Kiss of the Winter Moon

by Amanda LeMay

  Dain’s muffled growl vibrated throughout my body and though he couldn’t speak, I was sure we were thinking the same damn thing, “Oh, fuck.”

  His jaws clamped down harder as his breath came in rough, ragged gasps against my neck. His weight settled on top of me and I braced my legs to hold him. If I could’ve used my voice, I would’ve been shouting out all kinds of one syllable words like, “oh”, and “fuck”, and “yes”. As it was, all that came out of my mouth was a series of low, rumbling growls that, in my mind, meant pretty much the same things.

  Then, with a strange little click, my mind kind of went blank.

  And dark.

  And purely wolf.

  And then it happened.

  Lost to my wolf’s mind, I craved the brutality of the punishment and violence of the challenge. The scent of my enemy’s blood covered my face, and I wanted more.

  With Dain’s bulk all over me, I snapped out, trying to catch at any wolf who would dare to step closer. I twisted my head and nipped at Dain’s leg. He growled and tightened his hold on my neck, forcing me to bear his entire weight to keep me from moving. Each hair on my body bristled as my wolf senses picked up every tiny movement of air. My nostrils flared with each deep pull of oxygen into my lungs. Dain’s heavy scent overpowered the smell of blood that coated my muzzle and face.

  For a few moments, I was consumed by pure, primal animal instinct. Human thoughts and feelings disappeared as I surrendered to my true nature and mindlessly mated, with nothing but the fierce desire to secure a lifelong partner and ensure the continuation of our race. This was mating at its most elemental form.

  Dain’s body pounded into mine, then, much too quickly, he shuddered as he finished the primitive rite of our mating ceremony.

  He released me, backed away, and stood at my side as the pack howled in celebration and we howled right along with them. With a hard nudge, he steered me out of the barn past the pack, across the yard, and up the front porch, where we shifted to our human forms and slipped inside the house with our lips locked together and our arms wrapped securely around each other.

  I tasted my blood in his mouth and smelled the blood that still leaked out of him in little streams down his back. He needed a few stitches. And some antibiotics. And pain meds. He also needed a shower, because he stank like blood and sweaty wolf. As far as a shower went, I desperately needed one of those, too. And because I didn’t want to let him go, we’d be doing the shower thing together.

  I heard footsteps running up the porch. Dad burst into the house, still buttoning up his jeans as he ran to grab his emergency veterinarian kit. He stopped, and grabbing my arm, he tilted my head against Dain’s chest and brushed away my hair.

  “Let me have a look.” His fingers probed at a tender spot for a second. “Looks great. A few normal punctures. They’ll heal up fine.”

  “Is Seff gonna be okay?” Dain asked as my dad rushed to the closet in the hall. “I didn’t mean to hurt him so bad, Kern. I just...dammit. Is he gonna live?”

  “Yes. Just a couple of broken bones, from what I can tell. Don’t worry, okay? He’s gonna be laid up for a while, but he’ll survive.” He paused long enough to throw a shocked looked at Dain’s backside. “Dain, are you gonna be okay for a few minutes?” The tone of my dad’s question had me a little worried.

  “Yeah, I think so.” Dain’s answer was weak and unsteady. Then he swayed. His eyes lost their shine, then grew far-away cloudy as his skin turned ashy.

  “Dain?”

  He was checking out.

  Fast.

  His face went slack as his knees buckled and his big, heavy body collapsed against mine, taking me down to the hardwood floor with him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “HERE, PUT THIS ON.” Arnou had pulled one of Dain’s T-shirts from a drawer. “You must be cold. You’re shivering.”

  I grasped the T-shirt with trembling fingers and slipped it over my head. The soft cotton fabric smelled of Dain and I couldn’t stop the urge to inhale his scent deep into my lungs.

  And yeah, I was shaking, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since the pack appeared, and staring down at the ravaged back of my mate as he lay face down on his bed didn’t do anything to calm my frayed nerves.

  He’s alive. He’s safe. He’s mine.

