She closed her mouth over one of his nipples as she fumbled with the button of his jeans. In spite of his desire to be free of the pants, Hale kept his hands against the wall. There was something far more satisfying about seeing her small hands eagerly seeking to disrobe him.

  After tending to both of his nipples, she sank lower, her lips kissing each of the hard muscles of his abdomen. Just as she settled onto her knees, she managed to undo the button of his jeans. The second she tugged the zipper down, his cock sprung free. She wasted no time in wrapping her hand around him.

  Hale’s vision blurred as he released a sound of raw desperation. Her hand was warm and soft, so soft, and he had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from thrusting against her.

  When he was finally able to focus, Hale saw that she was staring at his cock. She handled him tenderly, her thumb rubbing the underside of his crown. With her other hand, she began tracing the thick veins of his shaft.

  She was exploring his cock.

  Hale’s knees trembled under the gentle exploration. He knew from her scent that she was aroused and he yearned to drop to his knees and take her from behind. But even though she was going at a maddeningly slow pace, Hale knew that he would come.

  As she began to stroke him, a small droplet of liquid formed at the tip of his cock. She noticed it right away, her brown eyes scrutinizing it with curiosity. Hale expected her to wipe it away and she did—with her tongue.

  The simple action set him off and he grabbed her hair, forcing her mouth over the head of his cock. Rather than pull away, she accepted his need, taking his hard length deeper into the hot cavern of her mouth.

  Growling his approval, Hale allowed her to suck him at her own pace, despite his strong urge to thrust into her.

  She was unpracticed, that much was certain. She seemed to have no median between being agonizingly gentle and far too rough. He suspected that his cock was too big for her mouth, which would explain why her teeth kept grating on him.

  Another day, these things may have bothered him. He would have taught her how hard she could suck and he would have told her how to put her teeth behind her lips as she did so. But today, Hale cared about neither of those things. He wanted anything and everything she could give him.

  Hale’s grip on her hair tightened as she twirled her tongue around his cockhead. Pressure built in the base of his spine and he instinctively thrust forward as hot seed surged from within him. His body lit up with pleasure, but it was short-lived. Within just a few seconds, it was over and somehow, he felt even more frustrated than before.

  He stumbled back, collapsing onto the pallet and running a hand through his disheveled hair. His cock still stood, erect between his thighs, and his balls still felt uncomfortably full.

  Taylor crawled over to sit beside him, grumbling something that sounded like ‘a little warning next time, maybe’. He gazed up at her face, taking in her flushed cheeks and plump lips. Her hair was a fiery disaster, but he found the tangled locks endearing.

  She was still grumbling. “I don’t even have any water here to rinse my mouth out with. I hope you’re going to go get me—”

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  Taylor was effectively silenced.

  Perhaps it was the thrall talking—no, it was most definitely the thrall—but Hale didn’t regret the words in the slightest. Taking advantage of her stupor, he rolled over and pinned her smaller body beneath his.

  He liked seeing her skin against the furs.

  “Are you sure you’re not Alder?” she asked, searching his face.

  The mention of his brother annoyed Hale. He didn’t want her to think about any other male when he was on top of her, even Alder.

  “There’s one way you can know for sure,” he said, pulling her legs apart.

  Hale moved to position himself at her entrance, but was stopped by her pointed glare.

  “Yep, definitely Hale.” She pushed at his chest. “Will you get off of me?”

  Hale reluctantly complied, but not because he’d given up.

  “Did you talk to Alder?”

  He gave her a sideways glance. “I did.”

  “What did you tell him? How did he take it?”

  Hale folded his hands behind his head. “It was difficult to make a compelling case when you’re being irrational.”

  She pursed her lips. “How am I being irrational?”

  “What do you think is going to happen once you’re carrying my brother’s pups?” he asked. “Do you really think Alder and I are ever going to let anyone take you away from here?”

  It had been almost a decade since human soldiers had set foot in the mountains. Hale had seen what they were capable of firsthand and didn’t take for granted how difficult it would be to protect his pack from such a force. One thing he knew for certain, though, was that he and his brother would never allow anything to happen to Taylor and her pups.

  The fact that Taylor didn’t answer told him that she knew this.

  Hale pulled the silent female towards him, settling her into the crook of his arm. He liked having her there.

  “I’m not going to lie. I’m not impartial here,” he said. “I want you so bad, I can hardly think straight. But you should know that if there’s any part of you that wants this, then you should go through with it.

  “Unless you have plans to run away and join some other pack, you’re here for good. The valley, this home, my brother—they’re your future. You need to stop living your life in fear of what could happen and trust him to care and provide for you.”

  “I barely know him,” she said.

  “You’re right about that,” he told her. “Believe me when I tell you it’d take you half a lifetime to get to know Alder. He’s a lot more complicated than he seems. Still waters run deep, and that shit.”

  That elicited a small laugh from her. He liked making her laugh.

  “And what about you? What are you going to do once all this is over?”

  “Haven’t given it much thought,” he lied.

  He felt her nod. “I guess you and I will be over, huh?”

