Perfect Mate (Book Two: A Werewolf BBW Shifter Romance) Read online

  Perfect Mate

  by Aubrey Rose

  Perfect Mate is the exciting continuation of Julia and Damien’s story from #1 Shifter Romance novella Blind Wolf. This is an exciting stand-alone read, but if you’d like to know more about their past, be sure to pick up Blind Wolf!

  Copyright 2013 by Aubrey Rose

  First Kindle Edition: September 2013

  ISBN: TBD

  Cover design by Aubrey Watt

  CHAPTER ONE

  Julia lay back naked against Damien's chest, and he held her close in arms that were not entirely human.

  Werewolf. Shifter. Animal.

  "What are you worried about?" Damien asked, squeezing her naked hip. The bright light of morning washed over the tops of the pine trees above, and Julia blinked hard.

  "Stop reading my thoughts," Julia said, looking up at him. His scars gleamed white in the daylight, crisscrossing over his eyes and down to his cheeks, and she wondered how it had taken her so long to notice them. Of course he had been wearing glasses before. Before she knew who he was. What he was. She shivered then, and he drew her close, feeling her shudder on his own skin.

  "Not your thoughts, darling," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Your emotions. You feel frightened."

  "Stop reading my emotions, then," she said. "It's not fair."

  "Because you can't read mine?"

  "Yes," Julia said.

  "You ask me to do the impossible," Damien said. "I don't know if I could stop reading you if I tried. You're my mate."

  "Try," Julia whispered, her voice small and vulnerable. "I'm thinking about the wolf you fought."

  Damien's eyebrows furrowed into a frown.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "Maybe we shouldn't have moved so quickly." His lips moved down from her forehead to her cheek, feathering light kisses along her jaw line. "I just couldn't stop myself once I met you. I had to have you. I needed you. I needed to do this—"

  "Ohh!" Julia let out a soft moan as Damien kissed her neck just below her ear, sending shivers of pleasure throughout her body that shot from the nerve endings in her neck all the way down to her feet. Her toes curled, involuntarily.

  "Let me take your mind off of the fight. Off of everything that you're worried about," Damien said. His tongue darted out and licked her skin. She inhaled sharply, her lips falling apart.

  "Damien," Julia gasped.

  "No more frightened thoughts," Damien whispered. His breath was hot against her naked skin, and he moved his mouth down to her collarbone, nipping the skin there gently, just gently enough to pinch and elicit another soft gasp. His hands moved over her body, cupping her breasts. She forgot all of her worries at the touch of his fingers. Instinct took her body over, and she arched against him, pressing herself into his hold.

  "Much better," Damien said, sitting up in order to better caress her body. His fingertips glided over her skin, stopping every few inches to rub and squeeze. The massage was delightful, but Julia could tell that he was intent on something else. What?

  "Your body," Damien said, responding without hesitation to her curiosity. She swatted him on the hip with one hand.

  "I said stop reading my emotions."

  "I'll read your body instead," Damien said. His fingers stroked and stroked and did not stop moving over her skin. "That's what I want to know about. I want to know every beautiful inch of you. I want to feel it, memorize it."

  He bent over then and licked her breast, letting his tongue press softly into the crease underneath and make its way along the curved surface up to the nipple, where it flicked lightly against the sensitive skin there. The space between her thighs grew instantly hot, clenching hard.

  "Oh!" Julia cried out.

  "Your body is incredible," Damien said. "I want to have you entirely. Your mind. Your love. Your body."

  His words had a lilting rhythm to them, but a flash of hesitation brought her out of the trance he'd put her in.

  Her body. She'd never thought of herself as beautiful. Cute, maybe, with a nice face. She'd always been the friend who tagged along when going out to bars, the adorable one with frizzy red hair who drew attention while the other girls kept it. Guys would flirt with her, but they wouldn't buy her drinks, and they always went home with one of her friends instead. As Damien moved his hands over her body, she could not help but feel wary. He could feel the lumpy parts, the excess bulges, the thickness of her thighs. Couldn't he? Even if he was blind...

