A Little Taste of Red

by Beth Wylde

  “I can’t. I’ve encountered a serious problem and I’m going to need some help. Even then I can’t promise she’ll ever have use of her leg again. I’m going to call Twila and get her to come over. She’s been taking classes at the community college and she’s due to graduate this year with her BN in nursing. Hopefully she can offer me some suggestions. The break is just too severe for me to set regularly. Her kneecap has been completely dislocated and there are several small fractures in her lower leg as well. Our kind don’t injure like this, so it’s out of my league. If Twila can’t help, then we’ll have to wait for the drugs to wear off and then take her to the local hospital, though if they draw blood she’s going to get in major trouble.”

  Lance was having a hard time comprehending Dalenna’s explanation when all he really wanted to do was rip off the remainder of Tinsel’s clothing and bury himself inside her. “Dalenna, I have to go out for a bit.”

  She moved up next to him, into his line of sight. “You can’t get up yet. If she moves, she could undo all the work I’ve done. There’s too much at stake for you to take a bathroom break right now. You’ll have to hold it.”

  Someone else is holding onto it for me right now, and she’s doing a real good job, too. Lance barked out a tight laugh as he bit his lip to keep himself from saying his current thought out loud. His sister-in-law thought he needed to pee, but it was much more important than that. “This is a bit more serious, Dalenna!” He gripped the sides of the bed in his large hands, squeezing until the cloth threatened to tear. His body wanted to thrust forward so badly, to give in to the pleasure and let her bring him to climax, while the human side of his brain told him it wasn’t right to take advantage of Tinsel while she was under the influence of mind-altering chemicals. He knew the Green Dragon was strong, half a jar often put his kind to sleep for hours, but he’d never seen it used on a human before. He wondered if the illegal drugs used to make the brew reacted funny with a human’s chemistry.

  “Dalenna?”

  She finally noticed his hands fisted in the bed sheets. “Lance, are you okay?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I’m not trying to be difficult, but we’ve got a problem here and I’m talking about more than Tinsel’s leg. Could the Green Dragon possibly be used as an aphrodisiac?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  He sighed and raised his lower body just enough to let his sister-in-law see what Tinsel was doing to him down below.

  “Good Lord. Has she been doing that the entire time?”

  He nodded. “Just about. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I don’t like it, but the consequences for her could be really bad if I don’t go outside for a much-needed breather.”

  “Okay, let me get Thomas and then you can take a break.”

  As Dalenna rushed out of the room, Lance wanted to scream. Just the thought of his brother touching Tinsel made the hair on his neck stand at attention. If Thomas restrained her like this, Lance was sure a fight was going to break out. His inner beast had marked Tinsel as his property and with every passing moment, the bond grew stronger. The chances of Tinsel leaving alive and mortal were looking bleaker as time passed.

  Chapter Ten

  Thomas stepped into the room and paused at the scene that greeted him. His brother was tense, that much was obvious by the rigidness in his posture and the way his hands had shredded through the blankets. The young woman looked like she was sleeping except for the sluggish movements of her right hand along his brother’s inseam. The scent of sex filled the room and he was shocked that his wife hadn’t noticed it. Her only excuse was her intent focus on the girl’s leg. He knew she often blocked out reality when she was in her nursing mode. He’d been the recipient of her doctoring on more than one occasion, and he could vouch personally for her single-minded determination when faced with a crisis.

  As his wife approached, he waved her away. “Let me talk to Lance for a minute before you come in.” He knew she’d be able to hear everything they said, but he wanted to give his brother the illusion of privacy.

  He moved cautiously to the bedside, trying to determine how far gone the situation was. Pissing off a male werewolf while he was sexually frustrated was never a good plan. What he saw was not a positive sign. His brother’s eyes were closed, too, his forehead wrinkled in concentration. Sweat beaded along his upper lip and his mouth was clamped shut. The pheromones in the air were thick and coming from both of the bed’s occupants. His brother might not know it yet, but his body had just picked out his mate.

