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  “First, we are so not family, you idiot. Second, I want to rip your shirt off and bite you right back, Lowell.” She felt a little tremor under her nails, right where she was digging into his chest hair. “Third, I want to fuck until we fall down from exhaustion. I want --”

  “I want you to mind your manners until we get home, girl. No need to spend our first night in jail for indecency, especially when we’d be given separate cells.” He whirled her around, so his clothed cock was between her ass cheeks. She rubbed against that tempting heat and heard his breath catch. Mmmmmm. Even covered, his erection felt way too good. But his hands stayed firm on her shoulders, not letting her turn back to what they had been doing. His voice stayed firm, too. “My truck is right there. Climb in.”

  Chapter Two

  Lin slid across the truck’s seat to open the door. Lowell stepped inside, trying not to feel too deprived. “I wanted --”

  She didn’t finish the sentence before he had her pinned to the unyielding fabric. She found herself sighing into his mouth before she could think clearly. The memories of the high school boys she’d toyed with and the almost sexual possibility in her packmate, Rossi, faded as if they’d never existed. Nothing before had ever been quite as hot or urgent as this taste of Lowell in her mouth.

  She wanted him. Not just that hard cock that was prodding her bare stomach and moving lower, but all of him. She hadn’t even realized how much she’d wanted him to arrive, how deeply she needed him.

  Maybe she shouldn’t tell him so right now. As her mama would say, it was better to leave a man wondering. But she wanted to. Oh, yes, she wanted to.

  It felt right. That was the most frightening, most sexy thing of all. He didn’t know her -- he’d known a little girl a long time ago, not this woman who urged him on with a murmur and then a growl. But it felt as if he did. As if his body was meant to take hers.

  When had he last known anything like that?

  Never.

  Submission. Domination. Grapples in dark places. Paid-for sex. He knew about that. Not this urgency that promised fulfillment whenever he wanted, however he wanted. Not little flickers of want that lashed at him whenever her fingers slid over his body.

  Dangerous. Very dangerous.

  He fought the craving to bite her again, hard. To hold her down like he would any wolf and dive into her for a few hours without thinking. He’d like to do that. He had the feeling she would, too.

  But he also wanted to go slow. This first time was something that needed to be done properly. She was new to all of this and their kind mated for life. He had to get them started right.

  She sighed, just a little, her chest rising and falling, and his hand was under that tiny shirt before he took a second thought about starting out right. Dear, lovely Jesus, the tight nub under his hand was already drawn up to an excited peak. He brushed his thumb over that piece of sensitive flesh and she whimpered.

  “You aren’t helping,” he said.

  Lin laughed. “I’ll help whenever you do what I want.” Then she sobered. “Fine. I can’t believe you’re so conservative. If you’re going to be that old-fashioned, take me to your pack, then, so we can get on with things. But -- could you ... play with me a little more first?”

  He wanted to. He wanted to swallow her moans when he pinched those responsive nipples. He imagined how sweet they would taste when he licked and sucked them. Then he’d bury his face in the sweaty, musky liquid spilling from inside her supple young body right before he buried his --

  “No. I don’t play with something this serious.” He lied with his most convincing tone as he fought what they both wanted. He had to go through with what he’d just told her. Things weren’t going to go all her way, whether she helped him or not. What they really wanted didn’t matter. He had to show her that of the two alphas in the pack, he was stronger.

  The alternative was -- He pushed the seductive idea away quickly. Instead he thought about what was going to happen next, not what he wished would happen, and his heart rate slowed. Reality had a way of sobering him up.

  “Brace yourself. My family isn’t like yours. They’re -- it’s -- they’re --” He tried to come up with the right word for the pack. There was none. “It’s not safe.”

  “You haven’t been home for a while, Lowell. I have one evil hellion baby sibling. I think I can handle almost anything your pack has.”

