Cora Zane 02 Bonding Experience

Bonding Experience

www.cobblestone‐press.com

Bonding Experience

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Bonding Experience

ISBN: 1‐60088‐037‐1

Cover Artist: Sable Grey

Editor: Rochelle Weber

Excerpt from Crossing Borders by Cora Zane

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in reviews.

Cobblestone Press, LLC

www.cobblestone‐press.com

Cora Zane

DEDICATION

To my loving husband, Jason.

Fifteen years is just the beginning.

Bonding Experience

Chapter One

Claire absently wiggled her pen between her fingers and thought,

It’s far too pretty outside to be working! She frowned and rested her chin in
her palm, momentarily ignoring the slew of invoices sheʹd sorted into
three messy piles. From her perch behind the cash register, she could see
directly out the hardware store’s shady window‐front—a terrible
distraction. It was Saturday, and the traffic along Main Street seemed to
flow in an endless, colorful knot.

She sighed and pulled herself back from a daydream. She knew she

was only prolonging the inevitable. Whether she wanted to do them or
not, the books had to be completed, and they werenʹt going to balance
themselves.

She’d just put pen to paper when the door to the street opened,

causing the chimes to jangle and a rush of warm wind to sweep inside.
Claire slapped an arm across the stacks of invoices to keep them from
flying away, and looked up again, doing a double take when she noticed
Austin Maddox heading straight toward her.

“Hey, Austin. What can I do for you this morning?”
“Nothing much, Claire. Just came by to drop this off.”
The scarred werewolf rarely spoke to anyone, and even now he

barely met her eyes as he set an envelope on the counter and tapped it
sharply with a finger. Before she could ask him what it was about, he
tipped his cowboy hat at her, and turned on his heel. He was out of her

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Uncle’s store as quickly as he’d entered it.

For a long minute, Claire stared after him in confusion; then she

dropped her gaze to the large yellow envelope he’d left behind. She
picked it up and turned it over, and at once her heart began to pound.
There was no to or from address, only her name handwritten on the front
in big, black letters—Claire Vaught.

A frisson of unease swept through her, and she almost dropped the

envelope. A part of her knew it was from Seth Parker, their pack leader,
before she even opened it.

“That looks like a council letter.”
Claire glanced up at the voice, and found her Uncle Albert standing

in the doorway of the storage room, watching her with glittering eyes that
peeked over the rim of his glasses. There was only one reason she would
get a pack letter, and they both knew what that reason was—she’d been
promised to someone as a mate.

A tremor ran through her, sending a wave of goose bumps racing

over her skin. She didn’t know why she should feel so unnerved when
actually on some level she’d been expecting it. After all, she was thirty‐
three and still unclaimed. How unlikely was that?

It wasn’t like she didn’t want pups, or that she hadn’t tried to find a

suitable mate. She’d just never been very successful with the males. No
one who’d ever asked her out stuck around past a second date, so of
course it had crossed her mind on more than one occasion that Seth might
eventually arrange a mating pact for her.

Here was the tangible proof that she was right.
Claire swallowed hard and shifted her gaze back to the letter. She

puffed up her courage and ripped it open with trembling hands.

“So who’s the lucky fellow?”
Claire took out the single page and flipped it, ignoring the

formalities. She scanned for the name, and the instant she saw it, her
breath seized in her lungs and her insides clenched into an anxious,
fluttery knot.

“Luke Roman?” she said incredulously. An odd, electric feeling

skittered up her spine. There had to be a mistake. She flipped the page

Bonding Experience

over and reread it from the beginning, paying special attention the
wording. It was indeed a mating pact.

Stunned by the revelation, Claire read the name three more times

before it finally sank in. “I’m being mated off to Luke Roman?” She
dropped the letter to her side and scowled at her Uncle. “Is Seth out of his
mind?”

The older werewolf shrugged. “I can only assume he had your best

interests in mind when he made the match.”

She snarled at that. Best interests my ass! Uncle Albert was clearly

going senile. Her best interests involved staying as far away from Luke
Roman as possible. The overbearing, hotshot werewolf lived to torment
her—a trend that had started in high school and still carried on to this
day. How many times in the last month had she left work to find him
leaning against her car?

Oh, this is bad. This is serious! She refolded the letter and reached

under the counter to tuck it into her shoulder bag.

“I’m going to take off for a while, Uncle Al. Do you mind?”
“Go ahead.” He grumbled and waved her away. “After all, that’s

what I pay you for. To take off… wander around town…” As he lumbered
back into the store room she could’ve sworn he muttered something that
sounded suspiciously like “good ole Luke”.

Claire gritted her teeth and pretended she hadn’t heard him say

that. Luke might be well liked in the community, but he certainly wasn’t
the right match for her.

She tugged her purse strap over her shoulder and started toward

the door. She hated to leave when she had so much work to do, but this
was an emergency. Only one thing could possibly help her get through
this situation. She needed to talk to Susie—and fast. If anyone could put
things into perspective, her best friend could.

*****

The busy, stop‐start traffic along Main Street lost some of its appeal

once Claire was outside the hardware store and walking toward Clark’s

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Café. The warm air and sunshine felt good on her skin, but she was far too
edgy to enjoy it. Luke Roman... The name alone made her feel all self‐
conscious and squirmy inside. Of all the available males within their pack,
she’d landed him! Claire shook her head, still quite unable to believe it.

She could hardly wait to hear what Susie had to say about this

pending disaster. Certainly she would pass along the same advice Claire
herself already had in mind—go to Seth about it and try to get the pact
overturned. It seemed the most logical thing to do. And yet part of her
wanted—no, needed—to hear Susie’s thoughts on the situation first. After
all, Susie had been there. She’d witnessed how Claire had wrangled with
Luke during high school; she’d seen how he and his friends had followed
Claire around, making it a daily ritual of blocking her locker, of taking her
books and car keys, and thumping her with those stupid paper footballs
during lunch—bunch of jerks!

Claire brooded. Remembering those past aggravations only served

to cement her convictions against a pact with Luke. How on earth could this
have happened? She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and wondered.
Enough of Luke’s friends were on the pack council to know their past
history. Surely at least one of the twelve members had made mention of it
at the pact hearing—if there had been a hearing.

She really didn’t know too much about pack politics, but it seemed

to her if Seth and the council were really looking out for a bitch’s best
interest, they’d at least ask enough questions about her past to make a
suitable match. You didn’t just throw two incompatible people together
and hope for the best.

Or maybe that had been the whole point? Claire worried her lower

lip with her teeth. Maybe Luke had enemies on the council, and they had
chosen her out of spite. Or even worse, maybe theyʹd chosen to mate her
off to Luke as a joke!

Claire cringed at the thought. If it was all a joke, she wasn’t

laughing. The idea was positively horrifying, and secretly she dared
someone—anyone—to come out and say something to her about either
Luke Roman or mating pacts in the way of humor. She’d set their hair on
fire! She’d ring their narrow necks! And if that didn’t work, she’d shift

Bonding Experience

into her fur and eat their hearts for breakf—

“Eeesh!”
Claire skid to a halt at the corner of Main and Third, her heart

doing a crazy flip as her gaze fell on Luke Roman with no less than five of
his buddies hanging out in front of the café. A streak of pure panic arched
through her body so strong and fast the fine hairs on her arms stood on
end.

She hung back near the corner, her pulse pounding in her throat.

She hadn’t expected to come across Luke so soon, and seeing him sent her
thoughts scattering in a thousand different directions.

In quick, thoughtless motions she glanced down at her jeans,

touched her hair, and dusted the front of her shirt. Cripes, she was a mess!
Then it dawned on her that Luke might not yet know about the pact, and
her breath hitched in terror. What would she say to him? Or even worse—
if he did know—What would he say to her!

She almost turned tail and ran, but something kept her frozen in

place. Instead of ducking for cover, she stood staring at him and his work
crew, her jaw clenched and her hand gripped her purse strap so tight her
knuckles were white. And then it suddenly came clear to her what she
was seeing and a slow anger crept over her.

Why that arrogant, pompous jerk!
Claire’s eyes narrowed and her spine stiffened. Just what the hell

did he think he was doing? Clark’s was her territory; it always had been.
It wasn’t a place for him and his knot‐head friends! And yet there he was,
pretty as you please, leaning against that shiny blue truck with Roman
Construction and Carpentry printed on the side of it, looking for all the
world like this was a place he patronized every day.

Like anyone would believe he belonged outside of her café!
Claire raked him over from dark brown hair to steel‐toed boots,

and her blood boiled. Gods, even in dusty jeans and a T‐shirt he was a
gorgeous: Tall and tanned and leanly muscular. He was sporting a few
lines by his eyes these days, but that only served to enhance his rugged
good looks. On a nicer, less pesky man Claire would have been head over
heels. It really wasnʹt fair.

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While she watched, one of the men next to Luke said something

that was apparently amusing. She was too far away to hear what was said
even with her keen hearing, but Luke suddenly smiled, a gesture that
eased his sharp, aristocratic features and prompted him to reveal a flash of
straight white teeth. The effect was dazzling. Devastating. It speared her
soul like a beam of sparkling light. Claire snarled at herself in disgust.

That was it. She’d seen enough. She decided to back away and

return to the hardware store before anyone noticed her. It was a good idea
in principle; however, the second she shifted backward, Cliff—one of
Luke’s buddies—looked up and his gaze zeroed in on her.

Too late! Sheʹd been spotted. Claire cursed under her breath, her

insides twisting nervously as Cliff nodded in her direction, tipping off the
others to her presence.

“Oh, great,” she muttered.
Heat flared in her face, and without even realizing it, she scanned

around for a place to hide. Of course, there’d be no avoiding them now.
They knew she was there. She’d have no choice but to weather the lot of
them until they decided to leave her alone. What was worse, it was
Saturday, so the idiots probably had nothing better to do than stick
around and give her grief.

No sense prolonging the inevitable. She took a deep breath, and started

forward. Might as well get it over with…

Hoping they would allow to her pass by without incident, she

gritted her teeth and trudged up the sidewalk, keeping her eyes averted
and trying her best to appear nonchalant.

“Hey, Claire!”
She bristled. She would’ve recognized Luke’s voice anywhere.
“Mike Daniels is throwing a party out at his place tonight. You

gonna be there?”

“Oh sure, I’ll be there,” she replied coolly. She never stopped

walking, flipping her long chestnut hair over a shoulder while pinning
him with her blazing aqua gaze. “Hold your breath ‘til that happens!”

Rough male laughter followed her the rest of the way up the block.
Party indeed… Was he for real? Luke had to think she was really

Bonding Experience

thick to fall for that old “hey, you’re invited” line again. The one and only
time she and Susie had ever been invited to a pack party, Luke and his
friend Shane Dickens had turned the water hose on them within ten
minutes of their arrival. Claire had never quite figured out why they did
it, and she had sworn then and there she’d never accept an invitation from
either of them again. She sure wasn’t about to relinquish her sanity this
late in the game.

The cowbells tied to the door handle clanked as she pushed her

way into Clark’s. It was around ten o’clock and the breakfast rush was
over, so most of the booths and bistro tables were empty—all the better
for a private discussion. Claire went straight over to the soda bar where
Susie was busy buffing the countertop with a checkered rag. Her friend
looked up as she approached.

“Hey, girl, how’s it going?”
“I swear you wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.” Claire hopped up

onto one of the bar stools and began rummaging through her bag. She set
the council letter on the countertop and waited, watching Susie’s
expression run from confusion to astonishment when she realized what
she was looking at.

“Claire, that’s a promise letter! Oh my god, you’re going to be

mated!”

“To Satan himself. Have a look.”
Susie already had the letter open and was reading it. She shifted

her stance now and again, her eyes rapidly scanning over the paper. She
flipped the page, looking for more, then made a gasping sound as she
reached the crème de la crème of bad news.

Claire nodded and made a rolling motion with her hand for her to

get on with it. A second later, Susie dropped the letter to her side and
gaped at her, one hand shooting up to cover her grinning mouth.

“Well, what do you think?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Susie whispered, her brown eyes

twinkling with excitement. “Luke Roman. You lucky bitch!”

“Lucky?” Dismayed, Claire snapped the letter from her friend’s

fingers and folded it. “Are you out of your mind?”

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“Oh, girl, don’t be such a prude. Do you know what I’d do if I

found out I was going to be mated to someone like Luke?” Susie leaned
forward across the bar, and started to say something that was probably
going to be more than a little tacky, when all at once the cowbells clanked
on the entrance door and she stepped back, her mouth snapping shut.

Claire shut her eyes for patience and sighed. She didn’t dare look;

she already had a pretty good idea who had just come in.

“Hey, Luke.” Susie nodded at him in greeting then looked at Claire,

her eyes wide and intense, and positively gleaming.

