With Her Hunger Lorie O’Clare Book eight in the Lunewulf series.
Mariah has just lost her entire family. For years, lunewulf have lived peacefully in the Yukon Territory. But when humans burn the werewolves’ homes, Mariah and her pack run to a new home. Determined to embrace her new life and not be destroyed the way her pack was, Mariah refuses to be controlled by anyone. When she spots Luther with two other males, she’s not only interested but willing to take all three of them on. Only one of the males remains in her thoughts though. She will have Luther again. Luther runs on the edge of the pack that leaves the Yukon Territory and heads to British Columbia. He is Cariboo lunewulf. The lunewulf think his kind are barbaric and run with less honor. Luther has no need for all of the lunewulf’s laws and traditions. He does have a need for Mariah though. It burns so hot through him he won’t let her out of his sight, or his bed, until she agrees to be with him forever.
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With Her Hunger ISBN 9781419937651 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED With Her Hunger Copyright 2011 Lorie O’Clare Edited by Mary Moran Cover design by Syneca Photography: RomanceNovelCovers.com/Shutterstock.com Electronic book publication December 2011 The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book. The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
WITH HER HUNGER Lorie O’Clare
Forward Dear Reader, I’m so excited to introduce you to the lunewulf and Cariboo lunewulf, who have been forced to seek out new homes due to human paranoia. My lunewulf live in the same world that you and I live in. Would you do everything in your power to run a werewolf out of their home if you learned they were your neighbors? I hope not. These lunewulf could be who you buy your groceries from or the police officer who keeps your town safe. They might be land owners or business owners. Most of the time they look just like you and me. The lunewulf and Cariboo lunewulf in With Her Hunger run to Prince George, a beautiful city in British Columbia. They’ve come out of the Canadian Rockies into the prosperous city because of the well-known, successful pack that already lives there. Many readers will remember some old friends from my previous books in With Her Hunger. For those of you new to this lunewulf and Cariboo lunewulf community, you can get to know some of the minor characters by reading some of my other books. Johann Rousseau has his own story and meets his mate in In Her Dreams. You’ll also want to check out, or possibly revisit, In Her Nature where the notorious Cariboo lunewulf Rock Toubec meets his mate Simone DeBeaux. Check out the previous lunewulf and Cariboo lunewulf series at Ellora’s Cave. Visit www.jasminejade.com and click on either by Author or by Series links to find my books. I hope you enjoy Luther Alger and Mariah Engel’s story. I love hearing from all my readers. Please email me at
[email protected] and thank you for enjoying my world of lunewulf. And remember to be nice to your neighbors, they might be part of the pack. Lorie O’Clare
Lorie O’Clare
Chapter One Mariah Engel ran from the flames until they were just a glow in the darkness behind her. The smell of so many dens burning until they were ashes blowing in the breeze was something she would never forget. Mariah’s world as she knew it was gone. They’d been warned not to look back. She did anyway. The horizon in the darkness was a mixture of yellow, orange and red melting together and rising at varying heights with a darker backdrop of the mountain range she knew by heart. Mariah was staring at where her pack had hunted, played, mated and lived their lives in peace for years. Now most of that pack was dead, including her sire and mother. She’d fought tooth and claw to save them and failed. The humans wouldn’t kill her too. Mariah would survive. One of the older females running next to her bit her shoulder, and Mariah snarled at her but then obeyed the previous warning and looked ahead into the darkness. She ran with the pack. Make that her new pack. Her pack in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory, had been burned out by humans. Whoever had decided it was a smart idea to tell humans werewolves lived among them, and always had, must smell like the worst idiot ever. She had howled in mourning over the death of her litter. Now she would run forward. There was no reason to look back again. There were thirty survivors running with her, all of them purebred lunewulf like herself. At the moment they were covered with soot, each of them carrying the stench of the fire with them. But once they had a chance to bathe, they were all pure white, the color of the moon. Lunewulf were known for their speed and their pure white fur. It was that speed that allowed the thirty survivors to escape and cover the mountainous terrain in record-breaking time. Soon they would reach their new destination and Mariah would start her new life. 6
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***** On day three of running, Mariah was more than willing to rest for the night. They were buried deep in the Canadian Rockies with the wildlife so abundant around them her mouth watered just smelling nearby elk among the trees and trout in the rushing river where they stopped. Without waiting for anyone to give permission, Mariah dove into the frigid water and came out a minute later with a large rainbow trout flopping in her mouth. She dumped it on the bank and turned, diving again into the mountain-fresh rapids. Others joined her in the fishing adventure. The school of trout was on to their predators and immediately swam quickly, fleeing for safety. With other lunewulf splashing in the water, the fish were harder to catch. Mariah sank her teeth into a second large trout. It fought for its freedom and Mariah bit down, tasting the meat of the fish. She fought not to down her kill that moment. Her stomach growled in protest when she dropped the fish on the bank as she had with the first one. There was a pack to feed. She would contribute. As she shook the water free from her fur, already several males were taking off into the mountain, following the scent of the elk. Before long, all of them would be feasting on what they had killed collectively. Mariah found a sunny clearing and began cleaning herself. She took her time straightening her fur and getting it to lay right as the sun slowly dried her. The spot she’d chosen was a bit of a distance from where her new pack was setting up camp. She could hear a few of the older females and males, who had changed into their flesh, talking among themselves as they gathered wood and started fires. The smell of burning wood and the sounds of it crackling as flames grew made her feel lazy. Another sound prevented Mariah from stretching out and basking in the sun. It was the sound of males moving in the rocks above her. Mariah rolled over, tilted her head and listened. She sniffed the air and breathed in the virility of males on the prowl. They weren’t hunting her but something else. She 7
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moved lithely to her paws and pounced onto the cliff just above her. That’s when she smelled the elk. It was a large bull elk, a male with antlers a good four feet in height above its head. The beast stood around nine feet tall. Mariah froze as the bull elk turned from where he stood on rocks not twenty feet from where she was and looked at her. Her stomach growled. She licked her lips. The elk let out a fierce bugling sound and dug its large hoof on its front foot into the ground. She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if she should charge or not. The creature was almost three times her height. Before she could decide, three males flew at the bull from different locations. They leapt at it as the bull bugled one last time before it collapsed to its death. Mariah watched in awe while the males settled in to enjoy their kill. These weren’t lunewulf males. They weren’t males who had run from her new pack. These were Cariboo lunewulf, a wilder, unpredictable breed of lunewulf. Cariboo were larger. Pale streaks of red tarnished their white fur. As she stared, one of the males ripped a piece of raw flesh from the beast and tossed it at her. Mariah hadn’t realized she’d been spotted. If she hadn’t gone without stopping to eat all day, and possibly if she hadn’t spent the day running hard through the mountains, Mariah might have considered how clearly tradition was howled when it came to a male offering his kill to a female. Instead of giving any of this thought, she leapt at the raw meat and settled down to enjoy the treat. The male who had tossed her the meat lay on the other side of the dead bull, his massive paws resting over the creature’s midsection. All three males were so much larger than lunewulf males. Their thick bodies, broad shoulders and strong cheekbones unnerved her and spiked her curiosity. She honestly didn’t know how they compared to the males in her new pack since she’d had little time to sniff any of them out. The last three days had been filled with intense running and all of them remaining focused on their surroundings so they wouldn’t run into more trouble. Also, as was tradition, if not law written down on some
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antiquated tablet, mated females ran, forming a circle, surrounding unmated females, who were kept in the middle of their group as the pack ran together. But these males, Mariah mused, as she finished the meat and relaxed in the thick, cool grass near the ledge where she’d jumped to see the elk, were damn near twice the size of a lunewulf male. She’d never met a Cariboo lunewulf before. They were known to live deep in the mountains. The howlings had it that they were wild and virtually untameable. She’d heard once or twice how a Cariboo always fought to the death. Their laws and traditions were harsher, allowing no toleration for weaknesses of any kind. The howlings were clear about them being less civilized. Although the ripe smell of the warm blood draining from the animal was strong enough to mask any other scents, Mariah smelled her own curiosity. The cool grass didn’t stop the warmth forming deep in her womb. What would it be like to fuck such a large, powerful male? Obviously he would be rough, dominating, if not fierce in his lovemaking. Mariah blinked then realized she’d been staring at the male who had tossed her the meat. Not only had he caught her damn near drooling over him, he looked more than curious when he returned the attention. Almond-shaped silver eyes never blinked as they focused on her. Something shifted inside Mariah. It wasn’t fear, although it crossed her mind that she should put full speed into running back to her pack. She dismissed the thought without wondering why she did and instead held on to the gaze of the powerfullooking male. The other two males helped devour the bull elk, although now Mariah noticed both of them were aware of her too. That warmth deep inside her slowly swelled and began pulsing, matching the solid thumping of her heart. Outnumbered didn’t begin to describe her situation. If all three of them came after her. That thought damn near made her come. Mariah had never questioned the laws and traditions all lunewulf ran by since before she’d been whelped. Her litter had 9
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protected her. Her sire and mother provided for her, taught her their ways and kept her close and sheltered. Once she’d come of age and had begun running with other single males and females, the primary intention being they find a mate, Mariah had rolled in the large meadows with one or two males. None of them had ever impressed her enough to do more than that. The male who had tossed her the meat rose and ran his long tongue over his teeth and the fur around his mouth. Mariah was entranced by the action. In spite of her heart suddenly beating faster and apprehension mixing with her curiosity, she didn’t move. Every muscle in her body tensed as those silver eyes darkened and turned a cool, determined metallic gaze. There was only a moment to react when he leapt over his kill and flew through the air directly toward her. At the same time as he roared, his fierce tone being quite clear, Mariah knew she could run or belly up and surrender. Be it a quality or fault, there wasn’t a submissive bone in her body. Mariah snarled, jerked into action, and at that moment breathed in the intensity of his lust. Lunewulf were known for speed. Mariah raced from the cool grass up the side of the mountain. Over rocks larger than her and undergrowth with branches trying to trip her, she ascended the side of the mountain. Once she reached a plateau of trees and dark stretches of shade, she raced across the wilderness. And with each breath, she filled her lungs with the scent of the male bounding after her. Mariah was aware of the scream she made when the male leapt on her only because her throat ached from the strength of it. She went toppling paw over tail as the Cariboo captured her. For a moment, with the wind knocked out of her, she lay dazed, smelling rushing water not too far from where she lay on the ground. The powerful male pinned her body underneath his. Then, to her surprise, slowly and with erotic precision, he began licking her fur.
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Sensations rocked her entire body. Mariah’s insides spiked as her flesh suddenly burned with a fever hotter than she’d ever experienced. Without thinking, she shoved herself to her feet. It was all too much. She gave herself a fierce shake before it dawned on her that the male had let her up. As roughly as he’d bombarded into her, toppling her over, he now stood next to her, staring down at her with a dangerous grin. Don’t get any ideas, she growled, taking a step backward. My ideas aren’t any different than yours. Mariah couldn’t breathe. He was so large—everywhere. And muscular. More male than she’d ever fantasized about. Not to mention, there was a carnal sex appeal about him. If he smelled this rough and ready in his fur… Swallowing proved as difficult as breathing. When she did manage to inhale, the smell of lust was as ripe and fresh on her as it was on him. Damn. She was in trouble. Serious trouble. There was a chance Cariboo lunewulf weren’t as uncivilized as howlings said they were. It doesn’t matter what you smell, she tried, stepping sideways this time. God damn him for laughing. She snarled, inching around him so she wasn’t between him and the racing water that sounded like a waterfall and probably pooled into a fast-paced stream. Swimming her way back down the mountain would be her ultimate last resort. That’s when she noticed the other two Cariboo lunewulf. Mariah braced herself, glancing from the large male who’d pounced on her and the other two who stood back watching. She smelled their lust, curiosity and delight. Mariah didn’t want to be the second prey the three of them captured today. Did she? Try running if you don’t want this, the male closest to her rumbled what had to be those exact words.
