The Midnight Hunt

by L. L. Raand

———

  Sylvan glided through the forest as silent as a ghost, following the one trail out of dozens that would lead her home. The tangy scent of aged wine and autumn leaves was familiar, comforting, exciting. She ran effortlessly, powerfully, covering ground in great leaping strides.

  Her heart beat with pride and passion. She was the Alpha, the leader and protector of her Pack. She would always be their heart, as they were hers. But now she did not run alone. She was whole. She was healed.

  Sylvan’s eyes flew open and she snarled.

  “You’re all right. You were hurt, but you’re all right now.” Drake’s heart brimmed with joy. She’d fallen asleep next to a wolf and awoken with a Were.

  Sylvan turned, her gaze seeking Drake’s. They were both nude and their legs naturally entwined. Sylvan’s nipples were tight and when her breasts brushed Drake’s, heat pooled in her belly. She pressed her palm to Drake’s stomach, steadying herself in Drake’s heat. “Lara? The Pack? Are they safe?”

  “Yes. Everyone is. Niki has seen to it.” Drake slid her hands up and down Sylvan’s back. She loved her muscles, her taut skin, her wild scent. “How do you feel?”

  “I dreamed of you,” Sylvan said, pressing her face against Drake’s throat and inhaling deeply. “I followed your scent. You led me home.”

  Drake trembled, every instinct driving her to affirm her bond with Sylvan. She wanted her. Needed her. She had to get away from her.

  “You should rest now.”

  Sylvan grumbled a warning when Drake tried to pull away.

  “You’re in need. I feel your call.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  “Why should you?” Sylvan kissed her. “I woke up ready for you.”

  “Please,” Drake murmured, her skin sheened with want. Her clitoris was swollen, her glands so hard she could barely stand the pressure of Sylvan’s thigh between her legs. “I can’t fight you any longer.”

  “No, you can’t.” Sylvan nipped at Drake’s lower lip and soothed the tiny bite with her tongue. She rumbled with pleasure when Drake’s mouth took hers in a hard, fierce kiss. She wanted Drake to take all she had to give. She wanted to meet passion with passion. Their tongues clashed and then gentled, whispering over and around each other as if dancing in moonlight. Sylvan caught Drake’s hand and guided it between her legs. She closed Drake’s fingers around her clitoris. “This is for you.”

  “It’s not safe,” Drake protested, but she couldn’t stop touching her. Sylvan was so hot and hard and wet already. She knew Sylvan wasn’t thinking, couldn’t be, not after what she’d been through, what her body demanded now. But Drake didn’t have the strength to deny her. She needed Sylvan just as badly—needed to feel Sylvan’s power, vibrant and vital. “I want all of you. I won’t be able to stop.”

  “I don’t want you to stop.” Sylvan scraped her canines down Drake’s throat. “You’re mine. I want to come on you.”

  “I want you all over me.” Drake moaned and rubbed against her.

  Sylvan’s clitoris swelled between her fingers. “I want you. I’m afraid—I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

  “You calmed my wolf. You brought me back.” Sylvan kissed Drake again, her eyes going wolf-gold. “You said you loved me.”

  Drake threaded her fingers through Sylvan’s hair and pulled Sylvan’s head back. She licked the rippling pulse. “I do. I do love you.”

  Sylvan cupped Drake’s sex, teasing her fingertips just inside her as she pressed her palm down on Drake’s clitoris. “Then I’m going to claim what’s mine.”

  Hunger, a need more intense than anything Drake had ever known, exploded in her chest. She pushed Sylvan onto her back and dragged her mouth down Sylvan’s throat to her breast. She caught a nipple between her teeth and tugged on it. “Not before I take what’s mine.”

  Sylvan growled and her claws shot out. “Be careful, Wolf. Don’t challenge me.”

  “Or else what?” Drake settled her chest between Sylvan’s legs and circled Sylvan’s nipple with her tongue. When Sylvan grasped her shoulders and tried to dislodge her, Drake shook her off and skimmed her mouth down the center of Sylvan’s abdomen. “Or else what, Alpha?”

  “I won’t be gentle.”

  “I don’t expect you to be.” Drake licked the fine silver line between the hard ridges of Sylvan’s abdominal muscles. Sylvan’s clitoris pulsated against her breast, satin soft and hot. “I’m going to make you come in my mouth.”