Claire groaned inwardly. She recognized that expression. Susie

only looked like that when she was trying really, really hard to hold her
tongue about something. Just to be safe, she cut her friend a warning
glance that said, Don’t you dare! The entire situation was nerve rattling
enough without any outside interference.

Luke slid onto a stool beside Claire and leaned his tanned arms up

on the counter. “Susie, could you get us a couple of sodas?” Then he
turned to Claire, tapped his fingers restlessly on the counter, and nodded
toward the corner of folded paper sticking out of the top of her purse. “I
see you got the letter.”

“Oh, I certainly did,” she said a little breathlessly. Her heart was

pounding so hard she worried Luke could actually see it.

“So what do you think about it? You and me?”
“Are you serious?”
He looked confused. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Claire didn’t have an answer for that, but all the same, a sudden

sadness came over her—one she couldn’t quite explain. She turned on the
barstool to look at him fully, and had to swallow the sudden lump in her
throat. He was sitting so close to her, she could smell the spicy scent of his
aftershave.

“This is some kind of joke, isn’t it?”
He shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
He sounded sincere enough, but Claire was skeptical. It was all too

cut and dried, too easy. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something
seemed fishy about the whole scenario. Luke… well, he wasn’t being his

Bonding Experience

usual pesky self.

She narrowed her eyes. “So if I go to Seth about this, he’ll tell me

the letter is genuine? That’s actually his signature on there?”

“Of course.”
“Because I am going to ask him, you know.”
“That’s fine with me, honey. Go right ahead and ask him.” Luke

nodded a silent ‘thank you’ to Susie when she set their drinks in front of
them, then looked back at Claire. “Now about Mike’s party tonight—“

“Let me guess,” Claire said sardonically, any softening of emotions

she’d felt toward him coming to a screeching halt at the mention of the
word ‘party’. “You’ve got a water hose with my name on it.”

She snapped her purse off the counter and rose to her feet, cutting

Luke off with a wave of her hand when he started to speak. “Oh, don’t
bother to explain. I think I’ve pretty much got the gist of it. I show up at
Mike’s, you soak me down, and ha‐ha, everyone look at Claire! Well, you
know what? I’d have to be really dumb to fall for that trick again!”

“Claire, it’s not like that.”
“Oh, isn’t it?” She asked curtly as she maneuvered past him,

jerking away from him when he tried to catch her hand. “You know, you
really need to grow up. Susie!” She called on her way to the door. “Talk to
you later, girlfriend.”

Susie was at the back of the café bussing a table near the restrooms.

She looked up, startled. “Hey, where’re you running off to?”

“To find Seth,” Claire flung over her shoulder, her tone flippant

and angry. “It’s high time I had a little chat with him about this ‘pact’
business!”

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Chapter Two

She should’ve known she couldn‘t get away from Luke that easily.

Over the years he’d proven, for better or worse, he was one persistent
guy.

She’d barely pushed the door all the way open when she felt him

behind her—right on her heels. The second they were outside the café, he
gripped her elbow and began steering her down the street.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Walking my mate to her car.”
“I’m not your mate, yet,” she hissed. “And I didn’t come in my

car.”

“Then, I guess I’m walking my mate back to her work.”
Claire started to say something biting to that, but they were passing

Luke’s co‐workers, some of whom were wolves from their pack. She
clammed up in a heartbeat, her full mouth compressing into a tight line.
The last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene in front of fellow wolf‐
kind. After her earlier display, her waspish comments, to relent now
meant she’d never live it down. They’d never let her.

She stiffened her spine and kept an eagle eye on them—the ones

she recognized— silently daring even one of them to start howling at her
or cracking jokes. She’d crack their skulls. Flay them alive! They were
mercifully silent, however, and Luke nodded to them as they passed.

Claire held her tongue until they clipped the corner, edging onto

Bonding Experience

Main Street, but as soon as they were out of sight of his friends she
snatched her arm from his grasp and rounded on him. “If you think I’m
going to mate with you, you’re out of your mind!”

Luke’s expression darkened. Straight, dark brows drew down over

deep brown eyes that had gone suddenly cold and hard. Claire had never
seen Luke look quite like that—provoked, incited—not once in the fifteen
years she’d known him. It was more than a little disconcerting.

He surged toward her, forcing her to take a backward step, and she

swallowed hard when her back connected with the brick wall of the
National Bank.

Luke leaned close, propping his hand up next to her head. “Let’s

just clear the air here and now, pumpkin, and say it straight. What is it
you don’t like about me exactly?”

Claire swallowed hard. “You want to know? You really want to

know?”

“Yes, I do.”
She opened her mouth to give him an earful—then hesitated. Luke

seemed so much more intimidating up close, so much larger and more
dominating than the familiar pest she normally thought him to be. But
then her ire got the best of her. No matter how big and tough he was—she
had to say something. If she didn’t; she’d implode on the spot.

“O‐okay,” she began in a stammering fury. “For one thing, you’re

arrogant—and annoying. And well, you’re always—” She opened her
mouth to speak, then hesitated as her memory suddenly failed her. “Well,
you sit on my car, for goodness sake! What’s that about? And you’re…
Well, you’re—”

“Oh, I see,” Luke smirked. “So it’s a big long line of sins I have.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she raged, and gave him a hard shove in

the chest that barely moved him an inch. “You were with every freaking
cheerleader in high school at one time or another, Mr. Werewolf Stud, so
let’s not paint you as a saint just yet!”

Luke’s eyes clouded in confusion, and Claire’s face flamed bright

pink. Embarrassment curled through her like a burst of unfurling ribbons,
because even to her she’d sounded quite jealous of his ex‐girlfriends—

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which was absolutely, completely ridiculous.

“Look, I have to get back to work,” she snapped, a last‐ditch effort

to rectify the situation, to sound reasonable instead of desperate for an
easy out. But she was cut short of an escape when, out of the blue, Luke
cupped his hand around the back of her neck.

He leaned in and cheeked her face with his own, his day old beard

stubble abrading the sensitive skin of her face. The long nuzzling motion
drove the scent of his sun‐warmed skin straight to her brain, the scent of
potent male arousal striking her like a bolt of lightning—sharp and
sudden, infusing her with a blaze of heat.

Claire gurgled, her hands coming up like claws to grip his shirt and

push him away. She’d never been so aware of anyone in her life! She
gasped for air and pushed back against the wall, going up on her toes to
stifle the delicious wave of pheromones.

Luke rumbled under his breath and took full advantage of the

opening. He nipped the base of her throat like a savage, snarled delicious
intent against her skin—all this in a quick, aggressive quest to cover her
mouth with his own. He found her lips, his probing tongue commanding
entrance.

Lust surged through her like liquid fire. Luke was ravenous. His

tongue plunged and darted and delved. Stroked inside her the way she
imagined he would stroke inside her elsewhere. Wetness gathered. A
pulse beat in her sex. Claire squirmed as thrilling sensation blossomed in
her stomach so high and heady, it threatened to drown her. She sucked his
tongue and a feeling of tight, clenching pleasure pooled low, begging to
be released.

She settled her hand against his abs for balance and Luke made a

rumbling noise deep in his chest. He was gloriously hard. She could feel
his erection pressing hot against her hip. They were standing on the
corner of Main Street in broad daylight necking like teenagers, and yet
Claire couldn’t find the strength to stop it, to say no. It was like a sensual
spell had been cast over her. She couldn’t get enough of him.

At last Luke pulled back enough to look down at her, and those

fierce brown eyes glittered at her like mahogany stars. They were both

Bonding Experience

breathless and trembling, and Claire could smell it all over him—he
wanted to fuck.

“Let me get my truck,” Luke rasped, a sudden eagerness in his

voice. He pressed his forehead to hers so she had no choice but to look
him in the eyes. “It’ll only take a minute then we’ll go wherever you want.
We can be alone for a while, talk this through. I swear we’ll do whatever
you want—nothing more, nothing less.”

Claire’s eyes slipped closed and she shuddered at the hot feeling of

his breath against her neck. Luke kissed her one, twice, waiting for her
consent. The feel of his hot fingers absently stroking the curve of her hip
only added to the temptation.

Oh, gods, she wanted… She wanted him so badly in that moment,

it was like dying. Her pussy throbbed and her heart felt like a constricted
knot. She ached for him. Ached!

I‘ve gone completely stupid, she chided herself.
“I can’t do this,” she muttered shakily, and pushed away from him.

To be so close to him was insanity. But Luke wasn’t about to relent so
easily. He held her tight, refusing to let her slip away from him.

“Why can’t you?” His tone was stern, determined. “No, Claire,

don’t do that. Look at me. Hey!” He forced her to look at him when she
otherwise wouldn’t have held his gaze. “Don’t shut me out—tell me. Tell
me why you can’t.”

She took a deep, awkward breath, but couldn’t speak, couldn’t

form the words. She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. How could she
possibly look him in the eyes and tell him the thought of being alone with
him was too terrifying—too tempting.

Claire squeezed from between his body and the wall, but not

without glimpsing the sudden light that came into his eyes—a sharp,
scrutinizing expression that worried her.

“My god…”
“W‐what?”
“You’re running.” He sounded like he’d just made the discovery of

the century. She bared her teeth slightly, and in response he touched the
side of her face—a touch so gentle, a warm tingling feeling washed over

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her.ʺ

“What is it you’re running from, Claire? Is it me?”
His question knocked the wind out of her. Her heart leapt to her

throat. He was so close to the truth, her face flushed.

She jerked away from him as though his touch burned. She

wouldn’t have touched that one question—not in a million years. Let him
think what he wanted. Claire turned on her heel and started across Main
Street in a hasty jaunt, determined to put distance between them—far and
fast.

Bonding Experience

Chapter Three

Luke yelled something at her as she crossed to the opposite

sidewalk, but by then the light had changed and traffic was falling in
behind her so it sounded like nothing more than a garbled mess. It didn’t
matter anyway. She felt too rattled to continue their conversation—if you
could call making out in front of the bank in broad daylight much of a
conversation. Without looking back, she lifted her arm in a curt,
dismissive wave. She hoped Luke would take the hint.

He couldn’t possibly understand, and she certainly couldn’t tell

him, but she needed to be away from him before her brain went into
terminal meltdown. Gods, what had she been thinking? Could she have
made a bigger ass out of herself today? Necking on the street like some…
some… bitch in heat!

Cripes, what a scene. It was the weekend and traffic was busy. Half

the tongue‐wags in town had probably gotten an eyeful. If Luke hadn’t
mentioned his truck when he did, who knew what might’ve happened?
Arrest for indecent exposure? Claire wiped a hand over her forehead and
cringed. She’d be dinner‐table gossip tonight, for sure.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, darn it, when did it get so blazing

hot outside? Sure, it was July, but it was only around eleven in the
morning and already it was so hot, sweat trickled down her sides. Blame
that on the lack of shade, she thought with a grimace, glancing around
with squinty eyes. There wasn’t tree one to be found along the street she
was walking. The sun beat down on her, roasting the back of her navy

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shirt and baking the top of her head.

Claire stopped in mid‐stride to dig around in her bag for her

sunglasses, and all at once she realized she had absolutely no idea where
she was going. She quit her rummaging and looked around. Really looked
around. When she’d left Clark’s, it had been her intention to go back to the
hardware store. Boy, had she overshot that by a country mile!

She turned in a circle where she stood, lifting her arms away from

her sides in frustration. “Great. I don’t even know where the hell I am!”

Glancing back, she couldn’t even see Main Street anymore, which

meant she had to be at least seven blocks away from the strip. She’d been
putting on the Werekind speed and hadn’t even realized it.

Claire tucked a glossy lock of hair behind her ear and squinted in

the sun, trying to get her bearings. The houses along this street didn’t look
too familiar. To her left, a long stretch of chain‐ink fence ran the length of
the block and around the corner, guarding a grassy back lot connected
to—Ravine Elementary!

Why, at the most, she was probably three blocks from home—on

the wrong end of Carter Drive. She was ten blocks from the store! How
she’d managed to wander this far without realizing it was utterly
exasperating.

“See! See that!” she griped to no one, to herself. “Yet another reason

not to like Luke Roman. Twenty minutes in his presence and I completely
lose my mind!”

*****

Ten minutes later Claire cut across the shady green lawn and

tromped up the trio of front steps to the porch of her white, one‐bedroom
house. She was hot and grumpy, and sweating like a beast by the time she
reached the door to let herself inside. Bet Luke wouldn’t want to cuddle up to
me just now, she thought wryly.

She let the screen door fall closed behind her with a bang, and left

the main, wooden door open to catch the breeze because it was too darn
hot, by far, and because it would be at least Wednesday before the

Bonding Experience

repairman came to fix her air conditioner.

