by Meg Ripley
Her heart thundered in her chest. They’d figured out a way to bring spirits back from the dead. That meant Kayla could be out there, waiting for her to do the same. Penny tried to slow her racing brain and get back to her usual habit of remaining skeptical. “That means we know the general how, and we know a bit of the why. Miguel said something about ruling over shifter society. I don’t see how ghosts are going to help him do it, though.”
“That’s all right. I plan to investigate this clan more thoroughly, and now with all the efforts of the Force, so we’ll get it figured out.”
They picked their way back, staying in the thickest parts of the brush looping widely around any path Miguel’s clan might’ve taken just to be safe. The night was silent and cool around them, the stars brilliant in the sky. In a way, Penny wished she and Raul hadn’t shifted earlier. It’d left her that much more in touch with her body, and as she moved along behind him through the woods, she couldn’t help but pay attention. He seemed stiffer than usual, and when he turned his head to listen, she could see how his brows were drawn down and his jaw was set.
She cleared her throat. “Look, if you’re upset by what we saw back there, don’t worry about it too much. If Miguel could find a way to bring these spirits here, then we can find a way to send them back. And at least, according to what we’ve seen so far, they’re not able to stay for very long.”
“I’m not upset,” he replied, but there was a thread of tension in his voice.
“It would be understandable if you were. I can’t say the LASS is very popular, but we’ve had a few guests tag along before. Seeing occurrences like these isn’t something everyone can handle.”
Raul stopped and turned to her. There wasn’t much room between them and several young trees, the narrow trunks shooting hopefully toward the sky before branching out. “I can handle this. I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my lifetime already, and this is just another box to check off.”
“Then what’s wrong?” She lifted her hand, automatically reaching out to lay it on his chest. Penny realized what she was doing and started to pull it back, but Raul’s fingers closed gently over her wrist.
He pressed her palm to his heart as he looked into her eyes. “I’m not worried about ghosts, Penny. I’m worried about you.”
She was relieved to feel the booming cadence of his heartbeat under her palm because her own was pounding out of control. “Why should you be worried about me?”
He sucked in a deep breath that expanded his broad chest beneath her hand. “I stopped by your place yesterday.”
“You did?” Just the thought of him showing up at her door was enough to send a surge of energy through her body. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t home much yesterday.”
“I wanted to talk to you about Miguel and his clan, but I also wanted to apologize. I can feel that there’s something between us, and I pushed it too far. I don’t ever want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, and I’m sorry.” His fingers gently massaged her skin.
Her wolf nudged her inside, demanding that she acknowledge not only how smokin’ this man was, but how sweet. “It’s all right. I think I was just thrown off by knowing Tyler was following us.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m upset. When I went by your place, Tyler was there. He was standing outside, and he told me in no uncertain terms that the two of you were together and that I needed to stay away from you.”
Penny’s hand curled into a fist against him. “We’re not together, and we never will be again. That son of a bitch just wants to find a reason to pick a fight.”
“Penny.” His free hand came up to touch the side of her face, his thumb tracing softly along her jawline, then just below her lip before moving to cup the back of her head. “Penny, I’m absolutely crazy about you. I know in a way that I can feel but hardly explain that we’re meant to be together. If you don’t want me, then that’s up to you. But I’m just so worried about you when it comes to Tyler. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
Tears burned at her eyes and threatened to spill over her lashes. She’d never experienced anything or anyone quite like this. “You care about me enough that you’d let me go? If that was what I wanted?”
“I would.” More words lingered on those full lips of his. She could sense them as though he’d spoken them, but Raul wasn’t like Tyler. He wasn’t going to manipulate her by telling her how heartbroken he’d be or how he’d never get over her. Even if it were true, he wasn’t going to say it.
“I don’t want you to,” she whispered, her lips and tongue alive with electricity.
He pulled her in, his lips soft against hers as he still held her hand against his chest. Penny parted her lips and dared to reach out, feeling a stream of bliss flow through her body as their tongues danced and explored. He pulled back, ending with a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“Raul,” she said as he held her close in his thickly-tattooed muscular arms, “I think there’s something I should tell you.”
He moved, sliding his hand down her arm until it entwined with her fingers. Instead of answering, he led her through the woods, eventually coming upon a small clearing. It wasn’t a typical lookout or picnic area, but just a circle of soft sand surrounded by trees. He guided her to sit on the ground next to him. “I’m listening.”
There was nothing she wanted more than to ignore all the worry swirling inside her and just sit there with him, staring up at the stars all night. She owed him more than that, though. “I told you that Tyler and I used to date, but there’s a little more to it than that.”
“Okay.” His gruff tone indicated that he didn’t want to talk about Tyler anymore, but Penny knew she had to do this.
“It was sort of a childhood sweetheart thing, but it got more complicated than that. Both of our dads are Alphas of local wolf packs, pretty big ones. Once our parents figured out what was happening, they got all excited and decided he and I were mates. But I never felt drawn to him,” she amended hastily, feeling Raul pull away emotionally more than physically. “I know that there’s nothing between us. Tyler has held onto that notion, letting himself get all caught up in pack politics. In a way, I guess I have, too. I might’ve been more firm with Tyler if I wasn’t worried about pissing off his pack and the drama of it getting back to mine.”