  "Julia, you are more beautiful than any other woman I've ever known. Don't doubt it. I want every piece of you inside of my thoughts," Damien said. "When you touch me, I want to be able to visualize it. When I take you, I want to see it in my mind."

  He bent his head down and let his lips graze over Julia's stomach. It tickled a bit, but the giggles turned to moans as Damien moved down, down to the already wet slit between her legs. She groaned loudly as he pressed his tongue against her and sealed his lips around her most sensitive spot, sucking hard.

  "That's my girl," Damien said. He pursed his lips and blew cool air over her aroused folds. She moved her hands down to touch herself, to cover the naked parts of her, but he grabbed her by the wrists and moved her hands aside.

  "This might just be the most lovely part of you," Damien said, bending his head to lick her wetness. Long, deep strokes of the tongue.

  She forgot the pinpricks of the pine needles on her back as he teased her into arousal again. She'd never imagined...this. That a man could want her this badly, could push his tongue inside of her, could suckle her until the earth moved under her back—this was an incredible thought. None of her friends had ever talked about boys pleasing them, just wanting to fuck them. Get his dick wet, that was the phrase her best friend had used to describe the boy at the bar that she eventually left with. But Damien's every motion seemed aimed toward one goal only: pleasing her. Perhaps it was that he could sense her feelings, he could sense the reaction that his kisses and strokes produced inside of her core.

  All of this disappeared in a blinding explosion of desire as he thrust two fingers into her.

  "Oh! Damien!"

  The sensation pulsed through her that she was his, only his. She rocked against his hand, forcing her body upon his fingers, impaling herself. If you had asked her a week ago whether she would ever kiss a man, she would have been doubtful. Now, though, she ached to have Damien inside of her again and knew, with more certainty than she'd thought possible, that he was hers as much as she was his.

  The air around her warmed her as she found her rhythm against him. His lips moved against her, his tongue licking, his mouth sucking. She did not know anymore what she felt and what she imagined, for the world was like a dream to her as she moved her hips, rolling them against his mouth as her tension built higher, higher, then erupted from deep within her core.

  "Yes... yes!"

  The orgasm rolled through her, different than the one before, though just as powerful. Quickly she clasped her fist into her mouth, stifling the loud cry that burst forward from her lungs as she rode the waves of pleasure into release. Her body clenched around his fingers and shuddered once, then again, and again as his tongue licked her tenderly.

  Breathing hard, she could not do anything but whimper as he lay back beside her and drew her close to him in a warm embrace. Birds in the treetops sang, or perhaps it was her ears ringing from the symphony of bliss reverberating through her body. He stroked her body with his hands under she curled up to his chest, satiated.

  "You're incredible," she murmured, nestling herself into his body. Dark hair lined his chest, defining the rippling muscles underneath,
and she ran her fingers through the wiry strands. "Can I... can I do something for you?" She blushed and tucked her head against his shoulder even as she asked the question.

  "As much as I'd love it, I should get back to my pack," Damien said.

  "Take me with you," Julia said, without thinking. As she said the words, though, she knew it was the right decision.

  "The wolf is there," Damien said, his voice dropping into a serious tone. "The one who tried to attack you. Do you really want to see him again?"

  "I want to meet your pack," Julia said firmly. She needed to see the other shifter. She needed to know that there was nothing between Damien and Katherine, to see it herself.

  "You've met them all already," Damien said, a note of modesty coming into his tone. "It's a small pack."

  "I mean—I want to meet them as your mate," Julia said.

  "Oh, sure. Of course. You'll have to drive me, then." Damien kissed her on the lips softly, and she wondered how much of her anxiety he could read. How much of her jealousy.

  "I am yours," Damien whispered, his thumb grazing the stiff peak of her nipple. "You know that."

  "Yes," Julia said. She knew. Or thought she did.

