Feral Hedonism

Feral Hedonism Lacey Savage All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2006 Lacey Savage

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical

means, including but not limited to printing, file copying or sharing, and email,

without prior written permission from Changeling Press LLC. Willful violation of

this policy will result in suspension of account privileges and will lead to

prosecution.

WARNING: Illegal files may contain viruses.

ISBN (10) 1-59596-239-5

ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-239-3

Formats Available:

HTML, Adobe PDF,

MobiPocket, Microsoft Reader

Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

PO Box 1046

Martinsburg, WV 25402-1046

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Maryam Salim

Cover Artist: Karen Fox

This e-book file contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language which some may find offensive and which is not appropriate for a young audience. Changeling Press E-Books are for sale to adults, only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

Chapter One Fury tore through Victor McCormack’s body with the vicious strength of a monsoon downpour, flooding his senses, drowning him in the fiery heat of vengeful anger. His fur bristled as he ran, ruffled by a gust of crisp morning wind. He snarled, lips peeling back from sharp fangs, jaw snapping around a mouthful of air. She’ll pay. In blood, if that’s what it takes. The vicious thought shook him, marginally souring the savage hunger surging in his veins. He’d never wanted to hurt Ali before, but damn it, she’d left him no choice. For years, he’d imagined what it would be like to finally have the elusive, mysterious Alison Hill at his command. Yet in all the nights he’d spent fantasizing about making her his bed-slave, he’d never once pictured having to kill her. That Ali had to be punished for her crimes against the Zante pack, he had no doubt. Victor snarled, reminding himself he was the right wolf for the job. J.C. had put him in charge of pack security for a reason. Victor’s reputation for being ruthless when it came to ensuring the welfare of his tribe was well-deserved, and he wasn’t about to let anyone -- not even the Alpha’s sexy half-sister -- get away with trying to destroy the pack. He tilted his head and urged his aching muscles to greater speed. When the chase finally ended, he’d have her in his grasp. He could finally make all those fantasies come true. Maybe he’d even take his time with her, revel in the scent of her fear. He’d watch the feverish gleam of comprehension in her eyes as she came to terms with the fact that she’d taken her last mercenary job, performed her last cruel act. After all, Victor silently assured himself, whatever fate befell her now, she’d brought on herself. From the

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

-4-

moment she’d thrust the needle into Brad Hennessy’s thigh, Ali had forfeited her right to freedom. She didn’t know it yet, but the decision to inject Brad with Daniel Kraus’s sterility formula had made her Victor’s. As the pack’s security chief, he had complete autonomy when it came to dealing with those who would harm any member of the tribe. When he caught up with her, Ali was in for the punishment of her life. If he caught up with her. He grimaced, his paws digging into soft dirt. She was good, he had to give her that. She’d obviously been well trained during her time away. She knew all the tricks for masking her scent and hiding her paw prints from all but the most determined pursuer. Well, Victor was nothing if not determined. The musky aroma of excited female hit him square in the muzzle, igniting the rage that fueled his fevered pursuit. His prey was close. So close, he could smell the carnal flavor of her arousal as it drenched the air with pheromones. She was obviously high on her success, confident in the knowledge that she’d gotten away with destroying the Zante werewolf pack -- his pack. Her pack too, once. He caught sight of Ali’s hind legs as she ran, her sleek muscles pulsing under the soft white fur, her paws barely touching the ground. Desire stirred in his groin, sudden and unwanted. He slid through the foliage, keeping his belly low to the ground. Adrenaline flared, filling his mouth with saliva and hungry, desperate need. She paused, her ears perking as she turned her head in his direction. He stilled his movements in mid-stride and gritted his teeth. Had she heard his approach? He’d hoped for the element of surprise, but at this point, he’d take the slightest opening she gave him. Her dark eyes narrowed as she scanned the area, and he flattened himself lower to the ground, grateful for the tall grass that grew unabated this deep in the forest. He

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

-5-

didn’t dare breathe as she watched for signs of danger. If she caught his scent, she’d be on guard, prepared for his attack. Her obvious training would pose a problem, one he’d deal with if he had to, but one he preferred to avoid. His gaze slid over the pure snow white gloss of her fur, and he found himself admiring the feral beauty of a were-female in full shift. He remembered what she looked like almost a decade ago, when she’d first learned to transform from a gangly teenage human into an exotic, glorious wolf. Her metamorphosis had always been flawless, her smooth limbs shifting with natural grace. He’d been enamored then. The memory of following her countless times as she ran through the night sparked in him, and he could recall the way her fur glistened, slicked back with the rush of wind, her low, sensual growls reaching his ears, stirring his blood. She’d never learned how he’d felt about her, which, considering the current circumstances, was definitely a good thing. His feelings for her -- for the girl she used to be -- would only get in the way of what he had to do now. He watched as she held her head high and sniffed the air, trying to catch a whiff of his scent. Her chest rose and fell with her ragged breathing, and her mouth was slightly parted, revealing only the tips of her sharp canines. An oppressive stillness hung in the air, its potent calm rife with anticipation. At last, she shook her head as though to clear it, turned back, and quickened her stride. Recognizing his chance, Victor pushed himself off the ground and lunged. His first strike hit her full in the ribs. His front paws dug into her flesh and sent her flying sideways. She lost her balance, falling and rolling as he pinned her to the ground. Her eyes bore into his, darkening even further with recognition. She rewarded him with a low, guttural growl, much too sensual for his liking. Before he could respond, her jaw snapped, teeth aiming for his neck. He barely had a chance to jerk out of the way before her fangs clashed, catching nothing but air. She followed the sudden move with another, this time driving her front claws into his chest. His flesh tore under her powerful stroke and he snarled, anger drumming in his temples.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

-6-

They clung together, rolling on the ground as each pressed for the advantage. She fought well, Victor grudgingly admitted, but her sudden parries and blows were no match for his greater strength, and they both knew it. Still, she met him blow for blow, using every part of her body to gain the upper hand. Her claws raked at his fur and her teeth fought for every bit of flesh she could bite into. More unnerving than anything was the way she moved against him, sliding her muscled form over his body, teasing him with her sensual scent, driving him mad with the need to pin her to the ground and simply thrust his cock inside her tight, wet channel until she howled with pleasure. The unexpected thought flared into a full-fledged fantasy. He could picture her lying beneath him, her soft body molding to his, her breasts -Her breasts. He’d been so enthralled by the carnal images flashing through his brain he hadn’t realized she’d begun to shift back to her human form. Stilling his motions, he initiated his own shift, then watched as her white fur gave way to hair so black it shone blue, tanned limbs, smooth, lean lines and lush curves. She had a warrior’s body, toned and slim, but her breasts were high and full as they pressed against his chest. When their transformation was complete, Ali’s legs lay parted on either side of his thighs and his bare cock came much too close to the tempting entrance of her cunt. His dick pulsed with awareness as he noted it rested on her pubic bone, her smoothly shaved pussy silky and inviting against his naked flesh. Her breath came in ragged gasps, caressing his face. “Victor.” The split-second it took her to utter his name was all the time he needed to take leave of his senses. Instead of yanking her to her feet and taking her back to the elders, he pressed his mouth down on hers, hard, and slid his tongue inside. A sigh slid from her lips. He swallowed it down along with the sweet, feminine flavor of her mouth. Overhead, the sun beat down on his back, wrapping him in stifling, cloying heat. In contrast, the soft, velvety warmth emanating from between Ali’s legs was altogether much too tempting. He shifted lower until his cock pressed between her folds. Moisture

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

-7-

slicked his shaft, driving him to the brink of madness. Her body responded, arching into him, her flesh taunting him with every small twitch and trembling beat. She fought the intrusion of his tongue, disinclined to give him even that much, her aggressive defiance arousing him more than her immediate submission would have. Despite her unwillingness to give in to the assailing thrusts of his tongue, the soft, sensual feel of her mouth and the way she arched her back and crushed her breasts against his chest told him she wanted him as much as he wanted her. At that moment, he knew exactly what he had to do. He broke the kiss and trailed his lips across the angle of her cheek. “You’ve been a bad girl,” he whispered in her ear. The closeness of their bodies couldn’t hide the tremble that ran through her at the sound of his words. “You have to own up to what you’ve done.” Ali took a deep breath and released it on a shuddering sigh. “Great. So I suppose you’re taking me back to the elders.” “The elders?” He should. Oh, God, how he should. But he wasn’t going to. J.C. had given him absolute authority to do with traitors and criminals as he wished. Ali was both, which meant his jurisdiction and his power over her was absolute. He intended to make the most of it. “Oh, no. I caught you, which means you’re mine, and mine alone. No one else is going to share in your discipline. Do you know the way to fight fire, Ali?” She wriggled against him, fighting to get free. “With fire. I’ve heard that line before.” He chuckled at the way her voice quivered, though she tried to mask it. “What would be the fun in that?” Still holding her wrists, he raked his teeth down the side of her neck and lowered his mouth to bite sharply on her puckered nipple. Ali swore low under her breath and wriggled beneath him, the movement only serving to push her breast closer to his mouth. “Oh, no, sweetheart. There’s only one way to fight your brand of fire.” He paused, letting his words sink in.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

-8-

“And what’s that?” He hesitated for only a moment before replying, knowing it was much too late to change his mind now. “With pleasure. And you, baby, are in for the punishment of your life.” Her high, wild laugh held no humor. Victor grinned and rose abruptly in a fluid motion, yanking Ali to her feet beside him. If she thought he was joking, he had more to teach her about authority than he’d thought. Without another word, he swept low and gathered her around the waist. Lifting her off the ground, he hoisted her over his shoulder. She squirmed, beating her fists on his back. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Put me down!” “Master,” he said, orienting himself and heading in the direction of the nearby highway. “Excuse me?” “Put me down, Master. That’s the proper way to address me from now on if you expect me to listen to anything you have to say.” The torrent of blows falling on his back halted. “You can’t be serious.” He blew out a breath between gritted teeth. This was definitely going to take some work. “You can’t be serious, Master.”

Chapter Two Confident of her impending success, Ali had every detail of her celebration planned before she’d even stepped foot in the clearing where J.C.’s mating ceremony was to take place. She’d known that once she accomplished her mission -- and she’d had no doubt that she would -- she’d meet with Daniel, collect her pay-off, and then spend the next day reveling in the rush that always came with a job well done. Bound and blindfolded by a man with an ego bigger than Texas was not the way she’d imagined spending her euphoric day. Damn it, she’d gotten the job done! Daniel would have been delighted with her performance. Until she’d slammed the needle home, Brad had had no clue she’d been playing him. She’d had every minuscule component of the mission planned out. By the time the sedative effects of Daniel’s formula wore off Brad, she was supposed to have been long gone. Brad’s lover, Sean, she hadn’t considered a threat. A mere human couldn’t match her feral speed and agility. Besides, judging by the lovesick puppy look she’d seen in his eyes, there was no way Sean would have left Brad’s side to sound the alert. So what had gone wrong? How had Victor known to come after her? She’d had to go through him to gain admittance to observe J.C.’s mating ceremony, of course, but she’d played the family card to perfection. At the time, he hadn’t seemed particularly suspicious. At least, he hadn’t snarled at her any more viciously than he’d snarled at any other prospective guest. No matter how often she replayed the previous night’s events in her mind, she couldn’t figure out where she’d slipped. Even more frustrating was the knowledge that her mistake had to have been one of gigantic proportions.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 10 -

Otherwise she wouldn’t be lying here naked, wrists and ankles cuffed to Godknew-what, a black silk strip covering her eyes and dampening her sense of perception. The surface beneath her felt smooth and oddly pliant, like the soft padding of a downy pillow. The edges of the blindfold itched where they touched her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Ali wrinkled her brow and shook her head, but the feeble attempt at scratching provided little relief. Damn him. Damn that arrogant, infuriating man! Victor had carried her the entire way to his mansion over his shoulder. Ali had no way of knowing how long the trek had taken, but she judged it at about an hour. At first, she thought he’d have a car waiting by the highway, which was only a few miles from where he’d caught up with her, but he’d traversed the side of the road on foot instead. He’d kept to the seclusion of the woods, and when they reached his mansion, Ali had only a brief glimpse of a high, plastered wall and a cream-colored haciendastyle villa behind it, its arched doorways and wide balconies completely at odds with the peaceful, natural look of the forest. Like Brad and his cozy gingerbread cottage, Victor had apparently chosen to make his home where he felt most comfortable. Ali couldn’t blame him, she supposed. She’d never felt more at home anywhere than out in the open, with the hard soil beneath her paws, the wind ruffling her fur, stopping only to drink from a nearby brook. At the memory of running free, Ali squirmed and tugged at her bonds. She tried to shift into wolf form, but metal bit down on her flesh, pinching the smooth skin of her wrists and ankles, preventing her body from initiating the transformation. Gritting her teeth against the pain of an incomplete shifting attempt, she struggled to regulate her breathing and listened intently for any sign of Victor’s approach. In the forest, she’d missed the obvious signals of branches snapping, the soft crunch of leaves under paws. She didn’t intend to make that mistake again. When he came near her, she’d be prepared.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 11 -

Not that she could do much bound spread-eagled on a flat surface, but at least he’d no longer have the element of surprise. Unfortunately, all she could hear was the tell-tale thump of impending doom. Or maybe that was just the thundering of her pulse pounding in her ears. The first caress was no more than a feather-touch down the center of her belly, starting just below her breasts and ending at her pubic bone. Under any other circumstance, it might have made her tremble with desire. As it was, it only made her scream. “Victor, you son of a bitch. I don’t know how you do that, but I swear, when I get out of here the first thing I’m going to do is make it so that you never sneak up on anyone again.” A chuckle, low and throaty, slid through the room. “You’ll tie bells to my shoes?” Ali’s entire body shook with barely contained rage. “How dare you kidnap me and tie me up like this? I’m royalty, or have you forgotten?” Silence greeted her outburst. Her heart thumped hard against her breastbone as she waited for a response. Any kind of response. Another laugh, perhaps, or a wry retort. Or even a harsh blow. None of it came. She’d begun to think he’d left the room without her noticing when another brief touch scraped her flesh. This time, the hand moved up her arm, over the curve of her shoulder, and stopped at the tender hollow at the base of her throat. She shook her head, as though that would clear the phantom touch away. It didn’t work. Another hand brushed her skin, this one sliding down her inner thigh, perilously close to her labia. Heat suffused her cunt at the realization that she was completely open to him. She squirmed, trying to stifle her body’s unwelcome reaction to Victor’s touch. When the third set of fingers cupped her breast, her sharp intake of breath rang through the room. “What the hell?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 12 -

More hands followed, more sensual strokes. Her nerve endings flared as she struggled to see or hear something -- anything that might tell her how many people were touching her body. Not knowing was maddening. Understanding that this was all part of Victor’s plan was absolutely infuriating. At least it gave her a solid shred of hatred to cling to as she fought against the rising tide of pleasure. “If you’re doing this because I wouldn’t call you that stupid name, a few gropes won’t make me change my mind. You’re not my --” The word lodged in her throat. She clenched her jaw firmly shut and thrust out her chin in the direction she thought him to be. “Consider this your first lesson.” Victor’s voice was smooth, controlled, lacking the uncertainty her own tone had held only moments earlier. She hated him for it. If he’d brought her up in front of the Zante elders to face the charges they’d lay upon her, that would have been one thing. She could have handled that. But this -- this game Victor was playing wreaked havoc on her nerves. “I’m not going to do this with you.” There. She’d managed to tell him what she thought of his stupid lesson and her breath hadn’t even hitched in her throat. It wasn’t much, but she’d take the small measure of satisfaction wherever she could get it. As before, he didn’t respond. Fingers moved with an expertise borne of practice up and down her body, only lightly grazing the places that were rapidly awakening beneath the sensual ministrations. A dozen scents tickled her sensitive nostrils, ranging from spicy aftershave to vanilla shampoo. Among them, Ali’s own potent arousal stood out sharply, as did Victor’s natural scent, a heady blend of sandalwood and pine. Her pussy flared as another hand slid inside her thigh. She felt long, tapered fingers brush her outer labia, and she fought to suppress a shiver as an icy chill ran down her spine to blend with the fiery heat slicking her skin. It was a man’s hand, but not Victor’s. As he’d carried her through the forest, he’d kept his palms clamped tightly on her ass, and they’d been broad, firm, confident. This man’s fingers were slimmer, longer, his palms narrower.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 13 -

