The Mating Chase (Werewolves of Montana) Read online

  From somewhere inside the ranch below sounded a male wolf’s victorious howl. She fell asleep to the haunting call.

  As nightfall deepened, he lifted his mate into his arms and brought her back to his bed. Dale tucked Beth beneath the thick blankets and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Though he sensed Beth’s developing Lupine powers enabled her to see perfectly in the dark, he snapped on a small light should she awaken in strange surroundings.

  Then he went outside and shifted.

  Gray-furred and blue eyed, the wolf gave a mighty shake, fur rippling sleekly in the biting, crisp breeze. Lifting his head, he scented the air, testing for intruders. Sexual need satisfied, a new desire surfaced to protect his sleeping mate. He loped down the flagstones to the garden and the flattened grass. His nostrils flared at the smell of sex, female musk and spilled semen.

  He circled the cabin, nosing the ground.

  A few hundred feet away, the wolf’s nose twitched as he sampled a faded, but strong scent. The man inside the wolf recognized a friend he’d invited over for beer and poker. But the newly mated wolf growled.

  He lifted his leg, urinated on the spot. An aggressive warning.

  Stay away.

  Running through the forest, scenting the small creatures trembling in their burrows, he released a victorious yip. He paused and looked back at the cabin. Light winked through the thick trees.

  Deep regret filled the wolf. The female sleeping in the Skin bed would not change, could not race with him through glen and mountain to hunt and feel the rush of wild joy.

  Soon, though. Very soon.

  As the wolf thought of his mate, and the soft, pearlescent slickness of her tight cunt, his cock slid from its protective sheath, glistening and wet. Ready.

  He would take her again in Skin form, so as not to frighten her. Take her as a Lupine formally mated with another, mounting her supple, ripe body from behind. And in the days to come when her wolf finally surfaced, they would run through the forest in wolfskin and couple in wildness.

  But for now, his spirit longed to race free, run through the forest beneath the silver-slicked night.

  Dale ran with the waxing moon.

  Chapter 6

  SHE DREAMED OF running beneath a starlit sky, fur rippling along her body. Following a large, gray male wolf, its tail held proudly high, Beth loped through forest and glen, up the mountain and over craggy rocks.

  Water splashed around them as they forded a stream. The male stopped and lowered its head to drink, nudging her to do the same.

  After taking their fill, they padded over to a thicket of pines. Blue eyes gleaming in the night, the male growled deep in his throat. He herded her against a tree and pawed at the ground. A long, reddened penis, slick and glistening, emerged from his sheath.

  As a Skin, she held no comprehension of the male’s command. But the wolf understood, and instinct twined with sexual need.

  Moonlight dappled the pine boughs overhead as she lowered her smaller form in a submissive position, bottom arching upward, tail held to the side. The male trotted toward her, his cold, wet nose pushing at her bottom. Sniffing deeply, he then gave the moist opening a gentle lick. Arousal speared her, vagina clenching in sweet anticipation.

  The male trotted around her and licked her nose and nuzzled her throat. She instantly recognized his scent, his tender gestures. Her mate.

  And then he moved behind her, his hot breath ruffling her thick fur.

  A powerful, primordial need surged as she braced herself for the impact of his thickened penis. Mounting her, he pushed into her swollen tissues. Beth shuddered with pleasure. Closing her eyes, she savored each powerful thrust. His engorged shaft pulsated inside her channel, swelling and thickening. It felt so good, so erotic and wild...

  Deep in her throat, her wolf released a joyful howl.

  Beth awoke to find a naked Dale bending over her, his damp hand resting upon her cheek. Sweat slicked his forehead.

  Unafraid, she sat up.

  “I was Moon running.” His gaze shot down to her bared breasts. Breath whistled out between his clenched teeth. “You looked so tempting, so sweet, making those little noises in your sleep.”

  “I dreamt we made love,” she told him, her palm rising up to cover his.

  Dale waited.

  “In the wild. As wolves.”

  Boldly, she slid his hand downward, until it covered her breast. She stroked his hand over her warm flesh, the friction making her nipples erect.

  A groan fled his lips.