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In their fur, their growls and roars were almost always closely interpreted. It wasn’t the same type of communication as in their flesh where words were cut-and-dried. The male’s meaning was interpreted through his growl, body language and scent. Mariah was pretty damn sure she nailed what he’d just growled at her with little to no error. Not to mention, he was suddenly a hell of a lot closer than he’d been a moment before. Mariah turned and looked up. He was so masculine, the mere definition of the word. She was speechless, frozen where she stood. Her brain didn’t want to function, nor did her body. At least not where escape was involved. If she did want this, could she handle three Cariboo at the same time? Because as strong as this male’s lust was standing right next to her, the other two wanted her also. Their scent was powerful enough to drift toward her in spite of aromas mixing between her and the male closest. His silver eyes grazed over her body, igniting the desire inside her she’d first felt while watching them with their kill. Muscles flexed under white fur streaked with faded shades of dark orange red. Staring head-on, Mariah got an eyeful of his thick, barrel chest. But when she raised her attention to his face, his penetrating gaze left her mouth dry. The male moved closer and lowered his head. A low growl emanated from deep inside him as he pushed the side of his head against her shoulder. Mariah damn near fell over. Although it could be how weak her legs suddenly were. The moment his hot tongue seared a path down her neck to her shoulder, she became acutely aware that this was going to happen. More so, Mariah decided she wanted it to happen. She’d endured her sire and mother dying. Her entire pack had gone up in flames. The den where she’d been whelped, that held all her memories until just a few days ago, no longer existed. Then, with barely enough time to perform a burial ceremony, those remaining had taken flight. She’d run for three days. And although exhaustion would probably hit her soon, at the moment she felt exhilarated.
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These males might not know it, but they were in fact giving her a gift. For the first time since witnessing the horrific death of so many lunewulf she’d run with since birth, a distraction this intense would help cover the thick smell of sadness that had loomed around her for too many days now. Mariah let that be the reason. It sure smelled better than because she wanted this male. And damn, she was turned-on by all of that muscle and carnal lust oozing from him. She realized her eyes were closed and opened them, the side of her neck and shoulder damp from him licking her. Don’t think I can’t outrun you. I’ll catch you…again. His large head bumped against her then he stepped closer, pushing his large body alongside hers. Mariah quickstepped to prevent from falling on her side. He pressed into her again, and this time she did lose her balance. Instead of landing on her side, she sat and let out a sharp bark. If this happens, I call the shots. The large Cariboo lunewulf was damn near on top of her. Mariah felt heat radiating off his body. She swore if she focused she would see steam lifting off his coat in the cold air. But all she saw when she looked up was the male’s body as he started a lazy stroll around her. She turned her head, unwilling to let him out of her sight. Her heart did a triple beat when he grinned broadly at her. Patronize me and I swear I’ll humiliate that male pride of yours when I outrun your ass, she snarled. He was behind her and walked over her. Mariah was crushed to the ground. Then he tugged on the fur at the back of her neck. The male didn’t bite down hard enough to paralyze her, but he came real close to biting down on the nerves that mothers bit on to control their cubs and carry them where they needed them to be. Hell would freeze over before this male would force her submission and treat her like a helpless cub. She spun over, feeling his teeth scrape into her flesh as she did. The 13
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sensations that rippled over her body from his sharp teeth raking her skin numbed her mind. And caused her insides to flip-flop with desire stronger than she’d ever experienced before. The smell of lust was so thick it probably dripped in the air, if she could just focus well enough to see it. So he knew she wanted him. He was going to fuck her on her terms and not bulldoze her like a brute. Oh crap! she howled when suddenly she was on her back. The Cariboo lowered his head, using his chin to press against her belly. His front paws were on either side of her body. Mariah looked down her body at his intense expression. He never quit looking at her as he lowered his head until his hot breath scoured her pussy. Mariah wasn’t sure if she raised her hips off the ground, but the moment his tongue dipped into her heat, fire erupted throughout her so hot it scalded her from deep in her womb all the way to her brain. An array of colors enflamed before her eyes. Her pussy swelled and cream coated her inner thighs. Her incredibly large male, with his rough, non-sophisticated ways, paid meticulous attention to her body as his tongue performed magic. No one would ever have made her believe any male had skills this good. Her Cariboo lunewulf pushed her to the edge within minutes. Her soaked heat was ready to explode and burn her alive. The smell of their desire created an intoxicating scent that she breathed in and craved more with each breath. You’re going to come so hard for me, he rumbled against her trembling pussy. Mariah blinked and tried to focus on him. She wanted to see what he was doing. Her craving to come was too strong. The moment new smells intruded upon her and her Cariboo’s mixture of lust, Mariah exploded and came so hard she almost flew off the ground. Strong paws pinned her to the ground. Oh my God! Her orgasm tore through her body.
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Her Cariboo adjusted his large frame with ease she might have wanted to see had she not been floating and coming again and again. Mariah barely came down from an incredibly erotic experience when the male impaled her. At the same time, a warm tongue stroked her oversensitive flesh. There were more paws around her, holding her in place. Hot breath scorched her flesh. Sharp teeth nipped at her skin. Mariah was out of her head. Lust so thick it could be sliced easily with a knife hung in thick layers in the air over her. She came again when his thick, long cock thrust deep inside her. In spite of her insistence that she howled how their fucking would occur, Mariah didn’t mind when he flipped her over. Once again long teeth nipped at her flesh. Hard bodies pressed against either side of her body. The new smell in the air was now a warm shower of lust created by three powerful males and her. Her fantasies of more than one male drooling over her, wanting her so badly she smelled their orgasm before they came, dimmed in comparison to what she was experiencing now. Her large male impaled her pussy, pushing deeper with each thrust. She howled and a gentle tongue stroked the side of her face. She stumbled forward when her male increased the momentum and another male braced her by standing in front of her. The second her Cariboo swelled inside her, two tongues began licking the sides of her face and along her neck. The other two were alongside her. Her male mounted her from behind. Her male locked inside her and came, growling fiercely over her. When he pulled out, the second male glided inside her. Her pussy was so hot, throbbing from incredible sex, and she was being fucked again. It was incredible. Nothing had ever smelled better. Each thrust was hotter than before. Mariah wasn’t sure she could handle all three, but her body took the third one as eagerly as the second. They all held their own unique scent. Mariah’s sex-filled aroma combined with the second male…then the third. She’d never smelled anything better. 15
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When it was over, she lay there, basking in the most incredible sexual experience she’d ever had. Darkness settled in around her and a small part of her brain told her she needed to return to her pack. There weren’t a lot of them but possibly she would be missed. Finally, Mariah stood and walked from the scene from where she’d fucked three Cariboo lunewulf. As she descended the mountain, the smell of her over-sized Cariboo male wrapped around her. Mariah glanced over her shoulder. She searched the darkness, taking in each shape until identifying it as a tree or boulder. No matter where she looked she didn’t see the male who had first fucked her. His scent continued with her until she reached the fast-flowing river where she’d caught the two fish. Mariah walked toward it then dived into the icy water and washed all proof from her body of the most incredible sex she’d ever had. When she got out, shaking hard from the cold, the smell of her large Cariboo was gone.
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Chapter Two Four days later, Mariah and her pack stopped again. There was a different smell in the air tonight. Each time they’d quit running before, they’d remained in their fur, taking time to change into their flesh and remove the clothes they had bound around their necks and wash them in whatever stream might be close by. Tonight, however, her pack changed into their flesh and stayed that way. They had arrived just outside Prince George, a town where a large lunewulf pack had agreed to allow Mariah and the other survivors from Whitehorse to settle and build new dens. Their exodus had come to an end. Mariah changed into her flesh just as two single males rushed across the field. She spun around, her instincts still on high. They weren’t as strong in her human form. However, sniffing the air got her a nose full of surrounding emotions from members of her new pack. Arthur Fullest hadn’t yet buttoned his jeans and his feet were bare as he ran toward Michael Ragston. “I can smell the blood lust.” Farah Berg curled her toes and grinned, her teeth still elongated and pressing against her lips. “The males will be eager to fuck tonight,” she whispered. Mariah finished yanking her tank top right side out before pulling it over her head. Marcy Engel, Mariah’s cousin on her sire’s side, shoved long strands of blonde hair behind her damp shoulder and looked at Mariah. Her cousin was just eighteen, almost ready to run with the grown lunewulf. With their lives changing so drastically, there probably wouldn’t be an induction into adulthood for her cousin. Normally Marcy’s sire and mother would run with her to the group of males and females who were unmated. The pack would all be there to watch as the young female left her litter and broke into a run with the rest of those unmated in their pack. 17
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However, all of them had run together for over a week, and Marcy would join whichever group she wished. There was no one to present her to the world as a single female ready to mate. “Do we get males?” she mouthed. A couple of weeks ago Marcy never would have dared ask such a question. There wasn’t a male in their new pack good enough for Marcy. Mariah didn’t see any males around her she would sniff after. None of them would satisfy her. Being in her fur for so long had been invigorating. Fucking the three Cariboo lunewulf was an experience she would never forget. Part of her wished she would see her Cariboo male again. His intense silver eyes still burned in her brain. She could close her eyes and feel him buried deep inside her. She needed to get him out of her head. Worse yet, she needed to quit getting wet every time she thought of him. Marcy might believe the desire she smelled on Mariah was simply anticipation of invigorated males after their fighting. The thought of taking on any of the males around her after they’d attacked every other male they could in an effort to lay claim to the title of pack leader did little for her. But it was the process in creating their new pack. Mariah was as anxious as everyone else to claim hunting ground and finally have a den to call her own. They’d been in this valley surrounded by the Canadian Rockies for only a few hours when the handful of lunewulf, who’d been sent into Prince George had returned howling the good news. All of them were in their flesh now. Happiness, lust and excitement charged the night air as males and females of different ages began to form a misshapen circle. Mariah walked a short distance through the litters and stopped when she found a place where she could see the fighting everyone else was watching. Arthur raked thick, slightly changed fingernails across Michael’s bare chest. The male howled in pain and fought to regain control of the fight. Arthur punctured flesh and dark red blood smeared down Michael’s front. The male jerked around, twisting 18
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his torso and struggling to get Arthur off his back. Arthur was more muscular but he didn’t have shit for brains. Mariah hadn’t realized either of them had escaped the fire. Neither of them had ever smelled that compelling. She watched, mildly interested until the smell of warm, fresh blood tickled her senses. Instead of it forcing her attention to the fight, it sparked her insides to life and she imagined running back through the mountains until she found her Cariboo male. It had been tough leaving that next morning, several mornings ago, which had made her smell foolish. Fortunately everyone around her had been busy preparing for the day’s run and had given her little attention. It was possibly the only advantage to being in a pack where she barely knew anyone. Everyone she used to run with every night was dead. But when they were alive, Mariah and her friends would howl about the males and females who would casually fuck someone without caring how they smelled. At least she’d leapt deep into the incredibly cold mountain river to wash and rid herself of the three males’ scents. Although sometimes she swore she still smelled her Cariboo lunewulf. No one commented, so she was safe. If any of these strangers had smelled a male on her, they would have questioned if she were mated. Once they sniffed out the truth, they would howl to each other about it and her reputation would be tarnished. All single males with no scruples would chase after her, thinking she would lift her tail for anyone. There was always howling of male and female lunewulf fucking other lunewulf without intentions of sniffing them out again. Their laws and traditions might be to the letter and antiquated, but that had never stopped the promiscuity. Maybe not all but some single males and females ignored the law stating once a male and female had sex together in their fur, they were mated for life. I can smell him even now, she caught herself growling under her breath. It was true though. Their traditions mentioned that if a male and female had sex, and they loved each other, their scent would never wash off the other. Well, she certainly didn’t love this Cariboo male. Hell, she didn’t even know his name. Mariah
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understood why his scent lingered ever so slightly on her. It was because she kept thinking about him. The other two males’ scents were no longer on her. As erotic as it had been having three males fuck her, only one of them had truly captured her attention. Mariah caught herself staring at the mountains to the north from where they’d run. She returned her attention to the fight when Arthur grabbed Michael’s arm, pulling until it snapped free from the socket. “Owww,” Michael wailed, his voice sounding inhuman when his body fought to defend itself by taking on its more powerful form. Mariah had grown up with these two males, and although they were all of age now, neither appealed to her. The fighting would continue though. Their pack needed a leader, and until one was selected, many of them would seriously hurt each other and some might die. Lunewulf had accelerated metabolisms, though, and healed quickly. There was always the chance a neck would be broken, in which case the lunewulf would die. No lunewulf could recover from a broken neck. Two other males broke out fighting nearby, and Mariah leapt out of the way, along with those around her. The males attacked with the speed their breed was known for as they snarled and growled fiercely at each other. “At this rate, all the males will kill each other and we’ll have a female pack leader,” someone said behind her, and several females broke out laughing. “We might as well eat the kill at the fires. I’d hate to sniff out a male and have him attacked or possibly killed,” another female said seriously. The group around her thinned out as they all left the circle and started the walk around it to the large fires burning at the other edge of the clearing. “It would seriously suck if all the males killed each other,” Marcy whispered, smelling amused when she stopped next to Mariah. Her attention remained on the males fighting.