A light pinch on her right nipple made her groan before she could think to suppress the sound that slid from her throat. The fingertips that rolled her nipple between them were cold and delicate, definitely female. Something soft brushed the side of her abdomen, and she sank her teeth into her lower lip as she recognized the unmistakable feel of lips pressing against her skin. Lower still, nails trailed upward from her ankle to her kneecap, then back down again. Long, silky tresses fell like rippling waves, tickling her stomach. “What kind of lesson is this?” She’d promised herself she wouldn’t give in, but the merciless teasing caresses were beginning to drive her to distraction. If she could only figure out Victor’s plan, she might be able to deter him from this maddening course. There’s only one way to fight your brand of fire. His voice rang through her mind, though her question hung unanswered in mid­ air. No one else had spoken. The people who were taking such liberties with her body seemed eager to contribute to her slow, sensual torture. Victor had promised her pleasure, but that made no sense. She should be punished for what she’d done to the tribe, especially since her mission had been a success. Brad was probably even now sowing his seed in the tight anal passages of every male member of the pack, and with it, the formula that would spell the end of the Zante pack. So why was Victor languidly subjecting her body to this carnal ecstasy? She arched her back into the smooth sweep of a tongue as it slid inside her navel and swirled, sending a tremor of sensation through her bunched muscles. Master. That’s the proper way to address me from now on if you expect me to listen to anything you have to say. “Enough.” She hated the pleading edge that entered her tone, but she couldn’t help it. Pain she could deal with. Anger and rage she could understand -- hell, she’d lived with them her entire life. But this was much too foreign. She licked her lips and swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat as she uttered, “Master.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 14 -

“Good.” The tone of approval sent heat pooling in her belly. She rebelled against it, clenching her teeth until her jaw hurt. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” “You need to be taught a lesson. I don’t believe you’re as evil as your actions have proven you to be.” He trailed the back of his fingertips over her cheek and down into the valley between her breasts. Even among half a dozen other pairs of hands, she could recognize his touch. It was like no other, awakening a fire deep inside her cunt that pulsed and burned with each delicate stroke. “You’re wrong. No one coerced me into doing what I did.” “I know. And yet… I think there’s more to you than you’d like me to believe. Than you’d like us all to believe.” He paused just long enough to circle one of her beaded nipples. She pressed her lips together to prevent another groan from escaping. “There’s the warrior, of course. The ruthless mercenary. But just beneath the hard-asnails surface there’s a submissive woman just waiting for the opportunity to be indoctrinated into the pleasures of giving up control.” Ali snorted. Give up control? Not bloody likely. She’d fought for control her entire life. She was a born leader. She’d known that since she was a child. Everyone around her seemed to know it, too, even Brad and J.C. Everyone, that is, but her stepfather, the only person who counted. Though she was the eldest of the Alpha’s children, he’d never considered her able to rule. He said it was because she couldn’t manage her temper, that she was too capricious and emotional. She understood what he’d really meant. The Zante pack would never be ruled by a female, no matter how skilled. Especially not one who wasn’t of true royal blood. Stephen Hill had met Cassandra Martin when she was already pregnant with Ali. They’d met, fallen in love and married quickly. By the time Ali was born, her mother was already queen of the Zante pack, and by default, Ali became the Alpha’s first heir. Except she wasn’t his, and after her mother died when she was two and he remarried and had pups of his own, Stephen never let her forget it.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 15 -

Things only got worse when she was old enough to shift. While J.C. and his brother were dark and sleek, Ali’s white fur marked her as an outsider among the pack. It didn’t take her long to realize that any respect she was likely to get from any Zante would have to be hard-earned through sweat, tears and blood. Lots of blood. “Trust, Ali,” Victor continued, his fingers trailing a path down the center of her body, heading straight to her wet, heated pussy. “The first lesson is about learning to trust. You can’t fully receive pleasure unless you allow yourself to believe you’re completely safe.” Heat pulsed in her cunt, sending a rushing warmth to flutter through her belly. She shook her head, struggling to get a hold of her senses. Think, Ali, think! There must be a way out of this. The entire notion of trusting Victor was absurd. She was as safe here, tied up in his mansion, as she’d be if she was waving a red cape at an enraged bull. He didn’t fool her for a moment, despite his beguiling little speech. “This pleasure thing was your idea. I don’t want any of it. And I don’t trust you.” She heard a loud pop, like a gunshot going off, and instinctively flinched. A moment later, ice-cold liquid poured over her skin, drenching her in streams of moisture. She gasped at the sensation and yanked on the bonds that held her prisoner. Goose bumps formed over her skin, making her shiver. “What the fuck was that?” Something hard slid up the column of her throat and nudged her lips. Curious, she allowed her tongue to slide out and circle what she immediately recognized as the lip of a glass bottle. “Champagne. Tonight is a night for celebration.” Her heartbeat quickened at the reminder of the celebration she’d planned to enjoy in light of accomplishing her mission. Victor hadn’t sounded angry as he spoke the words, only slightly amused, but she detected a shred of sarcasm behind the statement.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 16 -

She gritted her teeth and turned her head in the opposite direction, refusing the drink he offered. If he’d only take off the damn blindfold, she might have a better idea of what she was dealing with. It would be so much easier if she could see his brows slash down over his eyes, or his lips turn upward in a faint smile. The hands drifting languidly over her body disappeared, withdrawn as though by magic. Victor must have given a silent signal, Ali thought, taking a deep, shuddering breath of relief. Maybe this was the extent of his plan, and he meant to loosen the bonds and free her. Or at least take her to the elders. Whatever punishment they had planned for her couldn’t be nearly as agonizing as this. Her respite was short lived. Mouths replaced the questing fingertips, and they slid over her skin, covering her in wet, warm kisses. Tongues slurped at the champagne running in rivulets between her thighs, down through the valley between her breasts, pooling in the hollow of her navel. When she heard a second bottle being opened, she shuddered, but knew to tense her muscles against the oncoming cold blast of liquid. “Relax, Ali. Nothing will happen to you against your will.” Her laugh bounced off the walls of the room. She jiggled her restraints. “You think I want this?” He prodded her pussy lips open, gently. “Yes,” he said simply, gathering some of her moisture on the tip of his finger, then trailing it across her lower lip. It only took a moment, but in that time, she understood. Heat suffused her cheeks. Her traitorous body would be her downfall. Cream drenched her inner thighs, and the musky smell of her arousal doused the air around them. It was painfully obvious to everyone just how much she wanted to be touched. How desperately she yearned to be fucked. “How long has it been since you’ve been worshipped, Ali? Truly worshipped? How long since you’ve let someone else take the lead and show you what it means to come because your body is brought to the brink of ecstasy and tossed over the edge?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 17 -

The husky timbre of his voice was like a menacing caress. As he spoke, his wandering fingers continued to prod the damp heat of her folds. Her lower body pushed against his hand, urging him on, despite every ounce of logic she possessed that told her she wanted no part in any of his silly notions. Because Victor was wrong. She wasn’t good, or pure, or innocent, and she certainly didn’t want to be submissive. No matter how many lessons he’d try to teach her, she would always be a mercenary, a wolf who hunted for money, who lived for the next job, the next kill. Her head swam with heady arousal. Her life had made so much more sense a day earlier, when she knew exactly what she had to do. Now, lying open to the prodding, eager touch of at least half a dozen people and a man who seemed to delight in her discomfort, she couldn’t make sense of her body’s responses. Victor’s fingers slid back and forth in the slick juices coating her lower lips. His thumb brushed against her clit, circling it, pressing down on it lightly, just enough to send a jolt of pure pleasure streaming through her cunt. Her pussy pulsed and her inner muscles clenched. Ali stifled a groan. She knew what she wanted -- what she needed, but she’d be damned if she asked Victor for the fulfillment she craved. He’d brought her to the brink of madness. He’d caused her arousal, her uncontrollable passion. She refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the eager caresses and the unending stream of pleasure made her blood burn beneath the carnal strokes. Two fingers slid down lower and paused at the entrance to her cunt, prodding softly but insistently. If she could have spread her thighs further, she would have, but the bonds already held her legs parted on either side to full capacity. She was open to him, and he could have thrust inside at any time. For that matter, so could anyone else. But no one had. Even now, when she knew she couldn’t endure much more of this, Victor wouldn’t take the next inevitable step until she consented. At that moment, she hated him for that more than she hated him for anything else he’d done.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 18 -

He knew she had no choice. He’d stripped every ounce of control from her, and he’d done it with nothing more than a gentle touch and some soft-spoken words. She preferred the angry heat that had suffused his gaze when he’d fought with her in the forest. That righteous fury she could understand and combat. This insane ecstasy was too much, even for her. “Yes,” she whispered between clenched teeth, refusing to give him more than that. He squeezed her labia and pinched it lightly, distracting her for only a moment before he thrust two fingers inside her waiting, eager channel. Her pussy clamped down in instant ecstasy around the sudden intrusion. He flicked the nub of her clit lightly, and her climax began to swirl through her veins, starting low in her cunt and spreading with an intensity that overwhelmed even her silent agony. The other hands and lips caressing her body hadn’t stopped. Instead, their tantalizing strokes only seemed to intensify, as a mouth clamped around her breast, sucking a nipple suddenly into the warm cavern. Teeth bit down on the other nipple, just hard enough to send a jolt of pain through her nerve endings to mingle with the explosive orgasm streaming through her flesh. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out until she tasted blood. The coppery flavor grounded her, gave her something real to cling to in the midst of the tempestuous tumult of her release. Even now, in the throes of so much pleasure she could barely breathe, she knew better than to give Victor the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

Chapter Three As Ali’s orgasm dissipated away into nothingness, so did the hands, the mouths, the sensual, arousing scents of excited bodies pressing up against her. And so did Victor. Even blindfolded, she could pinpoint the exact moment he walked away, taking with him the rich, heady aromas of sandalwood and pine. The sexual energy that had imbued the air around her with an intoxicating warmth felt oddly stagnant without his presence, and Ali sagged against her bonds. True to his word, Victor hadn’t hurt her. No one had, even though she deserved it for what she’d done to the Zante tribe. The implications of that knowledge were too terrifying to contemplate. “Is anyone there?” The whisper was futile, just as she’d expected, but even the sound of her own voice was better than the all-encompassing silence that left her feeling isolated and vulnerable. The muted hush enveloping her and the lack of visual stimulation only forced her to turn inward, and she didn’t want to be left alone with her thoughts any more than she wanted to be left alone with Victor. Even sleep, when it came, offered little relief. Her slumber was restless and frenzied, filled with dreams of a gray wolf with lean, powerful muscles. The beast snarled at her, showing sharp, glistening fangs. A moment later, the wolf was gone, and Victor stood in its place, rippling muscles gleaming as moonlight shone over the lean lines of his body. He held his cock in his right hand and wielded it like a weapon, a thick, solid staff that impaled her again and again and again -A cool palm on her sweat-slicked brow woke her with a start. Instinctively, Ali pulled back from the soft, unsettling touch. Her heart thumped in her chest, and the

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 20 -

remnants of the dream sent a shuddering tremor through her body to pulse between her legs. “How are you feeling?” Agitated, Ali looked up into a pair of sky-blue eyes. Her vision no longer impeded by black silk, she could make out the tall, lean shape of a woman leaning over her. She was young, perhaps no more than twenty-two, with a wild mass of long, blonde hair and a sensual, full mouth that looked like it was used to smiling often. She wasn’t smiling now. Concern and apprehension furrowed her thin brows. “How the fuck do you think I’m feeling?” Ali snapped, squinting to block out the sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind the woman. “Like shit.” Her brows pulled down a little further over her startling eyes, but otherwise the girl gave no indication that Ali’s outburst bothered her. “Let’s see what I can do to help with that.” With nimble fingers, she slid a small, silver key in the handcuffs around Ali’s right wrist. “My name is Emma, by the way. I’ve been sent to --” Ali encircled the girl’s smooth neck in a fluid motion with her suddenly freed hand, turning the rest of her words into a squeal. Her eyes widened with shock as Ali applied pressure to the tender hollow at the base of her neck. “Well, Emma, be a good girl and give me that key, then turn around and walk out of here. You do that, and I may let you live.” Emma swallowed hard, the hitch in her throat making her pulse beat faster against Ali’s palm. Though clearly terrified, she shook her head. “I can’t do that. The Master --” “Fuck the Master,” Ali growled. “I’m getting out of here, and if he thinks a slip of a girl like you is going to stop me, he’s stupider than I thought.” “I won’t stop you,” Emma said, some of the color returning to her pale cheeks. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the window. “But they will.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 21 -

Ali barely had time to glance behind Emma’s shoulder before two hulking shadows broke out of the sunlight and headed for her. The men moved with feral grace, their wolverine movements accentuated by the fur necklines of their tight black shirts. “Remove your hand, or we’ll remove it for you,” one of the men said, his upper lip curling to reveal straight white teeth. Though his canines looked human, Ali knew better than anyone that he could shape-shift in the blink of an eye and go for her throat, while she remained restrained by three sets of cuffs. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip on Emma’s neck. The two men took a few steps back, the gesture more symbolic than conciliatory. They were still close enough to attack, if need be. Emma ran a hand through her long hair. Her fingers shook, but she met Ali’s gaze boldly, and she didn’t try to step out of reach. “The Master thought you might attempt to escape. There are guards posted at every door, including the balconies.” For the first time, Ali realized that the floor-to-ceiling window she’d spotted was an arched doorway leading out onto a broad balcony. She could make out a white railing built of forged ironwork, its spiral beams depicting silhouettes of wolves captured in mid-leap, their lean, metal-sculpted bodies shining white against the perfect backdrop of the blue sky. She rubbed at her sore wrist while Emma worked at un-cuffing her ankles, and scanned the room. It wasn’t at all what she’d expected. Judging by her captive position, she’d expected a dark, dreary dungeon, but this was anything but. In fact, it looked more like a Mexican resort. Bright blue and yellow tiles lined the floor, while richly painted columns held up a high-beamed ceiling. A rustic bench sat beside a carved wooden trunk on one end of the wide room, and patchwork throws had been carefully tossed over long benches, all arranged to face the place where she’d been lying. No longer restrained, Ali could now see that she’d been cuffed to a long, leather-padded table gilded with gold by the midafternoon sun.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 22 -

“What is this place?” Ali asked as Emma finished and slipped the silver key into the pocket of her long, black skirt. A frilly white shirt completed her rustic ensemble, which only served to accentuate her full breasts and the dusky outline of her nipples. “The showing room. Come. You must be hungry, and you need a bath. The Master is planning a large gathering a week from now, and he wants you presentable by then.” “I won’t be here in a week. I’m not spending another day in this place!” Her shout fell on deaf ears. Emma had already turned her back on Ali and was heading for a set of massive carved antique doors. Seeing no other option, Ali followed. At least outside this room, she’d have a better chance of escaping. She’d meant what she’d said. There was no way she’d spend another night here, and if Victor thought she was going to be around for whatever self-indulgent gathering he had planned, he was sorely mistaken. The doors swung open at Emma’s approach, revealing another broad-shouldered guard and two leaner, darkly handsome men who held the doors open. Emma smiled at each of them as she passed. Suddenly aware of her nudity, Ali felt her cheeks turn crimson. How many of these men had touched her, fondled her, kissed every inch of her exposed skin? To hide her embarrassment, she glowered at them, but they didn’t as much as flinch at her attempt to intimidate. She gritted her teeth, aggravated by the fact that she seemed to have absolutely no control over anything anymore. Years of training as a warrior had no relevance as she walked through Victor’s mansion, at the mercy of his extravagant whims. Emma led her into a large bathroom. A marble tub sat in the middle of the room. Bubbles frothed on the surface of the water, and the sweet scent of green apple and strawberries imbued the air with a calming fragrance. Sunlight slanted in through a large window, bathing the room in pale gold. “Go ahead,” Emma said when Ali made no attempt to move. “Get in.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 23 -

Strangely subdued, Ali sank into the warm water. The champagne Victor had poured over her body had turned her skin into a sticky mess, and she was eager to wash off the memory of his hands on her… of everyone’s hands on her. Closing her eyes, Ali inhaled deeply and leaned her head against the marble backrest of the tub. Despite her misgivings, the water felt heavenly, enveloping her in velvety warmth. She could allow herself a moment of luxury before returning her full attention to finding another way to escape. At the sloshing sound of someone climbing in the tub with her, Ali blinked her eyes open. Emma crouched before her, bubbles covering the tips of her breasts. Her dark areola stood out in contrast to the white froth, and her hard nipples sent a rivulet of arousal to Ali’s pussy. In her hand, Emma held a sponge. “Turn around,” she said, and much to her disbelief, Ali obeyed without question. As the soft strokes of the sponge caressed her back, Ali sucked in a breath between her teeth. She could feel the other woman’s breasts pressing against her shoulder. Her skin was soft and slick, arousing in a way that was as foreign as Victor’s kind words and promises of pleasure. She leaned back into Emma’s sweeping brush of the sponge against her skin, reveling in the sensations sliding over her flesh. Her body’s responses to the soothing caress made absolutely no sense. She’d been trained as a warrior. She was used to hardship and pain, to pushing her body to its limits. Yet here she was, her brain no longer even contemplating different methods of escape. This was all Victor’s fault. Since he’d brought her here, she’d begun to lose little bits of herself. Important bits. Like her mind. “Why do you call him the Master?” Ali asked, as much out of curiosity as to distract herself from the woman’s tantalizing touch. “Because that’s what he is, to all of us.” The sponge slid down Ali’s spine, caressing the curve of her ass. She shuddered, though not from cold. “I don’t get it. How many people live here with him?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 24 -