In the den, she paused at the entry table, gripping the granite edge

so she could kick her sandals off into the corner. For a moment after her
shoes were off, she just stood there with her eyes closed, savoring the feel
of the cool, hardwood floors under her bare feet. What a relief it was to be
home!

It seemed dark inside the house after her walk in the open sun. Her

vision was still cloudy and adjusting to the dimmer lighting as she
sauntered through the living room and dining area to the quiet, shady
coolness of the kitchen.

Out of habit she picked up the wall phone and started to dial her

Uncle to tell him where she was and when she’d be back. At the last
minute she decided against it. Claire hung up the phone, and smoothed
her hands over her hair. Uncle Al had told her it was okay to take off, and
she was going to do just that. After the morning she’d had, she needed the
time alone to refresh and reflect. Besides, it was close to lunch time. He’d
probably already closed up shop for an hour to go gab with his hunting
buddies and have a sandwich…which sounded quite good, actually.

Since Claire was already in the kitchen, she went to the fridge and

poked around. There was nothing for a sandwich, but she poured a glass
of lemonade and put a pizza pocket in the microwave. While waiting for
the timer, she pushed through the side door to her bedroom and began
stripping out of her shirt and jeans. A quick shower would do her good.

Wearing only a bra and a lacy thong, she stepped into the tiny,

white‐and‐rose tiled bathroom and turned on the taps.

Gods, what a day! She couldn’t get over it—a mating pact. Even

more bizarre: Her. Luke. Making out—in public. Why hadn’t anyone
warned her hell had frozen over?

She moved in front of the lavatory to finish getting undressed, and

while she combed the heavy fall of hair, she looked into mirror above the
sink, into sea‐crystal eyes that were still shaken and a little worried, and
muttered to her reflection, “Luke Roman. Luke and Claire Roman…”

Her heart did a nervous flip as she tested the name.
The microwave timer went off in the kitchen right as she stepped

Cora Zane

into the bathtub and drew the curtain shut. She ignored it, and turned on
the showerhead. Thinking her lunch would be just cool enough to eat by
the time she got out, Claire tilted her face up to the spray and closed her
eyes, letting the water flow over her and soak her hair.

Her shower lasted less than five minutes. She lathered up with a

loofah, and just as quickly rinsed off. Even in that short amount of time,
the steady beat of the water against her back worked to relax her. Feeling
better than she had all morning, Claire turned off the taps and squeezed
the water out of her hair.

When she dragged the curtain back, the bathroom was hot and

steamy, and smelled heavily of her orange blossom shower gel. A small
smile curved her mouth as she wrapped up in a towel, and left the
bathroom in the direction of her closet.

“I always wondered what this room looked like.”
Claire nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected male voice.

A breathless squawk left her lips, and she wheeled around so fast she
stumbled and almost lost her grip on the towel. When her eyes connected
with Luke, she was so stunned, she could only gape at him in horror.

He was leaning against the edge of her dresser, looking quite

comfortable with himself. His tanned, corded arms were folded over his
taut chest. His booted feet were crossed at the ankles. Pale and startled,
Claire shoved at her hair.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” she demanded shrilly.

“You can’t just barge in here!”

“I didn’t barge in,” Luke said, with a look of dull fascination. “I

waited patiently.”

“I don‘t care how patiently you waited. You‘re not welcome here!”

A trembling finger pointed toward the bedroom door, while her other
hand fought to keep a grip on the towel. “Well, what are you waiting
for?” she fairly shrieked at him. “You heard what I said—Get out!”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Luke drawled, and in a smooth motion

of defiance, he looked aside at the contents on the top of her dresser and
plucked up an ivory silk scarf printed with butterflies. “We’ve got a lot to
talk about, and at least here we’re in close enough confines that you can’t

Bonding Experience

just walk out on me.”

“That’s what you think!” she blustered, watching him tug her scarf

through his hands like a smooth, furred pet. Glaring at him, she started
toward the doorway to the kitchen, only to pull up short when he
snapped upright from the dresser, looking very much like he was going
pounce on her.

Claire stiffened and drew back from him, her womb clenching in a

tense, giddy warning. It wasn’t so much his sudden movement that gave
her pause, as it was the fierce light of determination that flared to life in
his eyes.

“Fine,” she grated, backing down. “Say what’s on your mind and

get it over with.”

“I will when you’re acting rationally.”
“When I’m acting rationally? Hello! You’re in my house uninvited.

Have you never heard of breaking and entering?”

“Give it a rest, Claire. There’s no one around to hear your sniping,”

he said roughly. “The pact gives me every right to be here, and even if it
didn’t, Aunt Missy gave me the keys—not that I actually needed them.
Anyway, who the hell actually leaves their door unlocked these days? ”

“Wait. My Aunt Missy gave you the keys?”
“That’s what I just said.”
Claire looked doubtful. “And I guess I’m supposed to just believe

you?” she mocked, shaking her head. “You’ve got some nerve, you know
that? I can take a lot of things, but the very idea that you’d drag that sweet
old woman into this is the last straw!” Glaring daggers, she brushed past
him on her way to the phone on her night stand. “I should’ve done this
from the start. You’re impossible. And it’s clear we aren’t compatible in
the least—all we do is fight.”

Luke followed her around the bed, his brown eyes narrowed

suspiciously. He tossed the scarf. “Who are you calling?”

“Who do you think?”
Luke held back, but he watched her intently as she put the phone to

her cheek and started to dial.

“I don’t know whose brilliant idea this was to pair us up,” she

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muttered under her breath. “Mr. Pack Leader needs to get it together; this
just isn’t working. It’s insanity! A mating pact between veritable strangers!
We’ll kill each other inside a week!”

“He’s not going to change his decision, Claire.”
“You don’t know that!” She covered the mouthpiece with her hand,

and scowled at him. “Obviously Seth didn’t know our history when he
matched us; how we’ve hated each other since high school and—hey!”

She gasped in outrage as he snatched the phone out of her hands.
“I never hated you,” Luke grumbled. “And I’m telling you Seth’s

not going to change his decision.”

“So you keep telling me! But, if you’re really so certain he’ll shoot

me down, I don’t see why you’d care if I called him up and—“

“I requested you, Claire!”
Shock rendered her speechless. Their gazes tangled. A funny,

breathy noise escaped her lips when she realized he was absolutely
serious. Feeling mildly dizzy, she gripped the headboard of her bed where
the metal rail curved down, and gawked at him in numb stupor.

Luke let out a gruff laugh. “Have I finally managed to shut you

up?”

He set the phone down heavily on its cradle and leaned toward her

in such a way, that the fine hairs stood up all over her body. “Is it finally
sinking in that this arrangement was no accident?”

He raised his arms out at his sides in frustration, and let them drop.

“I thought for sure someone would have told you by now, or that maybe
you’d figured it out for yourself, but since that doesn’t appear to be the
case, here’s the truth of it: I stood up in front of about 40 witnesses at last
week’s pack meeting and told Seth Parker I wanted you for my mate.”

“But I thought… A long time ago, you said…“ She brought a hand

up to her forehead as a million emotions flashed through her at once:
shock, flattery, thrilling elation… “Why on earth would you do something
like that?”

“Because I want you, that’s why!”
He advanced toward her like a predator stalking prey, hot eyes

raking her nearly‐naked body from head to toe. Claire couldn’t move,

Bonding Experience

couldn’t take her eyes from him; he was breathtaking… like a delicious
dream—all feral lupine; all glorious, dominant male. He closed her into
the tiny niche between the bed and the nightstand, and towered over her
in a bid for dominance, his eyes insistent and glittering like dark stars. He
stared her down in silent challenge, daring her to deny him.

How could she? Why would she?
Claire was breathing so heavily she practically gasped for air. Her

eyes leveled on the rapid rise and fall of his chest, and her legs quivered in
anticipation. Liquid heat gathered in the hollow of her stomach; a knot of
sweet, throbbing pressure began to pulse between her thighs. Her heart
thumped almost painfully. Was he going to touch her again? Kiss her like
he had on the street?

“Look at me.” It was a demand—nothing less.
It was hard, oh, so hard, to look him in the eyes.
Nevertheless she matched his gaze and a palpable tension crackled

between them. Her lips parted slightly. One look at the passion so evident
on his face, and a flare of desire whipped through her, bringing high color
to her cheeks. She swallowed convulsively. One second Luke was
studying her face, and the next he had her in his arms and they were all
over each other.

Claire clung to him, aching to touch him. And in turn, her body

ached to be touched. She drank from his lips as though starved for him,
and he was more than willing to give. His mouth worked over hers—
nipping, testing—before delving deep. Claire kissed him back with fervor,
her tongue rubbing against his while her hands sought the muscles of his
belly—those taut abs that haunted her daydreams.

Luke growled low, and those work‐roughened hands ran up her

sides, snagging over the towel and sending sparks of electricity arcing
through her so high and hot she gasped against his mouth. He jolted
instinctively at her sound of pleasure, clutched at her hips and snarled in
excitement. Claire mewled softly, nipping his neck, excited by the feeling
of his racing heart through his shirt.

Roughly, he nudged toward the edge of the nightstand and slid his

hand around her thigh to grab her behind the knee. He lifted it, wrapped

Cora Zane

it around his waist and thrust himself against her.

He was thick, his erection a tight, constricted bulge that he rubbed

in short, sharp thrusts against her moist center. Claire moaned in response
to the feel of him. It was madness! The combined scent of tangy skin and
male arousal promised to deliver her to paradise.

“Claire,” he breathed, the name soft and husky on his lips. Just as

quickly as he said it, his tongue invaded her mouth again, swirling and
dueling, bringing to life every secret fantasy she’d ever had about him.

His taut, rippled abs twitched erotically beneath her splayed

fingers when she traced her hands up to grip his shoulders. A note of
heated approval rumbled in his chest, and in a rapid series of movements,
he broke from her just long enough to strip the black T shirt over his head.

He came back to her in an instant, his flat, copper nipples pebbled

in arousal, his cinnamon skin so smooth and hot to the touch. “Luke,” she
breathed, shaking her head. It was incredibly hard to speak, but it was
happening so fast, fear beat down on her. She had to stop this before it got
out of hand.

“Please. I‐I don’t think… I don’t think I can handle this.”
“Emotionally?” he asked huskily. “Or physically?”
“Take your pick,“ she managed weakly, miserably.
She tried to push back from him, but he wouldn’t budge. He held

onto her, his grip tightening on her hips when she would have pulled
away. She squirmed to get around him, and together they shuffled away
from the nightstand, Luke turning with her, clinging to her.

“Don’t do this, Claire. Give me a chance.” His eyes searched hers,

beseeched her, even as she tried to evade his kiss. “Who knows, you
might even like me if you let yourself.”

Boy, was that the truth, Claire thought wryly. Luke Roman was

temptation incarnate. But a cooler, more level‐headed Claire was quickly
settling in—a Claire that knew his reputation, and didn’t want to get hurt.

She managed to disengage herself from him, but Luke wasn’t about

to let her be. He caught her around the end of the bed, and quickly
sidestepped, putting himself between her body and the door.

“Honey, I don’t know why you keep running from me, but if this

Bonding Experience

has anything to do with my dating cheerleaders. I can assure you I’m not
seeing any. Hell, I didn’t want to date them back then, but the girl I
wanted wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

“Well, she was one smart girl to avoid you,” Claire snapped

without thinking.

“Not too damn smart,” Luke replied roughly, blocking her path

when once again she tried to sidestep him. “I’ve been crazy in love with
this girl for the past—what’s it been? Ten? Fifteen years?—and she hasn’t
realized it yet.”

Claire froze. Ripples of excitement and uncertainty skittered

through her.

Luke in love? With her?
She was at a loss for what to do, what to say. He looked earnest,

serious, and even slightly angry with her, but she still wasn’t sure she
believed him. How could she? Everything she believed she knew about
him and had experienced in the past seemed to contradict what he was
telling her now. A part of her wanted to believe him, but he was the
Luke—former football captain, hotshot alpha know‐it‐all; now successful
business owner and desirable bachelor within her pack.

She ran a trembling hand through her hair, frowning

thoughtfully—torn. This was all so new to her, so strange and unexpected.
He wanted sex—that much she understood. How could she trust the rest?

In the end Claire pushed around him. He simply couldn’t be

trusted—not now—not so soon. She folded her arm across the flap of the
towel to hold it in place as she bent to pick up a light robe from the end of
her bed.

“I’m sorry, Luke. Maybe with time we can—”
“Time. Right. You’re doing it again,” he grated angrily. “Pushing

me away.”

“That‘s not true,“ she lied, her eyes flickering over him. “It’s just…

We hardly even know each other!”

