City Wolf 2 Page 8

  On the first ring, Lucas barked into the phone. “Yeah?”

  “Lucas,” she rasped out. “P-Please help me.”

  “Baby, where are you?” It could be her imagination, but he sounded worried, angry and desperate all once. “I will come for you. I promise. Tell me where.”

  Nita focused on the woman whose phone she was using. Her curious stare didn’t waver, and she made no pretense of not listening.

  “He needs to know where I am,” Nita told her.

  “I-45,” the woman supplied. “Exit 14 toward Halibird.”

  Nita relayed the instructions and told him about the Laundromat. Lucas instructed her to stay around lots of people. The information that he was able to pick up was that Deandre could take on any form of anyone he touched, but Nita already knew that. She assured him she would do what she could until he arrived, which would unfortunately take a while.

  “Nita, I know you won’t understand why I’m saying this, but don’t call the police,” Lucas told her. He was quiet a moment. “I’m going to contact some people I know in the area where you are. I will give them a password so you know it’s them.”

  She was about to question that but realized what he meant. Deandre again. If she was fooled...no, she wouldn’t. If he was still alive, and he came after her, she would kill his ass before she ever let him touch her again. Lucas told her the word, and with reluctance she hung up. After passing over the twenty to the woman, she drifted to the back of the Laundromat and sat down on a bench occupied by an old man who looked like he didn’t know if he was there washing clothes or back home watching TV. She heaved a sigh, praying she wouldn’t burst out crying again.

  “Lucas, please hurry up,” she whispered.

  * * * *

  Lucas hit the ground on all fours, not giving a shit who might notice a wolf sprinting along the road. When he could, he kept to back roads and even farther off paved streets running through treed areas and through fields. This way he could open up and give all his speed while taking short cuts that the manmade paths didn’t allow for. He prayed all the way that Nita would be safe until the shifters he had contacted could reach her. And when he knew she was safe, he would rip Deandre’s throat out so he could never threaten her again.

  With his paws eating up the miles, his mind was free to mull over what he would do when he found Nita. Should he try to erase her memory again to make her forget all about him? He thought of Brant and Zandrea. They were making things work out between them, and they had committed to no offspring so that the wolf line would not be diluted and produce more problems. But what about him? Should he or could he take Nita as his mate?

  He was the Alpha. He and the elders had conferred and decided to pass a law within their community that no shifter was allowed to take a human mate from here on out. It was too dangerous and truly since they would outlive their human mate by many decades, it would only produce heartache in the end. For him to take Nita would be a violation of the standard he had set and just plain foolhardy.

  Still his heart didn’t give a shit. He had tried to drink himself into a stupor when he had sent her away. This was worse, exponentially worse than it had been with Gloria. The emotions that tumbled over his consciousness felt like Nita was his whole life, his whole world.

  Fuck! He ran faster, his lungs burning, his throat dry. The only thing that mattered at this point was getting to her and making sure she was all right. Other decisions could wait.

  At midnight, Lucas picked up Nita’s scent. Now he knew that Deandre must have done something to block their being able to track her. Whatever it was hadn’t been used this far out. Exhausted beyond belief, he padded on sore feet into the woods. His people out this way liked a rural setting, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. With his nose to the ground, he picked up three others along with Nita. They were without question wolf shifters.

  Through a clearing a small cabin came into view. He sniffed the air. Nita was inside. Two men sat on the porch outside the place. They stood when he came into view, although he knew they had scented him long before that.

  He changed, ignoring his nakedness. “Thank you for saving her.”

  The taller of the men nodded. “You Lucas, I guess.”

  “Yes.” He shook the hand of the man he sensed was the Alpha of his pack. All shifters knew the locations of the various packs although most stayed within their own and didn’t know each member personally. “May I go in?” he asked out of courtesy.

  The man nodded, and Lucas tried not to tear the door off its hinges when he rushed forward. There she was lying curled up in the fetal position, her hand beneath her chin, track marks from tears on her face. His chest constricted. Like hell he would ever give her up. Even if he had to walk away from being Alpha. Nita was his, at the risk of heartbreak later or being tossed out of his pack for violating their laws.

  Lucas crossed the room and scooped Nita up onto his lap before he remembered that she had been terrified of him when he was half changed. His heart ached. What if she rejected him?

