Luna Junction 1 Feasts with Wolves (W) Read online

  Cade Landon was correct about one thing. I wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. As I was about to turn away from the window a pair of dark shapes galloped across the fresh snow and disappeared into the dark shadows of the woods. I backed away shakily and pulled the robe tighter for comfort. I remembered Cade’s earlier promise. It was time to find him and collect.

  The hallway outside the bedroom was dark but I was drawn by the feel of heat and the faint glow of fire. Cade was seated in the large living room as if he were awaiting me. A comfortable fire roared in the stone hearth and I moved closer to it, holding out my icy fingers. “I thought you didn’t get cold.”

  “Not easily. But I still make some attempt to see to the comfort of guests in my home.”

  It was impossible not to stare at him. He wore an open flannel shirt and the broad lines of his chest beckoned. His posture was lazy but he watched me intently behind tented fingers.

  I swallowed thickly. “You said you’d answer questions.”

  “So ask some.”

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest, feeling the robe did little to clothe me when confronted by the scrutiny of Cade’s dark gaze. “You’re all werewolves?”

  “Yes.”

  I searched my memory for knowledge of all things werewolf. The list was remarkably short. “Did someone, you know, bite you or something?”

  He shook his head, smiling faintly. “Lycanthropy is genetic. My father was a werewolf as am I and my three boys.”

  “That’s not how Hollywood tells it.”

  “Well, no one from Hollywood asked a real werewolf.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “It’s possible. To turn a healthy human with one bite under a full moon. But it’s forbidden in our communities. The results are…unpredictable.”

  I tried to allow this information to penetrate. It was proving to be a trying process. “And your wife? She was one too? And Claire? All of Luna Junction?”

  I jumped when Cade suddenly stood. He moved to a dark corner of the room and I heard the clink of glassware. He tossed back a shot of dark liquid and then turned to face me. “Interrupt me if I’m not making any sense. I’ve never had to explain all this to an outsider. There are five werewolf families of Luna Junction. Besides the Landons there is Claire’s family, the Casteels. My deceased wife was a Hoffman. The Bellinis are the most numerous and the Ivanovs are a wild bunch who carve out an existence deep in the woods.” He gave me an appraising glance as I settled on the edge of an overstuffed chair. “We are a very private community and don’t often welcome outsiders. We do what we have to and won’t hesitate to dispense justice among our own kind.” His face darkened as he stared deep into the dancing flames and he seemed to be speaking to himself. “Though the hunters still believe we need to be controlled.”

  I recalled Claire’s strange comment about the hunters who had been responsible for Anna Landon’s death. I wanted to ask him more, but understood the pain of the topic. His face had collapsed into bewildered hurt as he pondered the tragedies he saw in the fire. I felt the strong urge to caress his distressed brow and nestle his head between the soft pillows of my breasts…and then…

  I cleared my throat and gripped the edges of the chair. I was really some piece of work. Here I was in the dark talking to a guy about his dead wife and all I could think about was the rasp of his hot tongue over my nipples. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I changed the subject. “Do you eat people?”

  His eyes were amused. “Not me, personally. Though I can’t vouch for everyone, I’ve always found human flesh to quite stringy with a garlicky aftertaste.” The look on my face much have been something to behold because Cade laughed outright. “Damn, Tatum. I’m only teasing. No, no wolf in Luna Junction indulges in a taste for fair young maidens so your flesh is quite safe here.” When he’d finished his moment of mirth, he grew serious again. “My mother was human.”

  The information surprised me. “Oh, so it’s possible for a werewolf and a human to, um…” My voice trailed off. I could think it, I could dream it, I could even come close to doing it in his sunny kitchen, but just then I couldn’t talk about it.

  “Mate?” he finished and nodded. “Yes, a werewolf and a human can certainly mate. Though there are some, like Claire’s brother, who come by their own ideas and have decided it’s somehow sacrilegious. Such wolves believe mating with a human ought to be forbidden.”

