Leah Howard doesn't believe in werewolves, even if she dreams of shifting. Pack alpha Seth Gladwin can't understand why a human female is ringing all his mating bells.

When Seth chases Leah down in her apartment building and partially shifts in front of her, he wants nothing more than a forgetting spell placed on the plus-size beauty so he can continue investigating a secret society of Hunters intent on making the local werewolf clan extinct.

Only this time, the society's prey isn't shifters -- it's Leah.

**********************

Copyright © 2012 by Christa Wick

Sveva font licensed from astype@myfonts. Cover art modified from material licensed from and © KatieLittle@dreamstime. Use of licensed images is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply the model's endorsement of or participation in any or similar activities contained in this work of fiction.

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WOLF CURVES

Leaving the third floor laundry room of her apartment building, Leah Howard stepped into the elevator with her arms wrapped around a clothes hamper. Seeing the two hulking males who all but filled the small space, she moved to the back corner. Her gaze flicked in their direction just long enough to notice that both wore jeans, dark work boots and leather jackets. The slightly taller of the two had his back turned to her, his dark brown hair dusting the collar of his jacket.

Catching his scent, Leah's stomach tightened. She felt a little crazy for doing so, but she'd learned to trust or avoid people based on the odors emanating from them. Not the smells that came from some store-bought bottle or a hard day's work, but the way each person's body twisted it to their own unique signature.

The man directly next to her smelled like candied apples still warm and dripping caramel. She'd never smelled anything so sexy and the effect on her body was immediate. Moisture flooded her mouth, her skin heating at the same time.

She had half a second to wonder if he looked as good as he smelled before he turned and faced her. A full head shorter, Leah found herself staring at his broad chest. It rose and fell as if he had just finished sprinting. She could hear him breathing, the sound mixed with a low rumble that sounded almost like a cat's purr. Only the cat would have to be about six-two and approaching two hundred pounds of pure muscle.

He was a big, strong man and his scent was doing crazy things to her control. Lifting her gaze, she found him glaring down at her.

"What floor?"

The question came out like she'd just robbed a bank or worse. Startled, Leah hugged the hamper closer to her chest. "Eight, please."

His companion pressed the button for the eighth floor. Tall, dark and brooding continued to stare down at her. He still breathed like a freight train but there wasn't a drop of sweat on him.

"What's your name?"

The harsh bark had mellowed just a fraction but she still flinched. Her lips parted, hesitating. She felt her skin flush again, her whole body growing humid beneath his scrutiny. Menacing and sexy as hell, she didn't know whether to be afraid of him or turned on. Her body settled on both, adrenaline saturating her nerve endings as a pocket of heat built between her legs.

His intense gaze narrowed, concentrating on her mouth as if he could will her to answer. When she didn't, he took a step forward. "Tell me your name."

A hand came down on his shoulder. "Not here, boss."

She moved her head just enough to make eye contact with the other man. He had dark blond hair, the cut short but stylishly messy. Confusion registering on his face, he raised one dark ginger brow and curled his hand around the leather collar of Leah's inquisitor.

"Boss?"

On cue, the elevator door opened to the eighth floor. As she eased her way past him, the man reached out. His fingertips brushed her hip, tightening at the last second to grip her. Her knees went weak and a hot stab of need gutted her insides.

"Answer me, beautiful."

Beautiful.

The word hit her like a slab of cold meat, quickly replacing the heat that coiled through her stomach with sick dread. She'd walked into some kind of cruel set-up or a con game, knew the signs all too well. She pushed his hand off her hip, twisted the last little bit out of the elevator and turned to stare him down.

Her phony rescuer curled an arm around the guy's waist but didn't try too hard to restrain him. When the guy put one foot across the elevator's threshold, Leah's gaze jumped to her apartment door.

The blond tightened his grip. "What the fuck, Seth?"

The elevator door started to close. Seth blocked it, still watching her as he drew his bottom lip into his mouth and sharply inhaled. Terrified she was about to be the big man's dinner, she swung the hamper at his head. The hard plastic shell hit him square on the left side of his face, the impact knocking the basket from her grip.

He grinned, his whole expression wicked, predatory and unfazed by the blow.

Pinning her with a calm gaze, the blond wrestled to hold Seth back. "Whatever you do, Miss, don't run."

"Yeah, baby -- stay right there."

Leah blinked, drew a sharp breath. Talk about mood swings! Seth looked like he wanted to kill her but sounded like pure sex. Worse yet, she could smell him more sharply, his warm, sweet scent urging Leah to trust him.

"Listen to me." The blond wrapped a leg around Seth's. "Don't run, don't scream."

Blondie had to be a complete dolt. She'd be screaming her head off if her throat wasn't so tight she could barely breathe!

"Just stay calm."

Leah wasn't sure if he was talking to her or Seth, but he was too late on both counts. Her heart thudded in her chest, she felt like puking and she couldn't get her legs to move. Seth flexed his muscles impatiently, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip while his gaze zigzagged all over her body.

He growled, her panties flooding with moisture at the sound.

Something was desperately wrong -- not only with the situation but in her head. When he growled like that, she wanted to pull her pants down, press her stomach flat to the floor and lift her bottom in the air so he could take her aching cunt from behind.

She took one last look at her apartment. To the right and six doors down, it was too far away. She couldn't hope to reach and unlock the door before Seth was on her. She needed to buy time until she could scream. Tuesday night after ten, half the floor's residents had to be home. They might not rescue her but someone would call 911.

"Don't be afraid, baby."

Baby? Her gaze jumped back to Seth and froze. Four of his teeth had elongated, two top and two bottom, all of them narrowing to razor sharp tips. Green fire burned in irises that had been dark chocolate a few seconds before.

Not possible!

She felt the slow onset of true panic. Long-buried dreams as real as memories shot through her. She stumbled a step back.

"Just going to talk." His tongue traced the edge of his top fangs before his gaze dropped to her full hips and he released a puff of hot air. "About things."

Her feet finally working, Leah bolted left toward the stairwell next to the elevator. Slamming the door open, she heard a loud thump and the blond softly swearing. Not stopping, she headed down stairs at full speed, hoping to buy enough time to convince her vocal chords they really could scream.

Halfway down to the next landing, she heard the stairwell door crash open again. She jerked and tripped, taking the last ten steps as two before hitting the wall. A heartbeat later, Seth spun her around until her back was up against it.

He had her pinned in place, his big body pushing against hers. She could hear the blond above them, urgently whispering something. Seth ignored him, his sole focus seemingly on her face. His pupils pulsed like a madman's.

"It's okay, beautiful. I won't hurt you."

His hand ran over her hip and she realized that the thick length of steel rubbing against her body was flesh. He was hard, huge -- the length of his erection too big for her to comprehend.

"You're coming with me." His voice caught in the middle, sliding into a moan as he bent his head toward hers. His lips parted, steam from his breath misting her face. His tongue snuck out to test the seam of her mouth, freeing the scream that had been building inside her.

The sound lasted less than a heartbeat. He raised his hand, the flesh seeming to shimmer right before he placed the pad of his thumb against her forehead and she passed out.

**********

Leah woke in her bedroom, relief flooding through her that she had only been having one of her weird ass dreams. Staying very still, she tried to brush the cobwebs from her mind. She remembered a man, tall and beyond masculine. He had told her to stay, his voice sinfully deep and vibrating with lust.

She furrowed her brow, searching for the part of the dream that had scared her. He'd touched her, his hand firm and possessive but gentle. He'd kissed her, too, his mouth like a fire brand. She felt herself getting wet as she concentrated. Her hips shifted against the bed, her butt digging into the mattress as the tension mounted between her legs.

When her perineum tightened in need, she turned on her side and inhaled deeply to center her thoughts.

Caramel…dripping…hot.

Jerking her head back, Leah opened her eyes. Sitting a foot from the bed in her reading chair as he watched her, the man from her dream leaned forward, the side of his forearms resting against his knees. Memories flashed like lightning inside her mind. His name was Seth. The dark chocolate eyes had been possessed with an eerie green light and she was certain she had seen fangs.

"Feeling better?" His lips parted, the teeth appearing white, even and incapable of savagely rending flesh.

The door opened and the blond man stepped into the bedroom. "Em's just a few minutes out."

Seth didn't acknowledge him, just continued staring intently at Leah. He dropped one hand along the side of the chair, snagging her wallet from her book bag. The way he flipped it open straight to her ID told her he'd already sorted through the wallet's contents.

He tilted his head, his gaze drifting between her and her driver's license. "Leah Howard, twenty-eight, five-foot-seven, hair black, eyes green."

She nodded, a little hiccup of air leaving her. "What are you going to do?"

His gaze raked over her, lingering at the swell of her breasts and hips. Just as he had in the elevator, he wet his bottom lip and then he took a deep breath through his nose. His eyes drifted shut, his lips parting before he looked at her again.

Seth lifted his ass just enough to drag the chair up to the edge of her bed. His hand came down on the mattress to grip its side. "What do you want me to do, Leah?"

For one wild second she pictured his handsome face between her thighs, his tongue running the length of her pussy before it disappeared between her wet folds. She forced the image away. She couldn't let her attraction to him cloud her thinking. She had no doubt she was in danger. No sane, law-abiding person acted like Seth, which meant he was crazy, a criminal or both.

Pushing her fear aside, she calmly looked him in the eyes. "I want you to leave."

A sad grin pulled his mouth to the left before disappearing. His hand surfed closer to her body, traced the air in front of the feminine swell of her chest before stopping over one erect nipple. The heat of his palm penetrated her blouse and bra, the sensation tightening the skin on her breast until her cunt ached.

"Please…don't." Swallowing, she pressed her lips together to stop their quiver. As much as she should have been, she wasn't afraid. That first bite of gnawing hunger she'd felt in the elevator upon smelling him was still with her. It deepened by the second, twisting down through her stomach to wrap around her uterus like a fist and squeeze.

Meeting his gaze, she repeated her order. "Leave. I don't want you here."

Seth pulled his hand back, surprise momentarily widening his features. His face quickly hardened to a determined challenge. Putting both palms flat against the mattress, he leaned in, his nose starting up near her head. He brushed the tip against her forehead, traveled along the slope of her nose. Moving to her mouth, he took a leisurely lick, nipped her chin. Reaching her breasts, he pressed his face against the fabric guarding her cleavage and breathed deeply.

Slow, so slow, lower and lower until he was even with her hips, his forehead almost touching the cushion of flesh above the bone. Another deep breath and he groaned. The sound vibrated against her mound. Her thighs tensed, her lower torso starting to tremble as her labia squeezed at nothing.

Growling softly, he looked up at her. "You're lying, baby."

Half lying, she amended. Part of her wanted him gone. The rational part -- not the part between her legs, so wet it threatened to soak the sheets. She pulled her knees up and tucked her legs closer to her body to control their shaking.

