by C. T. Adams
Chapter 30
CARA DROPPED TO her knees in front of him and Adam could feel her smile pull at his own lips. He reached out and touched her hair, that silken mass of red and brown. She let him guide her forward. She took him into her mouth in one smooth movement and the sensation nearly dropped him to his knees. Her lips were smooth and slick and her mouth so cool that it felt like ice water on his superheated skin. The wolf in him wasn’t overriding his mind tonight when he caught her scent. They were of the same opinion, had the same needs. Her fingers dug into his hips as she suckled him, teased back and forth with her tongue and lips, until he was nearly mad. When her hand slid between his legs to rub the muscle just behind his swollen sac, he nearly lost his mind. “You need to stop,” he gasped, and pulled back on her hair, even though he was desperate to have her finish him this way. “I won’t last long enough to finish the ritual.”
She growled just a bit and nipped the head of his dick lightly as she moved off, causing him to utter a strangled sound that was half pleasure, half pain. Instead of leaning back onto the springy bed of pine needles, she turned around and dropped to all fours. She wiggled her hips just a bit and fire filled his mind. It was the way it should be. His mate needed him and he had to give her what she wanted.
Adam dropped to his knees between hers and used one hand to slide himself inside her with one smooth movement. He caught some of her juices on his fingers and couldn’t resist a taste. The scent nearly shut down his brain, even as he struggled to keep his senses enough to finish the ritual. But oh yah, she was slick and hungry for him. Cara gasped in pleasure as his hips bumped hers, the force and the angle causing contractions that pulled at him. It made him pull her hips tight against him to give her more of the same.
“Oh God, yes!” She dropped to her elbows on suddenly boneless arms while he began to take her, make her his, make her the pack’s one and only Alpha Female.
A long slow lick of his tongue down her sweat-soaked spine brought a deep groan and lowered her head nearly to the ground. The human in him was moved by the sight and scent of her—it wasn’t just the animal in him that needed this. He bent over her, slowed his movements and began to toy with her nipples while she moaned. “Carita,” he whispered into her neck, “This isn’t just about the pack. I want you to be mine, mi amor. Just mine. I’m falling in love with you.”
“Adam—” She breathed it into the night air, and the word was filled with almost too much emotion to be real. “Yes, God help me, yes. Make me yours.” She adjusted her balance and grabbed one of his hands, moving it to her lips to kiss each finger and then his palm. When she reached his wrist, he knew what she was going to do and braced himself. It didn’t hurt when she bit through the delicate skin and drew blood. In fact, it felt pretty damned good. Then she flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her face back, past her shoulder.
It was time.
He had to raise onto his toes to kiss her and remain inside her, but it was worth the effort. Fire exploded as the last piece of the puzzle slammed into place. The blood of the pack mingled in their mouths and their consciousness suddenly spread out, found the waiting pack in the barn. Energy flowed through them, feeding the cords between them all until they were solid as steel. And they ruled at the top together as one unit; one mind. He saw inside her for a flash as the pack opened, each baring themselves to the whole. Pain was washed away in the unity, in the complete acceptance of the pack. He felt Eddie take comfort, and knew he would have enough strength to get through his grief. And Jill’s joy as her mate fully touched her mind again made her tail wag until it was nearly a propeller. Even Luis… poor prejudiced Luis was swallowed in the magic of the night until he forgot why he even was against this.
Adam was looking elsewhere, though. He saw Cara’s past, felt the pain of her childhood, knew her faith and discipline, and the strength that was familia.
They were still moving together, though they could probably stop without release. But he wasn’t done with her yet, even though the binding was complete. There was no reason to end this until she’d had her pleasure and so he began to rub her tiny, swollen clit and move inside her harder. She gave up any pretense of self-consciousness and began to push back against him, crying out with each thrust of him into her—no longer caring if the pack heard, or saw. They did, and it was good and right.
