by Kate Douglas
Tia blinked and backed away. “Dad said it would take two weeks. It’s not even been a whole week since I started the supplement.” She rubbed her hands over her arms, the nervous gesture looking frantic, almost obsessive.
“Your skin feels like it’s ready to burst, doesn’t it? You’re noticing some odd bouts of vertigo, sensory things that don’t quite make sense…smells are more intense. You’re aware of sounds you’ve never paid attention to before and you feel as if you could fuck anything on two legs…or four.”
Tia stopped rubbing her arms and stared at Luc. She should have laughed, but he’d hit too damned close to the truth. “How did you know?”
He’d thought so. Tia’s look of surprise confirmed Luc’s suspicions. “You’re the first full-blooded Chanku we’ve seen. It’s happening fast. I recognize the signs in you.” He tipped up her chin with a fingertip and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “Tonight you’ll run with me in the forest. Trust me.”
Tia gazed at him with trust shaded by fear. He couldn’t blame her. Luc had fears of his own. They would link, at some point. They had to, so he could show her how to shift.
Would he be able to hide his sins? Could he suppress the memories of that long-ago night in Golden Gate Park? Conceal the fatal gunshot that killed Camille Mason, the fact that he, Lucien Stone, had pulled the trigger?
He had to. This woman was destined to be his mate. Luc felt it in his heart, knew it in his mind. Knew just as well that Tia could never forgive the man who killed her mother.
Chapter 8
“What do you think?” Luc stood beside the open car door and stretched, raising his long arms over his head, arching his back and twisting around his head so that his long hair swept the collar on either side of his shirt.
Tia climbed stiffly out of the car and rubbed her arms. The evening air was cool, but her chill came from the inside. Fear, curiosity. Arousal.
Tia swallowed hard. She forced herself to look away from the sleek play of soft flannel shirt over rippling muscle, the sunlight shimmering off his sleek, dark hair. It took every bit of willpower she possessed.
Luc could very well be right. She might actually be ready. Tia knew something was changing. Her body, her perceptions, her sensual nature. Sitting so close to Luc on the long drive had left her antsy and aroused. She’d laughed when he’d told her the Chanku were a sensual species.
No kidding.
Tia shuddered and tried to draw her raging libido under control, but it wasn’t easy. Not when her pussy kept clenching and releasing, not when her nipples hurt from staying tight and puckered against her shirt for the entire ride up the mountain.
She turned in a full circle, doing her utmost to appreciate the wild beauty of the setting. It wasn’t easy when all she could think of were the sleeping arrangements and how her body needed, wanted.
The cabin nestled in a thick stand of mixed fir and pine at the edge of a meadow. Huge, barren mountain peaks towered over the small clearing, their tops frosted with remnants of last season’s snow, now turning pink with the dying rays of the evening sun.
The air at this elevation was fresh and clean, with just a hint of fall coolness. Aspen growing along the creeks had begun the yearly shift from green to gold. There was no sound other than the soft sigh of wind in the trees, the chatter of blue jays in the nearby woods. After the constant noise and bustle of San Francisco, this spot felt like heaven.
Quietly ripe with potential, the perfect setting to discover a new self, to explore a new lover. Tia smiled at Luc. “It’s beautiful. Impressive. I’ve never been this high in the mountains before.”
Never been this high, period.
She tilted her glance sideways at Luc and wondered how this night would end. Sex had always been so easy and uncomplicated for her. Not with this man. No, Luc expected more from Tia than any lover before.
Not even Shannon had asked for her soul.
Luc watched her over the roof of the car. Tia felt it again, the odd pressure in her head as though Luc tried to communicate telepathically. He’d said it would happen, that suddenly she would discover how to open her thoughts, accept her need to communicate on a level beyond verbal speech.
He’d called it “mindtalking.”
Tia knew she was close. She’d managed that one word before Luc left, but try as she might, she’d not been able to communicate with Tinker during the long days he’d shadowed her.
