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Chanku Challenge
Sexy Beast VII / Wolf Tales 8.5 She's young and new to her Chanku heritage, but already Beth has found her mate in Nick Barden, the young man who shifted before he or his companions knew who or what they were. Beth is haunted by a past she can't escape, one only she can confront. With Keisha and Tala's support, she must meet the challenge and claim her sensual birthright.
"...What I like about Douglas’ stories—besides the interesting sex with all its various permutations—is the love and caring that surrounds each member of the Pack. The sex Douglas writes of is simply a vehicle for providing the love and support."
Reviewed by Kathy for KD DidIT reviews |
Read an excerpt:
Chanku Challenge
Chapter 1
His thick paws made barely a sound as Nick Barden trotted along beside his mate. He and Beth followed three of their packmates along the service road running near the large wild wolf compounds at the sanctuary run by Chanku shapeshifters Ulrich Mason and Millie West.
At some level, Nick realized he should be loving every second of this chance to run free in the beautiful northern Colorado mountains--here he could take this form without fear of discovery or attack, without the stink of the city burning his sensitive nostrils.
Instead, he hardly noticed the myriad scents and sounds teasing his wolven senses--not the fresh mountain air or even the altogether unique freedom of running as a wolf through dark, pristine forest. No, he was much too aware of the female beside him to appreciate any of it.
Too aware of her displeasure and her silent disapproval to notice the scent of fresh game or even his own unique abilities in this powerful body.
Nothing he did seemed to please her. Not anymore.
His ass still hurt from Ulrich's screwing the other night, but when he looked back at the way he'd been acting for the past week, he figured he'd deserved what he got and then some. The power play Beth had talked him into had backfired--more literally than he'd expected.
Couldn't she see that Ulrich Mason wasn't the problem? He'd never done anything to Beth that wasn't perfectly kind and accepting. Beth's misplaced animosity was totally unfair, all part of her own convoluted baggage. Baggage she needed to deal with now if she and Nick wanted to remain part of this close-knit pack.
If he didn't love her so much, Nick never would have gone along with her stupid wishes.
There was no denying the fact he'd eventually enjoyed Ulrich's powerful response to his stupid challenge. Sex with a dominant male was worth the pain, worth the pure sense of humiliation Nick had suffered.
It had raised his level of arousal even higher.
He wished Beth would lay off. She'd focused her anger on him now, instead of on Ulrich, and it was so thick he could practically see it vibrating in the air between them. In fact, her anger was just about the only thing they had between them anymore. She'd shut him out ever since he'd blocked her constant bitching that night, even though Nick was the one who ended up paying for the failure of Beth's stupid plan. When he chose to follow Ulrich's lead rather than hers, it meant getting his ass reamed out in a reactive display of dominance by the old guy.
Okay. So he got the message, along with some really great sex. Now why couldn't Beth figure it out? There was no point in challenging Ulrich. Nick didn't want to fight him. For one thing, he really liked and admired the man.
For another, he'd lose.
Ulrich was smart, he was cunning, and he was strong. He had age and experience on his side and he was a born leader whether he was in his wolf form, snarling with teeth bared and hackles raised, or staring a man down from his impressive height on two legs. No matter, it was something Nick knew he'd never be able to pull off in any form.
Why couldn't Beth accept him for what he was? In this society, this world of Chanku, he was just a pup. Barely twenty-four years old, he'd been nothing but a loser on the streets of San Francisco. Why did Beth seem to think his ability to shift would make him anything different?
Was it the fact he'd killed that guy to protect Tala? Was that why Beth expected him to be more aggressive? If that was the case, she was dead wrong. He'd killed without thinking, shifted before he even knew he had the ability.
And he'd bonded with a woman he loved before either of them really thought about the permanence of their act.
He watched Daci, Deacon and Matt trotting together up ahead. The three of them had slipped into an amazing union, and they weren't even mated. He and Beth were mates, yet they hardly spoke to one another. He missed the easygoing relationship he'd had with Matt and Deacon, missed the freedom and the fun they'd all had together, but he missed Beth most of all. Missed the beautiful, shy young woman he'd fallen in love with.
He glanced at Beth and realized she watched him. Was she reading his thoughts? He'd been blocking...or at least he thought he was.
