Wild Wolf Claiming

chapter 6

Lily

The first male approached and knelt before me. I couldn’t see him, but I felt his presence, heard his breathing. I waited, lips tilted up expectantly. He didn't make me wait long before his hot hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me forward into the kiss. I gasped as his lips met mine. They were firm, hot, and skilled, but they did not make me feel anything, and I did not open my mouth to him. The smell of his skin was familiar, as was the feel of his hands.

Robbie.

The knowledge chilled me and I became stiff as iron in his hold.

Ha! Success. I was not drawn to him, felt no desire, therefore he would not claim me. But where was Kade? He’d promised no other would touch me.

"Enough!" The alpha's voice rang through the clearing and the lips left mine in defeat.

Yes, defeat, for I’d been thinking throughout the kiss. I wanted blind passion, a male that would strip my thoughts as well as my body.

A growl escaped the male above me, dark. Angry. But a different growl, deeper, menacing, followed directly after. I didn’t fear for my safety—there were enough witnesses to keep me safe—I only feared that the sun would rise and I’d be mated to the wrong wolf.

Where was Kade? When Alana put the blindfold on me, he’d been absent from the group of men around me. He’d told me he had to go talk to the alpha before the claiming ceremony, but the alpha was here. Where was Kade?

I wanted to say I was sorry for feeling nothing as I listened to Robbie coming to his feet, but I wasn’t. I didn’t want him kissing me. Especially when I was bound and at his mercy. I would submit, I ached to do so, but not to him. I felt disappointment roll off him in waves, but I didn’t care. He wasn’t the one. He wasn’t mine.

With a taut anger about him, he stepped away when the other male present growled another warning, one who acted like he was already my mate, like he had rights.

The sound, the vibrations of his growl reverberated through me. Sent goosebumps down my arms.

Bodies moved, shifted and I felt the second male’s presence before me. I braced myself for the second kiss, the key to my freedom. If his mouth was upon mine, I would know immediately it was not to be. But it didn't come. One minute stretched into an agony of two, and then three as he knelt before me but did nothing. I would swear I could actually feel his gaze traveling over my skin. And he'd be able to see it all through the teasing robe. My hard n*****s, the trimmed dark hair at the apex of my thighs. The garment left nothing to the imagination. Allowed them to be tempted, yet blatantly aware of a female’s offerings. It seemed they always knew exactly what they were trying to claim.

I could hide nothing, not even my heart.

Tension built in the air between us like an electrical storm of lust that bit into my sensitive skin. The male's mating heat soaked into my muscles, tempted me to be soft, to melt into his touch. This male wanted me badly. I'd never felt this heat, but the claimed women I’d met before the ceremony spoke of it fondly. The tingling warmth and the s*x. Steaming hot, incredible, blow-your-mind s*x.

My n*****s refused to listen to my mind and hardened to tight peaks as his heat wrapped around me and invaded all the way to my core.

“Are you going to kiss me?” I asked.

He said nothing.

“Well?” I whimpered, needing to know. What was this I was feeling? Where was it coming from? The male before me or from somewhere—or someone—else?

“Silence!” the Alpha boomed, startling me. I wobbled on my knees and a hand settled on my shoulder, letting me regain my balance. The heat from it searing.

I shrugged off his touch, afraid of it. If it wasn’t Kade, I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to feel anything toward him. Especially the spark that came from his quick assistance.

No. I didn't want this man. “I want you to kiss me,” I whispered, my voice tempered so low I had to hope only the male before me could hear. I didn’t really want the kiss, but I wanted to know. I had to know and the answer was in the kiss.

I ached. Whimpered, disappointment cutting through me. Why wouldn’t he kiss me?

Warm, firm hands slid along my jaw on both sides of my face and I gasped, surprised by the touch, surprised by the heat of it. Cradling my head as gently as if he held fine china, he held me still for…finally, his kiss.

Where the first man had been firm and skilled, this kiss was a slow tasting that started at the corner of my mouth. Instead of pulling me forward as the first male had done, he held me in place, kept me away from the lure of his heated body. Somehow, knowing it was there, just out of reach made me ache to rub against him, to lift my bound hands and touch, to cling. To never let go.

I whimpered.

The male didn’t care if it was because I was pleased or repulsed. He tilted my head to the side and ran his tongue over my lips, tasting me. Continuing with his onslaught. With a moan, I opened my mouth to him, unable to fight the urge to taste his strength, his desire for me, just a little bit.

Yes, it was the heat taking over, confusing me. I wanted his touch, his lips on me. His heated hands. I wanted more. But was he Kade? How could I not know?

With a growl, he pulled me forward and invaded my mouth with his tongue. All pretense of seduction was gone, the kiss turned into an aggressive assault that demanded submission. And I wanted to give it. I softened then, like wax in the sun.

