Guarding Mari by Ella Grey

before Daniel pulled away. The change between human and wolf, seamless and beautiful. Her fur a thin dusky gold and the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She jumped off the table landing on her paws. She glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes full of mischief, she waited. Daniel stripped out of the rest of his clothes. Her challenge was clear and unmistakable.
    Catch me if you can, Greyborn.
     
     
    Mari darted through the undergrowth. The twigs slapped against her hindquarters and it spurred her on. Daniel wasn’t her alpha and besides one night in a motel room and five minutes ago, when he’d tamed her spirit and her restless wolf, she demanded solid proof. If he’d thought she’d just roll onto her back and show her belly, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Daniel needed to be the wolf who tamed both sides of her. The human part of her wanted him with every ounce of her being. She couldn’t believe what they’d done in the meetinghouse. She’d never be able to go in there and not picture him thrusting inside of her on top of the table. She could have gone several more rounds with him even before they left the compound. Three years of using her fingers and toys to take off the edge had grown boring quickly.
    She skidded to a stop. Her ears twitched, catching the sounds of the forest around her. A twig snapped to her left, and she took off to the right. The sound of activity exploded behind her as the grey wolf pounced on leaves. She mentally smiled to herself, ducked under a low branch and kept running. Birds flew in all directions as she broke through the undergrowth. She kept away from the water. The cliff was a dead end anyway, but she didn’t plan on making it easy for him. She made her way to the fallen tree and leaped onto the trunk running up the length. There was a split second of warning before a wolf leapt out in front of her. Grey might have been a cold color, but on Daniel it was beautiful, soft, and warm. Mari launched herself at him again, but this time, ready for her, he rolled underneath, getting behind her with a skill every hunter had. He nipped at her neck, throwing her off balance, pressing himself against her, flooding her senses with a sensual overload. A power unique to his alpha status poured into her. It coaxed at her, tantalizing as freshly cooked fudge. She gave herself over to him, letting her wolf retreat back inside of her.
    The sharp teeth at the base of her neck morphed into soft kisses, dancing down her spine. Claws became hands cupping her butt cheeks. “Do you submit to me?”
    Mari rubbed her face into the grass and closed her eyes, “Always.” She wriggled her butt in invitation, but a sharp slap nearly knocked the lust right out of her. “What did you do that for?” She turned around to see Daniel sitting on the grass.
    “Because, if I didn’t, we would be making love again, and we really need to talk.”
    Personally, she had a problem with that. There were plenty of fantasies she’d rather be living out, rather than talking. “I guess it’s too much to ask if you just came here for me.”
    “I will always come for you, sweetheart, always.” There was no mistaking the seriousness in his eyes and no point in arguing with him. “You are the other half of me. You are the piece which makes sense and, if anything happened to you, it would kill me.”
    She scooted forward, bare skin brushing against damp grass. She reached out, touching his face.
    “I’m not going anywhere, Daniel. I’m right here.” Why is he being so serious?   The times she’d imagined them together had never played out like this.
    He glanced over his shoulder, looking anxious. What had happened to worry him so much? “Maybe we should have this conversation back at the compound.” His words sent fear spiking through her, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.
    She reached out for him, cupping a chin dusted with fine hair. The wolf inside wanted to comfort her mate as much as Mari did. “Talk