Adam felt a new energy begin to build inside her, pulled from somewhere deep within. The moon rained down pale fire that heated the very air around them and he released his hold, drew the pack from the barn to marvel in the sensation of the magic and the sight of the glowing pair of humans taking their pleasures. She bucked against him, and he could feel the wolf inside her thrill to his touch. But this wasn’t all about the wolf. He wanted to watch her face when she went. He pulled out of her and she spun her head, her eyes hungry—oh so close to the edge.
Adam pushed her over and she went. She scooted over so she wasn’t lying on bare dirt and then held out her arms to welcome him. He leaned over her and flicked his tongue over each nipple, then used his lips to suckle and nip, until she was arching her back, rubbing herself against his stiffness and holding his head against her chest. “Oh God! Please… Adam, please!”
The pine needles weren’t so soft anymore, but he hardly noticed as several of them dug into his knees. But he did lift up her hips so more… sensitive parts would be protected. She understood and kept them there, her feet on tiptoes to match his height.
He began to thrust into her, watching as her chest heaved in mindless bliss, with eyes closed and lips parted. Suddenly he couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to claim that mouth, those pouting lips that tasted of pack. He bent to taste her mouth, pushed her down into the pine needles while kissing her as if his very life depended on it. Perhaps it did, because he felt a similar power building in him. It was more than an orgasm—much more, but he didn’t quite know what it was. It was new and different, frightening and exhilarating, and he raced toward it, desperate to see what was at the end of the fire-filled tunnel.
But he wanted to watch her go over first, and he really did want to see if what happened in her kitchen had been a fluke. He eased his thrusting and raised to his elbows, then reached forward with both hands, placing his thumbs alongside her nose and began to rub—long, slow strokes along her whisker glands that matched the movement of his hips. Cara’s eyes shot open wide and she took a deep, frantic inhale that couldn’t seem to fill her lungs, and her fingers began to convulse in the dirt. Her back arched as she gave into an abrupt climax, and she wrapped her legs around his back to pull him inside deeper.
The sudden spasming of her muscles around him set off a chain reaction he never could have imagined. He felt the first swelling of his cock inside her, felt the movement of fluid and then burning, searing fire began to flow through his veins and erupted to soak into her skin. It was met by an answering flame that grew as fast as an out of control wildfire. He collapsed onto her and buried his face in her hair as magic shot out of them both in a wave. It was nothing like in the hotel room, where a door merely slammed shut. It spread out in a growing circle while they remained locked together desperately, unable to so much as breathe against the storm. A shock wave raced through them both… them all, as the wave of magic blew through the bodies of their pack, pulling howls from them that filled the night air. But it didn’t stop at the edge of the barn, the limit he’d set for the ritual. It flowed outward like a dam breaking, sending water over the land. The magic touched the little adobe house and found another pack mate… Paco. He was brought into the binding as though skewered with a spike. Another line reached out and found the woman on the bed… a woman who was soon going to turn on the moon—but would have wings.
An attack victim. By rights she should have died, but instead was only turned because of Cara’s intervention. Adam felt his mate’s sorrow, and her joy, as Rosa took the step she had always wanted to take. She’d spent her whole life wishing to be true Sazi and knew the for
m wouldn’t matter to her. And she would heal now; wouldn’t be disfigured for life. But she wouldn’t ever be pack.
Or would she?
The magic wouldn’t be denied, the blood inside her was wolf-born—familia. Adam felt Rosa’s back arch and a strange, awful cry tear from her as the power claimed a raptor as pack —something that should never be.
But even then it wasn’t done. Little Raul, only seven, but so close to turning, was next. He welcomed it with all the trust of a child, throwing open his arms as though waiting for a hug. Adam could suddenly see Jorge’s terrified face through the boy’s eyes. He knew something was wrong, but it wasn’t something he could fight. Instead, he was on his knees, seeking guidance from above in frenzied, heartfelt Spanish.
Cara, still in the throes of pleasure and pain, called out to Jorge through Raul’s mouth. “It’s okay, little bro.” Jorge’s head whipped up and stared at his nephew open-mouthed, trying to comprehend his sister’s voice coming from the little boy. “They’re pack now. We’re all pack now.” She smiled with tiny pearl-like teeth. “No need to fear.”
