Body to Barter (Half-breed Shifter Series) Read online

  Her gaze met his, and she knew love. “Yes,” she said softly, feeling suddenly shy and yet totally excited. “Yes, I’d like it very much if you came back home with me.”

  Moving close enough that he could reach out and touch her cheek, he smiled. “Good. Then I will.” His fingers strayed down to her neck and rested briefly where he’d bitten her. “We’re truly bonded now.”

  He looked awed by the notion. Brynn glowed inside. “Yes. Yes, we are.”

  “But I still want you. As much as I did before.” He frowned thoughtfully after saying that. “I thought the urge to mate was stronger before you completed the bond—not after—as a way to speed the process along.”

  Brynn shrugged, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth. She didn’t understand this crazy, insane need to keep fucking him either, but, Gawd... “How about we just enjoy it while it lasts instead of questioning it?”

  With a soft chuckle, he kissed her. “I like the sound of that.” His hand strayed down over the rise of her breast. She had also found a dress in one of the drawers of the bureau with the food in it. It was snug around the bust line, which seemed to drive her mate mad. “I have to admit, you do look nice in clothes. Do you think I can take you while you’re wearing this?”

  She grinned. “That’s the beauty of dresses.” She lifted the hem to flash her pussy at him, not at all upset that she hadn’t found any panties to wear. “But you have to do something else in return for me.”

  Gannon’s eyes glazed with lust, and he stared at her bared thighs. “Anything,” he promised.

  “Take me from behind,” she said, as she leaned over the armrest of the couch and lifted her dress to expose her ass. Spreading her legs so he could see how wet she was for him, she added, “I’ve never been fucked from behind by a wolf before.”

  He growled, the sound definitely wolfy. Strong hands cupped her waist. She gripped the cushion of the couch, bracing herself for the first delicious thrust. When the head of his cock touched her, she began to pant.

  “Yes,” she said. “I want it fast and as hard as you can give it to me.”

  “Sure you know what you’re asking for, little half-breed?”

  Glancing at him over her shoulder, she sent him a seductive smile. “Try me.”

  Grinning back, he pounded into her. It’d been a few hours since they’d last mated, so she wasn’t as stretched and ready to receive him. He felt huge because she was so tight. The snug fit made her cry out and convulse around him, already beginning to come.

  “Harder,” she demanded, biting her bottom lip to hold back the orgasm as much as she could, wanting this to last.

  But with the next plunge he delivered, slamming into her with a force that rocked her forward on the arm rest until she went face first into the couch cushions, she orgasmed, long and strong.

  He kept fucking her after she finished. For a minute, she simply lay there, absorbing his thrusts, unable to move. She felt thoroughly rode hard.

  But his fingers bit into her hips as he kept going. “Come again,” he grit out. Since he’d given her multiple orgasms before, they both knew he could light her up repeatedly. Except this time, she felt finished. Kaput.

  Until he reached around to her front and stroked her clit.

  She gave a sharp moan and began to buck back against him as he plunged forward. When she went off, he released himself. But he continued to move inside her.

  “I could fuck you forever.” He stroked her back and smoothed his palms over her ass. “In fact, I think I will.”

  The rhythm of his thrust was actually lulling, so Brynn slurred, “Okay,” and closed her eyes, thinking she could go to sleep, just like this with him moving deep inside her, rocking back and forth. She never wanted him to leave.

  Until a voice came from the entrance of his cave, ruining everything.

  Chapter Ten

  “Gannon,” His father’s voice boomed, interrupting the lovely moment he was sharing with his new mate.

  As Gannon froze, Brynn yelped and tried to push upright under him. There was no way to explain her presence outside the cage, and he wouldn’t be able to get her back into it before his father, the freaking alpha of the Mahlikari pack, arrived.

  Gently pushing her back down, he kept his hand on the back of her head as if he was suffocating her, even though her face was titled to the side so she could breathe. “Act like I’m forcing you,” he rushed out the whisper. Thank God she’d put on that dress. He didn’t want his father to see her lovely form.

