by Lexy Timms
“And yet, you seem to be immune,” I observe quietly.
His grin widens. “Well, I have a stronger will than most.”
“Then why are they moving now?” Theo asks.
“I’m guessing it’s because she’s slipping away,” Syllas answers. “The moment she loses consciousness, everyone will be back to normal.”
He glances at the men behind him who are also stirring back to life.
“Impossible,” Sebastian mutters, fists clenched.
“Hard to believe, I know,” Syllas says. “Which is why I’m eager to find out how she does it.” He rubs his hands together and licks his lips. “As I am eager to find out what else she can do.”
As Sebastian opens his mouth to answer, I step forward, stretching my arm in front of Theo. “You will not lay a hand on her.”
“Are you sure you should be saying that...” Syllas’ eyes narrow. “Toshi?”
At once, I feel Sebastian and Theo’s gazes on me.
“You know him?” Sebastian asks.
“His name is Syllas,” I answer. “Yes, we Cats know him.”
“Ah, yes.” Syllas rubs his chin. “But maybe the question you should be asking is: Why do I know Toshi?”
My heart stops, a lump forming in my throat.
“Why, indeed?” Sebastian asks, his voice sinking into a menacing growl.
“Shall I say it, Toshi? Or shall you?” Syllas asks.
I lower my gaze to the ground.
“Toshi?” I hear the concern in Theo’s voice.
“I guess I shall have to,” Syllas says. “You see. Toshi here has been working for me...as my spy.”
Beside me, Theo gasps. When I look, Sebastian has his jaw clenched. Worst of all, though, Clarissa speaks, though her voice is barely above a whisper.
“A...spy?” she asks.
My chest tightens in guilt and shame.
“That’s right,” Syllas confirms. “He’s been spying on you for me.”
“Is that why you started that fight?” Sebastian asks me. “So Clarissa would send us away and your friends could come in and take her?”
“Actually, he was supposed to bring Clarissa here, but the plan changed,” Syllas answers for me.
I lift my head to look into his eyes. “And what makes you think you’re the only one whose plans have changed?”
“Now, now, Toshi, don’t tell me you’ve turned rogue.” Syllas shakes his head.
“He was the one who led us here,” Theo points out, uneasily.
“He led us into a trap,” Sebastian says, his voice deadly quiet. “Didn’t you, Toshi?”
“See, Toshi, your new friends don’t trust you,” Syllas says. “So why keep them?”
“You told me you wouldn’t hurt Clarissa!” I hiss at him.
“Did I?” Syllas scratches his head. “What I remember is that I told you that you could have her.”
“What?” Theo turns to me with a look of both surprise and disgust.
“Now, do you still want her? Or do you want to share her, or worse lose her, to your so-called friends?” Syllas crosses his arms over his chest. “Choose. And quickly.”
Behind him, the men are already awake while around me, the Cats begin to growl.
I stay still, my fists trembling.
I want Clarissa, more than anything. But how could I force her to be with me now that I’ve had the chance to know her?
Before I can answer, Sebastian swipes at me with his fist. I jump back.
“Let me make your decision for you,” he says. “You are no friend of mine. You never have been and you never will be. You’re a coward and you don’t deserve Clarissa.”
I wince. I can’t say I don’t deserve that.
“As long as I live, you will not lay a hand on her,” he promises, stepping in closer. Preparing to swing again. The next time he’ll use claws.
I meet his eyes. The look he gives me pierces right through me.
I wanted Clarissa to choose me, but if Sebastian won’t even let me be in the running, if he won’t give me a chance, why should I give him a chance? Why am I holding back?
I snort, extending my claws. “Then you give me no choice but to kill you.”
Sebastian bares his fangs, growling and in the next instant, he turns into a wolf, charging at me. Hissing, I turn into a cat, climbing up the wall to avoid him and then pouncing at him. He leaps at me, our bodies colliding and then falling on the floor with a loud crash, me on top of him. As I bury my claws in his chest and try to slash his face with the rest, he tries to bite my head off, mouth gaping open, fangs ready to sink into my skin.
From the corner of my eye, I see the other Cats already almost at full strength, attacking Theo and trying to take Clarissa from him. At first, Theo just wards them off one by one but when several of them swarm around him, he turns into a bear, setting Clarissa down on the floor so he can fight. One of the Cats he hurls flies above me.
Distracted, I lose the upper hand, Sebastian pinning me down. The positions may have changed but not the intent. I try to claw at his throat while he tries to snap my head off, both of us getting cuts and nips. Only this isn’t like the fight earlier today. Neither of us are pulling our punches, we’re both out for blood this time.
I bite Sebastian’s leg. Hard. Whimpering, he gets off me and I pounce on his back, biting him between the shoulders. He tries to shake me off and when he can’t, he pounds me into the wall, which cracks and breaks, allowing more Cats to charge into the room.
Great.
I let Sebastian go after some of them before pouncing on him again, our battle continuing. Some of the Cats help me, biting and clawing at him. Two of them manage to pin him down, giving me the chance to inflict a killing blow but just as I’m considering it, I hear a voice.
Clarissa’s voice.
Don’t...Toshi.
