Claw Mark

by Lily Harlem

  I sucked in air, let the heavenly spasms that were racking my body consume me and rejoiced in Caleb’s grunts and groans of pleasure.

  “Oh, fuck, yeah, I’m fucking you both,” Isaac said. “Making you both come. You’re coming so hard and it’s because of me, isn’t it? I’m fucking you both.”

  The pace picked up. This was animalistic fucking. My head banged on the headboard as Isaac let out a cry that was more howl than shout and unleashed his pleasure into Caleb.

  Caleb squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth and lifted his weight from me so I could breathe. But I hardly noticed my lack of air. I was too caught up in seeing Isaac let go and climax spectacularly. He reached down, caught my left elbow and ran his index and middle finger down my arm, to my wrist, his nails sinking deep and scratching my skin.

  I quaked. There was something so primal about his action, like he was claiming me, marking me. Caleb had done the same thing the first time we’d fucked too. Dragging his fingers down my back to leave what was almost a claw mark.

  “Ah, yeah, too good, so good,” Caleb said, his breaths blowing like a storm in my ear and his words muffling in the pillow. “So damn intense.”

  Isaac pressed both of his hands on to the bed and held his weight.

  “Beatrice,” he said on a gasp. “Are you…?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, licking my lips and panting.

  “It got a bit…rough there.”

  “I’m tougher than you think.”

  “I guess you’ve…proved that,” he said with a smile and dipped his head.

  I raised mine and we managed to share a kiss over Caleb’s shoulder. He was still breathing heavily and his stubble was sharp on my chin. But I adored that kiss, that moment of connection with Isaac—beautiful, sexy, wild Isaac.

  Caleb shifted and our lips parted.

  “I think we need to stop squashing our little lady,” Caleb said.

  “Mmm, you’re probably right, but you know I’m always happiest when I’m sunk balls deep in your tight arse, don’t you, Caleb?”

  Caleb chuckled. “I think you like it when I’m buried in yours too.”

  “True, I can never decide which way ’round is my favorite.” Isaac moved backward.

  Judging by the look on Caleb’s face and the way his eyes rolled slightly, Isaac’s withdrawal was a very pleasant experience.

  My own arsehole clenched, it was a remembered sensation, having my anus breached. One I’d enjoyed immensely with Ryle and Aimery. Would I ever indulge in anal play again?

  Isaac stood and placed what I could now see was a tube of lube on the bedside table.

  Caleb straightened his arms and looked down at where we were still joined. “We fit so well,” he said. “Like a key in a lock.”

  “I suppose that is the idea,” I said with a smile. “That men and women fit.”

  “Men and men fit too.” He dropped a sneaky kiss to my right nipple and then pulled from me and stood. “Great start to the day, don’t you think?”

  “The best.” I grinned.

  Isaac fisted his softening cock and looked between us. “I’m going to shower and then go check the territory.”

  “Okay,” Caleb said. “But be careful.”

  Isaac stepped up to him and cradled the back of his skull. “Always.” He kissed him long and deep and I wondered if Caleb could taste me on his Isaac’s tongue. We were so connected, the three of us, sharing, touching, kissing, bringing pleasure. It was nice to be like that with them. It put a patch on my loneliness even if it was for just a few minutes.

  I sighed and stretched my fingers and toes, my arms and legs. My whole body was wallowing in a beautifully relaxed state. The mattress felt super-soft and the pillows decadently plump. My senses were alive.

  “Would madam like breakfast in bed?” Caleb asked, running his gaze over my naked body as Isaac strode from the room.

  I smiled and smoothed my hands over my flat belly. “Why yes, that would be lovely.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  After a lazy breakfast of poached eggs and a pot of tea, I dressed in my clean, dry clothes and set about sweeping the cabin. One of the daily jobs I’d taken on to keep myself busy and pass the mornings.

  Caleb wandered through to my bedroom and peered out of the window several times, getting in my way as I tucked the broom beneath the bed.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked eventually.

