Chapter 11

 

Liana broke through the thick brush, caught her front foot on a twisted root and tumbled ungracefully across the shimmering meadow just ahead of Adam. Plowing to a stop in newly fallen snow, she snorted ice crystals from her nose as he playfully nipped at her heels. Finally getting her feet beneath her, she spun about and jumped him, tumbling the powerful wolf over, rolling with him through the fresh powder until both of them were covered in white and panting from the exertion.

Adam lay on his belly with his chest heaving. They’d run hard as the snow fell, chased after game and drunk from ice-encrusted streams, but the small silver timepiece hanging around Liana’s neck reminded him it was growing late.

The sky had cleared, the moon glowed overhead once again. He stood and shook himself, sending snow crystals cascading in all directions. Liana shook her coat clean as well. She stood as if poised to flee, watching him. Waiting.

Adam searched for her thoughts but found a solid wall blocking him. Typical female. She wanted to bond, and now she locked him out, but it was all part of the ritual, part of the challenge she offered him.

It appeared he must prove himself worthy of her. He only hoped he could. She was, after all, once a goddess, but he loved her. She loved him. It was time, and challenges be damned.

He pawed her shoulder and she growled. He hoped it was an instinctive response, not a sign of temper, but with her thoughts closed to him, how could he be sure? He gazed into her eyes, those amazing gray-green eyes of hers, and knew this was the one, the only woman, the Chanku bitch he wanted for all time. There was no doubt in his mind. In truth, at this point there was nothing more than need and the overwhelming sense that he must have her. She was his to protect, his to love, his to worship. This female, this time, was right.

And that, he realized, was the difference between what he’d felt for Eve and how he felt about Liana. Where he’d needed Eve in the physical sense, where he’d loved her and cherished the woman she’d been, the need had not been this great, this all-consuming. Her loss and the pain he’d felt had been selfish in comparison—she’d left without his permission. He’d grieved his loss more than he’d mourned her death.

She’d abandoned him without reason, and he’d missed her horribly, needed the affirmation of her love, and yet she’d moved on. Very quickly, in fact. The pain had almost killed him, but he’d moved on as well, without guilt, without regret. She had her new life. He had his—except he knew, on some intangible level, that he needed Liana to survive. He would always need her, and he would always love her.

Her mind was still blocked, but he shared those thoughts, the depth of his desire and the power of his love. He hoped she was at least listening, if not broadcasting.

She said nothing. She stared at him for the longest time, and he would have given anything to know what was going on in that brilliant mind of hers. Then she trotted across the small meadow to the circle of fresh grass and primroses still blooming, the spot where they’d stood with Eve just a short time ago. There, in the circle blessed by their goddess, Liana planted her feet and gazed back over her shoulder, inviting Adam to mount her.

A wave of absolute relief washed over him. He hadn’t realized just how worried he was. What if she’d changed her mind? No matter. This was as plain an invitation as he was going to get.

He stepped from frozen snow to soft grass, from winter into spring. He could have sworn the frozen air felt warmer the moment he crossed into that blessed circle. Once again he raked Liana’s shoulder with his paw. She didn’t growl this time. Instead, she braced her legs. Turning her head to gaze over her shoulder, she watched him, bearing his weight as he mounted her.

He and Eve had mated only a few times in their wolven form. This was Liana’s first time as a wolf. It took Adam a moment to settle into the change in his shape, the altered perceptions, even longer to find the proper position for penetration. He braced himself, clasping her body between his front legs and burying his nose in her thick fur. A low whimper sounded deep in his throat as he inhaled her rich wolven scent and smelled the powerful perfume of her heat.

His hips had begun thrusting the moment he mounted her, an instinctive act of mating that he barely controlled with the remnants of his human senses. Then his feral needs took command. His spine curled as he hugged her close, plunging and thrusting until his sharp thrusts finally found their target.

Liana’s eyes never left his as he buried himself in her warm sheath, as the knot at the base of his cock swelled to full size, filling her, tying the two of them together.