Lifting my head to look at her, I see Syllas walking towards her, Theo too busy to stop him.
I pounce on Syllas instead, biting his shoulder. He throws me off.
“Stupid kitten,” he grumbles, rubbing his shoulder. “I’ll teach you a lesson.”
I charge towards him but he turns into a Cat, larger than I am. And stronger. With one swipe of his paw, he sends me to the ceiling and when I fall, he impales my stomach with his claws, drawing blood and sending ripples of pain throughout my body. My body shudders and falls.
Afterwards, he sends me flying through the wall, the sound of my cracking bones just as loud as the sound of concrete shattering beneath me when I hit the ground.
Chapter Twenty-Four
~ Sebastian
FENDING OFF THE HORDE of Cats around me, I spot Toshi as he crashes through a wall.
I shouldn’t feel sorry for him. He’s a traitor. I don’t trust him. Still, he did try to protect Clarissa from Syllas.
Syllas goes after Toshi, the look in his eyes that of a predator going for the kill. I go after him but feel more claws burying into my skin.
Fucking Cats.
By the time I’ve thrown them aside, Clarissa is grabbing Syllas’ tail, trying to stop him. Syllas turns, burying his fangs in Clarissa’s arm without hesitation.
Clarissa!
I let out a growl as she collapses on the floor, clutching her arm, then throw the Cats around me away like they’re made of straw, rushing to her side.
It doesn’t matter if the Cats are at their full strength now. I’m not going to let that fucker get away for hurting Clarissa.
Grabbing Syllas’ leg between my teeth, I drag him away then swing him against a wall, taking three other Cats down in the process. He recovers, leaping on me. I roll out of the way but then he pounces on top of me and pins me down with his full weight, his claws swiping across my jaw.
As my head turns, I spot a dart gun near me and as he goes for my jugular, I take a gamble and turn into my human form, reaching for the gun. I wrap my fingers around it just as I feel the edge of Syllas’ teeth graze my skin. I fire the first shot at h
is head, the second at his heart.
Wailing, he gets off me, turning human as well and I finish the job, snapping his neck with my bare hands.
I couldn’t very well let him live after what he did to Clarissa, after all the things he threatened to do.
Behind me, I hear another wail and then nothing. I turn my head, finding Theo seemingly shaking the dust off his hands as he becomes human, a pile of unconscious Cats all around him.
The battle is over.
“Is...Clarissa...alive?” Toshi asks, also now in his human form, one hand gripping his belly and the other his ribs as he tries to stand.
“Yes,” Theo answers after rushing over to her, feeling her pulse. “But she’s losing a lot of blood. Her wounds aren’t healing. Why aren’t they healing?”
I go over to them, my eyes growing wide as I see the blood oozing out from two holes in her arm just above her elbow.
My face pales. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because her body has already been under so much strain.”
“We should take her to a hospital,” Theo suggests, panic in his voice.
“It’s too far,” I say, remembering all the remote towns we passed by on our way here. Besides what would any of them know to do? Who knows how her physiology has been changed. Not only would they not be able to help her, they might turn her into their new science project.
And she’s losing blood too fast. At this rate, she’ll...
“Save her,” Toshi pleads. “Any way...you can.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I take Clarissa in my shaking arms. “I know one way.”
WITH THEO STANDING guard outside, I set Clarissa down on the bed in the empty room, grimacing as I see her wounds up close.
There are two puncture wounds about four inches apart on her upper arm. They’re just the size of beads but they’re through and through. There still shouldn’t be this much blood. Puncture wounds don’t typically bleed much. These holes are...gaping. Open. They’ve torn something important. An artery? If that’s the case, even if Clarissa was in mint condition, she’d have a hard time getting this wound to close and given her current weakened state, it’s damn near impossible.
She can’t stop the bleeding.
But I can.
Wolves possess saliva potent enough to close wounds and hasten healing, alphas more so. That is why we lick our wounds.
Our own wounds. While it can be done to others, it is not normally done, mainly because contact between a Wolf’s tongue and another’s skin facilitates the establishment of a strong, intimate bond. Only mothers do it to their children.
Or adult Wolves to their mate, in which case it is a pre-mating ritual.
Foreplay.
If I lick Clarissa’s wounds, my body will think I’m taking a mate and I’m not sure if I can stop in time. I’m not sure if I can control myself.
Still, I have to try if I’m going to save Clarissa.
Taking a deep breath, I lean over her, stopping just an inch above her skin. Already, the scent of her blood is jarring my senses, sending ripples of heat through me. My cock stirs and I feel the saliva pooling in my mouth.
Fuck.
I know that once I start, I may not be able to stop. Then again, I don’t think I can stop right now.
Besides, I can’t.
Parting my lips which I move even closer to her skin, I let my tongue dart out to lick her, that first swipe of the tip of my tongue against her bloodstained skin making me lightheaded. The second sends a jolt of heat all the way to my toes, my muscles tensing, my cock getting ready.
The scent of Clarissa’s blood, her truest scent, is like a siren calling to the very depths of my soul, enticing every nerve in my body, pleading for me to give in.
I give in.