  As they dressed, brushing the pine needles off of their clothes, Julia watched Damien's muscled body and tried to remember it changing—shifting—the arms and legs sprouting fur and claws. It all seemed like a dream, albeit a vivid one.

  She turned to go and Damien caught her by the arm. It was a simple gesture, but one that reminded her of his acute senses. Without his eyes, he was still able to track her movements.

  "Julia," Damien said. "I need to tell you something about my condition."

  "Something apart from the fact that you're a werewolf?" Julia teased. Her laugh was cut short by the look on Damien's face. "What is it?"

  "Shifters have a different lifespan than humans," Damien said. "Anywhere from a hundred to two hundred years."

  "You don't have any old shifters in your pack, do you?" Julia asked. "Or do they just look young?"

  "No, That's the thing," Damien said. "There's a price to pay for the lifespan."

  Julia's heart chilled at the sound of the admonition.

  "What price?"

  "Shifters can only shift into human form when they're relatively young. Thirty-five, maybe forty years old. After that, it becomes harder and harder to shift out of wolf form. You become more aggressive, less able to control yourself."

  "I don't understand. You're saying you'll be stuck in wolf form?"

  Damien bowed his head.

  "It takes energy every time I shift from one form to another, and if I go for too long as a human, I lose control. I have to shift back. In all likelihood, I'll only have another fifteen years or so before I become more wolf than man."

  Julia didn't know how to reply. A numbness had set into her that she didn't understand. More wolf than man.

  "I'm sorry," Damien said, squeezing her hand. "I should have told you earlier. Only—"

  "Is there anything else I should know?" Julia said, smiling weakly. "Are you going to spontaneously combust every other week or so? Will your skin turns purple on Tuesdays?"

  Damien laughed gently.

  "Not so much," he said. "I understand if you... if you decide you can't be with me because of this. I admit, I rushed into things after I felt the Calling. It's just..."

  "I don't want anyone but you," Julia whispered. There was a connection between the two of them that she had only dreamed about, and she couldn't let it go. She wouldn't leave him if she found out he had a fatal disease, after all. The idea of abandoning Damien for a life without him was repulsive to her. Why should this be any different?

  "Then let's go and see the pack," Damien said, kissing her on her forehead. "And I'll introduce you as my mate."

  They drove to the hotel that the pack was staying in, and as Julia pulled into the parking lot she shivered in cold anticipation.

  "You can wait out here," Damien said. "The wolf—"

  "He's just a shifter," Julia said. "Right?"

  "Right," Damien said, but he sounded unsure.

  "Then let's go," Julia said. She put on a brave face, although she knew that Damien could read her emotions, and she was feeling anything but brave just then. Or maybe that's what bravery was: being scared and not letting that stop you. She locked the car door behind her and followed Damien up the stairs and down the hall. They stopped in front of a door and Damien took Julia's hand before opening it.

  Julia gasped. On a table in the middle of the room lay the wolf Damien had fought, blood staining the white sheets under him.

  "Damien!" The tall, thin man with dark hair and skin came over and clasped Damien to him in an embrace. He wore an apron stained with blood, and in his hand was some kind of medical instrument, a shiny chrome tool that looked kind of like a pair of scissors.

  "Jordan, you've already met my mate. This is Julia," he said.

  "A pleasure, dear," Jordan said, taking her hand up and bending over to kiss it. Julia tried to repress a shudder—there was blood all over him—and swallowed hard as his beard tickled her fingers. "And you've met the rest of the pack as well. The two lovers on the couch are Kyle and Katherine."

  Katherine stood up, her slim frame moving gracefully across the room with Kyle following. Both blond, they resembled each other so much that they could have been brother and sister. Katherine held out her hand boldly.

  "I'm sorry about the way we met," she said. "I didn't realize you were Damien's mate."

  "That's alright," Julia said, although she still bristled at the way the girl seemed to expect forgiveness as her due. Katherine had been promised to Damien as the only female in their pack, and Julia still felt threatened by how beautiful she was.