Adam felt a momentary disconnect. Even though he’d done this before when he mated with Eve, this was Liana. This was the woman who had agreed to be his mate, the one he would bond to tonight and for the rest of his life. He planted his hind legs firmly in the thick grass as Liana’s inner muscles clenched and pulsed, holding him tightly within her channel.

His thoughts were still open, still searching. His mental barriers were completely down as he consciously searched for Liana. Still, there was the slightest sense of fear he had to force aside. Fear tempered by trust as he opened himself to her amazingly brilliant mind.

The mind of a woman who had once been a goddess. A mind with enough power, at one time, to kill any mere mortal foolish enough to attempt a link. Trusting Liana, loving her, Adam reached into the heart of her thoughts, reached for whatever she offered.

Her barriers dissolved and her mental pathways blossomed, opening entirely to him. She offered everything, a link as full and complete as two minds could achieve. She gave him answers to questions he’d not even known he had.

He felt as if he’d tumbled into another space, a different world, and in so many ways he had. Her mind was like a time machine, a trip through memories of a life before recorded history, of people who were culturally different yet physically the same as those who walked the Earth today. He saw creatures that no longer existed—huge, mountainous mastodons with gleaming tusks, and powerful dire wolves with their heavy bodies and powerful jaws. Small, shaggy horses moved in herds across vast grasslands, and hunters trailed after, primitive men from an ancient time.

Fast-forwarding through her memories and knowledge, he saw the rise and fall of tribes he recognized as the earliest years of ancient Chanku on the Tibetan steppe. Shapeshifters from the beginning, yet they appeared to be more civilized in many ways, a more advanced people than their neighbors, but why?

He walked her paths of knowledge and discovered small secrets of their kind, even the largest one, the one she’d not thought important enough to share. He might have laughed if not for the constant onslaught of information—so much information he knew it would fill his brain, that his mind might explode with all the amazing things Liana knew and remembered.

Eve hadn’t stolen her memories after all. No, it appeared she’d merely taken what she needed as goddess. Liana’s mind was filled with knowledge and so many lifetimes of memories that Adam wondered if he’d remember it all.

He saw everything, felt everything, shared everything. The way Liana did her healing, how she’d felt when she first realized she had been cast out of her role as goddess, the things she’d done for which she would always feel shame.

He was with her when she took a younger Anton to her bed, when she sent the wizard on his unexpected journey of discovery to the monastery that still held their history within its magically protected walls. Adam shared her shame over those long weeks when she’d held Matthew Rodgers against his will in a fruitless attempt to make him her consort.

He saw that for what it was, that she’d been desperately searching for the kind of love she’d only discovered now, here, with him. She’d spent hundreds of lifetimes searching—a search that ended with Adam. That knowledge made it easier to absorb the memories of every man she’d bedded over the ages, the hundreds of men she’d taken without permission or even their conscious knowledge, though Adam couldn’t help but notice every single one of them, except for Matt, had gone to her willingly.

He could have stayed there in her memories forever. He knew he would return, again and again, to learn from this amazing woman, but tonight they had a purpose in their bonding, and goals yet to accomplish.

He knew the moment the mating link was complete. While he hated the thought of leaving this wondrous treasure trove of memory, Adam sensed Liana’s desire to move forward.

She was almost childishly anxious for the next step. He realized why when she shared the moment with him, releasing an egg, the one that would become their child.

One egg. Memories of Tia Mason’s frightening delivery swept through him, but he brushed worry aside. This was Liana’s experience. Their child. Each of them was an individual with his or her own path to follow—their own risks, their own success. He would not borrow trouble. Instead he concentrated on the sense of their future in that unseen ovum.

Powerful waves of emotion crested in and about his mind, his heart and soul. Liana’s emotion, as she realized this act would change both of their lives forever.

Just as their mating would change them. Her desire for a girl-child, the daughter Eve had not been able to bear, was a powerful force, and it made him love Liana even more. She might have been a selfish and self-centered goddess, but she was a generous and giving mate.

Time passed in the small circle of spring. The grass was cool against his paws, the flowers dipped their heads to the moonlight and he held a sense of timelessness, the feeling that they’d somehow slipped earthly bonds and floated outside of the cares of their world. He blinked and glanced about, afraid, but he’d not separated from his body and neither had Liana.