“Currently, only ten of us serve him but he’s hired another dozen guards while you’re here.” “Serve him?” Ali couldn’t hide the distaste in her voice. “He keeps you here as what? Slaves?” Emma’s silvery laugh was the last thing Ali had expected. “You misunderstand. The Master believes in submission through pleasure. If we desire pain, we may have it, but only if it brings us pleasure. Now do you understand?” Ali shook her head. “That makes absolutely no sense to me,” she said honestly. Emma sighed. “Let me try it another way. The Master rescued us. All of us. From ourselves, and from others. We each have our own story, but suffice it to say, the Master knows us better than anyone. He took us in when no one else would have, and he showed us what it means to love without fear.” She paused to slide the sponge around to Ali’s stomach, then continued, “We’re free to leave any time we choose, but we like it here. He gives us our own rooms, and the luxury of his home is much more than any of us have had elsewhere. Besides, he doesn’t own our bodies, or our souls. Just our hearts.” Something heavy settled like lead in Ali’s stomach. The clear adoration in Emma’s voice clawed at her insides. Could she have been wrong about Victor? Not that she’d ever had a very clear idea of the man. Even as teenagers, he’d been an enigma to her. And now, after the way he’d captured her and brought her here, she’d pegged him as an egotistical bastard. And surely he was, or else he wouldn’t make people call him Master. Despite the fact that every ounce of logic in her brain screamed at Ali not to ask the next question, she voiced it anyway. “And who owns his heart?” Emma continued to stroke Ali’s skin, smoothing the sponge between her thighs and lingering at her swollen labia. Lulled by the exquisite pleasure, Ali spread her legs. Emma moved around to face her, her hand still pressed tightly against her pussy, her fingers thrumming a rhythmic beat against Ali’s clit.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 25 -

Her lips were only inches away from Ali’s, and her warm breath caressed her face when she spoke. “Oh, the Master gave his heart away long ago. I think he’s still waiting to get it back.” And with those cryptic words, she tossed the sponge away. Her long, delicate fingers spread Ali’s labia and rubbed against the entrance to her cunt. Ali shuddered, closing the distance between them, and pressed her lips to the girl’s mouth. The kiss was sweet, infinitely tender. Emma’s mouth tasted like vanilla and honey. Ali swept her tongue over the other woman’s, tasting every delicious drop of the unique flavor. She wondered, briefly, if Emma’s cunt would taste just as syrupy. She marveled at the smooth curve of Emma’s breasts pressing against her own, at the flat stomach, the absence of a cock. Although she’d been fucking men since she was old enough to shape-shift and prided herself on her sexual talents, she’d never before kissed a woman. The sensation was foreign, and yet exquisitely arousing. Emma moaned against Ali’s mouth and thrust two fingers inside her channel. Ali squirmed, pushing her body down further, taking everything Emma had to offer. Here, she didn’t have to worry about Victor seeing, or taking satisfaction from her pleasure. She could simply give in to the arousal streaming through her, knowing it had nothing to do with the infuriating, arrogant man. Liar. Refusing to listen to the voice inside her head that reminded her this was probably all Victor’s doing, Ali tensed the muscles of her cunt around Emma’s fingers. Then she wrapped her hand around the back of the girl’s neck and marveled at the turn of events. Only half an hour ago, she’d had a different grip on Emma’s throat. Now, her nails dug into the tender flesh in the heat of passion, grazing Emma’s skin, leaving red welts in their wake. Emma only thrust harder. She used her free hand to grab Ali’s wrist and submerge it beneath the water, then lead it to her own pussy. Her wet pubic hair covered her slit, and Ali gasped at the feel of the woman’s soft labia, slick and hot

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 26 -

against her hand. The folds parted easily as she matched Emma’s strokes and slid two fingers inside her sex. Nibbling at Emma’s lower lip, Ali slid against her lover, their sweat mixing together momentarily before being washed away by the sloshing bathwater. Emma’s climax was near. Ali could feel it in the woman’s shuddering breaths, her rapid, loud moans. Her own climax swirled inside her cunt, pulsing eagerly as Emma drove steadily inside her. Suddenly, Emma’s pussy spasmed, her inner muscles clenching around Ali’s fingers and holding them tightly in place while she shuddered with unrestrained desire. Her need was infectious. It spiraled out from her and caught Ali by surprise, triggering her own orgasm in a rushing wave of heat and pleasure. She barely recognized her voice as shrieks of passion bounced off the bathroom tiles, echoing around the room. As Emma’s climax subsided, she held Ali close, silent and introspective, her face buried against Ali’s shoulder. Ali leaned back against the tub, clutching Emma’s still shuddering body to her. “He searched for you,” Emma said softly a long while later. “When you left, I mean. He searched for you long after everyone else gave up. He scoured newspapers, took out missing persons ads, even hired a private investigator.” Ali didn’t need to ask who she meant, but the revelation startled her. She’d known all along that Victor had feelings for her. She remembered the way he’d watched her, dark eyes hungry with a raw need that made her nipples stiffen and her breath come in rapid gasps. She just hadn’t realized his feelings had run so deep. A twinge of regret pierced her heart. Regret at what might have been, at what she’d become. She tried to shake it away, but it clung to her, like a stray strand of spider web that just couldn’t be pushed aside. Heart hammering in her throat, Ali tried to feign an indifference she didn’t feel. “When did he finally stop looking?” “Last night.”

Chapter Four “I’m sorry to disturb you, Master, but I thought you’d want to know there’s been another incident.” Victor didn’t look up from the neatly typed pages he was perusing, but he did curve his fingers around the glass of red wine that sat within easy reach and lifted it to his lips. “When?” “Not five minutes ago.” “I assume you stopped her, then, or else I’d expect you to be out there scouring every inch of my property for my missing captive.” Kevin, a tall, broad-shouldered man who had been with Victor for almost a decade, shifted his considerable solid bulk as he fidgeted with the leather gloves that were part of his uniform. From the corner of his eye, Victor could glimpse the band of gray fur at the man’s neck that marked him as a werewolf in the private employ of the McCormack household. “Yes, sir,” the man said. “We caught her just as she smashed a chair through the main window of the kitchen in the east wing.” Victor turned the next page of the report and quickly scanned the contents before finally meeting Kevin’s gaze. “Any casualties?” “None. She knocked out the guards posted outside her room, but their injuries are superficial.” Victor nodded, acknowledging the news, careful to bite back the sigh of relief that almost slid past his lips. The past week had been grueling. Implementing new security procedures for the Zante pack had taken all of his time, and he’d found himself working late into the night

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 28 -

just to set up a border patrol around the perimeter of the forest, something that should have been done long ago. If that hadn’t been rough enough, he’d also had to deal with J.C.’s wrath. As Victor had expected, the Zante Alpha hadn’t been pleased when he’d learned that Victor was keeping Ali’s punishment private rather than turning her over to the elders, as expected. A heated argument ensued, ending in an ultimatum. Either Ali was rehabilitated beyond a shred of doubt and allowed to join the Zante pack as an equal, or… Victor rubbed the bridge of his nose and briefly closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think about the alternative J.C. had given him. It wasn’t an option. It couldn’t be. “You doubled the guards assigned to her, I assume?” Victor asked Kevin, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. “As you commanded after her last escape attempt, Master.” Kevin’s tongue swept out to wet his dry lips, and he wiped a bead of sweat that trickled down his left temple. “She took out all four men.” Victor regarded the guard coolly, observing his discomfort. None of the members of his household wanted to ever displease him. Failing to comply with his orders was unacceptable, a prospect they all strove to avoid. Though they weren’t concerned with violent punishment, they knew Victor demanded their best. When they didn’t give it, there were always consequences. Victor swirled the wine in his glass, watching the red liquid coat the crystal with a translucent sheen. “But she didn’t kill them,” he said, more to himself than to Kevin. “She could have, but she didn’t.” “Should I give orders to post additional men outside her door?” “No.” He drained the contents of the glass and set it on the table. The rich flavor of the wine lingered in his mouth. Potent and slightly acrid with a bittersweet edge, it reminded him of Ali, of the way her lips had tasted when he’d kissed her. “Send Emma to her. The gathering begins in two hours. I want her ready.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 29 -

Kevin cleared his throat. “If I may be so bold, Master, are you sure this is a good idea? The woman is a menace. When she’s not attacking our men, she’s hollering at the top of her lungs, demanding to see you. No doubt to attempt to knock you unconscious, too. Or worse,” he added under his breath. Victor allowed himself a slight smile. “She’s made no move to harm Emma, has she?” Kevin grimaced. “Well, no, but --” “Ali is used to getting what she wants, that’s all. She needs a few lessons in interacting with others in a civilized environment without resorting to threats and bellowed demands. I intend to make sure she learns another one tonight.” The man continued to look skeptical, but he knew better than to argue. He nodded once, curtly. “Will there be anything else?” “Ensure the area around the property is secure. Guests will begin arriving shortly.” After Kevin left, Victor returned his attention to the report Emma had prepared for him. Perusing the pages, Victor was pleased to find Emma had been even more thorough than he’d anticipated when he’d assigned her the task of initiating Ali into the world of pure, hedonistic pleasure. Emma herself had needed similar training when he’d first brought her into his home. A former member of the Kölen pack, he’d found her beaten and left for dead at the edge of the woods, unceremoniously dumped by the side of the highway. Nursing her back to health had been easy. Breaking her of her vicious habits and her constant desire to punish someone for the torture she’d suffered at the hands of people who should have been her protectors hadn’t been so easy. He considered Emma his greatest triumph, and his greatest joy. At least, until he’d brought Ali through the front door. Since that moment, his home had taken on a different quality. He could almost feel her presence lingering in shadowy corners of every room, just like her subtle scent. She’d brought a measure of chaos to his well-structured world, and rather than being disconcerting, it felt right.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 30 -

Victor scanned Emma’s report, lingering on the well-placed details. His cock stirred to awareness as he read Emma’s account of her first afternoon with Ali. He could almost picture the two women immersed in the bathwater, breasts barely brushing, their slick skin glistening in the rays of sunlight that slanted down through the tall window. His fingers moved of their own accord to the bulge in his pants. He stroked the length of his rod through the thick material, indulging in the heat that warmed his blood, remembering what it had felt like to have his body pressed against Ali’s, to feel her writhing beneath him. She’d fought him at every turn. Even when she’d been bound to the table in his showing room, she’d struggled to break free. He’d brought her to the point of frenzy and then to a thundering climax. Instead of giving in to the ecstasy coursing through her veins, she’d struggled to hide it, as though accepting his pleasure was a sin rather than her way to salvation. Well, no more. He’d stayed away for an entire week, thinking to give her time to get used to her new surroundings and to receiving pleasure without requiring anything in return. He scanned the last few pages, satisfied with the knowledge that Emma had done her job well. For the past seven days, she’d showered Ali in sensual, hedonistic indulgence, preparing her for what was to come. Preparing her for him. An hour later, Victor entered his spacious living room and assessed the décor from the threshold. Half a dozen members of his household stood against the walls, their eyes lowered, waiting for his approval. He could almost sense their indrawn breaths, the way they trembled slightly as he perused the contents of the chamber. Ali had expected him to deliver pain, yet he’d learned long ago that pleasure was much more conducive to getting his way. The promise of a mind-blowing orgasm delivered at length with a skillful touch was a hundred times more potent than a thousand blows dealt with a relentless flick of the wrist.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 31 -

He’d asked for a boudoir theme, and his household had certainly given it to him. The brightly-colored Mexican furniture had been moved out, replaced by crimson velvet couches, black lacquered tables and metallic light fixtures. Lush carpets covered the center of the room. That’s where the mundane ended. He’d made it clear that tonight was all about making a statement with bold strokes. By the time the night was over, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was the perfect person to undertake Ali’s rehabilitation. His household had listened. Instruments of pain and pleasure were everywhere. He entered the room and strode past each in turn, brushing his fingertips over the long, leathery straps of a whip, then stopping to admire a crop, a flogger, a quirt. Chains hung from one dark wall. Beside them, cuffs had been set at just the right height to secure a person’s wrists and ankles. On the opposite wall, someone had installed a large wooden wheel. Its spokes glistened as though freshly waxed, as did the manacles meant to hold a willing prisoner spread-eagled. Victor smiled. Even pleasure took on a more intense edge when coupled with the threat of pain. “Very well done. Impressive, actually.” He turned and watched the people around the room relax, grins of pure joy lighting up their faces. “Your guests have begun to arrive, Master,” Kevin announced from the doorway. “Good.” He rolled up the sleeves of his black, long-sleeved shirt and headed for the entrance hall. As he approached, he could see J.C. standing in the hallway, his mate tightly gripping his hand. Eve’s mouth was set in a straight line, as though bracing herself for something unpleasant. What struck Victor for the second time that week, however, was how much J.C. Hill looked like his half-sister. Like Ali, he was dark and lean, with the proud bearing of authority clearly outlined in his confident manner. But where Ali’s dark eyes held steel and contempt, J.C.’s gaze was kind, trusting. Victor marveled at the change in him.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 32 -

Before Eve came along, J.C. hadn’t believed in his ability to lead the Zante pack. Now, there wasn’t a shred of self-doubt left in him, and the pack was better for his leadership. “What about Ali?” Victor asked Kevin before they were within earshot of the first set of guests. “Will she be ready?” Kevin shrugged, a shadow darkening his features. “Emma says she will.”

*** “Absolutely not. I’m not going.” Ali collapsed into a supple armchair. A haphazardly wrapped towel fell from her breasts, and her wet skin stuck to the soft leather. She ran a hand through her soaked locks, squeezed out some of the remaining water, and glared at Emma. “Of course you are. Now stop pouting and let me dry your hair.” “This isn’t pouting. It’s complaining. There’s a difference.” Emma shook her head, but her blue eyes danced with barely contained amusement. Ali felt her own lips twitching in response, and she turned away before she could give in to the giggle that tickled her throat. A giggle. God, what have I become? After her most recent escape attempt had been thwarted, Ali had fully expected Victor to punish her in some manner that didn’t involve sweet caresses and sensual ecstasy. She’d seen what he was capable of. When he hunted her, when he fought with her, she’d recognized the vicious hunger writhing within him for what it was. So why hadn’t he given in to his need to terrorize her? Why hadn’t he hurt her after everything she’d done to his pack? The more time she spent here, the less she understood about Victor McCormack. Instead of lashing out at her for attempting to flee, he’d once again sent Emma. Sweet, innocent Emma, who could arouse a stone statue with no more than a delicate sweep of her fingers. After bathing her and cleaning the latest cuts and scrapes resulting from the struggle with the guards, Emma had once again brought Ali to the height of erotic

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 33 -

fulfillment. And then she’d told her she was to be the guest of honor at a gathering Victor had been planning since he’d brought her here. A gathering of the most influential members of the Zante pack, no less. “No way. I won’t subject myself to whatever he plans to do to me tonight. And if Victor doesn’t kill me himself, the rest of the pack is probably just waiting for the chance to tear me to pieces.” Emma stepped behind the armchair. Gathering Ali’s silken mass of hair in one hand, she began sliding a wide-toothed comb through it with the other. “You know so little of him. He would never let anyone hurt you.” Ali scoffed, but she was no longer sure Emma wasn’t telling the truth. It had been so easy to think she’d have to put up a fight at every turn. She could have called on all her experience as a mercenary, and she could have put her training to use. After all, she’d been trained by Lady Isabel herself, the white wolf of the North. Ali rubbed the bridge of her nose. When was the last time someone hadn’t wanted to hurt her? She’d lived her entire life looking over her shoulder, waiting for the next blow to land. For the first nineteen years, the hits she’d taken had left no scars. None that were visible, at least. Her heart bore them nevertheless, and they hurt more than every wound she’d taken since in the heat of battle. Leaving the Zante pack a decade ago hadn’t been easy, but it had been necessary. For almost two decades, she’d lived under constant scrutiny. Her stepfather, Stephen, made it clear when she was old enough to crawl that he expected her to be a constant disappointment to him. The fierce demeanor and quick temperament he admired in his sons he found disgraceful in her, and nothing she ever did pleased him. Ali knew she reminded him of her mother’s past, a past both of them knew little about, but that didn’t make his disapproval any easier to bear. He doted on his sons, but he treated her with nothing but scorn. Because Stephen led the pack, no one questioned his judgment. When her brothers came of age, they were embraced by the members of the Zante tribe, but she wasn’t welcome among them. They excluded her from their ceremonies and their

