GWEN POV

Three glasses of fabulous wine later, we left the bar. As soon as we stepped outside, we found heavy, wet snow falling in big, sloppy clumps.

"Ugh. My old car won't make it home in this," I groaned, thinking of my beat-up jalopy.

Nolan looked up toward the dark sky, letting a few wet flakes land on his face. He didn't seem bothered by the cold, only thoughtful. "I can drive you. My car is built for this kind of weather."

"Nah. It'll be okay. I'll just drive slow." I started to walk toward the parking lot.

He stepped quickly in front of me, blocking my path with his solid body. "That's not good enough," he said, his tone turning into a command I felt deep in my bones. His hand reached up and gently pushed my hair from my face, his fingers brushing over my cheek. The contact sent a bolt of pure, unwanted thrill through me.

Our eyes locked. His green eyes were darker now, almost a deep amber in the low light, and they held a weird intensity. He let out a low, nervous-sounding laugh, though his eyes looked anything but nervous. "I find myself not wanting the evening to end, Gwen."

"Funny. Me neither," I heard myself say, and I realized I had said it out loud.

His gaze dropped to my lips, and his face was so close I could feel his breath-warm and smelling faintly of scotch-on my skin.

"Why are you looking at my mouth like that?" I asked, my voice thin.

"I've been looking at your mouth all night," he admitted, his voice rough. "I've wondered what it would be like to taste your lips. I've wondered if you taste as sweet as your fear smells."

"My fear?" I squeaked, confused and suddenly terrified. That couldn't be true, how could he even tell?

"Yes. You have a scent, Gwen, a very strong, sweet scent. A scent that makes me want to pull you close." He paused, before speaking yet again. "I suppose I seem like an old ogre to you."

I swallowed, the intense wave of energy between us almost hurting. I knew what lust was, but this felt like something else entirely-a deep connection to a perfect stranger. And he was perfect. And a stranger.

"No. Not an ogre," I managed.

He laughed again, a dark, rich sound. "But old?" He pressed his finger over my lips, silencing me. "Don't answer that. The snow is getting heavier. I'm going to taste you now, Gwen. Right here."

"Okay," I breathed, completely lost.

And just like that, his lips settled on mine. A sudden, wild heat blasted through me, stronger than anything I'd ever felt. My body felt like it was standing in the middle of a hot summer day, not freezing on a snowy night. I moaned as his lips swept over mine. They were soft at first, but his kiss grew firm, then demanding, like he was staking a claim. His arm banded around me, pulling me hard against his body. I gasped at the feel of his erection-hard and significant through both our coats and layers of clothing.

"I'd like to get you on your ass again," he murmured against my lips, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes, which were wide with desire. "Only this time, without those clothes. And with your permission."

My lower body clenched hard in a silent, powerful 'yes, please.' I gripped his expensive coat, feeling like my world was spinning away. I knew I shouldn't go with this man and let him have his devilish way with me, but I couldn't seem to stop the words.

"You think it crazy?" he asked, his lips trailing along my jaw, making it impossible to think.

"Well . . . uh . . ."

"We could get a room in the hotel over there. Wait out the storm. We could have room service dinner and that's all, or we could engage in more carnal activities," he suggested, his green eyes glowing in the dark.

"I am hungry," I admitted. Warning bells were clanging in my head, but they sounded very far away.

"Then let's get you some food. And maybe a little something else." He led me down the street to a nearby hotel. It was nice, but not overly flashy.

He booked the room, and we were silent as we rode the elevator up. The only sound was the soft ping of the doors and the pounding of my own heart. Nolan opened the door and let me in.

He walked over to a small table by the window. "Here's the menu. Would you like to eat now?"

I didn't know what came over me. I would never have done this on a normal day, I had foolishly agreed to follow a stranger into a hotel room.

He stood there in his perfect suit, his silvery-dark hair glistening from the melted snow, and his mouth smiling at me-a mouth I could still taste on mine. At that moment, I knew that food wasn't what I wanted. It was him.

He tilted his head to the side, reading my silence easily. "Want to work up an appetite first, Gwen?"

I nodded, unable to speak.

He strode over to me, his movement suddenly quick and fluid. His eyes were now fully predatory, burning amber in the dim room light. He maneuvered me back toward the large bed. "I told you I was going to knock you on your ass again. And I'm not going to be sorry about it this time."

"Uhh, okay." I stumbled over my words.

He pushed me gently back onto the bed. I bounced twice, which was definitely not sexy. A fresh wave of nerves hit me. I'd never done this kind of spur-of-the-moment hookup before. And I wondered if he'd still be attracted to me once all my layers of clothes came off. I wasn't a size two like the shapely lady. I was what my grandmother called thin-figured, and I wore plain, simple underwear.