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Mariah instantly smelled her cousin’s interest in the fight. “And what if he won all the fights?” Mariah teased, nudging her cousin. “Wouldn’t you want to be queen bitch?” “No,” Marcy said immediately under her breath. Mariah laughed and glanced across the meadow. These lunewulf would become her pack. They would learn to hunt together, protect each other, learn each others’ secrets and laugh and mourn together. It would take time, but before any of them knew it, they would run as one, the way a pack should. And they would be molded into a tight pack by a good, powerful pack leader. Whoever became their new leader would have his work cut out for him. Already Mariah guessed that along with strength he would have to be merciless. She just prayed he wouldn’t be a dictator. Mariah had heard of werewolves running from packs with cruel leaders. The smell of raw meat slowly cooking from deer a few of them had captured after the pack settled in the meadow tickled Mariah’s nose. It was as pointless watching the fights right now as it was staring at the northern mountain range. The males who might actually be candidates for their new leader wouldn’t come forward until the weaker males were eliminated or bellied up. And the male who had captivated her for an evening would now be a memory to enjoy. “Let’s go eat,” she suggested, and Marcy smiled and turned to walk with Mariah around the circle. Keeping a hold on her cousin’s hand, she worked their way toward the cooking meat. She paused when the lunewulf in front of her paused. Mariah smelled their distaste and annoyance and looked around them for the cause of it. “Where did he come from?” a stout older male, who looked vaguely familiar, huffed. “Don’t worry. We won’t share our kill with their kind,” a female, not much older than Mariah announced.
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Tiny hairs sprang to life down Mariah’s spine. She searched the meadow around them, anxious to see who they were growling about. Her curiosity piqued from the smell of the male’s and female’s annoyance. Who would they question being in the meadow their small pack had just claimed? Who would be denied their kill? Cariboo! There could be other answers, but that one popped into her head first. The Cariboo lunewulf were viewed as barbaric by lunewulf. At some point way back in history, a lunewulf somewhere apparently bred with a werewolf who was much larger, wilder and incapable of following their laws and traditions. Cariboo lunewulf were troublemakers, disrespectful and best kept away from any respectable lunewulf pack. The male who chased me didn’t rape me. He had climbed off her when Mariah fought to stand before they’d fucked. He had waited until he knew her desire to fuck him smelled as strong as his did for her. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” Marcy comforted, misunderstanding the low growl that rose in Mariah’s throat. “Possibly a male or female from another pack we don’t know who’s been shunned or something.” Mariah shrugged then gave Marcy a discreet nod. “I don’t see anyone.” Mariah kept her voice low so the male and female in front of her wouldn’t overhear. “Let’s cut over this way,” Marcy whispered, grabbing Mariah’s arm. Mariah tripped over her feet as Marcy dragged her around the upset lunewulfs. She searched the meadow where they stood a moment before, desperate to see her Cariboo male. “What’s wrong?” Marcy asked once they were close to the fires. She sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like that?” Mariah suddenly felt as if she’d been busted breaking some rule. She shook her head, determined to make herself smell confused. “Smell like what? All I smell is that incredible meat. Come on. I’m starving.”
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“You smelled weird.” Marcy wasn’t going to drop it. “Everyone around us was suddenly annoyed and you smell like you were turned-on.” Mariah gave her cousin an appraising once-over then shook her head. “Your senses must be all boggled from running for so long. You’ll feel better after you eat.” Mariah didn’t wait for Marcy’s response but picked up her pace and led the way to the fires where meat cooked and part of their pack lingered and relaxed. “You two don’t have protection,” a male’s voice said, and filled the air around them with the smell of alcohol. Mariah pushed her cousin away from the drunk male and growled a warning. “You’re the one who will need protection if you don’t sniff out another female,” she snarled, and glared at the male. “Is that so?” “Oh yes, old male. That is very much so,” she informed him, and allowed the burning in her veins to ignite. She controlled the change, giving over to it only enough to put on a bit of muscle. “Maybe you should go find someone to protect you,” she growled under her breath, her voice a bit raspier than it was a moment ago. The male laughed and puffed out his chest as he looped his thumbs through the belt loops on his pants. He rocked up on his heels as amusement with just a hint of annoyance drifted in the air around him. The clean, fresh aroma mixed with the disgustingly sweet smell made for an unpleasant combination. “Little female, are you suggesting I need protection from the likes of you? Or is it that sweet little thing behind you who I need protection from?” He started to laugh and glanced around him, as if searching for support in insulting Mariah and Marcy. Mariah struck out, her temper flaring. As the spiciness of her emotion clogged the air, her fist connected with his cheekbone. “You tell me,” she howled, and sent a second punch to his stomach just as the male turned and looked at her stunned.
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The male was thick in the waist, not fat, very few lunewulf ever got fat. Mariah’s fist plunged into his gut just below his ribs. She felt the pressure of her punch deflate his lungs. The male stumbled backward from the impact. Mariah ignored the cuts in her palm from her fingernails that had begun to extend from the amount of change flushing through her system. She grabbed Marcy and marched away from the asshole before he retaliated. From the surrounding laughter and the smell of his humiliation, she kept sniffing to see if he would strike back or risk walking away with his tail between his legs. Mariah had no intention of allowing him to catch her off guard. Mariah would have to get used to surviving in a world where she truly had no protection. Before their pack was burned to the ground, she had run freely, fought and played, knowing her sire and the sires of litters close to theirs were always nearby to prevent them any harm. Mariah couldn’t forget for a moment that the safe, securesmelling world she’d known all her life no longer existed. “That was impressive,” Marcy told her once they’d put several groups of lunewulf between them and the drunk male. Mariah glanced around the lunewulf as they walked to the fires, searching for the male or female they’d heard shouldn’t be with them. She didn’t see any Cariboo or anyone appearing upset about anyone else being around them. Whoever it was the lunewulf around them had complained about earlier, was now gone. “We’re going to have to always be impressive,” Mariah said with conviction. “Tonight and in the future. From here on out, Marcy, don’t ever hesitate to attack. It’s the only way we’ll stay alive until our pack settles down and we have new dens. Now stay close and let’s get our kill,” she said, and walked purposely to the nearest fire pit. The sudden screams and snarls from two females prevented Mariah from hearing Marcy’s response. Her cousin stayed close, though, and the two of them hurried away from the fighting females. They didn’t slow down until they reached the fires. Smoke burned Mariah’s eyes, but the wonderful smell of the deer made her tummy growl. 24
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The perfectly cooked, not-quite-raw meat filled her tummy and lifted Mariah’s spirits. The two of them could go into Prince George, the city at the base of the mountains. There was a solidly founded, well-established pack living there who had helped settle Fort George in the early eighteen hundreds. Right now, and probably at least for the next month, Mariah’s new pack was as out of control and barbaric as the Cariboo lunewulf they had always turned their tail on. It might be part of their traditions for males and females to attack each other when setting up the boundaries for a new pack. That didn’t mean Mariah had to enjoy it. The option did exist to run down the mountain into Prince George and sniff out their pack leader. Since that leader had already agreed to this new pack building dens in his territory and establishing a new pack there, he would undoubtedly agree to Mariah, and possibly even Marcy, joining his pack. If she ran into Prince George, she wouldn’t do it alone. She had too much honor to leave her cousin, who was barely eighteen, alone to fend for herself within this new pack. Any orphaned cubs had immediately been put in the care of a litter who would care for them. But Marcy was almost grown. She was on her own, just as Mariah was. They wouldn’t be offered protection. Mariah looked over at Marcy, who was almost drooling over the fresh meat as they waited their turn to take part of the kill, and accepted she was now Marcy’s protector. Mariah and Marcy would immediately be under the Prince George pack leader’s protection if they ran into town. He would be honor-bound to provide a den for them and ultimately would have final say over all of their actions until both of them found mates. Then she and her littermate would howl only to their mate. It was odd sniffing out the truth. Right now, Mariah knew more freedom than she might ever know again in her life. As uncertain as their future was, Mariah had choices. She didn’t need to wait for someone else to sniff out and have final say over what they would do next.