Then she left him, was torn from the boy as the magic spread even farther, seeking more people to bind. Adam tried to pull it back—there weren’t any more Sazi to bind, but the moon disagreed.
Adam suddenly found himself thrust inside the mind of another, in a car hurtling toward them with lights flashing. Another raptor, and the binding ritual tasted of old magic, ancient similarities—close to family. And this one was stronger… good pack material. The car veered off the road as the magic began to spear Will Kerchee. But he was strong. He righted the car after a quick dip into the barrow ditch and withstood the pull of the magic until he changed his mind. Adam felt a small smile of acceptance and an amount of amused resignation at his surprise. Better than wrecking the can Mueller. And it might be useful tonight. We can always sever it later. Oh, and by the way, I’ve called in the representative for the birds, Angélique Calibria. She was in California and is on her way here as backup. She’s a falcon, so it won’t take her long to arrive.
With the added power from Will, the magic surged again, roared in his head—became a tidal wave that found a crevice in the towering cliffs outside town… a break in the limestone that opened into a cave. And it found a young wolf, newly turned by anger and adrenaline-laced fear, who was bound to the wall with silver shackles.
They’d found Jenny.
Chapter 31
THE YOUNG MINNESOTA girl had turned without pack guidance—without a healer present. She wasn’t thinking human thoughts at all. Cara could sense the damage in her mind, and knew they only had one chance to bring her back. The magical wave was nearly at the end but she could sense there were many Sazi in the room, bird after bird… some with minds, but many without, along with a pair of snakes. She struggled to control the magic as it swept through the high-arched room of stone. There wasn’t enough magic left to bind them all properly, and it would risk the entire pack to try.
The magic found Gloria and Ziri, still human… yet, with a spark in their blood that would someday make them turn. But there wasn’t enough there for the magic to reveal the type of animal or grab it, so the power moved on. A young owl with silver manacles on both burned taloned feet revealed herself as Ume. The magic speared her, the girl recognized Cara and Adam from Ziri’s description, apparently after she’d been recaptured. The little Mayan girl didn’t fight back against the magic at all. With a breath of trust and a shuddering leap of faith, the bond formed. She was pack.
Cara struggled for all she was worth to control the magic, turn it back to the wolf. She felt a shout of frustration and effort erupt from her mouth, but she couldn’t hear it over the roaring in her head. At last, with infinite slowness, the magic turned, halted in mid-motion and she turned it back to Jenny and let it spread into her like a wave, and waited.
But the binding refused her. It flowed in and through her like a doorway, finding nothing human to attach to. They were losing the girl to the wolf. She was going feral. Again Cara forced the magic to change direction, pushed it through Jenny while the wolf howled in agony and fought against its chains.
Still nothing.
She pulled on the strength of the pack and tried again, hoping that the touch of her parents’ mind would be enough to reach the screaming wolf.
“You have to stop, Cara.” She heard Adam’s voice from a distance and felt her shoulders being shaken. The forest came into view again, pulling her out of the torch-lit cave in the bluff. She looked into Adam’s stricken face and snarled with frustration. She couldn’t leave yet. He had to let her finish. She tried to close her eyes to return to her task, but Adam reached forward to hold open her lids. The wave of magic shuddered as they fought each other for control of it. Finally, it broke apart and fell away. “Stop it! You’re only hurting her and the pack can’t afford to lose any more energy.” There were tears in his eyes now and he didn’t fight to hide them. “We’ve lost Jenny. There’s nothing more we can do for her now.”
We’ve lost her? But—“ No! I can do this, Adam. There’s still time to bring her back.”
He’d pulled out of her and was kneeling next to one leg. He put a quiet hand on her cheek and she could feel, smell the sadness rolling off him in waves that broke her heart. “No. There’s not We’re all out of time. They know we’re coming now—they had to have felt the magic. We’ll lose them all if you keep going, Carita. We’ll lose Gloria, too, and Ziri.”
