Sarah left the bar at the end of the night and headed for home – or what passed for home these days. Since arriving in Pine Mountain, she had been keeping a room in a lovely boarding house about two miles away from Nowhere, and she would walk to work and back each night, even though she had a perfectly good car parked at the boarding house. Her way of saving money on gas. Some nights she found the walk home a little creepy, especially at first. But then she sucked it up and put on her big girl pants. She was more than just a grown woman after all. She was a strong capable werewolf, and she could take care of herself.
That was the mantra she always chanted to herself over and over again on the walk each night, and even though she knew it was true, she still couldn’t shake the creepy feeling. It would be different if she were back in Lunar Falls. Or in any of the Moon Hunter territories, for that matter. Just somewhere where she knew there were others of her kind, others who would greet her with knowing smiles and treat her like family, even if they belonged to one of the other packs.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and sighed as she walked on, and her mind pushed the creepy feeling away as thoughts of Zach Mason slithered in. She still couldn’t believe that he had shown up in Pine Mountain of all places, and claiming to be her mate. The real bitch of it all was that she knew she couldn’t deny it. She felt him. Her body was clearly reacting to his presence, whether Sarah wanted it to or not. And she knew enough about the imprinting to know that there was nothing she, or Zach, could do about it. A male couldn’t control which female he imprinted on any more than a female could control whether or not her body reacted to his attentions. And according to the Moon Hunter ancient texts, that attraction was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of phenomenon. A male would only imprint on one woman, and if she felt him and they completed the bond, they would be mates for life.
That thought was cosmically overwhelming to her. Zach Mason of all people. Not that she didn’t find him attractive. Unfortunately, it was just the opposite. Zach had always been something of a pretty boy, and he knew it. Tall and sexy with a lean, muscular frame. An adorable smile and dimples for days. Bright blue eyes and a shock of blond hair that always looked like he had just rolled out of bed after a night of screwing you senseless. Oh, yeah, he was hot as hell, all right, and every bit as devilish. And if Sarah were being completely honest, she would admit to herself that she’d had a crush on him for years. But what teenaged girl didn’t develop a crush on her older brother’s friends? That was normal, right? Of course, she never breathed a word about it to anyone, and she knew that to Zach she was never anything more than Seth Masters’ geeky little sister.
As she neared the yard of the boarding house she began to feel that now familiar tingle in her skin again — warm and enticing, almost like a sensuous caress — and she knew that he was somewhere close by. It didn’t surprise her though. Well, not much anyway, because she knew that this was the next step. Once the male Moon Hunter imprinted on someone, he would then begin watching over her. That’s what her people called it anyway. Sarah liked to think of it as stalking. Basically he would follow her home, just to make sure that she got there okay. Then he would patrol the grounds to ensure that she was safe and that she had everything she needed. And, of course, to make sure that there were no other males sniffing around what he viewed as his woman. He would do this each night until she finally gave in and completed the bond with him. And if she never did, then he would be one sad, bitter shell of a wolf for the rest of his life.
She entered the yard and veered off to the left, heading for the side door of the boarding house that would open near the stairway that lead straight up to her room. But the tingle in her skin grew to almost uncomfortable levels, and it started to piss her off. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. It was after two in the morning and she didn’t want to wake the human owner of the boarding house, or anyone else for that matter. So she called out to him telepathically.
“Zach Mason! I can’t see you, but I know you can hear me,” she thought, looking around at the long driveway she had just walked up. “I’m only going to say this one more time so please, pay attention. Leave. Me. Alone. I don’t care that you’ve imprinted on me, and I have no intention of letting you anywhere near me. So back off!”
There was no response to her telepathic outburst, but she could still feel the annoying tingle all over her skin, not to mention the slight lightheadedness, and she knew that he was still nearby. She rolled her eyes at the darkness and turned in a huff. But before she could get to the door of the house she was grabbed from behind and dragged off to the bushes lining the side of the house.
