by Mac Flynn
"I don't believe thinking was involved," he quipped.
As we spoke the tremors petered out to nothing. Muridae helped his king to his feet and Erik stood on his own. King Murinae leaned towards Erik and grasped his hand.
"It seems I owe you a favor, son of Greenwood," the king mused.
Erik bowed his head. "I'd like to think you would have done the same for me."
The king chuckled. "Then you think more highly of me than I deserve." The ruler turned to his guard and shooed him away. "I'm fine. It's the tunnels you should inspect, not my person."
Muridae frowned. "But Father-"
"But nothing. Go and do your duty, my captain. Your people will expect as much when you're king," King Murinae insisted. His captain bowed his head and hurried into one of the tunnels. The king turned to us and shook his head. "He has too much heart for his old king."
"Did you need any assistance, King Murinae?" Greenwood offered.
King Murinae shook his head. "No, and I wouldn't trust who the Council would bring down here. Go back to your people and attend to your damage, and don't forget to give them my message."
I frowned glanced from Greenwood to the king and back. "What kind of a thank-you was that? He just saved-"
"We will deliver your message," Greenwood agreed. He grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the tunnel through which we'd come.
Once in the confines of the tunnel, I wrenched myself free. "What the hell was that? You like kowtowing to people?"
I could just make out Greenwood's frown. "This is his domain. Never forget who holds the greatest power."
I looked him up and down. "Believe me, I have some practice in that."
He strode forward and I followed after him. A few random torches lit our way and we passed many Diggers who stood outside their holes. Some scuttled away from us, others glared as we passed. Greenwood didn't veer off course, and in a few minutes we arrived at the cave opening. Beyond the mouth the splattering of rain was now a downpour that slicked the ground.
Greenwood paused in the cave. I walked ahead of him and glanced out the teeth. "Can this day get any better. . ." I muttered.
"It may when we deliver the message to the Council," Erik told me.
He led me back down the slippery, sloppy trail and to the side door. We were both soaked by the time we reached the entrance, and we left a nice trail of water down the passages to the Council room. I noticed we took a different staircase than before, but somehow still arrived at the room in the same time and from the same direction without passing over any familiar hallways.
The old men were hard at working panicking. All but Lord Greenwood and his wife squabbled and squawked among themselves. Deacon was the loudest as he pounded his fist against the arm of his chair.
"There must be something done!" he shouted.
Lord Greenwood sat with his elbows on the arms of his chair and his hands clasped together in front of him. He straightened at Deacon's challenge and frowned. "And what do you suggest?" Greenwood asked the councilman.
"What about the Diggers?" Deacon suggested. "Maybe they're the ones responsible for this!"
Greenwood straightened and frowned. "Why, after so long, would they do such a thing as endanger us all with earthquakes?"
"The long expanse of time is exactly why they've started this! All that rock air has driven them mad!" Deacon insisted.
"No, but fear has made them cautious," the Greenwood at my side spoke up. We marched down the aisle to the arched group of chairs.
Lord Greenwood raised an eyebrow. "What has made them afraid?"
"Murder." Erik reached into his shirt and pulled out the tattered cloth. He tossed it to the floor in front of the men. "This was found clutched in the hand of one of their murdered guards."
The old men leaned forward in their chairs and several of their eyes widened. A dark look passed over the lord's face. "And they accuse us?"
"They suspect treachery from the Council, and King Murinae has warned that anyone found in the underground will be put to death without mercy," Erik informed the old men.
Lord Greenwood frowned and stroked his beard. "This is most troubling. We will have to see into it, but after we're sure these earthquakes have finished."
"Was there much damage the second time?" Erik asked him.
"A great more," one of the councilmen spoke up.
"And nothing has been found to be the cause?" Erik persisted.
"Are you telling us you didn't find anything after such a noble pronouncement to find the solution?" Deacon sneered.
"At least I have suggestions that don't stink of irrational fear," Erik shot back.
