Elsie’s eyes fluttered open, but she couldn’t see anything. Squinting, she tried to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness until the familiar furniture from Brock’s bedroom came into focus. The thick comforter surrounded her with warmth, and the steady sounds of his breathing came from just behind her. His thick forearm arm lay across her stomach. Maybe protectively, maybe possessively. She couldn’t tell.

Maybe both.

Hesitantly, she curled her toes and flexed her calf, but there was no lingering soreness from the dream. Relieved that the pain didn’t cross over into the conscious realm, Elsie stretched her legs out and rolled her shoulders.

Brock’s expensive sheets caressed her skin, and she took a moment to fully appreciate how much they must’ve cost. And she got a very good feel, considering she was completely naked beneath the covers.

“Do you remember changing back?” whispered Brock.

Elsie shimmied beneath the blankets until she turned to face him, making sure the blanket covered all the necessary parts. She could just barely make out his silhouette in the darkness, but he probably had better night vision than her. Brock, playing the consummate gentleman, was lying outside the covers. “I was sleeping when it happened. I only just woke up.”

She thought he wrapped his arm around her subconsciously in his sleep, but he made no move to remove his light grip on her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you could turn?” The words were carefully spoken to sound more curious than accusatory.

“I didn’t know. It was a possibility, but there was no guarantee. Seeing Mother and Roman together, she started to avoid sunlight and doesn’t eat as much food, but she never changed so completely. I never expected that the bonding would change me so much. My sister doesn’t seem to act like a vampire at all. I just figured Mother wanted to make Roman more comfortable by adopting his lifestyle.”

“She never told you this might happen?”

Elsie shrugged, knowing he could feel the movement. “I haven’t really talked to her since we bonded. I guess it’s time for a sit-down.”

Brock’s thumb moved in slow circles over the curve of her hip. The blanket covering her was thick, but her nerves still seemed to light up at the contact. Trying to take her mind off the electric currents that shot through her, she said, “It might’ve taken years for me to change if I hadn’t been so motivated.”

“This should’ve never happened,” he muttered. His muscles tensed with frustration.

“But it did.” Elsie tried to make her voice as calming as possible. She laid a hand on Brock’s shoulder, surprised to feel the cloth of his t-shirt. “Tomorrow we will talk to Dani and sort all this out. Until then, we just need to relax and appreciate that I’m alive.”

Beneath her hand, Brock stiffened. “Dani’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“She took off after she admitted what she’d done. Frankly, if she hadn’t left herself, I probably would’ve kicked her out myself.”

Elsie shook her head at his words. “She’s just a kid. She didn’t understand they wanted to hurt me.”

Brock’s hand tightened on her hip. “She’s sixteen and has lived her entire life hearing how ruthless her father is. There is no excuse. You are my mate and her queen. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

After moderating the many fights between Brock and Jackson, she knew when he was done talking about something. It was too late to track down Dani now anyway. It would have to be tomorrow’s problem.

Or later today’s problem. What time was it?

As her eyes adjusted better to the darkness, she realized he was still wearing thick pants and shoes. “Why are you fully dressed?” The second the question left her mouth, she wanted to pull it back. “I mean, like, um, why aren’t you wearing pajamas?”

Brock snorted at her stuttered backtracking. “I was pretty scared when you went missing. I was running for most of the day, looking for your scent. When Russell brought you home, I was too happy and too exhausted to bother.”

“I’m sorry I worried you,” she muttered. Before he could apologize again, she continued, “I should probably put on something.”

For a long moment, Brock was silent. “Probably best,” he finally whispered.

Elsie sat up, causing Brock to remove his arm. She held the blanket up to her chest, but still felt cold without his touch. “Where’s Riggs?” Since she’d gotten to the cabin, he’d either slept with her or Dani, but he wasn’t anywhere in the room.

“Russell has him. We didn’t want to stress him out. You looked half dead.”