  She tried to sound casual, but her voice caught towards the end. In the impending silence, a wild thought whipped through his mind.

  If I ask her, right now, to choose me, she might say yes.

  By now, she had known him almost as long as she’d known his brother. And lately, Hale had caught her looking at him the way she looked at Alder. When she had been worried, she had turned to him for help. That had to mean something.

  What if she cared about him even more than Alder, but was too afraid to admit it, even to herself? What if all she was waiting for was for Hale to say that he wanted her as his mate and that he would be loyal to her?

  “I’ll always be here for you,” Hale finally said. “But I think we both know this won’t work in the long term.”

  Hale stood, pulling up the jeans that had still been bunched at his ankles. He kept his back to her, unable to look her in the eyes.

  There was a chance that what he felt for her was genuine and Hale was fully prepared to explore whatever remained beyond the haze of the mating thrall. But while he might be too selfish to honor his agreement with Alder, he wasn’t selfish enough to make her choose between them.

  At least, not yet.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Taylor lay in her bed for what felt like hours. Lark had knocked on her door a while back to inform her that she was going to take a nap. Taylor wished the raccoon shifter sweet dreams, but didn’t invite her in. Despite the swarm of emotions bearing down on her, Taylor had managed not to cry, and she knew that her resilience would fall apart with even one concerned look from her friend.

  She stared at the ceiling, thinking about Alder, Hale, the mating thrall, and her future. The situation was such a mess and reaching a decision should have been difficult. But the moment Hale had walked out the door, Taylor had known exactly what she was going to do.

  She also knew that she was doing it for all the wrong reasons.

  There was a knock at her door before it opened. Pale, blue light spilled into her cabin. It was getting late.

  Alder stepped inside. She was certain it was him. Hale never looked at her with such affection.

  She sat up, her lips curving. “Hi.”

  His nostrils flared and her smile faltered as she realized that he could probably smell that Hale had been there. No matter how much he claimed to be okay with their arrangement, it still made her self-conscious.

  “Were you sleeping?” he asked, coming to crouch beside her pallet.

  “No, I just needed some time to think.”

  “About?”

  “A lot of stuff.”

  He brushed his thumb over her jawbone. “I spoke with Hale earlier.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and she meant it. “When Lark told me about what was happening, I panicked. I should have come to you. It was cowardly of me to go to Hale.”

  “No. I should have been here to talk to you. You have every right to be nervous, and if you’re not ready yet, I can wait.”

  I don’t deserve you.

  “That’s just it,” she said, hooking her arms around his neck. “I had a bad case of nerves, but I’m better now and I don’t want to wait.”

  Alder scrutinized her, as if unwilling to accept that it was going to be that simple. Taylor knew that it was anything but. Fortunately for her, he wasn’t going to debate the issue. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled her into a tight embrace.

  “You smell incredible,” he said, kissing the curve of her neck.

  “You don’t smell half bad yourself.”

  Despite the cool weather, Alder was a little sweaty, but she didn’t mind. Just like Hale, he seemed to smell even better than usual and Taylor was reminded of how aroused she had been and, apparently, still was.

  Her confusion must have been evident, because he said, “It’s the thrall. It doesn’t only affect us, you know.”

  Her brows rose. “It’s affecting me, too?”

  Alder kissed her neck again and she realized that her skin felt more sensitive than usual. “Mm-hmm.”

  Her fingers curled into Alder’s hair. “Hey, doesn’t that mean my judgment is kind of impaired?”

  He took the soft pad of her ear between his teeth and tugged. “Mm-hmm.”

  She arched into his touch, her chest rubbing against his in the process. Her chiffon dress, which normally felt lightweight and airy, suddenly seemed constrictive. The material was steel wool, scraping against her skin and the tender flesh of her nipples.

  Bunching up the hem of the dress in her hands, Taylor tried to remove the frustrating garment, but Alder wouldn’t allow it. He placed a hand over hers, to stay her.

  “Not here.”

  She saw the muscle in his throat bob and noticed that his pupils were dilated.

  “Then where?”

  Alder reached behind her and grabbed one of the pelts, securing it over her head and shoulders like a winter coat.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  ***

  As soon as Hale finished the hunt, he made a quick stop at his den and then went ahead to the cave. He couldn’t handle being around the other males and he knew that Alder wouldn’t approve of him taking Taylor away on his own.

  Hale liked the cave. He had been the one to uncover it two years ago, and it had been no small feat. The entrance to the cave was obscured by foliage. Any telltale smells of limestone and still air were lost amongst the scent of the nearby river.

  Inside, a narrow tunnel dipped down into a room that was about the size of his own room. Half of the cave was flat limestone, the other half was part of an underground lake. The deep, dark water may have seemed foreboding, but the water was safe and exceptionally clean.

  The cave branched off into a few directions, but they were all either dead ends or too narrow for him to climb through. With the exception of Alder, he’d never told anyone about the cave. It was a private place where he could come to be alone and think.

  That morning, the foxes had been tasked with collecting an array of nuts, vegetables, and berries from the forest. Once the food had been stored in jars and baskets, Alder had brought them to the cave.

