I was the runt of the litter.

Worse yet, I was a freaking throwback. More human than wolf. A hundred years ago the pack would have killed me at birth. These days, at least in my neck of the woods, there was a movement to blend better with the human society and take on a more human culture, so they allowed me to live.

Old prejudices and lifestyles die hard, though, and I can guarantee it took every ounce of cunning I had to keep that life.

Especially once I started coming into season. Every month.

All the males feared accidentally mating with me, but wanted to fuck me anyway.

All the females hated me. They just wanted me dead.

* * * *

“What am I going to do with you?” Mason, my alpha, paced impatiently across the breadth of his office.

I swung my legs over the arm of the chair I was sitting in. We’d had this conversation before. Several times. I thought Mason needed to lighten up some.

“Can I say something?” I tilted my head, looking up at him through my eyelashes. A silly, submissive tradition I firmly believed should be pitched.

“What?” he bit out at me.

“Why is it such a problem when you live among humans?” This was a point that I’d never been able to get across to the pack before. “How is dealing with me any different from dealing with them?”

Mason came to a halt in front of me, hands fisted at his sides. “I’ve told you before. You’re one of ours. We expect to treat you differently than we would a human.”

Well, he was right about that. Werewolves were a randy, chauvinistic bunch. I didn’t think there was an unrelated male over the age of consent who hadn’t mounted me. Then again, the animal inside of me was always ready, always willing. I’d never heard that humans participated in the activity nearly as much as we did. Their loss.

I rolled my eyes. “I still don’t get it. You guys are always fucking humans. Aren’t you afraid of mating with them when you do?”

His shocked expression said it all. “We’d never confuse a human for a wolf.”

I couldn’t help myself. I jumped to my feet, coming dangerously close to butting my chest against his. “All of you remind me often enough that I am not much of a wolf. How could you possibly be confused about me?”

“Your scent,” he growled, his arm coming around my back, as he inhaled deeply. “You smell of wolf.” His eyes widened, darkened. “And you’ve come into season.”

I watched as his eyelids lowered partially, desire flaming to life across his face. “Take your pants off and bend over the side of the chair.”

My wolf flared with arousal, rising closer to the surface. I stripped, dropped my forearms onto the seat, the arm of the chair tight against my thighs. Looking over my shoulder at Mason, my mouth went dry as he freed his erection.

“Spread your legs wider,” he rasped, moving into position behind me.

I complied, lowering my forehead onto my arms, my breathing quickening as I braced myself for his entry.

It was swift and hard. The rigid flesh of his shaft cleaved its way between my inner muscles, boring nearly to my womb. He flexed his fingers around my hips, gripped them tighter, then set up a fast, relentless rhythm.

“Christ, woman, why, of all my wolves, do you have to be so fucking tight?” His voice rumbled in his chest. “So soft,” he groaned, grinding his pelvis against my ass. “Why do you have to feel so fucking good?” he nearly bellowed, digging into me harder.

The slap of his flesh against mine was loud in the confines of his office. I felt my groin tensing, the muscles drawing tighter.

His thrusts turned suddenly wilder, his cock swelling as his wolf surged through his blood shattering his control. I came, bucking back against him, my vagina clenching, gripping his cock, then releasing only to grip again.

He roared, slamming himself against my cervix, his balls slapping my clit, sparking jolts of pleasure even as the waves of my orgasm continued to rip through me.

Then I felt the rich, hot wash of his semen as his cock pulsed his release.

He stood behind me, his fingers lessening their hold, his cock buried, his breathing heavy. I panted against the seat of the chair, waiting for him to back away from me.

A knock sounded at his door, and the alpha shouted over his shoulder, “Come on in.”

I levered myself up far enough to see who had arrived, but Mason placed a palm in the center of my back and pushed me down.

“It’s getting worse,” I heard Kyle, his second, say to him. “Several of the pack are already gathered outside, waiting for her to come out.”

Mason withdrew, and again I tried to stand, but another hand held me in place.

“I know. I was talking to Tia about it when I scented her season.”

Different hands grasped my hips, and I knew that Kyle was behind me. I felt the blunt head of his cock probe my opening, then he speared his way in.

“Fuck.” Kyle drew himself partway out, then impaled me again. “Did you feel this Mason? She’s vibrating. Damn, this is the sweetest pussy I’ve ever fucked.”

“I know,” Mason agreed, his voice moving away from us.

“There’s no other way?” Kyle asked, just before setting a brutal pace.

“Not that we’ve been able to come up with,” the alpha said.

I rolled my head to the side and saw Mason leaning back against his desk, his eyes riveted to the spot where Kyle and I were joined.

The were inside me twisted his hips, driving the head of his cock across the bundle of nerves outside my womb. My body jerked in response, while a low moan escaped me.

I heard the door open again, then Aaron, Kyle’s brother, spoke. “Have you told her, yet?”

