by Dawn Forrest
Jo was also looking pleased with herself. She had edited a good portion of a new manuscript that her boss had recently e-mailed. She had tried to tender her resignation, but her boss had suggested that she could continue to work from home for the publishing house, on a freelance basis. It was a great solution because it meant that she wasn’t tied to a particular location and could continue to work.
Life was good, almost normal, and Onancock was perfect for them. The townsfolk were familiar enough with visitors to be pleasant but had enough social reticence to not invade their privacy. They accepted the story that the women were sisters and fiction writers conducting research. Werewolves age much slower than normal humans. The process almost came to a halt once sexual maturity was reached. Katherine didn’t look much older than Jo.
In three days’ time there would be a full moon, and they planned to change and run in a forest to the south. If Jo’s friend, Lynne, still hadn’t seen anything suspicious, she would go back to Denver a week later. It would be to box up a few things, take stuff to store at the apartment, and ensure the place was stocked up with everything that a safe house needed. Lynne could stay for as long as she wanted, but they couldn’t risk renting it out to anyone else.
Katherine was steering the conversation around to the possibility of contacting a Pack when Jo went stiff and sniffed the air. Her daughter had an amazingly keen sense of smell, even for a werewolf. Now that Katherine was alerted, she took a deep sniff and detected the scent of not one but two male werewolves on the breeze. Dread slivered down her spine. One was Tex, but the other she didn’t recognize. Their scents were from the same direction, but Tex was closer—too close. Her flimsy bit of peace and happiness tore like sun-aged cloth caught high in the branches of a tree.
Damn and double damn. She was upset because it meant that they would have to haul ass yet again. Thankfully she had a small motorboat ready, stocked and docked at the jetty at end of the garden. Connor had given her the first lesson in being prepared, and her experiences over the past twenty-four years had reinforced the necessity of always having an escape route planned and primed. She’d learnt to sail, fly, and handle a motorbike or car very well. The only thing she couldn’t do was ride, because horses didn’t take to her, which was hardly surprising.
Although they had a car, she knew that they now stood a good chance of being caught on the road. The land between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean was not very wide. For this reason the escape route she had planned was via Onancock Creek and across the Bay to Reedsville, where they could hire, buy, or, if necessary, steal a car or plane. The small private airport near Reedsville was one reason she’d chosen this route. Options, it always paid to have options. It would take a pursuer much longer to drive south to the nearest bridge across the water and should give them a better chance of escape.
She saw the look of disappointment and despondency on Jo’s face, and not for the first time felt a twinge of uncertainty that she was doing the right thing. It was much harder to hide the scent of two fertile females than one. In three days Jo would undergo her second change, but already they’d been found.
Jo stashed their laptops in the boat while Katherine quickly checked the rented house for anything that might reveal their identity and then sprayed it with the foul dog and cat deterrent. It wouldn’t work if the males were in close proximity, but it might weaken their scent enough to prevent being located in the first place. They didn’t spray themselves because it would adversely affect their ability to detect other scents.
Their misery at having to leave did not slow their pace as they walked quickly down the garden path to where the boat was moored. She had long since stopped giving her temporary homes a backward glance as she left in a hurry. Being constantly on the run wasn’t the life she had ever wanted for either of them, and she knew that they needed to sit down and discuss their future. They needed to make some major life-altering decisions and make them soon.
* * * *
Kil rode for thirty minutes and was nearing the outskirts of the picturesque fishing town when another tantalizing scent began to filter from his nostrils into his brain. It insisted that he pay attention, hell it had him wanting to sit up and beg. He stopped his chopper in confusion. In all his 193 years, he had never smelt anything remotely similar. It was delicious, and judging by the sudden swelling in his leather pants, his body instinctively knew that it was unmated female werewolf. His mind caught up quickly. He could barely believe it. It was twenty-odd years ago that the last unmated female werewolf had disappeared and was generally presumed captured and held somewhere. What if the rumors were true? What if Katherine Akara was right here in America? He sniffed again and nearly overbalanced on his chopper. If he wasn’t mistaken, there were two distinct fragrances, meaning two females. Such a thing was unheard of. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Daniel was here, too.
He called Will Hawke, using the priority number. Hawke answered immediately.
“Did you finish the rogue?” Will calmly inquired.
“Not yet, but I’m close. There’s something else you should know.” He explained everything to Will and waited for his orders.
“Deal with the rogue first. Find out all that he can tell you then execute him. I will send Greg Winters out to Onancock to help you find the females.”
Kil wondered if Will didn’t trust him with the women.
As if he read his thoughts, Will said, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the scent is said to be very…appealing. Greg is mated and won’t be affected, and the women will not be so afraid. Let’s face it, coddling and tenderness aren’t your strong points, my friend.”
Point taken. His Prime had an uncanny ability to read situations and people. Will was right as always, although “appealing” was a gross understatement for the fragrance that teased his nostrils and stroked his libido. He grunted his assent.
“Greg’s in New York at the moment on Pack business and can meet you in a couple of hours at the most. He’ll call you when he arrives in Onancock. Meanwhile, get the rogue.”