  “What?” she asked, not catching on and still scrambling in an attempt to get up.

  He spanked her with a loud slap, and she yelped in surprise. As he plowed into her harder, her arousal scented the air.

  “And for God’s sake, mask your freaking smell, Brynn. Do you want us to get caught?”

  He barely had the words out before the Mahlikari alpha, Garnick, stood in the opening of Gannon’s lair.

  Brynn’s arousal fled, filled with immediate fear, which worked well for the facade he wanted to show of forcing her. But damn, her fear was real.

  He paused mid-thrust, worried. Eyes glued to his father with a fright he’d never seen on her face before, she moaned. “Oh, God, no. Please. No, no, no.”

  Garnick gave a low, appreciative chuckle. Nothing made him happier than watching another’s terror. “Don’t stop on my account, boy.”

  Gannon pulled from her anyway. Brynn immediately curled into a ball on the couch, hiding as much of herself as possible. He pointed at her, keeping his face stern as part of the act. “If you move, little half-breed, you’ll regret it.” Then he stepped in front of her, concealing as much of her as possible before he faced his father. “I’m busy,” he said, meeting the alpha’s stare with a stony glare of his own as he folded his arms over his chest and braced his feet wide apart.

  Lips twitching with amusement, Garnick glanced around him to see Brynn. “So, I see.” He lifted his admiring stare back to Gannon. “You’ve finally gotten yourself a pet. I approve.”

  “Yes. I see what you were all raving about now.”

  “Hmm. I prefer to tie mine up before fucking them,” Garnick went on. “I devised a special knot I can show you that tightens painfully every time you thrust.”

  “I’d like that sometime. Thank you.” Gannon nodded as if grateful, though inside, his stomach knotted at the mere thought of hurting Brynn.

  When Brynn gasped in horror, he hoped to God she knew he was lying. He wanted to soothe her fears so bad; he couldn’t wait until the alpha left again. There was too much at risk for him to be here. Behaving more rudely to his father than he ever had before, he brusquely asked, “Was there something you needed?”

  Garnick arched an eyebrow, but didn’t question Gannon’s tone. “I was waiting for you to come to me to give me a report about your first battle.”

  Flushing because he’d forgotten all about that, Gannon ducked his head briefly. “I was called away early. I had to let Haze lead for the last half.”

  “So I heard.” His father rocked back on his heels, studying him. “You disappoint me, Gannon.” When his gaze strayed to Brynn, everything in Gannon went on high alert. His body tensed but he refused to move, waiting to see how the alpha would play this out. “You deserted your first battle for a—”

  “I didn’t desert it,” Gannon broke in, needing to defend himself. Any male in his position would’ve done the same thing to save his mate. No one could be blamed for that. But he couldn’t exactly explain that to his father because he would be blamed for the female he’d mated to.

  “And I’d even tossed in an extra challenge for you,” Garnick went on casually as if Gannon hadn’t spoken. “After alerting the hunters about your little raid—”

  “That was you?” Gannon boomed, stalking forward. “You called the hunters? We lost pack members because of that.”

  Garnick only shrugged. “I needed to test you. Leading this pack won’t be easy. You’ll have to be better tha
n the best.”

  Unable to announce that he would be leaving the pack soon, Gannon merely stared. “And it took the loss of our own to prove that?”

  “Life isn’t always pretty. You eat or be eaten.” Flickering his gaze to the cowering Brynn, he murmured, “You need to decide which side you’re on, son, or the decision will be made for you. Emotions can’t play into it when something needs to be destroyed.”

  His message was clear. The alpha wanted him to kill his own mate or he’d be slaughtered with her.

  Gannon curled his hands into fists down at his sides, but otherwise didn’t move.

  Garnick gave a small, hard smile and then nodded. “Have it your way, then,” he said, before turning away and strolling from the cave.

  Without waiting, Gannon whirled around and pulled Brynn up off the couch. “We have to go. Now. He knows.”

  “He...” Brynn was still too scared for his liking. She pointed to the opening where his father had disappeared. “He’s your father? But...oh, my God. I’ve seen him before. I know what he’s done. He killed his own daughter.”