Today, though, there’d been a sense of something or someone searching, pressing against her skull for much of the trip, but she’d not understood how to open her thoughts to him.
Would she have allowed him in, had she known how? It was all so confusing. Luc hadn’t asked. Hadn’t acknowledged his silent intrusion. Neither had Tia.
She’d hardly noticed the scenery on the trip up the mountainous roads. Her eyes might have looked, but her mind remained otherwise occupied. Luc had been so close, yet a million miles away. Tapping at a door she’d been unable to open.
It had taken them all afternoon to get here, to this wild slice of California mountain wilderness in the northeastern part of the state.
Tia had bubbled over with questions.
Luc hadn’t answered any of them.
Of course, she hadn’t asked. She couldn’t. There were too many and nothing made sense. In the back of her mind, Tia accepted that there were some questions only her ability to shift would answer.
Luc had said she would run with the wolf tonight. Would she make love with him as well?
She shivered. She wasn’t quite willing to think about that yet. “Who owns this place?” Tia reached into the backseat for the small sports bag filled with her belongings. Turning with the bag clutched to her chest, she glanced at Luc. Her stomach clenched, seeing him here in this wild setting, dressed so casually. He belonged here, not the city.
By tonight, he would belong to Tia as well. Or would he?
“Pack Dynamics is the registered owner, but since we’re all owners of the company, it’s ours. Yours as well, once you are fully Chanku. I imagine your father has already added you to the deeds for the properties we own.”
Tia’s heart beat faster. She felt poised on the edge of a dark abyss, as if contemplating a leap into the void. Her life truly depended on her ability to survive the fall. Tia’s arms itched and a shiver raced across her spine. She took a deep breath, nodded her understanding, and followed Luc into the cabin.
“Sorry I’m late, boss.” Tinker slipped quietly into Ulrich’s office and nodded at the other four men in the room before leaning against the back wall. “What’s up?”
Ulrich stood behind his desk and studied his hands while the pack settled. He almost smiled at the tension in the room. If it had been anyone other than his daughter at the root of it, he might have.
“Have they gone?” He focused on Tinker, the least likely wolf of the entire pack, yet easily the most loyal. If not for Luc, Ulrich would have chosen Tinker as Tia’s mate. A good man. A strong man. An even better wolf.
“Yeah. They should be at the cabin by now. The rest of us will join them in a couple days.”
AJ, Mik, and Jake turned as one to stare at Tinker and then just as quickly looked back at Ulrich. Even AJ looked flustered, as if uncertain what would come next. Only Tinker seemed sure of himself.
Obviously, Tinker still needed to share Luc’s plans with the pack. He certainly hadn’t shared them with Ulrich.
Ulrich hadn’t expected this so soon. Not all of them. Not with his baby. He bit back a snarl. Four sets of eyes turned to him in question. Ulrich ignored them. Let the damned beasts figure it out for themselves. He brushed his hands along his thighs, physically wiping his hands of the entire situation. Moving on to more important things.
“Okay. Enough on that. We need to discuss the mission. I’ve read your report and agree with Luc’s summary. Something doesn’t feel right. Our target was not forthcoming on details, evidence in the caves was a bit too easy to find, and Luc said all of you
had a bad feeling about the entire operation…and that’s merely regarding the obvious. Any comments, additions to your report?”
Tinker held up his hand. “I’ve got a comment, but it’s not on this mission. It’s about Tia.”
“Is this really necessary right now?”
Tinker glared at him, practically a challenge. Ulrich almost took a step back in surprise, but caught himself in time. Tinker never challenged anyone, especially Ulrich. He nodded.
“I’m convinced someone is stalking Tia.”
“What?” Ulrich glared at Tinker. “You said it was a false alarm, that the break-in was an isolated incident and Tia’s sense of being watched just a case of nerves.”
