Juliana's heart constricted in her chest and she quickly crawled over to Derek, sitting at his feet. She grasped his hands in her smaller ones. “Who did you lose?”
“My mother and my sister.” He sniffed twice as his eyes grew watery. “They were such good women. My sister…she was so timid for a wolf. And my mother, she could fight, but she was so petite.”
“What happened?” Juliana stroked his hands with her thumbs, gently squeezing them to offer support.
“Hunters. Hunters tortured and killed them just because they could shift into wolves.” He sniffed again, his eyes dark and feral. “At the time I was an enforcer for the previous pack leader. It was my duty to guard him during the attack. I wasn't there for them and they died horribly.”
Juliana blinked against tears threatening to fall. She had to swallow hard before she could speak. “It's not your fault, Derek.”
“Even if that's true, it doesn't bring them back. It doesn't take the images of their dead, mutilated bodies out of my head.” A silent tear traveled the length of his face. “And if I exchange a moon vow with you and you die, I'll feel it on a level that will surely drive me mad. I can't do it.”
“I'm stronger than I look, Derek.” She grabbed his face and forced him to look her in the eye. “Don't throw away a chance on much deserved happiness out of fear.” She kissed him, tasting the salt of her own tears mixing with his.
His hands grappled at her robe, pulling her closer to him, returning her kiss with the same urgent need that had overcome them twice before. Then she felt herself falling backward. Derek stepped over her as she landed on her rump, and marched onto the patio where he threw his head back and let out an earth-shattering howl filled with a mixture of sorrow and rage.
Juliana watched as within seconds a large brown wolf arrived and shifted into the Hispanic man she'd seen earlier with Derek's pack leader. Then Derek shifted into his wolf form and took off into the woods.
He left her without a goodbye.
“Well, look who came back with his tail tucked between his legs.”
Derek looked up to see Felicia, the sexy redhead he'd bedded more times than he could count, sauntering over. She wore skintight jeans and a white ribbed tank top which clearly showed her lack of a bra. There once was a time the sight would have Derek hard in a second. Not now, and he feared, not ever again. He shifted uncomfortably on the step he'd been sitting on the past hour as she knelt in front of him. Suddenly the thought of her hands touching him caused a cramping sensation in his abdomen.
“I heard you found your soul mate.” She grinned as she traced circles up his thigh. The grin turned into a wicked smile when Derek's hand clamped around her wrist and removed her offending touch. “Why don't you just go back to her? The moon is going to rip a vow out of you anyway.”
“Go away, Felicia.” Derek shoved the pretty but mischievous she-wolf away and rose from his perch on his back porch steps to walk past her.
“You're being stupid, Derek.”
“Whether that's true or not, it's none of your concern.” He glanced at her for a moment, then went back to staring at the moon. He'd left Juliana just before dawn, but her face hadn't left his mind for one second since. He'd run away like a scared child, left Rico to protect her if the hunters came back—with stern orders to not even think about thinking about her in any way sexual.
“Of course it's my concern. We're pack, and our pack is dying out.”
Derek scratched his head, tired from lack of sleep and too much going on in his head. He didn't need this argument right now. Especially when he knew it was one he'd lose.
In recent months the pack had noticed something very disturbing. Soul mates produced offspring far more frequently than wolves who just had sex with each other for the pleasure of it, or tried to intentionally breed with partners the moon didn't assign to them. The previous pack leader had even passed a breeding law, forcing wolves to breed amongst themselves whether they wanted to or not, and it hadn't produced many offspring. There weren't many wolves in the pack who'd exchanged moon vows, and the pack was hurting for it. They needed to multiply or face dying off. For him to meet his soul mate and not exchange a moon vow would be an act of betrayal to his pack.
Derek shook his head, disgusted by his own fear, furious with his predicament. He knew the only reason Jason didn't have him under guard was because the pack leader thought one couldn't beat the moon vow. Derek was determined to prove him wrong. He would excommunicate himself from the pack, even if he had to live with the void in his soul forever, and run as far from Juliana as he could. With enough distance constantly kept between them, he would beat the moon vow. Even if his pack—his family—hated him for it.
“Derek. You love her. Just give in.”
He shook his head, turned to tell her he was leaving, but the words died on his lips as he felt a jolt of rage-coated fear like nothing he'd ever felt before. Juliana was in danger.
Juliana tugged the sheets off her bed, determined to wash Derek's scent out of them. Amazingly, she'd been able to cry herself to sleep after he'd left. Not surprisingly, she'd dreamed of him the whole time. She imagined she always would. After all, she'd dreamed of him before they'd met. Now that she knew his scent and taste, how could she ever stop thinking of the man? Disgusted, she tossed the sheets onto the floor and reached for the pillows, ready to rid them of the cases.