  Sylvan’s hips jerked. “Are you?”

  “I’m going to drink you until I’ve had my fill.” Drake pinned Sylvan’s wrists to the bed on either side of her hips and raised her head to see Sylvan’s face. Sylvan’s canines protruded. So did hers. “Then you can do whatever you want.”

  “Why should I wait?” Sylvan snarled.

  “Why?” Drake licked Sylvan’s clitoris, slowly swirling her tongue over the head and down the rigid shaft. “You like this, don’t you?”

  Sylvan yanked one hand free and grasped Drake’s neck, her claws pressing but not puncturing. “Yes.”

  “So do I.” Drake sucked, careful not to push her canines into the glands near the base of Sylvan’s clitoris. She didn’t want to make her release right away, and she knew Sylvan wanted to. She intended to savor her. She wanted to pleasure her. She wanted to own her.

  “Harder,” Sylvan gasped, her body straining under Drake’s. “Take me all the way in.”

  “Not yet,” Drake murmured, toying with Sylvan on the tip of her tongue. She massaged Sylvan’s stomach with one hand until the tense muscles relaxed a fraction. “That’s better.” She flicked at Sylvan’s clitoris and quickly skimmed lower, basking in Sylvan’s essence. Sylvan’s legs jumped. “I love how ready you are. So fierce and beautiful.”

  “Drake,” Sylvan growled. “Make me come.”

  “And so impatient.” Laughing, Drake slid her fingers into her.

  Instantly, she was surrounded by hot, firm muscles. The internal extension of Sylvan’s clitoris throbbed and she massaged the fullness gently with her fingertips. Sylvan thrashed, an ominous rumble rising from her chest. Drake licked her again. “You’re almost there.”

  Breaking Drake’s hold, Sylvan reared up and grabbed Drake’s head, forcing her clitoris between Drake’s lips.

  “Suck me,” she demanded, her face contorted with savage pleasure.

  “I’m ready to come.”

  Drake wanted to keep her that close forever, but she couldn’t wait any longer either. She had to have her. She wanted the taste of Sylvan in her mouth, in her memory, in every conscious and unconscious part of her. She wanted her, needed her, body and soul. Drawing Sylvan deep into her mouth, Drake slid her hand down Sylvan’s belly and massaged the base of her clitoris while she sucked her.

  “Yes, now,” Sylvan gasped, erupting into Drake’s mouth. She came harder and longer than she ever had and still her hips pumped. More, she needed more. She needed to give more, take more. She needed to be joined. A wild raging hunger stormed through her, and she flipped Drake onto her back. “Mine.”

  “Yes,” Drake cried, so full and so ready she wanted to scream for release. Wrapping her legs around Sylvan’s hips, she reached down and opened herself. Instantly the swollen ridge of Sylvan’s clitoris glided between her folds. When Sylvan thrust, Drake rose to meet her. She was so close and never close enough. “Come inside me. Can you come inside me?”

  “Bite me.” Sylvan’s wolf-gold eyes burned into Drake’s. “Bite me now.”

  With a strangled cry, Drake buried her canines in Sylvan’s chest.

  Sylvan’s clitoris, stiff with the rush of her orgasm, throbbed wildly in Drake’s sex. Sylvan bit Drake’s shoulder when she came, and Drake exploded with her.

  “I love you,” Sylvan gasped, collapsing in Drake’s arms.

  Even as Drake held Sylvan, shuddering and spent, her heart shattered. She wanted nothing more than to hold Sylvan for the rest of her life. To spend her life by Sylvan’s side. But what if she was
damaged, truly mutia? She couldn’t stay with Sylvan if her presence made Sylvan a target with the other Weres, with rivals in her own Pack.

  Leaving Sylvan now would kill Drake, but even death could not make her regret this perfect moment. For the first time in her life she knew she was not alone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Even asleep, Drake knew immediately when Sylvan left her.

  The places where their bodies had touched while they’d slept wrapped in one another were cold. Where moments before she had been content and satisfied, now she churned with want. The bite on her shoulder throbbed and she wanted Sylvan’s mouth there again. Aching for Sylvan inside her again, Drake watched Sylvan lope silently away.

  She could not fathom how she could survive being separated from her when she already yearned for the sight and scent and sound of her.

