More Wicked Alphas, Wilder Nights: Sizzling Collection of Paranormal Romance (Wicked Alphas, Wild Nights Book 5) (5 page)

She took a careful step back, putting distance between them. Not retreating. He let her go, fingers tightening for a brief moment of denial. Izobelle didn’t know what she would have done if he’d refused to release her. A fight of dominance between them- might not end well.

“I want to leave here, whether I remember or not.” Urgency, a twisting need to move, to run, to seek.

His nearly friendly expression shuttered. “I said no.”

The word rankled. “You don’t rule me.”

Malvin bared his teeth in what a fool would consider a smile. “Out here, I do. Out here, you are just a female, and I am a male. Stronger, and fully functioning.”

Just?
Just?
Bear objected. She lifted her lip, showing off a lengthened fang. “My Sow will meet your Boar any day. If you would like some instruction in respect for your elders.”

“Izo.” He shook his head. “You will never be boring. I don’t think any other female would have the spine to challenge me.”

She didn’t know if it was arrogance speaking, or if in his life he was of some status that made humility impossible. She drew up to her full height, preparing to blast him, when he closed the small space between them. A fast, sudden move she countered by leaping away, her reflexes proving she was no slouch.

A rumble from his chest. “You want to play, female? Are you strong enough to play with
me
?”

“And who are you?” she asked, circling him. “Other than the male attempting to prevent me from leaving this place?”

“For your own good, Izobelle.” Impatience warred with reluctant empathy. He moved with her, the first strain in a dance her feet knew from instinct. “If you enter the viper pit without your full defenses, you could be hurt. Killed.”

“If the enemy wanted me dead, I would be.”

“You’re alive because they can’t afford a war. Yet.”

War. Flashed of sound, images behind suddenly closed lids. She halted, bending over as a reel of hectic noise and emotion rolled through her, a tangled skein of clips as if from a poorly made film. And then they were gone, leaving her with the barest snippets of information.

“Izobelle.”

Malvin crouched beneath her, peering up into her face. His large hands braced around her waist, holding her steady.

She straightened. “I’m fine.”

“You are not fine. You should go lay down.”

“I-“ she cut herself off. Foolish to protest. Only cubs railed against the reality of what couldn’t be changed.

Mouth thinning, she settled back on the mattress. Rest. And in the morning they would see who was the more dominant.

***

He was gone when she woke. Izobelle snapped to full wakefulness, took a moment to listen, and rose to her feet. She left the cabin, taking a few precious seconds to shed her clothing, rolling pants and blouse into a ball she could pick up with her maw. Shifting, relieved that she could again control her own body, she ran.

Her coordination wasn’t what it should be, the lingering physical effects of the drug muddling her run. So she was slow. Slower than normal, she somehow knew.

Slow enough that when the Boar roared in the distance, she stumbled, startled. Unprepared for the unadulterated fury of the sound. She cursed, albeit in her mind, and pressed forward. Izobelle didn’t even know where she was going. Instinct had her heading north. No time to climb a tree to determine her surroundings, not with
him
 following behind. And gaining ground, even as her paws began to slow. Stumbled over branches, rough earth treacherous as her energy began to flag.

Damn. She’d made a youngling mistake, overestimating her strength instead of biding her time. But the inner urgency to leave, to get home- wherever it was- spurred her. She didn’t know the faces of her children, but burrowed deep in her heart was the memory of them.

The rasp of her own breath assailed her ears. Head drooping, exhaustion caused her to stumbled sideways into a tree. Hard, pulling bark from the trunk with the weight of her fall. She scrambled, clumsy, to her feet. And the Boar caught her.

Roared again as she whirled, rising on hind legs with the last of her strength, snarling. He rammed into her, meaty paws boulder on her shoulders. Bear had enough meat on her bones that the fall was cushioned. But Izo objected to his fangs snapping at her throat, demanding her submission.

Damn him. Couldn’t swear in the Other’s form. Her body slid into human shape, the male above her echoing her shift with his own until they both lay, sweating and furious, glaring at each other.

“You… female,” he said, voice harsh, pinning her wrists above her head. “You can’t even run! And where were you
going?”

She would not give in to the tears of frustration, a grown female with children. She would not let this male see her turmoil.

“Get off me, you jackass. My cubs-”

“Can take care of themselves so their mother can get well enough not to get herself killed!”

His breath smelled like fish and whatever green thing he’d been chewing on to clean his teeth. She hoped hers stank. She twisted underneath him. How fucking clichéd, trapped naked under an angry male like the vapid heroine of a romance novel. She snapped at him, aiming for tender throat flesh. For a second actually trying to sever the jugular.

Malvin was fast, countering her move. He flipped her, pinning her arms beneath her stomach, her cheek flat on the ground.

“I’ll let you up when you can be civilized,” he said in her ear.

Izobelle grit her teeth. He lied. The hard length of his cock swelled in the crevice of her ass. The male didn’t want to let her up, he probably wanted to finish the fight and sink his dick inside her pussy.

“Really? Is that what you want? To let me up?” She ground her ass against him, taunting. “I don’t think so.”

His weight settled into her. “Unless you’re offering, female, you’ll want to stop teasing me.”

“No one told you to come after me.”

He swore, a string of foul words no lady should be subjected to. “If only you were…
biddable.
 But I had to pick the one female on the continent with more power than common sense.”

