by Unknown
“Kane, please.”
“Not until you tell me.” He wasn’t about to let her wiggle out of it.
“I want you!” she screamed. He pushed forward and her back bowed at his entry and her cry filled the room around them. He gripped her hips and dug in with his feet forcing himself to take this slow and easy, unwilling to hurt her. The heat of her flesh surrounding him was like liquid fire, and sweat ran in rivulets down his face and back as he still did his best to hold onto that little thread of humanity that held back the animal.
“More, Kane. Hurry.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, baby.”
“I don’t care. You need to fuck me now!” The tether broke on her last cry and he surged forward, buried to the hilt. With the scent of her pussy filling his senses and the entire room, as well as the tight grip she flexed and released around his dick, he was forced to free the cougar. A snarl twisted his lips as he surged forward again and again, covering her body with his own. His eye teeth descended and the cries of his mate begging him not to stop erased all conscious thought and responsibility from his brain.
Her whimpers and cries increased, and when his arm wrapped around her so he could thumb her clit he came face to face with her mark. Lost in the wet folds of her pussy and the screams that tore from her throat when she flew from the cliff he’d held her at so long, his teeth sank into her back, piercing her mating mark.
His actions threw her straight into a second orgasm that milked his cock until he, too, pumped his release into her, all the while with the taste of her blood hot in his mouth. His mate.
When the aftershocks of their mating cooled, his mouth popped from her skin and his cock slid from her body. He had to catch her from falling when he stepped back and easily scooped her into his arms to take her the few feet to his own bed. Not willing to leave her alone in her own room, he needed to feel her warmth curled against him. Their fate was sealed and, like it or not, they would be linked forever. It took ’til death do us part to a whole new level.
After he washed up in the bathroom and shut down the water, he took up a post in the chair across from the bed. She looked so beautiful and fragile lying there. Her creamy skin stood out stark from the dark room, making her look like a sweet treat to be devoured by a predator like him.
He brushed his hands through his hair and looked down at the floor. How could he let the animal take control like that? What would she do when she woke up a human mated to a shifter? What would he do? In two days they would have much to answer at the tribunal. He hoped they survived.
***
The eerie stillness of the night unsettled Bran. Animals should be scurrying, and owls hooting on a moonless night such as this. He’d opted to meet Nick far from home, and his nosy daughter. Katherine had provided him with her shocking news and taunted him mercilessly with it ever since.
Lara’s mating mark complicated the situation beyond tolerance and it made her and Kane more dangerous than ever. By now the boy would have discovered it, and no female could escape a male cougar as powerful as that one. He’d heard the stories of the Gunn brothers and their sexual exploits. At one point he and the other council members had chalked it up to their increased animal DNA. What made them powerful killers was what also fed their voracious appetites above and beyond the average cougar.
The clan needed more females with the mating mark, but these half-breeds were not acceptable.
Wind rustled through the leaves and Bran raised his head at the scent carrying in on the wind.
“Took you long enough.” He didn’t bother to hide his irritation.
“Council business ran late and I had to wait until everyone left.” Nick stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing. “And you’ve got quite the fetish for this cloak and dagger shit. Did we really have to come all the way out here to do this?”
Nick’s mocking tone crawled under his skin for a moment before Bran shook it off. “Did you bring it?”
“Yeah I got it.” He produced a thick manila envelope from his pack and handed it over.
“Are you sure you got everything?” He couldn’t have any loose ends coming back to bite him in the ass down the road.
“I’ve been searching through records for days. I have it all and now you do.”
“I suppose you read through it.”
Nick laughed. “You know me too well to think I wouldn’t look. It made for some entertaining reading. Talk about flimsy evidence. That woman was essentially executed based on your word.”
Anger rushed through him at Nick’s gall. “You were just a kit when that sentence was passed down, and despite what may or may not be in this file, we were justified.”
Nick threw up his hands in surrender. “Whoa. Whoa. Didn’t mean to get you all riled up, but let’s face it. If Kane gets his hands on that file, the council might be forced to not only rule in Lara’s favor and offer her vengeance, they’ll likely decide to clean house.”
“Enough.” Bran didn’t want to hear anymore from this snot nosed kid. “That little bitch of Kane’s is trying to wipe out our clan’s future. If we don’t stop Kane from mating with her, do you realize how much power she’ll have?”
“Wait a minute. Seeking the truth before a kill is a far cry from mating. That’s not the kind of person he is.”
“Oh hell, Nick, how can you be so naïve? One minute you’ll stoop to the dirtiest task you’re given and the next you defend your childhood friend with blinders on. She bears a mating mark.”
Bran took great pleasure at the wild-eyed look of horror in the other man’s eyes. He figured that would shut him up.
“How is that possible?”
“Evil has a way of getting things done, boy. You should know that by now.” He spied Nick’s jugular vein pulse faster when his heart rate increased. His claws lengthened as he imagined how easy it would be to slit his throat. Nick had been easy to mold these last few years, but his usefulness was coming to a fast end. After he got him to do one more thing.
