Nat sat between Preston and Ethan in a seat along the wall where Preston had dragged her when he sat down, using her as a shield.
Mr. Jones had called an emergency meeting with the principal, and they were waiting in the school office area while a couple of students discussed permission slips with the office staff.
“They…they were having some sort of…of…orgy in my classroom!” Mr. Jones’s outrage drifted out into the office, and Nat tried to disappear behind her hand, sinking down into her seat as low as possible. “One boy was on top of the other boy—who was naked—NAKED—and the girl was on them both!”
“It—it’s not what it sounds like.” Preston’s laughter was painfully strained, and Nat groaned into her hand. “We were just…pulling a prank!”
His voice brightened, and he elbowed Nat.
“Right, Natty?”
Nat peeked out between her fingers to see the two girls throwing side glances at them while the staff behind the desk instructed them not to take any notice of what was going on in the principal’s office.
She closed her fingers again without responding.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Ethan said irritably.
Nat felt Preston lean around her.
“The big deal,” he hissed, “is I like chicks! And guess what most chicks don’t want in a guy they’re dating? Another guy!”
“So you’re afraid they’ll think you’re the bottom?” Ethan shot back.
Nat peeked out again to see Preston looking ready to explode.
“If I were gay, which I’m not, I would definitely be the top,” he said in a choked whisper, putting a hand beside his mouth to hide it from the other students. “But I’m afraid they’ll just think I’m gay!”
Ethan turned away to scowl at the ground.
“You’re just chill about it because your girlfriend doesn’t go here. Or maybe because you’re a—” Preston seemed to remember himself suddenly because he stopped, growing pale again and turning to face forward in silence.
Nat looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. She was staying out of this one.
The muffled tones of a female voice must have calmed the teacher a bit because when he responded, his voice was too low to make out the words. Not that it mattered now…
After a few minutes, Mr. Jones left the office looking a bit disgruntled, throwing them a final angry glance before exiting the office area.
“Send them in,” the principal called out, presumably to the staff who nodded at Nat and the boys. The girls at the counter stared at them with bright eyes, and Nat tried pulling her hair forward as much as possible to hide her face.
The principal watched them in silence for a long while, studying each in turn. Preston scratched his head when her gaze rested on him and tapped his foot furiously. Nat forced herself not to hide behind her hands, but she was sure she was cringing. Ethan just stared back at her calmly.
“Who wants to tell me what happened?”
Preston and Nat exchanged a look but neither spoke. Ethan sat in silence.
“Nobody? Do you all want to be suspended?”
Nat swallowed. She was trying to keep her grades up enough to get into the same college as Caleb. He’d already been recruited for a sports scholarship, but she knew he’d abandon it if she wasn’t able to be there too. At least, he would have if he didn’t have a mate…
“It’s not what it—”
“It was just a pran—“
“I had an anxiety attack,” Ethan said smoothly when they all began speaking at once. “I didn’t know what I was doing. They were trying to stop me from walking out into the hall when Mr. Jones opened the door hard enough to make them fall on top of me.”
Preston and Nat stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips before turning back with nods and sounds of agreement to the principal.
Her brow raised.
“Well, that at least makes sense. But I wouldn’t have thought you were the sort to have anxiety attacks, Mr. Harland,” she said, narrowing her eyes shrewdly.
Ethan frowned.
“Are you suggesting some people are that sort? Can you explain what kind of person you had in mind?”
Her eyes widened, and she blinked quickly.
“Oh, no, of course not! Mental health is—well—what I mean to say is…” She grew more flustered with each word. “My apologies. If you need to speak with a counselor at any time, just let your teachers know and they will excuse you from class! We take our students’ health very seriously here—all types of health.”
Preston and Nat exchanged another look, this time pressing their lips together and biting down on the urge to laugh. Thank goodness Ethan was clever because she and Preston were idiots. But so was the principal evidently.
She dismissed them soon after, repeating her apologies and actually thanking Nat and Preston for looking out for their fellow student. They hurried out of the office area before their faces could ruin what Ethan had accomplished.
“Holy shit, dude. No wonder your family’s rich. You must have gotten your smarts from somewhere,” Preston exclaimed in a loud whisper once they were finally out in the hall.
