Wolf Flight

Chapter 6

Tad made a final check of the aircraft instruments and tucked away the flight plan and weather reports. There were only eight hours of daylight to play with and they needed to head out soon.

The meteorologist, Missy’s working partner in the project, detained them. Tad had flown the man for hours the day before and discovered Dan was anal when it came to details. Today he not only fussed with last-minute changes, he wasn’t feeling well, disappearing every ten minutes on a bathroom run.

“Missy, can we get started and at least put the first of the relays into place?” Tad suggested, chomping at the bit to get moving. “Then we can contact Dan and let him do his thing with the base unit at camp. It’s going to require at least twenty minutes to get to the first drop spot before you can even turn anything on to start linking the receivers.”

It was the first time he’d seen Missy since he and Keil spoke on Saturday. She looked breathtaking as usual, but he imagined there was a little something extra in her smile when she responded to him. Heat flared between them, and he forced himself to turn away before he did something too wolfish—like pounce on her in public.

By the time they were in the air wearing headsets so they could communicate, he thought he’d worked out what he wanted to say. It needed to be something tender and sweet, yet let her know he was interested in her not only for FirstMate reasons but because he really liked her as a person. It wasn’t just about sex, even though she was hot enough to cause spring thaw to set in early—

“Tad?” Missy’s smooth voice came through the speakers fuzzy with static. His cock still stood up and paid attention.

“Yes?”

“When we’re done today would you like me to come back to your apartment or do you want to get a hotel room? Because all my stuff is at the camp and I don’t think we should have sex there.”

It took a couple of seconds for Tad to level the plane. Blunt-speaking wolves. Got him every time.

“I brought along a change of clothes in my duffle bag so we can go straight to wherever you want.”

“Missy!” Tad adjusted his pants to regain a little blood flow.

She snickered and he turned a sheepish smile in her direction. Her eyes sparkled with desire as she held out her hand and he clasped it, his thumb rubbing across her knuckles in a gentle caress.

So soft. So right.

A faint hint of her scent surprised him, either perfume or her natural fragrance, as it filled his nostrils and sent his body into overdrive. Tad scrambled through some quick calculations while there was still blood in his brain. Twelve relays to set up at fifteen minutes each. Adding flight time, landing and storage for the plane, driving and sprinting up the stairs, they could be at his place by two p.m. at the latest.

All ready for some Afternoon Delight.

“I did change the frequency over, Dan.” Missy held her head in one hand while she spoke into the radio. “If you’re not receiving the feedback you missed something at your end.”

Tad paced behind her in the snow, his collar turned up against the icy wind. It was after three and there was often a breeze on the glacier by this time of day. Another reason he’d hoped to be safe at home before now.

“I know it’s not a problem on my end… No, I won’t turn it off and recalibrate because that would require another twenty minutes and it wouldn’t fix the problem… Dan?” Missy dropped the phone. “He’s throwing up again. I don’t believe this!”

Over the day Dan had turned a simple exercise into a new form of hell. Of course, Tad was a trifle biased since he had hoped to be strolling through paradise right about now. The other man fumbled and upset every weather relay Missy tried to arrange. Between running a fever and running to the bathroom, he had helped link together only seven of the twenty needed relays.

It would be dark in a short time and Tad dreaded the idea of spending the night on the glacier in his plane. “Missy, we’ve got to stop. Tell whomever you can reach we’re coming in. Dan’s too sick to finish and we’re heading into the danger zone.”

Missy nodded and relayed the message to base camp. Their response made her eyes grow wide with concern. As she tucked away the phone and gathered her things, passing Tad the extra packages to store back in the cargo hold, she shared the news. “We can’t do any more today anyway. They’ve returned Dan to his tent. He’s unconscious.”

Back on board Tad examined the flight line. The wind direction had changed enough that the new direction for takeoff wasn’t going to be pleasant. “Umm, you might like to close your eyes. The plane will be a little tight to the trees before we get airborne.”

Missy nodded and put on her headset. “I trust you.”

Tad swallowed. Holy crap, now his chest was as tight as his throat. The way Missy put herself into his hands so quickly and faithfully was humbling.