  “But you obviously don’t feel that way?” Now I was blushing furiously.

  “No,” he said. “I don’t feel that way.”

  I toyed with my robe belt. The crackling fire filled the moment of silence. “So what does it mean?” I finally asked. “To be a werewolf?”

  Cade sighed. He considered his answer for a long moment before speaking. “It means being the embodiment of ancient suspicion and misunderstanding. Being a werewolf means being guarded towards all who are not your kind yet feeling the acute loneliness of not being part of the wider world.” He lowered his head. “Some, like my son, attempt to mingle with mainstream humanity and they can play along for a while but long term success in the human world is elusive. The burdens of solitude and secrecy become too much to bear and the werewolf becomes mean. Or goes mad.” His mouth twisted into a sardonic grin. “And then you might see the violent bloody fanged creature of popular culture.” His face grew serious again. I dared not make a sound or a move for fear he would stop speaking and I had never been more fascinated by any subject. “It means we have superior senses, feel the urge to shift most acutely during a full moon and will be mortally wounded by the pierce of silver although our bodies are otherwise extraordinarily hardy.” His gaze traveled down the length of my body once more. “Being a werewolf means we have appetites as men do, but with added intensity which might frighten some. Now Tatum, I need to ask a question of you.”

  “Yes,” I breathed. And in that moment I would have said yes to anything he asked, anything he required.

  “Do you like school?”

  “School?” I scarcely remembered school. It seemed a century had passed since I pouted under my comforter, jarred out of my pity party by the ringing of the phone. “I major in history,” I said as if it would somehow explain everything.

  Cade thought about that. “Why?”

  I was flustered. What the hell difference did it make if I studied molecular biology or underwater basket weaving? It seemed we were dealing with much weightier issues. “I don’t know. I like history. Knowing the truth about what happened before is meaningful if you’re to figure out where you’re going next. Does that sound lame?”

  “Ah.” My answer pleased him but I wasn’t sure why. “I knew you were a smart one. But you still didn’t answer my question.”

  “No, I don’t like school,” I finally said. I hadn’t realized that was true. I was supposed to earn a four year degree and then move on to a grueling postgraduate program which would leave me crippled by decades of debt. And now it all seemed so…unappealing. I shifted as my arousal grew. I wanted him so badly I felt as if I would climax if he even breathed on me too closely.

  Cade had been rolling the stubby shot glass between his fingers. He placed it upside down on the small table and crossed his arms. “Tatum, I want you to remove your robe.”

  It didn’t even occur to me to disobey. My fingers shook as I pulled at the loose knot. Slowly I dropped the robe from my shoulders and let it sift to the floor. Though the room was dark I did not miss the craving in his eyes as he looked upon me. Without being asked, I unhooked my bra and freed my heavy breasts. Cade’s breathing was ragged as he stared. Feeling bold, I slowly rolled my panties away, the satin wet with my intense want. I didn’t know how to render the invitation any more plain.

  His voice was hoarse. “Tatum, you need to understand something. If I take you even once, then you will be mine.”

  “Good,” I whispered though his words sounded so final. As if entering my body were an act of absolute possession. But even as I desperately wanted w
hat he wanted, I was anxious. My sexual skills were somewhat shallow and I wasn’t confident I knew how to please an average man, let alone an absurdly attractive one whose experiences began before I was born. There was also the werewolf factor. Would creature sex be different somehow?

  My back was to the fire so there was nowhere to retreat when Cade began to move closer. His eyes never left my face as he advanced. Suddenly feeling self-conscious I crossed my arms over my breasts. My body trembled when Cade reached for me. My eyes travelled unwittingly to that place between his legs I was most eager for. I could see the outline of his swollen desire through his jeans. Cade’s hands closed around my shoulders. His fingers traveled down the length of my arms, stimulating my skin with his warmth. When he reached my elbows he gently pulled them apart, exposing me to his scrutiny.

