And if the old man were to be believed, Mason and his fuck buddy were holed up somewhere in Upstate New York, some big house north of the city off I-87. He couldn’t offer many details – he’d been pretending to be unconscious during most of the drive back to the city – but Kane didn’t need much more. He had the old man’s notes now, which was a lot more than what he’d had when he started this day. He could begin there and see where it took him.
Sinclair was practically raving about his little girl having gone over to the “dark side,” but Kane wasn’t worried. In fact, he was excited to kill two birds with one stone. By finding this whelp, he’d finally gain the old man’s respect, and in the process rid the world of another murderous beast.
Then there was Ro. She obviously felt some debt of gratitude to the creature. He wasn’t sure why – the wolf had bitten her father, after all – but still, she obviously felt some need to protect it. Otherwise, why not just blow it away the second its usefulness was at an end? It had to be because it had taken care of her father. Nothing else made sense. Except...
In the back of his mind, he pictured her giving it up to the whelp, maybe as payment for caring for the old man. It was a thought that pissed him off royally, especially since she’d been purposely avoiding him ever since their night together.
He took a deep breath to calm down before John noticed he was getting agitated. It was probably just his imagination running wild anyway. A hunter falling for a wolf. That was the stuff of bad romance novels.
Whatever the case, Kane knew something had to be done. Guild rules were quite clear on that. You didn’t let wolves walk away, not if you could do something about it.
But maybe that could work in his favor. If little Rowan had purposely broken their laws, he could use that against her ... maybe convince her that she’d been wrong to dump him after all. He wasn’t above using leverage to get a girl like that back into his bed.
Yeah, that was the ticket. A dead wolf, favor with the Guild, and a cute piece of ass to boot. And if it all played out, he’d probably even have the old man’s blessing on it all. This had win-win written all over it.
“Thanks for bringing me in the loop on this, John. If you don’t mind, I’ll reach out to the Guild, start coordinating with them.”
John nodded. “Just remember, the whelp is mine.”
Kane gave the old man his best winning smile. “Agreed. We’ll just be there to clean up once the job’s done. He’s been smart enough to evade us for this long, but with this information, we’ll find him and make sure he doesn’t live to see the sun rise.”
27
Ro sprinted down the alley, the beast bounding at her heels. She was trapped, cornered, the wolf cutting off all means of escape. A dead end. She whirled and ducked just as the creature leapt. It crashed into the wall behind her, buying her seconds at most. She straightened and began to run again, but it recovered quickly and tackled her into the side of a building.
Pain erupted in her side and she cried out. She was pinned against the wall, its claws painfully grasping hold of her wrists. She turned her head away from its brutish face and the certain death its nightmare fangs offered.
She heard a snuffle, a sharp inhalation, felt its humid breath at her neck. She prayed it would be quick, that it wouldn’t simply bite her and leave her for the fever to claim, that it would finally end this ceaseless struggle that was her existence.
Hot breath was replaced by the feel of its tongue against her neck and then soft lips. Sharp claws receded and became strong fingers. When Rowan turned her head, she saw Dean, his blue eyes clear but intense, his expression hungry, but not for blood. She saw in his face desire and realized he wasn’t alone in that feeling.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered.
“I needed to see you,” he growled softly. His lips grazed her ear and a shiver ran through her. “I’ve been going crazy without you.”
“You can’t do this,” she pleaded without much conviction.
“Can’t I?” She heard the smile in his voice, felt his breath on her ear. Her body betrayed her, heat flooding her insides, melting her core and weakening her knees.
She couldn’t deny it. She wanted this as much as he, had craved it from the moment she’d met him, but had resisted because she knew what he was: a wolf, a monster, an abomination of nature – everything she’d been taught to fear and hate.
But with his breath on her cheek, his body hard against hers, she had no defense against the sensations coursing through her. She could no longer keep lying to herself. She wanted this man, had craved his touch for the long weeks since she’d last seen him.
She moved first, just a turn of her head, their eyes meeting to convey need and understanding. They both wanted this. If this would be the last, the only time they met like this, it would have to be enough.
He met her lips with his, hot with need, the firm pressure mimicking the press of his body on hers. She tasted him, tongues entwining, as he raised her arms above her head.
She allowed herself to be dominated, wanted to be suppliant, a mate to his alpha. He lowered his head, bit lightly at the curve of her breast, and she moaned, the action both teasing and fueling her desire.
She wanted to grasp his naked back, to rake her nails across his smooth skin, feeling the powerful muscles beneath as he nibbled and teased her through her clothing, but he held her fast. She was his prisoner, one with no desire to escape.
Suddenly he released her, if only to grab hold of her shirt and pull it over her head to feast on the flesh beneath. His mouth hot on her skin, she clung to him, her fingers in his hair as he clamped on her breast, causing her to cry out in pleasure.
The sensations were almost too much, the actions of his lips and tongue enough to push her close to the edge. She felt the tension building within her but wanted more, wanted a taste also.
