17

Aspen

"This is boring." I tossed a rock into the darkness.

"Agreed." Fallon sat with her ankles crossed in the dirt and her back against a tree, cautiously eyeing the massive brown beast that was Alpha John O'Neil as he paced guard duty in front of us.

I was dying to know how their love story was working out, but Fallon had been extra standoffish since we decided to do this thing. Amber and Danielle were behind the tree braiding each other's hair and pretending they weren't eavesdropping. I figured the lovers' drama was a save-it-for-later conversation. But I wasn't sure when later would be.

My chest ached and I rubbed it, trying to soothe the pull.

"I still don't see why Ranger is making us stay back." My wolf and I weren't stupid. But my wolf thought it was cute he'd asked for our help. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have cared if his ego was bruised a little.

"I take it you haven't hung out with many Alphas," Fallon said.

We both looked at John's wolf who curled his upper lip and snarled as he showed his fangs for a second before he continued to pace.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Fallon rolled her eyes. "You know how Alphas are though. Make sure the coast is clear, first to fight, take a bullet for you. That sort of thing."

At my blank expression, she raised a fist and beat it against her chest.

"Alpha. Male. Cave wolf. Go fight while female stay home and have pups."

Amber and Danielle burst into laughter behind the tree. John's wolf turned his back on us with his tail high and aggressively swishing in the air.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek so I didn't fall into a fit of giggles. "I get that he wants to make sure everything is safe, but if I'm going to lead the run by his side, shouldn't I be down there too?"

"It's not that big of a deal." Fallon pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "The Alpha and Luna leading the wolves is just ceremony. Instinct drives the run and even beasts know how to follow the natural order of things."

"That's the problem." I climbed to my feet. "None of this is exactly natural. We aren't with our own packs. The producers are messing with the season. It doesn't feel right."

As if to prove my point, a camera drone spotted us and flew over. Its spotlight was blinding. We all bared our teeth. The thing flew off and I had to blink until my vision was clear again.

"Yep. That was enough time." I brushed off the back of my flannel shirt. I hadn't brought all my clothes knowing I wouldn't be in human form for long, but the shirt covered enough to stay decent for the cameras filming.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Fallon jumped to her feet.

I shrugged as I started walking, heading to the fire in the distance on the beach where the tug in my chest was pulling me. "If Ranger wanted me to listen, he shouldn't have made getting punished so much fun."

*

Fallon shifted and walked alongside John's wolf. I noticed their beasts seemed much more at ease with each other but figured it wasn't my place to point that out. Amber and Danielle trailed behind us in wolf form. It felt like no one wanted to be seen walking with me. Which was fine. I'd take Ranger's wrath if it came down to it.

The big guy wasn't that scary.

I followed Ranger's scent as we continued along the beach and reached Beau just before the huge bonfire at the inlet. He was emptying one of the extra bags of food Ranger brought with him.

Provider. My wolf hummed her approval.

She loved that Ranger had been prepared.

Trenton was leaning against a tree, lost in conversation with Colton and Tucker when I approached. He looked up and nodded. Being on the show had aged him somehow. The circles under his eyes were deeper and there were lines on his forehead that weren't there before.

"Ranger is going to lead the run?" he asked me through our link.

I nodded, looking around as a few of the females came prowling from the woods in the distance. Sarah, Kimberly, and Ismelda weren't here but Hillary caught my eye and smiled.

"Alright. I'm going home when it starts."

I'm sorry … "What?"

Trenton gave me a sad smile. "I need to figure things out with the pack before I bring a Luna to it. Take care of yourself, okay?"

What is happening?

I'm not sure. And I couldn't find the words to respond. I'd fallen into some parallel universe where Trenton came out as a decent guy.

Maybe I was still on drugs.

Or it could've been the pheromones drifting in the air messing with my head. It was hotter on the beach somehow with all the shifters gathered. I didn't pay attention to the panting in the shadows of the woods, but the aggression and some of the lewd male gazes were harder to ignore. I think I still had scary Alpha privileges because most of them dropped their eyes when I looked their way. But this felt wrong. Unnatural. The tension reminded me of caged shifters prowling behind the bars of prison and waiting for release.

"Are the rumors true?" Hillary came up beside me as Fallon pressed her wolfy body against my legs.

"What rumors?" I asked. Keshia and Lana edged closer to Hillary.

"Sarah said she spoke with you," Hillary whispered, motioning with her eyes to the fire.

"Yeah. I'm helping Ranger lead the run." I blew out a heavy breath, straightening my shoulders and hoping I at least looked the part of confident bitch. "Speaking of Ranger, I think he needs me."

