Two more wolves creep out of the grass and stand before me. They snarl at Malvome, their lips drawn back. But more wolves emerge from the woods across the road. Counting the ones that came with Malvome, there are twelve wolves in total.
How many are in Blake’s pack?
My stomach twists. I could let this play out. If I stay in my ice dome, none of them can hurt me. I could wait until the battle distracts all of them and then escape.
And yet, I can’t convince myself to do it.
My gaze moves to Blake’s back. On his shoulder is an intricate tattoo of a dark moon. I stare, unable to pull my gaze from it. Unconsciously, my hand touches my own shoulder, where a nearly identical tattoo graces my skin.
A tattoo I was too young to remember getting.
I’m overwhelmed. I felt attracted to Blake. I felt intrigued by him. But now? Now, I feel a connection to him.
But is that enough?
Shit.
I place my hand on the dome of ice, and it begins melting beneath my touch. The men are arguing. Their voices growing louder. Two more wolves emerge from the grass to stand in front of me, and at Blake’s back. I’m nervous around the wolves, but when one gazes back at me, his golden eyes gentle for a flash before he turns back to face his enemies.
As I continue to melt the ice, I count the wolves. Six verses twelve wolves? Those aren’t good odds. But six wolves and an Elementalist? I grin. We can take them.
“Three challenges then? Winner takes the female.”
Blake nods. “Agreed.”
“Whoa! Not a chance! I won’t be won in a game!”
My Shifter spins on his heel and steps past his wolves. His gaze locks with mine, and he speaks, his voice barely above a whisper. “This is our only chance at protecting you.”
“I’m not a prize!” I hiss.
His eyes soften. “I’m sorry. But it must be this way.”
“I won’t go with him.”
His jaw twitches. “We won’t lose. You have my word.”
When he reaches out and touches the ice that encases me, his mouth pulls into a frown, and he looks at his wet fingertips. “Whatever you’re doing, stop it. You’re safe in there.”
“Well,” I glare at him. “I could help out there.”
“Stay where you’re safe!” he commands, his voice holding all the authority of a king.
“Make me.”
He opens his mouth.
Malvome speaks from behind us. “Have you changed your mind? Will you simply give her to us?”
A snarl escapes Blake’s lips, and he whirls around. “Fuck you!”
The other man laughs. “You’re already attached to her, aren’t you? How precious!”
One of the wolves in front of me suddenly transforms into a man. He rises to stand on his feet beside Blake, then looks back at me.
Damn it. Are Shifter men built with the same parts as human men? Because… wow. This man has black hair and blue eyes. He’s not nearly as large as Blake, but there’s power in every inch of his muscular body.
Blake speaks to the man in a low voice. “She’s planning something foolish. I entrust her life in your hands.”
The man nods. “Yes, my liege.”
Liege?
“The first challenge will be a race,” Blake announces. “Between you and myself.”
Malvome smirks. “First one to the Widow Ruins wins?”
“I accept.”
Both men transform back into wolves and move to stand beside each other. An unheard signal sends them both racing away.
Unwilling to wait any longer, I push the ice in front of me with my hands and knees, and it crumbles forward.
The man who was charged with taking care of me spins around, his blue eyes locking on mine as I climb out of my ice. His gaze is hot for one second before his arms come around my waist.
“That was a mistake,” he growls into my ear, pressing me against him.
For one second I feel panicked, and then the enemy wolves are launching forward. Roars of fury split the sky. A battle ensues in a flurry of teeth and claws.
Was this my doing? Or because Blake left?
The man who holds me suddenly spins me around and pushes me toward the woods behind us. I don’t need to be told what to do. We both start running. If I can get a little distance, I can see the best way to use my powers to help the Eclipse Wolf Pack.
I just can’t risk being close enough to be attacked while I’m doing it.
I’m panting as I push myself harder. Almost there!
But the instant we escape the open field, the ground beneath our feet shifts, and we break through the ground. For a second there’s nothing beneath my feet, and then I hit the earth. The fall wasn’t far, but it was a shock.
The Shifter beside me is instantly helping me up. We both look above us. Tiny rays of diluted light drift between the branches and leaves that hide this trap.