He began to undress me, slowly and carefully. But as my shirt came off, I immediately crossed my arms over my plain white bra. He arched his brow. "Problem?"

"I'm not shapey," I whispered, embarrassed.

"Goddess," he breathed, a word that felt like a prayer on his tongue. He let me lie there, covering myself like a silly, scared girl. "I'm dying to see your tits, Gwen. You have a body that should be worshipped."

A wave of hot arousal shot through me from his simple words. I pulled my hands away, and his hands immediately took off my bra. Moments later, I was completely naked and felt completely exposed. He sat back on his knees, his intense gaze taking in every part of my body.

I shifted nervously. "If you don't like what you see-"

"You're joking, right?" He didn't let me finish. His fingers brushed over my nipple, making it instantly ache with need. He leaned over, pulling it into his mouth.

"Oh!" I gasped as a shockwave of pleasure tore through me.

"Fucking hell. This is going to be spectacular," he muttered against my skin. He stood, taking his suit jacket, shirt, and belt off, but he left his pants on.

"What about-"

"First, I'm going to taste every inch of your delectable body and make you scream with pleasure. Then I'm going to claim you. Are you okay with that?"

"Ah . . . yeah . . . okay."

He cocked his head to the side, his green-amber eyes studying me with a strange seriousness. "Are you new to this kind of thing, Gwen? Hookups? Or sex in general?"

"What?" My brain felt fried, and I couldn't keep up the conversation.

"Are you nervous because you've never slept with a stranger, or are you nervous because you're a virgin?" he asked simply.

My breath hitched. I had let a total stranger lead me to a hotel room because my body was burning up with lust, when I had never, ever been with a man before.

"Hookup," I managed, quickly. He didn't need to know I was a virgin.

"Okay. Good."

"What if I were a virgin? Would you have stopped?" The question popped out before I could stop it.

"Only if you told me to stop. I'd just be more careful," he said, his voice soft but firm. He arched his brow, a silent challenge. "Do you want to change your answer, Gwen?"

I shook my head. I didn't know why I lied to him. Maybe I was embarrassed that at twenty-one, I was still untouched.

"Okay, then. It's time for me to feast."

The minute his lips were on my skin, all my nerves and concerns vanished. There was only sensation. Each touch of his lips or hands sent sparks of electricity racing through me. I felt like a spring being wound tighter and tighter, preparing for release.

I might have been a virgin, but I knew what an orgasm was, and I knew what the pressure building in my lower belly meant. But touching myself was nothing-nothing-compared to being touched by Nolan.

He pushed my legs apart, settling his large body between my thighs. A last-second flicker of nerves broke through.

What if I was messy or weird down there? I tried to move but he held me captive.

"Relax, Gwen," he ordered, his voice suddenly gravelly. "And hold on. Because I'm going to make you scream my name."

I had just a moment to catch my breath before his mouth was on my core, doing the most unexpected, glorious things to me. I grabbed his head with one hand, a desperate, instinctive movement to make sure he never stopped. My other hand gripped the sheets as reality spiraled away.

There was only pressure, building, building, building, until it exploded. I screamed, a loud, raw sound that felt ripped from my soul, and my body flooded with pleasure. It vibrated. It shuddered. It was the most amazing feeling of my life. I finally understood what the big deal about sex was.

He trailed his lips up my body as I lay there, completely boneless and spent. "You taste fucking fantastic," he said, his words thick with desire. "You smell like what I imagined."

"Really?" I whispered, still dizzy.

"Really." He stood, and his intense eyes never left mine. He was completely naked now, and I saw power in his body that was truly wild, cords of muscle, dark, scattered hair, and a raw, powerful maleness that stole my breath.

"Now, I'm going to use my cock to mark that sweet pussy until you can't scream no more."

NOLAN POV

Christmas was only a few days away. I was trying so hard to finish my last-minute holiday shopping and get the cabin ready. I was rich, so I could hire people to do most things. But I never let anyone else handle tasks for my daughter.

I knew an Alpha who did that. He was always surprised by the gifts "he'd bought" for his wife and kids. Gifts should be personal. If a man couldn't buy gifts for his family, he was a terrible husband and father.

I had planned to finish everything yesterday, but I got sidetracked. Who would have thought the woman I bumped into could completely mess up my plans? I was already in a bad mood, just like now, because I had waited so long to shop. The holidays always seemed to sneak up on me. So, I was at the stationery store for little things to put in my daughter's stocking.

Yes, I still filled a stocking for her, even though she was a grown woman now. We were going to the house in the woods to have family time. I was set on making it special, just like I had done every year since I won custody of her when she was small.

Even if it meant knocking someone down.

