Fated- Wolf and the Hare Read online

  “No.”

  His lip curled into a smirk. “What, then? Are we going to stand off like this until it’s over?”

  He was right. Not even a force of nature could pull our magnetic energies apart right now. One of us had to leave.

  But I didn’t want to.

  And judging by the lustful glimmer in Len’s eyes, he didn’t either.

  His long lashes fluttered against his cheeks as he glanced sideways. “If you have a condom, we could…”

  My arousal spiked at the implication. I felt my pants grow painfully tight.

  “No,” I said huskily. “I don’t have one.”

  “Oh,” he said. He didn’t sound disappointed.

  My wolf grew impatient within my soul. It growled and nudged me forward into taking the first step. As an alpha, it was my responsibility. I had left my pack to grow and mature. I needed to do this.

  “Len,” I said. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to say.”

  He stilled. When he spoke, his words were quiet but I clung to them with my whole being. “I’m listening.”

  Confidence swelled within me. “I think—no, I know you’re my fated mate.”

  Len’s mouth parted as he inhaled a soft gasp. The alluring scent wafting off him seemed to intensify, clouding the air like the sweetest perfume.

  “How can you be so sure?” he asked, no longer meeting my eye.

  “I know it in my soul. My wolf knows, too.”

  “But I’m a hare,” Len objected, his expression frustrated. He threw a hand up in the air. “Or—hell, maybe I’m not. I don’t know what I am anymore.”

  “Whatever you are doesn’t matter to me,” I growled patiently. “The only thing I want you to be is mine.”

  Lust and warmth flashed in his eyes. “Hugo,” he murmured.

  “Don’t you feel it?” I asked. “This pull between us?”

  Len blushed. “I thought I was imagining things. Ever since I left the warren, my time with you has felt too good to be true. I wondered if it was all in my head.”

  “It’s not.” I kneeled closer to him while still keeping distance in respect to his heat. “I feel it, too.”

  Len licked his lips. Watching his tongue run over his soft-looking lips made me want to crush our mouths together. Holding back was extremely difficult but I managed.

  “You said you wanted children,” I whispered. “I want the same. I want a family.”

  “You should have one with a wolf,” Len argued, but I could tell he didn’t believe his own words.

  “No. The only one I want is you.”

  “Hugo…”

  Len moved first. His shaky hands lifted to cup my face. I nuzzled into them, seeking his touch in any way possible. When he let out a soft laugh, my heart melted. I wanted him so badly.

  “You know,” Len began, “if we do this, there’s no going back.”

  I grunted. “Are you doubting me?”

  He chuckled. “No. I’m just warning you in advance before I pop out a litter of half-wolf, half-hare babies.”

  A pleased growl rumbled in my throat. “Good. Pop them out.”

  He shivered in what I assumed was pleasure.

  “Let me breed you,” I begged.

  Len laid back against the cool earth, inviting me on top of him. Despite the cool chill of the night air, his blazing body heat was more than enough to keep us comfortably warm. I straddled his waist and felt his bulge pressing into my own.

  I leaned in so our faces were inches apart. He was gorgeous always, but even more so up close. I wanted to burn all his features into my memory.

  “Hugo,” he murmured.

  I lost my words after that because he pressed his lips against mine.

  My whole world changed. Everything became about Len. My wolf howled with joy as I met his kiss with fervor, parting my lips and claiming Len’s mouth with my tongue. He moaned with pleasure and arched his back.

  I cupped his face and kissed him for what felt like hours. It was like gulping air after holding my breath my entire life. Kissing made us both hard, and the musky, sweet scent of Len’s heat surrounded us. Making out was amazing but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more, and so did I.

  “Clothes,” Len gasped. “Take them off.”

  Trying not to rip his clothes right off was a struggle, but after a flailing moment both of our clothes lay in a pile. Our naked bodies met as we kissed again, returning to each other like a pair of magnets. His body was incredibly hot, burning like the sun.

