Pure Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  He walked around the plane looking strong, virile, and very, very naked.

  I wished, with every fiber of my being, that we were back on Rum Cay at this very moment. But we weren’t, so we had to make do. And we only had about four minutes left to get out of here before Marcy’s spell ran out.

  “There’s no great place.” He gestured in front of me as he came forward. “Pick anywhere. We’re going to get wet, but it can’t be helped. And, Jess, once we’re in our animal forms, I need you to follow me no matter what.”

  “I have no issue with you taking point.” I waded toward a very narrow patch of land surrounded by knee-deep water. “I haven’t fully shifted in a long time, so my body feels itchy. I’m so ready for it.” I lay down in the prickly brush trying not to be too disgruntled about where we had to make our transformations. However, my wolf howled in pleasure at the prospect of shifting. Once we start running, I’m giving you control. She barked her agreement. Having my wolf at the forefront in animal form was the best for both of us.

  Rourke made his way to another small patch of marsh nearby and dropped to his knees. “I keep forgetting you haven’t shifted very many times.”

  “It’s easy to forget when I’m constantly in and out of my Lycan form.” That form was almost second nature to me now. It wasn’t the same as a full shift into a wolf, but it did give me a break from constantly craving a full change. “Do you think we’ll be able to talk internally when we’re in our animal forms?” We hadn’t shifted together since we’d mated and made it official.

  “I would assume so,” he said, grinning over at me, “but we’re about to find out.”

  Once I was down, almost instantaneously my back bowed and my arms and legs lengthened. It was a smooth, pain-free transition, and over before I knew it. Once we were done, we jumped to our feet. I’d forgotten how exaggerated everything was in this form. My hearing, sense of smell, and awareness were amplified. I turned my head toward Rourke. He was already up and it was all I could do not to cower. How did we forget how awesome he is in this form? My wolf howled and our muzzles lifted to the sky before I could rein her in.

  The sound we made was beautiful as it echoed around the marshlands.

  Rourke snuffed at us, turning his head north and nodding once. His fur was a beautiful dark gold with chocolate stripes flowing down his flank and over his legs. He was intimidating in this form, but now that we had coupled and had a bond, there was much less fear. His front incisors were curved and long, and as he lifted his head to roar, the ground shook.

  He took off at a run and I followed without hesitation.

  Rourke, can you hear me?

  Yep, I can hear you loud and clear. Try to dodge the water and stay on higher ground. Do you scent the animals?

  I raised my muzzle in the air. I did smell them. Over the smell of all the grasses, stagnant water, insects, and salt, there was an overlay of musky reptile. Several kinds from what I could detect.

  When you smell one close, he said, go around it. We’re moving too fast for them to actually get a good bite, but if we surprise a large gator at the right moment, it’s not going to be pretty.

  Got it. I don’t smell many, thankfully.

  Me neither. I think the water down here at the southern tip is not deep enough. The true Everglades will be to our left as we head north. We need to be tactical about how we’re going to get there. Where did Naomi say the wolves were, exactly?

  She didn’t say. But before we took off on the plane, she said they were in something like an abandoned homestead. I’m thinking that kind of place has to be deep in the Everglades, very remote.

  I agree. That means we have to find a reasonable way to get around the swamps once we get to the edge.

  Like what?

  We’re going to need an airboat.

  Okay. That sounds doable. We’re in a swamp after all. I’d put Marcy on it once we met up.

  The pace Rourke set was fast. My wolf worked overtime to keep up with him. We hit scattered patches of swamp, but we were moving so swiftly, flying over berms and channels, I hardly noticed. When we did hit a deeper patch, the water went no higher than my flank.

  After a half hour of solid running, the topography changed to sawgrass growing on a firmer landscape with less water. It was much easier to maneuver over and we made great time. There were no sounds of any planes overhead, and that made us both breathe easier.

  After another fifteen minutes, Rourke slowed. I smell humans up ahead, Rourke said. We’re too exposed to keep going straight toward them. We’ll have to go around.