“So, he gets to continue living his fantasy of being with you again someday?” Raul questioned.
“It’s just a power trip,” she replied, knowing that Tyler didn’t think she was worth anything more than her bloodline. “He’s got this notion of combining our two families into one, and then he’d be the Alpha of a super-pack. It’s awful, really.”
Raul had been studying her fingers, and when he looked up at her, their faces were merely inches apart. “What about your parents? Are they still expecting the two of you to make up and bond for good?”
She hated herself for dragging all this out in the open now. If she’d only told Raul earlier, when she’d first felt that cosmic tug toward him, this might have been much easier. “I’m not sure. I know they want me to be part of the leadership of our clan, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be with someone just to make other people happy. I know I’m meant for you and only you, Raul.” The words flowed so easily off her tongue. She hadn’t planned to say them, but she wouldn’t take them back. They were real and true, and that was all that mattered.
“And I’m meant for you. I love you, Penny.” Their lips met again then, but it was so much more than a kiss. All of their deepest feelings, everything they’d been holding back, radiated into each other. His arms wrapped around her as they eagerly tumbled to the sand below. Penny grazed her fingers through his hair as he buried his face in her neck, his teeth and lips exploring.
The feral side of her overcame everything else, and she pulled at the hem of his t-shirt with fervent need. His clothes had made no secret of his impressive body, but she needed to know it for herself. Stripping away the cott
on material, her fingers explored everything she revealed, rippling along the muscles of his back and the strength of his spine. Raul pulled back only long enough to allow her to yank the shirt over his head before he claimed her mouth again, his tongue roving down her collarbone and into the vee of her neckline.
His palms were on fire as he slid them under her shirt, quickly heating everything he touched. His movements were firm and commanding, showing her how much he wanted her, yet Penny knew that he would stop at the slightest indication from her. That knowledge and power sent a thrill of sensuality through her body, and as he shimmied her jeans down over her luscious hips and groaned over what he’d discovered, she’d never felt more beautiful.
“You’re incredible,” he whispered as he pressed his lips gently to her navel. “I’ve wanted you so badly. Do you know how many times I’ve fantasized about you since we met?”
Her breath left her lungs as she explored him, her fingers cherishing every muscle of his abs as she reached for the waist of his jeans. He might be a gorgeous wolf inside, but right now, he was all man. Exposed in the moonlight, Penny expected him simply to take her. She wanted him desperately, her core surging in anticipation.
But Raul was more patient than she was. He smiled at her as he slowly pulled down one strap of her lace bra and then the other, caressing each of her nipples gently with his tongue. His fingers played with the waistband of her panties, teasing her. “Do you want this?”
“God, yes,” she panted, stroking her fingers along his firm inner thighs and working upward until she held his rock-hard member in her hands.
Raul let out a groan, and he rubbed his thumb across her lips. “You make it hard for me to be a gentleman.”
She bit her lip as she smiled up at him. “Raul, I’ve spent so much of my life being told what to do. I’m not going to do that anymore, not for anyone. This is all for me, and I want you so badly, I think I might die if I don’t have you right now.” Penny wrapped her legs around him to prove it, feeling the hard muscles of his thighs against hers.
Stripping her panties off, he sank into her slowly. When he’d buried himself to the hilt, a deep shuddering rose through him and exploded as a groan. “How can you feel so good?” he rumbled against her neck.
They’d hardly even started, yet she knew exactly what he meant. Being so close to him, intertwined, their arms and legs melding together, was exquisite. She closed her eyes to focus on the feeling, and her core tightened in response, pulling him in deeper.
“I want this to last,” he growled as he slowly pulsed his hips against hers. “I want to have my way with you all night. I want to wake up with you like this.” Raul was already filling her completely, but she felt him thicken inside her.
Penny gasped with pleasure as her body reacted to his. They were doing what any other couple would do, yet it was so much more. It wasn’t simply their physical forms that were pleasuring each other. Their souls, forged together at the dawn of the universe and split apart by time, were converging. Her heart tripped along in step to his. “However long, we still have all night,” she breathed. “I won’t be done with you, Raul, not ever.”
He pushed against her harder, their hips thrusting and receiving in perfect unison under the stars. Penny wrapped herself around him, wanting to know the feeling of every part of him. Raul had stepped into her life like a shadow that’d always been there, but had finally separated itself from the darkness to come into the light. He filled her body with a heat and hunger that she’d never known before. Now that she did, she never wanted to let go of it again.
“Penny,” he murmured, “tell me what you want.”
She arched her back and stretched her body underneath him, feeling their shared passion building. It glowed inside her like a universe being formed, burning brighter and brighter as it swirled and converged at her very core. “Just this,” she breathed, uncertain now if she was still a part of her own body or his. “Please, just this. Oh god, I’m almost there.”
