Epilogue

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." My pulse was racing, the moon high above. It drooped between the looping twist of trees as I scurried through the woods. All four of my legs ached, but in a way that only made me burn brighter–harder– longer . The wind ruffled through my fur, and the cold snap that had settled now that the sun had sunk low tasted bitter-bright on my elongated, panting tongue.

Behind me, the thud of feet hitting the ground made my blood sing.

Thump, thump, thump.

I could smell him. Need-hunt-hunger. The spicy musk of alpha. Something sugary sweet that only Mutt possessed. Stronger today because it wasn't just the full moon, but Mutt's rut too. It'd come later this year than usual, probably because of what we'd been through last winter.

Thump, thump, thump.

Another tree to twist around, another twig to snap beneath my paws.

The stuttery beat of my heart called to my mate, beckoning him after me.

Mutt's desperation clogged my nose, made me feel fizzy and soft. Made me want to roll over and give him my belly—because he was alpha— my alpha, and I needed him as much as he needed me.

But first…the chase.

It was a tradition. Something we'd done for the first time that day in the blood-covered snow. Bursting through the trees and wandering far into the milky white froth of winter, desperate for heat and warmth and the slick-hot bite of his teeth in my neck and his knot in my ass.

That had been our first true chase.

Today was different for many reasons, but no less delicious. Because anytime I lost the steady beat of Mutt's feet—feet, because he was in his alphaskin tonight—I could still scent him on the wind.

Calling to me.

Begging for me.

My lungs burned, my muscles tingling as I leapt over a mossy log, the thump, thump of Mutt's feet getting louder. My fur stood on end, panic and desire fizzling beneath my skin as my alpha grew closer and closer. I was faster in this form than I was in my humanskin, but it still felt odd, unnatural.

One day it would be second nature, but today was not that day.

It'd only been a few months since I'd figured out how to shift, after all, and I knew it would take some getting used to. Just like my new heightened senses had.

There were still days when the new sounds and smells overwhelmed me. Made my skin feel tight and the world feel small. And all I could do was crawl beneath the blankets in our bed and nest, desperate to hide.

At those times, Mutt's scent and warmth were the only things that soothed me. His favorite blanket and mine, tangled over top of my head to block out the worst of the noise. He'd find me, because he always did, and he'd sneak beneath the covers beside me. All that hot, sticky skin pressed to mine as the gentle rumble of his purr calmed my racing thoughts.

For hours we'd nest together. It wasn't overtly sexual. Simple and soft and innocent. Until the moment it wasn't anymore, and my need burned bright. Oftentimes the moment my skin became the right size for my body again, I knew just what I wanted. Mutt was always quick to deliver, sweetheart that he was.

Sleepy and docile, I'd turn onto my belly, arch my back, and beg him to mount me till my hole was puffy and slick with his cum, and the wolf that thrummed beneath the surface of my skin was as sated as I was.

Tonight was not a night for cuddling.

No.

Because Mutt had woken up that morning with an itch beneath his skin, and his cock pointed right at me. He'd whined into my hair, huffing and shuddering, hips rubbing needily against my ass, his naked cock leaving hot smears across my skin.

I'd thought I'd been getting the handle on this whole werewolf thing. But apparently there was always something new to learn—because three knots later, when my body was trembling and twitching, and Mutt's cock was still hard, we finally figured out what was wrong.

He was in heat.

No matter how many times he sobbed and fucked into me nothing seemed to work. The itch beneath his skin only grew, his claws popping free, hair spreading across his body, tail erect.

"Please," his voice had been low and rough as he'd nuzzled into my ear. "Please— It's not enough—" His hips snapped into me harder, a pitiful whimper escaping him. "I need—I need?—"

"Anything," I'd promised, because I meant it.

Which was why we'd ended up here. On a chase. With Mutt's alphaskin behind me rather than his wolf, and the anticipatory crackle of sex in the air.

The other wolves in the pack were running tonight too, like they always did on the full moon—but they kept their distance. Despite being clingy as a whole, every moon they kept a polite distance. Mutt said it was because though we were pack and therefore family, they knew I was still new and wouldn't appreciate voyeurs catching an eyeful of Mutt taking the moon out on my ass. Which was nice, but also super invasive.

I figured you couldn't really avoid invasiveness though. Not when you could smell sex from fifty yards away, and hear it from even farther.

