A red haze overtook Caelan’s mind. He’d handed his mate over to the real killer. His heart slowed to near stopping, his chest felt like it might explode. He hadn’t been able to protect her.
He shifted with no thought to the grinding bones or popping joints. It would take them a good ten minutes at a flat-out sprint to reach Tieran. He hoped his father was up for the pace.
Caelan ran, hell-bent, dodging trees and the normal debris littering the forest floor without seeing anything. His superior hearing picked up a scream as it split the air, stopping him in his tracks. He lifted his muzzle to the sky and let out a series of howls, alerting the pack to the danger and asking for help. He hoped they would make it in time. Caelan found his feet moving even faster. He would feel it in his soul if it were too late, wouldn’t he?
The underbrush crunched beneath his paws and he heard his father close behind. How much longer? He passed the huge oak tree that they often used as a reference point. Only about a mile to go. Hang on, my own. I’m coming.
* * *
“You’ll never get away with this, Hayward. It’ll never work. You have to see that.” Proud of how calm she sounded, Tieran relaxed a fraction. She would get through this. The bastard got off on scaring women. She wasn’t going to be one of them.
“Shut up.”
He’d brought her out to a barn, which looked more like a garage inside. Caelan’s truck was parked here along with a small red car. Several pieces of lawn equipment and a tool bench lined one wall.
Hayward dragged the chair from the tool bench in between the cars and placed it directly in front of the wide double doors. Pulling out a plastic zip tie from his pocket, he spun Tieran around and bound her hands together. She grunted and bit her lip.
Please, Caelan, hurry. He was coming for her. She could feel their connection growing stronger. Something sewing their two separate beings into one whole.
“When I’m Prime, we won’t have this problem anymore.”
Jesus, he had said the same thing to that woman right before he slit her throat. “You mean you’ll stop killing women to get what you want?” she goaded. Sick bastard.
He backhanded her, splitting her lip. Tieran recovered slowly from the shock. He smiled and pushed her into the chair, yanking her arms up at the wrists and fitting them over the chair back. Wrenched as they were, her shoulders screamed in agony. She yelled out in pain.
“I must apologize to the Prime’s mate for hurting her.”
The sneering was really getting on her nerves.
“Does it make you feel like a big man to be stronger than us females?” She just couldn’t keep her mouth shut, could she? That strange feeling inside her grew stronger. Caelan was very close.
“There’s a certain justice in the Prime getting saddled with a bitch like you.”
“Eli told me any challenger had to fight the Prime to the death to take over,” she said, ignoring his comment.
“But this is so much more fun, don’t you think?”
“I think it’s the coward’s way out.”
Hayward growled menacingly and grabbed hold of her feet. He slammed them together, bringing tears to her eyes as the anklebones smashed into one another.
“Afraid you’ll lose to him in a hand-to-hand?”
“I will never fucking lose to a Graham,” he shouted. His eyes were wild and searched the confines of the enclosed space lit by strong overhead lights.
“Why here?” Tieran asked.
“Why not here?” His top lip curled up. He was definitely not firing on all cylinders. There was a craziness about him, a jerkiness that told her he was close to losing it. Whatever it was.
“I meant in this particular spot.” She jumped in the chair, emphasizing the space where he’d sat her.
“Because when Graham gets here he’s gonna open those doors and see you a second before you die.”
Well, that was comforting. “But if you kill me first, you’ll enrage Caelan and still have to fight him.” She swore his eyes changed color. The skin on his face rippled, his jaw elongated. Then it was gone.
Caelan was home. She could feel him just outside the door. Maybe if she got Hayward rattled, he wouldn’t see Caelan come in and this whole mess would be over.
“How did you do it? Make yourself look so much like them, I mean?”
His cruel laugh echoed. “Saw me, did you? I had so much fun after I found you there in Elizabeth’s head.”
Tieran gasped.
