Fangsgiving Read online

  “Do you think he’s okay?” I tried to calm the rapid pulse of my heart as I wondered if he’d met the same fate as his parents.

  “I’m sure he’s fine,” Mom said, grabbing some green beans. “Even if he misses dinner, he’ll still get leftovers.”

  I failed to mention that it wasn’t dinner I was afraid he’d miss.

  “You think Jace, Dex, and Bo are going to leave leftovers?” I snorted. My brothers had a legendary appetite.

  “What you’re really worried about is that he’ll miss the Full Moon,” Mom cut right to the chase as we walked into the frozen foods aisle.

  “Mom!” I gave her my most mortified look, shivering as I grabbed a few bags of frozen cranberries.

  “It’s obvious, Adelaide.”

  I sighed, meeting her knowing look as we pushed our carts.

  “I feel like he’s the one, but it hasn’t happened in all the Moons since I’ve been of age. Zander thinks that means we’re not…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence, it tasted so bad on my tongue.

  “It’s mysterious. From what your father’s told me, no one knows when it will happen. Mates can be drawn to each other for years and years before the heat finally kicks in. It happens when you’re both ready.”

  “Believe me, I’m ready.”

  I was more than ready. Aside from the kisses and light touching between me and Zander, I’d never been with a man. I’d had no desire to be with anyone else. But he refused to go further if we weren’t mates, and I’d been frustrated and pent up with sexual energy for years.

  “Maybe he isn’t.” Mom offered, gathering apples in a plastic bag.

  “He better hurry up,” I grumbled. “How do you know when it’s the heated Moon anyways?”

  Mom laughed.

  “Trust me, Addie,” she grinned. “You’ll know. Your blood will feel like it’s on fire. And when you see your mate, smell your mate, you’ll feel an overwhelming instinct to run away, to make him hunt you.”

  “I can’t believe that’s what happens,” I scoffed. “I don’t need Zander to chase me down to know he’s a worthy mate.”

  “Your father says it’s an ancient, primal instinct. It has nothing to do with our human selves. It’s your animal’s way of knowing he’s able to protect you better than you could protect yourself.”

  “Whatever, I doubt that will happen to me.”

  “It’s in our blood, Addie,” Mom said.

  “What do you think of that bear he’s with?” I changed the subject, examining and sniffing sweet potatoes before I put them in my bag. Mom joined in, helping me find the best ones.

  “She seems very capable. I got a sense that we could trust her. It’s exciting to meet a bear shifter, don’t you think?”

  “Sure, I guess,” I shrugged. “She’s awfully pretty.” I couldn’t help but add, and Mom gave me another knowing look.

  “If you really believe he’s your mate, you have to know Zander wouldn’t be interested in Holly,” Mom said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like that he’s been out in the woods with her, alone for weeks now.”

  “Oh!” Mom dropped a potato and it rolled across the floor.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She let out a breath and shook her head.

  “It’s your father. He’s…,” she closed her eyes, like she was listening to something only she could hear, “one of the boys got into trouble again. He’s more than a little angry.”

  “Those three,” I sighed.

  They were always getting into trouble. Always giving my parents a run for their money.

  “It’s hard to tell,” Mom laughed, “but I think Dex may have drank his oldest bottle of scotch.”

  “Mom,” I asked, gathering a bunch of basil and a sprig of rosemary. “What’s the mating bond like?”

  “It’s like an invisible rope’s been tied around my heart that connects to your father’s. Like I can feel his soul, brushing against mine. I feel his emotions, sometimes it comes across as thoughts.” She had a silly smile on her face, and I wondered if she realized she had a hand over her heart. Mom closed her eyes and I knew she was communicating with Dad.

  A pang of sadness filled me. I wanted nothing more than to have that with Zander. There was no other person I could imagine sharing my life with. No other person I wanted to be that intimate with, to give a very piece of my heart and my soul to.

  “Come on,” I said, “Let’s grab the turkey and get in line before it gets too long.”

