Roland watched Natasha eyes shift from green to gold and smelled the heady musk of her wolf. Inside, his animal paced along the mental barrier that kept him from the female and her wolf.
He was back in control, his body barely moving beneath her. Natasha wanted him wild, wanted to feel him pounding between her thighs. Lowering herself a final time, Natasha rolled her hips, reaching up, cupped both of her breasts, pinching her nipples and rolling them between her fingers.
Roland reared up, wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped Natasha onto her back. "It is unwise to provoke me," he growled before slanting his lips over her mouth.
Natasha wrapped herself around Roland, her heels digging into the backs of his thighs. Powerful strokes lifted her hips, his hands braced on either side of her head giving him leverage as he thrust between her legs.
Roland broke the kiss, his release barreling down on him. "Look at me when you come," he whispered, reaching between their bodies to stroke her clit.
Natasha opened her eyes. Roland was watching her, the skin around his eyes tight. Reaching up, she slipped her hands into his hair, pulling his head down until they were a mere breadth apart. "You are all I see."
Roland couldn't stop his release, Natasha watching him as he spent himself deep within her body. "
Tasha
."
Roland swelled within her, his thrusts never losing time as his release broke against her womb. Her body clenched, the heat of him triggering the contractions, sending them rippling out from her core as she came.
****
Roland wasn't entirely sure how, given he still couldn't feel his legs, but he managed to move them from the floor to the bed, covering them with a light blanket.
There was an awkward moment when she turned to him, lifting his arm and slipping underneath. Tucking herself tightly against his side, she rested her hand lightly on his chest. She didn't seem to notice his hesitation before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer.
The light was still low, allowing him to watch as she traced little circles along his chest. She didn't veer from the scarred side of him but meandered in a path only she seemed to see.
"Where is your mother?" he asked, wanting to know more about her.
"Dead," Natasha said. "She died birthing me. It's always been just me and my father." Making the loss of her father that much harder to bear.
"Your father survived the severing of the mate bond?" Roland asked, his voice impressed. It took a strong wolf to survive such a thing.
"He never mated with my mother," Natasha explained. "He was already old when she got pregnant. He didn't want to tie her mortality to his." Too late, her father had realized his mistake. Thinking to spare her mother his fate, he had sealed hers. Unable to use the mate bond to help her heal, Natasha's mother had died after a traumatic birthing.
"What was your childhood like?" Roland wondered. He could picture her - all long legs and wild hair.
"Happy," she said, her immediate answer ringing true. "My father taught me everything there was about being a werewolf, how to survive in both worlds."
Dimitri had taken her on trips to the city, ensuring that she could navigate her way and blend in. He'd followed her first hunt and made sure she spent time with the different females.
"My pack was a lot like yours," she continued, her voice growing thick. "It wasn't perfect, but there was laughter and fun and family. We lived, you know?"
Roland nodded, sensing she had more to say.
"But then..." Natasha tried to remember when it had all changed. "It was little things, at first. Comments, subtle changes in the way my father did things. Nothing really noticeable."
Natasha tried to remember when it started to get bad.
"It was like being brought to a boil in a stew pot, you don't realize it's getting hot until someone takes a bite." Natasha grew quiet, her hand still on Roland's chest. Slowly entwining their fingers, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"He has lucid periods," Natasha said. There were moments when her father would look out at her through his eyes, haunted by the knowledge of what he was becoming. "It made it hard to know..."
"To know what?" Roland prompted when she remained silent.
"Hard to know when the time was right to destroy him," Natasha whispered. "I waited too long. If I had acted sooner...but in the end it didn't matter. I wasn't strong enough."
Natasha was silent for a moment. "I wanted it to be me. It only seemed right that he should be taken care of by someone that loved him."
"Nafarius will be quick, merciful," Roland assured her.
"When will he...?" Natasha paused, did she really want to know?
"Soon," Roland said, an Old One was a danger to them all. "He's hoping to see to the stores for winter while the weather is still clear."
