The Mechanic's Mate (6 page)

Chapter 8

The moon would be full tonight. Domek took a break from packing to scratch at his arms. Like always, his skin itched and bones ached announcing the coming shift. Although the sun perched high right now, it couldn’t hide the goddess’ most influential lunar phase waiting nearby for its turn at him, at his kind. The pending change had to be exerting even more force on Sadie.

He remembered his first shift. It happened just after puberty. The excruciating act of bones breaking themselves, only to find they hurt even more when reknitting into the wolf’s skeletal structure. And the muscles, oh how he hated the muscles stretching beyond what any brain believed capable, setting off another set of pain signals.

Oh god, and the fire ants biting at my skin when the wolf’s coat breaks the surface.
Domek wished he could protect Sadie from having to go through this, but the shift’s inevitable agony couldn’t be circumvented, by anyone. She needed to be pushed past any boundary of pain her human mind had imposed on her. How else would she know the limits of being a werewolf. The extremes would prepare her for the natural sexual appetites that came with being a wolf.

He went back through his checklist making sure he had everything needed to help her through this.
The wool blanket!
He almost missed packing the one thing she’d need most after shifting back. Were’s bodies endure so much when shifting to wolf and back again that the new ones go into shock. It leaves the person unable to control their shaking while ice flows through their veins, deep in every mending bone. No longer affected after a shift, he’d almost forgotten.

“Maybe I should pack something warm to drink after?” he called to Marek, who had stopped by and now rooted around Domek’s
kitchen. The tall man with short dark hair turned around to face him. His brown eyes were capped with thick Italian, expressive eyebrows, showing that he was in mid-thought. Marek raised his hand to scratch at his constantly scruff covered chin.

“When your dieselhead first gets up she keeps asking Kara about getting coffee. How does she put it? Oh yeah, she says”-clearing his throat attempting a horrible impersonation of Sadie-“how do you people survive in this place without coffee?”

Domek frowned. “I have the herbal teas the healer has given me. Who do we know that has coffee? Do you think one of the Scrubs would have some?”

In the eighty years since the war, enclaves would get occasional humans wishing to leave the noise and live the quieter simple life of Weres, but without the wish to become one. The wolves called them ‘Scrubs’ because they came to enclaves searching for a cleaner life. The humans would warble on about scrubbing the city from their souls.

The reformed dieselheads respected the wolves’ hierarchy, participating in things like working the land, and caring for the livestock. They also joined the pack in worshipping Gaia, something most dieselheads stopped doing generations prior to the war. Humans began worshiping money, power, and large loud machines. However, Scrubs didn’t move within the enclave proper, they preferred to stay on the fringes. He understood why too. Without becoming a werewolf, no one could understand what living as one entailed, especially the desires of one.

“Marek, I want you to go now, find a Scrub with coffee.” As Marek reached the door he added, “And whatever it’s brewed in!”

“Why is this so important to you? You’ve never provided hot drinks for the new ones.” Raising an eyebrow he questioned, “Is there something special about her?”

“What does that mean? What are you insinuating?” Domek replied defensively.

“I don’t know man, but you’re acting different, like you’re her sire . . . or mate.” He gave a nonchalant shrug, heading out.

Domek walked to the wardrobe, and flung the doors open. Digging through the items within, he found the thickest, softest woolen blanket he had. He shook it out inspecting every inch for threadbare areas or holes. Then what Marek said hit him.

Full moon! I do treat her differently.
He had to admit to himself that this one was different, and Sadie’s first change had him more concerned than usual. Domek acted as though he sired her, like some unpaid debt to Eridon now made him responsible for her wellbeing.
Well, I don’t owe that sack of shit anything! He made his choices, and brought every consequence on himself.

He stopped to scratch his neck, and then stuffed the blanket in his bag. Marek was taking too damn long. Why did Domek send the beta? He should have just gone himself. Days could pass before that stubborn wolf did anything his alpha ordered. It would be like him to stop home first for a pre-shift quickie with Kara, the insolent ass. The longer Dom waited, the slower time moved, and the more he paced. As his wolf twitched nervously, he knew Sadie would be even worse. He needed to go to her, and make sure she coped during this time.

