Chapter Three
He could no longer hold on once they entered her room and she locked the door. His head swam in a sea of her scent. Of her desire, of the basic imprint of her on the room around him. He. Had. To. Claim. Her.
When she turned to face him, the primal male inside him thrilled to see her eyes widen at how close he stood to her. A soft sigh filtered from her mouth. A mouth he set his own to and fell.
Her taste roared through him. His senses hummed with satisfaction, his body hardened as his brain filled with all that was his woman. He wanted to consume her, wanted every inch of her inside and out. Never in his life had anyone ever held so much fascination for him and for the first time since he’d began to really struggle with who and what he was, he reveled in it. Accepted that he was a werewolf and she was his mate. The freedom of it was nearly as heady as the connection of their two hearts and souls.
Her head fell against the door as he pulled the front of her pretty dress open, the muted sounds of buttons flying and pinging off the carpet and walls filling the space between heaving breaths. Beneath was a feast for his eyes. Acres of creamy skin. A flat belly. Pretty dark blue panties and a matching bra.
Bending his head, he feasted on the smattering of freckles on the curve of her right breast as he popped the catch of her bra, freeing them into his grateful hands.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “More. Touch me, Shane. Claim me.”
She writhed against him and his body reacted as her scent filled him up to the bursting point. He wanted her with single-minded intensity.
“God. God. You’re so fucking beautiful. I...” Instead of saying more he showed her. Cruised his mouth along her collarbone. Sturdy. Strong and yet totally feminine. He licked along the hollow of her throat, swallowing the frantic beat of her pulse, tasting the echo of his own need as it seeped from her skin.
Her nipples, so sensitive they beaded as he moved to them, tasted like everything he’d ever wanted and never knew he craved. Her arousal hung between them like something tangible. The scent held him, fascinated, enthralled. His cock throbbed along with the beat of her heart under his tongue as he licked up the line of her chest, up her neck, capturing her earlobe for just a brief moment until she cried out.
“Help me!”
With two moves, his pants were down. He kicked them free and she wrapped a long, muscular leg around his waist, drawing him tight to her. Her dress hung in tatters. He yanked off her panties, the sound of ripping silk doing things to him low and deep.
All he could think on was shoving his cock into her even as he knew he should take his time, show her pleasure.
“Inside or I will maim you,” she gasped out and he obliged, guiding his cock to her gate. The slippery entrance bathed the head of his cock in wet heat.
He laughed, totally happy for the first time in his life, as he surged up and into her body with a cry of joy.
He stilled and she felt more than just his cock inside her, it was as if she’d cracked herself open and he’d settled within her. His joy ebbed into her very bones, married with hers. It was so right. Tears swam, blurring her vision. Her view of this man’s face. His beautiful face.
It was then, her gaze locked with his, as he pressed back inside, she saw his wolf there, in his eyes. The loneliness of it struck her deep. This wolf of his wanted to be free, to be loved and she knew then, knew as she knew he was hers, their road would not be easy.
“Your wolf is so beautiful,” she said softly. Despite that knowing, she knew she wanted him forever and would fight for him too. For that moment, she would revel in what they had because it was beautiful.
His breath caught and he shook his head. “Wrap your legs around me.” His hands, big and strong, cradled her naked ass as he fucked her up against the door. Urgency marred his features, the line of his mouth was hard as she leaned forward to kiss it.
He opened to her, kissing her back as she held on, her fingers digging into his shoulders. She wanted his bare skin, needed it, so she ripped off his shirt, reveling in the way his intake of breath echoed into their kiss.
She let herself wonder in the feel of his body, in the way his skin tautened over the bunch and play of his muscles as he thrust into her body. Broad shoulders beckoned and she gave in, leaving his mouth to press her lips into the dip just below his collarbone.
His cock was fat, broad and wide like his shoulders, a big man all around and she couldn’t wait to see him totally naked and spread out on the bed so she could touch and taste every part of him.
“I’m not going to last much longer,” he managed to gasp out, “it’s so intense being inside you. Beautiful.”
She smiled and nipped his biceps just above where the sleeve of his shirt hung from his arm.