If perhaps Nafarius was reluctant to face a male he'd once considered a friend, putting off witnessing his own possible future, Roland wouldn't be the one to call him on it.
"I'd like to say goodbye," Natasha whispered.
Roland was already shaking his head. "No, there is no telling how Dimitri would react to seeing you again."
"He's still my father," she insisted.
"Your father wouldn't have left you for dead in Nafarius' territory." Roland said, his voice firm. The male Dimitri had once been would have understood his daughter's actions.
"After, will you let me see him after?" she countered. Natasha needed to say goodbye. The roiling in her stomach wouldn't stop until she had some sort of closure.
Roland wasn't sure Dimitri would be in the kind of condition his daughter should see. The confrontation with Nafarius was bound to be a violent one.
"I'll talk to Nafarius," Roland said. It was all he was willing to commit to. Natasha knew it wasn't a promise to let her see her father, but it was as good as she was going to get, for now.
CHAPTER FIVE
Never Scare a Skunk...
Natasha woke in the dark, habit lifting her eyes to the window that wasn't there as the memories of the past few days snapped into place.
Roland.
Natasha knew the space beside her was empty. Reaching out, she smoothed her hand down the sheets. Cold. He must have left early. Although, buried this deep in the pack's den, time became something else.
She was tempted to linger, the bed was warm and smelled of them. She felt safe here, hidden away while out there, the world loomed.
Rolling onto her back, Natasha contemplated the ceiling. She had a very long life ahead of her. Roland's claiming gave her the time she needed to figure out what she wanted to do with it.
She couldn't see herself going home. Even after things with her father were settled. It wasn't the same place anymore. Her bond with the pack was gone, leaving her lost, alone and...free.
Natasha blinked.
She was free
. She'd never been free. Born pack, she'd started life with thirty-odd others always in her head and in her heart. She'd lived, breathed and loved pack for forty years, never once thinking about what else may be out there for her. Until now.
So, what did she want?
She wanted Roland, but he hadn't said anything about making the claim permanent. In fact, he'd been clear in letting her know that she had options - elsewhere.
Natasha needed to talk with Nafarius, find out from him what was involved in joining another pack. Roland had mentioned fighting for her place, but that didn't worry her. She'd held on to her position in her father's pack for almost ten years. The fact that she was the alpha's daughter had not garnered her any favors or special treatment.
She could also go it alone. Natasha hadn't lied when she told Roland about her father's accounts. She wasn't sure she could access them on her own, but maybe with Nafarius' help she could set herself up in the city. Not Roslyn, the small town was too close. But maybe something farther east. Maybe even the east coast.
Roland's original pack was back east.
In the dark, Natasha sighed. No, not back east. At least, not on her own. Natasha wanted pack - family - maybe even a mate. Which brought her right back to needing to talk to Nafarius.
Throwing off the blanket, Natasha searched around in the dark, eventually stumbling over her dress. Just one more thing to talk to Nafarius about. She couldn't keep borrowing clothes from the others. She needed to find a way to get a few things of her own.
Natasha found her way out to the common room. Most of the males were still hunting, the room overrun with females and their young. Spotting Nafarius' mate, Natasha wove her way across the room.
"Look," Sam said, addressing Maddie and brushing a sweaty lock of hair out of her eyes. "I couldn't cook worth a damn when I had electricity. Me and an open flame? You have home owner's insurance on this place, right?"
"It's easy," Maddie said. "You use the location of the food to regulate the temperature - "
"Don't you just cook everything on high?" Sam asked. She'd already burned last night's dinner, as well as breakfast.
Maddie blinked. Sam was staring at her, her face honest and open. "Maybe I should just do the cooking."
"Best idea you've had all day," Sam agreed, relieved.
Sam's eyes darted to Natasha's face. "You look good." Sam's wolf had stirred as soon as the female stepped into the room, the animal pacing in response to a nearby challenger.
"Thanks." Natasha felt the weight of those eyes, knew she was evaluated and measured in those moments. "Can I help?"
