CHAPTER 9

NOAH

What a day! I couldn't believe the bomb Lucas had dropped on me. I was going to turn into a wolf. I'm a werewolf now. That's some fucked up shit right there.

All day, I had been thinking about every werewolf movie or tv show I'd watched over the years. All the bones cracking and teeth growing when they shifted looked horribly painful.

No thank you. I do not want to go through that but apparently, I have no choice.

Luna was going to raise her moon in the air and… wait, was luna the moon? Or a goddess who ruled the moon? I'd have to ask Lucas. Anyway, the moon goes up and I become a four-legged furry creature.

I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message.

Ugh.

Of all the things I could message him about it had to be the most irrelevant one. I should have asked him how long the first shift will take or if it's going to hurt so much I pass out.

Actually, I didn't know if I wanted the answer to that.

My phone beeped.

He was going to follow me home and probably talk to me in my head anyway so, I'd take all the peace and quiet I could get. I was actually surprised he messaged the answer instead of projecting it to my mind.

I was thinking about it as I drove home and I had to admit, I was kind of curious what I would look like as a wolf. Maybe I would be black to match Lucas since it was his werewolf gene that had infected me.

When I left, I'd found him waiting for me outside my bookstore when I locked up, ready to walk me to my car. Which you'd think was sweet but it felt a little overprotective. I didn't need to be escorted from my shop to the carpark out back, I walked there every day and it was only a few steps.

He followed me home most of the way before overtaking me on his shiny muscle bike and zoomed toward my house.

I watched him go past, seeing his strong, muscular arms outstretched toward the handles, as he flew past me.

It should be a crime to look that fucking sexy.

I pulled into my driveway and let myself into the house, looking around for him. I saw his bike out front so he must be around somewhere. Probably hiding in my bedroom, knowing that cocky bastard.

I walked over to the sliding door to close the blinds and there he was, sitting at the side of the balcony.

My heart did a little skip at the sight of him and it pissed me off. We might be mates or whatever, but I will not let the ‘pull' decide how I feel for me! I choose what I do and who I'm with, not this ridiculous bite on my neck.

I slid the door open. "Really? You're going to stay out here again?"

"Of course. You're my mate and I need to make sure you're safe. Though, I could do a better job of that if you let me inside your house but I'll wait until you're ready."

I sighed. This whole situation was overwhelming and becoming exhausting. The insane roller coaster of the past couple days was giving me emotional whiplash.

I walked over and sat beside him on the step. "And what if I'm never ready?"

"That's not possible. No one can resist the bond forever. The pull will get stronger and stronger until you give into it."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Then the fucker took my comment as a challenge and leaned over to lick his bite mark. I'd taken off my sweater when I got home, forgetting that it was exposed. I moaned as the pleasure tingles erupted throughout my body.

"See. Your body wants mine," he murmured in my ear.

*Lick, lick*

I shivered as my arousal surged.

"And the desire will only grow," *Lick, lick, lick* "until you accept it and give in."

*Lick, lick, lick*

I shuddered as my cock hardened and I lost all ability to think. He leant over me, easing me back and lay his body over me. He began grinding his cock against mine while he kept tonguing that damn bite mark.

The desire I felt for this man skyrocketed. It was like he had a manual to my body and knew exactly what to do to turn me into putty in his hands.

I could feel his hardness pressing against my own, creating delicious friction over my cock. My mind didn't work anymore and my body had taken over. I held onto his waist and rolled my pelvis, grinding up into him and seeking relief.

I was panting, desperate to come within moments. All the pent-up frustration from getting turned on every time I remembered our night in the woods had me on the edge faster than ever.

His hand slid under my shirt, tweaking my nipple as he continued tonguing my neck and grinding against me.

Then he sucked on the mark and my cock erupted. I cried out as I found sweet release and trembled beneath him.

How could he have this much power over me? Barely minutes of grinding and I was coming in my pants like a teenager.

I was still moaning through my orgasm and barely registered the sound of a zipper. As I tried to catch my breath from the mind-blowing pleasure, I felt warm wetness landing on my chest and belly.

I opened my eyes and saw his eyes glowing golden as he came on me. That face was pure sex. The dark lust in his expression momentarily took my breath away.

Then, realization dawned as he began rubbing his cum around into my skin with his cock.

He was marking me. Claiming his territory and suddenly, I was furious.

"Get. Off. Me."

He growled.

"Muzzle your wolf and get the fuck off me."

"Why are you fighting me so much? Luna chose us for each other, it's why you enjoyed that so much."

I glared up at him. "Your Luna , doesn't make my decisions. I do. You took advantage of that fucking mark you put on me, to get what you want. It was a cheap shot," I said angrily, pushing at him to get off me.

He relented and let me up. I had no illusions that he could keep me pinned down for as long as he wanted, he was huge and far stronger than me, but he let me up. I stormed to the door and was about to slam it when he made me pause.

"Noah, wait."

I could hear the sad pleading sound in his voice and my heart twisted. For a fraction of a second, I wanted to go to him. To wrap him in my arms. Then it was replaced by the familiar anger and frustration.

Who the fuck am I anymore?