“So come. Come inside me and mark me as yours.”
“Christ.” He rested his forehead on her shoulder a moment, still fucking into her body. “You’re irresistible, you know that? And mine. What a lucky man I am. Make yourself come, my hands are filled with your ass just now.”
She laughed, arching her body a bit to make some space to move her fingers to her clit. “I’ll warn you, I like to come. A lot. I like sex and I’m very exacting.” She hummed as the pleasure of her fingertips sliding against her clit added to the feel of his cock stretching her, filling her, stroking inside.
“Well, lucky for me then.”
He may have started to say more but she lost all ability to hear anything but the rush in her ears as she started to climax and a deep, rumbling growl came from his gut as he joined her.
He filled her, sealing the bond between them and she barely felt it when he fell to his knees, shielding her from the impact of it, holding her against him as he pressed lips to her temple.
He rushed into her senses, disorienting her a moment when she opened her eyes and saw double, felt double, but after some sweaty minutes, her heartbeat began to slow to normal and she looked into his face, caught his smile.
* * *
Shane knew he’d found something more special than he could wrap his brain around as he held Megan against his body. So perfect. Strong. Gorgeous.
“Hi there.” He kissed her forehead and stood, helping her to her feet. She ran inside him like the blood in his veins and while at first it had felt strange, unnatural, by then it just felt right.
“Hi yourself.” She grinned. “So um, wow. Here we are all post-coital and I don’t even know your birthday.”
They didn’t know each other very well at all and the reality of their situation began to hit him. Still, he couldn’t be sorry for finding her. Regardless of his choice to live outside a Pack, he accepted certain things about himself. He was a werewolf and he saw the bond between his parents. Even if his mother rejected the wolf half of his father, she loved him and he adored her. So much his father had lived outside a pack because his mother had hated it so much. So he knew it was real even if it wasn’t perfect. The love was there between them, enough that his father had given up his wolf half and his mother had stayed even though she had been uncomfortable with that part of him.
With Layla and Sid, he saw two mates, two wolves who accepted each other wholly and completely. They had children together, had created a family and a life. Hell, as Layla’s Anchor, he was part of that himself and that feeling of belonging to something bigger than himself was something he treasured.
“We have time. It’s March fourth by the way. Now, a shower beckons I think. I want to see you totally naked. In exchange, I’ll make you come again.”
She shrugged off the remains of her dress and let the bra fall to her feet. He’d already tossed her panties somewhere over his shoulder. Gloriously naked, tall, hard and fit, she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
“I have to tell you those are the finest breasts I’ve ever clapped eyes on.” He tugged her toward the bathroom.
“As much as I’m totally all over that idea, especially since it involves us both naked and having more sex, my phone has been ringing and I’d wager yours has too. Everyone is going to be wondering where we are.”
He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t care. I want you and those three minutes against the door were not enough. God knows I don’t want you to think that’s the game I’m bringing.”
She laughed and kissed him. “I’m perfectly willing to give you a second chance. That was claiming, I’m sure with that body of yours and that very fine cock, you’ve got an A game in there.”
He wrapped his arms around her, quite liking the feel of her against him and unable to remember any other woman. It was as if she’d totally pushed all memories from his head. He couldn’t decide if he should be happy or distressed by this point. He was seeing a woman back in Vegas and obviously that was over.
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay in here with you for a few days.”
“I can feel you, you know. You’re panicking.”
She pushed him back.
“Not that. It just occurred to me there’s a lot of stuff to be resolved. Neither of us was expecting this obviously.” He saw the disbelief on her face, felt her unhappiness and wanted to fix it. “Hey, I was also thinking about how much I loved the way you felt in my arms and that you’d erased the memory of all other women.”
She snorted but the rigidity in her spine eased.
To underline her point, right as he’d moved his lips back to her nipple, his phone rang from the pocket of his overnight bag near the door. Layla’s ring—Eric Clapton.
“My sister obviously.” She pushed him back as she said it. “Go on. Tell her we’ll meet her downstairs in the pool area in five minutes. Don’t tell her about the bond or we’ll have two dozen wolves pounding on the door.”
