Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 130: Chapter 130

Thor stood on the periphery of the forest with his eyes closed, and Nica knew he was attempting to communicate with the Wolf inside him. Her own beast stirred. The sound of her thick, shaggy feathers rustling filled the inside of her mind’s eye, and Nica doubled over. She felt sick with the need to shift.
Not safe. Not safe.
But telling her Raven it was not safe to change didn’t seem to do the trick as it had over the past few weeks. Her stomach cramped, and she whimpered. Trying to fight a shift sucked. It was painful in a way she could hardly describe. Like a million tiny needles pricking all over her body, while her gut was twisted, clenched inside a giant vise.
“Nica!” Thor rushed to her, his black eyes glittering at her in the darkness.
“Can’t let her out,” she grunted.
“How long has it been?” he asked, and panic hit her.
He knew her secret. Knew she’d been too afraid to change. For some reason, she felt so ashamed. He deserved a better mate. Someone who was strong enough to get out of a bad situation before it got to the point of no return. Someone who wasn’t afraid of themselves like she was. Tears filled her eyes, and she moaned, falling to her knees. Then he was there, lifting her in his arms and cupping her face, asking her again.
“How long you been keeping her locked up, angel?”
“Since the day I fell, and you caught me,” she replied and saw the horror in his gaze.
He would think she was a coward now, for sure. Sadness filled her at the thought of disappointing him, but Thor merely shook his head. He looked determined and powerful. She saw the mists swirling around him again, and the frank proof he was strong, that he was other was like a wake up call. Thor was magnificent, and at the very least, she could try to be brave for him.
“You’re safe here. You can Shift here with me,” he growled, his response brooked no arguments.
“I can’t. The Crows are watching me, I know they are, and Thor, I never want to go back,” she told him with feeling.
“You can do this, and I promise you will never go back there,” he said, still cupping her cheeks with his hands and kissing her head.
“Look, let me explain, angel.”
Thor stood up and pulled her to her feet. He took her hand, his big one swallowed hers, but she never felt as safe as she did with him. He walked her into the forest behind the parking lot. It ran the length of the property, but Nica had never ventured into the woods before. She had no reason to.
“The forest is ours from just beyond the creek to the property here where the bar, the Pack House, and the smaller houses all sit. This land is the property of the Dire Wolf MC, and any trespassers would violate our claims to this territory. We don’t fall under the purview of the Shifter Council, but we have a longstanding treaty with them.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
It was good to know, but she didn’t understand what it had to do with her very real fear that if she shifted and flew, the Murder would swoop in and attack like the sneaky bastards they were. She frowned, watching Thor as he shook his head, those dark eyes glittering with something that looked a whole lot like mischief and maybe some pride.
She’d seen the man angry, annoyed, serious, and horny, but his teasing face was the one that got her in the gut every single time. Gods, he was gorgeous. Spending the last two days wrapped around each other must have cut into his shaving time, because the two-day-old bristle on his face and head was darker than ever. Nica liked it. A lot. There was something dangerous about a man who looked better the scruffier he got.
“What it means is you can change here any fucking time you want, angel. The same laws that Crow motherfucker is trying to use against us will protect you. I will protect you,” he told her with a wicked grin and a promise in his eyes that settled something inside her.
Her Raven cawed. The animal was tired of being cooped up. She was weaker, unused to being kept from the world. And there as something else, too. She wanted to meet her mate in her feathers, not just her human skin. She needed to connect with him like that.
“Is that what you were talking out with those two men earlier? The twins?”
“The Lowell brothers? Yeah. Those Wolves are lawyers for the Macconwood Pack. They’re the largest Wolf Pack in North America. You see, he didn’t wait for us to get back to him. Jack Branwen went right to the Shifter Council of New Jersey and filed a formal complaint,” he told her in a rush.
“Wait. He challenged you?” she asked, wide eyed.
“Fuck no. He’s too much of a pussy to challenge me. He is making a claim that by Crow law, you are his mate because of the promising ceremony your mother signed off on. But the Lowell boys said it doesn’t hold water. That law is outdated, plus with the increase in female Shifters on the Council, there is no way in hell they’d vote for you to return to a mate you didn’t pick. And even if they did, I already bit you, Nica. You are mine. Anyone who says differently can kiss my big ass,” he growled.
“So, you were busy working this out, looking for ways to take care of me while I was getting massaged and waxed?” Nica laughed, not realizing tears had fallen from her eyes until he wiped them away.
“Who the fuck gave you a massage, angel?” he growled, but she giggled in response.
“A Witch named Helga at the spa we went to in town. She gave me a bikini wax, too. You want one? I can book her for you,” Nica teased.
“Bikini wax?” he murmured, eyebrows high as he mentally pictured what she was saying.
Then he shook his head abruptly, as if he had just processed the rest of what she’d asked him. Nica couldn’t stifle her laugh if she tried.