* * * *
Daniel Watts almost howled in anger and frustration because he’d lost the bitch again. At least, incredibly, he’d discovered the existence of another female. He’d followed their scents down to the end of the garden and the small deck at the water’s edge. He must have missed them by minutes, and with his acute hearing he could make out the fading sound of a boat engine heading out toward the main bay. Their scent trail began to fade fast, but there were no boats around for pursuit. It was a moot point because he wasn’t a water lover and didn’t know how to sail. He decided to see what he could discover inside the house.
Daniel stalked into the quaint beach-style home and almost gagged at the smell. She’d used the foul, pungent stuff before to cover her scent, and that was how he’d found this particular house so easily. He’d simply followed the strong chemical stench when her apparently attractive aroma disappeared. What other males found alluring, he found uninteresting. Being gay had its advantages. He dug his cell phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and called his Alpha and Dom. Khan was already on his way to Onancock and would not be happy to hear that Katherine had given Daniel the slip yet again.
“Khan here. Speak.”
Daniel felt a thrill shudder through him when he heard the other werewolf’s deep, harsh, commanding tone.
“She was here, in Onancock, but I think she escaped by boat. It’s hard to scent because there’s a light wind in the opposite direction.” He paused as he heard angry cursing in Hindi from the phone. “There’s good news,” he interrupted. “She’s not the only one. There’s another unmated female werewolf with her.” He heard a sharp intake of breath and knew that the information had greatly pleased his Alpha.
Daniel had met Ashok Khan five months ago when he was backpacking in India. The big, aggressive and—the rumors were true—sadistic Prime Alpha had seemed keen to talk to him, a young American werewolf. Khan was, of course,
especially interested in the rumors that the female, Katherine Akara, was in Daniel’s country.
It was clear that Khan wanted offspring, and because he hadn’t yet found his mate he wanted Katherine. He had repeatedly requested that Will Hawke, the Prime Alpha of the North American Packs, give him permission to hunt for her. Hawke always refused. Of course he hadn’t told Hawke what he’d told Daniel. Khan believed he’d won the right to claim Katherine after killing McDonald and nearly annihilating the Scots Pack. No, he kept that quiet, not wanting to risk the wrath of living relatives or exile from the Were Council.
Daniel knew that Khan had struck a deal with him because he was a Packless homosexual rogue and as such was unconcerned with Pack protocol and had no interest in the female for himself. Khan would give him what he needed if he found Katherine. What Daniel needed, with his sadomasochistic tendencies, was human men to fuck and feast upon, and a big, nasty Alpha’s cock up his ass. Khan provided the first and obliged him with the latter. Just as Daniel liked to roughly use human men, he craved Khan’s domination. Khan seemed to take great pleasure in fucking him raw, whipping him, and forcing him to suck and gag on his huge cock. Afterwards he was never tender, just dismissed him with a look of disdain.
When they’d changed on the full moon, in a parody of the mating ritual Khan had bitten him hard on the neck as he pumped his seed into his ass. The wide knot that formed on Khan’s bestial cock painfully, blissfully, stretched Daniel’s channel and locked them together for ten minutes, during which time Khan raked his claws on his ass, squeezed his balls hard, and roughly jerked him off. It was the humiliating, painfully erotic, and satisfying fuck that Daniel had always craved. After that night, Khan brusquely sent him home and told him that he could be his bitch only if he secured Katherine.
“Where do you think they are going?” Khan asked with irritation lacing his words.
“It’s a good bet that they’re headed straight across the Bay. It’ll take much longer for a pursuer on this side to get there by road and there are a lot of little inlets, so it won’t be easy to track them.”
“Ah Katherine, you are so very clever,” Khan muttered to himself.
Daniel bristled that he’d never used that tone of admiration with him.
“I will intercept them. They won’t be expecting two male rogue werewolves to be working together. You have failed me again, Daniel. I think you enjoy your punishments too much.” His cold, emotionless voice sent chills to Daniel’s balls. “You won’t get anything more from me if I don’t get a female.” The phone went dead.
Daniel kicked a chair as frustration and rage shot into his heart and circulated quickly. Damn all the silly bitches with their ridiculous tits and rank cunts.
* * * *
Kil cruised slowly down a narrow street on his chopper, but all the time the enticing scent of the females became weaker like the daylight, and it was fading fast by the second. The scent of the Texas rogue, Daniel Watts, was strong and clear, although it seemed to be mingled with a horrible chemical stink that he really didn’t like. He wondered why Daniel was hanging around. It was out of character, and he’d never let Kil get this close before. He suspected that Daniel was distracted by that nasty smell.
He parked the bike and proceeded on foot, downwind of course. Before long he was standing in front of a pleasant, wooden house. The sexy aroma of the females was very faint now, moving away and mingled with the balm of the ocean. It was only just detectable but still as enticing to a male werewolf as the smell of freshly baked cookies was to a hungry dieter. They had been here, no doubt about it, but they had tried to cover their scents with a god-awful chemical of some kind. He was certain now that it kept Daniel unaware of his proximity.