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 34 -

traditional rites of passage. On most occasions, the pack tolerated her, but she saw the frowns of the elders when she shifted and revealed her snow-white coat. She’d repeatedly tried to prove to her stepfather that she was worthy of his trust, of his pride, to no avail. When he didn’t laugh at her attempts to display her leadership skills, he simply ignored her, as though she was nothing more than an annoying insect he wished he could squash. Well, she’d saved him the trouble by leaving. She had no doubt he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news, and probably didn’t bother to give her a second thought until the day he died. What little information she’d gleaned from Stephen about her mother while growing up led her north, to the Canadian wilderness. Though she didn’t find her real father, she did find shelter among the Hivernée, a pack of white wolves who dealt with the brutal climate by embracing a harsh lifestyle of their own. A lifestyle to which Ali had quickly grown accustomed. After five years in their midst, Ali prided herself on being able to endure pain, and on fighting as well as any male of her species. Almost any male. She scowled, remembering how easily Victor had subdued her. He’d had training, too, and not at the hand of a member of the Zante pack. She knew them all from her childhood, and none fought like him. None kissed like him, either. Annoyed at herself for allowing her thoughts to turn in that direction, Ali sank her teeth into her lower lip. Even if he hadn’t been intent on punishing her for her misdeeds, pining away after Victor was useless. He’d made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with her. Why else would he have stayed away for an entire week? Emma’s careful ministrations quickly lulled Ali into a languid euphoria. The woman’s fingertips swept over Ali’s scalp, gathering her hair as she blow-dried it, then curled it with a hot iron. When she wheeled over a small table with a wide array of cosmetics, Ali didn’t protest.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 35 -

It took nearly an hour before Emma was satisfied, but when she led Ali to stand in front of a full-length mirror, Ali couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her throat as she stared at her reflection. Emma had managed to turn her from a warrior into a sensual siren, and the effect was mesmerizing. Her long, shiny black locks fell in soft curls around her shoulders, the silky texture brushing her breasts with every slight move. Smoky charcoal lined her dark eyes, while rich brown shadow and black mascara made her pupils look much larger than usual. A hint of red accentuated her high cheekbones, and a touch of shine made her plump lips appear even fuller. “You’re a genius,” Ali whispered, bringing her fingertips to her cheek. The outline of a faint bruise marred one cheekbone, but Emma had done a remarkably good job of hiding the purple and black abrasion that had formed when one of the guards’ elbows connected with her face. “Yeah, well, remember to repeat that when the Master asks. Now stop dawdling and let’s get you dressed. Everyone’s waiting.” Ali scowled, a smattering of fear creeping up her spine. She might look like she’d just stepped out from the pages of a fashion magazine, but that wouldn’t fool anyone into forgetting what she’d done to them. By now, Brad must have fucked half the male pack, who in turn shared their pleasure, and their infected bodily fluids, with the Zante females. Daniel’s plan had been foolproof, but Ali had carried it out. She was single-handedly responsible for destroying their entire pack, and that wasn’t something she could easily atone for. When Emma draped a long cloak over her shoulders, Ali started. “What’s this?” she asked as the woman swept around her and began tying the cape at the base of her neck. “I thought you said you were going to help me get dressed.” Emma’s silvery laugh sent a shiver of apprehension down Ali’s spine. “You are dressed. This was Victor’s choice for you.” “Of course it was,” she murmured under her breath.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 36 -

In truth, the garment was exquisite. Made of soft velvet, it fell in luxurious folds to the floor. The lining was pure silk, and there were custom-tailored places for her to insert her hands and pull the edges of the cloak closed around her. If she didn’t let go, no one ever had to know she was naked underneath. Ali took a deep, shuddering breath. Victor would know. That was enough. “They’re all waiting downstairs. I’m to lead you there, but I can’t come in with you. The guards have been doubled at every window and door, so don’t even think about attempting to escape. Ready?” Ali raised an eyebrow. “Do I have a choice?” “What the Master wants, the Master gets. I suppose you had to learn to follow orders sooner or later, like us all.” Ali bristled at the implication of Emma’s offhanded comment as she followed the woman down the long corridor. She didn’t take orders from anyone. She might have been born female and not of true royal blood, but damn it, she’d been born to lead. Her lot in life was to give orders, not follow them. Gritting her teeth, she climbed down the set of steps to the main floor. Her gaze swept the corridor, but as Emma had made clear, men stood like silent sentries along every break in the hall, at every door, by every window. When they reached a set of mahogany double-doors, Emma paused. “I can go no further. From here on, it’s all you.” If Emma’s words had been meant to unnerve her, they had the desired effect. The double doors swung open, and Ali stepped inside the room. Her breath caught in her throat. A moment earlier, there’d been a low, buzzing murmur of voices engaged in conversation, but it had come to an abrupt halt when she entered. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared in her direction. She knew every one of the people in the room, some better than others. Her gaze slid over J.C., pretending not to notice the way his brows furrowed over his dark eyes, or the way his mate’s knuckles turned white as she dug her fingernails into his arm. Ali’s heart thumped a frantic, uncertain

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 37 -

beat when she spotted Brad standing off to the side, his arm flung over Sean’s shoulders. Why was Sean here? He wasn’t even a member of the pack, and his relationship with Brad had been superficial at best. Hadn’t it? She frowned, wondering if she’d misread their connection. If she had… No, it was impossible. The formula she’d injected into Brad had to be sweeping through every one of the weres in this room, and by now they all knew it, judging by the accusing, condemning stares they darted her way. Victor stood in the middle of the room, his arms folded across his impressive chest. A black, long-sleeved shirt hugged his lean, muscular form to perfection, and the sight made a flutter stir deep in Ali’s stomach. It was a purely feminine response at the sight of a handsome man, and not one she could easily control, but it irked her anyway. She set her features in a scowl. “Why am I here?” “We’d all like to know that,” J.C. said. “Yeah. The bitch tries to destroy us and you’re throwing her a party?” someone else shouted. Ali ignored them, as she tried to ignore the instruments of pain and pleasure scattered around the room. Her pussy clenched at the implications of the floggers and paddles, the whips and chains. She’d seen this room before, once, when she’d run past it in an attempt to find a way out of the mansion. It had looked nothing like this, then. Victor reached out and wrapped his arm around Ali’s waist, then pulled her to him. Her first impulse was to pull back out of his arms, but the feel of his body was warm, comforting. Despite herself, she felt protected from the venomous stares of those around her. His cock stirred against her belly, thick and unmistakable even through the material of their clothes. Ali fought to hide a tremble of desire that traitorously snaked up her spine. “Alison is under my protection. And you are all guests in my home. While you’re here, you’ll all behave like civilized wolves. Am I making myself clear?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 38 -

A few half-hearted murmurs echoed in response. Victor growled, the sound coming from deep in his chest and resonating through the room. “That’s not good enough.” “Yes, yes, you’ve made your point,” J.C. said, stepping forward. Ali looked up and gazed into his dark eyes. It was so unlike the half-brother she knew to take charge of a situation. When they were kids, he’d deferred every decision to his older brother. Now that his brother and father were dead and he’d fallen into the role of pack Alpha, there was no hesitation in him, no second guessing. She’d spent her entire life envying J.C., hating the way he belonged in the pack when she didn’t. Yet now, watching him, a stirring of pride and unexpected affection prickled the edges of Ali’s awareness. Her baby brother, all grown up. The knowledge was at once welcome and unsettling. Everything she thought she knew about the pack was rapidly being turned on its head. “You all questioned my motives when I took her in,” Victor said, his palm sweeping up and down the length of Ali’s back. “Hell, you questioned my sanity.” A few chuckles erupted around the room. Victor ignored them and continued, “Yet none of you know Ali the way I do. You don’t see the potential in her that I see. Tonight, you will.” He gave her no warning before unraveling the tie that held the cape together at the base of her neck. She hadn’t even had time to fit her palms into the inside pockets and keep the fabric clenched around her. With one smooth move, Victor had the garment off her shoulders. Ali cried out, her voice joining the shocked murmurs of those assembled. From behind her, Victor placed his palms on either side of her waist. “Lesson two,” he whispered in her ear, low enough that only she could hear. “Openness. Sincerity can be faked. Honesty can be nothing more than a lie spoken through a smile. But true openness can’t be forced.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 39 -

He took her hand and led her to a wooden wheel that had been mounted on the nearest wall. Tears burned behind her eyelids as she understood what was expected of her. He’d promised her pleasure, but his punishment was more conniving and ingenious than she would have given him credit for. Instead of pain, he gave her humiliation. Ali stepped on the spokes and closed her eyes. She felt Victor kneel in front of her to bind the straps around her ankles before rising to fasten her wrists. Spreadeagled, she hung on the wheel, naked and in full view of anyone who cared to watch. Their gazes burned her flesh. She felt them linger on her breasts, her belly, her sex. Her pussy lips flared at the knowledge that everyone in the room stared at the seeping wetness that dripped down her inner thigh. Even now, when she had nothing else to depend on but herself, her body betrayed her. “She’s yours for the taking,” Victor announced. “There will be no better opportunity to learn what Ali is made of than the one I give you right now. I will remind all of you that she’s not to be harmed. Use the instruments around you, if you must, but use them to give her pleasure. If anyone lays a hand on her with any intention but to bring her to the height of ecstasy, you’ll answer to me. Understood?” This time, the answering assent was loud and unanimous. Ali opened her eyes. Victor stood beside her, his fingertips sweeping down her cheek. “Remember lesson one?” She nodded, recalling the way every nerve ending in her body had stirred at the unseen hands, lips and tongues that played with every inch of her flesh. “Trust me, then,” Victor said. J.C. stepped up to her first. Heat suffused her cheeks as her half-brother’s gaze slid up her body, but he only look perplexed. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said to Victor. “I do.” “Fine, then. Remember our agreement. Have your fun, but don’t lose sight of what’s at stake.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 40 -

Victor inclined his head respectfully. “You won’t regret this.” “I already do,” Eve said under her breath. She’d tried to keep her feelings about this spectacle hidden, but Ali saw the distaste etched upon her features. J.C. swept his mate close to his side. “Goodbye, sis.” His level gaze assessed her for a moment before he continued, “We may not meet again.” Eve and J.C. turned and made their way through the crowd. Ali watched them until they slipped out the door, then released a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “Shhh…” Victor soothed, leaning close and smoothing her hair back from her forehead. “It’s okay. There’s a lot more to come, and they won’t all be as bad as that.” Ali didn’t reply. It took all her self-control to keep her gaze fixed straight ahead. Her body trembled, adrenaline fusing with anticipation. How much worse could it get? Brian, a man she recognized as one of the few children of her age who’d played with her when she was young, came up to her next. His eyes bore into hers, his scowl deepening as he came close enough to touch her. He had a flogger in one hand, and he raised it, letting it hover just in front of her eyes. “You don’t deserve mercy,” he said, his hate-filled voice sending a tremor through her limbs. She held her breath, anticipating the first flare of pain as the flogger licked her skin. Beside her, Victor growled softly. Brian’s upper lip curled into a snarl, revealing sharp fangs. She knew he was holding back the shift. His tightly corded muscles betrayed his need to transform, to change into a wolf and leap upon her naked, human body. Only Victor’s presence at her side and his words lingering in her mind kept her from breaking out in a cold sweat. Trust me, he’d said… and common sense be damned, but she did. Brian dropped the flogger and walked away. His hunched shoulders and the way he fisted his hands at his sides told her he’d love to get his hands on her outside of Victor’s protection. Well, she’d welcome him, then. In a fair fight, she knew she could best any of them.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 41 -

The next person to approach her was kinder, though not by much. She didn’t recognize him, but his green eyes and mess of untamed blond hair reminded her of Brad. Without hesitation, he cupped her breasts. “How could anyone so beautiful be so evil?” he spoke softly, but his words went right through Ali, clawing at her heart. She knew he was right. They all were. She’d destroyed their pack for money and the vague promise of revenge. They’d never taken her seriously, so she’d attempted to gain the pack’s respect through fear by viciously attacking them. Shame washed over her. Guilt and remorse mingled with the stirrings of arousal as the man circled her areola with the tip of his index finger. Her nipples stiffened, begging to be rubbed, pinched, teased. Her labia fluttered as her sex twitched, and the unmistakable waft of her cream tickled her nostrils. Beside her, she thought she saw Victor smile. Ali bit her lower lip, hard, to keep from giving in to the sensations coursing through her body. One by one, Victor’s guests came up to her and mercilessly fondled and stroked every inch of her skin. Her tightly corded muscles quivered as hands grabbed her breasts and fingers thrust between her plump labia. She saw the smirks as they discovered the slick juices of her readiness, recognized the glee etched in their faces. Her cheeks burned. Blood flooded her tongue as she broke the skin of her lip with her teeth. The coppery flavor kept her grounded, while a myriad of sensations teased and assaulted her senses. A woman drew back the hood of her clitoris and teased her softly with the pad of her thumb. Ali moaned, unable to hold back. She remembered Emma’s touch, so gentle and kind, and couldn’t help but compare it with this woman’s caress, which was ruthless by comparison. Yet both awakened feelings in her she didn’t want to face, emotions she’d never expected to feel. And then, something happened. Instead of fear and hate, she began to recognize something else in the eyes of those who came before her. Compassion, understanding,

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 42 -

even pity began to glitter in their gazes. She swallowed back the lump that formed in her throat. A man lowered his head and bit the brown nubbin of her nipple as his fingers played within her slit. “I see what you mean, Victor,” he said around a mouthful of her breast. “A misguided woman like her with a proper Master could become anything. She might even be worthy of redemption.” Ali closed her eyes. She refused to analyze the man’s meaning. Victor didn’t reply, but she’d seen the self-satisfied grin before her eyelids drifted down to shield her. Hands trailed across her stomach, teasing her with expert skill. Unable to deny her body’s response to the languid caress, she thrust her breasts forward and parted her thighs as wide as her restraints would allow. Fingers slipped briefly within her folds, thrusting inside her channel, only to be replaced with another set of hands, then another and another. She lost count of how many people had fondled her, and her body buzzed with a sensual awareness she couldn’t deny. Torn between anguish and arousal, she couldn’t catch the sob that rose in her throat. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. I’ve never wanted that for you.” Ali gasped at the familiar voice. She opened her eyes and looked into a startlingly familiar pair of blue eyes. Brad’s eyes. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, and she blinked them back, determined to keep from embarrassing herself. Too late. Brad held a leather paddle in one hand. He trailed the rounded edge over her arm and down her shoulder, then circled her nipple. “I’ve thought about what I would do when I finally had a chance to get my hands on you,” he said softly. “I never imagined it would be quite like this.” “She’s not to be hurt,” Victor reminded him. Brad shrugged. “I know.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 43 -

Ali glanced behind him and caught sight of Sean, standing a few steps away. His expression was carefully guarded as he watched them, but he made no move to interfere or participate. Brad brought the paddle down between her legs and flipped it in his hand. Using the tip of the long, thick handle, he rubbed her clit. She sucked in a breath as pleasure streamed into her cunt. Lowering his hand, Brad brought the hilt of the paddle between her legs and thrust it inside her. She gasped at the intrusion, but her pussy clenched around it, sucking it inside her body with relentless force. The hilt was cold and immensely thick inside her, bigger than any cock she’d ever had. It stretched her inner walls to capacity and filled her, nudging her womb. Ali groaned with shock and delight. Risking a glance at Victor, she saw his eyes were shadowed with lust, his lips slightly parted. She yearned to lean over and slide her tongue between his lips while Brad fucked her with the paddle, but she didn’t dare. Instead, she gritted her teeth and gave in to the sensations coursing through her. Brad thrust the hilt inside her again, faster and faster. She met his strokes as well as she could, her body sliding against the rough wooden wheel behind her, her juices slicking the handle and dripping down her thighs. Pressing her lips together, she tried to block out everyone else in the room. It didn’t matter that they all watched this little humiliating display. All that mattered was that Brad and Victor were with her, pleasuring her. There was no hatred, no spite or condemnation. Just… openness. She could no longer hide anything from them. Not like this. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, hardly coherent. “I am so sorry.” Brad sighed. “I know. I didn’t before, but I do now.” She let her head fall back, while tears trickled from beneath her closed eyelids. With leisurely skill, Brad penetrated her, while Victor finally lowered his mouth and clamped his lips around one of her nipples.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 44 -

She’d have recognized his mouth from a million others. The rough stubble of his jaw grazed her breast and the slick, velvety feel of his tongue swept over her skin. Her inner walls fluttered in unheeded contentment. Her hips pumped as the sweet stirrings of climax heightened to full-blown orgasm. It peaked in a frenzy of erotic delight, bursting through her body with tremendous speed. Her nerve endings flared, every part of her screaming in delighted agony. Her voice bounced off the walls, echoing back at her with a potent, savage power. Trust. Openness. As the last stirrings of her release swirled through her, Ali wondered how long she’d have to wait until her third lesson.