  “I know my wolf still lies dormant, but I want you, Dale. As a female Lupine desires her mate,” she whispered.

  Eyes widening and darkening, he drew back. Beth watched his penis lengthen and thicken. She felt her vagina grow moist and ready to take him once more.

  “Turn over,” he said hoarsely. “Kneel and place your palms flat on the mattress.”

  Obeying, she flung her long hair aside, and peered over her shoulder. In the lamplight’s golden glow, Dale stood tense, his hot, hungry gaze stroking over her body in a heated caress.

  His swollen, red penis thickened and lengthened, growing longer than ever. A Lupine reaction.

  Trembling, she dropped her head down and waited. She felt his hot, wet tongue part the soft folds of her cunt and delve between them. Dale began lapping at her soaked core, each stroke creating unbearable pleasure.

  Then his penis replaced his tongue, the angular knob pressing against her soaked folds. With a low grunt, he slid deep inside.

  Beth went still, her swollen vagina eagerly tightening around his thick cock.

  Tenderly, he brushed back her hair, and kissed her neck. “You okay?” he whispered. “If this hurts, tell me and I’ll stop.”

  She rotated her hips. “Do it. Fuck me like the wolf I can be.”

  A low, triumphant chuckle rumbled in her ear. Dale drew back, then pushed his hips forward. His enormous shaft throbbed inside her tight channel, binding them together in the flesh.

  Then he began plunging deep inside, stretching her wet, swollen cunt. Eyes closed, her long hair curtaining her face, she pushed back against every delicious surge. Dale dug his fingers into her hips as he thrust and their flesh slapped together. He bent over her ass, reaching around to cup and knead her breasts. Thick, silky hair on his chest rubbed against her back. With each relentless thrust, she arched her ass upward, eager for more. The position did not bind her to submissiveness, rather it gave her a heady sense of feminine power as her mate took her.

  A deep growl rumbled from Dale’s throat. She felt his engorged penis swell as an odd roundness pressed against her wet, sensitive tissues.

  His wolf’s knot.

  As the protrusion thickened, it rubbed enticingly against nerve endings enriched with blood. Beth moaned at the exquisite pleasure.

  Dale gave a final, deep thrust, his knot swelling and tripling the sweet pressure. Orgasm seized her loins, shooting up through her body as Beth shuddered and screamed. Rearing back, he seized her hips and released a long, low howl as his cock thickened, thick streams of semen spraying hotly against her womb.

  For a few minutes, his big body shuddered behind her. Finally his climax slowed.

  They collapsed to the mattress, his heavy weight pinning her down.

  Hot breath bellowing in her ear, Dale ran a hand over the curve of her hip. “I’ve dreamt of doing that to you for a long time, sweetheart. Both of us bonded together in flesh.”

  His knot securing her clenched vagina loosened. Beth twisted her head around, pleasured lassitude turning into confusion.

  “We’re not tied together.”

  Slowly, he eased out, his penis leaving her soaked cunt with a sucking pop. “Doesn’t happen in Skin, unless you’re in heat or it’s approaching the full moon.”

  She peered out the window at the silver globe hanging low in the sky. “I’m no astronomer, but that sure looks like one to me.”

  Rising off her perspiring body, Dale kissed her shoulder. �
�But you’re not fully Lupine. Your wolf has yet to emerge.”

  Disappointment stabbed her. With the erotic dream, and the subsequent mating, she’d thought otherwise.

  Lying next to her, he pushed a lock of damp hair away from her face. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. When the time is right, it will happen. And when you’re ready, the experience will be worth the wait.”

  “A five minute orgasm?”

  “Try twenty minutes.” Dale’s husky voice rumbled in her ear. “They say there’s nothing like it, other than mating in wolfskin.”

  But as he pulled her into his arms, settling his big body against hers in sated satisfaction, Beth experienced pure doubt. They’d mated and sealed the bond, driving each other to the heights of erotic abandonment, but her wolf couldn’t surface yet.

  She couldn’t live as Lupine.

  Dale couldn’t live as a Skin.

  Maybe this mating was a big mistake after all.

  Chapter 7

  AIDEN PHONED DALE the next morning, ordering him back to the lodge for an emergency meeting.