“Does everything have to be about money with you!” Ethan exploded, rounding on him angrily. But he whimpered slightly when Preston took a step back, pale once more.
“Sorry. Just meant…sorry,” he mumbled, looking away.
Preston was looking down and didn’t see Ethan staring at him in misery.
“Well, I have to get to my job. Catch you later, Natty,” he mumbled again, not looking up, and headed quickly for the exit while Ethan watched him, a small whine welling up from his throat.
When Preston disappeared out of the doors, his eyes fell at last. Nat stared at him.
“Ethan…you said…you have a mate,” she whispered, her eyes searching his face.
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down.
“I do.”
Her brow pulled together.
“Do you…love her?”
A frustrated exhale left his lungs.
“It’s complicated to explain.”
“Please try…please.” Desperation filled her tone, and he looked up at last, a measure of sympathy in his eyes.
“When she’s around, I want her. But when she’s not…” His eyes drifted back toward the doors, and his voice drifted into a whisper. “I want other things.”
All the hope Nat had started to feel crumbled around her.
Caleb was so sure he wanted her. He did want her.
But as soon as his mate showed up, Nat would not be the one he wanted.
“What’s wrong?”
Nat didn’t say anything. She just pulled him into her arms as soon as the car door closed behind him.
Caleb scooped her out of the seat and onto his lap, crushing her to him.
“What is it?” he whispered, kissing her face softly and stroking her hair back from her neck.
“I just feel sick,” she whispered.
“Because of me?”
“Not because of you. Just…because of the whole situation. I’m so scared, Caleb.” Her voice was husky, and he wrapped his arms around her more tightly.
“I wish you would believe me,” he said with a small whine, and she couldn’t help smiling against him.
“You’re always so sure you can do whatever you want…I love that so much.”
“And have I ever been wrong?”
A deep sigh left her.
“You’ve never faced a situation where you weren’t in charge.”
“And you think I’m not in charge of my own mind?” he demanded, a hint of outrage in his tone.
“It’s not your mind I’m worried about, Caleb,” she whispered, toying with the neckline of his v-neck t-shirt and trailing her finger across his skin. “Does it really feel like you’re being cooked from the inside out when I touch you?”
He pulled back, outrage definitely in his eyes now.
“What the fuck has Ethan been saying?”
She tried curling back into him but he kept her away, looking into her face intently.
“Nat?” he demanded.
A groan escaped her.
“You won’t tell me how bad it feels! And I know it’s because you don’t want me to feel bad.”
“Nat, I told you years ago! It’s like fire!”
“Yeah, but I thought it was like…you know…fire maybe like I feel!”
“It is,” he said, his voice growing husky as he reached up to stroke her cheek. “There’s just something else there at the same time that causes pain. And the more I want you, the more it hurts.”
Her fingers kept tracing the skin at the base of his neck, and she bit her lip.
“But when you’re a wolf…” she said looking up, a question in her eyes.
He exhaled, raising a brow.
“Then…” he whispered, his hand slipping up her jean clad thigh as he leaned in to kiss her neck, “it’s a very different pain…”
A shiver went through her, and her lashes fluttered closed.
“I…I want to say yes, Caleb,” she began nervously, rubbing her lips together when he went completely rigid. “But Ethan said that he only wants other things when his mate isn’t around. So maybe you only want me now because she isn’t here.”
“Ethan and I need to have a talk,” he bit out, pulling back to stare sternly at her. “Nat, Ethan isn’t me.” His voice was blunt. Final.
Then he exhaled again and leaned his head back on the seat, closing his eyes.
“You’re mad at me?” she asked, her voice small.
“Yes, I’m mad at you. You make me insane sometimes. Because I fucking love you, Nat!”
He opened his eyes again to glare at her before sighing.
“Come on. We’re going out,” he said, setting her back down in her seat and starting the car.
“Out where?” she asked, fastening her seatbelt.
“Somewhere we don’t have to hide or worry about anyone else coming around. We’re not doing homework tonight. Or chores. We’re staying out late, and we’ll be tired tomorrow.”
She grinned.
“You know, you’ve become a bit of a tyrant in your old age.”