  Cade Landon allowed himself the luxury of a slow appraisal of every inch of my body. Rather than feeling embarrassed, I was emboldened by his sensual assessment. He looked me in the eye and said “You’re beautiful,” and I reached out, cupping his trapped hardened passion on my palm.

  A small cry escaped me as he suddenly seized me roughly and covered my mouth with his. The shock of his lips was enough to awaken the pulsing lust which had been boiling within me ever since I laid eyes on him. I welcomed his tongue, sucking and exploring. Cade’s hands gripped my hips and then travelled to the generous flesh of my buttocks where his fingers kneaded with deep pressure. Even as I felt him lifting me my legs went eagerly around his waist. Our mouths stayed glued together as he hauled me to that room I had entered by mistake hours earlier.

  Cade kicked the door closed with a crash and lightly tossed me on the giant bed. My body bounced once on the firm mattress and I struggled to raise myself up on my elbows as Cade stood before me. He pushed my legs wide and began stroking my center which was already more than ready for him. I groaned and reached for the buckle of his jeans but he pinned my wrists to my sides. The meaning was clear. In this show, he was the director.

  I knew he relished the way my eyes widened as he unfastened his pants and released himself. Though no lights blazed within the room the windows were open and the nearly full moon offered suitable light. He was immense. The shaft rose from his body like a fierce sword and I whimpered, spreading my legs wider as my moist core begged for him to claim me.

  Cade entered me with no preamble. My body was not accustomed to such an invasion and I felt a brief flash of pain as he buried himself without regard. My tightness grew slick as he thrust again and again. From my pummeled depths a faint glow of pleasure began to emanate, nursed by the rhythmic lunges of Cade’s forceful battering. His hands molded my breasts, massaging and I felt the spiraling crest of desire rising with insistence.

  The climax was a blast to every sensitive nerve ending which quivered and keened in the wave of bliss. I dimly heard my own scream of lust as the ecstasy shattered every other reality and then slowly receded. I moaned, spent by the intense orgasm, but Cade wasn’t finished with me. He had brought me to unbridled fulfilment. And now he would claim his own.

  I gasped as my body was sharply flipped facedown. Before I even had time to react my hips were grabbed from behind and brought swiftly to meet the swollen organ. He entered my slippery, newly pounded core with a deep grunt. The fresh angle stirred inner places which had not yet been touched and I felt the rise of new delights. Cade’s hands ground into the meat of my thighs as he separated me and rode in the way that would please him most. He had been massive even standing there in the moonlight but swelled to impossible lengths as he lunged again and again with the heady force of primal hunger.

  I managed to rise to my elbows and arch my back and was rewarded with Cade’s wild moan which pushed me upwards into another devastating peak of bliss. The heat I felt coating my insides was at first puzzling. Cade clutch me tightly, forcing my body to rise against his chest as he came, releasing a veritable flood of his hot seed. His howl caught me off guard for part of my mind had forgotten that Cade Landon was not just a man.

  He slowly loosened his grip and I fell back to the bed. Cade’s hot climax dripped down my thighs. I knew I should be somewhat alarmed since birthing werewolf babies wasn’t high on my list of priorities but I was strangely excited. I reached down and touched the sticky warmth, feeling it slide between my fingers. Cade watched me as I tasted his salty essence.

  Suddenly he toppled me backwards, his broad chest and shoulders hovering above my prone form. I started to touch him but the fierce look in his eyes changed my mind and once again I was reminded that this had not been a strictly normal coupling. He loomed over me, securing my arms above my head. Was I in for some sort of post coital werewolf wonder?

  “I told you what would happen if I took you,” he said.

  I thought for a moment. What had he said again? If I take you even once, then you will be mine. I had thought it was a strange, possessive thing to say but at the moment my libido was screaming more loudly than reason. “Yes,” I whispered. Was he going to lock me away and turn me into his sex slave? Did I mind if he did??

  “I want you to stay here with me Tatum. Be my mate.”

  I considered. “Like a wife?”

