The Covert Wolf

by Bonnie Vanak

  “Oh, hell,” he said softly. “No condom.”

  A smile quivered on her lips. “It’s okay. I’m in the safe part of my cycle.”

  He rested beside her, touching her cheek. She turned to him.

  “Did you feel that? It was like…we were bonding. Sharing our intimate thoughts. Just for a minute. It was amazing. Intense, and I felt like I was a part of your mind.”

  Heart racing, she watched his expression. “A little. Maybe. I lost myself for a while.” He gave a twisted smile. “Kept feeling my wolf wanting to take over. Down, boy.”

  Sienna ran a hand over his flank, feeling him shiver. “Maybe you should put some clothes on. It’s cold out here.”

  Intent flared on his face. “I’m not done with you. Yet.”

  Matt slid an arm around her waist, loaning her his strength, his vitality. She rested against him, admitting the truth. The Draicon she never wanted, the man she feared, had burrowed into her heart.

  Wind ruffled their hair, rustling the brilliant yellow aspen leaves. Snow lay like powdered sugar sprinkled on the mountaintops. There weren’t words, only emotion as she turned to him, lifting her face to his. He loved her slowly this time, savoring her with each kiss, each flick of his tongue over her skin. When they’d clung to each other, shuddering as they climaxed, she felt an odd tingle race down her spine. A spark of magick and energy.

  Then it faded like the sun winking below the mountains.

  They returned to the cabin. Her tiny home seemed cold and desolate.

  The earlier euphoria of making love faded as she went into the kitchen to make coffee. Matt helped, his expression thoughtful.

  “There’s something I need to check out tonight. Before you set foot inside the Fae compound again.”

  He told her what he’d seen last night, the odd orange glow from the cliffs, the scent of malevolence coming from the standing stones.

  “I haven’t been inside the colony since leaving.” Sienna studied the distant cliffs of the Fae territory. “Take me with you, Matt. I can help.”

  His jaw turned to stone. “No. If something happens to you…” As she started to protest, he cupped her cheek. “I know you can take care of yourself. You’re a tough, kick-ass female. But I’ve also seen a grown jag die screaming in pain when pyro demons burned him to death. Adam was a SEAL. He seemed invulnerable, like me. We used to joke that nothing could stop us, the dog and the cat. And then…he died.”

  Silence draped the air. She understood. Matt was part of an elite team of commandos with paranormal powers. He’d felt invincible. And then the illusion was burned forever by a stream of fire.

  She wasn’t a SEAL. But she knew the land, knew every ravine, rock and tree, and the Fae customs and habits. Matt didn’t.

  She placed a hand over his wrist, feeling the steady rhythm of his pulse. “I’m not going to die. They’re my people and if something strange is happening, I need to know.”

  “You will know after I do some recon. I’ve warded your cabin with enough magick to blast a legion of demons straight to hell. You’re safe here, until I return.”

  “And what if you don’t return?”

  “I will.” His expression hardened. “It’ll take more than Fae to bring me down. But there’s something going on in that colony of yours. And I intend to find out what it is.”

  * * *

  Matt dressed in black BDUs and strapped on the MC-4 parachute. The cliffs of the Fae compound stood tall and jagged. He could easily rappel down, but a niggling instinct nudged him into taking the chute.

  Never knew when a night crawler with sharp teeth and claws might cut your rope.

  He loved jumping out of planes during a HALO dive. Some of the guys had to conquer fear of heights. Matt craved the thrill of free-falling, arms and legs spread as the wind slapped his body. It felt like flying, a pure rush of adrenaline-fueled excitement before he pulled the cord.

  Guess I’m a junkie.

  And you think you can settle into mundane pack life as a wolf?

  Matt shoved aside the thought.

  He gave a backward glance at Sienna, asleep on the bed, one hand tucked beneath her cheek. The ache in his chest went deep, speaking of feelings he didn’t dare acknowledge.

  He went outside, quietly closing the door behind him.