  “I don’t know.” He frowned and worried at his bottom lip with his right index finger. “Something’s not right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s just a gut feeling.”

  “Out there?” I nodded at the window then shivered as the images from my dream hurtled back into my memory.

  “Yeah, out there. I’ll have to go and take a look.” He paused. “Hunt around for scents.” His nose twitched and he narrowed his eyes, shook his head. “Something’s just not right.”

  He marched past and I tried not to let fear grip me. Caleb was normally so calm and unruffled, but clearly something had got to him. Had he smelled Elfrida?

  I dashed to the front door in time to see Caleb stepping out of his old jeans and shoving them into the usual external cubbyhole.

  He looked up at me, his face stern. “Shut the door, Bea.”

  “I will.”

  He shook his head. “And don’t open it for anyone.”

  Okay, so now I was really worried. He’d never had to say that before, or looked at me with such authority.

  Quickly, I shut the door then lunged for the window. Caleb glanced left and right and then in one smooth movement he leaped forward, as though about to dive onto his hands. But he didn’t land on his hands. He landed on his great big wolf paws. His entire body stretched, grew, and shimmered with silvery gray fur as he became his wolf-form.

  I knotted my fingers beneath my chin and watched as he trotted around the side of the house, his nose to the ground, his shoulders lolling from side-to-side and his ears pointing forward.

  Discarding the broom I was still clutching, I ran to the men’s bedroom window that looked east, hoping to continue watching Caleb.

  When I shoved the curtain out of the way I saw not just Caleb but also Isaac in his wolf body. He was careering towards the cabin, his fur flattened to his back and sides as he took great strides over the snow. His jaw was parted, his teeth bared and there was an urgency to his movements that made my blood run cold.

  Caleb looked up at Isaac’s approach then bounded to meet him.

  But Isaac didn’t stop, instead he changed course when Caleb drew close, heading in the direction of the Ridge.

  Caleb followed, his speed matching Isaac’s now, and as they went out of sight, the same dread that had filled me during my dream grew like a lump of lead in my stomach.

  I shut the curtains again, the beauty of the scenery now my tormenter. It didn’t give me peace or comfort, this wilderness, it simply reminded me of my vulnerability.

  What had rattled Caleb and Isaac so much? Isaac wasn’t checking territory because that was done with a steady prowl, something had occurred to make him run at full pelt.

  Something that screamed danger. Something that shouted urgency.

  Heading into the kitchen, I reached for a mug. Making tea was the best way I could think of to keep my hands occupied. It was that or scratch at my arms or pull at my hair.

  As the water heated, a movement out of the kitchen window caught my attention. A flash of brown near the log shed, and then, in the distance, a trail of six huge wolves galloping by the tree line and heading in the direction of the Ridge.

  Now I knew something was going on. I’d never seen the Carlton Pack so close to the cabin. This was Caleb and Isaac’s land and it was respected as such. Apart from Aatu, the alpha, they kept their distance.

  I reached for a knife, a long steak knife with a wickedly sharp end and a black polished handle.

  I swallowed—my throat was dry—and walked t
o the front door. As I stared at the smooth wooden catch that doubled as a lock I held the glinting blade before me.

  Knock. Knock.

  My movements froze. My heart thumped so loud I was sure it would burst right out of my chest.

  Knock. Knock.

  I pressed my hand over my mouth. My eyes dried as I didn’t even dare blink.

  No one ever knocked at the cabin door.

  Ever.

  “Beatrice, I know you’re there. Open up.”

  My knees trembled, I felt like my insides had turned to granite and were about to fall out of me. I struggled to stay standing and reached for the back of the chair I was next to.

  I’d know that voice anywhere. It was Elfrida and she was knocking at the cabin door.

  “Beatrice,” she said, “Please, it’s so cold out here. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you. Can you let me in for just a minute?”

