Luna woke in a fog. Memories filled her mind as she rolled to the side and pushed away the residual pain from being in heat. The healer took his choice and refused to touch her, injecting Luna with a sedative instead.
There was still an ache deep inside her body, she still felt the need to mate with him, but the pain in her heart was even worse. How could she tell the wolf that her true mate wasn’t going to accept her?
Once she felt safe enough to stand up on her own, she groaned as she reached for her sandals. It was time for her to just go to Theo and ask if they could depart earlier than expected. There was no need to stay at the Shaw Pride any longer. A new life and a new start was in order.
The moment she stepped out of the bedroom, Harold was just coming out of his office. He looked up in shock and his eyes flashed amber sparks. The pair didn’t move for several seconds, and the only sound in the room was their soft breathing.
“I’m leaving,” she mumbled, casting her eyes toward the floor. “I’m going to ask Theo if he can either put me up in a hotel until it’s time to leave or send me ahead of everyone else. I cannot stay here anymore, Harold.”
“I can’t let you leave,” Harold growled, his eyes completely taken over by his panther. The scent that surrounded her caused the ache to turn to pain, and with that, she crossed one arm over her lower abdomen.
“I thought I wasn’t a prisoner,” she shivered.
“You’re not.”
“Harold,” she whimpered, but paused when another pain flared. He smelled so good…so tempting. “Please, I know you don’t want me to be your mate, but being around you while I’m in heat is unbearable.”
“I never said I didn’t want you to be my mate,” he replied, taking a step closer to her. As he continued to talk, each step brought him closer until there was only a few inches between them. “I want to protect and provide for you. My panther wants to touch you, but I don’t know if you are ready for that.”
“I would welcome your touch,” she breathed out.
“I promise to be everything you’ll ever need,” he whispered and took her face into his hands. His lips crashed down on hers and the wolf inside howled.
Magic tingled Harold’s senses. The spark that ignited inside him was like an out of control wild fire in his soul the moment he touched Luna. The softness of her skin called to him in unexplainable ways. The delicate touch of her tongue to his set his beast in motion.
“You are my mate,” he groaned.
“And you are mine.” Luna’s tiny hands explored, tightening as she felt the muscles in his arms. There was appreciation in each movement. “Mate me the way of your kind, Harold.”
His canines thickened in his mouth at her words. The slide of his hand against her waist caused a shiver when he pulled her shirt over her head. Beneath, she wore a white lace bra that cupped her breasts perfectly. Luna reached for the front clasp, but his hands on hers stilled the movement. “No, let me.”
With a pinch of his hand, he unhooked her bra as carefully as if he held a scalpel in his hand to repair a damaged heart. His panther purred when Luna’s breasts appeared, her nipples hardening to points. They rubbed the center of his palm as he ran his hand over them. Luna’s head fell back and she moaned for more.
“Harold, please don’t tease me,” she cried out when he rolled one nipple between his fingers.
“Only pleasure, sweetheart,” he promised, pushing away the lacy material of her bra and discarding it on the floor. When she reached for his shirt, he growled low in his throat as her hands skimmed his sides.
“I need you,” she hummed.
Harold picked her up as soon as his shirt fell to the ground. He took three steps back and locked the door to his home and clinic. He didn’t think he’d ever turned the old silver latch in the twenty years he’d been at the Shaw pride. At the moment, he didn’t care for his healer duties. All he wanted was his mate.
Her lips were soft like the petals of a blooming rose each time his lips touched hers. He walked toward his room without taking his eyes off of hers. She blinked several times and the wolf that lived inside her pushed forward. Her canines elongated and her eyes glowed almost as brightly as his own.
“I need to mark you,” she whined. “Please, accept me as your mate, Harold.”
“I have to mark you, but not until we join,” he growled. “I need to know how your kind mates.”
“Bite first,” she panted, her hands tightening on the tops of his shoulders. “I have to have your blood in me before we have sex.”
“Then bite me, my mate,” he ordered, turning his head to the side as he stood at the end of his bed.
