(Werewolves of Montana #0.5) Prequel: The Mating Heat Read online

  “He’s declaring an official pack war upon me unless I deliver you back to him in 24 hours.”

  “If you promise him money, he’ll back off. He’s only interested in money.”

  Please believe me. Give him money, both of you cool your hot tempers…

  “I offered money. He told me to stuff it up my ass. He’s only interested in your safe return.”

  The alpha’s gaze became distant for a moment. “Can’t blame him. If I had a sister, I’d give every last breath to protect her, too. Aiden is a good ruler.”

  She nodded.

  He turned, his expression hard as iron. “But I won’t let him destroy everything I’ve worked so hard to rebuild. He’s not getting you back and if it’s war, it’s war.”

  Air squeezed out of her tight chest. “You can’t fight Aiden. Your pack will divide. Those still loyal to my father, and I’m sure there are some who are, will side with Aiden. You’ll splinter your factions when you need unity behind you.”

  “I have unity enough to fight him.” Ryder flexed his hands. “Your brother’s threat only accelerates my plans.”

  Kara’s thighs clenched as his gaze caressed her. “What plans?”

  “I had wanted to give you time, Kara, to grow accustomed to me once more, and gentle you to my touch. But your brother has left me no choice. War or not, he’ll never have you back.”

  Dread filled her as his gaze grew determined. “Tonight, after dinner when I announce it to the pack, we will be mated. You will be mine and I will show you to the pack as my new queen. Then gather my forces in preparation to fight.”

  “I can’t. Please, let me talk with Aiden, reason with him…”

  “The time for reasoning with your brother has passed.”

  “Don’t do this to me. I can’t mate with you,” she whispered, hugging herself.

  Ryder ran a thumb down her unscarred cheek. “Don’t be afraid, sweeting. I may be a monster when it comes to defending my territory, but I can be gentle in bed and I will take very good care of you.”

  A flutter of hope died with his words. She’d clung to hope for escape, to return to her brother’s ranch where everything was run down, but filled with dark places where a scarred and chubby Lupine could hide from the world. Now there was no place to run or hide, and she stood between two powerful males ready to declare a pack war.

  Kara walked to the window. The pack had adored her, the cherished youngest daughter of their powerful alpha. Once she’d enjoyed running free and wild with them as wolf as they hunted beneath the full moon’s silvery caress.

  Now she only wanted to hide from the people who’d once loved her. No doubt they hated her now.

  “I will not resist you,” she said quietly. “Nor will I allow you and Aiden to break the peace, ruining his pack and yours. I can’t risk a war.”

  “Go on.”

  “I’ll call Aiden and tell him what is done is done. You know,” she gulped down a shaky breath, “that once you put your mating mark on me and we consummate the bond, your claim on me is final. It will be pointless for him to raid the ranch to get me back.” She sighed. “I won’t fight you, Ryder. I will submit, if you do two things for me.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his gaze grow wary. “What?”

  “Send the money to Aiden. Immediately.”

  “And?”

  She curled her hands into fists, keeping them at her sides. “I will do anything you ask, if you let me stay in this room, without showing me to the people.”

  “What?” Ryder sounded surprised.

  Kara whirled, her chest tight and drawn. “I’m serious. Let me keep to this room. They think I abandoned them and left them to face my father’s cruelties alone. After tonight, I never want to meet them face to face again.” She touched her scarred cheek.

  Chapter 5

  How he wished Alastair Mitchell was still alive so he could kill him all over again. The despairing look on Kara’s face felt like a hard kick to his solar plexus.

  Ryder didn’t give a damn how she looked.

  He gave a damn how she felt.

  And clearly, she was ashamed to encounter her old pack. Ashamed of the scars her cruel father had left. Ashamed of the fact she’d fled to save her life.

  Had she stayed, Alastair would have killed her. Not physically, the old man wasn’t that insane, but he’d have beaten her down until nothing remained of her spirit.

  Ryder clenched his fists and squeezed hard. He wanted a second chance with Kara that they’d been denied. He wanted the pack secure and safe, and working peacefully together for the common good.