  “How’s it going, bro?”

  Lance opened his eyes and growled, his body coiling as if ready to strike out. Thomas reigned in the urge to smack his brother and took a step back, knowing he wasn’t outright disobeying his command. Lance wasn’t challenging his position because as his brother, Lance knew the title of Alpha was his, if and when Thomas ever stepped down or until Jacob was old enough to take over. Thomas let the insolence go, opting for pity over anger. His brother was busy fighting a battle he’d already lost. He just hadn’t admitted defeat yet.

  “Easy there. I’m not going to touch your female. We’re just going to have a little chat.”

  Lance shook his head. “She’s not my female.”

  Thomas reached out to touch his brother’s shoulder in sympathy and then thought better of the action. “If you say so.”

  Lance nodded. “I do. She can’t stay here. She’s human.”

  Thomas moved around the room, stopping at the head of the bed to look his brother in the face. Lance looked up, almost as if he was pleading for help and didn’t realize he was out of options. “Right now she’s human.” Lance started to interrupt, but Thomas gave his brother the look, the one that said he was the Alpha and Lance needed to shut up and listen. “I talked to Dalenna. She spoke with Twila on the phone. She’s going to come look, but she doesn’t think there’s anything more she can do. The injury is extreme. That leaves us with very few options. If we keep her, she could wind up losing her leg altogether. If we take her to the hospital, they’re going to find drugs in her blood stream, illegal ones. She’ll probably be fined for the wreck and they might even put her in jail.”

  The thought of Tinsel behind bars sent Lance into a rage. Only Thomas’ cool demeanor kept him from flying off the handle. “Wait a minute. I said we had options, plural. They are limited, but there is another way to fix her. You like her, she obviously likes you. Let her sleep off the drugs and talk to her. Offer to take her as your mate, heal her, and protect her. Make her yours.” Thomas held up his hand in the age-old gesture for quiet. “Don’t even try to lie to me. I know the idea doesn’t offend you as much as you’d like me to think it does and I know it doesn’t disgust you. The scent in this room alone confirms that.”

  Lance made no attempt to confirm or deny his brother’s suspicions.

  “Think about it. You’d have your own place in the den, a mate and a family of your own to care for. A female to cherish, protect, and hunt for. A cub or two of your own one day. Someone to share those midnight runs and make love with in the forest afterwards. Isn’t that what you want, Lance? What we all strive for?”

  Lance knew his brother was right. It was the dream that all male werewolves were taught to want, combined with the ingrained survival instinct of the species. A place to call their own in a world where they were labeled as outcasts. He could picture every image as his brother spoke. Thomas’ words reached not only to the wolf inside of him, but to the man as well.

  He knew he’d be a good provider. He had a steady job with an above-average income and decent insurance coverage. He wasn’t rich, but he knew he could keep Tinsel comfortable and hopefully happy. He’d wanted someone to confide in for so long. He had his brother, but he wanted something more personal, more intimate. The type of relationship that only a mate could provide.

  Lance knew that love wasn’t involved in the equation, at least not yet. They hardly knew each other, but he’d seen marriages arr
anged within the Den that had started with less and worked out okay. He could admit to strong feelings for Tinsel and hoped that over time, she could grow to care for him as well. There was only one problem with the whole scenario. She was human and he was a werewolf. She’d have to accept Lance’s dual nature and be willing to become a werewolf as well.

  Lance had been born into the Den and raised the way the offspring of an Alpha was supposed to be. When a hunter killed their parents, Thomas ascended and took over their father’s position, as was his birth right as the oldest child. Lance never complained. He loved Thomas and really had no urge to rule a pack of his own, though he knew he could do it if the need ever arose.