  He’d been pulling her toward the opening of the cave, but at her words, he paused. “Wait. What? He killed Glimmer?”

  Brynn bobbed her head adamantly. “Yes. That’s what they called her. He snapped her neck when she was kneeling in front of him begging him to spare her life.”

  Mouth falling open, Gannon shook his head. “No. No, that’s not possible. Glimmer...she was killed by a half-breed bear. They said—”

  “They lied.” Brynn clasped his hand to her chest. “She actually mated with the half-breed bear, and that’s why she was killed. I was young, but I remember him distinctly. That scar. There’s no way I have the wrong wolf. It was your father. My brother and sister and I saw everything. He brought a dozen other pure-breeds with him, and they killed both her and her mate.”

  Mouth falling open, Gannon gaped at her. “Glimmer mated with a half-breed bear?”

  Nodding, Brynn kissed his hand desperately. “Yes. And I know exactly what he’ll do to us. He’ll kill us, painfully, Gannon. We’re going to—”

  “No, we’re not. I’ll take care of you. Always.” Pulling her in for a hard kiss on the mouth, he added, “Now let’s get out of here.”

  “But—”

  He set a finger over her lips before offering a wink. “Trust me. I’ll take care of it.”

  Though his chest swelled with renewed grief over learning the truth of his beloved older sister, spiking hatred for his father, and panic for his mate’s life, Gannon had no time to dwell on the cluster-fuck of emotions brewing inside him. Still, his breathing came a little hard as he clasped Brynn’s hand and led her to the opening of his cave.

  He should’ve secreted her away hours ago, the moment she’d awoken from her wound. He could’ve explained everything once they were safe and as far away from the Mahlikari as possible. But deep inside, he knew that wouldn’t have worked. His pack housed some the best trackers. They would’ve followed him. Killed him. Brynn too. Their code was absolute. Anyone who betrayed them by mating with a non-pure blood would be executed. No exceptions.

  He’d always known he’d have to stand and fight. If he wanted to survive—if he wanted Brynn to survive—he’d have to take down the alpha and institute a new code.

  Though he had hoped it would take Garnick longer to set up an attack pack to unleash on them—it would’ve been nice if he and Brynn had made it into the woods, gaining an advantage—he wasn’t at all surprised to find his father and a handful of mutts waiting at the entrance of his den.

  Behind him, Brynn gasped and clenched her grip on him as she crowded in close behind him. Gannon reached back with his free hand to ease her worries. Her nerves jumped under his touch and then relaxed.

  “Leaving so soon?” his father asked.

  Standing his ground, Gannon stared his alpha in the eye. “How did you figure it out?”

  With a snort, Garnick waved a hand. “Are you serious? It was impossible to miss the fresh bonding mark you left on her.”

  Slapping her hand over her throat was a bit like closing the barn doors after all the cows had already escaped, but that’s what Brynn did. Charmed by her move, Gannon patted her hip once before releasing her and letting both his hands drop to his side, ready to act. “Your codes have flaws, old man. You tell us our mates take priority and no one comes above them, yet you teach that all half-breeds are to be slaughtered. What happens when your mate turns out to be a half-breed?”

  “You put them down, son.” Garnick shrugged. “I did it with my first mate. She was an abomination, just like your little lovely there. Half-zebra, half-lion. Let me tell you, she was a savage, wild African beauty too.”

  Unable to comprehend his own father’s wickedness, Gannon shook his head. “How could you do that?” Just trying to think about hurting Brynn felt like ripping out his own soul.

  Garnick’s smile was pure evil. “It wasn’t easy. Leaves a dark, cold spot in your chest. But what no one tells you is that it sets you free. You can go on to mate with anyone of your choosing. How do you think I was able to meet up with your mother later on?”

  “Did you kill her off too?” Gannon couldn’t help but snarl. He hadn’t been there when his mother had died. He’d only been told it was half-breeds who’d gotten a hold of her. All these years, he’d tried to exact his revenge on the half-breed race for taking away his beloved mother and his one sister, only to learn—“Just like you slaughtered Glimmer?”