“She can’t make it to the tribunal. To get her close to the council puts us all in danger.”
“Kane won’t let that happen.”
Bran laughed loud and long, a sinister sound even to his own ears. “Kane will be lucky to live through the night. A cougar in the throes of mating heat is useless to the rest of us. She has him right where she wanted him all along. I’ve warned people many times over the years about underestimating your enemies, yet no one ever listens until after they’ve been robbed, hurt, or worse.”
“I can stop her. Her mating mark doesn’t mean jack to me.”
That arrogance was exactly what he’d hoped for. “By tomorrow night it will be too late.”
“There’s plenty of time between now and then. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You are a good friend, and I hope he appreciates your devotion. Take this.” He produced an envelope of his own. “It’s everything I’ve gathered on the witch. Study it tonight. There might be something in there you can use against her.”
Nick grabbed the packet and turned back in the direction he’d arrived. They had less than twenty-four hours to get this done or all hell would break loose and play out in front of the entire clan. His mistakes over the years had been many but with age had come wisdom and no bastard child no one ever wanted would ruin all of his hard work.
Chapter Fourteen
Lara woke to the bright sunshine streaming into her room from the skylights above her bed. She didn’t wake up disoriented this time; she knew right where she was, in the guest bedroom of Kane’s home. The same place she’d been alone for the past two nights in a row. Just like the morning before, she stretched and popped her incredibly sore body as a soft sigh escaped her lips. The last time she’d seen Kane he’d taken her like she’d never been taken before, but when she’d woken the next morning she found herself back in her bed alone and two strange men sitting in the kitchen.
The bastard had left her here with a couple of babysitters wit
h no word, no note, no nothing. Hell, if her body wasn’t still aching so much she’d probably have thought the whole thing a dream. She absently rubbed at the back of her neck right where her birthmark was. It had tingled off and on for days, but it was the lethargy that bothered her. She couldn’t ever remember being sick a day in her life, and always her injuries healed much quicker than most people’s. She attributed that to probably having a higher metabolism than most. What else would drive her to such a frenzy all the time?
Now she thought of Kane and the upcoming tribunal. The ceremony was set for dusk tonight and she didn’t feel confident about it at all. She didn’t have a lot of evidence to support her, but the monkeys in the kitchen had actually talked to her about it yesterday. Said they’d heard someone from a psi clan would be coming in to assist and would likely be able to read her memories. That thought sent a fresh wave of chills down her spine. She really didn’t want someone poking around in her head anymore than she wanted to be here...alone.
Everyone leaves.
She’d created enough firepower in her amulets to easily set herself free, yet she stayed here in this house like a good little girl. She growled at the thought, a rumbling sound that reminded her of Kane. She forced herself from the bed and wandered into the closet for something to wear. Kane had sent a woman to the house, a cat likely, with package after package of clothing for her. She appreciated the gesture; well, she would if the bastard hadn’t run off and left her. She had no idea what to do to prepare, and he was off doing God knows what.
Everyone leaves.
Anger warred with despair as she slumped forward, head in her hands. She swiped at the moisture that welled in her eyes. Why the hell am I crying over him? What is wrong with me?
A hand touched her shoulder lightly and she automatically flinched away from it. She didn’t need sympathy from the men left behind to guard her.
“Lara.”
Her head jerked at the sound of his voice and she launched herself from the bed and into his arms. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tight as she rained kisses all over him. Relief engulfed her at the sight of Kane looking tired but sexy as hell in her bedroom.
His hand swiped at the tears flowing across her cheeks, “Why are you crying, sugar?”
Her head and body froze at the supposed term of endearment. She wriggled herself free from his arms and landed softly on the bed where she jumped up, pulling her arm back, and sucker punched him in the gut.
“You son of a bitch! Where the hell have you been? Why did you leave me here with your goons? And why the hell are you still calling me sugar?”
“Take a breath, Lara, and sit down, we need to talk.”
She bristled against his condescending tone. “I’m not a child to be ordered around.”
“Then stop acting like one.”
Rage bubbled up and she struggled not to attack him. She wouldn’t get answers from him if she beat him bloody, or used any of her firepower. She inhaled sharply, holding that deep breath as long as she could before exhaling on a long sigh. She could control her emotions, she always had.
“Where have you been?” She was pleased at the calm, cold tone of her voice.
“Looking for something to save your ass tonight.” “What did you find?” “That’s the strange part...Nothing.” She stood and paced across the room, unable to think straight with
Kane this close. Why would he not tell her where he’d gone? “What aren’t you telling me? You were—are—mad at me and you left after fucking my brains out without a word. What the hell is going on? Are you feeding me to the bloodsuckers tonight?”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. She tried to break his grasp, she really did, but he held tight and forced her close. She could smell the soap he’d used to shower, but it did little to cover his natural earthy scent. The kind of smell that drove a woman to hug pillows close for comfort when her man wasn’t around.