"Enough," the lord interrupted them. "Bickering won't help our people, nor will it stop the earthquakes. We must find the source, or at the least prepare for another." His eyes swept over the men around him. "You will all return to your homes and see to the damage."
"You forget that this isn't a kingship, my lord," one of the councilmen reminded him.
"If any of you have a better suggestion I'm willing to hear it," the lord growled. There was silence among them. The lord slumped down in his chair and waved his hand at the door. "The Council is dismissed. That is at least my right as former ruler."
The men grudgingly stood and bowed to the lord. They stepped past us, and Deacon snarled at Erik. Erik ignored him and didn't move until the last of the councilmen had left.
"Father, the-"
"Close the door, Erik," the lord commanded his son. Erik pursed his lips, but turned and walked to the doors.
Lady Greenwood came from behind the lord's chair and laid her hands on the old lord's shoulder. He clasped her hands in one of his and smiled up at her. "Those old wolves won't get to me so easily," he assured her.
Erik returned to my side. "Father, the Diggers did give us one piece of information regarding the earthquakes. They told us the epicenter began somewhere between their fourteenth and fifteenth tunnels."
Lord Greenwood dropped his hand and straightened. "Then these earthquakes don't originate from the depths of the earth?"
"Not as far as we assumed," Erik agreed.
The lord's bushy eyebrows crashed down and he sighed. "If that's true then I believe I know the cause of the earthquakes. A shipment of dynamite was stolen off one of the transport ships two weeks ago. It hasn't been recovered, and we can't find how it disappeared from Gethin's ship."
I noticed Erik stiffened at my side. "Why haven't I heard of this before?" he questioned his father.
"It wasn't thought wise to tell anyone beyond the Council. We didn't wish for a panic over who could have stolen the dynamite and why," the lord explained.
"Probably jumped overboard. . ." I muttered.
Lord Greenwood's eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "This is a serious matter. There was a dozen large boxes in that shipment."
"And Gethin has no idea how they came to be missing?" Erik wondered.
The lord shook his head. "No idea. He checked the inventory at the mainland, and by the time they reached the dock it was gone."
"I'd say Gethin took it," I spoke up.
Lord Greenwood frowned. "On what basis do you make this accusation?"
I shrugged. "Just a hunch that a guy who's willing to steal girls across a lake is willing to steal dynamite while crossing the same lake."
The lord turned his wrathful eyes on his son. "Gethin is under no suspicion, and he complied with all requests to search his vessel. Control your mate or her foolish accusations will cause a rift between the Guilds."
Erik pursed his lips, but bowed his head. "Yes, my lord." He turned his back on Lord Greenwood, grabbed my wrist and pulled me from the room.
I glanced over my shoulder and glimpsed Lady Greenwood. One of her hands tightly gripped the back of the lord's chair and she looked after us with regret. We pushed through the doors and Erik slammed them behind us.
Chapter 6
Erik released me in the hall, but didn't stop. I walked by his
side and looked between his strained face and the shut doors behind us. "So I'm guessing you and your dad don't see eye-to-eye on more than just tradition?" I guessed.
"No," was the curt response.
"You think he really trusts Gethin?"
"I believe he blinds himself to interior problems."
"There's a lot of diplomatic bullshit in that sentence."
Erik jerked to a stop and swung his head so he faced me. "Whatever difficulties I have with my father can be of no concern of yours. When we have finished this earthquake business and found a way to release the bond, you and I will part ways."
I frowned and folded my arms across my chest. "Fine with me, but until then I want to know what's going on. It's not much fun being dragged from one end of his place to the other without knowing why. You should know what that feels like, being left out of something you think is important."
Erik sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair. He looked away from me and pursed his lips. "Yes, I can relate. I suppose I owe you as much to tell you our world while you're forced to live in it."
"Good, now the first thing I-I want t-to know is-is-achoo!" I cracked my neck in that sneeze and a little bit of snot ran down my nose. "The first thing I want to know is if we have to go back out in that rainstorm."