"Pretty little liar." His knowing gaze penetrated her. His forehead nuzzled her hip. "I can smell your cream, feel your heat."

God help her, she was drenched and only getting wetter. Contractions gripped her cunt, intensifying her need. She didn't care that the blond was in the room, watching them with a puzzled expression. Seth was right. She wanted him in her, spearing her with that thick, unyielding shaft she'd felt pressed up against her stomach in the stairwell.

Have you completely lost your mind?

This was crazy. He had her trapped in her bedroom. She should be thinking about escape instead wrestling her arousal. She looked at the blond, her gaze pleading. "Can't you make him go?"

Seth growled again, this time like a dog protecting a bone as the man shifted position behind him. Seth flexed his shoulders, his hands curling, the fingers widely spaced and menacing in their tensed position.

A smile ghosted the blond's face. His right hand closed around his left. Squeezing, he popped the knuckles. "Not without killing him."

Seth swiveled at the waist. His hands left the mattress to grip the armrests. The fabric covering the chair ripped as his hands tensed. "Wait downstairs for Esme."

Leah snapped back to reality, her arousal extinguished. Now she had two names. No matter that they were only first names, the chances of identifying him and this Esme person had doubled.

Whatever Seth had planned, he wasn't worried about Leah exposing them. She'd watched enough cop shows to know that could only mean one thing.

"You're going to kill me." She kept the whimper waiting behind her lips in check. She might die, but she wouldn't grovel.

Seth whipped his head back in her direction, all the intensity draining from his face. He sank back into the chair. "No one will hurt you."

She wrapped her arms across her chest. "Then why don't you wait downstairs?"

That earned a short laugh from the blond. "She's got a point. It's better if you wait for Em anyway."

Seth shook his head. "I'm not leaving her alone with you."

The blond closed his eyes, a soft sigh escaping. "Don't worry about me, boss. Big girls aren't my thing."

Leah took a sharp breath in, tears stinging her eyes. Bad enough one of them was crazy and holding her captive, the sane one had to be rude. She looked away from both of them, staring at a cobweb high up in the corner of her room. Whatever happened, she would not beg for her life and she sure as hell wouldn't let them see her cry over something she'd heard hundreds of times before. They would think she was weak and whatever they had planned for her would be that much worse.

Seth rose, trailing one fingertip along the edge of the bed while he stared at Leah. Turning, he stepped until he was chest-to-chest with the blond. "You're a selfish asshole, Dana, and a liar."

Seth left, Dana stayed. When Leah glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she found him staring at the floor. She turned her head, looked at him more directly and saw a blush fading across his cheeks.

Ten minutes later, she thought she understood why when Dana slinked off into a corner. His gaze skipped toward the bedroom door before landing on Leah. His expression slackened into something that reminded her of the bored, disaffected students in the discipline room she supervised at the nearby middle school.

A second after she saw the change in Dana, she heard a woman's voice. The corner of his mouth ticked right and then he folded his arms across his chest. The door opened and a woman walked in, Seth following behind her.

From where he stood in the corner, Dana's gaze swept over the woman, taking in the full curves and the dark blonde hair that fell in curls around her shoulders before his attention settled on the pink pout of a mouth. Big girl or not, she was a stunner with her pale skin, high cheekbones, thick lashes and a kisser that was pure Hollywood glamour.

She approached the bed, her right hand extended. "Hello, Leah. I'm Esme Foster and I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

Surprising herself, Leah took the woman's hand. Faintly warm and dry, it had a soothing effect. Reminding herself she had no reason to trust the woman, she let go and pointed at the chair. "Would you like to sit down?"

Esme's eyes sparkled when she smiled at Leah. "I was just about to ask if I could. Thank you."

She settled into the chair. It was big and cozy, meant to hold Leah without pinching at her hips or generous thighs. Seth had dwarfed it with his muscular frame, but Esme fit perfectly. She arranged the long skirt she wore and rubbed lightly at the chair's armrest for a second before she turned her attention back to Leah.

"I'm a witch, in case you're wondering why I'm here."

Leah's brows shut up. She felt her odds worsening.

Two crazies and one rude, possibly sane one.

Esme leaned closer, as if she had a juicy piece of gossip to share with an old friend. "Seth wants me to put a forgetting spell on you, but I'm not going to."

Seth offered a surprised grunt.

Dana reacted more aggressively, leaving his corner to stand next to the chair Esme sat in and glower at her. "The hell you won't. You're blood bound to protect the clan."

Esme brushed at her skirt, never looking toward Dana. "If you want your dog to stay, Seth, keep him chained."

The men exchanged a look, Seth's gaze darkening. Dana retreated to the corner with a scowl marring his good looks.

Seth rested one hand on the back of the chair and looked down at the crown of Esme's head. "He's right. You must hold to your ancestor's oath."

"Right, I'm sworn to protect the clan, yadda, yadda, yadda." She rolled her eyes then smiled at Leah again. "Thing is, she's clan."

A dismissive snort sounded in the otherwise quiet corner.

Seth shook his head. "She's not, but…"

"I was told she triggered your mating response."

Mating response? Was she freaking serious? Leah looked at Seth to find his eyes locked on her mouth. His own lips had darkened, parting slightly to reveal a hint of teeth and tongue. His cheeks flushed, nostrils widening as he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"She did."

Leah responded with a soft gasp.

"It's not as distressing as it might sound." Esme reached across the mattress to cover Leah's hand before looking back at Seth. "You touched her forehead and she responded, right?"

"Not exactly." Seth shook his head again, the gesture less certain than before. "She passed out -- not the same."

"Your hand was tingling, that's why you used it -- you sensed her wolf totem and responded as alpha to calm her and avoid exposing the pack."

"You're all crazy," Leah whispered and withdrew her hand from Esme's.

"I wish I were, honey, but the sad truth is you're a latent." She closed her eyes, her mouth pressing into a flat line, her voice just as even as she explained. "Somewhere up the family tree you have a pair of shifters and a child born to them who couldn't shift."

Dana growled in the corner, his weight restlessly flexing from one leg to the other. "Latents don't exist."

Esme looked at Dana for the first time since her arrival. The right side of her top lip curled and she flicked her hand at him. "Neither do werewolves."

She moved her focus back to Leah. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she finished explaining. "Used to be such children were killed at birth -- a draught of something to put them to sleep and they never woke up. The parents considered it a mercy. The children couldn't run with the pack, but they would be hunted and killed by the pack's enemies all the same."

Feeling a knot form in her throat, Leah tried to swallow it down. It bubbled back up, releasing with a soft whimper. Who the hell would do that to a baby and think it was a mercy?

"Stop this, you're upsetting her." Seth put his hand on Esme's shoulder. "Just cast the spell."

"You don't understand." Esme brushed his hand away and inched closer to Leah. "These two came to the building tonight looking for a Hunter, one who finds and kills shifters. Only the Hunter wasn't looking for a shifter here -- there aren't any. He was looking for you. I'd be signing your death warrant if I put a forgetting spell on you."

Seth suddenly lifted his hand, stretching his fingers as Leah crawled toward the opposite side of the bed, her gaze growing bigger and her breathing becoming erratic. He shook his hand then balled it into a fist and rubbed his other hand against it.

Esme glanced over her shoulder. "It's tingling again. Do you believe me now?"

Seth nodded.

"Good, leave us alone for a few minutes so we can talk."

"No." He folded his arms across his chest, his stance widening.

Leah slid off the bed and crouched between the mattress and the wall. Her fingers tightened into a fist. She couldn't hope to win, but they'd leave here bloodied. "You're all crazy and I want you out now."

Esme pinned her in place with a hard stare and four words. "You dream about shifting."

Leah shook her head but her mouth trembled in denial.

"You do." Her gaze narrowing even further, Esme nodded. "And you're so quick to say we're crazy because you grew up around people with violent mood swings. You have them yourself. You don't want to believe us because you think that would mean you're crazy, too, and there's nothing you're more afraid of than that."

Esme rubbed at the chair's armrests again, her eyes fluttering shut. "This is your favorite spot in the apartment -- maybe the whole world right now." She reached up, her hands caressing the flared wings of the chair's back. "You come here when you're afraid, lonely, missing someone very close to you."

Behind Esme, Seth growled but she ignored the warning. "Amanda…"

Tears flowed down the cheeks of both women.

Leah sniffled. "What do you know about Amanda?"

Esme's hands started to move across her stomach, her expression growing increasingly strained. Dana moved from the corner, his hand nervously reaching for the witch's shoulder but freezing before he touched her.

"She was like you," Esme answered. "Same hair…same eyes."

"My sister." Leah sank onto her bottom, her back against the bedroom wall and just her head showing above the mattress.

Esme took a shaky breath in, her hands gripping the flesh of her belly, her nails pressing into her blouse and the skin beneath. "She's gone now."

"Murdered," Leah confirmed.

Esme nodded, her hand coming up to brush at a lingering tear. "You should come with us, but I won't put a forgetting spell on you if you refuse. No one will believe you if you say anything."

She rested an elbow on the mattress, her hand reaching across the bed toward Leah. "But whatever you do, you have to leave here tonight. If not with us, then go far, far away. And you have to keep on moving. You can never stop running."

Leah closed her eyes, drew her bottom lip between her teeth. When she looked up again, she hooked Esme's gaze and held it. "How do I know you're not the ones who want to hurt me?"

"It's simple, honey." Esme stood and shook out the folds of her long skirt. "You'd be dead already."

**********

Seth carried an overstuffed duffel and suitcase into the guestroom of Esme Foster's house and placed it center of the bed. Walking over to the window, he opened the curtains and checked the lock. He could feel Leah out in the hall hesitating at the room's threshold. Slightly angling his head, he caught her reflection in the glass pane.

"Promise I won't bite, baby."

He'd meant it as a tease but she started wringing her hands. Sighing, he closed the curtains and turned to her. The room was small enough that it only took a few steps before he stood beside her. He expected her to retreat into the hallway, but she stood her ground, impressing him. Even within his pack, people had a way of backing away from him. Only Dana, his second in command, and Esme stood up to him -- and now Leah.

He closed his eyes for a second, breathing her in. This close, her smell made him drunk with need -- even more than it had been in the elevator or on the car ride back now that he'd had time to study its intricacies. There was a bite of hot pepper to it, like the fire she'd shown at her apartment when she told him to leave. An undercoating of dark chocolate gave just a play of bitter before her scent finally relented and melted across his tongue rich and sweet.

Opening his eyes, he fought the urge to curl his hand along the back of her pale neck and pull her to him for a first kiss. The timing sucked -- he had to figure out what her being a latent meant for the clan, not to mention the whole werewolf thing she had to deal with and the ashes of her dead sister that Esme had stirred back to life.

"You can go now." Leah lifted her chin, tried not to look at him and failed.