He'd left her. No goodbye. No promise of return. Just left.
Rico had stuck his head in the door to introduce himself and explain he'd be watching over her in case the men who'd shot Derek weren't just random hunters who happened to have silver bullets. She'd told him to go away, to tell Derek to watch over her, but he'd crossed his muscular arms over his tree-trunk chest and told her there wasn't a chance in hell of that happening. So she'd stomped into her bedroom, slammed the door and promptly cried herself to sleep.
She'd always believed in the concept of soul mates, but she hadn't been prepared for meeting hers. Who would have thought finding a soul mate could hurt so much? The worst part was she couldn't even be mad at him. He'd lost his mother and his sister in an attack, an attack he feared she would be a victim of if she exchanged a vow with him and became a werewolf. Only a heartless, self-absorbed person would be mad at him. All she could do was hurt for him, and hope he allowed himself to love again.
The sound of shattering glass captured Juliana's attention. She whipped her head toward her closed door and heard shouting and growling coming from her living room, then a sharp yelp followed by a howl of pain. Heart in throat, she ran out of her bedroom and came to a halt as she saw Rico lying on the floor in his wolf form, a puddle of blood leaking over the floorboards. The same hunter who'd shot Derek earlier stood over Rico, his rifle pointed at the wolf’s trembling body as he looked at her with eyes begging for help.
Another man, this one blond, tall, and thin, pointed a smaller gun at her. His eyes were dark, unmerciful. The eyes of a killer. “You know, Bob, I don't think this lady was an unfortunate victim caught up in a werewolf attack at all. I think she's a wolf-whore.”
Chapter Six
Derek raced from his backyard, through the woods, and into the clearing leading to Juliana's house as fast as he could push his wolf form. The entire time he begged The White Wolf, the mystical wolf mother who guarded over all the wolf packs, to forgive him his idiotic notion of fighting the pull of the moon and save the woman he loved.
He'd never leave her. He'd give her the moon vow. He'd give her anything. He'd marry her in a human wedding ceremony if she wanted. He'd do anything just as long as he could make love to her again. Not hard sex. He would hold her, cherish her, love her long and gentle. Please, White Wolf, please protect her.
He heard a scream as he reached the steps and knew he would have screamed himself in human form. Instead he howled in rage as he bounded up the steps and raced over the deck to leap through the large hole in the shattered glass door.
He skidded to a stop and stood
blinking as he took in the scene before him. The heavy man who'd shot him earlier lay unconscious on the floor. Rico lay bleeding in wolf form, obviously shot with silver, and Juliana…
“Well, look who came back,” she said through tightly gritted teeth as she stood with her foot in a blond man's back. His arm was twisted behind him, held tightly in her grasp. There was a loud pop and the man screamed. The same scream Derek had heard as he'd neared the house. “You just going to stare at me or help? Rico's bleeding out.”
Derek shook his head to snap himself out of his stupor and called upon his human form. His surprise could be dealt with later. His pack mate was in trouble. “Can you hold that man while I dig the bullet out of Rico?”
“No need.” She let go and the man fell forward, crying out in pain. “Broke both his legs and arms.”
Derek's jaw dropped as he studied the man's crippled limbs. She had broken all of them. His little ballerina. What the hell?
“I guess I'll get the bullet out of Rico.”
“No.” Derek shook his head again, unsure he'd ever be able to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. “I'll do it. Some pack mates will be here soon to help us clean this up. Jason will feel Rico's pain.”
As if on cue, howls sounded in the distance.
It's a damn good thing your neighbors didn't call the police.” Jason shook his head. “I'm sure the hunters did some good screaming while you beat them to a pulp.”
Juliana grinned as the pack leader laughed. She couldn't help the smugness, knowing she'd blown his—not to mention Derek's—perception of her to pieces. “Yeah, I guess having neighbors who just don't bother to concern themselves with what goes on in other people's homes can be a good thing. What will you do with them?” She nodded her head in the direction of the woods where Jason's bodyguards had taken the hunters.
“We'll take care of them.” His eyes grew dark, far darker than green eyes should grow, before flashing red for a second.
Juliana swallowed hard, knowing the men were probably already dead.
“I've set up guards around the perimeter, plenty enough that there's no way in hell anyone else is getting in this house. They'll stay until you get what you need and leave.” He stepped forward so he could invade her space. “And I'll drag both of you out of here myself if you're not out of here within the next hour.” He fixed her with a hard stare, then stepped through the shattered glass door, shifting into wolf form before running toward the woods.
Juliana took a deep breath and turned toward Derek, who'd just finished scrubbing up the last of the blood from the floor. He carried the bucket of soapy water and sponges to the sink and made quick work of cleaning them out. “Clean up many scenes like this?”