  Shutting off the cell, Dale tossed it onto the nightstand. Tensing, he braced his hands on his thighs.

  “Kyle’s back from a hunt. There’s been reports of shooting in the mountain, and he found two deer carcasses with rifle shells littering the ground. And he scented Skins. That’s why our pack hunts have gotten challenging. Intruders are thinning out the deer population.”

  At this alarming news, she sat up, the sheet spilling to her waist. Lupines could eat the same as Skins, but needed fresh meat monthly to keep shifting back and forth. Without the plentiful supply of game in the woods, they’d be forced deeper into the mountains, intruding on other Wylding’s territory.

  “But the land is clearly marked to ward off trespassers.”

  “Illegal poachers shooting deer for sport.” Dale rubbed his forehead. “It gets worse. Three calves were found at a nearby Skin ranch, their stomachs ripped out, the liver, spleen and intestines missing. Made to look like a pack of wild wolves killed them. Another calf is missing. Could have wandered off, but Aiden thinks it’s a setup. The rancher hired two hunters. They’re conducting a wolf hunt on our mountain. They could be the same Skins who killed the deer.”

  “Our territory,” she whispered.

  “Aiden had no choice. If he denied permission, the rancher would grow suspicious.”

  A chill raced down her spine. Montana had lifted the ban on killing wolves. Their pack was safe, as long as they remained on their territory. But if a group of Skin hunters happened to see a Lupine in wolfsuit...

  He went to the dresser and pulled out clean clothing, tossing it on the bed. “Aiden wants me to lead a patrol in Skin form to flush out the bastards.”

  Her pulse kicked up a notch. “You never hunt as a Skin.”

  “Yeah, and with two Skins searching for wolves to shoot, I have no choice. I’ll take ammo and weapons.”

  Beth didn’t like it. Dale hated weapons and never trained with them. The Skins who’d captured him, forcing him into dogfights, had shot the dogs when Dale balked at killing them. The violent memories still lingered, and ever since, he seldom picked up a gun.

  He glanced at her, his look softening. “Hey, don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

  Something about this news bothered her, but she couldn’t figure out why. “Tell me about the deer. Were they bucks or does? Were the carcasses missing heads?”

  “Bucks. One had a healthy rack already. The stomach was ripped out, the liver, spleen and intestines missing. Real sloppy.”

  Beth slid out of bed and stood. “That’s not normal. I want to go with you. I’m a biologist, I can help.”

  Dale turned, a hank of dark blond hair hanging over his furrowed brow. “I want you to stay here. It’s safer for you, until I return.”

  “Because I’m a frail female?”

  He caressed her cheek with a thumb. “No, because you’re my female, and your wolf hasn’t yet emerged.”

  “You’re hunting these poachers in human Skin.”

  “And if we need to shift in an emergency, we can. You can’t. Until you shift, Beth, you’re too vulnerable.”

  Vulnerable. A pack liability. Even now, she still didn’t belong.

  “You’d be with me if something happened.”

  “I’d focus all my attention on you, not the hunt.” Dale pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re safe here.”

  “Why can’t I return to the lodge?”

  Jaw tensing, he looked away. Beth suddenly understood. “You don’t want me returning to my old life. My room. My stuff.”

  Her Skin habits.

  His heavy-lidded gaze met hers. “I planned to keep you here for a while, after I won the chase. A couple of weeks in my bed, accustoming you to my touch, the Lupine life. Aiden gave full approval, until this crisis popped up.”

  The pieces fell into place. Dale wanted to chain her to his side with sex, brand her with his scent and touch until all traces of her former life fell away.

  “Was there even a real chase?”

  Silence fell between them. Tight fury uncoiled in her stomach.

  “You and Aiden set me up. The other guys weren’t chasing me at all! You did this to seduce me into becoming your mate.”

  “They ran,” he said simply. “Just not as fast as me.”

  “When did you plan to tell me this, Dale? After I shifted into a wolf? After my fertile time, when you got me pregnant? After you fucked me into blissful oblivion?”

  “The mating chase was your decision.”

  “You didn’t give me a choice.” Beth slammed a fist against a wall. Pictures rattled and the pine paneling cracked.

