Mating Behavior Read online

  Bersh and Katie ignored him. Bersh stepped into the cabin and towards her. Alan made a move, planting himself between her and the man. “Thanks for stopping by,” he ground out. “It was great meeting you both. Now, if you’ll excuse us—”

  “Alan,” Katie said quickly, unable to believe how rude he was being. “Sorry.” She locked gazes with Bersh. “We just got in and Alan swears there are basic necessities stocked here. I could try to—”

  Alan took hold of her and dragged her against his chest. The look on his face scared her. She stepped back and tripped over Bersh’s foot. Bersh was suddenly there, cradling her body as she stared up at Alan, shocked by his behavior.

  “You okay?” Bersh asked, putting his mouth close to her ear. He gave her hips a light tug, pulling her back against his thick erection.

  Drawing in a sharp breath, Katie’s gaze shot to Alan, who still looked as if he wanted to rip someone’s head off with his bare hands. She did the unexpected, she snuggled back into Bersh’s embrace, somehow knowing he would keep Alan’s temper in check if need be. The last thing Katie wanted to do was use her power against Alan. She’d rather see him end up in a fist fight with another guy than to see him hurt by her magik.

  * * * *

  Alan’s rage subsided as he sensed the fear radiating off Katie. At first, he wanted to believe she was afraid of Bersh, as she should be, but he knew better. She was afraid of him. He reached for her and she drew back. The action pained him beyond words.

  Bersh quirked a mocking brow and it was all Alan could do to keep from striking the man where he stood. How could she seek comfort from a man willing to do her harm?

  Because she senses how on edge you are, asshole. Doesn’t help that you blew her off when she tried to show you affection in front of Bersh.

  Closing his eyes, Alan harnessed his rage and let a mask of serenity fall over his face. When he looked out, he smiled warmly at Katie and Bersh. “It’s been a long hike up. Sorry about my mood. Katie’s right, I did have the cabin stocked about a week ago for our visit. Anyone want a drink?”

  He wasn’t sure who was more shocked, he or Bersh. Bersh’s girlfriend was staring intensely at Bersh’s hands which were planted on Katie’s hips. Noelle’s jealousy was thick enough to smell. Alan had little doubt his would be too if he wasn’t working overtime at keeping it under his thumb.

  Katie seemed to relax, taking a step away from Bersh. She smiled. “So, you said we’re neighbors. Where is your cabin?”

  Bersh met Alan’s gaze as he answered, “About a quarter mile from here. Quite a few cabins now reside on this side of the mountain. All of us are close, personal friends, so if you need anything,” the threat was there, “one of us is just a stone’s throw away.”

  Alan put his hand out to Katie and much to his surprise, she came instantly to him. The look in her brown eyes warmed him as she stared at him with pride. “It’s good to know we’re not totally alone, but I think Alan has everything under control. He’s one of those men who plan for just about anything.”

  But I didn’t plan on werewolves.

  He swallowed hard and drew her into his arms. “I don’t know, honey.” He leveled a heated look at Bersh. “I think there are a few things that got by me.”

  “Honey?” Noelle asked, perking up. “Are the two of you married?”

  She knew damn well they weren’t and was fishing to see how far the relationship had progressed, if any. Alan had never wanted to slap a woman before, but he did want to hit Noelle. He opened his mouth to answer only to find Katie doing it for him.

  “No. We’re not married.”

  “Yet,” he said quickly. “We’re not married yet.”

  Katie turned slowly to face him. “Alan?”

  He pleaded with his eyes for her to leave well enough alone. If a window of opportunity was there, Bersh would use it to attempt to claim Katie for himself. Alan had no doubt the man’s motives were steadily shifting. The way Bersh continued to stare hungrily at Katie and from the livid expression on Noelle’s face, it was becoming serious. No longer was the situation about Bersh watching Alan take Katie. No. Now it was about Bersh wanting Katie for himself.

  Over my dead body.

  Turning his attention to Katie, Alan caressed the back of her arm. “Honey, are you feeling okay?”

  She nodded as she continued to stare at him dumbfounded. Katie twisted into his embrace and Alan took advantage of the opportunity by dipping his head and planting a kiss on her sweet lips. As he parted his lips and let his tongue trace a line around her mouth, she whimpered. The sound was music to his ears.

