Winter's Dawn (22 page)

“I believe that,” he told Katrina honestly as he wrapped both hands around her small waist and pulled her to him. “Now tell me what sweet things you are going to do to help me get this silver out before I have to work tomorrow.”

Katrina’s eyes flashed again, this time more noticeably. She gave him another impish grin. “Catch me and find out.”

“Now, that’s hardly fair.” He smiled down at her. “You know I can always catch you.”

Katrina squealed and took off running towards the bed, but Max caught her long before she could reach it. He swept her up in his arms and fell onto the mattress with her, ignoring her giggling. He leaned down and kissed the curve of her neck first and then moved lower, falling to his knees on the floor.

“Let me taste you,” he growled.

“Say please.” She choked back a moan when he captured one rosy nipple between his teeth, tugging on it lightly. “Please, Max.”

“I don’t say please,” he whispered against her skin. “Behave, Kat.”

“Oh, that sounds like dominant wolf,” Katrina hummed in a low voice.

“It’s going to be if you don’t start behaving.”

She tossed her head on the mattress, her foot trailing down his thigh. “No, I don’t think I will.”

“You better,” he growled as he wrapped his large hands around her waist and tugged her to the edge of the mattress. “Or you’re going to see dominant wolf real fast.”

“But I like dominant wolf.”

Max growled louder, letting his head fall to her bare stomach. He rested his forehead against her flushed skin as he fought the battle against the darker side of him. He realized it was a useless war and stood, staring down at Katrina as her eyes flashed more violently.

“Roll over,” he growled at her. “Now!”

Katrina rolled over obediently and Max fell over her, draping himself over her bare back. He bit at the curve of her shoulder as he ground himself into her. “Is this what you want?” he snapped. “You want me to fuck you like an animal?”

Kat hummed in pleasure. “You are an animal,” she said softly. “And yes, this is what I wait all month for.”

He finally lost the battle completely as he grabbed both her braids in his hand and tugged her head back. “You lost your privilege to call me by my first name.”

“That’s okay.” Katrina choked back a moan when he bit at her shoulder again. “I never keep it for long anyway.”

An hour later, Katrina was sound asleep. Max sat on the floor at the foot of the bed. He didn’t need to look in the mirror to know his eyes were still silver. Even with Katrina forcing him to be more primal, he was still extremely high strung with pent up sexual frustration.

He brought his knees up and rested his forehead against them as he took several deep breaths, trying desperately to calm himself enough to take a bath and go back to bed with Susie.

He sat there for a long time with little effect and didn’t move until the door to the guest bedroom opened. He turned his head, resting his cheek on his knees. He stared at Serena who was standing there in a long, silk robe. Her hair fell into two, long braids identical to Katrina’s as she leaned against the door and studied him.

“They’re still silver,” she told him bluntly.

“Yes, I realize that,” he sighed. “Did you smell me?”

She nodded. “I smelled you before she did. I just thought you’d like to play dominant wolf for a while.”

“Do you have some of my pills on you?” he asked her, wincing at his stupidity. “I forgot them.”

“Come on.” Serena tilted her head towards the other room. “I’ve got whiskey too.”

He stood and looked at her in misery. “I’m sorry, Serena.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She pointed to the pants he abandoned. “I think you’ve caused enough controversy for one week.”

“You heard about the snow?”

Serena grinned. “We all heard about the snow, Your Majesty.”

“When you say all?” Max asked as he picked up his pants and tugged them back on. “You don’t mean presidents, do you?”

“Every single one. My phone rang all day.”

Max snorted. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Did you have fun?” Serena asked curiously.

“I did.” He walked over to Serena and looked down into her eyes, which were the same shade of light blue as Katrina’s. “We both had lots of fun.”

“Then what’s unfortunate about it?” Serena asked him quietly. “You work hard. You deserve some fun. If they don’t like it, fire them.”

“Or stick them with something sharp and silver.”

Serena grinned and reached up to pat his cheek. “You learn fast.”

Max followed her out of the room, watching as she closed the door quietly. Neither of them spoke until they got to the suite Serena shared with Katrina. She walked past the bedroom and opened the door to her office, letting him in before she closed it. Serena sat down in the large chair behind her desk and searched through her drawers. She set a bottle of pills and a bottle of whiskey on the desk with a thump.

“You’re getting better,” she told him as he opened the pill bottle and dumped several pills in his hand. “It’s noticeable.”

He shook his head as he took the pills and winced over the whiskey as he took a long drink out of the bottle. “I don’t want to have to take pills, drink whiskey—” He took another long drink. “Or hurt you.”

“I’ve been full-grown for a long time,” she whispered in the darkness. “You can hurt me and I’ll recover.”

Max set the whiskey down and covered his face with his hands, leaning forward to rest his elbows on her desk. “Gods, I’m just a dense nineteen year old wolf with way too many hormones.” He finally lowered his hands to look at her in anguish. “There is nothing about me that is worth getting hurt over.”

Serena smiled, her eyes glassy. “Sometimes I wish that were true.”

His shoulders slumped in defeat as he waved her over to him. “Come here.”