Chapter Five It wasn’t until Victor unfastened the last of Ali’s bonds and she collapsed against him that he knew his heart was in danger. Until then, he’d been able to fool himself into thinking he’d taken her in for altruistic reasons and for the good of the pack. Even while watching Brad arouse her to the brink of climax with the confident touch of someone familiar with her body, Victor had been able to delude himself. He believed -- really believed -- that the only reason he was compelled to clamp his mouth around her nipple at the moment of her release was because he feared the effect that climaxing at the hand of her victim would have on her already bruised ego. The tables had turned, and Victor had doubted Ali would be able to handle the last crucial element of her second lesson. Surely the fact that his blood had boiled at the sight of another man’s hands on her had nothing to do with his urge to touch her, to ensure she knew he was there, making her come. After all, the gathering had been his idea. He’d known all along what would happen, and by all accounts the evening had been an even greater success than he’d expected. And yet, the moment he felt Ali’s body press against his chest as he gathered her to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a gesture of complete and utter trust, the self-deception shattered into a million fragmented pieces of denial. Holding her tightly, Victor strode out of the chamber, leaving his household to scurry inside in his wake and clean up the evidence of the evening’s revelry. They had their work cut out for them. As the night wore on, some of the guests had taken matters into their own hands after watching Ali’s body being fondled, pinched and caressed in every possible manner. A few of the bolder ones had found willing partners among the

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 46 -

rest of the pack, while others shifted to their natural form and fled into the night, no doubt to find their pleasure in the open, with moonlight beating down on their fur. Ali whimpered softly and burrowed her face in the hollow between his collarbone and his ear. “Is it over?” “Shhh,” he soothed, “it’s over. Everyone’s gone home.” “Home.” He couldn’t see her face, but he could almost picture the sad smile etched upon her full lips. “Must be nice.” Victor’s heart pounded violently as he recognized the melancholy lilt in Ali’s voice. The words themselves hadn’t been unusual. Certainly not enough to make him squeeze her even tighter against him. What shocked him was the way she’d said them. He’d heard the same sentiment uttered with identical raw need by many of the wolves he’d taken into his household. He just hadn’t expected to hear it from Ali. Silently cursing himself for not seeing it sooner, he walked down the length of the main hallway, noting the way the guards’ gazes didn’t waver for even a brief peek at the naked woman he carried. He’d trained them too well for that. Reaching the base of the stairs leading to the second floor, Victor hesitated for only a moment with his foot on the bottom step. Then, instead of heading upstairs to the guest bedrooms where Ali had been under constant guard, he turned right, toward his own room. Adjusting his grip on Ali so that he could support her weight with one hand, he used the other to reach into his pocket and pull out a slender key. She sighed and wriggled against him, the warm skin of her ass burning against his palm. He fumbled with the lock, his cock stiffening further, sending pulsing tremors of delight through him. Inside, the room was dark, the only light coming from the moonbeams sliding through the open double doors leading to his balcony. No guards had been positioned there. He had no need of them. The scent of night-blooming flowers wafted in, imbuing his bedroom with a sweet, sensual aroma that did nothing to hide Ali’s own musky

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 47 -

perfume. It clung to her like an aphrodisiac, burrowing straight to his groin every time he breathed. Using the heel of his foot, Victor pushed the door closed. It slammed with a loud clank behind them. “More lessons?” Ali asked, lifting her head. He didn’t dare hope that was the thrill of anticipation he heard in her voice, so he ignored it. “You’ve had enough for tonight. I think you should rest.” His bedroom was one of the smallest rooms in the mansion, but it was sensual and cozy, just the way he liked it. He never brought anyone here. Training was better done in rooms suited to the purpose, such as the showing room, or in very special circumstances, like tonight, the living room. He kept his room sparsely furnished, with a large king-sized bed dominating the better part of the space. An antique chest stood in front of it, and dark bookshelves covered the west wall. Books ranging from metaphysics to perfecting martial arts techniques lined the shelves, while Native American art showing wolves in motion decorated the walls. He pulled back the black comforter with one hand and placed Ali gently down on the bed. She clung to his neck, pulling him down with her. He could have yanked himself out of her grasp, but the thought of losing the warmth of her body was too much to bear. He slid in beside her, pulling the covers over them both. “What’s this?” Ali asked, turning to face him. She raised her head momentarily so she could rest it on her bent elbow. “Victor McCormack is going to sleep? I thought men like you didn’t need a moment’s rest. You simply darted around at all hours of the day and night, barking orders at anyone who’d listen. And at everyone who won’t.” Despite her light tone, he heard the tension behind the words. “Obedience isn’t something that’s granted --” “It’s something that’s earned,” she finished for him. Moonlight played over her face, highlighting the scowl that had formed on her exotic features. “You told me that before.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 48 -

He slid his fingertips up and down the curve of her waist, and felt her tremble at his touch. The knot in his chest tightened. “I remember.” “Really? I wouldn’t have expected you to. It was a long time ago. The same night, you also told me leadership doesn’t come from here.” She pointed to his forehead. “Or from here.” Her hand trailed down to close around his bicep. “It comes from here.” He placed his hand over her heart. Her full breast felt like velvet beneath his palm. Her nipple stiffened, the dark bud beading just inches from where his palm lay. He fought the urge to tweak it beneath thumb and forefinger, and focused on Ali’s eyes instead. This was too important. He’d been able to pinpoint the exact moment during the gathering that she’d allowed herself to feel, really feel what he’d wanted her to acknowledge since he’d brought her here. There was more to her than the steel mercenary persona she’d worked so hard to build up. She didn’t need the warrior to be the woman she could be. His pulse thudded in his temples, reminding him of everything that was at stake tonight. If he could get through to her, the second lesson would be complete. The Dominant/submissive relationship centered on three fundamental principles. Trust, the first one, had been easy enough to prove. The second, openness, had been harder. Until she’d allowed herself to succumb to the pleasure of the flesh, he hadn’t been sure she could let go enough to understand what he was teaching her. As for the third lesson… The third lesson could change her life. Or end it. “You were wrong, you know,” Ali said softly. “That night you told me those things, I set out to prove you had no idea what you were talking about. Authority, and the power that comes with it, is something to be feared. Every member of the Zante pack knew who their Alpha was. They wouldn’t have dared raise their voices to him, or disobey an order he gave.” Victor caressed her arm with the back of his fingers, then closed his hand around the nape of her neck. She sucked in a breath between clenched teeth.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 49 -

“Not because they feared him. You see what fear does? It puts you on edge, makes you wonder when the inevitable blow will come. It also makes you careless.” He squeezed the muscles in her neck, then released them, bringing his palm down to cup her breast. This time, he circled her nipple with the pad of his thumb, and Ali rewarded him with a low moan. “I left the next morning.” He wet his suddenly dry lips. “I know.” He’d thought about their last encounter endlessly since she disappeared, wondering if it was something he’d said, something he’d done. He’d replayed their final conversation in his mind a thousand times, never being able to pinpoint the exact moment when she decided to leave. He knew he’d made her run, even then. Now, he had to know why. “Would you have left if I hadn’t followed you that night?” She shuffled closer to him, the burning heat emanating from her nude body searing a path to his flesh through the clothes he still wore. “Probably,” she admitted. “Maybe not the next morning, but eventually. I didn’t belong here.” “You’re wrong,” he whispered, sliding his arm around her waist and yanking her to him in one solid motion that slammed her pubic bone against his. “You belong right here.” For a moment, neither one of them breathed. He waited for her, knowing her submission was crucial. He had to have it. The rest of his plan hinged on it. And then, Ali slipped both her hands down to the front of his pants, snapped open the top button and lowered his zipper. He lifted his hips off the bed and allowed her to tug the pants down around his ankles, then pull them off completely. He wore nothing underneath, and his cock sprang up from the confines of the garment to rest against his stomach. Ali kneeled at his side and ran her fingers along the length of his shaft. Victor’s hips jerked of their own accord, pressing his dick into her hand. She closed her palm around it, and the touch was sheer torture. She stroked him slowly, taunting him with just the right amount of pressure as his rod swelled to impossible hardness.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 50 -

“I learned a trick or two while I was away,” she confessed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Shuddering, Victor gritted his teeth and willed himself under control. Her strokes grew longer, and she paused at the base of his shaft to cup his balls and squeeze them slightly in the palm of her hand. “Suck me,” he commanded, and to his surprise, she obeyed. The brief moment before her mouth made contact with the head of his cock was excruciating. When she finally wrapped her lips around it and enveloped his length in the warm cavern of her mouth, his muscles clenched, tightened, and he gritted his teeth to keep from spilling his load like a teenage pup. She lapped and sucked every inch of his cock, worshipping it with her tongue, lips and fingers until he was sure he’d explode. He gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. As though sensing his frustration and reveling in it, Ali only sucked him deeper, harder, her fingers fondling his sac and toying with the sensitive skin between his cock and anal opening. Her touch was maddening, driving him to the brink of distraction. Every muscle in his body pulsed in anticipation of the biggest jet of cum he’d ever released spurting down her throat, drowning her in it. At the last moment, she pulled away. Victor howled, the sound low and guttural, coming from the place in him reserved for the shift and the actual moment of orgasmic release. He leapt up and pinned her to the mattress, spreading her thighs open with his knee. Her fragrance swathed him in arousal, driving a deep, pulsing need into his shaft. He had to be in her. Now. “Love me.” If the simple request she uttered in a low voice complete of any pretense shocked him, the next word she murmured struck him like a punch to the gut, knocking the air from his lungs. “Master.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 51 -

Ali went absolutely still, waiting for Victor’s reaction. She wasn’t sure what had made her give voice to the title she’d hated since she’d arrived here, but at that moment, it had felt right slipping off her tongue. It suited him, she thought as she watched a lock of his hair hang low over his forehead. His brows were furrowed, and his dark eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. The irony of their position wasn’t lost on Ali. He’d had her pinned down like this before, when he’d captured her. Then, she’d been furious with him for lording his power over her. Now, his taut body pressing down on hers, his hot, sleek cock nudging the entrance to her pussy, only aroused her further. She had nothing to fear from him. If there was one lesson she’d learned tonight during the gathering, that had been it. As long as she gave him what he wanted -- and he seemed to want no less than everything she had to give him -- he’d give her what she craved in return. And what she wanted beyond all else was his cock embedded deep in her pussy, plunging inside her channel again and again until the overwhelming sensation pushed all other thoughts from her mind. Until she felt safe. Being in Victor’s arms, having him inside her, felt like coming home. Unexpectedly, she found she loved the feeling of belonging somewhere… and to someone. Besides, she’d much rather lose herself in raw, passionate sex than have to consider what had happened tonight. She’d spent her entire life ensuring her position as a leader, as a wolf to be feared and respected. The implications of the entire Zante pack having seen every inch of her, having touched her intimately in every possible way, was too much to bear. “You don’t have to do this.” Victor’s breath was warm on her ear as he bent his head and nuzzled the side of her neck. “What?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 52 -

“This. Seduce me. Give me what you think I’m after. You don’t have to do it.” She heard the tension in his voice and knew how much it had to cost him to say those words. Her chest tightened with an emotion she didn’t dare name. She hadn’t felt it in much too long, had thought she’d never feel it again. Damn it! Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She didn’t want to be falling in love with a man who seemed to live for the enjoyment of turning her life upside down. Since he’d brought her here, he’d challenged everything she thought she knew about herself. In his arms, she wasn’t a warrior. She didn’t have the slightest urge to lash out at him, to prove that she was stronger, tougher, better. If she managed to escape, or if, through some miracle, he let her go, what would happen then? How could she go back to her old life? Taking one mercenary job after another, always looking for her next payday knowing all she’d be able to think of was this moment, this man? “I…” Words failed her. She knew what she wanted to say, but the sentiment stuck in her throat, gagging her. She turned her head instead, released a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, then tried again. “I’m not doing this to make you happy. And I swear to you I won’t run afterward, when you roll over and fall asleep.” She’d hoped that might at least elicit a smile, but his features remained as serious as they’d been a moment earlier. When he lifted his head and looked at her, it felt as though he was looking straight into her soul, trying to assess the truth of her words. She couldn’t blame him, she supposed. After everything she’d done, he had no reason to trust her. If he thought she was trying to seduce him, then so be it, as long as he took advantage of what she offered. Stirring beneath him, Ali wiggled her hips and deepened the contact between the warm flesh at the apex of her thighs and Victor’s cock. “Do you doubt how much I want you?” He shook his head. After a moment, his sensual lips curved into a smile, the tension seeming to drain out of his broad shoulders. “I don’t think you could fake this.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 53 -

He nudged his cock forward a fraction of an inch, just far enough for her pussy to gape open in an attempt to envelop him. Stifling a moan, she lifted her hips off the bed, struggling in vain to get him inside her. Victor chuckled. His laugh slid down the length of her body and burrowed in her cunt, where a heated ache of arousal had formed long ago. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she raised an eyebrow. “Don’t make me ask you again.” “I give the orders around here.” As though to demonstrate, he slid his hand between them and caressed her mound. Pulling back the hood that sheathed her sensitive bud, he tapped his index finger against her protruding clit. Ali gasped as fiery heat swam through her veins, igniting her nerve endings. “Yes, Master.” “Better.” Before she could say anything else, he clamped his mouth on top of hers and shoved his cock into her in one smooth motion. Her eyes snapped open. His tongue delved between her lips and teased her with infinitely gentle sweeps at odds with the rough thrusts of his shaft. In an instant, she was awash in sensation. His cock was bigger, thicker than any other she’d sheathed inside her. It fit her perfectly, stretched her to capacity. She thought briefly of the handle of the paddle Brad had used to fuck her, but this was exquisite. Victor’s shaft was warm and hard, the velvet of his glans brushing against her inner walls as he thrust into her, again and again. He swallowed her groans as he deepened the kiss. She could feel his pulse, his hammering heartbeat as their bodies pressed together, and she wasn’t sure where her own excitement ended and his began. They slid against one another, sweat slicking their skin, muscles taut as they clung together. Ali’s thoughts swam in raw erotic pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, then rolled so she was on top of him, his cock never escaping her

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 54 -

moist cunt. They rolled on the bed, sheets bunching beneath them, hips jerking and breaths coming in fast gasps. This felt like fighting with him in the forest had, only better. So much better. The struggle for domination was no longer a struggle. Though she couldn’t name the exact moment it happened, Ali knew she’d gladly given herself over to him, had accepted his mastery over her body. To her surprise, what should have been a humiliating realization only filled her with a deeper, more intense arousal. The fast and hard rhythm continued. Victor’s ability to keep from coming inside her might have surprised her, if he hadn’t already showed her what he was capable of. Games of sustained pleasure were his specialty. She’d had no doubt he could withstand the same intense sensation he’d shown her before succumbing to it. Biting into her shoulder, Victor flipped her again so she lay under him. “You’re so fucking tight,” he murmured hoarsely. Sweat dripped down his temple and splashed on her breast. She arched against him, her head spinning with dizzying arousal. Victor cupped her ass and dug his fingers into her flesh. With one last moan, Ali gave herself over to the devastating possessive intensity of him. She came hard and fast, her orgasm breaking over her like the rising tide crashing against the shore. It swept through her body, leaving her breathless. Victor wasn’t far behind. Another hard thrust, then another, and his body stilled, his muscles flexing as he pulsed and released his seed in her channel. The growl she’d grown to expect from him echoed off the walls of his bedroom as he came. The sound of his voice, rich with passion and raw, savage power, slid into her, making her heart beat a thrumming rhythm against her breastbone. They lay motionless for long minutes, Victor still crushing her body beneath him. She didn’t care. As long as she could feel him this way, she knew he was hers. The harsh reality of her situation could be kept at bay for a while longer.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 55 -

