Scent of a Wolf's Mate Read online

  It’s going around that you and Clive fought over a woman last night. I’m assuming it was her.” Max frowned. “I’m confused over your hostility toward her. You don’t want her?”

  Connor got to his feet. “I want her, cousin. Her wolf’s heat nearly pushed me into taking her last night.” He thought about the heady scent of her sex and the sweet nectar he’d tasted tonguing her to orgasm to give her relief. Where he’d found the strength to leave her after that he’d never know. “Her body knows the secret it contains, but her wolf’s heat frightens and confuses her.”

  Max nodded. “Being around you has brought it out.”

  Connor couldn’t agree more. “I have a meeting with the elders this afternoon. I want you to come back and stay with Serena. You’re the only one I trust.”

  Max grinned. “You think her scent doesn’t bother me?”

  “I know it bothers you, cousin. But you will become stronger for ignoring it.” It was Connor’s turn to grin. Max would never betray his own mate.

  Serena was in heat and unmated. Her scent would drive all the unattached males in the area crazy. Some would be driven to seek her out. The fact she was his chosen mate wouldn’t protect her from their advances or retribution. Max was as big and as strong as Connor was, and he knew he could trust him because he was madly in love with Rose.

  Max was second in line after Connor, chosen over Clive because Clive had proven he was unsuitable, and preferred fighting over peace. Connor’s other two brothers weren’t available either, they had their own packs in adjoining counties. There were neighboring werewolf communities in the mountains, most of which were governed by a truce. Their only enemy was the Bower pack, thanks to Clive, and Connor was working diligently to change that.

  “I heard the pack running in the mountains last night.”

  “It was a good run. Will you be joining us tonight? There’s almost another full moon.”

  They both knew a full moon occurred every twenty-nine and a half days, and only for one night. Most people thought there was a full moon for three days, but if they were to look at it through a telescope, they’d see that it was actually missing a small part the day before and the day after.

  Connor shook his head. “I think I will be busy elsewhere.” Like with the little beauty inside his home. Tonight he would claim Serena.

  If I can wait that long.

  Connor glanced up and froze.

  How long had Serena been standing at the open doorway?

  Chapter 4

  Serena slammed the door shut and locked it. Trapped, she was in the home of a man who thought he could change into a wolf! She’d gone to the door to ask Connor if he minded if she made another pot of coffee when she’d heard him say, “I want her, cousin.” Though her name hadn’t been mentioned, instincts warned her that they were talking about her. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard following that.

  She’d always been curious by nature, too curious, her mother would scold when she was little. But nothing could draw her away from the door at that point. She stepped back into the shadows when Connor got up from the steps, only revealing herself when she sensed that their conversation was ending.

  Terrified, her gaze darted around the room for something she could use as a weapon. All she wanted now was to get out of there alive. The doorknob rattled behind her, and Serena swung around with a cry. Then, before her disbelieving eyes, the door was kicked in and Connor was standing there with glittering, angry eyes. Everything about his stance appeared taut, as if he was ready for a fight.

  Screaming, Serena turned and ran into the kitchen. She began opening drawers in a frantic search for something that she could use as a weapon. Then she saw the knife block on the counter and reached for the biggest one. As her fingers closed over the wide handle, she heard Connor enter the kitchen. She turned around to face him, her heart pounding with fear.

  “Stay away from me!” With nowhere to go, Serena felt like a trapped animal.

  “Little fool, you’ll hurt yourself with that.” Connor crossed the distance between them so fast that Serena didn’t have a chance to get ready, and he grabbed the hand holding the knife. “How much did you hear?”

  “Enough to know that you’re crazy.” Serena struggled wildly, but she was no match for his superior strength.

  “Good. I won’t have to repeat anything then.” He tossed the knife onto the counter and pinned her arms behind her back. The movement forced their lower bodies together in an intimate alignment that made her shockingly aware of his cock.

