by Isobael Liu
A howl broke her worry and she looked toward the noise. The black wolf watched her.
“Come play, ” it invited her. “Come run and play!”
Lilian smiled and broke into a run toward the majestic creature. Before she had gotten halfway, her body changed. At first, it was painful as her muscles stretched, her bones elongated, but the pain became an afterthought compared to the sheer freedom of shifting to another form . By the time she reached the black wolf, the change completed and instead of her human form, she stood there as a white wolf.
The black wolf bounded around her and they both ran, moving through the woods as though they were a part of the shadows, the forests, and the earth.
Senses keen, she smelled not only the forest, but also the earth they tore up from their claws, and various other beings whose scents floated i n the air currents. She could hear his heartbeat, the way he drew in air as he ran beside her and the rhythm of their paws as they hit the ground. She could see the world through the wolf’s eyes, pupils dilated to catch every nuance of the moon’s light as they ran through the woods.
Freedom!
A large, white creature stepped into their path and caused them both to come to a sudden stop, scrambling for purchase on the soft ground. As she looked, she saw the white stag. The black wolf snarled and put himself between her and the majestic creature , his hackles raised.
“You are not this,” the white stag said.
At least, she thought it spoke.
The black wolf snarled again and gave a mock lunge toward the stag, in warning. The stag lowered its head and waved it, brandishing its huge antlers in response.
“ Wait! ” Lilian called out, surprised when she found herself in human form again.
“Come with me,” the stag told her.
She shook her head. “Who are you?”
The stag lifted its head and looked beyond her.
A sudden, loud knocking woke Lilian up from her sleep. She jerked upright, her heart pounding. She slid out of the bed and pulled on her clothes. When another knock echoed through the motel room, she made her way to the door, careful to make no noise. Staying low, she made sure she didn’t block the peephole.
The doorknob jiggled and Lilian looked around for another way out.
Or in.
* * * *
Matthias wandered the streets of Hawk’s Point, too antsy to return to the pack and he didn’t want to leave Lilian alone, not after everything that’d happened.
She had a right to be angry with me .
He hadn’t intended to tell her about himself, even after she revealed her own story. He also realized there must have been more to the story about Stephan, something she held back.
Had Stephan abused her sexually as well as mentally and physically? Why wouldn’t she tell him what happened? Of course, he was still a stranger to her, in her eyes, and he couldn’t blame her for not revealing everything.
He debated heading back to the motel but knew she wouldn’t have been thrilled about his presence after she’d sent him away.
There was something about her that made him want to protect her. He didn’t exactly know what, but it had started the moment he laid eyes on her at the diner, when she had spilled the cold water and iced tea over him. Her look of horror had been priceless and made him want to kiss her.
When they had kissed, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and drag her to the ground. The wolf inside him fought his control, demanded he take Lilian as his own, mate with her, claim her as his, but the man refused, tightened the leash and chained the beast.
Even now, the wolf inside him demanded he return to her, carry her kicking and screaming to his den and bind them together. Never before had his wolf-self made its desires known like this. Before, it was either because of hunger, or self-preservation, but not for mating. Still, Matthias wasn’t a rash man, and he wouldn’t allow the beast inside to rule him. He may change into an animal, but he wasn’t, nor ever would be, an animal.
Yet, he found himself making his way back to the motel.
As he rounded the corner, he came to a stop. Outside Lilian’s door stood two men he didn’t recognize. Dressed in suits, one of them fiddled with the doorknob. Matthias growled low in his throat and pushed forward with every intention of knocking their heads together.
As he approached, one of the men turned, lifted a pistol and fired at him. A high-pitched, phewt sound was followed by the whine of a bullet as it whizzed by. Matthias dodged back behind the corner.
Enough!
Matthias took a deep breath and charged around the corner, toward the men. He went for the one with the pistol who kept firing at him. When the burn of a bullet pierced his right shoulder, Matthias jerked and gave a loud roar. His muscles stretched, bones snapped and popped as his body shifted forms. By the time he had shifted to his war form, he reached the pistol-wielding agent, and Matthias swiped at the agent with a huge paw tipped with razor sharp claws. Flesh tore and blood spilt as the man screamed and dropped the pistol. The second agent spun around to face the battle. Lilian’s door flew open and the agent went flying into the parking lot.
Matthias spun toward the third form before he realized it was Lilian, and gave a soft huffing sound. The second agent got to his feet and as he drew his weapon, she made a swiping motion with a sweep of her arm. The man’s pistol went flying out of his hand and toward her.
Matthias swung a paw at the pistol and knocked it out of the way so it clattered to the pavement. He looked at her and growled. She narrowed her eyes at him, her silver gaze slashing at him in anger, but she turned her attention to the agents, who were trying to escape. One clutched his arm to his chest and ran in a not-so-steady manner. The other just ran, leaving his partner to make his own way.
Matthias started to give chase, but she stopped him.
“No, leave them be!”
