by Morgan Fox
Turning, she caught a glimpse of his sweat-covered, glistening torso. He was naked. At least she assumed he was. She could only guess that he was not wearing pants either. She didn’t have to see it to know that he had come to her as the wolf, using her balcony as a means of entering her room.
Heart pumping fast in her chest, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Brooding shoulders had her wondering why he was there. Why he wouldn’t come near her? Why he sounded like the feral beast and not the man she’d spent the last four years in love with? Something was terribly wrong with the man she loved—something that told her he was struggling to come to terms with it just as she was.
Clutching the blanket to her chest, she begged him to tell her something, anything to help her understand what was going on. Why he had come to her like this. “Sebastian, please tell me what’s wrong with you. What’s going on?”
The silver in his eyes flickered, and a spot of red filled her vision, but only momentarily. She blinked, wondering if what she saw was real or if it was just her imagination. Fear was running wild in her mind, blood surging through her like a raging waterfall.
Perhaps it was just her heightened emotions and her overactive imagination, but she swore she smelled blood in the air—blood that didn’t belong to her.
* * * *
Sebastian had stared at her as she lay in peaceful dreams. He had run through the forest for hours, praying that the jolt of physical release would calm his wild spirit. The mating heat was driving him crazy, as was something else—something that left his body boiling with fever and mind full of fury. He wanted to kill, attack. The need to fight was at the forefront of his mind. He didn’t know why he felt this way, but the sensations were enough to make him scared he would hurt Brie if he tried to make love to her.
He hoped with all his heart that exhausting his beast would allow him a moment of peace in her arms. Brie had a way of calming him with just a simple touch of her hand. Her sweetness was enough to ease the pain that ravaged his mind. At least it had been earlier when he’d been murderous with rage over Ryken’s teasing and each and every time they’d made love.
Glancing at her wide-eyed expression, he knew she was frightened of him, and damn it, he never wanted to see her that way. He hadn’t imagined that he would be the one to cause her such discomfort. He was chosen to protect her, love her, and cherish her for all times. She was his mate. The only woman he would ever love. The most precious creature he’d ever seen.
Even knowing that the woman lying on the bed in front of him was terrified, he still couldn’t resist the urge to reach out to her—touch her. He took another step towards her and watched as she gathered the blanket tighter against her chest.
Lust filled his head and his cock swelled. The beast growled inside his head, demanding things—lustful things. He was going to fuck her, taste her—he couldn’t get enough of her. Salvation would be found in the depths of her body, he told himself. She was his, and he needed to be buried inside her as deep as he cock could go. Only she could ease the pain that tormented his body and mind. Only her—his Brie.
Taking another step, he heard her gasp for breath. She was well aware of what he wanted. He could smell it. Her arousal so thick he could taste it in the air he sucked into his lungs. Her delicious honey was driving him mad.
The beast roared again inside his head. Another step. Slowly he moved around the bed, his chest heaving in gulps of air. Licking his lips, knee pressing into the soft mattress, he closed in on her.
Crawling on hands and knees, he called to her, “Brie, lower the blanket.” He settled his weight on the bed.
She shook her head. Her rounded eyes revealed her hesitation.
In a more commanding voice, he ordered, “Brie, remove the goddamn blanket.”
She shook her head again. “No, Sebastian. I can’t. Not like this. Something’s terribly wrong. I can feel it.”
Fury laced his every thought. She’s denying you, his mind screamed. Don’t let her deny you. You are her master.
Closing the distance, fingers and claws gripped the blanket and yanked, pulling the fabric down. Then he was on her, blocking her scream with his ferocious kiss. His teeth scraped against hers as he possessed her mouth, his tongue probed into the wet depths. She pushed against him, but he simply ignored her feeble attempts. She was no match for his strength, and he would have her. Oh yes, he would have her—all of her.
Tearing at the night-shirt she wore, he bared her before him in seconds. Miraculously, he hadn’t harmed her flesh. Her perfect alabaster skin lay beneath his hungry gaze.