  “Let me go!” she shrieked. A new fear spread over her when she felt his shaft begin to harden against her, but she wasn’t afraid of rape. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt unexplainably drawn to him.

  Something was happening to her again. As in her dream, she was feeling something intense and raw, an emotion she couldn’t understand. It was arousing, saturating all of her senses and body with strong desire. At least she had thought it was a dream, but as everything came back to her with stark clarity, she somehow knew it hadn’t been. The same thing was happening to her now, she was being consumed by a growing hunger that had to be appeased.

  Her senses were suddenly heightened with awareness of the man holding her, and she realized that she was becoming aroused. She glared at Connor, seeing the awareness flare in his eyes.

  “You feel it too, don’t you,” he rasped. “I can see it in your eyes. I can smell it.”

  Serena shook her head vigorously. “No.”

  “What you heard was the truth, Serena. You are my mate, and I will have you.” She shook her head again. “In fact, I think I’ll have you now.” His expression looked savage, and his eyes appeared more golden than brown.

  How is that possible?

  Serena thought back to the dream she’d had. There’d been a time when she’d been mindless with desire, looking for anything that would set her free. She’d reached between her legs to touch herself when her fingers had tangled in hair. She couldn’t fathom that it may have been his hair. It wasn’t possible. It had been a dream!

  She opened her mouth to protest but in truth, his passionate words only turned her hotter. When Connor’s mouth covered hers, she kissed him back, parting her lips beneath his and welcoming his tongue against hers. Serena moaned, unashamedly offering her body to him. Words weren’t necessary. They seemed to convey their needs through other means.

  She felt a draft of cool air when he parted her robe, pulling it halfway down her shoulders. The only reason it didn’t slide the rest of the way down her arms was because he still held them behind her. Then his large hand was on her breast, caressing and shaping it roughly in his eagerness. Serena moaned, feeling excitement building between her legs.

  “Connor!” she cried out when he pulled away. He was a stranger, but something beyond her control was happening to her. She struggled to pull free so she could touch him too, but he was too strong for her. He was kissing his way to her naked breasts, taking them into his mouth, and loving them passionately, pulling on her nipples until Serena was squirming with mindless arousal. “Oh!”

  He growled, spending equal time with both breasts. Serena arched away from the counter, thrusting her mound against his huge cock, wanting him inside her but terrified at the same time.

  “Connor, I need to touch you!” If her hands were free, she would be able to touch him, too, reach inside his pajama bottoms and caress his hard, torrid flesh.

  As if sensing her need, he pulled her away from the counter. In a lightning fast move, he pulled the robe down her arms and let it drop to the floor. When Serena was completely naked, he stepped back. The scorching heat of his gaze roamed over her body as if committing every curve to memory.

  “You have me at a disadvantage.” Serena didn’t know what had come over her, but she liked it. She had never felt so empowered or exhilarated. Without hesitation, she reached for the tie to Connor’s pajamas.

  Their gazes met and clung as she slowly pulled the
tie until it slipped loose. The size of his erection parted the built in split but it wasn’t enough. Serena took hold of the waistband and just as slowly pulled his bottoms down. She dropped with them, keeping her gaze on Connor’s but very aware of how close his sex was to her face. The musky scent of his arousal sucked her in.

  Serena couldn’t help it. As she began to rise, she stuck her tongue out and gave his cock a long sweep from where it jutted out at his balls, to the dripping, bulbous head. She heard Connor suck in his breath, and then Connor was hauling her into his arms, and kissing her breathless.

  Being crushed against his naked, aroused body fueled Serena’s pleasure to dizzying heights. His cock slid between her thighs and over her pussy like a hot poker, burning her while turning her wild. She was sure she was melting inside from the inferno in her blood. She instinctively moved her hips back and forth while running her hands over his muscular outline, learning his strengths and power, discovering his pleasures.