He paused and looked back at her, ears perked.
She stared at him, a surprised look on her face, as if she’d just realized what he was, what he looked like. When he took a step toward her, she jerked back, so he stopped.
“Matthias, I hope?”
He nodded his huge head and took another step toward her. Again, she jerked back and he stopped.
“This is very weird,” she said. “Can you, umm, change back, please?”
Matthias huffed and closed his eyes as he concentrated. His form changed and shifted, and he groaned as his wound burned. When he resumed his human form, he staggered. Right away, she wrapped an arm around his waist.
“You’re hurt.” He could hear the worry in her voice.
“It’ll heal soon enough,” he replied, as he tried to shrug off the pain.
“Come inside.” She looked around. “I only hope no one saw anything.”
“They won’t remember it.”
Matthias let her help him inside her motel room. He could have easily walked inside without her help, but with her worrying he was going to milk it for all its worth.
“What do you mean no one will remember?” She helped him to sit on the edge of the bed.
“If we’re seen in our war form, unless they’re special in some way, not human, they won’t remember.”
“How convenient.” She hurried to the bathroom. “Don’t move. I’ll get a towel.”
Matthias waited until Lilian left the room to smile. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was amused by her concern. Not so much the concern, but it had been her bossiness which tickled him. Her bossiness and lack of fear of him, despite knowing he turned into an eight-foot monster with teeth the size of her fingers. She also seemed to have forgotten about her aversion to the sight of blood. Because of her worry for him? He grinned.
He removed his ruined shirt, and flexed the muscles of his chest. Matthias winced as the muscles pulled at the wound, but he knew it was already knitting. Within minutes, his body would eject the bullet on its own. Lupine’s wounds healed from the inside out, to push out any foreign objects like bullets.
<
br /> Lilian made a tsking sound as she came out and saw him. “Stop messing with it.” She used a warm, wet washcloth to clean around the wound.
“Lilian, I’m fine. It’ll heal. There won’t even be a scar in a couple of days.” He watched her as she fussed over him.
She looked at him and he could see the worry in her eyes.
“What if it gets infected?”
“Unless the wound was made with silver, it won’t get infected. We’re hard to kill.” Matthias smiled at her, but sobered to ask, “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
Lilian shook her head and looked away to finish cleaning the blood from the wound.
“I’m fine. They didn’t get the chance to do anything.”
“You can’t stay here.” Matthias reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cellphone. “They know where to find you and it’s hardly safe here.”
“I won’t be safe anywhere. They’ll just track me down and try again.”
He dialed his phone and lifted it to his ear, giving her a frown. “I know of one place.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “Oh, no. I won’t go to your place.”
Lilian stood, but he grabbed her wrist. He spoke into his phone, in Roman Latin, the language of his people, and soon hung up.
“What did you just do?” she asked.
“Called for a ride. I know how much you dislike my motorcycle, so I called for the truck.”
“I’m not going home with you, Matthias.”
“Yes, you are.”
Matthias watched as her cheeks went pink with her growing anger and her silver eyes darkened to a stormy gray. Did she know how desirable she was when she looked like that?
“Like hell I am!” She tugged her wrist free from his grasp.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked. “If you’re worried I’ll try something, well, I probably will, but we won’t be alone. I have my pack there. If it’ll make you feel any better, you can have a chaperone.”
Lilian narrowed her eyes at him.
“Honest. I have family. My mother.”
Her eyes flared open wide. “And here I thought you crawled out from under a rock.”
“Funny.”
She smiled. “I thought so and the answer’s still no.”
His acute sense of hearing picked up the sound of the truck engine as it pulled up. Matthias stood up, grabbed his shirt, and walked to the door. When he opened it, he turned back to look at her. She was standing where he left her, frowning.
“Come here,” he said. He kept his voice soft and gentle.
“Why?” She stared at him with suspicion.
“You have to lock the door behind me,” he said as he quirked a brow at her.
Lilian scowled as she walked over to him and the door.
“Do I get a kiss good night?” he asked.
She pointed outside. “Go. Goodbye and good riddance.”
Matthias smiled. Before she could react, he had a hold of her arm, jerked her toward him as he bent down, and tossed her over his shoulder. Lilian shrieked with anger as she beat on his back with her fists and kicked her legs out. He gave her a swat on her upturned butt, sharp enough to sting, and carried her out to the waiting truck.
Tiberius climbed out of the truck with a grin on his face. All of a sudden, he went flying away from the truck. He snarled in anger and surprise as he hit the pavement hard.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Matthias said to her, his voice calm with a bit of male amusement. “You could have done this the easy way and just came with me. Oh, no. You had to be stubborn and willful. Now I’m kidnapping you.”
He opened the passenger door as Tiberius was getting to his feet. Although he was glad she hadn’t tried to use her abilities on him, he was sure it was because she might have hurt herself in the process. Tiberius had made a better target.
“What the hell?” Tiberius demanded.
“Explanations later,” Matthias replied. “Let’s just get back home.”