“Well, consider this a bonding experience,” Luke said flatly as he

stepped forward and shoved her onto the bed. “Because I’m not going
anywhere.”

Cora Zane

Chapter Four

Claire eased up on her elbows and swiped her hair from her eyes.

“Very funny, you jerk!”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”
No, he didn’t. In fact, he looked smug in his irritation. All hot‐eyed

and lazy. He put her to mind of a fat old cat who‘d gotten the better hand,
which only served to piss her off further. Her temper flared, heating her
face. He thought he was so smooth…. Mr. Self Righteous…. She‘d show
him who had won what!

Claire gathered herself to argue with him, to cut him down with a

blistering tirade, but before she could react, Luke grabbed the end of her
towel and snatched it away from her, leaving her completely bared to his
view.

She stared at him dumbly—incredulous. Too stunned to even cover

herself.

All movement in the room ceased.
Feral light gleamed in Luke’s eyes. His nostrils flared. His gaze

fixed on her round, pink‐tipped breasts and Claire gawked at him, her
eyes zeroing in on the movement of his throat as he swallowed
convulsively.

He tossed the towel aside, and her nerves jumped, sending her

heart thumping into overdrive. Lust swirled in her brain. His gaze
traveled from her breasts, to her stomach, to the apex of her thighs where

Bonding Experience

she had nothing more than a closely trimmed strip of hair above her
glossy, damp nether‐lips. It felt like such a forbidden thing… She became
startlingly wet just from him looking at her; the scent of her arousal
clouding around them like a musky perfume.

Luke growled audibly, his gaze so possessive and heated, it felt like

a physical touch.

“You’re wet for me,” he said roughly, and how could Claire deny

it?

Her breathing sharpened into a pant as Luke edged closer to the

bed to stand at her feet. For a heartbeat, he hovered over her with his eyes
feasting on her naked body, that sculpted, well‐muscled chest of his
heaving as if from exertion. And then he was a startling blur of motion.
He grabbed her wrists, jerked her elbows out from under her so fast Claire
gasped out a cry of alarm.

She landed flat on her back, and Luke bowed over her, stretching

her arms high up over her head.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”
“Something I should’ve done a long time ago.”
Claire’s nerves jumped at his gruff answer, not knowing quite what

he meant to do until she felt his hands scrabbling on the mattress behind
her head and then the rapid winding of silk around her wrists.

Her mouth popped open. Her gaze darted upward to stare at his

hands as he tied the ends of her favorite ivory silk scarf around the rungs
of her headboard. Her face reddened as she struggled to jerk her arms
down and realized she couldn’t. Luke had tied her up so fast she could
barely believe it! She bared her teeth at him in a silent show of fury. Luke
leaned back on his knees and surveyed his handiwork, with wry
amusement.

“Get this damn thing off of me right now!”
“Not a chance.”
He straddled her knees and Claire snarled at him, floundering,

trying to use her hips and feet to throw him off balance. “Why you
arrogant, pompous— You just think you’ve seen me angry, Luke Roman!
Just wait until I get out of this—shhhhk!”

Cora Zane

Her breath hissed out in a rush as Luke bent over her and swirled

his tongue along the sensitive skin of her lower abdomen.

“Luke!”
“Damn, you taste good,” he rumbled moodily as he pulled back

and licked his lips.

Eyes hazy with desire, he traced his hand along her smooth

stomach, watching her muscles jerk in response with an expression of
awe. Claire watched his every move with an eagle eye, her breath hitching
when suddenly he lowered his face to her belly and rubbed his beard
stubble against her silky skin.

“And you smell good,” Luke murmured. He sniffed loudly, right

against her skin then closed his eyes and nipped a path up her body,
drawing shocked little gasps from her.

Any protest she might have made clogged in her throat when

Luke’s hands traveled up her ribcage to her firm, round breasts. His eyes
were narrowed in concentration as he squeezed gently then traced his
work‐roughened fingers over her nipples, watching them stiffen into
erotic peaks.

Claire settled into a tense silence. His warm, rough hands were

heaven against her cool skin. With heavy‐lidded eyes, she watched him
pinch and tease the rosy peaks. She shifted uncomfortably, growing
wetter by the minute. When Luke’s mouth came down on her and he
twirled his tongue around her nipple, she drew in a sharp breath, her
head kicking back while she squirmed beneath him. “Oh…”

“Like that, do you?” Luke granted her a lazy, wolfish smile as he

worked her over with his tongue. Then he closed his eyes and leaned
forward and took her into his mouth and sucked.

Claire shivered at the rough tug of his mouth. Each motion tugged

at her womb, until she was pulsing deep inside. Her clit was swollen,
pleading for attention. And to her own frustration, she couldn’t even
tangle her fingers in his hair. He broke from her with a sound of wet
suction, and eased down the bed to nip her inner thigh.

“Luke!” Claire screeched and bucked up against the restraints.

“Oh!”

Bonding Experience

“You’re probably the only one in the pack who doesn’t know

you’re mine,” he said with a trace of anger. “You’ve always been mine.
Since that first day I saw you—that day you came to Ravine to live with
your Aunt and Uncle.“ He caressed her mound with careful fingers,
dipped his head to kiss her lingeringly just above her aching cleft. “You
looked so sad, so beautiful… I wanted you so much.” He shook his head.
“It was wrong, the timing was wrong, but I saw you and even then I knew
you were meant for me, Claire. I recognized you as my mate.”

He lowered his mouth to her skin, his eyes fierce, clouded with

passion as he tasted her. Claire made a low mewling sound as Luke
penetrated her with his tongue and fingers, the pleasure of his rhythmic
lapping zipping through her veins like streaks of lightning.

Luke’s eyes slipped closed and he continued his ministrations,

licking and sucking until Claire forgot all about being angry with him. He
seemed to know just how to please her, how to bring her to a high point
only to withdraw into a more gentle state of bliss before bringing her to a
fruitless crest once again.

Claire sobbed helplessly, frustrated and thrashing beneath him,

wanting more, wishing she were unbound so she could run her hands
over him, pull him closer to her, guide him to the part of her that throbbed
the hardest and make him suckle her until she plunged shamelessly over
the edge. Her thighs trembled as once again he circled her clit with his
tongue, then withdrew. She whimpered sharply, her arms straining
against the bonds. She needed to come, and he was bringing her so close,
only to deny her the final effect.

Claire knew with frustrating certainty that he did it on purpose.

Luke shifted on the bed, and she felt his readiness. He was hard as steel,
his erection pressed against her thigh hard as a log. His fingers dipped,
stroked, teased.

“Luke, please!”
“Please what?” He looked up at her, dark eyes glinting with

sensual menace. “Once I take you physically there’ll be no going back.”

“I… I know.”
A breath of silence passed between them. “Do you want me,

Cora Zane

Claire?” He eased up on one elbow to look at her fully. “Don’t play games
with me. Tell me right now that you don‘t want me and I’ll stop. We’ll
both walk away.”

Claire closed her eyes and groaned. She didn’t want him to stop!

This was torture!

Luke dipped his fingers inside and stroked her just the way she

liked, just the way she wanted. It felt so good, she was sobbing with it.
And right as she neared the edge again, he stopped.

“Claire?”
She gave a small cry of frustration and shook her head. She gazed

up at him and licked her lips. It took her a moment to find her voice so she
could answer him. “P‐please… finish it.”

Luke let out a savage roar of triumph, and in that moment, Claire

could have sworn he’d never looked so hot, so beautiful and dangerous to
her as he did now. He pulled his fingers from her, and rose up over her,
his body trembling so hard she thought he might lose all control and
transform before her eyes.

He didn’t, but he was hardly some soft, civilized male. He was all

dominant alpha, the scent of his lust wafting to her on the too hot air. She
couldn’t help noticing the jut of his jeans—his cock was a hard bulge
trapped tightly behind denim. He bowed over her and held her bound
wrists.

“Tell me what you want.” he demanded.
“I…” Claire blushed. “I want… you.”
“You hesitate. I want you to tell me. I want you to say it.”
“I want you.”
“You want me, what?”
“I want you—inside me.”
He growled deeply, a gruff sound that Claire found surprisingly

thrilling. When he leaned down to kiss her, his ribs shifted like ripples on
water. He was so hot, the transformation was on him. Claire could smell
the beast waiting to emerge, could see his struggle to hold it back. With
shaking hands he fumbled with his belt buckle, then the fly of his jeans.

“I’ve waited a long time for this,” he said raggedly. When he’d

Bonding Experience

worked the zipper down, hard flesh spilled out. Claire groaned and licked
her lips. He was beautiful. His cock was beautiful—long and thick, with a
perfect rosy crown.

Pre‐cum beaded on the plum‐shaped tip. Claire watched him kick

off his boots, and when he bent to strip out of his jeans, she had the
impulse to lean forward and take him into her mouth. When she moved
her arms, they were once again jerked short. Frustration blazed through
her. Damn it, she was still tied to the bed!

“Hey,” she made a jiggling motion with her arms. “Why don’t you

take this off?”

Luke glanced toward the bindings. He rolled onto his side and

reached up to untie her, but then suddenly he stopped. Hesitation
gleamed in his eyes, and Claire could almost see the wheels of thought
turning.

He looked down at her and smiled—a slow, wicked stretching of

the lips. Instead of untying her, he ran his hand down one arm, tracing a
teasing path along the valley of her breasts.

“Beautiful, Claire,” he murmured roughly, and dipped his head,

and began exploring her breasts with his tongue while he moved into the
cradle of her hips. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll keep you this way
for just a while longer.”

She groaned and bared her teeth at him. Her breathing was quick

and erratic. She felt his cock‐head pressing against her damp entrance and
rolled her hips against him. He slid inside with a low growl, and she
hissed out a breath. It was a tight fit. Claire was surprised at how large
Luke was, at the uncomfortable way he stretched her. She’d only been
with one other guy in her life, and that had been years ago—in college—
but she wanted him so badly in that moment, it hardly mattered.

Luke slid deep inside, then gathered himself, going up on his arms

for leverage before making a slow retraction. Claire bit her lip as heat
rushed over her. An instinctive, primal need drove her. Their pace
quickened. She rode him, gripping him with her thighs, rotating her hips
to drive him deeper.

Luke choked. Moaned, “Oh. Claire. Yes! Take me inside you.”

Cora Zane

The bed springs squawked and squealed like a dying beast. They

panted, thrusting and writhing. Sweat from Luke’s brow dripped onto her
breast. She rode him with her thighs, crushing his hips, trying to drive
him deeper, closer… She was right there. She refused to be denied.

Her orgasm shot through her like a firestorm. “Huh!” She cried out

and stiffened against him, her body throbbing, shuddering, flying away
into a thousand pieces.

“Claire. Oh God. Claire!” Luke came so hard he roared with the

effort. He slammed into her mindlessly, and Claire could feel him jerking
inside of her, his cock pulsing while he strained over her. He scraped his
teeth over her neck, biting her lovingly in short, teasing nips. The smell of
his cum was thick in the air. He collapsed on top of her, sweating and
breathing raggedly.

He didn’t immediately move from her body. Instead he cupped her

jaw gently in one big hand and tilted her face for a slow, tender kiss that
sent her heart into a flutter.

Claire could have gone on kissing him like that forever, but of

course it couldn‘t last. Luke made it worthwhile all the same, when he
pulled back and punctuated that one long, meaningful kiss with several
smaller follow‐up kisses.

“Mm…” He licked his lips and smiled into her eyes. “My woman.”
He laid on his side and reached up to untie her wrists from the

headboard. Claire was relieved. The muscles of her arms felt taut from the
strain.

When she was free again, Luke gathered her close, and for

moments they lay together in silence. No clothes hindered them, no words
were spoken—she lay with her head on his chest, listening to his heart
slow into a steady rhythm while his hands caressed her body lovingly.

Claire sighed contentedly. She didn’t know quite what to say. No

one had ever treated her like this before. Luke touched her as though he
loved her. It was a little overwhelming. She was stunned, struck silent by
the sudden onslaught of desire, of her reaction to him, and their fast,
furious mating.

“Honey,” Luke kissed her hair. “I hate to do this, but I have to go

Bonding Experience

back to work. If I don’t, the men’ll come looking for me.” She groaned and
Luke chucked. “I take it that wouldn’t be an ideal situation?” He
smooched her loudly on the forehead. “That’s okay. I’ll see you later
tonight, right? Mike’s party at six P.M.?”

“Yeah, yeah…”
“Six, Claire,” he sounded serious. “You’ll remember?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Claire…” he warned.
“Alright! I said yes—I‘ll be there.”
“Good. I expect you to be there.” He gave her a hard kiss on the

mouth, then a long lingering one that she felt all the way to her toes. It
was over all too soon, and then he was backing off the bed. He stood
beside the bed and pulled on his jeans, his boots, and refastened his belt.
Claire watched him snap his T shirt off the floor and pull it on over his
head on the way to the door. She folded an arm behind her head and
watched him.