  He got a job as a blue-collar worker in a steel factory right out of high school and moved in with his brother and his family. He didn’t mind the hard labor and his extra animal strength made the work relatively simple. He worked alongside mortals, but he never associated with them. It was too much of a risk. His parents’ deaths had taught him caution, so he had no idea how to approach Tinsel about the subject of accepting him as her mate and leading her through the transition. When the time came, he knew he’d just have to wing his way through it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lance took a deep breath and sighed. Below him, Tinsel had finally fallen asleep and released her grip on his tortured cock. He was still hard and aching, but the thought of releasing himself in his hand held no appeal. He wanted to be inside his woman and nowhere else would do.

  He moved slowly, edging off the bed easily so he wouldn’t wake her. He shouldn’t have tried so hard as Tinsel let out a loud snore and turned her head farther into the pillow. Thomas laughed and so did Lance, though doubt crept back in and washed away the few moments of peace he’d felt all evening away. He turned to his brother and let his emotions show.

  “Where do I go from here? I’ll have to tell her what I am, what we are. What if she can’t handle it?”

  Thomas looked him directly in the eyes, letting him know exactly what would happen if he offered for her and she refused. “She won’t leave this house. It’s too much of a risk to let her kind know of our existence and then set them loose with the knowledge. She’ll have to go.”

  Lance cringed when his brother said go. He knew that meant he’d have her killed. In fact, as Alpha, he’d do the job himself. Lance nodded his understanding. “I’ll need time to convince her it’s the only option. I’ll tell her it’s the only way to save her leg, hopefully that will sway her.”

  Thomas looked skeptical, even though he tried not to. “I hope so, for her sake and yours. I know you want her and I hope it all works out. I want to see you happy, Lance. As happy as Dalenna has made me.” The sound of the front door opening and closing halted him momentarily. “Ah, Twila’s here. I’ll have her come in here and watch your female for a bit while you get some air, maybe take a short run. You need some time to think about what you’re going to say to her when she wakes up.”

  Lance started out of the room then paused to look at Tinsel one more time.

  “Go on, she’ll be fine. The Green Dragon should keep her knocked out for a while.” Thomas gave a tense laugh. “Now we know why we shouldn’t give it to humans. Makes them horny as hell.”

  Lance just shook his head as he headed for the exit and the momentary escape a run through the woods could offer.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lance tore through the trees, whipping back and forth like a wild dog let loose for the first time in centuries. He ran until he could barely catch his breath, then forced himself to continue on, despite his heaving chest and burning lungs.

  He planned on running himself ragged, exhausting both his body and mind in order to wipe out the reminder of Tinsel with her soft, tiny hand wrapped around the base of his cock, stroking his shaft until his balls drew up tight and he nearly exploded in her grasp.

  He succeeded with the physical exhaustion, dropping to the ground in a heap of tangled, sweaty fur, and shaking with exertion, but no amount of exercise would burn the erotic image of Tinsel’s pliant body bucking beneath him out of his consciousness. That particular mental image promised to haunt him for eternity and beyond.

  With a loud, frustrated growl, Lance heaved himself off the ground, tromping back towards the house and the tree where he’d left his clothes hanging before he’d changed. He transformed back to his human shape slowly, having expended all his energy on his useless run. As he grabbed his pants from a low-slung branch, a blood-curdling scream split through the early morning silence.

  The sound raised the hair all over his body and he forgot about the rest of his clothes as he dashed towards the house and the heart-rending sound of Tinsel’s cry. He was halfway there when a small hand appeared out of nowhere and snagged his ankle. The unseen action sent him sprawling head over heels into the bushes. He sprang to his feet immediately, ignoring his bruised body’s protest as he turned to confront his attacker. He pulled his punch a hair’s breadth away from Jacob’s face as he recognized his nephew.

  “What the hell are you doing out here? I could have killed you. Does your dad know where you are?” The sheepish look on Jacob’s face answered the question for him. “Thomas is going to skin you alive. You can’t go running off in the dark by yourself with a hunter lurking nearby. It’s not safe.”

  Jacob’s unease turned to irritation. “I’m sorry, Uncle Lance, but I had to get out of the house. That woman’s screaming was driving me crazy.”

