Taken by the Pack (Werewolf Romantic Erotica)

Taken by the Pack

By Soichiro Irons

Copyright 2014 Soichiro Irons

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please visit an online e-book vender and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is an erotic short story featuring werewolf-themed sexual situations. All humans in this story are over the age of eighteen.

You can also find more of my stories at
soichiroirons.com
!

It didn’t take me long to track her down.

The female hadn’t been by the tent with the other one; she’d wandered down to the river to clean some water for their breakfast. It was something she had done every day since she’d arrived, so it didn’t surprise me to find her there. She didn’t know that she was being tracked, of course – she would have avoided the river like death had she noticed my gray hide stalking her every move.

The rustle of leaves in the underbrush to my flank gave away Kelso’s presence before he spoke. “So, this is the one you’ve chosen, Colt?” he growled, the deep-throated tones rumbling like a distant thunderstorm.

I tried to suppress my sudden shock. He shouldn’t have been able to get so close without me noticing. My obsessive fascination with the girl at the river had left me exposed and vulnerable. I would need to be more careful about that in the future.

“Perhaps,” I said, growling back in response. I wasn’t afraid of being discovered; human ears weren’t strong enough to hear our conversation. Even if she could, though, we sounded no different than any other animal in the forest. “I’ve been keeping tabs on her, anyways. She seems promising.”

Kelso grunted. His eyes were neutral as he appraised my target, who was filling the second bucket with water. “She’s attractive, yes. Full-figured and healthy, though a bit too fragile to be a mate. Have you thought it all through yet, or are you only interested in her looks?”

“Human babies are much larger than our pups,” I argued. “Surely her body would adjust…”

“I’m not talking about her ability to give birth, Colt.”

Point taken, I thought bitterly. The woman at the brook was young for her kind, probably in her early-twenties. She had long, straight blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Her ample bosom was covered by the yellow sundress that ran down to her ankles. Only a sun-bleached pair of sandals protected her feet from the rough forest floor.

She was, by all accounts, gorgeous – but Kelso’s words were undeniable. She was so much more slender than any of the humans that had been snatched by the tribe before. Most of the humans that had been stupid enough to venture into their forest had been the strong, burly hiker-types. Kelso’s own mate was almost as large as
he
was, and that was saying something.

“They are adaptable,” I said, craning my head sideways at Kelso. “The mother of our tribe, after all-”

“I’m not arguing with you, pup,” Kelso growled. His tone was laced with the amusement of an older wolf admonishing a younger one. “You’re more than welcome to choose whichever woman you wish. I only advise that you not make a mistake. The tribe will not look kindly on any inadvertent…accidents.”

I didn’t know exactly what he meant by that, but I didn’t dare ask. I was already thought of as the puppy in the clan – asking mating questions would only reinforce my own ignorance in their eyes.

“The tribe will just have to trust my judgment, won’t they?”

Kelso didn’t answer for a long moment. His pale yellow eyes were trained on my prey, watching her every move as she ran the stream water through the cleaning machine. “She is an attractive one. If you fail to capture her, perhaps I’ll have a go.”

“You already have a mate. Leave some for the rest of us.”

Kelso’s muzzle morphed in a crooked sort of grin. “If Boss can have his females
and
that male slave of his, what harm is there in my taking two females?”

“This one’s mine. Find your own.”

Kelso’s eyes flashed with sudden intensity, and my muscles clenched. For a tense moment, I was certain that we’d have some sort of duel right there and then for the chance to mate.

He reached forward and, in a move so quick that I barely felt it, Kelso nipped my nose with a gentle bite. “Of course she is, Colt. Go fetch and mate with her already. I was only playing with you.”

I didn’t believe him; Kelso was well-known for his list of prior conquests, and more than one of those had already been claimed by another member of the pack. Instead of arguing about it, though, I nodded. “That was the plan. Leave me be so that I can go through with it.”

Kelso’s eyes lingered on my future mate for an instant longer than was appropriate. Before I could protest, though, he was gone…moving out of sight as quietly as a breeze.

His scent lingered in the air and I could have followed him had I wanted to. At the moment, though, I cared nothing for the older wolf. My attention redoubled on the woman by the river; amazingly, she
still
hadn’t noticed me. Thank heaven for small favors.

I closed my eyes and allowed my tense muscles to shift. There were many ways to attract a mate, but I wanted to at least give her a
choice
. That seemed to be the most humane option, after all.

The transformation complete, I took a deep breath before stepping out of the woods and into the cool water of the stream.

***

I was just turning to leave when I saw him appear out of nowhere.

At first, I thought that he was my husband – who else would be walking around naked in the middle of the woods? We’d just made love less than an hour ago and I hadn’t seen him get dressed before I’d gotten up to make breakfast. It wasn’t like John to be nude in public, but we
were
on vacation after all. Maybe he’d come to finish me off…wouldn’t
that
have been nice.

A second glance, though, told me that it wasn’t the man I’d been married to for the last eight years.

For one thing, the newcomer was
gorgeous.
My husband was still attractive, yes, but the silver-haired man who stepped out from the bushes was like a runway model. His shoulders and arms were firm with concealed muscle, and his thighs and calves looked as they’d been carved from stone. Without a doubt, he was strong – but it was the kind of strength that came from running and carrying, not body-building.

