I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt truly alone like this. Even in Birch Haven, I knew the Pack had me on monitors when I wasn’t chained to the bed. I could hear Pat singing a classic country-western tune from deeper in the house. She was off-key but somehow glorious. It comforted me to know she was here, though she kept her distance.

She was right about the bath. I wondered if the water at the Bonner farm had healing powers. As I sank beneath the bubbles, I felt the weight of months of worry and angst just floating away. This place was a home. Not mine, of course. But, normal people lived here. They went about their lives and worked the farm. Sure, shifters abounded, but the vibe I felt from them was decidedly different. Still, a flutter of alarm ran through me that I knew came from Payne.

Though I wanted to stay in that tub forever, a mournful howl drew me out. Toweling off, I put on the clean clothes Pat set out for me. The t-shirt smelled like strong soap and bleach. It was a clean, good smell. She left me a pair of jeans and even worn cowboy boots by the door. They were about a half a size too big, but they fit comfortably. I only wished they didn’t clomp so hard on the wood floors as I made my way out into the hall.

True to her word, Pat left a picnic basket on the front porch. Dusk had fallen. The horses had been led back into the barn and the woods beyond the Bonner farm cast long shadows across the yard. Instinct told me Wild Lake itself lay beyond it. The name held an air of mystery and darkness and I knew in my bones it’s what drew the shifters here in the first place.

Rumor had it, the Wild Lake shifters were made up of a half a dozen or more separate packs. They’d carved out a patch of harmony here that I couldn’t fathom. How could that many Alphas live near each other without wanting to rip each other’s throats out on the regular? At the center of it all, was Pat Bonner’s farm. She’d used the word sanctuary, and I wondered if it was like that for all the shifters. She’d said so. She mentioned an honor code among them.

Payne’s howl intensified as I approached the barn. My heart hammered in my chest as he sensed me. I hated leaving him out here, but Pat was right. He’d be comfortable enough here with a roof over his head and the horses to keep him company. I couldn’t hold back the tiniest giggle as I thought of it. I didn’t figure the horses were too happy about the disruption. They whinnied and stomped their hooves as I made my way down the stalls. There was a basket of apples hanging from one wall. I took a few and fed three of the horses on my way down.

Payne was in the last stall on the right, just like Pat said. He sat with his back against the far wall, eyes gleaming as I opened the door. Though he no longer had chains from shoulder to knee, he was still bound. Each wrist was shackled and held above his head, looped around the rafters. He had another chain around his waist, binding him to the wall.

“Payne,” I said, my voice choked. I set down the picnic basket and went to him.

“Are you all right?” he asked, struggling to sound human.

“I am,” I said. “The Bonners are...good people. I think.”

“Be careful,” he cautioned. “I mean it. There are shifters everywhere. Hell, I can sense about a dozen just a few hundred yards from here. They’re circling. Watching. Can’t you feel it?”

Sweat broke out on Payne’s brow. He squirmed against the wall, jerking the chains. Though the rafters creaked, they held. It occurred to me there might be a little bit of dragonsteel in the framework. Otherwise, Payne should have been able to rip the wood down around his ears.

“Don’t,” I said. “Stop. We have to play this out. Do you hear me? We’re on their turf now, Payne. Hell, I think I’d be more suspicious if they rolled out the red carpet for us.”

Payne let out a groan but didn’t argue. His eyes locked on mine. Just that simple gesture and he laid his heart bare. This was killing him. Not the dragonsteel. But, being separated from me tore something inside of him. Even as I thought it, the flesh at the base of my neck began to burn. That burning shot straight between my legs as if the two points on my body were connected by a wire.

“I’ll kill them. I don’t care. If they touch a hair on your head…”

“Shhh.” I went to him. Payne sat with his legs slightly parted. I knelt in the space between them and put a hand on his naked chest. My fingers traced the shadowy outline of the tattoo he wore there. For this ink alone, the Chief Pack would torture or kill him if they ever caught him.

