by Kari Cole
The song was full of joy and thanks, yet as her wolf lent her voice to the chorus, a part of Hannah mourned the loss of her own pack. They could never go back.
* * *
Vaughn’s wolf wanted to sing with the pack, thank the goddess for her blessings, but the female their human had chosen, Cassandra, smelled of sadness and despair. Wolf nudged her shoulder and nuzzled her face. Pleasure infused him as she leaned her weight against him.
The female was brave and strong and looked upon their human with open interest. Her sweet scent filled their head, made their muscles tense, ready to fight, to protect, to mate.
The infernal eagle who shared Wolf’s human and never closed his beak urged caution. They were not the only ones who wanted her.
The Alpha and pack stopped singing, and Eagle screeched a warning. Wolf spun just in time to intercept two males stalking his flank. Wolf dove through them, knocking them to the ground. Silently, he displayed his fangs, inviting them to continue their challenge.
Danger! Eagle warned, and Wolf turned again. Too late. A heavy weight landed on him, four paws driving him to the ground. Just as quick as the attack came it was over, and he leapt up to find Cassandra barking at Christian. Her ears pointed at the male, her tail whipping through the air in short, aggressive strokes. Blood welled in a nick on Christian’s right ear, and he whined. She snapped her teeth at him once, then turned her back on him to pad back over to Wolf.
Dismissal, Eagle cackled.
For once, Wolf enjoyed Eagle’s squawking.
The pack began to disperse. Some gathered together to hunt the herd of mule deer. Others moved off in smaller groups or couples.
Cassandra’s wolf stayed next to him, watching the pack leave. The Luna waited, too. She was a good guardian of the females. After a few moments, she nodded once and moved off, heading back down the mountain to her waiting human mate.
Wolf turned to Cassandra and she reared up on her hind legs, batting at him with her front paws. Eagle and their human laughed. He met her mock attack with an embrace and a gentle nip on her throat. They broke apart and he hopped from side to side while she pounced at him. He spun in a circle, delighted by her play. She charged at him, feigning a tackle, but she changed direction at the last moment and raced off into the trees. He needed no encouragement to chase her.
She darted through the forest, weaving between Douglas fir and western hemlock, back toward the Gathering Circle. Smart female, not risking land she did not know. The rich scents of pine and cedar hung thick in the damp, cooling air. Wolf yipped at the beauty of the night and his playmate. She was quick and sleek, the rising moonlight shining on her copper-and-cream coat. The gray marking on her back and face made it appear as if she were being kissed by shadows.
Fast. Fly faster, Eagle cried.
Wolves run, not fly, turkey, Wolf told the annoying creature, but he put on a burst of speed.
Too slow, mutt. Catch her.
Wolf held in his growl as Vaughn sighed. Their human often made that noise.
Wolf closed the distance between them. Another few strides and he’d catch her.
Look out, Eagle said.
Paws skidding in the dirt and pine needles, Wolf pulled up just in time to watch Cassandra dive through a hole between two fallen trees. The space was too small for Wolf to follow, unless he wished to lose his fur to the branches.
Her happy, laughter-like yips made his human laugh, too. Wolf had never enjoyed a chase more. Cunning female.
He leapt onto one of the logs, jumped off, and ran to the right, up the slope above her. The light breeze blew from the east, hiding his scent from her, but providing him with an easy means to track her, though he could not see her. They raced along for several minutes until he had to slow down to scramble over an ancient fall of boulders. He crouched and peered over the edge. Below, his pretty quarry had stopped along the banks of a stream. She lay on the grassy edge, her sides heaving, as she lapped at the cool, clear water.
Silent, Wolf crept farther along the ridgeline, using all his skills to stalk her. She sniffed the air and looked around as she stood and shook out her beautiful coat. He held still, crouching among the shadows, rocks, and shrubs, his dark coat shielding him from her questing gaze.
When she turned away to sniff along the edge of the stream, he burst from his hiding spot and leapt down to the grass. She darted away, quick as lightning across the sky.