My body responded by becoming a living flame and I arched against him, burning up inside. And it was just a kiss! My p***y lips throbbed with need to the point of pain and the cold night air wafted over my now wet core with a chilling breeze, alerting me to my utter failure.

I wasn't cold. I wasn't indifferent to this male. One kiss and this stranger had defeated me, owned me, made me long for his touch in a way Kade never had. But then, Kade had never had the chance. There hadn’t been enough time for him to do so.

"Enough." The Alpha's command straightened my spine and I pulled away from the kiss, disgusted with my lack of control. I turned my head away from him as the Alpha continued, "The Right of Initiation has decided the matter. Write this male's name in the Archive, and let us move on to the next claiming."

I felt more than heard the remaining males leave this first area of the ceremonial grounds. It was done. This male, whoever he was, had been given the right to try to claim me. I could refuse him, as Alana had said another had done, but how could I resist? If I almost came from a kiss, what would I do, how would I submit when he put his hands on my body? I ached for him to do so. Needed it. I didn’t want to resist.

For the next few hours I'd be alone, naked under the stars with this male as he used every skill and trick he had to seduce me into accepting him. I didn’t think he’d need to resort to trickery. I was like putty in his hands. Hot, eager putty. The chill night air would offer no help, as we were both more than human and the cold would have no effect on either of us. Instead, the night would actually assist the male's cause, calling to my wild nature. At least that was what Alana had told me. I would want to be claimed out in the open air, beneath the full moon. It seemed a little flaky at the time, but now, it was all too true.

Human men hadn’t satisfied my physical needs and because of it, there had been no risk to my heart or soul. Now I knew why I’d never been interested in anyone from high school, or any of the guys from home. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t the one for me. Unless…

No. This male couldn’t be Robbie. I’d denied him for so long, I couldn’t all of a sudden crave him. The heat was strong, but not like this. No. I had no idea who this male was, but it wasn’t him.

But was it Kade? How could I feel everything for Kade only a few hours ago and even more for this male? Whoever he was would take nothing less than total surrender, and if I gave that to him, my heart would go with it.

He still held me, palm wrapped around my neck in a display of total dominance. He could break my neck with a flick of his wrist, but his thumb traced my jawline with a feather soft touch instead. I could somehow feel his eyes inspecting his prize, assessing me in a new light now that he had the right to touch me, to make me come. To do whatever he wished with me.

When the last spectator had gone onto the next claiming and the clearing absolutely silent except for the whisper of the wind through the leaves overhead, I turned my face back to him with an apology.

"I'm sorry. I can't be yours."

He leaned in until his lips brushed my ear and whispered so softly I barely heard him. No, my wolf heard him. "We'll see."

I gasped. A male wasn’t allowed to speak. That’s what I’d been told, that speaking was a clear violation of the rules, but this male didn't seem to care. His hands roamed from my neck to my shoulders, over my collarbones and lower to slide over the tops of my breasts through the robe. Much to my delight and disappointment, they didn't linger but continued down to my bound hands. It was as if he was feeling what he’d had his eyes on. A tactile inspection and I had to wonder if he found me worthy.

He wrapped his hands around mine—they seemed so big—and pulled me carefully to my feet, then lifted me into his arms and carried me like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold. Such a quaint human custom, but still, I felt my cheeks flush as he settled me on the feather filled mat used for the true claiming and laid me down. No sooner were my shoulders on the soft surface than he pulled my bound hands over my head and secured them to the post placed there for that very purpose. Now my chest thrust up at him like a wanton offering, the robe parting and I knew he could see the inside curves of my breasts and even my p***y. My hands were restrained above my head and I was completely at his mercy. I couldn’t cover myself, couldn’t do anything but submit. The thought wasn’t nearly as upsetting as it should’ve been. The more time that passed, the more I wanted to give myself to him.

He laid down beside me, running his fingers up and down the gap in the front of my gown. Rough fingertips grazed my skin, lingered and explored the softness of my flesh from my neck to the valley of my breasts, over the soft planes of my stomach to the top of my p***y, then back up. Nothing more, just up and down, back and forth. Playing. Learning. Watching. I lay panting and helpless as he built a slow fire I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to extinguish. Sweat bloomed on my skin.

Then he whispered again. "Who is this male you pine for?" He lowered his head and placed a soft, chaste kiss on my hard n****e. I gasped. I couldn’t help it, for I’d never had someone do that before. It felt so good and I arched my back toward him, wanting more.

"And why is he not here to claim your perfection for his own?"

