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  “Most of the English I’ve encountered are passionless. And you, Phillipa, have more than your share.” His look was perplexed and he didn’t seem as if he were completely happy with the acknowledgement.

  “What is your name?” she asked, arching a brow at his displeasure.

  “Your kinsmen call me Wulf. But my given name is Zepar.”

  Phillipa’s eyes widened as he spoke the name of the soulless beast who was the nightmare of her people. It hadn’t been a dream after all. The hazy recollection of being kidnapped by the giant wolves, and the dreams where man and monster met as they ravished her body replayed through her mind. He waited patiently for her to finish her conclusions.

  “Why did you take me?” she finally asked.

  Her pulse thrummed in her neck and she swallowed nervously, not because of who he was, but because she realized he had taken her for a reason and that she might not be prepared for the outcome.

  “You are a beautiful woman. And I need an heir.”

  Phillipa studied him closely, hoping to see if he spoke the truth or whether he was being flippant. “You could have courted me and asked for marriage. I don’t believe I would have told you no. You are pleasant to look upon and you pleased me greatly last night.”

  His eyes raked down her body until he reached the sheet that still covered her breasts. He pulled it away slowly, the soft cotton scraping across her sensitized skin.

  “I cannot marry,” he said. “Marriage is a holy sacrament. A blessed union that your people feel the need to hold in a church and in front of a priest. And as you must realize, I cannot step foot on sacred ground. Once I spawn an heir on you, papers will be forged declaring our marriage and we will return to England to take our place in society. You are a very powerful young lady. If I don’t claim you, then your grandmother will marry you off to whomever she deems the best match.”

  “I’m the daughter of a baron. No one will care who I marry.”

  “Yes, you are the daughter of a baron, but you are also the great-granddaughter of a duke. Your mother’s grandfather held the last title, but only daughters have been born since his death. You are the last of your line, so any son you have will inherit that title. And with it wealth, land and a position of great power. I need all of those things.”

  Phillipa began to laugh before she could control herself. The bed shook with her mirth and tears leaked from her eyes.

  “You can’t possibly think that I hold the key to a dukedom. King Henry would have paid heed to my family all this time, trying to win favor for whoever might inherit the title.”

  “King Henry has been busy with his own problems. He would have found you eventually. He might have even married you himself.”

  Her laughter died down when she realized he was deadly serious. “I must get to my grandmother. She needs to know I am unharmed. I am the last family she has.”

  “I’ve already sent some of my wolves to protect her,” he said. “She will be taken care of until you are with child. Then we will travel to Scotland so she may know you are well and happy.”

  “And will I be happy? What of the child you expect to create? Will he be normal?”

  “He will be the most important child born to this world. There will be no others great enough to defeat him, and the world will have no choice but to bow before him.”

  “What if someone finds me? And what if I don’t conceive?”

  “This cottage is protected from trespassers. We are completely alone, and I will be here to act as your stud however, whenever, and wherever I see fit. If you don’t conceive within the next year, then you will die. And I will continue in my search for a strong mate of value who can reproduce.”

  His voice was hard and there was coldness in his eyes. She didn’t understand how he could have such passion for her one moment and such disinterest in her well being the next. He reached out and palmed her breast, pinching her nipple hard between his fingers.

  She gasped at the instant pleasure it brought to her, even as she recoiled at the thought of being a prisoner for the next year. She couldn’t bring a child into such existence. There had to be a way to seek help.

  The heat infused her body like it had before and she couldn’t help but lean into him. “What’s happening to me?”

  “When one of the wolves scratched your arm, you were infected with a type of poison. If I hadn’t mated with you as I did, then you would have become one of us. I need you to be human to procreate. My wolves do not have that ability. But now your body belongs to me. I can call the heat and you have no choice but to answer. The only way to soothe it is to release my seed inside your body. Or to kill me. But I am not so easily defeated.”

  “You read my thoughts earlier,” Phillipa said, trying to keep her mind blank of the plans she would have to see through to survive. “How did you do it?”

  “I could do it because I had not yet taken you. Worry not, your thoughts are now your own. Though I must warn you of trying anything foolish. I will give you great pleasure if you stay true. But if you betray me, you will only wish you were dead. Now roll to your knees. I find I’m ready to take you once more.”

  Phillipa glanced down at his cock and watched as it swelled before her very eyes. She knew by looking that this was the cock of the wolf. It couldn’t have been the same member he’d taken her with only a few hours before. Her hand couldn’t have closed around it and it was at least the same length as her forearm.

  “Please, Wulf. I am sore,” she said, thinking frantically. “I heard a stream behind the cottage when I first arrived. I would like to wash. And I’m sure the water would feel pleasant.”

  “If I give you a reprieve, you must agree to anything I wish. You won’t deny me.” His voice brooked no argument.

  She nodded once, trying not to think of what he could possibly have in store for her, and scrambled off the bed. There were no clothes in the wardrobe, and she didn’t see the gown she’d discarded earlier. Her cloak hung on a peg on the wall, a bright slash of red against the pale walls.

