Chapter 4
My mind was buzzing, my heart was fluttering, and all I could think was, I can’t believe this is happening. After years of wondering whether I would mate bond with Jackson, falsely thinking I had mare bonded with Jackson, and wondering whether I would really ever mate bond, it was happening now, at After Dark, with this amazingly attractive stranger named
Cain!
Now I knew what all of the girls in the werewolf legends were talking about. I understood how my mom was able to be so loyal to my dad for so many years. I tossed all of the advice I’d ever heard out the window and agreed to spend the night in the hotel with him. Was this the safest move? Maybe not. But one could not possibly get hurt by their one true mate, right?
I finished my drink and watched as Cain, ever so responsibly, drank his water and prepared to leave the bar. Even the way he sipped water was sexy. How I longed to feel those lips against mine again.
Cain insisted on paying both of our tabs. He then helped me down off the barstool. I was usually too independent to let a man help me with something so simple, but after years of drinking mostly blood tea, my tolerance for alcohol was not too great, and the three whiskey sours and the shot were really hitting me. I swayed from side to side a little as I took my first steps from the barstool towards the bar door.
Cain gently took my arm to steady me. I giggled. “Easy there, tipsy,” he joked.
The night air was cold against my face as we started down the sidewalk. When I’d come here earlier, I never would have imagined Td be staying until 2 am, so I hadn’t brought anything warm with me. Luckily, Cain had an entire overnight bag with him. A few paces down the sidewalk, he stopped, took out a suit jacket, and helped me slip it on. The jacket felt warm and cozy, and it had this wonderful, musky odor that made the sensation in my neck start up again.
I wondered if Cain was feeling the mate bond sensations, too. If he truly was my one true mate, he must be, right? I suddenly realized I should have paid more attention in wolf classes when I was young. I knew all about periods and female human biology, but my understanding of my wolf side was apparently a little lacking.
Cain took my hand as we walked down the sidewalk. “A mate of mine recommended the Cheshire Hotel,” he suggested. “Any thoughts on that spot? As a real Burlington wolf?”
I nodded. “I’ve never stayed there, but yeah, I hear it is a good choice. Really thick walls. It’s one of those old stone buildings.
“Thick walls?” Cain asked, apparently confused.
“Yes, thick walls. You know, so we can transform without the humans hearing anything.” I explained.
“Ahhhh, Cain replied “Sorry. I don’t come into the city too often I know to ask for a room at the end of the hall, and to always close the window shades if there’s a full moon, but nobody ever taught me the thick walls trick.”
“Eh, no worries. If you knew all the tricks, you’d be an independent wolf like me!” I joked.
Cain chuckled and did a little skip along the sidewalk. “Yeah, I suppose I might be. You’ll have to teach ine more of those
Tricks”
I thought for a moment. So many of the ways we wolves disguised ourselves from humans were second–nature to me alter living within human society for so long. It had been a while since I’d interacted with a true pack wolf in a human city. I didn’t know what tricks he’d be familiar with, and which ones he wouldn’t know.
“Do you know the wine bottle trick
Cain shook his head “no”
sked.
“I mean this isn’t all that useful to me, since I tend to prefer actual wine, but you blood tea drinkers use it all the time. You fill an empty wine bottle with blood tea, bring it to a restauram with you in your bag, and then order the same bottle of wine
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Chapter 4
at the restaurant. When the wine comes, swap the bottles. Drink the blood tea with dinner, and take the wine home. Best way to enjoy blood tea in a human restaurant.”
Cain stopped walking and turned to look at me. “That’s a great ideal” he exclaimed. “You’ll have to tell me more of these!”
We rounded the corner onto 8th street, the street that I knew the Cheshire Hotel was on. I purposefully slowed down my walking pace, wanting to enjoy this a bit longer. Jackson and I had been together so long. I had forgotten how exciting it was to get to know someone new for the first time.
“How about the trick for driving as your wolf self?” I asked.
Cain looked at me, wide–eyed. “Um… really? You can do that?”
I laughed. “No, not that I’m aware of. You totally believed me for a second, though.”
Cain shook his head. “What can I say. You seemed like such an honest girl.”
I went on to explain a few more real wolf tricks to Cain, I told him how female wolves liked to sync their cycles with the full moon so they could take off from work that day, avoiding both in–office period cramps and the risk of transforming in front of humans. I also told him how some wolves would roll wintergreen leaves up in rolling papers, like joints, so it looked like they were smoking cannabis. Cain thought the second one was really funny. He’d never realized that smoking wintergreen was purely a wolf ritual and that humans didn’t indulge.
Even with my slower pace, we reached the Cheshire Hotel faster than I would have liked. I checked my back to make sure none of my hairs were prickling out, and I saw Cain do the same,
We stumbled into the hotel lobby, and I could tell from the look on the receptionist’s face that he knew we were both drunk. Cain did his best to compose himself. Plopping his wallet on the counter and letting his bag drop to the floor, he asked. “Do you have any vacancies for the night?”
The receptionist smiled. He looked at me, and then back at Cain, “For two?” he asked.
Cain nodded.
Before Cain had a chance to say anything more, I interjected. “Could we have a comer room if one’s available?” I asked. The receptionist nodded and then looked at his screen. “Let me see what we have,” he offered.
After scrolling for a few seconds, the receptionist looked back up at us. “I have a corner room on the fifth floor, but it’s only one king bed. Is that okay?”
Cain looked at me awkwardly. I looked back at him just as awkwardly. The receptionist, apparently sensing the tension, continued scrolling. There’s another corner room on the 6th floor with two double beds, but that one hasn’t been renovated yet. The upside is, it’s a lower rate for that reason.”
