swollen and filled sex. He had licked me clean, making me come again, this time longer and slower than the first. I cried out, letting the pack roaming the halls know for certain that I belonged to their alpha. That I was his chosen one.
When Curtis had finished, he came to lay in bed beside me, growling in my ear softly before he spoke. He caressed me with one hand, cupping each of my breasts and snaking his fingers down to my hips. He kissed me, long and deep, the scent and taste of our sex mingling together on our tongues.
“On the next full moon, I will claim you as my mate. Is this something you still want?”
“Yes,” I sighed against him.
“That night, and that night only, I will share you with the head members of my pack, and after that, you will become one of us. The rest of our lives, you will serve as my mate and bear my children.” I gulped with fear … what did he mean by “sharing me?” I wasn’t sure that was something I wanted, but the idea sparked a hidden desire inside of me. I didn’t know it then, but that night would change my life forever.
“I don’t know if that’s something I can do, Curtis …” My voice wavered with anxiety. Would I have to have sex with other men? What did that mean for me and Curtis? Curtis chuckled, kissing me again.
“Oh my sweet, don’t worry. This is just part of the tradition of claiming. I need you to be my mate. You are my mate in your heart, aren’t you?” He looked into my eyes, and I saw that yellow flash again. Sometimes, his inner wolf made me feel very distant from him. I didn’t understand the traditions he spoke of, or why I’d need to submit to them to be his. But I nodded — in my heart, yes, I was his mate. If that meant doing something I hadn’t considered before, I might do it … for the sake of staying with him.
“In order to be my mate,” he continued, “You need to be initiated into the pack. And for that to happen, I have to grant my head pack members access to you for one night. That completes the process … and you will become one of us.” I had to gulp again. Did that mean I would become a wolf … a wolf like the creatures I saw all around me?
“You mean … I’d be a wolf … like you?” My voice sounded fragile again, like a delicate glass thing that might break if not handled carefully. Curtis read my anxiety and held me closer, filling me with his reassuring scent.
“I know that I’ve been a wolf all my life, my sweet. I take this life for granted, and I love the man that I am. If you do not want to be a wolf, I understand. But I promise you, I’ll be there beside you every step of the way. I want to claim you so that no other may ever have you again, and to do so, I must make you a wolf at the culmination of your claiming.” I snuggled against him.
“And if I don’t become a wolf …” My voice trailed off. I didn’t want to consider parting from Curtis. He had quickly become a staple in my life. His estate was the home base for my work, and his pack was beginning to become my family.
“We’ll have to part ways.” He looked away, sad. I knew he was trying to sound strong, but he didn’t want to part from me either. His eyes flashed, and he retreated to that place where his inner wolf resided, shutting me out of his thoughts. But he still held me, and his arms were strong and warm.
“I don’t want to ever leave you … but this is so much to consider.” He looked at me again.
“There’s three weeks until the next full moon,” he said. “By that time, will you know?” I couldn’t read those strange eyes. But his voice was full of emotion.
“I promise … I will know by then.” We spoke no more of it, but the weight of our conversation was present in our every interaction. And Curtis released his tension physically.
CHAPTER TWO
One morning just before the next full moon, I woke one morning with the bed cold beside me. There was a howling in the distance — a chorus of unearthly
Vivian Wood
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