  “You need no clothes here. There will be no need for them, and no one will see you. As I said, this area is protected and you will only be able to venture so far before you can go no further.”

  He handed her a small ball of rose scented soap. Phillipa took it and nodded once before she fled out the front door of the cottage. A small reprieve was better than none. She had much to do before she succumbed to Wulf’s touch once more.

  Chapter Seven:

  Trickery and the Taking

  A clear path wound from the back of the cottage down to a small creek that flowed into a pond. By the position of the sun, it was already late afternoon. Time had been lost since her abduction and the night she shared with Wulf. She wasn’t even sure how long she’d slept.

  She moved quickly, looking around every time she heard the slightest noise, afraid that someone would see her nakedness. The feeling of moving so freely was unusual and a bit unnerving. She would have been ridiculed and seen as nothing more than a disgraced trollop among her own people. But here she could be as she pleased. Only it was her body that had to be sacrificed for the payment of such freedom.

  The gurgling sound of water grew nearer, and she hoped that she would find just what she needed along the water’s edge. Her mother had told her of a special root that could be eaten raw or boiled to make a tea that would protect a woman from pregnancy until she was ready. Her mother had been quite forward in her speaking to her children, much like Phillipa was, and not even the most unconventional of topic was ignored. According to her mother, the root was most often used by married ladies who didn’t wish to spawn the children of their lovers off on their husbands.

  The water was crystal clear, so she could see the pebbled bottom and exactly where it dropped off to deeper waters. Autumn would make way for winter before the month was out, but today the sun was out and beat down on her bare shoulders. Even cold, the water would be a welcome relief to her body.

  Sh
e stepped through the tall grass that edged the pond and into the water, the frigid temperature stealing her breath for just a moment. And then she saw it. The plant sat in clumps all along the water’s edge. She plucked it out of the ground as she would have a weed and snapped off the small, marble-sized roots.

  She waded the rest of the way into the water until she stood waist deep, and washed the dirt from the roots. Once they were clean she divided one in half with her thumbnail and swallowed it whole, shuddering at the bitter taste.

  “That should take care of things,” she said to herself, tossing the rest of the roots to dry land to take back to the cottage with her.

  She scrubbed her body from head to toe and washed her hair with the soap Wulf had given her. Once she was clean, she sat on the grassy bank, finger-combing her hair as her body dried beneath the heat of the sun.

  By the time she stood to leave, the sun was just beneath the edge of the trees and the sky had taken a pinkish hue. Nothing good could come from being caught in the woods after dark. She grabbed the roots she’d cleaned earlier and ran back up the path to the cottage, her body primed in anticipation of seeing Wulf once more.

  But when she entered the cottage, she found herself completely alone. She was confused by the disappointment that coursed through her body. Shouldn’t she have been more afraid? Logically, fear should have been the emotion most prevalent, but something had happened to her body the moment she’d been cut by one of the wolves. Caution and fear no longer existed. Not even the threat of her own death could make her cower in the presence of her lover.

  She knew she had to find a way to escape, and if she was ever going to break the hold Wulf had on her then she knew she must also find a way to kill him. But she’d use the time she had until then to enjoy the pleasures he could bring her body.

  Phillipa hung the roots in the larder next to the other herbs and took stock of what the kitchen had to offer. She had no experience in the kitchen, but it looked as if they had everything they could possibly need for several months. Even as she had the thought her stomach rumbled.

  “No time like the present,” she said, foraging for something she could fix easily.

  She settled on a crusty loaf of round bread and some cheese. Once she’d filled her stomach she decided to explore the cottage. So far she’d only seen the front parlor, the kitchen, a small library and the large bedroom at the back of the house. She’d completely overlooked the upstairs in her exhaustion the day before.

  She found a thick candle and some matches in a drawer and lit it with shaking hands. The banister was smooth under her hand as she walked up the steps. Anticipation gathered in her breast, though she didn’t know why. Perhaps because she was going through another’s home, snooping through private rooms, and she didn’t know the consequences of doing such a thing. Would Wulf be angry? Or would he want her to treat the cottage as her own?

  The first door on the left was a small bedroom, sparsely furnished and lacking in color or frivolity. As she continued opening the five doors on the left side of the hallway, she found no changes to the rooms. They were all identical, down to the way the sheets were folded back on the bed and the angle of the washstand in the corner.

  Her palms were damp as she started opening the doors on the right side of the hallway. There were only two, but still she hesitated as her hand gripped the knob. Her pulse fluttered in her neck and she took a deep breath as she pushed the first door open.

  Disappointment filled her as she held up her candle and saw the large room was empty. There were no windows in this room, and her candle barely penetrated the darkness, so she walked further in the room.

  Curiosity filled her. The floor was wood and polished to a gleam, but it sloped toward the center where a strange drain sat in the middle of the floor. As she walked the perimeter of the room, she noticed the manacles attached to the walls and the chains hanging from the ceiling. Her breath had quickened and she practically ran back to the door to escape the frightening room. It was obviously a dungeon of some sort, and she hoped she never had to experience it herself.

