To Live and To Love (Black Wolf Agency Book 1)

by Jessica Swan

  Around noon, the day after Kate and James’s wedding, they headed to the airport to leave on their honeymoon. James had remembered that Kate mentioned in the past that she wanted to visit Hawaii, so he booked a hotel on a resort there.

  Riding on an airplane during the daytime was a new experience for Kate. She sat in the window seat, and for the first time, she got to see the beautifully sunlit clouds as the plane rose above them. When the clouds cleared, she studied the tiny buildings and cars below. She excitedly pointed out many of the sights to James, just as a child would have on their first ride on an airplane.

  When they arrived in Hawaii, James led Kate to their hotel room. They barely made it through the door when James threw the bags into the room and then turned around. “I have been waiting to get you alone again; it has been too long,” James complained and then swept her into his arms. Kate laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him. He gently pushed her up against the wall just inside the suite door.

  ‘I hope the neighbors aren’t home,’ was a fleeting thought that ran through James’s mind as he kissed her back with as much passion as she was giving him. They both explored each other’s mouths like they had never kissed each other before. James pulled at her clothes and became frustrated when he couldn’t get them off.

  Kate broke the kiss and leaned back and smiled at him before whipping her shirt over her head. Yes, this is what he wanted. He captured her lips in another soul-searching kiss and then moved his lips down her body.

  James kissed and nipped at her nipples until they became hard under his ministrations. Making sure that he had spent enough time on each of them, James kissed back up to her mouth and then angled his head and she grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.

  Knowing he was going to have to let her go for a brief moment to get their pants off, James kissed her until she was writhing against the wall, begging him with her kisses to take her and make her his again.

  James broke the kiss and sought for the bed. It was against the far wall, and without hesitation, he walked to the edge. Gently placing her down, he kissed her again and then pulled off his pants.

  Kate undressed quickly also, then crawled to the middle of the bed to lie down. She spread her arms seductively against each of the pillows on either side of her. James felt his inner beast growl and he made the same noise, wondering if he was losing control. But he wasn’t; he was just getting more in touch with his other side. They shared the same bodies, and sooner, rather then later, he would have to become accustom to the way things were being a shape shifter.

  He walked to the side of the bed and Kate reached up and pulled him down next to her. Taking up where they left off, she began to kiss him and feel his body; she loved the ripple of his newly formed muscles under her hands. He was so strong and sexy, and she was grateful to him for bringing her back. She had made the wrong decision then. If she could only turn back the clock. But she couldn’t; they could only move forward.

  She worshipped his body, hoping that she was showing him the love that she felt. He was her mate, her everything. And with each kiss she wanted to show it. James allowed her more time to explore his body; she wrapped her hand around his straining erection and squeezed gently. Kate herd him gasp and continued kissing his chest and then worked her way back up to his mouth, making sure she was giving him pleasure as he lay there for her.

  James finally had enough and rolled her under him quickly. She let out a squeal of surprise that was quickly swallowed by his seeking kiss. Once again he worked her body, making her ready for him to enter her. She could feel the sweet tingling of anticipation of being joined with her love.

  Soon, she couldn’t wait anymore, and began to squirm, trying to get him to enter her. With a groan of frustration, she finally reached between them and put him right where she wanted him. James laughed and continued kissing her breasts.

  After what seemed an eternity of arousal, James entered her. She felt the fullness and sighed. Their connection was beginning to solidify; she could almost feel what he was feeling. When he began to move, the heated frustration of wanting to be one took over both of them, and they set a frantic pace.

  Kate threw back her head and arched her back when she felt the beginning of her climax starting to build from her toes and move up her legs. It was amazing; an addicting feeling she was just beginning to get used to. But with James, it was always his amazing.

  With a loud cry, both of them came to completion at the same time, holding each other tight and remaining locked together and James rolled to his side and kissed her gently. Maybe they should stay in their room, the rest of the honeymoon, or if they had to leave, James thought and kissed her nose and they fell asleep for a brief nap.