  I came shoulder to shoulder with him, both of us still loping. I was a fairly big wolf, but I was dwarfed by Rourke’s massive frame. He was indeed a Big Cat. Which way has less water? I vote for that.

  Let’s veer west. We’re supposed to do that in another fifteen minutes anyway. East will likely bring us closer to humans, so west it is.

  We turned, heading left, and Rourke picked up the pace again. As we ran, I glimpsed the humans in a huge truck in the far distance. They were likely parked at the end of some lonely road that ran out here or had gone off-roading for fun. They couldn’t see us unless they had binoculars, but I could see them.

  As we ran, we dodged the growing smell of more alligators and deeper swamp water. I shrieked internally as my paw hit something scaly, but we passed over it too quickly for me to see what it was.

  Jessica, is that you? Are you in trouble?

  Dad? I nearly skidded to a halt hearing my dad’s voice inside my head. It had been too long since we’d spoken internally. His voice was fuzzy, but I could make out most of the words. I can hear you! Where are you? Please tell me you’re okay. There were a million things I wanted to tell him, but I had to settle for the immediate concerns first.

  Rourke sensed the change in my emotions and turned his head back to huff at me as we ran. I bobbed my head up and down and kept running. I didn’t want to switch off the channel with my father to tell him what was going on, so Rourke would have to wait until I was finished.

  I’m fine. Good gods, Jessica, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick about you! Please tell me you’re not still in the Underworld. Not knowing where you are and what is going on has been killing me.

  I’m not in the Underworld. We’re back, and actually heading toward you as we speak. There is so much to tell you, but in order to do that, I need to know how to find you.

  It’s not going to be easy to find us. We’re in the middle of the godforsaken cypress swamp, deep in the Glades. There’s an entire area in here that’s mystically spelled. It can’t be seen by humans. It looks as though the priestess who’s been causing all the trouble has called this place home for more than a hundred years. There’s very little land and lots and lots of water.

  Rourke says we need an airboat.

  Yes, that’s the only way in, unless you can fly. We’ve set up a wide perimeter around the main homestead we think she’s using, but it’s complicated. We’re trying our damnedest to keep the rabid wolves contained, but it’s taken all of our resources. The only thankful thing is that this place is in the middle of nowhere. Literally. We’re living cobbled together on little spits of land—which consist mostly of old tree roots—and held together with nothing more than magic. But the Made wolves are creeping closer and closer to civilization each day. We’ve been able to find a way to kill them, once we catch them, but it’s been dicey.

  Naomi, the female vampire you met, flew over your area yesterday. I instructed her not to stop because none of your Pack know her, but she overheard a conversation that you were planning to swap yourself for some of your wolves. Please tell me that isn’t in the works yet.

  I’ve tried to broker a deal, but so far she hasn’t taken the bait. The priestess is elusive at best. I have to find a way to stop it, including offering myself as ransom, because my wolves keep disappearing. Things have gone from bad to exceedingly worse in the last week. Five of my wolves have vanished into thin air, one
a night for the last five nights. It’s unacceptable.

  Have you had a chance to talk to Tyler? He’s on his way down from the panhandle.

  Our communication has been spotty. I can’t get any tangible information from him. It’s been frustrating not being able to communicate with either of you.

  I know, it’s been hard for us too. I realized in that moment how much I missed my father. I looked forward to reuniting with him—I felt the need to be near my Alpha. There was so much for us to catch up on. He had no idea what had happened to me over the last week, which had actually been three months on this plane. I’m not sure I’ll be able to talk to you once I shift out of my wolf form, but I promise we’ll find you. We’ll figure out the airboats as soon as we arrive someplace more inhabited. I have Rourke, Marcy, Ray, and Naomi with me, and Tyler and Danny are on their way down. I sprang over a small waterway, plunging after Rourke. He knew something was up and had slowed his pace a bit to allow me to better maneuver.