Today was no different, though we had gotten a few amused catcalls before we'd split off from the group on our own. All it had taken was one whiff of Mutt when we'd stepped into the clearing we all met in for the start of the run for all of them to steer clear of us.

Thump, thump.

Another log.

My heart raced.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

While I wanted Mutt to catch me—because of course I did—I still didn't want to make this too easy. He needed to chase as badly as I needed to be chased. So I made a beeline for the creek that spanned the chunk of land that the Rocky Mountain pack had finished negotiations on.

If I can get in the water—I can hide my scent.

I pushed harder, lungs burning, heart racing.

And then, there it was, peeking through the trees. Moonlit and beautiful, the small stream trickled loudly as I burst through the woods and raced toward it. I couldn't hear Mutt anymore, but that didn't mean he wasn't close.

He was an excellent hunter, and he could easily conceal himself even from me. When I heard him it was only because he wanted me to. Which meant…he was no doubt close, and I didn't have much time to get away before he found me.

My paws skidded over pebbles as I slid down the rocks toward the water, heart in my throat. I only had a split second to see my reflection, lavender eyes glowing softly on a furry orange face I barely recognized before?—

Fuck—ow— oh .

Time's up.

All the air wooshed from my lungs as a heavy, furry body jerked on top of me. Mutt's black fur glinted, the water rippling, his distorted reflection flickering. The gleam of his sapphire blue eyes wavered in the water, as did the pointed ears on his head, and his long snout filled with razor-sharp, wicked teeth.

And then he was hauling me backward with his claw-tipped hands, away from the creek, onto the much softer sand. I fought back, heart thumping erratically as I struggled in his grip, putting every last ounce of fight I had left into the movements only to fail spectacularly.

Because he was simply stronger than I was.

Bigger.

Better.

A predator made to hunt other predators.

Mutt's claws bit into my furry hips, forcing me flat on my belly, pinning me into the sand as his hot breath huffed at the back of my neck. Caught . I'm caught. I jerked again and he growled, low and rumbling, and terrifying.

My wolf whined, melting beneath the much larger beast, giving in immediately. And the second I gave in, I shifted. It felt odd, like it always did, but right too as my fur melted away. Naked and much smaller now, my humanskin ached with need as I dug my blunt fingers into the cold, damp sand, looking for something to ground me.

God, he feels good.

So big, so fucking ?—

Fuck.

Mutt growled his triumph, voice rumbling through the air as the hot slick of his drool dripped on the back of my neck. His hands shifted a little, still holding tight to my hips, keeping me pinned and obedient beneath him.

"Oh shit," I whined softly, achingly hard. The brush and scratch of his coarse fur along my back made my head spin. It was so foreign and strange, and sexy as hell because beneath the teeth and the hair and the claws was my mate.

My Mutt.

My mate.

The man that owned my heart.

And he needed this.

He needed me .

So fucking bad I could taste it in the air.

My ass was slick and ready—we'd known this would happen before we'd even left our little shared apartment. Not that I'd been anything other than puffy and full of cum all day, but still.

"Fuck, Alpha," I gasped out, groaning when Mutt's hairy, claw tipped fingers dragged over my hips, forcing them up, and open, till my ass was presented and I could feel the slippery hot of his pointed, rock-hard cock pushing against my cheeks.

There was no preamble, no foreplay—and I was fine with that.

Completely fucking fine with it—because I'd been hard the entire time he'd chased me. And his scent was aroused, aroused, aroused—a plume of need and musk filling my nose. I sobbed, arching back obediently till the slick tip of his dick kissed my achingly empty hole.

We'd done a lot of experimentation since the first time we'd run together like this. I'd taken him in every one of his forms, in every one of mine—but this was…fuck. This was maybe my favorite. The way his alphaskin—a source of terror for most—became puppy-like greed, and achingly gentle as he lined his hips up and?—

Ohhhh fuck yeah.

Fuck.

So fucking huge.

He filled me. He filled me and filled me and filled me. So slick and big and hard—the red of his normally sheathed cock tucked snug inside me. So deep I swear I could feel it in my throat as the damn thing pushed against every bit inside me that sent stars bursting behind my eyelids.

"Fuck yes," I moaned, hips jerking. Or, trying to. Because Mutt's hands were still on them, his claws digging in as he yanked me back, unceremoniously till he was buried to the hilt.

He fucked me, rutting into me, over and and over and over—setting a brutal animalistic pace. All I could do was drool into the dirt and whine, the intoxicating scent of his rut filling my nose and head—till all I could think about was more, more, more.