He tore his mouth away and kissed along her chin and neck, licked against her sweet flesh like a tender morsel he was dying to devour. She squirmed against his hold, and he liked it—her writhing, quivering body stroking against his.
Brie’s resistance faltered and he craved her willingness to be with him—a mating instinct. The beast was on the edge now, looking down at the woman he was prepared to sink into. He could smell that she was wet and ready for him. Her arousal revealed the truth as he pushed his fingers into the heat of her slick folds. “Damn,” he groaned as he dipped one finger inside her, then another.
“Goddamn, you’re wet. You want the beast to fuck you, don’t you Brie. You might say otherwise, but your body knows its mate—craves me, hungers for me. You want me just as much as I want you.” He removed his fingers from her slick pussy and licked them clean, groaning in satisfaction. She tasted so damn good it was better than anything he’d ever sampled.
“I’ll always want you, Sebastian,” she moaned as he positioned himself between her legs and ground his hips against her pussy.
Arching his back, he probed against her wetness. She whimpered, and he was too caught up in the fire inside his brain to care. Blinded by the fever, he didn’t want anything to stop him from being wedged inside her. And God help anyone who tried to stop him.
“Please, Sebastian, listen to me. I love you, and I want you, but there’s something wrong. I know it. I can feel it.” She brushed her fingers over his cheek, and he snapped at her, nearly catching her fingers with his sharp teeth.
She screamed.
He howled as contentment filled every cell in his body.
* * * *
Brie gasped for breath as his eyes darkened and flickered once again. She hadn’t imagined it. His eyes had turned red. Just like Mason Levi’s.
Oh God no! Not Sebastian.
“Sebastian, wait. Please don’t do this, baby. Something’s wrong. You’re sick. You’ve been infected.”
She pressed against his chest with the palms of her hands, his chest so hot it burned her skin like fire. Slick with sweat, her hands slipped, and his weight crushed down on her. A whoosh of air escaped her lungs as he rocked against her pussy with his cock.
Growling, he thrust his hips forward, gliding over the wetness of her cunt, pumping hard against her, spreading her wide for better access. She held him against her breasts and squeezed her eyes closed, and pretended the electrifying connection they shared was still there. She needed the man in her arms to be her alpha. She couldn’t let him go, wouldn’t let him suffer alone.
She had to save him, but didn’t know how. She did all she could do, she spoke to him from her heart. “I love you, Sebastian,” she whispered into his ear. “I love you so much.” Tears filled her eyes. “You can have my body if it helps to ease your pain. Don’t leave me, Sebastian. Please let me help you.”
He bucked his hips harder, slipping past the folds of her pussy and along the seam of her ass. “You are helping me,” he growled. “I’m going to fuck your sweet cunt. You’re going to feel so damn good squeezing my cock.” He pushed off her and roared as if howling at the moon. “When I’m done fucking your pussy, I’m going to shove my cock into your ass and fuck you again. You’re going to be mine and only mine, forever. No more sharing, Brie.” His white teeth gleamed dangerously at her, inches from her face. “From now on it’s just you and me. Fuck Jon
ah, he can find his own mate. You’re mine, not his.” Shocked by his words, she didn’t argue, afraid he would hurt her or worse yet, bite her, breaking the skin and infecting her with the same mutating virus he somehow caught. She wanted to tell him he was stretching her, hurting her body with the force he used to fuck her with his thick fingers. Instead, she remained silent and let him use her body. He was rough with her, abrasive and animalistic. His hands and claws dug into her skin, but did not break the surface.
Suddenly, the door to her room blasted off its hinges and in rushed Jonah. His shoulder slammed into Sebastian and sent him sprawling across the floor and off Brie. She gripped the blanket and pushed to a sitting position against the headboard.
“Sebastian, don’t!” Brie’s heartfelt plea could be heard across the McCarthy Ranch. “He’s protecting me. You would want him to keep me safe, right?”
“Sebastian?” Jonah called his name through gritted teeth. “I told you I would protect her as you would want me to. Think about what you are doing. Get out of here before this gets ugly.”
