Chapter One

For a new wolf, the girl learned quickly.

Blake was familiar with every inch of this forest. He'd been exploring it on two legs as well as four for over a decade. He knew every clearing, game trail, secret hollow, and swift river. It should have been a simple task to keep up with an inexperienced wolf, one who'd never felt the earth beneath her paws.

One in heat.

Granted, he'd given her a head start. He needed those few extra minutes to gather the tatters of his self-control. The primal urge to reclaim her seethed hot beneath his skin, and even realizing that Lucas hadn't fucked her couldn't soothe him, because that was its own recrimination.

Lucas should have been the one to retrieve her. He could have eased her fever without taking her in a grungy motel room. Hell, more than once--and more than him. But watching Mac get her off hadn't felt like a threat to Blake, not the way seeing her curled trustingly against Lucas's chest had.

It was perverse to be jealous because the alpha hadn't fucked her. Even more perverse to want to drag her over to her bed and fuck her across the pristine surface, fuck her until everything in the room smelled like sex and him. She would have let him. She would have loved it.

But she needed this more right now, so he'd given her a damn head start--and now he was wondering if he'd catch the hell up.

At least her scent was unmistakable. There were no old trails to confuse him. This was her first time in the woods, and she wasn't backtracking or trying to hide, just going on a joyous run that might have amused him if he hadn't come across another fresh scent.

Jud was out here. And that meant Blake didn't have the luxury of following lazily behind Ashley while she burned off her excess energy. Jud was fully capable of joining the chase--if he hadn't already.

He wouldn't hurt her. Hell, if she'd enjoyed Mac's rough brand of intensity, Jud was likely to melt her bones. The chase would kindle her lust, and shifting back would only amplify it. By the time she regained her human skin, she'd be so hot and wet, she'd roll over onto her stomach and spread those beautiful thighs wide.

She'd fuck them both. She wanted to, though it had been hard as hell to get her to admit that. And that shame was all the motivation he needed to choke back his jealousy. If she wanted Jud, she would have him. However she wanted, as often as she wanted.

But that didn't mean Blake was going to let the bastard get to her first.

Her trail veered sharply west, and Blake followed. Deeper into the heart of the forest, his paws all but silent on the thick cushion of pine needles. He knew this path better than most, and maybe that was why she'd taken it. Following his trail, one of the few scents in the woods that would be familiar and intriguing to her wolf.

When her scent cut north again, he knew he was right. And he knew what he'd find when he burst free of the trees and bounded into his favorite spot--a clearing on the edge of a short bluff, overlooking the lazy river that wound through this part of the property.

He still wasn't prepared for her.

She was lying on her back on a bed of moss, her chest heaving as she arched toward the moon that had already risen in the early evening sky. Her body was human, but every movement screamed wolf, all feral instinct and primal sensuality.

She wasn't used to their other form yet, so Blake forced himself to stop and reach for his human shape. It was harder like this, with his blood pounding and the scent of her wrapped around him. The pain was vicious, snapping and bending and twisting, kicking his adrenaline into high gear.

The first few minutes after a change, everything felt more intense, as if his fragile human skin couldn't quite contain his senses. No wonder she was squirming, panting. Every touch would make her wild. Even the brush of the moss, the kiss of the wind.

His fingertips, when he reached her side and stroked the inside of her ankle. "Ash."

She shuddered and sucked in a sharp breath.

He skated his fingers up to tease the inside of her knee. "I told you it would be good. Now you know who you are."

Ashley seized him, wrapping her fingers around his wrist so tightly that her fingernails bit into his skin. She growled softly, but didn't push him away. Instead, she drew his hand higher, up to the soft skin of her inner thigh.

Satisfaction rose, swift and fierce. He planted his free hand beside her head, bracing his weight above her so he could watch her face as his fingertips grazed her pussy. "That's right, sweetheart. Take what you want."

She met his gaze, held it, and the growl melted into a lower noise in the back of her throat. Her legs parted, spreading wide, and she rolled her hips against his hand.

So wet. Fuck, she was so wet. It was his turn to growl, and he liked the way she responded, making more of those low, needy sounds. He spread his fingers and worked the middle one into her, shuddering when her body clutched him tight.

The wind shifted, catching at her hair, teasing it across her face--and carrying with it a familiar scent.

Blake tilted his head, searching the edge of the trees until he found a wolf-shaped shadow and caught a glimpse of gleaming golden eyes.

Jud wouldn't approach, not yet. He might have, if it had been Mac or Connor who had beaten him in the chase, especially when the prey was this sweet. But Blake was dominant, and Jud would wait for an invitation.

He might even enjoy watching.

Ashley had gone still beneath Blake. Her gaze darted to the tree line, and he knew the moment she spotted the other wolf, because one hand closed around Blake's upper arm, and the other slid into his hair.

He dipped his head and dragged his tongue up her cheek. To taunt Jud. To satisfy himself. "Jud was chasing you, too. But I found you first."

She stretched slowly, still staring out into the woods, and tugged his head down to her breast.

Her nipple was already tight. He flicked his tongue across it, savoring her moan and the restless lift of her body. She loved this, too--the thrill of letting him touch her while someone watched from the shadows.

So did he.

He closed his lips around her nipple and sucked hard enough to bring her shoulders off the ground. Her pussy pulsed around his finger, so he added a second, pumping both deep.

Ashley cried out, wordless but somehow still pleading, and clutched him closer. So he gave her more. Harder. The teasing scrape of his teeth and his fingers, curling to rub the spot he'd already found, the one that made her wild.

Her nails grazed his cheek, rough and quick. He released her nipple and lifted his head, only to find her still staring toward the edge of the clearing.

Oh, yeah. She loved being on display. Grinning, Blake pushed upright, removing even the scant protection of his body shielding hers. "Do you like making him watch?"

