Elder Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch Book 1; Tate Rock Shifters) Read online

  Chapter 8

  Austin rolled up the long wire of electric fencing as his brothers moved the herd from one pasture to the next. Gunner had found a late calf and was busy tagging it and recording its birth.

  They were in the depths of lambing season now and had at least a dozen lambs to catalog that morning. The sun was high and warm overhead. All Austin could think about was his date with Cheyenne yesterday. Being with her again had returned the spark and the joy to his life, things he had believed to be long gone.

  That kiss had been everything. Everything he’d missed. Everything he’d longed for all this time. He wished that all the years that they had lost could somehow be returned to them. They would be already raising a family together. They could have teenage children by now. But instead, they were just starting. As much as Austin wished they could somehow get a do-over, time could not be turned back.

  They could only look forward. And he certainly did look forward to spending the rest of his life with Cheyenne. He was dreaming of going to the jeweler in town and spending a good portion of his savings on a giant diamond ring. He must have had a shit-eating grin on his face when Gunner approached, clipboard in hand.

  “We need to put down the new fence,” Gunner said, looking at his brother suspiciously. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You were thinking about Cheyenne, weren’t you?” Gunner asked.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “You got it bad, big bro. I’m happy for you. So, when are you going to pop the question and ask her to be your mate?”

  “Soon, I hope. I’m pretty sure we’re both on the same page. It’s like no time has passed and nothing is changed since we were sixteen. I swear, it makes me feel like a kid again.”

  “Well, you’re slacking off like a kid,” Gunner said.

  Austin looked around and noticed that he was holding up the whole production. The fence needed to be reconstructed around the new pasture for the cattle. The sheep needed to be moved along behind them. They did the same routine twice a day every day.

  It was critical to always move the animals for this level of intensive grazing. It mimicked the movements of herds over the grasslands, packed tight together by the presence of predators. It allowed for only the tips of the grasses to be eaten and then to immediately grow back. Rotating through different species eliminated parasites and fertilized the ground. Their grass stores were the envy of every other rancher in Fate Rock.

  His father had grumbled about the time and effort of intensive rotations. But when Austin had shown him it would cost very little to start and eventually turn a massive profit, he’d agreed to let his oldest son do his experiments. And those experiments had paid off. Wilde Ranch was now the most productive livestock operation in the region. And they were providing high-grade meats to the best restaurants from here to Denver, not to mention their weekly customers from around the state.

  Austin had considered adding milk goats to the rotation, but he wasn’t ready to add the infrastructure quite yet. It was on his list for the next five years.

  He and Gunner quickly constructed the electric fence behind the cattle and then went to the sheep pasture to finish cataloging the lambs. After the lambs were checked, tagged, and cataloged, they moved the sheep onto the next location. Cash and Cal moved the chickens behind them.

  Just as the last chicken coop moved into place, Austin felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out just as Gunner did the same. He stared down at the text.

  “We warned you. Stay away from our sister, you dirty shifter. Or there will be consequences.”

  Gunner looked up at Austin and cringed.

  “This is getting serious, big bro.”

  “Did you get the same text?” Austin asked.

  Gunner turned his phone to his brother, showing the same text on the screen. “What are we going to do?”

  Austin didn’t want anything to interfere with his relationship with Cheyenne. But this level of escalation was too much to be ignored. She deserved to know the truth. He couldn’t keep it from her any longer. He also knew that he had to protect his brothers, his home, and his land.

  “I’m going to have to tell her,” he finally said.

  “What do you think she’ll do?”

  “I don’t know, little bro. But I hope that it doesn’t change things between us.”

  “You’re in deep, aren’t you?”

  “I love her like it’s the day I last saw her. It’s like nothing changed, except it’s more intense now after missing her all these years and thinking she was dead. It’s like she’s an angel returned to me from heaven by God. I can’t lose her again.” Austin tried to hold back the well of emotion overflowing inside him.

  Gunner reached out and gripped his older brother’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. It’s got to be.”

  “Hopefully, once I tell Cheyenne, she can make it clear to her brothers that she’s a grown woman who makes her own decisions and they can’t push her around anymore. But in case they continue to push the subject, we should all keep our fangs, claws, and shotguns at the ready.

  “We’ve got your back, Austin. Nobody messes with the Wilde brothers.”

  Chapter 9

  Cheyenne’s heart fluttered as if she was a teenage girl getting ready for her first date with the cutest boy in school. She brushed soft pink blush onto her cheeks, but she knew she didn’t need any additional coloring. Her cheeks were bright from the excitement already. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds, and she could feel the energy pulsing off her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

  “I’m ready,” she said, fastening her earring.

  Austin Wilde was the best thing that had happened to her, twice. She bit her lip, thinking that tonight was the night they would be together again after all this time. She thought about that night in the cabin when they were kids, their hot young bodies entwined in each other. The love they had shared was anything but juvenile. It was the kind of love that lasted, that stood the test of time. The kind of love that was meant to be forever.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, gripping the counter as she swooned. She giggled at herself as she turned to leave the bathroom with one last look at the mirror. She was ready. She felt like she was going to lose her virginity all over again. And in a way she was. Before she’d returned to Fate Rock, she had been a sad and lonely woman with a dead-end job and a life that felt more like a failure than a success.