“What I want right now and what I am allowed are two totally different things. Officially there is still a death warrant out on you, and unless we are successful tonight either I or someone else in my family will be expected to kill you.”
The harsh whisper of his words broke her heart. The pain he endured seemed so evident, yet she didn’t understand why he had to pull away. Her hand swept under her hair and nervously rubbed at her mark.
“Let me.” He pushed her hand away and placed his warm hand against her skin. No way could she have kept the deep sigh to herself, his touch felt too good.
“Do you remember what happened the other night?”
Of course she did, he’d taken her at his most feral and fucked her until she’d nearly passed out. A shiver ran down her skin at the delicious memory of it. “Yes.”
“Do you remember me biting you?”
She furrowed her brow at him, thinking back. Now that he mentioned it, she did vaguely recall his teeth scraping along her spine and biting into...she jerked away from his hand. “What did you do? Does that have something to do with why I keep rubbing the back of my neck right around my birthmark?”
He didn’t answer right away, and she knew. Panic settled in and she fought against him, shoving him back, forcing him to release her.
“How long after I was gone did you start to physically hurt? One day? Two? What I did was unforgivable and irrevocable.”
“God damn it, Kane, say it. What exactly is happening to me?”
“We are mated. Bonded together as one. It changes our chemistry until our lives are bound to one another. If one dies, so does the other. If we are separated we’ll suffer in pain until eventually we can’t take it anymore. According to legend, separated mates have been known to go feral. You and I, sugar, are stuck together forever.”
Stuck. Of all the words he’d just uttered, that should have devastated her. The description of him being stuck with her sliced to the bone. He didn’t want her. How the hell was she supposed to handle that? A punch in the face would have hurt less. She staggered backwards until her back slammed into the wall with no thoughts but of the pain gripping her insides, making her dizzy and nauseous.
When he moved in her direction she yelled, “No. Don’t you come near me!” She didn’t want him touching or even talking to her anymore. She couldn’t breathe in here and she needed out. She grabbed her windbreaker and shoes and ran for the door, desperate to get away before she broke down so he wouldn’t see her give into weakness and cry her eyes out.
The two men sitting at the kitchen table looked up at her, concern written all over their faces, before she could avert her eyes to the door she desperately wanted to get through. She heard the scraping sound of chairs as they moved but she didn’t care. She was leaving and doing it by herself. She clutched the two amulets hanging from her neck, just waiting for her to engage them.
As soon as she swung the door open the earthy smell of the woods around her, as well as the undertones of wildlife, fresh air, and even the nearby stream filled her nose. For the second time in two days she marveled at this sudden, acute sense of smell. The air ruffled across her skin and she felt the individual oxygen particles spear through the fine down of hair along her arms.
She shoved her feet into her shoes and, with one last look at the house, took off on a run. The one activity she craved everyday gave her the sense of freedom no matter her circumstances. She could think as she moved, and the wind blowing across her cheeks would wipe away any tears that escaped from her eyes.
With every stroke on her face or shift in the breeze a new scent would tickle her nose, something she sought to identify and catalog in her brain. This new development fascinated her, but now that she knew about the mating she wondered what this all meant. Later, when she had herself back under control she would return to Kane and demand more answers, but for now she would do what she had to in order to let go of her emotion.
***
Kane walked through the house, ready to go after Lara and drag her stubborn ass back to the hou
se where he could lock her up until she understood. He’d been amazed when he’d walked back into his home and caught his mate’s scent, and the pain in his body had eased. His brother had told him some of the things that change after a mating, but since Lucas had mated with a human, Kane hadn’t paid that much attention. He never saw himself mating, and especially not with a fragile human woman, though Lara was the last person to ever come across as fragile.
She knew how to take care of herself and those around her. Cross her and she made you fucking pay for it.
The men in his kitchen started to speak, but the low snarl rumbling in his throat warned them off. He didn’t feel like talking or explaining anything to anyone except her. He’d searched the area around the house before he’d come in and hadn’t detected anything unusual, so she’d likely be safe. That didn’t stop him from heading out front anyways. He needed to be out there with her, even if some distance separated them.
He sat in the swing at the far end of his porch, getting comfy for his wait. He’d added the swing right after he moved in. Every time he walked out here he had thought of his mother and the hours she would spend outside waiting for her father. She always said she wanted to smell the outdoors and that if she waited long enough the wind would carry his scent to her as well. It was her comfort for all the time he had to spend away from home.
Now he understood more than ever. He’d left and made Lara stay behind. He’d never intended to complete the mating ritual, but the sharp edge of his anger allowed things to get out of control, and when he slid inside her he lost his mind over her eagerness to fulfill his darkest desires. He couldn’t have stopped it even if he’d tried. It had taken him a couple of days to accept it, and now he could only hope that she would eventually forgive him as well.
The wind shifted and, just like his mother had taught him, he picked up Lara’s one of a kind scent. The uniqueness that was her would plague him his entire life no matter what happened. He smiled and settled back further, fighting the urge to shift and run. He was a predator who wanted his mate, but he’d give her as much time as he could stand.