“Lay still girly, we’ll get him off ya,” Jace’s voice surrounds her and then his face is above her, winking and smiling at her. In a split second he sees that she’s in pain and concern crosses his expression. “Hurry guys she’s hurt!”
“What? How?” Are the replies and then she can feel the deer carcass being lifted off slowly. Pain shoots through her arm and up her neck as the antler releases its hold on her shoulder. She bites her lip to keep from crying out and she can taste the deer’s blood mixing with her own. When the weight is gone she sits up holding her right arm and she scoots back.
A bare birch tree becomes her back rest and she leans heavily on it, the air starting to pulse with the magic trying to heal her wound. She’s never felt it to this magnitude before and it burns something awful, seeming to vibrate over her entire body. A cold sweat breaks out over her skin and she can’t control the slight trembles.
“God damn it,” she groans looking at her shirt and pants. “These jeans were new!”
Looking up she sees the astonishment plastered on her four companions faces. Bloody grins start to form and then laughter emanates, as her comment sinks in. Conall kneels next to her and gently prods her shoulder, peeling the shirt up to look at the puncture marks.
“It’s almost fully healed already, Fry,” he states gently. “You should’ve let go when he started to fall your way,” he chides, taking her left hand, and helping her to her feet.
“I know, I just didn’t want to give him the chance to run,” she takes the back of her right hand and wipes her mouth, wincing a little at the movement of her arm. She smiles up at Conall, winking at his still glowing eyes. He’s still breathing hard from the hunt and having to shift back swiftly and his breath fogs in the cool air, swirling around her. He grins and puts his arm around her shoulders. She has to suppress the shivers that run through her from the contact and her wolf growls contentedly, the sound that comes over her lips being little more than a sigh.
“Well then, let’s drag this back to the house and celebrate! OWWWWWWW!” Conall lets out a howl and they all chime in throwing their faces up to the moon. Jace and Jason grab the deer for the first shift of dragging. Roman and Conall switch off with them every couple of minutes, because after a hunt, it’s not so easy to drag a kill with your tired muscles.
Breaking the tree line where they had entered, they join up with the other returning members of the Pack. Siofra gets a number of looks, mainly staring at her bloody and ripped clothing and whispers ripple through the crowd.
“Siofra, dear,” calls Clyde’s voice from the front of the group, “did you enjoy your hunt?” He approaches the group including three of his sons, assessing the kill. “This is a very nice buck! Who executed the kill?” he peers up at the group, moving from face to face.
“Siofra did,” chimes in Roman, “she went right for the throat, no hesitation.” Grinning, he pokes her in the back.
“Yeah, she scented him before we did,” Jace adds, displaying his blood smeared lady-killer grin and sideways glance in her direction.
Placing his hands on her shoulders, Clyde Johnson looks into her eyes seemingly searching for something. “Then I have one thing to ask of you, Siofra O’Hana. Being your first kill on our Pack land, I would like to offer you a place within our Pack till you decide otherwise.” Releasing her shoulders, he takes a Bowie knife out of his pocket and kneels down to the carcass at their feet. Tearing, ripping and popping sounds fill the quiet clearing, and then he straightens, holding the heart of the animal out towards her. “What is your decision?”
Siofra looks up to Conall, seeing the longing and desire for this to happen in his eyes. She feels so at ease, so at home here. ‘This is where we belong, we can be ourself here,’ her wolf growls in happiness and the sound escapes her throat. Maybe she’s finally found a place to call home. She feels at times that she’s found herself, never having to worry about a war on the horizon with another Pack like she did in Buffalo.
“Yes, I accept a place in your Pack,” she answers in a whisper. Her whole body shakes with anticipation, fueled by the longing of her wolf to be part of this family.
“Then as tradition for outsiders that join our Pack with their first kill, take a piece of this animal into you, to honor it in its offering. For this deer came from this land, and now you belong to this land.” The Alpha’s hand is outstretched towards Siofra, Clyde offering her the heart, which she takes in her shaky right hand.