“You don’t think that he’ll...I mean, now that I turn furry—”

“He’ll love you still,” assured Brock. “I’ve been running with him a few times as a wolf. He can still tell who we are.”

Well, that was at least one good thing. She wished she could see Brock better. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she’d just had a near-death experience. It was best not to make any hasty life decisions while dealing with such traumatic events.

Last time she did that, she ended up bonded to Brock in the first place.

No. They needed space. Time to regroup. Sure, he held her while she recovered and didn’t even slip under the covers for the sake of her modesty, but timing was everything when it came to these things.

“Is my bag still over by the bathroom?” she asked.

“Stay there. I’ll grab you a shirt.” The bed shifted as his weight disappeared and he rummaged through her bag. If he could actually see the difference between her pajamas and normal clothes, he must have much better night vision than her.

And then she realized he was rifling through all her stuff and could probably see her panties and bras perfectly in the darkness. Keeping the blanket wrapped around her, Elsie stood. “I can get that.”

She walked behind him and put a hand on his arm to move him away. Instead of moving, he turned to face her.

The heat seemed to radiate off him and he towered over her. The room wasn’t small, but with him so close, it felt as though she was trapped and there was no escape from his intense gaze.

She didn’t know whether she should be grateful for the darkness hiding her or whether she wanted to see his face in the light. Wanted to see just how much he wanted her in his gaze.

The way he looked down at her, she might not have been covering herself at all. She was naked and alone in a room with her mate. The only sound was his breath as he wordlessly looked down at her. She should say something—relieve the tension somehow—but nothing came to her.

Brock spoke first. “I need to go.”

He moved to go around her, but her grip tightened and she pulled him back to her. He didn’t need any more encouragement. His lips crashed over her mouth, and his hands jerked her body against his.

His kiss was brutal and devastating. His mouth opened over hers and she didn’t even consider fighting him. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue to penetrate as his hands loosened their hold on her arms to skim up and over her shoulders and down her back, the soft caress at odds with his rough mouth.

She met him with force of her own. Her hands left the blanket, now only held up where their bodies touched, to knot in his hair and pull his lips even harder against hers.

This was no gentle seduction. This was an affirmation of life. She was alive. She found her mate. Now she would take him.

His hands moved lower, shaping her bare bottom, and pulled her closer to his erection. Despite the jeans and blanket, his arousal was more than obvious. Continuing downward, he gripped her behind her thighs and lifted her against him, fitting her core right against his shaft.

The rough friction of the blanket still pressed between them sent sparks of electricity shooting through Elsie. Wanting more, she rubbed herself against him, searching for the explosion she knew would follow.

Brock held her tighter and buried his face in the crook of her shoulder as he growled with pleasure. Before she knew she was moving, he tossed her on the bed and ripped the blanket away as she fell.

Through the darkness, she could make out Brock’s silhouette pulling his shirt over his head, and his hands went to the button of his jeans.

God, she wanted the lights on. Now all she could do was imagine his body. The shadows of his strong stomach as the muscles in his shoulders and back rippled with every movement.

Was he looking at her the same way she was looking at him? With hunger and yearning in his eyes?

Brock pushed the jeans over his hips, and Elsie heard the sound of rustling as he removed his shoes. When he stood up, she knew he was just as naked as her.

And suddenly she was terrified.

Instinctively, she started to back away, but she didn’t make it more than a foot before his hand snatched her ankle and pulled her back to him. At the same time, he climbed on the bed, pulling her until her legs had to part to allow for his kneeling form.

“Brock?” she asked softly. Logically she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but her racing heartbeat and sudden urge to run wasn’t paying attention to logic.

Apparently beyond words, he released her ankle to wrap his fingers in her hair, meeting her again for a scorching kiss. She opened her mouth for him and he nibbled at her bottom lip.

Just as his teeth pushed just too hard, he would let up and suck away the sting. His fingers in her hair tightened, stretching her head back to allow him full access to her neck. His stubble tickled the sensitive skin as his tongue soothed.