He made it off the glacier with inches to spare. The relentless wind swept ice particles over the body of his plane like harsh sandpaper. Both hands fought to control the little craft and all was going well until a series of bright orange warning lights flashed on the instrument panel. The foul weather was screwing with the wing flaps.

Oh. Shit.

Even worse was the red engine light that blazed a second later.

The sun was sinking, frightening yet beautiful, through the haze of the blowing snow. Tad knew where he was. He’d double and triple checked his maps while he’d waited for Missy to finish each relay.

They weren’t going to make it back to Haines Junction in this weather with the plane in trouble. They might be able to make it to Keil’s mountain retreat—with a little luck. He glanced at Missy, who watched him with confidence.

Hell, forget the luck. For her, he’d pull off a miracle.

Tad guided Missy through the deep snow toward the cabin as the wind howled around them.

“Will we have to break in?” She had to shout to be heard.

“Nope. I know the secret code. I’ve flown Keil and his clients here many times, and they shared their tricks.” He pulled them past the front door to the large side window where a combination lock hung on the hasp. “Four-letter combo. TJ set it, I bet.” He dialed in H-E-L-P and pulled.

Nothing.

Tad tried O-P-E-N, then S-A-V-E. He cursed into the wind.

“What should it be set for?” Missy asked, tucked in tight against his side. She tried to contain her shivers. The temperature was dropping fast and her teeth chattered. As glad as she was that Tad had landed them safely, it was far colder than she was used to. She was tempted to shift to her wolf and curl up in a ball to get warm.

“Keil uses the three-tumbler lock and sets it to SOS or nine-one-one for emergencies. TJ likes to use the four-tumbler lock and he tends to get fancy. What would you say if you needed to get in the cabin and had no key?”

“I’d probably swear.” She stuck her hands farther into her armpits and hopped on the spot.

Tad gave her cheek a quick you’re-a-genius kiss and warmth shot through her. He had the lock off in a moment, the window open, and he lifted her in. Tad crawled through behind her and pulled the window shut. The relative silence echoed in her ears.

“What was the word?”

Tad directed her toward the airtight stove. “S-H-I-T. That boy needs to grow up.” He grabbed a blanket out of a sealed Rubbermaid tote and wrapped it around her shoulders. He stared at her for a second, his cold fingers soft against her cheek before he covered her more thoroughly. “Sit here and I’ll get the fire started. We’ll have everything we need in a minute. Keil is nothing if not prepared.”

Missy watched, huddled under the blanket, as Tad lit the stove and hustled around the kitchen area pulling things from inside sealed boxes. Tea, sugar, canned spaghetti sauce and dry pasta all appeared on the sideboard. By the time the stove radiated heat into the main space of the cabin, there was melted snow for boiling the pasta and the rich aroma of tomato sauce filled the air.

Such smooth movements for an untriggered wolf. There was a kind of innate grace in most shifters, a carryover from their wolf form. Tad had yet to turn into his wolf, but Missy could imagine him. She bet he would be pale silver, as light as she was, even though his human form was dark in skin and hair. He was going to be beautiful. Just like his human.

As she watched her desire for him grew. Her body tightened and moisture began to gather in her core. This day had been a long time coming and her skin tingled in anticipation of his touch. Missy was glad that she would get to share this experience with him. No matter how dangerous it was for her to offer him FirstMate. With all she’d been through in the Whistler pack, the years of being unloved and trapped in a marriage of convenience, she needed to do one last special thing for herself. Whatever the result.

She was grateful to have something special she could give to Tad.

She got up to change out of her wet things into the clothes she’d brought along. Tad watched her open her bag without saying anything, his gaze hot as she reached in and pulled out a thick pair of pants.

“Sweats. Hmm, baby, you’re my kind of woman,” Tad teased, his smile brightening the room.

“It’s cold here after living away from the north,” Missy complained.

Tad winked at her. “What else you got in that bag of tricks? Here I thought you meant you’d brought a sexy nightie or massage oil.”

Missy pulled out a thick pair of wool socks and her hairbrush.

“Ropes and a paddle, right?”