“Made things so much easier for me to try and pin it all on Eli.” He shrugged. “Make myself look like him, follow him, lead you to believe I was him.”
“But what about the scar?” You can’t fake a scar on a hairy wolf’s body, can you?
“Oh the scar’s real. My daddy gave that to me one night after I’d lost a fight with that no good son of bitch Eli. Daddy said I ought to look like the man I’d tucked my tail between my legs and run from.”
Hayward sniffed and wiped his sweaty brow on his shirtsleeve. “Should have been done with this the first night Caelan spent in your bed. Eli was supposed to meet me. I’d been watching your house, waiting for Eli to leave first so I could follow him. He did, but a little too early for me, so I stuck around. Then Eli called and said he had car trouble and couldn’t make it. So I stayed and you left the house and I followed you instead. The whole night gave me the perfect excuse to jump into your dreams.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “It was you that night in my room. Not Eli.”
“Nobody, especially not a Graham, can do what I do with my mind,” he gritted out.
The vision of the man stranded by his car swam before her. He was going to miss his meeting with the Christian guy.
“Supposed to meet with Eli that night,” she whispered, working things out in her head. “You’re Dane Christian.” Somewhere she’d overheard Caelan say that name. A false name to throw everyone off.
Christ, she’d done so many things wrong, had believed everything this psycho had led her to believe, which made her visions less than reliable. What if it happened again? What if she really didn’t get to see her son? Tieran swallowed back the sudden bitter taste of fear in her mouth.
She glanced at the single door to her left along the far wall. A shadow passed in front of it. Caelan. His face appeared through the glass, a brief look and then he was gone.
Her entire body relaxed in its restraints. The game was almost over.
“I still don’t understand how you think you’re going to kill Caelan.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter how, bitch,” he shrieked and lunged for her, his hands outstretched, the knife falling to the ground.
The door burst open. Caelan, in his wolf finery, dove through the opening in a growling, snarling, twisting mass of fur and teeth. Hayward fell to his side, shifting even as he hit the ground, but wasn’t quick enough. Caelan’s teeth bit into Hayward’s shoulder and ripped a strip of flesh off.
Hayward howled in furious pain and slashed back at Caelan who was much bigger and faster in wolf form than the detective. In the confined space between the double doors and the truck, the wolves attacked, parrying back and forth. Both their pelts were dark, but Tieran easily picked out Hayward’s from the familiar scar bisecting one shoulder.
A hand on her own made her squeal and jump in her seat. She twisted her head to see a buck-naked Liam standing guard. Her cheeks reddened and she quickly averted her gaze. Even in the midst of a disastrous situation, it wasn’t right to see your lover’s father in the buff. Liam made quick work of her shackles and led her out of harm’s way, completely unabashed by his state of undress. The god-awful barking and screaming of the wolves made her want to cover her ears but there was no doubt in her mind who the winner would be.
“God, but you do have a mouth on you, girl. Be prepared for a nice, long disciplining tonight.” Liam grinned. “Thought Caelan was gonna bust through that door and jump on you for the things you were saying. Why did you have to taunt him?�
�
“I was trying to distract him while Caelan took his sweet time coming in to rescue me.”
His belly laugh was drowned out by the snarls. One of the wolves yelped and backed off feebly. Hayward. His hind legs collapsed beneath him and he fell to his haunches. Caelan stood over him, his lips curled back, his eyes squinting.
Tieran saw why the detective had yelped. Blood poured from a wound in his neck, draining his life with it. Her heart pounded. A fight to the death and she had stood by silently and watched it happen, unafraid even for her mate. Deep in her heart, she knew he would survive. Somehow she understood that when the day came, she would know when he wouldn’t be with her any longer.
“It is the way of our people,” Liam whispered in her ear, somehow picking up on the direction of her thoughts.
“It’s insane.”
Caelan shifted and stood on two feet, gloriously naked, sweating and breathing heavily. He swiped at a patch of blood across his chest. Three angry stripes marked him there.