“No,” Mason replied.

“Good. I think I might have a solution.” Aaron rested his hip against the desk next to Mason, his eyes automatically going to my ass. He ran his tongue over his lower lip as he watched his brother fuck me.

Kyle growled, his cock rapidly enlarging, sending me over the edge. I cried out, my body wracked with spasms as the orgasm tore through me. The wolf joined me in climax, his cock spewing thick jets of cum into my core.

When I came back into my head, I saw Aaron shift away from the desk, his hands working his zipper as he crossed the room. His brother pulled out of me with a wet slurp of sound, and a moment later, Aaron was thrusting inside.

Three more men took me before I was finally allowed to leave.

Mason never did get around to telling me why he’d called me to his office. I was just glad to be going home and looking forward to a shower. I waved off the wolves gathered outside Mason’s office as I wended down the path towards my house. Don’t get me wrong, I like sex as much as the next wolf, but six male weres pack a lot of cum, and I was swimming in the stuff.

I swung through the front door of my house and grinned as I turned the security system off, knowing I wasn’t going to need to turn it on again until the end of my season. Then I headed straight up the stairs, down the hall and into the master bathroom.

I stepped out of the shower to find Reston Kay and Bryce Grogin, two of the sexiest men on Mason’s security team, waiting for me in my bed. Both men were exceedingly handsome, even by werewolf standards.

“Ya-hoo!” I yipped and dove onto the mattress between them.

* * * *

Fortunately, or unfortunately, my time in season lasts for seven to ten days a month, as opposed to a full werebitch, who only comes into season four times a year. During that time, I get very little done, but I get a whole lot of sex.

The attempts on my life usually start right after the men quit coming around.

Mason had declared it illegal to challenge me the usual way since I was so much smaller than the other females and I couldn’t shift. That didn’t stop them from trying to kill me anyway. They just used different methods--sneak attacks, ambushes. They’d break into my house while I was sleeping and try to take me unawares.

Me? I learned through hard-won experience how to fight with knives; I’d even sent away for a custom set. I also had an advanced security system that ran throughout my house. And if I couldn’t avoid pack gatherings, and I wasn’t in heat at the time, I’d stick close to Mason, Kyle, or one of the other security team members.

I was sitting out back at my patio table with a jeweler’s file, working on a chunk of wax for Anton. It was my job, for the pack, to design wax sculptures used to create the molds for the jewelry, his to spin cast them and rough them out, then Beck would finish them off. The finished pieces were sold from one of the pack-owned stores in town, the profits used for the good of our community.

I held the tip of the file over the small butane torch I had set to one side, then I traced a delicate swirl across the face of what was eventually going to become a bracelet.

I was focusing so hard on the intricate pattern that I almost missed the slight rustle, the faint scent of hate that tinged the air. Gripping my tool tighter, I waited, senses strained, for the sounds to move within striking distance. There was a second disturbance off to my right, a third to the left front.

I fingered the blade release with my free hand, wondering if I should drop the implement now, or continue to appear unaware.

The noise behind me made my decision for me. I spun, bringing the pointed tool up in an underhanded stab. Its tip sank through flesh, then glanced off bone as I hit a rib. The female’s eyes widened in surprise, then her lips curled as she snarled and swung a clawed hand at me.

I rolled off the bench, triggering the blades on my right hand, taking the time to activate the left set before slapping the Velcro closures across my palms. Keeping my hands fisted, the three-inch blades took the place of my fingers--four blades on each hand now rigidly locked into place. My own set of claws.

I scooted under the table and crawled out from one end, slashing wildly as I rose to my feet. The two other weres moved into the yard, their eyes glowing with intent.

I didn’t wait for them to take the offensive; I knew better, what with the smallest female present easily six inches taller than I was and fifty pounds heavier. I tightened my muscles, then twisted to the side and went after the largest of the three, slashing at her face as I sprinted past her. I pulled up short, turned, then dropped to the ground, drawing my arm back across my body to the right, raking the backs of her ankles with the knives.

She howled, moved to come at me, and toppled to the ground when her damaged tendons failed to hold.

Jumping to my feet again, I chose the next, nearest female and went for her. She launched herself at me when I was still a few feet away, her arms coming around my shoulders, her fangs bared. I tucked my chin to my chest and fell straight down out of her grasp before she could tighten her hold.

“Hey, what the fuck is going on here?” Ian Price , another member of Mason’s security team, barked.

The female weres exchanged glances, the two who remained standing taking off through the hedge. Ian crouched down by the one on the ground.

“Deanne,” he rumbled, “don’t even think about getting up.”

The female were growled low in her throat, but she dropped her eyes. I knew it would only be a matter of minutes until her ankles were healed, so I kept an eye on her while Ian called the incident in to Kyle.

When he pocketed his phone, he turned to me, his expression unreadable. “Mason wants to see you in his office. Now.”

