[COMPLETE - SILVER $8,000USD WINNER: Werewolf Competition 2022] Zev prowled towards her, all shining, brutal beauty, his chin low and those incredible, piercing eyes fixed on her. He didn’t stop until they were toe-to-toe and he blocked her view of every other male in the circle. His eyes dipped to her mouth as he leaned in, his whisper playing on her skin. “You. Are. Mine.” His deep voice twanged in her belly as the howls of the wolf pack rose from behind him to echo across the mountains of Thana, while the other Chimera protested his claim. Fighting the urge to stroke his broad, bare chest with her shaking hands, Sasha forced herself to tilt her head and raise an eyebrow. “So bold for a pup who just found his fangs.” The other males roared with laughter. Ignoring their taunts, Zev’s eyes sparked and he leaned even closer, the scruff on his jaw tickling her cheek as he smiled. “So bold for a human who already knows the pleasure of gasping my name.” She shivered when his teeth grazed her ear. ***** Just days after Sasha gave herself to her childhood love, he disappeared. Five years later, on a dark city street, Zev came back—with danger on his tail. Zev is Chimera: Half-human, half-wolf. Made in a secure research lab, his existence is a secret. But when the powerful men who created him try to kill the only woman who ever made his heart sing, Zev snaps their leash and steals her away to the brutal, hidden world of the Chimera clans. Torn between the magnetic draw of her first love and the painful betrayal of his disappearance, Sasha tries to keep Zev at arms-length. But when they reach this mysterious world, Zev discovers that in his absence the humans took control and stole almost all the females. The Chimera are dying—and Zev isn’t Alpha anymore. Now, Zev must fight his own people to win the right to mate his only love. Can he prove to her that his long-ago promise to protect her heart, as well as her body, was true? Or will the humans cross worlds to hunt the wolf and tear the lovers apart forever? [Mature content, no sexual assault] Cover Image by Aenaluck and used by permission with paid copyright. See more gorgeous art and support the artist at www.patreon.com/aenaluck
~ SASHA ~
Zev pushed through the water of the bathing pools towards her, the moonlight shining on his wet skin so he looked like a marble statue—a Greek God, but alive. He grinned wickedly and dove for her when he got close. Giggling, Sasha tried to swim out of his reach, but he caught her ankle in one strong fist and pulled her back through the water effortlessly.
She was still laughing, but it became breathless when he pulled her upright, his hands splayed on her bare stomach and pinning her back to his chest. Her entire skin tingled with the combination of his touch, and the warmth of the water rippling around them.
Zev went still, his chin next to her ear, his breathing heavier than usual. They stood waist deep in the water and Sasha wanted to weep with the incredible feeling of having him over her and around her again, that perfect fit that she'd missed for so many years as he stood at her back.
"Sash…" he said, but trailed off.