Missy blew a raspberry at him and ducked behind the stack of boxes while Tad turned back to the stove, but not before they both cast a final glance at each other. The sexual intent in Tad’s gaze burned her and she had to take a long, slow breath before she could change.

Warm food filled their bellies and the heat from the stove reached even the farthest corners of the cabin. Missy sighed and leaned back on the soft pillows Tad had pulled from storage and placed in front of the fire.

“There were three other full-blood wolves in high school with us,” she said, watching the expressions on his face with delight. “Do you know who they were?”

Tad propped himself on his elbows beside her. “I know about Leon. He still belongs to the pack in Whitehorse. I suspected there was something different about him even before I knew about wolves.”

Missy laughed. “Why?”

Tad bunched his shoulders and screwed his face into a grimace. He deepened his voice and rasped out, “’Cause if you’d ever seen the guy changing for gym class you’d have thought he’d forgotten to complete a shift. Guy needs shares in Nair.”

She giggled. That was Leon to a T. “You’re bad. Who else?”

“I’m not sure. Cindy moved away shortly after you did. She had the whole ‘look but don’t touch’ thing down to perfection and you two hung out together a lot around school and in town…” He paused.

“You were watching me, weren’t you?” Missy said with her gaze on his lips, on the corner of his mouth. Her tongue slipped out to wet her own lips, unable to stop the automatic gesture.

“All the time,” Tad admitted quietly. He reached out a hand and tugged loose a curl. She swallowed hard as his touch sent a riot of sensation through her body. “You fascinated me. You still do.”

He continued to stare at her, his eyes growing darker.

“I need to kiss you.” His voice was harsh and low as he continued to twirl her hair around his finger. “I really need to kiss you now.”

He didn’t come closer. What was he waiting for? Missy licked her lips again and he groaned as his hand cupped her neck to pull her in. They were a mere whisper apart. His breath warmed her, and still he didn’t move closer and touch her. Then she realized he wouldn’t. He waited for her. It was her call, her decision.

“Missy?” His voice teased her skin, tickled her senses, drew the very air from her lungs.

She dropped her mouth the final quarter inch and their lips touched, tentative, hesitant. Tad cradled her close, his hands tender as he massaged her neck and shoulders, his lips soft and restrained.

What she wanted was more. She stroked her tongue over his mouth, teased at the seam of his lips and urged him to open. With a groan he complied, and she snuck inside to lick his teeth. Heat rose around them as Tad joined her, his tongue sweeping hers as he dragged their bodies into contact, hips together, her torso tight to his chest.

The cozy blankets under them, the warmth of the fire filling the room, the crackle as the logs settled, all these sensations faded away as his physical touch overwhelmed her. His hands slipped under her sweatshirt and glided down her back. Their bodies pressed together. Her nipples, tight and hard, rubbed against him.

Through it all they kissed. The intoxicating touch of mouth on mouth thrilled her, made her lightheaded. She pulled away an inch to gasp in air, and found she looked up at Tad. He’d rolled them over without her even being aware of it. He watched her carefully as he held his full weight on his forearms, suspending himself above her body. His hardness nestled against her thigh.

His laboured breathing showed her she wasn’t the only one affected.

She stared at him. “You kiss better than a dream.”

Tad’s eyes widened. “Sweetheart, do you have any idea how many dreams you’ve starred in for me?”

He continued to gaze at her and Missy flushed. Her hands were locked around his neck, his hair standing straight up from where she’d clutched at him while they kissed. “I, umm… What was the question?”

Dark eyes flashed at her. “No questions. Just more of this.”

He lowered his head and she was gone, lost in his taste, his touch. He nuzzled at her neck, teeth rasping her skin, and her womb clenched. Moisture, hot and slick, flooded from her body. Blood rushed to her pussy lips until they were swollen and aching.

Tad shifted to the side and his hand passed over her belly to cup her breast. He drew in sharp breath.

“Shit, Missy. You’re not wearing a bra.”

She thrust her chest into firmer contact with his hand. Electric shocks slid through her as he nestled the globe of her breast in his palm, his thumb brushing her nipple with a ghostly touch.