  Without warning Connor picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck as he walked them to his bedroom. Every inch of her skin that met his hot flesh was singed with overwhelming sensation. When he reached the bed, he lowered them together, placing Serena beneath him.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Serena knew without asking that he was talking about the size of his cock. Her instincts warned her that it was extraordinarily big, but his size only made her want him that much more. She arched beneath him, spreading her thighs in silent invitation for him to take her. She could sense his hesitation in spite of the rough passion of his kiss, but the only thing Serena knew was that she was burning up inside, and he was the catalyst to bring her release.

  She pulled her mouth from his. “Now, Connor, please!”

  “Serena—”

  She ignored the warning in his tone. “I need you, Connor,” she whispered against his lips. “I don’t know what’s happening to me but I’m burning up inside.” She’d never felt this way before.

  “You’re in heat,” Connor explained, reaching down and slipping a finger inside her. “Your first wolf’s heat. The scent of your mate set it off.” He nibbled at her lips, thrusting his finger in and out of her channel.

  “You?” He nodded. “I don’t understand any of this!”

  “It will be okay, little mate.” He inserted another finger inside Serena, exploring upward until he located her sweet spot.

  “Oh God!” she cried, twisting beneath him. What’s that? The pressure was too much and she was going to explode. “I can’t take much more,” she shuddered.

  Connor removed his fingers and put the head of his cock at the entrance to her wet pussy. He moved it over her clit several times, causing them to moan with combined pleasure. Then, as if he’d reached the end of his control, he thrust forward, impaling her on the full length of his cock.

  She screamed.

  Connor became still. “Christ!” he swore in obvious shock. “You’re a virgin!”

  “I’m sorry, but please don’t stop, please. I need you.” Serena didn’t know what possessed her to lean forward and bite him. She stopped short of drawing blood, but the pain she must have inflicted did the trick. Suddenly Connor was pounding into her.

  The intense feelings he roused in her were mind-blowing. Serena had never imagined that making love would feel so exquisite. His cock filled every inch of her pulsing channel, and with every thrust forward she arched her hips, feeling his blood-engorged shaft caress her clit until a strong orgasm consumed her.

  As she convulsed uncontrollably, Connor continued to thrust into her until he came. “Aaaaaaggghh!” Grunting, he held Serena’s hips tightly, releasing jets of cum inside her body. Seconds passed until he collapsed on her with his cock buried deep inside her body. It remained hard.

  “I had no idea you were still a virgin.” Connor said, raising the top half of his body off her so their eyes could meet. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, totally exhausted. “I… don’t… understand… what… just… happened.” Serena was so out of breath she could barely get the words out.

  “Serena, I can’t leave your body just yet. When wolves mate a knot forms around the male’s cock to keep him inside the female. It’s designed to lock his seed inside her, to impregnate her.”

  She should have felt panic at that thought, but Serena was still trying to come to terms with what was happening to her. She’d accepted Connor, a stranger, as if they’d been lovers for a long time. She’d always heard that the first time would hurt and be uncomfortable, yet the act had seemed so right, as natural to her as breathing air, and the pleasure equaled no other.

  “What are you thinking?” Connor asked her, staring down into her eyes.

  “You’re not a wolf.” Serena whispered, able to breathe now. Maybe if she said it enough she’d keep believing it.

  She felt a rush of heat spread to her cheeks, realizing that the pleasant sensation of fullness she was feeling was because he was still inside her. She didn’t want to like it but she didn’t have a choice, she couldn’t control the way her body was reacting to him.

  “Yes I am, and so are you, little red riding hood. You just don’t know it yet.”

  Serena gasped. Little red riding hood, where did I hear that recently? Then it dawned on her, and her eyes rounded with disbelief. It was the last thing she’d heard in the woods the night before, right before darkness had descended on her.

  The wolfish grin that spread across Connor’s handsome features didn’t convince Serena that he was a wolf, and she had to have imagined the gold eyes and sharp fangs she’d caught brief glimpses of earlier.

