Claiming Shayla (10 page)

Chapter Six

The thing she knew to be the wolf, what Kiesha had warned her about, stirred inside. Instead of fighting it or freaking, Shayla encouraged its presence.
“Make him give us what we want. I know you know how.”

It came forth in a rush, and Shay sensed its anger, its hurt. Its mate—their mate—had tried to send them away. Their mate considered them weak, unworthy of standing at his side. They had to prove him wrong. If they failed, others would know. Their pup would be unprotected, fair game. They had to prove they were alpha enough to handle and hold him, or another would be chosen.

Strength shot through her body. Shay’s mouth tingled, and her jaw felt funny. Her fingers, which were digging into Rory’s thighs, grew claws. Using the power of the wolf, Shay jerked away and twisted free, landing on her hands and knees. Her vision faded to gray, and when she raised her head, the world looked different. Crouching low, ears pointed, she growled—showing plenty of fang. Deep inside herself, Shay gave control over to her wolf, her analytical mind documenting and cataloging every sensation and reaction for future study.

Despite her now black-and-white vision, Shay knew the eyes that focused on her were pure gold, not a hint of pupil remaining.

“Don’t do this, Shay.”

The she-wolf snarled again, the sound deep and vicious, and gave a minilunge, snapping her teeth before returning to her crouched position.
Oh yeah, we are so doing this.

Rory dropped down on all fours. His wolf came in a rush of power that swept over the she-wolf, making her fur stick out on end. While he was still off balance, she darted forward and tried to clamp down on Rory’s overly large muzzle with her much smaller mouth, drawing first blood.

The wolf easily twisted free, and in the process his massive hindquarters slammed into the she-wolf’s right flank, sending her skidding into the chest of drawers as she scrambled for purchase on the wood floor. Something crashed, and there was the sound of breaking glass as the wood shuddered from the impact.

“Shay, don’t make me hurt you.”

“You can try.”
She was unsure if her thought would carry to him the way his did to her.

The she-wolf found her balance, spun around on her paws, and quickly went on the offensive again. She charged the wolf, mouth open, fangs bared. The wolf met her, and they both went up on their hind legs. The she-wolf leaned in, trying to lock fangs around any portion of the wolf she could reach. The wolf, using his superior size and strength, body slammed her and stepped back, his posture aggressive.

The she-wolf came to her feet and attacked again and again and again. Each time, Rory’s wolf flicked her off, tossing her with the ease a mastiff would use routing a pesky little terrier. The she-wolf slid into the dresser, the nightstand, the closet, the bathroom…all over the room, but still she rose onto four paws and came charging back full of snarling fury.

The scent of blood was in the air. Rory’s, not the she-wolf. He was so obviously careful of her that it made the she-wolf even angrier and out for more blood than the little she’d managed to nip here and there. By God, he would treat her as an equal.

“Shayla, control your wolf!”

Shay snorted.
“I’m not the one that dissed her.”
Apparently the maxim about hell having no fury like a woman scorned applied to all females, no matter the species. Shay could say one thing about her beast: what she lacked in skill, she made up for in sheer determination. The outcome of this battle may have been predetermined, but Rory would have to fight for his victory.

Tired of going for the throat, the she-wolf switched tactics. Taking advantage of her shorter stature and smaller size, she aimed for the legs. Attacking from behind, she finally managed to get a good grip on one of Rory’s hind legs and bit down hard, shaking her head and worrying it like a dog with a chew toy.

Rory let out a howl of pain. Finally she had his attention. His muzzle whipped around, fangs bared. The she-wolf let loose and danced out of the way. Rory lunged, and they met in a snarling tangle of biting teeth, grappling like two furry sumo wrestlers.

With a menacing growl that spoke of his waning patience, Rory caught the she-wolf by the throat and took her to the ground on her back, standing over her braced on all fours, fur bristling. The she-wolf twisted from side to side, bringing her hind paws up to scratch at his tender underbelly and hopefully break free. He was having none of it.