The hand over her mouth smelled of stale beer, cigarettes and human, and she knew immediately that this was the jerk who had grabbed her by the throat back at the bar earlier in the evening. She heard the sharp click of a switchblade at her ear as he held her from behind.
“I told you I wouldn’t let a woman make a fool out of me, bitch!” His voice was harsh, and Sarah could hear the cruelty in it. She had no doubt that he would do her serious damage if she were a human female.
“Oh, you really don’t want to tangle with me, dumb-ass,” she snarled as her brown eyes began to glow. She grabbed the arm restraining her and whipped around to face her attacker, shifting to werewolf form in an instant. And when the man got a look at the monster in front of him he screamed bloody murder. She let go of his arm and he jumped backwards away from her, crashing into a solid wall of muscle. He whirled around to find a second monster glaring at him with glowing blue eyes, and just as he was about to scream again the blow came swiftly, mercifully knocking him out. He fell to the ground unconscious.
Zach watched the man slump to the ground and shifted back to human form as he shook his head. Then he smiled at Sarah and stepped over the man’s body.
“How many times do I have to ask you nicely to leave me alone?” she insisted.
“What? I just came to your rescue.”
“Oh, the hell you did!” She raised her voice but then quickly remembered the sleeping humans in the house. “I was doing just fine on my own, thank you very much. I think I can handle one human male just fine.”
“You couldn’t handle him back at the bar,” Zach said.
“The bar was full of people! What? Did you expect me to wolf out in front of an audience?” she asked, glaring at him. “Now, thanks to you, that jerk is going to go spreading monster werewolf stories around here, and we’ll both have to leave.”
“That jerk is going to chalk it up to having way too much to drink tonight and forget all about it,” Zach said.
Sarah growled and rolled her eyes. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
“Most of the time, yes.” He smiled, giving her a very cocky, very sexy grin as he stepped closer to her and reached out to touch her arm.
“Go away, Zach.” She jerked her arm away from him. Then she turned on her heal to walk away.
He gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, snaking his other arm around her waist and drawing her closer. Then he very unceremoniously planted a kiss on her lips. It was rough and uninvited, and Sarah could feel his tongue darting against her lips as it begged for entry. She pushed against his chest, fighting to free herself from his clutches, but his grasp was too strong. And the more she fought, the more she felt her heart racing — speeding up to synch with the rhythm of his.
Zach held her fast, refusing to let go until she admitted that she felt him too. She couldn’t hide it from him. He could feel her heart beginning to keep time with his own, and he knew what it meant. The more time they spent together, the more it was becoming evident that they were mates. She was meant to be his. Now, he just had to make her want it too.
Sarah turned her head, breaking their kiss. But she still couldn’t free herself from his embrace.
“Let me go!”
“Tell me that you feel me,” he demanded.
“I don’t!”
“You’re a liar,” he snarled. Then he kissed her again.
She felt her claws emerging as her hand shifted, and she scraped them over his pectoral muscle, ripping his flesh along with the fabric of his shirt.
He groaned with the pain of it and grabbed her wrist, but he didn’t let her go. As the wound healed itself, he jerked her closer to him, and when she gasped, his tongue forged ahead, delving inside and exploring her mouth as he deepened their kiss.
Sarah felt the heat flare in her chest as he devoured her mouth, and as hard as she fought against it, she could feel herself beginning to respond to his advances. She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer, kissing him back with a reckless abandon. She hated herself for what she was doing, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. This felt right somehow. Natural. As though she had kissed him a million times before. As though being in his arms was the one place she was supposed to be.
As she melted against him, she got a sudden flash of home in her mind’s eye, and she realized that it was his scent. Something about him smelled of home — comfortable and nurturing and sweet — and she felt slightly drunk on the aroma. When he pulled away and looked into her eyes, Sarah felt the strongest yearning to be with him. Or maybe she just didn’t want to be alone anymore.