Before he could answer, she’d turned and gone into the bathroom, shutting the door in his face.
He grabbed his phone while struggling into the T-shirt he was thankful to have tossed into his carry-on that morning. “Hey there.”
“Where are you? I saw the car in the lot when I came back from this hellish day of errands. Please tell me Megan didn’t strand you at the airport, she’s usually really on top of things.”
He smiled at the very idea. “I’m really good actually. I have a lot to tell you. I’m here at the hotel. Megan said to tell you we’d meet you in the pool area in five minutes.”
“Okay we’ll sneak off for dinner.”
He hesitated. He wanted to see Layla. He loved her, she was his Anchor but Megan was his mate. Any plans he made would involve her and while he wasn’t a woman, he certainly knew them well enough to understand there’d most likely be some jealousy between them until Megan understood she was first with him.
“We’ll see you in a few.” He hung up before she could say anything else.
* * *
Megan looked at herself in the mirror with a sigh. All her life she’d been a pretty confident person. Except when it came to Layla. Layla was the smartest sibling. Certainly Layla and Tegan gave each other some hefty competition when it came to beauty but they were the ones who got the best boobs and the red hair. And after Tegan had lost Lucas, Tegan had gotten a lot closer to Layla than to Megan. It had hurt. She loved her sisters, every one of them, but they were hard on a woman’s confidence sometimes.
And Layla had him first. She knew it was stupid to feel jealous but she did. It wasn’t like Shane had done anything and she knew Lay would never in a million years betray Shane or hurt Megan. But it was there anyway. Layla was someone really special to Shane and she’d been that way to him first.
Of course she had no clothes in the bathroom so she cleaned up quickly, applying some eyeliner and lipstick before heading back out to the room.
“Now I really don’t want to go anywhere.” He looked her up and down slowly, approval clear in his gaze.
“You can go on down if you want. Meet up with me later.” She pulled on underwear and a skirt before turning to grab a bra and look for a shirt.
He was there, touching her before she could take another step. “Why would I want that? I want to be with you, Megan.”
“I just meant, well, I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing Layla and she’s been talking about you for weeks so I didn’t want to get in the way or anything.”
He wouldn’t let her move away to put her shirt on, instead holding her to him and breathing in deeply at her neck. “Of course I want to see Layla. But you can be there too, right? She’s always given me the impression you were close.”
“She has? I mean, sure. I like all my siblings, even my brothers who will of course grill you and try to intimidate you and stuff. Just ignore them.”
She wriggled enough he let her go so she could get her shirt on.
* * *
He groaned as they walked out of the room. He didn’t want to go anywhere but back inside where he could get her naked and treat her the way she was meant to be treated. That quickie earlier wasn’t enough.
Her feet, my God, her toes were deep red in the daintiest sandals. It seemed totally at odds with the tough Enforcer Layla had always spoken about.
“You have the sexiest, longest legs,” he murmured as he kept her close with an arm around her waist. He still smelled her on his skin and never wanted to lose that feeling.
She actually blushed. “Oh, well, thank you. I run ten miles a day, I think that probably helps.”
When the elevator doors opened and they walked out onto the patio area surrounding two large pools, Layla launched herself at him with a happy laugh, dropping kisses on his cheeks. He laughed, hugging her back, happy as hell to see her.
Megan stepped away and more than her physical distance, he felt her emotional distance like a slap.
He set Layla away from him, no easy feat because she’d been hugging him, but before he could turn to Megan, Layla gasped.
“Oh! You’re mated! That’s the best news ever. Congratulations.” She turned and began to yell that Megan and Shane were mated and people started to rush over.
Megan smiled dutifully at her mother and he noted her twin, Tegan, coming over to hug her sister too. He wanted to touch her, to reassure her, but she’d been swallowed in a sea of female wolves talking excitedly. It was a wedding they were all there for, he supposed, and that had to add to the thrill of a new mating.
He saw some of his male relatives and relief fell over him as Adam, a cousin of his and Sid’s showed up.
“Hey, congratulations. Megan is a really special woman. You’re a lucky man to have her.”