She veered off the road and trotted down a narrow trail that led deeper into the woods. Nick hesitated, then decided to follow her. She stopped after a short distance and turned to face him, standing in a brilliant ray of late afternoon sunlight, dead center in the middle of a small meadow.
He halted a few feet away, ears flat, tail down. It was easier this way, acting the submissive role with Beth. It seemed to make her happy, though at this point he hardly cared.
She shifted. He faced her for a moment, still the wolf. She stared at him, her dark brows crinkled in that way she had, her arms folded over her bare chest like a disapproving teacher. He held her gaze for a moment longer. She didn't move. Didn't say a word.
Oh, hell. If he wanted to see what she wanted... Nick shifted and stood on two feet, wary and uncertain.
Beth raised her chin and stared at him. Sunlight poured across her beautiful olive skin and raised red highlights in her long, dark hair. Her amber-eyed gaze, so much like his own, bored into him. He held her stare.
“It's not working,” she said, clasping her hands over her smooth belly. In control, as always. Naked, beautiful, standing there with a sense of entitlement, of power, like an Egyptian goddess here in the midst of the Colorado forest.
“We never should have bonded. I want out.”
Her words, a statement, not a request, came as a relief. At least he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Unfortunately, it wasn't an option.
He actually smiled when he answered her. “Great. So do I, but it's a little late for that, Beth. You heard what Tala said. A pair bond is forever. You wanted me, you've got me.”
She jerked back as if he'd slapped her. “You don't want me?”
Not at all surprised by her contrary question, Nick shook his head. “You're supposed to be the one who can tell when a guy's lying or telling the truth. You tell me.”
She shook her head as if some of the fight had gone out of her. “I can't tell anymore, Nick. Not with you. It doesn't work with you.”
“Does it matter? You just said you want out. You've shut me out for days. We don't have sex with each other, even after a run. It's pretty obvious you don't love me anymore.” He was standing up straighter, feeling taller than he had since they'd first linked, even though every word he spoke chipped away more of their bond. “So, I guess my answer's no, Beth. I don't want you. Not anymore. Not the way you are now.” He shook his head, no longer smiling.
“I loved a girl who was sweet and kind, who cared about me, about the future we planned together. All you care about now is power. You're twenty-one years old, Beth. You're a baby in this pack, just like me. You have no power. Not over me, not over yourself, and definitely not over any of the others. Get used to it.”
He stared at her for a long moment, holding her gaze until she finally looked away. Obviously, this conversation was over.
He shifted. I'm going back to the others. You can come if you want to. Or not. Nick glanced over his shoulder and watched her face. She looked brittle, like she might shatter as easily as glass. He felt badly about that, about hurting her, but he didn't trust her. Not anymore.
He still loved her, though. Goddess help him, he loved her.
With one last look, Nick whirled around and raced back along the trail. Dry grass crackled beneath his feet. A gentle wind blew and leaves dropped all around, but he focused on the trail ahead. He didn't want to think of the young woman he'd left behind.
He left her standing in the meadow, looking stunned and alone. At least she wasn't angry at him now, but he didn't feel like he'd won a victory. No, he just felt empty.
Empty and very much alone.
~~*~~
It was the ear-splitting rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker working away on a thick branch overhead that finally jerked Beth out of the fog Nick had left her in. She sat down hard on the rough ground and dropped her forehead to her knees.
Well, what the hell did you expect? That he'd beg for forgiveness? That he'd say everything was just hunky-dory?
No, in all honesty, she had to admit he'd behaved much more admirably than she had. First sign of trouble and all she'd wanted was out.
Of course, the trouble was all of her own making.
It wasn't easy to run away from yourself. Beth lay back in the dried grass and scratchy pine needles and stared at the tiny bits of blue sky visible between the canopy of leaves. The woodpecker stopped his pecking and flew away. She heard the sharp buzz of a bee searching for one last flower before winter and felt the cool brush of air across her naked thighs and belly.
Her nipples tightened from the chill and she thought of that first time with Nick, when he'd drawn her nipple between his lips, pressed it with his tongue and held it against the roof of his mouth.
