by Casey Lane
“I think you’re biased,” she said, her cheeks going pink under his gaze.
“If I am, it’s for a good reason. Are there other Fae here, on this Plane, doing what you do?”
Megan stared at him. “What kind of question is that?”
With a blinding moment of clarity, he saw straight through to her lonely soul. “You are amazing. What you do here is amazing. Surely you can’t be the only one expected to stitch together the paranormal element. Surely there are others like you, scattered about the world. Right?”
He watched with some amusement as she struggled to answer him.
Finally, she shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never…I’ve been focused on my job, which is here. This plane. This city.” She swung around and let her legs dangle off the side of the car. “We should go.”
Raven took his time getting off the hood and rounding the car, fascinated at the glimpse of her uncertainty, of her unflinching purity.
She needed him. The thought settled into his heart and expanded. He hadn’t forgotten about Lisette or her babies. He hadn’t forgotten his main mission.
But loving Megan had certainly added a new dimension, a new direction, to his life.
He just hoped she understood that, since she allowed the claiming, he was never letting her go.
Ever.
Chapter Five
It was full dark when they got back to her apartment. Raven, his duffle bag over his shoulder, stopped in the hallway.
“I’ll put this in the second bedroom. Use that shower, to give you some space.” He sent her a smile.
She turned away. “Sounds good. There’s plenty of hot water so we can shower at the same time, no problem,” she added. She disappeared into her bedroom.
Raven went into the guest room and dropped his bag on the bed, feeling every bit the fool. Maybe she didn’t need space, but he did, for just a bit. Her wolf was overwhelmingly beautiful.
Her coat was a gorgeous gray-white, and those gray eyes, so excited. She was dainty, yet strong. Pushy in the same way she could be as a doctor, but in a way she wasn’t as a woman. Someone had done a number on her head, and he’d bet his last hour as a wolf it had been her dad.
Stifling a growl, he stripped, went to the shower and turned the water to scalding. His system was still in a bit of shock, and he needed time to process. A stray thought crossed his mind, and he frowned.
He also needed a heart to heart with the resident vampire, Derek. And if he didn’t like what he heard, he’d kill the motherfucker.
Megan sat in the bath until the water grew cold. She’d washed her body and her hair but then had just…sat. Thinking.
Processing.
She wasn’t full-blooded Fae. That fact made the rest of the puzzle of her life all fall into place. Of course her father didn’t want her back on the Fae Plane. She was his little mistake, why would he want her? The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She pushed the thought away and turned, instead, to her wolf. Light filled her, and wonder burned away the bitter taste.
Maybe she hated the way she learned about herself. Maybe she hated that Mengele had the power to force her to shift. But when she had? Such a power had filled her limbs, a power similar to Fae powers. Different, but just as heady.
Strength had flowed through her body as they ran, her paws giving life to the earth below, and it had responded, giving her back energy. Was that the mingling of Fae and wolf powers? Or did Raven just accept what had always been for him?
Raven. Her fingers went to the place where he had marked her. A deep bruise had formed, but when she touched the spot, a healing heat spread, went deep. She felt connected to him, had felt it even before they’d taken each other.
Claimed each other.
Raven was so much more than she’d ever dreamed. No wonder her longing for Derek now seemed a girl’s crush, a stand-in for the real thing. No wonder she hadn’t been sure, during his kiss, of what she felt for him.
The Fae, as a rule, kiss all the damn time. Except for her, stranded with few other Fae around. Charged to heal those around her, do what she could to keep humanity safe by healing the Guardians, she hadn’t felt she could make time for a life.
That’s what she chose to call the Caine family. Guardians. They had never liked Derek, she mused. He’d been right about that.
Derek. She needed to speak with him. Preferably without Raven around, though at this point she thought that would be impossible. Though his point about putting his stuff in the second bedroom hurt, she did understand.
Maybe the claiming thing wasn’t forever. Maybe it was just a one and done type of thing?
She sighed and let out the cold bath water, dried off, and slipped into a pair of clean jeans and a loose white v-neck t-shirt. Dinner. Man, but she was starving. She sniffed the air. Raven was cooking.
Following the delicious scent to the kitchen, she took in the sight of him in tight black t-shirt, clean pair of jeans, bare feet, and her soul gave a happy little sigh.
“You cook. I’m pleased.”
Raven jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to greet her with a grin. “There you are.” He put down the knife he was using to chop veggies, wiped his hands on a kitchen towel, and held open his arms. “Come here.”
Without hesitation, she went into his arms, folded hers around him, and nestled into him. Shuddered with need when his tongue traced the bruise on her neck.
“I’m not going to apologize for that,” he murmured.
Lust rose up in her fast, a wave she never saw coming as it crashed into her. Blind with it, she lifted her face to his, seeking his mouth. Relieved for only a moment when his lips crushed hers, his tongue flicking the seam of her mouth.
She opened for him, just as she always had.
Is this Destiny?
Raven reassured her. From the minute I heard your name. Destiny. Only not the way I thought it would work out.
He eased back from her mouth. “You need food, baby. We ran hard and long for your first time. You’ll feel it tomorrow, and what’s worse, you’ll have full-body convulsions if you don’t eat enough protein tonight.”