“Damn it,” I say, dusting off my hands. “What now?”
I can’t see his face in the dark. “For now, we hide.”
Yeah, right, because I’m so good at hiding when I could be fighting.
“Your pack’s outnumbered! They need us!”
“You think I don’t know that!” Each of his words are laced with anger.
And then, he pulls me against him again. But something is different. His arms move to hold me, cradling me gently.
“My job is to keep you safe, and I don’t think it’s possible out there. Down here? It might not be either. Your scent is too powerful. Too intoxicating. It might still lead them straight to us.” Then, his tone grew quieter, barely louder than a whisper. “I just wish it was one of them safely down here with you and not me.”
“Why?” I find myself asking, even though his touch is causing all kinds of tingles to run through my body.
“Because I was the first one to catch your scent. I should have stopped you. But I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never scented a woman before I wanted to make my mate. Instead, I went to the others. And that time lost gave you an opportunity to leave our lands.”
My hands stroke the naked skin of his stomach. “You couldn’t have known.”
“But I should have,” his breathing is coming in and out faster and faster.
It’s getting hard to think. “So, my scent is the thing causing all these problems?”
His nose nuzzles my hair. “God, yes.”
I shiver. “Then maybe we should try changing my scent?”
He stiffens under my touch. “Do you know what you’re asking?”
I shrug. “Yeah.”
Changing the way I smell hardly sounds difficult.
“Are you certain?” he asks.
“Yeah, it’s simple right.”
He groans. “There’s nothing simple about this and everything simple about this.”
“So, let’s do it!” What? Rub some dirt on me? Some grass? This doesn’t sound complicated.
I open my mouth to ask him the best way to do this, but his lips are instantly on mine. And then I forget all about dirt and grass. I let this big, powerful Shifter kiss me. His mouth is hard on mine. His kisses are passionate and desperate.
He moves me backward until my butt hits the dirt wall.
I run my hands up and down his stomach and chest. Wanting to touch all of him. But not knowing what’s mine to touch.
His hands start on my hips but soon slide to my ass, grabbing me in the manliest damn way that I’ve ever been grabbed before. His kiss grows more intense, his tongue slipping into my mouth as if he owns me.
My head spins. His touch feels unreal.
When his hand pushes aside my ripped skirt to grab my naked ass, I gasp around his kiss. He’s rocking me against a cock that feels hard and ready for me.
I finally let my hand slide down to grip him. Needing to stroke him. To make him feel half as out-of-control as he makes me feel.
He breaks our kiss, a groan tearing from his lips. “Oh god, don’t—”
But the rebel in me only squeezes him harder.
To my surprise, he pushes my hand away and collapses to his knees. For a second I’m confused, and then he picks me up. I let out a tiny cry as my legs are pulled up onto his shoulder. He moves aside my skirt, and suddenly his hot mouth is on me.
I gasp. My head rolls back, and my fingers dig into his hair.
His mouth moves back and forth as he presses deeper, and then he licks.
I buck against him, shocked by my reaction. Had any man ever touched me when I was this hot? Had any man ever made me this aroused before?
He continues to lick and kiss my swollen core until I’m bouncing against him. I feel my orgasm building like a storm. And then, he sucks on my most sensitive spot.
I go screaming over the edge, bucking wildly, digging my fingers into the back of his hair. He doesn’t stop his onslaught, drawing my orgasm out longer and harder until at last, I collapse back against the dirt wall.
“Holy hell, I don’t even know your name.”
His delicious mouth pulls back from me. “Theo.”
“Riya,” I introduce myself, still out of breath. “Now, shouldn’t we be worrying about covering my scent?”
He laughs, placing my feet back on the ground, and standing. “But that’s how we cover your scent and claim you as ours. We cover your scent with ours.”
My brain seems to take a minute to process his words. “Wait, so now those assholes will leave me alone?”
He brushes my hair back from my face. “To firmly stake our claim, you need all of our scents on you.”
“All?” Shit. “I don’t think I can do that.”
He says nothing for a long time. “It’s okay. But—”
“Time to give us our mate,” a voice growls from above us.
“Is that…?”
Theo answers my unspoken question. “Pack Nightstalker.”
And in his voice, I hear absolute defeat.