She'd never felt anything so sweet, never known love like that in her life. When he'd filled her, when he'd stretched her with his length and width and pressed deep inside, she'd expected pain, a repeat of the violation that was all she'd ever known.
She'd felt only pleasure.
He'd chased away the memories. The nightmares, actually. Nightmares she'd lived with ever since she'd been a sixteen year old virgin and her stepfather raped her. That one brutal, agonizing act on the eve of her mother's funeral had taken more from her than any girl should have to give.
No one man should have the power to defile a person's entire life, but her stepfather had managed. He'd taken what should have been hers to give, and he'd ruined it forever.
Then she'd met Nick. Gentle and kind, he'd offered her friendship, and then he'd offered love. They'd chosen together to cement their relationship with the mating bond. Beth hadn't had any doubts, then. She'd thought Nick was the one who would keep her safe, the one to take the darkness that covered her soul and strip it away-and for a special but much too brief time, he had.
If only she hadn't joined Tala that night when they had sex with Ulrich. It wasn't Ulrich's fault he was older, that his age and even his general appearance reminded her of her stepfather. He hadn't hurt her. Anything but...in fact, Ulrich had given her pleasure.
Maybe that was the problem, the fact she'd had a wonderful sexual experience with a man similar enough in looks to her stepfather to totally reawaken the memories.
Without realizing it, Ulrich had brought back all her ghosts.
His had become the face in her nightmares.
It wasn't fair to Ulrich, but it wasn't fair to her, either. She'd thought those nightmares were a thing of the past.
Now they were back, worse than ever. Nick could have been the answer. He could have fought her demons if he'd been man enough, but he wasn't willing to challenge someone he saw as a mentor. He'd chased away the nightmares once. For some convoluted reason she was certain that if he challenged Ulrich and won, they'd be gone forever.
Or would they?
Now she'd never know. Nick had looked totally disgusted with her, and she really couldn't blame him. It wasn't fair to ask something of a guy that just wasn't part of his nature. Why couldn't Nick, the Nick she'd fallen in love with, have been enough? Why did she need to make him into something he wasn't?
It wasn't fair to him. Not to her, either. Like an absolute idiot, she'd managed to chase away the best thing that had ever happened to her.
The sun disappeared behind the hills while Beth lay there on the hard ground. Pebbles dug into her butt and pine needles poked her thighs and back, but she couldn't find the energy to move.
Where would she go? Nick wouldn't want her back. Not after what she'd said to him today. He'd barely tolerated her since that fiasco the other night when he'd ended up getting royally fucked in the ass.
She wasn't sure if he'd actually liked it or not. In some perverse way, Beth had. She must be totally sick to have gotten so turned on watching Ulrich slam into her mate the way he had. The sex had started out so brutal, so typically male, but Nick hadn't fought. He'd merely bowed his head and accepted Ulrich's pounding violation--accepted it, eventually climaxed from it.
In fact, all of them-Ulrich, Matt, Nick, Millie and even Beth had achieved something amazing with their simultaneous orgasm, but it hadn't really mattered. Nick had blocked her long before his climax, just as she'd blocked him. That night, aroused, angry, frustrated with one another, they'd essentially severed the special link that bound them together.
Neither of them had attempted to reconnect since. It was like cutting off part of her body, going through the motions each day without Nick's thoughts in her head.
He'd slept in Matt's old room that first night, and the next couple nights since, sharing the cabin but not her bed. She missed sleeping beside him. Hated running beside him, yet not connecting. She felt the pain in every part of her body, but the place it hurt most remained the hardest to touch.
Her heart actually ached. What had she expected? That he would beg forgiveness? That he would promise to challenge Ulrich? Even if he won, what would that solve?
Beth opened her eyes. A narrow sliver of moon was rising. It was almost entirely dark, and still she lay shivering on the hard ground. She thought of shifting, of just staying the night in the woods as a wolf, but somehow that didn't seem right. Not with the convoluted thoughts swirling darkly in her mind.
Instead, she folded her hands over her waist and closed her eyes against the moonlight. Naked, vulnerable, her body cold and aching with the night's chill.
Alone, with nowhere to go.
Chanku Challenge
Chapter 1
His thick paws made barely a sound as Nick Barden trotted along beside his mate. He and Beth followed three of their packmates along the service road running near the large wild wolf compounds at the sanctuary run by Chanku shapeshifters Ulrich Mason and Millie West.