  When they woke, and made love for a second time before actually getting out of bed. They spent a brief time unpacking their belongings and then changed into their bathing suits to get ready to go to the beach. Before they left for their honeymoon, James had brought her to a department store to pick out a swimsuit. This was his first time seeing it on her, however. She wanted to surprise him with it on their honeymoon. This was also her first time ever going to the beach.

  The first thing Kate wanted to do when they got to the beach was to get wet. She and James waded in the water for a moment, and then when he jumped in and splashed her, she giggled wildly. She glided through the water after him. The sensation of the cool water gliding across her skin and through her hair was amazing. What was even more astonishing was that she could see perfectly clear when she opened her eyes under water.

  “I wonder how long we can hold our breath under water,” said Kate.

  “Hmm, I don’t know. I haven’t tried that yet. Let’s see.”

  They both took a deep breath and submerged again, swimming a little further out into the ocean. They took their time exploring the shallow waters near the shore for about half an hour before finally needing to come up for air.

  “Amazing!” said James, excited. Then he whispered to her, “Who wouldn’t want to be a werewolf?”

  “Hey, if everyone was a werewolf, the world would get grossly overpopulated very quickly.”

  “It already is grossly overpopulated,” he laughed, and she joined in the laughter. They swam closer to each other so they could kiss.

  “I wonder if mermaids exist,” said Kate.

  “Well, if there are freaking Chupacabras in the world, there should be mermaids. It would be a crime if here weren’t. Do you want to explore some more and try to find some?” James said, thinking he was indulging his mate.

  “Definitely,” she replied, smiling.

  They swam far out into the ocean; so far, that the shore was a tiny line upon the horizon. Taking a deep breath, they went under. As they swam deeper, the water grew colder and darker, though it didn’t matter to them in the least; they could still see everything.

  They were submerged for what seemed like twenty minutes when they thought they saw long hair and fins about a hundred feet deeper into the water. Curious, Kate swam deeper to check it out. James began to worry about her safety. What if it was a vicious creature? ‘Shit, it’s not like we can turn into wolves to defend ourselves in the water,’ he thought. He followed her closely, ready to defend her if necessary.

  When they got a lot closer, the creature turned their way. They stared upon her beautiful face as her long neon red hair flowed all around her.

  Feeling brave, Kate slowly swam closer, however James made sure to stay in arms length of her. Amazingly enough, the mermaid let her approach and reached out to Kate. Kate reached out and pressed her palm to the mermaid’s palm. Now that Kate was this close to the mermaid, she could see that the beautiful creature’s skin had a slight sparkle to it. Furthermore, much like a fish, her skin was very slick to the touch.

  Kate and James studied the mermaid’s anatomy; she was thin and very pale, probably never having been exposed to sunlight, or if anything, only a little. Her torso was nude and resemble
d a human’s, and just below where her skin blended into scales, she had gills that moved slowly as the water flowed into them. Kate and James assumed she would probably also be able to breathe through her mouth, if given the opportunity.

  The mermaid smiled at them, but, just then, a beautiful, operatic sound rang through the water. The mermaid turned to face another mermaid far in the distance, deeper into the water. She quickly swam away toward the other mermaid, turning to wave to Kate and James as she disappeared into the distance.

  Feeling satisfied with their journey, they swam to the surface to take a moment to breathe.

  “Well, damn, that legend is true, too. You learn something new every day,” said James, grinning. Even though he works for an agency that manages paranormal creatures, he never stopped to think if mermaids were real. An oceanic creature never came to mind when he was chasing down creatures on the streets of New York City.

  “You’re sure right about that,” Kate replied, smiling. She had a little something to ask at the suite that would confirm that for him, too. Just wait until he caught sight of the lingerie she had shopped for before the honeymoon. She couldn’t help thinking, ‘This honeymoon is amazing!’

  After their dinner, Kate and James went back out on the beach to watch the sunset. The sky was a deep orange as it hovered just above the horizon, very slowly disappearing as the minutes went by.