  A quick slap to her ass and a wink later, Alan drew back and laughed at the shocked expression on Katie’s face. “I’ll get those drinks.”

  Katie blinked and touched her swollen lip. “Uh, okay.”

  “Bersh, would you like to join me?” he asked, wanting Bersh alone so he could tell him exactly what he thought of him showing up unannounced.

  * * *

  Chapter Five

  “What the fuck are you doing, showing up here like we’re going to be the best of friends?” Alan demanded, backing Bersh up against the exterior of the cabin. The beast within surged to the surface, causing hair to sprout on the back of Alan’s hands. His skin rippled and for a split second, Alan thought he might accidentally do a full shift. Somehow he managed to control himself enough to maintain human form.

  Bersh, clearly amused, laughed and seemed unaffected by Alan’s show of power. He pushed Alan’s hand aside and withdrew a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. Under normal circumstances, Alan would have been repulsed. Smoking wasn’t his thing. Now he held back from asking for a cigarette of his own. Bersh lit up and took a long drag before paying any mind to Alan, only serving to piss Alan off more. The man acted as if nothing was out of the norm, all the while Alan felt his life as he knew it slipping away.

  “I’m changing the rules of the game,” Bersh said evenly. “I want you to watch me fuck Katie.”

  Alan saw red as his anger overtook him. “Like hell!” he shouted, his voice full of nothing but contempt. Alan went to charge him, but Bersh motioned towards the cabin.

  “Nah, ah, ah.” He shook his finger back and forth in a corrective manner. Alan instantly wanted to snap the finger off. “Noelle’s itching for a reason to kill her. Attack me and your bitch is as good as dead.”

  Alan’s entire body was rigid. The need to strike out and cut Bersh’s head from his shoulders almost outweighed Alan’s common sense. Noelle was still in the cabin with Katie. It would only take a fraction of a second for a shifter such as Noelle to kill Katie. There was no way Alan could take out Bersh and make it back in time to protect Katie.

  “You’re not touching Katie. She’s mine and I’m not into sharing or wife swapping,” Alan said, doing his best to remain in control of his beast.

  Bersh took another hit off his cigarette and exhaled in Alan’s direction, making Alan cough slightly. “Wife swapping? How can we label it that when you’re not mated to her, city boy?”

  “You know what I meant.” He wanted to bash the man’s face against the cabin until it was unrecognizable.

  “Do I?” Bersh’s expression was one of taunting. “You can have Noelle. She means nothing to me. I just want a night with your bitch. One night and I’ll allow the two of you to leave this mountain unharmed. I’ll make it pleasurable for her. I promise.”

  Alan’s rage was cut short by a sharp gasp from the back porch. He looked up to find Noelle there, her face was pale and jealousy crept into her eyes. She glared at Bersh before a sick smile curved her lips. “I mean nothing to you?”

  “You know as much,” Bersh said as if he didn’t care a bit for Noelle’s feelings.

  He doesn’t give a shit.

  Noelle continued to smile. Something about it made Alan’s stomach churn. She was up to no good. Considering who her on-again, off-again boyfriend was, Alan wasn’t surprised.

  “You want the human inst
ead?” she asked. “They break so very easily, Bersh. Consider yourself warned.” With that, she shifted into wolf form, her clothing ripping away as she raced off the back porch and into the woods.

  The distinct smell of blood filtered from the cottage. Alan rushed forward, followed closely by Bersh. He burst into the main room and found Katie at the sink, holding a dish towel over her hand.

  “Katie?”

  She jerked around and exhaled slowly. “Oh, Alan, I didn’t hear you come in. So do you?”

  “Do I what?” he asked, sick with the idea it was Katie’s blood that he’d smelled. He wanted to rush forward and demand to know what happened, but a strange calming energy seemed to engulf the area. If he was thinking clearly he might have dwelled on it more, but as it stood, his mind was a mass of mixed emotions.

  “I sent Noelle out to ask if you have a first aid kit here,” she said, opening the towel and revealing a long, clean slice down the center of her palm. “Don’t panic. It’s not very bad. Just a nasty scratch.” Her brows drew together. Something on his face must have tipped off how close to losing it he was, because she winked. “Relax, big guy. I’ll live.”