Her face was a work of art, the canvas smooth and pale with thin traces of blue beneath the skin. A barely perceptible cleft dented her narrow chin. He pictured his thumb flat against the spot, using it to control the tilt of her head as he kissed her. Those startling green eyes would close in surrender when his lips touched hers.

Not green. Green was too bland of a description. She stared at him with irises the color of pale liquid moss, the kind he could happily roll around in for hours in his wolf form. Right then, her pupils pulsed, their size huge. Watching them dance, he leaned a little closer and felt heat flare through her body.

God, what a body. The memory of pressing against her made his cock twitch. Definitely on the plus side, she had rounded arms with wide flared hips that dipped back down to plump thighs. Not at all like the women in his clan who were as hard and muscled as the males.

His gaze moved to her breasts. Full and sensuous, he could bury his head between them if she would only let him. But first he would suck the nipples to a swollen peak. Just thinking about it turned his tongue as hard as his dick.

He blinked, his gaze refocusing on the most lush, fuckable woman he'd ever seen. His woman, no matter how much she might deny it. She was a latent. She'd triggered his mating response. She didn't understand yet what that meant, but he knew. All the shifters before them, all the living, fucking, and dying to make room for the succeeding generations had distilled down to this one woman -- his genetic mate.

He reached his hand up, not so much rethinking the kiss as knowing he had to taste her mouth before he took that hot, sweet pussy. She stepped back, her pupils growing impossibly bigger.

She swatted at his hand. "There'll be none of that!"

Fiery, but winnable. He grinned, matching her steps away from him until she had her back up against the door to the opposite room. Wrapping his hands around the door frame, he bent down until his lips were even with her glistening strawberry pucker of a mouth. Seth dropped one hand, slid it along the small of her back and pulled her to him.

"Do you know how much control it's taking not to strip you naked…"

Pausing, he trailed one fang over the curve of her ear. "Throw you on the bed…"

He sucked the bottom of her lobe into his mouth, his cock swelling with the need to plant his seed inside her.

"And lick you head to toe before I fuck you?"

A sexy little whimper ran through her, chased by a full-body shiver. She surged against him for one brief second of pure heaven before she pushed at his chest and glared up at him.

"Do you even speak English?"

"No, but I hear he can howl in both Mandarin and Cantonese." Esme appeared around the corner carrying fresh towels for the guest bathroom and a small travel bag.

Ignoring Seth's frustrated growl, she disappeared into the guest room and placed the items on the dresser. Re-entering, she pointed down the hall. "Pillow and blankets are on the couch. Keep the snoring to a minimum."

Leah shook her head, the raven black strands settling in a tousle around her face. "He can't stay here."

The hell he couldn't! Seth wrapped a lock of Leah's hair around his finger. Soft, smooth as silk, it made him wonder how much smoother and softer the fur between her legs was. His cock shifted inside his jeans. Not only was he staying -- he'd be damned if he would sleep on the couch, not when she was this close. He'd almost had her. A kiss, a lick along the corner of her mouth and she would have forgotten the ridiculous human rituals of courtship and surrendered.

Esme snorted. "If you can convince him to leave, please teach me."

Seth dipped his head back down to Leah's ear. "Yes, love. Convince me."

He didn't care if Dana's witch was standing right behind him. He exhaled along the curve of Leah's neck, heating the sensitive flesh before the tip of his tongue darted out to stroke it. Running his palm across her breast, he felt the tip harden. Her scent, heavy with arousal, rose to greet him. He took a deeper breath in, realizing she was just days away from ovulating.

As a latent, it was possible she would be able to bear his children. There were no little ones in the pack. A decade had passed since the last child was born to any of the clans. A hungry growl escaped him, his hand tightening on her breast as his chest started to ache.

"Staying right here, beautiful."

Leah reached between them, pressed her thumb against the underside of his chin and pushed. "I'll leave if you don't."

Her voice caught as she rejected him. Seth pulled back, his gaze landing first on her eyes. It hurt too much to look at them. Anger sparked deep inside the pupils. The quiver in her mouth told him he'd gone too far. The lick, the breast, calling her love.

The ache in his chest deepened. If the stories about latents were true, she should be feeling the same connection. His mating instinct would not have been triggered otherwise.

Behind him, the witch cleared her throat. "Seth--"

He growled. Whatever Esme was going to say, he didn't want to hear it. He didn't need the two of them ganging up on him.

The warning didn't deter her, just softened her tone. "It's a lot for someone who grew up outside the clan to process."

"You said they were hunting her." Turning away from Leah, Seth glared at Esme. "She's in danger and she's my..."

Feeling Leah stiffen behind him, he swallowed the word down before he could say it. She had looked horrified back at her apartment when Esme had mentioned his mating response. It hadn't helped that he lost control of the change in the stairwell, showing her his fangs. Despite her body's continued arousal, she probably thought he was some kind of rabid beast.

"Fine." He relented with a snarl. "Dana will watch her."

A small swell of satisfaction eased his pain as Esme paled. Petty, he knew, but he felt better knowing he wouldn't be the only one whose night was ruined. Dana and his pretty little witch could be miserable right along with him.

Esme acquiesced with a tilt of her head, her nostrils flaring slightly in irritation before she waved him away. He turned, gave one last look at Leah, who studiously avoided his gaze, and left the house.

*****

Certain she wouldn't get any sleep, Leah started to unpack the duffel. Once she agreed to leave with them, Seth had given her only thirty minutes to gather up a few clothes and any keepsakes she cherished. Lucky for him, her salary at the school only managed to keep her fed with a low-rent roof over her head for the year. She'd been able to bring all of her clothes and her only keepsake -- a silver-framed picture of her and Amanda.

Esme stood just inside the doorway watching. "Do you mind if I help?"

Leah looked over her shoulder at the woman, hoping her eyes countered the indifferent lift of her shoulders. She had a million questions she wanted to ask if she could only figure out how to start and what topics might be off limits.

Grabbing some hangers from the closet, Esme opened the suitcase. "You know, if you're curious about anything…"

Leah chewed at her lip, uncertain which question to start with. She knew they were in a remote area an hour out of the town she lived in, with all of the surrounding land owned by the clan under various names. She knew the clan consisted of several packs, each numbering anywhere from a handful of werewolves to a couple dozen and headed by a pack leader like Seth. Years past, packs would have been blood related, but the people Esme referred to as the Hunters were close to achieving a complete genocide.

Her stomach did a sick back flip at the thought of so many people ruthlessly murdered.

Pulling a pair of slacks from the duffel, she handed them to Esme. "Are there other humans living with this clan?"

"Two." Putting the slacks on the hanger, she walked over to the closet and hung them up. "My mother, Camille, and a healer named Gordon who looks as old as Moses."

Opening up the suitcase, Leah unwrapped a blouse from around the silver frame. Both women in the picture had pure black hair. Frail from childhood, Amanda was the smaller of the sisters despite being three years older than Leah. They had their arms around each other, their heads turned toward the camera, lips puckered in a playful kiss to the friend snapping the photo.

Leah placed the frame on the nightstand and looked over her shoulder. "Is your mom a…"

"Witch?" Esme laughed and nodded. "My family has served the clan for nine generations."

Returning to the bed, she gestured at the picture. "You and Amanda?"

Clearing her throat, Leah looked away. "Yeah, the summer before she was murdered."

"About the frame," Esme scratched at her chin for a second then pinched at her lower lip. "You have to be careful with silver around the pack."

Leah's head swiveled. "You mean that silver bullet mumbo-jumbo is true?"

"Not exactly." The suitcase and duffel empty, Esme settled on the edge of the mattress. "Silver is a conduit for magic -- it magnifies potency. It's dangerous to the pack in my hands because I'm a very well-trained witch. So if I chucked a silver tea tray at Dana's head…"

Looking as if she'd contemplated the act more than once, a grin erupted across Esme's face before her expression quickly sobered. "Anyway, as a latent, there's a certain magic inherent in you, even if it's unschooled."

Leah started to protest, but Esme cut her short. "No one ever called you a jinx growing up?"

Leah didn't answer.

"You didn't have a talent for finding things people lost?"

"Anyone can figure--"

"And you didn't always know exactly before someone you cared about or really disliked showed up or called?" Esme studied Leah for a few seconds before grinning again. "Hot damn, three out of three!"

Picking up the suitcase and duffel, Leah turned away and put them in the closet. She felt her cheeks heat up, the witch almost as good as Seth at making her feel self-conscious. Leaning against the closet doorframe, she watched Esme put fresh linen cases on the pillows.

"I sort of shut it off after Amanda died." Suddenly cold, she wrapped her arms around her chest. "The week before she was murdered, I had a feeling of dread, leaden…suffocating."

Esme stopped dressing the bed and stared at Leah. "You've had it again since then."

Leah nodded. "It started a few days ago. I didn't recognize it until you said Amanda's name at the apartment."

Crossing the room, Esme gently took Leah's hands and held them. "That's why you came with us."

Blinking, Leah felt a small trickle of tears. Freeing one hand, she wiped them away. "I was going to run a few errands this afternoon after I started a load of laundry but the sensation got really heavy. I locked myself in my apartment until it stopped about ten minutes before I ran into Seth."

"There was a Hunter nearby," Esme confirmed. "That's why Seth and Dana were at your building. As a latent, you would have sensed whatever charms the Hunter was using to locate you. It stopped because of your affinity for Seth's totem, which is unusu--"

A loud knock at the front interrupted Esme. Her nose twitched and she released Leah's hand.

"Dana?"

Esme nodded.

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with him on my account."

"That's my problem, not yours." Heading toward the hallway, Esme stopped. Reaching up, she pinched her bottom lip again, her gaze studying Leah's face. "That question you weren't ready to ask -- the answer is yes. I can suppress your latent nature. Hunters won't recognize you for what you are."

Hands curled around her upper arms, Leah tried to pull herself together. It wasn't the Hunters she'd been thinking about hiding from. She'd bet good money that finding her with Seth's pack would be reason enough to kill her, whether or not they could tell that she was a latent. She stopped chewing at her lip and met Esme's gaze. "What about Seth?"

"He already knows what you are." When that only earned her a scowl, Esme smiled sadly. "Yeah, it'll work on him. If you still drive him crazy, it won't be because you're a latent."

The knock at the front door repeated, harder and more insistent. Sticking her head into the hallway, Esme shouted.

"Down, boy!" Glancing back at Leah, she winked. "He seriously hates that. Try to get some sleep and I'm straight across the hall if you need anything."

She left, closing the door behind her and leaving Leah to wonder just how well the witch could read her mind.

*****

Leah woke to cupboard doors being slammed. She grimaced, recognizing the sounds of a furious woman. Her grandmother had been like that, on a daily basis with no good reason or any of the kindness that naturally flowed from Esme.

Hoping Dana would behave better with an audience, Leah dressed quickly, washed her face in the guest bathroom and headed down the hall.

"Just shut up!" The rattle of fine china punctuated Esme's command. "You don't know the first thing about latents!"