  We will await your arrival. Send a vamp in to let us know when you get close. We’ll likely have to come out to meet you, as this area is tricky. There was some hesitation lingering in his voice.

  What’s wrong? Hearing the hesitancy, I slowed automatically. Rourke glanced behind him and let out a small roar as he came to a full stop. He growled, his unease flowing through my veins. He was likely trying to talk to me and I wasn’t answering.

  This entire thing is much more dangerous than we’d originally thought, my father finally answered. We figured that the fracture pack was buying the services of a voodoo priestess to achieve their agenda—which was getting rid of me—using her to create these abominations. But it seems the priestess has a mind of her own and she wants something so desperately she’s willing to fight us to the death.

  What does she want?

  Power of some kind.

  A single voodoo priestess fighting a pack of werewolves was completely unheard of in our world. Priestesses were not stronger than witches, from what I understood.

  And she thinks she can achieve that power through the Made wolves she’s creating? I asked.

  Yes. She’s building an army.

  Once I’d switched off with my father, I’d filled Rourke in.

  We sped up, feeling the urgency of my father’s words. Hearing from my dad had been wonderful and much needed. Relief and gladness swept through me, making me slightly euphoric. We made stellar time and were almost to the two-hour mark.

  I scanned the horizon for the vamps, but I didn’t spot any movement.

  Jessica, let’s stop up ahead. There are a few trees in the distance. I can smell the cypress to the west now.

  Sounds good. Surprisingly my body wasn’t tired, even after the long run. But I could use some food in a big way. My wolf clacked her muzzle at me and hinted we could hunt. There’s no way I’m eating a lizard, I told her. I was always hungry, still in my newborn stage, but I managed to compartmentalize it. If I didn’t, the constant hunger would make me crazy. In this form we burned even more calories, and my stomach felt hollow. It begged to be filled. My wolf growled. I know you have no issue with it, but I can’t eat a snake, or any reptile for that matter, so let it go. She angled her nose up at my stupidity.

  I think we’re actually fairly close to a town, Rourke said, interrupting my wolf as he slowed to a stop. I’m picking up on human smells. The vamps should be here soon. I’m going to shift back before they land.

  Because you don’t want them to see you? Other than these two times I’d shifted with my mate, no one had seen his true form in centuries. Keeping his nature cloaked had aided him well as a mercenary.

  No, because I want to talk to them. He chuckled, which sounded like a series of small sneezes tickling my senses.

  I hope Naomi was successful in snagging you some new clothing or it’s going to be a very one-sided conversation.

  I’m sure she was. She’s nothing if not reliable. I hope she spotted some water channels with parked airboats from the sky as well. We need to move quickly.

  He had stopped at the base of a very small, scraggly tree. If you could even call it a tree. It had a branch. He lay down to begin to shift back, and I joined him. Hopefully we were close enough to our destination so we didn’t have to change back and run.

  By the time I finished, Rourke was already up scanning the area.

  I stood and walked over, running my hands over his very naked back. He turned and growled low as he pulled me into his arms. “We don’t have much time,” he said, nuzzling my ear, “but what I wouldn’t give to be able to whisk you away someplace private. It frustrates me I don’t have the power to take you out of here.”

  “I know,” I murmured, leaning into his lips. “We only have a few minutes at most to ourselves, but since we can’t go back to Rum Cay, I’ll take what I can get right here.”

  The kiss was blistering and urgent.

  Our mouths fused together passionately with an intensity that weakened my knees. We both knew whatever lay ahead was going to be tough, and there never seemed to be enough time to bond with him the way I craved.

  “You taste incredibly good,” he said into my mouth as his tongue stroked my bottom lip. “But I hear something in the distance, so we have to make this shorter than I’d like. All the adrenaline from the change is making me crazy with need, and you standing naked so near is a dangerous combination. I need to back away from you now so I can calm myself down. I don’t want to flash my bounding enthusiasm for my beautiful mate to the world.”