  3

  Zander

  Holly and I had been in the woods for a few weeks now. We’d adjusted to a pattern—sniffed out other shifters, asked them if they knew anything about the hunters, and determined our next move from there. It had been a shock to see Holly shift the first time. She wasn’t just a bear. No, she was a polar bear.

  Big, fast, and incredibly rare, it was insane to me she had wound up in Oregon. It was even more of a tragedy that her family had been hunted. She was likely one of the last remaining polar bear shifters around. I enjoyed Holly’s company. She was smart and funny. Didn’t take shit from anyone and knew what a rare specimen she was. She’d make a fine mate. But in those quiet moments in the woods, I always thought about Addie.

  “We should head back,” I told Holly.

  “Why? We’re only just making a dent in this.”

  “It’s almost Thanksgiving.”

  “So? I have no one to celebrate it with. You go if you want, I’m staying.”

  I didn’t want to let on to the real reason I needed to get back to Portland. The Full Moon was coming soon. And god help me, I couldn’t stay away. I felt its pull, it was tugging me towards Addie, and I couldn’t deny it.

  “Have Thanksgiving with me and the Barkley’s. They’ll be happy to have you.”

  She quirked an eyebrow.

  “Jace will be there?” she asked, a bit too innocently.

  I grinned at her.

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay, let’s go. But first let’s head into this town, see if they know anything. Then we get back on the trail after Thanksgiving.”

  “Agreed.”

  We were near the state border with Idaho and had been camping on the outskirts of a small town. We didn’t have to get far in to smell that there were a few shifters here. Their scent grew stronger the closer we got.

  “Wow, I wonder how many wolves live here?” Holly said, sniffing the air.

  “Not just wolves,” I added. “I smell other bears, and…is that a fox?”

  “They have to know something,” Holly said with no small measure of excitement, bounding into town.

  “We need to get back,” I said, still feeling numb as we walked out into the night air.

  “Are you sure? After what they just told us you really want to head back to Portland?” Holly had her hands on her hips.

  The shifters we’d met in a tavern knew about the hunters. They knew more about the hunters than I could have imagined. I was finally getting answers about what happened to my pack and why. The hunters were more organized and widespread than we realized.

  “It makes sense that they have such a network,” Holly mused as we walked into the forest. “For them to get my family in Alaska and yours in Seattle. They’re everywhere.”

  I couldn’t explain it, but something inside of me felt different. What happened to my pack wasn’t a random occurrence. It was happening to shifters all over the country. Possibly even all over the world. These hunters were a bigger, stronger enemy than I thought, and that notion made my wolf pace and snarl to get back to Addie. Suddenly, time was precious, and I wanted to fill as much of it with the people I cared about as I could.

  “I’m going back,” I told Holly. “The Barkley’s would be thrilled to have you for Thanksgiving, but if you want to stay out here, I’ll understand.”

  Holly looked up at the night sky, chewing it over, before her eyes landed on mine.

  �
�Fine,” she relented. “Let’s go.”

  I ran through the forest, pushing myself as hard as I could. Night had fallen and we’d come up to the boundaries of Portland. Soon, so soon, I’d see Addie. My paws were cold, tired, but I couldn’t stop. She was close, and my wolf wanted to see her, wanted to run under the Moon with her. He didn’t care if she was my mate or not, he just wanted to see the one person who accepted him unconditionally. He needed to make sure she was safe, protected.

  Holly had fallen behind. Big and fast as she was, my wolf was quicker. I wasn’t worried, I knew she’d find her way. Panting, I came upon a cliff face that overlooked the town. The Barkley’s lived on the outskirts of the city, half in the woods, and I could see the light of their house from here. But that wasn’t the house I wanted to go to.

  I ran towards the small, yellow bungalow that now belonged to Addie. I felt a pang of guilt as I wondered how her move in went, and regretted not being there to help her. I kept to the woods, out of sight of humans, as I raced towards the house. I easily jumped the white picket fence around her backyard and was shifting back to my human skin when the clouds moved and the bright light of the Full Moon washed over me.