“But I want you. I need you. Damn it, Raven,” she whined.
“Pull your control up, Megan. I need you to do that for me right now. Can you? Control your need? Because first, your body needs food. Trust me, you won’t be happy if you don’t eat.”
He set the full plates down on the table, and her mouth watered.
They tucked into the food. Steak, a huge green salad, sweet potato fries on the side.
“Talk to me about what happened to you when we were apart. Those hours took years off my lifespan,” he added.
“They came up from below. From the sand.” She shivered. “They shot me full of something, I don’t know what. I barely had time to say your name before the pain hit, and then the blackout.”
His jaw ticked. “I am so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”
She shook her head. “How could you have known? No. When I woke up, I had an awful headache. I was tied to this chair. Total cliché.”
“In what way?”
“A plastic room. A chair. A spotlight, so I couldn’t see who was in the room because the rest of it was dark. The scent of vampire was overwhelming.” She wrinkled her nose at the memory.
“Your sense of smell is getting stronger, now that your body remembers it’s a wolf. Anything else you can remember?”
“Yeah. He wouldn’t give me a real name, but called himself Doctor Mengele. The name made me shiver, but I don’t know why. Soon after that, he told me I was a wolf. More than that. He pulled my wolf out of me.” She shivered. “It hurt. It’s not going to hurt that way all the time, is it?”
Raven set down his knife and reached for her hand. “No, baby. It’s not going to hurt like that all the time.”
His thumb made circles on the back of her hand, and she found comfort in it.
“Anyway, that’s how I knew I
could get you to change. I just used coaxing, rather than brute force.”
Two lines showed up between his eyes. “Did he really call himself Doctor Mengele?”
“Yeah. Is that a bad thing?”
*“Probably. And look at you, clearing your plate. How do you feel now?”
Megan relaxed back in her seat, replete. “Wonderful. What? Don’t look at me funny like that with no explanation.”
“You ate your steak. With no problem. More surprising than that, you had steak in your freezer. How could you ever think you were full-blooded Fae?”
“That’s…um.” Megan considered her now-empty plate. “Yeah. I’ve always been able to eat meat, I just usually didn’t. Until now.” She frowned, checked her body out. “But you’re right. I needed the meat. I needed the protein. Does that make me weird?”
He covered her hand with his. “It makes you wolf, that’s all. Wolves are carnivores.
The world shifted yet again around her. “I didn’t know I was part wolf.” She searched her past, couldn’t find any hint she was wolf, except for those newly-remembered pieces of time with her mother. “How could I not have known?”
“Megan, look at me.”
Reluctantly, she met his gaze. “What?”
“None of this is your fault, and damn it, that didn’t come out right.” Raven fumed for a moment, and she waited while he worked it out.
He tried again. “Your parentage was a surprise to you. Your father obviously kept it from you, and maybe there was a block on your memories about your mother. But the truth is, you have always been this person you are now. You just didn’t know you had an extra oomph in the form of being part wolf.”
Her eyes filled. “I have been more alone than you can know. With a vampire who says he wants me. With my patients. Even with the Caines, who keep me in business and care for me as family…even with them, I am alone. Is it the wolf in me?”
“Have you never thought that you were merely waiting for the right person?”
She stood, stripped off her t-shirt. “Are you the right person, Raven? Because if you are, take me to bed. Now. I can’t hold back any longer. Don’t you feel it?” Desperation rode her, and she moved to where he sat. “Can’t you understand what it is I need?”
Relief swept her when he stood, picked her up, and carried her to her bed. She’d dimmed the light and pulled the covers back. Now, he stripped her of the rest of her clothes, and his own, and pulled her down onto the bed with him.
“You. Are. Mine,” he growled.
Her spirit rejoiced, and her body softened, opened for him. She wrapped her arms around him.
“I am yours, as you are mine,” she answered, loving the way he felt against her feverish need.
“Never doubt me.” With no warning, he plunged into her.
Her back bowed with his possession, her breath tangled in her lungs until he kissed her, gave her air, then lavished his kisses on her nipples, tight with need.
It was a battle between them, who could make the other weak with longing. They rocked to a climax, and took a breather, cuddling until their need rose again.
She rolled him over and took him into her mouth, licked and sucked and loved him until he couldn’t hold back, her mouth felt far too good, and he finally came, over and over. And then she licked him clean.
Cuddled together once more, a light sheet covering their bodies, she let out a sigh.
“I feel amazing.”
He nuzzled her cheek. “You are amazing.” He’d never fallen so hard, so fast.
“I need to talk to Derek.”
“This doesn’t make me happy, but yeah. I know.”
She shifted in his arms to face him. “I need to talk to him alone.”
“Never happen, babe. I’m not letting him near you unless I’m guarding you.” He hugged her to him, reveling in the satiny feel of her skin against his. “I have a vested interest.”
“Lisette’s babies. I know,” she said, and there was sadness in her words.
“Baby.” He lifted up on his elbow and tilted her face to his. “No. My vested interest is in you. I’m not letting you go.”