She raised her head, sharply. “Power? What kind of power?”

Malvin snorted. “Of course that would get your attention. Well? Are you going to behave or are we going to fuck?”

Did he feel so free to be crude because of her age and maturity or because he was angry?

Izobelle closed her eyes, sorely tempted. She’d been avoiding, as best she could, her own feelings since she’d first woke in the hut. Pushing back desire. Expending an unhealthy amount of effort when she had the feeling she was normally a lusty female who felt no compunction about satisfying her desires.

But this wasn’t a male to toy with. And if she took him, would she be able to get rid of him after?

Would she want to?

Want to know what happens to Izobelle and Malvin? Download Queen of Bears, #3 in the Royal Bears trilogy.

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Queen of Bears
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Sloane Appleton thought she’d left the dangers of dragon hunters behind when she fled to the city. She was wrong. They’re in the city, and they’re after her. For Mateo, the timing for finding his mate couldn’t be worse. He’d die before he let anything happen to her. His job is to find and eliminate the woman organizing the dragon hunts. But what his dragon wants—what it needs—is to claim his mate.

In this scene, Mateo has stood Sloane up for a date. And she’s pissed. What she doesn’t know is that Mateo is working undercover to eliminate dragon hunters in the area. Or that she’s on their hit list. But he does, and he’ll do anything to keep his mate safe. Even if she never forgives him for it. With danger at her heels, he takes Sloane into hiding with the intention of keeping her safe. But once alone, their chemistry explodes, and keeping her safe isn’t all he—or either of their dragons—wants.

What Mateo wanted was to back his gorgeous mate up against that glass window behind her, hike up her dress, and take her right there for all to see. It didn’t matter what kind of underwear she wore. He could slide the material to the side, and plunge right in, or rip the damned things off. Either way, he could make it happen in seconds. Then he wanted to sink his teeth into her neck, branding her as his forever. Her scent, sweet and warm, enveloped him, urging him forward.

When her small hands came to rest on his chest, her fingers caressing his skin, he groaned. Damn it. She deserved so much better than him, but he was too much of a bastard to let her go. He never would. In a world where most people were assholes, she was his little piece of heaven, and he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers.

She melted against him, making a soft mewling sound that made his cock twitch. He needed more. Bringing his hands down, he pulled her hips closer, pressing her tighter against him. He needed to feel every inch of her. Needed to devour her. He released her lips and kissed his way to her ear. Her sweet whimper when he growled against her skin had his dragon pushing for more—and for once, he had no intention of holding back. His. She was his.

Ours
, his dragon protested.

Ours
, he agreed just before he nipped at the tender skin just beneath her ear.

Sloane gasped, and her fingers dug into his chest.

“Let me take your dress off.” It wasn’t a question. He was past caring about niceties. Not that he’d cared all that much about them to begin with.

When he nipped at her skin again, then licked over the tender spot, she moaned. For a second, he thought she hadn’t heard him, but then she took a small step back and turned to face the window again. She reached up and pulled her glorious red hair over her shoulder, exposing her back—and the long zipper that ended at the base of her spine.

He took his time, kissing the back of her neck, then its base where he would mark her with his bite. The zipper came down with a rasp that had his blood pumping hot in his veins, and again, he had to fight the urge to haul her skirt up and take her right then and there. The mental image had his dragon surging forward.

Now, mate her now,
 the beast growled into his mind.

No,
 he snapped at the dragon, his growl accentuating his command.
Look. See how beautiful our mate is,
 Mateo urged, softening his tone as he gazed from her neck down the long line of her back.

Sloane gasped and looked over her shoulder at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “He’s close, isn’t he?” she asked, her voice huskier than it had been.

Before he had a chance to answer, she let the dress slip, revealing gorgeously flared hips and the top curve of her ass. A black strip of silky material forming a little T didn’t cover a thing except the very center of her crease. It would be so easy to snap it and uncover his prize. But he wouldn’t do that. Not yet. As hard as the dragon pushed him for more, he wanted to savor every second.

“He is.” Mateo traced a finger from her neck to the very edge of the flimsy material. Goosebumps rose on her warm flesh. He wanted to get lost in her softness.

“So what are you waiting for?” Her grin widened, and then she lifted her hands from where she’d placed them on her chest.

His heart pounded, and his breath stuck in his lungs. The shimmery black material that had kept most of her body from his view slid over each luscious curve to land in a pile at her feet. All that was left was the black thong, the sexiest sheer stockings he’d ever seen, and the red heels gracing her feet.

“So beautiful.”

But before he could reach for her, she stepped away. His protest died on his lips as she turned. She slipped a finger down her chest, to the valley between her breasts, drawing his attention. Her gorgeous long locks covered the right, but the left was exposed. It was full, round, and perfect. Her nipple jutted out, teasing him—tempting him. A small black V of material covered her but did nothing to mask her scent. Her sweet arousal perfumed the air, drawing his beast closer to the surface. A growl rumbled from his throat before he could stop it.

***

Sloane couldn’t quite catch her breath. Mateo’s hungry gaze raked over her body, and it was all she could do to keep from leaping at him and wrapping herself around his body. His dragon growled as he looked all the way down to her stilettos and back to her face again. The rumbling sound was too rough, too guttural to be coming from anything other than the primal beast. But instead of frightening her, or pushing her away, the sound made her pulse race and her body throb.