by Daisy Banks
He batted her with a padded paw, his demon sharp claws sheathed to stroke her. “Wanton. Run with me.”
Her body flashed with brilliant sparks of lust at his lightest caress. She sucked in a deep breath, filled with his enticement, and stood. Arching her back, she stretched her legs.
His hungry groan echoed around them in the shadows.
She turned to meet his brilliant golden gaze as it locked on hers. “My beautiful she. I need you.”
A sudden flashback to the woman Sian made her wobble. Shaking her head, she blinked until her vision settled to that of the wolf. “Magnus, my mind keeps swapping.”
“You need something other than fear to pin you to the here and now. Run with me.”
She sidestepped his closeness, twisted and hopped, for his feet stepped in between hers no matter which way she moved. Finally, with his low, grumbling, pleasure growls in her ears, she managed to get to the door with him half wrapped around her. The lure of him urged her to slide against him. They needed more room.
The moonlight beckoned, but her ache for him kept her steady, waiting for him to stand beside her, shoulder and hip aligned. Her body tingled when he joined her, his hip nudging hers, his eyes fixed on her as he rolled his shoulder to massage hers. A flood of her scent mingled with the powerful wave of his.
The thick aroma of mating wolves increased her arousal.
“Run.”
She did, streaking away from him as fast as she could with the one intent that he should follow her. The light from the full and fat moon beamed off the lake, illuminating the trees on the horizon as she headed toward them. The sound of his breathing, as he ran behind her, told her he was no more than a pace or two from catching her.
His paw snagged her back foot. She rolled, tumbling over and over until, her breath fast and her heartbeat quicker, she stilled. Magnus-wolf stood over her, tilting his head down so she could lick at his muzzle should she wish. “Too slow, my she.”
Her gaze remained locked on his, fixed on the promise of love. All her nipples tingled. Her cry, half howl, half moan, tore into the night.
The one comfort she could seek was from him, yet at this moment, her fear robbed the peace of love from her. She fought to find herself within the wolf, or the wolf within herself, and screeched into the night. “Help me.”
“Be mine. All mine.”
“Always.” His scent as he rubbed against her, stroking her fur the wrong way, smoothing it down after, stoked her desire. Heat flashed through her, centering in her loins and heating her belly. She stroked her neck against his and pressed her flank against him.
He breathed, opening his mighty jaws. “You taste so good.”
The aroma in the air came from the lust for him coursing through her body. She needed him to satisfy the longing deep inside.
She flipped her tail under his nose. His low-throated growl showed his pleasure.
“Now, Magnus.”
Their shadows, cast by the brilliance of moonlight, combined as he mounted. His breath rushed past her ear and she bore his weight on shuddery paws. Above, the stars swam in the blackness as she accepted him, tilted her head with an ecstatic howl and thrust back toward him. Yes!
Time ceased. Nothing in her life as woman or wolf had been as vital. Every part of her body tingled with the frenzied blasts of satisfaction that didn’t stop even when Magnus-wolf stilled, panting above her.
He nudged her with a gentle nose, so she lowered herself to the ground with him still buried deep within her. “My life is yours, my mate.”
Warmth cocooned her. His fur beside her silky soft, his tongue rasping against her face, his body twined with hers, his erection buried deep within, all swamped her in delight. “I am yours forever.”
“Until the world stops turning.”
She groaned and growled as she closed her eyes. They would pleasure each other every time the moon became full.
They remained locked together, blissful, sharing the mutual delight of their bonding as the moon tracked across the sky. Tonight the bright moonbeams danced on his fur and hers where the strands mingled.
Never could she have enough of him. Always she would long for him. She whimpered when finally he withdrew and left her body bereft without him as part of her.
“You are mine and me. I am yours and you. Feel it.”
She reached up to lick his face. The sensation inside her so powerful she could barely lift herself from the turf that their combined body heat had warmed. “Will it always be as intense as this?”
