I can practically taste Lizzy’s scent in the air the moment I walk through the doors. The Blue River Lodge is ours now, and we invested quite a bit of money in updating the historic building. The light pine finishes are more modern, though we made sure to keep the old mountain charm.

The lobby is buzzing with wedding guests, many of them shifters. It’s Razor and Maya’s wedding, so the entire pack is in attendance.

The scent of roasted meat and bacon-wrapped appetizers wafts from the kitchen, but nothing can distract my wolf from the sweet, musky smell of my mate.

Lizzy’s delicious natural perfume has only grown stronger with each week of her pregnancy, and it’s made me even more feral than usual. My wolf is on edge whenever we’re apart, his only instinct to protect his mate.

Well, protect and fuck.

Right now, it’s the latter that has me stalking through the lodge like a beast on the hunt. A few of my pack brothers shoot me knowing looks mixed with awareness as I part the crowd. Many of them are already fathers and know the madness that takes over when one’s mate is with child.

But then Damon Brewer makes the mistake of stepping into my path, a smug grin on his handsome face. He’s a member of the Gold Creek pack, and although I can usually tolerate his goading sense of humor, today I am not in the mood.

“Love what you’ve done with the place,” he says, offering me his hand to shake. 

I pump it once with a mumbled “thanks,” annoyed that he’s delaying me.

Damon invests in real estate, and I know he’s sought me out to talk business. But after a few seconds of careful study, that insufferable grin only broadens. “Recently mated?”

“None of your business,” I growl, my vision growing more muted as my eyes shift to the icy blue of my wolf’s. “I’m looking for my wife.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her,” says Damon coolly, and I shove him aside before he can say anything that might make me put his head through a wall. We only just repainted.

I follow my mate’s lingering scent around the corner to the ladies’ restroom, hesitating in the hallway. The door bursts open, and the bride emerges, her cheeks flushed with mirth as she laughs with her bridesmaids.

Lizzy trails after her, a soft smile lighting up her features when she sees me.

My blood heats. She’s dressed in her usual black photographer attire, slightly modified for her pregnancy. Her cotton dress hits just past her knees, but the fabric manages to hug every curve, and the tight middle accentuates her swollen belly.

Her blond hair is gathered up in a simple knot, and her camera hangs from a strap around her neck.

“The bride was just freshening up,” she says. “I need to get some shots of everyone dancing in the reception hall.”

I barely hear a word she says. My eyes skim over her flushed cheeks and the half-moon scar that stands out against her skin. They drift over her swollen breasts and ample hips, lingering on the growing bump that has only made me more obsessed with her.

“Can you take a break?” I ask, my voice coming out strained. “I need a moment alone with my wife.”

Lizzy’s lips part at my husky tone, her pupils blown wide as she studies me. “I shouldn’t,” she murmurs, though the way her breath hitches tells me she’s not opposed to the idea.

I crack a feral grin. “This will only take a few minutes,” I rumble, grabbing her by the hand and tugging her toward a supply closet.

I open the door and usher her inside, not bothering to check if any of our guests might be lingering in the hallway. They’re nearly all shifters, which means they understand what it’s like to be mated. 

None of my pack brothers would judge us for stealing away a few moments to ourselves — least of all the bride and groom. Razor and Maya can’t keep their hands off one another.

It’s dark inside the closet, but my enhanced shifter vision doesn’t fail me as I back Lizzy against a stack of crates. Cupping the sides of her face, I capture her mouth in a searing kiss, desperate for her taste.

Lizzy moans at the contact, her lips parting as her tiny hands skim up my chest before tangling around my neck.

I swirl my tongue around hers before capturing her bottom lip with my teeth and giving it a soft nip. “I fucking love seeing you all buttoned up and professional,” I growl, reaching up to find the pins she uses to secure her hair and tugging them out, one by one. Her golden hair cascades down around her shoulders, longer since she’s let it grow out. “It makes it even sweeter to imagine what you look like when I have you completely undone.”

“Chase,” she whimpers, half chastising me for messing up her hair, half begging for more.

I smile against her lips, cradling her face in my hands and kissing her softly.

Gathering her hair in my fist, I tilt her head back to give me better access to the smooth column of her neck. I plant a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her throat, pausing to swirl my tongue over the mating mark and taste the sweetness of her skin.

One lick almost undoes me.

Skimming my fingers over her collarbones, I drink in her breathy little gasps as I scrape my teeth along her neck.

Her nipples pebble through the thin fabric of her dress, and my cock grows unbearably hard as I cup her breasts in my hands. They spill over now that she’s late in her pregnancy, and I can’t quite hold on to them anymore. 