Tinker shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn’t sure of my suspicions until this morning. She had a bookshelf give way in the classroom. A heavy one, right over her desk. If it had come down while she was sitting there, Tia could have been badly hurt. As you know, it’s not the first incident, but easily the most dangerous.”
Ulrich picked up a pencil and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. “Could it have been an accident?”
Tinker shook his head. “Nope. Bolts generally don’t saw halfway through themselves. Another thing: I recognized scent. Same guy as the one who tried to break into her apartment the first night.”
The pencil snapped. “Anything else?”
AJ spoke up. “About the mission, not Tia. A feeling. A very strong feeling that something is not as it should be.”
Jake and Mik muttered in agreement. “The entire mission felt like a setup, boss, but we couldn’t figure out why.” Jake shrugged his shoulders. “It just didn’t feel right. Bosworth didn’t feel right.”
Ulrich nodded. “I’ve known Bosworth for years. Never liked or disliked the man either way, so I can’t comment on him. I’ve had a similar sense of disorder. It’s good Luc and Tia are gone. The cabin’s as close to a safe house as we’ve got. Stay alert. If you think of anything, contact me.”
Ulrich took a long look at the four young men crowding his office. Each of them was as a son to him, a member of his family, and he loved each one more than he ever thought he could love another man.
Yet the love he felt for these men paled beside the emotions tied up in Tia. She would always be his heart, his baby, his only link to Camille. He opened his mouth, coughed, cleared his throat, and realized he was too choked up to speak aloud.
Still, the words needed to be said. He was, after all, her father. Ulrich had known this day would come, but never expected it to happen so soon…for Tia to grow up so quickly.
To look so very much like her mother.
When you go to the cabin…when you are with Luc and Tia, remember this: She is my daughter. She is very precious to me.
Ulrich pinned every man, one after the other, with a look that should have left them shaking in their boots, not practically quivering in anticipation.
Sighing, he added, Don’t ever forget, Tia is my only daughter. If you hurt her, the world will not be big enough to hide you.
The cabin was surprisingly large inside. Tia accepted the fact that her sudden interest in the floor plan was to keep from thinking of the night ahead, but she explored the bottom level with the large kitchen and common room dominated by a huge fireplace at one end, and then climbed the stairs to a spacious loft sleeping area while Luc unpacked the car and checked outside to make sure all was well.
Tia reached the top of the stairs and stopped in her tracks. She’d expected lots of beds. Not four king-size mattresses shoved together across the floor to make one large bed.
A bed for five big men? Tia’s stomach clenched, imagining Luc, Tinker, AJ, Jake, and Mik sprawled naked across the bedding. Five perfect bodies, limbs entwined, mouths and hands and cocks all working in perfect unison. Five perfect men, loving one another.
Loving Tia?
She grabbed the stair railing when her legs threatened to give way.
“Tia? You upstairs?”
“Uh…yeah. I’m here. I’m coming down.” She really didn’t want Luc to catch her here. Not the way her mind was working right now, the way her entire midsection felt as if it were clenching into one huge, impending orgasm.
She turned around and ran into Luc. He grabbed her waist to steady her. “You okay?”
Tia nodded.
“Good. It’ll be dark soon. We should eat something light before I take you through your shift.” He pulled back and looked more carefully. His eyes narrowed and Tia was certain his nostrils flared. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
When she didn’t answer, his gaze swept her body from crotch to chin and then he glanced over Tia’s shoulder and laughed. “Ah…now I see what’s going on. Our sleeping loft has left you speechless?”
Blushing, Tia shoved against his chest and stepped around Luc when he dropped his hands from her waist. “Only four beds? Where do you sleep?”
“Up here with the guys.” He paused, just long enough to allow Tia’s imagination full rein. “We generally only need two of the mattresses.”
Tia snorted. Tried her best to play it cool. “That many?” She gave Luc a look similar to the one he’d just given her, but the image in her mind of all those sexy, sweaty bodies made it difficult to swallow. She wondered once more if Luc took the bottom or the top.
