The Mating(65)

With his greater strength and speed, Kane finally began to out-distance her, drawing farther and farther ahead. He rounded a bend in the path, temporarily disappearing from sight. Elise raced around the corner, and then skidded to an abrupt halt. The path stretched out straight in front of her, but Kane was nowhere in sight. She stood frozen, her eyes narrowed, searching the woods on either side while her ears strained for the sound of his running paws. Where had he gone? He couldn’t have disappeared that quickly. Her heart pounded as she envisioned all sorts of calamities befalling him. Had he stepped off the path and into a trap? The patrols had cleared the area, but possibly they’d missed something.

A twig snapped behind her and she whirled around, only to be knocked to the ground by a large, black mass of fur and muscle. Her breath whooshed from her lungs and she struggled to inhale while her brain tried to process what had just happened.

Rolling to the side, she sprang to her feet growling only to bite back the sound as she saw who stood before her. With a shake of her head, she glared at Kane, her expression conveying exasperation at the trick he’d played on her.

Obviously enjoying himself, Kane bent his front-end down low, indicating his playful mood. Then, without warning, he pounced on her again. Soon they were tumbling across the forest floor, snarling and nipping in a mock battle. In no time, Kane had her pinned to the ground.

As he loomed over her, their eyes met, and in one accord they phased into human form. Kane was on top of her and he brushed her hair away from her face, studying her intently. “God, you look so sexy lying on the ground beneath me.” A low growl emitted from his throat before he leaned down and kissed her roughly. Elise kissed him back with equal fervour, raking her fingers through his hair, holding his head firmly in place.

The kiss seemed to go on forever until they were both gasping for breath. Burying his face in her neck, Kane inhaled deeply, as if trying to absorb her scent into his body. “Mmm, Elise, you smell so good.” He gently ran his teeth over her neck and she threw her head back, exposing her throat to him.

“It’s my heat cycle, no doubt.” Through a haze of desire, she offered up an explanation for how he was feeling.

“Maybe...” He sniffed again and she felt him quirk his lips against her skin. “I love how you smell all the time; your cycle just makes it even more intoxicating to me.”

Elise felt her heart give a leap. He’d said ‘love.’ Mind you, it was her scent, not her, but the idea still thrilled her for some inexplicable reason.

Kane was nibbling at her ear now, his breath tickling and sending delicious shivers through her body. She moved restlessly against him, revelling in the weight of him pressing down upon her. He gently rubbed himself against her in response. “Elise, do you think...?” He paused, sounding uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

“What?” She shifted so she could see his face.

For a moment he hesitated, but then seemed to gather his nerve. “Do you think...? I mean... Would you be willing...?” Kane stopped again, and rolled away from her, staring up at the night sky. He took a deep breath and proceeded in a detached voice. “With your heat cycle so near, I was wondering if you’d given any thought to what you were going to do. Our infirmary has the usual drugs to curb it, if you’re opposed to having pups. I know we’ve only been mated a few weeks, so you might not be ready...” He let his voice trail off and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. Elise knew her face was probably expressionless at that point, giving him no indication of how she was reacting to his message, but she was completely thrown off balance by his question.

When she said nothing, he continued in a rush. “It might not even happen, though, even if you just let the cycle follow its natural course, but I think we should talk about it. I...I hope you’d consider it though, having my pups someday, that is.”

Elise detected something different in his voice. Hope? Wistfulness? She rolled to her side and propped herself up with her elbow, staring down at him. At first his question had shocked her; they’d only been together a short while and she was only now starting to feel more comfortable about their relationship. The idea of pups hadn’t even entered her mind. She gave herself a mental kick. Lycan biology wasn’t a mystery to her, and she should have realized there was a chance she could become pregnant the following week. Truth be told though, it had slipped her mind.

As an unmated female, she’d taken drugs to curb her previous heats, though she didn’t react well to them. The side effects were unpleasant and almost flu-like—headaches, nausea, a slight fever, and general irritability—but that was preferable to having all the unattached males following her around, trying to mount her. Now she had a choice, but what to do? They’d barely been mated two weeks and didn’t even have a blood-bond yet, though she knew it wasn’t a requirement for procreation. On the other hand, Kane was her mate and their lives were now inextricably entwined. Did it matter if they started a family sooner, rather than later? The idea of being impregnated by Kane—his seed growing within her—was strangely erotic and after all, it wasn’t a sure thing that she’d conceive.