At some level, Nick realized he should be loving every second of this chance to run free in the beautiful northern Colorado mountains--here he could take this form without fear of discovery or attack, without the stink of the city burning his sensitive nostrils.
Instead, he hardly noticed the myriad scents and sounds teasing his wolven senses--not the fresh mountain air or even the altogether unique freedom of running as a wolf through dark, pristine forest. No, he was much too aware of the female beside him to appreciate any of it.
Too aware of her displeasure and her silent disapproval to notice the scent of fresh game or even his own unique abilities in this powerful body.
Nothing he did seemed to please her. Not anymore.
His ass still hurt from Ulrich's screwing the other night, but when he looked back at the way he'd been acting for the past week, he figured he'd deserved what he got and then some. The power play Beth had talked him into had backfired--more literally than he'd expected.
Couldn't she see that Ulrich Mason wasn't the problem? He'd never done anything to Beth that wasn't perfectly kind and accepting. Beth's misplaced animosity was totally unfair, all part of her own convoluted baggage. Baggage she needed to deal with now if she and Nick wanted to remain part of this close-knit pack.
If he didn't love her so much, Nick never would have gone along with her stupid wishes.
There was no denying the fact he'd eventually enjoyed Ulrich's powerful response to his stupid challenge. Sex with a dominant male was worth the pain, worth the pure sense of humiliation Nick had suffered.
It had raised his level of arousal even higher.
He wished Beth would lay off. She'd focused her anger on him now, instead of on Ulrich, and it was so thick he could practically see it vibrating in the air between them. In fact, her anger was just about the only thing they had between them anymore. She'd shut him out ever since he'd blocked her constant bitching that night, even though Nick was the one who ended up paying for the failure of Beth's stupid plan. When he chose to follow Ulrich's lead rather than hers, it meant getting his ass reamed out in a reactive display of dominance by the old guy.
Okay. So he got the message, along with some really great sex. Now why couldn't Beth figure it out? There was no point in challenging Ulrich. Nick didn't want to fight him. For one thing, he really liked and admired the man.
For another, he'd lose.
Ulrich was smart, he was cunning, and he was strong. He had age and experience on his side and he was a born leader whether he was in his wolf form, snarling with teeth bared and hackles raised, or staring a man down from his impressive height on two legs. No matter, it was something Nick knew he'd never be able to pull off in any form.
Why couldn't Beth accept him for what he was? In this society, this world of Chanku, he was just a pup. Barely twenty-four years old, he'd been nothing but a loser on the streets of San Francisco. Why did Beth seem to think his ability to shift would make him anything different?
Was it the fact he'd killed that guy to protect Tala? Was that why Beth expected him to be more aggressive? If that was the case, she was dead wrong. He'd killed without thinking, shifted before he even knew he had the ability.
And he'd bonded with a woman he loved before either of them really thought about the permanence of their act.
He watched Daci, Deacon and Matt trotting together up ahead. The three of them had slipped into an amazing union, and they weren't even mated. He and Beth were mates, yet they hardly spoke to one another. He missed the easygoing relationship he'd had with Matt and Deacon, missed the freedom and the fun they'd all had together, but he missed Beth most of all. Missed the beautiful, shy young woman he'd fallen in love with.
He glanced at Beth and realized she watched him. Was she reading his thoughts? He'd been blocking...or at least he thought he was.
She veered off the road and trotted down a narrow trail that led deeper into the woods. Nick hesitated, then decided to follow her. She stopped after a short distance and turned to face him, standing in a brilliant ray of late afternoon sunlight, dead center in the middle of a small meadow.
He halted a few feet away, ears flat, tail down. It was easier this way, acting the submissive role with Beth. It seemed to make her happy, though at this point he hardly cared.
She shifted. He faced her for a moment, still the wolf. She stared at him, her dark brows crinkled in that way she had, her arms folded over her bare chest like a disapproving teacher. He held her gaze for a moment longer. She didn't move. Didn't say a word.
Oh, hell. If he wanted to see what she wanted... Nick shifted and stood on two feet, wary and uncertain.