  Crisp, cool pine-scented air greeted him. The sky was lit with starlight and the nearly full moon. He headed toward the Fae colony, wending through the trees, cursing the brilliance of the moonlight. Rather have full darkness for concealment. A deer grazing in the brush looked up, flicked its large ears, immobilized by fear as it apparently caught his wolf scent. Matt’s lips twitched.

  “You’re safe from me. I have different game to hunt.”

  He found the path, and as he crossed the border, a tingling raced along his upper arm.

  Matt glanced downward. On his right biceps, where the brambles had scratched him, the mark of a wolf glowed white. It pulsed with magick, a good, clean feeling.

  He crossed over the invisible border, and it faded. Interesting. A pass of admission. He followed the path to the clearing where he’d seen the Fae sing and dance. He gazed upward at the cliffs.

  Something was up there and he was going after it.

  After he assembled his rock-climbing equipment, he scanned the forest. Nothing. Not a scent of Fae, only the dead embers of last night’s fire. No birds, insects or animals rustling through the undergrowth. This area seemed dead of wildlife.

  For a colony of Fae that cherished nature, it was mighty odd.

  His instincts honed to razor sharpness, Matt kept alert. Even the rock here seemed lifeless, drained of energy.

  He climbed steadily toward the rock recess where he’d seen the flickering light, muscles flexing with each step. Matt reached the small ledge where he’d seen the Fae vanish last night and pulled himself up.

  The sharp tang of sulfur and decay slammed into his nostrils. Hugging the shadows, he investigated the small cave. Matt squatted down, studying a ring of stones surrounding burned embers. Something long and white poked through the gray ashes.

  Revulsion churned inside him. He picked up the bone with gloved hands. Not human, but close. This bone was lightweight, almost hollow, like a paranorm capable of flight. Like a Fae…

  He set the bone down, stooped down to peer deeper into the cave. Hair stood on the nape of his neck. A low growl rumbled from his throat.

  He wasn’t alone. Matt unsheathed his knife at his ankle.

  A rush of hot air, a low, piercing scream broke the silent darkness. He dodged just as the creature rushed him. It pivoted, turning, holding out its hands.

  The pointed ears, slender body and pale skin indicated Fae. But this was no ordinary Fae. Malevolence tainted its scent, turning it foul. Red lips pulled back in a sneer, the Fae displayed prominent teeth, sharp and pointed.

  Two wings protruded from knobby points on its back.

  The creature shrieked again and rushed him. He stabbed, and heard the blade snap cleanly off. Damn Fae had skin tougher than Kevlar. Swearing, he lunged forward, wrestling with the creature. One silver claw slashed at him. Burning pain raced along his arm. Matt breathed through it.

  Enough of this. Time to say buh-bye. He wrapped his hands around the thing’s neck and twisted hard.

  A sickening crack ensued. The creature dropped to the ground.

  Matt edged out of the recess and examined his arm. Blood bubbled up like acid. The silver acted like a corrosive, eating through flesh and bone. He opened his pack, applied a healing salve. Damn, this was a slash. What the hell kind of demon could do this?

  A faint noise sounded behind him. He whirled, dodged as the creature stood. Hell, it straightened its neck as if adjusting a tie, then spread two sinewy wings, the skin thin and threaded with red veins.

  Giving another shriek, the creature ran and dove off the cliff.

  Damn it.

  His heart lodged in his throat. Twenty feet down, Sienna was climbing up
ward. She saw the batlike creature and jumped on its back. Riding it like a damn horse.

  Then she let go, spinning down to the earth.

  He leaped off the cliff in a trained free fall. Matt spread his arms and legs to aerodynamically guide him. She was falling fast. He imagined her hitting the hard ground and panic lodged in his throat. He forced it down, folded his arms and legs to speed his descent.

  There.

  Matt grabbed her around the waist with one hand, deploying his chute with his other. The move jerked them both upward violently, yanking hard against his chest. Her panicked gaze sought his, then he yanked her tight against his chest. Adrenaline pumped through his body, making his heart race in a crazed rhythm.

  He could tango with a dozen demons and never sweat, but seeing her jump on that demon had nearly given him a heart attack.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist as he pulled the chute chords to guide them over the treetops. Then he heard a distinct, terrible shriek.

