* * * * *
Riya quietly walked through the house. No one else was around. It was very late and the entire household had gone to bed. She hadn’t been able to find any sleep and had left Capac asleep in his room. Her mind wouldn’t settle, thoughts of the decision she’d have to make swirled around it.
Passing by the living room, she saw Wren on the couch fast asleep. The other woman had tried one more time to get Ryder to agree to share his room with her, but he’d turned her down again. Riya had a feeling Wren wouldn’t give up too easily, though.
Feeling as if the walls were closing in on her, Riya walked to the glass sliding door and stepped onto the deck. She slowly tugged it shut, then turned to face the large backyard. She wrapped her arms around her. It was almost cold enough to see her breath. The warm spell they’d had was ending and soon autumn temperatures would be there.
Riya looked up at the clear, night sky at all the stars that twinkled high above her. She then turned her gaze to the darker patch that denoted the tree line. She still was conflicted in some ways on what answer she should give Capac. She wasn’t one who could make snap decisions, especially when she felt stressed about it. That had to come from her lack of self-confidence. Her mom was forever telling her to not be so down on herself. This from a woman who had confidence in spades and more than enough of it to propel her into a successful lawyer’s career. It was easier said than done.
She walked down the steps of the deck and stepped onto the lawn. Sometimes a walk helped Riya to get her thoughts straight. Since she wouldn’t take the chance of leaving the property she headed for the trees. Once she’d reached them she’d turn around and head back to the deck, repeating the process as many times as she needed to finally make her decision. Plus, it would help keep her warm. She only wore a long-sleeved t-shirt and didn’t feel like going back inside to get a jacket.
Riya completed the circuit, then started once again. She got lost in her thoughts, her reasons why to accept Capac far outweighing the ones to not. She could come to love him, if she weren’t already halfway there.
At the tree line something barreled out and smashed into Riya. Pushed to the ground onto her back, she had the wind knocked out of her. It wasn’t until a wolf’s paw landed on the center of her chest and sharp-looking teeth came into view did she realize how much in danger she was. This wasn’t one of Capac’s wolf brothers, nor was it Wren.
She let out a scream as the sharp teeth lunged for her throat. Riya had the common sense to lift her arms and block the attack. Instead of hitting its target, the wolf clamped its jaws around one of her forearms and bit down until she heard bone break. She screamed in pain and fear.
With one of her arms incapacitated, the wolf went on the strike again for her throat. This time it latched on to it, sinking its teeth deep. Riya could only whimper as she waited for him to finish her off by snapping her neck.
A black furry mass slammed into the wolf, tearing his jaws and him away from her. Riya felt the wetness of blood seeping into her shirt. Afraid to move, she lay there as a buzzing started in her head. Her limbs felt heavy, and the cold that had bothered her before didn’t seem to affect her as much as it had. All around her were the sounds of wolves fighting.
Suddenly Capac was there, lifting her to cradle in his arms. His gaze lowered to her throat, a look of denial on his face. Riya turned her head slightly to see the wolf that had attacked her was subdued by the other sentinels. She heard Edensaw say that he’d read Greg’s mind while in dire wolf form and that the dark wolf had targeted her as a test to prove how loyal he was to Tanner. Riya’s eyes grew heavy and she fought to keep them open.
“Riya!” Capac shouted. “Look at me. Don’t close your eyes.”
She turned back to him. “I’m bleeding too much. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone outside.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ketah came and squatted at Capac’s side. “You have to turn her, Capac. Now. She’s not going to make it if you don’t, not as a mortal.”
The fear of dying had the decision she’d fought to make coming to the forefront of her mind. She nodded at Capac. “Do it. I want it. I want you. Don’t let me go.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” He passed her to Ketah, then looked at Riya. “Once you feel the pain, search deep inside you for a spark of magic. Hold on to it and think of yourself as a wolf. You’ll shift then. Do you understand?”
She nodded, which caused her head to spin. “Yes.”
Capac shifted to his dire wolf form. Before Riya had time to think about it, he bit her where her shoulder and neck met. Her body well on its way to going numb, she hardly felt it at all. But that couldn’t be said about the new pain that rose inside her, sinking into every cell of her body.
Trying her best to breathe through it, Riya did as Capac had instructed and looked inside herself. It took longer than she’d wanted it to, but she found that spark. Then her body and her perspective of the world changed. She could see as if it were daylight. All of her senses were sharper, keener. She squirmed out of Ketah’s arms. Capac appeared to be a lot taller than he had been. The pain and weakness she’d experienced was no more, even her broken bone had mended. She felt as if she could run a couple of marathons and not even be winded.
Capac went down on his knees in front of her. “You did it, Riya. You’re in your dire wolf form.”
Remembering how he’d taught Wren how to communicate, Riya said,
If I had known I would feel this good I wouldn’t have hesitated to have you turn me
.
“I will assume you are happy with the outcome. Now you only have one decision left to make.”