I lick her wounds quickly, the holes closing just a little bit more with every touch of my tongue. Finally, the skin weaves itself back together, the blood ceasing to flow out.
She’s out of danger now.
At least, from her wounds.
Unfortunately, now that I’ve tasted her blood thoroughly, I’m hungry for something else, the appetite so strong it seizes me like a fever. Sweat breaks on my skin, my breathing coming in gasps. My heart threatens to break free against the walls of my chest. And it’s not all that desires release.
Between my legs, I’ve become swollen as I never have before. Pulsing. Leaking.
The fact that Clarissa is lying there unconscious, wearing only a tube top that matches the color of sunlight and a pair of gray boy shorts isn’t helping.
I can see her nipples through the cotton and her lips are parted, ready for the taking.
Unable to contain myself, I take them, pressing my lips against them as I stroke her cheek, dipping my tongue in between. The taste of her mouth drives me mad and I let out a groan as I kiss her harder, deeper.
Suddenly, I feel Clarissa stir beneath me, her tongue pushing against mine.
More.
That one word from Clarissa with the smell of her lust riding on its heels hits me like a whip.
I snap, climbing on the bed so I can kiss her harder, my hand slipping beneath her head and pulling at her hair while the other grips her hips, which rise off the bed to meet mine as she lets out a moan.
As her thigh brushes against my erection, my throat vibrates with a growl and I abandon her lips to tug at the lobe of her ear and caress her neck, my thumb hooking into the waistband of her shorts.
Sebastian.
Lifting my head as I open my eyes, I see her beautiful eyes staring right at me, a plea in them.
And just as suddenly, the fever breaks, the spell over my mind and body gone.
What am I doing?
Yes, Clarissa may be willing. She may even want this. But she’s not thinking clearly and I can’t take advantage of that.
Otherwise, I would be no more than an animal.
No. If I’m going to take her as my mate, it will be with her full and clear consent, with everything done right. Or not at all.
Sucking in a deep breath, I force my gaze away from hers and jump off the bed, heading to the door. My body still aches, now in the grips of the unparalleled frustration of an unconsummated bond, but I ignore that as I walk out of the room and down the corridor, away from her.
“How is she?” Theo asks behind me.
“She’s okay now,” I answer without stopping or looking at him.
“Sebastian,” he calls after me.
Sighing, I stop but don’t turn my head. “What?”
“You stopped,” he says. “Even though neither of you wanted to.”
Of course, he knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if every primal in the building and those a mile away could smell our lust.
Yes, we both wanted it. And yet, I stopped. Crazy, I know. I still don’t know how I managed to walk away from her, my legs still urging me to go back, every bit of animal in me screaming for me to finish what I started. But I won’t.
Ironic. I’ve found the one person who can truly make me lose control and yet, that’s also why I can’t.
I let out a deep breath, shoulders heaving.
“Take care of her.”
With that, I drag myself out of the building, turning wolf and breaking into a run as soon as I’m outside. As the wind sweeps against my face, I feel slightly better though a voice in my head tells me that I’m no longer free, nor will I ever be.
And strangely, I don’t mind it at all.
Chapter Twenty-Five
~ Clarissa
SITTING ON THE BED in one of the rooms at Kyle’s lakeside house, I cradle the cup of coffee in my hands, the aroma of the fresh brew seeping into my nostrils, which I savor with eyes closed, while its warmth sweeps into my palms.
A breeze drifts into the room, brushing against my cheeks. I open my eyes, gazing past the billowing curtains at the blue sky and its windswept clouds.
Strange. I feel like I just woke up from a nightmare. Now that everything is so calm and peac
eful, it almost seems as if the terrible events of the past few weeks never happened.
Almost.
I look at my arm, remembering the pain I felt when that monster, Syllas, bit me. I may have no scars but I have the memories. I may look the same but I know I’m not.
“Sebastian healed you,” Theo says, standing by the door.
I raise my eyebrows. Really? This was something I hadn’t known. One more thing I had no memory of then. I’d simply assumed my wounds closed like they have been doing recently.
I wonder what else had been hidden from me.
I didn’t have long to guess.
“The wounds were too deep, too severe and you were drained,” he explains, as if reading my thoughts. “So Sebastian stepped in.”
I turn to him. “And where is he now?” I’d asked him this before, but he’d only gone silent and refused to answer. Now, for whatever reason, he tells me.
I must be doing better if he thinks I’m ready for bad news. Lucky me.
“He left,” Theo answers. “He said it’s best. The...treatment took quite a toll on him.”
Worry seizes me. “Is he okay?”
“Nothing he can’t handle, but he said it’s better if he stays away for now.”
I pause, staring at the surface of my cup. Some of my memories are a blur but I clearly remember him kissing me, his tongue tangled with mine, his fingers against my skin.
I blush. Was that part of the ‘treatment’?
“Toshi isn’t here, either,” Theo adds. “If you’re wondering about him.”
“Of course,” I say, recalling how he stopped Syllas.
He may have been a spy but he also saved my life, endangering his own. I’m still not sure how I feel about him. I have mixed feelings. That doesn’t mean I’m not concerned.
“Is he alive?” I ask, almost afraid to.
