Rounding a clearing, Kalli spotted a rabbit in the field. Tristan sensed her distraction, waiting to see how she’d handle hunting with him near. Wagging her tail, ears up, she instinctively focused on her prey. Tristan watched intently, prepared to rush the rabbit from the other side should she miss. Quietly approaching the rabbit, she struck out in a sprint, snapping its neck, resulting in an instant kill. Sharing her spoils, they ate the small snack then ran to the spring for a drink.
While lapping up the water, Kalli froze; she sensed the pack was approaching. Ears down, the hair on her back bristled as the first wolf came into sight. A smaller white she-wolf followed a silky grey male. Kalli, unused to being in pack, immediate recognized them as Mira and Logan. Subordinates trailed, staying cautiously behind the pair. Tristan stepped forward to block their access. What the hell were they doing? He’d told Logan that he didn’t want them near Kalli. Growling, he warned them to come no closer. Yet Mira ignored him, and continued to pad toward him. While she lowered herself in submission, she advanced nonetheless. In a sign of dominance, Tristan sent her a hard stare.
Upon seeing Mira close in upon Tristan, Kalli’s posture straightened. Threatened, she lifted her tail and edged around Tristan. Emitting a low growl, she locked her eyes on Mira in an angry menacing act of intimidation. When she refused to submit, Kalli maintained her confident stance, and bared her canines. Ready to attack, in the moment she resisted the aggression that begged to escape. Not only did she want a subtle signal of submission, she wanted Mira on her back.
Within seconds, Mira looked away and whined, yielding to Kalli’s threats.
Logan, watching the interaction play out, knew that Tristan would be pissed as hell that he’d let the pack come near Kalli. But they’d been running for over an hour and happened to be near the spring. He’d hoped that Tristan would have moved Kalli in time. He could sense the confusion and surprise of the subordinates as Kalli, who hadn’t been formally introduced as pack, not only stood marked as Tristan’s but had just forced Mira to publicly submit.
Tristan nearly had a heart attack when his little wolf challenged Mira. After witnessing Kalli dressing down Mira in his home the previous day, it was just a matter of time before she confronted her without reserve in front of the pack. Even though he knew it had to be done, he was hoping to delay any confrontation until Kalli had had a chance to be comfortable within her wolf. He also wanted time to announce his intention to mate Kalli so that when Mira submitted it would be a less bitter pill for her to swallow. While Mira was currently the Alpha female, she was not his mate. The pack subordinates would expect his mate to be the strongest, most intelligent female, and after her little display of dominance, she was.
As the pack ran off, Kalli howled in jubilation. There was no way that, after everything she’d been through, she’d allow another female near her male. Mira, without a doubt, was formidable. She reckoned that it would not be her last challenge. Yet confidence raced through her veins. Forcing Mira to physically submit would be a pleasure that her wolf would someday see to fruition, of that she was certain.
Tristan howled along with Kalli, proud of her courage and assertiveness. His woman matched his own authoritative constitution. And while he trusted in fate and nature, he couldn’t help but be amazed at how she fit him precisely in every way. Nuzzling his muzzle along her side, she returned his action in kind. The sheer adrenaline of the night brought forth a surge of emotions they both longed to explore. Nudging her forward, he willed her to follow; it was time to celebrate their first successful run together, one of many in their eternal lifetime.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“That was phenomenal!” Kalli exclaimed, letting the hot spray clean her skin. An oversized nozzle delivered the warm water into the open-aired shower which sat next to the outdoor Jacuzzi. Overwrought with both desire and exhilaration, she squealed in delight as Tristan delivered a spank to her bottom. “Hey, what’s that for?”
“I couldn’t resist with you wagging your tail at me like that all night. A man can only take so much. Seeing your wolf has given me some very naughty ideas…ones that I’m sure you’ll like,” he promised in a sexy low voice. Slipping out of the shower, he grabbed a clean beach towel off a hook and slung it around his waist, beads of water dripping off his lithe body. “I’m goin’ inside to get a few things. Go ’head and get in the hot tub, and I’ll be right out.”
Kalli sighed in anticipation, washing the last of the dirt off her skin. As usual, he’d been right about everything. She’d been ravenous when she’d attacked her prey, and then, with her aggression toward Mira, protecting her Alpha had been foremost in her wolf’s mind. And now desire for him raged like a wildfire. She had no idea what he was getting or planning but he’d damn well better hurry up.
Easing into the hot tub, she hissed as bubbling water caressed her in all the right spots. “Oh. My. God. This feels so good,” she declared, sinking in all the way up to her neck. Closing her eyes, she laid her head against the soft padding along the rim. A door opening caused her to lift her lids. Gloriously naked and erect, Tristan exited the house with a tray full of goodies. Food? Champagne? Something else that she couldn’t quite identify?
At this point the only sustenance she required was Tristan, as he was, and in her. She lazily smiled, watching him pour three glasses, presumably a third for Logan, who hadn’t yet arrived. She wondered if he was okay, given her fight with Mira. She knew the three of them had all been childhood friends, and she wished things could be different, but now that she had Tristan, she wasn’t letting some she-wolf try to push her away. There was a new sheriff in town, and she wasn’t going to tolerate Mira’s nasty interference.
Tristan lowered himself into the tub slowly, reaching for Kalli. The sexual tension between them crackled the air. She needed him, and so much more. And as promised, he was there for her.
“Come here, mon amour,” he purred into her shoulder, licking over his mark, sending a bolt of desire to her already pulsing core.
“Tristan, I am so….I can’t wait to have you in me, please,” she begged. Every nerve screamed for his touch.
“Yes, baby, I know. I know what you need.” He pulled her on top of him, so she sat straddling his legs. Reaching down between her legs, he brushed his thumb over her clit. He planned to take her hard and fast the first time.
She screamed at the brief caress of her nub. “Oh God, yes!”
“That better? How ’bout this?” Guiding his engorged head to her entrance, he pulled her downward, impaling her on his rock hard cock. So deep inside her, he filled her completely. “Ah yes, Kalli.”
“Yes, that’s it. Fuck me!” she screamed loudly into the night.
Knowing how to take the edge off, Tristan passionately captured her lips, sweeping his tongue into her mouth. Wrapping her long hair around his fist, he kissed her, engrossed in her ambrosial essence.
Kalli returned his bruising kiss, sucking and biting. As the animalistic excitation overtook her being, she took all he gave and demanded even more. “Oh yes! Harder! Yes! Tristan! So close!”
“That’s it. Yeah, take me all in. Feel how hard you make me.” Seeking to give her the release she needed, he slid his hand in between her legs. Circling and pressing against her ripe nub, he felt her convulse around him. “Let it go.”