Sebastian roared, charging back at Jonah. Their bodies slammed into one another at the foot of the bed. Snarling, snapping teeth echoed in the darkness.
Brie shivered, feeling an all-consuming power building deep inside her, twisting at her gut, branding her mind. What was happening to her? Pulse pounding hard in her throat, she swallowed. Her hands shook, the rush of fire flaming against the skin of her palms.
Instinctively, she raised her hands, palms out, and blasted both Sebastian and Jonah with the same powerful light energy she’d once struck Mason Levi with. Both men flew across the room, slamming into opposite walls. They glared at her. Sebastian’s eyes filled with menace and hate, Jonah’s with shock. As she huddled against the headboard of her bed, silence surrounded her, but not for long.
A deep growl ripped from Sebastian’s chest as his fist connected with Brie’s dresser, sending it into a hundred shards of broken wood and hinges. Like a cat, he leapt for the balcony and over the railing. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
Jonah rushed to Brie’s side, pulling her into his arms. “Did he hurt you?”
Trembling, she told him, “No, he was just a little rough, but he didn’t hurt me. Jonah, he’s been infected.” She explained, eyes welling with tears. “He’s sick, Jonah. That bastard Mason did this to him.” Jonah grabbed hold of her, wrapping her in the security of his embrace.
Jonah was the only thing keeping her grounded, and she needed him more than ever. Her heart shattered into a million pieces. Lost, she didn’t know what else to do, so she cried. Pouring her heart out, she let Jonah soothe her—again.
Jonah’s eyes lowered to look over Brie. He eased her back to glance at her arms and chest. Her chest was covered in crimson and sticky to the touch. “Brie, you’ve got blood on you.”
She glanced down at herself, shaking. “It’s not mine. It must be Sebastian’s.”
Jonah inhaled against her chest and face. He shook his head. “No, it’s not Sebastian’s.”
The words between them went unspoken, but she knew they both thought it. Sebastian had possibly killed something or someone else while in wolf form. The blood that pooled in front of the fireplace once again fresh in her mind, she shivered.
“I thought something was wrong with him earlier, and I was hoping it wasn’t this.” Stroking her hair, he asked, “You’re sure he’s been infected?”
She nodded. Her body a tangle of nerves, she said, “Yes, I’m sure.”
“You used your powers, Brie,” he said in a statement, not a question. “How did you figure out how to use them?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t. It just happened.” The fiery emotions of panic and fear had consumed her body, filled her mind to the brim. Was that the key to using her powers? She didn’t know, and her head hurt too much to care.
Jonah kissed her crinkled forehead then stared out the opened doors Sebastian had jumped through, disappearing into the night. A wolf’s howl echoed in the distance. Sebastian. Glancing down he looked at her, his eyes filled with as much worry as her own.
He said wearily, “Then we need to find him and fast, before he infects or kills someone or something else.”
Chapter Seven
Jonah paced the living room, hand clutched around his cell phone. The slow ringing of the phone pounded inside his head as he waited for Ryken to answer. He’d already tried Luken and gotten nowhere. The twins were told to keep their phones on at all times, but did they listen—no.
Why would they, after all? It wasn’t like a murderer was after Brie and a mutating virus was on the loose among were-kind. No big-fucking-deal at all.
“Speak,” Ryken shouted, jostling Jonah out of his rampant thoughts.
“It’s about fucking time, jackass.” Jonah snapped, having difficulty keeping his annoyance in check. Obviously.
“Damn, good to hear from you, too, asshole. What the hell crawled up your ass? For a minute I thought you were Sebastian.” Ryken snickered.
Jonah grumbled, “I should have let my brother beat your ass when he had the chance.”
“What was that?”
Gritting his teeth, Jonah continued as if Ryken hadn’t acknowledged his sarcastic and out-of-character comment. “For starters, you and Luken need to keep your phones on at all times, no matter what. Secondly, we’ve got a big fucking problem.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sucking in a breath, Jonah blurted, “Sebastian. He’s been infected.”
“How the fuck did that happen?” Ryken bit out.
