Taming the Hunted Read online

  When he was just inches from striking, she was ready. She slammed her skull up into his jaw, and he was knocked into a daze. His head swiveled to the side as several wolves crashed through the door, filling the room with their growls and baring their teeth which dripped with saliva in their eagerness to vent their animal aggressions. In a split second, she saw her chance whilst Terrance’s attention was taken by the larger wolves. Using her speed over his size, she darted to one side then under him. Still dazed, he couldn’t follow fast enough. Her teeth sunk into the tender flesh at his neck and, with a flick of her powerful jaws, he was dead, his warm, sticky blood covering her muzzle.

  She was rather disappointed at how short the fight was as she sat and looked at the dark stain of blood on her paws and wondered what the rest of her looked like.

  Gabriel sprang up from the base of the wall, ready to fight, but winced in pain as his ribs cracked. Nole stepped aside and joined the other pack members, calm as if nothing had happened. Gabriel’s pack mates all shifted and began dragging the bloodied mess that was Terrance from the house with Nole following like a guardian angel, all giving her a wide berth.

  Marian had the feeling this was not the first turf war they had seen. She was sure, however, that it was the last one she would see. She growled at Gabriel to let him know that she was so not happy with the situation.

  The combined stench of death and fear in the room was too much for her. She padded toward the door, adjusting to her new form. Those who were in the way stepped to the side; they had all morphed back to their human forms and were in varying states of undress.

  She heard Jake whisper to Gabriel as he helped him up, that she should be locked up until morning. At least he probably thought he was whispering, but to her it was like he’d yelled in her ears. She growled at him and bared her teeth, then turned and sprinted out the door before they had a chance to stop her. She smashed through the front doors and ran out into the night.

  She sprinted down the rough dirt path that led to the edge of the cliff to the beach below. Turning, she padded down to the beach where Gabriel had taken her to on their second night together.

  She could hear his footfalls before he so much as left the garden, so she wasn’t surprised when the familiar scent of his body emerged. He moved so that she could see him. He didn’t say anything, but stood in his human form watching her, sadness in his glowing yellow eyes. The strength seemed to have left his body.

  She wondered if her own eyes glowed too, but the thought left as soon as it arrived. Of course they did, she was one of them now. Still in her wolf form, she paced, her great paws sinking into the soft sand. She was so drained that she had no feelings left at all.

  “Marian,” he said. “Hear me out. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I do expect you to act like the woman that you were when I first met you. Powerful and headstrong, but also willing to take a chance on people. You have to calm down and change back.”

  She hated the very thought of who she was now. There was no way she could go back to who she was, so why not stay in this form and run away from this life and these men?

  “Marian, you have to be calm to change back. If you don’t change before the sun rises you will be trapped like this until the next full moon.”

  The words struck her. Stuck like this? The thought made her anger rise, not lower. She wanted to yell at him, tell him how much he had cost her, but she couldn’t do that in this form. Using her hunter training, she mentally slowed her heartbeat. Her breathing became slower and more controlled. She felt the shift as the wolf slid back inside her, its rage still fresh in her mind, if not her body.

  She stood naked on the beach. Gabriel had watched her shift and watched her now. Her alpha, her mate, her master. The cool night air did not affect her as it had that first night with him. Her body heat soared to much higher than a normal human being.

  “I have become everything I hated. And I didn’t get a say in it,” she told him.

  Moving forward, he held out his hands in a motion for her to hear him out. She was restless, her hands shook and her legs longed to be in motion as the adrenalin pulsed through her body. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

  “Fuck,” she almost shouted.

  “It’s not that bad being a werewolf, you know.”

  “I won’t stay in this place. I’m a hunter, and I intend to stay a hunter no matter what you did to me. I can hide it from the rest of my kind.” Even saying the words, she knew she couldn’t hide, but she wasn’t giving up who she was.

  “Think about what you’re saying. A hunter’s job is to kill our kind. You are my mate in the eyes of our pack. That makes you the alpha female, and no one can harm you unless they intend to challenge you for dominance. Do you understand? If you kill our kind now it will be in cold blood whilst they stand and take it.”

  His words hit her hard. She became a hunter to protect those who could not fight for their own safety. The pack would not defend themselves from her, which made her the one they needed protection against.

  “I’m not saying you can’t continue hunting, but you will have to take a very close look at your job, who you slay.”

  Marian knew he was right. As alpha, she was sworn to protect her pack, a feeling she had already experienced back at the house when she realized Terrance posed a danger to them all.

  “Pack life is not much different from the creed of hunters. Plus, there are perks,” he added with a smirk, lightening the mood somewhat.

  “Perks?” She found her anger ebbing away like water rolling off her shoulders. She did not want to let it go, but looking at Gabriel made her heart lift. She knew he had a good heart. He had defended and cherished her from the first moment he laid eyes on her. He even stayed at her side when he found out she was a hunter.

  “Let me show you what you have gained, my Marian.” His arm shot around her waist and held her so hard to his chest that it was painful. She could feel his excitement against her stomach and trembled for a whole different reason, the heat that fuelled her not lost in the excitement.