  Not if Noelle can help it.

  Alan growled and Bersh grabbed his shoulder. In an instant the man was leaning in and whispering to him. “That cut is from a knife, not a claw. If you lose control and shift now, she’ll run off into the night and Noelle and her friends will kill her slowly.”

  “Stop threatening Katie to keep me in line,” Alan bit out in a hushed voice. He was beyond tired of Bersh’s threats.

  Bersh shook his head. “I’m not. I don’t want her hurt. Christ, I can’t stop thinking about her. Noelle’s insane. More so than me and she’s pissed. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop over a hundred pissed off she-wolves. Can you? Because that’s how many reinforcements she’ll gather.”

  Alan’s blood ran cold. He forced a smile to his face as he stared at Katie. “The kit’s in the bathroom. I’ll get it.” He headed down the hall with Bersh at his heels and waited to speak again until he was sure Katie couldn’t hear. “I need to get Katie off this mountain.”

  “I know.”

  Bersh’s confirmation left Alan feeling as if he’d been hit by a bus. When the bad guy thought it was bad, everyone was screwed.

  “I’ll go to Brone and tell him what’s transpired. If he’s not still pissed at me, he’ll assure you and your bitch … umm … Katie, safe passage.”

  “Brone?” Alan asked, getting the kit out from under the sink. His hands shook, a testament to how shot his nerves truly were. Lashing out was an option, now that Noelle wasn’t in close proximity. He could kill Bersh without immediate danger to Katie, but he was no fool. Bersh was their only way off the mountain safely.

  Bersh stepped aside, allowing Alan to pass. “Yeah, our pack Alpha.”

  Alan snorted as he started down the hall. “I can’t fucking stand you. How is a guy subjected to you all the time going to let you have a say?”

  Clearing his throat, Bersh appeared uncomfortable. He went for his pack of cigarettes, but Alan shook his head no. Bersh nodded, and much to Alan’s surprise didn’t press the issue. “Brone is my brother. My twin brother to be exact.”

  The news made Alan come to a grinding halt. “You tried to fuck your brother’s mate?”

  “No.” Bersh gave him a cock sure smile. “Tried implies I haven’t succeeded and mate would assume the bitch he currently shacks up with was claimed by him. Oh, I’ve fucked his girlfriend each and every time she’s come to me begging me to. She’s pissed Brone won’t claim her.”

  “Kind of like how Noelle’s pissed you won’t claim her?” Alan asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

  “Yeah.”

  Alan pushed past Bersh and covered the distance between he and Katie quickly. He took the towel from her hand and gasped when he saw just how deep the wound was. It wasn’t just a scratch. “Katie, honey, I need to get you to a…”

  Heat flared between them and Katie cried out as Alan seized hold of her hurt hand. He hadn’t meant to, but an unseen force demanded he hold her close. The heat continued and he knew what was happening a split second before it did. He was healing her. Before his eyes Katie’s skin pulled back together, smoothing out as if nothing had happened. She stared up at him with wide, questioning eyes.

  Bersh let out a long ragged breath. “Holy shit, she’s your true mate!”

  “Bersh,” he said, his tone warning.

  “How the hell can that be? She’s human?” Bersh asked, sounding stunned.

  Katie froze. “W-what?”

  Great. She finds out I’m not human from a loud-mouth asshole who would love nothing more than to fuck her brains out.

  Bersh picked then to quietly excuse himself. Alan didn’t try to stop him. Instead, he focused on Katie. “So, how’d your hand get cut?”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Your hand.” He lifted it to his lips and planted a kiss on her palm. “How did—”

  “Oh.” Katie glanced at the sink and Alan spotted a knife there. “I was looking for a can opener and wasn’t paying attention. The knife was in the drawer, the sharp side up.”

  “I’m sorry, honey. I should have—”

  “Alan.” Katie pulled away from him. “What did he mean about you and I being true mates even though I’m human?”

  “Honey.” Alan moved to take hold of her, but she dodged his grasp. “Bersh was just—”

  “No more secrets, Alan.” She shook her head. “No more lies.”