  Most of all, he wanted to see Kara smile again, with the insouciant joy she’d always shown before.

  Now her eyes were downcast instead of sparkling with zest. Her mouth seldom quirked upward and she seemed to shrink inside herself.

  Damn you Alastair Mitchell. How could you do this to her? It was not her fault—I was the one who stole a kiss!

  “You can’t hide from the world, Kara,” he finally said, keeping his voice low and soothing. “And you can’t hide from the pack. They will want to see you again.”

  A ghost of her old smile touched her mouth. “Show them a photo. Either that or find me a really great cosmetic surgeon for Lupines, the kind who can work special magick.”

  She had a special magick of her own, with her sweet, caring nature. For every injury her insane sire had inflicted on another pack member, she’d been there, working quietly to care for the Lupine’s wounds and heal the emotional trauma.

  Kara was exactly what the pack needed. Suddenly Ryder wanted her desperately as his mate. Not just to secure his position as the new alpha, but to soothe his own still raw wounds. He wanted her in his bed, true, but he needed her at his side.

  No other female would do. Oh, he could select one of the eager, fawning Lupines from his pack. But he wanted only Kara.

  “You don’t need a surgeon, sweeting. You need something no Skin can provide. Or money. Love.”

  A stunned silence followed. Kara finally spoke, a false note of cheerfulness in her voice. “Not true. I heard you can buy love, for a few dollars, at a street corner in town. For a few dollars more, it can last all night.”

  Slowly he exhaled, penning his frustration. “I’m not talking sex, Kara. I’m talking about a love that will last a lifetime. The love of mates for each other.”

  She peered up at him, frowning. Hadn’t anyone ever truly loved her before? Alastair had ignored her until the night of the kiss. Her sister had fled the pack when Alastair started growing cruel and cold. Her older brother Aiden adored her, but he’d seldom been around, too busy and desperate to repair the damages caused by his old man’s neglect of the ranch.

  Other males had flirted with Kara, and worshipped her like a goddess. But had anyone truly loved her?

  I did but never had the balls to tell her, he thought with chagrin. Maybe if I had, I could have whisked her away before that cold-hearted bastard of a father did this.

  Ryder realized he danced on a dangerous cliff. If he forced her in any way, or acted insensitive to her tender feelings, he risked forever ruining their tenuous relationship. Not only would their joining be painful for her first time physically, for she’d remained untouched, but he worried more about hurting her gentle heart.

  He gathered her hands into his, and caressed the knuckles with his thumbs. “I want a home filled with love, Kara. Your love and mine, raising our young together. We need to turn this ranch from a silent place of nightmares into a home filled with laughter and hope. That’s why I fought your father. That’s why I never left.”

  For a moment, her expression grew soft. Then she assumed a cool demeanor as if he’d talked about selling cattle.

  “Let’s be pragmatic, Ryder. There is no love in this arrangement. I doubt I’ll ever find love.” Her voice caught and wobbled. “This is business, pure and simple. You need a mate. I need my big brother settled and for both of you to avoid tearing each o
ther’s throats out. As for appearances before the pack, you introduce me tonight. Give me my own separate room where I can stay by myself.”

  Ryder gave her a calm, steady look. “As my mate, you know that’s impossible. I plan to keep you in my bed for a very long time.”

  A pink blush colored her face. “When you want me in your bed, I’ll come to you willingly. But I need my space.”

  Whoa, this was all wrong. He needed to shatter the protective walls she’d erected and bridge the gulf yawning between them as wide as a river canyon.

  “Your space? Is that what Aiden allowed? He let you hide in your room so you didn’t have to face anyone else?”

  The dull flush on her face confirmed that suspicion. Kara’s mouth tightened. “He didn’t want to pressure me. I seldom saw anyone except Aiden and Darius.”

  “Darius?” Jealousy whipped through him. “What is he to you?”

  “He’s Aiden’s beta and like a brother to me. Darius has a mate, but she’s still at his father’s pack. He’s planning on bringing her to the ranch soon.”

  Ryder relaxed, concentrating on how to break down her barriers. Once they’d shared friendship, and then a kiss had shattered friendship, turning it into blazing passion promising erotic bliss.