  My wolf howled, shuddering as Addie’s smell became overpowering, intoxicating, driving him mad with lust. I stumbled forward on two legs, and gasped at the thick flesh that jutted out before me. I’d never had an erection like this before. My cock was huge, hard, and begging to be buried inside of Addie. It throbbed painfully.

  I barely had time to understand what was going on when her back door burst open. Addie stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, her eyes glowing silver. She bared her canines at me, elongated, before she tore off her clothes.

  Mate.

  I growled, seeing her nakedness. I’d seen her naked before—it was part of shifter life to see pack mates naked. But she looked different this time, fuller, like her whole body was swelling with desire for me, just as my cock had transformed into a massive rod. Heat. I didn’t know much about the mating heat, but I’d heard that once it hit, the male had to chase the female down and claim her. Something about proving his worth as a mate.

  I lunged forward, ready to capture her and sink into her at last, but Addie had a different idea. She snarled, dodging my grasps, and sprinted into the forest. Mate. Addie was my mate, and I would never let her out of my sight again.

  I growled and chased after her, tearing into the night. She wasn’t going to get very far.

  4

  Adelaide

  I was in the kitchen, preparing the turkey to brine overnight, when I smelled Zander. My heart warmed, filled with happiness that he’d come home in time for the Moon and Thanksgiving. I looked out the window and saw his gray wolf in the backyard. The clouds shifted and a moonbeam landed on me through the window, making my entire body convulse.

  My wolf whined and I half-shifted, involuntarily. I hadn’t lost control like this since I was a pup. My teeth lengthened, my nails became claws, and my limbs grew longer with tight, hard muscle. My breasts began to swell. They were suddenly tender and sore, and aching to be touched. I growled deep in my chest as flames of desire licked up my body and my blood began to burn for him.

  For Zander.

  I ripped open the back door, panting. My eyes raked over his hard body and the erection jutting proudly in front of him, red and dripping for me. I was ready to leap into his arms, wanted him to take me, but a strange tug kept me in place. My instincts whispered to me.

  Run!

  He needed to hunt me down. I wanted him to chase me. Which had to mean…we’d gone into the mating heat! My heart soared with the knowledge that it had happened at last. I knew it was only a matter of time. Zander lurched forward, arms reaching for me, but I leapt out of his way and ran towards the forest. I heard his growl and the heavy fall of his feet as he raced after me.

  Feral delight made me smile. I’d been playing hide and seek with him since I was a little girl, and I was about to give him the game of his life. I darted into the tree-line, the fir tree needles brushing against my heated skin. There was a path to my right, which I ignored as I navigated the fern and moss-covered forest floor.

  I heard Zander push through the brush and with a surge of adrenaline I leapt, grabbing a tree mid-height. I pushed myself from that tree and jumped to another, darting through the forest like a monkey. I was stronger and faster than usual, with more stamina and less control over my wolf. It had to be the mating heat making me stronger, wilder.

  I looked down and saw Zander’s wolf running beneath me. Large and gray with piercing gold eyes that never failed to make my breath catch. Seeing he’d changed into his wolf made my wolf whine. She wanted to roll on her back in submission, wanted him to mount her. But only after he’d caught us. And if he was in his wolf-form, there was no way he’d catch me in the trees.

  I laughed and heard his wolf growl at the sound.

  “You’ve got another thing coming if you think I’m about to fall out of these trees, Zander,” I called, pausing at the top of a cedar. My grip was strong, my claws were tight on the wood, and my feet curled around the trunks, despite the slick moss.

  Zander’s eyes flashed as his wolf panted below me. His breath steamed against the night as he looked at me and howled. I shuddered, a tremor of lust running from the top of my spine down, only to ignite between my legs. I moaned softly, but I knew he could hear it. He sniffed the air and stiffened as he smelled my arousal on the air.

  The air around him shimmered before he shed his wolf skin to reveal the half-shifted man crouched on the forest floor. Zander’s eyes pierced through the darkness as he gazed up at me. My heart stopped beating for a moment when I realized what he was about to do. With a mighty snarl, Zander bounded up my tree.

