I snarled back at my mate, warning him to back off.

His ears shot up. The surprise lacing his features almost made me laugh.

He took a tentative step forward and I snapped my jaws decisively, letting him know I’d keep him posted if I needed him. He cocked his head and sat down with a thump, a small questioning huff escaping his lips. I’m sorry you don’t like it, honey. But that’s the way it’s going to be.

Hank growled. All my wounds had already healed from our little altercation. I took a step back and allowed Hank to regroup. I wanted a fair fight. He glanced from me to Rourke, trying to figure out the dynamic. I barked until Hank brought his attention back to me.

If wolves could sneer, Hank achieved it.

Then, surprising me, he turned tail and ran.

I took off after him. That coward! He’d always been gutless, riling up the younger wolves to threaten and abuse me and do his dirty work for him. I’d had enough. I flew through the air, landing on top of his back, sending us both somersaulting. We separated as we hit the ground. He smashed into the trunk of a massive tree, shaking it to its roots.

Rourke had followed and paced to my right, agitated.

As Hank stood and shook himself off, I yipped and barked, telling him exactly what I thought of him. I can’t believe he ran! No wolf with any self-respect runs from a fight. My wolf agreed and the sounds of our yips echoed around the forest. Can he just give up? He’d chosen to lie down and die instead of coming after me. He was a proud wolf, and finding out his son was a traitor to Pack must have crushed something in him greater than his need to kill me. My father had always trusted him, even though I’d felt he never deserved it. There must’ve been more to their bond as Alpha and wolf than I knew. If I don’t kill him now, my father will have to. His son was a traitor to Pack and there’s no way he didn’t know. He faces a sentence of death either way.

I paced back and forth, trying to figure out how to handle this. I was learning I wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. Hank deserved to die, in more ways than I could adequately count, but if he wasn’t going to fight me, it would be hard for me to finish him off.

Hank seemed to sense my change of heart, as did Rourke, who snarled his objections loudly. Hank’s eyes flared as he opened his mouth in what could only be another grin. He yipped at me once and it held one word: pussy.

I snarled and splayed my paws on the ground, lowering my head, barking, and urging him to fight.

Instead of lunging, Hank turned parallel to me and lifted his back leg. The pungent smell of his urine hit the air.

He did not just do that. It was a clear challenge. And it was enough for me. I took the bait without regret. This is all you, I told my wolf as I handed the task over to her with relief. She, unlike me, had no qualms about killing him. We dove for his neck in a blur, taking hold and biting deeply. Hank fought back, snarling and lashing out with his hind legs. I was happy he decided to fight; it made it easier. He wiggled at just the right angle and my wolf lost her grip. He had me in the next breath, his jaws embedded deeply in my back.

Rourke sprang forward, bellowing.

My wolf twisted our body and we slipped out of Hank’s grasp. I snapped my teeth at Rourke before he could intervene, a snarl ripping from my throat. He slid to a stop midstride and yowled at me angrily, but I ignored him.

Hank was fighting. And he was mine.

I moved to face him and we circled each other. Hank’s neck was torn, and because he hadn’t eaten in days, he wasn’t regenerating quickly. He sprang without warning and his teeth caught my leg, hard.

It’s time to be done. My wolf barked her agreement.

She leapt, tearing free of his grasp, our body twisting, claws slashing down deeply into his body. He howled in pain as we landed on him, crushing him to the ground with our weight. She brought our jaws down on his neck and didn’t let up. He struggled beneath us, spitting and growling. No need to drag this out.

In one motion, she twisted his neck and gave it one final, powerful snap.

There was one loud crack and Hank went still beneath us.

She dropped her hold on him and control switched back to me. I took a few steps backward.

Relief flooded through me to see the deed done, but it was far from the satisfaction I knew a normal wolf should feel. Instead I just felt tired. This was a man who hated me. He deserved to die. I shouldn’t feel sorry for him.

But I did.

Rourke brushed up against my body, comforting me.

He sat close to me as we watched Hank shift. His final death would make him human for the last time.

In his human form he was gaunt and dirty. I hoped he’d finally found some peace. Even if Hank hadn’t known exactly what his son had been doing, he had willingly ignored it and in the process became an accomplice.

Rourke nudged me once it was over and I turned to follow him.

He led me back into the circle, checking over his shoulder to make sure I stayed with him every step of the way.

Once we were inside, we lay down side by side and shifted back.