“Perfect,” Can agreed. “We’ll take it.”
The receptionist looked at Cain’s license, added his name to the system, and then handed us both room keys. “The stairs are at the end of the hall,” he said, pointing down a long corridor. “Elevator is right next to them. There’s breakfast in the lobby from – 10 am each day, and unfortunately the pool is closed for the season. Any questions?”
“None at all” Thanks, my man!” Cain replied. With that, he gently took me by the hand, and we started down the hall towards the elevator.
When we reached the elevator, Cain pushed the button. But after waiting a few minutes, it seemed clear the elevator was not coming anytime soon.
“What do you think? Stain Cain askel
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“Why not?” I shrugged.
Cain pushed the heavy door to the staircase open, and we started to make our way up the stairs. When we reached the first Landing, we both paused for a minute. He looked into my eyes, and, just as I had earlier, I felt this incredible draw to him. Before I knew it, our lips were locked 1 felt him press into me, and we both leaned against the concrete wall of the stairway, our bodies intertwined with passion.
For just a moment, the thought crossed my mind that I was about to stay in a hotel alone with a stranger, but that thought. soon passed as I got entirely caught up in the heat of the moment. I felt Cain’s muscular chest against my breasts as his strong arms embraced me. Was this what it was this as supposed to feel like? I didn’t remember ever feeling so alive and whole with Jackson.
Cain pulled away, once again grabbing my hand and continuing up the staircase. We started to jog up the stairs, but once Cain realized his overnight bag was bouncing all over the place, he slowed back down. He turned to kiss me once again, letting his hand linger on my cheek afterward.
We finally reached the top of the stairs and silenced our giggles, making our way down the hall quietly. I could feel the hair on my back starting to emerge, and I forced it back down. “Mind over matter,” I told myself.
When we reached the door to room 601, Cain slid the key card into its slot, and thankfully, the door swung open. The hotel room was old–fashioned, but ornate. The bed was made from wood with intricately carved feet. In one corner, there was a mini–indga, which looked alarmingly modern considering the otherwise ornate, mid–century decor.
“I take this bed Cain said, plopping his overnight bag down at the foot of the bed. I still could not tell whether he was serious about sleeping in separate beds, or whether this was just something he thought he should offer as a gesture. Would he have taken the room with the king size bed if the receptionist had not been so awkward about it?
I decided to just go with it and see what happened. I laid down on the other bed, facing Cain
“Well, here we are, good Str. This is a very i proper hotel room you’ve reserved for us,” I said in an overly proper tone.
Thankfully, Cain decided to play along. “Anything for my lady. I thought you might enjoy this fine tooling on the wooden
bedi”
1 giggled rolling over onto my back. Much to my surprise, Cain pounced on me, playfully. I felt his hands run down my neck towards my chest. “Is this okay?” he asked under his breath
I nodded, “Mmm yes
Cain kissed me on the neck, and the tingle I had been feeling all night intensified. Is this when he would do it? Was he about to bate me already! My assumption had always been that the bite would come after we’d mated for the first time, but maybe I’d misunderstood that
Can didn’t late me, but he did continue to gently kiss and lick my neck. I thought for a moment that he might transition,
I started readying myself to do the same. But he stayed his human form, at least for now.
His hands gently undoing my blouse, Cain rolled to the side, one leg still draped over my body. I pressed against that leg with my hups, waiting to be close to him.
Before I knew it, he had my blouse undone and on the floor, and then my bra. I felt warmth coming off him as he looked deep into my eyes I pulled his start over his head and nearly gasped at the sight of his chest. He was as muscular as I’d unagined when I first saw lum at the bar. His chest was covered i just the right amount of smooth, black hair. One could
bring fully human, but the tattoo of wintergreen leaves on his arm gave him away as a wolf to anyone
en
Cain unbuttoned has own pants and pushed them ott, embi acme one again. Our bodies entwined together, the very thought of transforming left my mind, and we made passionate love in our human forms.
The way Cain seemed to anticipate my needs as
if fur knew what my body wanted and needed
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Chapter 4
before I knew it myself–Cradling me gently in his strong arms, he brought me close to climax and then held me there. seemingly endlessly, before finally allowing us both to be overcome with passion
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I let out a low growl, and I felt my tail start to emerge from the base of my spine. “Let go, my little wolf. Just let go, Cain whispered in my ear. And so, I did. My body overcome with passion. I allowed the velvety–soft hairs to erupt from the base of my neck. I relaxed my spine, and let my tail stretch to its fullest potential. My legs felt that familiar tingle before stretching back into their wolf form.
I was so wrapped up in my own pleasure that it took me a moment to notice that Cain had also transitioned as we’d climaxed. His wolf body entwined in my own, I admired his broad shoulders and rough, many hair. Had I spotted him in his wolf form in public, I would have immediately assumed he was out of my league.
Cain and I cuddled for a moment. He gently licked my face as his paw rested on my chest. Then, all of the sudden, he leapt up from the bed and transitioned back to his human form. “Shit. Were we too loud?” he asked, suddenly worried.
I stretched out, not feeling the motivation to transition myself. “No, no, I’m sure we’re fine. The walls here are thick, remember?”
Cain nodded, but he pressed his ear to the wall anyways. After a moment, he sighed and moved back towards the bed. “All clear. I don’t think we have neighbors,” he explained.
I tensed my body and forced myself to transition back, too. I had never been comfortable being my wolf self when someone around me was in their human form. Plus, being that we were in a hotel, it was probably better that I slept as a human
anyways.
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