Mackenzie carried the food out to the barbeque. She would make dinner, and when Gordon got back,
they would have to have an in-depth discussion about what the hell was going on. She tossed the
charcoal into the barbeque and lit a match. She paused when she heard a loud howl that echoed
through the mountains. It was one lone wolf, and then more joined in.
Putting down what was in her hand, she walked back through the house to the living room, where she
looked outside, horrified to see the house surrounded by eight large monstrous wolves. They looked
hostile, and they were coming up the porch to the door.
Mackenzie ran to the door and locked it backing away just as something heavy slammed against the
door. She could hear the beast on the other side, scratching and clawing at the door. Suddenly a large
reddish tanned wolf came busting through the living room bay window shattering the glass. It landed on
its paws and fixed her in its sights, snarling and baring its teeth. It lunged at Mackenzie, who turned
and ran as fast as she could through the house. There was nothing for her to throw to slow them down
and nothing to hide behind.
She rounded the corner and opened the pantry door. Mackenzie stepped into the pantry and pulled the
door closed. It would not lock from the inside, so she held the handle of the door with both hands and
did her best to hold it closed as the wolves on the other side attacked the door.
Mackenzie screamed as the wolves tore the door apart. The door now lay on the kitchen floor in
pieces, and they snapped their jaws at her as Mackenzie kicked one in the face while trying to avoid
being bitten. Suddenly a blood-chilling howl echoed through the air, and all the wolves paused. They
turned, and Mackenzie could see the big black wolf walk into the room snarling. The other wolves
slowly backed away, lowering their heads as if cowering. The black wolf growled as he braced his paws
wide as if preparing itself for a fight to the death. This show of aggression was enough for the other
wolves to lay down submissively. The black wolf sat down, still looking powerful and deadly, then he
tilted his head back and howled. After that show of aggression, the wolves cowardly crept past him,
keeping low as they slunk out of the kitchen, leaving the house.
Mackenzie sat in the pantry, terrified, along with the black beast. She watched as its eyes began to
glow, and the wolf became Gordon standing in the kitchen naked. He walked up to Mackenzie and
squatted down, reaching for her arms to help her up. “Are you hurt?” He asked.
She did not know. Mackenzie ran her hands over her body, looking for injuries. “No, I think I’m ok.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have left you. It was a setup. Melissa was supposed to be a distraction.”
“Why are they trying to kill me?” His gaze drifted to her belly. “They baby? They were trying to kill the
baby.”
Gordon helped Mackenzie to her feet. “I won’t leave you again. I promise.”
Mackenzie looked down at Gordon and snickered. “You are naked.”
Gordon laughed. “Yeah, I am. What did you do with my pants?” She looked over at his clothes heaped
in the corner. “Thanks,” he said, walking over to his pants and began pulling them on. “Do you always
stip naked when chasing people?”
He smiled at her. “Only when I intend to wolf out. Otherwise, it would ruin my clothes.”
“Wolf out, is that what you call it? Let’s talk about that. You didn’t tell me you could do that.”
“Did you really think that thing I did in your apartment was all I could do? Darling, that’s only the tip of
the iceberg.”
“I think we need to have a long talk. I have so many questions.
“I imagine you do. I will do my best to answer them.”
“First thing…”
“Hungry?”
“Starving.”
***
Two hours after their ordeal, Gordon and Mackenzie were sitting on the dining room floor with a lit
emergency candle for ambiance as they enjoyed a good barbeque on paper plates. It was the
strangest thing. Mackenzie had never had a more romantic dinner. She enjoyed it more than this. They
had nothing, but somehow, she felt like she had everything. They had been discussing her many
questions. She wanted to know everything there was to know about what he was so she might know
better what it was she was carrying. Gordon was very candid about his abilities and what he knew
about the history of his kind. It all seemed so fantastic it was difficult to believe, but after having seen
him turn into a wolf with her own eyes, she believed every word he said.
According to Gordon, Lycanthropes never got sick. They were difficult to kill because they regenerated
at an expediential rate. They had a high metabolize, which accounted for his extreme physical fitness.
They had strength and speed that could only be categorized as superhuman. Plus, they had the
senses of an animal. They could see in the dark, they could hunt by scent, and they could hear a fruit
fly flap its wings from a mile away. Then, of course, there was the ability to transform physically into a
massive beast.