They were still tied, their bodies linked physically and emotionally. Now though, instead of the driving need he’d experienced earlier, Adam knew a contentment unlike anything he’d felt before. He and Liana so perfectly united, their wolven bodies aligned, their human hearts linked, their thoughts one.

It was all good. So much better than he’d ever dreamed, this sense of becoming one with a woman he’d once thought he hated. Amazing, what time and love could accomplish, which brought him full circle, to think of the time, and the fact there were people counting on him tonight, counting on Liana, on the power of their mating and the energy their bodies and minds could provide.

He had no idea how much actual time had passed. He didn’t know if they were anywhere close to Anton’s schedule, if they’d missed the deadline or hadn’t reached it yet, but he felt his climax growing, knew he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Liana’s tight sheath contracted tightly around his thrusting cock, squeezing him in a pounding rhythm that left him no other recourse. Praying it wasn’t too soon, hoping like hell they’d gotten this right, Adam tightened his forelegs to better grasp his bonded mate.

It’s time, she said, and Adam knew she was right. Sensed Anton’s mind linking with his, synching with others about the country. I love you, Liana. Now and forever.

As her laughter brushed his thoughts, the first powerful shocks of her impending climax almost brought him to his knees.

Now!

 

• • •

 

The big wall clock loomed large in the bedroom, an alien and only partially welcome presence ticking down the minutes and seconds to the long-awaited moment when the women might finally let them find release. Groaning with the combined pleasure and pain he’d been trapped in for what felt like forever, Stefan Aragat checked the handcuffs holding him bound to the thick iron railing on the bed. He glanced once more at the big clock Xandi had hung on the wall just for tonight, and sighed. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Not that he particularly wanted to leave.

He rolled his head to one side and caught Oliver grinning at him. The look of absolute bliss on Ollie’s face had Stefan biting back a laugh and sending his partner in bondage a private message.

Nothing worse than a damned submissive getting exactly what he wants.

Oliver managed a big wink and a grin, in spite of the fact his dark skin was beaded with sweat and he had a death grip on the chains holding him so tightly bound. No doubt, he was exactly where he wanted to be and loving every minute.

Stefan tried flexing his shoulders. It wasn’t easy, as tight as his loving spouse and her cohort in crime had tied him. Oliver was restrained even more, if that was at all possible, but the damned guy loved this stuff.

The vote was still out as far as Stef was concerned, though he had to admit, when the girls finally let them come it was going to be amazing. No doubts there. In the meantime, though, he was having a hard time finding the humor in the whole situation.

He’d been ready to blow for at least the last half hour, and that was after using amazing control for the hour before. He hadn’t expected so much creativity from Xandi and Mei, but it appeared that when the two of them got together with a bottle of Anton’s best wine, their imaginations went beyond inventive.

He looked at the clock. Again. The hands must be stuck, because he was almost sure they weren’t moving. They still had a good fifteen minutes before the girls took them over the edge.

He stared at the second hand. It was moving. Barely. Why was it the closer they got, the slower time crawled? Stefan wasn’t sure he’d be able to last. Not with that damned vibrator in his ass, pressed way to close to the magic button. Thank goodness his prostate was practically numb from such continual attention, but it still felt way too good. The weirdest thing was the way the subtle vibrations in his ass made the nipple clamps vibrate exactly enough to drive him nuts.

Hands and feet restrained, an anal vibrator with batteries that showed no sign of failing, and nipple clamps just tight enough to keep him on the edge between wanting to scream and wishing someone would tug on them. Just a little? He glanced at Mei and thought of suggesting it, but she was too busy with her own vibrator.

Watching her slide that big pink phallus between her legs, seeing it disappear deep inside her pussy, had him licking his lips and wondering what she had planned for him next.

So far, their plans had worked perfectly. Switching mates for the night didn’t seem like that big a deal. All of them switched around on a regular basis, but having Mei’s total concentration for an entire evening while his mate serviced Oliver had definitely had a weird effect on Stefan.

He glanced at Oliver and decided it had been pretty effective on him, too. Xandi was doing her best to take Oliver to the edge without letting him go over. She appeared to have found new levels of torture for Oliver.