I had stormed into the store yesterday but I knocked a woman down. It was my fault, but I was already angry, and I started to blame her. When I tried to help her she slapped my hand away and told me off, I was strangely affected by that small reaction when it should have made me angrier.

She was right that I usually dated women who were 'shapey'-meaning women with big curves, the kind who looked like models. Those women were simple. Shallow. Easy to have a night with and then forget.

Gwen was not like that. She was messy and complicated. It made no sense that the more we talked, the more I liked her. I thought she just wanted me to have a drink with her and then leave.

But I was surprised she agreed to have a drink with me, and then let me take her to the hotel. As I thrust into her tight pussy last night, I was shocked again to find out she was a virgin. She was incredibly tight, and she made me cum after just a few hard thrust. It was over too quickly, so I convinced her to stay for food, and then I took her again.

Just like outside the bar, I didn't want the night to end, even after we were done. It felt strange and a little scary that I wanted more. I actually thought about asking for her number so I could call her. If she had asked me to stay, I might have, and that was a rule I never broke.

Luckily, she said she had to get home. I offered to drive her, but she said she was fine. The snow had stopped, and her car, though old, had four-wheel drive.

The next morning, I woke up with a hard-on and happily thought about the night before as I touched myself. It was hard to decide what to think about most. I'd never been with a woman with her kind of soft curves before. It was a huge turn-on.

Her breasts were large, which wasn't new for the women I dated. What was new was that they were real. I focused on them, imagining myself covering her chest with my cum.

I got up, showered, and dressed. I made breakfast and tried to call my daughter. I loved her more than anything, but she was so hard to reach sometimes. Oh well. I would see her at the cabin. That's when I remembered I still had shopping to do. And that I had planned to go to the cabin today to decorate.

I was so tense from the experience that I went to the gym. The place was surprisingly full for two days before Christmas.

"Nolan." Watt, my business partner, my second-in-command (my 'beta'), and my best friend, came up to me.

"Watt, I didn't know you were coming here."

He shrugged. "I thought you were out of town with the clingy cat." That nickname was cute when my daughter was two, but not at twenty-two. But Watt was her godfather and closer to her than anyone besides me, so he got away with it.

"I'm leaving later. I wanted to get a workout first."

"Erica is here."

Oh, great. Erica was fit, strong, and looked like a doll. If I met her in a bar, I would definitely have gone for it. But I never slept with clients, and she couldn't seem to get that into her head.

"Maybe I'll work instead." I walked toward the office.

Watt followed me. "I tried to call you last night."

"I was out. I turned my phone off."

Watt laughed. "Only you would hook up with a woman while Christmas shopping."

I shrugged. "I'm lucky that way." I thought back to Gwen. Yeah. I was lucky to have found her.

Watt got serious. "Seriously, man, I need to talk to you. The guys are starting to ask questions."

I stopped at the office door. "About what?"

"About us," Watt lowered his voice. "The pack. You've been distracted lately. You smell... different. And that woman you were with last night. Did you notice anything... special about her?"

I opened the office door and walked in. "She was just her, Watt. That's about as special as it got. Tight, though. And she made me come fast."

Watt sighed, closing the door behind him. "Nolan, listen to me. I know your type. You like the easy ones. But you spent the entire night with this one. That's not like you. And last night was the full moon, man. You weren't here for the run."

I sat at my desk and rubbed my face. The truth was, I had felt a strange pull last night, a deep, animal hunger that wasn't just about sex. It was a need to claim. To claim Gwen as our mate.

NOLAN POV

"What's that look on your face?" Watt dropped onto the office couch. It was a huge, comfy leather thing. I sat behind my big wooden desk. We shared this office because we worked such different hours. The other one? We turned it into a steam room and spa. A man needs to relax after a long day of being in charge.

"What look are you talking about?" I asked, pretending to be busy with some papers.

"The one that says you were just thinking about some woman being nice to give you a bj on a first hookup." Watt grinned, his bald head shining under the office lights.

I snorted and shook my head. "She didn't do that." But damn, I wished she had. She was the kind of woman you thought about all day.

Watt leaned forward, his massive frame taking up most of the couch. He looked like a granite statue, all muscle and sharp eyes. He was my Beta, my second-in-command, a former bouncer built like a tank. Most people thought he was scary, but I knew he had a soft heart. "But something happened, right? Tell me."

"I don't know what you want me to say. It was good. Really good. Different."

Watt raised one eyebrow so high it almost touched his scalp. "Different how, Alpha? Did you find some secret thing you like? Some new way to have fun?"

"You're a complete pervert," I said, though I couldn't help but smile.