Beth raised her chin and stared at him. Sunlight poured across her beautiful olive skin and raised red highlights in her long, dark hair. Her amber-eyed gaze, so much like his own, bored into him. He held her stare.
“It's not working,” she said, clasping her hands over her smooth belly. In control, as always. Naked, beautiful, standing there with a sense of entitlement, of power, like an Egyptian goddess here in the midst of the Colorado forest.
“We never should have bonded. I want out.”
Her words, a statement, not a request, came as a relief. At least he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Unfortunately, it wasn't an option.
He actually smiled when he answered her. “Great. So do I, but it's a little late for that, Beth. You heard what Tala said. A pair bond is forever. You wanted me, you've got me.”
She jerked back as if he'd slapped her. “You don't want me?”
Not at all surprised by her contrary question, Nick shook his head. “You're supposed to be the one who can tell when a guy's lying or telling the truth. You tell me.”
She shook her head as if some of the fight had gone out of her. “I can't tell anymore, Nick. Not with you. It doesn't work with you.”
“Does it matter? You just said you want out. You've shut me out for days. We don't have sex with each other, even after a run. It's pretty obvious you don't love me anymore.” He was standing up straighter, feeling taller than he had since they'd first linked, even though every word he spoke chipped away more of their bond. “So, I guess my answer's no, Beth. I don't want you. Not anymore. Not the way you are now.” He shook his head, no longer smiling.
“I loved a girl who was sweet and kind, who cared about me, about the future we planned together. All you care about now is power. You're twenty-one years old, Beth. You're a baby in this pack, just like me. You have no power. Not over me, not over yourself, and definitely not over any of the others. Get used to it.”
He stared at her for a long moment, holding her gaze until she finally looked away. Obviously, this conversation was over.
He shifted. I'm going back to the others. You can come if you want to. Or not. Nick glanced over his shoulder and watched her face. She looked brittle, like she might shatter as easily as glass. He felt badly about that, about hurting her, but he didn't trust her. Not anymore.
He still loved her, though. Goddess help him, he loved her.
With one last look, Nick whirled around and raced back along the trail. Dry grass crackled beneath his feet. A gentle wind blew and leaves dropped all around, but he focused on the trail ahead. He didn't want to think of the young woman he'd left behind.
He left her standing in the meadow, looking stunned and alone. At least she wasn't angry at him now, but he didn't feel like he'd won a victory. No, he just felt empty.
Empty and very much alone.
~~*~~
It was the ear-splitting rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker working away on a thick branch overhead that finally jerked Beth out of the fog Nick had left her in. She sat down hard on the rough ground and dropped her forehead to her knees.
Well, what the hell did you expect? That he'd beg for forgiveness? That he'd say everything was just hunky-dory?
No, in all honesty, she had to admit he'd behaved much more admirably than she had. First sign of trouble and all she'd wanted was out.
Of course, the trouble was all of her own making.
It wasn't easy to run away from yourself. Beth lay back in the dried grass and scratchy pine needles and stared at the tiny bits of blue sky visible between the canopy of leaves. The woodpecker stopped his pecking and flew away. She heard the sharp buzz of a bee searching for one last flower before winter and felt the cool brush of air across her naked thighs and belly.
Her nipples tightened from the chill and she thought of that first time with Nick, when he'd drawn her nipple between his lips, pressed it with his tongue and held it against the roof of his mouth.
She'd never felt anything so sweet, never known love like that in her life. When he'd filled her, when he'd stretched her with his length and width and pressed deep inside, she'd expected pain, a repeat of the violation that was all she'd ever known.
She'd felt only pleasure.
He'd chased away the memories. The nightmares, actually. Nightmares she'd lived with ever since she'd been a sixteen year old virgin and her stepfather raped her. That one brutal, agonizing act on the eve of her mother's funeral had taken more from her than any girl should have to give.
No one man should have the power to defile a person's entire life, but her stepfather had managed. He'd taken what should have been hers to give, and he'd ruined it forever.
Then she'd met Nick. Gentle and kind, he'd offered her friendship, and then he'd offered love. They'd chosen together to cement their relationship with the mating bond. Beth hadn't had any doubts, then. She'd thought Nick was the one who would keep her safe, the one to take the darkness that covered her soul and strip it away-and for a special but much too brief time, he had.