  Some of the tension eased out of Lance’s body as he remembered what it was like to be Jacob’s age. He imagined going through just puberty was bad enough, but having to endure all the human changes in your body at the same time your animal nature prepared to make its first true appearance made the early teenage years a true nightmare of control. Rearing children was another benefit of belonging to a Den. The strong support system was vital to the children’s survival. Rogue wolves often didn’t have kids because they rarely survived to adulthood due to the lack of guidance. If they did manage to live through their first few transitions, they often went crazy and had to be destroyed.

  Lance patted Jacob’s shoulder in understanding. ”Okay, I won’t tell your dad where you are if you promise me you’ll be extra careful. Do we have a deal?”

  Jacob beamed up at him. “Thank you, Uncle Lance. I promise I’ll be good. I just couldn’t stay in that house any longer.”

  “Stay close by and keep out of trouble, all right?”

  Jacob nodded as another of Tinsel’s screams pierced the air. Lance winced at the ear-splitting sound. “I have to go. Stay close to the house.”

  “Go ahead, I understand.”

  As he ran towards the cabin, Lance had the oddest feeling that the boy knew more about his current situation than he did.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Thomas met him at the door, barring the entryway with the bulk of his large body. “Wait. You can’t go in there right now. We need to talk first.”

  Lance just looked at him in shock. “We don’t have time to talk. I have to get in there.” When his brother shook his head, Lance growled. “Move, Thomas. I won’t ask you again.”

  His brother bristled up, his body preparing to attack. ”Stand down!”

  Lance took a deep breath and stepped back, wincing as Tinsel’s frantic voice grew louder. “I have to get in there. Why is she screaming like that?”

  Thomas shrugged. “She woke up that way. She’s disoriented. Dalenna is worried that an infection may be setting in. We don’t know how long she was out there before you found her. Twila thinks the only way to save her is to amputate the leg and even then, she’s not sure she’ll survive.”

  Lance went white. “Don’t let them do it. I can save her, Thomas. You know I can.”

  The Den leader nodded solemnly. “I was afraid you were going to say that. I hoped it hadn’t gone this far even though I already knew it had. I could tell your wolf had claimed her the minute I entered the room to relieve you.”


  “What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything to mark her as mine!”

  “Yes, you have. Under different circumstances, she’d already be mated and swollen with your pups. Beneath the overwhelming scent of arousal, I could smell you all over her.”

  “Of course, you could. I was holding her down while Dalenna tried to set her leg.”

  “It was more than that. You’ve scent marked her. Your beast has already made the mating decision for you.” Thomas scrubbed his hand over his face. “God, I miss Dad. You were so young when he and Mom were murdered, but it’s apparent he missed out on a few important talks with you. Didn’t anyone ever talk to you about pheromones?”

  “What in the hell are you babbling about? I don’t have time for this. I need to get inside before they do something they don’t have to.”

  “And what will you do when she wakes up and finds out you’re a werewolf and you’ve made her one, too? Humans aren’t supposed to know we exist. Do you think she’s just going to smile and accept it? She’s not. She’s going to fight and scream in denial and once you prove it to her, she’ll run and I’ll have to take care of her.”

  Lance went stone still. “You mean kill her, don’t you?”

  His brother nodded. “If she can’t accept what we are, then I can’t take the risk of her outing our family.”

  Lance grimaced as the shouts died down to whimpers. “I have to try, Thomas. You have to let me.”

  Thomas started to step to the side, then stopped and placed a restraining hand on Lance’s shoulder before he entered the house. His voice was suddenly so quiet, only werewolf hearing could have picked up his next statement. “You know she’s ovulating, don’t you? Every second you spend near her without claiming her is going to be sheer torture for you.”

  Lance stepped past his brother, his reply equally quiet. “I’ve known that since I picked up her trail in the woods, but I’m a big boy. I can handle myself.”