Rounding the corner, Leah heard Dana's soft drawl.

"I know it's bullshit to think that if we can't get our own females pregnant, it's going to magically work with a human just because she's a--"

Dana's words froze as he saw Leah. His mouth flattened in a terse smile. "Morning, Miss Howard. Sleep okay?"

Leah nodded, her gaze jumping from Dana to the man next to him. Another hulking male, he wore a short-sleeved t-shirt, his elbows planted on the breakfast bar and both hands wrapped around a steaming coffee mug.

"This is Cade." Wiping her hands on a dishtowel, Esme grabbed a fresh coffee cup and started to fill it. "He's visiting from another clan and is picking up some herbs for their healers."

She handed the cup to Leah, a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry if I woke you. He should have been here and gone and you wouldn't have yet another new face to deal with so early in the morning."

Cade cleared his throat. "C'mon Em, you know there's not a woman alive who has a problem dealing with my face."

Leah smiled, not only because Cade was likely right but she'd detected more than a flicker of irritation from Dana when the other shifter called Esme "Em." Leah recognized a proprietary male when she saw one. Dana may give Esme a hard time, but it was clear he had a thing for the witch.

Laughing, Esme snapped her dishtowel at Cade. "Don't let Seth see you flirting with her. I don't have time to heal anyone today."

"Don't worry." He threw a wink at Esme before taking another sip of coffee. "I save all my flirting for you, beautiful."

Dana's arm twitched, the bicep tensing and refusing to relax. "Don't you have a meeting this morning?"

"Yeah." Cade hid a smirk behind his coffee mug. "Important alpha meeting with your boss. Guess you weren't invited."

Leah noticed the subtle flaring of Dana's nostrils, the rest of his face impassive as stone. Setting his mug down, his gaze cut directly to Cade and he smiled. "You should start loading up your truck, then."

Cade rose and retrieved a denim jacket from the coat rack by the door. He shrugged it on, opened the door and stared at Esme for a second. "I could use a hand, beautiful."

Before Esme could answer, Dana was up and to the door, shooing Cade onto the porch. "I got all the help you need."

"It's my cellar." Esme reached for a sweater.

Dana's hand closed over hers. The terse smile re-surfaced on his face. "No need for you to get dirty. I know every damn bottle and bag of bones down there."

Esme snatched her hand back, shook her sweater out and started to put it on.

"You can't go down there." Dana took a step back, his big frame blocking the doorway as Cade leaned against the rail and grinned. "Seth doesn't want me alone with his latent. Keeps thinking I have a thing for big girls."

Esme and Cade reacted at the same time. Out on the porch, the male shifter pivoted on one heel, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he reached for the back of Dana's collar. Esme grabbed a heavy wooden cane hanging near the door, her whole face flushing with anger.

"That's it!" She brandished the cane at Dana, the silver knobbed handle bobbing dangerously close to his face and forcing him backwards. "You won't insult me or any guest in my home ever again!"

She leaned down, the silver tip of the cane hitting the oak floor with a loud crack. No longer intent on teaching Dana manners, Cade backed off the porch as sparks flew from the impact.

The first sign of worry flickered across Dana's face. "Em, don't."

Esme spoke, the foreign sounding words coming too fast and angry for Leah to make any sense of them. Her hands wrapped around the silver knob, Esme drew the end of the cane along the floor in front of the door as she repeated the words. Blue light crackled along her fingers and from the tip of the cane, a dark and smoldering line etched into the wood.

"Em, you can't keep me out." Dana took a step toward the door, his foot landing half an inch from the line she'd drawn. He doubled over, the wind knocked out of him and his face instantly bloodless.

Reaching across the threshold, Esme shoved hard against his shoulder. He landed on his ass, immediately regained his feet and charged back toward the door. His hands reached inside, his face contorting in pain as he tried to pull himself back into the house. Strands of black broke out along his skin and raced in streams up his arms.

"Damn it, Dana." Esme pried at his fingers, her gaze darting to Cade for help. "Leave!"

Dana shook his head, his grin pained and determined. "Not happening, babe."

Leah watched, her hand pressed against her mouth to keep from interfering. She didn't think Esme would let it go on much longer but the black spidery lines had reached Dana's neck and were crawling toward his face. He grimaced, his fangs visible and tinged with his own blood.

"Em, he'll kill himself trying to get back in," Cade warned. "You know that."

"Then take him and go!" Esme's voice was raw, the words splitting open as she spoke. "I won't have him in my house again. It's too much, damn it."

Cade wrapped an arm around Dana's waist, the responding snarl vicious. Dana pushed his right leg forward and hooked the heel of his boot against the door frame. The leg started to thin but he wouldn't release his grip.

"Don't fucking try." Dana pulled the rest of his body another inch closer to Esme's barrier.

Sweat poured off both men. Muscles rippled with effort. Fighting both the spell Esme had cast and the muscular shifter behind him, Dana threw his weight forward. Cade wrenched hard left at the same time, letting his feet drop from under him so that his weight and momentum flung both men to the ground.

Esme slammed the door and shot the lock in place. Stumbling to a waste basket, she leaned over and vomited.

Keeping one eye on Esme, Leah peeked through lace curtains to watch Cade throw Dana's sagging body into a truck and speed off. "Where will he take him?"

"To my mother for healing." Esme pressed the back of her hand against her mouth and staggered to the kitchen sink. She filled a glass with water, the shake in her hand so bad half the liquid sloshed out as she brought the glass to her lips.

Leah followed, careful to keep the kitchen island between them. Already convinced of Esme's psychic abilities, she'd still been skeptical about any kind of actual sorcery. Not anymore. The magic pouring from Esme was as raw and visible as the witch's emotions. The air around her sizzled a pale blue, the static electricity raising the fine hairs on Leah's arms.

"I thought your magic was bound to help the clan. Didn't that break the rules?"

Bent over the sink, Esme looked over her shoulder. She lifted one dark blonde brow, her face sweating and sick. "Why do you think I puked?"

"Because you love him," Leah softly answered.

Anguish flashed across Esme's face, but she still shook her head, trying to deny it.

Coming around the island, Leah curled a hand around Esme's elbow and led her over to the living room area and the big couch. Blankets were neatly folded at one end, with a pillow on top -- Dana's bedding from the night before.

She scooped them up. "I'll just put these in the linen closet and make us some tea."

A few minutes later when the kettle was on, she brought a cold, damp hand towel folded in a rectangle to where Esme remained frozen on the couch and staring at the front door. Lifting the thick blonde hair, Leah placed the cloth on the back of Esme's neck. Esme looked up, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Seth will be by soon."

Leah nodded. She expected as much. Between Seth and Dana, she'd seen enough to know that male shifters were protective as hell, but also on the possessive side. She could practically hear MINE blaring in Dana's head while Cade had flirted with Esme. That was without Esme having any "latent" effect that Dana was tuned into.

Seth had said on the drive back he'd sensed her in the building before she ever stepped onto the elevator. His awareness of her had kept him reaching into the back seat to brush her knee or run the back of his hand along her leg most of the drive. The signal went both ways, she just hadn't realized it until her final talk with Esme the night before.

Esme removed the cloth from her neck and pressed it to her forehead. "I'll remove the spell. Seth can just break Dana's fingers or something the next time he gets out of line."

Leah reached up, her hand fiddling with the top button on her blouse. "He wouldn't really do something like that, would he?"

"Probably not, and it wouldn't deter that stubborn idiot anyway." Esme grimaced. "The only thing I can think of is having Camille stay."

"Dana listens to your mother?" Leah kept worrying the button, another solution forming in her mind.

"Hah!" A genuine smile split across Esme's face, light springing back into her eyes. "No, but he's as quiet as a statue when she's around. It's almost worth putting up with her."

Dropping her hand to her lap, Leah traced the pleated line running up one leg of her slacks. "There's another option…what you said you could do last night."

Esme said nothing at first then a long sigh escaped her. "He'll think you're rejecting him."

"No." She pinched the pleat, sharpening its edge. "He'll realize this is just a bunch of biological nonsense and that he's not actually attracted to me."

Leah didn't expect the scowl that whipped across Esme's face. The witch rubbed her hand from one cheek to the other like an eraser along a blackboard, her expression detached by the time she completed the motion.

"Nonsense or not, if I put a cloaking charm on you, it only works one way." The kettle started whistling and Esme stood. She walked into the kitchen area and turned the burner off. "You'll still sense him, know when he's near, smell him in a way that's unique between mates and their offspring."

She started to pour water into the teacups Leah had set out earlier. Her hand shook, hot water splashing along the tea service. Placing the kettle back on the burner, she braced her hands against the counter.

"And you'll want him just as badly as you did last night." She wiped a dishtowel across the spilled water. "That feeling will never fade."

Pulling her feet onto the chair, Leah tucked her legs under her. Her elbow on the armrest, she propped her chin up and watched Esme finish making the tea. "How do you know this?"

There was a long pause, as if the answer was a secret too big to divulge.

"I have the last known latent's diary." Esme returned to the couch with the cups and tea service on a tray. Glancing up, she saw the question in Leah's gaze. "She died sixty years ago, most everyone's forgotten about latents since then. Obviously there are others, you're living proof."

Leah added cream and sugar to her tea, blew thoughtfully at the steam rising up from the pale brown liquid. "If you do this, the Hunters won't be able to find me. I can go back to my apartment, my job, the kids at the school…"

"Eventually, if you can learn to work the charm yourself and there's enough magic in you to do so." She took a sip, put the cup down and then leaned across the table to stare intently into Leah's eyes. "I know Seth. He won't let you go until he's sure you're safe and he's had plenty of opportunity to change your mind. Even then, I'm not sure he'll let you go."

Leah closed her eyes, tried to picture a future in which Seth didn't take one sniff, find her normal and walk away. She couldn't. It had been sixty years since the last latent had lived in proximity to a wolf clan. A diary of devotion was no proof, just a romantic fairytale.

She opened her eyes to find the witch studying her with open curiosity. Giving a little nod, she signaled her readiness. "Let's do this now, before he shows up."

*****

Near dusk, Seth threw his van in park, the bumper almost on the front steps of the witch's porch. He bounded out of the vehicle, his throat clamping down on a growl. The lights in the house were on, the front door open, the screen shut to keep the insects out. He heard the witch's voice, but knew something was wrong.

He couldn't feel Leah. It had taken a quarter mile of distance last night before he'd lost the sense of her nearness. If someone had taken her or she left after Dana's little show that morning, he'd break every bone in his second's body -- after Seth had Leah safely back with him.

He ripped the door open, the latch on the other side breaking like a cheap plastic toy. He shouted her name.

"I'm right here."

Seth spun to his left to find Leah wide-eyed and a little breathless at his entrance. He quickly assessed her appearance, finding no signs of injury. Looking right, he saw the witch on the other side of the kitchen island, a little nervous and her hand wrapped around a silver sugar bowl. Not caring that Esme had been his friend since childhood and was as much his family as any shifter in his pack, he growled.