  “You didn’t have a choice,” he shouted. “Rules are rules. Aiden would be forced to kick you out to keep the peace. I wasn’t about to see you leave, Beth. Go where? Back to the Alaskan wilds? To the city? You’d die in either place because you can’t shift into wolf and you’re not a Skin. And part of me would die with you.”

  Emotions battled inside her, all the wild feelings, hurt and disappointment she’d felt since returning. “Right. Like you really give a damn about me.”

  “I do! What the hell do I have to do to prove it?”

  Sexual need tangled with wild fury. “You’re so keen on Lupines. Fuck me, you bastard. Show me what a real wolf is like in bed.”

  Snarling, he stalked forward, forcing her backward until she fell onto the mattress. As he fell atop her, kissing her deeply, her wolf growled deep, answering his primitive call. They tangled together, rolling on the sheets, Beth scraping her nails down the thick muscles of his back. Deep inside came a low howl, her Lupine self recognizing the sexual need, Dale’s instinct to claim and dominate, and her own instinct to mate.

  Pinning her beneath him, he spread open her legs and pushed his penis deep inside. Breath escaped her lungs in a startled gasp. He went deeper than ever, driving into her, against the softening ring of her cervix, as if crawling inside her and making them one. Recognizing Dale’s urgent need to hold and claim, she bucked beneath him and rotated her pelvis in a teasing manner. Groaning, he refused to let her up, and held her down with his superior weight and strength.

  Wrapping her legs around his hips, she refused to let go.

  Fisting a hand in her hair, he kissed her, his mouth demanding and possessive. Dale then leaned back, flattening his palms on the mattress on either side of her. He began thrusting heavily, making the bed rock and the headboard bang against the paneled wall. As he pounded into her, she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him close, kissing, licking and nipping his sweat-slicked throat.

  Dale growled and cupped her ass, drawing her closer as his penis slid and out of her swollen, engorged cunt. Crying out, Beth surrendered to the intense pleasure exploding between her legs, climaxing so hard her vision blanked. Squeezing her ass, he reared back. With a triumphant roar, he shuddered, his seed shooting deep inside her.

  Feeling th
e pleasure fade, her wolf emerged, awakening a deep instinct. Beth growled and bit Dale on the neck, her teeth sinking deep. He snarled and squeezed her ass, and kept climaxing, the reaction making his penis thicken, and triggering her to climax again as well.

  Whoa. Beth breathed deep, riding the waves through each pulse and surge, her orgasm dwindling and then strengthening as Dale’s cock continued to ejaculate.

  Gradually, the spasms faded and he gave a final shudder. With a loud grunt, Dale collapsed in a boneless heap, breath sawing in and out of his lungs. Though he was heavy atop her, she stroked his sweating back with a tender hand.

  Their first time had been gentle and loving. The second, filled with wild abandon. This was...

  “Primitive,” she said, still panting. “What happens when Lupines mate.”

  Dale raised his heavy-lidded gaze, tunneled his fingers through her hair. “Passion is part of our nature. The primal urge to mate and breed.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, your plan failed.” Wheezing, she shook her head. “I can’t get pregnant.”

  She stared at the ceiling, past his sweat-slicked shoulder as his heartbeat thundered in her ear. “I’m on the Pill. A special one, made just for Lupine females.”

  Slowly, he pulled out of her swollen cunt. Dale rolled to one side, his solemn gaze locked to hers.

  “I know. I saw the case in your bathroom when I fetched you the lilac soap. It’s why I didn’t use a rubber.”

  Beth stared at him. “I thought all Lupine males couldn’t resist the instinct to impregnate their mates.”

  Tenderness filled his eyes. “I don’t want you barefoot and pregnant, Beth. Well, barefoot, yeah. You have cute feet. But having young is a big decision. Not something I’d want to rush into, not until you’re ready.”

  He brushed a kiss against her perspiring temple. “Might be nice to get to know each other again, as a couple, before we become a family.”

  More surprises. “You’d give me the choice.”

  “Of course.” As he kissed her, a droplet of sweat rolled off his forehead and splashed onto her cheek like a teardrop. “I may be Lupine, but I’m not an animal.”