Holding it in front of her face, she can smell the same coppery tones as she had in the forest. Glancing around her to reassuring nods and finding one scowl, she ignores it and puts it to her mouth, taking a huge bite. Blood squirts and drips down her chin as she chews rapidly, her wolf relishing in the taste. Siofra swallows the heart and opens her mouth to show her triumph, hearing the agreeing and proud growls of the Pack around her.
Placing his hand on her cheek and taking the heart from her grasp Clyde states, “Welcome to the Big Sky Pack, Siofra O’Hana. May your life with us be ever fruitful.” Raising the heart to the sky he lets out a vibrating howl, joined in by the rest of the Pack; but Siofra can’t help but be focused in on that one scowl she had noticed in the crowd.
The female it belongs to is also the only one not howling in celebration. It’s Jinnie Harris, daughter to her landlords. She is Siofra’s age, 25, and about the same build, only a little taller and blonde. Siofra’s gaze settles on her face and Jinnie narrows her eyes before she turns and marches off towards the house.
‘Oh great, trouble already,’ her wolf mutters.
“Yeah, great indeed,” she mutters softly to herself. That’s all she needs, an enemy.
CHAPTER SEVEN:
Siofra is in the Alpha house bathroom scrubbing her hands, arms and face, trying to wash away the already dried blood of the deer. The guys had dragged the buck back and stored it in the Johnson’s remodeled barn, fully equipped with a walk in cooler for storing game. She will need to borrow some clothes before she goes to pick up Roan, so the blood won’t frighten him.
A courteous knock on the door and Susan pops her head in the door. “Hun, you can use some of Cassie’s old clothing. Here,” she places a tank top and t-shirt on the sink counter while smiling sweetly at Siofra. “I picked out the two things that I thought you might be prone to wear the most, they’re not anything special.” Stepping into the bathroom, she takes the washcloth from Siofra’s hands.
“Thank you Sue,” Siofra plops down on the closed toilet seat, forlorn about her ruined jeans still. “I really appreciate the shirts.”
“No problem dear, if she had some pants here I’da brought them too,” she scrubs the back of Fry’s arms, where she can’t reach. “Your shoulder is looking good.”
“Yeah,” Siofra turns her head to get a good look at the puncture in her shirt, “but I feel as if I made a fool of myself.” Standing to shed the bloody shirt and tank, she takes the clean ones offered by Susan. Pulling them over her head she winces as the sore bones and muscle resist the movement. Sue helps her pull them off the rest of the way.
“Are you kidding? The boys are flabbergasted at your tenacity and skill. They’re still out there arguing over why they think you scented the buck before they did,” Susan laughs, leaning back on the sink ledge. “Hun, all of the Pack loves you. You need not worry about making a fool of yourself. We’ve all done it at one time or another.” She puts a hand on Siofra’s shoulder, rubbing in a small circle.
Siofra feels the power of the she-wolf washing over her, trying to chase away the doubt and worry from her heart and she smiles sweetly at the older woman. She leans her head on Sue’s shoulder, sighing heavily.
“Not everyone likes me,” she snorts, “Jinnie Harris sure wasn’t afraid to give me the evil eye after Clyde issued the proclamation.” Taking one last look in the mirror and tucking loose hairs back in place, she follows Susan’s lead out into the hallway.
“Jinnie is just jealous cuz Conall has had his eye on you since
last year, hun.” Putting her arm around Siofra’s shoulders, she walks toward the kitchen. “Don’t let her bother you; she jus’ can’t take rejection.” Smiling sweetly, she places a light kiss on Fry’s forehead. “Now go out there and hold hands with my son.”
Giggling like a school girl, Susan gently pushes Siofra towards the sliding door. Glancing back at her new female Alpha, Siofra smiles, “Thanks for the shirts, Sue,” and she heads out onto the porch.
Taking the stairs two at a time she hits the yard to whoops and hollers of her name in celebration. “Way to go Fry!” “Welcome to the Pack” are among some of the messages. She high-fives and hugs her way to the log benches by the fire where she spots her four hunting companions. Sliding along the log to be next to Conall, she spies him looking over at her smiling a quite feral smile. Placing his arm around her lower back, he pulls her closer to his side as her pulse races.