He wasn’t complaining a bit.

In fact, the plan was working much too well on both men, as far as Stefan could tell. At least it was working on him, and from all the whimpering, moaning and groaning coming from Oliver, Xandi must be learning a lot of Mei’s tricks—and learning them well.

He thought about that a moment. Xandi learning from Mei could be interesting—especially if she decided to try out her new skills on Anton. She was certainly learning from the master—or mistress, to be more specific.

Mei was devilishly inventive with all her toys and weird implements. She’d outdone herself tonight, but then, there was a goal in mind, one they all intended to meet.

Stefan’s mind snapped back to the present as Mei crawled up on the bed, knelt between his widely spread legs and slowly pushed the vibrator deeper inside his ass. She cupped his balls in her left hand but totally ignored his lonely prick. He tried not reacting, but there was no way.

Groaning, Stefan bucked his hips. No way could a red-blooded male hold still, not with that slow slide of vibrating heat impaling him and those long fingers carefully massaging his painfully stretched balls. His cock ached from standing at attention for so long, but the leather restraint Mei had skillfully woven around his ball sac and the base of his cock would probably keep him from climaxing for at least a month.

At least it felt that way, though he wasn’t anywhere near as trussed up as Oliver. Xandi had locked the poor guy’s package in a shiny chrome cage that glistened with reflected light. A ring trapped his balls and the bars of the cage encased his cock so tightly that it had to hurt. Ollie was so damned hard his cock looked unnaturally dark and swollen, with the thick metal bands pressed tightly into his flesh. Stef figured it probably bothered him more looking at it than it did Oliver experiencing it. Of course, Oliver, as usual, was loving every bit of whatever toys the girls chose to use.

“Mei, where in the hell do you find this stuff?” Stefan rattled his handcuffs and lifted his butt off the mattress as high as he could. It wasn’t easy—not with his ankles tied to opposing bedposts. One of his legs was crossed over Oliver’s so that both men were trussed, connected, and totally helpless.

Mei stretched out along Stefan’s naked body, forcing his erect cock against his belly. She rubbed her nipples over the clamps on his. He clenched his teeth to keep from cursing her, but he had to admit, the pain was exquisite.

“I love the Internet and home delivery, don’t you? Research, shopping . . . whatever a girl needs.” She kissed him, tracing the contours of his lips with her tongue. Dragged her nipples over his again, making him groan . . . again. “The world is my marketplace,” she whispered.

Stefan chuckled. At least she’d left the floggers at home. “Mei, I am convinced your mind must be a very scary place.”

Oliver snorted and made choking sounds. Finally he seemed to catch his breath. “Stef, you really don’t want to know. I’ve been inside her mind. It’s beyond scary.”

“I was afraid of that.”

Xandi leaned over the end of the bed and glared at both men in mock ferocity. “Mei, I think they’re much too talkative. For two men who are supposed to be undergoing intense sexual torture, they don’t sound as if they’re in nearly enough distress.”

Mei flashed her a big grin. “I agree. What do you think we should do about it? We’ve got . . .” She glanced at the clock. “Oh. Wow, we still have almost ten minutes. Sweetie, I’ve got a whole box of new toys we haven’t even gotten to yet.”

She crawled off of Stefan. He rolled his head until he could see Oliver. “Quit grinning, stud muffin. I’m the one who signed for that new box of toys the day they were delivered, and I know what’s in there.”

Oliver sighed. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

Snorting in disgust, Stefan lay his head back down on the pillow as Mei pulled a huge blue dildo out of the box. She held it up for his perusal.

“What do you think?” she said, turning it this way and that to show off the shape and dimensions. “It’s anatomically correct.”

Stefan raised his head, stared at the dildo and flopped his head back on the pillow. “Yeah. Right, Mei. Anatomically correct if your name is Paul Bunyan.”

Or Babe the Blue Ox. Stefan stared at the clock, willing the hands to pass faster. Mei pulled the vibrating dildo out of his butt, the one toy he’d almost gotten used to, and slowly began feeding him the new one.