  Bat Boy was back, riding the air currents above him. A ripping sound, and suddenly they were falling fast.

  Matt withdrew his Sig. Damn if this thing was going to touch Sienna. He’d loaded the trusty weapon with an extra-special treat.

  “Sayonara, ugly face,” he shouted, and pulled the trigger.

  The armor-piercing bullet hit the creature straight in the chest. Moonlight showed Bat Boy’s nearly comical look of surprise, accompanied by a thick stream of black blood. It gave a last shriek, and spilled downward. Shocked, he watched it shift into a large bird, and fly away.

  The ripped chute still kept them aloft, but they were losing altitude fast. If they hit the earth, bones would break. He spotted the thin ribbon of river through the trees, and pulled the cords to guide them to it. Farther downstream, jagged rocks poked above the water. If they hit there, they were dead.

  “We’re going in the river above those boulders,” he shouted to her above the rushing wind. “Take a deep breath before we hit and let go. The current is wicked, so ride it until I get you.”

  “Got it,” she yelled back.

  The river rushed up at them, and he braced himself. “Now!”

  He dropped Sienna and the chute before they hit, water splashing around them. Icy needles dug at his exposed skin, his cheeks. He knew the navy was gonna be pretty pissed about him losing a chute worth a few thousand. Screw it.

  He struggled to the surface. The water was freezing, but he’d experienced worse. He rode the current, scanning for Sienna.

  Damn it, where the hell was she?

  There. Her wet hair plastered like a helmet to her head, she bobbed up and down like a cork. Good girl, he thought silently, and began powerful strokes.

  Matt circled an arm around her waist and began towing her to shore through the vicious current. The jagged boulders came into view, and he swam harder, dragging her upward as his feet touched bottom. Lying half in the water, Sienna coughed, shivering violently.

  “My muscles, they feel locked tight,” she said through chattering teeth.

  As her teeth chattered, he swept her into his arms, studied the tree line, the position of the stars.

  They were out of Fae turf, closer to her cabin. Somewhat safe.

  Not safe enough.

  Matt began the walk back, keeping a sharp watch for flying objects, just in case Bat Boy had friends.

  After getting her to the cabin, he removed her clothing, bundled her in a woolen blanket and set her before a roaring fire. Matt stripped off his gear and clothing.

  “What the hell were you doing back there?” Matt asked.

  “Saving your ass.” Sienna huddled deeper into the blanket. “And since it’s a mighty fine ass, I thought it worth saving.”

  “My ass can take care of itself. What I can’t handle is you following me, and then watching you fall. You would have been killed!” He struggled to leash his rising temper. “You think all of a sudden because you’re back on their turf, you’d sprout wings?”

  From beneath the curtain of her wet hair, she looked up with big green eyes etched in misery. “All Fae have wings. They’re hidden in the shoulder bones. Once they were muscles and tendons, like regular appendages, but evolution changed that after hundreds of years of disuse. I had them when I was younger. I even tested them when jumping off the roof of my cabin when I was six. But now…they don’t work.”

  The hurt stamped on her face and the uncertainty tugged his heart. Damn it, he’d almost lost her. The thought twisted his heart.

  Naked, Matt sank onto the floor beside her, tunneling his fingers through her wet hair. “I’m sorry, pixie. That must hurt.”

  “I didn’t mean to make you mad. But after you left, I remembered something. I only wanted to warn you. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”

  She gave him a beseeching look, and he felt an odd mixture of joy at her words and dismay at what they meant. Because he wasn’t certain where this was heading. He’d known how to cut his losses.

  Not with her.

  Warming her cold body with his, he pulled her tight. “I’ve made seven hundred and eight jumps in my career as a SEAL. I’ve fallen out of airplanes at thirty-three thousand feet. And what I felt was nothing compared to seeing you fall a few hundred yards. After jumping on Bat Boy.”

  “Bat boy? Oh, the gargoyle. That’s what I came to warn you about. I was only trying to force it to change.” She pulled away, made a stabbing gesture with one hand. “You stab it through the back with a knife and the shock makes it shift into a vulture. More harmless that way.”

  He felt sick to his stomach. “You knew about that thing?”