Hayward whimpered and gurgled one last breath. He hadn’t even had the strength to shift back to human form before succumbing to Caelan’s attack.
Caelan lifted his head and stared at her. The intensity stunned her. He stalked to her, his chin dropped to his chest, his cock… She swallowed. She watched it grow the closer he got. Liam laughed behind her and she thought she heard him say good night.
Without a word, Caelan tenderly caressed her split lip with his tongue before taking hold of her hands and laving the tender spots on her wrists. When he was satisfied, he led her out the double doors. Tieran sucked in a breath. A huge group of people, his pack, most of them in their birthday suits, stood waiting there, all of them silent and looking at her. How they’d gotten there so quickly, she didn’t know. Didn’t care.
Heedless of his nudity, Caelan stepped forward.
“It is done. Michael Hayward is our traitor.”
A collective gasp flowed through the crowd. Caelan was pulled aside leaving Tieran to be engulfed by the pack. She was hugged, her cheeks squeezed, making her wince, and her limbs checked to make sure she was still in one piece. Satisfied, they all started talking at once.
Caelan came to the rescue before she could even open her mouth to speak. He grabbed her hand and tugged her along in his wake. She didn’t protest. The group parted and let them pass. Several people shook hands with Caelan or patted him on the back. Many more simply said, “Thank you.”
“Oh my God, Caelan.” Tieran stopped. “What about Eli? Hayward said he’d disposed of him somehow. He’s out there somewhere. How will we find him if Hayward’s dead?”
Caelan turned and put a finger over her lips. “That’s what I was doing a second ago. They’ve already picked up his scent and are going after him.”
“Don’t you need to go with them?”
“No. I’ve got more important things to take care of right now.” Caelan started dragging her again and although he paused more than once within his pack, he never actually stopped moving until they were in the kitchen. Alone. He closed the door quietly behind them and yanked the blinds closed, shutting out the spectators.
“I promise retribution for the way you tempted Michael Hayward tonight, my own.”
She shivered at his softly spoken words. One could only imagine what his form of retribution would be.
He pressed her against the counter. The small of her back dug into the marble and he slanted his mouth over hers, careful not to hurt her lip. Screw careful. She deepened their kiss, tasting his tongue. A little cracked lip wasn’t going to keep her from doing this. Every ounce of her anxiety and fear vanished with the simple touch. Tieran wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. She needed this. She needed him. Now.
“Bedroom,” he said.
Her clothes somehow disappeared along the way and she found herself laid out across the bed. The wounds on his chest already looked better. She wished she had that kind of healing power.
Caelan knelt between her legs and pushed them wide, making more room for himself. When he knelt, his breath tickled across her pussy, enveloping her in warm heat.
“Please, Caelan, make love to me.”
“Oh, I will, my own. I will.”
His lips caressed her clit and she arched into his mouth, trying to get closer. He backed off until she relaxed, and started again. His tongue snaked out along her slit, licking the moisture from her and adding his own. It wasn’t enough.
Caelan seemed to understand. Either that or he couldn’t wait himself. He reared up, lifting her knees into the crook of his elbows and sank into her sheath in one long agonizing stroke. Tieran groaned as he filled her and grasped the blanket in her fists.
Clinching her vaginal walls, she fought to keep his cock inside when he began to pull out.
“Fuck,” he said, his head dropping back on his shoulders. He pressed in a little quicker this time. Both of them moaned.
“Can’t go slow.”
“No, don’t want you to,” she begged.
He leaned over her and set his teeth on the crook of her shoulder, prepared to mark her once more. The headboard shook along the wall with his heated thrusts. Mere seconds went by and she felt the sharp prick in her skin. His fingers played magically with her clit, circling and teasing it until she exploded. A shower of white lights sparkled behind her eyelids. The orgasm took her breath away.
With a final thrust, Caelan held himself still inside her. His come pulsed from his cock, bathing her in warm spurts.