Victor’s shuddering breath made her slide her fingertips down his back. “Was that good for you?” She tried to keep her tone light, teasing, but her chest constricted as she waited for his answer. Why should it matter? It had been incredible for her. Until he’d brought her here, that had been enough. Hell, it should still be enough. When he didn’t reply, she slapped his ass lightly. “Hey. I was just joking when I accused you of going to sleep afterwards. I’m going to be ready for round two in another minute, and I expect you to be up to the task.” Victor lifted himself on an elbow. Moonlight slid through the balcony window, painting his dark hair with streaks of silver. “Want to go outside?” The question was so unexpected it made her breath hitch in her throat. Her stomach clenched. Was this a joke? A trick of some kind? She narrowed her eyes. “You can’t be serious.” “The gardens out back are surrounded by a tall wall you wouldn’t be able to scale. There are guards posted outside of it, and they take their duties very seriously.” He cocked his head thoughtfully, watching her, his expression unreadable. “I thought maybe you’ve been missing the shift.” Missing it? Hell, she’d been going stir-crazy without it. She’d been able to transform inside the walls of Victor’s mansion, of course, but it wasn’t the same as running through the damp night air, wind slicking back her fur. She licked her suddenly dry lips. “You’d do this?” He nodded. “If you promise you won’t try to escape.” “I thought you said there were guards posted outside.” He hesitated for only a moment before shrugging. “Promise me.” “Fine. I won’t try to escape.” A wide grin tugged at her lips, as foreign and unexpected as the slew of emotions pouring through her body. “When?” “Now.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 56 -

He rose, his magnificent naked body glistening in the moonlight. Ali sucked in a breath between her teeth. He looked incredible, his well-muscled form silhouetted against the night sky, a masculine symbol of pure sexuality. Victor pulled the double doors of the balcony open, then swept a hand out in the direction of the garden beyond. “It’s all yours.” The scent of the night was intoxicating. It floated through the room and tickled Ali’s nostrils with the sweet aroma of lilac and night-blooming flowers. She didn’t need to be told twice. Leaping from the bed, she was already in mid-shift. By the time she reached the balcony, the transformation was complete. Her paws hit the hard concrete, then, without pausing, she was in the air, flying over the railing to land with a dull thud on the neatly-trimmed grass. The shock of sudden freedom drenched her senses, leaving her dizzy and lightheaded. It didn’t take long for her body to grow accustomed to the night. The wolf in her called out to the moonlight that bathed her fur, and soon she was running wildly through the gardens. Dashing from one end to the other, Ali only paused when she reached the far wall long enough to spin around and head for the opposite end. The décor of the garden blurred around her, but from the corner of her eye she could make out well manicured trees, bushes and clusters of flowers expertly arranged in pleasing arrays. Wooden benches stood against the edges of the wall and beneath the sheltering sweep of long branches. Not for the first time, she was struck by the enormity of Victor’s mansion. He’d hinted at its expanse and the number of people who inhabited it, but she hadn’t understood. Chest heaving, Ali stopped and glanced up at the house. As before, the sweep of elegant archways and rounded balconies took her breath away. She estimated it must hold at least twenty bedrooms, and she couldn’t even begin to guess at the number of bathrooms, kitchens and rooms such as the showing room and the living room he’d used to entertain tonight.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 57 -

She shook her head. Perhaps she should ask Victor for a tour of the place. He obviously took pride in his home. It might please him to show it off to her. Drunk on the scent of the night air, her senses swam with unbridled ecstasy. Tilting her head in one direction, then the other, she scanned the garden for Victor. Not being able to see him unnerved her. Surely he wouldn’t have left her alone in the garden. She took another look around her, and the fur on the nape of her neck prickled as though unseen eyes fixed her with harsh glares. Pulling her lips back from her fangs, she lowered her head and sniffed at the ground. The aroma of sweet-smelling flowers overpowered all other scents in the garden, but she could still make out Victor’s personal scent, musky and purely male. Beneath it, though, was another smell, pungent and vaguely familiar. She turned right toward the iron gate at the back of the property. Vines crawled up its surface, twisting around the rusted metal bars. It looked ancient, as though it hadn’t been opened in years. Yet when Ali got closer, she was able to make out the slight gap that signaled it stood slightly ajar. Beyond the gate, she caught sight of a flash of silver. Edging forward slowly, cautiously, she pressed her muzzle to the iron. Victor had mentioned guards patrolling the area outside the perimeter of the property, but something about the entire situation felt wrong. It smelled wrong, too. Between the bars, she could make out the unmistakable shape of a man standing beneath the edges of the trees that led into the forest bordering the mansion. He’d thrust his hands into the front pockets of his charcoal pants and a white lab coat covered his torso, but Daniel Kraus’s features were unmistakable. He watched her calmly, unconcerned, as though catching sight of her frolicking in the gardens of his enemy wasn’t a surprise. Ali’s pulse hammered in her ears. If not for him, she wouldn’t even be here. If he hadn’t come up with his ploy to eradicate the Zante pack from the face of the earth and leave the Kölen pack as the sole

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 58 -

surviving tribe of weres in Connecticut, Ali would be celebrating the success of some mundane bounty hunter job in a dark bar somewhere. And she certainly wouldn’t be fighting her feelings for a wolf who wanted to change everything about her. Without another second’s hesitation, she shoved her paw through the bars and yanked the gate open further. It obeyed with a loud squeak that floated through the air, making her wince. Fury rolled through her as she lunged through the opening. The claws that raked down her spine came with no warning. She yelped and spun around to defend herself, but Victor was quicker. He pulled her down on the ground by her hind legs and pinned her there. His breath came hard and fast, and the savage anger in his dark eyes bore right through her. For the first time since he’d captured her, Ali was genuinely afraid of the intensity she saw in his face. She struggled against him, but she was no match for his strength and skill. He didn’t budge as she fought him, but he didn’t sheath his fangs, either. Instead, he waited until she began to shift, and then did the same. For the third time, Ali found herself trapped beneath him, her thighs spread wide on either side of his powerful legs, her pussy open to his demands. This time, though, he made no promises of pleasure. Only hard disappointment shone in his eyes as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her feet. “I warned you not to try to escape.” Grabbing her around her waist, he once again tossed her over his shoulder as though she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes, and was just as much fun to carry. “I didn’t try to escape.” His growl left no doubt of what he thought of that line of argument. “Like hell. Soon you’ll be telling me you were running out the back gate to pick flowers.” She squirmed, heat creeping up her cheeks at the indignity of being carried into the mansion like this. She could only imagine the amused glances of the guards. “Listen to me. I saw --”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 59 -

The blow Victor landed on her ass wasn’t cruel, but neither was it teasing. The pain shocked her, spreading through her flesh with a fiery intensity that left her breathless. “Stop.” The menace in his voice sent a shiver through her naked body. “I said I wouldn’t hurt you, but I won’t be able to keep that promise if you insist on lying to me again. So do us both a favor and stop talking. You’ve lied enough for one night.” “I didn’t --” The second slap came harder, and Victor followed it with another smack. He was careful to land the blows in different places each time, never hitting the same segment of flesh twice. She knew the spanking wouldn’t leave bruises, and her skin would remain unblemished, but tears came unheeded and spilled down her cheeks regardless. So much for trust, and openness, and nothing but infinite pleasure. Who was lying to whom, anyway?

*** If there had been any doubt in Victor’s mind of Ali’s ability to change based on learning the pleasure of submitting to a dominant Master’s will, there wasn’t anymore. Damn, but she was good. She’d actually managed to trick him into believing she understood the lessons he’d been trying to teach her. For a moment, he’d allowed himself to think that he’d been able to get through to her, to open her eyes to the cruel torment she’d caused and to the joy redemption would bring. He’d been such a fool. Standing outside the door to her room, Victor clenched his fists at his sides. After unceremoniously dumping her on the bed, he’d turned and walked out of the guest bedroom without another look back. As he’d slammed the door behind him, he thought he heard a sob. The sound had gone through him like a spear, piercing his heart. He’d gritted his teeth and steeled his emotions against getting the better of him. There’d been no sob, he convinced himself. It had simply been the squeak of the hinges echoing in his wake.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 60 -

Even if he was wrong, that still wouldn’t make the fabricated whimper anything more than another of Ali’s futile attempts to play games with his mind. With his heart. Fuck. “No one goes in. No one comes out. You got it?” Two guards stood on each side of the door. They nodded silently and snapped to attention, hands tightly clenched around the hilt of their weapons, fur-lined collars glistening in the bright light of the hallway. They were four of his best. He’d trained them all to fight as he’d been trained, and each man was an expert in the use of a katana, a short sword, and a staff. Unfortunately, so was Ali. “Good. I want to make sure she doesn’t get another chance to flee. You’re all personally responsible for ensuring she’s still here when I return. Understood?” “Yes, Master,” one of the guards said, his scowl deepening. “She won’t get through us.” After stopping in his room, just long enough to dress in his customary black slacks and long-sleeved shirt, Victor stormed through the garden, letting his anger and bitter disappointment envelop him like a cloak. It soothed him, in a way, knowing Ali had tried to betray him. It would make what he had to do much easier. He might have been in love with her once, but he was now smart enough to heed the words of his Alpha. He had a back­ up plan, one he’d gladly put into motion now that she’d given him a reason to believe there was no hope left for her, no chance of redemption. Still, a tremor ran through him as he pushed through the back gate and closed it with a loud metal clang behind him. He folded his arms across his chest and scanned the shadows dancing beneath the trees surrounding his property. At last, he caught sight of a silhouette shrinking against the tall trunk of a white pine, and beckoned the man forward. “We’re alone.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 61 -

“Not quite.” He stepped into a circle of moonlight, three more shadows detaching from the shrubbery behind him. Daniel’s men flanked him from all sides. “There are another dozen wolves hidden in the darkness until I give the command.” Victor waved a hand dismissively in the air, but his muscles tensed as he tried to catch sight of the other members of the Kölen pack. “You won’t need them.” Daniel scoffed. “Your bitch was sniffing around here not too long ago.” Victor narrowed his eyes. A muscle jumped in his jaw as a thought struck him. “Did she see you?” “No,” Daniel said, his white teeth flashing for a moment in the moonlight. “She was too intent on getting the hell out of there.” Disappointment settled like lead in Victor’s gut. Damn it, but he’d wanted to believe she had another reason for attempting to push through the gate. He’d left it open on purpose, testing her resolve. He hadn’t thought he’d be assessing her so soon, but after what they’d shared, he’d really believed she’d changed. He’d wanted her to taste the freedom of the night air and then return to him, exuberant and loyal. There were no guards outside the walls. Even with the extra men he’d hired to watch Ali, he didn’t have enough manpower to post guards at the edges of his property, too. Seeing Daniel out here might have caused her to want to confront him, but why would she do it alone? No, Ali hadn’t seen Daniel. True to her mercenary nature, she’d simply spotted an opportunity to grab freedom with both paws, and she’d attempted to take it. Unfortunately for her, Victor had expected as much. He might have been enamored with her, but he wasn’t an idiot. “The plan stands, then,” Victor said. Daniel raised an eyebrow. “You really want to go through with this, don’t you?” Victor shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “What choice have I got? After taking the Alpha’s sister into my home and promising him I’d be able to show her the error of her

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 62 -

ways, I can’t exactly present myself in front of the circle of elders and tell them I’ve failed.” “So you want me to do it for you.” “I don’t care what you do with her. All that matters is that she’ll no longer be my concern. If you can promise me she’ll never show her face in Zante territory again, she’s all yours.” Daniel pursed his lips and narrowed his shrewd, calculating eyes. Victor straightened his spine and returned Daniel’s careful scrutiny, his gaze traveling from the Kölen Alpha to his men. Tall and broad-shouldered, the Kölen had always been an impressive pack. Much more so than the Zante, whose lack of pack unity and the absence of male pups born of Zantean unions over the past decade had left them broken and dispirited. The Kölen were also known for their cruelty, both to outsiders and to members of their own pack. Most of Victor’s household was made up of former Kölen members who had been cast out of the tribe. Daniel tapped his fingernail against his teeth. “Ali once told me you had a thing for her. That’s how she knew she’d be able to get into J.C.’s mating ceremony unchallenged. Why would you let me have her now?” Victor’s nostrils flared, but that was the only outward reaction he’d allow himself. Ali had known of his feelings for her all along? No wonder she’d played him for a fool. “It’s precisely for that reason I can’t kill her myself.” He took a deep breath, released it in a huff. This was it. If Daniel didn’t believe the reasoning he offered, his plan would fall apart. “Because of her, our pack is dying. You have what you’ve always wanted. The destruction of the Zante pack, once and for all. I need to let my tribe meet their end in peace. Surely you can understand that.” “I would have never allowed Ali to take off with her payment after she’d accomplished her mission,” Daniel mused. His tongue snaked out between his lips. “She was always part of the payoff. My payoff.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 63 -

Bile rose in Victor’s throat, and he fought the urge to wrap his hands around Daniel’s neck and squeeze the life out of him right then and there. Another look at the men flanking their Alpha and the shadows sweeping through the forest cautioned him against any rash moves. If they killed him, they’d go after his household next. He’d sworn to protect those inside, and there was no way he’d allow the Kölen to lay a hand on any of them. “You want her for yourself, then,” Victor said. Daniel smiled. “Wouldn’t you? Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t fucked her sweet pussy at least once. All that time having her under your roof… I’ll bet she moans like a whore when you stuff her full of cock.” He rubbed his hands together, his grin widening further. “I can’t wait to find out.” “Tomorrow, then,” Victor said, surprised to find his voice steady. “Let’s not delay this any further.” “Bring her. You’ll be given safe passage through Kölen territory. If you behave yourself, I might even let you watch as my men and I teach little Ali Hill what it really means to learn to obey.”

Chapter Six Ali’s stomach lurched as Victor gunned the motor of his metallic silver luxury Jaguar sedan and pulled out through the front gate of the mansion. She lifted her head through a haze of denial. From where she lay in the back seat, she could only make out his eyes in the rearview mirror, glittering harshly as he glanced back at her. A litany of curses settled on her tongue. She yearned to tell Victor exactly what she thought of him and his latest attempt to command her obedience, but the thick cotton strip of fabric he’d stuffed between her lips and tied behind her head prevented her from uttering all but the lowest of moans. “I hope you’re comfortable back there.” The glint in his cold, black eyes told her he wished her to be as comfortable as a skewered boar roasting over an open flame. Unable to respond, Ali kicked out her feet. He’d bound her ankles, but she managed to smash her toes against the backrest of the empty passenger’s seat. “Feisty. And to think that was one of the things I’d always liked about you.” Victor’s chuckle sent an icy jolt slithering through Ali’s veins, freezing her blood. She’d never seen him like this before. Even when he’d captured her after learning of her crime against the tribe, he hadn’t been this cold, this cruel. Then, he’d been furious, burning with an intensity that both enraged and aroused her. Now, he seethed with a raw inner wrath that flickered beneath his calm demeanor, aggressive and inevitable. When enough pressure finally built inside him to warrant an explosion of all that pent-up ire, Ali knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid it. Bound and gagged as she was, she doubted she’d be able to do anything about it, either. Despite her best efforts to keep tears at bay, they prickled her eyelids, tormenting her further. Damn him.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 65 -

Damn him for letting her believe he was more than simply a man bent on obtaining her submission at all costs. She might have been able to see this coming and defend herself if he hadn’t spent so much time making her buy into a charade. But that had been the point, hadn’t it? His victory would be that much sweeter if he managed to break her first. And he’d done it. The old Ali wouldn’t be lying here, bound by her wrists and ankles like a Thanksgiving turkey to be carried off to Godknew-where to meet her end. She’d have preferred to take her chances with the elders. The end result would have been the same, but at least she wouldn’t have had to taste the honeyed sweetness of true bliss before meeting her demise. Ali closed her eyes and gritted her teeth around the gag to keep the nausea roiling through her stomach at bay. What in the world had she been thinking? If only she’d given Victor more credit, she might have been able to elude him before he caught up to her. If only she hadn’t given in to his tantalizing promise of pleasure beyond belief, or to Emma’s soft touch, or to the breathtaking sensations that swirled through her when Victor’s lean body pressed against hers. If only she hadn’t spotted Daniel lurking in the shadows and gone to investigate. The tears she’d been trying so hard to swallow back spilled unheeded down her cheeks and sank into the cushioned fabric of the back seat. If only you’d listened to me. “If only you’d listened to me.” Victor slammed the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, but it was the way he echoed her thoughts rather than his sudden violent action that made Ali snap her eyes open and suck in a sharp breath. “Why did you have to head for that open gate? You’re too smart to fall for such a lousy test. You had to have known I’d left the gate open on purpose. Yes, I’d wanted you to taste freedom, but I also wanted you to prove to me that you were capable of learning. Of changing.” Ali’s heart hammered against her ribcage. Her pulse pounded in her ears, drowning out the sound of the motor as they flew down the highway, dimming every