  “Ha,” I said, glancing downward and licking my lips. “Would being naked and horny embarrass you?”

  He leveled a hooded gaze on me. “Hell no, but I know it would embarrass you. You had me disrobe behind the plane so I wouldn’t shock Naomi.” He raised a single eyebrow in a very sexy way, laced with intent. “If you had less of a human nature, I’d already have you on the ground right now.”

  I shivered. “Well, as much as I would love that, we’d be caught in the act.” On cue, a truck honked in the distance. Rourke maneuvered himself behind the small tree as best he could and I ducked down behind a single scrubby bush.

  Before the truck arrived, which I saw was a souped-up pickup with huge tires that almost looked as though they could float, Naomi landed in front of me. Her cheeks were a little pink, indicating a blush, which made me think she’d been near enough to overhear our sexy banter.

  “It is of no consequence, Ma Reine,” Naomi stated, addressing my discomfort as she deftly tossed me my backpack. Then she turned and threw Rourke a bag of clothes. “Your mate is correct. Supernaturals don’t have the same issues as humans when it comes to our bodies and… other personal things. But, you are my superior, and I would show you respect by not interrupting until I was sure you were not going to… interact. But in the future you don’t need to be so shy.”

  “I think my shyness will be sticking around, Naomi,” I muttered as I pulled my clothes out of the pack. “I’m new to all this, but I’m still a firm believer that some things are better left private. I don’t see that changing any time soon.”

  The truck raced up as I yanked on my spandex.

  “Come on, Hannon,” Ray yelled out the window, laying on the horn. “Get your ass covered. We’re wasting time here.”

  I pulled on my shirt and stood, making my way over to the vehicle—one that was only slightly less jacked-up than the Hummer we’d been forced to drive to Canada. The truck was bright orange with flames painted over the wheels. “Where in the world did you get this?” I asked.

  “From the airboat guy.” Ray chuckled from the open window. Then he thumbed his hand at Marcy, who was situated in the passenger seat. “She threatened him within an inch of his life. You should’ve seen it. And this was after she bought his goddamn airboat right out from under him.”

  4

  Rourke came out from behind the tree fully clothed in brand-new jeans and a black T-shirt. Naomi did well. “How’d you know we’d need an airboat?”
Rourke asked, nodding his head in appreciation for the commandeered vehicle.

  Marcy stuck her head out of the passenger window. “The first thing I did when I de-boarded my awful flight on Vamp Air was purchase a new cell phone. James told me we’d need one and where the closest ones were. There’s a bunch of places to rent them about thirty miles north of here, all clustered along the highway. We picked the most run-down operation we could see from the road, and knowing we couldn’t bring along any company where we’re going, I offered the owner more than he made in a year, and voilà, the boat was ours. Then I had to sign a bunch of safety waivers”—she dismissed their importance with a flick of her wrist—“but who cares. Get in.”

  Rourke and I made our way to the bed of the truck. There was no room for us inside. “You can’t leave out the part about forcing him to lend us this truck to pick up our friends or you’d make sure his balls would ache for a week.” Ray chuckled appreciatively. “That stuff never gets old.”

  “I didn’t say balls, I said groin.”

  “Then she wound up for a fake punch and the guy nearly wet himself,” Ray howled out the window. “Funniest thing I’ve witnessed in a long time.”

  I nodded as I sat down near the cab. The small partition in the back was open. “Did he hand this prize over immediately?” I leaned in to ask Marcy and smiled.

  “Nah,” Ray answered first, turning around. “I had to pull out my badge and tell him we were investigating drug smuggling in these parts and may have mentioned the moonshine operation they had in the back as extra incentive. The guy was caught off guard, and if he hadn’t wet himself when Marcy feigned the punch, he did then. I couldn’t tell him my supernatural sense of smell picked up on his illegal activities, but I was clear enough about the implications and he finally let us take the truck. But, honestly, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. Humans are so easy to manipulate.” Ray gunned the engine for effect. “Like taking candy from a baby.”