27

Aspen

We awoke in a feverish, heat induced half-dream, still mostly sated from the earlier orgasm that put us to sleep. Stretching our human arms over our head, we worked out the kinks in our deliciously sore human body that was still coated in Ranger's scent. He'd kept cleaning us with wet rags, but we quite liked being stained in his seed.

Strong mate.

We turned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. He was so sweet and warm when he slept. Vulnerable. No matter. We could take care of him like he cared for us.

Naked, we crawled to the doors. They'd been left open to allow the outside in and a cross breeze to come through. Our nest smelled of sweat and sex and nature. It was perfect. We hated to leave the safety of it, but there was something we had to do.

Because someone was threatening our peace.

*

With eyes of the wolf due to the waning moon above, we walked barefoot on human feet as the night air chilled our thin human skin. The human cries came from below and we chose to stay in human form to respond. But not yet. We'd wait until we got there.

And we weren't in a hurry.

There was the creaking of the branch. The swish of a swaying rope. Even with the heat still riding us hard, we knew enough to wait and watch and make a rational decision on what to do with the female who'd entered our territory.

Again.

Her scent was like a taunting ghost. She'd wanted to make us worry. But we trusted Ranger. And we left our traps for a reason.

Arms over our chest, we leaned against a tree and watched the woman flail as she tried to get to the rope holding her upside down by her ankle. The camera drones were coming in now, drawn by her cries like vultures to roadkill.

She stopped moving and sniffed as she caught our scent. "Aspen! Thank the Goddess. Help me out of this."

"What are you doing here, Edith?" Our voice was cold and disinterested as if we couldn't be bothered to care. But we were too deep into the season to not be affected by the beast.

Even as we stood calmly, we were scenting the area and watching for threats. Edith was one wrong move away from getting her neck ripped out. There wasn't a wolf shifter alive that didn't know not to sneak up on a female's nest during mating season and no one would blame us for what we did during the heat with our beasts in control.

Edith had a death wish.

It was the only logical conclusion.

"Can you just get me down?" She pleaded, appealing to our human side. But we were too evenly balanced to be swayed one way or the other without careful consideration.

"Please," Edith growled. Her eyes glowed red and her fangs extended. It seemed her beast wanted out.

With claws extended, we slashed the rope.

The female crashed to the ground.

We crouched down to eye level as she pushed herself up. "Answer the question. What are you doing here?"

Edith's arms were shaking as she rocked back on her heels and she watched as we stood to circle around. We needed to keep her off balance until we knew her intentions, stay a moving target until we knew where she was going to attack.

"Lilith went home with our pack guards." Edith wiped the spit from her mouth. "They say Cindy killed Chad and then the bitch mated Scott while Meghan's wolf claimed Brett."

"You're rambling about this as if we care." We continued to circle, aware of each new sensation. Edith's growing edginess. The energy of the sun beginning to rise. The camera drones and their artificial lights dimming as they filmed us in our bare skin.

"You don't have a mating mark." Edith smirked as she stood.

We resisted the urge to hide, to shy away, to clamp our hand over our bare neck. There was nothing to hide. "Is that why you're here?"

"If you're not mated," Edith licked her lips, glancing at the cameras, "then Ranger is still fair game."

We anticipated the lunge before she struck. It hurt. Not her bony elbow slamming against our throat, but the truth of her words. It was our human sensibilities that remained cautious and kept us from going all in with our mate, but we were done with waiting.

Our wolf strength took over as we slammed our hands against Edith's chest, sending her flying backwards and crashing into a tree. Bark cracked and shattered. Edith crumbled to the ground.

We stalked forward, tsking. "I expected a better character arc from you."

"A what?" She gasped.

"Never mind." We sighed as we came to a stop beside her. "It's time for you to leave."

She rolled to her back, kicking out with her heel. It connected with our knee. Bone crunched as white-hot pain flared through us.

"You'll never be a real Luna," Edith screamed as she jumped to her feet and charged. "I was bred to be on top. You're just a mutt from a backwoods litter who–"

We grabbed her by the throat and slammed her to the ground. With our good knee, we dropped onto her breastbone. Our claws dug into her neck, drawing blood as she tried to suck in air.

"I don't give a shit about your rich kid circles. You don't want me there? Fine. I won't lose any sleep at night. But Ranger is mine." We squeezed tighter, watching as her eyes bulged with panic. "This is the last time I will tell you to leave."

The stench of fear permeated the air as Edith slowly nodded.

"Go."

