Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

13

When I fell into bed, I was more tired than I’d ever been in my life. It was a different kind of tired, though. My inner wolf was satisfied, a feeling I wasn’t familiar with.

“You’re going to sleep like the dead tonight,” Kyle said. “Sleep after a shift is better than sex.”

I laughed. “Good. Cause sleep is all I’ve got.”

He sat on the edge of his bed. “I get that. There wasn’t exactly anyone I was interested in back home.”

“Maybe you’ll find your mate once we break that barrier. New people will be able to come in and everyone will be free to go explore the world.” I yawned. It was getting difficult to keep my eyes open.

“Maybe.” He stood and walked over to me. “Go on, under the covers.”

“I can tuck myself in,” I said.

“Sure. You look like you’re ready to pass out on top of your blankets and you never bothered to take off your clothes,” he pointed out.

With a groan, I rolled off the bed so he could toss back the covers. Then I climbed back in, still dressed. I was far too tired to worry about what I was sleeping in. Kyle pulled the blankets over me. “Sleep well.”

I don’t think I responded. My eyes were already closed. I didn’t even recall hearing Kyle walk to his bed.

* * *

I was back in Wolf Creek, walking through deserted streets. Everything looked ancient and abandoned. Paint was peeling from the buildings, doors hanging by hinges.

Ahead, I noticed the grocery store where I’d worked. The windows were boarded up and the closed sign was duct taped to the window. What the fuck was going on?

I jogged over to the store and peered in the windows. The shelves that I’d stocked for years were mostly empty and there wasn’t a soul in sight. Concerned, I moved the door and tried the handle. To my surprise, it opened. I stepped inside and a cloud of dust floated up around my feet. The floors I’d spent all that time sweeping were covered in a thick layer of grime. The registers were open, the drawers balancing precariously. Some of them were missing buttons and had cracked screens. None of it made sense. Even if they closed, Jud wouldn’t leave all this stuff behind. And it would take years to look this beat down.

“Hello?” I called out, half expecting Jud to answer me. All I got was eerie silence.

A mouse scuttled by, making me jump. What happened here? Jud kept the place meticulous. If he knew there was a mouse in here, he’d personally hunt the creature down.

I walked toward the shelves. A single can of beets, covered in dust, sat on a shelf. Spider webs had claimed the empty spaces. Everything looked like it had been abandoned for a decade.

This couldn’t be real, could it? I had to be dreaming. Wolf Creek didn’t look like this. Wake up, Lola.

A door slammed, sending my heart into frantic pounding. “Who’s there?”

Cautiously, I walked toward the back of the store, and crept slowly into the back room. It was dark and dingy back here. Nothing like it should be.

The back door leading to the ally was open, it wavered in the wind, nearly blowing closed before blowing open again. I took a deep breath. There wasn’t anyone here. It was just the wind.

Despite my confidence that I was alone, I found myself tiptoeing toward the door. My pulse raced, and I tried to remind myself that this couldn’t be real. There had to be something about this dream, though. If I wasn’t waking, there had to be a message for me. Something I was missing.

I stepped through the door into the familiar alley. This looked exactly as I remembered it. It was dark outside, a canopy of diamond dusted stars overhead. No moon. Crickets chirped somewhere nearby, but there were no human sounds. No cars, no people walking by. Just me and nature.

In the inky darkness, I narrowed my eyes to investigate the alley. The dumpsters were still in place, as was the chain-link fence. Other than that, I couldn’t see much.

A loud slam made me jump and scream. I turned to see the back door had closed. Panic surged through me, sending a rush of adrenaline. I ran back, grabbed the door and pulled. It didn’t budge. “Fuck.”

“You are even sexier when you use language like that,” a voice cut through the silence of the night.

My whole body tensed. I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere. Why was he here? I turned slowly to face Tyler. “What do you want?”

As soon as I saw him, the tension melted away. Almost like I wanted to see him. Like I was relieved. That couldn’t be right. I didn’t want to see Tyler. I wanted him gone, away from me. Didn’t I?

He took a few steps closer and my breath hitched in anticipation. There was no fear, no hatred, no anger. I tried to pull those emotions to the forefront, but they refused to come to the surface.

My inner wolf seemed to leap inside my chest, rejoicing at being reunited with Tyler. With our mate.

“No,” I said. “I don’t want to be with you.” Even as I said the words, I couldn’t make myself believe them. It was as if my mind was being overridden by the mating bond. I was reacting on instinct rather than logic.

Tyler brought his hand to his chest and groaned as if wounded. “You always know exactly what to say to hurt me. But I’ll never give up on you. We’re connected, two halves of the same soul.”

That can’t be right, could it?

Suddenly, the whole ally was spinning around me. It was like being sucked down a drain, only I wasn’t moving. The world was spinning. Faster and faster and faster. I closed my eyes. Time to wake up. Wake the fuck up.