  Now, she felt like anything was possible. Like all the years of loss and disappointment had disappeared in the blink of an eye. And now she was being offered the opportunity to have it all. To have Austin. To come home. To cash out her condo and her retirement fund and start that artisanal jam business she’d always wanted. Fate Rock was full of fresh fruit trees and berries.

  She could really make a go of it in an economical way living in a place like this. In Denver, it wouldn’t have been practical. She would’ve had to rent facilities and buy overpriced produce. It could only ever be a hobby she did on her kitchen counter on the weekends when she was feeling homesick or missing her mother. But in Fate Rock, it could be real. Like her love with Austin. She could have a family. She could have him.

  She practically squealed as she skipped into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. When the elevator doors swished open, she found Austin waiting on the other side. He held a bouquet of pink roses and wore a grin so bright it made her feel like she was staring at that boy she had once known and loved so dearly.

  He handed her the flowers and offered her his arm, and they walked into the lodge. They were seated at the same table as on their first date. The view was of the gorgeous sunset that seemed to be on full display just for them. The lights twinkled in his eyes, and he grinned at her through the candlelight. She smelled the roses and set them beside her.

  “We have a rack of lamb on special from the chef tonight,” the host told them.

  “That s
ounds heavenly,” she said. They ordered the rack of lamb with all the sides and a bottle of California Pinot to go along with it.

  After the waiter took their order and left them alone together, Austin reached across the table and took her hand. She loved holding his hand. She loved feeling close to him. She imagined standing with him at the altar, taking their vows.

  “It’s so good to be home again,” she said wistfully, looking out at the peak of Fate Rock. It stood like a blue shadow against the darkening sky.

  “It’s good to have you home,” he said in a low, rumbling voice. “Though I’m afraid I have some distressing news to share.”

  “What is it?” Concern sprouted in her chest.

  Austin pulled out his phone and scrolled through his text messages. He pointed the screen toward her, and she read what it said. Her heart sank, and she felt sick to her stomach.

  “I was afraid they’d do something like this,” she said.

  “They sent me a letter two days ago. I didn’t want to tell you about it. I wanted this to be our time. But it’s escalated now, and I can’t keep it to myself any longer.”

  Cheyenne took the phone and stared at the message, contemplating how to respond.

  “I hope this doesn’t change anything for us.”

  “I’m sorry that you had to see this, Austin. I’m afraid my brothers haven’t changed. They’re still full of hatred and contempt. I had hoped they would grow out of it after our father passed away. But I think it’s only gotten worse.”

  “Do you think they will try to do something? Hurt you? Attack my brothers?”

  “Oh God, I hope not.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  Cheyenne handed him the phone and gritted her teeth. “For now, I think we should ignore it. They aren’t going to destroy my happiness like they did the first time. I finally feel like things make sense again after all this time. They don’t get to choose who I love and what I do with my life. And I won’t let them intimidate you either.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way.”

  “How do you feel about it?” Her heart hurt as she thought of how this must be affecting him. To have her brothers threaten their reunion was too much, even for them.

  “I didn’t want to upset you. But I thought you needed to know.”

  “Let’s not think about them anymore, Austin. I don’t want their foolishness to interfere with our date.”

  They ate their dinner, chatting amiably about their hopes and dreams for the future. Austin had hoped to one day have a big family like his own. The thought of it made Cheyenne a little sad. She would be lucky if she could give him one child, let alone seven. But she remembered what he’d said about his mother and how shifter women could give birth much longer than humans. It gave her hope that she too could have the big family she’d always wanted.

  After they’d finished dinner and dessert, the soft, cool light of twilight hung over the resort. Austin asked her if she’d like to go for a walk. This time, if they kissed each other in the sharp cool air, she would not pull away.

  They walked hand in hand around the grounds, looking up at the stars and the moon as they came out. It was a clear night, and the stars shone radiantly as they walked deeper into the darkness, away from the lodge. They made their way around the lake on the well-worn path and ended up at the edge of the forest. A small fishing cabin nestled near the shore. They walked inside and found that they were alone.

  Austin flipped on the light. The one-room cabin was furnished with padded couches and blankets. Austin started a fire in the little hearth, and then they sat down together. The glow of light soon warmed the space, and they snuggled together under the blankets. The moon glowed over the lake in the distance, and she took his hand. It reminded her of the night they’d first made love together in that little cabin deep in the woods.

  “Do you ever go back to that trapper’s cabin?”

  “I do. We had it fully renovated, and now we rent it out to Airbnb travelers.”

  “I’d like to see it sometime.”

  “I’d like to take you there.” He cupped her face in his hand.