He kissed her palm as he drove, glancing over with wide, innocent eyes.
“I’m the alpha. It’s my job.”
She snorted. But she also leaned back and let him take them wherever he wanted.
They drove for about half an hour before she realized where he was headed: a forest area high up in the mountains where Caleb liked to roam sometimes as no hunters were allowed. They went more frequently in the summer, when they could spare the time in between working, but during the school year it just wasn’t that practical.
It wasn’t a place Nat would have wanted to get stuck in without him as the local wildlife also roamed the area, from coyotes to bears and all sorts of creepy crawly things. But with Caleb, it was heaven.
After almost an hour of driving, they pulled into a small area off the road that Caleb had scouted right after buying the car. No one had ever been here when they’d visited, and they could pull into the brush enough for the car to be mostly hidden.
He turned off the engine and turned to look at her, biting the inside of his cheek. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“What are you up to?”
Innocent eyes stared back at her, and he opened his door, stepping out and starting to pull off his clothes.
Nat eyed him suspiciously as she exited the vehicle, crossing her arms on the top and trying to keep from looking at him. It was always such torture seeing his gorgeous muscled body, aching to run her hands all over him, only to have him need to shift almost immediately if she did.
But he didn’t shift immediately after undressing, and she watched him warily as he walked around to her. Her breath caught at the sight, her eyes helplessly running down his body.
“Nat…” His arms slid around her, and he looked at her with heavy eyes. “Will you do something for me?”
She frowned up at him.
“I swear, Caleb, if you brought me all the way up here just to try to mount me, I will lock myself in the car until you’re ready to leave!”
“You’re so suspicious,” he whispered, nibbling on her neck and breathing her in. “I swear I won’t do that until you’re ready. But I do want something from you…”
Her body was melting, the pain between her thighs growing sharper with every moment, and he shuddered.
“Take off your clothes for me,” he said, his voice husky now. “I want to feel your naked thighs around me while I run. Your breasts pressed against my back. Your scent all over me…”
He groaned as her body responded to every word even as her alarm grew in equal measure. She would be pressed up against him as a wolf. Feeling him between her thighs as a wolf. She had ridden on his back many times but never like that…
“Will you do it?” he whispered, his hands sliding slowly under her shirt, lifting it to glide up her skin and unhook her bra. He paused when he reached the clasp, moving his mouth to hers, his tongue parting her lips to slip inside. “Nat, answer me…I can’t stay like this for long,” he choked out.
A small sound left her throat, but she nodded, and he groaned again, quickly undoing her bra and pulling it off with her shirt. Pain etched deep lines in his face, and his fingers rapidly unsnapped her jeans, yanking them down and dropping to his knees in front of her.
The breath left her lungs in a sharp gasp, and she buried her hands in his hair when he slid his tongue between her wet lips, his hands pulling off her shoes and jeans until she was as naked as he. He grabbed her hard from behind, pressing her into him and plunging his tongue in her as deeply as he could. Deeper and deeper until she gasped again. His hands fell away and he looked up at her, his tongue buried all the way inside her…while her hands were buried in his fur.
She stared down at him, trembling, and he slowly slid his tongue back out of her, gliding it along the sensitive nub until her fingers clenched him helplessly, only to slide it inside her once more.
“Caleb…I…” She swallowed, her thighs shaking, and he pushed on her until she fell back against the car, her hands still gripping his fur. And then all she could do was hold onto him as he licked and pressed into her, his eyes never leaving hers. Her thighs tightened around his head while she struggled to breathe, and he growled, pushing into her harder until she began convulsing all around him, gasping and pulling at him with a small cry.
And then she was slipping, sliding down the side of the car as his long tongue slid out of her. Wrapping her arms around him, she leaned her head against his weakly while he licked her neck, her face, in long, slow caresses.
“Caleb…” she whispered. “Are you…in pain?”
He whined, his tongue pressing harder against her, and a shudder went through her. She wanted to look. And…she was afraid to look. Afraid to touch… But this was Caleb. And this was the only way he could feel her.
She swallowed and sat back on her heels, small tremors running through her.
“Let me see,” she said softly, running her hands along the underside of his coat.