Erik chuckled. I whipped my head up and my mouth fell agape. "You. . .you laughed!"
His humor slipped from his face. "Is that so unbelievable?"
"Well, yeah. You haven't done it since I've met you," I pointed out.
"I am capable, and we don't need to return to the path," he told me.
I perked up. "So no getting ourselves killed in the underground?"
A mischievous smile slipped onto his lips. "I didn't say that, but we'll first change from these wet clothes before you catch your death of cold." He walked on and I followed.
I rubbed my nose. "Yeah, that would be pretty pathetic. Find my chosen mate only to kick the bucket by a cold," I quipped.
"What did you wish to know about this world?" he reminded me.
"For one, why was there a shipment of dynamite, anyway? Were the Council guys trying to make an explosive point with the voters?" I asked him.
"Some of the islands are inhospitable to foundations unless their rocks are blasted," he explained.
I furrowed my brow as I recalled parts of the first conversation with the Council. "How many islands are on this lake?"
He pursed his lips. "Not enough."
"Not enough for what?"
"For our increasing population."
I looked around at the empty halls. "There's that many of you?"
"Yes, on the other islands. My family holds ownership of Wolf Island and tradition dictates that only the Council, ruling family and servants reside on the island," he told me.
"Your traditions suck."
"A great many of the others think so, as well."
"You mean those land complaints?" I guessed.
He gave a nod. "Yes. They want land, and my father refuses to budge on parceling our ancestral shares."
"So why don't they just move? There's a ton of land around the lake," I pointed out.
"That isn't possible."
By that time we'd reached the room and entered. All thoughts of questions fled when I saw a warm, tall fire crackling in the wide hearth. On the floor in front of the fire was a large, soft bearskin rug. I hurried over to the fire and stretched out my hands to the blaze. My shoes were kicked off and flew into the dark recesses of the room. I wiggled my feet into the soft fur and sighed. Some of the cold was swept away, but the room was still chilly.
"You really should think about putting some in-in-achoo!" My head whipped forward and back. I rubbed my irritated nose. "Some insulation," I finished.
Greenwood stood at the dresser and pulled forth a few towels. "If I'm cold there's always another rug to throw on the bed," he countered. He grabbed one and walked over to me where he held it up. "Get into this."
I raised an eyebrow and looked over the top of the towel at him. "You've got to be joking."
"I rarely joke, and this is not one of those times," he told me.
I frowned, but snatched the towel from him. I pointed a finger at the floor and spun it in a circle. "Turn around."
"I have seen every part of-"
"Turn around."
Greenwood pursed his lips, but he turned his back to me. I draped the towel over the lone chair and hurriedly slipped off my soaked clothes. In a thrice I stood in front of the fire with only the towel to cover what tempted him.
"All right, you can look," I told him.
Big mistake. Greenwood glanced over his shoulder and his eyes fell immediately on the tops of my breasts. They were barely visible beneath the towel, but clear enough to catch his lustful attention. His eyes took on a yellowish hue, but he whipped his head forward. His shoulders tensed and I noticed his breathing rapidly increased.
I ducked behind the chair for extra security and glared at the back. "Don't you guy werewolves ever think about anything other than sex with your mates?" I growled.
"Not in the bedroom," he replied. His voice was hoarse with his need.
The sound of his barely-controlled lust didn't help my self-control. I turned and dropped myself onto the cushion. The fire was my focus, my calming mechanism. I had to control the rising thirst, the hunger for his body to be locked with mine in the oldest dance.
I didn't hear him approach, so I jumped when his hands wrapped around my upper chest. He leaned forward over the back of the chair and his warm breath ghosted across my cheek.
"We can't fight this," he whispered to me.
I closed my eyes and grit my teeth. "We. . .we have to try," I insisted.
"No, we don't."