He smiled, because she was good. He was a hunter of intelligent prey and couldn’t help thinking that finding Katherine Akara would be a worthy challenge culminating in a delectable prize. Crap, he’d better get thoughts like that right out of his head. The poor girl deserved a break and protection after more than twenty years of hiding and possible harassment. Like nearly every other unmated male werewolf, that scent promised him fertility, but no matter how pleasant or attractive it was, he knew, deep down, that neither woman was his true-mate.
He focused his attention on the house again. Daniel was inside and probably still unaware of him, but he would be cautious all the same. He heard a muffled crash, as if furniture were being broken. Danny boy is not happy. He tested the door and was amazed to find it unlocked. He restrained a sigh at such carelessness. Shoddy attention to details will get you caught every time. He entered and locked the door behind him with the unusually large deadbolts that he guessed the women must have added. He could hear Daniel crashing around in a room at the back of the house.
Moving quickly and silently, he located his prey and attacked. He used a hard kick to the back of Daniel’s knees to take out his legs. Daniel huffed in pain and surprise and crumpled to the floor. Kil swiftly delivered a few forceful stomps and punches to the solar plexus and groin that had him incapacitated. He took out a set of reenforced handcuffs and used them to secure Daniel’s hands behind his back. Then he dragged him by the scruff of the neck and threw him into an armchair. He wasn’t thinking about Daniel’s comfort. The armchair was sturdier than a dining chair, harder to throw or tip over, and would be trickier for Daniel to launch out of with his hands behind his back.
Daniel was groaning, but it fell on pitiless ears.
“You’ve broken the rules, Danny. You’ve killed people.” He adopted a cold, emotionless tone as he stood staring down impassively at the young Were.
“I couldn’t help it,” Daniel whined.
“Maybe once, but three times? No. You know the protocol. You should have asked for help. Why didn’t you seek help if you are so out of control?”
Daniel said nothing.
“Maybe you were thinking about something else, eh? What kept you from seeking help?”
“Nothing,” Daniel ground out between clenched teeth.
Kil growled and let a little of his beast free as he slowly prowled toward him. He was very good at intimidation.
“Wait, wait.” Daniel’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in panic as he pushed himself back into the chair, trying in vain to put more distance between them. “I was following the scent. I didn’t know what it was, but I wanted to follow it. I couldn’t help it,” Daniel simpered, but Kil wasn’t fooled.
“You don’t mean this foul stench, so I guess that you’re lying about not recognizing two unmated female werewolves,” he said calmly.
Daniel’s eyes darted around the room, and Kil could almost hear the gears in his brain grinding to come up with a plausible explanation.
“Yeah. I’ve been following one for months now, and then today I discovered there are two of them.”
“Tell me something I don’t know about the females, and I’ll go easy on you.” He was telling the truth, because he could kill him quickly and painlessly, or…
“I think that one of them may be Katherine Akara.”
“What do they look like?”
“Katherine’s sort of Polynesian looking, I guess. She had long, wavy black hair and sort of copper-colored skin. I ain’t seen the other one.”
Kil waited a moment for Daniel to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He let his irritation show with his elongating teeth.
“Everyone knows that. Why are you dicking around?” His voice sounded rough with the partial change.
Daniel now stank of fear.
“She’s tall for a woman, about five ten or eleven, and looks leanly muscular, as if she doesn’t carry as much body fat as most normal women. She appears to be in her mid-twenties. I guess I’d call her a handsome woman rather than pretty.”
“Better. Now, tell me everywhere you’ve followed her.”
Daniel blurted out places and dates. The more information he gave, the more impressed Kil was with Katherine.
“Why were you
following her?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. She’s an unmated female werewolf, and now I’ve discovered there are two of them.” Daniel snorted as if Kil had asked a stupid question.
It was an act. Like spots on a tiger or stripes on a leopard—there was a pattern, but it wasn’t the right one. Why would a werewolf who screwed human men be interested in women? Daniel had never gone after females, and from what Kil had found out from his investigations it was obvious that he batted for the same side and that sex with males wasn’t just an act of domination. Although not common, homosexual werewolves were not unheard of. Most tended to be loners or rogues, on the fringes of their society. It crossed his mind that perhaps his species should move with the more enlightened times and be more accepting of such individuals. He’d talk about it with Will later, because it may reduce some of their loner and rogue problems.
He decided to take a long shot and demanded, “Who are you working for?”
“W–What?”
Oh yes, now we’re getting somewhere.
“Danny, you’re about as interested in those females as I am in flower arranging. Who wants the women?”
“I–I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he spluttered.
Kil sighed heavily, as if getting bored. “Danny, you know who I am, right? I’m the Prime Alpha’s Chief Enforcer. Kilchil Hunt—Kil Hunt—is my name, and it also happens to be what I do. I have my orders and I’m following them. I’ve hunted you, and I am going to kill you. You don’t have a choice in this, it is inevitable I’m afraid, but you can determine if you go painlessly—or not.”
Daniel lost control of his bladder at that point. Tsk, a young killer with no backbone. He sighed inwardly. Daniel was starting to blubber, and tears ran down his cheeks.