Embracing the Wolf

by Felicity Heaton

  A steel cage stood in the middle of the room. Its bars were as thick as her wrists. Inch deep glass surrounded it on all sides. Nothing but the cage reflected on the far wall of the glass. It was mirrored. They had surrounded him with mirrors and steel.

  Kat glanced at Leyton. He had been right. Amon wouldn’t see her.

  “It is sound-proofed,” Leyton said in a voice at normal volume, as though to prove the fact.

  Her gaze settled on the cage.

  Amon would never know that she had been here for him, with him. Her eyebrows furrowed and she stepped through the group of four werewolves, not paying them any heed. Immense sadness seized her heart.

  Amon paced back and forth across the small width of his prison. Shirtless and shoeless, he wore nothing but black jeans. He looked exactly as she remembered him but she sensed a difference. A longing to free him warred with a desire to flee again. She stood still, frozen to the spot by indecision and a need to witness what she had done to the man that she had once loved.

  Still loved.

  “It’s a necessary precaution,” Leyton said close beside her. She looked up into his eyes, silently asking him if he honestly believed that and if he was alright with it. He looked away, at Amon. “He no longer trusts himself.”

  Her gaze returned to Amon, drawn by the waves of pain that emanated from him, both physical and emotional.

  “Leave us,” Leyton said and heavy boots marched into the distance. The guards were gone.

  Kat walked forwards, until she was within a metre of the cubicle. Her gaze followed Amon, back and forth, back and forth, relentless in his pacing. Tears trembled on the brink of falling as she remembered all the times that she had spent with him.

  The handsome smile and twinkling eyes full of love that she recalled were gone. The set of his face was grim now, eyebrows knitted into a constant frown. His black hair had grown wild, hanging to his jaw in tangled threads. The hard muscles of his broad chest were covered in claw marks.

  Had he been tearing at himself? It pained her to see him, to sense him so close but so far away. Her hand trembled where it still held her holstered gun. Her other rose shakily towards the glass.

  “Amon,” she whispered, quiet enough that Leyton wouldn’t hear her. Amon turned and raised his head, but didn’t look at her.

  Her heart broke to see his beautiful dark eyes and bowed lips. There was nothing soft or tender about them now. His eyes held pain. His lips were compressed into a thin line of restraint.

  “Are you alright?” Leyton said in a low voice. It wasn’t so Amon wouldn’t hear them. Leyton was worried about her now too.

  “I never knew he was in such a state,” she whispered and glanced at Leyton before her eyes darted back to Amon.

  She pressed her hand against the glass, wishing that she could touch him, wishing that she were brave enough to let him know that she was here.

  Amon stopped in the middle of the cage. Suddenly, he arched his back, threw his arms out by his sides, tensed and shaking, and howled at the roof.

  Her heart jumped and pounded in response to the intense vulnerability in his howl and his pained expression. The call to her was clear, speaking his need of her. Something powerful inside her responded.

  Panic filled her, a riot of conflict and fear. She fought her beast as she backed away from the cage. She couldn’t bear it anymore. Tears stung her eyes. She ran, shoving Leyton away as he moved into her path. She had been stupid to come. She had known deep in her heart that if she saw Amon, she would feel the incredible pull to him that she always had.

  She bolted from the factory, fleeing him again, and didn’t stop running until she had reached her apartment. Flinging the door shut behind her, she went straight to her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face to mask her tears.

  After a moment, she raised her head and stared at her dripping wet reflection in the mirror on the cabinet above the sink. The water had erased her tears but had done nothing to remove the feelings colliding inside her.

  “Stupid,” she said to herself, frowning so hard her dark eyebrows almost met. Redness marred her deep brown eyes, a sign of the tears that she had washed away.

  When she closed her eyes, the image of Amon pacing the small cage filled her mind. Her heart clenched all over again. He’d howled with so much pain that she had felt it.

  Amon was close to turning.

  Her gaze fell to her guns.

  She didn’t have much time to make her decision.

  ****

  Chapter 2

  Kat arched off the bed. Her bare body pressed against the warm hard wall of his. He pushed down against her hip, his rigid shaft scalding her thigh. Teasing fingers trailed lightly over her skin, caressing and leaving flames in their wake that licked at her senses. Shivers of hot needles swept across her flesh, igniting delight wherever they travelled, affecting her right down to her marrow.

  His fingertips dragged the fire around her breasts, a path that smouldered long after the caress had gone, working in circles until they brushed her taut nipples. Moaning, she thrust her breasts up, eager to feel the touch again. He took the pert bud between skilled fingertips and lightly squeezed, sending another tremble of desire through her and causing her breasts to tighten.