She took Zach by the hand and turned toward the side entrance of the boarding house. Neither of them said a word as she led him up the carpeted staircase to the first door on the right. Then she pulled out her key and fumbled with it as she felt his fingers move her hair to the side right before his fangs grazed the sensitive skin of her neck.
“Ah!”
The loud gasp resonated in her own ears, and for a moment she lost her footing and placed a palm flat on the door of her room for balance.
Zach found the key still in her other hand, and he took it and completed the task of unlocking the door. Once they were through it, he closed the door behind them and quickly turned her around, slamming her back flat against it as he leaned into her. His tongue stroked hers rhythmically as he kissed her like his very life depended on it. The soft moan that came from her gave him the strongest sense of triumph, and when he felt her fingers running through his hair he couldn’t stifle a moan of his own. He leaned his hips into her as he squeezed her breasts. Then, without warning, she yanked his hair tight with both hands.
“Ow!”
Sarah looked into his glowing blue eyes feeling so incredibly aroused. But she also felt angry about it, and she pushed him away. She moved to walk past him when she felt his hand on her wrist and he jerked her back into his arms.
“You want it rough, Sarah? ’Cause I can give it to you rough, baby.”
The devilish glint in his eyes and the dimples in his sexy smile did something to her insides, and Sarah wanted to give in and give this man every part of her. But she was so afraid of what that would mean and how it might play out.
“I am not your baby.” She growled at him as she tried to pull away. “Let go of me. I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you here.”
“I don’t believe you.” Zach held her close as she fought against him, and he brought a hand up to caress her face. “Sarah, our hearts are synching the more time we spend in each other’s company. And I will be the first to tell you that I never believed in that shit before now, but it’s happening! You can’t tell me that you don’t feel it too.”
“What I do or don’t feel doesn’t matter, Zach!”
“Like hell it doesn’t,” he growled before he kissed her again, holding her head in place as he stroked her tongue with his own. And suddenly there were no more words and no more protests as Sarah allowed him to lift her tank top over her head. Zach wasted no time stripping her out of the short-shorts, boots, and her pretty lace bra. Then he followed suit with his own clothing before she could change her mind again.
They fell onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and kisses as his lips and his tongue roamed over every inch of her, and Sarah writhed in pleasure. Every touch of his mouth left a scorching impression on her skin, and she felt as though her body were on fire. When he sucked one pert nipple into his mouth Sarah thought she might explode, and she called out. With no warning, she used her Moon Hunter super strength and speed to overpower him and flip him over, giving him a little nip in the process.
“Ouch!” Zach’s hand flew to the side of his mouth, and he looked up into her glowing cinnamon-colored eyes as she straddled him. “You bit my lip!”
“I thought we were playing rough.”
Her seductive smile stirred the wolf within him, and his eyes lit up like sparkling blue jewels. He sat up and grabbed a handful of her luscious hair, yanking her head back so he could devour her neck.
His love nibbles across her skin made her shiver, and Sarah suddenly wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone else in her life.
“Zach.”
Hearing his name drop from her lips in a soft moan drove him crazy, and he used her own trick against her, flipping them over in the blink of an eye. His partially shifted hand grabbed hold of her lace panties, scraping his claws across her flesh in the process. With one sharp tug the fabric ripped away from her body, exposing destinations he couldn’t wait to explore. He leaned down and lightly bit the inside of her thigh, loving the shudder that ran through her. Then his mouth latched on to her sex, and his tongue began to work in a very intimate erotic French kiss.
Sarah moaned in heated delight as her hips began to rotate to his rhythm, pressing herself onto his face.
“You taste so good, Sarah. So sweet.”
His telepathic thought sent her over the edge, and Sarah let go of a loud sexy moan as her orgasm rolled through her like a steam engine. She lay panting and trying to surface from wherever her bliss had taken her when she felt Zach crawl up from between her legs. He kissed her stomach and each breast on his way up, and when he reached her lips and she felt his wild manhood rubbing against her core, she gyrated her hips to increase the delicious friction as he kissed her.