  “Nita? Baby?” he whispered. “Wake up. I’m here.”

  Her eyelashes fluttered, and after a moment she focused on him. The strength left his body, and he tucked her tight against his chest.

  “Lucas, you came.”

  “Always,” he muttered in a thick voice.

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  “Shh, this isn’t your fault by any means,” he told her. “I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry.”

  She struggled to sit up, and he let her although she remained on his lap. “By that you mean you’ll try again to erase my memory.”

  “No.”

  With a tiny gasp she looked up at him, her luscious lips parted, making him want to sip her sweetness from them. He gave in and took a chance, lowering his mouth to hers. If he thought she would pull away in disgust, he was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck and arched into his chest. His groin grew tight.

  “I’m...uh...not sure how you feel about me, Nita, but—”

  “I love you,” she said in a matter of fact tone. “Can’t change that whether I want to or not. So, you’re a dog. What’s a girl to do?”

  He chuckled. She was making light of the situation, but the slight tremor beneath her words told him the situation had taken its toll. He needed to get her back home, but before that he would put Deandre in his grave.

  “A girl,” he instructed,” is to become my mate.” He stared down at her with a serious expression. “Do you want that, Nita? This is a big decision, and I’m not all that sure either of us should make that decision now and not some other time when you’ve had more time to think things through. But I confess that I can’t wait. I want you for my mate more than anything. I love you, Nita, and I always will.”

  Nita heaved a sigh. “One of the shifters who picked me up was a woman. I don’t know where she disappeared to, but she was telling me all about what it means to be your mate. She said from what her brother told her when he talked to you on the phone that it was likely that I was already meant to be your mate. And she explained how I would be tied to you.”

  “We’d be tied to each other,” he corrected. “It’s a whole different experience from human marriage.”

  “Even so, I love you with all my heart, and whatever I have to experience for us to be one, I’ll go through it.”

  Lucas nodded and gently began removing her clothing. She squeaked.

  “What are you doing, Lucas. Those guys are just outside, and they could come in here.”

  He grinned, stroking her cheek. “They know I am about to claim you as my mate and what that means. They won’t come in.”

  She stared at him as it dawned on her what he meant. The shifters outside on the porch could hear what they said and smell their arousal. They would also sense that Lucas had put his mark on her but not yet sealed the deal. For a male shifter to take his mate, he needed to bite her twice while making love to her.

&nbs
p; Nita’s teeth chattered she was so nervous. She dug her nails into his bare arms, and he winced but waited in silence for her to make her decision. He knew she wanted him from the tight points of her nipples making an impression through her blouse. After some time, she nodded, and Lucas continued to undress her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The thought of perfect strangers standing right outside the door able to hear every sound she uttered made Nita bite her lip and suppress the moan she wanted to loose when Lucas parted the two sides of her blouse. Her breasts rose and fell in rapid succession when he yanked her bra down to reveal her swollen nipples.

  As if they called to him, he dipped his head to take first one into his mouth and then move to the other. She caught her breath as his tongue laved her aching buds. This time when his growl began, it didn’t alarm her. He was what he was, and she embraced him as such.

  “Ah, Lucas,” she moaned and tried to hold it in.

  “Don’t hold back, my love,” he told her and lifted her off his lap to lay her flat on the bed. He moved above her, parting her legs with his. “I long to take my time and show you how much I want to please you, but I feel like we’ve been apart for ages, a feeling that shouldn’t be considering we’re not one yet.”

  “We are one.” She pulled him closer to her so she could nuzzle his stubbled jawline. “In heart, we are already one. Fill me, Lucas. Please. I need all of you right now.”

  He kneed her legs higher, and since she was soaking wet, his shaft glided in between her folds with no hindrance. Nita shouted her pleasure, and Lucas’ growl burst forth. He changed, his teeth like daggers and his claws matching. Where he had only small stubble from not shaving, longer hair sprouted.

  “Don’t be afraid, baby. Please,” he begged in a rough voice.

  “I’m not. I love you. Pump me hard,” she demanded. “Fuck me, Lucas.”

  His eyes went wide at her boldness, and he lifted her heels in the air and drove forward until he pumped in and out at a lightning speed. Nita screamed and writhed against him. Lucas howled like the wolf he was but didn’t stop. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Nita registered the answering howls outside the cabin, but she was too engrossed in the intense pleasure her lover was giving her.