He turned off the taps and dried his hands on a dishtowel before turning toward her, his hip resting against the sink. His eyes were sad, haunted. “It comes with being a wolf.”
Juliana wracked her brain for something to say, something to take away his pain, but could come up with nothing more than, “I'm sorry you lost your mother and sister so horribly.”
“So am I.” He closed his eyes. “I'm more sorry I almost lost you because I was a coward.”
Juliana's heart kicked in her chest. “You are?”
“I love you, Juliana.” He opened his eyes again and they were coated with raw emotion. “I couldn't have gone on if I'd lost you without you knowing that. If those men…” He frowned. “How in the hell did you beat the shit out of them like that?”
Juliana laughed out loud, amused by the wide eyed look of astonishment on his face. “Didn't you notice the books on Japanese and other Asian cultures?”
“Yeah…” The frown lines marring his forehead deepened.
“Well, I just love my foreign cultures, and martial arts is really big in some of them. Actually, there are lots of non-Asian cultures who also have some pretty impressive combat techniques.”
Derek blinked, then laughed. “You really are more than just a ballerina, aren't you?”
She nodded, sobering. “I can handle myself, Derek. You don't have to worry about me.”
“I'll never stop worrying about you.” He walked across the kitchen area until he stood before her, and cupped her jaw in his hand. “But I won't run away from you, or what I feel for you ever again.”
A strange tingling started at Juliana's toes and quickly traveled up her body. “What—”
“It's time.” Derek smiled as a beam of moonlight shone through the doorway, brighter than any beam of light Juliana had seen before. “Juliana, I give you freely my heart and soul for your keeping, to hold in your hands from this night forward.”
Juliana's eyes watered as she realized this must be the vow. The tingling sensation in her body grew hot as words came from nowhere and poured from her mouth. “Derek, I take your heart and soul into my body, and in turn, gift you with my love, my breath, my very being.”
Derek's eyes grew wet. “I promise to live each moment only for you, and to cherish each second of your existence.”
“I promise to live only for you, and to die without your existence.”
Derek took both her hands in his. “I choose you, Juliana, as the bearer of my children, and the owner of my heart.”
“I choose you, Derek, as the father of my children, and the keeper of my soul.”
“By the light of the moon, I become one with you, Juliana.”
“By the light of the moon, I become one with you, Derek.”
Scorching hot pain blazed across Juliana's right palm and she jerked her hands out of Derek's, noticing him do the same thing. A crescent shape glowed in her palm. “What is this?”
Derek held her hand to his mouth and kissed the half moon shape, his cool lips soothing the burn. “The mark of the moon. We've exchanged the moon vow and will be joined as one for eternity.”
Juliana smiled, her heart full of joy, and kissed the man she loved. “So what happens now?”
“Now, we pack up what you need and move you in to my house for the night. The whole pack will be leaving the area for good soon, though. We can't risk more hunters coming.” The joy in his eyes fled. “Juliana, you might be better off not seeing your family much. If they find out—”
She placed a finger over his lips and grinned. “Don't you worry. I've spent my whole adult life dodging my parents and keeping secrets from them. Besides,” she added, “Mr. and Mrs. Van Alder will probably promptly die of shock when they find out their daughter has married a black man who wears T-shirts instead of tuxedos, and isn’t a member of one of New York's finest families.”
He groaned. “I'm in for a lot of fun, aren't I?”
“Oh, yes.” She laughed. “No matter how they react, it doesn't matter. You're my soul mate. My life is with you.”
“And mine with you.” He kissed her forehead and pulled her close, resting his jaw on top of her head as she snuggled against his chest.
“Derek?”
“Hmm?”
She shivered, a tiny sliver of fear creeping in. “Do you have to bite me now?”
“The moon vow changes you into a werewolf, but you have to wait until the next full moon to shift shape the first time.” He chuckled, then dropped his voice to a low, sexy tone. “But I can bite you anytime you want.”
“Well, Jason did give us an hour. I think there's some time left before he comes to drag us out of here.”
A howl sounded from the deck and they turned their heads to see a gorgeous white wolf standing there. It blinked an amethyst colored eye and ran away, disappearing before it reached the cover of the forest.
Juliana gasped. “What was that?”
“The White Wolf,” Derek answered, smiling from ear to ear. “She has given us a blessing of love and happiness.”
He gazed down at her, his eyes blazing red with desire. “I've never truly made love to a woman, but I'll go as slow and gentle as you like. I'll do whatever you ask.”
“Just love me, Derek.” She kissed him long and hard,
grinning against his mouth as she realized the man may try to go slow and gentle, but it just wasn't in him. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
Moonlit Watcher (Moonlit Novella #2) Page 4