Chapter 3
The Hunt
Braden followed Tom at a safe distance until the large gray wolf entered the camp. He wanted to sprint back to Eve, to be near her, but she’d told Tom she wanted to be alone. Braden would give her that time, no matter how badly he needed to be close to Eve. Instead he chose to hunt—the perfect distraction. As he raced through forest, dodging small bushes and leaping over fallen oaks, he tried to wrap his mind around his feelings for her.
Eve Taylor’s beauty went beyond her creamy complexion, vibrant, indigo blue eyes, and her undeniably seductive curves. As bold as she’d been, stretching and bending, when she’d approached him, he could see she had a true innocence about her. He hated himself for asking if she had mated with Ellis. If Braden had had his wits about him, he’d have realized she didn’t smell of Tom or any other tribesman. If she’d been mated, Braden would have known the instant they touched.
Even in wolf form, he recalled the power and warmth from the small contact her hand made with his, and the memory aroused him. The look of fear in her eyes when he’d grabbed her arm reminded him of a student he’d once rescued from an abusive father. Braden wondered if someone had abused Eve.Was that why she joined the cull?
Braden wasn’t a violent man, but he knew he would kill anyone who harmed her. He ran harder and faster, in a full-on gallop, unable to put any distance between himself and his sudden fury. The scent of deer brought him to a sudden halt. He focused his wrath on the hunt and took off after his prey. Blood throbbed in his veins with a rush of exhilaration as he crouched, his ears back and his nose low to the ground. The deer, a medium-sized buck, drank from a small brook.
He couldn’t corner the large animal by himself, but he had the advantage of surprise. Carefully, he moved closer, trying to make no more noise than the wind. As he approached, the magnificent creature sharply raised its head—its ears perked with vigilance. Braden had hunted enough to know the deer hadn’t heard him.
Before he had time to scent what had put the deer on alert, a wolf barreled from between two trees and startled the buck into leaping across the narrow expanse of water. It escaped into the woods. Braden snarled at the wolf. She snarled back and his heart soared. Eve. Why was she here? Had she followed him or had fate intervened with a happy accident?
She raised her tail high, showing she wasn’t afraid, and approached Braden in a slow cautious manner. Her ears back and up, she spread her front legs and bowed down—her tail swishing in a playful challenge. Braden raised a questioning brow. He dipped his head to Eve and deeply inhaled her scent. In the blink of an eye, she barreled into him and knocked him down. After, she pranced around in a juvenile display of triumph.
A burst of heat and happiness ran through Braden. If Eve wanted to play, he’d play. Rolling to his paws, he circled her, diving in and nipping her fur. The first time he tagged Eve’s wolf, she let out a surprised yip, but after the second and third time, she joined in on the game, sneaking in frisky bites of her own. As the game continued, their play became more intense.
Braden’s human side longed for Eve—as did his wolf. Braden had been born lycanosapien. He’d grown up around females in the tribe, and hell, even this week, he’d been around several women who the tribe had culled, but Eve was different. There was something about the brash young beauty that made Braden want to have her, to claim her, and most of all to protect her… From everything.
When Eve’s wolf dove at this side again, he rolled with her, coming up on top and pinning her to ground. She struggled to break free, but when she couldn’t, she shifted into human form beneath him—her naked body pressed against his underbelly fur.
The look of terror on her face startled Braden. Somewhere in the fight, Eve had quit playing. He willed his body to transform—the bones in his arms and shoulders snapping and clicking as his fur disappeared, and skin replaced his animal hide. The whole process took no longer than a deep breath, and in seconds, Braden’s warm flesh pressed against Eve’s.
He could tell by Eve’s flushed cheeks and slight gasp—and her growing scent—her fear had begun to turn into something else. Something baser—more carnal. He rubbed his face against hers, inhaling the warm musk of her natural scent. He wanted to explore her body, to memorize every shape and curve. Everything about this beauty drove him completely insane. He’d never felt such a desire and need so powerful he’d risk everything for her.