Definitely the top. With that visual planted firmly in her mind, Tia led the way down the stairs.
Luc barbecued steaks, though he really only warmed them over the fire. Tia had noticed an increased craving for meat just a day after starting the supplements, quite a change after her mostly vegetarian diet of the past. Tonight she cut into the blood-rare beef and savored every bite.
Luc ate quietly, sipping at his wine and barely touching the salad she’d made. He looked up, chewing slowly, and swallowed. “Why do you block me?”
“What?” Tia swallowed a sip of wine and set down the glass. “I don’t understand.”
“In order to show you how to shift, I’ll need to do at least a simple link, enough to show you the physical steps to take you through the change. You’ve got a block like a brick wall around your thoughts.”
“I don’t mean to.” Tia thought of the one time they had linked, during sex when she’d been high in the midst of orgasm. There’d been the sense of a shutter opening to allow light inside, only the light had been Lucien’s thoughts.
She went there now, raising the shutters consciously this time. Opening her mind. Like this?
Exactly! Do you understand me? Do you think you can see what I want you to see?
It really was quite simple. If she’d only known! Tia stared at Luc, concentrated on the open shutter. Yes. I’m certain I can. I hope I can. But I’m afraid.
What if it didn’t work? What if she ended up caught halfway between wolf and human? What if…“I don’t know if I can do this. What if I’m not ready? It’s barely been a week since I started the pills.”
“If it’s too soon, nothing will happen. We’ll wait and try it again in a couple of days.”
“Easy for you to say.” She bit off a laugh that sounded more like a sob.
“I’m going to shift. Tinker said you’ve watched him shift a couple times, so you know what to expect. I want you to link with me and feel what I feel from the inside out.”
Tia carefully wiped her mouth and pushed away her plate. It had happened so fast with Tinker, the change from human to wolf and back again. How would she ever do something so complex, changing bones and organs, even her brain!
“Luc? Does it hurt? I mean…your bones are changing, your entire body.” Damn, she felt like such a baby, but until a week ago, she’d never once imagined anything at all like this.
Except in her dreams.
Luc shook his head. “I know it seems like it should hurt, but it doesn’t. There’s a sense of disorientation that lasts an instant. Your dad thinks it’s at that moment when the human brain becomes wolf, or vice versa, that the other structures make the change as well. D
uring the shift from one brain to another, there’s no sensor for pain, so the body doesn’t feel the change in bone and muscle and everything else.” He flashed a sexy grin at Tia. “At least, that’s the theory. Have you had enough to eat? Are you ready?”
Tia stood up and tossed her napkin on the table. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Lead on.”
Luc took her out on the deck. The sun had gone down and stars sprinkled across a midnight sky. The forest loomed black and threatening, and a bare slice of moon spread a pale glimmer of light over the meadow.
How would she see to run at night? What if she got lost in the woods, not even human, unsure how to return to her human form?
What if…?
Tia spun around at the sound of a zipper. Luc already had his shirt and shoes off. He’d pushed his pants down his legs and was stepping out of them. Why hadn’t she thought of this? Tinker had undressed first, too.
She’d never seen Luc completely naked before. He was beautiful, his body lean and sculpted, the muscles of thigh and chest, abdomen and arms sharply defined in the glow of light spilling from the large front window of the cabin.
His cock jutted forward from its tangle of dark hair, not fully erect, its tumescence merely hinting at ultimate length and width. Tinker might be a physically larger man than Luc, but he had nothing on this alpha male.
Trembling, her pussy clenching in unexpected arousal, Tia turned her back on Luc and forced the image of their naked bodies coupling from her mind. She had to concentrate on shifting, needed her full attention on Luc’s instructions, not sex.
Impossible. She’d thought of little else with him since that first meeting in the airport just a week ago.