Her sigh of relief caused him to frown. “Did you seriously think I would? Do you not know what a mating bite is?”
“Raven, considering the fact that until today, I thought I was a full-blooded Fae? I’m not exactly aware of the mating rituals of wolves.”
He snorted. “I’m happy to teach you everything you need to know about mating rituals of wolves, my love. That includes the fact that male wolves are protective of their mates.”
She sighed a gusty sigh. “All right. I suppose you can be there when I talk to Derek. But I’m asking the questions, you hear? I need the answers.”
His gut twisted. “And you think I don’t? If he knows anything about the cave, he needs to tell us. I’m not happy that the unknown vamp who questioned you called himself Mengele.”
“Who is that, anyway? You reacted as though you know him.”
“He’s dead. Josef Mengele was a doctor in Nazi Germany under Hitler. He was renowned for performing experiments on twins. Children, to be exact, though his repulsive experiments were also done on adults.”
Megan sat bolt upright. “What? Children?”
“Yes.”
“That bastard. He wanted to become a partner in my clinic. Set up a phlebotomy lab. And more. God damn him.”
“I’m as pissed off as you are. More so. He stole my sister’s babies, and for what? What kind of experiments?” He shook his head. “My heart weeps for those pups. I hope against all hope that they are no longer alive.”
“I was within reach of a child killer.” Horror reverberated in her voice, and he cuddled her close.
“We have each other. We can keep each other strong. When this is all over, I’m not going back to Arizona. There’s nothing there for me.”
“No? What will you do?”
“I did tell you I’m a trauma doctor, didn’t I?” He grinned at her surprise.
“Shut. Up. You are not.” But her eyes were shining, and hope lit her sweet face.
“I am. I just need to take my boards here in California, and I’ll be all set to go.” He cuddled her close again and dared to believe they had a chance together. “I lost you today. Not for long, and not permanently, but when I thought it was forever? When I thought I would die in that cave?” He shook his head and fell silent.
Sighed when her hand came up and touched his cheek.
“I’m here. I’m right here, love.”
He heard the tears in her voice. Kissed her, hard. “I want this life with you if you’ll have me. But first I need to know what happened to my sister’s pups. I need revenge. Closure. Is that wrong?”
“It’s understandable. Okay. We talk to Derek.” She kissed his chest and sat up.
He sat up too, missing her. “Where are you going?”
“Getting dressed. Derek often drops by for a glass of wine around midnight. You are invited,” she added, a chuckle in her voice.
Derek scented the two of them in the elevator. Good. While he had hoped she would turn to him with all her heart, she was not for him, and he’d known it long ago.
His options had narrowed rapidly in the last few days. Expected, yes, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Nor did he have to make it easy for them.
The elevator to her floor opened, and he moved cautiously forward.
“Derek. There you are. There’s wine if you’d like some.” Her voice was affectionate as usual, but this time there was an added richness to it. He swiveled to see her, and fought to keep his shock from showing.
“Thank you. You look well,” he added drily. Well? Fuck, she glowed. Her inner wolf flickered around her, and the browns and golds of the Fae mating threads were blinding, binding the two of them without a doubt.
“I feel good. Your glass is on the counter. Go ahead and bring the bottle, please.”
Derek poured a glass of chardonnay and brought
the bottle to the couple on the couch. “Could you turn down the flash? Brown and gold, well done. Fae and wolf. But they’re a bit bright to my sensitive eyes.”
“Brown and gold?” Her eyebrows rose. “What are you talking about?”
He huffed. “Mating threads, tangling the two of you together. I suppose congratulations are in order. Cheers.” He lifted his glass and sipped. “Ah, excellent, as always.”
Megan’s eyes widened. She set her glass down and stood, walked to the far side of the room and whirled around. Stared. Her hands reached out, wove through the strands, and her whole body softened.
“Mating threads.” She looked at the wolf, her heart in her eyes. “We’re truly mated.”
“Told you.” Raven’s voice was gruff, but he held his arms out.
Derek turned away, not wanting to see yet another part of life he’d never have. Not now.
“I’ll just take my wine to go. We’ll catch up at another time.” He headed back to the elevator but hadn’t gone more than a couple of steps before she called him back.
“No, Derek, please. I need to talk to you.”
He came back to the comfortable armchair and took a seat. “What’s up?”
Raven stood behind the couch where Megan sat. “What do you know about a guy named Mengele?”
“Wait, Rave. First, Sol sent us to a cave on the beach, near tide pools. That was all he gave us, but I found it. That’s…it leads to a place.” Megan sputtered a little, trying to describe it before she gave up. “A place underground. There was a guy there, who wanted me to work for him. Called himself Mengele.”
Raven took up the tale. “My sister’s babies were taken from her belly before their time. She died. Three vampires made their way here, to California. They talked about some boss who wanted the pups alive.”
“Some guy named Mengele?” Derek snorted, but fear iced his spine. “As if.”
“He said it wasn’t his real name, but he was someone important out in the world. He reeked of vampire. The whole place did. It brought out my wolf to the point where he could see it. He forced my change, which was…not pleasant.” Megan waved a hand. “That’s beside the point.”