The soft hairs along her bare arm stood up and she took a step closer to the island's center.

"What have you done to her?"

"Only what I asked her to do." Leah pressed her palm against the back of his shoulder.

The heat of her touch penetrated, calming him -- until her words sank in. She'd asked for this, whatever this was. Some sort of cloaking charm, he guessed. He turned slowly, said nothing as he studied her face.

It struck him again how beautiful she was. Dark, finely arched brows framed eyes he could stare into forever. When she blinked, he physically felt the sweep of her thick lashes against his skin. Her lips parted, the sight of their soft contours birthing a low growl of need inside him.

Without asking if he could, he reached out, wrapped a hand around her hip and pulled her closer. Unlike the female shifters he'd known his entire life, with their hard, athletic frames, she was a cushion of softness. He squeezed, not enough to hurt her, just hard enough to feel her flesh yield. More softness was to be had, the plump thighs would mold around his cock when he finally sank into her as would that sweet round ass when he took her from behind.

Her gaze grew larger and he realized he hadn't quite stopped growling. He turned his head, his eyes still on Leah but wanting the witch to know he was addressing her. "Leave."

No sound of movement. His mouth hardened until Leah gave a faint nod, her attention focused beyond his shoulder. A few seconds later, the screen door lightly slapped shut and he heard Esme's footsteps disappear off the porch.

Leah swallowed, her gaze bouncing everywhere but in his direction. "She said you wouldn't like this."

"I don't." He curled his free hand around her other hip.

She wet her bottom lip, his eyes drawn to its quiver. "She said you would take it as my rejecting you."

"You're not?" A small flame of hope sputtered inside his chest. Dana's little show had cost him, but Leah was still here. That had to count for something.

"I just want you to see what you're reacting to." She gestured loosely at her lush frame before taking hold of his wrists, her hands too small to encircle them.

Seth knew she wanted him to release her. Still holding onto her hips, he opened a little more distance between them. His gaze traveled down her body. His cock straightened inside his pants, the tip crawling up toward his belt line as his flesh stiffened.

He needed to be inside her, had spent a restless night imagining it over and over. He licked his lips, inhaled deeply. The charm had buried her unique scent as a latent, but the warm, musky feminine odors rolling off her were enough to drive him crazy.

Looking back up, he saw her gaze unfocused. The mix of surprise and languor in her face and the inviting part of her lips made his cock ache.

"You can still sense me, can't you?"

She nodded. Her full breasts rose and fell as she breathed deeply, each intake coming a little quicker than the last.

"You feel how badly I want you--" Smelling a fresh burst of her cream, he groaned. His thumb caressed her hip and he stepped forward. Her breasts moved against his chest, the hard little nipples dragging up and down.

He pressed closer, felt the soft swell of her stomach against his erection. Dropping his mouth close to her ear, he whispered his reassurances. "We're not them, Dana and Esme. It's different. You're blood, even if you can't shift. We're meant for one another."

She tried to shake her head but he stopped her, his fingers threading through the thick dark strands to clasp the back of her skull. He'd never gotten that kiss last night. If he had, Dana's performance never would have happened. There would be no question of Leah wanting to hide from him.

Time to remedy that mistake.

He claimed her mouth in slow, measured steps. It started with a brush of his lips against hers. A more insistent press followed as his bottom lip swept up from below her mouth then pressed back down to part her lips. His tongue explored the narrow opening, licking and curling until her jaw relaxed.

His arm slid around her waist, cinching her tight against his body. Fingers ensnared in her hair, Seth forced her to tilt her head back, the gentle strain opening her even further. His tongue pushed all the way in, moving along her top palate before retreating entirely. He sucked her bottom lip, gnawed softly at it before his tongue invaded again.

His palm flat against the small of her back, he tugged, relaxed, repeated to slowly butt her lower stomach against his hard cock as he demanded more of her mouth. Breaking the kiss, he waited just long enough for her to suck in a mouthful of air and then he took her again.

When she started to shake in his embrace, he quickly bent down. His arm landed against the back of her knees to collapse them. Scooping her up, he carried her down the hall. Inside the guestroom, he pushed the door shut with his foot then placed Leah center of the bed. When he put one knee on the mattress, her gaze refocused, alarm registering in those green pools of mystery.

She brought her hands up, shielding herself as he reached for her. "We can't--"

"We are." Capturing one of her hands, he kissed the ends of her fingers, sucked one rounded tip into his mouth as his other hand worked the button of her slacks open.

Catching his intent, she gasped, tried to stop him. He grabbed both of her wrists, brought her hands up over her head and draped his body across her. Her wrists were delicate, easy for him to hold with one hand.

Kissing her, Seth undid the buttons on her blouse. Her whispered protests deepened to soft moans, her hips beginning to roll beneath him. He pushed the edges of her blouse apart.

Hoping for a front release on her bra, his gaze landed between her lush breasts. A silver pin held a small sprig of white petals in place. Seeing the familiar flowers, he growled and reached for the pin. "Witch's lace."

Leah clutched at the sprig, her grip crushing some of the petals. She shook her head. "You have to go--"

Cocking his hips, he slid lower down her body. Her eyes fluttered shut, her mound cresting as the thick, hard line of his erection pushed once along its seam before moving on. He'd deal with the charm later, when her will and sweet cunt were melting beneath his tongue.

Halfway down the mattress, he tugged her slacks and shoes off. Using his broad shoulders as a wedge, he muscled her thighs apart. She tried to push at him, her touch only enflaming his desire. The panties came off in two pieces, the air stirred by rending them ripe with her juices.

Instinct drove his mouth straight to their source, his tongue and nose separating her labia to lick and smell, both senses savoring her honey. His hands gripped her full hips, holding her down as he started to suckle her clit.

She stopped fighting, stopped arguing. The only sounds coming from her were the soft coos gurgling in her throat and the tense draw of her nails against the bed's linen as she arched her hips.

Gripping one plump labia with his mouth, he tugged at it, moved to the other. His hands free, he undid his jeans and kicked off his boots, his mouth never breaking contact with her flesh. He surfed up her body, shedding the bottom half of his clothes.

His t-shirt came off the same way her panties had -- in pieces. With his cock nestled against her clit, he tugged the blouse down her arms. He watched the fabric move over her body, saw the silver thread that had been quickly worked into the side stitching, the ends freshly cut.

Seth needed her completely naked, stripped of the charms the witch had dressed her in. He tossed the blouse on the floor, pushed his hands between her body and the bed to unhook the bra. She was too far gone to protest any more, her body wiggling beneath him, her pale throat convulsing with moans.

When the bra left her body, her scent hit him like a brick in the face.

His mate, his woman.

Grabbing her head with both hands, he buried his face against her neck, his teeth pressed against the sensitive flesh. He wanted to spear into her and ease the ache that had settled into his swollen balls. She was wet, ready, her need dripping onto the linen beneath her.

With a rough growl, he tore himself away from the pulsing temptation of her throat and slid down her body to continue feasting on her cunt. Her moans escalated, turned guttural and fierce as her hips slammed left, down, crested up, her clit swollen and throbbing beneath his tongue.

She sank her fingers in his hair, the nails scratching his scalp as her mound pressed harder against his mouth. Her surrender was near, her release closer still. He fastened his lips to her, his tongue working the small pearl guarded by the tender hood with feather light strokes.

Bringing his hand between her legs, he slowly buried two fingers inside her. Her channel gripped him, flexing rhythmically as her uterus contracted. Her clit bobbed against his tongue, the start of her climax already upon her. Her legs tensed, her pussy tightening as her hips jerked up.

She cried out -- his name, a string of unintelligible words, desperate whispers, promises -- and then she unleashed her sweet nectar, drowning him, wetting his questing tongue over and over until the waves rolling through her finally subsided.

*****

The most bone-shattering climax she'd ever experienced over, Leah peeled her eyes open to find two-hundred plus pounds of pure sex appeal staring down at her. He'd shown up at the house shaved less than an hour ago, now he sported brisk stubble and his eyes had that mesmerizing green glow back in them. She knew if he smiled, there'd be a hint of fang but the thought didn't frighten her.

The memory of men like Seth was deep in her blood. Fangs had grazed her skin in the first wet dream she could remember. She'd thought she was a freak growing up, her fantasies filled with growls, the threat of teeth and nails.

Fresh need coiling inside her, Leah's gaze moved down his body. She'd been peripherally aware that he had stripped his clothes off, her senses too pre-occupied with the ecstasy his mouth and hands delivered to process his nudity. Now she could see he was all muscle and…

Her heart stalled as she took in the size of his cock. He was as long as a football from pointed end to pointed end. Inhaling with a shuddering breath, she felt the walls of her cunt squeeze in anticipation. The soft growl of her lover told her he knew exactly the effect he had on her, could smell the fresh burst of cream leaving her.

She expected him to lower his body over her, spread her thighs again and thrust into her. Instead, he flipped her onto her stomach, her weight nothing against his strength. Hearing another growl vibrate roughly from him, she looked over her shoulder. Seth stared down at her ample bottom, his mouth partly open and the tip of his tongue resting against his upper teeth.

One hand roamed her left ass cheek, squeezing and rolling the flesh, as his other hand stroked his gorgeous cock. Liquid beaded at the wide slit in its crown, fat translucent drops dribbling down onto his fingers. He smeared the fluid with two fingers then rubbed her pussy with them, slowly moving toward her open core and inserting them. Stealing more of his pre-cum, he buried three fingers in her.

She started to rock, the timing of her back and forth motions synced to the hard contractions rolling through her cunt and the thrust of his hand. She ached for him, needed the thick cock inside her. With soft mewls, she begged him for it.

Grabbing her hips by both hands, he raised her ass higher. His hand left her hip and angled his cock down until the thick head pushed against the quivering gate of muscle that ringed her channel. The same hand smoothed along her back to push her shoulders lower, flattening her breasts against the mattress.

Slowly he sank into her. She couldn't guess his girth but he felt twice as thick as any lover she had taken. He stretched her, his hot gaze searing her flesh as he pushed deeper. His lips moved, his jaw working, fangs flashing as he fought to keep control. Four inches from his base, his nostrils flared and his eyes sealed shut as he closed the distance by dragging her up his dick.

Leah moved to lift up on her elbows.

Seth's growl stopped her. "Down."

His eyes were open again, his expression feral masculinity. He was taking her, his mate, would do so this time exactly as he pleased, which meant his thrusting into her from behind with his big cock filling her, her ass high in the air and her chest flat against the bed. A shiver ran over Leah, her whole body contracting simultaneously in perfect submission to the beast claiming her.

He began to rock with her, pushing and pulling her body along his length. Her swollen pussy felt like there were two thick heads inside her, the big hammer at the end of his cock and again, a few inches up from the base, and even bigger knot of pleasure driving in and out of her but keeping him anchored inside. She tightened around it, the strength of her moans shocking her.

