Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Other Books By Harmony Raines
Curves For Her Lone Wolf
***
All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2013 Harmony Raines
Silver Moon Erotica
Kindle Edition
Chapter One
Josh stalked his prey through the thick undergrowth, moving silently in the moonlight. He watched the big buck dipping his head into a cool mountain spring, standing alert and listening after each sip. Soon he would have to break cover and chase the magnificent beast down.
He barely breathed as he took the last couple of steps forward, then he filled his lungs with air, ready to take up the chase. The bucks head shot up, he had heard something that spooked him. It was not Josh, he had learned from experience how to be silent in the forest. Weeks of being starving hungry and living on rats had taught him the importance of stalking his prey stealthily.
No, this was a sound some distance away, but close enough to frighten the night creatures all around him. Cursing he watched the buck as it bounded away, there was no point chasing it now, he would have to look for something else to hunt. Although that might be hard, he thought as the sound rang out again.
He could make out men’s voices shouting. Men who didn’t belong on his mountain, probably the kind of men he had come here to escape from.
The fresh meat from the buck would have been mouthwateringly better than the dried meat he would have to make do with instead. He certainly wasn’t hungry enough to wait all night for the forest creatures to settle again, and he would rather put up with being a little hungry than get anywhere near the men.
Deciding he might as well drink from the fresh spring, before heading home, he sauntered over to where the buck had been standing only moments before. Dipping his head he tasted the delicious clear water, it was cool with the faint taste of the earth from where it came.
While he drank he used his excellent hearing to check for any signs of danger, or more particularly the men who had invaded his territory. They were the only possible thing that could hurt him, men with guns; otherwise he was top of the food chain.
Having drunk his fill he turned to move back into the cover of the undergrowth, another shout rang out, closer this time. He would have to skirt around them, and then head deeper into the forest to the small cabin where he lived. It surprised him to hear men this far off the road, especially at night, but then he wasn’t the only one who liked to hunt.
Josh was about to start his journey back up the mountain when he stopped dead in his tracks, holding his breath while he listened. There was a woman this time, worse it was a woman screaming, a female in danger. The men might not be after fresh meat after all, or at least not the fresh meat you eat.
His head told him to run, it was none of his business, let the human police deal with it. But there were no police out this way, not at this time of night; she would be at the mercy of the men. And why should he care? A woman would probably run if she saw him anyway, even in his human form. No, there was nothing he could do here.
Yet it had been so long since he had seen a woman, years maybe. He lived so deep in the forest that he only saw men once or twice a year, and then only from a great distance, he had shunned that part of his heritage. Or they had shunned him.
His inquisitive nature getting the best of him he moved slowly towards the people, listening carefully and changing his direction so that he always kept a good distance from them. In the end he had to get closer than he wanted, the undergrowth was too thick. Breaking cover as much as he dared he came across them, finding an outcrop to crouch down on to get a better view.
Yes, there was a woman, and they had caught her. She had long hair the colour of the sun, and she was dressed in winter clothing which was now being ripped from her. Another of her screams cut through the night air, it had a strange pull on him, making him want to help her, but it was too great a risk.
One of the men hit her across the face, and she fell silent. He then went back to tearing at her clothes. Her coat was gone, and now he ripped open her shirt and cut away her under clothes with his knife. Josh held his breath as, for the first time, he glimpsed the pale flesh of a woman's breasts.
He liked the look of them, the need to touch the pale flesh was almost too much, she was so round and full in figure. In deed she would make a good breeding mate. As he thought those words she turned her face to him, as if by some chance she saw him and looked him full in the face, silently pleading with him for help.
The men were dragging her jeans from her now, soon she would be exposed to them, and they would force themselves on her, these men were worse than any animal. He couldn’t let that happen, instinct propelled him forward, his teeth bared, ready for attack.
The men had thought themselves so safe out here from prying eyes they had put their weapon down. All he had to do was part them from it, and drive them back to where they had come from. He angled himself quickly to push them away; luckily the woman had the sense to grab for the gun as soon as she could. Raising it she let one shot go above their heads.
“Give it to me, bitch,” the one man shouted at her. “Let me kill this wolf and I’ll let you go free.”
“I don’t believe you. So I suggest you run.” She aimed the gun at the man, and got ready to fire.
Josh didn’t want her to have their blood on her hands; it was his job to protect her. It was an instinct he could not fight; after all she was his mate. So he growled threateningly at them and then leaped forward. Before he struck them they were running for their lives away from the woman and back towards the road.