A hot tingle bubbled up in my veins as I shuddered and gasped, ass burning as Mutt forced himself inside again. Every time he pulled out, I couldn't help but clench, begging him back in, my eyes rolling back.

He snapped his teeth at me and I sobbed, nipples pebbled and hard, my cock bobbing uselessly between my legs.

Over and over, deeper and deeper, he rode me like a man possessed.

Our thighs bumped. His muscles rock hard beneath bristled fur. The thwacking wag of his tail could be heard—but only barely—over the wet slap of his balls smacking my perineum. If Mutt kissed like he had no fucks to give, he fucked like there was no tomorrow. Like he never wanted out of me.

His claws cut crescents into my ass and thighs, raking over my skin and leaving trails of raised scratches. Wounds that healed as quickly as they rose.

Mine, mine, mine— Mutt's voice echoed in the back of my head, our bond twisting tighter, brighter, lovelier.

Mine, mine, mine ? —

Need you.

Need you need you need you.

Needyouneedyouneedyou.

"Fuck," I sobbed, reaching down between my legs to clutch my cock. All it took was one squeeze. One single squeeze, and then the brush of Mutt's fur on my back, and his cock in my ass sent me off. Mewling weakly, I spilled into the dirt, clutching tight at his dick as it pistoned inside me, stretching me wide enough I could hardly breathe.

Take it, take it, take it.

Mutt's knot swelled, stretching the tight skin of my rim as I gasped and whimpered, and with a brutal jerk of his hips he forced it inside. It was the sweet kind of ache. The kind of pain that burned just right.

Drooling, I jerked a little, then relaxed when Mutt's teeth bit into the back of my neck, severing the skin there, the scent of blood filling the air as he marked me the way he always did when we were like this.

The way he had the first time—when we'd fucked in the snow in the middle of the woods outside the hunting cabin, and our mating had become official.

Since then, a lot had changed.

We'd moved in together, officially. Blair's restaurant had finally opened. Mutt had bonded with all of my family, and I'd bonded with his. Butters and I now competed on CandyCrush. Which he was…ridiculously good at. He'd been banished from Mutt's pack for turning me, which was fucking shitty as hell. But luckily for everyone, Silas had welcomed him into his pack with open arms, and probably an agenda. An agenda that I was pretty damn sure Butters did not mind, if the looks he shot Silas were any indication.

Theo and I spent at least an hour a week sharing stories—to Mutt's chagrin. And Harry and I had become fast friends. He'd randomly call me, rant about something I usually didn't understand—most of the time it was about Kaiju—and then he'd hang up.

Blair and I were better than ever. And while there was still some awkward moments, we were working through those. I think…what I'd needed was a breakthrough. And while it had been hard won, and we had bad days as well as good—at the end of the day, I'd never felt closer to my brother.

I'd thought he'd hate me. That they all would. That the second I dropped the act and told them the truth I'd no longer be appealing.

But they didn't.

Instead, they accepted me with open arms.

When I'd shown up at Blair's apartment covered in blood, recently turned, with Mutt in tow, I'd expected the worst. I'd wanted to see my family, to make sure they were safe—which Mutt said was normal and a wolf thing. But Blair hadn't batted an eye, he'd just nodded, squinted at me and said, "Nice."

Richard, however, had gagged. Very obviously.

"That'll take some getting used to," he muttered to himself, and then plugged his nose as he gave me an awkward, half-pat-hug—because he didn't want to get his shirt dirty.

Apparently Collin was telepathically connected to the two of them, because five seconds later the front door had banged open and he'd launched himself at me and Mutt with lanky-armed enthusiasm.

"Is this real blood?!" he'd asked, amazed. "Holy shit. That's like. So gross. But cool."

Luckily we'd mostly dried off, but he was still a little tacky by the time he peeled himself off of us and walked into the kitchen in search of food. "You never have edible fucking foo—oh." He popped his head out. "You bought Pop Tarts."

"Of course I bought Pop Tarts." Blair rolled his eyes.

"I. Love. Pop. Tarts," Mutt boomed, loud and excited, his tail wagging like crazy. "They are the best! Crunchy and wrong, because they are not real food. But very good. So much sugar! Yes."

"Yes! It's the wrongness that makes them so good," Collin agreed, wagging the box at him. "You want some?"