  Cheyenne let out a sigh of contentment. Being with Austin again felt like coming home after a lifetime of being away. It was hard to fully recognize the depth and breadth of her emotion. He leaned in and claimed her lips. That same deep well of desire that had gone without a voice for so long made itself known. She wasn’t going to hold back any longer. She grasped his lapels and pulled him closer. Their tongues danced as she groaned and gushed with a lifetime of pent-up need.

  “Oh, Austin. I’ve missed this so much. I’ve missed you so much,” she breathed as he kissed her neck and chest and shoulders, pushing her sweater down her arms.

  He slid his hands under her shirt and pulled off his own. A moment later, they were caressing each other’s naked flesh under the blanket. He stood briefly and walked to the door, locking it and pulling down the shades. She smiled with glee as he returned to her, his eyes dark and hooded and shining with the light of his inner wolf.

  “We won’t be interrupted this time.”

  She shook her head. “No, we won’t.”

  He slid his warm hand between her legs and cupped her mound, feeling her heat beneath her panties. Austin growled, giving voice to the ferocity of his inner wolf. She shivered with fear and desire, her body quivering to feel him again the way she once had.

  He stroked her gently as his tongue flicked in and out of her mouth. He stoked her desire into an inferno, and she could barely stand it a second longer. She reached out and slid her hand inside his boxers, where she gripped his shaft and stroked it. He growled as he kissed down her neck and licked her earlobe. She gasped, feeling the size and intensity of his manhood as she held it in her smooth, small hand.

  She stroked, growing needy to feel him inside her. He slipped off her bra and kissed her breasts, sucking her nipples into his mouth, gently at first as he squeezed one and sucked the other, and then with increasing ferocity.

  She gasped and leaned down, taking his cock into her mouth. She groaned as she sucked him, using one hand to hold back the length of him from slamming into the back of her throat. Then she added a second hand. He was too big and too wide to take without assistance. Her mouth watered around him, and she imagined what it would be like to have him inside her again. He wasn’t the same boy she’d once known. He was a man now. She stroked him harder and deeper and faster until he pulled her up with a growl, biting his lip and staring her straight in the eye.

  “I need to taste you.” He slipped to his knees between her legs.

  He ripped off her panties and gazed at the sight of her wet, open pussy. She throbbed for him. He dove in and consumed her core, sucking her clit and licking her opening, sucking up all the juices that flowed relentlessly from inside her. She couldn’t remember ever being so wet.

  She watched him as he licked her and slipped wet fingers inside her. She gripped his shoulders as she bucked underneath him, taking the intensity of his mouth and fingers, needing so much more. She felt her body barreling toward a mind-shattering climax so intense it almost scared her.

  And then, when he’d brought her right to the edge, he pulled away. She growled with despair at the loss of him. But he stood and slipped out of his boxer shorts and knelt between her legs, kissing her deep and hard on the mouth.

  His fangs nicked her lip, and she tasted blood as he pressed the head of his cock against her desperate core. He pushed inside, and they both gasped with awareness of each other. As he sank to the base of his shaft, she came with a ferocious howl, gripping his back and slicing her nails into his skin. He looked down at her and gripped her hips. She felt just like a teenage girl again, untouched and virginal against the big, strong man that he had become.

  He growled low in his throat and began to thrust, his hips pistoning like a freight train, harder and faster. Her breasts bounced as she sank into the couch, her legs up around his waist. She came over and o
ver again as he thrust deeper and deeper inside her. She gripped his ass, feeling the power of his hips as he slapped into her pussy. She looked up into his eyes, her body tight with desire.

  “I love you, Austin,” she said, her voice something between a sigh and a squeal.

  “I love you, Cheyenne,” he barked out. “I loved you all my life. I want you to be my mate.”

  “I want you to claim me. Like you should have that night when we were sixteen.”

  “Yes, in the cabin,” he said.

  With a blinding-hot flash of lust, desire, and unrequited love, they came together with a howl and a cry. She panted desperately as she climaxed. She clung to him in the afterglow of their sex, her mind reeling with the heat of what they’d done.

  He pulled away, and they rested together on the couch. The flickering flames of the firelight cast shadows over their warm skin.

  “I’m not going to let anything stand between us again,” he said in a soft voice.

  “I should have tried harder.”

  He kissed her shoulder and sighed. It was as if they were finally receiving the reward they’d spent a lifetime struggling to find. Even though it had been difficult and harrowing at times, as she lay enfolded in Austin’s arms in the afterglow of their lovemaking, she knew that it had been worth the wait.

  Chapter 10

  They slept that night in the bed in Cheyenne’s room at the lodge, wrapped in each other’s arms and the warmth of their renewed love for each other. Austin couldn’t remember having slept so soundly. His dreams were full of a kind of unspeakable satisfaction and contentment that he had never known before.

  When he woke to the soft light of morning glowing through the window and streaming over Cheyenne’s face and glistening in her bright-red hair, his heart throbbed and filled to bursting. He felt his eyes fill with tears. And he let them come. He was so grateful and so full of emotion that it seemed wrong to try to push it away. This was their time. This was his moment to finally feel again what it meant to be loved. What it meant to have a future.