“Yes.”
Another attempt and she managed to stand. She stared into his golden eyes where she found the mirror of herself. All her love and need, desire and hope, a myriad of emotions centered on this one man, wolf. “You are my mate. Let’s hunt.”
The passionate bonding with Magnus-wolf altered everything. They shared every sense as they hunted. He moved with her as they padded over the grass and into the woods. No challenge from Franklyn-wolf rang tonight.
“No, he is not dead. He will return here, but only in answer to my command.”
She hoped Franklyn-wolf’s return wouldn’t be for a very long time yet. Instinct made her turn her head at the exact moment Magnus-wolf did. He shot off at a race, and before she could blink, all three rabbits feeding in the moonlight succumbed to the swiftness of the wind raised by his paw. The little creatures froze briefly, as if surprised to be dispatched, before they fell, dead. He brought one over to her and deposited it at her feet.
While he returned to fetch the others, she ate, snapping small bones and pulling away chunks of fluff to get to warm meat. Tasty enough in its way, but she’d hoped for a bigger meal. After eating, they ran through the woods together, him in front and then her. They raced each other, skidding down the slope where they rolled amidst the crisp leaves together. Her heart, still full of him from their coupling, soared with the compulsive joy of being with her mate.
This union between them, forged by their link and their mating, would grow stronger. The love wrapped around each of them, a gift from the other, would swell and bloom like a mighty tree in the forest. They would be one.
Magnus-wolf nuzzled, offering her sweet caresses with his lips and tongue. She arched her neck so he could continue in his attentions.
The moon moved across the sky, and with the first hint of approaching dawn, they returned to the pagoda. She took a long drink from the icy lake water. Inside the shelter, they settled together in the corner. Magnus-wolf curled his body around her.
One night remained before they would leave their wolf-forms behind. A pity.
Chapter 31
The third night, the moon glossed shadows across the lake made a monstrous creation of the wolf pair mating, again. He couldn’t tear his gaze from the pale she-wolf with the red highlights to her fur, the larger male thrusting fast into her. The pair seemed oblivious to everything but fucking, just as they had been last night.
He inched his wounded paw forward, and as another rat raced along the run, he jabbed it. For a second, the squirming creature squealed out the last of its life skewered on his longest claw.
Still, they mated on the slope by the lake. Envy swept through his every bone at the rising intensity of her pleasure cries.
She should be mine.
Absently he snapped off the head of the rat and dumped it with the others.
Mine.
A kind of choked tremble ran through him. He gnawed on the bloody opening of the rat’s neck. The pile of heads had grown in two nights. Stupid creatures, they should have at least noticed how many of their brethren he’d eaten, except the heads, not the heads.
The female’s high-pitched cries reached a desperate level.
He sniffed. The rich, ripe scent of Sian, the alluring fragrance of her sex wafted across to torture him from the other side of the lake. Her bod
y should be warm and willing with his. She should be screaming out her pleasure for him.
Yet here he lay, barely able to walk. He’d crawled into this drainage ditch at the end of the fight with the yellow wolf. Exhausted, bleeding, terrified a lesser beast would discover him weakened as he was and take the opportunity to end his first full moon, along with his life, he’d huddled in the mire. The wounds had improved a little but never would he forget who made them and how, nor could anything ever make him lose the memory of Sian’s betrayal. She had walked away.
His fur bristled.
The pair across the lake howled their pleasure still.
Won’t they ever stop?
He’d show them. He’d change back to himself soon. How he knew, he couldn’t say, but he would. When he did, he’d find a way to show them he wasn’t beat. If Sian had become wolf, then so could other women, lots of them. He’d find out the way to do it, and he’d make sure he had mates enough to howl into the moonlight like she did.
The hunger he’d experienced this full moon would be satisfied once he’d healed. He’d learn the things the big yellow wolf knew and he’d learn them fast. This so-called leader would wait a long time for him to return here. He spat a bit of rat bone out and peered again at the shadowy pair mating across the lake.