"Do I—" Mutt jerked his head back, eyes wide, like Collin had just offered him a trip to meet Santa, and not a shitty pastry.

Don't get me wrong, I love Pop Tarts as much as the next guy. But it wasn't like they were fucking gourmet or some shit.

"Do I want a Pop Tart?" Mutt's tail whacked me hard enough he nearly made me stumble.

"Yeah." Collin blinked, looking at me, then Mutt, then me again. Then he snorted. "They're?—"

Mutt did not need convincing. He looked to me for permission and when I nodded my head he bounded across the room and slammed into the kitchen, already reaching for the box.

"Why is it every time I see you, you've just got out of trouble?" Blair asked like a long-suffering old man, and not like he was a year younger than me and made of just as much chaos.

"Says the dude who almost got killed three fucking times before noticing it was intentional."

"Touché," Blair shrugged, and then he grinned at me. "The eyes are new."

"Yeah." And then I was hugging him, and he felt good and solid and like pack. I rubbed my face against his shoulder and his throat, scenting him happily, before releasing him just as quickly as I'd grabbed him, and moving on to Richard.

Richard groaned, but let me, shoving me off by the end with a shake of his head. "You have no idea how much work you've caused me," he huffed out, but his eyes were fond. "The Council is gonna be pissed." He frowned down at the tacky blood smear on his leather jacket.

I shrugged apologetically. "We didn't have much of a choice."

"You wanna elaborate about that?"

"Right now? Nope." I gave him one last hug, really rubbing the blood in, then abandoned them both so I could go steal the last Pop Tart before Mutt ate them all. I was fucking starving. And also maybe to brush my scent all over the walls a bit so that Blair's place smelled right.

"Mom's going to be pissed," Richard laughed, sounding weirdly happy about that.

Mutt grinned at me when he saw what I was doing. And because he was a babe—the babest babe that ever babed, he offered me a silver packet of Pop Tarts. The last ones, because "I did not want you to go without."

A lot had changed since that day six months ago, but a lot had stayed the same too.

Mutt still enjoyed the toys I'd bought him from the pet store—which was… hilarious . I still coveted the squirrel dog toy that he'd bought me for my "sex basket". We were as horny as ever. And now that I'd discovered the joy of getting plowed with wolf dick, I kept my ass primed and ready like ninety percent of the time.

So that all he'd have to do when he saw me was slip my pants down and slide right in.

Just the way we liked it.

I forgot what it was like not to be covered in quick-healing hickeys and bruises. And we discovered—through trial and error—that bites from his alphaskin took the longest to heal, and those quickly became our favorite.

The bite on the back of my neck—the mating mark—never faded.

The first one. From his human teeth.

The one that had bonded us before we'd even known we could.

"Good bitch—" Mutt's voice was muffled, his teeth sliding out of my neck, the crackled growl of his alphaskin's tone buzzing through the air. He didn't like to speak like this. It was difficult and hurt—but he managed anyway sometimes, because he told me the ache to talk to me was worse than any pain.

"Pretty bitch," his voice was a low, buttery snarl.

I shuddered, moaning softly as the wet slide of his teeth leaving my skin made my nerve endings light on fire. Shivery and docile, I groaned when he shifted his hips, his knot rubbing up inside me. It couldn't move much, especially when he was in this form. It was a wonder it could fit at all, he was so fucking big.

It burned so good as he rocked it inside me, the hot spurts of his cum filling me up.

"Need you," Mutt's voice dropped even lower, and I chanced a glance back, desperate to see his face. His furry head was tossed back, his dark pelt liquid black where it cupped his shivering pecs. He was panting, snout tipped toward the sky, his powerful humanlike body shifting with every minute twitch of his hips.

Gorgeous.

So fucking gorgeous.

My ass twitched and he growled, dropping his head back down, his eyes flickering like a predator as he snarled at me. I didn't flinch, because it wasn't meant to scare me. Not really. Besides, he couldn't scare me if he tried.

He was a giant cinnamon roll, even in this form, and that was the goddamn truth.

With his wolf so close to the surface, Mutt was ravenous when he was like this. He normally had very little mind to mouth filter, and that only got worse the hairier he was. There was something primal and delicious about the way his hips continued to rut—almost like he couldn't help it—like despite the fact that he was buried as deeply inside me as he could go, he still wanted deeper.

When his knot finally softened enough he could pull out, he whined, this low needy sound, slick, pointed cock slipping free.