  Drake forced herself to get up. She found a stack of shirts and pants in the closet and got dressed. Her hands trembled. She was edgy, anxious, like she had been when she was first transformed, only worse.

  She wanted Sylvan, only Sylvan, and she wanted her with a fierceness that drove reason aside. She was covered in sex sweat, her stomach cramped and twisting. She wondered if she had a fever, if her cells were even now breaking down, releasing the mutagenic chemicals that would make her a danger to everyone around her. She’d bitten Sylvan, let Sylvan bite her. Had she infected her, put Sylvan’s life at risk? She was a medic. She knew better than to ask questions when what she needed was data, and she was determined to get it. She had to know, once and for all, if she was a risk to those she loved.

  She found Andrew standing guard in the hall when she left her room. He smiled a greeting.

  “Have you seen Sophia?” Drake asked.

  “She just came in a few minutes ago. I think she’s in the laboratory.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, Prima.”

  Drake halted. “I’m sorry?”

  Andrew looked confused.

  “You called me something. Prima?”

  “Oh,” Andrew said, his face clearing. His blue eyes sparkled.

  “I’ll have to tell Roger he’s falling down on his job. He should have explained all of this to you.”

  “Explained what?”

  “As the Alpha’s mate you are the Prima—equivalent within Pack hierarchy to the Alpha. The only one more dominant is the Alpha herself.” He shrugged. “There can only be one Alpha, one leader. Because you are the Alpha’s mate and essential to her strength and well-being, the centuri are bound to protect you as we would her. As will all the Pack.”

  Drake couldn’t deny her bond with Sylvan. She wouldn’t deny it. She loved her. She had claimed her. And Sylvan had claimed her. “I guess I don’t have any say in all that, do I?”

  Andrew grinned. “I’m afraid not.” His expression grew more serious. “It’s not just Pack law, or even a matter of instinct. Our entire existence is dependent upon our preserving hierarchical order. We are predators, and without a strong Alpha, our society will fail. We need her. She needs you.”

  “Does everyone know we’re bonded?” Drake asked, wondering what would happen if she had to leave.

  “Yes, we can feel your connection to the Alpha, just as we feel her. And the two of you—your scents have merged.” He regarded her thoughtfully. “Can you feel the Pack?”

  “Yes,” Drake said. “I have since Sylvan first called my wolf, but it’s much stronger now. It’s like looking up into the night sky at thousands of stars and knowing that I am indelibly linked to each one. I may be standing alone, but I am never isolated, never adrift. I’m connected.”

  “Exactly. And the strongest, brightest guiding star is the Alpha.”

  “Sylvan.” Drake felt a moment of rightness, as if she was exactly where she was supposed to be, doing exactly what she was born to do. Free from fear and worry for the first time in so long, she took a step forward, about to throw her arm around Andrew’s shoulders. He suddenly looked panicked and jumped back.

  “I’m sorry,” Drake said.

  “No,” Andrew said hastily. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve wanted to touch you since you came out of the room. It’s natural for us to bond that way. But you and the Alpha are newly mated, and newly mated dominants are even more territorial and aggressive than is usual for a mated pair. And she’s the Alpha. If she smells me on you…” He grinned. “I would like to keep all my parts intact.”

  Drake imagined anyone touching Sylvan, and her possessive fury surged so hot and hard that she growled. She wanted Sylvan’s taste in her mouth. Now. “I understand.”

  Andrew clearly sensed her need because he said quickly, “She’s with Lara, if you would like me to take you to her.”

  “No, I know she has things to tend to. And so do I. If she’s looking for me—”

  “She’ll know where you are. She’ll always know where you are.”

  “Will she?” Drake said softly, wondering if she had any future with Sylvan at all.

  ———

  Sylvan eased into the room and took in the figures on the bed.

  Jody sat with her back against the wall. Her shirt was open and her breasts bare. Lara and a naked human female Sylvan didn’t recognize reclined in Jody’s lap, their limbs sinuously entwined. They appeared to be asleep.

  “The sun is almost down,” Sylvan said.

  “I know.” Jody stroked Lara’s hair. Lara rumbled in her sleep, a typical Were sound of pleasure, and caressed the dark-haired human’s breast. “Lara’s sleep cycles will be erratic for a few days. She’ll wake again soon, hungry.”

