Mated for Keeps Boxed Set: a BBW Werewolf Shifter Romance (The Lost River Pack) by Alexis Wilde Page A

the flesh between her legs warmed. Her hips tilted. He pressed harder. Ground his leg against her, tucked her hard into that wall until she could feel the ridge of his erection against her hip. His fingers closed over her nipple, taut behind her borrowed T-shirt. She hissed out a shuddering breath.
    “Damien was,” he said huskily. “Just him.”
    Oh. Oh, no.
    She didn’t need it spelled out. The packs weren’t known to be soft when numbers got too big for the territory. The weak were culled or kicked out, and that was that. Wolves didn’t turn on their packs. Didn’t abandon each other once accepted. Damien was tossed out, and Alek—considered stronger—had given up everything to follow. Earned for himself a reputation for betrayal.
    That explained a lot .
    And made her curious. Made her wolf want to test them harder. Push them farther. Together.
    She shivered, back arching to give Jackson unfettered access to her breasts. To bring him harder, hot and unyielding, against her body. It dragged her sex against his leg, forced a low growl from him as she bit her lip and swallowed a moan. She wanted, so much, but this wasn’t enough. It wasn’t what her wolf hungered for.
    She grabbed at his arm, fingers digging into his biceps so hard, he hissed out a warning between clenched teeth. “Please,” she whispered. “I have to meet them. I have to…” Touch them. Try them. Taste them. She licked at her dry lips.
    He blew out a long breath. It stirred the loose waves of her hair by her cheek.
    Her nails dug into his arm. “Jackson.”
    “I know,” he said huskily. “I know, it’s just complicated.” He looked again at the door, then back to her as if weighing the odds.
    Natalie shifted against his leg. Ground herself against him in a wordless plea. Her body clenched.
    He eased his leg away. “Okay. Trust me?”
    She was nodding before her brain even registered the question.
    Oh, yes. She trusted him. Somehow, for reasons she couldn’t place, she trusted him with everything that she was. Her body. Her safety.
    Jackson’s hand slid to her jaw. His thumb rasped against her bottom lip. “Then brace yourself, sweetheart.”
----
    J ackson could feel her shaking , aware of every tiny breath, gasp and shudder as he turned her slowly around. Pushed her up against the wall and pinned her there with one palm, fingers splayed between her shoulder blades. Her skin was hot through the thin T-shirt. The hem hiked a fraction, bared a sliver of pale white cotton stretched over mouth-watering curves, sexy and so perfect he could barely keep from tearing the T-shirt off her right here in the hall.
    But this wasn’t for him.
    Not entirely, anyway.
    Natalie’s hands thumped against the wall in gentle echo of the heartbeat slamming against his palm. She closed her eyes, her cheeks red with the fever gripping her. With the hunger he could smell on her skin.
    He had no doubt Damien could, too. The question was whether it’d be enough.
    It was no secret. They all carried a chip on their shoulders, but Damien’s was a little bigger. A little more jagged. Cut with whatever scars left by the fact he’d cost his brother the security of a pack, and Jackson had no doubt that Damien suffered from a caustic mix of jealousy and adoration, gratitude and guilt. It made him fiercely protective of Alek—and divisive as fuck.
    Natalie needed them, that much was clear, but could Damien’s wolf handle it? Without hurting anyone?
    And worse, if he did hurt her, would Damien survive the regret it’d score in his soul forever?
    No. Jackson’s job was to ensure Natalie’s safety, and the health of his pack. They all needed to ensure the health of the pack, and Damien was no exception.He trusted the twins.
    But he’d do everything he could to make damn sure that trust wasn’t in vain.
    Jackson sank to his knees. Her fists curled into the wall; her spine tilted subtly, pushed her hips out just enough that he knew she wanted him—whatever he