His free hand caressed her collarbone, moving lower to graze over her breasts and stomach until it reached the heart of her between her legs. She squeezed her legs shut and his throaty laugh told her just how useless the motion was.

One long finger slid easily into her slick heat, and his laugh turned into a groan. “God, Elsie. You burn me.”

She wanted to be embarrassed. They had barely kissed and already her virginal body was ready for him. Didn’t it know he was a predator and she should be afraid?

As he continued to nibble down her neck, he hit a particularly sensitive nerve and Elsie arched her back, pushing her breasts into his chest and opening her legs wider for him. He took full advantage as he slid another finger inside her.

The assaulting sensations forced a scream from her throat and Brock quickly swallowed it with a kiss. “Careful, mate. This is a full house.”

Before she could digest his words, he twisted the fingers inside her to allow his thumb to brush against the most sensitive part of her. He brushed her clit in light strokes, just enough to drive her wild.

Her hips moved frantically against his hand, desperately reaching for the release so close.

He moved his head down to brush his lips over a pebbled nipple and Elsie lost it. Her hands shot to his hair as her world exploded behind her eyes. She held him close as she shuddered around his hand, one leg curling around him to pull him even closer to her.

As the tremors finally died down, Brock gently removed his hand. “I’m such an idiot,” he muttered. He braced himself to lean over her, and his cock rubbed against her already overstimulated core.

“What?” she whispered.

“How could I have known you for two years and never even imagined you would burn so hot for me?”

Elsie pushed herself on her elbows, ready to tell him she hadn’t exactly been crushing on him for two years, but pride took a backseat as he nudged an inch into her.

Her elbows collapsed beneath her and she fell into the soft sheets. He followed her down, crushing her breasts into his chest.

“This is going to hurt, but I promise I’ll make it good after that,” he assured from above her.

“Please stop talking and start moving.” Knowing he was so close, it was impossible to imagine any pain. All she could think about, if she could even call it thinking, was getting her mate inside her. Some sort of bubbling up of all of her repressed feelings toward him over the years combined with the frantic sexual energy they’d been fighting off since he claimed her.

Now it was time for him to claim her in every way.

And one deep thrust later, she knew she was his. Not in the primitive way that a woman was a man’s property. But because the wolf inside her, this animalistic instinct that was still so close beneath the surface, suddenly seemed so...content.

Well, not fully content yet. She leaned up to kiss him as he started to move. He braced himself on one forearm and ran his free hand up and down her side and curve of her hip as though he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her.

She urged him on with her hips even as she closed her eyes to fully savor the sensations. She’d always heard the first time was supposed to hurt, but with Brock, there was no pain. No discomfort.

Only the pure erotic pleasure of his touch.

But then the dam seemed to break, and Elsie bit into Brock’s shoulder as her orgasm hit hard. Her entire body went rigid as her fingers twisted in the sheets.

Brock’s breathing got faster as he held Elsie so tight against him that she was sure it would hurt if she weren’t supernatural.

He held her tightly until his own shudders subsided, and then they both relaxed into the bed, struggling to catch their breaths.

Elsie took the quiet moment to run her hands along the muscles of Brock’s back, enjoying the play of his muscles as he took in deep breaths. “That was...”

Brock pressed a kiss on her shoulder. “That was amazing, Elsie.”

She smiled even as she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. The compliment was nice, but she knew she was inexperienced. “Next time will be better,” she promised.

He pulled back and frowned down at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I, um, I’ll know more. I’ll, um, do more things.”

He chuckled as he turned onto his side, pulling her with him so they faced each other. “I’m sure you will know more, but I’ll be the one doing the teaching, okay?”

“And I’ll be a dutiful student,” she said with a playful smile. A smile that abruptly disappeared when she thought of something. “Um, with your wolf hearing, how many of your family knows what just happened?”

One corner of his mouth twisted up. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.”