We released her neck and she shifted into her wolf. The beast turned and snarled. We bared our fangs, snarling back.

With her tail tucked between her legs, she bolted down the mountain.

We stood and tested the weight on our human knee. It hurt, but we'd taken worse beatings in our life. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since you left our bed." Ranger's strong arms wrapped around us and his scent comforted like the smell of home. The cameras were still flying and filming as Ranger swept us off our feet.

His face was full of concern. "How's your knee?"

"Healing." We smiled. An inverted reflection of his frown. He worried too much for a male. It was all right though. We'd take care of him.

"You know you were born to be a Luna." Ranger's chest rumbled as his beast growled within. "But I'm not sure I've been doing my job properly."

"And why is that, Alpha?" We teased, feeling the heat wash over us again as Ranger carried us back to our nest.

"It's mating season." He nuzzled our neck. "My mate shouldn't be able to walk or talk properly if I was doing it right."

"Is that so?" We smiled. "You still have another day or so to prove yourself."

*

"Why haven't you claimed me yet?" I dragged my claws lightly across Ranger's chest, loving the way he shivered under my touch. We were both soaked with sweat. His knot was thick and full inside me, stretching in ways I hadn't known were biologically possible.

But here we were. Proof it could happen.

Edith was right though in pointing out the unmarred skin on my neck or shoulder where a claiming mark would typically be. Technically I could hide it in other places, but when I took his mark, I wanted to show it off.

"Come here," Ranger groaned as he pulled me up so I was sitting on his lap. He had a towel ready. We'd made a rhythm of this while the heat ebbed and flowed over the last few days, leaving me deliriously mixed with the urges of my beast at times and strangely lucid during others. Like now when my wolf was resting, utterly spent.

Still want that mark. She yawned before closing her eyes again.

Ranger held me upright as the pressure of his knot eased. It slipped out and our combined fluids dripped down my legs. He cleaned us both up.

I had no clue where he got the towels from–probably Beau who I'd scented on the food and water a few times. Thank the Goddess that he'd made himself scarce though. I had not been quiet this season.

Ranger laid me on my back and placed a kiss to my pubic bone. His warm hand cupped between my legs while he and my vagina shared a tender moment of silence, ignoring me. It'd become sort of a ritual for him. I was glad they were getting along.

"You're stalling." I bit down on my lip as I rocked against his hand, already feeling the heat rising again. This seemed unusually long. The heat should've been slowing. But I think I knew why it was still going strong.

"That was fast," he ignored my heated stare as he licked my swollen clit. There were dark circles under his eyes. I might've felt bad, but…

"Why haven't you claimed me?" My hips bucked off the mattress as he circled my clit with his tongue. Goddess, he was good at this.

He placed his hand on my chest, holding me down and growling in the way that made me pant.

"You haven't asked me to yet." He pinched my nipple, making me yelp. The cool kiss of his wet lips replacing the sharp sting was a soothing balm.

I threaded my fingers into his hair, tugging him closer and begging with my body for more. "Am I supposed to have to ask?"

He mumbled something incoherent against my chest which sounded a lot like "topping from the bottom" as his teeth made their way to my other breast.

"So you don't want to claim me?" I gasped as he sucked a nipple into his mouth and curled a finger inside my sex to massage my g-spot.

Magic .

Magic cock. Magic fingers. Magic tongue.

"Hands above your head," he commanded, releasing my breasts. Bossy Ranger was coming out to play. The cool air hit the trail where his spit was drying on my skin, tightening my nipples painfully.

"Are you going to claim me?" I injected a challenge in my tone, trying to see how far I could push this.

"Hands above your head." He used the palm of his hand to grind against my clit, repeating each word. "Grab your wrist and hold still."

I slowly raised my arms above me, giving him full access to my body. He'd already proved time and time again that he owned it, so why hadn't he made it official?

"The heat is making you want things you normally wouldn't want." The stubble of his jaw rubbed against the tender skin between my legs.

"No. I definitely want this." I moaned as he licked a solid stroke with the flat side of his tongue.

The pressure on my asshole made me freeze.

"Tell me, Aspen. Do you want this?" His breath fanned across my core as he gathered wetness, pushing it down south.

My grip slipped on my wrist.

Ranger growled. "I didn't tell you to move."

I grabbed my arm tighter. My legs were shaking on either side of his head as he slowly applied more pressure. I didn't stop him. I knew my safe word and could end this at any time.

Yet, I didn't.