Shane couldn’t have agreed more. But he had something he needed to discuss with Adam in private as well.
* * *
Megan felt Shane’s happiness at seeing Layla and wanted to kick him and punch her sister. Cripes this was stupid. Couldn’t she find a guy like Sid who wanted her that much?
Pissed off now, at herself for being pissed off as much as at them, all she wanted to do was escape and try to deal with her rampant emotions, but her mother had an iron grip on her arm as she busily began to plan a double wedding with Sherry.
“No. Mom, this is Sherry’s day and I don’t want to encroach on that. I need to go call Lex. I’ll be back. He’ll be mad at us for not calling right off.”
“Oh you’re right. We’ll all go to dinner tonight then. I don’t know Shane as well as I’d like. Where are you going to live? Surely not Packless in Las Vegas of all places?”
“I don’t know. We just met less than three hours ago. I’ll be back.” She indicated her phone, and her mother let go so Megan made a hasty escape.
Reality replaced the haze of the new mate bond. God this sucked. Where would they live? Because her mother was right, she wouldn’t go Packless, give up her career and her life in Seattle to pretend to be human three states away. She was a werewolf. She ran as a wolf every day if she could. Maybe he’d want to live in Seattle, want to try a life with a big family. They had a lot of talking to do.
Instead of going back to her room, she headed to the gardens in the resort to find a place to call Lex and to think over her situation.
Lex answered on the first ring. “Hi, hon. Is everything okay?”
“I met my mate today. It’s Shane, Layla’s anchor bond and he had sex with her and I’m never going to be able to forget it and how can I? She’s got bigger boobs and he lives in Las Vegas without a Pack and he probably wishes he was mated to her instead of me.” She was pretty sure she didn’t even take a breath during all of that but she just needed to say it and he’d understand.
And he did. “Aw, Megan, gorgeous, of course he wants you as his mate. You’re just nervous and I can see why although I try not to ever imagine you or any of my sisters having sex. He is your mate. Period. What you feel for your Anchor is special, yes, but you know as well as I do, it’s not the same as a mate bond. Cade does not feel for Nina what he feels for Grace. I imagine it’ll be hard but you’ll get through it. As for him being Packless, honey, is that what you want? Are you sure you can be happy that way?”
No she couldn’t. A werewolf was meant to live in a community with other wolves. They survived, thrived, through touch and being with those in their family. It was part of who they were. She saw Shane’s wolf and she never wanted that, not for herself and not even for him.
“No. I’m Enforcer of Cascadia. It’s not just what I do, it’s what I was born to be, part of me. I’m hoping he’ll want to come up to live in Seattle. We haven’t talked about it yet. Right now Layla is rubbing herself all over him and he’s surrounded by Wardens.”
“She’s not rubbing herself all over him. Lay would not do that to you. Hell or to Sid. Go back and face him. Talk to him. Tell him if he hurts you I’ll be forced to kill him. I love you and I’m so happy for you. Shall I come down? Gabby and I can be on a plane in a few hours.”
“No. He and I need time alone, away from family to try and work all this stuff through. I love you, Lex.”
He chuckled softly and Megan heard Gabby talking like a monkey on the other end. “I love you too, Megan. Everything is going to be all right. The bond will guide you and get you guys through.”
* * *
“Where the hell have you been?”
Sometime later, Tegan, Tracy, Nina, Grace and Layla all burst through the wrought iron gate and into the garden.
“What’s it to you? Not like you noticed I was even there.” How dare Layla give her attitude!
“What? I turned around to congratulate you and you were gone. Mom said you were coming right back so we waited but you never came back. Shane is looking for you.”
“Why are you here?”
“What is up your ass?” Layla narrowed her eyes at her sister, who narrowed them right back.
“You’re up my ass. Rubbing yourself all over Shane. You’re married! And he’s mine.” God she sounded like such a bitch.
Grace sat down on the bench and pulled Megan down beside her. “You, over there and shut up for a minute.” She pointed to Layla who started to argue but Tracy and Nina pulled her back. Tegan sat next to Megan with a sigh, putting her head on Megan’s shoulder.