I shuddered when I felt him plant soft, delicate kisses on the back of my neck. His hands reached forward and cupped my clothed breasts in his fingers. His fingers toyed with the top of my towel and massaged my mounds of flesh. I groaned and arched my back to push myself into his alluring touch. He pulled down the top of my towel and revealed my pert breasts. They were swollen with my need for him. I squirmed in my seat as a white-hot ache arose between my legs.
One of his hands continued to tingle my flesh with his teasing while the other unfolded the towel from around me. I soon sat naked in front of him. My pale, shivering body was hot with my need for him. I grasped the arms of the chair in my hands and squirmed.
"Oh god," I groaned. The heat was unbearable.
My mate growled and I heard tearing as he ripped off his own clothes. He slipped to the front of the chair and swept me off the seat to lay me down atop the fur rug in front of the fireplace. His naked body was warm to the touch as he covered my flesh with his. His lips and hands touched me everywhere, and I let him. He learned more about me than I knew about myself, and he used his knowledge to stroke and tease my tense, sensitive skin. I writhed and groaned beneath him. My modern mind told me to fight, to tell him off, but my feminine instincts told me to give in to his seductions, to let him have all of me.
One of his hands strayed down to the coarse hair between my legs. I gasped when his finger found my nub and stroked the sensitive bundle of nerves. He teased me with his achingly slow touches. I wanted more. I wanted rougher. My hands dug into his shoulders and I whimpered.
"Harder," I pleaded.
He growled and continued his slow torture of me. His lips teased a trail down my neck before he reached one of my pert buds. He took it between his warm lips, and kissed and massaged my tingling flesh. I groaned and clutched his head. My body was on fire, and my mind was overwhelmed with lustful thoughts. I needed him to take me, to show me I was his and his alone. My body and mind craved our joined bodies. I hungered for us to writhe together in shared ecstasy.
"Take me. Oh god, please take me," I moaned.
He grunted and raised his head. His eyes shone with the yellow light of feral lust that signified he was now more wolf than man. The possession in
his eyes sent a new wave of sensual heat over me. I shuddered beneath his gaze and my tongue flicked out to wet my dry, neglected lips. He leaned forward and caught my lips in a searing kiss. His arms wrapped around me and he positioned himself at my wet, eager opening.
I broke our kiss as he entered me and groaned I reveled in the feel of our joined bodies. We were one body, one mind, and that mind demanded we satisfy the carnal lust that threatened to consume us. He thrust slowly at first. His long, swollen manhood stroked my tingling clit and sent shivers up and down my body. I grasped his back and rubbed my bulging breasts against his tight chest. The friction increased my delicious torment, but only his penetration could satisfy the deep desire within me.
We panted and strained in the flickering light of the fire. Our sweat-soaked bodies glistened with firelight and burned with a greater heat than those hot flames. I leaned my head back and moaned. I wanted to stay in this moment forever, but my body craved completion. It demanded its desires be met by my mate, my love, my other half. I stroked his back and nibbled on his ear.
"Yes. More. Oh god, more. Take me harder," I whispered into his ear.
He grunted and thrust faster. His body and soul craved the same completion, the same temporary bliss. We slid against each other faster and faster. Our bodies created blistering heat that enveloped us in its lustful flames. Every stroke, every push, every penetration sent me closer and closer to the wonderful end.
A smile slipped onto my face as I felt the trembles of my orgasm come upon me. "Yes. Yes, please more. Please faster," I murmured. My pleasure increased tenfold as he quickened his pace. I leaned my head back and panted. My tense body burned hotter and hotter. I felt so alive, so complete, so free of everything but my lustful desire to be taken and taken hard. "Yes! Yes, that's it! More! Oh god, never stop!" I cried out to my lover.
My orgasm swept over me as a deliciously hot wave. I squirmed and shuddered beneath the force of such unbearably wonderful pleasure. My mate continued to penetrate me, thrusting me to greater heights of ecstasy. I clung to him and allowed the pleasure to consume me. Every tremor, every stroke was another step into heaven, another fitting satisfaction to the feral lust that lurked in our bodies until set free by one another.