  A gut-wrenching howl, drenched in pain, rose up from the barn.

  Dain was alive and so was that brown-wolf bastard.

  Yeah, go ahead and howl, asshole. Be happy you still can.

  I didn’t say that, though I sure as hell wanted to.

  Instead, I took pleasure in knowing that cowardly-ass-sonofabitch wolf, Seff, never got his teeth anywhere near Dain’s body.

  Still, there wasn’t spot on Dain’s back that didn’t have some kind of grisly mark. Lacerations and puncture wounds covered every inch of his smooth, tanned skin—too many to count, along with a few small, torn pieces of flesh. They ran from the top of his broad shoulders all the way down, below the curve of his ass.

  “The pack went easy on him.” Arnou leaned over Dain’s prone body and studied his wounds. “They could’ve gone for his ears, neck, and face. I’ve seen that before. It’s brutal.” Arnou stood up and still hadn’t dressed, but held his clothing in one hand, covering his groin. “He looks pretty damn good, considering he’s just been punished.”

  “And through a challenge,” I added with a little grin.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, well, seems that was the easy part.”

  “Yeah, my mate kicked ass.”

  Arnou had helped me carry Dain to his room while Dad and Maygan set Seff’s broken bones out in the barn. With the howls that male let off, it must have hurt like hell.

  I didn’t care. If attacking a wolf when he was down wouldn’t dishonor my family, I would go out to the barn and take pleasure in breaking a few more of his bones.

  “That male, Seff, is ten kinds of stupid.” Arnou laughed. “He should have accepted the shame of running for the hills the second he saw what Dain can do. No one knowingly challenges a Breeder. Because, yeah, we kick ass.” The grin on Arnou’s face shone with pride—pride in his son. “After what Dain did to him, he’ll have to stay a wolf for at least a week or two, with someone babysitting him twenty-four-seven and then, he’ll be exiled for issuing a challenge right after a punishment was given.”

  “Exiled? For how long?” Banishment from one’s pack was a stiff punishment, but in this case I didn’t think it was nearly enough.

  “For as long as Gunner sees fit, and he’ll listen to any objections you and Dain may have before he allows that wolf back in.”

  And speaking of Gunner, his alpha-male scent floated into Dain’s room and the second he stepped into the doorway, his smoky mesquite and leather smell invaded my senses. He was dressed in a pair of running shorts that must have been my dad’s, since they were stretched tight across Gunner’s massive thighs. His hands perched on his hips as he looked Dain over.

  “How’s he doing?” His voice was deep and sounded genuinely concerned.

  “He’s going to be fine.” Arnou smiled down as though he were reassuring me.

  “I wanted to thank you, Arnou, thank you for being there for Maygan. She’s a good female. I know your brother was...” Gunner paused and rubbed a hand across his chin. “Hard on her.”

  “Rand was a stupid, selfish sonofabitch who didn’t deserve the love Maygan couldn’t help but give him. I was happy as hell to give her this gift.” Arnou pointed down at Dain. “And I’m damned proud to claim him as one of my sons.”

  Gunner nodded, then looked at me. “He’s a good male and he’ll be a very good mate. I wish you both a long life of happiness, Jessy.”

  I looked down at my mate on the bed and batted away the tears that stung my eyes. “I’m honored to have him.” And I was. I really, truly, was honored.

  And now that Dain was mine, I didn’t want to share any part of him.

  Arnou and G
unner watched as my hands got busy rearranging and settling Dain’s limbs on his bed before I pulled up the sheet to cover his naked backside. Dain’s body belonged to me now and even if he was hurt, I didn’t want it on display.

  “You didn’t seem shocked, Jessy,” Gunner remarked. “You’ve seen him do that before, haven’t you?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Is that common? I mean, technically, he’s not a Breeder.”

  Arnou shrugged his big shoulders. “I don’t know.” His dimples made an appearance. “Hell of a perk, though.” Then he and Gunner exchanged a knowing glance.

  I shook my head.

  Breeders.