  "This is my mate, Kyle," Katherine said. Kyle shook Julia's hand, his eyes averted. Julia thought that perhaps he felt worse about their initial encounter than Katherine did. As he returned to the couch, she noticed that he had a slight limp.

  "How's he doing?" Damien asked Jordan, moving over to the wolf lying on the table. The wolf's chest rose and fell shallowly. Damien had a guilty expression on his face, and Julia wanted to throw her arms around him and comfort him. It's not your fault, she wanted to say. He attacked us!

  "I've done my best to patch him up," Jordan said. "But it's still touch and go. I'd say he can probably survive if he's allowed to rest for a while."

  "Do we have the time?" Damien asked, raising his eyebrows.

  The wolf growled, and Julia jumped back, startled. Then the animal on the table began to... stretch. Grow. His arms and legs unfolded, and his face moved, morphing into something entirely different. Julia only realized what she was seeing once his fur had retreated. A naked man lay where the wolf had been before.

  "Jesus," Jordan said. He grabbed bandages from the side table and pressed them to the man's side to staunch the newly torn wounds. "Katherine, hand me the sutures. Why would he shift now? I'd just finished the stitching—"

  The man lifted his head and turned to look at Julia. His bloodshot eyes flashed gold, and he lifted his upper lip in what could only be described as a snarl. He raised his hand and pointed straight at Julia. All of the people in the room turned to look at her, all except for Damien, who reached out to take her hand. He could feel her fright, Julia was sure. There was something in his eyes that made her feel like he was the ultimate predator. And she was the prey. As he stretched his arm out to point at her, he spoke one low, growling word that chilled her to the bone.

  "You."

  CHAPTER TWO

  As the wolf shifted into human form, Damien felt a blast of fear radiate outward from Julia, and he knew before being told that the shifter had spoken to her.

  "You."

  He instinctively stepped between the two of them. The words of the wolf echoed in his mind from before they had been attacked. You don't know what you're dealing with.

  Jordan swallowed hard, and Damien heard the surgical instrum
ents clatter to the floor. Every sense of his was on high alert, even with Julia's fear pumping through him.

  "Who are you?" Damien asked.

  "Who am I?" The shifter laughed, then coughed wetly, his voice thick with blood. "Who are you? What kind of mangled pack has a blind leader?"

  "Where's your pack?" Damien asked. He could hear the hair of the shifter bristling as he shook his head.

  "No pack. Not here anyway. They'll be coming."

  "A loner?" Damien pressed.

  "A scout."

  "Scout? Scouting for what?" Damien asked.

  The shifter coughed again, his breath ragged.

  "I did the best I could, but I think a rib tore into his lungs," Jordan said, turning his attention from Damien to the shifter. "Do you want us to take you to the hospital? Now that you're in human form—"

  "No!"

  Damien stepped forward.

  "You said before that you were here for Julia. Why?"

  The shifter chuckled, a low, growling sound that set Damien's teeth on edge. He felt the wolf inside of him straining to come out. He wanted to rip the man's throat out. He could have spoken as a wolf, but he had shifted, making himself weaker than ever, just to speak with Julia. Why?

  "She's not... she's not what you think she is," the shifter said. His voice now was barely a whisper.

  "You need more help than I can give you," Jordan said. "Damien, if we can get him to the emergency room—"

  "What do you mean?" Damien asked. He would not let the shifter away that easily. "Why were you after her?"

  "You'll find out soon enough," the shifter said. "It's been... it's been too long. Let me die as a wolf. Bury me... bury me as a wolf."

  Damien heard him shift before he felt Julia's shock, the bones crackling in low pops as he moved back to his wolf form.

  "No!" Jordan cried. "You're too weak to shift! You'll—"

  Damien heard the rattling breath of the shifter, the low snarl and final exhale as the shifter died on the table in front of him. Standing beside him, Julia was aghast with terror.