  Lucas yanked back, flipped her over and drove in again. He held onto her hips and pounded his thick shaft deep inside of her. Nita wished she had claws to rip at the sheets beneath them. Oh fuck, she couldn’t get enough. She didn’t ever want him to stop. All fear of having an audience listening in drained away, and she freely cried out encouragement for Lucas to fuck her harder, faster, to make her come right now.

  Lucas smacked her ass, and Nita came screaming. He pulled out of her, bent down and kissed away the sting on her skin before he began to lap at her flowing juices. A second orgasm gripped her core, and she whined while he pushed his tongue up inside her and then sucked at her tender nub.

  When she was through a third orgasm, Lucas pushed her flat on the bed and followed her down. He eased his way inside her with a tighter fit since her legs were straight, and Nita thought she would lose consciousness from the pure ecstasy. The man was incredible even without the enhancing oils he had used last time. As soon as he was buried to the hilt, he ran his tongue over the spot on her shoulder, and she knew he was about to make his final claim.

  Nita stiffened, but Lucas shoved a hand beneath her and stroked her belly. “Shh, relax, my love. I won’t hurt you.”

  She tried her best to loosen up and release the nervousness, but it was impossible. The bite when it came stung a little, but not like she expected. And all of a sudden, a warm security washed over her, like she was in the safest place she could be—in Lucas’ arms.

  A shudder went through his body, and then his warm seed permeated her insides. Lucas held her so tight, it almost hurt, and he muttered her name over and over. Now they were as one person. They were mates.

  * * * *

  Fear clawed at Nita’s stomach. She had chewed off each one of her fingernails and wished for something more to chew on. After Lucas had left her in the care of the other shifters and Zandrea, who had arrived a short while later with Brant, he and his brother took off to find Deandre. When they returned the next morning, neither admitted to what they had done, but Nita had a new sense now that she was mated to Lucas. She could pick up on his feelings, and he was definitely feeling vindicated. There was no doubt in her mind that he and Brant had killed Deandre and covered it up somehow. She had accepted it as what he felt he had to do.

  Now, a month and a half later the horror of it all had passed, and she thought she could settle down in safety and calm. The pack had indeed taken away Lucas’ position as Alpha and passed it on to another shifter. At least they hadn’t tossed him completely out of the pack. But now, Nita had something new to worry about.

  She sat curled on his bed running her fingers through her hair and wondering what she was going to do. When the door opened, she jumped. Lucas narrowed beautiful dark eyes on her with a look of curiosity.

  “What’s up, baby? You’ve been jumpy lately.”

  “Nothing,” she squeaked.

  He shook his head, making a tsk sound. “Out with it.”

  How could she tell him? “I don’t—”

  “Nita!” he grumbled.

  “I’m pregnant,” she blurted out. “I’m so sorry. I know we made a commitment to the pack that we wouldn’t and I had protection, but I don’t know. Oh goodness. I’m sorry, Lucas...”

  He covered her mouth with a gentle kiss and then drew back. “Silly woman. I already knew that a couple weeks ago.”

  She stared. “What?”

  He shrugged. “I sense every change in your lovely body.”

  Annoyance that he didn’t say anything hit her. She resisted slapping his smug face. “You could have said something.”

  “I had to make arrangements.”

  “What arrangements?” She allowed him to scoop her to his lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

  He sighed. “Arrangements to join another pack. It hurts to leave, but it must be done. We will be following Brant and Zandrea this time around, to a pack that lost their Alpha. They’re young, and no one was in a position to lead. Besides that, they are more lenient than our pack now. They are open to half human half shifter children. And since Zandrea’s expecting, it works out.”

  “What!” She sat up, but Lucas forced her back to his chest.

  “These things happen.” He chuckled in her ear. “Almost accidentally.”

  Nita narrowed her eyes on him, and he offered an innocent grin. Her heart swelled with love for him. She knew it was a big step for him and Brant to leave their pack, but it was also time. Things changed in life, and they had to change with them or be left behind. All Nita knew was that she wanted to spend all her life with Lucas. At his side, she could face any challenge with confidence.

  The End

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