“Oh, honey, I know where you are right now.” Grace looked over at Nina who nodded back at her. “When I met Nina and she was such an insufferable cow, it was horrible. I knew Cade cared about her and I could see how much she cared about him. It sucked.”
“I was pregnant and you just pranced into my house all tiny and cute. Who wouldn’t hate you?” Nina snorted and Grace laughed.
“I am tiny and cute, aren’t I?”
Megan laughed at their back and forth. They were so close, despite the distance.
“You can’t think I’d ever do anything with Shane? Even if you weren’t his mate, I’d never do that. I’m hurt you have such a low opinion of me, Megan.” Damn if Layla didn’t still look gorgeous even as she was angry.
“I don’t care. I’m sorry, Lay, but I don’t care if you’re hurt. You fucked my mate. He’s seen you naked. He loved you before me. That sucks. It sucks and I can’t apologize for it. It’s always about you, damn it. Oh poor Layla with her hurt feelings. Well, let me make you feel better. You have a man who adores you. Who didn’t even flinch to move his entire life to Seattle to be with you. I have a man who adores you and who I doubt will want to move to Seattle and I am Second of the Pack and I really get the feeling my mate, a man who could move, isn’t going to want to. So fuck you, Layla. Okay? That makes me petty and small but I just don’t care.”
She got up and Lay did too as everyone watched carefully. “You’re acting like a spoiled brat. He’s lived outside a Pack his whole life. He’s been raised to be suspicious of what we are. Of what he is. His mother has done a number on him, let me tell you. The first time he changed she punished him! She’s raised him to think his wolf is unnatural and wrong and his father loves her so much, so much he’s simply let Shane be estranged from what he is. This is going to be hard on him. You’re not even giving him a chance.”
Rage and humiliation coursed through Megan. Disbelief that any mother would do that. But it didn’t overcome everything else. “You’re acting like a self-righteous bitch. Why is this about him? You should be thinking about me. But you’re not because Layla is the center of Layla world. Oh how dare I not be available when you decided you wanted to congratulate me. Poor Shane, my goodness let’s not let him feel bad. Gosh between you and your fucking feelings and and Shane and his fucking feelings you might not even remember who he’s mated to. I’m sure he’s having a hard time with it.”
“You both need to be smacked. Megan, honey, you know I adore the hell out of you, but you’re jumping to conclusions about Shane, aren’t you? And you, Layla, come on, how would you feel if your sister had slept with Sid and had an anchor connection to her? Of course she’s upset. Both of you, knock this shit off right now before you say something you can’t take back.” Nina stood and got between them.
“I don’t care. Smack me. I know enough to have felt his emotions once we completed the bond. He’s panicked about me but thrilled when she rubbed herself all over him. Is it too much to ask that I get a mate who adores me the way your men adore you? I’ve been patient! Each one of you has found someone and I never begrudged that. I was genuinely happy when you found them. It’s bad enough I have to live in the shadow of Miss Gorgeous Perfect over there and now I get her sloppy seconds. Lucky me.” Megan knew she was losing it but she couldn’t seem to stop saying it.
“Perfect? Oh my God! Megan, look at yourself, you goddamned overachiever. You’re Second in our Pack. You’re the youngest female to ever hold such a powerful spot.”
“By two minutes,” Tegan said, trying to break the tension. She was Second in the Great Lakes Pack.
Layla waved it away. “You’re kick-ass and super smart and you’re blonde and you have those damned arms like Linda Hamilton did in The Terminator, the second one where she was all nutty and tried to kill the doctor with a pen. Right about now that’s reminding me of you too. You don’t have breasts that’ve fed two kids. I can’t believe you’d be jealous of me. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” She grabbed Megan’s arms and gave her a little shake. “I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you purposely. You or Sid or the kids, the Pack, or Shane for that matter. I hate that you’d think so little of me.”
Megan slumped, hating that she would too.
“I’m sorry.”
Layla started crying and hugged her. “I’m sorry too. This should be a happy day for you. I know he’s happy to have found you. I know you guys can make it work.”