Her entire body seems to be on fire with the simple gesture and as Conall leans in, kissing the side of her forehead, Siofra issues a slight growl of satisfaction. She doesn’t have more than a second to revel in the feel before he takes her chin in his fingers, tilting her head up to his. Conall’s eyes are glowing from excitement, desire, happiness; she can read it all there plain as day and her breath catches in her throat.
Her wolf calls to her, whining and growling within her mind and she has to use every last ounce of self-control to not devour him right now. She’s held these feelings in for too long, denying her nature and her heart; but now she has her chance.
“Kiss me,” she whispers, inching her face closer to his. Locking eyes with him, she sees the shock run through his features, but it’s soon clouded over with desire again.
A low, sexy warning of a growl emanates from his chest and he draws her face closer, brushing his lips on hers, hesitantly, with only a whisper of a touch but it sets her nerves firing uncontrollably. Heat pools in her stomach causing an ache to settle between her legs. Putting her hand on his cheek, Siofra draws him in, running her nose along his before covering his lips softly.
She feels one of his hands settle into her hair, holding her to him, and as the other sneaks around her waist, she sinks into him. Running her tongue along his bottom lip she can’t help but whimper a small moan when his darts out and dances with hers, pulling her into a more intimate display. He seems to be memorizing every surface of her mouth, running his tongue along all the sensitive skin, teasing her by biting her bottom lip.
She knows he can sense and smell her arousal, because he issues another low growl when she returns the nip to his bottom lip. His hand tightens at her hip, pulling her over so that she sort of straddles his leg, while still sitting on the log, his thigh rubs into her core, sending lightning bolts all throughout her body. Biting her bottom lip once more, Conall pulls away, leaving her feeling empty as he gazes down at her, a haze of longing coming over his features.
“Save that for another time, love,” he kisses her again lightly on the lips, grinning as he sits up, adjusting his jacket and pants. It’s then that Siofra notices the silence around her.
Raising her blushing face towards the fire she notices Jason, Jace and Roman sitting on the other end of the same log, near Conall, with their heads together. As she adjusts in her seat, she can see others looking before the whistles and shouts from onlookers begin. They had all watched their steamy display and she can’t help but blush all over again, at the thought.
“Oh quiet down, quiet down! Like you’ve never seen two people kiss before,” Jace stands addressing the young wolves, waving his hands in a ‘sit-down’ motion. He turns backs to Siofra, winking; “Now if you two are done suckin’ face, you wanna sing a’lil, girly?”
Jace takes his seat and reaches behind him, producing two acoustic guitars and hands one to Conall. When they play with their other band mates at the bar, she sometimes joins them on stage. She’s no great singer, no high notes from her, but they say she has a Reba quality. Plus, she loves the feeling of being up there, being close to Conall and catching his eyes on her and sharing a mic with him when they duet.
“Yeah, I’ll go a couple rounds. I need a beer first,” she smiles, nodding to Roman who is closest to the cooler and he tosses her a Bud Light. “What are we gonna start off with?”
“Well, let’s rile everyone up with a little Jason Aldean. Sound good?” Jace nods at Conall, who returns the gesture, before they both turn to Siofra. She’d be backup on this one, but that is good; she loves listening to the two of them sing.
“Sounds good, boys,” she laughs, kissing Conall on the cheek before she stands. Taking a swig out of her bottle as they start “Take a Little Ride”, Siofra gathers people together to dance. The young wolves comply with no hesitation; they still have the energy after the hunt. The older members join everyone around the fire, sitting on the logs and in lawn chairs, singing along and tapping their cowboy boots in the dirt.
The rest of the night passes quickly and full of laughter, with all the dancing, singing and drinking. By the time it is 1:30 in the morning, Siofra is quite inebriated and searching for the down vest she had shed before running to the woods for the hunt. Someone had stored it on the grill counter close to where she was when she shed it. Siofra picks it up, poking in the pockets for her cell phone.
Unlocking it, she sees she has two emails and one text. Trying to focus on the screen while making her way back to the porch, she sees that the text is from Cassie. A shot of panic vibrates through her, but is extinguished when she reads “Jason jus txt me, U KISSED HIM!!!!!Yay girl, about god damn time! Luv u. Roan is an angel!” Giggling, Siofra looks up to see Conall waiting for her at the top of the steps.