"You want this now, but you might not want it in a few days." Ranger spoke against my clit as he lowered his lips to taste it. The pressure from his thumb stayed steady on the smooth muscles down below. "I don't mind waiting."

Tension coiled low in my belly as I cried out, "That isn't fair."

"No?" He laughed against my center, licking and sucking as his thumb pressed harder. It crossed a barrier and new sensations overwhelmed me. "What would make it fair?"

"Is… Is…" I gasped, trying to use my voice when my sanity was trying to escape as he pressed in deeper with his thumb and continued to eat me out. "Is the rut making your decisions for you?"

I cried out as he moved his thumb in small circles, rubbing against nerves I hadn't known were there.

"Yes and no," he hummed against my clit. "But I'm still in control."

"Fuck your control," I gasped as I teetered too close to the ledge. "Lose it with me. Please!"

The orgasm that overtook me nearly made me black out. My thighs were shaking as he pulled his thumb out and pressed his usual kiss to my vagina.

I reached for him, wanting him closer.

Ranger growled as he looked up toward me with the glowing ring of his beast in his eyes. He needed a break. I knew it. His wolf was riding him hard. This was dangerous.

I licked my lips. "I want this."

Ranger rocked back on his heels, watching me with a darkness in his gaze. His Adams' apple bobbed as he swallowed. If I was torturing him, he was torturing me. This was only fair.

I turned over slowly, giving him my back for a moment, until I dropped my face to the mattress and put my ass in the air.

"Claim me, Alpha. Make me yours."

His hand splayed against my back as he leaned over, lowering to speak against my ear. "Remember that you begged for this."

With one solid thrust, Ranger slammed himself inside me. I whimpered as I buried my face in the blankets. I'd lost count of the number of times he'd filled me, but it still hurt at first each time.

"Don't hold back," I spoke through clenched teeth as he slowly pulled out.

"Did you think I was going to?" His dark laughter danced along my skin as he slammed himself to the hilt again.

He pulled out to the tip, making me spasm and clench around the emptiness, before he grabbed my hips and pistoned me back onto him.

Ranger set a brutal pace. One so hard I forgot to breathe. It hurt. It hurt so damn good.

I screamed his name as his fingers gripped the roots of my hair, gathering a fistful as he pulled me back to his chest and continued to pound into me.

His thrusts were so much deeper, making me realize he'd been holding back this whole time.

"You want me to make you mine."

"Yea… Yeah… Yes…" I stuttered as he kept fucking me into oblivion.

"It's cute that you thought you weren't mine already," Ranger growled.

He smacked my clit, eliciting another cry from my lips, as he tugged my hair to the side, giving him access to my exposed neck.

The action made me tense.

Anxiety flooded my veins.

He stilled as his teeth grazed my skin. "Safe word, Aspen."

I took a deep breath as the panic washed over me.

I wasn't there.

I was here in my nest with my mate.

And I only bent the neck because I wanted to. I was the one in control here.

"No safe word." I pushed my ass back against his hips, shoving his thick cock impossibly deep inside me, and rocked forward, dragging it along my g-spot. "Are you going to claim me or what?"

Ranger groaned as he gave a few teasing pumps, hitting the right spot just so. Slow. Torture. The pressure started building. He tightened his grip on my hair. And I was there. On the edge.

"Come for me," he commanded as he sunk his teeth into my flesh.

The pain and pleasure fused, igniting every nerve ending as my soul left my body only to merge with his. Heat and light slammed into us as the cords of fate snapped into place, binding our souls together with his bite.

Ranger pumped his release into me as he licked the blood dripping down my neck. I felt the hunger of his beast deep, flowing through me like a second heartbeat, as my wolf howled her triumph to the moon.

The world and all the colors within it were still fluttering as I drifted down from lofty heights. My throat was hoarse from screaming. Strong arms wrapped around me. A soft kiss pressed against my cheek. Complete. Mated. Fate.

And I knew with a deep and primal knowing.

Told you I was right.

"Uh." I didn't actually have words to say. I touched my neck as the golden afterglow still burned bright.

"I can feel you inside me," I spoke through our newly formed link. The thudding in my chest was solid now, thick with his presence, just as his knot swelled inside my core, locking me in place.

"I could always feel you," Ranger murmured sleepily. "But your impatient ass had to go and make it official. For the record, I would have waited."

Damn this man. I rolled my eyes as I snuggled down onto his chest, feeling his heart beat in tune with mine.

"You know I can hear your thoughts now, right?" Ranger's laughter was inside my head.

My eyes flew open as my beast whined.

We are so screwed.