Naked, she padded to the bathroom. She needed a shower, but was too tired to take one. She settled for removing her makeup before stumbling to bed.
She pulled back the two thick comforters and climbed beneath. Sighing, she sank into the pillows, figuring she’d be asleep within two seconds. But sleep didn’t come.
The bold green comforters she’d chosen for the room were restricting rather than cozy. She pushed them down to her waist, letting the colder air of the room hit her skin. It cooled her heated skin somewhat, but also caused her nipples to pucker even more.
Groaning, she rolled over on her side, keeping her thighs clamped together. She was horny. No doubt about it. While it was perfectly normal for a female of her kind, a purely biological reaction, it was worse than it had been in years.
Once a female werewolf mated, the craving subsided somewhat. But not much. Having two children had subdued it a bit more, as though nature was satisfied now that she’d procreated and ensured the survival of the species.
But it never went away. Continuing to control her life. Thankfully, it was only once a year. But for those couple of days, she usually locked herself in her room away from her family. In the early years, after her husband’s death, she’d taken human lovers, one after another, to try to ease the physical ache. That hadn’t lasted long. Not only did it not help much, but she hated having sex without the emotional attachment. It reminded her too much of her mating.
No, she wouldn’t go there. Maxwell was dead and he’d given her two sons who were the joy of her life. For that alone she would forgive him for taking her unawares and forcing her to mate with him before she’d really had a chance to choose from the males of her pack.
Her chest ached and she rubbed her sternum. All her life she’d known she’d mate as soon as she came into heat for the first time. She hadn’t minded it too much even though there was no male in her pack who had made her feel anything beyond mild interest.
What she had been looking forward to was being able to shift into her wolf for the first time. That happened for males when they reached maturity, but females had to mate first, the act of sex allowing them to be able to shift. She’d always thought that grossly unfair, but such was life.
Still, she’d understood her duty and had been ready to do it. Maxwell had caught her out in the woods when the first pangs of heat had finally taken her. He should have taken her back to their pack compound, to her parents. Instead, he’d thrown her to the ground, mounting her from behind and taking her. And she’d been so far gone, so needy, she’d accepted him. At least her body had.
While there had been some complaints, they’d died a quick death. Maxwell was the alpha’s son and, as such, was too powerful for any to challenge.
“Go away, Max.” She whispered her plea into the dark. She had no idea why she was even thinking of him. She rarely did these days and her sons never asked about him. They knew he was dead. Killed by hunters. They also knew why she’d chosen to take them and run from one end of the country to the other rather than stay with their pack.
She’d had one forced mating and wasn’t ever going to allow another one. After Maxwell had been killed, her alpha had decreed that she needed to mate again. She’d kept her thoughts to herself and planned her getaway, taking her sons with her.
The early years had been tough. She gave a bitter laugh. That was putting it mildly. She’d had two young children, no marketable skills and a pack of werewolves on her tail. Not to mention bounty hunters.
What she’d had was a small nest egg of cash left to her by her maternal grandmother, which her husband hadn’t known about. No one had. Her grammy had given it to her and bade her tell no one, not even her parents. It was that money that had allowed her to run and to buy the building they now lived in.
She’d bought it cheap in the mid-eighties, long before the area’s revival. But it was only about twelve years ago that she’d felt safe enough to actually move to Chicago and take up residence here. The fear of her former pack had kept her running for years.
Those were memories best left buried. But Isaiah had dug them up and she knew why. She hadn’t felt this attracted to a male. Ever. He threatened her peace of mind, everything she’d built. There was no way she’d subjugate herself to a male ever again.
She chewed on her lower lip as she stared out into the night. The blinds were open, letting in the lights of the city. She missed the forest sometimes, the ability to change at will and run free. But those days were gone. When nights got too bad, she’d run in one of the large city parks, alone or with several members of her pack.
Right now, she wanted to run. Wanted to feel the change taking her over. Her skin rippled as her wolf sensed her unease. She swallowed hard and forced herself to be calm. There was no way she could run. Not now. Not with the threat of Isaiah out there somewhere in the city.
Her sex throbbed at the mere thought of him. The sensitive lips were swollen and flushed with need. Her breasts ached. She wanted to touch herself, to relieve the sexual tension swelling inside her, but she didn’t. It would leave her feeling worse than before.
The only time she gave into her sexual needs when she was in heat was when it was fully on her and there was no escape. To do so any sooner just made the problem worse.
She flumped over onto her back and started a mental list of supplies she had to order for the bar and the kitchen. Anything to try to take her mind off Isaiah and the heat consuming her body.
She wondered briefly where he was and what he was doing. Was he lying naked in bed, thinking of her?
Her skin flushed and the ache between her legs grew. She spread them wide, hoping the cool sheets would ease it. Knowing that it wouldn’t.
Closing her eyes, she began counting sheep and praying for morning.
Isaiah stared up at the ceiling as the walls seemed to close in around him. He wanted to fling open the door, change into his wolf and run until the unending edginess gnawing at his guts left him.
There were parks in the area, but he wasn’t certain which ones, if any, were safe. The last thing he wanted to do was start a rumor of a wolf in the area. That would bring every hunter within a five hundred mile radius running. And that was the very thing he didn’t want to do.
Instead, he lay naked, his body coated with a layer of sweat, and replayed every second he’d spent with Meredith. He could still taste her erotic flavor on his tongue. Sweet, like honey.
He groaned as his cock pulsed. He wondered what she’d taste like between her legs. He longed to strip her naked and crawl between them to find out. Thick and rich, like the finest cream. He was positive that’s what she’d taste like.
He rolled onto his side and stared out the second floor window. There was no balcony, so he’d left the drapes parted slightly, allowing him to see a sliver of the moon. It kept him from feeling quite so claustrophobic. The city was closing in on him more each passing minute, reminding him of how much he longed to run free. He felt fettered here. Chained in a way that was unnatural to his kind.
Funny, but he hadn’t even noticed that when he’d been at Haven. He’d been too enthralled with Meredith and watching her every move. She’d driven all other thoughts from his head.
His phone rang. It had been doing that on and off for the past hour. He thought about ignoring it again, but figured if he didn’t soon answer it, Joshua would be banging on his door before too long.
Reaching out, he snagged the disposable cell phone and answered. “What?”
“Where the hell have you been? Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
His brother’s demanding tone rankled and set him to growling. “You’re not my damn alpha, Joshua. I don’t answer to you.”