His eyes, though, were what really caught my attention. They were the color of rich amber and almost glowing in the mid-morning sunlight. They were focused directly on me, and I found myself unwilling to look away.

“Can I, uh, help you?” I said, though the words sounded distant in my own ears. I still couldn’t take my eyes off him. “Are you lost?”

The man opened his mouth…but nothing happened. Experimentally, he lifted and shut his jaw several times before grimacing and starting again.

“I…am not lost,” he said…or, at least, that’s what I think he said. His voice was raw and hoarse.

“Are you hurt?” I said with a note of concern. “You sound awful.”

“No. I’m…sorry, I haven’t spoken much in a long time.” His eyes were earnest as they gazed at me, and I could almost feel the intensity of his glare. “I...I wanted to talk to you.”

“I…I really shouldn’t be here by myself, not with a…well, you’re naked,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. “I don’t think that my husband would appreciate that very much.”

I wasn’t sure what I had expected; a touch of embarrassment on his part would have been appropriate, I supposed. Even a little nervous laughter would have been acceptable, all things considered.

What I received, though, was silence – along with a sly sort of smile. There was something off about the way he glared at me…he was like a dog eyeing a piece of steak.

“You already have a mate,” he said. It wasn’t really a question.

“Y-yes, he’s back at our camp…just over the ridge there.”

I lifted my hand to point back over my shoulder. My eyes were still locked on his as if captured by some mysterious magic.
Perhaps they were
, I thought to myself skeptically.

“I know where he is,” he said. His words still sounded like growls, but he was getting clearer by the second. “I know that he has already marked you less than an hour ago. I am unconcerned by this.”

A flood of dread swept over my body. “Were – have you been
spying
on us? Were you watching us have sex?”

The wild man tilted his head sideways at me. “I was not. I caught his scent from downriver.”

“You…” I was at a loss for words. “You…could smell him…?”

For the first time, the nude man seemed to smile from amusement. “Oh, yes. I still can, in fact – he claimed you quite thoroughly. I’m surprised that you’re unable to scent him yourself.”

My cheeks were hot with sudden embarrassment. John and I hadn’t used birth control in years – not since the vasectomy. I hadn’t had a chance to clean myself up…so the strange man’s claim wasn’t impossible to believe. The thought of others knowing that I’d been…claimed…sent a wave of disgust through my body.

“I…I see. I don’t really know how to respond to that.”

“No response is necessary,” the man said. He held his hands out in a welcoming gesture, and I noticed that he kept himself groomed rather nicely. His fingernails were trimmed and there was no obvious sign of dirt or mud covering his exposed flesh. He looked cleaner than I was, honestly.

“Then…what do you want?”

The man looked at me as if I were crazy. “…you, of course.”

All too late, the pieces clicked into place. The nudity, the wanton desire in his eyes, the bold way he spoke to a stranger…it was all desire on his part. He didn’t want to talk to me – he wanted to
fuck
me. I’d heard about crazy hermits who lived out in the woods that took advantage of careless hikers, but I’d never imagined I’d be one of their victims.

“I don’t want you,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. I couldn’t get upset – that might only make the stranger angry. “I have a husband – a mate. I really ought to be getting back to him.”

“Neither of us want there to be a rivalry for your affection. I am more than willing to fight for you, though, should the need arise.”

My heart froze in my chest at his words. If there was going to be some sort of brawl, John would be wrecked by this massive wild man. An accountant by trade, my husband was not what I would have called ‘buff’. Hell, I was pretty sure that I could take him down if the need ever arose to do so.

“You don’t even know who I am,” I said, trying to change the subject. “How can you expect a woman to want you if you don’t care what their name is?”

The man cocked his head sideways at me, apparently confused by my response. “What is your name?”

“Anna,” I replied in a small voice. The man scared me, but there was something else gnawing at me…something about the way he looked into my eyes. I couldn’t place the feeling, but I didn’t like it. “What about you?”

“Colt,” he said, puffing his chest out proudly. “The youngest of three.”

“Really?” I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded important. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Colt.”

His head cocked sideways at me once more. “Likewise. Now…shall we go?”

“Go where?”

“With me, of course.”

His words jarred me out of the trance I’d been in, and I was finally able to break away from his gaze. It was like taking a breath of air after being underwater for a long time. “I’m not going off with you!”

“Yes, you are.”

I shot a defiant look in his direction, an action I immediately regretted. His eyes were like magnets, drawing me in. “All…all it would take is one scream and everyone within a mile would be on top of you. My husband may not be strong enough to take you down, but with help…”

“It is a moot point,” Colt said, unconcerned by my threat. “Because you will not yell or draw attention to us.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because you
want
to come with me.”

A thousand protests died on my lips as he stepped across the stream and held out his hand to me. I stared at it for a long time, unsure as to why I wasn’t shooting him down right there and then. I may not have been sexually satisfied with John, but I was nothing if not loyal to him. I’d never even considered straying from our marriage, particularly with a naked stranger I’d just met in the woods moments before.

So why, then, did I take his offered hand and allow myself to be led into the woods?

***

The silence was tense and awkward as we walked, him leading and tugging me along as we made our way through the forest. There was no defined trail, exactly, but Colt had no problem finding the paths of least resistance. We made good time, assuming that there actually was a goal to our wandering.

“Where are we going?” I asked for the fifth time. He hadn’t answered me yet – he hadn’t said a word since we’d started off – but I couldn’t stay quiet forever.