Of all the times for her to decide that she wanted to make love with Mason, the night the full moon rose didn’t seem like an ideal one. The kiss they’d shared in the living room made her want him all the more, but she could see by the amber glow in his eyes that he needed to change, and soon. The need wasn’t as strong in her. She was female, and there were times in the life of a female wolf when changing was more dangerous than not changing. That was why she wanted to enjoy this time alone with him during the full moon, because once she became pregnant, transforming into her wolf form would be a no no.

Mason took her by the hand and pulled her out on to the porch. His eyes were glued to hers when he pulled his shirt off over his head. This was the first time she was seeing him bare chested in years, and he was a sight to behold. She’d thought he’d been impressive when he was twenty, but now that he was in his prime, all that bare skin flowing over his big muscles was magnificent.

His hand went to his pants, and he stripped them away. His eyes were glowing in the dark and she was certain that hers were doing the same. She quickly and efficiently pulled her clothing off and embraced her change as the old, familiar feeling of transformation went through her. When she opened her eyes again, he was standing beside her in his wolf form.

He was much larger than her, much larger than a natural wolf. His eyes glowed amber out of a face covered in black fur, and she padded up to him and licked his face. She gave him a playful bite and took off down the porch and across the lawn.

She slowed and looked back at him, and gave a playful yip. He charged at her, and when he was close enough to almost touch her, she took off in a circle. She did it again several times, and on the last time when he nipped at her heels, she took off running into the woods behind the house. She gave a howl of excitement and he echoed it behind her. One advantage of being smaller than him, was that although he was more powerful than her, she was quicker.

The forest came alive for her as she ran amongst the trees. She loves this feeling, being at one with her surroundings and comfortable in her own skin. Things were so much clearer to her in this form. When she was a wolf she knew with certainty that she wanted the wolf currently chasing her in the trees and that she was eventually going to let him catch her.

But not yet. She knew that what he loved most was the thrill of chasing her and she was going to lead him around the woods until she decided that he could catch her. It was a game that wolves had played for centuries, and one she’d played with him years ago. She knew the outcome. He would get such a charge out of running after her in his wolf form, that his passion for her would flare to life once they were back in their human form.

She couldn’t count how many times during that fateful summer when they’d gone out for an innocent run, only to be so caught up in each other after that they’d made love in the woods with only the trees as their witness. Although, now that she was older, she would have to say that she hoped they could make it to a bed.

Through the trees the moon shown down on her, bathing the spots that it penetrated through the leaves in a dappled silver light. There was something else there too, and she skidded to a halt. In the surrounding silence, she realized how vulnerable she was. The only wolves in this part of the woods should be her and Mason, but the glow coming from the trees up ahead told her otherwise.

A greenish, yellow orb got larger until it revealed itself to be a single eye, in the face of a grizzled gray wolf. It stood just in the shadows of the trees, and it was so like the nightmare that she’d had for over a decade that she started to tremble as fear rooted her to the spot on which she stood. This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t be happening. All she needed to do was close her eyes and she’d wake up. She’d find this was all just a twisted version of the dream that had plagued her since she left East Brook fifteen years ago.

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, nothing had changed. She was still in the woods, and he was still standing there, as big and menacing as he’d always been when he visited her in her sleep.

The sound of paws hitting the ground behind her grew louder, and when she turned her head, Mason came barreling into the clearing. She turned her head back to face forward and the shadow wolf was gone, as if he’d never been there. Sniffing the air did no good, since if there was someone there, he was standing down wind and all she could smell was pine needles and Mason as he came up to her.

She remained frozen to the spot she’d been in, and as if he sensed something wasn’t right, Mason came to stand in front of her. He blocked her with his big body, and his hackles raised as he lowered his head. She didn’t need to see his face to know that his lip was curled back as a snarl issued forth out of him.

If there was anything more than an imagined phantom in the woods it did not come out of his hiding spot. Had she’d imagined him? She didn’t think so, but if he really was there, what did he want from her?

They couldn’t stand there staring at nothing forever, and the mood of the run had been spoiled for her. It no longer seemed like a game, and even if there was nothing in the woods but shadows and tricks played by the full moon, she no longer wanted to be out here. She forced her feet to move forward, until she was by Mason’s side. She nuzzled him and tucked her head under his neck, and he got out of his fierce, ready for a challenge stance. He rested his head against her for a moment, and she could see that he was still scanning the horizon and testing the air, but if he saw or smelled something, there was no evidence of it in his demeanor.

She nudged him back in the direction they’d come, and she no longer had the urge to outrun him. Close to his side was her safest bet, since she didn’t think she’d imagined seeing that one glowing eye. They went back toward the house at a much slower pace than when they’d taken off into the woods. Part of that could be explained by the fact that the urgency that had taken hold of them when they’d changed had burnt out. For her part at least, the slower pace was the result of the caution creeping into her. She could see now, that while running with the pack might not be conducive to privacy, it was safer to be running in larger numbers.