  Kat sighed her approval and then frowned when he moved away, heading lower. Her body begged for more than the barely-there touch. She needed to feel his strength and passion. She wanted him to be rough with her, not torture her with this gentle exploration. Her arm covered her eyes as hot fingers travelled lower, teasing her stomach and encircling her navel. She arched into him again, pushing her pelvis against his, and groaned.

  “Amon,” she whispered, heated and hungry.

  A deep chuckle filled her ears, making her quiver as she imagined what he would look like. Leaning over her. His body poised and tensed. The long black threads of his hair brushing his cheeks. His rich brown eyes intent on her, his focus wholly on her pleasure.

  His touch disappeared, leaving her cold, and instead of the relief that she had expected, he increased her torture. His mouth fiercely claimed her right nipple, rolling the hard bead between his teeth. His hand closed over her other breast. She tensed and shuddered with need as his weight bore down on her, pressing her deep into the mattress, and silently pleaded him to quench her thirst to have him inside her.

  Another moan escaped her when he moved downwards, worshipping every subtle plane of her body with the soft velvet stroke of his tongue and lips. Stoking the fire inside her until it was beyond her control. Desire took the reins and she writhed against him. She couldn’t take any more.

  Her eyes rolled back in her head when he licked her hip and then her stomach, moving slowly towards where she needed him most. Just a little farther. She groaned and removed her arm from her eyes to scowl at him when he moved away again, kissing up towards her breasts. Tease.

  Her volley of abuse was lost before it could reach her lips when he grabbed her. Her arms were above her head before she could say a word. Long fingers tightly enclosed both of her wrists. Her heart hammered when she met his eyes. Wicked hunger filled them, black and violent, commanding. With a half smile, she faked a struggle, wanting to feel his strength and know that she was at his mercy. He had always played this way with her, willing to dominate her if she wanted it.

  She wanted it alright.

  Amon growled and tightened his grip on her wrists until they hurt. Kat surrendered herself to him as his mouth claimed hers. His tongue delved between her lips, hot and probing, its sensual glide tearing a moan from her throat.

  Their teeth clashed as he pushed down against her, trapping her beneath him in the most delicious way. She relaxed, intoxicated by his sheer primal strength and his desire for her. He groaned into her mouth, his tongue brushing every part of it with fierce attention as though her taste was a drug and he was addicted. No part of her mouth was left untouched—her teeth, gums, cheeks, everywhere. She stroked his tongue with hers, savouring hi
s taste as though it might be her last.

  When her tongue traced his lips, his murmured his approval into her mouth and drew back. She licked them again, memorising the soft fullness. A new hunger awoke in her, a desire to change the tempo of this erotic dance. She wanted to explore every inch of him. She wanted to breathe in the sensual warm masculine scent of his skin.

  She wanted to feel the changing landscape of his body beneath her lips and tongue, charting the places where his skin was soft and sensitive. Her body hummed at the thought of such a long adventure across his, at the thought of worshipping him as he deserved to be, this epitome of male beauty and strength.

  She ached to serve this god.

  She longed to be served by him.

  Her whole body sung in response when he claimed her mouth again, thrusting his tongue between her lips in a show of unrestrained dominance. She cried out for more, lost in the waves of pleasure rocking through her. Thoughts of quiet hours spent touching and caressing were torn from her by the feel of his palm moulded around her breast and his hard length against her hip. She jacked off the bed again and rubbed his erection with her thigh, urging him into taking her.

  Amon thumbed her pert nipple before rolling it between his fingers, sending sparks shooting out from its centre that stole her breath along with his kiss and sent her mind spinning. He swallowed her moans and thrust against her hip.

  Dazed with lust and the heat of desire, she wriggled beneath him, desperate to get him between her legs where he belonged. The burning inside her was too much. She begged him to quench it.

  He growled into her mouth and moved between her legs, parting them roughly with his knees. His hand left her breast and in one gasping thrust, he was inside her. Eyes wide, she stared up at him as he held her captive, filling her over and over with his hard length.

  It was bliss.

  Kat relaxed beneath him, compliant under his commanding roughness. She looked up at him through hooded eyes. His face mirrored her own, a picture of ecstasy and hunger. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. This was how it should be. She was made to love him. He was hers alone.

  Amon’s hand tightened around her wrists as he rocked against her, his eyes narrowing with a frown of concentration. The spark of pain his grip sent through her settled in her chest. She moaned and pressed her body into his, until they were one flesh, moving together in a mindless frenzy and rush to come undone.