  Without fabric blocking the way, each touch was stronger now. My cock rubbed against Len’s as we passionately kissed. I wriggled my hips to tease him because I loved hearing his tiny sounds of pleasure.

  Len surprised me when he broke the kiss and reached for my cock. I sat back, puzzled but happy as he stroked my hard shaft.

  “Are all wolves this big or just you?” Len teased. He gave me a gentle squeeze as he worked his way up from the base.

  “Don’t you worry about other wolf shifters’ dicks,” I growled. “Just mine.”

  He laughed. “Jealous already? You haven’t even claimed me as your mate yet.”

  Len yelped as I lunged at him.

  My teeth grazed his bare shoulder. “I’m going to do it. Just give the word.”

  “Yes,” Len gasped without hesitation.

  I sank my teeth into him. I felt him tense beneath me before melting as pleasure spread throughout the place where pain had been a split second ago. I wrapped my hand around his cock and pumped it gently to accentuate the pleasure.

  “You’re mine now,” I stated. “Forever.”

  Len chuckled wistfully. “You better not regret it.”

  “Hush.”

  I kissed him hard to shut him up. I wouldn’t hear a word of that self-deprecating talk. Not now, or ever again.

  When Len was rightfully mine, I laid him gently against the ground again. He smiled at me with lust-filled eyes. I grasped his hips, running my hands over him and simply enjoying his body. He was a stunning man and I was over the moon that he belonged to me.

  I trailed a hand down to his hole, which was slick in anticipation. I teased it with two fingers, gently pressing in and out to get him ready. He relaxed with a sigh. His lashes fluttered shut as he closed his eyes.

  “Let me take care of you,” I said.

  “Mm.”

  I spent a good amount of time teasing and stretching Len’s hole. His clear juices ran over my fingers, making my mouth water and turning my cock rock-hard. When he was sufficiently calm, I entered him with my fingers. Len moaned. His body wriggled around me but he didn’t seem to be in pain or discomfort.

  “Get inside me, wolf,” Len demanded.

  A shudder ran down my spine. I didn’t wait. What Len wanted, he would get. I eased the tip of my throbbing cock to his wet hole and entered him slowly. His jaw fell open in a silent cry of pleasure. As I eased my way into him, Len’s fingers dug into the ground but a smile lit up his face the entire time.

  “Gods, that’s amazing,” Len breathed.

  Hearing him enjoy himself sent a jolt of arousal down into my balls. I gripped his waist and pushed in deeper.

  “Fuck, Hugo…”

  “How is it?” I asked. I didn’t want to hurt him. But Len only shook his head.

  “It’s wonderful.” His voice sounded dreamy. “More, please.”

  I obliged him, thrusting my cock deeper until Len cried out in bliss. He chewed his lip to contain a moan but it spilled out of him anyway. His intoxicating sounds and scent mixed together to create a beautiful scene before me. Len was mine, and I’d never share his beauty with anyone.

  With that thought, I drilled into him. Len wrapped his legs tightly around my lower back, pulling me in and refusing to let go. His hot, wet heat engulfed me like a wave and I roared with pleasure.

  “Hugo,” he cried, throwing his head back. “It feels so good…”

  Encouraged, I thrust into him deeper, faster. His cock twitc
hed and dripped pre-cum against his belly. I worked his cock until it was red and throbbing between my fingers and it looked like he couldn’t take anymore.

  “Breed me,” Len cried.

  I shivered as my knot swelled and popped inside him, making Len gasp. He grasped me hard and arched his back. He felt so fucking tight around me. The hot friction fried my brain, making me forget everything except Len and how horny he made me.

  Len tossed his head back and cried out, “Please, Hugo, fuck!”

  That sent me over the edge. I held Len close, as close as two people could be, and spilled my seed deep inside him. He cried out in pleasure while I howled my own, my wolf’s voice rising joyously from my throat.

  A white haze scrambled my brain for a few moments. When I came down from the high, I saw that Len had came as well. A stripe of white lay across his stomach. He breathed heavily with sweat dripping from his temples and a huge, satisfied grin on his face.