He went completely still, his muzzle against her neck, and she swallowed again, scooting forward slightly. Wrapping one arm around his neck to hold herself steady, she slid the other farther down his stomach, feeling the fur give way to smooth, soft skin a moment before her fingertips touched something extremely warm and very, very hard.
Her chest shook with each breath while she slowly wrapped her hand around the smooth skin, and Caleb snarled into her neck. She clung to him more tightly, small sounds coming from her throat as she gently cupped the giant knot, and Caleb’s growl became more fierce, his jaws snapping open to grab her throat.
A deep shudder went through her, and she tilted her neck, holding his head to her as she began stroking her hand up the impossibly long shaft, moaning each time his fangs pressed into her skin a little too hard. His snarl turned vicious and her grip tightened, moving back and forth, massaging down to the knot and back to the tip while holding his head to her and keeping her throat fully open to him.
She could feel his hips moving, his growl a constant rumble deep in his chest, and her body flowed anew as she stroked him, faster and faster, clinging to him harder each time he bit into her, until he was thrusting wildly into her hand, over and over, and hot liquid gushed over her arm while harsh, pained cries tore from his throat, piercing the dusk around them.
Nat didn’t know why tears sprang to her eyes, but she turned her head to bury her face in his coat, feeling the warmth of his breath flowing over her and his fangs scraping gently across her skin as his jaws relaxed at last. He kept his muzzle against her neck, standing very still, panting heavily, while she continued holding the hot, hard length along her arm.
They stayed that way for a long time. Still. Silent. Until the swelling in the knot subsided and he shifted at last, kneeling in front of her while she still held him in her hand, both of them shaking.
When she started to pull her hand away, he held her to him.
“Stay,” he whispered, his voice raw. “It doesn’t hurt right now. And I want to feel you holding me while I can.”
He cupped her cheeks, his eyes searching her face while her own glistened as she looked at him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, worry in his eyes.
She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his palm, and his eyes fell to her neck. His fingertips glided across her skin, touching the deep indentations his fangs had left, before he leaned down to touch them with his tongue. Her eyes closed and her head fell into his hand, exposing her throat to him once more, and he groaned.
“I need to do that inside you, Nat. So much. You don’t know,” he choked out, his lips and tongue sucking and tasting each spot on her skin. “Feeling your hand around me…”
A deep shudder went through him, and his lips trailed up her neck until they touched hers, brushing against her in the lightest kisses.
“It took everything in me not to yank you back to me and force myself inside you,” he whispered, sending shivers through her once more. “It’s overwhelming. Consuming. A pain so different…so fucking different.”
“It…didn’t feel good?” she asked in a small voice, and he pulled them both up on their knees to crush her to him, pressing her hand into him harder and gripping her hair as his lips moved against hers.
“Good…” his laugh was a harsh, pained sound. “It was so fucking good, Nat. So beyond good. Like every moment of pain I’ve ever had was stuck inside me, trapped, and you let it all out…all over you…”
A deep shudder went through him, and he buried his face in her neck with a moaning cry.
“Fuck, it hurts again. No, stay. Stay…I need you touching me. But fuck, Nat… However much I wanted you before…”
He lifted his head once again and gripped her hair fiercely, pulling her head back to look down at her with burning eyes.
“You are mine. Forever. If I have to fight the entire fucking universe to keep you, I will. And I’ll destroy anyone—anyone—who tries to take you away from me,” he hissed, and Nat whimpered as his hand tightened in her hair.
His grip relaxed, and he kissed her softly.
“Ride me,” he whispered. “I want to feel your naked body wrapped around me.”
Her moans were soft beneath his lips, and she nodded, breathing him in for one last moment before he shifted again. His body was hard once more, but he only rubbed his head against her chest, trying to lift her. Standing on trembling legs, she slid her hands through his fur and climbed on his back, the feel of his silky black coat seductively smooth between her bare thighs.
A low growl sounded in his throat when she leaned forward, pressing her breasts against him and her face against his neck, and pulled her legs up to grip his body.
And then they were off. Tearing through the woods at a speed that set her heart racing, the cool evening air whistling by and soothing the burning flames that threatened to consume them.
