Pain throbbed in Jie’s arm. He breathed heavily and pressed the palm of his hand over the bite wound. “I can’t Change,” he said between breaths. “I’m no longer a lang ren.”
The wolf narrowed its glowing eyes. The look accused Jie of lying, of procrastinating. It barked again and growled, the sound a clear challenge.
Man and beast stared each other down.
The wolf lunged. Jie dodged, turned and kicked the creature in the ribs again. The force of his kick propelled him against the wall, trapped him hard. The wolf whirled around and leaped, tackling Jie. Man and beast tumbled, locked together, to the ground.
Beast on top.
Jie punched and bit and struggled, but the wolf had him at a disadvantage. In the heat of his struggle, Jie knew that it was a miracle he’d fought the beast’s overwhelming strength for this long.
A canine claw ripped down Jie’s front, tearing shirt and flesh. A second claw and then a third raked over his body, wounding him deeply. Jie held the creature’s throat, strained to keep him off, but the deep lacerations rapidly drained his strength.
The wolf pushed against his hands. The large jaws closed around his neck, sinking in. Razor sharp canines punctured his flesh, cut off his air. Pain blinded him. Then it faded. He felt his blood flowing and the world grew dimmer.
“Jie!”
Meg. Jie heard her faintly. He closed his eyes against another rush of pain. It throbbed and then passed again. He saw only blackness. His hands slipped from the wolf’s fur. Meg’s screams and cries faded...
Shao’s blood coursed like liquid fire through his veins. In spite of the fight he’d just had with three lang ren moments before, he was ready to kill a fourth. The white wolf crouched on top of Jie, its fur streaked with scarlet. Jie’s blood.
His own blood.
Meg’s screams echoed in his ears. Her anguished sound fueled his rage.
Shao advanced several steps, growled a warning.
The silver yellow beast’s head snapped up and gold-green eyes fixed on him. He lifted himself off of Jie’s body.
Meg screamed. She grabbed a plank of wood from a trash heap and swung in furious strokes at the giant enemy wolf. “Get away from him, you bastard!” She swung, cursing and threatening each time. She advanced close enough to hit it but the creature backed up and growled at her, nothing else.
“Leave us alone you filthy, putrid, bastard!” Tears streamed down Meg’s face and the board whirred in the air from the force of her swings, but the creature managed to duck each time.
Shao knew why the white wolf didn’t attack Meg. He wasn’t going to kill the woman he planned to claim for his own.
Hot rage surged through Shao. He advanced, placed himself between the wolf and Meg, then leaped at it, jaws open. Shao’s body slammed into his opponent’s, sent them both rolling on the hard ground. In a blind rage, Shao sank his incisors straight into the white wolf’s jugular.
Bearing down with all his strength, he pushed, fought for a stronghold. Shao wrapped his front legs around his opponent, anchored himself hard while he clamped hard with his jaws. The white wolf struggled against him, yelped in obvious pain but Shao held on, blind rage pulsing through every inch of his body. He rolled several more times before he realized the lang ren no longer struggled.
Shao stopped, keeping his fangs sunk in, waiting. The lang ren didn’t move.
Shao released him and maneuvered his body out of its stranglehold. The other beast lay still. Shao threw back his head and howled. His own sound reverberated through the air. He howled again, to mark the night with his triumph.
His unearthly victor’s call faded. Only then did Shao lower his head and stand, panting, until he’d caught his breath. The sound of Meg’s tears reached him, made him turn.
Meg crouched next to Jie, cradled his head in her lap. Blood smeared the front of her white shirt and she’d pulled off her jacket, used it to apply pressure to Jie’s wounds. She was sobbing, her eyes swollen. “Shao, he’s...dying.”
Shao trotted over to her and licked her face. The salt of her tears rolled on his tongue. Sweet, beautiful Meg. She’d been so good to him, so loving. There was only one way to return such love.
He looked at Jie. Blood covered Jie’s face, his breath, barely audible, rasped and labored.
Shao whined and licked off the blood, laved Jie’s cheeks and neck clean. He lay down beside Jie, mournful while he changed back to human form.
Meg was still crying. “Shao, we have to save him.” Her sweet voice was thick with tears and grief. “Oh God!”
Shao pushed and strained, morphed back to human as quickly as he could. No doctor could save Jie now. He was more than half dead.
As soon as Shao was human again, he sat up and lightly grasped Meg’s wrists. He lifted her hands from Jie’s torso and gently urged her back.
He looked down at Jie, smoothed a hand over the dying man’s forehead. Silently, Shao said good-bye to Meg, then leaned over Jie.
Jie’s eyes were closed and didn’t open even when Shao’s face was close enough that his breath passed over Jie’s skin. Jie’s lips were slightly parted and his breathing was frighteningly shallow, a bare whisper of movement.
