“If you knew they were such a problem why haven’t you done more to grow the pack?” I asked.
“I did,” Jack’s head hung down. “I had a mate.”
“Oh,” a flare of jealousy spiked in my soul. I wasn’t quite sure where it had come from or what had inspired it. It shocked me, but I didn’t explore it at this moment. “What happened?”
“What do you think happened?” Jack snarled. “Once the Hunters realized what was happening they got to her. They killed her. So now you understand why I wanted to keep you here for your own protection. I couldn’t let the Hunters get near you. As soon as I saw you I knew that I had to bring you back here and keep you safe, that you were the one we had been waiting for, the one that could save us.”
I moved closer towards him. I sensed the pain that was in his voice, and the pressure that weighed on his shoulders. He wanted to be the savior, he didn’t want to be the last wolf in the chain, and for that he needed me. I suddenly realized what must have gone through his head that night when he saw me, how he must have caught a glimpse of hope and have the world open up to him, and how he was filled with the need to have me, no matter what. There was something about the instinctual, unpredictable, emotional need that flattered me more than if it had been a planned scheme. In me he had seen the one who could save his pack and he hadn’t been able to resist taking me.
“Do you really mean that?” I asked. Nobody had ever spoken about me in this way, or felt this strongly about me. I wondered if it was the same kind of feeling that had so enraptured my parents when they had met. Jack licked his lips and clenched his jaw, but his gaze was still focused on the ground. His hands were clasped in between his legs.
“I do,” he said simply. But I still had reservations in my heart. There was still one dream that I had wanted ever since I was little, and that was to fall in love and have the kind of life that had been denied to Mom. I could tell that she was lonely and now I understood why. At least she finally had her happy ending in the garden of the moon, but I wanted mine as well.
“Jack…I appreciate everything you’re saying and what this pack means, not only to you, but to wolf society in general. But I also have to think of myself. And you have to start thinking of me as a person as well. I can’t just be a tool for you to use to breed a new generation of wolves. I’m not some vessel that you can pass around your pack. Surely you must understand that I’d never agree to that, and if you want to subject me to that kind of treatment then surely you’re no better than the Hunters? Do you really think my father would want you to treat me that way?”
Jack’s head tilted up and he stared at me directly. “You don’t understand, do you? I would never ask you to do anything like that,” he rose from his bed and closed the distance between us. The air suddenly grew warm around me and breath caught in my throat. “After I lost Lucy I was certain that I’d never feel anything like real love again. She was my world, and if it hadn’t been for the pack I would have died myself. But then I saw you and I heard your song and something changed. I tried to tell you outside, when we stood under the moon. There is magic in your voice Trish, magic that has healed the wounds in my heart. I know you may not believe me, but that moment was the first moment I fell in love with you.”
“In love? Jack I…that’s not possible. You don’t even know me…” I said, taken aback by the force of his words. I staggered back, but he stepped forward and he placed a hand on my cheek. His flesh was warm and there was an intensity in his eyes that careened through my body. My heart pounded.
“Isn’t it? Haven’t you learned by now that anything is possible? I knew all I needed to know from that first song Trish. It spoke to my heart and I realized that you were the one we had been looking for, the one that could save us. I know all I need to know Trish. I’m a wolf. Our senses go beyond the physical world.
“But I don’t know Jack. I’m not a wolf.”
“You are. You may not be able to change into one, but you are a wolf in spirit, in your heart, and if you need more convincing then let me show you.” Before I could say anything, he had pressed his lips against mine in a fervent, burning kiss. The passion scorched my lips and a soft whimper flowed out of my mouth. He gripped me tightly, preventing me from melting to the floor, and my skin began to tingle with so much passion I could barely comprehend it. his breath was hot and sweet, his tongue ardent, and his arms wrapped around me, completely enveloping me in his masculine warmth.
At first I was hesitant to kiss him back, but the intensity weakened my resolve and the pleasure that rose within me was intoxicating. If there was magic in my song then there was definitely magic in his kiss. His grip tightened upon my arms and I winced, pulling back as he pressed against the sensitive, bruised parts of my skin. Our breaths tore apart at the same time as our bodies.
“You’re hurting me,” I gasped. Shame flickered across his face as he looked at my arms and saw the small bruises that had been left by his fingers.
“I didn’t mean…” he whispered, but couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. He lifted my arm up and pressed his lips softly against my wounded skin. Pain blurred with pleasure as he kissed my bruised flesh. “Is that better?” he asked.
