“Don’t be frightened,” said Meredith, moving to her, her irises now back to normal. “I would never hurt you, honey.”
Blake threw his head back and laughed. “She doesn’t know? That’s priceless. Looks like you have some explaining to do. Well, then, I’ll leave you to it,” he said, walking back toward the doorway. “Dinner is at eight. I’ll send Lucah up here with some refreshments beforehand. If there is anything else you need, let him know.”
“All we need is for you to let us go,” said Meredith loudly.
“You’ll be let go when I get what I want,” he replied, pushing up his sleeves.
“What do you want?” asked Caitlyn.
He smirked. “I’ll leave that up to your grandmother to explain.”
“You won’t get what you want,” said Meredith, glaring at him. “She’ll never submit.”
He looked at Caitlyn and then back at Meredith. “Now that I’m aware of how beautiful her daughter is, that might not even be an issue.”
“You touch her and I’ll destroy you,” said Meredith, clenching her jaw.
“I believe I’ve heard you threaten that before and yet,” he sneered, “I’m still here.”
Meredith glared at him.
“You’d better remember who you’re talking to,” he said, glaring back at her. “And pay me more respect or I’ll make sure none of your family leaves this place alive. You, above all people, know that my threats aren’t frivolous.”
“Neither are mine,” she replied sharply.
“We’ll see about that,” he answered. “In the meantime, behave yourself or I’ll let Lucah find out what it’s like to mate with a true –” He stopped and looked at Caitlyn and then back to Meredith. “I think you know what I’m getting at.”
“You’re both animals.”
“You call that an insult?” he said with a look of contempt. “Maybe you have lived with regular people for too long.”
Meredith looked away, not trusting her own self-control any longer.
“What is he talking about?” asked Caitlyn, after Blake walked out of the door and locked them in.
Sighing, Meredith sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. “I didn’t want to be the one to have to tell you. I really didn’t. But, I don’t think I have any other choice. Under the circumstances.”
“It’s about all of the secrets that my mother has been hiding, isn’t it?” replied Caitlyn, sitting down next to her.
She raised her head and nodded.
Caitlyn nodded toward the door. “Is he the reason why we’ve been running?”
“Yes.” She reached over and took her hand. “Have you ever heard of a Lycan?”
Caitlyn frowned. “Isn’t that another term for werewolf?”
“A Lycan is different in that, we have control over when and where we want to shift into a canine.”
Caitlyn pulled her hand away. “What do you mean, and why did you just say ‘we’?”
“Blake, your mother, and I… we are all Lycan.”
She stood up quickly. “No. Lycan are not real. That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s the truth and soon, you’ll go through your ascendance and become one of us.”
Her eyes filled with tears. Her grandmother was obviously nuts. Maybe it was the reason her mother had run away. “No. I won’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”
“I know it sounds insane, but I can prove it,” she said, standing up. “Unfortunately, I have to remove my clothing or I’ll tear them. I’ll be right back,” she said, heading toward the bathroom.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ll see,” she replied, turning around at the doorway. “And don’t be frightened. I would never hurt you. I promise.”
“I’m already scared out of my mind,” mumbled Caitlyn as Meredith closed the bathroom door. She sat back down on the bed and pulled her legs into her chest, wondering if her crazy grandmother was going to come walking through that door naked, or worse, crawling around and pretending to howl at the moon. The thought sent a chill down her spine and tears to her eyes.
“Maybe I’m just losing my mind,” she whispered as the door opened back up and Meredith stood there with a towel wrapped around her torso.
“Now, this is going to shock the hell out of you but remember, I won’t hurt you. I swear to God. Oh, honey, are you crying?”
“I’m okay,” she said, swiping at the tears on her face. “Um, you really don’t need to do this. In fact, I really wish you wouldn’t.”
Meredith let out a long sigh. “I really need you to trust me but I can already tell from the look in your eyes that you think I’m crazy.”
She laughed nervously. “What do you expect?”
Meredith smiled grimly. “You’re right. I’d probably have the same reaction as you. I would need proof and right now, I’m giving it to you. Now, I’m going to shift into my Lycan form and you can close your eyes, if you want. It might be easier.
“Okay,” said Caitlyn, playing along. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Shift away.”
There was a rustle of noise and then a thump.
“Are you finished?”
When Meredith answered, her voice sounded like a hoarse growl. “Yes.”
Caitlyn opened her eyes and screamed in horror.
9
Megan headed toward Blake’s cabin, ignoring his warnings and wanting nothing more than to rip his throat out for taking her child. As she leaped over a small creek, she felt the other Lycan’s presence and halted abruptly.
“I know you’re there,” she growled, scanning the forest. She knew it was a male, more than likely one of Blake’s clan. “Show yourself.”
There was a loud thud behind her. She turned and found herself facing a large male, with gray and black fur. He stared at her, but unlike most of Blake’s Lycan brethren, didn’t appear threatening.
“What do you want?”
He changed into his human form and stood up. He was tall, with short black hair, broad shoulders, and thick forearms.
“Why are you following me?” she snapped.