  “That was,” I breathed, still catching my breath, “incredible.”

  I didn’t ease out of him right away, instead taking a moment to simply enjoy him. His eyes were half-lidded from post-sex bliss. His creamy skin seemed to glow as he lay sprawled against the earth.

  “Still have doubts about us being fated mates?” I asked in a teasing growl.

  Len smiled softly and pulled me closer. “I dunno. Maybe another round would convince me?”

  Another spark of arousal coiled inside me. I playfully nipped his lower lip, which made him shiver. “Let’s find out.”

  9

  Len

  I didn’t know how long Hugo and I spent making love beneath the stars, but by the time I roused, dawn had already broken. I stirred and tried to sit up but found there was a snoring man laying on top of me.

  “Hugo,” I said.

  “Five more minutes, Dax…”

  “Ew.” I laughed. “I’m not your brother.”

  That made Hugo lift his head and see me properly. He sat up and I did the same.

  “Morning already?” he asked with a yawn. He grabbed his clothes and handed me mine. “Damn, I slept like a brick.”

  “You exerted yourself quite a bit last night,” I said wryly, slipping my shirt on. Just the memory of it was almost enough to excite me again.

  He blushed. “Right.”

  “Did you already forget?”

  “No,” Hugo murmured with a smile. “It just felt like a dream, is all.”

  I returned the gesture with flushed cheeks of my own. Hugo was right—it did feel like a dream. He’d confessed to thinking I was his fated mate, and I’d let him claim me with a bite.

  And I didn’t regret any of it.

  I shivered as a flicker of pleasure ran through my body. It was the aftermath of the amazing memories we’d made last night.

  Hugo came inside me, I thought. My stomach flipped with a mix of nerves and joy. I might’ve gotten pregnant.

  My hand drifted subconsciously to my belly.

  “How do you feel?” Hugo asked, which brought me out of my thoughts. “Er, in regard to your heat, I mean.”

  “I feel fine. I think it’s passed,” I told him.

  His brows shot up. “Already?”

  “Hare heats are weird. They hit you like a truck, then disappear.”

  “Oh.” Hugo stared at me thoughtfully for a beat. “Do you think it ended because…”

  I understood his question even though it trailed off. He was wondering if I was already pregnant. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve heard of that happening, but there’s no way of knowing for sure yet.” I grinned. “Why? Disappointed?”

  He huffed. “Yes. After all that cum I pumped into you, there better be a baby.”

  My cheeks turned hotter than fire. Hearing him speak in such a filthy way was going to turn me on again. “Okay,” I said quickly. “I think it’s time we got back to the group.”

  Hugo looped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. The small gesture made my heart flip.

  “Are you sure? I could use some more alone time with you,” he purred in my ear.

  “We have plenty of time,” I scolded him mildly, pressing the tip of my finger to his nose. “Besides, I don’t want your brothers thinking something bad happened.”

  “Dax probably knows what happened,” he said wryly. “He smelled your heat, too.”

  I groaned, slapping my hands over my face in embarrassment. “Of course he did…”

  Hugo’s lighthearted chuckle brought me out of my moment of misery. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re all adults.”

  “Fine,” I mumbled.

  We returned to the others, who were still at the camp. Dax was kicking dirt over the remains of the ashes while Sage lazily stretched. When Dax noticed our approach, he smiled expectantly.

  “Hey, you two,” he said, putting a hand on his hip. “Did you have a fun night out on your own?”

  Sage sat up, his brows furrowed in annoyance. “Geez, you’re finally back! We waited up for you but you never came!”

  Dax rolled his eyes. “I told you not to wait, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “I don’t get it,” Sage mumbled, scratching his head. “Why’d you run off anyway, Len?”

  Hugo and Dax obviously understood the scent of my heat when they smelled it, but apparently Sage didn’t. Maybe it was harder for a fellow omega to recognize heat scent, especially from a different shifter species. Still, his innocence on the matter made me wonder if Sage had ever had a heat at all.

  “I, er… I had my heat last night,” I told him.