“Enough!”
The thought blasted through Shay’s mind, and she winced.

His jaws tightened; his fangs pierced the skin. No fool, the she-wolf ceased her struggles and relaxed her neck, baring it in surrender as she whimpered. For a long moment Rory didn’t move, and his bite didn’t lessen. Then the she-wolf whined.

Finally the wolf loosened his grip and licked the bites on her neck and then her jaw and mouth. With his muzzle, he nudged her until she stood. She licked his face, showing her submission. As the wolf walked around her, he rubbed his body along hers, sharing his scent and showing his affection.

He came to a halt at her rear and sniffed her sex. The she-wolf stood still, waiting eagerly for him to mount her. The weight of his larger body settled against her, his penis penetrated her sheath, and he began to hump. The whole thing took less than a minute before the hot wash of his seed splashed against her innards.

Deep in the she-wolf, Shay found the whole thing fascinating in a freaky kind of way.
I have to tell Kee about this.

Finished, the wolf backed away. There was another brief flare of power. The wolf shimmered and disappeared; an angry and aroused Rory took his place.

“Shift back to human,” he commanded. With his face blotchy and eyes still glowing, Rory might be in human form, but his beast was clearly in charge.

Uh-oh. Confess that I don’t know how to change back or let him think I’m defying him? Hmm…

Shay glanced again at his furious countenance and decided on the latter. She plopped down on her haunches, tilted her head to the side, and let her tongue hang out.

Rory’s eyes narrowed in stunned disbelief. A growl rose up out of his throat. “Mate, shift
now
!”

There was such force to his command that Shay felt a dizzying rush; then found herself naked on the floor, on her side, huddled in the fetal position, shivering.
Damn, I should have picked option one. That hurt!
Now that she was human, her whole body was one big ache.

RORY PLANTED HIS hands on his hips, looked down at his quivering mate, and sighed. “Woman, I swear, I don’t know if you’re a blessing or a curse,” he muttered as he reached down and scooped her into his arms.

He laid her gently on the bed and came down behind her, curling his body protectively around her own.

“What the hell did you do?” she asked through teeth that chattered.

“Forced a change,” he murmured, more interested in getting her warm than conversing.

“How?”

“I’m alpha. It’s one of the perks.” He chafed her skin, rubbing her arms and legs to get the blood circulating. Forced changes were painful and not something he liked to do.

“And the thought projection thingy?”

He had to think about that one for a minute before he understood. “It’s how we communicate in shifted form.”

“So when I shift, everyone can hear my thoughts?” She sounded a bit horrified by the idea. He couldn’t help but smile.

“No, only when you project them.”

“Sooo…you couldn’t hear what I was thinking earlier?”

He fell silent. While he hadn’t heard actual thoughts, through their still developing mate bond he could feel what she was feeling and had a pretty good idea of the thoughts rolling through her head. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. With Shay he needed every advantage he could get. No doubt, the woman kept him on his toes. She was constantly testing him, keeping him off balance. He never knew what to expect next.

If his ma had challenged Da the way Shay had him, instead of bending over backward trying to please the man, maybe she would have gained his respect—and love. Rory froze at the disloyal thought.

Shay rolled over. “Before you get angry again, most of that wasn’t me. It was her,” she defensively denied.

Rory blinked. “Huh? What?”

“Uh, never mind. What were you thinking about? That’s a strange expression on your face.” She studied him intently.

“My parents.”

“Oh.” She looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it.
Shay, holding back?

“What?” he asked again, this time suspiciously.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. That’s woman code for ‘beg me long enough and I’ll finally spit out what I was dying to say all along,’” he grumbled, glaring at her.