They came to the clearing behind the house, and it was only then that Grace felt truly safe again. The house looked warm and inviting. She wanted to put what she’d seen from her mind, since she’d had enough nightmares and didn’t want anymore. Especially not tonight, when she’d decided that it was time for her and Mason to give into the attraction that had never really gone away between them.

She heard the click of his nails on the wood steps of the deck as she went up to where they’d left their clothes. She quickly closed her eyes and imagined herself as human. After the brief pain that always accompanied the shift back, she opened her eyes again and scooped up her clothing. She was not concerned about Mason seeing her nude body, since they’d been lovers before and would be so again. She didn’t want to provide a show to the shadow that might be watching them even now from the woods.

She went in the backdoor and he followed her inside, his body looming up behind her.

“What the hell was that? What did you see?” He reached out to turn her around, and as he looked down at her, she saw the concern in his eyes. The urge to tell him was so strong that she had to clamp her tongue to the back of her teeth to keep the truth from spilling out. If she told him why she had nightmares, and who those nightmares were about, it would lead to the secret that she’d gone to great lengths to bury.

Besides, now that they were safely in the house, it all seemed too distant to worry about. She stepped closer to him, pressing her naked flesh against his, and she knew that it wouldn’t take much to distract him from his questions. Turning back into his human form had always heightened his senses, and she took full advantage of it.

“It doesn’t matter. Right now I have other things on my mind.” She swept her arms up around his neck, and speared her fingers through the thick hair at the base of his skull. She could let the phantom of her nightmares win, as he’d been winning for the past fifteen years or she could push past it. She could reclaim some of herself from the shadows that lurked deep inside her, and step toward the light with this man.

Desire quickly replaced the concern in his eyes, and he put his arms around her. Everything that lurked inside her head was quickly replaced by the need for him. It didn't matter what shadows hid in the woods, what shadows crouched inside her, all that mattered was him and how he made her feel.

"I want you. Do you want me?" His mouth was so close to hers that she could almost feel his skin against her. She knew what the answer was, what was the only answer she could give him.

"I want you. I want you to take me upstairs and I want you to make love to me."

He fused his mouth with hers and she knew that this was the right thing to do. This had been coming since she came back into town and saw him again after fifteen years. She was finished with denying herself what she wanted, and she pressed herself closer so she could give herself to him. As he swept her in his arms and carried her up the stairs she felt like she was home for the first time in over a decade.

* * *

“I’m never going to make it up the stairs if you don’t stop teasing me.” Mason’s voice was an aroused growl and Grace chuckled against the skin of his neck.

Her feminine power rose inside her as she stroked her tongue over his throat. He tasted salty and so familiar to her that she couldn’t believe that she’d been nervous about doing this with him again.

This was Mason, and while fifteen years apart had brought changes in both of them, it didn’t change the fact that being in his arms felt more right than anything else in her life.

“Well you better hurry up then.” She nuzzled her lips over to his ear and took the lobe between her teeth, giving him a gentle bite.

He sucked in his breath and took the steps two at a time. She didn’t think he’d ever moved that fast before and once they got to his bedroom he set her on her feet. The light of the full moon shone in the window and she could see him clearly. Desire was evident in every line of his body, and she felt beautiful as his eyes swept over her.

“Come here.” His voice was a gruff command, and she was powerless to disobey. She stepped toward him, running her hands over the firm muscles of his chest. His skin was so hot, so smooth and she felt like she couldn’t get close enough to him. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

It wasn’t only the way he looked at her, but the wanting in his eyes made her feel like the most desirable woman in the world. In this moment in time it felt like they were the only two people in existence. As his mouth came down on hers she felt in her bones this was going to be a turning point for them. They could no longer deny the need they had for each other.

His arms went around her back, pressing her bare flesh to his as she put her arms around his neck. Passion exploded between them as he used his mouth to devour hers.

Even with the desire evident in every caress of his lips, every stroke of his hands, she knew that this man would never push her beyond what she was ready for. Knowing that made it easy to put herself in his capable hands, to trade caresses with him because she knew that ultimately she was safe with him. She’d never wanted another man as much as she wanted him, and now that she’d come to her senses enough to realize that, she was going to enjoy every second of this with him.

As his tongue slid inside her mouth, moisture pooled between her legs as his actions mimicked what she wanted him to do to her with another part of his body. She pulled her mouth away and looked up into his dark blue eyes. They appeared almost black in the moonlight, since his desire for her had made his pupils swallow most of his iris.

His name was a sigh on her lips as she moved to the center of the bed, and she took a long moment to look at him. The moonlight highlighted the hard planes of his strong muscular body. The cool blue light coming in through the window made him look like a statue, one carved from the hardest marble.

If he’d been a statue, then he was the embodiment of masculine perfection, and would have been considered a masterpiece. She drank in the sight of him from his large muscular chest, down the sculpted ridges of his abdomen to where his desire for her made his cock jut out. She may have been nervous if she hadn’t already experienced the wonder and ecstasy that his size was capable of giving her.