He’d felt it too, she knew. Raul held her tighter and kissed her as they moved in time. As her ecstasy began to coil in her core, Penny held her breath, and every muscle in her body contracted for one long moment until she dropped over the edge of a vast cliff, falling along with Raul into a blissful state of peace.
It was nearly dawn by the time she made it back to her place. Penny had floated through town as she drove through the early morning traffic, unable to think of anything but Raul. True to his word, they’d stayed there in the park all night, cuddled together as they talked, taking breaks from their conversation to make love again. It was all so perfect. If it wasn’t so early, she would have called Ingrid. Penny wanted to tell her that she’d been right that first night, they were fated. At some point, she’d have to call Dylan, at least. Not to brag about her night, of course, but because she’d missed several calls from him while she’d been with Raul.
Her body still buzzed with his touch and his kisses, enough that she dropped her keys as she tried to unlock the front door of the building. Penny bent to pick them up. When she straightened, darkness shrouded her vision. “Hey!”
Strong arms wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her sides as rope wound around her wrists. She’d spent all night in a man’s arms, but not those. Penny struggled against them. It was no use. Her feet swung out from beneath her, and she was being carried. She felt the coolness of leather upholstery and heard the slamming of a car door. Penny was just about to start wildly kicking her feet and thrashing her arms when something strong and pungent was pressed to the outside of the fabric covering her face. She reeled her head back, trying to get away, but there was no room. The early morning light that’d been seeping through the fibers slowly faded, and she was left in darkness.
8
Amar tipped his chair back, his dark brows creasing as he looked at Raul. “You’re sure about all this? No offense, Raul, but I know how your imagination likes to run away with you sometimes. When we heard about these odd appearances throughout town, I thought we were going to end up finding evidence of identity theft or someone who was good at special effects. Actual ghosts, though? That seems pretty far out there.”
“This from a guy who’s engaged to a vampire,” Jude remarked quietly.
The Alpha snapped his head to the bear shifter, his eyes flashing gold. “You’d be wise not to talk shit about my mate.”
Jude shook his head. “Dude, I’m not. I’m just saying that it wasn’t all that long ago that none of us imagined we’d find actual vampires living right here in Los Angeles. When you take that into perspective, maybe a few phantoms aren’t all that out of line.”
“Fair enough,” Amar admitted with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Perhaps even we are susceptible to the human paradigm. You said this has something to do with an ancient tribal ritual?”
“Several of them, actually.” Raul was exhausted. He’d been up all night with Penny, a thought that continually brought a smile to his face, and then he’d spent the morning refreshing himself on anything he’d ever known about this stuff. “The largest Native American tribe that lived in this area before colonization was the Tongva. They didn’t do anything like what I saw at Griffith Park, but other tribes who were loosely related and spoke a similar dialect did. The Tongva had a few ritual curses they supposedly cast on the incoming settlers as revenge for taking their land.”
“So, Griffith Park was built on an ancient burial ground?” Emersyn asked with amusement in her eyes.
“Considering the number of places around here that were built over more modern cemeteries, I wouldn’t be surprised. Essentially, Miguel is blending several different techniques to raise these spirits. For the moment, they don’t last long. I’m guessing he even has a bit of difficulty controlling them, considering that a few vandalism sprees aren’t going to do much to help him take over the area. Still, he’s done the biggest part of the work. The rest is just refining it.” Raul leaned back and swiped a hand over his
face. His eyes felt like they were full of sand from lack of sleep, but he would have done it all over again if given the choice. Spending the night with Penny had been the most magical experience of his life.
“Here.” Jude slid a mug of coffee in front of Raul that matched his own. “You look like you need some of this high octane blend.”
There was a hint of a question in Jude’s eye, and Raul knew they’d be talking again later. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“You mentioned something about a partial sacrifice?” Emersyn asked. As the Medical Sergeant in residence, it only made sense that this was the part she picked up on.
Raul nodded and described that aspect of it in more detail. “It’s like they each offer a small part of themselves to give a spirit the energy it needs to come back. But everyone I saw at their clan’s house looked like they didn’t have much more to give.”
She nodded, her mouth a hard line. “Depending on how many times they’ve tried this and how many members they have, this could be dangerous for them. I’ll have to make sure I’ve got plenty of supplies on hand for whatever our next step is.”
“I’d say the next step is as Raul suggested,” Amar replied. “We bide our time while we gather some more information. While we know Miguel has evil intentions, he’s technically not hurting anyone yet. The members who’ve joined his clan seem to be there of their own free will, and obviously, the dead bodies are already dead. I don’t think a ghost can feel pain, can it?” He scratched the side of his face.
“I can’t imagine it feels good to be dragged back to Earth against your will,” Jude remarked.
“No, but even so, we need to know a bit more about what we’re dealing with,” Amar said. “We can start with a surveillance rotation, plotting out where they go and what they do. At some point, we may need to have someone infiltrate their ranks. It can’t be Jude or Raul since they’ve already been seen, but Gabe or I could…”