  “Your bitch of a mother deserved it,” Garnick boomed. “She was out spreading her legs for a different male each night. Trying to make a mockery of me! I couldn’t allow it to continue.”

  Deciding what would be the best way to take him down, Gannon gave a sad shake of his head. “Why do you hate them so much? Why do you want to kill all the half-breeds. Even your own destined mate? Why did you teach us to hate them too?”

  “Because that’s what I do. I hate.” Spreading his arms to encompass the entire pack community around them, he gave a maniacal laugh. “And I’ve convinced all of you to follow my lead. That’s true power, my boy.”

  Enough talking, Gannon decided. There was no reasoning with the crazy bastard. And the only way he was ever going to be free to leave with Brynn would be to kill his father. He leapt at the alpha, changing into his wolf form mid-flight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Brynn gasped as her mate leapt away from her, shifting into his animal as he went. This was the first time she’d seen him in his wolf-form, and she was suitably impressed. He was by far, larger than his father, who also changed forms to meet the attack head-on. His tactics were lethal but graceful. It was like watching art through savage warfare.

  She’d never been so enthralled by him.

  But other betas were shifting forms as well, the pack descending on them to protect their alpha. Brynn wasn’t about to have any of that. Mourning the loss of the new clothes she’d just found, she shredded out of the dress as she unleashed her jaguar, jumping and snarling at the betas to snap them away from the one-on-one fight between father and son.

  Two wolves immediately engaged her. After bonding with Gannon and the mix he’d used to heal her, she felt a hundred and ten percent better, fully recharged and at the top of her game. But these were still full-blooded freaking wolves ready to take her down. And she was only a half-breed.

  Using her brain over her brawn, she darted toward a nearby tree, gaining three more wolves on her tail. Instead of climbing up the bark and hiding away from the assholes, she jumped and landed with her front paws half way up, letting her claws sink into the bark to support her weight. Then she swung her furry body around the thin trunk in a full circle to gain momentum, speed, and power. By the time she came around again, with her hind legs bent and ready to use as a battering ram, she plowed into four of the wolves, tackling them all together until they landed in a heap.

  After pile-driving them, she hopped on top of the mound and beg
an ripping out throats without hesitation. When another wolf snapped at her leg from behind, she reacted like a horse and kicked backward, catching him in the chest.

  Seriously, someone needed to teach these wolves how to handle a jag. Thank God her father had trained her and her siblings over the years on how to battle different animals. Using the wolves weaknesses and her strengths against them, she leapt toward another tree and landed on the lowest branch to assess her next attack before jumping back to land on the back of another wolf who was about to catch Gannon from behind while he was busy dueling with his father.

  She barely had time to spare him a glance, but he seemed to be holding up okay. His dear dad fought dirty though, pulling out every trick in his arsenal to beat Gannon. Her mate was already limping on three legs and his coat was splattered with blood.

  With a shiver of hope, she clawed at the wolf under her until he yelped out his pain. She could tell he was about to flip her off his back the moment the muscles in his shoulders tensed. But she hopped off him at the last second, leaving him looking like a fool and rolling across the grass until he knocked himself unconscious by rolling a bit too fast into the side of a tree.

  Panting and already worn out, she faced off with another damn wolf. Face-to-face battles were not her strong suit. But left with no other option, she charged head-on.

  Her opponent caught her in the shoulder and sliced up her coat until she was screaming and unable to holding her animal form. A naked human Brynn appeared. Gripping her bloody shoulder, she backed away from the slowly advancing wolf. He snarled, his yellow eyes glimmering with malice. And then he too shifted into his human.

  Her eyes flashed open wide as she realized it was the same shifter who’d been in Gannon’s lair when she’d gone down on him in the cage.

  “Now, it’s my turn to fuck the little kitten,” he promised, as he back her against the tree, “while your traitorous mate dies.”

  When he advanced enough for her to reach him, she tried to jerk her knee up and rack him between the legs. Humans were just another animal that her father had taught her how to defend herself from.