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This was their first night in their human form in over a week. When running in their fur, all mated females in their new pack had run, forming a circle around the unmated females. It was yet one more annoying tradition, or possibly even a law that smothered single females and prevented them from sniffing out their own path. Mariah was almost exhilarated with the reality of her sudden freedom right in front of her nose. She and Marcy would sleep where they wished tonight. They would howl to whomever they wished to howl. They would run in whichever direction they chose. She and her cousin reached the fire and took the wonderfully smelling meat to a patch of grass where no one else was. They sat companionably. Neither wished to speak. Both were too eager to fill their bellies. Mariah sank her teeth into the meat she held in her hands and stared wistfully toward the north—well, in almost any direction she wished. But then she gave herself a stubborn mental shake and silent thanks to the thick smell of the fire and cooked meat. The rich aromas covered the smell of her longing over something she would never have again. “Do we really want to go back to the other side of the fires?” Marcy asked after they’d had their fill of venison. Mariah laughed. Her enthusiasm to take on the night fully charged. “I say we go find a secluded spot and claim our temporary den for the night.” “That sounds great.” Marcy smelled as fresh as clean laundry just pulled from the line. Her happiness lit up her face and made her pretty eyes glow. “Thanks for letting me crash with you,” she added under her breath, although her humility was sincere. “Obviously forming a new pack is dangerous work.” They reached the other side of the fires just as blood-curdling howls ripped through the night air. The large fires cast streaks of dancing light across the meadows. There were torches burning now too. They offered additional light. The howling turned to whimpering as a male crashed to the ground, shaking the earth, and remained there, still. “Your point is made,” Mariah said dryly. 26
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She and Marcy continued staring in that direction when a group of lunewulf leapt to the side and howled loud complaints. They were shrouded by shadows from the giant evergreen growing close by, but it was clear they weren’t pleased with a new fight starting so close to them. When Anton Huber shoved his way past the lunewulf around him, who scattered or shoved back, the murmuring quickly reached Mariah and Marcy. Many approved of him being their new pack leader. The male was young, in his prime, and the howlings grew louder as he bolted into the middle of the clearing. “Oh shit,” Marcy whispered, and brought her hands to her mouth. If she was trying to hide her interest in Anton, Marcy sucked at doing it. Mariah reached for her cousin and gripped Marcy’s slender shoulder. Mariah did so without looking. She focused on Anton. Or tried to. The male was powerfully fast and moved like a sleek blast of white light. Many of the lunewulf howled their approval when Anton changed into his fur, after tossing his clothes to the side, and leapt on the males who were currently fighting. Within seconds both were bleeding out on the ground. He turned his attention on two other males. His white coat gleamed under the large moon that slowly rose beyond the mountains. Blood shown off his deadly incisors. One fierce growl was all the warning he offered before leaping on them, his thick, pointed claws extending toward his targets. “Enough!” Anika Klein howled at the same time Anton landed on the larger of two males who sported only a few bruises and cuts so far from their fighting. “I have declared how it will be,” she shrieked, managing to howl louder than the screams from the male under Anton. “As your current queen bitch, I order the fighting to cease!” Anika, the widowed queen bitch from the pack who had lived up in the mountains near Whitehorse, pranced out into the middle of the circle. A female a few years older than Mariah, Anika had shaken her tail for any male to sniff during their run down the
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mountain range from Whitehorse to Prince George. Anika thought her shit didn’t stink, but where Mariah stood, it appeared to have quite a stench. Some of the litters around her began snarling their disgust. Others, however, were howling their support. Mariah guessed any support that female might receive was out of loyalty to her dead mate. Mariah accepted how those remaining from her pack were forced to unite with the packs in the mountains around Whitehorse. There just hadn’t been enough of them left from any of the packs to do otherwise. This didn’t mean she accepted Anika’s rank as their current queen bitch. Mariah curled her lip, deciding she didn’t care if she smelled disgusted. Regardless of how many had died in the fires, their laws and traditions still existed and needed to be honored. Just because they’d been burned out of their dens didn’t mean they should now all behave like mutts. Mariah might not know every word of their written laws. She probably couldn’t howl every tradition. But she was pretty damn sure there was nothing written allowing Anika to now prance around like a bitch in heat, drooling over every male and claiming her rank as queen bitch over this new pack. “He just killed three males and the stupid bitch would howl for him to stop,” she said to Marcy. “I have half a mind to take her down myself and do our new pack a favor.” Mariah thought she whispered, and in truth she might have, but several males and females sniffed in her direction. Anika didn’t hear or notice Mariah. Instead she paraded back and forth and around the dead males while Anton snarled off to the side. “Is this how we would choose our new pack leader?” Anika howled, her highpitched, annoying tone doing well to silence everyone surrounding her. “Would you howl about laws and traditions when it demands our males in their prime, ready to hunt, mate, reproduce and create a strong pack must instead die until there is only one?” Anika looked pointedly at Mariah, which meant so did a few others. Mariah held her ground, refusing to smell reprimanded or humiliated, because she was neither. That 28
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bitch wouldn’t get a rise out of her unless Mariah decided it was time for her to do so. If Anika wanted to parade around like a fool with her tail cocked in the air, that was her business. Mariah would have nothing to do with it. Now, if Anika wanted to assert a challenge, Mariah would have no problem responding. After a two-second stare down, Anika bored easily and began howling again. “So what if we saw first blood or if a male killed another?” she screamed. Anika shook her long, thick mane of almost-white hair so it flowed down her back to her ass. She shook her ass too as she strutted from one end of the grassy clearing to the other surrounded by all the lunewulf now. Even those who had been at the fires joined the circle. If Mariah could smell the discontent along with the approval, so could Anika. The bitch wore cut-off shorts and one of her legs had a thin, puckered white line going down it. She had on a button-down collared shirt that was unbuttoned. Occasionally the breeze blew her shirt open, and showed off large, firm breasts, indicating she hadn’t birthed any cubs before her mate died. She howled as if she’d done this before, which made Mariah wonder what type of leader Anika’s pack had. If Anika did most of the howling instead of her mate, the bitch would be sniffing for a male with less of a backbone, one she could mold to her suiting. That wasn’t the type of pack leader their new pack needed. “Standing here while four or five more males shred the life out of each other will only make us a smaller pack than we are right now, and with less males to go around,” she added and chuckled. Her tone was sickeningly sweet as she continued. “I’m sure every single female here agrees with me that there should be as many single males around as possible if we are to find mates.” Mariah curled her lip over the female’s crude attitude and foul smell. She didn’t care if those around her approved or disapproved of her reaction to the bitch. The female wasn’t their pack leader. Her rank of queen bitch didn’t hold now that they were so far from where their litters had run free, or at least it didn’t in Mariah’s opinion.
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“I need a new mate,” Anika howled, and held her arms outstretched toward the night sky overhead. It seemed the stars dimmed for a moment, as if they pulled back their light in an effort to remain as far from her as possible. “Who will mate with me and be our new pack leader?” Anton growled loud enough to bring silence to the secluded area they had chosen to handle pack business. Mariah growled her disgust as well. From the quick smell of disapproval around her, Mariah knew she wasn’t the only one who didn’t agree with Anika taking the law into her own paws. “She runs with no honor,” Mariah complained under her breath. “This is not how our laws and traditions are written. Why does she get to howl amendments to them now?” “Come forward single males,” Anika continued, keeping her arms raised but lowering her head and casting her gaze at the lunewulf surrounding her. “May the best male win, but not by first blood, unless I choose to bite you.” “Are we going to let her do this?” Marcy snarled, leaning against Mariah so only she would hear her. The air around them smelled sour, like curdling milk, and almost strong enough to turn her stomach. But Mariah also smelled lust and sniffed the air to narrow in on it. Obviously everyone didn’t agree with Mariah when it came to amending their laws and traditions. Before she could narrow down which of the males around her smelled hungry for the stupid bitch, a tall male standing on the other side of Anika strutted toward her. “That’s it, pet,” Anika growled and did a half-circle type of dance, arching her back and shaking her ass. “Show me how hungry you are to lead the powerful lunewulf. Our pack might be smaller now but our race will never be conquered.” The male was tall and thin, barely grown and definitely not at full maturity. Mariah guessed he was one of the younger males from Anika’s pack. Although since they’d begun their run south along the Canadian Rockies base line, Anika had shown the same 30
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friendliness toward every male, whether she knew him or not. This male grinned broadly at her and walked into her open arms then bent her over for a hungry kiss. They had barely embraced when another male, who stood in a small group close enough for her to smell, damn near leapt over the lunewulf in his way and strutted toward Anika. This male wasn’t thin like the first male. He was a male in his prime. Mariah found herself watching his bare leg muscles flex and bulge with his purposeful walk toward Anika. As if she could smell him over the rising lust, anger, disgust and curiosity growing among all of them, Anika stretched one arm out to the approaching male the moment he was within reach. Their disgraceful queen bitch turned her head as she grabbed the second male’s arm. The first male began feasting on her neck. The second male took Anika’s shirt by its collar and tore it from her body. Anika yelped. The first male straightened, panting at the sight of her ample breasts bouncing before his eyes. He reached for them and whined in protest when the second male pulled Anika into his arms. “Fucking tail,” Mariah hissed in disbelief when all three of them collapsed to the ground. “Let’s get out of here.” The howling grew louder by the moment, but Mariah swore she heard Anika cackling like the insane bitch she was. The female deserved whatever she got. Mariah turned her back on the idiots publicly fucking, and grabbed her cousin’s arm. She marched away and noticed she wasn’t the only one leaving. It seemed the farther they hurried from the insanity that had taken place before their eyes the louder the lunewulf in the clearing became. The wind shifted direction, but Mariah still picked up on the smell of lust with almost every breath. “Where are we going?” Marcy demanded, and pulled her arm free when they reached the edge of the mountain. Mariah let go of her and sniffed their surroundings. Something in the air brought the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to attention. She turned, searching the darkness 31
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beyond the well lit circle of fools. Mariah saw nothing but couldn’t shake the overwhelming sensation she, or both of them, were being watched. She tried ignoring the sensation and hoped she sounded strong for her younger cousin. “Somewhere we can sleep without being disturbed.”
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Chapter Three Luther Alger wiped sweat off his brow and squinted at the afternoon sun. “I’m not used to this southern heat,” he complained good-naturedly. Sam Herrwulf rolled his eyes. “It’s probably in the seventies. You Cariboo need to get out of the mountains more.” The lunewulf had a deep, brusque laugh and a thick middle, showing he probably needed to run in the mountains more. Luther had no complaints to howl about the lumberyard owner. There had been only a few of them who’d survived the fires around Whitehorse, and that’s when the howling reached Rock Toubec. He was a Cariboo lunewulf who had purchased legally by human laws one of the largest ranches in this region. The land was just outside Prince George and he held a lot of power in Prince George, even with the lunewulf pack there. Before Toubec owned it, a female pack leader of the Prince George pack had owned it. Toubec made it clear all Cariboo and lunewulf were welcome to live, hunt and mate on his land. But they also had to work and earn their keep. Toubec got this job for Luther. It was a start. Luther helped finish loading lumber onto the forklift and shook his head at Herrwulf when he sauntered back over. “I’d run my entire life in the mountains if I could.” Sam nodded. “You and me both, male,” he agreed. “But a male runs a boring life without a good female by his side. And it’s the damndest thing about those females— they all seem to want a den to smell like them so they can breed and whelp pups.” “Someone say something about breeding?” Jaeger Alger asked, hopping out of the truck that would haul the lumber over to the part of town where they were building dens for all of the lunewulf. He wagged his eyebrows. “I’m always for breeding.” 33
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“You’re always for chasing any female,” Luther snarled. “And you aren’t?” Jaeger challenged. “Possibly, until I find the right one.” Jaeger tilted his head and sniffed the air. “Do you think you’ve found that female?” “You won’t be the first to know.” Luther kept his scent indifferent. The last thing he needed was hassled when they had work to do. Luther would always prefer being his own boss, but right now they had a lumberyard owner to impress. “But you will be the first tail I kick if you don’t keep working,” he snarled under his breath. “You’re going to sniff after that little lunewulf,” Jaeger said under his breath, not knowing when to drop it. “And I am working. Bring it on, Cariboo, if you think you can.” Luther’s younger cousin was always ready for a fight. Luther had kicked his ass every time the younger male had challenged him and would again right now too. Both Jaeger and Jarvis had snarled at him for still having the sweet little lunewulf’s scent on him. Here, in the middle of Prince George, a city predominantly of lunewulf, although there were humans around, wasn’t the place to knock his cousin into submission. He silenced his cousin with a look. Jaeger might be hotheaded but he’d never smelled stupid. Now wasn’t the time to discuss females. Luther sure as hell didn’t want the older lunewulf lumberyard owner sniffing in on the smell of one of his own kind on Luther. It wouldn’t go over well. Luther was a single male, at least for now. It had been two weeks since he’d fucked the daring little female. His cousins might have, but only because he’d allowed it. Their laws were cut-and-dried, no howling about it. That little lunewulf was his. He’d been keeping an eye on her from a distance. Once her pack was settled in, he would make his move. “If you two are going to fight,” Jarvis began under his breath as he stalked over from the other side of the forklift. “Let’s make it a good one so all of Prince George knows how the Algers rumble.”