*

"No one wants your dirty blood tainting ours this season," Chad's voice was spitting mad as it rang through the night. Even without shifter hearing, I wouldn't have missed the fear within it.

"And who will lead them? You?" Ranger's tone was icy calm and deadly.

It gave me delicious chills.

"If you had it in you to lead these wolves, you'd already have started the run," Ranger continued as I picked my way down the beach. "Half of them are seconds away from mating right now and the other half are ready to fight. Tomorrow night their beasts will be brutal."

"Are you afraid of a little competition this season?" I think that was Meghan's voice who was purring.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing deep to keep my beast in check as I rounded the fire. Both Edith and Meghan were pressed against Ranger's sides.

Touching what is mine.

"Could you imagine the fun we would have if our animals were in full control?" That was definitely Edith who had her lips close to Ranger's ear and her breasts all squished up on his arm.

Sure can. Let me out so I can show her.

Ranger's shoulders stiffened.

I wasn't sure if it was because he heard my territorial growl behind him or if he was frustrated that I'd disobeyed. It didn't matter either way. I was here now, and a little tired of walking into the middle of conversations and thinking the worst.

"I suggest you take a step back." It wasn't a suggestion, but I was trying to sound nice.

Edith and Meghan ignored me, petting Ranger's arms like they could tame him.

His dark laughter danced along my skin. "I'd do as she says unless you want my future mate to rip out your throats."

He knows us so well, my beast growled her approval. There was a little extra pep in my step as I walked to his side. Edith and Meghan slid back to the logs where the other Alphas and Cindy were seated, giving me short smiles like they hadn't just rubbed themselves all over my turf.

Turf?

If the shoe fits.

Ranger tucked me under his arm possessively, making my wolf preen and my head spin as I breathed in his intoxicating masculine scent. Sweat glistened on his skin from the heat of the fire. It took more effort than I'd like to admit to refrain from licking his chest and claiming him as mine to prove a point.

Damn hormones.

"We were wondering where you'd been hiding," Cindy said, all southern-tea-sweet. But I didn't miss how she leaned forward, keeping her hand on Chad's arm in a show of ownership.

"I was actively avoiding you," the words slipped out before I thought them through.

Cindy was not the wolf I wanted to piss off.

Her eyes narrowed and I forced myself to smile. "Too much estrogen for me here."

She nodded, glancing at Meghan. "I see."

Did we just have a moment?

Whatever it takes to stay on her good side.

"Aspen, sweetheart." Chad leaned forward. "We aren't the wolves you want to avoid."

I refused to give him another look, especially with Cindy clinging to his arm. He could read whatever he wanted from my silence–and hopefully he'd take it as an insult. I may not have gotten along with Cindy that well, but a wolf of her size could do so much better than him.

"We leave at midnight." Ranger tightened his grip on my side. "I suggest you decide in the next hour if you'll be with me or not."

"You can't call it this early." Brett shook his head. "We'll need time to scout the area and find the best routes to run."

I wasn't sure how long Ranger had been standing there arguing, but I could sense his exhaustion as if it were my own. And as much as it freaked me out we were really doing this–in an hour nonetheless–I'd said I would help and I wasn't backing out now.

"He didn't stutter." I laced my fingers through Ranger's fingers. "We're running at midnight."

"And you think we're supposed to follow you?" Meghan blurted out. The outrage on her face made me laugh.

"You can do whatever the hell you want." I tugged on Ranger's hand. "But I'm the only female he'll be running with this season."

"We'll see about that," Edith whispered under her breath as she turned to face the drone hovering nearby. "It doesn't matter who leads the season anyway." She winked at the camera. "The official run is an outdated tradition meant to help guide lower-ranking wolves, but most of us are dominant in our own right here."

Ouch. It hurt worse because I agreed about the stupidity of the run, but Edith made it obvious who was the lower-ranking wolf in this circle by the sympathetic smile she gave me.

Let her be jealous.

I kept my chin raised high and turned to leave, only stopping because Ranger was an immoveable log when he wanted to be and he was still holding my hand.

"If you won't respect my Luna then you aren't welcome to run with us." There was an Alpha bark to his tone I'd never heard before and I realized he wasn't bluffing when he said he didn't use it.

Hearing it now made even my wolf want to turn belly up, so I didn't blame the women when they all bent their head to the side and nodded.

Ranger pulled me down the beach, not letting go of my hand. I wasn't short, but I had to hurry to keep up with his long legs. My head was spinning from the encounter by the fire. He'd stood up for me.