When he reached her doorway, he turned and looked back at her,

saying nothing as he lingered there thoughtfully with his hand pressed
against the jamb.

She could see the reluctance in his eyes, and a flare of desire shot

through her. For a moment, Claire thought he was going to come back to
bed. A part of her hoped he would. Instead, he took a deep breath and
straightened.

“I meant what I said about Mike’s party.”
“I know.”
“Don’t make me come looking for you.”
He studied her naked body stretched out on the bed one last time,

then turned away into the hall. Claire lay there lazily on top of the covers,
listening to him walk through her house, his boot‐heels ringing on the
hardwood floors. The screen door squeaked open and banged shut, and
then she could hear him clomping out across her porch. At the last
minute, she sprang out of bed and rushed to the window so she could
watch him.

Claire pulled back the sheer panel just in time to see him bounding

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down her front steps into the yard. Luke reached his truck and tugged
open the door, but before he climbed inside, he paused and let out a long
jubilant howl that startled the hell out of her and at the same time, made
her laugh. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the noise and
watched him crank his truck.

When Luke pulled out of her driveway, he was grinning like a

school boy.

Bonding Experience

Chapter Five

Amazing, how everything felt so new, Claire thought.
Once she was alone again, she flopped down on the end of her bed

and looked around. Luke’s scent lingered in her room, on her linens, on
her bed pillows. She ran a hand over her tousled hair, and her face flamed
with color. She’d just had the best sex of her life! Of course, irony of
ironies, it would have to have been with Luke.

She stared at herself in the dresser mirror across from the bed and

sighed. For whatever reason she felt like she should look somehow
different, but nothing had changed. The same old Claire with the same
aqua eyes and full mouth, looked back at her from the mirror. But on the
inside…

“You are completely insane,” she told her reflection. “Really you

are.”

She was in love with Luke. God help her, she knew it and there

wasn’t a thing she could do about it. Her crush on him had always been
intense but…

“Oh, who are you kidding?” she muttered as she snatched her

discarded towel from the floor and covered herself with it. She’d been
fighting her attraction to him for some time now, even though it seemed a
small tragedy to be attracted to someone who would pile in on you when
he spotted you at a restaurant, or wait around just to give you a hard time
when you were tired and leaving work.

Okay…well, maybe it wasn’t all bad. Especially now that she had a

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better understanding of the situation. She complained a lot about Luke’s
teasing, and his sitting on her car—which really was a bit aggravating at
times. But there had also been many days when she’d actually been
looking forward to seeing him—particularly after a bad day at work.

When Claire stepped into the shower to rinse off after their

lovemaking, she couldn’t help wondering where they would go from
here. She’d kept Luke at a distance for so long, had used his reputation as
a heartbreaker and her own impression of him as a hotshot jerk to shield
her own feelings for him. Now she didn’t have that shield to protect her
anymore. A mating pact was permanent. Luke had to know that. Hell,
everyone knew that. And the lengths he’d likely gone through to put it in
place! He’d probably had to prove to the council that he could take care of
her, and even then they‘d have to approve the match—at least she thought
so. And afterward there was the possibility of challenges from other
males…

Claire had no doubt that cementing the pact had been Luke’s goal

when he’d followed her home.

Well, he’d managed to do just that, she sighed. There’d be no

denying that he‘d managed to claim her on that level. No one could
challenge him either, once she’d accepted him to her bed.

As she turned off the bath taps and stepped out of the shower to

dry off, she thought about Luke’s howl of triumph out in her front yard
and groaned inwardly. Three guesses what the topic of conversation was
going to be when Luke made it out to his jobsite this afternoon. The others
would surely smell their combined scents and know they’d been intimate.
Claire cringed. Thank goodness she wasn’t going to be there to witness all
the hoorahs and back patting!

“Oh, boy, this is so complicated,” Claire sighed wearily, and leaned

her hip against the bathroom sink. She closed her eyes and brought the
bath towel up to cover her mouth and chin. She looked at herself in the
lavatory mirror. “I can‘t believe I‘m actually going through with this!”

*****

Bonding Experience

Hours later, Claire was in the back room of the hardware store

ready to pull her hair out. She had invoices stacked into messy piles, each
laid out in separate groupings on the floor. It was worse than she’d
originally anticipated. When she’d agreed to take on her Uncle’s
bookwork she hadn’t realized just how unorganized he was. He didn’t file
anything, or group things together by date. And it looked like he never,
ever threw anything away. At all. Digging through the filing cabinet in the
back “office”, a section of the storage room where her uncle had a desk
and a rolling cart with a coffee maker, she found vender receipts that
dated back to 1975.

“This is going to take forever,” she muttered under her breath, and

lifted her hair off her neck to catch a breeze. She cleared a path into the
center of her semi‐organized chaos, and pulled the trash can close,
preparing to buckle down and get the job knocked out.

Some time later, she was still sitting on the floor, surrounded by

several stacks of papers when she heard a key in the lock and the front
door open. Uncle Al, she thought numbly, and glanced up at the clock
hanging on the wall above his desk. It was only around seven‐thirty.

”I’m back here!” she called, and went about her work, expecting

Uncle Albert to appear at any moment in the doorway to make mention of
what a mess she’d made of his store room.

“You know, you really need to start filing these receipts, Uncle

Al—at least, by date.”

She heard the shuffling footsteps stop near the doorway, and she

looked up to meet her Uncle’s expression, and jumped.

“Luke!” she breathed. “For the love of Pete!” She slapped a hand to

her hammering heart and frowned. “Are you consciously trying to scare
the wits out of me today?”

He leaned coolly against the doorframe and watched her. His

mouth was tight, his eyes narrowed to dark points. Claire swallowed
hard; her pulses raced. He looked every bit like he had when he’d left her
house—he was dressed the same as before, and her scent mixed with his
drifted to her from his clothes. A crazy butterfly feeling twittered in her
stomach.

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“What?” she asked, her voice cracking with tension. His silence

was all too disturbing.

“Did you forget something?”
“Huh?”
Luke lifted his brows, and suddenly she remembered.
“Mike’s!” She ran a hand over her hair and sighed. “Oh, gosh,

that’s right. Mike’s party. Cripes.” She made a face, and rose to her feet.
She dusted the back of her jeans and gestured to the stacks of invoices
she’d arranged all over the desk and the floor. “I’m sorry, Luke. I lost
track of the time. I thought I’d be finished sorting by now, but Uncle Al
never files anything, and—”

“Excuses, excuses.” He came into the room and took the limp stack

of papers from her hand and tossed them onto a nearby box. “In case you
haven’t noticed, it’s dark outside. I’d say that makes it well past six. I
guess I’m going to have to teach you a lesson for not listening to your
mate.”

Claire’s temper flashed for a moment. She came very close to

giving Luke what was likely going to be his first lesson on her limited
tolerance. But she stopped short, her breath catching in her lungs. There,
he’d done it again! He’d called her his mate.

Her insides did a giddy dance as he crowded her against the stacks

of boxes, blocking her in with those strong, tanned arms.

“I’m tired of having to chase you down just to get a little attention,”

he murmured darkly. “I’m tired of you giving me the brush off.”

“I wasn’t trying to give you the brush‐off, Luke, I—”
“Forgot,” he supplied in rumbling tones. “You forgot. While I was

sitting out at Mike’s waiting for you.” His eyes were accusing. “I’m
thinking you did it on purpose. You always were a tease.”

“A tease!” Claire gave an unladylike snort. “You’re talking about

me?”

“Yes, you. You’re teasing me even now,” A strong, gentle hand

curled around the back of her neck. “Here I am. I’ve been thinking about
you all afternoon, and you haven’t kissed me yet.”

Exasperated, Claire, said, “Well, why didn’t you just ask me?”

Bonding Experience

She wrapped her arms around him, but when she leaned up to give

him a kiss, Luke pulled back sharply, his brow knitting together in a
frown.

“What‘s wrong now?”
“Something’s different.”
“There’s nothing different,” she argued tiredly.
He leaned forward and sniffed loudly right against her neck, before

pulling back to glare into her eyes. “Where’s my scent?” He sniffed again.
“You smell like oranges.”

“Oh. Well, I took a shower before coming back to work.”
“Basically, you washed my scent off,” he said stiffly.
“It wasn’t like that,” she snapped. “I was sticky, and I had to

work.”

Luke‘s silence stretched into a wicked grin. “Sticky, huh?”
“Oh, shut up!” Burning color shot into her face. She smacked him

on the flank. “You know what I mean.”

“I think I do.” He said, and she could tell by the mocking light in

his eyes that he was laughing at her. He pushed her back against the boxes
of PVC fittings and slipped a hand under her shirt to grope her breasts.

“Uh, just what do you think you’re doing?”
He nipped at her neck. “Teaching you that lesson I was talking

about.”

She giggled despite herself. “We can’t do that here.”
“Why not? Is your uncle hiding in the broom closet?”
“No, but he’d smell it and—”
“And I guess that’s a problem, him knowing we‘ve been together.”
He scowled at her and temper flashed in her eyes. “That’s not

funny. This is his territory, Luke. It’s a matter of respect.”

“I do respect your uncle, honey,” he said as he pressed in close

again and began to unbutton her jeans. “And I think he would definitely
understand my plight.”

She caught at his hands. “Oh, your plight, huh?”
“That’s right.” Luke gave her a charming grin. “I’m sure good ole

Al knows what it’s like when a male need his woman.” When her jeans

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were unfastened, he grabbed her, dragging her close.

“I can tell already,” Claire sighed as she wrapped her arms around

his neck.

“Tell what?” He said against her neck.
“That you’re a bad influence on me,” she said softly. “You know

you are, don’t you?”

“Admit it, honey. You like me.”
Claire kissed him greedily to keep from answering. It would have

been a ridiculous admission anyway. Of course she liked him—far too
much for her own peace of mind, truth be told.

The boxes shifted behind them when Claire leaned against them,

but neither she nor Luke paid any attention. It felt too good to be this close
to him, to be able to hold him without guilt or regret. Claire could scarcely
think of anything else. His touch was intoxicating; his hands
everywhere—on her breasts, gripping her thighs, squeezing her buttocks,
and then he was slipping a hand down the front of her panties to stroke
the top of her cleft.

Claire moaned her approval and spread her legs wider to allow

him further exploration. How could she not want him like this? She
plundered his mouth with her tongue, while reaching between them to
get his jeans unbuttoned so she could take that straining erection between
her palms.

“Not so fast,” Luke whispered harshly as he caught her eager

hands. Suddenly he took her by the shoulders, and spun her around to
face the boxes, “I want to fuck you from behind.”

She did as he commanded, and leaned forward seductively, her

hands holding to the dusty boxes as he fitted himself up against her back.
Groaning huskily, he eased her jeans and panties down her body, then
kissed his way back up her long, trembling legs.

“Oh, Luke,” she breathed, “that feels fantastic.”
She ground against his hand when he stroked a finger inside to test

her readiness. She was more than ready for him. The thought of having
him again, particularly in this forbidden place, the territory of her elder,
had her pussy quivering in anticipation. Wet and ready for him, she

Bonding Experience

rubbed her bottom against his groin in invitation. Luke reached around to
cup her breasts, kneading and plumping them while he thrust himself hot
and hard against her from behind.

Her pants were still around her ankles when he withdrew from her

enough to finish unbuttoning his jeans. A second later she felt him
nudging against her nether lips with that thick thing, and then he thrust
his cock into her in one smooth, powerful stroke. Claire clenched around
him, gripping him with her inner flesh, while her fingers dug into the
storage boxes for balance.

Luke rode her hard, with one arm reaching around so he could

tease her swollen clit. His right hand fisted in her hair, tugging her head
back so her chin thrust upward and her head rested against the curve of
his shoulder. He tongued her neck while he slid into her tight depths,
plunging wildly, his hands moving down to hold the cage of her hips
while he mastered her body from behind.

“Damn, your pussy’s tight,” he breathed against her ear. “You can’t

know— how many nights I dreamed— of taking you like this. Of fucking
you— until you scream for me.”

Without warning, he sank his teeth into her shoulder and Claire

cried out, stunned as an unexpected orgasm shot through her, as heat and
pain and from the bite became a rush of tingling sensation that swirled in
her brain and suffused her body. Her sex clenched around him in snug,
gripping jolts that seemed to go on and on.

She squealed and sobbed, her clit throbbing, her body jerking as

she made a grab to halt his still‐strumming fingers. Luke relented with a
taut groan and then he lurched into jerking, shuddering spasms that
threatened to topple them both. He gripped her hips tight and balanced
them, then stiffened as he found bliss, and hot seed jetted deep.