  Sage’s eyes widened. “Oh. Ohhh.” He glanced between me and Hugo with sudden understanding. “Oh!”

  “Now he gets it,” Dax muttered. “Can we walk and talk at the same time? I’d like to cover ground today.”

  “Are you okay to run?” Hugo asked me. There had always been a protective glint in his eyes, but now it was even fiercer.

  “I’m fine,” I reassured him. “I don’t even feel the pain anymore, I promise.”

  He grunted. “Okay… But if you do, tell me. I’ll carry you again.”

  I smiled at his willingness to help. I didn’t even argue that I could look after myself—hell, it felt nice to be taken care of.

  We shifted into our animal forms and set off north. We’d only travelled for a few days but already the warren and my past felt far behind. The future was bright and new and it filled me with excitement.

  As we ran, Sage lurked close to me. Even though he was a bit shorter than me as a man, he was huge as a wolf—at least, compared to my hare form. He loomed with his ears pricked curiously, like he wanted to ask me something but was too shy to speak.

  “Yes?” I said.

  “Um… You said you had your heat, right?” Sage murmured.

  “That’s right.”

  He was quiet for a second. He glanced up at Hugo and Dax, who ran ahead of us but not too far.

  “Did it hurt?” Sage asked quietly.

  So I was right. Sage hadn’t had his first heat yet. It was uncommon for adult omegas to have a first heat so late, but it happened. I realized he was probably too embarrassed to ask his alpha brothers about this subject, so I was glad to be here to help him.

  “No, it doesn’t hurt,” I promised. “It can be uncomfortable, though. Not because of pain, but in… other ways.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard,” Sage mumbled with a sigh. “I know it’s weird I haven’t had mine yet, but I don’t want to. It sounds annoying.”

  I laughed. “It is pretty annoying. But you learn to deal with it. I promise there are worse things than going through a heat.”

  Sage smiled mildly. “Thanks, Len.”

  “No problem. I know this isn’t really the type of thing you wanna talk to your brothers about.”

  He groaned. “I’d rather die.”

  “What are you two gossiping about back there?” Dax called from ahead.

  “Nothing,” we replied at once, then giggled unde
r our breath.

  The landscape around us slowly changed from grassland to thick, dark forest. We travelled beneath the cool canopy of the trees. All sound was blanketed by the leafy foliage and layers of dry pine needles covering the ground. I was used to living out in the open, able to see in all directions at once, so being squeezed inside a forest felt a big uncomfortable to me.

  The shrill cry of a hawk hidden somewhere in the canopy made me tense. I shifted to walk as a man because there were too many potential predators for me to relax.

  Hugo pressed close to me, his wolf’s fur warm against my skin. “Are you frightened?”

  “Not so much frightened as claustrophobic, but yeah, a little,” I admitted.

  A protective growl seeped into Hugo’s voice. “You know I won’t let anything happen to you, right?”

  “I know.” I smiled. “I just can’t help my instincts.”

  He nodded. As a predator, he would never fully understand how I felt, but I knew he was trying his best and that’s all I could ask for.

  Hugo nuzzled my thigh with his snout, then lagged behind me so I walked in the middle of the pack. The scene would probably look odd to an outsider—a jumpy man surrounded by three wolf bodyguards.

  As if anyone back home would ever believe this unless they saw it with their own eyes, I thought with a hint of smugness.

  Night descended quickly in the forest and everything turned dark. My night vision wasn’t good in either form, so it made me feel flighty. Even the soft growl in Hugo’s voice behind me made me flinch.

  “Let’s rest here tonight,” Hugo suggested.

  “Why? It’s not even that late,” Sage said, blinking.

  “Sage is right,” Dax said. “It’s early yet. We can still put some ground behind us.”

  Hugo stepped forward, his ears pricked and the hairs on his neck rising. “I said we should rest.” His tone made it clear it wasn’t up for debate.

  Dax walked up to Hugo while Sage slunk back, sensing tension in the air. I felt it, too. Were the brothers going to fight? I bit my lip and watched with unease.