Not quick enough.
He jumped.
* * *
Over two hundred pounds of werewolf landed on Hannah’s back. As she shifted back into her human skin, she couldn’t stop laughing.
A warm, wet tongue lapped at her ear, the side of her face, her neck, and she shrieked with laughter. “Stop! Stop! That tickles.”
Magic, hot and bright washed over her naked skin, raising a delicious wave of goose bumps from scalp to toes. She shuddered and Vaughn laughed, deep and husky right in her ear. That tickled, too, triggering another fit of giggles.
“Silly little wolf,” he said. “Told you I was faster than I looked.” Dark hair drifted over the side of her face. It smelled incredible, like sunshine, soap, and sexy, wonderful male.
“Let you catch me,” she gasped.
Warm fingers brushed her hair to the side and he nipped her neck. She squealed and squirmed, trying to turn over with her hands curled into tight fists to keep from touching something that could set off a vision. The motion brought her skin-to-skin with what felt like acres of hot, smooth him. She may have moaned. Okay, no may have about it. She moaned shamelessly like she’d just taken a bite of the world’s greatest death by chocolate cake, butter pecan ice cream, and champagne all at once.
The best part: so did he.
Vaughn planted his hands on either side of her head and pushed up, giving her room to move. Gray eyes ringed with gold around the pupil stared at her; man and wolf together. His hair stuck up in an adorable mess and he seemed years younger than he had when he’d picked her up at Jessie’s. But it was his smile that stole her breath all over again. Goddess, could he be any more gorgeous?
Then the amusement faded from his eyes and something much more predatory and sensual grew in them. He lowered his head and teased the column of her throat with the tip of his nose, drawing in her scent. A soft growl rumbled in his chest. “You smell good enough to eat.”
“God, I hope so,” she said on a groan as he nibbled on her neck.
A huff of laughter in her ear. A little bite on her lobe. “Naughty female.”
She’d be whatever he wanted her to be, as long as he didn’t stop touching her.
She may have said that out loud, because he laughed again and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
Hannah skimmed her bare hands over his waist, across his broad back, down along his sides, enjoying the bump and dip of each rib and band of muscle. His skin was hot to the touch, and smooth as satin. How long had it been since she’d touched another person for anything but the most perfunctory of acts? This morning with Jessie hardly counted since it was only to show her cousin what was going on with her haywire powers. Caressing Vaughn was in a whole other category of sensation.
“Mmm.” He nuzzled the hollow of her throat and dragged openmouthed kisses along her collarbone. His hair tickled her chin and neck, and its allure proved too great to resist. She ran her fingers through the short strands. It was thicker and coarser than she expected, but still so soft. Lightly, she scratched her nails over his scalp, and down his neck where his hair was clipped close to his skin.
As she petted him, he raised his head. His eyes drifted closed and his head fell back on his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”
She opened her mouth to reassure him that she had no intention of stopping any time soon either, maybe not even this month, but he straightened and his eyes flew open, capturing her ga
ze with his. There went her ability to draw breath.
“Yes?” he asked, a tremor running through him as if he were straining against some hidden force. “Please.” His voice was deep, guttural, barely human, but he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek in a whisper of a caress. “Yes?”
Was he kidding? “Oh, most definitely, one hundred percent yes.”
That amazing smile of his flashed again and then he kissed her. Lips like suede brushed hers, once, twice, three times before his tongue stroked over her mouth. Hannah had been kissed many times before, some of them she’d give top scores, but Vaughn’s kiss blew them all away. Soft, wet, deep, and warm, it was so perfect, it seemed like magic. Like they’d created something entirely new and perfect.
When she gasped, he cupped the side of her face and tilted her head to deepen the kiss. As her tongue slid along his, she dug her fingers into his biceps, pulling him closer, or maybe pulling herself up to him. Who knew? Who cared? Her naked breasts met his bare chest and they both moaned. Heat rocketed through her and pooled between her legs. She wrapped one around his rock-hard thigh and he tensed above her, ending their kiss abruptly.