She was coming again, harder than the last time, which should have wrung every last drop of satisfaction from her body, it felt that good.

"Mine."

She looked at his face, saw the tremor of strain as he approached his own release. "Yes," she moaned, hugging him with her pussy for emphasis. "Yours."

His orgasm uncoiled like a whip, his cock jerking inside her, that big knot in the base inflating and deflating with each spasm of his climax. She cried out, fighting for air, the pulsing throb in her cunt dictating when she could and could not breathe.

Behind her, Seth slowed, his hips still making leisurely thrusts, rolling in small circles to keep that ball rotating inside her.

"You're killing me," she moaned, only half joking.

"It just feels like heaven, beautiful."

She tried to laugh, but another sharp twinge of pleasure rattled the sound in her throat. Her hips bucked, bucked again and then he popped free. Dropping to his side, he pulled Leah onto her back, his big hand covering her mound and squeezing as his tongue invaded her mouth.

God, he was a great kisser, a fabulous fucker. Her mouth still pressed to his, she smiled then moaned as he dipped a finger inside her pussy. Her head lolling back onto the pillow, she closed your eyes. "You know I don't have your stamina."

"I'll let you nap." He kissed the side of her ear, his finger retreating from the slow tease he had started. "But only if I get to stay."

*****

In the end, it was Seth sprawled the length of the bed sound asleep, his sculpted chest rising and falling as, wide awake, she stared at him in wonder. He was beautiful, still completely naked and his cock in a continuous semi-rigid state. Certain all she had to do was reach over and stroke him once and he would be hard and ready, she rolled quietly off the bed and went to the closet for fresh clothes.

Esme had altered just one set of her clothes to work the charm, with the intent that Leah would practice on her remaining clothes. The ones she retrieved from the closet were unspelled. The last thing she wanted was for Seth to wake up and think she had rejected him all over again. She'd been insane to want to hide from him.

Her mouth puckered in thought. Not insane, just self-conscious and unable to believe a man that looked like he did could want her. Having now experienced his uninhibited desire for her, she was willing to accept that he needed a very plump yin to his hard-muscled yang.

Wanting to see if Esme was okay, she tried to school her face into something that didn't wear a canary-eating grin. Hard to do -- she felt sore in all the right places, her nipples and clit hypersensitive from her earlier arousal. Hell, there was no "earlier" to it. She was more than ready to fuck Seth again. And she would -- at his place.

Right now she wanted to check on the witch and thank her for her friendship and hospitality. It had to be hard, even as powerful as Esme was, to live as a human among the shifters. She needed to know that she had an ally, that Leah wouldn't shun her now that she had accepted her place in Seth's life as a latent.

Stepping into the hall, she found Esme's bedroom door open, the bed still made from that morning. She walked down the hall, only one lamp in the living room on and Esme nowhere in sight. Worry growing inside her, Leah stepped quietly onto the porch. It ran the length of the house, the front door at the center, a small table and two stools on the south side and a pair of rockers at the north end.

Turning toward the rockers, she saw Esme motionless. The moon above and the lamp from the living room lit her upper body. Wanting to wake her gently, Leah tiptoed up to her sleeping friend. Looking down at Esme, she smiled.

Killer cheekbones, a strong chin and delicate brows shaped the round face. While she had looked gorgeous enough the night before, she'd taken extra care of her make-up that morning, due in no small part, Leah assumed, to the fact Dana had slept on her couch. The lips were a pale rose, the same color dusting her eyelids before blending into a silver gray beneath her eyebrows. A healthy pink colored the apple of her cheeks, the rest of the skin a soft cream.

Leah hoped, with a good dose of common sense and at least a little groveling, Dana would straighten up and make her new friend happy. If things could work out between a latent and a shifter, it couldn't be that much of a stretch for a fully human woman, particularly when she was a witch.

Reaching out to lightly touch Esme's shoulder, Leah froze. The black cardigan Esme wore unbuttoned over her top had shifted, its edges bunched to the side and exposing part of her bra line. Moon glinted off a thin strip of silver -- the underside of a pin. Attached to the pin was the same type of flower Esme had pinned to Leah that morning.

Mouth flattening into a straight line, Leah carefully folded the hem of the sweater up. She couldn't be sure with just the moonlight and inside lamp, but she thought she saw the glitter of silver thread. She ran her thumb over the area, the texture of spun metal unmistakable.

She drew back. There had to be other uses for witch's lace and silver thread. Hundreds of other uses -- the silver merely there to magnify the charm. Retreating to the front door, she let it shut loudly enough to wake Esme.

Leah watched as Esme came awake with a start, her hands quickly assessing her clothing before she looked at the source of the sound. Seeing Leah, she offered a weak grin.

"He let you out of bed, I see."

Heart sinking, Leah nodded. While there might be untold uses for the flower and silver thread, there was only one reason for Esme to make sure Leah didn't see them.

Esme was a latent. A latent in love with a shifter, with the two of them usually at one another's throat.

Something sharp twisted inside Leah's chest. She'd already been rejected by people she loved -- her mother and her grandmother. And then she had lost Amanda. She wouldn't go through that again. Looking back through the screen door and the hallway, Leah mourned what could never be.

Esme stood and walked toward her, her smile strengthening. "So you've worked things out."

Leah shook her head. "I thought so, but…"

She forced herself not to gesture at Esme, at the spot where the witch's lace rested against her breast or the silver thread worked through the seam of her clothes. She wouldn't tell the witch she knew the truth. She'd let Esme share her secret once she trusted Leah enough.

"I made a mistake." She fiddled with the uncharmed hem of her blouse, her voice a soft whisper of uncertainty.

When Esme put her hand on Leah's shoulder, she looked up to find the witch's face filled with regret. Esme gave her a gentle squeeze. "Are you sure, honey?"

Moving into the witch's comforting embrace, Leah nodded. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

*****

Seth didn't leave without a fight, but all the words exchanged were between him and Esme. Esme cautioned patience, which might have calmed him had Leah not also insisted on his removing any extra guards from around the witch's house. In the end, he capitulated to the request for time and space -- from him.

He would not yield when it came to guards. Betas from three different packs rotated through three shifts a day, their post maintained at the far end of Esme's long drive. That lasted a week and would have gone on until reports of other latents started trickling in.

The pattern followed Leah's discovery, shifters from other clans drawn to nearby towns with reports of Hunters in the area. By the end of the first week, three new latents had been discovered. With the clan leaders realizing that the Hunters were targeting these women as part of their crusade to make shifters extinct, resources were re-allocated.

The guards were pulled, the clan's alpha deeming Esme's charms to cloak Leah's nature and the location of her house deep within their territory sufficient to keep Leah protected. The absence of the men from the other packs didn't mean the two women went unwatched. Sitting on the long porch around the table with Esme teaching Leah the art of witchcraft or reading together in the rocking chairs, one or the other of the women would raise her head and stare out at the tree line as she sensed her mate. Leah never remarked when Esme scanned the area for Dana -- the witch still thought her secret was intact.

On the second week, Leah met Gordon, the only male human in the clan. Esme had been kind when she said he looked as old as Moses. She'd been kind in calling him a healer, too. Able only to attract scraps of magic, Gordon was mostly an herbalist. Only one week into her training and Leah could have run circles around him if she'd been so impolite. Instead, she fumbled when he was around, letting him teach her spells she'd already mastered.

Ready for another hour of fooling the old man, she watched Gordon pull to a stop in front of Esme's porch. His driving no better than his witchcraft, Esme had spelled the house to make sure he stopped before he could collapse the porch a second time.

Instead of getting out of the vehicle, Gordon blared his horn.

"What on earth, Gordon?" Esme stepped off the porch and approached his car. He whispered something in her ear. Esme straightened and started to return to the house, but he grabbed her wrist with one bony, gnarled hand.

"I've got all the supplies we need, there's no time!"

Leah approached the porch railing. "What's going on?"

"One of the team's found another latent, near your apartment building." Esme looked at the front door, started to move toward it again, but Gordon would not release her arm.

"She's injured." He wheezed when he spoke. "They can't move her and it's bad, too bad for me to heal her."

"I need my phone." Esme twisted her wrist, freeing herself from the old man's grip.

"We'll use mine. The girl could die."

"Fine!" Esme spun back toward the vehicle, her hands flapping for Gordon to move over. "Then we don't have any time for you to drive, move."

Leah took a step off the porch. "Should I come? I can help you."

"No, Seth would have my head if I took you off clan land." She shook her head, the strength of her dismissal setting her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders. "Too risky. Even charmed, that many latents would be like sending up a flare. The Hunters would pinpoint us immediately."

"Aye-aye, cap'n. I'll hold the fort down." Leah offered a perky salute, hoping to ease Esme's worry about leaving her alone.

The witch frowned, the furrowed line in her forehead deepening. "Stay inside, doors locked, promise me."

Gordon nodded. "Best do as she says, child. I'll text Seth and let him know you're out here alone."

Faking a smile, Leah thanked the old man. He still hadn't caught on that the last shifter she wanted to see was Seth. Even thinking about him hurt. The times he'd waited just beyond sight, guarding her without her permission, had been pure torture. She'd felt his restlessness, his need. Whatever emotion he felt magnified inside her, each day harder to bear without him than the day before.

Watching the car disappear down the long drive, Leah went inside and locked the doors.

*****

At dusk, Gordon's car returned with just the old man inside it. Seeing the vehicle make solid contact with the porch, Leah's stomach tightened. Some spells didn't last beyond the witch who had cast them. The sentry spell on the porch was one of them.

She ran outside and threw open the car door. "Where is she!"

Gordon shook his head. "She's alive, but hurt bad. Camille is on her way, but--"

Leah knew Camille was visiting another clan, the trip at least half a day by car.

"Take me to her!" Leah ran around the back of the vehicle and hopped in the front passenger seat. "There's got to be something I can do until Camille reaches her."

"Seth--"

"I don't give a damn what Seth says!" She hit the car's dash, blue waves of energy rippling out from the point of impact. "Take me to her now, Gordon."

His mouth set in a grim line, he put the car in reverse. Realizing she should have made the old man let her drive, she told him to pull over.

The car picked up speed. "It's not far from the clan's land," he argued. "I know these old roads better than you, girl. Watched 'em built as a boy."

Leah stopped arguing and willed the vehicle to go faster. The car seemed to respond, Gordon whipping around the curving country lanes like he was a young man running moonshine. He laughed once, the oddly joyous sound strange falling from his ancient lips.

The car skidded to a stop next to an overlook on the road. Parked next to them, one of the shiny black van's the clan used idled with the side door open. A blanket covered a woman's body, dark blonde hair spilling onto the van floor from beneath one edge. Leah unhooked her seat belt and bounded straight into the van.