  Oh God, she had to be dreaming. She closed her eyes tight.

  Chapter 5

  Connor stared down at Serena’s lovely face. Wolves relied on scent to assess the world around them, it’s what alerted him when she’d first entered his zone. It was the same distinct scent that told him she was his life mate. The fact that Serena was easy on the eyes and had a luscious body designed for fucking was an added bonus. They’d just had their first coupling, and he’d been satisfied beyond measure.

  Incredibly, his cock was hardening inside Serena as the wolf lust took control of his senses. Connor knew that if it were any other woman beneath him he wouldn’t have a problem getting up and walking away, but he had no control or power when it came to his mate.

  Serena’s eyes flew open, and there was no denying the glazed desire that made her pupils dilate. She felt it, too. She whimpered, saying softly and in awe, “It wasn’t a dream.”

  Connor could well understand her confusion and disbelief. He’d been raised as a wolf since the day he was born, in a shadowy, dark world of shifters and family clans, where he’d carved out an existence next to unsuspecting humans. It was a lineage that went back for centuries, and he knew the history, culture, and rules that kept them alive, thriving and undetected.

  He knew he had his work cut out for him where Serena was concerned, and he hoped that he had the patience to give her time to come to terms with her birthright. Right now, all he could think about was what she felt like underneath him, and those soft pouty lips that were just begging for his kisses.

  Connor lowered his face, fully intending to take that kiss, when Serena’s hands pushed against his chest. He reared back with surprise.

  “I’m scared.”

  He knew she wasn’t talking about him or his intentions. Their one mating had started the change in her, she could feel it moving through her blood, but she wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge it. By the end of her cycle he would have mated with her enough times to seal her fate. His had been sealed on the day she was born.

  “I’ll never hurt you,” Connor said, pushing her hair back from her face.

  His cock swelled and began to throb inside her pussy. Serena caught her breath, bringing Connor’s attention back to her sweet mouth. With a groan of weakness, he lowered his face and kissed her, deep and hard, pu
shing her further into the pillow. Whether she opened her mouth in protest or desire, he didn’t care. He took advantage and thrust his tongue against hers, enjoying the texture and passion.

  Fuck! He wanted to flip Serena around and take her in the way of his kind, fast and furious until he exploded deep inside her cavern, filling her with his seed. But that would come later, when she was less of an innocent. Right now he had to control his animal urges, or he might hurt her, or worse, she might turn from him in fear.

  She began to respond to his kiss, sighing beneath his mouth, arching her hips in sync with his. Connor felt her hands move over his body, tentatively at first, until passion ignited inside her and her touch became firmer. Her hunger and the sensuous movements of her body drove him into a lustful craze.

  His mate! Connor began to thrust harder and faster, tearing away from their kiss to lock his mouth onto her nipple. He rolled the taut nub around in his mouth, feeling the shudder that traveled through her body in response. Her hands tangled in his hair as she held him to her, eagerly offering him her pliable flesh.

  His mate! Connor withdrew his cock and began kissing his way down Serena’s twisting body. He needed another taste of the sweet essence between her thighs. Her sighs and moans told him that she liked what he was doing. It thrilled him to know that he was the first man to have her, and that he would also be the last.

  “Oh!” Serena cried softly, “Connor!”

  The sound of his name said with hoarse excitement sent a rush of intense heat through Connor. Reaching her loins, he took hold of her hips and pulled her pelvis sharply to his mouth. His mouth covered her pussy while his tongue delved deep into the waiting nectar. Her scent and the taste of her innocence was suddenly all too much for Connor, and he found himself in a physical struggle with his wolf.

  As he lapped up her potent juices, he felt his fangs drop. Christ! He trembled with trying to hold off, crawling up Serena’s body and penetrating her with his cock. Their gazes met and clung as he moved, and Connor lowered his head against her shoulder so she wouldn’t see the changes he couldn’t control. That turned out to be a big mistake.