Read Claiming His Need for Free Online Page B

inhale, my cock filled and throbbed behind the fly of my jeans. I could barely focus as the scent enveloped me in its sensual mixture of sweet and tart.
    Four hundred years…
    My father had told me the legends of mating—how my fated one’s smell would ignite my soul while drawing me near. How I would know before our eyes met that she was mine by the way my body reacted to nothing more than the perfume of her spirit.  
    I had all but given up hope, been prepared to die alone, but fate had other plans. I was about to meet my mate.
    A throaty growl bubbled from within, completely outside of my control. My eyes locked on the turn in the rock and dirt that would lead me to my destiny.  
    “Oh, fuck,” Sandman said as he lowered his gun. “Pup, you better stay with me.”
    The wolf whined but retreated behind Sandman, neither moving as a deep growl rumbled up from the depths of my soul. My mate would hear it; she would know I was coming for her. She would find comfort in the sound. I turned the corner on tenterhooks, terrified and more excited than ever before at what could lie in front of me.  
    Three women sat huddled in the corner, Shadow in wolf form standing between them and us. My human mind knew he was guarding them in case our enemies came in before us, but my wolf instincts only saw one thing. There was an unmated male standing in the way of my mate. The roar I let loose was vicious, causing the women to curl away from me as the echo pulsed around us.
    All but one.  
    She stood from behind Shadow, staring right at me with a look of wonder on her porcelain-like face. Without fear, she moved toward me, pulling her white-blonde hair over her shoulder as she walked. I wanted to run to her, to wrap her in my arms and protect her, to kiss her, touch her, hold her, press my body into hers. I wanted to mate with her, fill her with my seed, and watch as my pups grew inside of her.  
    I wanted her with a single-minded need that left me breathless.
    When she finally stood before me, she brought her hand to my cheek. Soft, light…the incongruousness of the gentlest touch and the battle waging outdoors was not lost on me. I whimpered when her skin touched mine, a yearning opening a chasm in my chest only she could fill.
    “Gates, we need to get her out of here.”
    I spun and snarled at Sandman, wrapping one arm around my mate’s round hips to pull her behind my body. Sandman stood with his hands up and his head down, subservient and unchallenging.  
    “She’s in danger. We need to get her to her pack—her and the other women. They’re not safe here.”
    My snarl turned into a huff as his words sank in. She needed to go. I had to keep her safe, and that meant getting her out of the cave and away from the people who had kidnapped her.
    And then ripping their heads off one by one so they never threatened her again.
    “Understood,” I said, my voice tight and clipped. For the first time in my many years, I struggled against the wolf inside of me. I needed to stay in my human form, but my wolf spirit wanted out. It was an odd feeling to experience, this separation of self after so many centuries of fluid union.  
    I pulled my mate around to face me. Her beautiful blue eyes were gentle as they met mine, no sign of fear or worry. As I stared at her, she began to smile. Her bright red lips turned up just slightly at the corners, as if she were keeping a secret from me.
    I wanted to know all her secrets.
    “Are you with the Valkoisus pack?”  
    She nodded, not offering anything else.  
    “Okay. We’re going to get you out of here. Pup and Shadow will meet up with a few men from your pack, and they’ll escort you to your home.” I glanced over her shoulder at the other two women. “That goes for all of you.”
    I looked back to my mate and leaned in close, her lavender and citrus scent drawing me in and making me rumble contentedly. I would need to search my memory for pack traditions regarding matings. Whether