Night Wolves: Volume One

Chapter 3

3

With no towel to offer Charlotte for cleaning up, Damon had resorted to wiping her down with the now muddy blanket. She didn’t help, content to be held and cared for in quiet adoration. Taking a deep breath, he searched the area and found the fresh scent of water nearby. He lifted her in his arms and carried her towards the sound and scent of a distant stream. Her arms dangled loosely around his neck, and she seemed to study his face while they made the brief journey.

“Can I ask my questions now?” she asked.

“Ask away.” He stepped over a large fallen tree and groped her bottom under the premise of adjusting her balance in his grip.

“Is it always that,” she sighed and shook her head, as if searching for the right word, “passionate?”

He nodded.

“If that was you being cautious, what is it like when you’re with someone more experienced?” She scratched her fingernails along his bare shoulders and lowered her voice.

“Typically, I would have taken you from behind,” he admitted. “But you wanted to see me, so that wouldn’t work. Also, it would have made it difficult to hold my knot.”

“Knot? The bulge… like a dog’s?”

He snorted. “We knot the same, and the similarity ends there. If I didn’t have your hand to compensate, I would have been stuck when I slid fully inside of you. I’d have had to spill inside.”

“Why did you hold it back? I wouldn’t have been upset if you—”

“Wolves mate for life. Had I mated with you properly, and you’d conceived, we’d have to marry. And strangely, first matings tend to produce pups more often than not. It wouldn’t have been fair to claim you like that, without your consent or understanding of the situation.”

Charlotte shifted against him, but he couldn’t see her face to judge her reaction.

“It’s not that I don’t find you appealing, clearly. But we’ve known each other for only a few hours. And many a female has found me undesirable for a lifetime commitment.”

They reached the stream and he set her down near the edge so that he could test the water. Still n***d, he stepped into the shallow current. Though cold, it wouldn’t be a horrible inconvenience to a wolf. He held out his hand for her to join him, and she did.

Shivering, she bent down and scooped handfuls of water over herself. Her n*****s puckered and begged for further attention, and Damon averted his eyes. The chill was barely enough to staunch the blood running towards his c**k, but it worked well enough for the moment.

“What about the human women, then?” she asked.

“We can’t reproduce with them. It’s normal for the males and females to play with humans and sate their needs until a proper mate is found. Some packs encourage it, even. Though I’ve met a pack or two that forbade it,” he said while swiping excess water from his chest.

“Celibacy, then? Sounds strange given… well…”

“Primal instinct?” he asked. “Agreed. If we keep in our human forms, we’re technically allowed to mingle with each other. Usually just couples who are on the verge of making a commitment.”

“Well, yeah. I couldn’t imagine… too much casual s*x in a small community.”

“Exactly. It’s easier to save it for mating. One thing leads to another. s*x kills our brain cells, I guess.” Definitely just killed mine. He hoped his voice didn’t carry the disappointment he had for himself.

She sighed. “Hormones are hormones, I suppose.”

He took in a deep breath and watched Charlotte. One hand held her hair in a loose bun atop her head, and the other flung water at her neck. The remnants of his pleasure trickled down her body with the cool water. Her brows rumpled and she stepped from her panties and splashed them around in the water before wringing them out. The annoyance in her expression almost made him laugh. He didn’t envy having to wear wet underwear.

“Do you want a lifetime mate? I thought men preferred the persona of the lone wolf,” she said finally, pulling the black lace into place.

He shrugged. “No wolves are true loners. We are raised with family being the ultimate responsibility. Of course I would like a mate someday, and a family of my own. For now, I work for the council. My alpha and my elders. My pack. My assignment puts a hold on any relationships, but that will pass.”

Charlotte straightened and turned from him, head lifted towards the sky. “Why do you think I was abandoned, then, if family is everything?”

“I can’t even fathom a guess,” he answered honestly. “But with the pack, we would have resources. We could uncover your past, if that’s what you’d want. Such a crime wouldn’t be ignored unless you declared it unworthy of time.”

“Why would your pack care about me, though?” She glanced back over her shoulder. “Until tonight, I didn’t know the truth of what I was. Do all packs accept strangers?”

He walked to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her back to his chest and leaning over her to kiss her neck. “Packs are composed of families. Specifically, families that have banded together towards a mutual understanding. Some packs are only together because of regional proximity, an unwillingness to separate and leave ancestral land. Some are more political. Mine, though, is small. Just a collection of families that believe in the unity of all wolves.”

“Is that why you travel between the packs? Spreading that message?”

“Mostly. And we help keep the peace. We offer guidance to resolve disputes, whether it be pack against pack, or against neighboring humans.” He nuzzled her cheek. “As luck goes, running into me was probably for the best. My pack is suited to welcoming one such as you. In fact, I promise they’ll adore you.”

She spun in his arms and tangled her damp fingers into his hair before yanking him down for a kiss. Her lips demanded his, and her tongue sought to conquer. Pressed against her wet, lithe body, his c**k grew full once more. Her pearled n*****s scorched his skin, but when he tried to duck down and taste them, she took a deep breath and stepped back.

“We’ve got a long journey tomorrow?” she asked, voice raw with desire.

“Are you sure you want to leave this? What about your NBA?” he asked seriously.

She rolled her eyes. “MBA.” She sighed and stared up at the sky. “I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this. I don’t care about it. If I let you leave, what are the odds I’ll get this opportunity again? Nothing here is leaving, except you.”

“But you may not be able to come back.”

“Come back to what? My life has been empty, on autopilot. I’m here because I don’t know what else to do. School has been my home. Do you realize how sad that is?”

“But if it’s home, it’s something. I could take you away only for you to regret every minute.”

“That’s my problem. You can’t even imagine what it’s like to wake up every morning and feel like something is missing. That you don’t belong.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Trust me, it’s cold. And if you think your pack can help me find my parents and answer the hundreds of questions I have, why wouldn’t I take the risk?”

“We can do our best. It’s not a guarantee,” he clarified.

“A chance is better than nothing. So how far is your pack?”

He took a deep breath. They could argue, but he didn’t see the point. Her optimistic smile was covering a loneliness he understood. Being on the road, away from his loved ones for weeks if not months at a time wasn’t easy. She’d been alone her entire life.

“Don’t tell me you changed your mind?” she asked softly.

“It’s a day of riding, but we’d have to take breaks. I’m not accustomed to having a passenger, and I suspect you wouldn’t want to skip eating just to make it there sooner like I’d planned,” he replied. He cast a glance at her gorgeous figure while she tiptoed to the shore.

“I thought so.” She lifted her arms high and twisted her body in a seductive stretch. “What do you say we hit my apartment, grab a backpack of my things, f**k, and get a few hours of sleep?”

“Of course.” Damon snatched her up into his arms to cart her back to his bike for her clothing. “First you get dressed, then we start a new adventure.”

Charlotte hummed and kissed Damon’s neck, her touch electrifying his blood. They’d just met but he could already tell she was the one. Most lupine didn’t believe in fate, but he did. His parents had instilled it in him.

Running into Charlotte the way he had was too clear a sign from the ancestors to ignore. His wolf warmed to her faster than ever before, and her voice and smile filled him with the comfort of home, even miles and miles away.

Did she feel the same? Maybe. If not, he had no doubt that she’d come around. He wanted to keep her, but he knew she wasn’t ready. There was no telling how long she’d need to adjust to pack life and everything else. Finding her family trumped all else, first of all. But once the dust settles, she’ll be mine.

Night Revelations