They could fuck each other stupid.
Never would he think of Sian as special again—she wasn’t, not anymore. When he did get her, and he would, the best joy he could think of was to mate with her, then after tell her she meant nothing.
A growl formed at the back of his throat as he swallowed the last of the rat. The next full moon, he wouldn’t return here. He’d find his own hunting grounds and a worthy mate. Not a prancing little bitch-wolf like Sian, no. Once he found out how to do it, he’d get a female much better than her.
While they were busy across the water, he made the effort to stand. He needed to get out of here before the moon was gone. His limbs trembled with the strain. The savage wounds had ripped the strength from him so he couldn’t hunt or think of anything but his pain. He’d heal, though. The last two days his condition had improved by the hour. Tonight, he was fit enough to limp back to the city and get ready for the changing moon. If he had a little luck, he’d find something better to sustain him than rats.
One last look showed the pair of them now lying together, still joined. The male’s haunches juddered as, yowling in pleasure, he filled her and licked at her muzzle. Revolting, vile. They’d both be sorry. He’d see they got everything they had coming to them. He’d destroy them, make them pay for all the hurts they had inflicted on him.
He staggered along the drainage ditch, stepping though the rank waterlogged mud and muck. Oh, they’ll pay.
The climb out of the ditch nearly finished him. He had to lie down and rest, his breathing raw and savage. He shook from the sheer effort, but he’d done it. If he could do this as badly mauled as he was, when he healed, he could do anything. He glanced to the moon. There would be time tonight to get back to the city.
The call to come here had been so powerful the first night he’d changed. His journey from the city sped by fast as he’d raced to follow the trail back to the grounds of this house. The return home would take a lot longer but he’d do it.
* * * *
The city scents offered a richness he’d missed the last two nights. This would be his hunting ground from now on, and damn Magnus Johansson. Silent but for the occasional pained whimper, he made his way in the darkness, slunk past sharp neon streetlights keeping to the deepest shadows he could find. He’d discover places in the city to hunt when he got stronger. Plans romped through him for hunting sites, for prey, and for satisfying the nagging lust deep in his belly, the need for meat, blood, and bone. The other desire would be satisfied, too.
A surge of energy like he’d felt when he had raced to Darnwell shot through him. Yes, here I’m on home ground.
This place, this world, it would be his. If he stayed here, there would never be a need to be a part of the vileness of Darnwell. One day, he’d wipe the place from the face of the earth. Lifting his chin, he howled to the last of the moon this night.
Dawn wasn’t far off. He needed a place to hold up until the transformation happened. He could feel the strange prickling inside his skin as he had when the change to wolf overwhelmed him. Scenting the air, he moved a little faster to reach his apartment. The garage would be the perfect place. He attempted a run, but his muscles screamed in protest. Soon, I’ll run again. The eastern sky had lightened with the first glimmer of day. He whined in pain when he jumped up to the open skylight window. He wormed his way through and fell heavily to the floor beside his Porsche.
The last scents he registered were polish and oil as he curled in a ball to wait for what must come next. The return to human form.
Chapter 32
Sian stared at the pills in the foil. Three days missed. The problem hadn’t entered her head in all the anticipation of the full moon, in the joy of becoming Magnus’s mate. She squeezed the amulet she wore. The incredible experience of bonding fully with Magnus proved so much more than she’d imagined. Even now, two days after they’d returned to human-form, she recalled with exquisite detail how they had loved together as wolves. She would have to resolve the issue before next month’s full moon. One day this week she had best visit the doctor. Though Magnus had spoken of them founding a dynasty, which obviously meant children at some time, she’d rather think of the event a ways off in the future.