He entered her with one swift thrust, pounding into her like a jackhammer over and over again. Her long legs closed tightly around him, fulfilling a fantasy he’d been clinging to since he had laid eyes on her back at the bar. She was so freaking sexy, and he was going to make her his tonight.
Sarah’s entire body trembled when her second orgasm of the night ripped through her, and she vaguely remembered calling out his name in ecstasy. He came a moment later, and when she felt his arms tighten around her as he still throbbed deep inside her, Sarah suddenly panicked. Her body tensed and her mind went into fight mode as she struggled to push him off of her. His grip got stronger as he refused to let her go, and Sarah felt herself shifting as she fought him.
“No!”
The scream was a telepathic one, and she bit his shoulder like she meant business, tasting the blood as her fangs tore at his flesh. He yelped and let go of her as his hand went immediately to his shoulder.
Sarah scampered up and pulled the sheets up over her breasts and glared at him.
“What the fuck, Sarah?”
He looked up at her and then back to the deep bite wound on his shoulder. And they both watched in silence as the wound began to heal itself and close up on its own.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong … the fighting was sexy as hell. I enjoyed it too. But we didn’t get to complete the bonding,” he said, looking in her eyes.
“No, we didn’t. And we’re not going to either!” Sarah sounded certain as she sat clutching the sheets and cutting her eyes at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Zach. Don’t you dare go getting any ideas about forever in your head because what happened just now … that was sex. That was just sex and nothing more,” she insisted.
“You don’t believe that any more than I do.” Zach stared at her in disbelief. “You felt our hearts beginning to keep time. You know that we’re supposed to be together!”
“I know that I was feeling homesick and lonely,” Sarah shot back. “Zach, you can’t honestly tell me that you want to bond with me. You want us to mate for life?”
“All I know is that I can’t get your scent out of my mind. And now that I’ve had a taste of you, I want more. I never believed in this imprinting shit before, Sarah, but I can’t explain this away! My heart is trying to keep time with yours. I’m starting to feel your emotions just as clearly as I feel my own. You are scared half to death right now, even though everything inside you is screaming to just fall into my arms and let me love you. That’s not a guess, Sarah, I can feel your fear and your longing!”
He stared at her with an intense blue gaze, and Sarah wiped the stray tears from her pretty cheeks as she listened to him. She couldn’t deny any of what he was saying, not a single word. Once a couple completed the bonding, they would always be innately attuned to one another’s bodies.
She didn’t say anything, and Zach shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. None of this made any sense to him. He had been wandering around in exile for the better part of a year, trying his best to resign himself to the fact that he was now a reluctant lone wolf. Then out of the blue, Sarah Masters appears, bringing him hope of a life less solitary, only to snatch it out of his grasp. Was this part of his punishment?
“Sarah, what are you doing in Kentucky anyway?” he asked, looking her over. He reached out and gently moved a strand of her hair out of her eye. “Why did you leave Lunar Falls?”
“Seriously?” Sarah looked at him as though he were crazy. “You can ask me that after what my father did? After what you helped him do?”
Zach replied with a tired sigh and averted his eyes. Would he ever live this down?
“My father was killed for committing treason, Zach. And my brother, Jason, followed his lead.”
“Jason?” He sounded shocked.
“Yes.”
“When did that happen?” he asked.
“A month or two after you were exiled.” Her voice was soft as she directed her attention to the pattern on the bedspread. “He was angry over Dad’s death, and he wanted revenge against Gabe. He and a few others challenged the GrandAlpha in battle. Jason didn’t live.”
“And Seth?” Zach asked.
“Seth and I both stood with Gabe.”
“You both sided with Gabe against Jason?” he asked, sounding shocked.
“Jason was just as wrong as Dad was, Zach.” Her voice raised an octave, and Zach held up a hand in surrender.
“I’m not questioning your choices, Sarah, I’m just … surprised.”