“Lena,” he said, gasping. I knew his need. I shared it. With each beat of his heart, his suffering became mine. He needed to be with me. It tore him apart to trust the Bonners or any of these shifters with my safety.

“They won’t hurt me,” I said, not knowing for sure if it was true. But, it was something I felt.

“I can’t protect you like this!” He jerked one hand to his chest. The chains swung wildly. He was in a near panic. If he shifted now, the chains would cut into his chest, injuring him.

“Payne, stop. I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere.” I meant just to place my hand against his cheek. He turned and kissed my palm. Electricity shot through me. In an instant, it became clear what he needed. What we both needed.

I went to him, pressing my chest against his. With his arms chained above his head, he couldn’t embrace me. He couldn’t touch me at all unless I willed it. As that realization slammed into me, a new, bold desire ignited in my core. I’d been cautious with him before. Maybe a little afraid. But here, now, like this, I was in control.

When our lips met, lust rocketed through me. Payne’s low growl vibrated through me as he strained against the chains. His fingers curled and his claws came out.

“Shh,” I cautioned. “Be still.”

“Lena,” he said, his voice thick with desire. “I can’t…”

I slid my hands over his chest, loving the feel of his hard muscles. I leaned back on my heels. Payne’s eyes sparked and my lust coiled through me. My breasts felt heavy, my nipples hard. Before I could even think, I pulled the shirt over my head. I wore no bra and my tits popped out for him. Payne’s eyes darkened as his wolf stirred.

I reached for him, tugging on the fly of his jeans. I felt the outline of his rigid cock. He was huge, bursting at the seams. Slowly, carefully, I unfastened the button and pulled his zipper down. His cock sprung free. I swear, he looked even bigger than the first time. I gasped. I pulled at his waistband, dragging his jeans down to his mid-thighs.

Veins popped out on Payne’s forearms as he strained against the shackles on his wrists. The rafters creaked and I couldn’t help but smile. How would I explain things to Pat if he tore the barn down around us? Something told me she might even understand.

I bit my lip, feeling emboldened by the chains. Before I could even think about it, I went to all fours, hovering just above Payne’s cock.

He sucked in a hard breath of air as I licked my lips. A tiny pearl of cum formed at the head and I went for it. Circling one hand gently around the base of him, I brought Payne into my mouth. He arched his back and let out a lustful growl that made the walls shake. The horse in the neighboring stall reared up and stomped the ground.

Payne filled my mouth. My cheeks bowed out as I worked to take him in. Gently twisting and stroking with my hand, I bobbed up and down, loving the feel of him. Payne’s heartbeat filled my head. Heat pooled between my legs. I knew if he had his hands, he would slip them down the front of my pants and find me soaked for him already.

With the chains holding him back, I could be bold and daring, reckless and wanton. Though I knew he would never hurt me even without them, this new control flipped a switch inside me. As I kept Payne steady in my mouth, I wriggled out of my jeans.

God, what would I look like if anyone happened by? There I was on all fours with Payne’s cock buried in my mouth. I was stark naked, servicing him as he was held fast by the chains. Payne threw his head back and let out a growl I knew had to carry all the way to the lake.

They would hear. They would know. And yet, I didn’t care. Let them. Lust fueled me, driving out all reason. I wanted this. I wanted to be this for him. Payne was mine and I was his. Nothing else mattered.

“Lena.” He found the strength to whisper my name as I redoubled my efforts. Payne was so huge, so hard, he hit the back of my throat. I slid my tongue along the underside of his dick, brushing against his balls. It drove him mad with lust and he bucked and thrust, forcing himself even deeper. The chains rattled harder against the wooden barn walls.

When I felt him hitch, I slid one hand under him, lifting his balls and stroking them as I sucked harder. He wouldn’t last. I could feel the dam inside him about to burst. I wanted it to. I wanted him. All of it.

Then, he came.

The force of it startled me, but I held on, taking in wave after wave as Payne let loose. My own juices flowed freely. I pulsed for him. Ached for him. But, I wanted to take him first.