His body really wasn’t designed for this. He was absolutely sure Mei’s confidence that the thing would fit was a bit misplaced. He closed his eyes and concentrated on relaxing, on not fighting the size and the length and how much it hurt, stretching that tight little ring of muscle.

Anton, damn it all. You’re going to owe me big-time. Except he doubted Anton would ever believe exactly what the girls had put them through tonight.

Someday, he really needed to think about writing a book.

Beside him, Oliver grunted as Xandi removed his chastity cage and began slowly applying something like little alligator clips to his cock and balls. Stefan watched, fascinated, but shit, those had to hurt. He cringed when Xandi fastened one to that sensitive spot just beneath Oliver’s glans. Oliver’s breath hitched in his throat. Stefan realized he was clenching his own jaw in sympathy.

The vibrator stretched his asshole and slid deeper.

Seven more minutes to go.

Mei twisted and turned the thing. Whatever she was doing took away any semblance of pain and felt way too good. His nipples ached. His balls ached. His cock was lonely, all trussed up and tied, and it ached.

His ass tightened around this new intruder. The pain faded as he adjusted to the size. At least one part of him was happy.

Then Mei twisted the damned thing, turning it on. Vibrations coursed through Stefan’s balls and up his cock as if he’d been struck by lightning. He felt that coil of heat at the base of his spine that told him he was going to come. Now.

Except he couldn’t. He’d forgotten all about the straps tied tightly around the base of his cock, forgotten that Mei could keep this up for hours. She shoved the dildo in as far as she could, so deep he could have sworn it made his molars vibrate. Then she slowly, sinuously, crawled back up his body.

She pulled both the nipple clamps off at the same time.

“Shit! Ouch! Son of a bitch!”

Laughing, Mei put a finger to her lips. “Tone it down, big guy. We don’t want to wake the kids.”

He glared at her. Blood rushed to his tits. After that first blast of pain, they throbbed in painful counterpoint to the vibrations in his ass. Grinning like the devil’s spawn, Mei straddled his belly and rocked her pussy against his chest.

Dear goddess, he really wanted to come. But he couldn’t. Not until it was time. Not until Mei undid the damned straps holding him prisoner. She’d wrapped one tightly around the base of his dick that was linked to the one wrapped around his balls. Another part of the strap ran the full length of his shaft and put pressure just beneath the glans.

The pain the straps caused was a combination both absolutely excruciating and unbelievably erotic. He jerked at the manacles for no reason other than the fact he just couldn’t seem to help himself. But, sick as it sounded, he didn’t want to be free. Didn’t really want this to end.

He’d never spent a night like this in his life. Aroused beyond belief, in more pain than he’d thought himself capable of enduring, and yet it was such an intimately carnal experience, the sensations by themselves overwhelming, and yet when combined, they created a symphony of pain, a full orchestra playing over his body’s erogenous zones.

Why did he keep waiting for the cymbals?

He looked at the clock again. Four more minutes. Somehow he had to hang on for four more minutes. Mei ran her long, slim fingers through the dark mat of hair on his chest, leaned over and licked first one nipple and then the other. Then she sucked the one over his heart between her lips and tugged.

Every muscle in his body tensed. His hips lifted involuntarily and he thrust against nothing but air with a cock that needed a warm, wet place to call home.

Three minutes. Moaning, he clenched his butt around the giant dildo and lost himself in the combination of vibrations, warm woman and a whole lot of exquisitely frustrating pain.

 

• • •

 

They’d explored the entire area that housed the National Zoo. Had run through forested woodlands as wild as anything back home in Maine, and then trotted between perfectly placed pens and cages and observed all types of creatures housed here.

The scents on the night air alone were invigorating, fascinating and, in many ways, so amazingly foreign. Bay had never been in a zoo before in his wolven form, not with his sense of smell so sharp and his hearing this acute. His nostrils twitched and on occasion his hackles rose. He’d salivated unashamedly when they’d trotted by pens holding potential prey.

Jake’s silly comments about hunting zebra and chasing down a wildebeest had them all in high form as they circled the park once again and finally reached a thick copse of trees, hidden entirely from glaring lights. Even the sounds of the city were muted by thick branches and the open spaces beyond.