“I don’t know, but it had to have happened when he went tracking after Mason. He probably didn’t want to say anything to us because Brie would worry, and he knew we’d lock his ass up.”
“Well, fuck, he’s right. We would’ve and we will once we find his dumb ass.” Ryken paused, then asked, “Do you know where he is?”
“I caught him with Brie. He jumped out of her window and is now running amuck through the woods. If I know my brother—he’ll be back for Brie.” An unmeasured warning laced his words. “I need you both back here immediately.”
“You caught him with Brie? You mean…”
Jonah’s gut knotted. “I mean he tried do to exactly what you’re thinking,” Jonah said matter-of-factly. “He’s infected, and to make matters worse he’s suffering from mating heat. Being away from Brie hurt him in more ways than one.”
“Shit,” Ryken muttered. “Is she all right?”
“She says she is, but I know it’s just a brave face.”
“Okay, I’ll grab Luken, and we’ll head back. Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere else in the meantime? Get Brie out of there.”
Where the hell would he go? Brie was freaking catnip, for crying out loud. Sebastian’s personal brand of narcotics—a drug he was severely addicted to. “It wouldn’t matter where we go. He’ll track her. He’s connected to her on a primal level. He’ll find Brie wherever I take her.”
Ryken blew out a ragged breath. “Right, forgot about that. I’m so freaking glad I haven’t found my mate. Seems like more hassle than it’s worth.” The sound of Ryken grabbing his keys and starting the engine to his vehicle vibrated through the phone. “Okay, we’re jumping in the truck now. See you in a few hours.” Ryken didn’t wait for Jonah’s reply before he hung up the phone.
Jonah turned to Brie, her eyes still swollen with tears, her face bright red. The sight of her emotional distress crushed his heart, trampling it into a fine, gritty powder. He collected her, capturing her into his strong arms. Holding her like it was the only thing in the world he wanted to do.
“I love you, sweetheart,” he told her, kissing the top of her head.
Arms tightening around his waist, she sniffled, “I love you, too, Jonah.”
“Don’t worry, baby girl, we’ll find him.”
She nodded. “I know you will. We have to. Without him we’ll never find a cure.” He stepped back, holdin
g her by her shoulders, staring down at her as she explained, “We don’t know where Mason is, but the likelihood that Sebastian will come back for me is a guarantee. If you capture him, we’ll be able to have his blood analyzed and then a medication can be made.” She sniffled again, pulling him back into her arms. “Then when we find Mason, we’ll be able to give him the antidote as well.”
Damn, not only was she beautiful, she was incredibly brilliant. With Sebastian’s blood, they could find a cure. This was the exact reason they’d been tracking Mason down with a vengeance.
Jonah placed his finger under her chin, raising her gaze to his. He brushed her tears away from her face and whispered, “Have I ever told you how much I love your mind? It’s so damn sexy.”
She smiled, and it was a soft, sweet smile that was enough to make her eyes sparkle. He loved the deep blue of her eyes—a warm, vibrant blue that had his heart skipping a beat.
“That’s my girl. Don’t worry about Sebastian.” He squeezed her tighter into his embrace. “This might actually be a blessing in disguise.” She glared up at him, eyes narrowing. “You’re right. Discovering a cure might be a hell of a lot easier through Sebastian than through Mason.”
She nodded, an understanding filled her gaze. “I just wish we didn’t have to do this at all. We haven’t even gotten married yet. What if we don’t find a cure, Jonah? A piece of me will die without Sebastian. I’ll never be the same without him.” She cocked her head defensively at him, forcing his words back into his mouth. “Don’t try to fill my head with a load of bullshit, Jonah. You know what I’m saying is true.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Regardless, I don’t want you thinking like that. I want you to think of only good, positive things. Sebastian is a tough son of a bitch, and he’ll fight this virus. He loves you, and he won’t be able to be away from you for long. Trust me, sweetheart. Ryken and Luken are on their way back, and together we’ll obtain Sebastian, and he’ll be back to normal before you know it.”