Shao closed his eyes and pressed his lips to Jie’s. Shao imagined his life force as vapors passing from deep inside him to Jie. He funneled the complete power of his mind and body toward one purpose.
Shao’s mind and body grew still and he could hear his own heart pump in his chest. He continued to breathe into Jie’s mouth. The sound of Jie’s heartbeat strengthened, beat in syncopation with his. Shao passed several more gentle breaths into Jie’s mouth, something he could never have done in his weakened state, when he’d first met Jie and Meg back in the police station. Jie had hated him too much, but he’d grown to love and accept Shao with Meg’s help.
The distance between the rhythms of their two heartbeats closed. In moments, the sounds blended into one steady, strong beat.
Meg stared. Tears flowed down her cheeks.
Shao was fading before her eyes.
Jie’s body jerked underneath Shao. His chest rose and fell with deeper breaths, stronger breaths.
Meg gasped. Could it be? She restrained herself from grasping Shao’s hand. His outline was no more distinct now than mist.
And then he was gone.
Jie gasped. He released a spate of coughs and rolled over, choking and gasping. His back heaved as if he’d been deprived of oxygen and had just been given air.
“Jie!” Meg leaned over and rubbed his back. His T-shirt was torn and bloodstained, but he appeared strong.
Someone appeared in the alley. Meg jerked her gaze up. “Who’s there?” she demanded.
“It’s all right, Meg. It’s me, Jie’s godfather.”
She breathed a sigh of relief at the old man’s voice.
Master Li walked over to her and knelt down. He slipped gentle hands under Jie’s back and held Jie.
The elderly man’s touch seemed to restore Jie. Jie’s coughing fit passed and he calmed enough for Meg and Li to help him sit up. With Li’s hands on Jie’s upper back, Meg shifted behind Jie and Li helped her lower Jie against her for his support.
Hot tears stung her eyes and slipped down her cheeks in a steady stream. She’d almost lost Jie and now he was alive. She squeezed him as hard as she dared. Her hand lay light on his chest. Under his ripped shirt, she felt nothing but smooth, undamaged skin. Dried blood crusted his chest but his wounds had healed completely.
Jie touched her arm. “Meg.” His voice was hoarse.
“I’m here, Jie.” She leaned over and stroked his cheek. “I’m here. So is Master Li. We’re looking after you.”
He blinked and stared up her. His dark eyes appeared unfocused. “Where...Where’s Shao?”
She didn’t answer. A pang of grief gripped her, made her unable to speak.
Jie looked at his godfather. “Sifu,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
In the dim light of
the alleyway lamp, the old man’s face radiated relief and concern. He reached out and patted Jie’s cheek. “You’re alive, son. That’s all that matters.”
Jie sighed and sagged in Meg’s arms. He leaned back and looked at her. “Meg.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. But it was strong. Alive.
She leaned over and kissed his lips softly.
He returned her kiss with gentle warmth. The feeling of love radiated through their kiss. He pulled back and gazed up at her, his eyes more focused, his expression showing he’d healed. “I’m here, Meg. It’s all right.”
She nodded. Tears blurred her vision, made his handsome face unclear under the light from a nearby streetlamp. “I know. Shao...he saved you.”
Jie’s eyes widened. “Where is he?”
Meg looked at him. She lifted her hand and placed it flat on one side of Jie’s healed chest. “He went home.”
Epilogue
One month later...
Jie threw his head back and howled. A sense of raw power surged through his wolfen body, down each of his four legs to his claws. He listened to his own sound echo in the air until it died, blended with the wind through the prairie grasses.
He was alive, whole, thanks to Shao, the part of him he’d once hated and rejected, but who’d saved him, given him the chance of more life with Meg.
Jie took off at a run. The wind sifted through his fur, enhanced the wild sense of freedom. The dry cool air of the night smelled of wildflowers and earth. But the only scent he wanted filling him was Meg, her skin and hair, the musk of her sex. He wanted to taste her skin, her breasts, her moist cave. As soon as he got back to the hut and Changed back, he wanted to feel her in his arms, bury his dragon deep inside her.
Tomorrow, they would make the journey back to America with his godfather, back to Chinatown, to Chen’s Market and to Meg’s unusual but sweet and loving family.
First, tonight. The sweet welcome of Meg’s love. The love of his mate.
Jie ran faster. His powerful wolfen muscles shifted and bunched as he raced. The lights shone from his godfather’s cottage, illuminating Jie’s path.
He was going home.
Sedonia Guillone
Sedonia Guillone lives on the water in Florida in winter and on the rocky coast of Maine in summers with a Renaissance man who paints, writes poetry and tells her she’s the sweetest nymph he’s ever met. When she’s not writing erotic romance, she loves watching spaghetti westerns, cuddling, and eating chocolate.
Visit Sedonia on the Web at www.sedoniaguillone.com.
Tao of Love 3: Kiss of the Twin Werewolves Page 14