She swallowed the contraceptive pill with a swig of coffee before she headed to the study to see how many replies she’d had from people she’d invited to the house for the wedding. Once she’d dealt with them, she could concentrate on the walled garden project. Magnus, in a lighter mood than she’d ever seen before they bonded, had gone out, not to the local town but farther. He’d not be back until this evening. With her ring.
Magnus had not said he’d buy her ring today, but she knew. The thought exchange between them had deepened as he’d told her it would. They could almost speak without words at all. In less than three weeks, they’d be married. She’d organize the flowers and her gown before the coming weekend. Hopefully, Richard and Jess would be the witnesses. She’d not heard back from either yet. She’d called Jess several times, but the call diverted to voicemail each time she had tried.
While she printed out the two plans for the garden Martha had sent, she flicked through several pages of wedding gowns on the computer. She’d have to make her choice in the next day or so. Her excitement about the wedding had hardly built. It truly did seem as Magnus had said, a celebration of their bonding. The ceremony would join them legally, but with him linked so deeply into her mind, she didn’t think they could be much closer.
The printer finished churning. She took the sheets from it, sat, and following the numbers on the pages, laid them out on the floor to create the full design. All of it looked good, and she could hardly wait for the project to begin. She’d another addition to the garden to make, too, one Magnus had come up with as they bathed together when they came back from the transformation.
The pagoda, though useful this last month, had its limitations, and Magnus wanted a secure place for them both. Though they’d not discussed his reasons for the need, she understood. Franklyn would be back at some point, he’d have no choice, and she’d never feel safe with him around. The idea of an underground retreat appealed to her. A manmade set of caves or caverns would be perfect. The garden company could work on the project, too.
Her phone gave a sheep “bahh,” and she picked it up. “Hi.”
“Sian, I got your e-mail. I’d be happy to be a witness at your wedding.”
“Thanks, Richard. I’m thrilled you’ll do it. I’d much rather have you than anyone else. Tell me, is Jess on vacation or working abroad? I can’t seem to get hold of her.”
“She’s in hospital
still. I’m sorry I should have sent you a message.”
“Hospital!”
“It’s been crazy here the last few days with Franklyn out of the office. Jess had a bad fall at the end of last week. Cracked her head open on the arm of a chair. There was blood everywhere.”
“How is she?”
“Recovering but there is a possibility of permanent damage to her mobility.”
“Shit!”
“If you want to go see her she’s in St. Agnes’s Hospital. Ward fourteen. Upper level.”
“Yes, sure. Do you think she’ll be able to be a witness?”
“No idea, but I’d suggest asking an alternative person because she might not recover in time.”
She sighed. “Poor Jess. I’ll go visit her this week.”
“I’m looking forward to the wedding, Sian. I can’t wait to see you roped and tied.”
“No, it will be a traditional affair, nothing like that,” she said and laughed with Richard.
“You want the band to play. They enjoyed the shoot so much because of all your hard work, I reckon I could get them to come back and play for you.”
“Fabulous, you ask them, then get back to me. I’ll be thrilled if they can play.”
“Sure. I’d better go now, the office phone is blaring. Talk to you soon.”
“Cheers, Richard.” She ended the call and wondered how poor Jess had fallen so hard to do so much damage. Another hospital to visit. She’d go Wednesday afternoon, depending on the visiting times. They might need another person to be a witness. Maybe Magnus would have an idea of someone he could ask. Her one relative wouldn’t be able to do it. Great Aunt Wendy was in her late eighties and suffered with such bad Alzheimer’s, she didn’t know who Sian might be.
If Dreams would play for the wedding, she’d ask for her favorite track from the Timeless album. The music would fit perfectly with the dress she’d decided on, the one with the intricate ribbon fastening all the way along the spine. The front of it looked utterly demure, simple and sweet, but the back showed another side. If she wore it with elbow length, lace, fingerless gloves, it would look fabulous. Yes, the outfit would work the way she wanted. She could have the lilies she’d decided on, white and tiger lilies—fabulous.