  Kids. Complete with a mom and dad. OK, there might be a few stray betas to keep it from being a picture-perfect human household, but she came from a real family, not just a pack bound together for survival. Lowell knew where and who she came from. In her world, a baby brother was dangerous. But Lin had no idea what she was walking into.

  He started the truck, grinding the gears as he took out his frustrations on the clutch. Lin was just too young. She wasn’t ready for ugliness. She wasn’t ready to see what an alpha had to do to keep control of his pack.

  She’d run.

  She’d be gone before he had a chance to do half the things he was imagining. He should stop the truck now and let her go. That would be best.

  Best for her. What about you? He fought the sudden thick longing that rose up in his throat, springing up from both his cock and his heart. The need almost choked him. God. He’d just met her again after years of no communication with his old pack, and here he was damn near dying at the idea of her leaving.

  Danger. Danger.

  She’d find out. Hell, they’d all find out. His pack. They’d sense his weakness and need. Once that happened, they’d be at his throat. He only stayed alpha because they thought he had no emotions in him except hot anger or cool control. That was all he ever let them see.

  “Lin --”

  “Now what? You better not try warning me off again.”

  He wasn’t going to be sensible. Not the way need was gripping his throat ... and his cock.

  “No. Just ... you may not like what happens next. You may not like me or what I do. I’ll make it up to you later. I promise.” He’d worry about how later.

  She looked at him as if she could actually see all the sudden tension and lust roiling up inside him. See it and handle it. But how could she? How could anyone? Still, Lin nodded, as if understanding and wanting to reassure his inner thoughts. “I believe in your promises, Lowell. So let’s get on with it so we can get naked and fuck.”

  * * * * *

  He’d changed in the short time between getting in the truck and heading to his pack. Not the change. Lin couldn’t remember when she’d last seen someone in her pack turn. Contrary to all the stupid movies, it didn’t happen that often. Grey had, the time Rome had run off as a toddler and they found the kid playing near a rattlesnake. The rattler hadn’t had time to know what bit him. Rossi had, a few times when he was younger and Dad or Grey had disciplined him. Lin had her suspicions about what happened sometimes at night, when she’d been firmly sent to her room by Mom and Dad. Dad looked a little too dangerous and Mom looked a little too bright-eyed. Not that either of them could keep secret the fact they had all kinds of sex. Things got too noisy. Finding out they were having weresex wouldn’t be a surprise.

  She was looking forward to seeing Lowell -- her Lowell -- turn into a beast for her. She was looking forward to finally being able to change herself. Surely after being with Lowell that would happen at last. It was embarrassing that she hadn’t done so yet, to tell the truth.

  But Lowell’s change right now wasn’t the one weres knew and craved, especially during the full moon. This was even scarier. The guy she knew was turning cold. She could almost feel the ice forming and the distance growing. When he stopped the truck, measuring her with flat, emotionless eyes, she had a sudden realization. Do I know this man at all? Wonderful. Lin swallowed. This was not the time for second thoughts. That chance left with the good Lowell several miles back.

  This one looked a bit like Lowell’s evil double. Lin firmed her jaw. She could handle a little evil. She’d signed up for this and she wasn’t
backing down now. Not just because Lowell looked different all of a sudden.

  “Welcome home,” he told her at the outside of the door to the house. But it sounded like a threat, not a promise.

  When he threw open the door, she held her breath, feeling Lowell’s tension under the ice and wondering what horrors awaited her inside. She looked inside. It wasn’t what she expected.

  There was nothing there. Nothing but the house.

  She followed Lowell inside.

  The house was enormous. Very modern, very empty. The walls were white and should look bright. Right now, in the dark, they looked flat and drab. Lin wondered if the walls would be overpowering during the day, when the sun beat through the windows and reflected on all that blank whiteness.

  Nothing. There was nothing on the walls. No one inside the walls except Lowell and her. She blinked at the expanse of curtainless windows in the living room and had opened her mouth to comment on her soon-to-be mate’s decorating skills, when she heard a rumble that might be a growl behind her. Danger! She whirled to face the noise, the hair on the back of her neck rising at the sound of a threat.

