Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 88: Chapter 88

What am I doing?
She moaned as Phoenix slipped his tongue past her lips and devoured her in a kiss so hot, it turned her knees to jelly.
Seems clear enough, Tracey. You are being kissed stupid by a man who claims to be part animal.
Tracey knew she should stop him, and she would. In just another minute. Tangling her tongue with Phoenix’s beneath the light of an almost full moon with the August breeze wafting off the Atlantic to tease and tickle her senses was like the culmination of every fantasy she’d ever had.
Makes sense if you think about it. The man is inhumanly fast and strong. Growly, too.
Wonderful! She was starting to believe all the crazy! Heck, was this even happening at all? Maybe she was still unconscious?
That made much more sense to her than thinking this gorgeous, giant, sexy hunk of hotness was actually devouring her mouth like she was air, and he needed her to survive. Things like that simply didn’t happen to her. And yet. Here she was.
Tracey moaned as his hands traveled from her face down her shoulders to her waist, then hips. He didn’t seem to mind the softness of her frame, the extra packaging on her ass and thighs as he squeezed and fondled her with exquisite care. Her panties were damp, and her breasts swelled with need under his careful ministrations.
Phoenix felt so good pressed up against her. Untamed and dangerous. His body was so big and warm. His stance was a heady combination of protective and possessive. She’d never felt so small and cherished as she did in his arms.
“Want you so bad,” he growled, nipping her chin gently with his teeth and running his tongue along her jaw and neck.
Fuck me. That feels good.
“Mine,” he growled, and the roughly whispered possessive verbiage sent spikes of desire shooting through her veins.
“Get a room!”
Phoenix broke the kiss, turning to growl at whoever yelled the embarrassing yet accurate suggestion. She pushed against him, and he stepped back, turning to face her immediately.
“Shit. I got carried away. Are you alright?” Phoenix asked.
Tracey nodded, but the truth was, no. She wasn’t alright. Not in the least. Her heart was beating like a drum. She’d seen things that night that had her head spinning. The least of which was not the fact that two seconds ago she was practically having sex in public!
“Tracey, please look at me.”
“So, you’re saying you are like the Tiger I saw—what did you call yourself—a Shifter?”
“Yes. Shifters are dual natured, we live with our animals as part of ourselves,” he explained.
“Well, are you even human at all? How does this work? Can I see your Wolf?” she asked, trying to reconcile the world she knew with the one Phoenix had introduced her to.
He took her hand, and she accepted his readily. No matter what was about to happen, Tracey had to be honest, if only to herself. She liked him. More than that. She felt right with him.
It was as if Tracey was more herself with him than with any other person at any other time in her entire life. How was that for a revelation?
“Yes, let me explain. I am a man, but I am more. Shifters share their souls with another creature that exists on a separate plane while we wear our human skin.”
“So, Shifters are part animal?”
“Yes, and no. Our animals are not the same kind you see in the zoo or that live in the wild. They are imbued with magic. A spirit animal, but not so much totem as real and physically manifestable.”
“So, this is real. You are real. What were you saying about mates?”
“Yes. I am real. And so are my feelings for you. Mates are what you would call soulmates. A mate is the one person who completes both sides of a Shifter. Other supes have mates too, but I can only tell you how it is for me.”
“And you are a Wolf.”
“Yes, sort of. My animal is a prehistoric species of Wolf. A Dire Wolf. My beast is ancient, and he is sure you are ours.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yes. I guess you could say that.” Phoenix grinned and squeezed her hand. “There are a lot of different things out there, love. More than I could tell you about or that either of us could imagine⁠—”
“Should I be scared?”
“Of me? Never.”
“Why?”
“One thing at a time, love,” his voice dropped as he spoke.
“Wait, did you say Dire Wolf? Like in that show?”
“Sort of,” he replied. “Dire Wolves are prehistoric versions of the animals that roam so few and far between in the world today. Why are you grinning?”
“It’s just, you’re so tall and golden. Like your hair and skin. I would’ve thought you were an eagle or something.” She shrugged.
“You thought I was a bird?”
He feigned insult, and Tracey couldn’t hold in her laugh. Good. That felt good.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
“And you’re my Dire Wolf, right?” she asked with a grin, and he looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Wait one second,” he replied and looked around as if to ensure they were alone before he unzipped and divested himself of his jeans.
Tracey’s mouth went dry. With his clothes on, Phoenix Tala was the most devastatingly handsome man she’d ever seen. Without them, he was a golden god.
A look of concern passed across his handsome face, but something made him hold his tongue. He stepped back, and Tracey held his gaze. Then, suddenly, the most incredible thing happened.
She watched with rapt attention as his whole body hummed and glowed with pulsating power. A shimmery sheen of golden light surrounded him. She heard the crack and rip of what must have been tendons and bones shattering and re-knitting themselves, but it was too quick for her to be sure. Then poof, Phoenix was gone, replaced by an enormous buff-colored animal.
Tracey gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. The creature was huge, bigger than any Wolf she’d ever seen at the zoo. Even larger than the special bred Great Danes her father kept when she was just a little girl. Of course, she was never allowed to play with those animals. Never allowed to pet them.
Her fingers itched as she stared at the well-behaved Wolf, who was her Phoenix. The beast sat on his haunches, unmoving, completely unthreatening. Under that warm, golden-aquamarine stare, her heart resumed its natural pace.
Tracey felt safe in his presence. Even more so, she felt protected, and something else. Some other elusive emotion emanated from the stunning creature.
“Phoenix?” she whispered his name softly, and the Wolf stood up.
Reaching out with one hand tentatively, she closed her eyes, afraid for a split second she’d misjudged and would soon be missing an appendage. But instead of sharp teeth, she felt soft fur beneath her fingertips.
Phoenix’s Wolf padded towards her slowly. A soft whine escaped his massive maw, and Tracey giggled. She gasped when his cold nose nuzzled her palm, then moved up her arm, stopping at her wrist then on to her shoulder, neck, and cheek.
“Okay. You are much better than any old eagle,” Tracey relented as she ran her hands over his beautiful coat.
He was so big and powerful. She felt the muscles of his chest, and the warmth of his skin beneath the thick, cream colored fur.
Beautiful beast. Dangerous. Sexy. Mine.
Suddenly, her hands were skimming flesh. The Wolf had retreated, and Phoenix was there once more, standing in the cradle of her thighs wearing nothing at all. His body emanated heat, but still she shivered.
Not because she was cold, but because, for the first time in her life, Tracey felt desired. His lusty gaze fell on her lips, and she tensed, ready for him to stake his claim.
“Come on, beautiful. Let’s go before I lose my mind,” he growled.
“But where are we going?” she asked as he tugged on his jeans.
“I promised you a ride. And I don’t want to rush you, Tracey,” he murmured, stealing a kiss before he shrugged his shirt on.
Tracey licked her lips. Yes, she wanted to go for a ride on his Harley, but that was not all she wanted. Was it? The question was, was she ready to do this? To run off with a Wolf biker and to hell with her old life.