Tension built up until Domek bellowed out, “Damn it, Marek, hurry up!”

Sadie paced the living room rubbing her arms to fight the crawling sensation lurking under her
skin. Where was her alpha? She needed him.
Now
.

This is not like me, I’m getting werewolf madness aren’t I!

She had been circling the room for a while now identifying internal tidal shifts, though she’d never even been near any ocean. Something prowled through her mind and pushed against her as the night grew closer. She fought to relax, tilting her head at a rustling outside. A big inhalation revealed that he’d blessedly arrived. She turned running out the door toward his scent without closing it behind her, heading straight at the silhouette in the fading light. Sadie, without pause, jumped. She wrapped her arms and legs around him with the strength of a vice. Finally, the crawling sensation relaxed. Unsure what made her need him, the overwhelming relief with his proximity kept her from questioning the fact that it just did.

Domek’s arms contracted around her as he chuckled. “So you’re happy to see me?”

She smiled against his cheek. “I’m sorry, I just . . .”

“Shh . . . I know, no need to explain. I’m sorry it took me so long, but we need to get a move on. We’ll have to hike back a bit into the woods for this, to an area I can keep you herded away from both city and enclave.”

Dom eased Sadie’s feet to the ground, prying her arms from around his neck, but keeping one of her hands entwined with his. He pulled her back up the porch, so he could close the door, before they headed east.

“Take a deep calming breath and relax into the moon’s pull. That itching crawling sensation is your wolf, and she’s ready for you to let her out to play. After your first shift you will learn to let her out or hold her in at will, but this time she needs control. So, the other part of you will want to push the human back and take over at first, stretching her new legs. Don’t be alarmed, I’ll help you come back up.”

Sensations warred within her. If not for the warm hand holding hers, Sadie would have split in two. When they stopped at a wide-open space he turned and grabbed both of her wrists, running his thumbs on their pulse points with a light touch. “Ready. You will tell me if you are uncomfortable.”

Even though he hadn’t formed the statement as a question, he waited for her nod of assent. Unbuttoning her blouse, Domek appeared to be studying her. His hands slid under the fabric covering her shoulders pushing the shirt down and off. She wore a black bra, with seams stitched in the city slicker high fashion way that brought each breast up and out, into a peak. Lingering just above them, he hovered his fingers over each seam. She could feel the heat of them, but not their touch, causing tight peaks underneath the material. She had no idea where her diesel ideology went. Sadie should be offended by his bold actions, but her body and soul asserted that what this male was doing felt right. She wanted him to touch her more than anything right now.

Slowly moving behind her, Domek unhooked her bra. He pressed his chest into her back, leaning forward to ease down the thin straps. As the cups gave up their claim to her breasts, he let the undergarment fall to the ground. Despite uncertainty about being nude she held still, suppressing every urge to cover herself. Moving around, he stood in front of her.

“Sadie, look at me. Look right at me.” He waited as she swallowed, took a deep breath, and focused on his eyes. “You are my wolf, mine to care for. As your alpha, I have the responsibility to teach and discipline you, but I do not have the right to touch you without your consent.”

She fought shying away as his fingers brushed under the skirt’s waistband. He wasn’t Eridon. Sadie knew he would stop with a single word or indication, but she didn’t want him to. Domek released the button at the small of her back, lowered the zipper, and dropped down to both knees, pulling the fabric down with him until it lay about her ankles. Sadie trembled as she tried to hide how his fingers brushing her skin affected her.

“Put your hand on my shoulder for balance,” Domek said in a tender tone. Lifting one leg out of the pool of material, he gently removed her shoe, then repeated the same action for her other leg.

Leaning back on his feet, he remained on his knees inhaling deeply. She knew he could smell her arousal.

