"Where are your women?" Liam asked.
"Out for the day. They had to get some shopping done," another said. "Is this her?"
Another on the left sniffed the air. "Holy shit, you don't waste any time, do you?"
She found that weird. What was with all the air sniffing?
"Rebecca, I'd like you to meet my very weird friends that have, for some reason, seemed to have forgotten they're dealing with a human. That's Jake, Ben, and Eli."
Jake had been the sniffer.
Eli the questioner.
Ben had yet to speak.
Holding her hand up in a wave, she smiled at them. "Hey."
They all stood watching her.
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.
"No, they have no manners." Liam took her hand. "Come on, let me show you the house while they remember what to do when they meet someone for the first time."
She found it odd the way they bowed their heads as she passed or that they wouldn't look at her.
Was she too ugly for them?
None of this made any sense.
She was soon distracted though as they entered his home. It was beautiful, breathtaking in fact. Glancing around the open home, she couldn't help but smile. The kitchen was huge and opened up onto a large, open concept dining room. The ceilings peaked high above them, and a stone fireplace traveled all the way up. Oversized glass windows offered a picturesque view of a valley and river below.
"Do you have a lot of guests?" she asked.
"Yes. I come from a large family. The guys outside are friends and family."
"I don't think they liked me."
Liam pulled her into his arms. "They adore you. They just don't know how to act yet. They will. I promise." He leaned down, kissing her lips.
He took her on the tour of the ground floor, showing her the sitting room, library, and his office. There was also a games room with a pool table. It was like he didn't have to leave the house as he had everything at his fingertips.
To Rebecca, this was sheer heaven.
She loved it, right down to how secluded it was from the world. When he took her upstairs, the bedrooms were also beautiful.
"They kept it clean then."
She giggled at his sigh. "You were worried?"
"They were all staying with me, along with their women. It has seemed a little full at times."
This made her laugh.
"What do you think of the place?"
"What do I think? It's perfect. I don't even know how anyone could hate it, or even be upset by it. I think it's amazing. So beautiful. I bet you get a lot of peace out here, don't you?"
"I do. It's nice. We also get a lot of travelers and hunters that can be a pain."
"Is that because of the wolves?"
"What do you know about the wolves?" he asked.
"Not a lot. I know they've been known to attack tourists and travelers."
"You still like them?"
"Of course. I haven't really met one before though," she teased. "I don't imagine I ever will. You know, the whole snarling and wanting to kill being a bit of a turn off."
"I bet there are a lot of wolves that would love you," he said, pulling her close. They were on the upper landing leading to the wooden stairs.
She smiled. "You know how to say all the right words, Liam." She pressed her hands to his chest and went on her tiptoes to kiss him. "And I for one love that."
Someone cleared their throat.
"It would seem my friends have decided to be normal and now want to introduce themselves."
She giggled again. Whenever she was around him she felt so relaxed to be herself. "We could ignore them if you'd like. I don't mind doing what you want to do," she said.
The bedroom was calling her. His bedroom.
He groaned. "That's really tempting."
She ran her hand down his chest, loving his moan as she cupped his dick.
"You do know we can hear you, right?" one of them said.
Liam sighed. "Their timing is the worst thing in the world."
"That it is." She withdrew her hand. "I guess we should go and see them."
He gripped her ass and claimed her lips once again. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she felt alive in his touch. Like he'd finally awakened a part of her that had been dormant all of her life. This was supposed to be. The two of them together.
She felt possessive, desperate, and needy. So fucking needy.
Chapter Seven
He wanted to fuck Rebecca again, to christen his bedroom, but he could wait. He'd gone a lifetime without a woman of his own, so a few more hours wouldn't kill him.
"Let me show you around the property," he said. They held hands as he took her out the back door. She'd done well with his friends. He'd worried about her feeling anxious and wanting to leave. It pleased him how she handled herself, and that she loved his home. It would soon be their home.
"It's like a dream here," she said. "Heaven."
Liam had the perfect spot for the homestead. His packmates' new cabins were out of sight, but not too far off. There was plenty of space for privacy. He'd had enough of stepping on toes for the past year with six extra people in his house. No way could he stomach listening to them fuck another day. Going forward, the main house was for his own family.
Pinecones and leaves littered the forest floor, but it would soon decompose into new black earth. He remembered his father telling him the legend of the great oak, showing him a small acorn and explaining how it would one day grown mighty. His father had done a lot to prepare him to become alpha, to take his rightful place in the pack. Liam knew full well the importance of keeping the bloodline alive. It was one of many reasons he was thankful for finally finding Rebecca. One thing he'd never been taught was how to prepare for a human mate.
"Most women think it's too rural here, too far from shopping malls and nail salons," said Liam.
She shook her head. "That's not me. I left the city because it was too much to handle. The noise, the pollution, the fake smiles. I couldn't do it anymore." Rebecca bent down by the river, running her fingers through the crystal-clear water. "This is real. I don't have to pretend to be someone else."
He tilted his head. "Who would you be?"
"I don't know. The woman on magazine covers-beautiful, confident, and refined."
"You're all that and more." He sat down on the riverbank, wrapping his arms loosely around his knees.
"Do you know me at all?"
He smiled. "Baby, I don't want a fake woman. You're natural, honest, and perfect exactly the way you are. Don't change."
She flicked some water at him and giggled. The sound made his cock hard. Breeding her kept creeping into his thoughts, and he hoped he'd already impregnated his mate.
"It's so quiet here. All I can hear are birds and insects." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Do you ever get scared living this far off the grid?"
"Never."
She turned and smirked at him. "You're fearless, aren't you?"
"I'm only afraid of losing you."
Her smiled faded as she stared back at him. "I'm surprised you're still single. You said you're around my age?"
"Maybe a bit older. Does it matter?" Liam had recently turned fifty. Although shifters didn't age as quickly as humans, the number still sent him into a tailspin. His biological clock was ticking, and he'd been the only one in his pack left unmated-until now.
"No, it doesn't matter at all. I'm just curious."
"What if I told you I'm fifty? Twenty years older than you."
She bit her lip. "I'd say you've taken very good care of that body." Rebecca winked at him before returning to the water. He couldn't believe the weight that lifted from his shoulders. He swore she'd be turned off by his true age.
"The forest looks good on you," he said.
"I'm kind of surprised how much I love it out here. I've never been camping, never roasted marshmallows, or ate over an open fire. My anxiety kept me from doing a lot of things in my life."
"Things are going to change now. I'll make sure of it," he said.
Rebecca stood and came over to him. She knelt down and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard, her tongue pushing in his mouth. "Teach me everything."
He was about to roll her to her back when his peripheral vision picked up movement. Two wolves dashed through the underbrush toward his home, barely disturbing a leaf. A human would never have been able to notice them-Liam was not human. He held Rebecca a little tighter as his wolf thrashed within him. There were trespassers on his land, and that was one thing he would not tolerate, especially now that he was a mated male.