“I’ll drive you home, love,” he has her keys already in hand, as he trots down to meet her. Taking her face in his hands bringing it up to his, “It’ll give me an excuse to come in when I drop you off.” Grinning, he kisses her lightly, which almost melts her internally. Taking her hand, he leads her around to the driveway.
She leans her head on his bicep while checking her emails. One from her friend, Francie Bokan; she’ll check that in the morning, and one from her brother Marcus. Siofra opens this one, wondering why her 32 year-old brother is emailing her at one in the morning.
“Sis- I will be flying into Broadus tomorrow, passing through to business in Canada. Wondering where I can meet you, there is something urgent we need to discuss. Don’t get worried, dad is ok. This has to do with the Niagara Pack. Email me back A.S.A.P. Love ya --Junior”
“Hmm,” she mumbles, as Conall opens the passenger side door of her Jeep for her.
“What’s up love?” He asks as he closes her door and trots over to the driver’s side.
“My brother Marcus will be in town tomorrow and says he has something important to discuss.” Siofra fires back and email, “I’ll be at the bar working the lunch-7 shift. Come by, and I have something to tell u too. Love ya bro--Fry”
Starting the Jeep up and swinging it around to the road, Conall heads off for Jason and Cassie’s to pick up Roan. No traffic on the road makes it so they get there in about three minutes. The house is so quiet looking; the only lights that are on are those over the sink and in the garage, where she suspects Jason is winding down after the fire.
“I’ll go get him,” Conall winks and folds his tall figure out the door. Bounding up to the door, he walks in and disappears, only to emerge five minutes later with a hunched over blob of jacket, sweatpants and auburn hair. Smiling at her through the windshield, Conall reaches the back drivers side and opens it.
“Cassie said he’s been chattering up a storm till about an hour ago,” he laughs quietly while buckling Roan and quietly shutting the door. Resuming his spot in the driver’s seat, Siofra sees the wide smile on his face and can feel the happiness radiating off of him. Taking his hand from the gear shift, Siofra puts it to her mouth and kisses he knuckles.
“Thank you,” she whispers, glancing back at Roan who is sleeping soundly. Conall just gri
ns and pulls out in the direction of her rental home.
After stripping a groggy baby out of his jacket, boots and sweat pants, she lays Roan in his crib; sighing at the peaceful sight. He is her world, his little laughs and giggles warming her heart every time. She really couldn’t ask for a better baby and she would never change how the last year has unfolded.
Returning to the living room where Conall stayed behind, she plops down on the couch next to him, sitting with her left leg folded in so she can face his side. She sighs heavily, feeling the lingering pull of the alcohol in her system and the effect of the moon on her wolf. Conall snakes his arm around the back of the couch to settle behind her shoulders, pulling Siofra towards him slowly while setting her body on fire. Her breathing picks up as she wiggles closer to him, her wolf already whimpering with need of her mate.
“You surprised me tonight, love,” he whispers as he kisses her cheek, his hot breath causing a melting feeling to ignite again inside her. His lips linger on her skin, sending a wave of goose-bumps over her entire body and she shivers slightly from the delicious feel.
“I surprise myself sometimes,” she adds, her breath hitching as he kisses down her neck to her collar bone, setting her skin ablaze with a fresh rush of desire. Bringing his face in front of her with her hands on his cheeks, she looks into his pine-green eyes that are on fire with emotion. Placing her forehead to his she whispers wantonly, “You wanna stay?”
No words are needed as a growl comes from deep within him, vibrating so that Siofra can feel it through his touch. He put his arms around her waist, hoisting her onto his lap; she swings her legs around him. Her heart is going crazy, as she can feel his do the same. As his chest rises, brushing her needy breasts, she can’t help but throw her head back for a second and moan.
Conall’s hand wraps into her hair, pulling her face to his, latching their mouths together with such force it is as if it was going to be the last time. Siofra tastes everything he can give her, moving her lips hungrily with his. His hands roam her body, unashamedly, over her clothes and she grinds down into his lap, whimpering as his hardened cock rubs through his jeans, into her crotch.
Siofra's Song: Book 1 The Broadus Supernatural Society Series Page 5