  “You have a sick mind,” she told him.

  “That’s what I like about you—your fire.” He reached between her legs to make his point.

  She gasped and wanted to wrench his arm away, but it felt too good. His fingers parted her and slid along her soft folds, sending shots of fire up through her core.

  “The heat we store in our bodies keeps us at a constant state of arousal. You will learn to control it, but not today.”

  She stood on her toes and pressed herself to him, still beyond angry, but she channeled it to heat her desires to new levels.

  His finger snaked into her and she moved with him as his thumb circled around her clit. She moaned as his hand claimed her breast, working her to the edge.

  She pushed herself away from him, bringing him to the cliff face with her. He didn’t resist as she guided him to her, pumping his length with her hand before placing the slick tip at the opening of her body.

  “Please, I need you,” she begged as he hesitated, rubbing his cock head along the opening of her body.

  “How bad is it being a wolf?” he growled in her ear, pulling away.

  “Not bad at all,” she breathed, squirming, trying to get closer to him. “Please,” she moaned.

  He lifted her with one hand and used his other to guide his hard cock into her. She was more than ready. He filled her so completely; slow at first, but faster as she urged him on.

  Marian clung to his shoulders, their bodies pressed against the rock, his weight pressing her breasts against his chest. Harder, he pounded into her, the sound of his balls slapping against her serving to speed her climax. Just as she thought she could take no more, his finger slid into the puckered opening of her ass and she released with a cry as a wave rushed down her spine. She came harder and faster than she had ever before. She pulled him harder into her, clenching his hips with her legs. He groaned and came; it was several seconds bef
ore he could take his weight off her and pull out.

  As she caught her breath, his hand pushed against her again and his mouth snaked down as he dropped to his knees, laying a string of slow kisses along her pussy before his tongue entered her. She had thought she had nothing left, but as her body shook, she pressed herself against his mouth and her vision blacked out, stars filling her eyes, as he continued to ravish her with his tongue.

  She collapsed onto the rocky shore. He held her until she regained her strength. She felt so complete, so hot and full, that she moaned when he pulled her toward the path back up to the house.

  “Don’t worry, little wolf. I’m not letting you go that easy,” he growled into her ear, making her shiver in anticipation despite her exhaustion.

  They sprinted to the house, and he towed her to one of the spare rooms. They were, of course, naked after shifting on the beach.

  He tried to tie one hand to the bedpost with a pillow cover as his body held her pressed to the bed, but she stopped him.

  “It’s my turn,” she said.

  She climbed onto his hips, facing away from him and giving him a view of her ass as she lowered herself on to him. She started a slow rhythm, her hips bouncing up and down on his slick, hard staff, giving him a show of himself sliding easily in and out of her. When he was fully hard again, she wrapped her hands around his balls and kneaded them in her palms. She squeezed and pulled them, and they tightened and clenched as she worked him. Her muscles milked his cock as he rubbed and thrust inside her. His hands smacked her ass, each ear-piercing slap making her wetter and bringing her closer to her peak.

  “That’s it, little wolf, ride that hard dick,” he said. He held onto her hips and thrust her hard down onto his mass so that it felt as if it hit her womb when he slid her from the tip to the end of his shaft. He pushed her forward, the angle making his warm length slide along her g-spot, each movement making her clit rub against the base of his shaft.

  Just as she thought she could bear no more, he slid himself from her dripping pussy; she exclaimed in shock, she had been so close. She pushed back, trying to impale herself again, but he held her back.

  “Easy there, let’s try a different hole.”

  Her body froze and a shiver ran the length of her spine.

  “Yeah, you like that idea, don’t you, you dirty girl?”

  He used her own wetness to work her hole until it was slick and dripping. He worked one then two fingers inside her, and all the while she rubbed his shaft, keeping him warm until she could have him again. He took his full dick from her hand and rubbed the tip along the ridge of her ass to wet it.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked, his voice choked and husky with lust.

  “Yes, do it,” she replied, her fingers flicking at her own clit to ready herself. He pushed at her opening, the bulbous head straining against her.

  “That’s it, just relax,” he coaxed.

  She stroked herself and pushed back against him. The throbbing head slipped inside her and she gasped in pain and pleasure at the sensation. He raked his nails along her spine as he slid agonizingly slow into her.

  “Now, do it now!” she demanded.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and thrust her down onto him. She cried out as his length slid home. She lay forward, panting as he moved just a little in and out of her.

  “That’s it, little wolf, fuck my hard cock.”

  The very words almost pushed her over as the new sensation rocked her body. Shivers wracked her whole being as his dick rubbed inside her. He controlled her every movement with his hands, not letting her go faster when she thrust back on him. She groaned and he laughed, a deep laugh that made her hot for the beast controlling her. He increased the pace until he was slamming into her hard and fast. She felt herself build, her fingers dripping with her wetness as they slid across her hot nub in time to his movements. His grunts grew more urgent and primal as he worked himself into a frenzy. She couldn’t hold back anymore, and she released with a cry, her body contracting around his cock, milking him.