“I’m scared.” Damn it, she was. Even if she hated to say it out loud. Her sisters surrounded her again. “What if we can’t make it work? What if I’m not enough?”
“You’re his mate, Megan. You’re enough simply by existing. But more than that, look at yourself. He’s so lucky to have you. You will fight for him and be the best thing that ever happened to him.” Layla sniffled as she said it and Megan had no doubt her sister meant every word. Even if she wasn’t sure she believed it herself.
* * *
Shane had been talking to Adam about serving as their Anchor when Megan’s anguish swept through their bond and nearly felled him. Urgency made his heart pound. He had to help her.
This bond thing came with a lot of stuff he hadn’t really thought out, wasn’t sure he wanted it but it was too late. He was all bound up in her and she with him. It was good, he liked it even as he resented it. Way down deep he struggled with what he’d been taught and what he felt.
“Shane, are you all right?” Adam looked concerned.
“I am. This is all new. I don’t quite know how to process it.” He looked around, worried, but she wasn’t anywhere in view. Neither were any of her sisters. Maybe he’d just give her a call to check in.
He pulled out his phone but realized he didn’t even have her number. “I don’t have her number.” He looked back to Adam. “Have you seen Megan?”
“Not since we started talking. Is everything okay with her? Can you feel something through the bond?”
“I’ll call Lay, she probably knows where Megan is.”
Layla’s voice, when she answered, was taut. “This is not a good time.”
“What’s going on? Is Megan with you?”
“He’s calling you?” He heard Megan speak in the background.
“Tell me what’s going on? She sounds upset. Put her on.”
“Believe me, you don’t want that. We’re on our way back right now,” Layla said and hung up.
What the hell?
“Something is up, Megan sounded pissed off in the background but I don’t know why.”
Adam laughed. “Well, let’s hazard a guess, shall we? You called her sister instead of her. Her sister who you have seen naked and had sex with. This has to be uncomfortable for her.”
“I didn’t know her number. I didn’t even know her before this afternoon! How can I have called her? And I didn’t know when I served as Layla’s Anchor I’d be mated to her sister. I’m barely even a damned werewolf. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Well, I’m sorry you got stuck with me. And I’m really sorry you seem to be so horrified by what you are. By what I am.”
He closed his eyes at the sound of Megan’s voice. At the hurt there. He turned around to face her and felt some hurt of his own when he reached toward her and she stepped back.
“I don’t feel like I’m stuck with you. I was just frustrated. I heard you in the background, I knew you were upset. I hated not knowing why.” He was constrained by everyone looking on, damn it.
Adam stepped smoothly into the fray by hugging Megan. When he stepped back he cupped her face in his hands. “Congratulations, honey. I know this is hard and it was totally unexpected but it’s a gift. Don’t forget that, okay? Why don’t we all get something to eat? Calm down. You only heard part of the conversation. The rest was me being honored to be asked to be your Anchor. That is, if you’ll have me?”
“I can’t deal with this,” Megan said so quietly Shane had to strain to hear it. The pain in her voice, the confusion was clear though.
Adam put his arms around her and swayed a bit from side to side. “Why don’t the three of us go somewhere? Hmm? Where it’s quiet and we can talk this all through. It’s been a big day and you’re both caught off guard. Come on, honey. You’re upset and there are a lot of people out here.”
Layla watched Shane through wary eyes and he hated it. He hated that he couldn’t just talk this over with her without making everyone else upset.
Megan looked up and he only wanted her, wanted to make things right for her, for the two of them.
“What do you say? We can meet up with your family later on. Will you accept Adam as your Anchor?” He moved to her, brushing the hair from her forehead and he felt her anguish unknot at the simple gesture. What a strange and comforting thing the bond was. He knew, had heard, that the bond was intense but words couldn’t do it justice. Part of him wondered how in the world his mother could feel this for his father and yet not love all of him. He wondered if his father resented it.
“Let’s all go to my room. I’ll need to stick close to Nina but I’m sure she can keep her mitts off the door and leave us alone. We can talk there.”
She took the hand he held out and Adam sent him a smile and moved to her other side. Layla and her sisters kept a watchful eye on them as they moved back inside the hotel.