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Luther turned on the older of his two cousins. “No one is going to smell any of the Algers right now,” he warned. Jarvis gave Luther an assessing once-over before glancing at his littermate. “I’d say it’s a bit too late for that,” he grinned. “The hell with both of you,” Luther grumbled, and turned toward the truck. Jarvis grabbed his arm. Luther glared at his cousin’s fingers wrapped around his forearm before looking at his face. Instead of angry, Jarvis smelled concerned. “You smell of that little female,” Jarvis whispered. “Worry about your own tail.” Jarvis raised one eyebrow but then shrugged. Loose blond curls tousled around his pensive gaze. “I’ll worry about yours too.” “We about ready?” Sam yelled, heading to his small truck parked in front of the work truck. “This will be the last load. Johann will be around, I’m sure, before the day is out to see how the dens look.” “There are at least six litters howling over who will be moving into the five that are done right now.” Jarvis smelled all business when he walked away from Luther toward the older lunewulf. Luther shoved his emotions deep enough inside him so they wouldn’t smell. He squinted at the sun. “Three more will be done before sundown,” he promised. Jaeger followed Luther to the truck. In spite of any inner turmoil the three of them ever had with each other, all of them were able to prevent outsiders from smelling their business. It was a survivor instinct they’d mastered at early ages. As well, it wasn’t the first time he and his cousins had built dens under pressure. It was the first time they weren’t building them for Cariboo though. Thankfully Sam didn’t know that, and living out on Toubec’s ranch gave him and his cousins freedom to run through Prince George without anyone sniffing their direction as if they shouldn’t be there.
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Luther was riding over to the site where the new dens were being built with Sam. Jaeger and Jarvis rode in the truck loaded with the wood. Luther strolled around Sam’s truck and glanced at the road as hairs prickled up his spine to his neck. An overwhelming sensation, smelling dangerously close to aggressive protectiveness, damn near stopped him in his tracks. A small, nondescript four-door drove down the street. It wasn’t the only car on the road. Luther didn’t notice any other car. He focused only on the blue-gray four-door and the two females in the front seat. With the passenger window down, and the young female lunewulf’s hair streaming in the breeze, her scent wrapped around him. She sensed him as he did her. There was no doubt in Luther’s mind. The four-door drove by and she turned her head, holding his gaze until it wasn’t possible for her to do so any longer. Luther grabbed the door handle and hopped into the truck next to Sam. If the older male didn’t pick up on the odd mixture of scents wrapped around Luther, then the male was a lost cause. Luther almost shook from the aggressive urge to sniff her out right now. Soon, damn soon, he would claim her in her flesh. If he didn’t, he would go mad with need for her. They ended up working past sundown. At least twenty males helped finish the last two dens scheduled to be made this week. A row of eight wooden dens lined the quiet, heavily wooded area part of Prince George, four on each side of the narrow road. They were spread out, allowing each litter who would live there privacy and room for cubs to run. Luther stood on the street staring at the four-door his little female had been in earlier. It was parked off the road, facing the first den on the road. He now knew exactly where she was. Luther started walking away from the males before he’d sniffed out how rational his actions were at the moment. Twenty lunewulf stood behind him and wouldn’t be too thrilled with a Cariboo entering a single female lunewulf’s den. With the pressure building inside him, Luther might be able to take all of them on if they tried to stop him.
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A pale blue Suburban turned the corner and passed the parked four-door. It slowed on the quiet road and stopped across from Luther. A male lunewulf got out and Luther stopped walking. The male walked up to Luther, smelling as if he’d recently showered. Luther doubted he smelled half as good, not that he cared. “I’m Johann Rousseau.” The lunewulf male was a couple inches shorter than Luther but didn’t bother sizing Luther up the way most males did when they first met him. Luther looked down the street, as did Rousseau, when Jarvis and Jaeger walked up to join them. “You’re the three Cariboo staying out at Toubec’s ranch.” Rousseau didn’t make it a question. This was the pack leader of Prince George. The male smelled confident, relaxed and didn’t smell a bit cautious, nervous or overly righteous, standing among Cariboo lunewulf the way so many lunewulf did. For that, Luther respected him. That and the male ran a large pack during times of turmoil and welcomed more lunewulf and Cariboo. Rousseau glanced up the quiet street, nodding when Sam and a few of the other lunewulf joined them. “Sam,” he said, nodding to the older lunewulf. “I’m impressed as hell with these dens you’ve built in such little time.” “We had a good group of males doing the job.” The older lunewulf puffed out his chest and nodded at the males around him. Rousseau remained solemn. His scent was barely noticeable when he returned his attention to Luther, Jarvis and Jaeger. “You three now have permanent dens out at Toubec’s, and from the looks of these dens you’ve helped built here, the howling will be in your favor. I’m sure you’ll have steady work in Prince George.” Rousseau had just accepted them into his pack. Luther made eye contact with the pack leader, acknowledging the honor just given to all three of them. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m Luther Alger and these are my cousins Jarvis and Jaeger Alger.” 37
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“Welcome to the pack. My mate and I would like to have the three of you join us tonight for our evening kill. Come over in about an hour.” He nodded to Sam and the other lunewulf. “Everyone is welcome.”
***** Luther left his cousins at Toubec’s ranch with the two of them howling over who would find a female first that night. Toubec had quite a few Cariboo and lunewulf living and working on his huge spread. It wasn’t hard to find a ride into Prince George. Luther walked the blocks through town to the new dens. In the dark, he still saw the small structure he’d put his sweat and muscle into building. His little female lunewulf was inside that den. Luther smelled her even as he reached the front door and knocked.
Mariah jumped at the sound of someone knocking. She smelled the male as she entered the living room and hesitated before reaching for the doorknob. Fucking tail, had she made the right choice after all? The den she and her cousin now shared was small with two bedrooms down the narrow hallway off the living room. Marcy had already left, taking off to run with other lunewulf, under the chaperone of two mated couples. Later they would meet at their new pack leader’s den for the evening kill. Marcy had wanted Mariah to run with her. The others had tried encouraging her to come. The thought of running under chaperone, being allowed to sniff around unmated males, then later arriving at their pack leader’s den so he could approve of them and any mild flirting he might smell, didn’t appeal to Mariah at all. It was stupid. She should have gone. But Mariah knew sniffing out a Cariboo wouldn’t meet with the pack leader’s approval. Mariah had enjoyed being alone in their new den. There were curtains hanging over the windows she’d closed once it was completely dark. Before that, she had stood outside on their small front porch, staring into the growing darkness, sniffing the cold
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night air. The smells would soon become familiar to her, the smell of the trees, the dens around her and the litters who would occupy them. For now though, Mariah focused on the smell of the fresh wood used for her den and the lingering scent of the males who had built it. Was it her imagination or did one of the smells fading as the breeze blew around her when she had stood outside smell of the Cariboo she’d fucked back in the mountains? Mariah remembered the Cariboo at the lumberyard. As she and the pack leader’s mate drove back from a furniture store on the edge of town, she had spotted him. He had been standing in the lumberyard, looking ready to spar with another Cariboo. Without knowing how, Mariah was positive which one was her Cariboo. She’d never seen him in his flesh before. There was only a moment to take him in before they drove by the yard. The male stood taller than any lunewulf male. The older lunewulf male nearby was proof of that, standing a good several inches shorter than her Cariboo. Mariah took in his broad muscular shoulders, the well-worn faded jeans that hugged long, powerful-looking legs, and fought not to smell aroused while sitting in the car. The Cariboo’s blond hair had slight red streaks. His hair was long, almost falling to his shoulders. Its tousled look only added to his wild appearance that she knew would match his personality. An overwhelming possessiveness had filled her. She’d suddenly felt a tightening deep inside her gut. It wasn’t the change taking over, as it sometimes had when she’d been an early teen and had still yet learned how to control her body. This had been something deeper, a quickening she hadn’t been able to explain. At the same time, tiny sensations had crawled up her spine, raising the small hairs there and on the back of her neck. Mariah had forced herself to look away, terrified of the pack leader’s mate response once she sniffed out these sudden strong emotions. She had to look again, and quickly, before they drove by and he was gone. When she had looked across the street once again, the Cariboo lunewulf male had been
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standing in the lumberyard, watching her. He had held her gaze captive until they had driven too far down the road for her to keep looking without completely turning around in her seat. Mariah hadn’t been able to pick up his scent, but somehow she knew. Now it all made sense. The times up in the mountain, in the meadow, when they had first arrived and she’d had uncanny sensations of being watched, Mariah had sworn her Cariboo male was nearby. When the group of lunewulf had complained about someone being near their kill, and when she and Marcy had run off on their own to sleep undisturbed the previous night, all those times he’d been watching. Now he had seen her in her human form. And Mariah had seen him. Her Cariboo was gorgeous as hell. In all her years, Mariah never would have believed she would pant over a Cariboo male. Her litter ran with honor. They had always held their heads high and had never given anyone in their litter reason to run with their tail between their legs. She was a proud lunewulf. Would it shun her cousin’s honor in this new pack if Mariah were suddenly to run publicly with a Cariboo lunewulf? Now, staring at her front door, Mariah’s hand trembled before she forced herself to wrap her fingers around the doorknob. Her cousin wasn’t here. Mariah was a grown female. Who she allowed to enter her own den was her own damn business. Nonetheless, her heart raced a mile a minute. She couldn’t slow her breathing. Mariah couldn’t take in a breath that wasn’t full of the male’s scent standing just on the other side of that door. “I can smell you, my little lunewulf female,” came a low growl. She didn’t jump at the sound of his voice, but Mariah tried swallowing and wasn’t able to perform the simple task. Her mouth was too dry. At the sound of his rich, masculine growl, the quickening she’d experienced earlier in the day returned. This time it swelled between her legs.
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Just lovely. The last thing Mariah wanted was to open the door smelling of lustful desire. “Just a minute,” she said, and was grateful her voice at least sounded normal. Mariah turned and paced the length of her small living room. She had placed the small wooden coffee table the furniture store had donated in front of the couch she had purchased with her debit card from her bank up in Whitehorse. It was all the furniture in her new living room. Not that she cared at the moment how presentable the den was. Mariah needed to get herself in order. Finally, managing at least to swallow and breathe normally, she pulled the door open. The next breath she took into her lungs was full of the male’s scent. Her Cariboo male! Except now he stood before her, larger than life, in his human form. His faded blue jeans hugged thick, muscular legs. The boots he wore weren’t to give him height but probably more for practicality. And his T-shirt, a plain, pale blue shirt with nothing written on it, stretched over an incredibly muscular chest and arms so ripped they were each as thick as small trees. Mariah lifted her gaze and stared up into the eyes of the large Cariboo lunewulf filling her doorway. “Hello,” she murmured, hating how she suddenly smelled in awe, as if she were a drooling, lust-filled female thrilled this male would give her a moment of his attention. “Tell me your name,” he said in a low, gruff baritone. Even though his eyes had been silver before, the intense blue orbs devouring her now were so familiar it was as if she’d stared into them every day for the past two weeks. Which in a way she had—in her dreams every night as she’d enjoyed different ways she might make love to this male in her flesh. “Mariah Engel,” she told him, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m Luther Alger.”