“I’m trying to stop you from getting yourself killed,” he said with an Irish accent.
Trying to ignore the fact that he was naked, good looking, and apparently aroused, she growled. “You are, huh? Well, who in the hell are you?”
“Someone who knows Blake and his pack. You’ll never make it to his front gate alive, shifted or not.”
“You don’t know me or what I can do.”
“I know that you can’t beat them. You’ve been away too long and you’re much too careless. You go charging in there and you’ll only make the situation worse for your daughter.”
Enraged, she leaped on top of him and pinned him down. “Who are you?!” she demanded. “And what do you know of my daughter?”
He quickly changed into his Lycan form and within seconds, she found herself being the one subdued. “Listen to me, I’m not your enemy,” he said, staring down at her. “And my name is Torin Rylan.”
She glared up at him. “Get off of me then, Torin Rylan.”
He didn’t move or say anything and when she noticed the new look in his eyes, she stiffened up.
Damn the Lycan pheromones.
“Don’t even think about it,” she growled, knowing how much more critical her situation had become. A Lycan’s sex drive was explosive and fierce. It was also hard to control when a male became aroused. In less than two shakes he could flip her over and she’d be powerless against him. To make matters worse, her own treacherous Lycan sex was beginning to respond in kind.
“I’m trying,” he growled, his chest rising and falling as he stared down at her with open lust. “But I can sense your own willingness and it’s driving me mad.”
“You’ve sensed wrong,” she lied.
He adjusted his position and she gasped in pleasure as his groin brushed against her opening.
“Have I?” he asked, now so intoxicated with blinding desire t
hat he knew he’d do anything to have her, even if it meant not getting paid by Van Buren.
Furious that this stranger, with his intense stare and sexy Irish accent, was having such an effect and interfering with her rescue mission, she opened her jaws and bit him in the shoulder.
Howling in pain, he released her.
“Sorry,” she said, leaping away from him. Megan turned around and stared at Torin, who look pissed. “But I did warn you.”
He mumbled something and began licking the wound.
“How do you know Blake?”
Torin didn’t answer.
Sighing, she turned into her human form, to try and stay focused. Megan needed answers and knew that she was playing with fire when it came to Torin, but she was desperate. “Will you help me rescue my family?”
He stopped and stared at her naked body as she slipped behind a tree to hide her nudity. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, woman.”
She peered around the tree, staring at him in disbelief. I had a lot of nerve? “Why? Because I stopped you from having your way with me?”
“Your sex glands were all but begging me to enter you.”
Charming, she thought. “That was a Lycan reaction and you know it. We both know that I wasn’t running in the forest looking to mate with anyone,” she said as he shifted back into a human. Megan winced when she saw his shoulder. The wound was deep and bloody. If he hadn’t been a Lycan, he’d have needed several stitches. “Like I said, I did warn you about getting off of me.”
“This is just a minor flesh wound. You need to be able to do a lot more than that if you’re planning on taking on Blake and his pack,” he said, standing up straight.
Megan quickly averted her eyes from Torin’s powerful body. Seeing him naked, in human form, was almost as disconcerting as lying beneath him in Lycan. “I just want my daughter and my mother back.”
“He has your mother, too?”
“Yes. He’s threatened to kill them both.”
He sighed. “He won’t if you join his pack. You know that, don’t you? The man is obsessed with claiming you as his own.”
“I’m aware of that.” She frowned. “The question is, how do you know about Blake and what he wants?”
“I’ve known him for many years. He’s mentioned you. Megan, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Are you part of his pack?”
He smirked. “No. I don’t belong to any pack.”
“Why not? You’re an alpha. You’d be in charge,” she answered, sensing the kind of strength and dominating power resonating within him.
“Let’s just say that I prefer being alone than in charge of others.”
“But you know Blake. Are you two friends?”
“We’re business acquaintances.”
“Why were you following me? Did he send you?”
“No.”
She was silent for a while, mulling over her situation. She didn’t know whether to trust him, especially since he admitted that he worked with Blake. But now that he knew what she was up to, would he get in her way? “I need to rescue them. Are… are you going to try and stop me?”
He took a while to answer. “That depends. He still owes me quite a sum of money.”
“Blake has threatened the lives of my mother and daughter. If I get the chance to kill him, I’m going to take it.”
“I think we both know that you won’t get that chance. Not alone.”
“What if I paid you to help me? I have money,” said Megan, desperate. She knew he was right, she couldn’t take on his pack, and there was no way she’d ever become Blake’s property. She’d rather die. “I’ll even pay you whatever it is that he owes you. Hell, I’ll pay you more.”
“He owes me fifty-thousand dollars.”
Megan almost choked. “Fifty-thousand dollars?”
“Yes.”
She let out a ragged sigh. “Okay. I can get you the money if you’re willing to help me.”
Torin walked around the tree and stared down into her green eyes. “You said you’d pay me more. I’ve already made the money he owes me. You’re asking me to work harder for the same amount.”
“My mother has money. We’ll give you ten-thousand more.”