Her niece—familia, who would be pack someday. The image of the pretty, smiling girl, twirling in her pink ball-gown in the kitchen flowed through Cara’s mind. But no less pretty was the girl that Cara saw through the eyes of her parents… who might have electric blue stripes in her pale hair and wear a studded dog collar around her neck, but was good and sweet, filled with purpose, brimming with artistic talent.
And little Ziri, not as pretty in the narrow image of this country, but who was equally beautiful in the eyes of their newest pack mate Ume—and as talented and brave as any of the rest.
She looked around at the circle of wolves. When had they come from the barn and surrounded them? She knew she should be embarrassed, but she wasn’t. She raised to a sitting position, addressing her pack mates. “We’ll bring them home tonight. We’ll bring them all home.” The ferocity in her voice startled her. But it wasn’t just her own voice now. It was the voice of many. It was Jill’s voice, and Tommy’s… Eddie’s and even Mike and Sheila’s—who she’d never seen before, but knew. She knew them all with the intimacy as if they’d grown up in the same house, shared the same experiences.
She suddenly saw the strength in binding and was sad it had taken a crisis like this for her to understand. It was the ultimate democracy—the many speaking as one. Each voice in her mind a counsel, bringing intelligence and experience through thought and emotion. It wasn’t dictatorship as her papi had feared and she suddenly knew her mother didn’t have to die. She and Papi could have shared this same thing. They could have taken their love to a new level.
Could have taken their…love.
Her eyes moved to Adam’s, now a solid blue, no longer glowing. He smiled and nodded and she knew he’d been following her thoughts in his mind. “We’ll talk about it later. After we’ve brought them all home, my Alpha!”
THE KIDNAPPERS HAD time to prepare, but there was no helping it. At least the three lead birds and the snakes didn’t realize Ume was one of the pack now, didn’t know she was feeding them everything her bright black eyes took in, like a remote camera.
Wolves raced across the dark prairie, the landscape lit only by the moon, now high in the sky. The pack followed in her and Adam’s wake, pads and claws silent on the rocky ground. Eddie and Tommy had marked the trail well—they were able to move swiftly through the trees and cactus without stopping to get their bearings. It wasn’t long at all before the bluff came into sight. They slowed to a trot and then to a stalk as they tried to get close enough to see.
&
nbsp; “I can smell them.” Adam breathed the words into her ear and motioned with his muzzle to her left.
She nodded and mentally ordered the pack to spread out to search for the kidnappers. She had to stand still as she watched through the eyes of a dozen wolves, fearing she was going to fall over from being so dizzy—it was like standing in the center of a crystal prism and trying to follow each separate image.
It was so hard to watch for danger and since Luis’s nose wasn’t his best feature, the shot rang out before anyone nearby could scream a warning. Cara felt the silver pellets fracture his front leg as though it was her own, and he went down in a screaming heap. The big Minnesota female, Sheila, so black she was invisible in the shadows, crept up and leaped at the guard, riding him to the ground with his throat in her mouth until he stopped struggling. The scent and smell of blood seemed to center the images in her mind. The focus cleared and she could think again.
Adam was right at her side as she reached Luis. His front paw was hanging limply, part of the foreleg blown away by the shotgun blast. She looked to Adam for guidance. Did she dare heal him? Would it weaken them too much?
He muttered a curse under his breath and nodded, mentally agreeing with her logic. They couldn’t leave him here. The scent would bring the birds right down on top of them and he would be a sitting duck. Of course, the gunshot would bring them as well, but it would be better if they weren’t slowed by his injury.
Luis looked up at her with pain-filled eyes and she drew a deep breath and turned human. It was so much easier to heal when she could use her hands and fingers. With the strength of the full pack behind her, she felt her ability multiply and warmth turned into heat as she held the mangled leg. Skin began to flow and bone rebuild as she watched. She’d never been able to do this much this fast before. It seemed only moments before Paco’s older brother was back on his feet, limping—but on his feet all the same.