  When the sun had completely disappeared beyond the horizon, Kate slowly turned to James and gazed into his eyes, smiling.

  “Thank you for the wonderful honeymoon,” she said.

  “Just think; this is only the beginning of our wonderful life together,” he said, kissing her.

  The week had been filled with loving and exploring. Because you didn’t just see a mermaid every day, so they, of course spent most of their honeymoon during the daytime on the beaches; all of the beaches. If they came upon one they hadn’t explored, they stopped. But, unfortunately, they never saw the mermaid again.

  Kate looked over the water and grinned. “One last swim?”

  “We don’t have our suits,” James teased.

  “Exactly,” Kate said. She pulled her dress over her head and ran for the water, stripping the rest of her clothes in her wake. James stood for a moment and enjoyed the view, then quickly did the same and followed his wife.

  Kate and James returned to New York City after their weeklong honeymoon in Hawaii. When they got back to their apartment, it was late, so James offered to unpack their belongings so Kate could go to bed.

  “I totally have this, baby, go to bed,” James said and gestured for her to go to bed.

  “Are you sure? I feel like I should be doing something wifely, like I don’t know, running the vacuum.”

  “Seriously?” James said, looking back at her.

  “No, I am completely going to sleep. Goodnight, sweetheart,” Kate laughed and kissed him softly on the lips before heading off to bed.

  The next day, they got up at their usual time, before dawn, and got ready to go to work.

  “Thank you for taking care of things last night, so I could go to bed,” Kate said to James as they walked to work. “I was exhausted. I feel great now, though. Well, as great as any pregnant werewolf woman could feel.”

  They both laughed at her remark.

  Kate had been emptying her stomach just an hour before. It was not a pretty sight, but both were too happy to care. James was going to make sure she took it easy, though. He was finishing his training and then will become a full agent. Kate can take the desk job so she’d be safe. They just had to talk to Yvonne about it, but knowing his aunt, she would probably already have a plan to provide work for Kate while keeping her safe at the same time.

  “I’m glad you feel better, honey. I could tell you needed the sleep. You could barely keep your eyes open on the way home.”

  Before they knew it, they had arrived at Black Wolf Agency. Making sure no one was looking, James and Kate snuck through the first door and carefully made their way inside the facility.

  As soon as they stepped in, they saw that every one of the employees of Black Wolf Agency were present in the room, all seated at the meeting table.

  “What’s going on?” asked James.

  “We’re not late, are we?” asked Kate, worried. The last thing she wanted was to get on everyone’s bad side.

  “No, you’re fine,” answered Yvonne. They could tell she was a bit angry, though. They just didn’t know what about yet.

  James studied everyone at the table. He met everyone in the agency at one time or another. However, there was one man who was unfamiliar to him.

  “Who are you?” he asked the stranger.

  “James,” said Charlie, as he and the man stood up and approached them. The stranger was undoubtedly only in his twenties. He was tall and fit and had a tanned complexion, green eyes, and dark-brown hair; all the makings of a very attractive man. “Let me introduce you to my son, Marcus.”

  Life Goes On

  ~ Chapter Thirteen ~

  “Where are you brining me, father?” asked Marcus as he and Charlie arrived at the shabby door outside Black Wolf Agency early that morning. He had no idea what his father was about to reveal to him.

  “Listen, Marcus, you know those leads you’ve given me over the years while you’ve been a Homicide Detective?”

  “Yes.” He wondered what his father was getting at.

  “Well, when I told you I was a private investigator… Well, that isn’t really what I do for a living.”

  “You mean you lied to me and my mother all these years?” Marcus glared at him; he was angry, and he had every right to be. “What the hell is it that you do for a living then?”

  “This place I’m about to show you is top secret,” whispered Charlie. “You mustn’t tell anyone about it, alright?”

  “Okay, I promise I won’t tell anyone. You know I’ve been good at keeping secrets.”