His cock pressed hard against her stomach, and he lifted his upper body to look her in the eye. The gold flecks in her dark blue eyes swirled with her wolf just under the surface.
“Braden,” she whispered, her hand going to his chest.
He spoke with a partially inhuman voice—a low guttural tone. “I want you, Eve.” What he didn’t add was that he wanted her and only her for the rest of their very long lives.
“Oh God,” she moaned and arched her neck, baring the skin for him to claim with lips and teeth and tongue.
The taste of her sweat was nectar to his taste buds. He’d been with other women—human and lycanosapien alike—but none that made him feel like he felt with Eve—none that made him want to lose himself so completely. He rocked his hips, using his knees to part her thighs as his kisses moved to her gorgeously full breasts. From the minute he’d seen Eve he’d envisioned running his thumbs over those dark nipples, and now he did so, holding each tightened nub between his thumbs and index fingers, rolling them as he laved them, delighting in the textured surfaces as they responded to his seductive attention.
Eve arched her back, her wet sex rubbing against his thigh. His cock jerked in response, and he rotated his hips, savoring the friction of her soft, rounded belly against his rigid shaft. She moaned, reaching down to fist Braden’s hair. When his gaze caught hers, he could see there was only a tiny bit of blue left in her eyes.
He kissed down her stomach, relishing each rewarding moan that escaped her lips. When his mouth hovered over the lush triangle of curls, he inhaled deeply, before slipping his tongue between the wet folds of her sex. He caressed her swollen clitoris, licking and sucking. The sweet taste of her desire drove him insane.
Eve tilted her hips, her fingers lacing tighter into his hair—the slight pain of it only added to Braden’s lust. He spread her thighs and put one of Eve’s legs over his shoulder, fighting every impulse to claim her right then and there. He thrust his tongue inside her tight, hot channel.
Eve cried out. Braden thumbed her throbbing clit, the pulse quickening at his touch, and shifted his form a little, feeling his face widen as he thrust his tongue in again. Eve’s ankle hooked behind his back drawing him tighter to her. He wanted to make love to Eve, to join their bodies as he made her his mate, but first he wanted to feel her orgasm against his mouth. He propped her beautiful round ass up with his hands, positioning Eve for the deepest penetration. He darted in and out of her slick heat, rejoicing every time he made her squirm and squeal.
“Oh Braden,” Eve sobbed, her voice thick with emotion. “I…” Her words trailed off into moan of pure rapture as the first violent tremor of climax shook her body.
He withdrew his tongue, gently licking the cream—his victory, his prize—from her tender pussy. From experience with lycanosapien lovers, Braden knew she would recover quickly, and a good thing too, because he ached to sink his rigid cock deep inside this gorgeous creature—to complete their joining. The overwhelming need made it hard to breathe.
He nipped and licked and kissed his way up her body. Hovering over her breasts, he took the left nipple into his mouth, sucking the taut nub between his teeth—between his fangs. The slight change had dropped down his anthro-form teeth, and Eve gasped when the sharp points grazed against her soft flesh.
Braden wanted to bite into Eve, to mix her blood with his saliva, to allow her to do the same to him, as he took her as mate. He steadied himself for the moment—the tip of his cock pushing at her opening. Ready. She was so ready for him.
“Braden.”
Hearing his name penetrated the fog of lust and desire clouding his thoughts. Her heaving breaths drew his attention. He snapped his gaze of her body until his eyes met hers.
Her eyes were all amber now, no more indigo remained, and her nose and cheeks had widened with her half-form. “What are you doing to me?” She panted hard and sharp—her voice had taken on an inhuman edge as well.
“Making you mine,” Braden responded. “Will you let me make you mine?” He didn’t know this woman. He knew nothing about her life or who she was as a person. These things should matter, but they didn’t. Braden didn’t care if Eve had been an ax murderer in her human life. He only cared about right now.
He stared at Eve, waiting for her response. He wasn’t so far gone that he’d force her, but he prayed to the gods she would say yes.
When she finally found her words, what she said made Braden’s heart sink. “I can’t.”