Before she could complain, his head snapped up and a whistle pierced the night.
“Vaughn!” a deep, masculine voice shouted. Footsteps approached, and Vaughn leapt to his feet, putting himself between Hannah and the intruder.
“Stay back!” he snarled, his voice a dangerous rumble, full of his beast.
“Sorry, but we got a problem.” Hannah thought she recognized the voice then—the healer’s mate, Dean. “I need you back at the station.”
Vaughn swore softly under his breath, then turned to look at her over his shoulder. His eyes glowed gold and his face appeared carved from granite. He looked so conflicted, like he might say to hell with it and tell his deputy—and Beta—to go jump in a lake, but then the beast receded from his eyes, replaced with a look of resignation.
“It’s okay,” she said. What else could she say? It wasn’t okay by a long shot, but he was the sheriff. People needed him, depended on him.
“It’s not,” he said as if he could read her mind. He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. His breath still came in heaving gusts as if he’d run a marathon. She’d certainly been hoping for one. He smoothed her hair back over one shoulder. “I—”
“Vaughn,” Dean said again.
Vaughn growled. “I’m sorry.”
So was she, because as they walked toward the Beta, back toward the real world, the spell they’d woven between them faded like mist. Like the dream it had been.
Chapter Eighteen
Vaughn stalked through the forest, his strides long and hurried. Cassandra kept pace as a wolf. He would have shifted, too, but then he couldn’t have talked to Dean. Not that he had anything more than a snarl to offer his deputy. For once, the big male kept his trap shut. Good thing, too, because the pissed off riot in Vaughn’s head was giving him a migraine. Neither one of his beasts were happy with the turn of events. He couldn’t blame them. If he’d had his way, he and Cassandra wouldn’t be fit to see anyone else until at least tomorrow morning.
Wisely, Dean stayed several feet away from him. When Vaughn caught Cassandra sneaking a nervous glance up at him, he cracked his neck and swallowed down the growl building in his chest. He tried to smile at her, but he suspected the effort fell flat. Why the hell had he thought he could spend a night with her? Nothing about his life right now allowed that sort of escape.
At least they hadn’t been far from the Gathering Circle. He wasn’t sure he could keep his temper in check for much longer.
“I drove Cassandra here,” he said. “I need to drop her off at Jessie’s before I come in to the station.”
“Uh...” Dean rolled his shoulders. “Um, I better do that.”
The hell he would. Vaughn opened his mouth to tell him to fuck off when Dean added, “The Interclan Authority agent refused to wait.”
“What? They’re here?”
Cassandra’s wolf shied away as if startled. Before he could apologize for shouting like an ass, the wind smacked him with a scent that shocked him so much, he tripped on a tree root.
Heart pounding, he caught himself on a maple trunk and mumbled, “Yeah, you better take her home, Dean.” Cassandra turned big, worried eyes his way. “Sorry. I—damn it. I have to...” Once again, words failed him around her. If only it was due to her sass and beauty this time, too.
Naked, he walked out of the woods into the Gathering Circle like a zombie, torn between surprise, joy, and sorrow. In his head, his beasts flipped out. His wolf snarled at the male standing on the other side of the clearing, arms crossed casually over his chest. As if he could hear the wolf’s anger, the male grinned, though the expression didn’t come close to reaching his eyes.
As Vaughn came to a stop in front of the other male, his eagle shrieked in happiness. It wasn’t often Vaughn caught whole words from his bird of prey, but tonight the message came through loud and clear: brother.
“Hello, Vaughn. Never thought I’d see you with short hair.”
It took several seconds longer than Vaughn cared to admit to find his voice. “Diego. What are you doing here?”
He tsked. “Can’t an old friend come for a visit during the Thunder Moon?”
Despite all the happy noise his eagle was making about being around another of its kind, Diego wasn’t Vaughn’s brother. Not anymore.