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“Luther,” she whispered, voicing out loud the name of her Cariboo before he walked into her space. Which he did. Without asking if he could enter her den, Luther stepped inside, forcing Mariah to back up and closed her front door behind him. “Do you live here alone?” he asked, sniffing the air and taking in his surroundings. He didn’t simply acknowledge the furniture in the living room or where the small hallway might lead. Instead, Luther studied his surroundings with the scrutiny of a male laying claim to all around him. Mariah felt it more than sensed it. Luther focused on the windows and probably how far the door was behind him. This was a male used to fighting with fierce tooth and claw for all he possessed. “No. My cousin Marcy and I share this den. She’s already left for a run then the kill at the pack leader’s den. I was going to leave soon.” “You won’t miss it.” It was all he said before moving in on her. Mariah didn’t have time to step out of the way or prevent his actions. She wasn’t sure she would have if given the opportunity to decide. Luther didn’t take a step forward but instead appeared to leap. At the same time, his scent became so strong it was all she could smell. With a single movement, Luther lifted her under her arms and kept moving until her backside hit the wall behind her. “Oh,” she cried out, her teeth instinctively lengthening as the change demanded its way forward so she could defend herself. Not that she would stand a chance. Luther’s virile body pressed against hers, his cock already hard as stone. “When you go, every male there will know you are not a single female,” he informed her in a voice so harsh it should have pissed her off. At the moment, his actions turned her on enough she would argue how he howled later. Especially when he grabbed her chin, tilted her face to match his, then kissed her.
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This was what she’d dreamed about since leaving him on the mountain. Her shoes fell to the floor with a thud and her fingers dug deep into his blond hair that still looked rather tousled. The whiskers on his cheek burned her jaw and soft flesh. It simply fed the fire already burning inside her. Mariah wrapped her legs around his waist. Her pussy throbbed against her jeans and she ached for them to be off. As if he read her mind, Luther slipped one hand under her sweater and his fingers reached up to the tip of her bra. In the next second, he yanked her away from the wall and turned, tossing her to the couch. “You think you can control me, Cariboo,” she growled, her voice thick with passion and her teeth extended enough to garble her words. The raw growl erupting from deep inside him created silver streaks across his blue orbs. “Tell me I haven’t controlled every dream since we’ve parted,” he challenged. For a moment she was awestruck. How would he know that? Mariah recovered quickly and leapt off the couch, coming at him and grabbing his T-shirt and wadding it into her fist. She had to tilt her head back to see his face, but Mariah didn’t care. She wanted this male and was up to the challenge of taming him. “No more than I’ve controlled yours,” she snarled then reached for the collar of his shirt and tugged, hard, until he lowered his mouth to hers. Instead of kissing him, she bit at his lower lip. “And I’ll say if I’m a single or mated female, Cariboo,” she whispered. His eyes went almost completely silver when he lifted her off the floor. “Don’t throw me on that couch again,” she warned him. It wasn’t that his tossing her around didn’t make her swell with need. Already the den smelled so strongly of both their lust they were creating a new scent, a mixture of
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how both of them smelled. She could breathe it in all night. But Mariah needed to train her Cariboo, and the lessons had to start now. Luther didn’t toss her. Instead he shoved the coffee table out of his way with one leg. Then, lowering her onto the couch, he came down on top of her but braced himself over her with one powerful arm. “Every time you turned in that meadow, sensing you were being watched,” he began in a low, guttural tone that singed her flesh with desire. “Every time any male approached you, there was no doubt in your mind I was very near making sure he didn’t move in too close.” Mariah managed a satisfied smile, loving how strong his urge to protect her was. She would show him how capable she was of protecting herself. But not too fast. Mariah knew his Cariboo nature was to guard everything that was his, and fight to a ruthless death with anyone who challenged that. His ways weren’t too far from hers. “And when I soaked your dick with my come,” she whispered. “You knew, even as I ran away, who had claimed you.” “You are my mate.” “If I say I am,” she countered, unable to hide her small smile. Luther growled and yanked her sweater, lifting her off the couch until he’d pulled it over her head and freed it from her arms. Immediately he went for the zipper on her jeans. His growls sounded frustrated only when it took him more than a minute to have her clothes on a pile on the floor. Then he paused, staring down at her body. Mariah couldn’t think for a moment. He’d been in a whirlwind undressing her. Now that she stared up at him in only her bra and panties, she was able to see the complete admiration in his expression. “You are so beautiful,” he uttered. “So fragile.” “Maybe for a large brute like you I might appear fragile, but don’t forget for a moment, male, how well I can take care of myself.”
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Luther smiled. Something told her she was suddenly seeing a side of him very few had ever seen. He looked—happy. She reached up and scratched the tip of his nose. His clouded-over gaze cleared instantly and his attention shot from her cleavage exposed from her lace bra to her eyes. “Undress,” she mouthed before he could utter some empty warning about demanding she belly up or another typical male comment. Luther pushed off her and stood next to the couch. Mariah forgot to think, breathe or even swallow when he peeled his T-shirt from his powerfully muscular body. Everything bulged and flexed as Luther brought his shirt over his head and stripped it away from his body. She stared at his ripped muscles underneath tan, taut flesh. Small puckers and several long scars stretched across his torso. Her male wasn’t trying to be fierce and demanding of her, he was fierce and demanding. When he sat on the end of her couch and pulled off his boots, Mariah hopped up to lean on her knees next to him. She ran her finger over the longest of his scars that ran from his shoulder down across his chest at an angle. “How long have you been on your own?” she asked, noting the scar was fairly old. “Since I was a cub,” he said, although his voice was relaxed, indifferent to the years he fought simply to survive and find his next kill. She remembered him and the other two Cariboo males killing and feeding off the elk in the mountains. Mariah had witnessed a small peek into his life prior to running here to Prince George. “Was your pack burned out too?” she asked. Luther stood, unzipped his jeans then slid them down his legs. “Yes.” Mariah had forgotten the question. She stared at his large, long, thick cock and how incredibly hard it was. When she reached out and touched him, he flinched, sucked in a breath. She looked up at him.
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“Don’t stop.” His words were so garbled with need and the change threatening his own body he was hard to understand. Mariah stared up at him as she wrapped her fingers around the thickness of his shaft. Power soared through her when his eyes rolled back in his head and he fisted his hands on either side of his body. Luther was fighting for control, giving her what she wanted. And she wanted to explore this male she’d dreamed about every night for so many nights now. She had smelled him again and again during their run. Luther had kept a close watch on her, ready to betray his presence among lunewulf and attack to the death any male who had managed the upper paw with her. Had he smelled the truth in her words when she’d told him she could take care of herself? Did he understand how it meant she wanted him for more than his ability to kill? She ran her fingers up and down the length of him. His scent grew stronger. His cock grew harder. Pre-come bubbled at his tip and she smeared it along his shaft. It changed his scent, making it thicker, more intoxicating. Mariah didn’t realize she was panting until she looked up his body and caught him staring down at her. It was more than any aphrodisiac Mariah had ever experienced. Any male in her pack—her old pack—never came close to making her feel the way she did right now. Her flesh tingled. Her heart palpitated so hard in her chest it hurt. She panted as if she were in heat. And although she was nowhere near her cycle, the only time when lunewulf could conceive, Mariah felt the throbbing in her pussy as if she were. Her senses were heightened. With each stroke, her fingers, soaked now from his pre-come, moved up and down him with ease. He grew, got thicker, became stiffer, yet he didn’t try to stop her. Mariah watched his breathing grow more ragged, his hard stomach rise and fall. She took in the hair that rose from where his umbilical cord had been cut from his mother to where it spread in tight curls across his chest. With so many scars, some merely hairlines while others were jagged puckered flesh where possibly he had struggled not to bleed out, Luther was still the image of perfection.
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Her womb swelled with need for him to be inside her. Luther was so thick her fingers barely reached around him. Mariah quit stroking him. If he grew much more, she worried she wouldn’t be able to take all of him. “My little white lunewulf,” Luther rumbled, his voice as thick with need as his scent. “My Cariboo male,” she returned, and heat filled her insides. “I think you’ve played enough.” Mariah’s laughter didn’t sound as it usually did. She liked its sultry edge. “I might not be done playing.” She squealed when Luther grabbed her. Her bra straps slipped off her shoulders then the thin pieces of material snapped. “What?” Mariah cried out. His extended fingernails were deadly knives. They barely brushed her hypersensitive flesh, yet she sucked in a haggard breath. By the time she exhaled, her bra was being tossed to the floor, ripped off her by his lengthened fingernails. “Don’t you dare,” she cried out when he reached for her panties. He was between her legs, and taking off her underwear was impossible unless he moved. Luther reached with his slightly changed hand. Mariah grabbed his wrist. “I said no.” Their eyes locked. Mariah held his gaze captive as she slipped her fingers under the side of her panties. Then allowing the change to burn through her veins, her spine prickled with tiny hairs that crawled up her neck. She extended her fingernails into long, razor-sharp claws and ripped the side of her panties. Luther’s breath caught in her throat and the silver streaks of lightning reappeared in his blue eyes. She sliced the other side of her panties. Luther grabbed them and yanked them free from her body. The moment air swept over her pussy, cream covered her smooth flesh. “My sweet little lunewulf,” Luther snarled. 47
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“My name,” Mariah gasped. “Say my name.” Luther’s rough finger stroked the entrance of her pussy. “Mariah,” he whispered. “Luther!” she howled, arching off the couch. His chuckle was deadly sounding. Mariah wasn’t worried when she stared up through lust-clouded eyes. She reached for him, grabbing his muscular arms and pulled him to her. Their mouths locked in a passionate kiss as his cock sank deep into her pussy. She cried out into his mouth, and one of his large hands wrapped around the back of her head as he began moving inside her. They fucked as lovers would who had been apart from each other for too long. Passion held thick in the air. Their scents were heady with lust, but it soon changed into a stronger, sweeter, more pure aroma. Love! Was it love? Mariah remembered how wonderful her sire and mother smelled when they embraced. This wasn’t the same scent. She and Luther had created their own aroma. It was an enticing, beautiful smell so strong, so powerful she doubted it would ever fade. Mariah remembered her mother had once told her, Love didn’t smell simply because you wanted it to. She had said, Love will grow forever. It will never die, although it can be killed. At the time, Mariah had snarled at her mother for howling riddles. Mariah had been even more infuriated when her mother simply smiled. She was afraid she might have that same stupid smile on her face now. Luther began a low growl. Mariah tasted it as much as she heard it. His cock thrust deeper and deeper inside her. She was crushed into the couch, her legs wrapped around his thick, powerful torso. Each time he buried himself farther inside her hot, soaked pussy, pressure grew until it was unbearable. His growl grew and she felt his body tense. Mariah ran her fingertips, which were now back to their human form, along his flesh. Muscles quivered under her touch. Her
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mother and sire had barely known each other when they had mated, yet their love had been at its strongest when they died. Her sire’s litter and her mother’s litter had believed the two of them a good match. Mariah wished now she had asked for more details. Although in the end, she had witnessed hundreds of times when her litter had run with the clean smell of happiness. Maybe that was all she needed to know. “Mariah, you are…” His words broke off into a thundering growl. As her orgasm erupted inside her, Luther’s control released and he pumped his come into her. “You’re mine,” she finished for him.
