Run: Beginnings (10 page)

              “Lone Wolf,” the man named Marcus said, sneeringly.

              “What are you doing here?” Eric asked calmly, as if standing naked in the freezing snow was an everyday occurrence for him.

              Marcus snorted. “It’s the Running.
Everyone
is here.”

              Natalie could see Eric’s breath as he sighed.

              Marcus jerked his head in Natalie’s direction. “Who is the girl?”

              Natalie gasped, feeling exposed and vulnerable. If Eric knew she was still there then of course this new wolf probably would too. She knew she should’ve run home the minute she was free of Marcus but she couldn’t. Not after seeing Eric.

              “She’s mine,” Eric said, a voice so hard and steely, it seemed to cut through the snow like a knife. Natalie had never heard him speak in such a tone before.

              Marcus smiled, his lips curling upwards very much like a wolf snarling. “Is she now?” The knowing leer he threw in her direction made Natalie’s skin prickle.

              Eric didn’t reply. He simply stood his ground, his back showcasing his tense sculpted muscles. Marcus stared at Eric assessingly. The snow swirled around both men but no drifts gathered on their bodies since all the flakes seemed to melt upon contact.

              “You know that she is just as much fair game to me as any other wolf out here, don’t you,
lone wolf?
” Marcus said, his odd yellow eyes glinting amber.

              Eric emitted something quite close to a growl, shocking Natalie.

              “Have you already forgotten pack law?” Marcus laughed. His laughter sounded like the scraping of dry leaves against tree bark. So different from Eric’s own deep thunderous laughter that always filled Natalie’s belly with such warmth.

              “You want her,” Marcus continued, “you have to claim her. In front of the whole pack.”

              Eric stood stock still, silent as a mountain.

              “You’ll need to come back home, brother,” Marcus smiled.

             
Brother?
Natalie could feel the anger radiating from Eric’s body, even though she couldn’t see his face. In fact, she was glad she couldn’t see his face. His anger was probably a frightening sight to see.

              Marcus gave Eric one final look before jerking his chin again in Natalie direction. He gave another dry, papery laugh before saying, “We’ll be waiting for you.” He then bent forward, leaping into his wolf form and running towards the deeper woods. Natalie just barely caught the flick of his thick tail as he disappeared into the snowy night.

Chapter
Ten

              Eric turned around and walked exactly towards where Natalie was hiding. His face was stonily blank. Bending down, he picked Natalie easily up into his arms without losing one breath and silently carried her out of the woods.

              Natalie was too shocked and overwhelmed from all of the night’s events to really start a conversation. She let him carry her all the way out of the woods, across the lawn, and into her house. He carried her all the way into her bathroom, seating her on the toilet as he turned on the shower. As the water heated up, Eric began to strip her. Surprised by his actions, she tried to pull at his wrist as he tugged her wet pants down. But she might as well have been pulling at a large oak tree. He ignored her attempts and continued stripping her completely naked.

              Once they were both nude, the water was hot enough for them to enter. And without saying a word, he began to slowly soap Natalie’s body. She wasn’t really dirty. She had only been rolling around in snow after all. But she realized what Eric was doing. He was trying to gently release all the pent up fear and adrenaline still trapped in her stiff muscles. She had thought for a good five minutes that she was facing certain death at the jaws of an unfamiliar and frightening wolf. As Eric gently kneaded his soapy hands down her shoulders and arms, Natalie’s legs buckled and she began to sob.

              Eric caught her neatly and held her as the hot water sprayed soothing across her back. All the emotions of the night finally caught up with her, spilling out in an unstoppable flood of tears. And it wasn’t just tonight and its dangers. She had missed Eric. She had missed his closeness. Then to hear him voice his claim over her aloud…it was all too much. Natalie cried tears as hot as the water washing over her.

              After they had showered, Eric wrapped her in her bathrobe while he wrapped his waist in a towel. He carried her into her bedroom, gently placing her on her bed. It was only once she was in bed with Eric sitting near her feet that she spoke. “Where were you today?” she croaked, her voice a little hoarse from the cold.

              Eric looked into his toweled lap. She could see him engaging in some kind of internal argument. Finally, he said, “I was out in the woods, near the eastern part of town.”

              “Why?” she asked.

              Eric looked up. “I was patrolling the area for other wolves. I didn’t want any of them to get too close to town.”             

              So there were a lot more of his kind. “Because they would eat people?” Natalie asked hesitantly. She couldn’t imagine Eric ever eating someone.              

              Eric looked puzzled. “No,” he said. “Because I didn’t want them to get too close to you.”

              It was Natalie’s turn to look puzzled. “Me? Why me?”

              Eric’s carefully blank face suddenly tightened as his brows lowered and he replied, “Now I’ll answer that with a question of my own. Why did you break your promise and go into the woods?”

              Natalie swallowed. She darted her gaze away, unable to look him directly in the eye. “I-I thought I had seen you in my back lawn, entering the woods.”

              Eric’s gaze was steady. “But that doesn’t matter. You had promised me.”

              Natalie shifted uncomfortably. “I had gone to your store and it had been closed. I was worried.” She looked up, frustration growing into anger. “You’ve been so odd and distant lately! When I saw you, I wanted to ask you what was wrong. If you had been at the store or had just
talked
to me last night, I wouldn’t have needed to go into the woods!”

              Eric held her angry gaze for a beat before his shoulders slumped forward and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked frustrated with himself. “Little rabbit, I understand what you are saying,” he said quietly. “But I asked for your promise, your word. I must be able to trust it regardless of what we may be feeling towards each other at the moment.”