  However, the memory of how Dain had used that perk and taken me in his Breeder form sparked a little fire that spread rapidly throughout my entire body and had me breaking out in a sudden tingling sweat.

  “Well, Kern should have Seff ready to go by now.” Gunner smiled at me. “Have a good night, Jessy.” He turned to Arnou and nodded silently before disappearing through the doorway and down the hall.

  Having locked myself up in my apartment every full moon month after month, I had forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by so many males with the full moon only hours away. With all the wolf hormones in the room and out in the barn, I was beginning to feel pretty dang uncomfortable.

  And warm.

  And needy.

  And kind of melty all over.

  My heart raced even faster than before and my mouth watered as each breath I took failed to have the required amount of oxygen I needed to use my human brain instead of my wolf libido.

  I traced my fingers over Dain’s thick bicep, down past his elbow, and onto his forearm. The wait to feel him take me in his arms and hold me tight seemed like freaking forever. Rolling him over was quite a temptation.

  No.

  “Jessy...” Arnou’s voice was far away.

  Dain’s soft T-shirt prickled against my sensitive, too-warm skin, like someone kicked on the heater and it was blowing right on me. Every muscle in my body tensed and ached as the flush of heat settled in my cheeks, my breasts, and smack dab between my legs.

  He’s yours.

  All the blood in my body seemed to leave my brain and collect just below my belly button, where it began to throb with each rapid beat of my heart.

  “Jessy...”

  A nasty snarl rose up my throat and slipped past my lips. Clamping my teeth together, I battled my inner wolf as she threatened to take over.

  “Jessy...”

  Closing my eyes, I dragged my hands through my messy hair.

  Don’t even think it.

  I shook my head to clear it and looked up, expecting to see Arnou on the other side of the bed where he had been only a second ago, but he wasn’t there.

  “Jessy, look at me.” Arnou was outside Dain’s bedroom door, standing in the hallway, one hand on the door jamb and the other still holding his own clothing across his groin. “I can feel how badly you want him, but you’re going to need to control that part of you. Give him a chance to heal. Once he heals, he’ll be all yours.”

  I bit back the next snarl before it came out.

  All mine.

  Yes...once he heals.

  I shook my head to clear it. Taking what I wanted while Dain was unconscious? What had been going through my mind was outrageously stupid and completely unforgivable. If I gave in and let my wolf loose, I really would be no better than an animal—no better than...Rand.

  I fell to my knees next to the bed, took Dain’s hand, and kissed it gently and whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up.”

  Arnou couldn’t read my mind, but he sure as hell could read the vibes coming off my body, and even crawling under the bed to hide wouldn’t do much good.

  “We wolves are a passionate breed,” Arnou finished as he let go of the door jamb and stepped farther back into the hall. “I need to leave. I need to get to San Antonio. I’m sure your dad will be in soon to check Dain’s wounds. In the meantime, you might want to jump in the shower, honey, and let Dain rest. He’ll be fine in a couple of hours. Trust me.”

  And then he was gone.

  I wanted to slap myself silly. The full moon and all these hyped-up, horny males had my hormones dancing to a dangerous song. A nice, freezing cold shower would do wonders to beat down my inner wolf.

  That was, if I could pull myself away from my mate, which wasn’t gonna happen...at least not yet. Not because he was helpless or that anyone might try to harm him if I wasn’t standing guard, but because I needed to touch him, feel his strong heart beat beneath my fingertips.

  Bobby was dead. GW was dead. Rand was dead. And there was no way I would allow those three assholes to haunt my mated life. No way.

  Everything went blurry as relief flooded through my veins. I lay my elbows across the edge of the bed and just let the tears fall.

  MY DAD’S DEEP, SOOTHING voice traveled up the hallway to Dain’s room. “Okay, that’ll be good for now,” Dad said. “He can shower off once he wakes up.”

  I lifted my head in time to see Dad come through the door with Maygan right behind him, carrying towels and washcloths.