  “I saw one once, when I was very young. Aunt Chloe told me about them. The Fae took them in, as their guardians, when the gargoyles began to die out, hunted by other paranorms for sport.”

  “It tried to kill me.”

  “It was protecting its nest. It could have killed you if it wanted to.”

  “Does its nest contain Fae bones?”

  Sienna’s eyes widened. “Maybe old bones. Gargoyles feed off scraps of carcasses of other paranorms. That’s why shifting into a vulture suits it.”

  “These are the things best known before setting out on a mission,” he said dryly.

  She looked abashed. “I’m sorry, Matt. I only thought about it after you left. That’s why I came after you, to warn you.”

  He felt restless and edgy, filled with a nervous energy. Matt took out his cell phone, glanced at it, pocketed it.

  “What is it, Matt?”

  “My orders were changed. I head back to base in less than twenty-four hours, so we don’t have much time.”

  Shock widened her eyes. “You’re leaving me?”

  Gods, he hated this. “No. I’m taking you with me and plan to leave you somewhere safe. On base, or with a friend.”

  “I can’t leave my people,” she whispered. “But that doesn’t matter. What about you? Where are you going?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Another mission, right? A mission where you can get killed. I feel like I’ll never see you again after you leave.” Sienna looked frail and suddenly very small. “I won’t remember you, anyway, even if I do see you. Because you’re going to take my memories of you, right?”

  Reluctantly, he nodded.

  Tears bloomed, hot and bright, in her mossy green eyes. Matt gently wiped them away with the edge of his thumbs.

  Matt cupped her face, the sweetest face he’d ever seen. She was so lovely, with her exotic features and a mouth that could tempt a saint. But it was her inner courage, her strength, her determination, that sealed her to him.

  It was the memory he’d carry for always, of Sienna, and her shy smile, her sass, her lion’s heart and her sheer determination.

  One night together would not be enough.

  He bent his head to her. “Be with me tonight. I need you, pixie.”

  He had never wanted to make love like this before. Never had this shaking, u
ncontrollable need to be with a woman. They would make love and Sienna would forget him. And if he survived his mission, some nights he’d gaze up at the stars, and think of her.

  And know she would never recall his name.

  But he needed tonight. He craved her in his arms, her sweet mouth on his, her soft body to hold close. Primal male instinct rose, to stamp her with his scent, send his seed deep inside her. Leave something of his behind, because in less than twenty-four hours, he wouldn’t even remain a memory.

  He’d be a ghost.

  “Say yes,” he whispered, drawing his arms around her. “Tell me you want me as badly as I want you.”

  She looked up, and the passion darkening her gaze made him lose it.

  “Take me,” she whispered. “Take me as a wolf does. As a wolf claims his mate.”

  Whoa, boy. Words that sent the beast inside him loose. But the fierce desire glittering in her own eyes assured him she was ready.

  Ready to acknowledge her wilder side.

  They stripped and rolled on the bed together, kissing. They tangled together in a frenzy of passion. Dimly he thought of protection, but she pushed aside his hand, her eyes flashing with erotic abandonment.

  “I want to feel you inside me, like before. Skin to skin,” she breathed.

  Then he rolled over, coaxing her to lie on her stomach. Sensing she was a little afraid, he ran a hand over the curve of her back, murmuring praises. Her ass was sweetly rounded, and he caressed her, drawing a finger over her soaked cleft.

  Matt drew her back on her knees and positioned himself, shaking with excitement. This was it. He pushed his cock slightly inside, moaning with pleasure. She resisted slightly, then her tiny muscles relaxed, allowing him to slide fully to the hilt. Damn, it felt so good, wet silk encasing his cock. His beast growled to the surface, the wolf clawing eagerly for more. He gripped her hips, thrusting hard and fast, the bed banging against the wall.

  She pushed up against him. Startled, he realized she growled, a low, deep sound of excitement. Matt’s excitement intensified and he licked and bit her neck. Sienna bucked beneath him and he sensed her approaching climax. A flurry of thoughts and images flickered in his mind, colors and sparks, and he was dimly aware they were not his own.