  Four of them. Different ages, different sizes, different genders. But all of them were staring at her with the same hostile look. Damn. So this was Lowell’s family?

  “Who the fuck is this?”

  The questioner was a woman who looked as unpleasant as her question. Lin bared her teeth, realizing as she did that she couldn’t make as good a threat display as the were pack in front of her. A few were already wavering into the beginnings of their change. Those were some damn sharp, long teeth in front of her.

  “Mine. She’s mine.” Lowell spoke behind her, his growl as frightening as the group in front of her.

  There was only one of him, but by God, he was alpha and he was reminding them all of it. She got wet all over again at his display.

  She saw each one’s nostrils flare. Shit. They could smell her arousal. She refused to imagine she might be wafting off a little fear, but no matter what they could smell, the whole experience was like being paraded around naked.

  “This is Lin Kinkaid. My mate. Your alpha. Lin, this is my pack. Our pack.” Lowell didn’t say it with pride, the way her father would.

  “Hello.” They continued to stand, silent and watchful. Lin narrowed her eyes. Even if they weren’t sure of her, weren’t they going to defer to the alpha’s mate? Hmph. If they were waiting for her to prove herself, they weren’t going to have to wait any longer. “Well? Didn’t you hear Lowell? Do I have to tell you what happens next?”

  “She’s one of us?” The deep rumble came from the biggest man she’d ever seen. The amount of skepticism rolling off him was as big as the rest of his body.

  “She’s your alpha. She damn well is one of us, slick.” Lowell reached out to grab Slick’s shoulder.

  “She’s a Kinkaid. She’ll never be one of my pack.” The woman turned away, growling.

  Shit! What have I walked into?

  Lowell shrugged. “Dru, I’ve put up with you and your hatred for thirteen damn years. It wouldn’t make me cry to see you turned out.”

  Lin tried to swallow and realized her throat was too dry. Expulsion was worse than death. Even the threat of it was almost unimaginable, but Lowell sounded like he meant every syllable.

  “You owe me! You killed my mate to gain control of this pack!” Dru shrieked. “You threw my son out just because he might be a problem to you someday. Rossi was a child!”

  Rossi’s mother. This bitter woman was the mother of Rossi, who had arrived at her daddy’s pack as a surly adolescent. No one had told Lin why Lowell was gone and Rossi was in his place. Everyone in her pack shielded her. Just like everyone in this pack seemed determined to yell the ugliest things they could think of in her face.

  “With you around to egg him on, Rossi was going to get himself killed if he stayed. There was nothing left for him here except trouble. I would have thrown you out, too, except you were pregnant. Too bad I felt sorry for you. But I can rethink that earlier decision.”

  The kid behind Dru gave a whimper of distress. Lin saw the resemblance between the woman and the girl now that Lowell had given Lin the hint. Thirteen years. The girl was maybe thirteen and facing banishment with her mother or life on her own in a hostile pack.

  Dear heaven. Lin wasn’t about to celebrate her arrival by having all the other female members of the pack banished. Instead Lin smacked her hand hard against the wall. The thump made everyone turn to her.

  “Dru. Take your daughter out of here. She’s too young for the initiation rite. You can come back and join us or not, as you wish.” Lin stared down the other woman. She didn’t let herself feel any triumph as the older were’s gaze lowered. Lin didn’t point out what it meant if Dru didn’t choose to rejoin the group. She didn’t need to.

  “Mia, you get!”

  Without any more words, Dru grabbed her daughter and quick marched her from the room. There, that much was done.

  Lowell glanced over at her and she almost saw a smile from him. Maybe. At least he didn’t seem to have any problems with his mate speaking up. That was good, because Lin knew she wasn’t going to stop now.

  “Well?” She challenged the rest of the weres in the room. Shit, she didn’t even know their names -- there was a huge guy standing with his arms crossed and the other one who was ... well, smaller only in comparison to the mountain the first one was. The two of them had coffee-colored skin with a liberal dollop of cream mixed in. Strong features. They looked enough alike to be brothers. They might be brothers, for all she knew. Why the hell hadn’t Lowell told her something about their pack on the way to the house?