“Forget to mention something yesterday?”
Caleb leaned against the locker beside Nat’s, his eyes bright on hers, while she gathered her books for fourth period.
She parted her lips and stared at him, holding her locker half open.
“Uh…I got…distracted. I was going to talk to you about it…”
“Well,” he said, looking away for a moment and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The whole school is talking about it now.”
Nat bit her lip.
“You’re upset…”
He turned back to her, his eyes still bright.
“Why would I be upset? My sister gets caught naked with my two favorite guys in the world, on the floor, in a fucking manwich. Why should that upset me?”
“That is not what happened!” she hissed, leaning in close. “Ethan was the one naked!”
She groaned immediately at his look and closed her eyes.
“You know what that means,” she glared at him.
“Yes,” he hissed back, his eyes raging now. “That I’m going to break the promise I made our freshman year.”
“Can you not be ridiculous!” she said, slamming her locker shut and turning to go, only to jerk to a halt when Caleb grabbed her arm. She rounded on him with a harsh whisper. “Would you think! I can’t talk to you about this here!”
“Try,” he ground out.
Her eyes closed again, and she counted to ten before reopening them.
“Caleb, Ethan had an anxiety attack. The kind you get sometimes with me. He got it from Preston. And the teacher came back to the room before Ethan was able to get back to normal again.” Her eyes narrowed at the growing uncertainty in his. “And the fact that I have to explain any of that after last night makes me…”
Her voice trailed off in a strangled tone, but Caleb was biting his cheek now.
“You look really cute right now,” he whispered, holding on when she tried to yank her arm away. “I’m sorry…don’t be mad.”
She smacked his chest with her book when he tried to pull her close.
“Would you remember where we are!” she whispered, her eyes sweeping the hall quickly and noting the furtive looks.
“I don’t care,” he said, his voice growing husky as he rubbed her arm in small circles with his thumb. “I’ve been thinking about last night all morning. All night. I barely slept. I’m tired. And I’m so fucking hungry for you…” he finished in a whisper, starting to pull her close once more.
This time she hit his nose, bringing the book back to peek out over it when he began glaring at her again.
“Sorry,” she said in a small voice, her eyes wide with apology. But her grip tightened on the hardcover when his eyes softened.
“You look really cute,” he grinned.
Groaning, she raised the book to hide behind it completely.
“You can’t look at me like that here.” Her muffled whine didn’t seem to have an effect as his grin had only widened by the time she peeked out again.
“Skip class with me.”
“I can’t,” she said with real disappointment, lowering her book to her chest and inclining her head to go. Caleb fell into step beside her, his eyes still beseeching. “I have Mr. Jones’s class right now. I’m not exactly on his good side, and you do want me to have the grades to get into the same school as you, right?”
“I still don’t see why we have to go to college at all.”
“So we don’t have to live in a trailer the rest of our lives.”
“I’ve kind of liked it so far,” he murmured, his eyes running the length of her. His grin returned when she held her book up to cover her face once more. “You’re going to trip.”
Her eyes peeked up at him behind the book.
“You’d never let me.”
His hand still held her upper arm, and he brushed her skin slowly.
“No,” he whispered, his eyes soft. “I’ll always protect you.”
They stopped just outside the classroom, and Nat had to stop herself this time from being the one to pull him closer. But his head lifted and he narrowed his eyes as Preston walked by, avoiding his gaze.
Nat stopped him before he went through the door.
“What happened!” she breathed, staring at the dark bruise on his jaw and his black eye. “Did your dad do this?”
“Meh, just ignore it, Natty. He got too drunk to remember he couldn’t win anymore. And Mr. Jones got him all riled up on the phone yesterday,” he finished in a mutter, still trying to turn away from her.
Nat looked back at Caleb, worry in her eyes, to see him frowning at her hand on Preston’s arm. She kicked him slightly and flared her eyes at him when he raised his eyes to hers.
What am I supposed to do? he mouthed in outrage.
She was still glaring at him when Ethan walked up and stopped beside him.
“Let me go, Natty,” Preston whispered, keeping his head down and trying to pull away. “I know how to handle my old man.”
Ethan frowned, staring at her hand on Preston as well, and she scowled at both of them.
