To my utter shock, the wolf sits and whines.
Like a freaking pet!
“Um… okay. Good wolf.” I take a slow step backward.
He watches me. There’s no sign of his teeth, but I’ll never forget the sight of them. This beast is a killer. And I can’t outrun him—I saw how fast he came down that mountainside.
What am I going to do?
He starts toward me—not in a lunge. More of a trot, but I flinch. The moment I do, he stops and sits again. Then I catch a glint of silver in the thick ruff around its neck. The wolf turns its head, and the flat silver rectangle catches the light more clearly.
I gasp. “Th-those are Deke’s! You’re wearing Deke’s dog tags.” What does this mean? Goose flesh crawls up my arms.
I put my hand over my mouth. There are two options here. The wolf either ate Deke and is wearing his dog tags as a trophy or…
“Sherlock Holmes said, Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth,” I say in a shaky voice.
The wolf cocks its head to the side, like it’s listening.
“You either ate Deke, or… you are Deke.”
The wolf chuffs and jerks its head like it’s nodding.
But no. That’s impossible. “You better not have eaten Deke,” I laugh-cry, semi-hysterical. “He’s my boyfriend, and I really like him.” I lift the branch, fully prepared to avenge my lover.
The wolf drops to its belly and crawls forward in supplication.
“D-deke?” It’s so ridiculous, so impossible, and yet… those green eyes. I’ve definitely seen them before. Now I understand why they glowed in the dark.
The wolf gets up and trots behind some bushes. A low growling sound makes tingles rise on my skin, and then Deke, my giant, muscled boyfriend rises from the wolf’s hiding place.
I stagger backwards because my legs are confused. Fight or flight? Run or hug Deke?
I settle for licking my lips. “You're a wolf,” I state the obvious. The impossible.
Deke hesitates, like he’s not sure if he should approach. “Don’t be afraid,” he murmurs, hands open. Deke prowls out from the brush. Without the bushes between us, I realize something else.
My lips twitch. “Um, you're naked.” Except for the dog tags. Those glint on his impressive chest, drawing the eye to the cut rows of his abs, then down, following his happy trail to…
Okay. So evidence suggests he and the wolf did not switch places. That they are, in fact, one and the same.
“You’re a…” I can’t say it. It’s too insane.
He nods. “That’s my darkest secret.”
I drag my eyes back up to his face. It’s hard. There’s so much of him for my eyes to feast on. “Okay.”
His brows shoot up. “Okay? Is that all you’re going to say?”
“What should I say? Did you expect me to run screaming?”
He shrugs. “Pretty much.”
“Well I’m not. I’m not sure I can run, actually. Excuse me.” I drop down onto a large rock because my legs stop working.
Deke squats slowly, tucking his entire body into a crouch, so our eyes are still level. His movements are eerily fluid. Like the wolf’s.
“You’re a wolf,” I repeat.
He nods.
I reach out and touch his wolf tattoo. “Oh my God.” I pass a shaking hand over my face. I have this insane urge to laugh. “Oh my God. This is your secret.”
He’s motionless, waiting. Waiting for me to pass judgement or tell him to leave or something. Just waiting.
“You’re a wolf,” I say wonderingly and touch his face. He closes his eyes and turns his head, so I’m stroking back his hair. Petting him. “Deke,” I whisper.
“Sadie,” he groans into my palm. He nips at my skin.
And then I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. He kisses me back. I surge over him, bearing him down to his shins, so I can straddle his waist. “Is this okay? Am I hurting you?”
“No,” he says between rough kisses. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Before I can ask what he means, he’s got his hand down the back of my leggings. I groan as he cups me from behind, his fingers seeking my heat.
It’s the work of a second for me to kick off my boots and wriggle and tug them off. He’s already naked, all six feet plus of him.
“I don’t have a condom, Sadie-girl.” He looks pained.
“Oh.” Nope, I do not accept clam-jam this time. “You could pull out?”
“Deal.” His biceps bulge as he picks me up by the waist and lowers me over his dick. He’s unbelievably strong. Now I know why it was so simple for him to just pick me up and carry me off whenever he had the urge.
Deke lifts and lowers me over his cock, slowly at first, then working up to a bounce. My breasts rise and fall with the momentum, and I feel porn-star sexy. It’s delicious. I’m screwing a werewolf. Under the open sky.
It’s perfect.
His stubble scrapes my face as we kiss. I cry out as all the danger and adrenaline and threat roll into some primal feeling, an epic orgasm to celebrate the way I faced the wolf and survived. I’m alive.
Deke groans his eyes changing to green. “I can’t,” he mutters. I catch the glint of wolf-teeth in his mouth. “I can’t.”
Can’t what? I want to ask but he’s still bouncing me, pushing me towards another climax. This time, when I break, he curses, lifts me off him, and pumps his cock to release onto the soft earth. His breath blows harsh against my jacket, and as he comes, he slashes his lip with a sharp tooth, sending blood dripping down his chin.
Deke
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I apologize, even though we’d agreed I would pull out. Still, it felt disrespectful. Disappointing.
Unnatural.
Fate wants us to mate.
That’s the thought that flits through my head, and this time the idea goes beyond just marking Sadie as mine. It goes to our future. To living together. Making pups. Raising a family. Everything Sadie said she wanted, I crave to give her. I want it, too. The whole package.
“You’re bleeding,” Sadie exclaims, bringing her thumb to my chin.
I hurriedly swipe the evidence away. “Sorry, I—”
She studies me, concern and curiosity glinting in her warm brown eyes. “What are you sorry for?”
I swallow. I should explain it all to her. But is she ready? Are we there yet? I haven’t even talked to Rafe. I don’t know what I’ll do if my alpha stands in the way of me claiming Sadie.
“Wolves, uh...we mark our mates.”
“What?” She doesn’t sound shocked. Only confused.
“With our teeth. That’s why I’ve been going for so many runs and not sleeping in the same bed as you. I, ah, have the urge to claim you.”
“Claim me?” Her eyes are wide. Not frightened, though. That’s good.
I scrub a hand over my face then pick up her yoga pants from the ground and hold them open for her to step back into. “It may not work,” I admit the sour truth.
She draws in a gasp. “Do you mean, like, turn me?”
A surprised chuckle pops out of my throat. “No. We’re not vampires.” I can’t stop smiling. She’s so damn cute. “We’re a different species. We usually mate our own kind.”