  If he showed her exactly what pleasures awaited her in his arms…perhaps he could convince her to change her mind. Lupines were a sensual people, and he planned to use every weapon in his arsenal to wear down her defenses.

  She’s too wounded to welcome the pack, hell, welcome me back into her heart. I must try, he thought in a haze of anguish.

  “You can have your space.” He gave her an intent look. “But not now. For now, I’m not giving you any space, sweeting. Because I plan to get close. Very close.”

  As she studied him, her expression no longer lacking emotion, he felt his Lupine instincts urge him onward. Kara blinked.

  “How close?”

  “Close as I can get.” Ryder began circling her, like a wolf did to a deer before bringing it down. “Skin to skin. Naked inside your body, yes. And even deeper, Kara. As deep as I can go.”

  He was too close. And he’ll get a lot close, as he claims your body. But will you let him claim your heart?

  I can’t!

  Ryder was a big man, strong and tough as he towered over, his body muscled and very male. Crisp pine and fresh rainwater flooded her senses, along with a delicious spice.

  He was staking his mating claim on her, Kara realized, marking through scent.

  Suddenly her skin grew too tight, and she felt too hot. The clothing on her body was far too restrictive. Kara unfastened the first two buttons on her shirt.

  A gleam lit his eyes. “Warm? Allow me.”

  Ryder unfastened her buttons and drew the shirt off her shoulders. His scarred knuckles brushed against the bare skin at her collarbone, the touch sending rivers of delicious anticipation rushing down her spine.

  He thumbed the bare skin above her bra, his fingers covered with rough calluses born of hard labor. When he stroked a spot across her tender skin, she flinched. Not from pain, but pure need.

  “Sorry,” he murmured. “I know my hands aren’t smooth and soft.”

  Ryder Carrington had worked hard on the ranch, and now that he was alpha, worked even harder. He had the muscled body and strength of a good leader.

  “Smooth, soft hands are for Skins who work in offices. Not for Lupine ranchers and certainly not alphas.”

  He gave a crooked smile and continued caressing the tops of her breasts, the action making her loins full and aching.

  “You’re exquisite, Kara.” His deep voice dropped to a husky whisper. “I’ve dreamed of doing this, all those dark nights in the cell when Alastair punished me.”

  The intimacy grew too much. “And here I thought you’d amused yourself by dreaming of ways to break my father’s neck.”

  “No.” He drew in a deep breath, his fingers quivering slightly as he rested them on her breasts. “If I had given into those thoughts, I’d have lost control soon as he’d released me. So I thought of you. Your smile. Your sweetness. And this…”

  Ryder gently cupped her breasts and squeezed. “I dreamed of being this close.”

  “I’m glad I was with you in that cell, but I wish you’d never been there at all. I tried to get you out once, but nearly got caught,” she confessed.

  He raised a dark eyebrow and grew thoughtful. “Sometimes I thought I’d go mad. And in the darkest night, when I grew so lonely I couldn’t stand it, I’d think of a soft bed and you naked upon it. I’d unzip my trousers, take myself in hand and imagine me on top of you, fucking you hard and fast until you screamed your pleasure.”

  Heat suffused her body at his crude words. Kara’s eyes widened as he guided her hand down to his bulging crotch. “Does that shock you, Kara? We are a sensual people. We live and breathe sex and when males are denied the touch of our true mates, we do what we must or go mad.”

  Like my father had. Dim pity filled her for Alastair. It did not forgive his actions, but made them a little more understandable.

  Beneath the rough denim of his jeans, his cock jumped as she stroked the rigid length. “It doesn’t shock me,” she admitted. “It turns me on.”

  “Sweeting, I have many more ways of turning you on.”

  An intent look replaced his crooked smile. Ryder captured her chin with one strong hand, lifting it up to his impervious gaze. He focused on her lips. They parted in surprise as he dipped his head lower, until his mouth was a mere breath from hers. Kara’s heart thudded faster.

