Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

AILEEN

I 'm overwhelmed.

By the wild beauty of Wulfric, which amazes me. The city gleams in the dying light of day, the heat giving say to the cool kiss of nightfall's breeze. The tech of the city buildings marries the wild forests and plains dotted with lakes and snaking rivers that were evident as the shuttled dropped through the atmosphere.

I've never been off a space station or ship before, and I can't quite believe the difference in the smell of the air. The taste of metallic recyclers is completely gone, replaced by flavors and scents I've never experienced.

The air itself moves, and not from being pushed by a vent, but on its own, rustling through the leaves of trees I've never seen.

Then there's Brekker.

The man—werewolf—I'm supposed to marry.

He's huge. Imposing.

He looms over me, sucking up all my attention from the moment I step off the shuttle, my red silk dress whipping around me in the planet's gentle wind.

Those tawny golden eyes are even more inhuman in person, and it's a struggle to look at anything but him.

He commands attention.

When he holds me against him, tugging me away from the female werewolf, Tessa, I think, my mind goes strangely blank.

My body, however, goes deliciously tight and loose all at once.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely attracted to him.

Which… is slightly concerning.

I've had about a day and a half to get used to the idea of this: essentially, I'm a mail-order bride. My job is to marry this guy.

I get money out of it.

I get security out of it, something I've never had at all before.

All of that is fine. Good, even.

What I'm not quite used to, though, is the idea of having an actual husband out of it. Now he's here, holding me up, one hand firm on my hip. The heat of his palm sears through the fabric of my dress, and when the breeze drifts across me, my nipples peak under the silk at the contrasting sensations.

He's real.

Not just a hologram projection or an idea of security, but a flesh and blood werewolf who doesn't seem to want to let me go.

I'm on edge.

Worse, I'm strangely excited by it.

It helps that he's gorgeous to look at, all packed muscle and height and sharp, masculine features.

It also helps that he can't seem to stop staring at me, a possessive edge to his gaze that has me equal parts thrilled and terrified.

I could have done worse.

We step into the grand entrance of the Clan Claw building, or compound, as Violet explained to me on the Starlight hub, and trying to hold all my thoughts together is like trying to hold water in spread fingers.

"Are you all right?" Brekker's low voice sends a shiver through me.

I glance up at him, and his gaze slips from my eyes to my mouth.

Before I can answer, he strokes his forefinger over my bottom lip, loosening it from where I've nearly gnawed it raw.

"Are you afraid?" he asks again, his hand capturing my chin, his golden gaze darting between my eyes.

I don't answer right away, swallowing around the lump in my throat, considering my responses.

Afraid? Not really, not necessarily. Overwhelmed, however? Yes. Thoroughly.

"I'm not afraid of you," I answer, and I'm slightly surprised to find it's the truth. He could rip my throat out, something I'm even more sure of as he smiles down at me, a hint of sharp canines beneath his lips.

"You should be," he says, and it's so low and serious I'm not sure if I've heard him correctly.

Something sharp pricks at my skin through the fabric of the dress, and I inhale in surprise.

Claws.

Of course it is.

"Are you trying to scare me?" I ask him, summoning all my bravery. I stop, and he does, too, pulling me close to him so our bodies are pressed together.

My brain stutters, and I try to hold on to my train of thought. He just feels… right next to me, the lizard part of my brain liking everything about him very, very much.

"I don't need to try. I can scent your fear clouding your perfume." His eyes dilate, and his nostrils flare delicately as he dips his head.

I inhale in surprise as his nose rubs a line across my throat.

"I smell arousal, too, Aileen. You can't hide anything from me. Does that scare you?"

It should. It should, because I'm not an idiot, and having a stranger husband who can read my moods through my skin should be enough to shake me in my boots—or lack thereof—but it doesn't.

"No." The word is an admission, a breathy whisper that surprises us both.

His hands tighten almost painfully on my body, and my core clenches in response.

"They said you had to uphold the terms of the contract, too," I tell him, and there is a blatant challenge in my voice. "Or I can leave and still get paid."

I jut my chin up in defiance, and a growling bark of a laugh tears from his throat.

"Brave little thing. You think I'd let you leave after mating you?"

My heart skips a beat. Mating. That sounds… more intense than marrying. More permanent.

"I think you wouldn't hurt me. Or break the contract." I'm testing him, still pressing closer. "What would you stand to gain from that? You need me, or you wouldn't have bothered with the Starlight Lottery." It's a gamble, a stab in the dark.

But his eyes flare, and a small smile kicks the corners of my lips up.

"What do you know about the Wulfric?" he asks. "What do you know of our ways? Of our mating ceremony?"

I throw my shoulders back, pulling away from him as Tessa, his sister clears her throat.

"I have a feeling you're about to tell me what I need to know." I toss my hair for good measure.

He doesn't move, just leans closer, giving me a close-up look at his inhuman canines.

My, what big teeth you have.

I smile back. I have teeth, too.

"During the Wulfric ceremony, I will bite you." His fingertips trace a spot along the place where my shoulder meets my neck, and I shiver involuntarily. "Here. It is a claiming bite." His eyes flash gold.

I suck in a breath, riveted by him.

"They did not tell you that this is part of our contract, which cannot be undone. They did not tell you?—"

"You don't have to bite her to marry her," Tessa interrupts.

He growls at her.

It sends a shockwave through me.

"I will bite her. She's mine now." He turns his attention back go me. "Unless you want to say no. Do you want to say no to me? Or do you want to see just how far the rabbit hole goes, little human wolf?"

Mute, I shake my head.

"I'm going to need more than that." His hand tangles in the hair at the nape of my neck, and I let out a small moan as he licks the spot he just touched. It sends an electric pulse through my body. "Tell me you want the chase, pet."

I don't really understand what I've gotten myself into.

"I will make it so good for you, Aileen," he whispers in my ear, lips brushing featherlight against it.

I don't know this man—alien, er, werewolf, whatever —at all.

But my body? My body knows it wants everything he's offering and then some.

"I don't know," I say thickly. Heaven help me, but I do know.

I want whatever he is selling, but I'm afraid.

"I need time," I say plaintively.

"Honesty. Good," he says, releasing me. His nostrils flare as he inhales. His hands fist at his sides, his eyes darkening as he stares me. "We will take our time. You won't be scared for long." He pauses. "I can take my time." The words are low and reverent, like he's trying to convince himself.

"Your pheromones are affecting her," Tessa says, frowning slightly, though there's blatant amusement dancing in her eyes.

I sway, missing the pressure of his body, chilled and dizzy without the scorching heat and muscle there.

Then I still, coming to my senses. "Wait… are you smelling me?"

"Yes. He is. We are." She coughs delicately, and I can't help but think she's hiding a laugh under it. "Our senses are much more, ah, delicate than humans."

"Advanced is the word you're looking for," Brekker interrupts. "Our senses, our bodies, all more advanced."

My throat goes tight as he looks at me meaningfully. "Right," I choke out.

I close my eyes, willing myself to get some semblance of control over my body.

"This way," Tessa calls out. Her bright blond ponytail swings down her back, caught up in gold ringlets that catch the light.

I follow, my feet cooperating in a way that my mind doesn't seem to want to.

This was easier to think about on the Starlight Lottery hub. A life of luxury, a life I could have never made for myself on the last station, and a husband I had to tolerate at most.

Now, though, with the husband in question at my side—squeezing all the attention from my mind, taking up all the air in the hallway—I don't think tolerating him is even close to the right word.

This werewolf I'm supposed to marry?

He's a force of nature, and I'll be lucky to survive him.