The moonlight highlighted our naked forms as he reached for me.

8

His lips sought mine as my arms wrapped around his neck. He gently rolled me on my side in the grass, our bodies pressed closely together. He felt wonderful.

He pulled back and stroked my hair and face as his irises blazed a beautiful green. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I murmured. “Much better now. It had to be done and I don’t regret doing it. Hank would’ve died at the hands of my father and he knew it. But I don’t think killing will ever be my thing.”

He brought our faces closer, his stubble stroking my cheek in a delicious way. “I could’ve helped, you know. When I’m around, you don’t have to kill. I am happy to do that for you.” He kissed me.

Finally.

I raked my fingers through his hair, twisting it in my hands. It was soft and thick. He pulled back slightly, studying me, making sure I was really okay before we started something that couldn’t be undone.

“I’m good, really,” I said, answering his gaze. “It was our first status fight and my wolf is happy with the outcome.” I leaned up and bit his bottom lip before he could reply.

He responded in kind by plunging his tongue deeply into my mouth while his lips locked around mine, and I took it, pulling greedily, finally fully tasting him.

I moaned, the pleasure of it overwhelming and maddening at the same time.

Power swirled around the circle as our kisses became fast and frenzied.

This was the perfect place for us to bond. Energy pushed and prodded against our skin, urging us along. The grass felt like velvet beneath my back and the cool air brushed deliciously against my naked skin.

I knew we were safe and protected, even if it was just for the moment.

Rourke broke the kiss and hovered over me anxiously, his eyes filled with the same longing as mine. “I haven’t cared about another living soul in longer than I can remember. I want this to be exactly right.”

“It will be.” I smiled.

Rourke arched one perfect eyebrow down at me and grinned. “It better be, or my manhood will be in serious question.”

“I don’t think your manhood will ever be in question.” I laughed, feeling his hard, and very adequate, length against me. “You’ve got that department all shored up.”

“When we finish this bonding, it will mark us both.” His chest pressed tightly to mine, and as he spoke the vibrations sent delicious currents dancing through my body. “Once it’s over we will be connected. Forever.”

“That sounds like heaven to me.” I ran a hand behind his neck and pulled him down, murmuring into his lips, “And just so you know, I think we should do this bonding thing over and over again, just to make sure it sticks.” I wiggled beneath him to show him my body was more than ready.

His breath hitched, and he grabbed on to my hips, rocking them forward in his grasp as he tilted his head up to the sky and roared. His fierce call echoed through the trees, and I was certain every animal in the forest turned tail and ran.

Mine.

He took my mouth again with a savage snarl. His kiss held so much intent, my libido skyrocketed, flushing my body with liquid heat. His intensity made me insane with need, and I plunged my tongue against his, lapping and tasting and biting. He broke the kiss with a moan and ran his hot tongue over my jaw, down my neck, nipping and nibbling as he went.

My back arched and I groaned.

He took one of my hard peaks into his mouth, sucking hard.

I yelled as my hands shot to his hair again, grabbing thick handfuls, pressing him down against me as far as he could go. He snarled with pleasure and took more of me in his mouth, his fingers seeking the other tip, rubbing and pulling deliciously.

“Oh.” My spine bowed backward until it felt like it would break in half. But I didn’t let go. I wanted him closer—needed to feel him everywhere.

He obliged by pressing us together as he devoured me, his mouth greedy, his hands just as skilled.

Sensations I’d never felt swept over me, threatening to overload me. Nothing in my life had prepared me for something like this. As we moved together, our energy mingled, combining and weaving itself into one. The intensity mounted, climbing quickly.

Mine.

His hand slid down my stomach, lingering for a moment before he teased open the inside of my thigh. Once there, a single fingertip feathered its way in, circling slowly. I thrashed, barely stifling a scream. At my reaction, Rourke slid his hand back up my thigh.

“No … please, you can’t stop,” I moaned. “Rourke, I know you want to take it slow, but maybe that can be round two … or three?” My eyes sought his, my pupils struggling to focus. “There’s no way I can do this slowly. I need you, and my body isn’t going to play nice.” I panted, shifting my legs toward his hand. “If you don’t want me to be early to the party, we need to move now.”

Without hesitation, Rourke reared up, grabbing on to my waist and rolling us both in one motion. He swung me into a sitting position on top of his rock-hard abs as his back hit the grass. His eyes locked onto mine the entire time.