I smiled, and desire filled my eyes. “It’s not the only part of me that hurts,” I said. My body had been through hell and it still bore the wounds of my sprint through the forest. I showed him the wounds on my legs and stomach. He kissed up and down my shapely thighs, wrapping his hands around them like vines. He lifted my top up and kissed my stomach. My head tilted back and my lips parted slightly as a rush of breath flowed out of me. I knew it was wrong, that it was too soon, but I couldn’t ignore the feelings inside. As he rose up he lifted the top over my head and I drowned in a kiss again, surrendering to the heat that engulfed me like an inferno. His hands were all over me and the way he kissed me…it was with the passion of a thousand raging suns.
His hands pressed into the small of my back. I could feel every sinew in his body tighten with desire. His breath was like fire and his kiss scorched me. My head grew hazy and light as these intoxicating, overwhelming feelings surged within, uncontrollably and relentlessly. My arms wrapped around his strong neck and I draped myself over him, for it was the only thing I could do lest I melt into a puddle on the floor. Oh what he had rendered me as…a helpless and desperate little thing. There was some silent spell he had cast upon me. It was the only explanation! How could I give myself to this man…this monster?
No, he wasn’t a monster. He was a beautiful creature. I knew it was wrong. It didn’t make sense in my mind, but I couldn’t help the excitement that surged within me. We were both outcasts. Neither of us fit into the normal world, a world of careers and families and stable homes with mortgage payments and TV dinners. No, ours was a darker world, born of ancient dreams and hidden mystery. I was just a part of it, as he was and in a way it became clear to me that he, Buck, and Matt hadn’t kidnapped me from my life; they had rescued me from it. I had been kidnapped a long time ago, forced into exile from the life that I was always meant to lead. My father had been taken from me by the Hunters. If he had still been around, the life I had led would have been far different...but I wasn’t thinking about that at the time of course. I wasn’t thinking about anything. My mind had been torn from my body, leaving nothing but pure thought and sensations.
I could taste the sweetness in the air and feel the heat that simmered from our bodies. I dragged my hand down his back as we collapsed onto the bed. It creaked under our weight and we soon became a writhing ma
ss of flesh as we scrambled under the blankets, clawing at the rest of our clothes, seeking to free ourselves from the prison of our modesty. Jack was spurred on by primal energy. He bit and growled as he tore at my clothes and my flesh, squeezing tightly. He was going to leave bruises again, but this time I didn’t mind. In fact I welcomed it. I groaned and my body arched as he bit my lip so hard he almost drew blood. I dug my nails into his flesh and felt the tremors through all the hard angles of his body. I felt his arousal pressing into me and my mind grew hazy with desire. All I wanted was to plunge myself into the darkness and lose myself in this abyss of pleasure.
I ran my hands through his hair as we kissed madly. Our tongues danced and our breaths barely escaped the cracks between our lips. Sweat prickled upon my skin. It became flushed, as rampant passion flooded my body. He took hold of my hands and pulled them above my head, pinning me down as he pressed into me. I felt the full weight of his body, and he felt glorious. My soft curves felt made to accommodate him. I melted into him and could feel myself becoming a part of him. His hands ran down my throat, over the rise of my breasts. I gasped as his palm brushed my hard nipple and tingles spread across my skin like a rippling wave. My mouth was agape and through my blurred vision I could see him smirk. For a moment I felt entirely vulnerable, and I couldn’t believe what he had reduced me to. Never before had anyone reduced me to such a whimpering mess or caused such chaotic desires to crash through me. I had never been seized by this delirious exhilaration and the madness swept through me with such fervent desire that I couldn’t comprehend just how he was tearing me apart inside!
The magic of his hands moved down my body, over my flat stomach, finding my burning inner thigh. He squeezed. I whimpered. Even just a gentle caress of his hand was enough to begin a cascading tidal wave within me. The magnitude of it was such that I wanted to fight it. There was a tight knot in the middle of my body. I trembled as I tried to force my legs closed, tried to stop the damp wetness that throbbed, all because I was afraid of the intensity of the pleasure. But what use was my fear against his desire. He had set his sights on me from the very beginning, had marked me as his because of my song and now he was claiming me properly. Quaking desire danced across my skin and his hands forced my legs apart. My head arched back and my lips parted as a guttural moan escaped my throat. My eyelids fluttered shut as his long, deft fingers found the heat and explored the molten core of my body. All at once I felt tense and relaxed, and burning energy radiated from my flesh. With one soft curl he was able to elicit deep and sensual feelings, reaching deeper inside me than anyone had ever reached before. It was as though he was an expert on my body from the start, knowing just how to make me writhe and how to find my secret sweet spots.