An Alpha stood up for me .

Well, he's our mate. So…

He didn't stop his brooding march until he'd dragged me into an alcove away from the pond on the other side of the forest where the shifters still gathered waiting for him to return.

It was probably as alone as we could get. The evergreen branches were too thick above for the drones to get through and he continued past the trail cams set to film the open space.

I was still reeling and feeling more unsure of myself than ever when Ranger came to an abrupt halt, turning his full attention on me.

"I thought I told you to wait."

"Are you going to spank me again?" I didn't mean to be sarcastic, but my defenses were up and I wasn't sure how to react. He'd protected me. And it didn't feel like pity.

His eyes narrowed and I could sense the reprimand coming, so I panicked and did the only thing I could think to do. My hands wrapped around the back of his neck as I pulled myself up, capturing his lips with mine in a silent apology.

He groaned as he pulled me close, deepening the kiss with a commanding force. I relaxed against him, tasting and teasing with each stroke of my tongue and break for breath, and hoping he felt my appreciation for what he'd done.

His hands slid down my sides, fisting the flannel shirt I wore with nothing underneath.

He released my shirt and cupped my bottom while his lips crashed harder against mine, asserting dominance. My legs wrapped around his waist as Ranger lifted me from my feet.

His hips thrust forward, spreading my legs wider as I locked my ankles behind his back. My beast rose closer to the surface. His wolf answered her challenge with a deep rumble in his chest.

We'd been in my nest hours ago, but it felt like a lifetime. I ached for this. Needed more. His touch. His taste.

I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, biting down as he spun us around.

The sensitive skin of my ass bit into the bark of a tree as he slammed me against it. I moaned into his mouth as he reached between us, ripping the buttons from the flannel shirt that separated my chest from his. My breasts were exposed to the whispers of moonlight peeking down through the trees.

Ranger growled his approval as his rough hand cupped one fully. The calluses of his palm grated against soft flesh as he rolled my nipple between his fingers.

I cried out, seeking more from his kiss and his touch as I arched into him. He ground into me harder. Wetness coated his adonis belt as my core rubbed against the hardened muscles.

I needed him inside me. Now.

Ranger broke our kiss and left me panting with this ache as he stared at me with hungry eyes. There was a darkness to his gaze made more pronounced by the shadows of the night. Chills peppered my exposed and wet skin as he pulled back a torturous inch.

"We need to talk," he gritted out.

"Now?" I almost screamed.

Blood was still rushing to my clit and I'm not ashamed to say I rubbed against him, seeking release.

His hand clamped around my sex and held it steady. It was not freaking fair at all.

"Wait." Alpha power pulsed from him, making my wolf pant harder than she'd been panting this whole time.

"Your rules. The contract you asked for." He growled, lowering his mouth to my neck and speaking as his teeth scraped against my skin. "I need to know what you want."

For you to stop talking and fuck her?

Stop. He sounds serious. I crinkled my nose as if that could help me slow down and think. "I thought that's why we had a safe word. I mean, I'll try anything once."

"That's not…" Ranger growled as his dick pulsed in his basketball shorts. The beast of an appendage wanted free. He pressed his forehead against my shoulder, pinning me hard to the tree. "I need to know what you want this season."

Huh?

Don't be dumb.

Oh!

"Um." I bit my lip, suddenly wishing I wasn't in such a vulnerable position. It was probably the wrong time to complain about my spine digging into the bark.

"You're mine." He pulled back to look at me. The glow of the wolf ringed his eyes.

"Your wolf wants to mark me," I whispered.

Ranger nodded. "Does your wolf want that?"

She does. My beast raised a paw.

This sounded way too much like a marriage proposal to me. I wasn't stupid. I knew mating season usually ended with a claim and a possible pregnant belly. But I wasn't sure if––

I forced a smile, not wanting to see Ranger's face fall again like it had earlier tonight. This was inevitable. I felt it in my bones. Why was I still dragging it out?

"We'll play it by ear," I said, full of fake confidence as I leaned forward to kiss him again.

He caught me by the chin, staring into my eyes with his brows furrowed as if trying to make sense of my words. "Play it by ear?"

"Oh, you know." I shrugged, hoping he wouldn't hear the rapid beat of my heart or sense the pulse of fear running through my veins. "If you can catch me and all that ceremonial stuff."

His laughter echoed through the night as he leaned closer, feathering his lips across mine in the ghost of a kiss as he whispered, "Are you going to make me chase you?"

Well, when he put it like that…

Yes, please.