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 66 -

background noise and focusing all her senses on Victor. She wished she could see his face. The anguish in his voice was almost more than she could handle. Her thoughts spun as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. Swift comprehension dawned in a flash. She’d betrayed the trust he’d placed in her. When she’d betrayed the entire pack, he’d known how to handle it and had made it his mission to make her see the error of her ways. It was deceiving him -- Victor, the man, the wolf, not the head of security of the Zante pack -- that he couldn’t bear. She had to make him understand. Not knowing what else to do, she banged her feet against the seat in front of her. The dull thud of impact echoed through the car. He ignored it. She tried again, and again, slamming her bare toes into the soft upholstery until they ached. He’d allowed her to dress in a tee shirt and a loose pair of jeans before storming into her bedroom and tying her up, but he hadn’t given her any shoes. It didn’t matter. She’d make him listen if she had to break the backrest to pieces with nothing more than her toes. After a dozen frenzied blows, Victor met her gaze in the rearview mirror. She didn’t know what she looked like, teeth wrapped around the saliva-soaked gag, eyes wide, decades’ worth of unshed tears staining her cheeks, but whatever Victor saw in her face stopped him cold. He swore loudly and swerved, pulling the car off the highway with a sudden jolt that sent Ali rolling against the backrest of the seat. The texture of the upholstery bit into her cheek. She held her breath while he stopped the car, yanked the keys from the ignition, and got out. It felt to Ali like an eternity passed between the time he slammed the driver’s side door and the moment he opened the back door closest to her head, but it couldn’t have been more than a second or two. A rush of cold, crisp air blew inside the vehicle. Ali barely had time to suck in a breath before Victor grabbed her upper arms and dragged her out. Her knees buckled

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 67 -

as her feet hit the pavement, and he slammed her against the side of the car hard enough for the breath she’d just inhaled to whoosh out of her lungs. “I swear to God, Ali, if you’re playing me…” He let the threat hang in the air, unfinished. She could see his canines already beginning to extend as his claws bit into her upper arms. She shook her head wildly and moaned through the gag, silently pleading for him to listen. He swore again, even louder this time. Though it had to be past midnight judging by the position of the half-moon hanging just overhead, a few cars still whizzed by them down the highway. He glanced behind her shoulder, and she saw the inner battle that waged within him in the set of his tense shoulders and his furrowed brows. At last, he reached behind her head and loosened the knot that tied her gag, then slipped it down to hang around her neck. “I saw Daniel.” His eyes widened, but she didn’t want to risk unleashing his ire before she could finish what she had to say. “I didn’t betray you, and I didn’t try to run. I looked for you, but I couldn’t see you anywhere. And I smelled him, Victor. I knew something was wrong. When I spotted him beneath those trees, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had to find out for myself if what I was seeing was real, or just a figment of my overheated imagination.” He raised both hands, and Ali flinched as he brought them up to her face. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but the whimper that escaped her lips when he cupped her cheeks told them both that tenderness hadn’t been it. “You weren’t trying to escape?” Victor asked, as though not quite believing what he was hearing. “Really?” “I tried to tell you. You wouldn’t listen.” He sank his teeth into his lower lip, his eyelids drooping over his impossibly dark eyes. “God. I am such a fool.” He might have said more, if Ali hadn’t slammed her mouth against his. The tears still came unbidden, but the raw ache in her heart that had been her constant

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 68 -

companion since he’d locked her inside her room the night before was gone. In that instant, it had been replaced with a relentless need. For him. She wanted to show him that she meant every word. She hadn’t tried to disobey. Until that moment, she hadn’t known exactly how true that had been. If she’d had it her way, she probably would have stayed at his mansion forever, lost in the feel and taste and utter intoxicating nearness of him. The kiss was savage, ruthless. She tried to thrust her tongue between his lips but he was faster, sliding into her mouth and unleashing all the fury he’d been carrying. It slid through her, satiating only a small portion of the hunger that burned inside her veins. He tasted like mint and pure, savage male, and she wanted all of him, in her mouth, her pussy, her ass. Everywhere. Now! “Victor,” she breathed against his lips as his fingers dug harshly into her skin. She knew there would be bruises, and didn’t care. She didn’t have to give voice to what she wanted. As before, he seemed to be attuned to her thoughts, reading her mind. He lifted her off her feet and pushed her inside the back seat of the car, gentler than he’d been when he’d yanked her out of it. He slammed the door behind him, and she was suddenly enveloped in his scent, raw and masculine. His body pressed against hers, pinning her down. There was no tenderness, no build-up or foreplay. There was only the promise of release, of sharing themselves with one another. Victor tore at her bonds, freeing her wrists and ankles before tugging at her jeans. In return, she yanked down his zipper and ripped the top button in her haste to free his cock. When she had his hard, pulsing length in hand, she spread her legs as far as the bunched-up jeans around her knees would allow, offering herself to him, his cock compelling the obedience that little else would.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 69 -

He plunged into her with a ferocious urgency that knocked the breath from her lungs. His rod pierced her inner core, stretching her wide with the thick, warm length of his shaft. Ali laughed, the sound startlingly loud within the confines of the car, giving in to the pure joy of having him inside her again. She’d never thought she’d feel the allencompassing sensation of being stretched to capacity by his cock again, and the feeling was euphoric. “Yes,” she whispered, biting down on his earlobe. “Harder.” He rammed his rod into her, withdrawing it then plunging it inside her tight channel until she screamed his name with every thrust. Ali clung to him, desperate for every bit of him he was willing to share. Her pussy clenched, her muscles milking him as they fluttered and tensed around his cock. Passing headlights illuminated Victor’s face as he raised his head and looked into her eyes. His cock never stopped its relentless motion, and each thrust was like pure liquid ecstasy flowing through her veins. Holding his gaze, she knew the moment his climax was too close to be stopped, and felt her own self-control shatter. His shaft swelled even further inside her. Her pussy squeezed down on his rod, her inner muscles pulsing as the cresting wave of orgasm washed over her with the same intensity as their lovemaking. “You didn’t try to escape. You really didn’t.” The words seemed almost wrung from his lungs a moment before he gave in and his seed flooded her channel. He growled, and the sound sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered that sound, remembered the feel of his palm slapping her ass, but the fear had dissipated, the ecstasy of orgasm taking its place. The thrill of their coupling and the euphoric sensation that came with knowing he believed her made her head spin. Dizzy and rapturous, she pulled his head down to her for another kiss. His tongue had barely slid inside her mouth when a thought struck with lightning speed.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 70 -

Ali broke the connection between them and raised herself on her elbows. Victor made no move to get off her. His cock remained embedded in her pussy, and she absentmindedly squeezed her muscles around his softening length, keeping him inside her. “Why would the Alpha of a rival tribe be sniffing around outside your garden?” Victor groaned. Leaning his forehead against the backrest, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “I called him. I wanted to know if he’d take the bait.” “Bait?” The word was barely out of her mouth when understanding hit her like a punch to the gut. “Me. That’s where you’re taking me tonight. To him.” Her fist flew out toward his face before she could form a coherent thought out of her intentions, but Victor was faster, catching her punch in his raised hand. Bile rose in her throat. She wiggled her hips and tried to push him out of her, but he wouldn’t budge. “Listen to me. If this was to be your final night, then it was going to be mine, too.” She stared at him, not comprehending. He sighed and reached down to the floor. After a moment of struggling, he pulled out a small, black object and held it before her. A breath caught in her throat. “A gun? Pack law demands --” “I know what pack law demands,” he answered harshly. “Better than anyone.” Ali bit her lip. For centuries, rival werewolf packs settled their disputes using nothing more than their muzzles, claws and the sheer strength of their feral bodies. As time passed and technology grew more sophisticated, an unspoken, unchallenged rule arose among the tribes. Disputes would continue to be settled by pitting the combatants against one another empty-handed. Old-fashioned weapons, such as staves and swords, were permitted if necessary, but gunpowder and the instruments of war that required it were not only unwelcome, but also considered distasteful. The elders dealt with anyone caught using such a weapon privately. The punishments were harsh but fair by pack law standards.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 71 -

“In a fair fight, you’d never need a gun,” Ali said softly. “Is that what this is? Would a fair fight include a formula meant to wipe out an entire pack?” Victor’s black brows slashed down over his eyes. “Or perhaps you think it was fair that Daniel sent you to us under the pretense of a long-lost member of our tribe returning for a joyous occasion.” “Fine, then. I get it. But you thought you’d… what? March in there like a superhero and take Daniel out in front of all his men with nothing more than a tiny gun?” And it was small, she thought as she glanced at the weapon. Small enough to fit inside his boot. She gritted her teeth and continued, “They’d have found that on you in an instant. If you’re actually going to the compound, they’d never let you get through the front gates without thoroughly searching you. And then they’d have killed us both.” He shook his head, vehement denial etched on his features. “I had to do this. I could have killed him last night, but what would that have done? His men would have killed me instantly, and then they’d have ravaged my entire household.” He trailed his knuckles over her cheek. “And you. I couldn’t allow that.” She wet her dry lips with the tip of her tongue and watched Victor’s gaze follow the motion, his eyes widening with desire. She fought to ignore it, but her cunt fluttered in a purely feminine response, tightening its grip on his semi-soft cock. “J.C. wanted me dead, didn’t he?” Ali asked, silently relieved when her voice didn’t waver. Victor swallowed hard and tossed down the gun. It clattered on the carpeted floor. Outside, a rig went by, sending a shuddering vibration through the car. “He allowed me to do what I could, but he made it clear that the moment I believed I couldn’t get through to you, I was authorized to do whatever was necessary to eliminate the threat to the pack.” He grazed her eyebrows with his fingertips, then caressed the sweep of her cheek. “I thought I’d failed, Ali. When I saw you run, I thought I’d failed you, J.C.… the entire pack. This was one thing I could do right.”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 72 -

She sucked in a breath, realizing then that what she’d mistaken for cold, calculating cruelty had been resignation. Acceptance. “You wanted to make a statement by killing Daniel inside the compound, in front of his pack. And if it meant getting rid of me in the process, well, so much the better.” To her surprise, there was no venom in her tone, no hatred clenching her heart. She understood. Hell, she’d have probably done the same in his position. That thought wouldn’t have been comforting twenty minutes ago. Funny how a bout of rough sex could change someone’s perspective. She almost smiled at that, if not for the drowning sorrow she saw in Victor’s eyes. He nodded. “I couldn’t have lived with myself knowing I’d caused your death any more than I could have if I’d killed you myself. This way…” His voice dropped to a low whisper. “Maybe it’s cowardly, but this way I wouldn’t have to live without you. And perhaps the pack would get something out of my death. Something I couldn’t give them in life.” Ali reached out and slid her fingers through his hair, then tilted his head so he’d look at her. She had to know. Had to hear it from him. “You couldn’t have let me live?” Anguish filled his gaze. “Not as long as you were still a danger to the pack. Now that I know differently, things have changed. Everything has changed.” Hysteria rose in Ali’s throat. The faces of all the members of the pack swam before her eyes. Everyone who had touched her so intimately returned now to haunt her. “Don’t you understand? It’s too late. You might as well finish what you’ve started. I’ve already destroyed our pack.” She bit her lip, watching his eyes widen as she gave voice to that final bit of acknowledgement. Damn it, she refused to take it back, even though the acceptance made her heart squeeze painfully. The Zante were her pack as much as they were Victor’s, Brad’s and J.C.’s. And she’d killed them all. Unexpectedly, Victor grinned. “Brad and Sean will have a mating ceremony of their own. It’s been scheduled for a week from tomorrow. Even the elders didn’t oppose

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 73 -

it, though there hasn’t been a formal ceremony performed between two males since… well, never, actually.” Ali stared at him, open-mouthed. “You mean Brad Hennessy is getting married?” Victor’s laugh was infectious, and she felt her own lips curve upwards in response. “I’m afraid so, sweetheart.” His features grew serious again. “You didn’t destroy our pack, Ali. You might have meant to, and that counts, surely. You’ll still have to face the elders before they’ll allow you to return within our ranks, but you didn’t kill anyone. Eve is working on a cure for our pack. She thinks she may have succeeded.” Ali rubbed the bridge of her nose. The wealth of information was too much, too fast. “J.C.’s mate? She thinks she’s found a way for the Zante females to bear male pups?” Victor wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “She thinks she may be the first to give birth to one in over a decade. I guess we’ll find out in a little under nine months or so.” “Wow.” Ali allowed her head to fall back and rest against the cushioned upholstery. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and closed her eyes. “This idea you had about Daniel. It wouldn’t have worked the way you’d planned it, but it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. We can still make it happen.” For a long minute, Victor didn’t respond. Ali listened to the sound of tires rolling down the highway and focused on the rhythmic comfort of Victor’s steady breathing in the otherwise quiet interior of the car. The springs in the back seat squeaked as he shifted to hover above her. His cock rapidly hardening, he pushed it inside her to the hilt. Ali blinked her eyes open and met his dark gaze, her hips lifting upward of their own accord to meet his thrust. “All right, baby. Let’s hear it. What did you have in mind?”

***

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 74 -

It was thirty minutes past the agreed-upon meeting time when Victor pulled the sedan up to the front gate of the Kölen compound. Between the tryst by the side of the road and the time Ali had needed to prepare, the delay couldn’t have been helped. If this had been any other meeting, it might not have mattered. But it did. Too much was riding on Daniel’s driving need to possess Ali -- the final prize in a long list of payoffs. If the Kölen turned them away for being late, they’d never be able to get close enough to Daniel to do what had to be done. Victor tightened his grip on the leather-wrapped steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. For the sake of the Zante clan’s continued survival, he hoped Daniel would overlook a simple matter like a few minutes of unwelcome delay. His gaze flickered to the rearview mirror. “Well, babe, I hope you’re ready for lesson three.” Ali quirked an eyebrow. The gag stretched taut between her plump lips, preventing her from asking the question so clearly reflected in her dark eyes. “Conflict,” Victor said, answering her unspoken query. “Trust and complete openness are integral to a relationship between a dominant Master and a submissive slave.” He chuckled at the way her nose scrunched up at his words. “But it’s really conflict that drives every experience worth having… both in and out of the bedroom.” He watched her eyes soften with desire and knew she understood. His cock pulsed, a delicious ache settling low in his balls in response to the sultry look in her direct gaze. Showtime. “Are you ready?” Ali nodded once, firmly, no hint of hesitation marring her perfect face. If not for the strip of cloth she bit down on and the rope tied around her wrists and ankles, there would be nothing to indicate her captive state. Or her submission, he thought faintly, a slight smile tugging at his lips. That was reserved for him. Only for him.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 75 -

He flashed his high beams three times in rapid succession, then settled in to wait, gritting his teeth. Anxiety swam through his veins, turning his blood cold. If anything went wrong… He swallowed hard, refusing to think about that possibility. Instead, he focused on the bright white light that his headlights spilled through the barbed-wire fence surrounding Daniel’s compound. The yard stretching up to the front of the building gaped gray and barren, empty of vegetation. Craggy rocks and dust pounded by dozens of paws stood out in sharp relief to the tall, imposing mountains that lined up like silent sentinels against the black night sky. The base itself had once been a warehouse used to store dangerous substances. The skull and crossbones sign warning trespassers away still hung on the front gate, its morbid grin sending another icy chill down Victor’s spine. The harsh gray façade of the building and the blocky, barred windows hid all traces of movement within. Just as Victor began to wonder whether they meant to ignore him altogether, the front metal door was flung open from within and two men left the safety of the compound to cross the length of the courtyard toward the car. Victor recognized the men as two of the guards who’d accompanied Daniel the previous night. Of Daniel himself, there was no sign. As they approached, Victor tried to smooth his features into a calm mask, but the turmoil roiling in his gut made his teeth gnash. If we fail… For the second time in as many minutes, he suppressed a shudder. Forcing himself to meet the gaze of the closest man, he pushed the button to roll down the driver’s side window. “You’re late.” The man made no attempt to disguise the menace in his voice. Victor lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Traffic,” he growled back, matching the guard’s scathing tone. Dressed in faded jeans and tight white tee shirts, both men looked more like college frat boys than Daniel’s personal guard, but Victor knew better. The steel in their