Sarah rolled her eyes at him and continued her tale. “After it was all over, I just couldn’t take the looks of pity anymore. Or the blatant mistrust I saw in people’s eyes. My father and one of my brothers were both killed for being traitors, and that stigma was going to follow me around for the rest of my life. I couldn’t take that kind of scrutiny. I had to get out of there.”
“Did Seth leave too?”
Sarah shook her head. “No. Seth is determined to prove that just because our father was a traitor doesn’t mean that we are too. He’s still there, still serving as the GrandAlpha’s Lead Enforcer. He’s become Gabe’s right hand. They both begged me not to leave, but … at the time, I just didn’t feel I could stay.”
“Gabe begged you to stay?” Zach’s voice sounded disbelieving.
“Yeah, he did.” Sarah seemed to study him for a moment. “Look, Zach … I know how you feel about my cousin, okay? But you and I both know that he had every right to do what he did. You do know how wrong you and my father were, don’t you?”
Zach looked into her eyes and said, “He killed your father, Sarah.”
“My father committed treason against the five packs. He kidnapped Gabe’s mate!” Her voice was the picture of steely resolve. “He was wrong, and so were you. You should be thankful Gabe let you live.”
Zach was quiet for a long moment as her words swirled around in his head. He knew that she had no clue what she had just said, and he smirked at her.
“I am.”
Sarah frowned at him. “You are what?”
“I’m grateful that Gabe’s mate begged him to spare my life.” He felt slightly embarrassed admitting that to her, and he looked away. “Even though my life is now a pretty pitiful one — forced to hunt alone, to live without the companionship and protection of a pack. And yeah, I’ve had nothing but time to think since being run out of Lunar Falls, and I realize now what a huge mistake it was to follow Silas’ foolhardy plan. No offense,” he said, glancing at her at the mention of her father’s name.
“None taken,” Sarah said.
“You have no idea how badly I wish that I could go back in time and change that one stupid decision. I will probably never see my parents or my little brother ever again.”
His voice was full of longing and remorse. He suddenly sounded like a broken man, and Sarah couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and taking his hand.
He looked down at her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. Then he looked up into her eyes.
“If Gabe still has faith in Seth, and he begged you not to leave, Sarah … why are you here? Why don’t you just go home?”
Sarah stared at him for a while, saying nothing and feeling a strong pull toward him. Before he showed up, she wouldn’t have had an answer to that question. But now that he was here and she couldn’t deny what her body was telling her, the answer was crystal clear. If she left now, she would be walking away from the one man who was ever going to imprint on her. The one man fated to be her mate.
“Well … I certainly couldn’t go home again if I completed the bonding with you, now could I?”
She met his eyes as her soft response registered in his brain, and Zach was a little taken aback by her statement. He could feel the confusing mix of emotions running through her — compassion and burgeoning love, sexual desire and fear. All mixed with a familiar longing for home.
“No. I don’t suppose you could,” he whispered, wondering which door she would choose.
They stared at one another in silence, searching each other’s eyes. Then Zach leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her upper arm. And another on her shoulder.
Sarah felt the heat sear her skin with each pass of his lips, and she knew that she should keep fighting against this union, but she simply didn’t want to anymore. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to make love to him and to hold him close. And maybe it was only about being homesick. Or maybe there was much more to it, and they really were supposed to be together like the imprinting was suggesting.
Their lovemaking was tender the second time around; almost as if they both understood the gravity of what they were about to do. And this time, when they both climaxed and Zach held her tight while he remained deep inside her, Sarah didn’t struggle against him. She breathed in the masculine musk of his skin and kissed his neck as they waited for their bonding to take hold.
“We’re not alone anymore, Sarah,” he thought at her. “We belong together. We’re a pack of two now. Neither one of us ever has to hunt alone again.”
The sound of his voice inside her head was soothing, and Sarah fell asleep in the arms of her new mate, listening to the sound of their hearts beating as one.