It was easy to imagine they ran wild in the forests of Maine, not within a park in the middle of DC. That the open spaces were broad meadows, not vast, empty parking lots.

Now, though, time was growing short and Bay was more than ready to mate. From the intense look in Jake’s amber eyes, he was just as primed. Following two sexy bitches in heat had driven them both so far inside the feral state that it was hard to concentrate on anything beyond the physical act of sex.

Shannon trotted over to a shadowed area beneath a large evergreen. Jake followed her, walking stiff-legged with his ears flat to his head. Baylor might have laughed if he’d been in human form, but it was hard to deny the fact he wasn’t in much better shape than Jake.

He wanted Manda. Now. Anton’s plans be damned for all he cared. Lisa and Tala’s needs weren’t even on the radar. All he could think of was Manda and the rich scent of her heat. His human intelligence was muted by the thick wash of pheromones that wrapped him in their silken trap and drew him closer, held him tighter with every moment that passed.

His vision narrowed until all he saw was Manda. All he wanted was his mate. Now.

She waited in the shadows, a dark figure almost lost in the night except for the reflected gleam in her eyes. Bay crossed the area slowly, stalking her as if she were prey. Manda braced her front legs, lowered her head and laid her ears flat against her broad skull. Growling low in her throat, she teased him.

Dared him.

Tempted him.

He drew closer and the hair along his spine rose up on end. Finally, he was close enough to touch her, but her head was down, her ears flat. He’d checked the time moments ago and knew he needed to take her now, but still she dared him.

A sharp yip behind Bay told him Jake and Shannon had tied. That was all the incentive he needed. He leapt over Manda, shocking her with the unexpected move. She flexed her shoulder muscles to spin around, but he caught her, clamping down on the thick ruff of fur at the back of her neck. Holding her in place, Bay quickly mounted her, thrust hard and deep and penetrated on his first attempt.

She whimpered and braced her legs, taking his weight, taking him. And then her mind opened, her thoughts so clear it was as if they both experienced the depth of the mating bond once again.

He’d not expected that. Hadn’t really prepared himself for the emotional burst of Manda’s memories, of the past she’d worked so hard to put behind her. Painful as those memories were, he shared them willingly, proud to know she trusted him enough to feel her terrible fears, to experience her years of imprisonment at the hands of people who saw her as nothing more than a lab animal.

Seeing that man tonight, the one who had worked with Milton Bosworth during the years he’d imprisoned Manda, had to be weighing on her mind, sparking the memories, but her reasoning was crystal clear. Fear would not be their child’s way. She wanted this baby with everything in her heart, with all of her soul. Wanted the chance to relive a better childhood than her own, this time through the innocent eyes of their much-loved offspring.

Baylor buried his muzzle in the thick fur on Manda’s shoulders and clasped her body tightly with his forelegs. For a moment he wished he were human, wished for the understanding his human form would have. They would talk about this, later. Now, the needs of the wolf were more powerful than the expectations of the man. The wolf needed completion.

And his body responded. He felt the thick knot at the base of his penis slip between Manda’s tight folds, felt the clenching, squeezing muscles within her slick channel ripple and tighten around him. Locked now, their minds in sync, hearts beating the same rhythm, lungs billowing at the same pace, they slipped naturally into the deepest level of the mating bond.

So tightly connected that when Manda released an egg for fertilization, Baylor sensed the promise of life within the ovum. So much a part of his mate that when she asked the goddess for her blessing, he was almost certain he heard Eve’s soft southern drawl in reply.

His hips continued their rhythmic rock and sway, and the power between them grew. Manda’s joy, his body’s response, until they hovered there, building the power and sensing the same growing level of arousal from Jake and Shannon. Sharing their joy that this time, for the first time, Shannon’s prayers were answered—finally there would be a child.

It was time. It had to be time. He had that stupid watch on his foreleg and he couldn’t really see it all that well, didn’t really give a shit at this point. He couldn’t contain the sensations any longer. Could no longer hold back the amazing rush of energy that told him their climax was going to happen, no matter what.

Manda! Manda, my love, I can’t wait.