The bright pink flesh was still hard, flexing toward his belly, his hairy balls full and swollen with another load, despite the fact I could feel his cum dripping out of my ass. That was another new thing we'd discovered. He came a lot when he was shifted.

"Mutt," I murmured, voice low and soft. Thready sweet, the way I'd never known it could be till I met him. " Alpha ," I twisted around, twigs digging into my bare back, my movements sluggish, my hole clenching.

"So sore and wet," Mutt rumbled, staring at my hole as I spread my legs to give him a better look. His long, textured tongue flickered out to wet his lips. And then he descended on my ass like a starving man. Dexterous and slippery, his hot tongue slid inside me, rubbing his cum deeper, then scooping it out, his fangs pushing against my most sensitive flesh.

It should not have felt as good as it did.

It shouldn't have made my skin zing and my spent cock perk up.

But it did.

The danger of it was nearly as good as the pleasure.

This looked so wrong—his wolf-like head tucked between my legs. And that little thrill only made me harder, made me clench tighter, made my head toss back and my legs spread wide enough to accommodate his massive furry head.

When Mutt pulled back—after making me cum twice more—first with his tongue on my hole and cock, and then with his cock inside me, he had a smug grin on his face.

His eyes glinted and I laughed, fucked-out and quivery, the full moon coating his fur in blue light. He was a smug bastard. More confident now than ever, as he'd had months to learn my body, and liked to use his newfound knowledge to his advantage.

I was sweat sticky, coated in my own release, and exhausted. And still, his cock rocked into me, the wet slip of his spilled cum squelching as the liquid-hot pressure pumped in over and over again.

He was a charming, smug bastard.

And apparently smug bastards were my thing.

Mutt kept releasing these lovely shallow grunting sounds, his hips snapping, his powerful body bowed over mine as he fucked and fucked and fucked, eyes pinched shut, mouth full of razor sharp teeth clenched tight.

When he came again he hissed, the hot splatter of his cum inside me painting my insides. I was so full I was surprised he could fit more inside me at all. Could feel my belly bulge when I lay a hand on it—not sure if it was in my head or not—but either way, it was hot as hell.

"Gotta breed you," Mutt murmured, voice crackly soft. "Gotta breed you—Please—I need?—"

"I-I know," I gasped out, because I did. I did know. Better than anyone honestly. His need to claim and mark and mate. To fill me full enough I'd be aching and empty for days without him. To make my ass smell like his cum. To mark me inside and out.

When I squeezed his knot inside me a second time, Mutt made a garbled wet sound, pitiful and sexy all at the same time.

Hours later, after we'd calmed down and fucked like rabbits all over the woods, Mutt carried me home. I healed quickly now—quickly enough most wounds didn't bother me. But he was still a gentleman. Chivalrous as hell. And he took it upon himself to make sure I was sore enough it'd take a while to fully heal, just because he liked the way I whined.

I couldn't complain. I liked it too.

"You are happy?" Mutt asked, still in alphaskin, his fur warm and prickly soft as he carried me through the woods toward the little house we'd rented on the new pack grounds. It was kinda…the most perfect place ever. Had amazing water pressure. Never ran out of hot water. There was a cobblestone path that led up the steps, and the front was covered in ivy.

It looked nothing like anywhere I'd ever lived before, and it felt right.

It was kinda huge too—for two people, but Mutt assured me we wouldn't be alone for long. Like he'd told me long ago there were "many pups who needed homes," and while neither of us were ready for parenthood yet, one day we would be.

It showed how far I'd come, that that thought filled me with warmth and elation, and not dread.

Because I knew now, despite never having a good father myself, that I would be a fucking wonderful dad. Our kids would be safe from harm, no matter what befell them. They'd be safe from the monsters that wore human faces, and the darkness of the world. And they would be loved, as simple as that.

Mutt had taught me a lot of things.

But most of all, he'd taught me that true strength came from surviving. From enduring the cruelties of the world, and learning how to smile despite them.

As Mutt tucked me into bed, shifting with a crack-snap of bone, his fur melted away. Warm skin pushed against mine. His tongue lapped at the bite on the back of my neck, soothing and slick, the blankets pulled up snug around us. The gnome in the corner of the room sat sentinel, watching over us as our hearts beat the same lovely rhythm.

I'd been lost for so damn long.

Tired for so damn long.

And as my eyes slid shut, with my mate behind me, safe in our nest, in the home we'd made, it felt good to finally rest.