the
small pool. Sara stood and shed her wolf form in a single moment. The ripple of
fur over human flesh blended for just that instant, creating something even
more primal and feral than the wolf shape. It reminded Rafe, as it always did,
that his fellow packmates were capable of so much more than just human action,
or just wolf action. They were a unique blend of both, which in itself created
a deeper kind of magic—his human side snorted at that term—than any non-shifter
on the planet could ever hope to achieve.

Naked, dappled by shadow and light from the moon above
playing hide and seek with the pine branches, Sara stood firm and
unselfconscious. She turned her head toward Rafe, watching him shift. He let
the change to flow over him more slowly than usual, allowing Sara time to see
the process as he merged wolf into man. Controlling the shift was a major
advantage of shifter genes. All the bizarre human stories about a full moon
forcing a shift, or needing to be chained up during some ravening “werewolf”
phase, always made Rafe chuckle. If only they knew.

Rafe stood on two legs, as unreservedly naked as Sara. His
utter awareness of her presence beside him, not to mention the immediacy of the
shift, kept his wolf very close to the surface. Her body enticed in human form
as much as it did in wolf: small, lithe, with beautiful little breasts perking
in the evening chill. He let his gaze wander over the soft curves and defined
muscles for a leisurely moment before looking into her eyes.

To his amusement and satisfaction, Sara blushed. Good. Her
awareness of him as a man was evident. He firmly made up his mind to
demonstrate to her now, tonight, his equal intent awareness of her.

“Shall we?” He gestured at the cover on the pool.

“Yes. Right. Let's,” she said, bustling over to one end of the
pool cover to lift it up. Probably also to mask the nervous tone he could hear
in her usually confident voice.

With a quick fling powered by the strength of their shifter
genes, they removed the heavy cover. Steam billowed up and drifted into the
pines overhead. Not looking at him again, Sara dipped a toe in the water. She
sucked in a breath.

Mine,
his wolf growled, low and strong.
Mine.

Yes, Rafe thought. Mine.

Inch by slow, captivating inch, Sara slid her beautiful body
into the water. She emitted little squeaks and gasps as the heated water moved
up her skin. Each noise elevated Rafe's eyebrows as well as his interest. He
felt his eyes widen a fraction, his pulse speed up, his breath rate increase.
Standing utterly still as he watched her, he took in the slow slide as the dark
waters caressed her ankles, then her toned calves, then her beautifully muscled
yet still feminine legs. As she carefully sank lower and lower, the water
swirled and curved toward her inner thighs and the inviting shadow at their
crux.

Damn, how he wanted to stroke her right there with his
tongue.

“Wow, this is crazy hot,” Sara said, her voice a strangled
gasp.

“It sure is.” Rafe eyed her, letting the frank appreciation
come out in his tone.

Sara's back stiffened and she turned her head toward him.
Her mouth was a small “o” of surprise. Rafe's imaginings of what he could do
with that sweet, luscious mouth increased the tightening in his groin and the
stirring in his blood.

“I mean—the water. It's hot. Really hot,” Sara said.

Rafe's eyes caught the darkening of her fair skin as more
blushing marched across her face, half hidden by blonde strands. It was so
unlike the usually straightforward, fun-loving wolf she presented to the world.
Knowing it was all for him, that he was the one causing her word babbling and
skin flushing, only further bolstered his sense of masculinity. Sara was
easygoing and fun-loving. He knew perfectly well she liked to bar-hop in town
sometimes, picking up local human cowboys for a little playtime. Despite the
fact it made him clench his jaw every time she'd come back to the pack den
smelling of another male, he'd never held it against her. She was a wolf, only
doing what came naturally.

But he'd sure gotten damn tired of waiting for her to
realize he was the best wolf for her. The only one.

“Coming in,” he said as warning. Slowly, silently despite
the breathtaking heat that almost sizzled his bare skin, Rafe stepped into the
pool with Sara.

Sara practically stopped breathing when Rafe entered the
water next to her. She'd seen him naked hundreds of times in her life. Probably
thousands. She'd dropped her clothes in front of him a scant hour ago in the
parking lot and barely batted an eye. Being naked was as natural to a shifter
as breathing, or hunting.

Apparently, it was a very different situation if a wolf was
really interested in another wolf, and when that interest was at a high point
after their run together. Because this whole being flustered thing was not
Sara's style. Not at all. She knew what she liked, she went for it, she got it,
she moved on. Easy peasy, no one got hurt, have a little fun and keep on going.
No one in the pack would ever expect her to get serious about a guy anytime
soon. Well, Lily seemed to think so, but that was just Lily being a good
friend. Sara wasn't the daughter of an alpha, nor did anyone expect her to ever
be a top ranking Guardian.

Unless, of course, she could convince everyone otherwise.

Including Rafe. Who was a top ranking Guardian, not to
mention eldest son of the Alpha and therefore in line to be Alpha himself, one
day.

Sara dropped the rest of her body into the pool, hissing as
the delicious heat completely enveloped her. Pushing off the wall with her
feet, she propelled herself to the other side. It was only five feet across,
but being as far away from Rafe as possible suddenly seemed wise. She pressed
her back against the far wall and eyed him and his small but distinct grin with
wariness.

Because, holy smokes, her hormones were revved up. All she
could envision was how they'd tangled the sheets back then, twisting and
turning and burning. He'd been pretty spectacular. Okay,
they'd
been
pretty spectacular, together. In bed spectacular.

Rafe lounged back against the wall on the other side of the
hot pool. Even relaxed, he still exuded an authoritative air. That little grin
tugging at his molded lips softened his gorgeous yet stern features somewhat.
Either way, there was no mistaking his confident, self-aware presence.

“Um.” Well, that was a great opener. “That was a good run.
Thanks for going with me.”

Rafe studied her for a minute. She squirmed under the dark
intensity of his gaze. Squirming heated things up on the inside, which was a sensation
Sara was quite familiar with. With Rafe, it meant trouble.

Her wolf rolled in Sara's mind and sent enticing images of
Rafe's big, strong maleness. As if Sara might forget.

Rafe abruptly reached out a finger and flicked water at
Sara. Startled, she emitted a really girly squeal of indignation.

“Hey!”

A full smiled lazed its way across Rafe's face. A shaft of
moonlight lit up one eye, one cheek, and cut gently across his mesmerizing
lips.

Sara's wolf rolled in ecstasy at her human's fixation on
Rafe. Sara thought the word
finally
might be drifting through her mind,
but she wasn't sure.

“Just being playful, Sara. Contrary to popular opinion, I do
know how to relax and enjoy myself.” His deep tones sent a shiver across her
body.