She struck with the speed of a snake, her sharp canines hitting exactly on his vein. His hand shifted to claws and the moment she released him, he used them to shred the jeans she was wearing. Fabric tore and landed in strips on the floor. Luna reached for the fly of his jeans and released his cock, but then she froze…
“Talk to me,” he ordered, taking her face with his hands. He held her as if she were a thin piece of glass.
“I don’t know what to do,” she finally admitted. “I’ve never done this before…well, I’ve never made love to a male before.”
“Fuck,” he swore, pushing back his beast. The animal wanted a mating…it wanted the healer to mount her from behind.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. “Please, tell me how a panther mates, Harold. Make love to me…show me what to do.”
“Are you sure?” he pressed. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her.
“I trust you.”
Harold quieted her with a kiss so soft and full of need, he had to wrap his arm around her waist when she relaxed. Taking things slow was going to be a task in and of itself. She had been through so much already.
“Panthers mate a little differently than your kind,” he whispered.
“How do you complete the mating?” she asked.
“You trust me, right?” he asked. His panther was getting impatient, but he would fight his own beast to make sure she was cared for before they mated.
“Always,” she answered, wrapping her fingers around the back of his neck and pulling his lips to hers. She tasted of expensive wine, and he wanted to savor every drop.
“On your knees, face down,” he hesitated, “I will take you from behind, and when my beast calls to me, I will pull you up where your back is flush with my chest. Then I will mark you.”
“Will it hurt?”
“My touch will always be done with love and trust, but I have to tell you…the first mating is frantic. My beast is pushing at my skin right now. He wants to claim you for his own.”
Luna paused as she appeared to be weighing his words. There was no fear in her eyes, and Harold was thankful for the way she’d overcome her time on the island. He was honored she trusted him with her life and body.
“My wolf will never want another,” she pledged.
His panther purred when she released him and climbed on the bed, taking the position he’d instructed of her. Her tiny body was perfect for him. When he saw her in the position of a mate, Harold was no longer a healer…he was the lover to his new mate. When his hands skimmed the backs of her legs, Luna moaned with pleasure.
“Do it, Harold.”
The sound of his panther’s snarl rattled the walls when he touched her pussy, finding it wet and ready for him. The scent of her mating heat made his beast frantic to be inside her. He tried to hold the feral need to mate back, but his panther took over.
He fisted his cock and rubbed it against her. His mate-to-be leaned into his action, causing his hardness to fully slide inside her. They connected on a heated curse, and he tried to calm his panther, but failed. His eyes changed with the presence of his beast. The yellow glow to his surroundings and the rippling of his skin was a sure giveaway that the beast inside him had chosen the white wolf as his own.
Luna gasped as he started to thrust, his hands tightening on her hips to hold her in place. The little mewling sounds coming from her urged him on. “More…”
“Do you like that, sweetheart?” he growled around his thickening canines.
“Yes, please…more,” she mumbled against the blanket on the bed.
“I’m going to mark you,” he warned, wrapping his hand in her hair. When her back touched his chest, Luna reached for his free hand and brought it to her breast.
“I need…I need something,” she cried out as he took her nipple between his two fingers.
“Let go,” he snarled, striking the spot where her neck and shoulder met. The sound of her orgasm was earth shattering, and when he released her, his cock was still hard. There was no way he was going to let the mating be done that quickly. Luna deserved an attentive lover and one who cherished her.
“I’m going to make love to you now,” he said, helping her over to her back.
She surprised him by reaching for him before he had a chance to climb up her slender body. He nestled himself between her legs and waited for her to catch her breath. He brushed her long, brown hair back from her face and used the back of his knuckle to trace the line of her jaw.
“You are beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her again.
“Thank you for being my mate,” she said, raising her legs to wrap around his waist. He entered her slower this time. His beast was content and let the human side of the male take the lead.
With each thrust, with every touch, their bond solidified. Love would come in time for them, just as it had been for the shifters since the beginning of creation. Fate always had a plan, and Harold accepted the fact that Mother Nature sent this white wolf into his life to make him complete.