  For his part, Hale had gone to his room and collected the softest and warmest pelts from his bed. He’d arranged them in a depression in the corner of the cave, making a bed that Taylor would be able to rest in.

  While he’d waited, Hale had sat by a small fire, staring at the rock formation in the center of the pool. It made him think of when he’d had Taylor by the river, and he looked forward to fucking her against it.

  As afternoon faded into evening, Hale’s thoughts took a turn for the worse. What if she decided not to come? What if Alder had changed his mind and wouldn’t bring her?

  The last thought made him sit up. He couldn’t get through the night without her. There was no other option but to go and bring her back.

  As he moved to stand, sounds from above drew his attention. Footsteps and voices. A second later, he caught Taylor’s scent. The wild creature in his chest was immediately placated as he made his way to the entrance of the room.

  The firelight gave her skin a warm glow as she emerged from the darkness and Hale felt compelled to embrace her.

  Her tight smile had him stopping in his tracks.

  “Hey, Hale,” she said, her eyes moving past him. “Holy cow, is that a part of the lake?”

  She dashed over to the water’s edge, Alder following close behind her. Hale watched as his brother wrapped his arms around her midsection and kissed the back of her neck.

  “Feel it,” Alder instructed her.

  She kicked off a shoe and tentatively touched her toe to the surface. Her mouth fell open. “It’s warm.”

  “And deep,” he warned, pulling her back. “We’ll be here for a few days. You shouldn’t get in without us.”

  Tired of being excluded, Hale came over to stand next to them. “It’s not like she can’t swim.”

  Taylor averted her eyes, suddenly seeming to be fascinated by a large stalactite.

  “You can’t swim?” Hale asked dryly.

  “I’m getting the hang of it,” she said. “In fact, this will be a good chance to practice.”

  Without another word, she pulled her dress over her head, exposing her body. Her body was free of the annoying underclothes that she was usually so fond of and Hale took a few seconds to drink her in, his body tensing in preparation for what was to come.

  The wait was finally over. Tonight, Hale was going to lose himself in his mate’s body. When it was over, hopefully, he’d be able to find the man he once was.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Alder watched as Taylor lowered herself into the pool. She kept her hands on the edge, but didn’t show any of her usual discomfort at being in deep water.

  He had shed his clothes back at the cabin, right before he’d shifted. Taylor had rode on his back the whole way and the feel of her thighs straddling him had worn at his control. He hadn’t remembered the cave being so damn far.

  The whole way there, Alder had expected Taylor to change her mind. Things had fallen into place too easily for his liking and he didn’t trust it.

  But now, she was here in the cave, naked, her beautiful breasts bobbing on the surface of the water. Confident that she was fully committed to going through with the mating thrall, Alder allowed himself to relax for the first time that day.

  He joined her in the water, but swam over to the rock in the center of the pool. Extending his hand, he beckoned her to join him.

  Without hesitating, she pushed off the rock with her hands, using the momentum to propel her body towards him. Then, she began to swim. Though her arms flailed gracelessly, she managed to make it to him. When her hand reached his, Alder pulled her into a tight embrace, his hand running the length of her back.

  “I’ve got you,” he said.

  Her scent was rich, heady, and called to him on a primal level. After tonight, she would be his mate in every sense of the word.

  Alder looked down at her face. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth as she stared up at him, her eyes brimming with a nervous excitement.

  Perfect. She was perfect.

  Bending his neck, Alder captured her lips and pushed his tongue inside of her, relishing the feeling of penetrating her. He tilted his head for better access, his hips unconsciously bucking against her.

  Hale had yet to join them in the water and Alder didn’t care. It didn’t matter to Alder that Hale shared his scent or that he usually enjoyed watching his brother with his mate. Tonight, he had very little interest in sharing.

  He wasn’t going to fight Hale, but he also wasn’t going to offer his mate up to him. Tonight, she belonged to Alder, and Hale would have to settle for whatever Alder allowed him to have.

  With that thought spurring him on, Alder lifted himself and his mate onto the rock. Water rolled off his naked body and onto hers as he settled himself between her thick thighs. He leaned down to nuzzle her neck, taking a long drag of her scent as he worked to position his hips.

  Fisting his hard length, Alder ran the tip along the seam of her sex. She was wet—the type of slick, slippery wetness that could have only come from within her. His cock throbbed in response, flaring with awareness of her need.

  He had to be inside of her. But there was something else, something more he needed.

  Age-old instincts had him pulling back and grabbing her hips to move her onto her knees. She assumed the position without resistance, as if understanding the instinct that he couldn’t deny.

  He needed to take her from behind like the wolf that he was.

  Alder gripped her hips with both hands. His cock was as hard as steel and required no guidance to find its way to her. As soon as the tip came in contact with her drenched folds, he thrust forward with unbridled force.

  His mate’s cry echoed within the cave. Alder had to believe that it was pleasure and not pain, because once he was inside of her, his fate was sealed. The sheer bliss of being sheathed with his mate, coupled with the overbearing scent of her fertility, had robbed him of all self-control.