Legend (A Wolf Lake Novella) (12 page)

Nafarius tackled Sam from behind. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he turned, taking the brunt of their fall.
Ours,
his wolf said and finally fell silent.

Sam felt arms of steel wrap around her waist as she was lifted off her feet. She struggled to get free, kicking out with her feet and slamming her head back into her attacker's nose.

"Damn! Sam, stop! It's just me." Nafarius didn't let go despite seeing stars. The woman had a hard head.

"Nafarius?" Sam's heart was racing. "Jesus, haven't you people ever heard of announcing yourselves?"

"You ran," Nafarius reversed their positions, rolling her beneath him. "Never run from a wolf unless you want to get caught."

"I didn't know it was you." Sam stared up into his face, sighed. "What are you doing here?"

Nafarius dropped his forehead to hers, touched noses. "I want you to come home with me."

"Nafarius..." Sam pushed him off of her, aware that she did so only because he allowed it. "We've been through this."

"Just listen to me," Nafarius said, watching as she picked up her pack, started to walk away. "Please."

Sam stopped, too afraid to hope, unable to turn around.

"I want you to come home with me," Nafarius said. "As my mate."

"You said..." she started.

"I know what I said." Nafarius stood, went to her. "I was wrong."

Sam felt him standing at her back, his breath tickling her neck. "What about Natasha? Her father?"

"I'll figure something else out." He didn't know what he was going to do about Dimitri. The deal was all but set, the alpha unlikely to take kindly to the news that Nafarius wanted to renegotiate.
 

"Why?" she asked, throwing his earlier question back at him. "Why now?"

Nafarius touched her then, his hands coming around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "Because I can't live without you," he admitted.
 

Sam turned in his arms, her eyes searching his face. He let her see how much she meant to him, let the knowledge reassure her. "It's all or nothing," she said.

"I want it all," he confirmed.

Sam nodded and immediately felt herself gathered up into his arms, Nafarius' mouth crashing down on hers in a searing kiss.

Ours!
his wolf howled in triumph.

Almost
, Nafarius thought. "Let's go home," he said.

"But I thought..."

Nafarius took her hand, shook his head. "Not here," he said. "I want you in my bed when I make you my mate."

Sam shivered at the heat in his words, felt her heart kick as he turned them towards home.
Home
, she thought, was something she'd never had.
 

They made good time, Nafarius taking them back through shortcuts the pack used for hunting. Sam was surprised at how far she had travelled. She had been walking in a fog, the distance passing by unnoticed. Following Nafarius, she was reminded once again how beautiful this area was.
 

Conscious of Sam's limitations as a human, Nafarius nevertheless kept up a steady pace. He was anxious to get her home. Neither he or his wolf would rest easy until she was truly theirs.
 

Sam didn't mind the brisk pace, the physical exertion working to keep her from thinking about the immediate future. Still, she knew that each step took her closer to an irrevocable action.

Together, they stepped from the forest and into the clearing. Sam paused a moment to catch her breath. The entrance to the pack's den loomed large, the light from inside spilling out to illuminate the ground packed hard from years of human and wolf traffic.

Nafarius stared down at Sam, watching the play of emotions across her face. He could only guess at what she was thinking, and wasn't sure he really wanted to know.
She can't leave us
, he thought,
not again.

She was in his arms before he consciously decided on the gesture.
 

"Hey!" Surprised, Sam found herself swept up into Nafarius' arms.

"I believe it's tradition to carry the bride across the threshold."

Sam sobered. "Is that what this is, our wedding night?"

"Something like that," Nafarius said, crossing the clearing.
 

"Then there had better be cake," Sam said, her nerves suddenly jittery. "They're all in there, aren't they?"
 

Nafarius felt her arms tighten around his neck. "Look at me," he said, pausing outside the den. She turned to him, her eyes bright with fear. "Nothing is going to happen to you," he promised

"What if they never accept me?" It was her biggest fear, that no matter what, she would never truly be accepted into the pack, sentenced to live her life as an outsider.