Muttered words of passion reached her ears. He pushed up her sweater with his hand and lapped at the taut peak. Covering the whole areola, he suckled hard. A line flared from his mouth to her core, lightning flashed and she cried out as she clutched him tight.

She’d never felt anything like this before. She needed him, needed his desire, his mouth. She was empty and only Tad could fill her. He switched to her other breast, slipping his hand back past her belly to the waistband of her sweats. As he slid his fingers under the elastic, she opened her legs in welcome, tugging on his hair to force his head to her mouth. His taste was addictive and she wanted more.

As Tad’s fingers brushed her mound he drew another quick breath then spoke against her lips. “Girl, you’re killing me. No bra, no panties… Oh damn, you’re wet.”

His hand cupped her mound, one finger slid through her curls to part her sensitive lips. His finger nestled just inside her sheath.

Missy closed her eyes and drank in the sensations as a shiver raced over her skin. His lips, demanding a response, feasted on her mouth, yet the hand that explored her pussy was soft. He stroked her, slow and controlled, even as he kissed her hard and furious. His body shook and she wondered how much longer he would last.

She didn’t want gentle anymore. The desire to be filled, to be seized by Tad and completely possessed, overwhelmed her. His scent hung strong in the air, filling her nose, her mouth.

Her heart.

Her soul.

Tendrils of emotion passed briefly between them and her eyes flew open with surprise. Oh, sweet mercy, it really was happening. The mate connection. She’d been told what to expect but never thought she would experience it. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Being tied to Tad with a false mating meant she would escape from her Alpha’s clutches and that had been the goal. But she’d never expected the connection to feel so real.

She must have made a small sound not in keeping with their lovemaking because Tad pulled back. He dropped his forehead to her shoulder and took a few deep breaths. He shifted to pull away, but she caught at his shoulders, wrapping a leg around him to freeze him in position.

“I wasn’t telling you to stop. You’re the best lover I’ve ever—”

“Let’s not talk about other people loving you,” Tad gritted through his teeth. He rolled to the side, keeping their legs in contact. “For some reason the thought makes me want to shoot someone.”

Missy stared at him. Was it possible? She knew what she felt. The emotional desire to be with him was even stronger than the physical compulsion. And the physical was off the charts. She cupped his face in her hands and reached out with her Omega sense into his mind, into the emotions and needs hidden away. Images flashed—naked bodies twined together, children playing in a field, two hands clasped that were wrinkled with time—Missy gasped.

She’d been wrong all along. She’d assumed her desire for him was a false reading when really she should have known.

He was her mate. Her real, honest-to-goodness, forever-and-always mate.

“Oh, Tad.” This was more overwhelming than she’d ever imagined it could be. With his taste rioting through her body and the images from his mind encouraging her, it was all she could do to stop from stripping off their clothes and jumping his bones.

Not that it was a bad idea.

She trembled in his arms and Tad came close to losing control. He looked into her eyes, checking to see if she was afraid. Fuck. He must have done something, moved too fast, not shown how much she meant to him. Pain, deep and sharp, thrust into him and he sucked in a breath.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Tad tried to untangle their limbs, he tried, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. Leaving the heat of her touch would wrench his heart from his body.

“Nothing’s wrong, everything’s right.” She cupped his face in her hands again, the softness of her touch washing over him with equal parts of desire and peace. There was something so right about Missy, so far beyond mere sex that his mind grew foggy and it was hard to concentrate on her words. “Can you feel it? This isn’t just FirstMate, it’s more. You and I, we’re mates.”

Tad froze. It wasn’t possible. She’d had a mate, yet for some reason she was getting the message they belonged together forever. Oh bloody hell, it was the frickin’ werewolf hormones again. Somehow she was getting a false positive.

How could this happen? How could it happen without them having sex? She was going to think she was in love with him for the rest of her life and it would just be pheromones controlling her. He couldn’t do that, couldn’t treat someone he cared about in such a cold, heartless manner, especially Missy. Tad summoned strength he didn’t know he had from within and dragged himself away.