In a matter of moments, looking was no longer enough, so she raised a hand to him and he threaded his fingers through hers as he came down beside her on the bed. The mattress dipped as he came up on his elbow beside her, and his eyes swept over every inch of her body like a caress.

It seemed the brief respite away from the press of her flesh had given him a moment to collect himself, and when he kissed her there was no longer a devouring urgency in the movements of his mouth.

Every part of him invaded her senses, from the scent of him to the short, silky strands of his hair as she curled her fingers around the back of his head. He seemed in no hurry as he kissed her softly, with a gentleness that made her eyes sting for a moment. She swallowed hard when his mouth drifted from hers to move over her cheek and glide down her throat. She shivered when he hit the tender part behind her ear, the one he knew was there and always exploited to drive her wild.

Although his caresses were familiar to her, this time with him seemed different from the encounters they had so many years ago. It could be their maturity meant they were now ready to handle the intensity of their desire for each other. It could be the sense of homecoming she felt when she was in his arms. Or it could simply be because she was aware that the binding ceremony had made him her mate, and at least for this moment in time, he was hers and she was his. Whatever the cause, every stroke of his tongue over her flesh felt better than the last.

Her nipples hardened into peaks as he circled his tongue ever closer to her breast. She moaned his name as he took her aching flesh in his mouth. Her fingers tightened in his hair as her desire for him beat heavily in her blood. Oh God, this was so much better than she remembered. How could she have forgotten how he used to drive her wild like this with his hands and mouth on her body. The pleasure he gave her was so intense that she became frightened for a moment. How was she supposed to walk away from this, away from him, when their appointed year was up?

As he moved his mouth down her body, thoughts became fewer and farther between for her. His lips and tongue ignited a fiery passion inside her that left no room for thought or analysis. The only thing she was capable of now was pure feeling, as he made her body sing with every caress.

He settled his face between her legs, and kiss the inside of her thighs, his mouth edging closer to where she needed to feel his touch. She moved restlessly on the bed, her need for him so strong that she couldn’t hold back the pleas for him to give her more

He gave her what she wanted, what she needed most from him and her breath came out in a shudder of pleasure as he flicked and sucked on her clit. Her fingers were very deep in his hair, clenching it as each stroke of his tongue brought her closer to the edge. He tormented and teased her to great heights, only to pause his ministrations.

“Jesus, Mason.” She didn’t know if she was going to be able to take much more of this, but she also never wanted it to stop.

She lifted her head off the pillow to look at him. He grinned at her and winked. He was a devil and knew exactly what his actions were doing to her. He drove her wild, and she gave him a fierce look as she pushed on the back of his head. His mouth came down on her again, and the orgasm that he been careful to build inside her exploded after a few more talented flicks of his tongue.

She called his name is her pleasure slammed into her over and over again. How was it possible to feel this much ecstasy without dying? She trembled and shook as she was gripped by the most intense climax of her life.

He moved his body up hers, and when she looked at him, she saw that the restraint he’d used when he pleasured her had taken a toll on him as well. The skin on his face was stretched taught over the muscles and bones of his features. He looks so fierce with his need for her that his lips were almost curled into a snarl.

Even though he fed some of her desire with one orgasm, suddenly it was no longer enough. She wanted him inside her, she wanted to be filled by him.

She reached down between them, took him in her hands and put him at the entrance of her body. He slid in smoothly as her slick flesh accepted him, and her eyes widened as she stretched around his girth. Her breath panted in and out of her body as she clung to him, willing herself to become used to how tight he made her feel. He closed his eyes and trembled slightly, and she knew that he wanted to move inside her, that he needed to, but was giving her time to become used to him.

She nuzzled her face against him, kissing him softly on his mouth as she moved her hips under him. It was a signal he’d been waiting for and he slowly withdrew and thrust back inside her. His pace was slow, as if he had all night to do this with her. Every movement of his body brought her closer to the orgasm she now craved more than anything else.

She could no longer hold back the passions burning inside her, and her hips urged him to move faster. He seemed helpless to disobey the urgings of his own body, and his thrusts grew harder inside her. Their bodies moved together, their movements a primitive dance that was as old as time. She couldn’t get close enough to him, and in that moment she wanted to crawl inside his body and become one with his soul.

The peak of her passion slammed through her, and her second orgasm of the evening ripped through her. She clung to him, and cried out his name as wave upon wave of pleasure and ecstasy moved through her body. His own orgasm came upon him swiftly after hers and he groaned her name as he shuddered. She held onto him tight as he poured himself into her and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

She never felt closer to him than she had in this moment. Holding onto him with the weight of his body on top of her, made her believe that perhaps they did have a chance. Could this be the beginning of something special between them? Would they be able to overcome the baggage of the past? She didn’t know the answer to that, and in this moment with him it didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was the way he felt against her and how he made her feel.