“Only ten-thousand? To risk my own life? That doesn’t sound like a reasonable offer.”
“Give me a number that sounds reasonable to you.”
A slow smile spread across his lips. “Since I’m feeling generous today, I accept your original offer of ten thousand, but I also want something else.”
From the look in his steel-grey eyes, she knew exactly what he wanted. “Something else?”
“Yes,” he murmured, tracing the curve of her jaw with his thumb. She was so beautiful. So exquisite. He understood Blake’s obsession with her. “You.”
10
Caitlyn stared in horror at her grandmother, who had indeed turned into something out of a scary movie.
“Don’t be frightened,” said Meredith, keeping her distance. “I’d never hurt you.”
She believed her but it didn’t make it any easier to accept. The beautiful woman who had been standing before her earlier was now a horrid, furry creature with a long snout, pointy ears, and jaws that could rival a grizzly bear.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, realizing now why her mother had kept such secrets for so many years. “This is really what she’s been hiding from me?”
“Yes.”
“She’s also a Lycan?”
The creature nodded. “And the first blue moon after your eighteenth birthday, you’ll go through your ascendance and be one of us.”
Caitlyn fainted.
***
An hour later, the door opened up and a young man carrying a tray with glasses and a water pitcher entered the room. Meredith, who’d changed back into her human form and was still trying to console Caitlyn, stood up.
“Lucah,” she said coolly. She’d heard about the missing teenagers in town and wasn’t stupid. She knew that he and his two friends were responsible. Although they were the same race, she didn’t condone the murdering of humans.
“Meredith,” he replied, turning on the charm. “I must say, you’re looking pretty MILF these days. I still can’t believe you’re a grandmother. A grandmother.”
“Let us out of here,” she replied, ignoring his comments. Although she wasn’t frightened of the young Lycan, she knew there were only two things usually on a young hound’s brain – hunting and copulating. It was a dangerous situation, especially for Caitlyn, whose pheromones would soon be attracting any Lycan within range. Meredith only hoped that it wouldn’t happen while she was being held captive. Sometimes, deep stress could bring it out earlier, in both male and females, even without a blue moon.
“You know that I can’t do that,” he answered, putting the tray down. “But, if you’re extra nice to me, I might be able to make your stay here a little more enjoyable.”
“Nice to you?” she replied, staring at him incredulously. “I think the fact that I haven’t ripped your throat out for kidnapping my granddaughter is nice enough.”
“Go ahead, attack me and I’ll have an excuse to find out what all of the fuss is about.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Fuss? What are you talking about?”
His eyes lowered to her body and he smiled wickedly. “My father said that mating with a female Lycan is like nothing else. Since you’re the only one within miles, I wouldn’t mind testing that theory out with you. Unless,” he looked at Caitlyn. “You’d prefer that I did her instead? I know she hasn’t ascended yet, but I’m willing to overlook it.”
Meredith launched herself at Lucah and grabbed him by the throat. “You touch either of us and you’ll not be equipped to mate with a mouse,” she growled into his face.
Stunned that she’d been so swift in her attack, he knocked her fingers away and then back-handed her, sending her across the room. “We make the rules here, not you!” he snarled.
“Oh, my God,” sobb
ed Caitlyn, watching in horror. “Leave her alone!”
Meredith stood up. “I’m okay,” she said, moving next to her.
“You ever touch me again and I won’t let you off so easily,” said Lucah, as the door swung open and Blake stormed into the room.
“What’s going on in here?” he snapped, looking angry.
“Meredith tried attacking me,” said Lucah. He smiled smugly. “But I put her in line.”
“Good, but next time, do it quietly,” he replied. “Now, I need you in the den. We have an uninvited guest who wishes to speak to you.”
His smile fell. “Who?”
Blake, who was now dressed in an expensively tailored suit, glanced at Meredith and then back. “You’ll soon find out. Let’s go.”
“What about us?” asked Meredith, stepping toward him. “Are you just going to keep us locked up in this room?”
“Not much longer, Meredith,” replied Blake. “You’ll be getting out of here before the night is over. I’m quite confident your daughter has a head on her shoulders and will make the right decision.”
“What kind of decision is that?” asked Caitlyn hoarsely.
He grinned. “To become Mrs. Blake Van Buren, of course.”
“You want to actually marry my daughter?” gasped Meredith. “Why?”
“For many reasons,” he answered. “Mainly, because she owes me for all of the years I spent searching the countryside for her.”
“My mother will never marry you,” said Caitlyn, scowling.
He smiled coldly. “And you know her so well?”
Caitlyn gritted her teeth. “I know that she has morals and you don’t.”
“Save your insults for someone who cares. We have to go,” said Blake, opening up the doorway. “By the way, I now have two armed guards outside this bedroom door, so don’t try anything foolish.”
“We have to get out of here,” whispered Caitlyn, when they’d left. She looked at the window. “Can’t we climb out of there and make a run for it? We might have a chance.”
“If it was just me, I would,” said Meredith, sitting down on the bed. “But you wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun them and they’d probably kill you.”
Claimed By The Lycan Page 5