              Abashed, Natalie looked down, picking at the edge of her robe. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. But unwilling to give up, she added, “But you could’ve
talked
to me.”

              Eric ran another hand through his thick hair. In the dim light of her bedroom, Natalie noticed for the first time the smudges under his eyes. His face was also a little gaunt in the cheeks. Whatever he’d been doing for the last few nights, it hadn’t been sleeping. Or eating, apparently.

              “Marcus is part of the Lowell pack. They live about twenty miles to the east, near the base of the mountains,” Eric explained, looking tiredly across the room. His shoulders were slumped forward in clear exhaustion and his towel had come undone, hanging loosely across his lap.

              “
Lowell
…pack?” Natalie echoed, feeling the fringes of dawning understanding.

              Eric nodded. “Lowell,” he confirmed. “This town is in their territory. We are in pack land.”

              Natalie felt a shiver run down her back, raising the hairs along her neck.
Pack land.
“What did Marcus mean about claiming me?” she whispered, gathering her knees to her chest.

              “A wolf’s claim on a mate can only be recognized once it’s been acknowledged by the pack. Until then, all claims are unofficial and aren’t recognized by other wolves.” Eric gently ran his hand up her foot, circling her ankle. “That’s why I wanted you to stay inside. Right now is a very ancient time of year. It’s the Running. It’s when wolves of every pack come out and hunt together. Territory lines are lifted and shifters from all over run and gather together. Even nature itself changes and alters itself for the Running. You’ll be hearing more and more people in town talking about seeing wolves around this time of year. It’s dangerous. And I figured there’d be a good chance that some of them would know of you. And what you mean to me.”

              “Know of me?” Natalie interjected, surprised. “How?”

              Eric just shrugged one shoulder. “They just do,” he answered ambiguously. “So I wanted to try to keep you as far away from them as possible. At least until you left for LA.”

              So he’d been patrolling the woods, trying to keep the intruding wolves at bay from her. He had demanded a promise out of her for her own safety. And Natalie had gone and thrown it all to the wind by running wildly into the woods.

              She didn’t know what to say. It was so much information. She felt a deep terror in knowing the woods were now filled with wolves like Marcus yet she couldn’t deny the relief she also felt in having Eric so close to her again.              

              “I’ve missed you,” she said softly. Tears blurred her eyes. How could one man care for her so much? He had sacrificed sleep, food, and even his livelihood for the last few days to keep her safe and away from harm.

              Eric’s tired eyes darkened with desire at her words. His hand closed around her ankle and swiftly pulled, yanking her down onto her back. Letting the towel slip completely away, he rose up like a graceful animal and leaned over her body. He brushed away the loosely tied robe, exposing her full, soft figure, now thoroughly warmed through.

              “Show me,” he whispered as he bent his head to capture her lips in a searing kiss. Natalie’s body reacted immediately. She opened her mouth and her body, letting him in completely. The fears of attacking wolves and cold nights melted away as Eric’s hands roamed her naked body.

              Grabbing a full breast, he squeezed hard before pinching her nipple. Natalie hissed as the pain and pleasure shot down to her already soaking pussy. He roughly rolled the sensitive nipple between thumb and forefinger, making Natalie gasp. “Show me how much you’ve missed me.”

              It felt as if her nipple was connected internally to her clit. With every rough roll and squeeze, she felt the same pressure on her swollen clit, making her wetter and wetter. Natalie raised her head up, offering her lips as show of her sincerity. Eric didn’t hesitate. He plunged his tongue deeply into her warm mouth. He stole her breath and tamed her tongue, letting her know with his body that he had missed her just as much.

              Then abruptly, he broke away. Rearing up, he positioned himself between her legs, his breath tickling her inner thigh. And before Natalie could say anything, the same tongue that had been probing her mouth plunged into her lower wetness. Natalie groaned loudly, unable to stop herself from arching sharply at the sharp pleasure of his tongue against her pussy.

              With slow laps, Eric savored her taste. He lingered over her, making her writhe with needy hunger. His tongue circled around her clit, flicking it softly to make her moan but not come.

              “Oh god,” Natalie gasped. She began to melt from her pussy up. Slowly she felt herself heating up and melting into the bed. It was impossible. She was no match for Eric’s hot and expert tongue.

              With a steady rhythm, Eric began increasing his speed. His tongue lapped against her pussy in hard even strokes. Natalie could feel the nearness of her orgasm. Her muscles coiled in readiness, her stomach tightening. Eric closed his lips around her sensitive clit, then sucked
hard
. Natalie threw her head back and screamed as everything in the room shrank to the point of her core. Incredible ecstasy blasted through her body, electrifying her skin. She lay back, gasping as convulsions of pleasure wracked her body.

              Eric rose up. He leaned forward and kissed her again, letting her taste her own musky sweetness. Natalie sighed. All the tension, the fear, the worry had been licked right out of her. She had the man who had just saved her life in her bed and between her legs. Her body felt loose and free and—

              Natalie threw back her head and cried out as Eric forcefully thrust his cock into her in one deep plunge. Her pussy reflexively clenched against the invading member. Without any warning given to prepare herself, her sensitive body shuddered and quivered with the invasion.

              Eric nearly pulled out completely before thrusting in again. She cried out once more. Natalie finally felt whole and complete. She knew she was in the right place when she was in Eric’s arms. The heat of his body, so close to hers, only escalated the heat within herself that grew with each stroke of Eric’s thick cock.

              Plunging a hand deep into Natalie abundant mahogany curls, he pulled her head towards him so that they were looking straight into each other’s eyes. “You’re mine. Pack or no, you’re mine,” he growled forcefully, punctuating each phrase with a hard thrust.