When it stopped, I was standing out by the old, broken-down barn. There was a full moon and my wolf stirred, ready to run. Now, this was an improvement. I wouldn’t mind a dream where I got to run as my wolf. I embraced the pull of my wolf, and shifted without pause.

Soon, I was running through the woods, away from Wolf Creek. The air smelled sweet, and the earth was cool under my paws. I howled and another howl responded.

A dark gray wolf appeared next to me and my heart nearly exploded with joy at the sight of him. Tyler’s wolf and my wolf ran as one, side by side, our paces matching step for step. It felt natural to run with him. My wolf was totally at ease. Everything about it felt right.

Tyler’s wolf fell back and nipped at me playfully, my wolf jumped in delight, then gave chase, running through the woods at breakneck speed. Tyler’s wolf took a while to catch me, but eventually, he caught up and lunged on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

My wolf panted, exhausted from the chase, but I wasn’t ready to be done yet. I rolled, knocking him from me and ran again. This time, he stayed alongside me until we reached a meadow.

In the light of the moon, the tall grass took on a silver glow. White flowers dotted the landscape and the trees surrounding the clearing gave the sense of privacy. It was like a secret world, hidden in the woods.

Exhausted and elated, I relaxed, sitting back. My wolf was tired and happy. She was ready to shift back. With a shudder, I began to change into my human form.

Suddenly, Tyler stood in front of me in his human form, naked in the moonlight. I stared at him, taking in his broad shoulders and the curve of his impressive muscles. He growled and I looked up at him, our eyes locking.

My heart raced, excited flutters filling my chest. My body was already responding, like a woman in heat. I wanted him. No, I needed him.

Tyler closed the distance between us and I gasped as he swept me up into his embrace. My breasts pressed against his firm chest, his erection was hard against my stomach.

I was already wet between my legs. There was a tiny part of me crying out against this, but I silenced it quickly. My mind was too fuzzy to concentrate on anything other than having Tyler.

He tangled his large hand into my hair, grabbing a handful of it and pulling forcefully to guide my face closer to his. When his lips touched mine, it felt like something exploded inside me.

The kiss was hungry, his lips forceful. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and I moaned as he deepened the kiss. My hands moved up his back, feeling the rippling muscles under my fingers. He was solid and smooth. I felt safe in his arms, like I was exactly where I belonged.

Suddenly, he pulled away. With a smirk on his lips, his eyes moved over my body, taking all of me in. A shudder traveled through me. I stepped back, taking the chance to explore his body. My fingers trailed over his pecs, down his sculpted abs. I lingered for a moment before taking his cock in my hand. He groaned as I stroked him.

With a growl, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and claimed my mouth again. The pain of him pulling my hair mixed with the intense pressure of his kiss nearly sent me over the edge.

Tyler’s hands moved down my back until they gripped my ass. With little effort, he lifted me and I threw my legs around his waist. He didn’t take his time before thrusting his cock inside me. It was aggressive and fast, the entire length filling me in one motion.

I gasped, then winced as he filled me completely. He lifted me by my ass, up and down, helping me ride his rock-hard length. I gripped his shoulders to brace myself, then moved my arms around his neck.

Our kisses were violent and angry, but full of desire. I never wanted to part from him. As pleasure began to build, I had to pull away from his lips. Gasping for air, I moaned as each thrust got me closer to climax.

Tyler’s lips moved to my neck and I tossed my head back, enjoying the dual sensation of him inside me and his lips on my sensitive skin.

Pressure built, and I screamed as a cascade of pleasure surged through me. My whole body shook as I orgasmed, but Tyler didn’t stop. He continued on, sending me over the edge again and again.

Then, I felt his teeth on my shoulder and he bit down. I cried out as pain mingled with the pleasure of yet another orgasm.

My eyes snapped open and I woke tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat.

What the fuck was that?

I stared at the ceiling. My skin felt tingly and I was panting. It had all been a dream, but it felt so real. After taking a few deep breaths, I got my heart rate and breathing back to normal. What was wrong with me? Why had I dreamed about Tyler? Fucking mating bond.

The room was still dark and I could hear the sound of Kyle breathing heavily. He was sound asleep. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but there was no way I was going to risk going back to sleep now.

I stayed awake until I caught the first signs of the sunrise through the window. Then, I got up and headed to the shower. After that dream, all I wanted to do was wash myself.

It had to be the shift last night. The whole increased sex drive thing was more serious than I thought.

Instead of being excited about my next shift, I was dreading it. If it came with dreams about Tyler, I wasn’t sure shifting was worth it. Until I broke the bond with him, I might hold off. I could almost feel my wolf pouting, but she wasn’t putting up a fight. I couldn’t handle having dreams like that about Tyler.

I closed my eyes and let the warm water wash over me. It was bad enough that I wasn’t feeling disgusted by the dream itself. The worst part was the concern over what it all meant. The bond was getting stronger. What if I got to the point where I couldn’t resist him? What if the bond overruled my mind and I let him claim me?

Where anger used to be, I only felt fear. I couldn’t put off breaking that bond. It had to happen. Fast.