Lilian renewed her struggling as Matthias tried to put her into the truck.
“Let me go! Put me down, Matthias! I’m going to report you to the police! Kidnapping!” she screamed.
Tiberius shook his head. “You are your father’s son, my brother.”
Matthias chuckled. “It’s the Roman DNA.”
Matthias waited until Tiberius got back into the truck, behind the steering wheel and tossed Lilian in beside him. He quickly followed, sliding in so she was trapped between the two men.
As the truck drove away, she remained silent, fuming. Again, he was grateful she didn’t try to use her abilities.
* * * *
He watched as the wounded male carried Lilian out of the motel room. He was very careful to remain in the shadows, to keep his thoughts centered and normal, in case she tried to scan the area. She hadn’t wanted to go, he saw, but had little choice.
Of course, this meant getting to her would be much more difficult with the shape-shifter involved. He’d have to wait and see how this ended up and how he could get close to her.
He had little time, as did she.
Chapter 4
“The master is not going to like hearing about this.”
The two failed agents stood in defeat as they listened to the Prior. They both knew it had been sheer luck they had an excuse, as flimsy as it was. As agents, they weren’t expected to defeat powerful supernatural beings. With the CS aware of the Lupines being present and involved, Knights would be sent to retrieve or eliminate the target.
“We’re sorry, Prior, but we didn’t know the Lupines would interfere. He was shot, but as you can see…” the one said as he indicated his doctored wounds.
“And the target did use her abilities,” the other said.
The Prior nodded slowly as he pondered the implication. “She was not using her abilities before,” he said.
“She’s coming of age,” said a low, gravelly male voice.
The men turned to an open door and bowed as the tall figure stepped into the room from the shadowed doorway. They had missed his presence, camouflaged by his black attire. His blue eyes, bitter cold, were steady on the agents and they fought to stand still beneath his piercing gaze.
“Master?” the Prior asked.
“Never mind. It matters little. What does matter is that she’s brought back to the fold before the next full moon,” the pale man said as he looked at the two agents. “The Lupines are involved?”
“Yes, Master. He intervened when we tried to take her from her motel room. That was when she used her abilities to attack us.”
The pale man narrowed his eyes as he thought it over. “Before, she was content to bury them, but now she feels as though she needs to protect herself. Given that and the impending Chrysalis, her abilities are growing stronger.”
“The Chrysalis, Master?”
“She is not human,” the pale man replied. “Send two Knights for her this time. Kill the Lupines if need be, but she is to remain unharmed.”
“Yes, Master,” the Prior replied.
* * * *
Lilian sat up when they reached the compound. They were connected to a high privacy wall, at least eight feet tall, and made of stucco. Two rather capable looking men guarded the entrance, dressed in black jeans and black shirts. The moment the truck pulled in, one went to get the gate, and the other came over to the driver’s side. He peered in, and seeing Matthias, he saluted and signaled to the other. Tiberius pulled the truck onto the grounds.
Her jaw dropped in astonishment. Stunned by what she saw, when Matthias exited and pulled her out after him, she didn’t even think to struggle. She couldn’t take her eyes off the Roman style palace and villa.
Lilian glanced at Matthias, who smiled at her.
“What the hell is this place?” she whispered.
“My home. You are welcome here. What is mine is yours.”
She studied his face before she turned to stare at the columned entryw
ay of the villa. She could see the large fountain in the center of the courtyard and splashes of color from the blooming trees and flowers livened up the otherwise formal appearance.
The entryway was lined with eight pairs of marble columns, and an archway connected each of the corresponding pairs. On either side of the entryway were doors, four on each side.
Matthias led her through the palace, giving her a brief tour, pointing out the key rooms she should know the locations of, such as the dining hall, the meeting room, the kitchen, and the servants’ quarters. He also showed her where to find the bathroom.
Not just any bathroom, however.
Matthias opened a door and led her in and the hot, humid air took her breath away. In front of her sat a sunken, tiled bathtub which could very well fit ten people. Already filled with steaming water, it didn’t look deep enough to swim in, only about waist high if she stood up in it.
“The water is heated naturally through piped hot springs. It’s filtered on a constant basis. The toilets are there.” He pointed to the right of the sunken tub, where there were three toilet stalls located. “If you need towels or other supplies, there is the storage closet.” Matthias gestured to a large room at the end of the stalls.
He led her out into the hall again and closed the doors. Leading her down the hall, he stopped outside a room. “This is my suite.”
Turning to the left, he pointed out the next two sets of doors on the right. “Guest rooms. This will be your room.”
He walked her to the guest room nearest his suite and opened the doors. Lilian gasped. It’s beautiful!
She stepped in and stared at the huge canopied bed, surrounded by gauzy, netted curtains. The room was white with blue accents. The closet was larger than her bedroom at her own house. A sitting area near the window completed the suite. The room was calm and soothing. She turned and smiled at Matthias.
“I love it.”