"Can you cook?" Sam asked, pouncing on the chance to hand over kitchen duties.
Natasha nodded.
"Then you're hired," Sam said, offering Natasha a long-handled wooden spoon.
Natasha slipped in next to Maddie, the three of them quickly settling into a rhythm. She felt good cooking for a pack, even if it wasn't her own.
Sam might not be able to cook, but she was willing to do her share. Natasha watched the female alpha as she moved around the room, prepping food, running to the back for supplies and helping wherever there was a need.
Sam never stayed away for long, always returning to chat with Maddie or Natasha. Half way through the morning, Natasha felt the lightbulb go on. Sam had slipped off to the back of the den, heading for more supplies, her hand resting lightly on Maddie's back as she walked by. Natasha saw Maddie turn to her alpha, stroking her hand down Sam's arm in a touch that was too tender to be anything but intimate.
"So," Sam said upon her return, heaving a sigh of relief as she dropped to sit on the floor. She'd tied her hair back, accenting sharp eyes and a beautiful face. "You and Roland?"
Natasha felt her face flush. "Is there any chance we can skip this conversation, both of us pretend we already had it?"
"Not a one," Sam said. She hadn't had a chance to question Roland, the male sneaking out before she could corner him.
"I had to ask." Natasha tightened down the lid on the jar she'd just finished filling.
"I would have thought less of you if you hadn't," Sam admitted.
"He said he already asked you," Natasha said, her eyes darting up from her work to Sam's face. "About the claiming."
"I told him to ask you." Sam's eyes narrowed. "He did ask, didn't he?"
"Worried about animal rights violations?" Maddie quipped, spooning out the last of the preserves they'd been working on.
"You interested in making the endangered species list?" Sam growled, her eyes bright with humor.
Natasha laughed, shaking her head. "Roland explained all of my options," she said. "I was actually hoping to talk to Nafarius about reaching out to some of the other packs."
"So you don't plan on staying?" Sam asked, careful to keep her tone neutral.
Natasha shrugged but didn't look up. "I haven't decided what I want to do. Either way, I can't stay here."
Sam shared a look with Maddie. "I think Roland may have left something out of his explanation."
"Like what?" Natasha wrestled with a stiff lid, the mason jar sticky from being filled.
"Like he plans on keeping you." Sam announced.
Natasha's head snapped up, her hand clenching unconsciously and shattering the jar.
"Shit!" Natasha jumped back as shards of glass, sticky with jam, scattered across the floor, splashing her feet and ankles.
Sam jumped up, grabbing Maddie and pulling her back before she stepped on something in her bare feet.
"I am so sorry!" Natasha bent down, quickly wiping up the mess. "We'll need soap and water, otherwise this will get sticky."
"My fault," Sam said. "I probably shouldn't have sprung that on you."
"I'm just glad I wasn't holding a knife," Natasha said. "You'd be calling me Lefty."
Sam laughed. "I like you."
Natasha looked up from where they both knelt on the floor, the last of the mess between them. "Are you always so blunt?"
"You'll learn to appreciate it," Sam said.
"No, you won't," Maddie said, setting down a bowl of soapy water.
"You know, I've always wanted a fur stole," Sam said, pressing a quick kiss to Maddie's mouth. "And yours is such a pretty blonde color."
Maddie laughed, shaking off her alpha's threat. "Wrong color palette," Maddie said. "I'm a summer, you're definitely a fall."
Sam rolled her eyes. "No more fashion magazines for you. From now on it's strictly
Popular Mechanics
."
"But I can't drive," Maddie said.
"Oh for the love of..." Sam sighed. "Your education has been seriously neglected."
Natasha watched Sam and Maddie, her chest aching. They had something she'd never had. Considerably younger than the rest of the pack, Natasha didn't have many friends. She had a host of 'aunts' and 'uncles' but no one close to her own age to spend time with.
"I think that's the last of it," Sam said, tossing aside her towel. "Come on, we'll take you to Nafarius and Roland."