Sadie was taken by surprise when she heard her undies tear; her hips pulled toward him with a forceful tug. Already feeling off kilter, she just about fell over from the unbalancing manipulation. She shivered slightly as cold air blew through her short curls.

Lost in the new sensation, she almost didn’t notice when Domek released her and stood. Taking a couple steps back, he started to undress while explaining what to expect with her first change. He said something about him shifting part way and pushing the change at her, then his voice became nothing but a background buzzing noise. Sadie found she could only half listen, staring, transfixed on his chest. Her gaze locked onto a solid wall of muscle with a light dust of hair as black as night.

Not too much, not too little
. Lowering her eyes down his abdomen, she imagined hearing the noise made when running something down a washboard. The muscles led to a defined ‘V’ starting at his hips and arrowing down toward the dark black hair surrounding his cock.

Her mouth watered. She wet her dry lips. Did she remember wanting to run her tongue over every inch of his body this much the first time he stripped and shifted for her?
I bet the alpha tastes divine.
Sadie imagined kneeling before him, eyes averted, as his fingers pressed into her head using his free hand’s thumb to open her jaw, placing that cock in her mouth. The firm pressure of its smooth head sliding in and out on her tongue. She could almost feel the vibration of his moan as she pleased him. Despite similarities, this vision filled her with warmth, unlike reality with Eridon.

“. . . and, Sadie, have you heard a thing I’ve said?”

“Mmm, so sheik.”

“Sadie!”

“Oh goddess, I’m sorry, um, I just, er, watching you, I . . .” she said, glad dark night surrounded them, masking the heat of a blush searing her cheeks . . . and her hands, and feet, and . . . and deep in her core . . .
So Hot, oh goddess, too hot
. . . “Alpha, something’s wrong, I think I’m catching fire!”

“Look at me now, Sadie!” Domek’s stern voice broke through the panic and she fixed her gaze on him.

He shifted into a half man, half wolf form. He now had a human face, with a wolf’s muzzle, and normal arms leading to paws . . . and claws. He balanced on legs, normal from the knees up, but all wolf below. She marveled in the wonder of his transformation until the shift hit her hard, doubling her over. Sadie’s bones fractured. The audible crack of an entire skeleton breaking, coupled with aftershocks of violent snapping, dropped her to her hands and knees. A stinging sensation crawled over her skin, like insects biting relentlessly. She clenched her teeth, pleading eyes locked on her alpha as he completed the change to wolf.

Domek’s ice-blue eyes remained fixed on her the entire time, a calm in her body’s raging storm. Standing on all fours, eyes watering, the breaking stopped, giving her a blissful moment. Then her bones began reknitting and stretching. She screamed, or tried to, but filtered through a muzzle, her call came out in a whimpering howl.

Peaks of unbearable pain ebbed as the wolf stretched and laid down, panting heavily. In next to no time, a prodding at her side prompted a lazy glance over at the enormous black wolf standing beside her. In clumsy movements she worked to get up on her feet. The next nudge all but knocked her over. Drawing her ears flat back, she growled and bared teeth.

The new wolf trotted off toward towering trees ahead, she stopped to smell a patch of soil, the tall grass, and flowers along the way. She could sense the black wolf nearby, tracking every movement. Holding her tail down, but tipped up at its end, she remained unsure if he presented any threat. His tail stood high and proud, she gave a little snort at what his stance implied, as she took off running.

The wind whispering through her fresh fur infused her soul with joy and freedom. She saw him again up ahead and yipped, halting to run off another way. Water, she could smell water and ran toward it. He trotted beside her, but somewhat ahead, cutting her off with a bow to play.

Surprised by his action, she crouched down and bared teeth. The larger wolf gave his head a quick shake, displaying dominance by holding head, ears, and tail high while trotting around, bumping her with his shoulder now and then. Even knowing he was alpha, sensing safety and protection with him, she wanted to go down for a drink. She snapped at his snout once and found herself pinned at the neck in a lightning fast movement.