She took the initiative, pulled his head up and kissed him again, shifted her mouth to lick at the pulse wildly thrumming at his neck.
She felt rather than heard the rending of fabric at her waist, cool air momentarily chilling her as she was exposed to the night. Hot hands replaced the chill as they lifted her hips and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him, the anticipation of what was to happen almost as much pleasure as what came next.
He speared into her and she matched his moan with one of her own. This was how it was supposed to be, this was what heaven felt like, wrapped in the arms of a man who seemed to know her every desire and secret wish.
He filled her, again and again, each thrust building on the tension within, gathering it as she clung to him, oblivious to all but the need for release.
She cried out as she exploded, his cry following soon after as he found his own nirvana, his movements slowing. Still she clung to him, not wanting the moment to end. For the first time in her life, she felt complete.
♦ ♦ ♦
Dean awoke in his own bed, the sheets soaked with sweat. After the initial confusion, he relaxed his head back on his pillow, let out a ragged breath, and ran a shaky hand through his hair.
Shit. It had felt so real, like those others he’d had while Ro still lived in the mansion. This was different, though. They’d actually culminated their game of cat and mouse in a way that was so intense he could still taste her in his mouth.
No, this was no game. He’d never been consumed so utterly, had never felt such complete release, both physically and spiritually. For one moment, he’d been able to completely let go, to know that he was accepted and understood. He’d had more than his share of women, but this was the first time any coupling, even the memory of one, actually made him want more ... and it hadn’t even been real.
Or had it? He remembered their conversation, how it appeared they’d been having the same dream, and he wondered if she, too, had just awoken in her apartment, his scent still fresh in her mind.
He jumped in the shower, hoped the cold water would help d
ispel the dream from his mind but, as he feared, the memories persisted. They were too vivid, too real, nothing like the fuzzy images from other dreams he’d had. He could feel himself in the alley, touching her, tasting her, being surrounded by her.
He dressed quickly, dismissing the temptation to crawl back in bed in the hope of experiencing it again. He needed to get back to work, to forget about the girl with the fiery hair. He was a werewolf, a mythical monster, but somehow she was the one in possession of the power to bewitch him.
♦ ♦ ♦
Ro rolled to her side, her heart thudding wildly within her chest. She could still feel him, could all but taste the sweat on his skin. If she hadn’t known any better, she would’ve expected to reach over and find him lying next to her in the bed.
Seeing him again in the alley had to be what had triggered it. It had to be. She’d thought she was free of the dreams when she’d left the mansion, but now they were back, stronger and more vivid than ever.
She drew a hand over her face and covered her eyes. She couldn’t deny that a part of her had been glad to see Dean, that even though she’d spent less than two weeks with him and Coop, she missed the banter and the camaraderie. Hell, she even missed playing that stupid Mario Kart game.
And now she realized perhaps she missed even more than that, despite the fact that nothing even remotely like that dream had occurred between them, outside of her encounter with him as a wolf.
She had to face the truth, though. She knew in her gut that they could never be together, as friends or otherwise. It was impossible. She would be an outcast, hunted by the Guild for betraying her kind, assuming her father didn’t kill her first.
She wondered what her dad would say if she told him she fantasized about quitting, that she wanted to live a normal life, raise kids, pack lunches for them, all of those mundane things that others took for granted.
What a joke! She knew exactly what he would say – that she was forsaking her heritage, ignoring her destiny and her birthright. That she needed to get over herself and look for another hunter with whom to continue the family line.
Those thoughts pushed away all other residual feelings from her dream. She couldn’t continue to long for a life that would never be. Despite Dean’s efforts, there would always be predators lurking in the dark, waiting to prey on the innocent. She had a duty, a calling. She was born to this life, and she had to bear the burden of her responsibility.
Ro sighed and pushed herself out of bed to begin her day. No matter what her hormones told her, she knew her dreams were best left in the world of mists and fantasy.
28
Kane double checked the coordinates on his GPS. He was beginning to wonder if he was being stupid, wasting his day off on a wild goose chase, but his gut told him otherwise.
After his illuminating conversation with John, he did some more digging into the Mason family and their assets. The family’s many accounts had been frozen after the parents’ double murder, but his research had turned up a number of investment properties as well. They’d all been busts, but that wasn’t a surprise. The kid, Dean, wasn’t stupid. He was a partier and a bit of a screw-up, but his high school and college records were top of the line. Someone like that would have to know that any property directly connected to his parents would be the first place the police would check.
The one that he was standing in front of now, though, had potential. It hadn’t shown up in his initial search, having been bought by a dummy corporation. He’d only found out about it by luck, a brief mention of a holding company in one of the case files. Easily overlooked. He’d followed the money trail to several more dead ends before discovering this place. It was near perfect – old, rundown, and off the beaten path, but more than big enough to use as a hideout. It also matched up pretty well with John’s notes.
As far as hideouts went, Mason could have done worse.