He sagged against her back, and Claire kissed the outstretched arm

that caught against the boxes beside her head. Luke’s other hand moved
from her hip, and his arm curled around her waist. Together they sank
against the boxes, their harsh breathing loud in the silence of the empty
store.

For a long moment there was stillness, then at last Luke stirred. He

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kissed her soundly on the back, and pulled himself from her with a sound
of wet friction. Claire’s legs trembled from strain, but she turned in his
arms, and Luke pushed her sweat‐damp hair back from her face and
leaned forward, pressing those warm, sensual lips against her own.

Claire realized without much thought, that she liked Luke’s kisses.

Very much. She opened at his prompting, and dipped and darted her
tongue with his before finally pulling back to look into his beautiful,
soulful eyes.

Luke looked right back at her—nothing veiled, nothing hidden.

Everything he felt in that moment was right there to see—possessive
tenderness, fulfillment and desire. Love. His gaze was so direct and
intense; Claire felt it tingling all the way to her toes.

It was difficult to keep eye contact like that. It made her feel all

nervous and squirmy inside, so instead, she turned her head to look at the
bite mark he’d left on her shoulder, straining her neck a bit to see it.

“You marked me,” she said softly as she studied the rapidly‐

healing wound.

“What do you expect?” Luke panted, and smiled. “You’re mine,

and I mark my territory.” He traced a calloused finger over the love bite.
Already it was nothing more than a rosy pink ring on her skin. He leaned
forward abruptly and kissed it. “Maybe next time you’ll return the favor.”

The note in his voice gave her pause. She didn’t doubt there would

be a next time, it wasn’t that. But something was on his mind.

He turned away from her to get dressed, mentioning something

about the time and that they needed to hurry. Claire barely heard him.
She sank down heavily on one of the storage boxes to rest. Her face was
hot, and her legs were still quivering. She gazed up at his broad back as he
pulled his shirt on, and a feeling of giddy breathlessness came over her.
Luke had marked her! It was an old mating tradition, not much used
anymore by anyone except maybe teenagers.

Claire remembered in the tenth grade, Susie showing her the love

bite Tony Gibson had given her. Claire had marveled, secretly jealous. No
guy had ever marked her in her life.

To have one now was a bit exhilarating. But there was definitely

Bonding Experience

something else going on here, she was sure. Luke was too quiet in the
afterglow, too tense. She could sense it—something that worried her
slightly. But what? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Luke turned around, and was tucking himself into his jeans when

he noticed she was still sitting there watching him. He paused for a
moment, then continued, zipping his fly, fastening the button. “Well,
don’t just sit there, baby. Get dressed. We’ve got a party to go to.”

Cora Zane

Chapter Six

Claire followed the path the headlights cut into the dark road

ahead, so anxious she felt almost numb. Luke had just turned onto
Potter’s Creek Road, and his work truck clattered and squeaked. This
stretch was unpaved, making for a rough, bouncy ride. It was dark in the
cab, but when she glanced over at Luke, he was close enough that she saw
him clearly with her night vision. He drove in silence, glancing in her
direction every couple of seconds with an expression she couldn‘t begin to
interpret.

“You’re watching me,” she murmured.
“I like watching you,” Luke said seriously. Then, “Why don‘t you

come sit by me?”

“I know for a fact that you bite.”
“Yeah, well, I kind of had the idea you liked it when I bit you.”
Claire eyed him warily. “Maybe…”
She glanced toward the window to hide her face. It was too hard

not to grin. Indeed she’d liked it, and they both knew it. She’d never come
so hard in her life. Remembering their little romp in her uncle’s storeroom
made her feel warm inside, all fuzzy and giddy.

“Come on. Come sit by me.”
She looked over at him again, and he patted the seat. With a sigh,

she relented. It seemed such a small thing, and besides, she wanted an
excuse to be closer to him anyway.

Bonding Experience

She scooted across the seat to him, and he welcomed her.
They rode the rest of the way in silence, Luke’s arm around her

shoulders and her hand on his thigh.

It wasn’t long before they turned off onto a grated dirt road

surrounded on either side by towering trees. Mike lived on a plot of two‐
hundred acres just outside of town, on property that had likely been in his
family since Ravine itself had been established.

His house was well off the main highway at the end of a rutted, dirt

drive a half‐mile long—a big, white elephant of a house pressed back into
thick woods that led up into the surrounding hills. For generations, the
pack had been using the residence as a gathering point. The shelter of
private property made it an ideal launch site for running under the full
moon.

The long drive flared out at the end, and Luke took his arm from

around her as they pulled into the yard. He steered left into the large
grassy area cleared out opposite the house. It was cluttered with vehicles:
cars, trucks, a minivan—some Claire recognized, others she didn‘t. At the
back of the clearing stood a crumbling shelter like a barn, the wood of
which gleamed like old bones in the light of a huge bonfire. At least a
dozen Werekind were milling around in that one spot. Luke parked away
from the fire. He wheeled into a quiet spot between two cars and stopped
the truck.

In that moment of stillness, Luke took a deep breath. “This is it.”
She could feel his heart kicking hard against his chest. His scent

had grown edgy. He looked out across the lot, and seemed tense. A
muscle ticked in his jaw.

“What is it?” she asked, squeezing his thigh. “You act like

something’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, but worry clouded his eyes—an

unspoken anxiety that fed her own. “I just wish there was more time for
us to talk, that‘s all.”

A guy wanting to talk? Claire was worried.
“What’s going on, Luke? What is there to talk about?”
But, it was too late. A group of guys standing in the bed of a nearby

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truck spotted them, recognized Luke or perhaps his truck. They raised
their beer bottles in the air and started howling. Someone was bouncing
hard enough to make the truck bob up and down.

Luke saw them and laughed. Some of the tension left him. “There’s

Mike. I guess we better go.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss on the mouth,
then got out of the truck.

Claire sat in a kind of stunned stupor in the silence of the truck.

Luke was outside, and all of a sudden she was incredibly nervous.

“Hey, girl!” Someone shouted at her through the window glass.

Claire started when the truck door suddenly swung open. It was Susie.
She stuck her head in the cab. “I was wondering when you’d get here!”

Claire didn’t know why she was so startled to see her friend, but

she was. She climbed out of the truck, feeling stiff‐legged and awkward. “I
didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“Actually, I didn’t know if I was going to be here, either, until

around four today. Jimmy was being such an ass, I didn’t know if he was
going to let me off work until the last minute.” Susie shook her head and
laced her arm through Claire‘s, guiding her along. “I swear, ever since he
got promoted to manager, he‘s like a completely different person. I guess
he thinks he’s… King Donut… or something. I don‘t know. What the hell
else could you be, working at Clark‘s?”

Claire laughed at that and some of the tension left her, but her eyes

were searching for Luke. She found him standing near the front fender of
a truck a few feet away, talking with at least five other lupines who had
crowded around him.

Susie steered her around to the front of the truck, in the direction of

the others. She leaned in, and lowered her voice, “I’m telling you, Claire,
when I heard the news this morning, I was so shocked. I mean, truly
stunned. We always assumed I’d be first to be matched. But then Shane
called me this afternoon and—”

“You talked to Shane?” Claire bristled.
“Oh relax. It was only for a minute. He stopped in for coffee this

afternoon, and—”

“Hey, Claire!”

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She jumped at the sound of her name, but it was only Mike. He had

his beer bottle raised to her and was calling her over. When she and Susie
wandered over to where he stood with Luke and the others, he grinned. “I
see you finally decided to put good, ole Luke out of his misery.”

Hearty male laughter filled the air, and Mike patted Luke on the

arm, grinning and revealing that too‐toothy smile that looked a bit lupine
even when he wasn’t in his fur. Luke wasn’t smiling though. He nursed a
beer and watched Claire as though he expected her to say something
contradictory any second.

What did he think she planned to say? That it was all a great big

joke? Anyone with a nose could smell that they’d been together.

She slipped out of Susie’s grasp and moved through the group to

Luke’s side. He opened an arm to her. She edged in close and wrapped an
arm around his waist, wanting to ease the tension she thought she
recognized in his face. Surely he wasn’t feeling insecure? Not after today?

Feeling a bit daring, she slid her hand across his backside, tucked

her hand into his back pocket and squeezed.

Luke looked down at her and quirked an eyebrow. Claire

responded with an expression of supreme innocence that made him crack
a smile. He seemed to relax. He pulled her closer and turned his face
slightly to nuzzle her hair.

Shane laughed, and bumped Mike’s arm. He murmured something

about “puppy love” that had Susie groaning and rolling her eyes. She
came across the way and grabbed Claire‘s arm. “Come on, girl. Enough of
this snuggling stuff. Let’s go get a drink so your lover‐boy can chat up his
friends. You know they’re dying to talk about you, and they’re not going
to say anything interesting while you’re around. “

“That sounds like a plan,” Claire laughed. But the second she made

an effort to step away from him, Luke’s arm tightened around her.

“Where’re you going?” he murmured against her hair.
“We’re just going up to the house,” Susie answered.
Claire gave him a pat on the stomach with her free hand. “There.

You heard her. I’ll be back.” But before he let her go, he leaned in and said
something in her ear.

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If she heard him right, he said, “Stay close.”

*****

“So tell me about Luke,” Susie asked as they crossed the sprawling

front yard. The house loomed in front of them, about fifteen feet away, the
shuttered windows streaming golden light and the wrap‐around porch
crammed with people.

Claire glanced at her friend and shrugged. “What’s to tell?”
“Pfft! Please, girl. You’re talking to me. You were so royally pissed

this morning; I didn’t think Luke could pull it off. We were all hoping he
would, mind you,” she added quickly. “But I doubted it.”

Claire gaped at her in shock.
“Well, what was I to think? You were in super prude‐mode.” Susie

pulled a face. “A shame really. For one thing, Luke’s damn gorgeous. And
he works really hard. No, really, Claire. I know what you’re thinking, but
he’s always working late hours. You wouldn’t believe some of the times
he’s pulled in at Clarks.”

Claire didn’t hear another word Susie said. Her nerves sizzled, and

she felt mildly dizzy. She realized that her friend approved of the match.
That she encouraged it. But that wasn’t the whole of it. The clincher, the
thing Susie had revealed even though she didn’t realize it, was much
more startling…

Her friend had known about the match before she herself had!
Claire was amazed. How had Susie kept such a secret? The girl

couldn’t keep a secret to save her life!

It came to her then, the comment her uncle had made earlier that

morning when he’d gone back into the store room. What was it he’d said?
Good ole Luke… or something like that? Claire remembered it and paled.

Was she the only one who hadn’t known?
She climbed up Mike’s porch steps in a sort of daze, while Susie

rattled on at her side. Farmhouse windows spilled glaring light onto the
cramped porch. Loud music was blaring from inside the house—some
country song Claire had never heard before. As they crossed the crowded

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porch, she could no longer hear Susie over the music. Groups of lupines
near the front door, all friends of Luke by some measure or another,
saluted her with beer bottles and howled like fiends.

Her nerves jumped, and she paused in the front doorway, turning

to gape at Susie with an expression of wide‐eyed wonder. “Oh my god!
This is a mating party!”

Susie drew back, a look of confusion on her face. “Well of course it

is.” Frowning, she pushed Claire into the house. “Oh, don’t act so
surprised, Saint Claire. We all know you‘ve been with him. From two feet
away, I could smell him all over you.”

Claire gaped at her, her face flushing scarlet.
Susie just rolled her eyes and laughed.

Cora Zane

Chapter Seven

No matter where Claire went, inside the house or out, she was

greeted by Werekind who were excited and happy for her. Everyone she
came across knew about the pact, and wanted to wish her well, wanted
for her and Luke to be happy together.

Susie had spoken the truth: Mike’s party was for her. For her and

Luke. It was truly astonishing—so much so, that after about three drinks,
Claire couldn’t listen to anyone’s congratulations without tears welling
hot behind her eyes. Her opinion of Luke was improving by the minute.
Susie found all of this incredibly amusing, and after a few drinks, herself,
began to make the most outrageous excuses for Claire.—”Oh, don’t mind
Claire, she can’t hold her liquor!” and “It’s just hormones. Hey, she’s hoping for
puppies by the end of next year.”

As the night wore on, the music within the house had been turned

down, and was slower, softer. The huge crowds of Werekind thinned
down to a few knots of close friends. Most of the mated pairs had begged
off early, or had gone on a midnight run. Susie was quite drunk by this
point, Claire noticed, and was getting pretty friendly with one of the
Jenkinses. Claire couldn’t tell if it was Marc or Troy. She left her friend to
chat it up, knowing better than to interfere, and escaped to the porch for
some fresh air.