  Their hot, sweat-dampened skin stuck to each other, hindering their movements but not slowing either of them. She clamped her muscles around his shaft, quivering on the brink and desperate to fall into ecstasy with him.

  Her eyes locked with his and widened. Their now-golden depths betrayed the start of his change into a werewolf and provoked a powerful response.

  Something loomed inside her, dark and menacing. Panic replaced desire. Her whole body stiffened as her beast rose to meet his, pushing her to change. She thrashed against him, desperate to escape him and her own wolf side. He growled. She froze, mesmerised by the sight of his glistening white canines. His mouth opened in a howl. Her own howl surged through her. Her teeth grew. Her body tensed around his.

  Her beast took control.

  Kat shot up in bed, trembling and breathing so fast that her lungs burned. She gathered the blanket to her body and brought her knees up to her chest, hugging herself. Cool air chilled the sweat on her back. Shivering, she stared into the darkness of her bedroom.

  The beast stirred inside her. She pressed her hand to her chest and took deep breaths to calm it. It was only a dream. There was no need for it to start thinking that she was going to change and take it for a walk.

  A few minutes later, it had quietened again and she no longer felt it. She slipped from the bed, knowing that she couldn’t sleep now, not with the dream thundering around her skull.

  Flicking the bedside lamp on, she dragged her fingers through her sweat-slicked red hair and told herself to get a grip. Her hands shook when she held them out in front of her. The green numbers on her alarm clock flashed eight o’clock in the evening.

  Kat padded across her bedroom to the bathroom and went straight for the shower. She stripped off, turned the shower on and stepped into the bathtub. Standing there, she let the cold water pound down on her bare body.

  The beast was restless. She couldn’t shift the images from the dream and they were stirring the wolf within her. Her body hummed and tingled with the memory of Amon’s touch. The water became cold fingers caressing her skin.

  She ducked her head under the jet to clear it and then shut the shower off. Grabbing a peach-coloured towel from the rack, she dried herself and closed her mind to thoughts of Amon. Her movements as she went through her nightly routine were mechanical.

  She brushed her teeth, tied her red shoulder length hair back into a ponytail, and applied her perfume. Her underwear came next, followed by her black combat trousers and black vest top. She grabbed her little figure-hugging black shirt and paused at the mirror.

  Her gaze fell to her right upper arm.

  Her fingers traced the intricate thin black band tattooed around it. It matched Amon’s perfectly.

  She remembered the night that they’d had them done. He’d been so sweet, holding her hand and whispering soothing words whenever she had flinched away from the needle. Amon had always hated to see her hurting.

  Pushing those thoughts away, she slung the shirt on and buttoned it, hiding the tattoo from view. She went to the chair in the corner of her bedroom and removed her holster from the back of it. In one fluid move, she had her arms through it. The black leather sat snug across her back, the guns hanging at her sides. They still felt heavy tonight. She ignored them. Her tiredness was reason why the proximity of the silver bullets affected her. It had nothing to do with Amon.

  If she was weak, just being near silver made her sick.

  When her black army boots were on and tied, and she had her jacket, she checked herself one more time in the mirror. Her dark eyes looked cold in her reflection. An image of Amon appeared behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. She shook him away along with the overwhelming need she felt for him. She didn’t need him. She needed to kill something.

  Turning away from her reflection, she put her jacket on and grabbed her phone. It rang the moment she touched it.

  She flipped it open.

  “Kat speaking.”

  “Kat, there’s been another attack.” It was Paul, her partner at the unit.

  She left the apartment and started down the stairs.

  “Where?” She didn’t have any werewolves on her list at the moment. Maybe whoever had done this wasn’t on the list yet. A chill ran through her when she remembered Amon pacing the cage. He didn’t trust himself. She hoped it wasn’t him. She needed more time.

  “The cemetery again.”

  Kat frowned. It was unusual for a turned werewolf to hunt on another’s territory when they had only died the night before. Normally it took weeks for one to move in and take over.

  She reminded herself that her kill last night hadn’t been a rogue werewolf. Amon’s man would have been there for her, not because he had any claim to the area. The cemetery must be this new werewolf’s territory. It must have remained hidden until now. Or perhaps it had only recently turned dangerous and had been drawn to that area because of a werewolf death there. A shiver danced down her spine.

  “I’ll check it out,” she said and then added, “alone.”

  “Understood.” Something in Paul’s voice said that he didn’t understand but he was willing to let her off without a questioning tonight.

  She paused, struggling to think of what to say, and then closed the phone. It didn’t feel right to lie to Paul. She had known him since she had joined the Werewolf Control Forces and they had been partners for almost seven years. He was funny and smart, and a good hunter.