  My core throbbed and my breasts heaved as he got closer and his masculine scent grew stronger. I felt almost weak in the knees as his hungry gaze drew near, but then my instincts kicked in and I pushed off the tree. I landed hard in the next tree over, just in time to see Zander propel himself towards me.

  I growled, pushing myself to go faster, harder, as I leapt from tree to tree with Zander right on my heels. I didn’t need to look back to know he was getting closer. My wolf was whining, all but rolling on her back, ready to bear her belly to him. I knew then that once he cornered me, all the fight would go out of me. I’d been waiting for this for so long, I wouldn’t be able to resist him.

  I landed hard on a tree branch and before I could push off towards the next one, the tree shook as Zander landed on the branch next to me. I turned, eyes widening at the feral look on his face. His muscles rippled under the moonlight and I stared at the thick rod of flesh between his legs. My clit pulsed deliciously before his eyes connected with mine. I shuddered in a breath, mesmerized by him, and my hesitation cost me.

  With a growl, Zander pushed me against the tree trunk with his hard body. I felt his cock throb against my abdomen, and arousal slicked down my legs. Zander pinned my arms above my head and bared his fangs at me. I moaned, licking my lips before his mouth claimed mine in a blazing kiss. It wasn’t our first kiss, but it might as well have been for the way it electrified ever fiber of my being.

  I felt that kiss from the tip of my head the bottom of my toes, but most especially in my thudding, burning core. I squirmed against him, needing to relieve the pressure building between my legs. Zander growled appreciatively and released my mouth to capture a nipple in his teeth. His hands released mine to massage my other breast, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, pushing him closer.

  His tongue on my breast was like nothing I’d ever felt before. I moaned as he tugged and teased me until I thought I would go mad. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent deeply, when I smelled someone else on him. My whole body froze, my wolf’s hackles rising, and I pushed him off me with a vicious snarl.

  Zander’s eyes blazed with the challenge, ready to pin me again, but I slashed out with my claws, stopping him in his
tracks.

  “I smell the she-bear on you,” I growled, my voice deep and ringing with fury.

  He would dare come to mate me with another female’s scent on him? My world turned red as my wolf’s anger took over.

  “Did you fuck her?” I spat out, my claws lengthening.

  Zander snarled and advanced, pushing me hard against the tree again. He pinned me there with his body, but I couldn’t get my mind over the bear’s scent on him. Zander sniffed at my neck, his breath warm before he licked a line from my collar bone up to my ear that had me shivering with need for him.

  “Don’t insult me,” he whispered into my ear. “There’s only one female I want to fuck.”

  He lifted his head to meet my gaze. He brought his mouth close to mine, never releasing me from his heated stare.

  “And I want to fuck you in every way imaginable, Adelaide.”

  Even as the words melted me to my core, I picked up the stench of the bear on him and bared my fangs.

  “How am I supposed to mate a male who reeks of another female?”

  “We camped together for days,” he said, losing interest in the conversation as his hands began to roam my body. “It’s to be expected.”

  He filled his hands with my breasts, kneading and squeezing them until I was panting. I clung to him, ready to open for him, but I could have sworn that bear’s scent was getting stronger. It enraged my wolf to no end, and made my blood boil with anger instead of lust.

  “I will not,” I growled, pushing him so hard he toppled, “mate a male with another female’s scent on him.”

  I pushed him again, and Zander fell out of the tree with a yelp. He managed to catch himself and hung from the branch by one hand. I was about to jump into the next tree, when we both heard a rustling on the floor below. The stench of bear filled my nostrils.

  “Zander?! Are you okay?” Holly stood below us, peering into the canopy.

  Even from up here, I could smell Zander on her. My wolf went into a frenzy. I jumped off the tree and landed hard in front of Holly. She jumped, stepping back. I stared at her with primal dominance and growled. Instead of backing down, she just stared right back, her eyes glowing gold, and I lost control.