They both cried with low moans as he stumbled across the room to put distance between them. The physical pain that shot through his body was unexpected and nearly drove him to his knees. His eyes blurred for a moment and the room spun as he grew light-headed.

“I’m so sorry, I really am.” He would do anything to stop from hurting her. His limbs shook as he leaned on the doorframe. His body was on fire, even more than when he was touching her.

She was pale, confusion written all over her face, and he ached for her. The situation was beyond her control and entirely his fault. “I thought, I mean…” She hesitated before closing her tear-filled eyes and starting to shake. “Don’t you want me?”

A sound of agony ripped from his throat at the thought of denying his need for her. Bloody werewolf genes had messed up his life and now Missy’s. All he wanted was to hold her and make it all better, but it wasn’t possible. Everything he’d been told over the years meant she had to be mistaken and unless he stopped now she would suffer forever. He softened his voice and let his caring come through as he spoke. “Hell, it’s not you, it’s me. Don’t you see? I’m not triggered. We can’t be mates, it’s the pheromones blinding you. You just think I’m your mate. Oh, sweetheart, I wish it was true.” He wished it with everything he had.

“It is!” Missy cried. She was on her knees now, her sweater askew, hair tousled everywhere.

He’d never seen anything as beautiful. It was sheer torture to drop his gaze from her, his heart pounding fast, his ears ringing as blood roared through his head. He forced down his lust to try and reason with her. “I can’t be. You have a mate.” It never happened twice. A once-in-a-lifetime event and when they died, a piece of you died.

“I had a husband, Tad. Not a mate. We were married but it was a political thing forced upon me.” She rose and reached for him.

Tad held out a hand to stop her, his mind spinning. She’d never had a mate. She’d said they were mates. Could she be right? He sniffed hard. The only aroma that reached him was the faint scent of wood smoke. His sinus passages were plugged, his forehead felt hot. His body ached.

Did he want her? Hell yeah, but there didn’t seem to be the irresistible connection that he’d been warned occurred when true mates met. He wanted to bury himself in her and protect her, but he’d felt that way since they were kids back in high school. The connection, the pull, he felt equally strongly with his human side. How could this possibly be a true mating if he wasn’t sure? The trickle of doubt that remained tied his hands.

Tied his heart.

Then for one evil, wicked moment Tad was tempted to continue. To take her and make love to her so she’d be trapped forever. He loved her, damn it. She would love him. Did it matter that it would just be chemicals on her side? His human morals fought a battle of epic proportions against the desires of the wolf raging through him. The lust, the need to be triggered.

A cooling breeze flowed around him and in that brief second his heart broke. He’d nearly done the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do, take advantage of someone he cared about.

He couldn’t. She had to be set free. All his dreams fell to the ground and shattered. The need that had risen in his body overflowed to his mind and drawing back from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. The room blurred again. It was impossible to think straight.

“If you were never mated that means there’s no chance we could ever safely share FirstMate. I can’t do that to you. I can’t risk making you suffer thinking you’re in love with me for the rest of your life.” His tongue tripped over the words, awkward, painful. He wanted her but he wanted the best for her more.

“But, Tad—”

“Missy, hush.” Tad dropped his voice, calmed his pounding heart. He had to explain he wasn’t rejecting her but saving her from a grave mistake. “Falling in love with someone for real and thinking you’re in love because your damn werewolf hormones are controlling you aren’t the same thing. Somewhere out there you have a real mate with whom you’ll connect intimately. If I take advantage of you, I’d be destroying the future you could have. The absolute joy. The complete belonging. I care too much for you to let you give up on all that. We have to stop, now.” Tad snatched up his coat and shoved his feet into his boots haphazardly, the room spinning as he moved. “Keep the fire going. I’ll be back later. Don’t leave the cabin. I’m going to try the radio again.”

“Tad, don’t leave me, I ache… It hurts. Don’t leave—”

He closed the door on the sound of her quivering voice and dropped his shoulder back to seal it shut. Sharp knives cut through his limbs, his throat was raw and his heart was a block of ice within his chest. He stumbled down the stairs and back toward the plane. There had to be a way to get out of here soon.

Before he died from the pain of a broken heart.