When she asked how they could tell the difference between Lycanthropes and humans, he explained
the telltale sign was their eyes. Lycanthropes had amber eyes. No matter what form they took, their
eyes never changed. He explained how Lycanthropes were not made but born. He also explained that
to this day, no one actually knew what the natural life expectancy of a Lycanthrope was because, as far
as any of them knew, no Lycanthrope had ever died of natural causes. Murder… yes… natural
causes… never.
He explained how most of them, if not all of them, had been forced to kill humans but only to defend
themselves or to protect and ensure the safety of the pack. While Mackenzie was not thrilled about the
murder of others, but she understood why he felt it necessary.
The thing that baffled her, though, was after getting to know him and seeing how Gordon handled the
other pack members proved he was no pushover. He could be dangerous when he stood his ground,
which was probably why he was the Alpha, but Mackenzie recalled his daughter Aster ranting about
how his ex-wife would beat him. Mackenzie would not have believed it had she not seen the humiliation
and anger on Gordon’s face when his daughter was yelling at him.
Mackenzie had questions about the abuse, but she did not know how to broach the subject, and he
was clearly avoiding it. “Can I ask you something uncomfortable?” Mackenzie asked as they finished
up their meal.
Gordon cast his eyes down in shame. “Did Melissa really beat me, and if so, why did I allow it?”
“I’m guessing from your lack of eye contact. It is true.”
He sighed heavily. “I met Melissa while we were young. I was thrilled to find a female Lycanthrope my
age. We started fooling around. She had a nasty personality, but I told myself I could live with it. She
got pregnant with Aster, and I just figured marriage was the right thing to do. We weren’t married a
week when we had the first episode. She got mad that I had come home late. She threw the dinner she
had made at me and started shrieking the most hurtful things…
“I yelled back, and she got angrier. Melissa picked up the hot cast iron pan on the stovetop next to her
and swung, smashing the hot iron pan into the side of my face. She had been frying homemade fries,
so it was filled with hot oil. The pain was blinding. She broke my nose and fractured my right
cheekbone. The oil burnt away the top layer of my skin on the right side. If I hadn’t the ability to
regenerate, it would have left me permanently disfigured. But I healed in twenty-four hours…
“She apologized the next day and said she would never let it happen again,” he scoffed. “That promise
lasted about three days. There were times she beat me so bad I’d thought she’d kill me. She’d leave
me lying on the floor, unable to stand under my own power. It never ended.”
“You are stronger than she is. Why did you allow her to do that?” Mackenzie asked, feeling petty for
this man that, up to this point, had never shown such vulnerability.
“When I was a child, my father told me there was never ever an excuse to strike a woman. I could
never bring myself to hit her back, so I just took it.”
“Why didn’t anyone step in?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Why not? They might have helped.”
Gordon laughed. “If I was a woman, everyone would come rushing to save me. It’s different for men.
When a man hits a woman, she is a victim who needs to be saved. When a woman hits a man, he is
looked down on — mocked for being weak and pathetic. Laughed at for letting a woman beat him up.
There are no charities to help him. There are no social programs to protect him. There is a stigma on
battered men. No one was going to help me.”
“Why didn’t you just leave her sooner?”
“For who? There aren’t exactly a lot of middle-aged female Lycanthropes around,” he sighed.
“Lycanthropes mate for life. It is a tradition. It has been a constant since the dawn of time. I felt I had no
choice.”
“But you did leave her?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I did. When I caught her in bed with one of my friends, it was the straw that broke
the camel’s back. I couldn’t live through one more disgrace. I snapped, and I decided tradition wasn’t a
good enough reason to keep putting up with the abuse. So, I finally stood tall and put an end to it. I
wish I had done it sooner because I am so much happier without her. I also found you, and you are so
much more fun than she ever was,” his gaze held hers, and she saw the uncertainty in them. “Do you
think I’m pathetic now?”
“No. I think you are stronger than I ever thought you were. It takes a strong man not to resort to
violence. You stood by your morals. Your conviction is remarkable. You are a good man.”
Gordon smiled as he took her hand in his. “Stay with me?”
“I am.”
“No, I want you to live here with me.”
“You want me to move in?”
“I do. I’m not talking about marriage. I’m done with marriage. I want to go to bed with you and wake up
with you. Given the little one growing in your belly, it seems like a good idea. We could give the baby a
real home with both parents. That has to be a good thing. After Melissa was so kind as to empty my
house, I wouldn’t even have to worry about the room. I have plenty of room, and you have plenty of
furniture we can move in.”
“How is the pack going to handle that?”
“I don’t care. I’m the Alpha. I decide who lives and who leaves,” he said with a smile.
“They already tried to kill me once.”
“I won’t let that happen again.”