He followed until he knew they were not stopping, standing and howling menacingly whenever it seemed as though they were slowing down. When he was satisfied they would not turn back again, he let more distance come between them, and then turned and loped back to the woman.
It was his intention to send her on her way. To take her back to her car, or wherever it was she came from. Yes, she was his mate, but he would not make anyone stay with him, look upon him even. No, he was meant to be alone, it had been his decision, and he would never change his mind. Not even for her.
He had to rethink this when he got back to the clearing, she was lying on the ground unconscious. There was blood on her face from where she had been struck, he gently licked it away, but even the touch of his tongue did not wake her.
Concerned now he did the only thing he knew would ensure her safety. He shifted into his human form, and carried her home.
Chapter Two
Tara hadn't been able to hold onto consciousness once the wolf had left her to chase after the men who had captured her. She was exhausted after running from them, and her head hurt so much she thought she was going to be sick. His presence had given her strength, stupid really because he would probably come back and kill her after he had finished with the men. Why wouldn’t he? She had seen the hunger burning in his eyes.
So the world had slipped from her, she had sunk to the ground and watched the trees swaying against the night sky, silhouettes rustling in the breeze. They had lulled her an
d she had given into the darkness.
Yet the darkness had been no escape, the men still pursued her and when they caught her this time there was no wolf to chase them. Instead they took it turns to hurt her, she cried out, and then something soothed the dreams away. She had a warm comforting feeling, like being wrapped in a warm blanket as a child.
For the first time since the whole ordeal had started she felt safe.
***
It was some time later when she woke, many hours must have passed because when she tried to open her eyes there was daylight coming in through the gap in the shabby curtains. Her head felt better, although there was still a deep throbbing, just not so intense.
Trying to open her eyes fully she looked around the room, and saw a figure in the corner, half hidden in the shadows. Someone must have found her, but she had no idea where she had been taken. Not to a hospital, that was for sure. Perhaps she was in a hunting lodge somewhere. The question was, how much danger was she in?
“Hello,” she said hoarsely, her throat felt sore and dry.
The figure moved back into the shadows even more. “How are you feeling?” a voice asked, it sounded gruff, as though little used.
“My head hurts, and I’m very thirsty. Do you have some water?”
“Next to the bed.”
She turned her head painfully, and saw a glass next to a jug filled with water. “Thank you,” she said, trying to push herself up to a sitting position. Her head felt as though it would explode, and she sank back down. “Could you help me, please?”
The figure did not move, Tara let out a sigh and tried again, desperate now for a drink. She managed to sit up, but turning and reaching for the jug was too much effort. Slumping back she lay there fighting tears of pain and frustration.
Then the figure moved, skirting the bed, staying as close to the walls as possible so he could hug the shadows. When he reached the bedside he stayed as far away from her as he could while he poured some water and handed her the glass. She took it gratefully, glancing at the smooth tanned skin of his strong hand as he passed it to her.
He was young; she was sure about that, his hands did not belong to someone above twenty five. There was not much more of him she could make out as he backed away from her, other than he looked broad and strong. She sipped the water gratefully, wondering what the hell was going on and who her rescuer was. Or was he her captor, instead?
“Thank you,” she said once she had finished.
Keeping her head as still as possible she reached over and managed to slide the glass onto the little table. Then she slumped down, too tired and weary to move.
“Sleep now, and then try to eat.” With those words he opened the door, only enough to slip through, and left her alone.
Tara wanted to call after him, to ask him who he was and whether he had alerted the police to her whereabouts, but she did not have the strength, and fell back into darkness.
When she woke again the light outside was brighter, it must be about midday, she had slept for a long time and her body felt stiff, and she was starving. Her headache had gone, so she decided to get up and find the man she had seen earlier.
Her worry was that he was not alone, that he might perhaps be linked with the men who had attacked her. Yet if that was the case wouldn’t they have already done their worst to her, instead of letting her rest. Whatever the case, she could not stay here and hide forever. For one thing people would soon start to worry about where she was.
She thought back to last night, she had been heading home from her cousin's birthday celebrations. Her party had been on Saturday night, and Tara had then stayed the night, and most of the next day, leaving later than she expected.
Unfortunately she had decided to take a short cut through the mountains, rather than following the main road around. As she reached the bends leading back down, a big truck had come up behind her. Its lights were bright in her rear-view mirror, so she had indicated to pull over.
Big mistake, the two men inside had taken a good look at her as they passed, and then cut in front of her, forcing her off the road. Tara had not waited for them to get out and approach her. Sensing the danger she was in, being in such an isolated spot, she had pushed the door of her car open and grabbed her bag, running as fast as she could through the trees.