Excited sweat trickled down my face and in between the valley of my breasts, just as all my desire flowed out past his fingers and down my slick thighs. He whispered things in my ear, secret things, hot things, things that merged with my thoughts, creating incoherent, wonderful feelings inside me. My hands played with his flesh, feeling the paths of his muscles. I wanted to drown in him. His lips slipped over mine, silencing my moans as his fingers beckoned forth a shuddering, trembling orgasm that ran through me like a wave. I clutched onto him as I felt him inside me, making me dance like a puppet to his whims, this man, this wolf, this Jack.
I was breathless as he pulled away and kissed my neck. I raised a leg and felt the uncomfortable heat of my own desire slipping down in a torrent. My skin glistened, and I could not tear my eyes away from him. He was the epitome of a man. I ran my fingers down the thick bed of hair on his chest. For a moment I let my fingers linger against his heart, losing myself to the powerful thumping rhythm. I buried myself in the crook of his neck as my hands ran farther down, across his flat stomach, following the trail of a thin line of hair that snaked to forbidden dark areas. My fingers danced across the thick thatch of hair, drawn to his heat, and then I was with him. The taut skin burned my fingers as I curled my hand around. The rippling veins were filled with passion. I groaned as he was so tall and strong, so big and thick, and so hard for me… for me.
As I started to play with him he kissed me deeply and my hands found a natural rhythm. I followed the sounds of his moans and his ardent gasps as I teased him, squeezing hard before I dragged my nails up the underside of his shaft and then over the smooth, sensitive tip. He shuddered and I was flooded with pride as I knew that I was responsible for making him feel this way, that I was the one bringing the wolf to his knees.
I had thought everything had flowed out of me, but there was still more. It flared and bloomed inside as our bodies pressed together and I lost all sense of time and space. In that moment it didn’t matter that I had been kidnapped. There was no other place in the world that I would rather have been. Our lips caught each other and I needed him inside me. Thought blurred with speech and I wasn’t sure if we were communicating verbally or if somehow we just knew what each other were thinking. I transcended to a new realm, one of ethereal delight. Our bodies moved in harmony. He massaged my breasts and then leaned down to tease my nipples with his mouth and tongue. Hot breath washed over me, causing me to tense my grip on him, which made him grunt with bestial desire. For a moment I thought his eyes flashed gold, but I couldn’t be sure. He pulled my hand away and pinned it beside me, kissing me deeply. I knew what was coming. I wanted it so badly. He reached down. Our bodies adjusted naturally, dancing the ancient dance that had been performed so many times before. There was a moment of uncertainty and anticipation before – yes – that sweet feeling of bliss as our bodies came together. My entire body arched and my eyes closed. I felt his head sink into me and a long exhalation drifted out of him and for a moment we were suspended in time, enjoying the eternity of this moment where we could be connected forever.
And then he started moving. I held onto him tightly as he reached deep inside me, stretching me to my limits. His hips rolled like a flowing tide and I took everything he had to give me. The warmth seared through me as though I had been filled with lava. I lay back and surrendered to all the fervent desires within me. They unspooled, as thick as honey and as intoxicating as the most powerful alcohol. Pleasure surged within and my body shuddered with orgasmic ecstasy as so much was released. It was as though all this swirling, miasmic primal energy had been locked inside me for so long and was only now getting released. It had been building up to incomprehensible levels and now it burst out like a phoenix escaping the flames, crackling and scorching my body as it left and rose like an escaping phantom. A long, low growl escaped my lips but it was distant somehow, as though it had come from something other than myself and I realized that I had ascended from the trappings of my body to become a being of pure energy and sensation. I could feel the thread that bound all of us together, most specifically me and Jack. I was intimately attuned to all of his movements and his feelings too. I tasted the sweat that dripped off him and sizzled on my skin. I felt every undulating movement as his body crashed against mine. In that moment he was the entire world to me and I held on to him for dear life. The heat was almost unbearable, but I could not let go as I felt him getting harder and faster, and everything came in a torrent. I locked eyes with him and I was stunned by the force within his gaze. I realized then that he was a part of a most ancient line, and that I had a legacy as well. We were both children of the moon and as I was blessed by this revelation the final pleasure hit, the thunderous crash of his orgasm. I felt the trembling tension of his body rising within before it happened, and then it hit me like a lightning bolt as he released himself in a vibrant paroxysm that contained within it so many raw emotions.
I was left gasping and breathless as the sensations blazed through me and we stayed connected while the echoing aftermath reverberated through our bodies. Our foreheads pressed against each other as our panting breaths mingled and he kissed me again, this time more tender and delicate. My body throbbed and ached, delirious and drained after what I had shared with Jack, but a
great many things made more sense now and I was beginning to see how I could fit into this world.