"They will," he said. "There will be nothing stopping them from accepting you once you're pack."

Sam searched his face, saw his certainty and trusted him. Quickly, she nodded before losing her nerve.

Nafarius took the last few steps into the den, not surprised when Sam turned and buried her face against his throat. "I'll face them when it's over," she said.

Understanding, Nafarius pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
 

Sixty-three sets of eyes turned to stare, caught the affectionate gesture as their alpha strolled through the room, his mate in his arms.
 

Sam heard the buzz of conversation starting up as they passed out of the den and into the pack's private quarters. Curious, she turned to watch where they were going. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see as Nafarius took a quick right, walking down a narrow tunnel that eventually opened onto a large room.
 

"Oh...wow..." Sam felt her feet touch the ground but didn't immediately let go. "This is yours?"

Nafarius nodded, suddenly nervous to see what she would think of his quarters. "Go ahead, look around."

The room was large, more oval than round with small cracks and fissures. Creative use of furniture and battery powered lanterns helped to divide the open space into distinct sections while maintaining a light, airy feel.
 

Sam circled the room slowly. There were books and magazines scattered throughout along with thick blankets and soft pillows. But the biggest surprise was the furniture. "How did you get these in here?"

"The desk and the bed were hand carved by my great, great grandfather. The recliner is Ikea. We're probably the only ones that appreciate their tons-of-assembly-required furniture since everything has to come through in pieces."

Sam smiled and walked to the bed. "It's beautiful." She reached out, ran her fingers along wood worn smooth with age. The headboard was exquisite. Intricate carvings depicted the life of a wolf, from a litter of pups playing in a pile of flappy ears and stubby tails to a pack of wolves running through the trees and finally, a weathered wolf, standing scared and alone beneath the waning crescent moon. The details stole her breath away until the pain in her chest forced her to look away.

"Is there an actual mattress under there?" she asked, testing the mattress.

He would have sworn she swooned at his nod.

"God, I haven't slept in a real bed since..." she trailed off.

"Since you left your old life," Nafarius finished for her.

Sam spotted the Mac left open on his desk. "Is that a computer?"

Nafarius nodded. "I keep track of things on there, charge it when we're in town and hook into local wifi. We also have a satellite phone for emergencies and a few cell phones for when we're in town."

"I never thought..." she stopped, embarrassed to realize some of the assumptions she had made.

"And we never gave you any reason to," he offered. "There's a lot more to learn, but it can wait."

Sam nodded and circled the rest of the room. There were small shelves and larger chests for storage. "More Ikea?" she asked. Coming to an end in front of Nafarius, she added, "What now?"

He knew what she was really asking. "A bite is our best chance at ensuring infection. A scratch while in full wolf form is sometimes enough, but not always."

"There's a chance this won't work? What happens then?"

"Wolves mate for life," he told her.

"So you're stuck with me, even if I can't change?"

She stood staring up at him. Her eyes were wide and he could hear her heart beating. "For life," he said.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Nafarius searched her face. "I'm eighty-three years old."

Sam blinked, stunned.

"We measure our lives in terms of centuries," he said.

"If I change...?"

"Made werewolves tend to live slightly shorter lives than born werewolves, but not by much."

"But if not, you'll have to watch me grow old and die," Sam said, and felt her heart clench. Her life would be a blink in time compared to his.

Nafarius reached for her. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"What are the chances that I won't change?" Sam didn't want to think about what life would be like for her. Tied to Nafarius but never really part of the pack, fated to grow old while everyone around her stayed young, and beautiful.

"There's no way to know for sure," he said. "There are so few made werewolves any more." He waited, let her weigh his words and make up her own mind.

"What about a second bite?" She would do whatever it took.

Nafarius shook his head. "The bite is like any other infection. It invades your system, stimulates your immune system. Either the infection wins, overwhelming your immune system and infecting you. Or your immune system wins, fighting off the infection and developing antibodies."

"So I could end up immune instead of infected?"