She turned her head, and her eyes locked with Blake's. Wide, deep, full of lust and wonder and more than a little affection.

She liked him. She wanted the pack--needed the pack--just like she wanted and needed him. But she liked him, too.

It blunted the edge of jealousy before it could cut. Jud wasn't a rival, not when she stared up at Blake with such sweet, trusting warmth. It steeled his resolve to give her everything, even as he swung his thumb up to slick over her clit. "Show him how pretty you are when you're coming."

She arched, riding his hand. Another growl rumbled up in her throat, one that almost turned to a purr as she rubbed the soft curves of her body against the hard planes of his. Her scent was already all over him, but now it was stronger. Unmistakable.

Not enough.

He withdrew his fingers and moved down her body, forcing her thighs even wider as he eased both hands under her ass. Before she could do more than gasp, he touched his tongue to her clit.

She melted. One hand clenched in his hair again, but she trailed the other slowly over her body--the flare of her hip, her belly--before cupping her breast. Her nipple was still wet from his mouth, and her fingertips slipped and slid around the stiff peak.

He lifted his mouth just enough to rasp a command. "Harder. I know you like it harder."

Her breathing hitched as her fingers tightened, twisting lightly.

He couldn't decide what turned him on most--that sharp little gasp, how rough she wanted it, or how easily she obeyed. Her obedience deserved a reward, so he returned to her clit, working it in quick, lapping flicks until she shuddered and closed her thighs.

Her soft flesh pressed against his ears, almost blocking out the sound of his name, echoing through the clearing on a sharp cry.

Almost.

He stroked her thighs, spreading them wide again as he eased back. A glance at the edge of the woods showed Jud crouching in human form now, his body tense, his eyes glazed.

Blake kissed one of Ashley's trembling legs. "Do you trust me?"

She covered his hands with hers, her fingers wrapping tight around his. "Yes."

Satisfaction roared through him. So did something else, something darkly possessive that had him surging up her body again. He licked her lips, then worked his way between them, kissing her hard and deep as he flicked his fingers in Jud's direction, summoning him.

"Empty," Ashley whispered into his mouth. "So empty."

"I know." He wove his fingers through her hair and turned her head, forcing her to watch Jud stalk silently toward them. She trembled beneath Blake's body, and he brushed her ear with his lips. "How full do you want to be?"

Her heart pounded faster. "I ache," she answered softly.

If Lucas was right, Jud's presence would only intensify that ache--her wolf's insistent demand to test herself against a new male. Combined with the thrill of her first run and the adrenaline of the change...

She was shaking again, her skin hot. Blake rose to his knees and pulled her with him, hauling her up until her back thumped against his chest and she settled across his lap, her legs pushed wide by his own.

Forcing himself to ignore the way her ass rubbed against his cock--turned on or not, she wasn't ready for that--he caught her chin and pressed his cheek to hers. "Jud, this is Ashley."

Jud wasn't an idiot. He sank to his knees when he reached them, keeping his head lower than Blake's to the precise degree necessary to avoid a challenge. That was Jud--always precise, always careful, even when he was sleepy-eyed and horny as fuck.

He reached out but didn't touch Ashley. He just held his fingers there, almost brushing her cheek, and smiled. "He'll rip my hand off if I touch you without permission."

She ignored his hand and leaned forward, almost burying her face in the hollow of Jud's neck. She breathed deeply and exhaled--half sigh, half moan--then bit him on the shoulder.

Jud stiffened, his head falling back, and amused sympathy stabbed through Blake. Lucas had tried to prepare them for the truth of what a fever-stricken female of their own kind could mean to them, but words didn't exist for the frenzy of protectiveness and hunger. The simultaneous desire to rut in the most primal fucking way, rough and direct...and to curl around her. Pet her.

Stopping at petting would get both of them bitten right now.

Blake slipped his hand around her body and down, edging close enough to her clit to make her squirm. "You didn't answer my question, sweetheart."

She laughed, throaty and low, a sound full of dizzy anticipation. "Full. I'll never be full enough."

Jud sucked in a breath and let it out on a soft groan. "Does she even know what she's asking for?"

Probably not. But she would, soon enough. "Tell him the truth, sweetheart. Tell him exactly what you want right now." He bit her ear and grazed her clit at the same time, just to make her lurch in his grasp. "Or just take what you want."

She wrapped her hand around Jud's erect cock, thumbing the head as she strained toward him. "I want to taste him," she confessed. "Feel him inside me. I need to find out if he's the one."

Blake needed to find out, too. Not knowing was like a splinter wedged under his thumbnail, the sort of nagging irritation he could ignore until something brushed against it. But he couldn't betray that pain. Ashley was too obedient, too eager to please. The slightest hint of disapproval could send her curling in on herself, crippling all her newly found power.

He could break her with a frown. He gave her a smile instead, curving his lips against her ear. "You should do both. Shouldn't she, Jud?"

Every muscle in Jud's body was tense steel, but he still managed to trace his fingertips gently over Ashley's lips. "Only question is which one she wants to do first."

She moaned hungrily and leaned forward sharply. It left her spread wide across Blake's lap, her soaked pussy rubbing his dick with even the slightest movement. She raked her nails down Jud's chest, then parted her lips and sucked him into her mouth.

Jud hissed again, plunging both hands into the wild mass of her hair, and his gaze locked with Blake's. For one tense moment, challenge sparked between them, electric and dangerous.

Blake spread his hand wide across the small of Ashley's back, a soothing gesture as well as a silent claim. Jud inclined his head and dropped his eyes, and the moment slipped away, their roles reestablished without words. Jud would fuck her with the same eagerness and enthusiasm as Mac had, but he would follow Blake's lead.

And Blake would lead them all straight through the heart of her darkest fantasies.