"First, being curious is not being a pervert. Second, you were supposed to be Christmas shopping, but you were out having fun instead. Third, my own love life is dead right now. I have to live through your stories! So, tell me, how was it different?" He made a quick, funny motion with his hand, pretending to be stroking.

I threw a stress ball at him, which he caught easily. "She was the total opposite of the women I usually meet."

"Short, fat, and messy?"

"No! Don't be an ass." I rolled my eyes. "She wasn't a fake blonde with silicone breasts. She was... natural. Curvy. Full. It was incredibly sexy."

He nodded slowly, seriously now. "Ah. Natural shape. I get it. Nothing beats strong, round hips to hold onto when you're fucking this humans the way you want."

"Exactly," I agreed. "And she was young. I think she might have been a virgin, even though she tried to deny it."

Watt's eyes went wide. "Whoa, Nolan. A teenager?" He sounded worried. As Alpha, I had rules. We protect the pack, especially the young ones.

"No! Fuck, no! Don't even think that." I ran a hand over my jaw. I never asked her age. "She was in her twenties. Old enough to drink, old enough to vote. Definitely an adult."

"Like your daughter's age?" Watt asked calmly.

I actually flinched. "Don't say it like that."

Watt just shrugged his huge shoulders. "Like what? It's the truth, isn't it? She's a young adult."

"Comparing me sleeping with a young woman to... my own daughter. That feels wrong. It feels disgusting."

Watt laughed, a deep rumble in his chest. "You're the one making the comparison, Alpha, not me. I'm just stating facts. So, how did you find this 'different' woman?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, trying to end that line of talk. "It was just a one-time thing. But it's been months since I've been with anyone. The tension is building up." I rubbed my shoulders.

Watt stood up, looking at the time. "You need to work that out before the shift. The moon will be full soon, you know. You need to keep your strength up." Watt was referring to the extra energy we got around the full moon-not that we had to shift, but the power was always there. "I'll go check if Erica is gone so you can hit the gym."

Watt left the office. I took a few minutes to clear my desk, putting away papers from the nationwide gym franchise Watt and I ran. We had the best managers and staff, so the work was easy.

With Watt's "all-clear" signal, I changed into my workout clothes and hit the gym we had in the building. First, ten miles on the treadmill, then I punished the weights until my muscles screamed. I pushed harder than usual, trying to burn off the restless feeling that the memory of the young woman, Gwen, had brought back.

By the time I was finished, the day's stress was gone, replaced by good, physical exhaustion.

I headed home, packed an overnight bag, and loaded my big SUV with presents and Christmas lights. It was time for my yearly trip to the cabin. I was starting the two-hour drive into the deep woods.

When I finally arrived, I got out and took a big, deep breath. The air here was so clean and cold. I grew up in this area, but when I turned eighteen, I couldn't wait to leave for the city. I still like the city best, but I couldn't lie: being away from the noise and dirty air was good for the soul. It calmed the wolf inside me.

I still had a little daylight left, so I quickly put up the lights outside the cabin. After that, I went inside and grabbed a cold beer. My friend-a local wolf I paid to watch the place-had stocked the fridge for me. Beer in hand, I started putting up the fake Christmas tree and the inside decorations.

I quickly texted my daughter again, needing to check on her. This time, I got a one-word answer: "Fine." That was it. No mention of where she was or when she would visit. But she was alive and well. That was enough for now.

I made a simple dinner, and after I ate, I walked out onto the back deck. My local friend had cleared the snow and made sure the hot tub was ready. I planned to use it. Since there were no neighbors for miles, I stripped down completely, even though it was below freezing, and slowly sank into the warm water. I let out a loud sigh of pure pleasure. This was the life of an Alpha.

I grew up comfortably, but I didn't start rich. I worked hard. Today, between the gym business, the online supplement company I started in college, and smart investing, I had more money than I could ever spend. My daughter would never have to worry. If she had children, they wouldn't have money problems either.

Yes, life was good. Maybe not perfect, but what is? A perfect family? I tried the wife thing, and it didn't work.

But I got my amazing daughter out of that marriage, so it was worth the pain. The minute her mother left, things got better. I had to pay a huge amount of money to keep my daughter close, but now my ex-wife was off with husband number five, and I was happy to be free.

Since then, I decided marriage wasn't for me. My daughter was fine with me raising her, with Watt's help. I could cook and clean. And for sex? I could easily get that without a wedding ring.

It was just a simple, physical need. A biological function that had to be satisfied sometimes. And after how quickly I lost control with Gwen, I realized I needed to satisfy that need much more often than I had been. Maybe I should have gotten her number. I almost never slept with a woman more than once, but I could make an exception for the natural, curvy, and mysterious Gwen. The way she smelled... It was like a fresh rainstorm on a hot summer day. It made the wolf inside me restless for the second time.