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 76 -

gazes and the scowls permanently etched upon their faces told him everything he needed to know. These were ruthless wolves who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. If she was very lucky, they’d kill Ali, too. If she wasn’t, she’d experience more cruelty than she’d ever thought possible. The second man moved forward, his hand wrapped around the end of a long staff thrust through a loop in his belt. He pulled out the weapon and slammed it against the windshield with a fierce blow. The glass shattered, sending clear shards flying through the interior of the car. Victor grimaced as some of the smaller pieces cut into his cheek. “Get out of the car.” Arguing would have been pointless. The guards stepped back just far enough to give him space to open the door. He did as they commanded, fighting the impulse to glance through the rear window at Ali. One of the guards did it for him. Stepping close to the car, he brought both hands up to shield his face from glare and peered through the unbroken glass. Victor’s head pounded. A sudden blow from behind would send the man to his knees. Another sharp slam to the back of his neck and he’d be unconscious, leaving only one guard to deal with. Tension tightened his muscles, and the need to strike -- to do something -- made him clench his fists at his sides. He blew out a breath between gritted teeth. Attacking the guard would only alert Daniel to their intentions. No, it wasn’t yet time to reveal their plan. Besides, Ali would never forgive him if he messed this up. And if we fail, what will it matter then? “Victor. A pleasure, as always. You’ve brought my gift, I assume?” Daniel’s voice cut through Victor’s dark thoughts like a beacon, giving him something solid to cling to. He spun on his heel and fixed Daniel with a fierce glare. Behind him, six more men surrounded their Alpha, drawn weapons clutched in their

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 77 -

hands. True to pack law, the instruments ranged from long staffs like the one he’d already seen to small, slender daggers and a curved bastard sword. Before he could respond, the guard who’d been checking on Ali lifted his head. “Yes, sir. The package is secure. She looks to be unconscious.” The package is secure? Who are these guys? Navy SEALs in wolves’ clothing? “She better not be dead, Victor. You promised you’d hand her over to me alive. What I have planned for her won’t be nearly as much fun if she can’t… enjoy it.” His cruel laugh rang out through the night air, then faded as quickly as it began. “Search him.” Victor pressed his lips together. A muscle jumped in his jaw. Daniel’s men set upon him with undisguised glee, their hands flying over his body, patting him down, leaving no area untouched. One of the guards cupped his groin. Squeezing his balls and finding his cock still erect, the man chuckled. “The only weapon he’s wielding is no threat to us.” “Check his feet,” Daniel commanded. A soft metallic squeal caught Victor’s attention. He glanced at Daniel to see if he’d heard it, but the man gave no indication of noticing anything amiss. Heart pounding violently against his ribcage, Victor bent down and pulled off one boot, then the other. If he’d gone with his original plan, it would have all been over by now. I hope you know what you’re doing, Ali. For all our sakes. Standing in his socked feet, Victor waited until the guards completed their examination. “He’s clean,” one of them proclaimed. “Good.” Daniel grinned, showing perfect white teeth. “Hold him. I’ll search Ali myself.” Two of the guards obeyed, their massive hands closing on Victor’s upper arms. He fought against the urge to struggle and watched as Daniel headed for the vehicle, every muscle in his body coiled in anticipation.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 78 -

The shatter of the windshield had been loud, but it was nothing compared to the deafening boom that echoed through the night air when the sedan exploded. The car flew apart, throwing hunks of metal in every direction. The blowback from the explosion dislodged the guards’ hands from Victor’s arms and sent them all flying through the air. Victor landed hard on the pavement, his shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. A sharp jolt of pain shot up his arm, rendering it useless for the time being. His vision clouded and a lump formed in his throat as he watched the flames envelop his car. And Ali? Oh, God. It had happened too fast. He’d heard her open the car door, but what if she hadn’t had time to untie the loose ropes and slide out of the back seat? “Ali!” He screamed her name as he lunged to his feet, fighting against the nausea that rose like bile in his mouth. The first blow to catch him in the ribs pierced his already bruised body like the blade of a knife. He moved swiftly, guided by instinct more than training, spinning and returning the hit as he dodged another. Firelight illuminated the parking area in front of the barbed-wire fence, glinting off the steel weapons of Daniel’s guards. Until that moment, Victor hadn’t known what true battle fury was. He’d trained with a martial arts master, honing his body to be a weapon as pack law demanded. For years, he’d known it would one day come to this: him against everything that would threaten his pack, everything he held dear. He just hadn’t known the showdown would involve more than his pride, more than the continuation of his pack. Above all else, he fought with every breath in his body to protect the woman he loved. Rage drove him to punch, kick and block the flurry of blows that rained down on him, but fear kept him moving toward the flaming car. He couldn’t see Ali, and that fact remained in the forefront of his mind as he tried to block hard jabs and thrashing limbs. “Kill him already!” Daniel’s bellow broke through the grunts and harsh yells of battle. “Or must I do everything myself?”

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 79 -

Victor glanced up in time to see Daniel, blood running down his cheek from a cut in his forehead, lunge through the unbroken line of guards who surrounded him. He held no weapon, but he shifted as he ran, his well-muscled human body transforming into the lean, ferocious lines of a wolf’s sleek form. “If you could kill him, you’d already have done it by now,” Ali said. Her taunting words carried, clear and authoritative, through the night. The guards halted momentarily, but Daniel either hadn’t heard her, or didn’t care. He glided through the air, lips pulled back from fierce fangs, claws extended. Victor spun around as the Kölen renewed their attack, enraged by the bloodlust in their Alpha’s ferocious howl, urged on by the way he joined in the fray. Barely avoiding the sharp slice of a curved sword, Victor slammed his elbow into a man’s ribs. Grasping the guard’s wrist, he bent it back, wrenching the weapon from his hand. Trapped in the middle of at least a dozen men, Victor had no time to contemplate shifting. He had to keep moving, jabbing and blocking every vicious blow. At least now he had a sword. Though he’d managed to hold his own, the guards’ weapons had hit home more than a few times, and warm blood flowed freely from various wounds. He felt it trickle down his arm from a cut to his shoulder, and pool in his boot from a ferocious strike to his leg. With a growl of her own, Ali joined the battle. He knew the instant it happened. The air took on an electric quality, raising the hair on the back of his neck. Raw, primal fear slid down his skin, drenching him in sweat. Although the explosion had made him fear for her life, he’d known the explosion had been staged. She’d told him as much while gathering the equipment she’d need to rig the car to blow. “Mercenary skills come in handy,” she’d said with a wry smile while loading a can of diesel fuel into the trunk. But seeing her pounce in the middle of the fray, unarmed, nearly undid him. She feinted once, keeping her body smoothly arched away from a sword while lifting her knee and striking out with her heel and slamming into a man’s groin. She followed up

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 80 -

the blow with two more sharp jabs to the man’s ribs and gut, which sent him doubling over and out of the rapidly closing circle. Daniel moved toward Victor, the only wolf among them. He turned his head and fixed Ali with a ruthless glare, then changed direction and headed for her instead. “Ali! Get the fuck out of here. Now!” Victor slammed the heel of his hand up into a man’s jaw. Bone crunched under the blow and the guard crumpled to the ground. “I love you too, babe, but this is my fight as much as yours.” Victor gasped, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword. She couldn’t have…

Did she really say…

His thoughts spun, at once dizzy with fear and euphoria. From the corner of his eye, he saw Daniel advance. He was close enough to lash out at Ali now, and she had her back to him as she snapped the wood of a staff in two and tossed the weapon aside. “Behind you!” Victor yelled, and for a gut-slamming moment, he thought she hadn’t heard. And then, graceful and sure of herself, she turned beneath the dark night sky. Her face was calm and serene, but her eyes blazed with a clear fury that found its target in an instant. Never losing her momentum, she slid her hand inside the waistband of her jeans and yanked out the small black gun. Suddenly, the guards closed around Victor, cutting off the small circle that allowed him to see what was happening beyond the span of his own battle. A growl broke free from the deepest recesses of his soul, and he poured all his energy into crashing through the men who held him at bay. A single gunshot rang through the air, so unexpected it had the immediate effect of stopping everything in mid-motion. Victor slammed against the men and pushed his way through to Ali. She stood over Daniel’s fallen form. In death, he’d maintained his wolf shape. A dark pool of blood spread out beneath him, matting his fur.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 81 -

A cry of anger and grief rose from the Kölen pack. Victor didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Ali’s wrist and broke through the guards, heading away from the compound and toward the direction of the highway. The forest loomed beyond it, offering shelter and protection from an enraged tribe of wolves who’d just lost their Alpha. “Run!” he screamed, but he needn’t have worried. Ali matched his stride. Together, in an unspoken agreement, they began to shift. He felt the familiar stirring in his blood as his body transformed, giving him an added burst of strength and speed. He glanced to his right at the white wolf that ran at his side. She met his gaze, and his heart swelled with pride as they took blind flight into the woods. Behind them, dozens of maddened Kölen howled their fury. They’d done it. She’d done it. I love you, too, he thought, wishing he could speak the words but knowing he didn’t have to.

Epilogue Ali leaned against the open door and watched Emma flitter through the room, opening drawers and tossing armfuls of clothes into a massive, gaping suitcase. She moved with elegance and stunning grace, looking more like a fairy fluttering from petal to petal than a werewolf in desperate need of reassurance. “Going somewhere?” Emma started and spun around, her hand flying to rest on her breastbone. “I didn’t see you there.” The tip of her tongue swept out between her full lips, wetting them. She bowed slightly from the waist, the movement too fluid to be mocking. “Mistress.” The smile that tugged at Ali’s mouth felt as welcome and unexpected as everything else in Victor’s home now did. After living in the mansion as a prisoner, having free rein to come and go as she pleased and to command the household should have felt foreign and uncomfortable. Surprisingly, it had only felt natural, as though she’d never been more at home anywhere else on Earth. And she hadn’t. For years, she’d tried to forget the pack that had made her feel like an outsider and had treated her as though she was unable to command. How ironic that she’d find warmth and comfort in the very place she’d sought to leave behind. Even more amazing was the fact that she’d found freedom and independence by submitting to the will of a man whose strength and dominance made her a better wolf than she’d ever thought she’d be. Since their return from the Kölen compound, even Victor’s household guards inclined their head respectfully as she walked by rather than scowling and reaching for their weapons. That would take some getting used to.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 83 -

“Don’t call me that.” Ali folded her arms over her chest. “Victor gave you a home, not me. He takes in strays. No one knows that better than I do.” She offered a self-deprecating grin to show that she understood the risk Victor had taken when he’d brought her into his home. “It’s the reason we all love him so damn much.” Emma’s striking blue eyes widened. “You knew.” Her tone held no accusation, but her hand trembled when she dropped a frilly pair of panties into the suitcase. “I guessed,” Ali said, lifting a shoulder in a half-shrug. “And who can blame you? I think everyone here loves him. Some more than others, and all in your own way. I can’t fault you for that, nor can I ask you to stop. It wouldn’t be fair to demand the impossible of you. Victor will always be your Master.” Emma’s soft smile was tentative, almost shy, but her gaze sparkled with remembered pleasure. “And you? What will you be?” Ali stepped away from the doorway and closed the distance between them. Cupping the girl’s face in her hands, she lowered her head until their lips were only a fraction of an inch apart. Emma’s skin blazed with internal warmth beneath Ali’s palms. Her breath caressed Ali’s skin, inviting her to taste the velvety softness of her lips. “Your friend,” Ali whispered, then pressed a slow, sensual kiss to Emma’s mouth. The other woman sighed and slid her tongue between her lips, meeting Ali’s halfway. For a moment, Ali lost herself in the taste of vanilla and honeyed spice, the flavor sinking into her pores and flooding her veins with arousal. A discreet cough from the doorway made her lift her head, breaking the sensual connection. “I’m not sure if I should be jealous or turned on,” Victor said, his wide grin belying any anger in his words. A rosy blush shot up Emma’s cheeks. She bent her head, lowered her gaze and sank her teeth into her lower lip, still slightly swollen and glistening from Ali’s kiss.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 84 -

“Emma’s thinking about leaving us. I was just trying to convince her to stay.” She placed two fingers beneath the girl’s chin and lifted it so she was forced to meet her eyes. “How’d I do?” Emma swallowed hard. “There’s no room for me here.” “Nonsense. It’s a big house,” Victor said, moving to stand beside them. His strong, authoritative presence made the room feel small. Desire snaked through Ali’s veins, burrowing between her legs with a pulsing, driving need no one else could incite. Not even Emma, with her sweet-tasting lips and soft curves, could rival Victor’s potent strength and raw dominion. Emma shook her head and glanced from Ali to Victor, then back again, her earnest gaze silently pleading. “That’s not what I meant.” “We know what you meant.” Ali tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind Emma’s ear. “And we want you to stay. We can’t force you, of course, and if you choose to leave, we’ll understand. At least think about it.” After a moment’s hesitation, Emma nodded. “I can do that.” “Good.” Ali stepped back and slid her hand into Victor’s. His fingers closed around hers, warm and protective. “We’ll leave you to it. I believe we have a party to attend.” They swept through the open door into the hall, and Ali glanced at a nearby clock that hung on a bright-yellow wall. They still had an hour before Brad and Sean’s mating ceremony was scheduled to begin. This time, Ali vowed, would be different. She’d meet the pack as an equal, and not as an enemy or as a submissive at her Master’s call. Above all, she looked forward to witnessing Brad recite his vows. She shook her head at the thought. Wonders never ceased. Brad Hennessy, self-proclaimed gay bachelor, was about to get hitched. As they neared the front door, Victor stopped to draw her into his arms. “Wait. I’m not ready to share you with anyone else yet. I missed you,” he whispered in her ear before nuzzling her earlobe.

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 85 -

His hard cock prodded her stomach, leaving no doubt of the truth of his words. Ali smiled, pure contentment settling low in her chest. Victor’s heartbeat pounded against hers, a thrumming pulse that sent an answering wave of longing shimmering through her body. “How did it go?” Ali asked, sliding her fingers through his hair.

“Better than I’d expected.” His palms drifted down her back to cup her ass and

draw her closer to him. “The new Kölen Alpha wants to declare a truce.” Ali resisted the urge to leap out of his arms and cheer. “What did J.C. say?” Victor chuckled and the sound settled like primal heat between her legs, making her rub her body against his in slow, sensual motions. “He said he’d think about it.” “That’s my pragmatic brother.” She shook her head. “Damn, but I never thought I’d see him turn this dispirited, broken tribe into a pack to be proud of.” She pulled back slightly to look into Victor’s eyes. “And I am proud of them. Of all of us.” His grin had a wicked, teasing edge. “Prove it.”

“How?”

“The High Council of Elders meets a month from tonight.”

Ali nodded, unsure where he was going with this. The elders of every tribe in

North America came together for one night of the year to discuss Pack Law and other rules that governed every wolf. Even those tribes that had quarreled in the past had to set aside their differences that night. “Let’s give them a reason to celebrate.”

She arched an eyebrow. “As long as it doesn’t involve killing the new Kölen

Alpha during the High Council, I’m all for whatever you have in mind.” “You mean that?” Anxiety settled in her stomach. “I might regret this, but yeah, I do.” “Then mate with me that night.” Her pulse quickened. In the past week since they’d admitted their feelings to one another, they hadn’t once spoken of taking things beyond the sexually charged

Lacey Savage

Feral Hedonism

- 86 -

relationship they now shared. Though she knew she’d never be able to go back to her old life, Ali hadn’t dared dream he might want to mate with her. Permanently. She opened her mouth to speak, but Victor was faster, pressing a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. Traditionally, there have been mating ceremonies as dawn neared, after High Council business drew to a close. We haven’t had a Zante union celebrated in front of all the elders in decades. I think it would give the pack the confidence and pride they need.” He paused and pierced her with an intense stare, his open gaze making her heart race. “And it would make me the happiest wolf in the pack. What do you say?” Her gaze lingered on his face, on the lines bracketing his mouth as he held his breath, waiting for her answer. She traced them with the tip of her finger before caressing his lower lip. At last, she rose on her tiptoes so her lips were even with his, and answered his question. “Yes… Master.”

Lacey Savage Lacey Savage began her love affair with romance at an early age. In high school, she checked out steamy romance novels from the public library and would often be found reading them in the middle of class. Lacey still reads more than she cares to admit, and probably more than her husband would like, considering how many books she keeps bringing into the house. Her favorite genres have always been erotica, romance, fantasy, science fiction and mystery, so she tries to incorporate a little of each into her writing. She initially majored in marketing, then went back to school to major in English literature. After earning her degrees, she decided to turn her efforts to her true passion: writing. A hopeless romantic, Lacey loves writing about the intimate, sensual side of relationships. She currently resides in Ottawa, Canada, with her loving husband and their mischievous cat. You can learn more about Lacey by visiting her website at http://www.laceysavage.com, and can reach her at [email protected]