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Chapter Four Johann Rousseau’s den turned out to be a spacious layout with cubs running around and a happy mate who, with the help of other females, had laid out quite a spread of steaks, burgers and fish. Not only were there quite a few lunewulf there, who had run down from the Yukon Territory, but also quite a few from the Prince George pack. Luther would have loved to have arrived with Mariah, but as she pointed out, with no surviving sire, he needed to ask her pack leader for the right to mate with her. Sometimes pack laws really sucked. So instead, he’d returned to his den, changing into his fur this time and running along the outskirts of town then into the country until he reached Toubec’s ranch. Gratefully, his cousins had already left to sniff out females. They might or might not come to Rousseau’s evening kill. Luther didn’t care if they did or not. He’d come with the other Cariboo to Rousseau’s den. “Rock Toubec,” Rousseau said formally after they’d enjoyed his kill and many were lingering behind the den in a spacious yard. “Alger and his cousins did a good job on the new dens for the lunewulf who have just arrived from the north.” Rousseau sniffed the air and gave Luther a hard look. Luther kept his expression blank and made sure his scent remained neutral. There was no keeping Mariah’s smell off him. Not that he wanted her aroma to ever leave his flesh. He would howl to the pack leader soon enough. Now, with so many around them and the evening kill having just been enjoyed wasn’t the time. “The Alger males are staying out in the row of dens,” Toubec informed the pack leader. Toubec hadn’t growled at all over the change in Luther’s scent. Possibly the older Cariboo hadn’t noticed Luther smelling any different than he had the first time he met 50
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him. Toubec ran the large ranch with the help of quite a few Cariboo. The male hadn’t appeared all that interested in giving Luther a second glance after allowing the Algers an available den. “Good to know he can hammer a nail. There’s plenty of work on the ranch,” Toubec added. Rousseau was dwarfed standing between Luther and Rock Toubec but didn’t seem to notice. “Herrwulf might have more jobs as well. The pack is continually growing.” “Not my fault you lunewulf keep breeding,” Toubec snarled, but then snorted, which might be the large male’s version of a laugh. “I’ve always got work on my land for strong males.” A mated lunewulf couple howled for Rousseau. As if to back what Toubec had just said, a large group of cubs surrounded them. Rousseau turned from Toubec and Luther without a word and swooped the youngest cub into his arms and tossed him into the air. The excited cub was half changed when Rousseau put him back on the ground, and instantly tried crawling up the male’s leg to be tossed into the air again. Toubec turned his back on Rousseau and faced Luther. “Your scent has changed,” he grumbled under his breath. His harsh, piercing glare was fierce as he stared Luther head-on. If anyone in the yard behind Rousseau’s den smelled the showdown between the two large Cariboo males, no one sniffed their direction. “Yes, it has,” Luther said simply, matching Toubec’s soft-spoken growl. He continued keeping all his emotions in check. This pack had treated him well so far. Luther wouldn’t dishonor Rousseau by snarling with the older Cariboo here. “She is lunewulf.” “Yes.” “Come around and see me after high noon tomorrow.” He added in a lower voice. “My mate isn’t much on anyone howling around her den much before that.”
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Toubec shifted his attention and focused on a lunewulf female, who sensed his attention and turned from a small group where she’d been standing. She walked up to Toubec and wrapped her arms around his thick waist. The male growled as he lowered his head and sniffed his mate. Luther now understood. Toubec hadn’t smelled confrontational because he wasn’t. The male understood. Luther hadn’t given a lot of thought to mating while up in the Yukon Territory. Up until Mariah had interrupted their kill with her strong, alluring scent, Luther would have sworn he wouldn’t mate anytime soon. There was something to be howled about running free in the mountains. Yet he knew now, with every breath he took, running in those mountains wouldn’t be the same without Mariah by his side. “You owe me no favors,” he told the Cariboo. Toubec raised his face from sniffing his mate and stared at Luther with hard, attentive eyes. “That’s true,” he grumbled in a low growl. “I don’t plan on giving you any.” “But if you’re willing,” Luther pressed, standing tall before the mated male, “I would be honored if your mate went over to the female by the door and asked her to join us.” He and Mariah had made love now in their flesh as well as fur. Mariah and the other lunewulf who had run down here hadn’t yet chosen a pack leader. Luther didn’t care much about pack politics but he did care about Mariah. He would honor her, and their traditions and do this right. Toubec and his mate turned their heads at the same time. Luther watched Mariah, who’d just stepped outside of Rousseau’s den, and waited for her to sniff him out. “The one in the jeans and green sweater?” Toubec’s female asked. She smiled at Luther and sniffed the air. Her blue eyes narrowed on him. “Is she the one I smell on you?” She had the good sense to lower her voice when asking. “Yes, she’s the one.”
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Toubec looked at his mate and she shrugged. When she released her mate, he slapped her rear before she could walk over to Mariah. Mariah watched warily when Toubec’s mate walked up to her. When she shifted her attention briefly and met Luther’s gaze, he nodded inconspicuously and watched her exhale. Luther felt a hunger deep inside him stronger than any he’d known before. Mariah’s long blonde hair streamed past her shoulders and down her back. Her creamy-white flesh was smooth, free of scars, showing she’d led a protected and safe life with her pack before the humans burned them out. Her eyes were large and a beautiful shade of blue. Her sweater was snug and hugged her perky breasts. It ended at her narrow waist. The blue jeans she wore could have been painted on to her long, slender legs. She looked so damn hot it was all he could do not to start panting just staring at her. A group of single males howling at each other noticed Mariah and growled in her direction. Something hardened inside him so painfully it distracted him. Luther didn’t realize he’d started toward them until Toubec growled a warning under his breath. “They won’t bother her.” Toubec stared hard at Luther just as his mate reached Mariah. “If she smells anything like you, they will take her as a mated female.” Luther wanted to howl Mariah was mated. “You sure you want a lunewulf female?” Toubec asked. He wanted to say he wanted Mariah, regardless of what breed she was. “They’ve got to be easier to train than Cariboo lunewulf females,” Luther said instead. Toubec threw his head back and laughed hard enough to draw attention from others around them. Luther didn’t appreciate everyone sniffing his direction, their curiosity smelling ripe and mixed with amusement. “Catching a female lunewulf is one thing,” Toubec said quietly, and sobered. “Training them is an entire different matter,” he added under his breath.
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His mate was returning with Mariah by her side. She pranced up to her mate, rubbing against him suggestively with an ornery smile before looking away from him and at the young female. “May I present Mariah Engel,” she said to her mate. Toubec turned from Luther and gave the young, single female his attention. “Your litter has run here from the Yukon Territory?” “I’m the only one left in my litter.” Mariah focused on Toubec’s mate when she spoke. “You ran down here without protection?” Toubec’s mate asked. “No male forced himself on you?” “I ran here with my new pack. We might not have a pack leader yet but I had plenty of protection. And no male forced himself on me,” she added, her scent turning angry with her final words. “In fact, I’ve instigated all sex I’ve had recently.” Toubec’s mate leaned closer to Mariah. “You realize how damn hard a Cariboo lunewulf is to tame, let alone train?” Mariah’s spicy scent disappeared almost immediately. She smiled but didn’t smell happy. “I don’t know,” she growled sweetly. “So far he’s trained rather well.” “How old are you?” Toubec growled, wisely not commenting on what Mariah had just said. “I’m twenty-two.” Toubec didn’t say anything for a moment and his mate glanced up at him as if she could smell his thoughts. Luther didn’t smell anything. Even Mariah’s smile faded. She looked at Luther and he crossed his arms against his chest so he wouldn’t grab her and pull her to his side. He might need to ask Rousseau for permission to mate with Mariah, but something told him Toubec pulled a lot of weight in this territory. They would do well to have his blessing as well, if they were to run with this pack.
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Toubec’s mate growled under her breath when she asked, “Are you sure you want to mate with this male?” she asked, gesturing to Luther. Mariah smiled at Luther. “I’ve already mated with him, in flesh and fur.” Toubec’s mate looked up at Toubec and nodded. “I’d have to agree with her there.” Toubec cleared his throat. “Alger, you two have my blessing. Since the lunewulf that ran down here haven’t determined who their leader is yet, talk to Rousseau in the morning then bring your new mate with you when you come howl at us after noon. You two will do better with your den on my ranch than in Prince George.” Mariah took a step toward Luther. Toubec stepped between her and Luther, facing Luther. “Until you speak with Rousseau, Mariah will be under the protection of myself and my mate at our den.” Luther froze. “What the fuck?” he whispered. The older Cariboo railed him with a hard, damning stare. “This female can’t be allowed to run alone with you,” he snarled. “Our pack accepts Cariboo but one wrong move and they will howl loudly for you to be outcast.” “I can run alone,” Mariah informed Toubec, stepping around the older male and glaring up at him. Once again her spicy anger clouded the air around them. “Telling me to do otherwise would smell rather hypocritical at this point, don’t you think?” “What I think doesn’t matter,” he snarled, curling his lip at her. His scent didn’t change though. “Has your mate castrated you?” Mariah hissed. Toubec’s mate growled fiercely as she started toward Mariah. Toubec grabbed her arm and prevented her from lunging at Mariah. “We have their blessing,” Luther reminded Mariah, and growled a warning for her to behave. It was damn near the hardest thing he’d ever done though. More than anything he wanted to grab Mariah and get the hell out of there. He was smelling his
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first chance of being part of a pack, and it had its appeal. The appeal wore thin when it came between him and Mariah. “But we can’t be together until some antiquated law is honored.” She glared at Toubec and turned the same hostile stare at Luther. Then throwing her arms up in the air in disgust, she stormed away from them. “Mariah,” Luther howled after her. The male who had fiercely spoken to Mariah a moment ago now chuckled. Luther glared at him, unable to keep the spiciness of his outrage emanating from his body. “I told you they’re hard to tame,” Toubec grumbled to Luther. Toubec’s mate slapped his chest and Toubec laughed louder. Luther growled his frustration and started after Mariah. “I’ll go after her,” Toubec’s mate suggested. “No,” Luther said, and was barely able to contain his frustration. He wasn’t sure why he had thought he could run to a lunewulf gathering like this and feel as if he belonged. Toubec caught up with Luther before he was around the side of Rousseau’s den. They’d managed to grab the attention of those around them. Their curiosity held a tangy scent to it. “Once you catch her, bring her to our den,” Toubec ordered. Rousseau came up to both of them, sniffing hard and looking from one to the other. “What’s wrong here?” he demanded. Toubec held up a hand. “Nothing at this point.” He nodded once at Luther. “Go,” he instructed. Then to Rousseau, “I’ve got the matter covered.” Luther might not be known as the fastest breed on the planet, but he was damn close. He didn’t wait to hear what else the pack leader might have said but bound around the front of the den and broke into a run when he hit the street.
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Luther’s blood burned with lust as the change threatened to tear through him. Toubec told him lunewulf females were hard to train. Once he caught Mariah, her training would begin immediately.