Shaking my head, I remained silent. There was no good answer to that question. I would not bare my soul to this male and confess my faults. I turned my head to the side, away from him, despite the fact that it bared the side of my neck like a sacred offering, an offering he didn’t hesitate to accept. With a low rumble, he nuzzled my neck with his nose and lips, nibbled his way to my collarbone and teased me with little nips of his teeth. His heat covered me as he threw one leg over my thigh, his knee between my legs to hold me in place, to tug me wider and more open for his touch. Not that I could go anywhere. I tugged at the bindings about my wrist to confirm this.

Alana said the alpha’s daughter had resisted her suitor for an entire night? Good God, the woman had to have a will of iron.

The hard length of his c**k pressed into my hip through his pants. He was so big and I had to wonder if he’d fit. Would it hurt? Surely, something of that size would rip me in two. But my train of thought veered away from worry when his hand massaged my breast with a firm touch. His thumb brushed over my wet n****e and the action left me breathless. My body ached for this man’s touch, my wet p***y clenched, needed to be filled and my entire body arched beneath him in invitation.

“Please,” I whispered. I bit my lip. I shouldn’t have responded. I knew it in my head, but my heart and my body refused to listen to my mind. The wolf was in control now, and the thinking part of me was rapidly losing ground. The fierce desire to submit filled me and I knew it was a lost cause as his mouth trailed kisses over my jaw and hovered at the corner of my mouth.

“Tell me,” he said, but I didn’t know what. “Who owns your heart?”

Everywhere his body touched mine, heat flared between us and soaked into my muscles. Fire filled my veins and I longed to rub against him, to explore every inch of huge, hard, muscular male. I fought the bonds, fought his body’s pressing hold. I was becoming wild with need. He knew just how to build it, a little at a time so as not to scare me. No one had ever made her feel like this. No one. Well, no one but Kade.

This was just s*x. Pure lust. I had to resist or I could be stuck with a male who lit my body on fire but left my heart cold.

He kissed me then, a long leisurely exploration of my mouth with his tongue. He had all night to taste and explore, to seduce me. And he was doing a pretty good job of it. He was really, really difficult to resist. Everything he did, everywhere he touched, how soft, hard, gentle, persuasive, I liked. No, I loved. I moaned in response, my body on fire for his touch. I had to stop.

“Tell me,” he repeated.

“Kade. I want Kade.” I managed to whisper against his lips, between kisses that were stealing my soul piece by piece, weakening every bit of my resistance. Was that what he’d wanted from me? “I will only give my virginity to him.”

The male stopped his sensual assault and I felt his warm breath fan my neck as he growled. I shivered from the possessive sound. He whispered once more against my ear.

“You are untouched?”

I nodded my head.

“Do you love him?”

Heart racing in my chest like a frightened bird’s, I debated. Should I tell this male the truth? If I succumbed, and he claimed me, would he seek Kade out in challenge? He would have the right to do so and to kill Kade if he so much as spoke to me after the claiming. But what if he let me go? What if he released me from the ritual?

He must have sensed my thoughts. “I give you my word I will not challenge him if you tell me the truth.” His hand slid down over my stomach in a slow sensual glide. “I want to know who you want…here, filling you for the first time and making you come.”

As he spoke, he slid two long fingers into my tight p***y and I gasped at the extreme pleasure as he slowly moved them in and out in a hot, very wet glide. I was tight and I felt a twinge of pain, but I loved it. I ached for his touch, but his fingers wouldn’t do. No, I wanted more. I wanted his hot body to cover mine, to wrap my legs around his hips and surge against him as he buried his c**k inside me, making me truly his. Not as a wolf claiming his mate, but as a man took a woman. Stretched her open, felt her tight heat adjust to his c**k, to know he was the only one to have ever been there. To know she belonged solely to him. Either way, man or wolf, I wanted to be f****d without mercy until I screamed my release.

I wasn’t a shy virgin. I just hadn’t given myself to anyone because it had never been like this. When a c**k filled me for the first time, I wasn’t going to be passive. No, I was going to come. Hard.

Game over. Trembling with need, I acknowledged the truth and my very obvious weakness. I wouldn’t be able to resist this man. This wolf. He was heat and fire to my cold heart, and if he didn’t stop voluntarily, I would succumb. I couldn’t lie to myself. The truth was the only thing that might stop him from claiming me. Perhaps he was a worthy male, a man and wolf I could grow to love as well as lust after, but only if I knew for certain Kade didn’t want me.

“Kade. Yes. My heart is his. I know it’s crazy, but yes, I love him. Please let me go.”

The male froze into a solid block of ice above me, stopped breathing for several seconds, then growled a protest into my ear. “Did he tell you he wanted to claim you?”

“Yes.”

“Has he touched you, or kissed you, or done this?” His mouth latched onto my n****e through the sheer fabric of my robe as he resumed f*****g me with his fingers in a firm, take-no-prisoners assault on my c**t and core.