  My hand was shaking against my face; breathing hurt. The knots on the wooden door blurred as my vision came in and out of focus.

  “Beatrice, come on, you’ve been on your own here for so long, surely a bit of female company would be nice.”

  Nice! Nice! Was the woman mad?

  I guessed she was.

  I glanced over my shoulder and out of the kitchen window, hoping to see the wolves running my way. But there was no movement, just the same still stretch of snow there always was.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  The door rattled as though she was pushing on it with each sharp rap of her knuckles.

  “Fuck off, Elfrida,” I shouted. “They’ll be back any second, the wolves, and they’ll tear your head from your body and burn you.”

  “Oh, you are there,” she said, her tone full of fake relief. “Good, I so want to talk to you and explain about that little miscommunication we had on the night of the crash.”

  “Miscommunication. I don’t think there was any doubt what you were going to do.” My voice shook as I spoke. “You communicated just fine and I heard you loud and clear.”

  “Beatrice, darling, I don’t know what your memory of events are, but let me just remind you how distraught you were, how confused. You’d banged your head in that dreadful wreck. You weren’t thinking straight.”

  “I remember you tying me up and telling me you were going to drain all the blood from my veins.”

  “Oh, dear, you don’t really think that was real do you? Those memories are from when I was rescuing you, saving you from the burning wreckage. You were wild with grief, hysterical with despair. You kept fighting me even though I was saving your life.”

  “You weren’t saving my life, you were stealing me away from the men I loved and killing them in the process.” I paused. “And then you had every intention of killing me too.”

  She was silent. For a long moment she said nothing. It was almost worse than her spewing lies because my imagination ran riot wondering what she was doing out there.

  “Beatrice,” she said eventually. “I have something important to tell you. About Aimery and Ryle, that’s why I’m here. Not to hurt you, I’d never do that. You’re one of us, you’re married to vampires. I’d be breaking council law if I even lay a finger on you.”

  “Don’t give me that shit. Council laws mean nothing to you. You’re here to finish what you started all of those months ago.”

  She sighed. “And what is that?”

  “To drink my blood. I’m not stupid you know.”

  “I know you’re not stupid, Beatrice, but I also know you haven’t got all of the facts.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Exactly that, facts. I have news about Aimery and Ryle.”

  My eyes moistened, filling with tears for my lost lovers at the mention of their names. “I don’t want to know.”

  “Oh, but I think you do.” Her voice lifted. “It’s very good news.”

  Good news?

  I moved closer to the door. The sunlight coming through the window glinted on the knife’s silver edge.

  “I’m not going to let you in,” I said. “Ever.”

  “It’s freezing out here.”

  “You don’t feel the cold.”

  There was a pause, then, “No, but it’s not very polite to keep an old friend on the threshold is it.”

  “You’re not on the threshold, you’re on the other side of it and that’s where I want you to stay. And you’re not a friend, never have been and never will be.”

  “That saddens me so much, Beatrice, but please, let me in. I really do have something wonderful to tell you. You’ll be glad that you did.”

  I shook my head, if I hadn’t been so terrified of the woefully small barrier I had protecting me from Elfrida, I would have laughed at her ridiculousness. As if I would ever just throw open the door for her and invite her in or believe that she had anything to tell me that I wanted to hear. She’d have her fangs in my neck before I could blink, draining me dry and sucking the life from me just so she could enjoy my flavor for a few minutes.

  “I mean it, go away,” I said, much firmer this time and dragging the chair to the door. I shoved it beneath the latch so it couldn’t be undone. “You’re not welcome here, never will be, and soon my wolves will be back.”

  “Beatrice, you have to believe me. I’m really not the evil woman you seem to think I am. I want to tell you news about Aimery and Ryle and I promise it’s something you’ll want to hear.”

  “No.” I jabbed the knife into the air, toward the door.