  She closed the door behind her and walked a few steps to the other door on that side of the hallway. Nothing in her wildest imagination could come up with anything worse than what she’d found in the other room, so she gathered her courage and pushed open the door.

  She knew as soon as she stepped inside the room that she wasn’t alone.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” she called out.

  Her voice echoed back at her but she could have sworn she heard a whimper. She held the candle aloft and noticed the sconces along the wall. She lit them carefully until a soft glow filled the room, until every corner could be seen.

  Phillipa gasped as she saw the strange contraptions lining the walls wooden boxes that came almost to her waist, and on top of the boxes sat large phalluses that looked to be made of ivory. Her nipples tightened at the sight and she clenched her legs together. And then she heard the whimper once more.

  In the far corner sat a lone man atop one of the boxes. His head was thrown back in agony and his eyes were clenched tight. His body was taut and sweat beaded across his skin. He was obviously impaled on one of the phalluses, but his cock was rigid and erect and the sac beneath it was drawn tight. His wrists were manacled and his arms were pulled above his head by chains. Phillipa hurried over to him as he whimpered once more.

  “Sir?” she said. “Are you in pain? Can I help you?”

  He opened his eyes and Phillipa gasped. She recognized these eyes, though they no longer glowed yellow as they once had. They were now human, the color of clouds gathering before a storm. His hair was long, dark blond and tangled, and at least a day’s worth of beard stubbled across his face. He was tall and muscular, but his feet didn’t quite touch the floor, so he was unable to lift himself off the phallus.

  “You are the wolf that took me. The red wolf.”

  He nodded jerkily and closed his eyes once more. “My name is Jacob,” he whispered.

  “And it was you who scratched me. Who brought this heat over my body.”

  He nodded once more, and once Phillipa mentioned the heat she felt it spread through her limbs and gather at her core.

  “I’m being punished for my transgressions,” he said. “It was our leader who wanted to mark you. And because it was I instead, he’ll never have a full claim over you.”

  “Are you thirsty? Can I get you some water?” She placed her hand on his brow and he flinched before relaxing against her touch. She brushed the hair from his face and waited until he opened his eyes again and looked at her.

  “You shouldn’t be kind to me. Not after the things I’ve done to you.”

  “You seem to have as little control over your life as I have over mine at the moment. You were only doing as you were told.”

  He nodded gratefully and thanked her with his eyes. They were nice eyes. Kind eyes.

  “There is water in a barrel by the door and a ladle hanging from the wall. I would be grateful for some water.”

  Phillipa did as he asked and held his head as she fed him the water.

  “How long have you been this way?” she asked.

  “Since yesterday morning. I’ve been unable to sleep because of my state. Wolves are creatures of passion and lust. And it’s how our master tortures us.”

  “Then I must help you,” Phillipa said, kneeling before him.

  “You cannot. He will punish us both if he discovers you serviced me.”

  “I cannot leave you like this.”

  She took his cock in her hand and it jumped against her touch. He was large, as all the wolves must be, and the head of his cock was angry and swollen with pent up desire.

  “Are we in danger of being caught?” she asked, nuzzling her cheek against him, inhaling the saltiness of his desire as it seeped from the tip of his cock.

  “Not for a while yet,” he said, barely able to get the words past his lips. “Wulf has taken the pack hunting. They won’t
return until after midnight.”

  “Perfect,” she said, finally taking him in her mouth. She held him tight around the base as she worked his length as far into her mouth as she could. Her throat opened and her tongue worked against the sensitive spot just on the underside of his cock.

  “Yesss,” he hissed, trying to move against her, though the phallus kept him prisoner.

  It didn’t take long at all before she tasted the salty cream of his release. He’d been held on the edge for so long that it hadn’t taken much to push him over the edge. She swallowed him down easily until every drop was gone and his cock began to soften in her mouth. Phillipa pulled away and stood on shaky legs. The proof of her desire ran down the inside of her thighs and she wanted to escape back to her own room to relieve the pressure building within.

  “Thank you,” he said, a satisfied smile tilting his lips. “Now I will return the favor. I can smell your desire.”

  Phillipa blushed at the thought that his nose was that sensitive. “I don’t see how you could”

  “Stand up on the block and put your feet on either side of me,” he instructed, interrupting her protest.

  She used his shoulders for leverage and climbed on top of the large wooden box, so her feet were just to the outside of his thighs. It put her at the perfect height, so her pussy was just in front of his mouth.

  “Mmm, it’s been so long since I’ve tasted a woman. All the females in our pack are mated. And human women don’t usually want monsters touching them.”

  “I don’t see any monsters,” Phillipa said.

  His tongue licked slowly along her folds and flicked the hidden bud so a bolt of desire shot through her body. She grasped his hair between her fingers to hold herself steady as he delved inside her, his tongue seemingly everywhere at once. He sucked against her bud even as he pushed his tongue inside of her. Sensations rioted through her body as a climax overtook her that was different than anything she’d ever experienced. Her knees buckled and she fell to her knees, so the lips of her pussy grazed his now hard cock.