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There was an authority and primitive fierceness to the man that called to some deep, dark part of her she’d never known before. His startling blue eyes were in sharp contrast to his dark hair and beard. Her body came alive, and she suddenly understood what it was to be thoroughly aroused by a man. Her nipples stiffened, and her pussy softened and readied itself for him.
As his tongue tangled with hers, his hand came up to cup her breast, rolling the nipple between his thumb and forefinger and giving it a sharp tug. Simone moaned and melted into his hard frame. When his hand moved from her nipple down her body to cover her sex, she thought her knees would buckle. Still, she tried to get free.
“Piatsuk, give in to me. You will not regret it. Our story will be told around the bonfires of our people for all eternity.” She had no idea what he called her, but it sounded incredibly seductive. He rubbed his engorged cock against her backside. He nudged it between her legs, sliding it through her labia until it tickled her clit.
She had to get away. In this man’s arms lay danger and madness. Jerking her head back, she heard his nose crack. She stomped on his instep and called forth her she-wolf… and this time her she-wolf answered and bounded away.
She came back to the present, shaking her head. The problem was, her dire wolf had never come forward. Never. In her mind’s eye, she could see her latent dire wolf—latent because she had never been able to shift and become one with her inner beast. She lurked within, often pacing back and forth, but no matter how hard Simone tried, she could not call her forward.
It had been this way all her life and she had suffered endless teasing and bullying because of it. Everyone in the pack said there was something wrong with her, and her father often looked at her as if he wondered if he was truly her sire.
She called to her she-wolf to become one with her, but instead of rushing forward, she turned and trotted away. Simone could feel the tears starting to form and reached up to brush them away.
“Good, you’re here. I can’t get Father to listen to me at all. He’s sold me off to some terrible dire wolf alpha in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska. How could he do this to me?” GiGi wailed as she crashed into the center of the maze. “What are you doing?” Realizing what it had to be, GiGi sat beside her sister and put her arm around her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come bursting in here like that. I know this is one of the places you try. No luck, I take it?”
“None. What is wrong with me? Everyone else in the pack starts shifting when they’re kids, but not me. Don’t worry, everyone said. It’ll happen in your teens. I’m long past my teens, GiGi, and I still can’t shift. I’m a dire wolf—one of the most lethal shifters alive, but I can’t become one. I’m stuck in my pudgy, human form.”
“You are not pudgy.”
Simone gave her the side-eye.
GiGi smiled. “You aren’t. You’re curvy. Some of the top fashion designers are looking for girls with your kind of curves to walk the runway.”
“Curvy and klutzy. I’m pretty sure they don’t want me tripping over my own two feet.”
“It’ll come, Simone. I know it will. You just put so much pressure on yourself. You want to be perfect. But I don’t know that shifting is all it’s cracked up to be. I mean all your clothes disappear, and you never get them back. I’ve lost some outfits I really loved because of that. Besides which, it can be embarrassing if it happens in the wrong place.”
“You keep telling me that, but so far, nothing.”
“Quit fretting. You know I’m always right.” GiGi leaned into her sister. “Now, here’s the thing. Papa says he will not be deterred, which means it’s up to us…”
“Us? How did you not wanting to get married become my problem?”
“Because you are far cleverer than I, little sister. You must help me. Do you want me to be unhappy the rest of my life? Do you know how cold Alaska is?” GiGi shuddered. “So quit worrying about your own selfish needs and help me. We need to come up with a plan to get me out of this marriage.”
Simone smiled. Of course, she would help GiGi. She’d been getting her older sister out of trouble most of their lives. She just needed a way to deter the alpha from the Tangled Vines pack. Then her sister would be saved, and Simone could go back to her quiet little life.
But what if I no longer want that quiet little life?
CHAPTER3
MISCHA
The flight from Alaska to Sicily had been long. Thankfully, Mischa was flying in his private plane which meant he was far more comfortable than if he were flying commercial. Even first-class couldn’t compete with a custom jet that included a bedroom, full-size bath with a shower, fully-stocked galley, and relaxing, plush leather seats.
The pilot walked back to where he was sitting—it was always a bit disconcerting to have him walk back to speak with him. Intellectually he knew the plane was on autopilot and they were perfectly safe. Mischa just had to remind himself of that.
“We should be landing in Sicily within the hour. Valentin asked that I check with you to see if this was still what you wanted.”
Mischa smiled ruefully. One thing about Valentin—he never gave up. He was certain many in his pack questioned this decision, but Mischa knew he was right. If dire wolves in general, and his pack in particular, were to thrive, they needed to pay attention to bloodlines and pedigree. The declining numbers in dire wolf shifters were alarming. It hadn’t reached the levels of the Tasmanian devil shifters, but it wasn’t inconceivable that it could.
“Yes, Pyotr; I am sure.” The pilot made a face. “You seem to think I am making a mistake, which I am not. Guiliana, or GiGi, as she is called, is a beautiful woman with an outstanding pedigree, and the children she will bear me will benefit our pack.”
“It isn’t that I disagree. It just seems to me that you talk more about your union with her as a well-thought-out breeding program as opposed to the love and joy your mate should bring you.”
Pyotr had been mated for the past five years, and Mischa did envy him the love and devotion he shared with his mate.
“I appreciate your concern, but who’s to say GiGi and I won’t be blissfully happy, or that I won’t discover she is my fated mate?”