“My entire life has been about building and protecting the pack. If anything happens to you or the baby,
I will kill every single member of the pack that was involved. I am a man of my word. I’ll become the
harbinger of death. When I get angry,” he leaned into her, his eyes began to glow in that menacing way,
“I can make the Devil run,” Mackenzie smiled. Not long ago, seeing him do that would have been
horrifying, yet now it seemed almost magical. “What do you say; do you want to NOT get married?”
Mackenzie chuckled. “I would be happy NOT to marry you,” she said, moving the things between them
out of her was. She crawled into his lap, straddling him face to face. “Besides, I hear marriage kills the
sex life,” she said, running her fingers through his hair as she kissed his lips softly.
Gordon moaned against her mouth with satisfaction as his hands slowly pulled her skirt up and out of
the way. “You are a handful,” he teased.
“You can handle me,” she purred, catching his bottom lip between her teeth as she reached down and
unzipped his pants, taking hold of him stroking him to life.
“I know just what to do with you,” reaching down, he lifted his hips enough to push his jeans down
enough that they were out of his way. Then he slid his fingers against her damp panties and slid them
aside. Taking her cue, Mackenzie sunk down on his erection, taking him in. They both sighed with
satisfaction. It was the first time they had been together physically since she found out what he was.
Somehow knowing how truly dangerous he really was made it all the more exciting.
Gordon’s mouth ate at her neck, kissing and nipping, sending delightful shudders to her core where
they were joined, heightening the delicious sensation. Mackenzie began to ride him, hardworking them
both into a lusty frenzy. His hands roamed her back, holding her against him while they lost themselves
in the heated kiss. Mackenzie had never been with a man that made her so crazy. Every kiss, every
touch only excited her more.
His hands travelled down her sides and over her legs, hooking behind her knees as she rolled
Mackenzie beneath him and took over. He pinned her to the floor with one hand holding both her wrists
above her head while the other trailed down her neck and pulling the front of her top and bra down
enough, exposing her nipple to his sinful mouth. He sucked her nipple between his lips and sucked
hard, spiking the sensation between her legs.
Mackenzie moaned loudly, arching her back, thrusting her breast up to him, wanting more. She locked
her legs around his waist as he drove himself into her over and over, driving deep with each thrust. She
could feel the sensation building as he ravaged her there on the dining room floor. He brought her to
climax, and Mackenzie gave herself over to the pleasure that shook her body and flooded her mind.
She heard him growl when he found his own release. It was baffling how such an aggressive sound
could be so satisfying.
When it was over, Gordon lay on the floor next to her. He smiled at her brushing her hair behind her
ear. He had such a kind and loving look in his eyes. How could someone so deadly be so gentle?
“Welcome to the pack.”
***
The next morning Gordon drove Mackenzie back to her apartment to pack her things. While she was
safely in Aspen, he returned to Feral and found his so-called friends all sitting around on the porch at
Conrad’s place with Melissa. He knew these people had been the ones that went after Mackenzie last
night. He had only seen them in their wolf forms, but he knew them by scent. Gordon walked up the
steps of the porch, where all his friends were seated around on outdoor furniture drinking. The
conversation died instantly when they spotted Gordon.
“Well-well,” Gordon smiled menacingly. “Everyone having fun?” Only Melissa made eye contact.
Everyone else did not have the balls to look him in the eye. “Did everyone get enough exercise last
night?”
“It was Melissa’s idea,” Hoss said, throwing the mastermind under the bus. It did not surprise him that
she was behind it all. “She said that child is the beginning of the end.”
“And like the dumbasses you are, you all followed her. You dare to stand against me. I should rip your
fucking throat out. You want to challenge me. You come at me. Don’t skulk around like cowards. Any of
you geniuses want to take me on stand up, and we will sort this out right now,” now one rose. “No? Not
one of you has the balls to face me? You guys should be more discerning about who you follow.
Remember, I’m the Alpha. I’m the top of the fucking food chain,” he barked, and everyone except
Melissa jumped. “Heed my warning. The next person to go after my girl or my span will….”
“Be exiled?” Melissa challenged.
“Will die. I will rip them limb from limb with my own two hands.”
“You would kill your own kind to protect a human and some half-breed freak?” Melissa growled.
“Every last one of you. This is your only warning. The next time I see your face on my property, you will
be digging your own grave. You have been warned,” he then snatched the beer out of Conrad’s hand
and walked away, drinking the rest of it. With that matter dealt with, Gordon was going back to Aspen to
help Mackenzie pack.
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