“Hell no, I don’t want one. Only woman I want touching me is you,” Thor stated, kissing her hungrily, and making her knees weak.
“Good.”
“Good, huh? Possessive little thing, aren’t you?”
“Sorry,” she began, frowning.
“Don’t be sorry. I like it. I’m the same way about you.”
“You are?”
“Yep. Look, this is big between us, angel. Big and good. I feel it in here,” he growled, rubbing his chest.
His focus was so intent on her, Nica’s knees knocked. She swallowed hard, unsure of how to respond. Yes, she felt it, but she couldn’t just say it. Could she? Her Raven cawed, and the air grew heavy and shimmery, making her shiver. Then Thor just switched it off, his eyes cleared, and he grinned, lightening the mood.
“Come on, I swear this will be fun. Oh, I want to tell you something else, too,” he started, heading towards a gigantic oak tree that still had its leaves.
The entire forest was awash in Autumn colors. Greens had given way to reds, golds, purples, and oranges. It was like a painting in a magazine she’d once seen a long time ago. The colors were like a riotous symphony dancing on the early morning breeze. It had to be near four o’clock already, tonight being one of the latter nights that the bar stayed open.
“What did you want to tell me?” she whispered the question.
It felt right to whisper. Awed by all the beauty surrounding them, she turned her eyes back to Thor’s and felt his gaze like hands brushing across her skin with nothing less than wonder. He touched her gently, caressing her face as he spoke, turning her insides to mush.
“The thing is, I think our matebond needs help. You know that telepathic link we have sometimes? It isn’t truly formed. It’s weak, always coming and going, and I believe it is because you haven’t changed in so long. Our animals haven’t had a chance to sync yet, and it’s messing with our connection.”
“Oh, I see. That’s why I can only hear you sometimes in my head,” she whispered, nodding her understanding. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think.”
“Don’t apologize, angel. You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, kissing her knuckles.
“Do you really think it’s safe to shift here?”
“Yes. The Crows have been given strict rules to stay off Dire Wolf lands. As long as you don’t go past our boundaries, you will be fine. I’ll show you where those are.”
“All right, I trust you,” she said, and Thor seemed to light up like the fourth of July.
“Gimme a sec to make sure no one else is here,” he said, stilling her hand when she went to unbutton her jeans.
Nica’s cheeks flamed pink with embarrassment and Thor just swung an arm around her and chuckled deeply. Dang, she loved that sound. She had a feeling the big man didn’t laugh very often, and it warmed her to her soul.
Thor let out two sharp barks and whatever stragglers were about, Pack or not, she was sure they skedaddled. It was definitely not a typical response that she thought he was hot for basically threatening to maim anyone who saw her naked body. But whatever. They were Shifters, not normals, so that was okay.
Mine, the word whispered inside her mind, and Nica shivered with delight.
“Yours,” she repeated aloud, pressing into his side.
With every step closer to the forest and to her first change in weeks, Nica felt their matebond growing stronger, thicker, more powerful. Her Raven flapped her wings, eager to be let out. Her senses felt heightened and that something else about her, the one that sometimes let her see more than she ought to, was vibrant and alert.
She turned her gaze to Thor, and what she saw stole her breath. The man was magic. Pure magic. His whole body seemed awash in glittery black smoke, swirling and dancing around him like those ribbons on a stick she used to play with when she was little. He was magnificent, and Nica was so grateful he was hers.
After he made certain they were alone, Thor nodded his head, giving her the okay to strip out of her clothes. Oh, sure, she’d had all sorts of fantasies about him taking the little bikini she wore, with his teeth preferably, but this was important. Maybe they could get to all that afterwards.
I hope so.
“Don’t worry. You can always put it back on later,” he murmured, and her cheeks burned under his knowing stare.
“You’re reading my mind again,” she murmured, mouth going dry as she watched him shuck off his jeans and his t-shirt.
“Was I reading your mind?”
“Yeah, you were,” he said, raking her with his eyes from head to toe.
He got to her clothes next. Thor was careful, gentle, brushing across her sensitive skin with his fingertips and knuckles. She never knew a man’s hands could be so damn beautiful, but his were. Strong and solid, with long fingers and intricate tattoos across the backs. There were Wolves and a beautiful rendition of a forest with a full moon hanging overhead.
Nica squinted, thinking she saw a bird sitting in a tree, a raven, actually. But then he touched her again, and she lost her train of thought. By the time he was finished, she could hardly speak. Need pulsed through her veins, a living thing, and Nica swayed towards him unsteadily.
Need. Want.
He made her feel like a goddess when he looked at her and touched her so carefully. Thor was the only man who ever made her come completely undone with just his eyes. Hell, any second now, she was going to drop to the floor to worship at his feet.
Maybe she would. After she shifted, though. Not before.