It made me furious that whatever he'd done to me, had so much power over me, like my emotions weren't my own anymore.

"What?" I asked a little too harshly.

"I have to go back to check on something at the pack tonight."

"Then go."

"I can't leave you unprotected. My second in command, Drew, will stay here tonight to make sure you're safe."

Was this guy fucking serious? "You know, this is practically stalking, right?"

"You're too important to me, to leave you vulnerable. Just please do one thing, don't wash the cum off."

Is he for real?! "Uh, what?"

"It's my scent. Other wolves recognize it and they'll keep their distance if you smell like me. They'll know you're my mate and under my protection."

"Because this isn't clear enough?" I asked sarcastically, pointing at my neck.

"Not when you keep covering it up, no. I wouldn't have to leave my scent on you if you didn't, not that I don't love you walking around smelling like mine," he said with a smug look.

"Ugh, you are frustrating as hell! Look around you," I gestured out toward the woods in the distance, "there's nothing out here but the mosquitoes. Oh wait, let me guess, your cum is a mosquito repellent too?" I snickered, without any real humour. He was being ridiculous.

"Other wolves might not be here now but that doesn't mean they won't come around."

Before I could respond, another huge guy, though not as huge as Lucas, walked around the house into my backyard.

"Do none of you have manners?" I asked.

They both ignored my question.

"This is Drew. Drew, I'd like you to meet my mate, Noah," Lucas said, gesturing to me with a proud smile.

"Wow! You really wanted to leave you mark on him, didn't you? That's one hell of a bite," Drew said, staring at my neck and making me self-conscious.

I lifted the edge of my shirt and covered it. Lucas growled and gave me a pointed look, so I sighed, dropping it back down and throwing my hands into the air in frustration.

"I'm going inside. Stay in the yard if you must but break into my house and I'm calling the cops."

Drew snickered.

"What?"

"Half of the local cops are in our pack," Drew answered.

"Oh, for fucks sake," I muttered, walking inside.

I closed the glass door, staring at them angrily as I locked it and pulled the curtain closed.

I walked to the bathroom, getting ready to shower but Lucas' words rang through my mind. What if there was an unknown danger that he hadn't told me about? This wasn't the same world I thought I'd grown up in and maybe there's a risk I don't know of. It would make sense given how overprotective he was being.

I sighed in frustration and wiped the bulk of his cum away with toilet paper, so there was some residue left on the skin, but not so much that it would become crusty and uncomfortable.

That will have to do.

I did use the removable shower head to rinse my own cum off though. Sticky balls are not fun! I changed into clean clothes and walked into the kitchen to make some dinner when there was a nock at the back door that led onto the deck.

"What does he want now?" I muttered to myself and pulled the curtain back.

Drew was standing there, alone. Lucas must have left and I eyed him warily.

"What?" I asked, not opening the door. I knew he could hear me with his superpowered wolf hearing.

"Really? You're not even going to open the door? He sent me here to protect you, do you really think you're in any danger from me, given how overprotective he is?"

He had a point. I slid the door open.

"What?"

Drew just chuckled. "She definitely chose well for him," he muttered.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"He's an alpha, the strongest of our pack. He needs a strong-willed mate to handle him and you seem to be doing just fine," Drew said with a smirk.

"Um… thanks, I think."

"But you're killing him too," he said, dropping the smirk and staring me down.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's been waiting fifteen years to find his mate. That's a long time. Sure, he's had bed partners here and there but he's also watched them move on find their soulmates, leaving him alone again. That's a long fucking time to feel lonely. Now, he's finally found you, but you're pushing him away. It's hurting him."

"He seems fine to me," I said, thinking about his smug cocky attitude.

"He's an alpha, it's in his nature not to show his vulnerability. But I can feel it through the pack bond and I can see it on him, he needs you."

I sighed, running a frustrated hand through my hair.

Honestly this whole mate thing was wearing me down. Was I attracted to him? Without a doubt! Did I find his cocky arrogance equal parts sexy and infuriating? You bet! But did I want to hurt him? No.

"I just want a choice in all this," I muttered, surprised that I was being so honest with this guy who I'd just met but he had a vibe about him that put me at ease.

"When you shift and you claim him too, that's you choosing him." Drew said, then he started taking his shirt off.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"It's more comfortable to sleep outside in wolf form," he said.

I watched him walk to the edge of the deck and turn his back as he stripped his pants off, noting that he had a nice ass, and shifted into a brown colored wolf.

I went into the kitchen, filled a bowl with water and put it on the balcony beside the door. He huffed at me then lay down.

"You're welcome," I said, assuming his huff was a ‘thank you'.

I went back inside and ate some leftovers for dinner, then got ready for bed. My mind was frazzled.

Drew's words had more effect on me than I was willing to show him. What he'd said about my keeping Lucas at arm's length hurting him, twisted my gut in an unpleasant way.

I didn't want to hurt Lucas and truthfully, I did feel the pull. A lot. He was always invading my thoughts and whenever that happened, my cock would get excited and I'd have to calm it down.

I was fluctuating between a constant state of arousal and frustration. It was exhausting.

Would it really be so bad to give him a chance?