The changes in her body fill me with awe as much as they excite me. But I’d love this woman no matter what her shape. One look at her sends my wolf into a frenzy, and I’m overcome with the urge to drag her to bed.

I take my time worshiping her breasts, pressing hot kisses to them over the material and tweaking her nipples with my thumbs. Only when she’s panting do I allow myself to wander lower, my hands skimming reverently over the curve of her hips until I’m kneeling on the ground before her.

“Chase,” she breathes. “What if someone . . .”

I tilt my head to meet her gaze, and I know it’s my lighter wolf’s eyes staring up at her. “If someone comes in, all they’ll see is a man worshiping his gorgeous wife. If they’re smart, they’ll make themselves scarce.”

Lizzy bites her lower lip, barely restraining a smile that quickly turns into a moan as I slide my hand under her dress, running it up the inside of her thigh. My fingers barely graze her warm center, but the fabric of her lace panties is already soaked.

“Been thinking about me, wife?” I ask, taking my time caressing her legs as they slowly turn to jelly.

“Maybe,” she gasps, wriggling as I skim my hand lightly up over her mound, rubbing a soft circle over her swollen clit. 

“Maybe?” The question comes out as a possessive snarl that makes my little minx giggle. 

“Who else would I be thinking about? No other males corner me in supply closets.”

“I should hope not,” I grit out, hiking up her skirt so that I can see the pretty lace she’s wearing.

Another giggle, and I know she’s baiting me. I’ve never gotten her to admit it, but I know my mate loves it when my possessive streak comes out.

Yanking the gusset of her panties aside, I suck in a breath at the sight of her swollen, wet pussy. The scent of her is overwhelming — sweet and musky and mine.

“Baby, I’m gonna make you come so hard that you scream my name for everyone in this goddamn lodge to hear.”

Bending forward, I lick a long trail up her seam, eliciting a sharp gasp.

“I’m gonna fill you with my cum. Mark you with my scent so every male in this building knows you belong to me.”

“Yes,” she whispers, her legs trembling.

Another lick, and Lizzy lets out a needy little whimper that makes my cock twitch in my pants.

There’s a rip of fabric as I tear that pretty scrap of lace clean in two, stuffing it into my pants pocket.

“Chase!” she squeals. “I don’t have another pair!”

I shoot my mate a wicked grin, though I know she can’t see it in the darkened closet. “Then I guess you’ll have to endure my cum leaking out of you all evening, coating your thighs in my scent.”

Lizzy shivers, and I hitch her leg over my shoulder, opening her to me. She gasps again when I get my mouth on her, my tongue thrusting into her wet heat with a possessive claim.

Fuck, she tastes so good. I drink her down like I’m mad with thirst.

Sliding two fingers inside her, I nearly come in my pants when I feel just how wet she is for me.

I stroke her insides with slow, hard thrusts as my tongue circles that swollen bundle of nerves. Her breaths grow more shallow with every movement, and I know my girl is close. 

Finding that sensitive place deep inside her pussy, I give her clit a little nip and feel her topple over the edge.

My name on her lips is half growl, half plea, and I’m filled with a surge of male satisfaction. I continue to work my fingers in and out of her, milking every last bit of her orgasm, before sliding them free and rising to my feet.

I kiss her hard, sliding my fingers between her lips so she can taste her own sweetness.

Lizzy’s hands tremble as she unbuckles my belt, and I groan as she slides her small hand beneath my waistband and pulls me free from my pants.

Precum is already beading at the tip of my cock. My need for her is so great it verges on painful, and when she guides me to her slick entrance, my eyes roll back in my head.

I enter her in one hard thrust, eliciting a low cry from my mate.

But this position is awkward as fuck, so I hike her legs up around my hips so I can get the angle we need. I pull out slowly before ramming back in, causing the shelves of cleaning supplies to rattle above our heads.

Lizzy’s fingers tangle in my hair, her nails scraping my scalp as she kisses me with bruising force.

Fuck.

I can’t get enough of her. 

Her taste. 

Her scent. 

The way her tight little pussy squeezes my cock. Her swollen belly bumps between us, but it doesn’t stop me from taking my mate so hard that a cry builds in her throat.

I don’t care. I hope our guests hear us — hear how much I love my wife.

This woman hurtled into my life and took me completely by surprise. I’ve been at her mercy ever since, overjoyed by each new chapter with her.

Lizzy bites down on my lip as she comes hard around me, her pussy squeezing my cock like a vise. It’s enough to send me over the edge, too, and her name leaves my throat on a ragged growl of pleasure.

My whole body shudders as I empty myself into her, grateful that I get to wake up beside this sweet woman every day. Humbled that she chose me to build a life with. To be the father of our pup.

In just a few short weeks, there will be three of us, and I know the best is yet to come.