  “Is this what your wolves have done, turned you against the vampire community who took you in, cared for you and changed your life around? You were nothing before Aimery and Ryle. You were just a butcher girl, struggling for money and living with your father in poverty.”

  “I wasn’t living in poverty and I haven’t turned against vampires, just you.”

  “But I don’t understand.” She sighed dramatically. “Beatrice, you really are so confused, please let me straighten this out. Face-to-face.”

  “No, fuck off, bitch.” I’d spoken with such venom that a little splash of my saliva landed on the knife’s blade. “Fuck off and leave me alone.”

  There was a sudden vicious bang at the door. “Let me in. No more chances.”

  “No.” My hand was shaking, every muscle in my body tense. “Go away.”

  Another bang.

  Shit. Was she going to just barge right in?

  I stepped backward.

  My peripheral vision caught movement at the kitchen window.

  I spun around.

  The wolves.

  Relief flooded my system. They were back. Thank God.

  A wild shriek filled the cabin and then a loud thump as something landed on the roof. I stared upwards, imagining Elfrida running over the snow-covered slats, her dress flapping and her hair lashing out behind her.

  She’d jumped.

  Her scampering footsteps ran over the center of the ceiling and I followed them, knife raised, as she darted over my bedroom. She was heading in the opposite direction the wolves were coming from. She must have spotted them too.

  I could sense the energy of the approaching pack. It was like a big ball of help rushing toward me. But still fear burst through my body and my heart beat frantically.

  I knew Elfrida could outrun Isaac and Caleb—she’d done it before. But what if her fury turned on them? What if they got hurt in a fight? That would be all my fault.

  No, now there were lots of them; they had their other pack members to help. Perhaps they’d use tactics to cut her off. Maybe she’d be trapped on the roof and they’d jump up to get her.

  Again there was scurrying above me, it was animal-like, fast and tapping. I raced back to the living room. Spotted the waning fire as the footsteps moved as if heading for the chimney.

  Quickly, I grabbed a log from the stack at the hearth and threw it onto the weakening flames. The fire hissed and crackled, the embers shifting and spitting. I flung another log on, and a
few bits of kindling for good measure. With the knife held aloft toward the opening of the chimney, I used the long iron poker to stoke it. Not watching what I was doing, just stabbing blindly.

  The flames burst to life and as the first one licked upward Elfrida let out a banshee shriek and a thud rumbled against the chimneystack.

  I stared at the chimneybreast and heard the wolves reach the cabin. Their heavy breaths, snapping jaws and weighty bodies lumbering onto the veranda sounded like a herd of buffalo had arrived.

  The front door burst open, the chair flying across the floor and butting up against the table. The clatter was deafening to my overly acute hearing and I twisted ’round to face the noise, a scream forming in my chest.

  Caleb stood there, in his wolf-form, misting breath puffing from his mouth and his gaze roaming the room frantically. He looked ready to kill, his sharp teeth were bared and his back bunched as if about to spring forward.

  “Here, I’m here,” I said, dropping the knife but keeping hold of the poker.

  He stepped forward, and as he did he shifted, standing tall and morphing from wolf to naked man.

  I rushed to him, a sob escaping me.

  “Bloody hell,” he said, “are you okay?”

  “Yes, but she’s up there.” I jabbed the poker at the ceiling as he pulled me close, narrowly missing hitting him on the cheek.

  “I know, and I’m going to have to shift again, help the pack get her once and for all.”

  “But how did she…?”

  “She’s a cunning bitch. She’s managed to morph her scent somehow, confused us and sent us in the wrong direction. I have no idea how she made it seem like there were three of her staking out the cabin and trawling the edge of the territory. It’s a new tactic; that’s for sure.”

  “Three of them? Three vampires?”

  “Yes. Three.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Caleb wrapped his arms around me and tugged me close. He held me for a second then was gone.

  I was left holding the poker and staring at his wolfy behind as he bounded from the cabin. A freezing wind blew around me, bringing with it icy air and the scent of the pine trees.