  The hurt in her eyes and the quick lift and fall of her chest as her breathing grew faster did him in. He advanced on her with his supernatural speed, not bothering to hide what he could do. Katie gasped as Alan jerked her against his body. He took hold of her hair and tugged enough to force her to meet his gaze. “I need you, Katie. That’s the truth. I need you more than you’ll ever know.”

  “Alan, I need to know what Bersh—”

  Capturing her lips with his, Alan silenced Katie. He swept his tongue in, greeted hers and let go of the long-standing desire to consume her. Before Alan knew it, he had Katie backed against the counter and was kissing her like a depraved man. She tasted so sweet, so perfect. The scent of her blood still lingered from the towel and the beast within nudged its way upwards, coming dangerously close to freedom.

  He stiffened, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he licked the inner edges of her mouth slowly, savoring the feel of Katie melting in his arms. Her arousal grew and his supernatural senses picked up on the changes in her body. She wanted him. There was no hiding the fact now.

  Katie surrendered to Alan’s advances, tipping her head back and giving him better access to her. Only moments ago she’d been bleeding and then trying to understand Bersh’s cryptic words. Now her body seemed to have a mind of its own. Her inner thighs tightened and her nipples peaked. It was happening so fast, but she didn’t dare stop it. No. Katie wanted everything Alan was willing to give so long as her heart remained whole in the end.

  Don’t hurt me, Alan.

  “Never,” he whispered, biting at her lower lip lightly and driving her mad with lust. “I’d never hurt you.” He kissed her harder then, leaving her no room to dwell on the fact she didn’t remember speaking out loud. Alan pressed her body against the countertop and ground his hips. His powerful thigh rubbed against her clit just right, creating a friction that left Katie panting and clinging to him.

  Moisture pooled at the juncture of her legs. Alan ran a hand up her side, sliding it under her shirt and bringing it to a stop just below her breast. He hissed as if she’d scalded him before palming her breast. He rolled her nipple between his forefinger and thumb, moaning in sync with her as he continued to grind against her. She shuddered as pressure built deep within her. Each swipe he took brought Katie closer to an orgasm.

  Unable to restrain herself, she went for his shirt, yanking it up and over his head. A cry broke free of her lips as A
lan briefly lost contact with her breast. She chucked his shirt aside and ran her hands over his virile chest, committing each plane, each dip to memory. He was perfection. Pure and simple.

  He pressed his bulging fullness against her mound, instantly pushing her to her zenith. Katie cried out, clinging tight to Alan’s powerful arms. He lifted her with no effort and captured her mouth with his. The orgasm continued to rack her body. Each moan she let out was lost in Alan’s kisses.

  Alan carried her through the cabin, kissing her all the way to the main bedroom where he laid her out on the bed. Katie felt like an offering. She was all too willing to play the part.

  As Alan stepped back and stared down at her with lust-filled eyes, Katie’s cheeks flared pink. He shook his head. “No. Don’t be embarrassed by this… by us.” His gaze heated before raking over her slowly. Each spot he stared at seemed to burn under the weight of his stare.

  Katie’s power picked then to flare. Her skin prickled and a low buzzing filled the air. Alan glanced around, looking puzzled before a threatening growl escaped him. “I’ll be right back.”

  “No,” she said faster than she should.

  He stopped and stared down at her.

  “Don’t go.” Katie put her hand out to him. He took it and she tugged gently, wanting him closer. Alan obliged and Katie’s magik continued to build. Knowing he sensed it, Katie decided to distract him. She pulled their joined hands to the buckle of her pants. “Stay with me, Alan.”

  “K-Katie,” he said, sounding pained. “I have to check on something. I don’t want to leave you but…”

  She unbuttoned her pants and pushed his hand down the front of her jeans. Alan’s eyes closed and his jaw set. His breathing grew short. “Katie, honey, I can’t control it right now. I need to step away. I won’t risk hurting you.”

  Can’t control it?

  Taking hold of his chin with her free hand, Katie jerked on it slightly. He opened his eyes and she met his gaze head on. “Alan, if you walk away or tell me you need space one more time, I won’t forgive you again. Do you understand?”