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Chapter Five Luther stepped into the shadows beyond a patch of evergreen trees and held on to Mariah’s scent as he stripped out of his clothes. The change attacked his senses, barely giving him time to twist his clothes into a rope and tie them around his neck. There wasn’t time to worry about his boots. He’d get them later. Blood burned hot through his veins. The change attacked his system. Both halves made him a whole and controlled strong aspects of his nature and who he was. Luther could no more live his entire life in his fur than he could in his flesh. He was Cariboo lunewulf, the fiercest, most aggressive breed of lunewulf on the planet. As his bones lengthened, joints popped and reshaped and his spine stretched and moved with gravity to pull him down on all fours. His new physical appearance took form. Fur spread over his bare flesh. His senses ignited with new life. His vision grew clearer. He suddenly smelled everything around him, from the lingering exhaust coming from parked cars to the remaining burning embers behind Rousseau’s den that had cooked the kill he’d eaten with the rest of the pack members. The night air rushed over his fur, lifting it so Luther felt the intensity of it against his hide. He heard every movement of every living creature around him. Even the breeze rustling through the trees grabbed his attention. Luther focused on the only scent that mattered to him. Once in his fur, Luther had a completely different perspective on everything he’d just experienced. He let go of all harsh emotions and his growing temper he’d been unable to prevent from creating a stench before he’d changed. Things were now black or white. Luther didn’t hesitate or pause to consider how his actions would be interpreted by others. Call it a more primitive, focused way of seeing things. The
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moment the change influenced his brain, Luther knew what he would do and exactly how to do it. Luther took off racing after Mariah’s scent. He tore across the meadow behind the row of dens where Rousseau’s litter lived. Every small creature around him smelled the predator who was suddenly too close for comfort. Luther heard each one of them race for cover. They could run and hide. It didn’t matter. Nor did the few deer that caught his scent and ran as fast as they could for their lives bother him. Luther only planned on hunting one creature tonight. Her scent filled his lungs and he dug his deadly claws into the earth as he bounded after his petite, sexy lunewulf female. You will be mine—and all mine, he roared as he leapt into the night and proved Cariboo lunewulf were blessed with speed too. Luther raced over uneven ground, following Mariah’s scent as it grew stronger. The little lunewulf might have the grace of speed, but Luther was larger, more muscular, and could clear just as much ground in as little time as she could. If she thought she could outrun him, he had no problem proving to her otherwise. She might be pissed, but Mariah would learn he would always be there for her. He slowed when the strength of her scent began growing weaker. Circling back around, Luther padded between a rocky incline and the thick nest of trees and undergrowth. Mariah’s scent was the strongest here. She was either up on the rocks or watching him through the thick trees. Where are you, my little lunewulf? he grumbled in his throat. His body tightened with need as he breathed in her aroma. He leapt onto the ledge of rocks above him and spotted her. Mariah lay just above him. Her eyes glowed from the moonlight and her white coat looked silky smooth. Luther ached to rub against every inch of it.
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The moment he jumped from where he was to the larger, secure patch of grass above him where Mariah lay hiding from him, she jumped from her hiding space and backed up, roaring at him. His low growl made his meaning clear when he stood before her. We can fight if you want, my little lunewulf. But we’ll work this out together. Mariah arched her back, her hackles up. She lowered her head as she began moving from the back of the large ledge, trying to circle around him. She curled her lip, issuing a warning. He could so easily mount her right now and impale that hot, soaked pussy of hers. Even as she snarled, he smelled her lust growing stronger the longer they were together on the ledge. In spite of his primal urge to fuck her, Luther smelled Mariah’s pain, her embarrassment, and understood her urge to run. It was in their nature. Running cleared their soul, freed them of all emotions and allowed them to return to their flesh refreshed and able to take on their problems. Talking had never been one of his strong points. He would rather fight than discuss something. Right now, though, the only way they would work anything out was to discuss it. Luther didn’t want to think about what it might mean if he was willing to tuck away his claws and howl instead of attack. Forcing the change, Luther engaged the burning as it started in his spine but quickly moved in his bloodstream through his veins. In spite of not wanting to think his actions through too clearly, he already sensed the truth. It smelled dangerously of love. The night dimmed around him, making it harder to see. His hearing muted, all the life around him growing silent and only the drifting of the breeze through the trees remaining. His human hearing and seeing might suck but his sense of touch and feeling were impacted by the frigid night air, and his naked body was soaked with sweat. Luther ignored the cold, not even taking time to shiver as his adrenaline took over. “Change,” he ordered the moment he was able to utter the word.
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Instead of listening to him, Mariah leapt into the air. She flew toward his shoulder, a white blur coming straight at him. He smelled her defiance, but not fear. He also smelled her lust. This wasn’t a game for her. From what Luther knew about Mariah so far, she was defiant, determined and willful. All traits he once swore would turn him off in a female. But they smelled hot as hell on Mariah. He leapt into the air. Luther didn’t think about being in his human form. He didn’t focus on how much stronger Mariah was in her fur than he was standing on two legs. Luther wrapped his arms around her and knocked them both to the ground. Mariah rolled out of his arms and stood, backing away and growling as she shook herself until her fur lay smoothly again. “Change,” he demanded again, crawling toward her and away from the edge of the ledge. Her body began transforming and he watched in lustful awe. Her shimmering white fur receded until damp, smooth flesh appeared. Her large, almond-shaped silver eyes transformed to a beautiful shade of blue and took their smaller, human shape. As her face changed, he smelled her emotions, raw and too fresh in her now-human body for her to conceal from him. Luther breathed in her excitement, the intoxicating scent of her desire and sexual arousal, and the salty smell of nervousness. It was the clean, pure and incredibly intoxicating smell, a unique scent that was a mixture of both of them that damn near knocked him backward. He wasn’t sure he had ever smelled love before but somehow knew it was what he smelled now. The moment Mariah’s damp body trembled on the rocks, and she stumbled, trying to stand, Luther grabbed her and pulled her against him. She was breathing hard and her perky, round breasts pressed against his chest. Her nipples were instantly hard. Her flesh was silky smooth against his rough, seasoned skin. He ran his hands over her long, tousled pale blonde hair then gathered it in his hands. 61
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“I lost my temper and ran. I humiliated myself,” Mariah whispered, her words coming out broken as her voice trembled from the cold. Luther barely noticed the cold. “I agreed with you,” he told her, his voice raw with emotion. He wasn’t sure what to say about the new aroma he smelled on both of them. She had to smell it too. He let go of her and untangled his clothes from around his neck. After laying his clothes on the ground to create a makeshift bed for them, he untied her clothes from around her neck and draped her sweater over her shoulders. “We’re going to make love until we wish it were colder outside to cool our bodies off.” He laid her down on his clothes and adjusted her sweater so it became a pillow for her. Then, stretching out next to her, he draped one of his legs between hers, pinning her underneath him. She smelled a mixture of the outside and a mixture of emotions that created an intoxicating scent he would be drunk off of soon. “If you’re doing this just because I got upset about Rock Toubec growling about me being under his protection…” “That’s exactly why I’m doing this.” When Mariah started to scoot away from him, Luther tightened his grip on her, preventing her from moving. “I’m doing this because I want you under my protection,” he stressed, and kissed her. Her complaint turned into a soft moan. After a moment, Mariah opened for him and their tongues began a wicked, promising dance of lovers. Her small hands moved over his body, causing his muscles to twitch and harden under her touch. Their relationship had started with wild lovemaking under a sky full of stars. Tonight it would be seared into something stronger. “I want you as my mate,” he grumbled, his teeth slightly sharper than they were a moment before when he tore his mouth from hers and began kissing her neck. “We’re already mated.”
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Luther raised his head and stared down at her. It was one thing to smell her emotions, but he had to know her mind. Maybe then he would understand his own. “Are we mated out of lust?” he asked. “No,” she said, shaking her head. He couldn’t hide his happiness, and Mariah smiled, her happiness mixing with his. “I won’t have our mating challenged,” she added. “We might always have to run according to our laws and traditions. But I don’t care if you’re Cariboo and I’m lunewulf. And if that means living outside the pack, we don’t need their protection.” Her nose twitched adorably as she sniffed the air between them. “And how do you feel about me?” she asked. “I have fallen in love with you, my little lunewulf,” he grumbled, barely able to voice the words and kissed her again. They would come stronger with time. He wasn’t an expert on the emotion but he knew it would grow stronger as they ran together. Although right now, he couldn’t imagine it being any stronger than it was now. Luther was fairly certain Mariah told him she loved him too. He didn’t need to hear the words though. As he mounted her and they began to make love, Luther smelled her love for him, and that was enough.
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About the Author All my life, I’ve wondered at how people fall into the routines of life. The paths we travel seem to be well-trodden by society. We go to school, fall in love, find a line of work (and hope and pray it is one we like), have children and do our best to mold them into good people who will travel the same path. This is the path so commonly referred to as the “real world”. The characters in my books are destined to stray down a different path than the one society suggests. Each story leads the reader into a world altered slightly from the one they know. For me, this is what good fiction is about, an opportunity to escape from the daily grind and wander down someone else’s path. Lorie O’Clare lives in Kansas with her three sons.
Lorie welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You can email us at
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Also by Lorie O’Clare Black Jag 1: Black Seduction Black Jag 2: Black Passion Black Jag: Black Surrender Blue Moon Cariboo Lunewulf 1: Taming Heather Cariboo Lunewulf 2: Pursuit Cariboo Lunewulf 3: Challenged Dead World Fallen Gods 1: Tainted Purity Fallen Gods 2: Jaded Prey Fallen Gods 3: Lotus Blooming Fallen Gods 4: Embracing Temptation Raptors Revealed 1: Feather Down Raptors Revealed 2: Feather Possessed Raptors Revealed 3: Feather Adored Raptors Revealed 4: Feather Torn Issue of Trust Leopard Visions 1: Vision Captured Leopard Visions 2: Vision Fulfilled Leopard Visions 3: Vision Controller Leopard Visions 4: Vision Lust Leopard Visions 5: Vision Revealed
Lunewulf 1: Lunewulf Law Lunewulf 2: In Her Blood Lunewulf 3: In Her Dreams Lunewulf 4: In Her Nature Lunewulf 5: In Her Soul Lunewulf 6: Full Moon Rising Lunewulf 7: Wicked Penance Sex Slaves 1: Sex Traders Sex Slaves 2: Waiting for Yesterday Sex Slaves 3: Waiting for Dawn Shara’s Challenge Sure Thing Taking it All Torrid Love 1: The First Time Torrid Love 2: Caught Torrid Love 3: After Dusk Werewolves of Malta 1: Elements Unbound Werewolves of Malta 2: Living Extinct Werewolves of Malta 3: Far from Innocent Werewolves of Malta 4: Forbidden Attraction Werewolves of Malta 5: For Life Werewolves of Malta 6: ’Til Death
Print Books by Lorie O’Clare Cariboo Lunewulf: Challenged Pursuit Cariboo Lunewulf: Taming Heather Fallen Gods: Jaded Prey Fallen Gods: Lotus Blooming Fallen Gods: Tainted Purity Forbidden Fantasies anthology Issue of Trust Leopard Visions: Vision Captured Leopard Visions: Vision Controller Leopard Visions: Visions Fulfilled Lunewulf: In Her Blood Lunewulf: In Her Nature Lunewulf: In Her Soul Lunewulf: Lunewulf Law Man of Her Dreams Primal Heat anthology Sex Slaves: Unshackled Things that Go Bump in the Night IV anthology Torrid Love: After Dusk Torrid Love: Caught Torrid Love: Dead World Torrid Love: Taking it All Werewolves of Malta: Alpha Exiled
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
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