The guy was smart, Kane had to give him that. Probably had to be to keep his drug habit off his parents’ radar, at least until he got busted and sent to rehab. Kane rolled his eyes at the thought. Might be book smart, but he was still stupid enough to get caught. If I were that rich, I’d be on a yacht somewhere in the Bahamas sucking tequila shots out of some chick’s belly button, not holed up in a crack den.
Kane knew the Mason kid had met Cooper Maddox in rehab and then had taken pity on him and given him a job. They’d been one big happy family of former smackheads until Mason’s family got iced by whelps.
Now the only question was how many of the fucking beasts he was dealing with here – one or two? A single wolf made no sense. Why would a human stick around, even ex-military like Maddox, knowing they were on the menu?
The old man had said that Maddox had been caring for him during the full moon, but he could’ve been delusional. Hell, he probably was.
No. It didn’t add up. The only explanation that made sense to him was that they’d both been turned. Maddox’s records didn’t seem to indicate someone dumb enough to not notice his employer turning into a hairy psycho every full moon. Yet he hadn’t run or tried to go to the police. Yeah, he had to be a goddamned whelp, too.
Two for the price of one. Kane looked into the rearview mirror at his own reflection and smiled. Ro thought she was hot shit, bagging two wolves on her own the month prior. Well, now it was his turn.
He climbed out of his car and pushed open the gate to the driveway. Though it appeared rusty to the casual eye, it opened easily and noiselessly, evidence that it had been recently cared for. He walked slowly toward the house, his eyes trying to take in everything at once.
The long driveway was in disrepair but paved. No tire tracks were evident, but that didn’t mean anything. The grounds were unkempt and overgrown, and the structure that loomed before him looked unoccupied by all appearances, but that could easily be a ruse.
He knew he had to be careful. He didn’t have a search warrant, and any extenuating circumstances in which he might have to break in were sketchy at best. Though as a hunter he wouldn’t have given two shits about those things, during the day he was still a cop. For now, this was only a reconnaissance mission, nothing more.
Of course, if this place turned out to be the love den of two fudge-packing whelps, then the law wouldn’t really matter, but first he had to be sure.
He glanced through one of the first floor windows and saw little more than a mostly empty room. He stepped away from the porch and surveyed the exterior. Nothing to indicate anyone lived there.
This place was remote, no neighbors in sight. It would be a simple matter to pick the lock and check things out.
If he was wrong, though, and he got caught, it would be on his head. Capping a whelp was one thing, but he wasn’t quite ready to cross the line and gun down innocent humans just to cover his own ass. Tempting as it might be, he had to remember that was one of the major differences that separated hunters from the beasts – once that line was crossed, there was no going back.
He briefly considered ringing the doorbell. After all, it wasn’t like either Mason or Maddox knew him from a hole in the wall, but he didn’t want to risk it. Even the slightest screw-up could spook them into running. Fortunately, he had one more ace up his sleeve.
Kane closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. This close to the full moon, they were almost razor sharp.
There’s something near. I’m pretty sure of it.
Pretty sure wasn’t certain, though.
The feeling wasn’t nearly as strong as those that surged through him at the height of the hunt, but he thought he recognized the presence of a wolf somewhere close by.
It wasn’t enough justification to kick in the door in the middle of the day, gun blazing, but it was good enough to call the Guild. He had enough clout with them to seal the deal and, if he was wrong, he could always point the finger at the Sinclairs for tipping the wolves off. Let that bitch try to explain her way out of that one.
He gave the man
sion one last glance and vowed to return soon. If there was wolf blood here, he would make sure it was spilled.
♦ ♦ ♦
“What the fuck?”
Coop watched the security feed again.
Hidden cameras along the driveway and front of the house had caught the intruder. He watched as the man sauntered up the driveway, came up onto the porch, and scouted around before retreating.
It hadn’t been their first visitor. In the past month, he’d caught a few teens trying to break in ... either looking for a haunted house to explore or a place to screw. Maybe both. There’d also been the occasional real estate agent popping by to staple up flyers on how it was a seller’s market.
This guy was neither. He was a big man, tough looking, with a surety that set off warning bells in Coop’s head. He knew cops, and this guy carried himself like one. He was probably being paranoid, but he couldn’t help but consider the other hunter, Kane, the one who’d broken into Ro’s apartment – a place he was certain he’d left a few fingerprints behind in when he’d been sent by Dean to collect her stuff.
It seemed a leap of logic that the two occurrences were related, but he’d learned to trust his instincts. At the very least, there was no denying the guy trespassing on their property wasn’t merely some figment of his imagination.
But how? Even if that Kane guy had lifted his prints from her place, how could he have traced them all the way up here?
He briefly considered whether Ro might have ratted them out. If this had happened immediately upon meeting her, he might have believed that, but having gotten to know her better, he didn’t think she was the type. Yes, she was a hunter, but she wasn’t possessed by blind hatred. His gut told him she wasn’t to blame.
The problem was, his gut also told him this guy was trouble. From the look of things, he’d been casing the place, and Coop had a feeling it wasn’t because he was some crackhead looking for copper wiring to pawn. He looked like someone who knew what they were doing.
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