When he collapsed in a panting slump, Tieran hugged him close, accepting and loving his warm weight on top of her. After a few minutes of catching their breath, he rolled them to the side, his cock sliding out of her.
“I think that’s what you call a quickie.”
Caelan’s chest vibrated on a growl. “If you ever do something so stupid again—”
“You’ll what? Spank me?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“God, I thought I was going to lose you tonight.” He nearly did right then when he squeezed the life out of her.
“I knew you wouldn’t,” she whispered.
“You saw this?” He pulled back to look in her eyes.
She rubbed the fading scratches on his chest and walked her fingers to cradle his cheek. “No, but I saw something else just after you left.”
He searched her face. “What?” he rasped.
Tieran took his hand in hers and laid it on her belly.
“Our son.”
About the Author
Annmarie McKenna lives just outside of St. Louis with her husband and four children. She loves to hear from her readers. To learn more about Annmarie, please visit www.annmariemckenna.com or send an email to [email protected].
Look for these titles by Annmarie McKenna
Now Available:
Blackmailed
Coming Soon:
Checkmate
Two Sighted
What’s an alpha shape-shifting wolf to do when the woman pre-destined to be his mate no longer trusts men?
Checkmate
© 2006 Annmarie McKenna
Coming February 13, 2007 to Samhain Publishing
After returning home from an eight-month security job, Eli Graham is ready to claim his best friend’s little sister as his mate. Instead of the stubborn, independent, carefree girl he left, Eli finds a shell of the woman he once knew.
Having lived through a near fatal attack, Nikki Taylor has hidden herself away from the world. Now the time has come to face head-on the one man who could devastate her completely, Eli Graham. She’s loved him forever, craves him, body, heart and soul, but he’s never treated her as anything but a little sister.
When Nikki witnesses a murder, she has no choice but to rely on Eli’s expertise. Eli is more than up for the challenge—both to win her heart and to protect her from the man bent on wiping out a witness.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Checkmate:
Nikki tried to s
leep, she really did, it just wasn’t happening. The bed was too hard, the pillow too starchy, her shoulder hurt like hell, and she had to lie on her bad side. The one she’d never been able to sleep on, but had to now because she’d been shot on her good side.
Shot! A murderer had shot her because she’d seen him. Seen what he’d done to her friends. And he was still out there. Looking for her, if the police were correct in their assumption. She sniffled and gripped the blanket tighter around her chin, knowing it wouldn’t protect her from the man who’d tried to put a bullet through her head.
All night long she’d cried about the senseless waste of the lives of her friends. There weren’t any tears left to cry.
Derek had stayed through the night, staking himself out in front of the door, cracking his knuckles and frowning at anyone who opened it. As if the man would try to get at her here. As if Derek would be able to stop another bullet meant for her.
But then this morning her dad had shown up again and relieved her brother. The police followed shortly thereafter, asking another round of a bazillion questions, most of which she couldn’t answer. Still. Things hadn’t changed any since she’d gone through them last night.
Her mother had asked her pastor to stop by, so Nikki’d cried again, all the while being patted and told that it was all in God’s master plan. Right now, what she really wanted was to tell God just where he could shove his master plan, because it sucked. When the patronizing pastor had finally left, exhaustion set in.
“Hey, Nikki-Raine.”
Oh God. Why? Because I thought bad things about you? Please tell me I’m hallucinating the deep voice behind me. Please! She squeezed her eyes shut. He could not see her right now, ever, and damn it, where had he come from anyway? He was supposed to be off guarding some head of state or something. Not here. Not now.
“You awake, baby?”
Baby? He’d never called her baby before. His big hand, callused, she knew, rubbed a path down her blanket-covered leg from knee to ankle. Nikki froze and held her breath. He’d never touched her this way before, either. Her pussy flooded, creaming her panties, her tummy jumped, and she blessedly forgot about the physical and emotional pain she was in.
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