She touched the figure, realized her mistake in trusting the old man a second too late as strong hands grabbed her by the arms and someone slapped duct tape over her mouth. The tape was followed by a hood cinched tight at the throat.

"Now I have a witch and a latent."

The smooth, unaccented voice sent a chill down Leah's spine. The chill turned to a frozen dagger stabbing straight into her heart as the van shifted into gear and he spoke again.

"I can't wait to kill them."

*****

Leah woke to the sounds of torture. Duct tape sealed her mouth, but the hood had been removed. She slitted her gaze, hoping her captors would continue to think her unconscious after they had choked her in the van.

Her eyes landed first on Esme and it took every last scrap of willpower Leah had not to cry out at the sight of her battered friend. Bruises blotted her face, the skin over the right cheekbone split from a blow, the eye above it swollen. A wet rag filled her mouth, the sides of her face red from where the tape had been roughly removed.

Someone had stripped Esme down to her bra and panties. More scratches and bruises marred her pale flesh. Her arms were stretched out, held by two men. Three of her fingers bent back at an angle that was impossible unless they were broken.

"I like to brand my witches before I kill them." The voice belonged to the man from the van. "Let's the devil know who sent them."

Leah looked scanned the length of Esme's body to find him standing near her feet. He held an acetylene torch to the end of a small branding iron, the head an elaborate Q glowing orange from the flame's heat. He moved, his back half turned to Leah as he ran his hand over Esme's thighs in search of the perfect spot. White bolts of static crackled in the gap of air.

"Jesu," he laughed, raising his hand and watching the size of the bolts increase. "I've never drained a witch as powerful as you. I'll be a fucking god for a few days with your juice in me."

"You'll give me the latent's power?"

Leah recognized the last voice. She didn't need to risk looking at the figure in the dark corner to know that the whine belonged to Gordon.

"I told you I would, old man." Stepping closer to Esme's head, the man toyed with the cloth in her mouth, pulling it almost out, pushing it back in, then giving it another pull. "Bet you wish you could talk right now."

Esme's gaze narrowed. Leah knew if looks could kill, their host would be dead on the floor. Lucky for him, spells required speech. Laughing again, he looked at the Q.

"Damn thing's cooled. Can't have you half branded." He nodded at the men holding Esme's arms. "Keep her still."

Re-lighting the torch, he gestured at Esme's full hips. "You think it's her size giving her all that power."

Gordon responded with a phlegmy grunt and a lift of his frail shoulders. "Her mother's a skinny enough bitch."

"Still." The man inclined his head in Leah's direction without looking at her. "This one has quite a lot of juice, too. The two of them together…"

An excited shiver coursed through him.

"Leah's mine," Gordon reminded him.

"Hah, of course." The brand's tip glowing orange once again, the man returned his attention to Esme. "As I promised, you'll get yours."

The witch's fierce gaze had remained on him. Showing no sign of fear or the incredible pain she must feel, Esme watched him bring his arm up in an arc, taunting her with the inevitable searing touch of the brand. He brought the iron down quickly, his attention focused on the outside of one plump thigh as his target.

Leah closed her eyes tight. The agonized scream piercing the air shocked them open. It wasn't the scream of a bound and gagged woman. A man had made that sound.

Esme's tormenter screamed again, the Q embedded against his hip, the smell of his burning flesh filling the air. His arm flailed violently, pulling the iron free with a wild jerk. The Q, still hot, hit the man holding Esme's right arm straight in the cheek.

Realizing the ensuing chaos might be her only chance to save herself and Esme, Leah wiggled until her hip was against the edge of the table they had placed her on, her legs coiled tight to her body. Taking aim, she kicked the ring leader, hitting him with both feet against the side of his knee. He buckled for a second, losing his grip on the iron. Rising back onto his feet, he spun in her direction, murder in his eyes.

Leah had a momentary awareness of Esme pulling the rag from her mouth. The two men that had held her were fighting to clamp a hand against her lips as Gordon fumbled through a spell.

Concentrating on her own attacker, Leah took aim at his crotch and kicked.

Sneering, he caught Leah's feet before she could turn his balls into clam chowder. "Your sister didn't fight half as hard."

She froze, her eyes locked on his. From behind him, she heard the impact of bone on bone. Forgetting Amanda, Leah's gaze jumped to the side just in time to see Esme's head snap back. Laughing, Leah's attacker drew a long-bladed knife from the back of his pants.

Leah's lips parted, but no sound came out. The terrified scream that had been building died in her throat, choked off by a familiar sense of safety. Her head jerked right to stare at the wall.

"Wolves!" Gordon warned. "They've found us, Quentin!"

Spinning, Quentin snarled and buried the blade in the throat of the nearest of the two men that had attacked Esme. Across from him, the other man buried his own knife in Gordon's throat.

Bending down, Quentin snatched a gun from the dead man's boot. From the other side of Esme's inert body, his last living helper smirked as Gordon folded to the ground. The smile was short lived. Quentin fired two shots. The first put a hole through the final man's head. The other took out the only light in the room.

Leah heard the sound of something heavy being dragged along the floor, hinges creaking and the hard thud of wood hitting wood. From the wall to her right, metal clanked. A second later, the wall was in pieces, two high-beam headlights illuminating the dust-clogged air.

It took another second before she realized not all of the bodies near the vehicle were human. A shifter stepped into the light, his frame too big for her to believe she knew him. But she recognized his scent, the warm drip of caramel subduing the pure terror clawing at her mind.

The shifter contorted as he moved, bones popping and snapping, his size diminishing until it was clearly Seth standing in front of her, as naked as the night he had taken her in Esme's house.

Seth's arms were around her in an instant, crushing her against his chest. "Leah, say something, baby."

"Esme…"

A low, howling whine drew her gaze to where her friend sagged in the arms of another shifter. The high-beams bounced off red-gold fur. The strangled cries coming from Dana's throat reminded Leah of a dog she had seen run over. It had taken ten minutes to reach the vet's office, which had been about three minutes too long.

Leah tried to fight her way out of Seth's embrace. "We've got to get her to Camille, now."

Seeing her intent to reach Esme, Seth shouted a command for the van's driver to take Leah and put her inside the vehicle. She kept fighting. She had to touch Esme, had to use the small amount of healing magic she'd learned to keep her friend alive until they reached Camille.

Seth tried to calm her. "Baby, he's in lock down, he'll shred you if you go near her."

"No." Sagging in Seth's arms, she looked at Dana. "Please, you have to let me help her. You love her."

The change came over Dana with none of the grinding bones or popping cartilage that had marked Seth's shift. Even human, he still seemed feral. Leah twisted out of Seth's grip, his hands staying on her shoulders as she cautiously approached Dana. Risking her hand on his arm, she guided Dana toward the van. Climbing in first, she told him to place Esme where her head would be cradled in Leah's lap.

He obeyed, growling lightly when Leah brushed the hair from Esme's cheek and the witch winced. Seth tensed, the van's cargo door closing behind him. Trying to ignore the tension running through the two shifters, Leah focused on Esme.

There was blood, too much blood.

Seth handed Leah a wet cotton square and she cleaned Esme's face, forcing the magic down through her fingers and into the split skin.

"You knew." Dana's voice was hollow, the accusation empty of any threat or anger.

"Quiet." Leah ran her fingers through the thick blonde curls matted with blood. Gently, she explored the scalp. Leah's hands tingled, more magic leaking from Esme into Leah than she could offer the witch in return.

The van took a turn too sharply. Dana threw one leg out, bracing his body to keep Esme from being jostled. Looking as Esme, his gaze slowly died. "All these years, baby. You should have told me."

Leah fixed him with a hard stare. "Don't! She can feel you, even if she's unconscious. Don't accuse her. Tell her to stay with you. Tell her you need her to come back."

He nodded slowly, fire re-igniting in his eyes. His hand caressed Esme's hip, slid under her back.

"No," Leah cautioned, sensing that he wanted to hold the witch and cradle her close. Two weeks ago the glare Dana threw Leah would have frozen the blood in her veins. She shook her head. "She stays exactly like she is until we reach Camille."

She looked at Seth. "How long?"

"Five minutes, she's meeting us at the nearest border house."

Closing her eyes, Leah lightly cupped the back of Esme's head. There was swelling at the base. She willed it to recede, her magic pleading and coaxing, her touch a gentle vibration disrupting the building pressure inside the witch's skull.

*****

Five minutes.

Three hundred seconds.

Each one an eternity.

Seth slammed the door to the van open as Camille ran out of the house and up to the vehicle. He lifted her, setting her down directly in front of Esme. Her hands shaking, she ran them over her daughter's body in search of the most life-threatening injury.

"Her head." Leah cradled the edges of Esme's skull. "It's still swelling at the back. I couldn't get it to go down."

Camille nodded, her hand slipping under Esme's neck. She chanted, the words coalescing around the witch's limp form like a caterpillar's cocoon, the strands of magic a phosphorescent blue.

She looked at Dana, oblivious to the naked body covered with Esme's blood. "We need to move her inside, gently."

Demonstrating inhuman strength, he lifted Esme from the bent position the van's height forced on him and eased her to the door. Camille moved in sync with Dana, her hands hovering near Esme's head to keep the cushion of magic firmly in place.

Seth and Leah followed them into the house, watching from the doorway as Dana delicately placed Esme on the mattress. Camille pointed at Leah.

"You stay." Her finger drifted to Dana. "Out."

Sliding into a kneeling position next to the bed, he ignored the woman. Leah moved toward Esme. His hand curling around her arm, Seth held her back.

Camille's head whipped in their direction.

"Tell your mate I need you." Her voice broke as only a mother's could. "She needs you."

Leah looked at Seth. She could feel the tension coiling inside him. He had only held her for a few seconds after her rescue. As her mate, he wanted to make sure she wasn't ignoring any of her own injuries. From her lessons with Esme and the last latent's diary, Leah knew he needed his scent back on her after she'd been held hostage by other men. His instinct to protect her was so strong it overrode his responsibilities as pack alpha. That she'd kept him at arm's length before the kidnapping only heightened his need.

Throwing her arms around his shoulders, Leah tightly hugged Seth and quickly rubbed her body against his, her clothes soaking up his scent. "I'm okay, I promise. We'll have time once she's stable."

Knowing the danger of touching him much longer, Leah pressed her cheek against his and rubbed her hands over his arms before hurrying to the bed.

Gently, she steered Dana down the mattress where he could still touch Esme without interfering with her care. He gripped the witch's foot, his thumb rubbing at its sole as his gaze focused like a laser on Esme's face.

Leah caught Camille's attention. "What do you need me to do?"

Reaching out, she took Leah's hand and placed it over Esme's chest.

"Breathe for her."

**********

An hour before dawn, Leah staggered away from the bed. A healer from the nearest clan had arrived to relieve the women for a few hours of rest. The swelling in Esme's head was gone, but Camille had placed her in a very deep sleep to keep her motionless.