  “Yes, mistress?” The smaller one spoke up.

  She liked that title said aloud even more than she’d thought she would. Lin nodded at him before she said, “Strip. We might as well all do it at once.”

  She’d never actually participated in an initiation into a pack -- she’d been younger than Dru’s daughter when Rossi, the last were, had been introduced to her old pack. But she knew perfectly well what was expected and she certainly wasn’t going to back down or “get” the way little Mia had. She was a big girl. She was serious.

  Not to mention that she was the star of this show. No one was going to say she was waffling in her new allegiances. No one was going to think of her as a tease, either. Not again. She’d damn near heard Lowell’s thoughts about that back at the bar, he signaled it so loudly.

  “Wait.” Lowell put his hand on her shoulder. His hand was warm, much warmer than the glacial tone he’d been using ever since they’d met his pack.

  Not that she was going to let a little warmth confuse the issue. He was challenging her orders in front of everyone. She firmed her chin. “Why?”

  “Because we’re going to do this initiation my way. I’m going to get you ready. Gentlemen, your mistress and I are going to the bedroom. Wait here until you’re called.” And then, without a second’s warning, he swept her up over his shoulder and hauled her away.

  She didn’t even have time to let out as much as a yelp in protest.

  “You don’t have to try to be protective of me, you know.” Lin decided to take the battle to her mate, even though he was focused more on taking his clothes off. And, of course, it was only good manners to follow his example by taking off her own .

  “Yes I do.” Lowell looked up. She sucked in her breath when she saw the gleam in his eyes. All the ice was definitely gone. This was a warm -- hell, a hot -- man. Scorching hot. “You’re my mate, Lin, and those rabid mongrels out there are my responsibility, and -- I want to protect you. I need to.”

  The sudden softness in the last few words made Lin pause before she pulled off her shirt. “Well, all right. Just so long as you understand I’m going to protect you, too.”

  God, his cock was so hard. He was just a bit furred all over. She could almost see the beast rising inside him. And he was hers. All hers. Impatiently, Lin took off her shir
t. She heard a rip as she tugged at it.

  “You should let me do that.” Lowell took a step closer.

  “I shouldn’t have let either of us do that. I don’t have any other clothes with me.” Lin glanced over at him. “But you make me forget about everything but getting naked with you.”

  The slow, hungry smile he gave made her stomach clench with need and nerves. What if she messed this up? Great. Now was so not the time for inadequacy issues to appear.

  But --

  “I’ve never done this before.”

  “I know. Your pack raised you right.” The kiss he gave her bare shoulder made her shiver. “I’ll be gentle. Mostly. At least, nothing will happen unless you want it to happen, baby.”

  “Don’t call me baby. And -- and Lowell --”

  “Yes?”

  “If I don’t -- you know, don’t --”

  “I absolutely promise you’re going to have an orgasm, Lin.”

  Damn, that was a good thing about having an alpha to mate with. They were always so sure. Lin laughed and felt a lot more comfortable saying what needed to be said. “I figured that would happen. I’m about ready to come just looking at you right now. No, I meant -- you know -- the Other Thing.”

  Lowell raised his head, looking faintly baffled. Seeing as his cock was already nudging her thigh, Lin gave him extra points when he suddenly narrowed his eyes in comprehension. The man could fuck and think.

  “You’ve never changed? You’re a virgin and you’ve never changed?”

  “Well, it happens, you know.” Lin tried to ignore the warmth rising in her face. Great, now she was both a blushing virgin and untried were.

  “And you hate that.” Lowell smiled with such understanding that she forgot to be angry about him seeing her embarrassed. “I have an idea that might help.”

  “I’m willing to try anything.” Lin kissed him, slow and deep, and told herself everything would be fine. “Anything at all, darling.”