Bold Mercy by Laken Cane

Chapter One

I stood at my door and waited for the alpha to kiss me.

It hadn’t been a real date, exactly—we’d run through the woods under a full moon and had done things no human would ever have done, like chasing, catching, and eating our food raw, for instance. Afterward, when the moon drifted away and the sun came, signaling an end to the most amazing night I’d ever imagined, I’d showered and brushed my teeth at Shadowfield before Jared had brought me home.

It felt like the end of a date, and though it’d been a long damn time since I’d dated anyone, I was pretty sure a kiss at the end was the thing to do. At least, I was hoping it was.

My heart was bursting with the joy of the previous night, and I was so happy I was giddy. It didn’t matter that my body was exhausted. I’d never felt better. I’d finally gotten my first full moon shift, and there wasn’t anything better than that. That night had changed me, and in only good ways.

And before the harsh realities of my world intruded, I wanted a perfect ending to that perfect night. Jared knew that.

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled down at me, and I returned that grin, my breath catching. The alpha was a beautiful wolf, and an even more beautiful man.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so happy,” he said, his low voice rumbling into the chilly and foggy dawn. “You look…carefree.”

I thought about and then discarded several replies, because none of them accurately represented what I wanted to say. How I felt. How full my heart was. Finally, I simply said, “Thank you, Jared. For…” I tapped my chest. “For everything.”

If not for him, I’d still be a hobbled, crazed wolf, unable to shift, full of agony, running from the moon. He’d saved me. He knew I was beyond grateful for that, and he didn’t seem inclined to take advantage of that situation, damn him.

He was a good guy, and I was full of complicated emotions. It didn’t help that he was the hottest man in Jakeston, that he was my alpha, that I was as physically aroused as I’d ever been in my life.

I lifted my face, my breathing shallow, my stomach tight. One damn kiss. That wasn’t going to hurt either of us, right? But he only stared down at me, his eyes glittering, and his mouth didn’t move any closer to mine.

Fine. Tired of waiting, I stepped in. I moved my hands up over his chest and to the back of his head, then stood up on tiptoe and slid my lips against his. His entire body stiffened, and though he didn’t actively participate, he didn’t resist, either.

My wolf woke up purring, stretching and languid, her head full of alpha. God, he smelled good. He tasted good. We wanted to devour him.

And finally, for all of a few seconds, he pressed his hand against the back of my head and took control of that kiss. Almost before I could process that he was kissing me, he gripped my shoulders and set me away from him. He half turned and ran his hand through his hair.

I stared at him, just a little dazed.

“Kait.” He gestured, almost angrily. “You’re high, exhausted, and…”

“Horny?” I said helpfully. I didn’t know what had gotten into me. I was behaving more like Lucy than myself.

His laugh whooshed out of him. “Vulnerable. Last night was significant. Everything you’re feeling right now is because of who I am to you and your first full moon shift.”

“Last night was the most important moment of my life,” I said. I took a step away from him, a little embarrassed. I understood that he believed I was still confused and didn’t know what I really wanted. And he saw me as one of his wolves, not someone to have casual sex with.

Unfortunately.

Perhaps later I’d be relieved and grateful for his restraint. Right now, I was just aggravated. I mean, he was right—did I want the complications that would come with screwing the alpha and the pain and problems that would cause?

Well, yes. Right now, I did. But right now, I wasn’t myself.

When I started to open my door, he shot out a hand to grip my arm. “Kait.”

“It’s okay, Jared. I’m…” I shook my head. “I need to get some sleep.” I glanced at him, smiling slightly. “I’ll blame my wolf. She’s still bouncing off the walls, half feral and full of...”

Need. Sex.

“The moon,” I finished. “Goodnight, Alpha.”

But he wasn’t done. “When you are truly ready for me,” he murmured, his voice dark and low, “I will know.”

I stood frozen with my hand nearly touching the doorknob, my heart pounding, my entire body throbbing as he—and his voice—brought something to the surface inside me. And it wasn’t all good. There were tendrils of fear and hints of resistance, and he was right. He was fucking right.

I was not ready for it. For him.

Deep inside, if I shoved away my wolf’s savage need and my gratefulness and awe and natural feelings for my alpha, there was conflict. I didn’t know why. I needed to be sure of something, and I wasn’t. Problem was, I had no idea exactly why I was so doubtful.

Maybe because I didn’t believe he saw me as his equal. I was one of his new pups. Or maybe I just didn’t trust him. Not completely.

“Fuck,” I whispered. I could not be casual with Jared, and he was right. It wasn’t time, and I wasn’t ready.

Finally, whatever he’d called from my wolf dimmed and settled, and I relaxed. The urgency of my lust gentled, and I took a deep breath. There was no hurry. My body might think otherwise, but the truth was, I didn’t know Jared. Not really. And he didn’t know me.

He slid the pad of his thumb over my lips, and I couldn’t help but shiver. “When it’s time,” he murmured, “You will know, as well.”

“And then?” I couldn’t help but ask, as breathless as a young girl with her first crush.

His smile was small and didn’t quite reach his glittering, fierce stare. “I will be waiting.”

Then he strode away, leaving me staring after him with my heart in my throat, uncertain of whether I was more turned on or terrified.