The sound of the men whooping and crashing through the undergrowth had confirmed her fears. She was being hunted. The rest was a bit hazy, she remembered being tired, and scared, knowing she would never find her way back to safety. Rather than running further into the forest she had decided to hide, but they had found her.
They were like animals, shouting and crying out as they dragged her out into the open. Tara squeezed her eyes together, trying to block out the memories. It nearly worked, but she could not block out the sight and sounds of the wolf that had come to her aid.
Wait. She must have hit her head, because a wolf would not consciously save a person. No, there must be some other explanation, but whatever it was she could not remember. She particularly had no memory of coming to this cabin, or of the young man that she had only glimpsed. Although she knew for sure he had not been one of the men who had forced her off the road.
If he was an accomplice, she was about to find out, because she had to have some answers, and to get those she had to leave the temporary safety of this room.
Getting up from the bed was her first obstacle; her head swam as she moved to an upright position. Tara sat still on the side of the bed with her feet on the floor breathing deeply to make herself feel better. When the room stopped spinning she pushed herself off the bed and took a couple of slow steps towards the door.
Each step made her feel better, in fact she thought if she could get something to eat she would feel fine, if a little sore and stiff. Her hand reached for the door handle, when a voice on the other side of the door made her stop.
“You can’t come out.”
Her blood ran cold; the stranger was keeping her prisoner. “Why?" she asked, trying to think of what she was going to do.
“I don’t want to frighten you.”
“You already are, am I your prisoner?”
There was a short pause. “No, but you have to stay in there.”
Tara was not the sort of woman to be intimidated, she wanted to know exactly what was going on, and whether this man meant her any harm. With no other reply to him she grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open.
The man quickly moved away from her, she caught a glimpse of his face, his intense eyes filling her mind. It was then that she had the first feelings of being connected to him. In some way she could not understand, they shared a bond. It scared her more than anything else that had happened to her.
“Please, tell me who you are, and where we are?” she tried to keep her voice level and non threatening.
“I’m no one, I’ll take you back to your car tonight and then you will never see me again.” He tried to put more distance between them, but it was impossible in such a small cabin.
He had gone into the room beyond the living space she was standing in. Well she guessed that was what this part of the cabin was, there was a small table and a couple of rough wooden chairs pushed over to one side of the room. The only other things in the room were a small lumpy sofa, and a small bookcase.
It struck her there was no TV, no gadgets of any kind, in fact looking around she saw no sign that there was even electricity in the house, no lights or plug sockets. That explained it; she had been taken in by some hill billy, or someone who really did not want to be found.
Living off the grid, that's what it was called, she remembered reading an article about people like that. Her friends had laughed and said it was impossible, how could anyone live without modern appliances, or more precisely, hair straighteners. But this guy did. The question was, why.
“Hello. I’m speaking to you.” She followed him into the next room where he stood with his back to her.
“Please, go, I’
ll get you something to eat, but go back to bed.”
“Not until you give me some answers.” She walked towards him, wanting to see what he looked like, the pull to touch him, and to be touched in return, by his strong hands was almost too much.
When she reached out to him it was as though she was made of fire, he pulled back from her abruptly. Weird, it was as though he was frightened of her. All the time he kept his body turned away, unable, or unwilling to meet her eyes.
She stopped, sensing his distress. “I’m sorry, but this whole thing is strange, I just want to see your face, it’s like I know you already.”
“You don’t know me,” he said firmly.
“Really, it’s only...when I saw you a minute ago it was as though we had some connection. Don’t you feel it too?” OK, that hit on the head must have given her concussion, because she sounded crazy.
“No. You were unconscious for quite a while, your minds probably playing games with you.”
Yes, he thought she was crazy too. “You might be right, but I’d still like to see you properly, so I know who I have to thank for saving me, from those men, and the wolf.”
His body stiffened. “What wolf?”
“The wolf that chased those men off, I was sure it would come back for me.”
“I didn’t see a wolf and the men had gone when I found you.”
“No, I remember the wolf,” she insisted.
He shook his head, still turned away from her. “There are no wolves in this part of the mountains.”
“I know what I saw. When I get home I’ll report it to the authorities.”
This got his attention, he turned to her, his fierce eyes shining brightly, taking her breath away. “No! No authorities.”
“OK,” she said, trying to calm him down. Her heart beat had increased and, despite the feeling of danger she got from him, she wanted him to be near her, to touch her. Tara had little experience with men, but she knew this was like love at first sight, something she firmly thought was a myth created by the film studios to get people to watch the latest rom com.
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