"Yes." Nafarius held his breath, waited for her to decide. He would admit, if only to himself, that he had waited until their return to tell her the truth, afraid that the details would turn her away.
 

Sam told herself it was worth the risk, that she could still leave if it didn't work. "Okay."

"Okay." Nafarius echoed in relief.

"Yep, bite me."

Nafarius smiled, reached for her. "I had something else in mind first."
 

Slowly, he stripped her, unwrapping her to reveal tantalizing bits of flesh. His fingers gliding over her ribs as he slipped her shirt from her shoulders, brushed the flat of her stomach as he pushed her jeans from her hips. She stood still, her eyes never leaving his face as he undressed her. "It will hurt," he told her quietly. "I have to break the skin, bite into the muscle." Their eyes met, held. "The better the bite, the better our chances."

Sam nodded, stood naked and waiting. Waiting for him to touch her, to take what she had to offer. She'd spent her life alone, abandoned as a child, never knowing how to connect to the people and the world around her. She'd found a refuge in her studies, companionship with the characters that existed only in myths and legends. Now she stood on the precipice, poised to step into a new life where she would never be alone again. And it scared the shit out of her.

Nafarius saw Sam start to shake. "Hey, it's going to be alright, I promise."

"I'm sorry," Sam said. Embarrassed, she wrapped her arms around her waist. "I just...what if...I don't know how to do this."

Scooping her up, Nafarius sat her down on the bed. Slipping out of his jeans, he crawled up beside her, taking her into his arms. "It's not like there's a rule book or anything."

"No
Werewolves for Dummies
?" Sam asked.
 

Nafarius laughed. He liked that she could make him laugh, surprise him with her wit. "I've never had a mate either," he said, trying to reassure her.

Sam wiggled in Nafarius' arms, tried to get closer to his heat. "You're hot," she said.

Nafarius grunted, pleased that she found him attractive.

"No, I mean you're literally hot." Sam pressed her palm to his chest. "I just thought it was my romantic imagination in estrogen overdrive..."

"We run several degrees hotter than humans," he said, shifting until the two of them were laying face to face. "We have a faster metabolism too."

"You mean you never have to diet?" Sam considered the possibilities. "Oh man, there seriously should be more cake around here."

She had stopped shaking, Nafarius noted. Quickly, before she had time to anticipate, he rolled her over onto her back, covered her with his body.
 

Instinctively, Sam spread her thighs, settled him between her legs. Above her, his blue eyes blazed with heat and a new kind of hunger. She waited as he slowly lowered his head, captured her mouth in a kiss. It started out slow and tender; long, sensual licks of his tongue, little nips of pleasure at the corners of her mouth. She could feel him growing hard against her, the head of his cock brushing up against her entrance. Shifting her hips, she tried to draw him in, muttering a bit when he pulled back.

Nafarius held his hips back, deepened the kiss. Shifting onto his hip, he ran the palm of his hand up her ribs, cupped her breast. Her nipple hardened, pressed at his palm begging for attention. Always willing to oblige, Nafarius released her mouth and dipped his head.

"Oh, god," Sam groaned as her nipple was sucked into the wet heat of his mouth. "Oh, yes."

Nafarius rolled her nipple between his teeth, tugging gently before releasing it with a soft
pop
! Turning, he paid similar homage to the other one until both breasts were full, swollen, her nipples red and wet from his mouth. Too tempting to pass up, he lowered his head again and licked at both tips.

Sam tugged at Nafarius' hair, tried to wrap her legs around his hips. "Nafarius, please."

"I'm enjoying myself," he said and suckled hard, drawing her nipple deep into his mouth.

Sam groaned. "I want to feel you inside me."

Nafarius released her breast just as his fingers found her entrance, slid inside. "Is this where you want me?"

"God, yes."
 

Nafarius watched as she arched beneath him, pressed herself more firmly against his hand. She was wet, slick, gripping at him as he worked a second finger deep inside. "So tight," he whispered, nearly spending himself when the walls of her passage contracted around his fingers. His fingers working in and out of her, Nafarius pressed his thumb up against her clit.