“Fine,” she bit out. “Shannon told me about your parents, and what I don’t understand is how they ever hooked up to begin with. They sound totally mismatched. I mean, here’s Shannon telling me how you guys value and respect strength, and there’s your mother barely able to stand up to your father. What was the attraction? And how’d she end up pregnant? Can’t you guys tell when someone’s in heat? Don’t condoms work for shifters like they do humans? And who the hell told them to get married? Statistics show that marriages that begin because of an unplanned pregnancy rarely work and end up making all parties miserable, even the children.” Shay’s eyes rounded, and her mouth snapped shut. She laid a hesitant hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. I didn’t mean to criticize.”

He stared at her, not saying anything while his mind raced. Shay brought up things he’d never considered. Silently he rolled off the bed, went into the bathroom, and began filling the tub with water. He’d always known his father took his mother as mate because it was the only way to claim him. In the shifter world, the only way for a father to claim his pup was to mark the mother as his mate. Bastard sons weren’t recognized by the pack and couldn’t inherit, no matter how exalted his parentage. And above all Rory’s father had wanted an heir to succeed him.

But for the first time Rory wondered just how his mother had ended up pregnant. He knew Shannon had and quite a few of the pack still believed him to be infertile, but the truth was he stayed well clear of any female bearing the slightest whiff of being in heat. With his sensitive nose, he could always tell. It simply wasn’t possible to trap a shifter male through unplanned pregnancy, which, coupled with their immunity to most diseases, was why they didn’t use birth control.
All
pregnancies were planned and highly anticipated by both parties.

“Rory?”

Shay’s feelings blasted through the mate bond, the strongest he’d ever felt them outside of when they’d both been in wolf form. She thought she’d offended him or hurt his feelings and wasn’t sure how to approach him.

“Come get in the tub, Shay,” he said as he reached down to turn off the faucet.

“Rory,” she said his name again, standing hesitantly in the doorway. “I…”

His beast became agitated. His mate was unsettled, uneasy, and he was the cause. It was unacceptable.

Rory crossed over to Shay and kissed her lingeringly. When he finished, his penis prodded her tender belly. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m simply thinking, and you’re bruised and sore. Come get into the tub.”

He caught her by the hand and led her over to it. Casting her a sweeping glance that noted every mar and red spot, he added Epsom salts to the water before lifting her by the waist and into the tub.

She hissed, and her nails dug into his forearms. “It’s hot,” she complained, looking ready to climb back out.

“It will feel good once you adjust,” he informed her as he stepped into the oversize claw-foot bathtub behind her, arm outstretched to prevent her from escaping.

He settled against the back of the tub, one hand gripping her ankle. When she made no move to sit, he gave a jab to the bends in her knees and caught her as she fell, shrieking and cussing a blue streak. He maneuvered her into the V of his thighs and held her securely by the waist until she quit fighting.

He was ready to hold her head under water before she finally ceased acting like a cat thrown in the bath. She gave a great big huff and, relaxing against his chest, sarcastically asked, “Happy now?”

He merely grunted. She’d splashed out a great deal of the water. With his foot he nudged the hot water spigot, much to his mate’s dismay. She drew her legs up to her chest and turned sideways on his lap to escape the encroaching heat, squealing.

He sighed deeply. “You are such a girlie girl.”

Shay growled and sank her teeth into his chest.

Grinning because he knew it would infuriate her, he said, “I know you want my cock, but you can’t have it until some of these wounds heal.”

As she was sputtering, he abruptly slid down, leg extended to turn off the faucet. Shay gasped and clutched him around the neck. Rory’s grin grew as he chuckled aloud.

“Evil bastard,” Shay muttered into his throat.

“Your evil bastard,” he agreed, running soothing hands over her body.

“Hmph.”

After a few minutes she finally stretched out and relaxed with her body lying on his, her head on his shoulder. Rory closed his eyes, enjoying the soothing heat and his mate’s nearness. Warm, moist air filled the room like a sauna.

He thought Shay was asleep before her voice broke the quiet. “What were you thinking about earlier?”