Serena stood. She walked around the desk and then leaned against the rich cherry wood in front of him. Unable to look at her face and see the hurt, or the tears that made her eyes glassy, Max reached forward and untied her robe instead. Seeing her naked, with a body so similar to Susie’s, all firm, pale skin that flushed nicely if he got her excited enough brought the wolf up in him easily.

He slid out of the chair and fell to his knees in front of her. He kissed her stomach lightly and whispered, “Call me Max.”

“Gods, don’t do this to me.” Serena rolled her head to the side to look at the wall.

“Serena.” He reached up to grab her chin and force her gaze to him. “I need someone to call me Max while I do this. I hate dominant wolf.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, causing a tear to roll down each cheek. “Alpha wolves don’t let beta wolves use their first name.”

“This one does.” Max wiped at the tears on her cheeks and then ran his fingers over her full lips, tracing the bottom one and studying the way it quivered. “Do it, Serena. You know what I want.”

Serena frowned at him, her eyes narrowed. “You are always dominant wolf when your eyes are silver,” she whispered against his fingers. “And you’re crueler when you’re gentle.”

He nodded. “Yes, I know and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Her eyes drifted closed, her light eyelashes creating half moons that glimmered with tears.

She sucked two of his fingers into her mouth, causing pangs of pleasure to spark through Max. He stood to watch her, resting one arm behind her on the desk.

“Now open your eyes,” he said in a low voice. “I like to watch you.”

Serena eyes opened again to glare at him as he pulled his fingers from her mouth and reached between her legs that opened to him obediently. Power and pleasure radiated through him when he saw the first swirls of silver in Serena’s eyes as he touched her, finding her warm and wet for him.

“I enjoy sparking your cycle.” He voice became unnaturally low as he touched her gently, making her bite at her lip to hold back a moan. “I like to hear you too, Serena.”

Her teeth released their tight hold on her bottom lip. She moaned, leaning back against his arm as he continued to touch her, rubbing his moist fingers against the tiny numb between her legs that he had discovered on his first running could cause females to make such nice sounds.

She started to shift on the desk. She tossed her head to the side and closed her eyes as he continued to touch her softly enough to make her quiver in need, but not nearly enough to send her over the edge.

“Eyes open,” he reminded her forcefully. “And be still. I want to enjoy you.”

Serena growled. “You are wretched.”

“True,” he agreed. “But, you are going to behave.”

She glared at him, but fell still, her hips stopping their insistent thrust against his fingers. He smiled, knowing how dark it must look to her. “You’re my favorite,” he admitted. “After my queen, you’re the one I adore the most. I’ve started looking forward to this and I didn’t think I ever could.”

“Lucky me,” she growled back at him.

He tilted his head, arching an eyebrow at her. “Alpha wolves can do this for a very long time, Serena,” he warned her. “They can toy with sweet beta wolves and have them moaning and sweating for hours.”

“I’m not sweet,” she whispered, her voice raspy in frustration.

“Yes, I know.” He was still smiling and watching the way her breathing fell shallow. “That’s what makes this such fun.”

“Gods, but you are a vicious wolf,” Serena told him. “None of them have any idea.”

“Yet, you enjoy it.” He arched an eyebrow at her again. “Tell Max how much you enjoy it, because I’d really like to hear it.”

“I ache all month for it,” she sobbed in frustration. “I lay awake at night thinking about it and every time I hear your voice on the phone I remember it. I let my sister spend a small fortune every month just to get it early.”

Max tormented Serena most of the night, holding her on the brink of ecstasy long enough to feel guilty about it the next day. He left her panting and begging for a release for hours, tormenting her because misery loved company. He did finally relent after the sun had risen, but only when his own raging needs became too much to handle.

When he returned to Susie that morning, his eyes were no longer silver, but it didn’t last. It never did. Max never got a release from the constant lust swirling in his system and there was no one for him to beg to for a reprieve.

Chapter Thirteen

Max woke up before Susie every day and he fell asleep after her every evening. Often times, he forwent sleep completely. Work was the excuse. The reality was he hid from his dreams. He had learned that an alpha werewolf could survive for several days without sleep and still be functional.

Eventually, he’d drop, but Susie’s birthday wasn’t one of those days. His birthday the day before had been uneventful. He spent the day in his office working, pondering the past two years and wondering if this would be the last year he had before Susie was full-grown. He had just turned eighteen when he got the call, Susie could be the same, or she could be like every other female werewolf who was in their early twenties before she went into heat. He hoped she was, because no one should have as much responsibility as he had at eighteen.

He had gotten the call way too early.

But, he was aware the clock was ticking. He felt it getting closer every day, the real duties of the first alpha pair in over a hundred years—Max and Susie had to produce the other alpha pairs and provide their people with a real monarchy.

There were supposed to be four kings, not one. He was only supposed to rule the winter, when he was at his strongest and most dominant. The rest of the seasons weren’t his. He was just guarding them temporarily.

Max was guardian of lots of things. Susie’s quickly fading puppyhood was one of them, perhaps the most important at the moment.

So he was in a good mood at breakfast in the dining room. Some of the family had gathered when they usually didn’t. It was Susie’s birthday and they wanted to enjoy it before the Winter Solstice celebration that night, when they would all have to be social and formal and polite to werewolves they barely knew. Max and Susie’s birthday party was always on Susie’s birthday, because she was queen and it should be on her day, even if they were celebrating for both of them.