If only she hadn't joined Tala that night when they had sex with Ulrich. It wasn't Ulrich's fault he was older, that his age and even his general appearance reminded her of her stepfather. He hadn't hurt her. Anything but...in fact, Ulrich had given her pleasure.
Maybe that was the problem, the fact she'd had a wonderful sexual experience with a man similar enough in looks to her stepfather to totally reawaken the memories.
Without realizing it, Ulrich had brought back all her ghosts.
His had become the face in her nightmares.
It wasn't fair to Ulrich, but it wasn't fair to her, either. She'd thought those nightmares were a thing of the past.
Now they were back, worse than ever. Nick could have been the answer. He could have fought her demons if he'd been man enough, but he wasn't willing to challenge someone he saw as a mentor. He'd chased away the nightmares once. For some convoluted reason she was certain that if he challenged Ulrich and won, they'd be gone forever.
Or would they?
Now she'd never know. Nick had looked totally disgusted with her, and she really couldn't blame him. It wasn't fair to ask something of a guy that just wasn't part of his nature. Why couldn't Nick, the Nick she'd fallen in love with, have been enough? Why did she need to make him into something he wasn't?
It wasn't fair to him. Not to her, either. Like an absolute idiot, she'd managed to chase away the best thing that had ever happened to her.
The sun disappeared behind the hills while Beth lay there on the hard ground. Pebbles dug into her butt and pine needles poked her thighs and back, but she couldn't find the energy to move.
Where would she go? Nick wouldn't want her back. Not after what she'd said to him today. He'd barely tolerated her since that fiasco the other night when he'd ended up getting royally fucked in the ass.
She wasn't sure if he'd actually liked it or not. In some perverse way, Beth had. She must be totally sick to have gotten so turned on watching Ulrich slam into her mate the way he had. The sex had started out so brutal, so typically male, but Nick hadn't fought. He'd merely bowed his head and accepted Ulrich's pounding violation--accepted it, eventually climaxed from it.
In fact, all of them-Ulrich, Matt, Nick, Millie and even Beth had achieved something amazing with their simultaneous orgasm, but it hadn't really mattered. Nick had blocked her long before his climax, just as she'd blocked him. That night, aroused, angry, frustrated with one another, they'd essentially severed the special link that bound them together.
Neither of them had attempted to reconnect since. It was like cutting off part of her body, going through the motions each day without Nick's thoughts in her head.
He'd slept in Matt's old room that first night, and the next couple nights since, sharing the cabin but not her bed. She missed sleeping beside him. Hated running beside him, yet not connecting. She felt the pain in every part of her body, but the place it hurt most remained the hardest to touch.
Her heart actually ached. What had she expected? That he would beg forgiveness? That he would promise to challenge Ulrich? Even if he won, what would that solve?
Beth opened her eyes. A narrow sliver of moon was rising. It was almost entirely dark, and still she lay shivering on the hard ground. She thought of shifting, of just staying the night in the woods as a wolf, but somehow that didn't seem right. Not with the convoluted thoughts swirling darkly in her mind.
Instead, she folded her hands over her waist and closed her eyes against the moonlight. Naked, vulnerable, her body cold and aching with the night's chill.
Alone, with nowhere to go.
This is an unedited excerpt
NOTICE: This novel is protected under Copyright Registration with the
United States of America. No part or portion of this work may be used
for re-sell or re-print either digitally or in print format by ANY entity other
than the legal publisher of this work listed above. Re- sell or re-print of
this work may not be used without the written permission of the author
AND the publisher or without full monetary compensation of the work
to both the author and legal publisher. Any infringement upon this
copyright will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you have
purchased this novel in a `re-sell packet', please inform the author and/or
publisher.
NOTICE: This novel is protected under Copyright Registration with the
United States of America. No part or portion of this work may be used
for re-sell or re-print either digitally or in print format by ANY entity other
than the legal publisher of this work listed above. Re- sell or re-print of
this work may not be used without the written permission of the author
AND the publisher or without full monetary compensation of the work
to both the author and legal publisher. Any infringement upon this
copyright will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. If you have
purchased this novel in a `re-sell packet', please inform the author and/or
publisher.