“Since we haven’t been friends for a decade, no,” Vaughn said.
“Grumpy. Oh, I’m sorry. Did I interrupt some play time?” He gave a loud sniff. “Ah, I did. So, so sorry.”
“No you’re not.”
Diego had changed since the last time Vaughn had seen him. He was more muscular now, broader across the chest and shoulders. A spiderweb tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve of his shirt. He’d cut his hair shorter and sported a dark beard that roughened a face the females had oohed and aahed over. Or maybe that was just the hard look in his eyes.
A twig snapped, and Diego looked toward the edge of the woods where Cassandra’s clothes were, hidden in a hollowed out log. Vaughn shifted over a few feet to block Diego’s view, but he needn’t have. He felt the magic of her change come from deeper in the tree line while heavy footsteps crunched the pine needles next to the log. Dean.
Some of the tension eating Vaughn eased. He and Dean may not get along on principle, but he knew he could count on his deputy to get Cassandra home safe. He couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t want Diego looking at Cassandra in the buff. Or at all.
Rather than breaking his former friend’s nose, Vaughn walked over to the tree where he’d stashed his own clothes. There were other piles all around the edges of the Circle. He glanced up at the moon as he dressed. It hadn’t even reached its zenith. It would be some time before the rest of the pack called it a night. Still, he’d rather move this conversation—or whatever the hell it was—away from here.
He stuffed his foot into a boot. “What business does the Interclan Authority have here?”
“Didn’t your deputy tell you? Or is he your Beta? So confusing.”
Vaughn drew in a breath, reaching for patience. He’d almost forgotten what a sarcastic ass Diego could be. “He’s both. And no, he didn’t say. We had a civilian with us.”
The sound of heavy doors closing and Dean’s truck engine starting rumbled in the night.
Diego’s annoying grin grew into a smirk. “You did. Is she pretty? Maybe—”
“As great as this little reunion is, get to the point.”
Diego sighed, his fun spoiled. “I’m tracking a female. A murderer. Maybe you’ve seen her.”
Chapter Nineteen
“You sure you’re all right?” Dean asked Hannah. “You seem a little freaked.”
Freaked? Yeah, that was one word for it. Every seco
nd she spent in the Beta/deputy’s SUV was an exercise in torture. Why was it taking so long to get to Jessie’s? Or maybe the trip just seemed to be twenty times longer because she was about to be caught, tortured, and murdered.
An Interclan Authority agent.
Dear goddess, Vaughn was speaking to an IA agent.
Why? Why was he here? Was he looking for her? She hadn’t gotten a good look at him. He was some sort of bird of prey. His scent didn’t seem familiar, but she wasn’t sure she’d remember what the other agents she’d escaped from had smelled like. Other than the kind waitress from the pub, she couldn’t even remember if she’d run into any avian shifters since leaving Atlanta. So stupid of her, but for heaven’s sake, she wasn’t some secret agent. How the hell was she supposed to know how to do all these things? Acquire false identification, hotwire cars, defraud the credit card companies, evade the law, outrun the bad guys. And, oh yeah, break an unbreakable password.
Ridiculous. Absolutely, one hundred percent preposterous. She wasn’t a soldier, damn it.
“Delayed reaction, I guess,” she said finally. At his questioning look she added, “From yesterday and this morning.” Dean winced. “I suppose the IA agent is here about that stuff, right? I mean, that’s what they do, right? Handle the crazy, big things. I’m sorry, it’s just, I heard you say Interclan Authority and it all flashed back. I guess I’m still rattled.”
Jeez, Hannah, shut up.
“Of course, understandable. Who wouldn’t be thrown off-kilter? You’ve had a tough couple of days.”
Months, actually, but who’s counting? “Did the agent say anything about the bear? Have they encountered that sort of thing before? That was completely insane. Who would want to take drugs that did that to you? It was drugs, right? I mean, we can’t catch rabies, so—”