“I know you do. But…you could stay with us.” She ignored Caleb’s horrified look and lifted her eyes to Preston. “You’re eighteen. Your dad can’t make you stay there.”
“Natty, that’s sweet but you’ve got, like, no room at all.”
His eyes were a mix of appreciation and frustration as he looked down at her, still trying to pull away, but he jumped when Ethan suddenly walked around to face him and stared at the bruises with a darkness growing in his eyes.
They stood in silence while the hall around them cleared, the last few students finding their way into their classrooms, and Caleb stepped close enough to Nat for the heat from his body to warm her back, his hand near the wall brushing her hip where it couldn’t be seen. She tried to ignore the heat it was building in her.
“Stay with me,” Ethan said quietly at last. “My dad’s trip was extended. He won’t be back for weeks.”
Preston blinked down at him.
“Dude. I can’t stay with you. You’re…I can’t stay with you.”
“You’re worried about what everyone’s saying?”
“No! I mean, yes, but…no! Because you’re a…” he looked around, eyeing Caleb warily for a moment before frowning more intently. “Wait a minute. The black wolf…”
Preston looked at Nat, and she pressed her lips together, her eyes going to Caleb who was glowering at Preston and Ethan, his hand tightening on her hip.
“I think that’s a great idea—stay with Ethan,” Nat said hurriedly, pushing Preston toward the door. Sorry, she mouthed at Caleb as she followed Ethan and Preston into the room. I’ll see you after lunch.
They shared one last lingering look, Caleb’s full of frustration, before she slipped inside.
“It’s not a great idea, Natty,” Preston returned to the topic with heat, thoroughly distracted once more. “At least with my dad, I can defend myself!”
“I would never hurt you,” Ethan said, staring at Preston with burning eyes as they took their seats.
“Well I wouldn’t be able to stop you if you changed your mind,” Preston muttered, looking away.
“I would never hurt you, and I will never change my mind. I know what it’s like.”
Preston snorted, his eyes returning to Ethan once more.
“You? You’re like a super hero,” he scoffed. “What would you know about it?”
“I’m small,” he answered bluntly, “compared to my family. And my dad isn’t the gentle sort.”
Nat’s gaze turned to Ethan while Preston frowned at him.
“He’s hit you?”
“It’s not exactly hitting.”
Nat and Preston stared at him, but he kept his eyes locked on Preston’s.
“Sorry, dude. That’s fucking bullshit. You shouldn’t have to take shit like that from anyone.”
“Neither should you. Stay with me.”
Preston’s eyes grew wary again.
“Dude…even if you wouldn’t do anything…it sounds like your dad might not be as cool.”
“I told you. He’s gone for a while.”
“What about your mom?”
Ethan shook his head.
“She died right after I was born.”
“Jesus…sorry, man. Shit. Maybe we do have more in common than I thought. Mine didn’t die, though. She just bailed on me. Couldn’t stand my dad, I guess. Maybe me. I dunno.”
He scratched his head while Ethan watched him steadily.
“We have a big house. There’s plenty of space. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
Nat looked at Preston, who still looked unconvinced.
“Are you kidding me right now? This is like winning a vacation at some super resort! You have to go and then tell me what it’s like to have money,” she whispered leaning into him. She knew Ethan could hear her, but she didn’t think Preston knew he could.
He looked down at her, his eyes wavering, before nodding at Ethan hesitantly.
“Well, if you’re okay letting me bum at your place, I guess it would be pretty dumb to say no…”
A smile lit Ethan’s eyes, and he opened his mouth to answer when Mr. Jones suddenly stopped at Nat’s desk.
“You three,” he spat out, “are to be in here promptly this afternoon to serve your detention properly. I don’t know how you weaseled out of a suspension, but this is my classroom, and I expect respect.”
He didn’t wait for an answer but turned back to stalk up to the front of the class to prepare his slides. Nat snuck a peek behind her to see Preston shrug.
“Doesn’t matter. Can’t go to my job looking like this anyway.”
Ethan’s eyes were almost tender on him, but Preston was too busy staring at Mr. Jones resentfully to notice. And Nat just turned back around in silence.