Payne didn’t even try to hold back. His wolf let out a howl that rocked through me. I looked up and met his eyes. His were brilliant green and wild. He licked his lips. When I felt him slow down, only then did I release him. Payne’s cock still throbbed. It was so big. So hard. Still slick and shiny.

I rose up and put my hands flat against his chest. Payne adjusted his weight, thrusting his hips forward.

I straddled him. Payne locked eyes with me, unable to put a hand on my hip to steady me. This would be all me. All mine. He crushed his lips to mine as I guided him into me. Payne was so big, he filled me all the way. Squatting over him, I anchored myself. Payne held still and let me find the position I needed.

Then, I fucked him. As Payne strained against the chains, I moved with wild abandon, thrusting deep, taking all of him. He nipped my earlobe, ran his tongue down the column of my throat. From the corner of my eye, I could see his fingers twitch as he ached to touch my breasts. I rubbed those against his chest, loving the friction against my hard, aching nipples.

This was perfect. Wild. Raw. Complete.

“Lena.” He whispered my name over and over as I settled into the pace that would drive me home. I threw my head back. Sweat poured down between my breasts.

All the while, Payne watched. He had not marked me. We were not connected in that way. And yet, it was almost as if I could see myself through his eyes. He relished the view of me bucking and thrashing as I fucked him at my own pace. He pushed his hips far forward, driving himself even deeper as I took my pleasure. I held on to his shoulders, bracing against the rushing tide that would carry me away.

Then it came.

Oh, God. My heart felt as if it exploded in light and stars. Pleasure poured from my center and spread to my fingertips and the roots of my hair. Payne was everything. This was everything. He was mine, but more than that, I was his. I let myself go in a way I never thought I could. It was so close. It was almost perfect. But, the ache at the back of my neck kept me from flying in the way I knew I should.

Finally, I crested down. My limbs turned to rubber as Payne grew soft within me. He peppered my neck with kisses as I fell against him, spent, deflated, sated. I could have lain with him like that, with his cock rooted in me all night. I wanted to. But, we weren’t completely alone. As I came back into myself, I could sense the wolves outside the door through Payne. They kept their distance, but they were there.

Feeling slightly awkward, my legs shaking, I found my clothes and put them back on.

“You’re incredible,” Payne said. Already, I sensed the change in him. He was calm, centered. His wolf went quiet within him. It gave me a new, secret power I hadn’t bargained for. It countered the beast inside of him. We might be two halves of one whole. But for now, this was all I could give.

I settled against him. There were a thousand things we needed to say to each other. For tonight, this would be enough. A new kind of peace bled through him that could only come from my touch. My eyelids grew heavy as I found a space beside him and rested my cheek against Payne’s chest. I longed for him to wrap his arms around me. I felt him strain against the chains, wanting to do just that.

I didn’t mean to sleep, but I did. The echoes of pleasure lulled me and simmered through him as well.

I slept so deeply, I never heard Pat’s footsteps as she approached or the barn door sliding open. But, the light stabbed through me as she opened the stall and let the morning sun fall over us.

“Sorry to wake you both,” she said. There was no judgment in her tone or her expression. Finding me in Payne’s arms seemed like the most natural thing in the world to her. She’d said something about having seen a few things, I knew in my heart she had.

I jumped to my feet as Payne let out a low growl. He jerked the chains but stayed on the ground.

“The packs are on their way,” she said. “You’ll have just enough time to clean up before things get started.”

“Things,” I said, looking from her to Payne. “What things?”

“Your man here has to face the Alphas of Wild Lake,” she said. “You ready for that?” She was talking to Payne, not me.

He pulled himself to his feet. “If you think I’m afraid of them, then you have no idea what I am.”

Pat crossed her arms. She let out a snort and arched a brow. “Son, that’s the problem. Convincing me is one thing. My boys are something else.”

No sooner had she said it before a chorus of howls split the air. My God, there were dozens of them. Payne lost it as I ran to the open barn door.

“Lena!” he called after me, more wolf than man.

Pat was right. The Wild Lake Alphas had arrived. They streamed out of the woods, eyes blazing, and headed straight for the barn.