“Okay,” I grumbled, thinking I was going to get a lecture for fighting with the females.

I entered the alpha’s office and sprawled across the same chair I’d sat in the last time.

“This situation has gotten too far out of hand,” Mason began, coming around the desk. “I think I have a solution.” He grimaced, then hunched down in front of me and inhaled. “Oh, for the love of God,” he muttered, his hands going to his waist, “get your pants off.”

“What?” I blinked at him. “I’m not in heat.”

He grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the chair. “I know.” His expression was fierce as he popped the button open on my jeans. “That’s part of the problem. There’s been a change in your scent, in the energy coming off you. It’s not as strong now as when you’re in season, but it’s definitely increased in potency. And you’re twice as compelling when you’re in heat compared to before.”

He tugged my pants and undies down to my ankles, so I stepped out of them and my shoes at the same time. When I looked back at him, his cock was out, pointing straight at me like a divining rod.

“Oh,” was all I got out before he launched himself at me, and I found myself pinned to the floor.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he hissed.

As soon as I raised my knees, he thrust his hips forward, spearing me. Locking his arms around my shoulders, he rolled his groin, furiously grinding through flesh barely damp with arousal.

“You’re a fucking hazard, you know that, Tia?” Mason grunted.

“Ah, but what would you do without me?” I gasped back at him.

He delivered a couple of especially hard strokes, then smiled this sexy half smile that went straight to my heart. “I’d be hard pressed to find a woman who felt so good beneath me.”

My vagina clenched, then convulsed. I creamed over his cock, my back arching as my inner muscles clutched desperately at him.

He threw his head back, the cords of his neck standing out in harsh relief. His strokes grew shorter, deeper, then his body bucked, and the liquid heat of his seed burst into me. He kept me pinned to the floor for several minutes afterwards, his chest heaving against mine.

Then he rolled off, yanked his pants up, and put himself together before he rose to his feet. I just lay there, wondering if he was going to send me packing now. You know, Thanks for the fuck. By the way, you’ve been ostracized from the pack.

I jerked when he stood over me, a cold beer in his hand. “You okay?”

No. “Yeah.” I rolled onto my side, then worked my way to my feet. Snagging my pants off the floor, I looked around for my undies. Couldn’t find them. I shook the jeans, figuring they’d gone down a leg. “You see my panties anywhere?”

He scanned the floor, not really looking at it. “Does it really matter?”

“I guess not.” Unless I caught my pubic hair in my zipper.

Dressed, I plopped down on the chair and turned a smile in his direction. “You were saying?” Here it comes.

He ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t think we came by this decision easily,” he started, resting his hip on the edge of his desk. “As your alpha, I’m telling you that you’re a member of this pack. You always will be. But I’ve got to think of the other members. Almost half this pack is female, and they’re getting more ... upset with you as your chemistry gets stronger.” He looked me straight in the eyes, and I dropped mine right away, even though I wanted to see his when he said ... whatever it was he intended to say. “With this steady increase in your ... attraction,” he shuddered, his eyes flashing wolf and back, “especially with that vibration thing you’ve started doing, it’s going to be more difficult for the males to keep from mating you.”

He took a swallow of his beer, and I found myself wanting one. “You want another beer?” I asked him, jumping to my feet and heading towards the fridge before he responded.

“Yeah,” he called after me, so I grabbed two.

Our fingers brushed when I handed him his bottle. My eyes shot to his face as awareness washed over me. “You’re going to kill me.” It came out on a breath of air, my lungs too tight, my heart squeezed painfully in my chest.

Mason snorted, beer spraying out of his mouth, misting over the front of my shirt. “Good God, no. I’m not going to kill you.” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into the shelter of his body. I felt his chest rise and fall with a sigh. “Tia, there isn’t a male here who could cause you harm.”

I let myself melt into his warmth. “So what are you going to do with me, Mason?”

He brushed his lips against the top of my head and spoke into my hair. “We’re going to set you up in a house in town. Provide you with a trust fund so that you don’t ever have to worry about money. We’re going to take care of you.”

I tensed. He was ostracizing me from the pack. I was losing my home, my family. Tears burned at the backs of my eyes, and I struggled to keep them from falling. “I don’t know anyone in town.”

“I know, baby. I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to be lonely, though. We all plan on visiting you.”

“And how is that going to keep them from mating me?”

“They won’t be exposed to you every day. It will keep them from getting all worked up before they fuck you. I also don’t plan on letting anyone visit you alone.”

The tears did come then. As much as I wanted to believe what he was saying, believe that the men would visit, that things wouldn’t get out of hand, I just knew it wasn’t going to happen.

He didn’t say anything, just rubbed his large hands over my back as I sobbed into his chest.

“When?” I finally managed to spit the question out.

“Tomorrow,” he said, and my heart crashed through the floor.