Reaching for the spark once more, Riya shifted to human form and went on her knees to be at Capac’s level. “It’s already made. Take me to bed, Capac. There’s no point in waiting for the morning now. I know what I want and I want you.”
Ketah stood. “Time for me to leave. It looks as if Edensaw and the others have Greg tied up. He won’t be going anywhere.”
Capac grabbed Riya’s hand and dragged her to her feet as he gained his. He didn’t look back, just towed her into the house and didn’t stop until they were both locked inside his bedroom.
Her mate was on her in a matter of seconds. His arms came around her and held her tight while his mouth devoured hers. He pressed against her, his scent so much more intense than it had been when she’d been a mortal. She sucked his tongue into her mouth, loving the taste of him, but needing more, a lot more.
Capac let go of her and lifted his hands to the collar of her shirt. In his strong grip, he ripped the material in half from neckline to hem. He then tugged it off her and tossed it away. He lifted his head only to say, “Your blood is all over it. I don’t need the reminder of how close I came to losing you.”
Riya had no complaints about that. She wanted to tear Capac’s clothes off and get as close to him as she could. The need to have him built inside her with each breath she took. He was her mate. She needed him to claim her. Nothing would be right until he did.
She let out her first wolf growl and bit down lightly on Capac’s bottom lip. “Make me yours. Now. I can’t wait.”
The rest of her clothes fell to the floor as Capac stripped her of each piece. She did the same to him. Then they were both in each other’s arms, kissing and touching wherever they could reach.
Somehow Capac managed to get them up onto the bed. Riya pulled him down on top of her. His hard cock brushed against her slick pussy. She didn’t need any more foreplay. She was more than ready for him. She took hold of his ass in both hands, and using her newfound werewolf strength, brought him closer so his erection slid into her.
The feel of him finally filling her had Riya closing her eyes with a moan. Capac canted his hips back, pulling almost all the way out of her before he thrust back home. He took her in hard, fast strokes. She urged him on with growls and whispered words of encouragement, not that he needed any.
As she hung on to the edge of orgasm, Riya felt the mating bond start to form between her and Capac. A piece of her soul reached out for his, and his grasped on to it, making them one. The newly formed bond snapped into place. Riya couldn’t hold back the howl that built inside her as she was instantly thrown into the best climax of her life. Capac howled right along with her, his cock pulsing deep inside her pussy, filling her with his cum.
Once it was over he collapsed on top of her, his shaft still hard, keeping them connected. He breathed heavily. “Thank god I’m immortal or you’d kill me,” he said between pants.
Riya pushed on Capac until he rolled onto his back. “In that case, and since you haven’t lost your erection, let me do all the work.” She slowly lifted, then sank down onto him again, causing them both to growl.
“I guess I should tell you that it’s a male werewolf thing. I can stay hard for hours, even after I’ve come more than once.”
She placed her hands on her mate’s wide chest and set to work on bringing them both to release again. “Yay me.” Riya leaned down and nipped Capac’s chin. “And just so you know, I love you, mate. It took being close to dying for me to realize it, but you own my heart.”
In a show of strength, Capac flipped them so she was under him. “I’ll love you forever. And to prove it I’m going to make my mate howl with pleasure.”
Riya held on as Capac stroked in and out of her, taking her hard and fast. There would be plenty of time for slow and steady later. Right now she wanted the man she’d have to love until the end of time to make her howl over and over again.
The End
Marisa Chenery was always a lover of books, but after reading her first historical romance novel she found herself hooked. Having inherited a love for the written word, she soon started writing her own novels.
After trying her hand at writing historicals, she now writes paranormals.
Marisa lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and four children. She would love to hear from you, so drop her an email.
Marisa welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
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Big City Pack 1: The Canuck Werewolf
Big City Pack 2: A Werewolf at the Falls
Big City Pack 3: Werewolf’s Treasure
Big City Pack 4: Werewolf Claimed
Big City Pack 5: Loved by a Werewolf
Goddess Revealed 1: Bast’s Perfume
Goddess Revealed 2: Love’s Fiery Arrow
Goddess Revealed 3: The Goddess’ Girdle
Goddess Revealed 4: His Sea Goddess
Ra’s Chosen 3: Longed-For Hunger
Ra’s Chosen 4: Embrace the Hunger
Ra’s Chosen 5: Reincarnated Hunger
Ra’s Chosen 6: Foreseen Hunger
Warrior Hunger 1: Embraced by a Warrior
Warrior Hunger 2: Her Eternal Warrior
Warrior Hunger 3: Warrior’s Surrender
Warrior Hunger 4: A Warrior to Love
Werewolf Sentinels 1: Awakened from Ice
Werewolf Sentinels 2: Ice Hunter’s Mate
Werewolf Sentinels 3: Love Bound in Ice
Werewolf Sentinels 4: Ice Age Lover
Werewolf Sentinels 5: Ice Claimed