Barely five minutes later, someone touched her shoulder. Claire

was getting tired, but she put on a smile. Feeling weary, she turned to find

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her Uncle Albert and her Aunt Missy standing behind her. “Oh!”

“There’s my, Claire,” Aunt Missy crooned.
She puffed out a laugh when her dam‐kind swooped in on her,

crushing her in an enthusiastic embrace. She patted the older woman‘s
back; and when her aunt pulled away, there was a smile of pure joy on her
face.

“Goodness!” Claire said, shocked. “You‘re not crying are you?”
“Dear, sweet, dear,” Aunt Missy fanned her face with a hand. She

looked flushed. She was crying. To her husband she said, “See, Hon? I told
you she‘d come around.” Then she turned to Claire, and her smile was
huge. “Your uncle and I are just so happy for you…”

“Well, don’t cry!” Claire’s voice was constricted, trembling. “You’ll

make me cry!”

Aunt Missy dabbed at her eyes and laughed.
Uncle Albert stepped around his wife and hugged Claire in a

rough, one‐armed way. “It’s about time you opened your eyes and
noticed that boy,” he grumbled. “So I guess Luke’s on cloud nine right
about now?”

Claire smiled uncomfortably. “I guess…”
“He ought to be,” said Al, glancing across the yard to a knot of

party‐goers. “He’s been in love with you for too many years to count.”

“Yes, he has,” agreed Aunt Missy. Then her eyes were suddenly

sympathetic and a little sad. “We hoped with his hanging around you all
the time, you’d realize what a good man he is and nature would take its
course.”

“But if it didn’t this time,” Uncle Al interrupted sharply. “I fully

intended to take you to the side and explain the way of things.” He looked
severe, mildly worried. “Claire, I know you have your stubborn ways, but
I have to say you’ll never find another male who loves you like that.”

“Or who’ll put up with you!” said Aunt Missy.
“Yeah,” Claire laughed. “Yeah, I know.”
And that was the truth. She looked out across the yard, searching

for Luke. They’d barely had a moment together since they’d arrived. A
touch here, a glance there. Right now he stood near the bonfire with Mike,

Cora Zane

Shane Dickens, and Seth Parker. They were talking and he was nodding,
drinking, and then all the sudden he looked up in her direction. His gaze
drifted toward her, but Claire didn’t think he’d seen her until he did a
slight double take, looking faintly surprised, then worried, when at last
his gaze met hers.

Claire’s heart did a flip; her stomach filled with butterflies.

Whatever was eating at him? He didn’t know it, but he had nothing to
worry about. Not a single thing. That he had arranged all this without her,
not knowing what she’d say, but hoping… how his hope stirred her! He was
so thoughtful, loving, incredibly sexy.

It alarmed her suddenly that, out of arrogance and pride, she

might’ve turned him down. Poor, Luke. Sweet, wonderful, Luke. How
could she deny him? He’d taken such a big risk! All this because he loved
her. He loved her. The evidence was everywhere she looked. He was
amazing. Suddenly, surrounded by all these people, she wanted to be
alone with him and began to wonder how she could go about getting him
alone again.

“Claire?” Someone touched her shoulder. “Claire.”
“Hmm?”
“I said, we’re going now.”
Distracted, she glanced at her aunt. “Oh, right!” Claire nodded, and

allowed herself to be embraced once more. “Are you sure you have to
leave?”

“This sort of thing is for you young pups,” said Uncle Albert.

“We’re going home to bed.”

“Can’t have him up past his bed time,” Aunt Missy mouthed the

word “cranky”.

Claire chuckled. “I guess I’ll see you Monday, then.”
“Eight sharp,” said Uncle Al, then they turned and Claire followed

them to the porch steps, murmuring final goodbyes. Aunt Missy squeezed
her shoulder and gave her a peck on the cheek, and then Uncle Al put a
hand on Aunt Missy’s back and led his mate away. Claire stuck around
long enough to see them off, waiting until they made it across the side
yard to their old brown truck before she turned and started across the

Bonding Experience

yard to find Luke.

*****

He wasn’t where she’d last seen him.
The bonfire across the yard was dying down, the shadows creeping

back in. It was well after one o’clock in the morning and the Werekind
who still lingered there were hard to make out now. They were males
mostly, but were indistinguishable from afar. The orange embers haloed
them into black silhouettes with orangey auras, their scents masked by
ash and smoke, and charred timbers.

Claire crossed the yard to where she‘d seen Luke last. Seth looked

over at her but said nothing. The other two males turned.

“Where’d Luke go?” she called out as she approached them.
“Probably to piss down by the bushes,” Shane Dickens muttered

into his beer.

Someone laughed, and Mike said, “He went toward the woods.”
Turning away from the fire, he pointed in the direction of the

falling‐down old barn nestled into the tree line. “He went somewhere off
that way.”

Claire nodded and left them, heading straight toward the creepy

old barn with it’s crushed‐in roof and the broken‐down door hanging off
the hinges. She hoped she didn‘t have to go inside that. She didn’t like the
idea of having to enter anything that looked so musty and spider infested.

“Looking for me?”
As distant as it was, the voice startled her; made her jump. She

didn’t immediately recognize the uncertain resonance of it—husky and
familiar, yet not so much like Luke. She halted all the same, her gaze
straying to the right in the direction of the voice, where she found the dark
shape of a man waiting, standing off to the side near the edge of the
woods.

He moved from the shadowed fringes into the moonlight, and

Claire saw it was Luke after all. His left hand was tucked deep in his jeans
pocket; his other hand swirled a bottle of beer.

Cora Zane

“Hey, stranger. What are you doing all the way out here?” she

asked, and started across the uneven ground to him. He took a few steps
toward her and stopped, threw back his head as he finished off his beer,
then in an absent gesture, tossed the bottle off into the woods. It whirled
away with a hollow sound before crashing unseen into the bracken.

“Just taking a walk, honey.” Again, that cryptic tone. He sounded

so mysterious and different—a worrisome change. Claire reached him,
and was a little disconcerted when he made no move to touch her. He
stopped short of her, forcing her to take the final steps to him, and even
then he remained still, his hands deep in his pockets as she came close and
reached out to take hold of the hand that wasn‘t tucked in his pocket.

“Uncle Al and Aunt Missy just left,“ she told him, pausing shortly

before going on excitedly to say, “I can’t believe you planned all this!“

“It’s about time you figured out what a great guy I am.”
“Mm… maybe so,” teased Claire. “I have to admit, I‘ve been

looking forward to getting you alone again.”

“Is that so?” Luke responded, and his brooding tone had Claire

pulling back from him to study his face.

“Hey, what’s the matter with you?”
He didn’t answer her right away, but she knew something was

wrong. It was written all over his face—the way he pressed his lips
together in a harsh, blotting gesture and glanced off over her shoulder to
avoid her eyes.

“Luke.” Claire touched his cheek. “So help me if you don‘t tell me

what‘s—”

“It’s nothing,” he said tersely. Then quickly he amended his

reaction with a sigh. His jaw set, he looked down at her, his eyes hard,
confrontational. “Seth’s here. I was sure you’d seen him earlier.”

“I did see him. He was right out by the fire.” She pointed back to

where she’d last seen him.

“You talked to him?” he asked gravely.
“No…”
“But that’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? To talk to Seth?”
Claire shrugged, then brought his hand up and kissed the back of

Bonding Experience

it. “Not really. Not anymore.”

Luke took a deep breath. He said nothing, but Claire thought he

seemed to absorb this information with some relief.

A spiral of excitement curled in the pit of her stomach, a soaring

feeling of anxious joy that stemmed from her ability to deflate Luke’s
fears. His other hand finally came out of his pocket and his hands found
her hips, the warmth of his fingertips pressing through her clothes. He
pulled her into an embrace. Claire smiled against his chest, relieved to feel
the tension leave his body.

Luke leaned his forehead down to hers and kissed her hair. “Baby, I

was so worried.”

He shook his head and Claire tilted her face up to kiss his chin, his

lips. She wanted to soothe him, to spend a few hours kissing him. Her
fingers traveled over his shoulders, smoothed upward to tangle in the
thick of his hair. Luke’s arms slid around her and pulled her closer.

“Since you‘re not going to talk to Seth,” he said huskily, and

paused to kiss her on the tip of the nose, “you really should take off your
clothes.”

Claire chuckled. “Gee, you don’t pull any punches, do you?”
He pulled back, grabbed the hem of his T shirt, and yanked it over

his head.

“Luke!” she looked around conspiratorially. “Not here…”
Luke chuckled in the dark. “I want you to run with me.”

*****

When Claire first came to live with her aunt and uncle in Ravine,

she wondered whether she would ever belong here. If there was ever a
time when Claire knew in her soul that this was, indeed, where she
belonged, it was when she was in her fur, running through the thick
woods that led up into the mountains. The air here had a charge of its
own, a power that seemed to seep into the bones. Yes, she belonged here.
And now she belonged with Luke. How could she ever have doubted
him?

Cora Zane

Claire felt liberated, incredibly free with that knowledge. Power

and pride washed over her whenever she glanced over at Luke,
wondering what he would think if he knew what was going on in her
head—thoughts of him, and of love and home. Perhaps he already knew
these things. After all, he seemed to have an ability to read her unlike
anyone else.

The well‐worn trails they followed soon disappeared into deer

paths choked with briars and brambles. Luke rushed ahead of her—a
large, muscular wolf with thick brown fur tipped in black. He leaped and
darted with sure footing, even though the ground was treacherous here.
Claire followed at a more cautious pace. If this area had ever been
traveled before, it had not been traveled often. It was not an entirely
secluded area, however, Claire realized some minutes later. Off in the
distance, probably a mile or two to the east, there was a road. The smell of
asphalt drifted to her along with the smell of burning tires. Very faint, but
it was there. Despite the appearance of isolation, they were not altogether
cut off from the human world.

Claire looked around again, and noticed that Luke now had a

commanding lead on her. It was hard to keep up at this pace. Her muscles
burned from exertion, and the unfamiliar area seemed to zap her strength.
She was just beginning to wonder if he planned to run on forever, when
suddenly Luke crested the top of a hillock and stopped. Claire, who had
fallen behind, slowed even more, and loped the rest of the way up the hill,
her tongue lolling. She’d have to have a serious talk with him about his
running speed if he wanted them to continue running together.

At her approach, Luke began to transform. She watched as his fur

slowly retreated, his features remolding into that of a human being. He
turned to watch her coming up the hill, and it was then that Claire began
her own change.

Energy raced through her—power from the quarter moon. She

shifted, a painless flipping of muscle and tissue, and then she stood facing
him—tired, and breathing heavily.

Luke stepped toward her, crowding her, towering over her in a

dominant stance. This closeness blocked out any light and silhouetted his

Bonding Experience

face from her, trapping shadows between them. Moonlight formed a blue
halo around him like an aura. Only his eyes were visible, reflective darts
of light that glittered with a strange, primal heat.

Claire trembled in anticipation. His scent was potent, aggressive.

Seductive.

“Claire Vaught, do you accept me as your mate?”
“Yes,” she whispered, barely able to speak over the knot in her

throat. “I accept you.”

Luke took a deep breath. “Well, it’s about damn time!”
Claire laughed softly. He sounded so relieved. And then she

reached for him, running her hands over his feverish skin. He was
perspiring lightly from their run, from the transformation. She didn’t care.
She nuzzled her face against his smooth chest, breathing in his exciting
scent. She nipped him lovingly, and felt his muscles clench, heard his
sharp intake of breath.

“Are you planning to mark me?”
She lathed her tongue against his skin, savoring the salty taste of

him. “Maybe…” she ran her hands down to clutch at his hips, his firm
buttocks. “If you make love to me.”

Luke wrapped his arms securely around her and laid her down.

The ground beneath them was moist and cool, the scent of rich black soil
contrasting the sharp scent of fresh spongy moss and sprouts of new
grass. Claire stretched out beneath him, her hands running up his sides,
over his shoulders to his dark, wavy hair, whispering, “My Luke. My
mate.”

He groaned, his eyes clouding over as he savored her touch. “Oh,

Claire, I love you. I can’t tell you… I love you so much. So much!”

Those frantic, vulnerable words struck her deeply. Her eyes

burned, misted. She clenched them tight, and then he was above her, his
solid weight pressing her to the ground.

Claire welcomed him, needed him. She wanted to touch him

everywhere, to really feel him, to know the mystery that was him—her
Luke. She wanted to know the thickness of his hair when she ran her
fingers through it, to know the rhythm of his shoulders when she slid her

Cora Zane

hands over the rolling, working muscles of his back. She reveled in the
clenching and unclenching of his buttocks as he sought her entrance, and
thrust sharply into her.