His position unchanged, Dana stood vigil at the foot of the bed, dried blood flaking off his naked flesh.

Stepping into the hall, Leah encountered Seth. Still wet from a recent shower, he carried a bundle of fresh clothes, feminine but not hers. Grabbing Leah's arm, he pulled her into the next room. The door closed, his hands immediately undoing the buttons on her blouse.

She tried to stop him. "Seth--"

"No." He didn't yell, but there was no arguing with his tone. "These are charmed. I want them off you now."

"Okay," she whispered, releasing her hold on his hands.

"You will never shield yourself from me again." A slight hysteria edged his voice as he unpinned the witch's lace from her bra. Reaching behind her, he unhooked it, freeing her breasts and tossing the fabric to the floor. "If those men hadn't removed Esme's charms…"

Realization crept through her. Seth and the other shifters had only found them because of Dana's connection to Esme. If Esme's charms had still been in place, Seth and Dana might have spent the night running circles in those woods.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, Seth stared down into her eyes. "Never! Do you understand?"

Leah nodded, his fierce gaze breaking the last of her control. She collapsed against his chest, her breasts heaving in relieved sobs. He hugged her, his big hands traveling along her arms and back.

"Ditch the panties, baby." His tone softened, his fingers already moving to help rid her of that last bit of fabric.

"Seth!"

He chuckled before turning serious once more. "They're charmed, too, love. I still can't feel you completely."

"Oh…" Pushing his hands aside, she started to wiggle out of her underwear.

"Disappointed I didn't have something else in mind?" His hands caught her breasts as she leaned forward. He tugged their hardening nipples before squeezing the firm flesh.

Blushing, she lied with a shake of her head. "It wouldn't be appropriate anyway."

Trying to turn from him, she reached for the clothes he'd tossed down on the dresser.

"Not so fast, baby." Pulling her back into his arms, he buried his face against her neck, nuzzling the sensitive flesh as his fingers explored her lush backside. Inhaling deeply, he sighed. "You smell like chocolate dipped chili peppers and…"

He paused. There wasn't supposed to be an "and." Tensing, he ran his nose along her cheek.

"What's wrong?"

"Apple." His hands returned to her breasts, testing their weight, finding them swollen and a little tender, the nipples exquisitely sensitive.

She hadn't noticed the change but she could feel it with the way his fingers explored her flesh. "Is apple bad?"

"No." Cupping the back of her neck, he coaxed her head into a relaxed position. His other hand dropped between them, the fingers stroking the fur of her sex. "Leah, you're pregnant."

She nodded then realized she didn't quite understand. "How do you know you're not smelling your own scent? You smell like apples to me."

Capturing her bottom lip, Seth sucked at it for a second. "I know, trust me."

Seth shifted his weight to his other foot. Leah felt the solid rub of an erection against her hip. His fingers grew bolder between her legs. "Baby, I need to get you home. To our bed. ASAP."

She managed a slight gesture of acquiescence before all of her muscles melted beneath his touch. "Camille wants me back around noon, when they plan on moving Esme. And someone needs to manage Dana then. Get some clothes on him at least."

With a low growl, Seth forced his body to move to the door. He gestured at the change of clothes. "Five minutes, I want that sweet ass in the passenger seat of my van."

Squirming beneath his hot gaze, she blushed and waved him out of the room. "I'll be there in three."

**********

Leah waited alone in Seth's bedroom. If she stood next to the door, she could hear his voice as he debriefed the clan's alpha over the phone. The timing of the shifter's call sucked, but she didn't mind the few minutes it gave her to explore the small space.

A huge four-poster bed occupied most of the room. Antique, it had thick burgundy draw curtains held in place by heavy corded tassels. The bedspread was a rich damask, the object on top of it startling her.

Standing at the edge of the mattress, she reached down and ran her fingers through the fur. Gray strands mixed with brown and black, forming a dense undercoat with coarser guard hairs extending out. Not bear, not fox -- but wolf, several of them stitched together judging by the size. Wrapping her hands around one heavy corner, she lifted it to her face and inhaled.

The familiar scent of her mate ran thick and deep. Her body tightened, Seth's presence so strong in the room she felt dizzy.

Hands grabbed her hips. She jerked, the motion unleashing a deep moan. Behind her, Seth closed the distance between their bodies. The base of his erection pressed at the top split of her rounded ass. She could hear him breathing, heat and moisture steaming against her neck as he bent his head.

"I'm going to fuck you on top of that." He squeezed her hips, molded her lush bottom around his cock and balls.

"Okay." She laughed at her response and the heady breathlessness of her acceptance.

"Turn around."

His hands guided Leah until she faced him. His fingers moved from her hips to the bottom hem of her sweater. Slowly, he dragged it up over her stomach and breasts, peeled it off her arms and tossed it to the floor. By chance or choice, there was no bra to remove. He cupped the underside of her breasts, testing their malleability with slow, sensual pulls that made her nipples ache.

Looking down at where his hands touched her, Leah gasped.

"Shhh, love, it's normal in our women this early."

It was breast milk. She tried to push his hands away but he wouldn't release her.

"But I…we…humans don't do this at two weeks."

Seth shook his head, his fingers massaging her breasts more deeply. "Baby, you're a latent carrying a shifter's child. You're not dealing with human hormones anymore."

Dipping his head, he did the unthinkable, taking one ripe, dripping nipple into his mouth and gently sucking. Her uterus contracted, her center of gravity dropping straight to her pelvic floor to soak her panties.

With his free hand, Seth pushed her slacks and underwear down her hips. The fabric pooled around her ankles. Reaching behind her, he lifted one heavy round globe, his fingertips digging into the flesh as he squeezed her to him.

Feeling his cock against her stomach, only his pants separating them, another pulse of moisture slickened Leah's thighs. He continued to mold her ass, grinding her mound against him as he nuzzled her breast.

With a sudden growl, he wrapped both hands around her shoulders and forced her to sit on the bed. The brush of soft wolf skin made her squirm, the heat pooling between her thighs almost unbearable. Pressing a finger against her breastbone, he pushed until her back rested flat against the fur.

Seth bent down, stripped her sandals and the last of her clothing away. Pushing her thighs apart, he stepped between her spread legs and started to undress. He moved with sinewy efficiency, muscles flexing and rippling as his shirt came off. He took his time removing his bottoms, giving her a show of his surging cock and powerful thighs.

The line of dark hair that ran up his abdomen to lightly fan across his chest thickened beneath her gaze. His slow rumbling growl told Leah he could feel her desire intensify, the almost psychic exchange creating a sensory loop that left her panting for his cock.

"Not yet, baby." Pressing his thighs against the bed, he gathered a fold of the wolf skin in one hand and slowly fisted his shaft.

Leah whimpered as she watched thick strings of pre-cum dribble from the tip to land on her mound, penetrating the soft covering of hair and dripping down her pussy. Reaching between her thighs, she spread her labia and smeared his juice over her clit. Seth groaned, the slow-falling stream thickening as he stared at her fingering her swollen flesh. His grip on his cock tightened, shutting the flow as a quiver rolled over his body.

Falling to his knees, he rubbed his nose against her cunt hair. Pinching her labia apart, his tongue uncurled along her sex, the tip dipping into her wet core before licking a line up to where his juices mingled with hers.

He lifted his gaze, hooking her attention. "Watch me, baby."

Leah couldn't take her eyes off him if her life depended on it. He was pure smoldering sex, his expression as devouring as his mouth. He licked her again, his tongue curling up to raise the hood of her clit and press it against his upper teeth. He pulled, his tongue still moving, stroking.

Milk leaked from her breasts, gathered in small rivulets to create a shallow pool at her navel. Stretching up, he dipped his tongue in it, his lips suctioning against her skin. His thumbs penetrated her cunt as he lapped at her stomach. He stretched her, stroked her, his touch roughening.

A shudder rolled through Leah, her pussy contracting, the tight clit bobbing with the pulse of her need.

Licking his lips, Seth returned to her aching clit with a growl. His lips fastened tight, his teeth indenting her swollen flesh. He sucked, thumbs thrusting. Her hips started to jerk, her spine arching, ass pressed hard against the bedding as she cried out.

Unrelenting, three rigid fingers replaced the thumbs, the tips curling up inside her. He wanted to wring another climax from her, to have her coming hard beneath his hands and mouth before he flipped her onto her stomach and fucked her wet, swollen folds without mercy.

Leah clutched at the wolf skin. Her mound crested against Seth's tongue and teeth, her sheath tightening around his fingers as another climax thundered through her.

"Roll over." The order was rough, issued through gritted teeth.

Leah turned onto her side and tried to pull her legs onto the bed. Not what he had in mind, Seth flipped Leah the rest of the way onto her stomach and pulled her legs off the mattress, her thighs still spread as he stood between them.

Leaning over her, he snaked his arm between her breasts, supporting her weight at the same time he pinned her immobile against him. His cock entered her hard and fast, a snarl tearing through his throat. He was going to take her roughly, slamming his hips into her soft bottom over and over as his hot mouth seared her back.

Her breasts bounced with each hard thrust, her nipples swollen and dragging along the wolf skin. Climaxing again, she tightened around him, the knot near the base of his cock already inflated to a mind-blowing diameter with his cum. His teeth grazed her shoulder, the muscles of her cunt lashing around his shaft to rope him in place.

Trapped inside her, pushing, pulling, the knot in his cock kneaded that sweet spot just inside her cunt over and over until she was reduced to a groaning, writhing mass of flesh that cried and came and called his name.

Seth erupted inside her, his teeth sinking at last into her shoulder, pinning her until the last jet of cum left him.

Too numb to move, Leah allowed Seth to lift her body the rest of the way onto the bed. He settled on top of her, his arms supporting his weight. Exhausted, she smiled at him, her mind already drifting toward slumber.

He stroked her cheek, his gaze serious as he studied her expression. "You know this is forever, baby."

Feeling the swell of emotion inside him, Leah nodded, her throat too tight to speak. There in his bed, for the first time in her life, she felt at home. This was where she was meant to be. No one would take it from them, not the Hunters or any other enemies they might encounter. They would cherish it, holding it as tightly to them as they held one another.

MORE BBW Erotic Romance!

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This title is one of nine wicked bbw erotic romances (and counting): Slow Hand Curves, Curve Contract, Riding Curves, Captive Curves, Curves for Two, Curve Patrol, Curves Ahead and Sunny with a Chance of Curves (which bestselling bbw writer J.S. Scott gave five stars on Goodreads for being very hot, very cute and romantic).

Hey, I’m a reader too!

I have a bunch of BBW and shifter titles on my TBR list. Check them out!

Jacob's Faith (Wolf Breeds, Book Two) (New school shifters, non-BBW)

Beauty and the Wolf

Valiant (New Species, Book Three) (New school shifters, non-BBW)

Reluctant Muse (BBW Erotic Romance) (Light on paranormal but heavy on the BBW)