  When he brushed his mouth against hers, the exquisite sensitivity of the kiss lowered all her defenses. His mouth upon hers felt warm and soft. Then Ryder deepened the kiss. A tantalizing taste of peppermint and coffee invaded her mouth as he gently thrust his tongue past the seam of her lips. Remembering what happened last time he’d kissed her, Kara trembled. He seemed to understand her fears and drew away slightly.

  “Come on, sweeting,” he softly urged. “Open for me. This time, no one’s going to hurt you.”

  For too long, she’d denied herself pleasure. Surrendering to his persistence, she opened her mouth as he kissed her again. Then his tongue was in her mouth, his hands cupping the back of her head as he stole away her breath and reason. Passion exploded in her veins, the ancient call to mate and breed flaring hot and heavy in her loins.

  Kara slid her arms around his neck. His kiss was hot, his tongue wet, rough silk as he teased and nibbled. Ryder wrapped his arms around her waist and his strong grip felt secure and comforting, as if he’d never let her slip and fall. Fire jumped through her veins as his tongue lazily stroked hers.

  Ryder broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Damn, Kara. I want you so badly.”

  Licking her swollen lips, she could not summon a single clear thought.

  Lifting his head, he locked his blazing blue gaze to hers. She saw the flash of amber, signaling the rise of his wolf.

  “I want to throw you on the bed, now.” Ryder’s expression hardened. “But you deserve much better. Not a quick fuck like you’re a one-night stand.”

  “Would you settle for a cup of coffee, a quick fuck and then releasing me as if I were a one-night stand?”

  A rough laugh rumbled deep in his throat. He caressed her cheek, his touch making her yearn all over again. “You could never be a one-night stand. You’re a one-century stand, sweeting.”

  Wonder filled her at his declaration. As punishment for kissing her before, he’d suffered such intolerable cruelty at Alastair’s hands and yet he still cared for her. Kara felt her confidence rise.

  Ryder dropped a kiss on her nose. “Relax, get reacquainted with the house. The pack is trying to repair the barn. You have the lodge all to yourself. They won’t return until six. Dinner is at seven. I’ll come for you then.”

  “I imagine you’ll come for me several times after we’re mated,” she quipped.

  He threw back his hea
d and laughed, such a delighted, full-bodied sound it filled her with a fiery joy.

  “Several times, yes. Until you’re pregnant with my heir.”

  The joy crumbled into ash at his reminder of what this mating would comprise. He wanted her badly in bed to serve his purpose.

  “And Kara? I know you want to hide from the pack, and remain in your room, but I cannot allow that. You have to face them, sweeting. You’ll be my mate in every way.” His gaze grew hotly intent. “In my bed, at the table, and at my side in everything. You will not hide from them. You did nothing wrong.”

  As the door closed behind him, Kara collapsed on the bed. Dry-eyed she thought about the lodge and the secret tunnel. She thought about this pack, whom she’d deserted and left to the cruel whims of her father. She thought the safe haven of her bedroom at Aiden’s ranch, where she felt free from the stares and the looks of revulsion.

  Time to go exploring, and get the hell out of here.

  Chapter 6

  The cold, dank basement haunted her nightmares. Alastair had installed cells with strong steel bars down here to cage the Lupines offending him. Since there were many Lupines who offended him, he’d built many cells.

  Ryder had been imprisoned in such a place.

  Kara cut through the enormous dining hall to reach the basement. Sturdy log pylons, river rock archways and yellow lanterns hanging from the soaring rafters made the room appear homey instead of impersonal. Double French doors led onto a flagstone patio with a fire pit big enough to roast a cow. A few plants struggled to bloom in the garden beyond the patio. Her mother’s garden, she remembered. It had been a peaceful place, where she liked to dream while lying among the wildflowers.

  Sometimes she had hidden there when her father’s temper fractured.

  After finding a flashlight in the storage closet off the dining hall, she opened the door leading to the 120-year-old basement.

  Kara snapped on the light switch and descended. The old wooden steps that creaked had been replaced and sturdy metal handrails installed. At the bottom of the stairs was a narrow hallway. To the right, the hallway was dark, leading to a closed oak door.