  “We need to talk.”

  “Yes.” Jody gently disengaged and strode over to Sylvan. “Marissa will not be able to host much longer. I want to take Lara back to the city with me tonight.”

  “To hunt?”

  “Yes. She needs to be supervised while she learns to feed.”

  “How long?”

  Jody raised a brow. “You expect her to come back?”

  “Of course.” Sylvan had felt Lara wake and knew Lara was listening. “She’s my wolf, my centuri. This is where she belongs.”

  “She’s a Vampire of my house.”

  Sylvan growled. “Do you challenge me, Vampire?”

  Jody met Sylvan’s stare impassively. “She must feed to live. She’ll be nocturnal and photosensitive. She might not be able to shift.”

  “Then let me die,” Lara pleaded.

  Sylvan swung in her direction, letting her wolf rise. “Your wolf lives. I can feel her.”

  “Alpha,” Lara said brokenly, “if I can’t serve you and the Pa—”

  Sylvan vaulted across the room and gripped Lara’s chin, forcing Lara’s eyes to hers. “Feel my call. Your wolf lives.”

  Lara shuddered and for a few seconds, her whiskey eyes turned amber gold. Then she flinched and grabbed her abdomen, unable to stifle a cry. “I hurt. Alpha, I’m so cold.”

  “I know.” Sylvan knelt and pulled Lara’s head to her chest. She kissed her and stroked her cheek. “I know. That’s why I want you to go with Jody.” When Lara murmured a protest, Sylvan shook her lightly.

  “Until you’ve learned to control your hunger and how to satisfy it.”

  Lara raised tormented eyes to Sylvan’s, tears streaking her cheeks.

  “I’d rather die than leave the Pack.”

  Sylvan framed her face and kissed her forehead. “Do you feel me in your heart?”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  “I hold you in mine. I will not let you go. You will return to us.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” Laura buried her face in Sylvan’s neck.

  Sylvan cradled her, caressing her trembling shoulders, and looked over at Jody. “If any harm comes to her—”

  “None will,” Jody said with absolute certainty. “You’d do better to worry about yourself.”

  “Lara needs to feed,” Sylvan said, feeling Lara’s questing mouth hot against her throat. Gently, she eased Lara ba
ck onto the bed. Lara’s eyes blazed wildly and her incisors unsheathed. Snarling, she rolled over onto Marissa, who immediately reached for her.

  “You need me, baby?” Marissa murmured, guiding Lara to her neck. She moaned, her head falling back, as Lara sank into her. Her hips rolled as the rich scent of copper filled the air.

  Sylvan moved away from the bed and joined Jody on the far side of the room. “Will they be safe if we go out into the hall?”

  Jody shivered almost imperceptibly and dragged her gaze away from Lara’s avid feeding. “For a few minutes. Then I’ll have to stop her.”

  They stepped outside and Sylvan took in Jody’s haunted look.

  She’d seen Francesca with the same expression too many times not to recognize it. “How much longer can you contain your bloodlust?”

  “I’m all right,” Jody said. “I’ll feed when I get Lara back to the city.”

  “Such honor is unusual for a Vampire,” Sylvan said dryly. “But then, we find ourselves in an unusual situation.”

  Jody laughed. “Your second thinks I tried to have you assassinated.”

  “Did you?”

  “If I wanted you dead, Wolf,” Jody said, “I’d do it myself.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Any other ideas?”

  “If this had happened a few weeks ago, I would have said HUFSI was behind it.”

  “They have been campaigning to have all Praeterns neutered,” Jody agreed, “and have come out strongly against the new Praetern rights bill.”

  “There are plenty of militant splinter factions who aren’t going to be swayed by any ballot,” Sylvan said. “They’ve made regular death threats.”

  “It’s certainly possible,” Jody said. “Historically, killing the figurehead doesn’t stop a movement from effecting change, but fanatics rarely learn from history. You have your doubts now?”

  From inside the room, Marissa cried out. Sylvan felt Lara’s wolf straining for freedom and scented Lara’s wild pheromones mixed with a cooler, sharper element. “She’s a centuri. Her wolf is strong. Eventually she’s going to shift,” Sylvan warned. “Will you be able to handle her?”

  Jody smiled mockingly. “Vampires know how to handle Weres when we feed. Who else wants you dead?”