She cried out as the tip of him nudged her cervix, as he gripped her

hips with biting fingers, splaying her thighs wide. His arms trembled as
he slowly found a secure spot on either side of her, and arched himself up
over her, setting a rough, frenetic rhythm.

“You feel so good.”
“Do I?” he whispered roughly, enticingly as he rolled his hips

against her, grinding sharply against her clit.

”Yes.”
“I want all of you, Claire,” he ground out, his voice thick with

tremulous desire. “You’re mine. My mate. Prove yourself to me. Offer
yourself to me. Show me how you accept me.”

Claire moaned, her pussy clamoring inside, pulsing and

contracting, so hot for him. She knew what he wanted. The ultimate
submission. And the idea of him taking her in such a way, invading her
body, exacting his dominance over her, made her shiver in pleasure,
creamy moisture sliding a wet path from her slit to her anus, to the
roundness of her bottom pressed against the forest floor.

Luke leaned back onto his knees, waiting for her consent, and

Claire hoped she gave it with her expression. Her throat was clogged, her
body shook with pent‐up desire and nervous tension. Only Luke could
salve her needs. She crooked her legs over his arms, leaving herself
vulnerable to his touch, to that dark, blistering gaze that waited still to
hear her say it.

“Claire?”
“Y‐yes,” she stammered nervously. “Do it.”
“Do what?” he asked, his voice coarse, sensual. “You have to tell

me, Claire.”

She swallowed hard, hesitating only a moment. “I trust you, Luke.

Fuck me. Fuck my ass.”

She felt him shiver, felt his breath quicken. Although her voice had

been a barely audible whisper, by the expression on his face, she might as

Bonding Experience

well have screamed her declaration from the mountaintops. His teeth
gleamed white in the dark, a heady snarl of desire. Ripe male lust
clustered in the air around them, a potent musky fragrance. He didn’t
hesitate to take her, he lowered his cock to her opening, swirling himself
in her moisture before taking aim and beginning to squeeze himself inside
her.

Claire hissed out a taut breath, her fingers raking the ground as he

pressed deeper. She felt the tremors wracking his body, felt the pulsing
twitch of his cock against her sensitive hole. It was slow going, and
uncomfortable as hell to start, but gradually Claire’s body stretched to
accommodate him. A Werekind’s body was made to change shape, to
transform, and she did just that. His cock reshaped her, remolded her inch
by slow inch until he was gathered inside her, hot and throbbing, and
thick.

“Fuck…“ Luke said on an unsteady breath and eased back to watch

their joined bodies in motion. His skin stretched taut with passion over
the bones of his face; his heavy‐lidded eyes glassy, gleaming. Claire
thought he appeared mesmerized by the way his cock stroked smoothly in
and out of her ass.

“Oh…Claire. Baby. You’re so hot,” he rumbled, “So tight…” Then

he looked into her eyes, his expression erotic and fierce all at once. “Has
anyone ever fucked you like this?”

“N‐no…” She choked out. She shook her head, pacing her

breathing. “Never like this.”

He snarled in approval, in satisfaction. Pride shone in his eyes. He

reached up with a hand and molded her breast, plumping and squeezing.
Claire recognized the look of pride shining in his eyes at being the first,
and she groaned, heat spiraling through her that she could so please him.

“Rub yourself for me,” he commanded. “I want to watch you.”
Claire did as he bid her; she needed it as much as he did. She

needed the distraction of her own pleasure while he fitted himself inside
her. A high giddy feeling sparkled in her chest, a headiness from knowing
he desired her, that she could please him in this way, and while he fucked
her, her fingers found her engorged clit and she stroked herself.

Cora Zane

“Luke, oh, please,” she whispered up to him. “Hurry, baby. I need

to come.”

Snarling in satisfaction, in erotic encouragement, he answered her

needs. He slid his fingers through her slick folds and spread her gently
before spearing her pussy with two fingers, and penetrating her deeply.

Claire shuddered and moaned, clutching at him with her inner

flesh. It felt like two men were taking her, filling her fully, stretching her
to her limits. Bliss caught her unaware, a wracking surge that took her so
quickly and strongly, it was like being torn apart on a ray of light. She
rippled around him, bucking and shaking in completion, her insides
contracting around his fingers, his cock.

Luke paused with himself inside her and held himself still for her

climax. He shut his eyes tight, and thrust his head back in a bid for
control. He growled deeply, bit at his lower lip before gazing down at her
with heavy‐lidded eyes. “Oh, my love…” he panted. “So good. My Claire.
You feel so good!”

He went suddenly wild, gripping her hips with biting fingers, his

motions frantic as he plunged into her again and again. A minute later, he
let out a hoarse cry, and his eyes glossed over. He slammed into her again,
and then he was jerking, growling, lost, as he shoved himself to the hilt
and came inside her.

Breathing raggedly, he collapsed on her, his mouth instantly

seeking hers. His arms framed her head while he kissed her deeply,
thoroughly, his tongue rubbing roughly against hers.

It was Claire who broke the kiss. She turned her head away and

gripped his shoulders, tugging him down to her waiting mouth. She
found a sweet spot above his heart and before he had a chance to figure
out what she was doing, she sank her teeth deep. Luke shouted, a harsh
hoarse cry, and his muscles clenched and rippled against her, his eyes
sinking closed in a vision of mind‐blowing ecstasy.

Claire smiled against his shoulder. The ritual was complete.

Bonding Experience

Chapter Eight

It was several minutes before Claire came back to herself enough to

truly notice the woods around her. She rolled onto her side to put her
head on Luke’s chest, and as she studied the thinning pattern of the trees
off to her right, she realized they were not on a hill after all. They were on
a pine bluff overlooking Shelter Lake.

“Wow,” she said, breathless. “I didn’t realize we were close to the

lake. This place is really gorgeous.”

“Yeah, it‘s nice isn‘t it?” he stroked her hair absently. “I bought this

tract and the one next to it few years ago.”

“This land is yours?”
Luke shrugged. “Well, I figured you and me, we could put a house

out here. It would be a great place to raise a few pups.”

She looked at him, amazed. “You really thought this through,

didn’t you?” She rolled over onto her side to stare at him. “Luke, when on
earth did you plan all this?”

“While you were away at college—which about drove me nuts, by

the way. I must’ve called on your aunt and uncle three times a week to see
if they’d heard anything from you.” Again, another shocking fact she
hadn’t known. “What was wrong with Dover Tech that you couldn’t go
there?” he groused.

“Shane said you were going to Dover Tech.”
“Ah. That would explain it, then.” He sounded hurt, and Claire

didn’t want that. She traced her hand along his flat abs, loving the texture,

Cora Zane

the warmth of his skin. Touching him was something she could definitely
get used to.

“I didn’t mean it that way, silly. I was just saying. Anyway, Shane

told me that’s where you were going when I asked him about you.” She
shook her head. “Man, that was a long time ago.”

Luke looked at her. “You asked about me?”
She laughed gently at the hope in his voice. “Yes, I did, actually.”
“When?”
“I think it was around Thanksgiving my sophomore year.” She put

on a more serious face. “Why are we even talking about this? I love you,
you big jerk. That other stuff was such a long time ago.”

Luke’s muscles tensed. Suddenly alert, he rolled her over and

looked down at her with shining eyes. “What did you just say?”

“It was such a long time ago?” she teased.
“Claire...”
“Oh, Luke,” she said gently, and reached up to trace the line of his

jaw. “You have to know by now that I love you. I’ve loved you for a long
time… before I ever even realized it.”

He closed his eyes, as if savoring the words. He brushed her hair

back with trembling hands and kissed her softly on the lips. Once. Twice.
Then he leaned up on his elbows and gazed into her eyes. “Say it again,
baby. I can’t tell you how bad I‐I need to hear you say it. Tell me you love
me.”

“I do love you,” Claire answered without hesitation. She wrapped

her arms around his neck and kissed him once, twice.

“I love you too,” Luke replied softly. “Always.”

Bonding Experience

Biography

Cora Zane loves to write steamy and erotic romances about

handsome heroes who will go out of their way to win the affection of their
lady love. These men are strong, sexy, and not afraid of commitment.
They know what they want, and are determined to get it. Cora believes itʹs
that manʹs willingness to risk getting his heart broken that makes him all
the more irresistible‐‐and special.

She began writing erotic romances in 2005. When sheʹs not writing,

sheʹs usually reading. Her favorite books are futuristics and paranormal
romances. Her goal for the future is to continue to write the kind of books
she herself would like to read.

Cora has finally learned to keep a pen and notepad in her car for

ʺcreative emergenciesʺ. It certainly beats writing in lipstick on a paper bag.
Some of her best story ideas come to her while driving, and she never
hesitates to pull into the first parking lot she sees in order to jot down a
scene as it comes to her. ʺItʹs better to write it down than to let it get
away.ʺ Cora lives in Louisiana with her husband and two children.

www.corazane.com

Cora Zane

Also Available from Cobblestone Press, LLC

Chapter One

It came from deep in the woods, a low, lonely howl that tugged at

Laney’s soul. She heard it and her ears pricked, her body suddenly going
tense. She looked up from the book she was reading in the den of her
small cabin and waited, wondering if the sound would come again.

Seconds passed. A minute. The teasing notes rose higher and

crested on the balmy night air, causing a slow, tingling heat to creep over
her body. Laney shivered and her nipples turned into hard peaks. Hearing
that sad, tormented cry made her breathing ragged and her heart quicken.
What was it about that voice?

When the haunted notes finally faded, she shook herself from her

sensual fog and snarled. This had to stop. For four nights now, she’d been
hearing that same relentless baying. The new neighboring pack was going
to start a war with her brother if they didn’t back off the border and stop
calling out within hearing range of the wolves under Seth’s protection.

Nerves jangling, she turned her book over and got up from the

couch. Anger and frustration mounted within her as she moved quickly
through the house to the back porch. She’d promised to watch over things
and take care of any emergency pack business while Seth was away for

Bonding Experience

the week, but she had a sinking suspicion that confronting the alpha of a
rival pack wasn’t what he had in mind when he’d left his instructions. Be
that as it may, she had to do something. Seth and the other males weren’t
going to return for another two days, and that persistent calling was really
starting to get under her skin.

Laney stepped off the porch into the moonlight and crossed the

shadow‐mottled yard with determined purpose. The wind rose up and
swirled around her, strengthening the odors of pine and moist earth‐‐and
something else she couldn’t quite identify. The combined scents filled her
lungs and made her feel strangely restless as she headed toward the tree
line that began a short distance from the house.

She walked straight into the woods, choosing to remain in her

human form even though her jeans and bootlaces kept snagging on the
briars as she moved over the rough ground. It would be faster traveling in
the form of the wolf, but she preferred the slight sense of protection
wearing clothes offered her.

Dressed or not, she knew going into the woods unescorted was

potentially dangerous. Seth would likely strangle her if he ever found out
about her going near the border alone, but it would be so much worse for
everyone if he came home and discovered members of a rival pack stirring
close to the border, marking their territory. She had to reach this rogue
male and talk sense into him before anyone else from her pack could
answer him and stir up trouble.

She walked maybe ten feet farther into the woods before the male’s

call rose up again. The notes struck her with the force of a silver bullet,
shooting hot sensation from her head straight to her toes. Her breathing
hitched. Her senses swam. A tiny tremor wracked her small body. Now
that she was closer to the source of the call, the lure was more pure, more
potent. Alluring.

Laney stopped in her tracks and clamped her eyes shut tight as

heat pooled thick and wet between her thighs, soaking her panties. A
tender ache started inside her and she gritted her teeth to hold it at bay.
Still, the notes played over her skin like the brush of velvet fingers. The
sound beckoned her, called to her inner

beast until she shook with pent‐up

Cora Zane

desire.

A desperate, cloying need to return the male’s call had her pussy

clenching in anticipation. Unaware of what she was doing, she ran
trembling hands over her small, firm breasts and squeezed, shuddering as
a bolt of erotic energy zipped through her veins. Her bones creaked and
shifted. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to embrace the change…

The wind shifted, and the fragrant scent of male lust wafted to her

from somewhere deep within the woods. Laney’s eyes snapped open in
an instant as realization crept in on her. This wasn’t just some lonely cry
she was hearing. It was a mating call.

A burst of black fury surged through her. Damn males! No wonder

she felt so strung out and needy. Some horny male had been calling out to
her for nights on end!

Her lips compressed in a thin line, Laney tilted her chin and gazed

up at the moon. It hung at three‐quarters. It would be another day or two
before the full moon held sway. Even so, the night was clear. The moon
loomed large and bright overhead. No wonder she felt like a bitch in heat.

A heated blush stole into her face at that unspoken admission. Her

lip lifted into a silent snarl. One thing for certain, she had to get this
howling situation under control before her brother came back and
discovered what was going on.

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