  Cade smiled. “Yes, similar to the marriages in the human world. You will be my companion.” He abruptly ground his hips against mine. “In all things. You will pleasure me and I will do the same for you.”

  I was quiet for moment. I thought about never again waking up to Julia From New York’s brash snoring, about not rushing off to class with my teeth unbrushed, about not suffering the uncertain fumbling advances of young men who were little more than boys. I also thought about getting bodily rocked by Cade Landon several times a day. No contest there. “Yes,” I said, and met his hip grind with movement of my own.

  He entered me softly this time, tenderly. We remained quietly joined for many moments, his movements gentle. His hardened organ grew with intensity and he could restrain himself no longer, plunging with urgent force. My body was opening to the pleasure once more when he suddenly withdrew. The hot spurt across my belly startled me and I looked down. Cade gruffly rubbed his spilled ecstasy into my skin, across my stomach and between my breasts. I felt the fluid begin to dry stiffly and looked at him questioningly.

  He gave me another of his wry grins. “Animals like to mark their territory.”

  I smiled and raised my hands above my head, stretching deliciously. “And I’m your territory.”

  “You are now.”

  I clucked. “I think I’ve just single handedly set women’s liberation back a few centuries.”

  He toyed with my breasts. “And do you care?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  Cade’s fingers lingered over my nipples, which hardened under his touch. Even though my legs grew slightly numb under his heavy weight I didn’t want him to move. He seemed to be considering my breasts with an odd degree of care. I raised up on my elbows. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head slightly, running a hand through his dark hair. “You’re perceptive Tatum.”

  Feeling suddenly vulnerable, my arms covered my breasts. “Are you sorry?”

  “For having you?” He moved my arms and bent low, suckling my nipples for a long moment before raising his head again. His voice was tense but filled with certainty. “Hell no, I’m not sorry.”

  “Then what is it?”

  He sighed, rolling off my prone form and looking moodily out the window. “I told you a little bit about Luna Junction. About the other pack families.”

  “You mentioned they’re not real into humans.” I thought for a moment, understanding. “They won’t approve, will they?”

  Cade swallowed. “I’ll present you at the Yule tomorrow.”

  “And then what?”

  He looked at me. His large hands cupped my face and he gave me a long slow kiss. “I’m not giving them a choice. You belong to me and you will stay.”

  Cade rested his head on my chest and my fin
gers threaded through his hair. Everything had accelerated so quickly. The prior morning I had grumpily awakened in my nearly empty dorm. Less than twenty four hours later I was lover/wife/mate to a werewolf. I couldn’t deny that a sort of girlish thrill coursed through me. Fairy tales were true after all. “So the Yule? Is that sort of like Christmas for werewolves?”

  He nestled his head in between my breasts. “Hmmm. The Yule is a very old celebration of seasons and the earth. It’s been adapted.”

  I was trying to keep up, nodding along as if it were all completely normal. “Adapted for modern times?”

  Cade flashed a grin. “Adapted for modern werewolves.” He ran a finger along the inside of my thigh and I squirmed, savagely turned on by any contact with him. He continued speaking casually as if he didn’t possess the power to turn me into lusty puddle. “It’s celebrated during the full moon closest to the winter solstice. The families will be here tomorrow. You’ll be surprised how nearly human it will be all be. We will eat, we will drink.” He loomed over my suddenly and his grin turned devilish. “Then when the moon has fully risen in the sky we will shed our common forms and, in the spirit of the old pagan wild hunt, conquer the woods like the animals we are.”

  “Show me,” I breathed. I had screamed bloody murder when Matthew had shifted before my eyes. But much had changed in those few hours. I needed to see. I touched the outline of his strong jaw. “Show me the wolf.”

  Cade Landon leapt off the bed so swiftly I gasped. He crouched in the middle of the floor, his head down. I stared, fascinated. Before I could even register what was happening the transformation was complete. The wolf which had replaced him was an enormous version of iron statue which watched us mutely from the dresser. I could scarcely breathe. Gleaming eyes looked into mine with conviction and he nodded.