  “Yes, I know, and that’s the main reason I’m bringing you into all of this; because I know I can trust you.”

  Charlie inserted the key into the tarnished doorknob and opened the door, leading Marcus through the maze of security. When they finally made it into the facility, Marcus was speechless. He had never imagined a place like this existed. The fact that his father was a part of this all these years, right under his nose, left him completely dumbfounded.

  “Good, no one is here yet,” said Charlie with a sigh. “Come with me.”

  Charlie led Marcus into his office and offered him a chair to sit in. He sat right across from him, making sure he had his son’s full attention before he began to speak again, “This place is called Black Wolf Agency. I began the agency with my best friend, Yvonne shortly after you were converted to a werewolf.”

  “And you named it that because I turn into a black wolf, huh?”

  “Yes, I did. You were the inspiration behind all of this. You’re the reason this place exists. I created it to protect people from werewolves, yet, other than you; I’ve never even seen another werewolf. I did some research over the years and asked other paranormal creatures about them, and from what I’ve learned, their sole goal in life is to protect humans from vampires.”

  “So, the werewolf that bit me most likely bit me by accident?” he asked. “You mean to tell me my entire life, and what I am, is based on a simple accident?”

  “I’m afraid so, Marcus.”

  “So, I’m still wondering, why am I here? Why did you tell me all of this? Why now?”

  “I am getting too old for this job. I plan to retire soon, and you’re the perfect person to take my place.”

  Marcus heard a door open in the main lobby. He looked in that direction, curious as to whom it might be. Charlie had a feeling it was Yvonne. She always came into work about this time, just before James and Kate usually arrived.

  What she didn’t know was that Charlie had called all the employees in for a meeting, and they would be arriving at any moment. He had made sure to wai
t until the day Kate and James were due back from their honeymoon to hold the meeting. They had become an important part of the team, and he made sure they would be there, too.

  The time had come to tell Yvonne everything that was going on, before the others arrived.

  Charlie and Marcus briefly thought about what had happened only a little while ago. Then James’s voice snapped them back to reality.

  “Your son? I didn’t know you had a son,” said James, shocked.

  “Me, either,” said Yvonne, glaring at Charlie in anger. Suddenly, they knew why she was so angry.

  “I’m sorry, everyone. I’m especially sorry I kept this from you, Yvonne,” said Charlie. “I know you’ve always been a great friend and all, but I had to keep this secret. You would understand if I told you why.”

  “Why, then?!” she demanded. “What could be so awful that you had to keep your son a secret from your best friend for almost twenty years?!”

  “Don’t feel bad, Yvonne,” said Marcus. “You’re not the only one he’s kept a secret from. I just found out about this place last night. Seriously, I want you all to know right from the beginning that when my father pulled me aside, I was shocked. I don’t know if I will even be any good at his. I like to work in the field, not sit behind a desk. But I did take a chunk out of dad’s ass for keeping the truth form me. He should have told you all about me, and me about all of you. It would have made this all so much easier.”

  “I have my reasons for that, Marcus.”

  “So, what’s this big secret about Marcus, then?” asked Yvonne impatiently.

  “Just tell them, father,” said Marcus. “Keeping this secret isn’t necessary anymore.”

  “Alright, you see, the reason I didn’t tell you about Marcus… Well, it’s a long story.” Charlie paused for a second to take a deep breath and gather his thoughts. “One night, just after Marcus’ fifth birthday, he was playing outside at nighttime. I looked away for a second to talk to my wife, Mary, and when I looked back, he was gone. I searched for over an hour, and I finally found him about a mile into the woods. He apologized for wandering off and told me he had followed a dog into the woods and got lost. I brought him home, and all the while, he was telling me he was bitten by something, but it was too dark to be able to tell what it was. I expected a small bite, from a bat or something, but when I got him inside, under the light, I saw the bite wound on his arm. It was huge. I took him to the hospital to get him rabies shots and antibiotics, just in case, but he quickly developed a high fever. Luckily, it only lasted a few hours.”