  Maygan smiled. “Don’t you worry, he’ll heal up just fine.” She set her bundle on the dresser. “Would you like to wash him up?”

  I stood, wiped my face, and sniffled as I nodded. I didn’t dare open my mouth, for fear of tapping into that monstrous well of emotions swamping me—anger at Bobby and GW, sadness for Dain having to carry the burden of dealing out wolf justice. And for my mating—overwhelming joy. It was all mixed up, swirling round and round in my heart when all I wanted to do was feel...happy.

  Maygan took my hands and looked straight into my eyes as she tilted her head slowly from side to side.

  “Don’t let those ghosts I see in your eyes come between you and Dain.” She let me go and grabbed the small stack of washcloths from the dresser, and handed them to me. “Wash him down the best you can and let your dad do what he needs to do.” Then she walked out.

  Dad looked Dain over and smiled. “I’ll give him some antibiotics and pain meds to help him rest. He’ll need to stay immobile for a couple of hours. Give his body a chance to heal. Listen, baby girl.” He stopped midsentence and looked at me with all that fatherly love shining through his golden eyes. “I guess I should stop calling you that, now that you’re a fully mated female.”

  I closed the few feet that separated us and hugged my dad with all my might.

  “If you stopped calling me that, I’d think you didn’t love me anymore.”

  His deep chuckle vibrated in my ear. “Never gonna happen.” His arms were warm and strong as he hugged me back.

  “Dad, do you know why I came here to Comfort?”

  “Yep, and there is nothing you need to say to me.”

  “Yes, there is.” I leaned my forehead against his shoulder.

  “Baby girl, I don’t need to hear the words coming out of your mouth to know you have regrets weighing down your heart.” He stepped out of my arms and lifted my face with his gentle hands. “I missed you like crazy, but I was never angry with you, never disappointed in you, and never once stopped loving you just because you had different ideas about how love was supposed to work.”

  “But—”

  “No, Jessy. You want to show me how much you love me?”

  “Yes, of course I do! That’s why I’m trying to—”

  “See this male right here?” He pointed down at Dain. “Love him with everything you have in you. Don’t hold anything back. That’s how I loved your mother and how I love Maygan now. With everything I am. The same way I have always loved you.”

  “Well, that’ll be easy.”

  Dain didn’t seem to mind a bit as I bathed him with a washcloth or that Dad was stitching him up in a couple of places and swabbing down the rest of his wounds with a stinky antiseptic. He slept through it all without one little twitch.

  “I’ve done everything I can.�
� Dad peeled off the sterile gloves he’d put on. “His body is using up lots of energy and when he wakes up, he’s gonna be hungry.”

  A few seconds later, Maygan walked back in, carrying a cooler large enough to hold a platter of food, and set it down on the carpet. “Make sure you both eat. I’ll bring in a pitcher of ice water, too.”

  “Yeah, I will.” I gathered up the used washcloths and towels and Maygan took them from my arms.

  “Okay.” Dad gave me a hug and kissed my forehead. “We’re gonna head off to the kitchen and enjoy some of that leg of lamb.”

  “I’ll pack the leftovers up, so if you run out of food and need more, you can grab some.” Maygan added.

  Dad gathered up all the little supplies he’d been using for the few stitches he had put in and collected the loose butterfly bandage wrappers he had lying around.

  “I’m going to leave my kit here in case he needs something later.” He looked at me. “You remember what I taught you, right, basic first aid?”

  “Yes, Dad, I even remember how to do stitches and set a few bones.” Anton, the Albuquerque pack alpha, trained all pack members on first aid, but growing up the daughter of a veterinarian, my brothers and I received a few more in-depth lessons. Human hospitals were not meant for our kind and we avoided them as much as possible.

  “It’s good to know some lessons I taught you sank in.” He chuckled, and looked down at my mate on the bed. “Listen, he’ll be out of it for a while, so you might as well jump in a nice, long hot shower.” He gave me a one-armed hug. “You’re both gonna get through what happened tonight. Give it some time, and everything will work out.”