  “Again,” he demanded.

  She couldn’t, she was exhausted. His hand reached around her and he plunged his fingers deep into her, and she was coming again.

  “God, that’s tight,” he cried as she clenched around him. His cry echoed around the room as he released. She could feel his cock jerk inside her ass.

  She turned and collapsed on top of him, her hair damp with sweat. He lifted a curl of hair from her face and pulled her mouth to his, crushing her lips to him.

  “You are mine,” he told her.

  “Yes,” she said as she nestled into him, her hair brushing across his chest. “Yes, my wolf.” Her voice was no more than a whisper as she let herself surrender to her exhaustion.

  Epilogue

  Marian looked at the boxes piled around her and shook her head. There was no reason she should be sentimental about leaving. Gabriel offered to let her stay with him…well, commanded was a better way to put it. She didn’t mind, not one bit, she thought with a smirk. This apartment acted as a place to sleep and wash only. It was actually nice to be controlled for once, rather than having to think about her own safety every second of the day. If she could work out what the hell she was going to do about her job, everything would be perfect. It was clear she couldn’t keep slaying wolves, not when they now looked to her as an alpha female.

  “Alpha fucking female,” she muttered to herself. It still sounded stupid. But now that the shock had worn off, being a wolf was awesome. She was faster, stronger, and more lethal than she was as a human.

  “What was that?” Jake panted as he carried three boxes out through her open door.

  “Great, she’s a hunter and crazy too,” one of the men grumbled as he moved outside.

  There was a cry of pain as she threw a vase at his retreating head and hit square with a shattering of porcelain. The other men laughed. There were still those who didn’t respect her position. Hell, she didn’t respect it.

  She encountered men who didn’t think she was up to the job as a hunter. If she didn’t assert herself from the start, they would never accept her. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

  “Stop frowning, you’re too sexy to be angry.”

  Gabriel wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her so she could circle her legs around his hips. He looked at her leg, the vibration of her phone pressing against him now.

  “Are you going to answer that?” he asked, not meeting her eyes.

  They hadn’t addressed the issue of her hunting. It was a dark topic which would put them both in a dark mood.

  Her phone buzzed to let her know she had a message. Gabriel put her down and went to help carry her lounge.

  She knew the message was from a fellow hunter. She’d dropped off the radar in the last month and she couldn’t bring herself to tell them why. They’d left a stream of messages since she’d disappeared, all asking for her help killing this or tracking that.

  “Shall I tell you a story to make you feel better?” Kennard asked.

  He wasn’t helping her move and Marian was still unsure why he’d made the trip with them.

  “Getting sentimental in your old age?” she taunted him.

  “Hardly, I just thought you might like to know why I joined the pack.”

  Now Marian was actually listening. Kennard had spoken few words to her since they’d met. Most were Gabriel wants you or I wouldn’t do that if I were you. She was learning the rules, but the going was slow, and more than once she’d endangered the pack by her actions. She was used to being the strong one, the leader. Now she felt like a newborn, a strong newborn that could kill people.

  Kennard stared at her, his eyes unblinking. His skin had the rosy flush that meant he’d fed today. She shuddered inwardly at the thought. Her fingers moved under the edge of her shirt and traced the tip of the scar that marked her back and side. She found that it helped her think.

  “Go ahead,” she told him.
r />   “Gabriel killed me.”

  “Excuse me!”

  Several of the men turned to look at her. She smiled to reassure them and made a mental note to speak softer, not that it would matter because they’d still be able to hear her—stupid wolf hearing.

  “Yes, he staked me when I ventured onto his land. I was starving, my own kind drove me from the city and the scent of the pack was too strong to pass. It was Nole who spoke for me and convinced him to remove the stake and not behead me. She told him that she trusted me and that if I were to live, she would vouch for my ability to control my thirst.”

  “And he believed her?”

  “You have met Nole, have you not?” he asked dryly.

  She understood what he meant. It was hard to ignore anything the girl said in her old woman voice. Gabriel took her every word on board and never questioned her.

  “Did she say anything to you about me?” she questioned, not sure she would like the answer.

  “That you would kill him when he asks it and not before.”

  She sucked in a quick breath and searched the room for her love, her heart thundering in her chest at the very idea she would harm him.

  “Gabriel, why would you ask me to kill you?” she yelled across the room. Every eye suddenly averted and there was a rush for the doorway.

  Gabriel glared at Kennard who stood as still as a statue and stared right back.

  “You didn’t have to tell her that.”

  “Were you going to?” Kennard asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” Marian demanded.

  “Ah…” Her towering alpha looked sheepish, an expression that Marian never expected to see on his chiseled face. His large hand came up to ruffle his dark hair as he thought. “Actually, I didn’t think it would matter. I have no idea what she was talking about and I don’t ask.”

  Marian thought about this. He moved toward her slowly, hands held before him as if approaching an angry animal.