by Unknown
“A perfect genetic match,” Rafe muttered. “How the hell can a human be a genetic match for a werewolf?”
Gareth didn’t respond, but a muscle flexed along the plane of his jaw and his hands fisted.
“Doesn’t matter,” Rafe said, his hand sliding down to the curve of her neck. “She won’t live long enough to give you children.”
His claws scored her neck, and Trinity felt a liquid warmth slide down her throat.
“You don’t want to hurt her,” Gareth growled, taking another step forward.
Rafe blinked. “Of course I do.” He spun her around, lifting his claws. “That’s why I’m here. To hurt her. And you.” He smiled down at her, and she saw his teeth lengthen, sharpen. “Say goodbye, little human.”
She kicked him in the balls, as hard as she could. His eyes widened, and his face flashed pure white.
“Good-bye,” she muttered, jerking out of his grasp.
Gareth grabbed her arm, shoving her behind him. Then he transformed into the black wolf in a single instant and lunged at Rafe, his jaws snapping and biting.
In a blur, the other man transformed, becoming the huge, white wolf.
Trinity inched back into a corner, unable to tear her gaze away from them. Howls and growls echoed through the room.
Oh, God, there was so much blood. Her furniture was smashed beneath their massive bodies. Her couch ripped to shreds. And still they fought.
She knew that this time, they wouldn’t stop, not until one of them was dead.
What would she do if it was Gareth?
***
The death rage had completely overtaken him. Gareth had one
thought, and one thought only.
Kill. He had to kill Rafe, kill the bastard who’d dared threaten Trinity.
He tasted Rafe’s blood, and howled in victory. He heard a crash behind him, heard the thunder of footsteps, but he didn’t bother to look back. He wouldn’t let anything stop him this time.
This time, Rafe would die.
He would pay for the lives he’d taken, for the innocents he’d tortured. Pay for daring to touch Trinity.
His claws slashed into Rafe’s side. Gareth snarled, tasting victory.
“No!” Trinity’s voice.
Rafe fell to his side, blood surrounding him. Gareth stepped closer, opening his mouth, already tasting Rafe’s death.
“Dammit, stop him!” Trinity sounded frantic. “Just stop him!
Don’t let—” She broke off, swearing.
His head turned toward her. Alerac and Michael were there, crowding her against the back wall. Her gaze met Gareth’s, frantic, fearful. “Don’t,” she whispered.
He stepped toward her.
Rafe jumped to his feet and lunged for him.
A shot echoed through the room. Rafe’s body trembled, then fell to the floor. The white wolf vanished, its fur fading away.
Rafe’s body appeared, with a bullet hole in his chest.
Gareth snarled and jumped across the room, landing at Alerac’s side.
Alerac dropped the gun and fell to his knees, baring his throat to Gareth.
Gareth shifted back to his human form, glaring down at his friend. “Why? The kill was mine.”
Alerac lowered his head.
Gareth’s claws flashed, and he grabbed Alerac by the throat, forcing him to meet his gaze. “You took my kill.” No wolf was ever allowed to take the leader’s kill. Not and live, anyway.
Fear was heavy in Alerac’s gaze, but so was satisfaction. “H-he killed Lisa… He killed my Lisa.”
Gareth stiffened. Lisa. Little Lisa. Alerac’s baby sister. She’d been found slaughtered, in the woods near his home in France.
Alerac looked at Rafe’s still body. “I suspected it was him, and when he came to the cabin, he left this for me.” He lifted his hand, holding up a small locket.
Lisa’s locket. Gareth recognized it instantly. Alerac had given the locket to Lisa on her tenth birthday and she’d worn it everywhere…
Alerac lowered his head. “He killed Lisa,” he whispered again, his voice thick with grief. “I can face my death now, for I’ve given her vengeance.”
Michael swore softly.
“What?” Trinity’s mouth dropped open. “Face your death?” Her gaze flashed up to meet Gareth’s. “What is he talking about?”
He sighed. Taking a leader’s kill was a crime punishable by death in the pack. How could he make Trinity understand?
“Gareth, he saved your life!” Trinity grabbed his arm. “Why would he think you’d kill him now?”
“Because he took my kill,” he told her softly, never taking his gaze off Alerac’s form.
“So what?” Her voice was close to a screech. “Gareth, he’s your friend!”
Alerac’s head was bowed, as he waited for his fate.
“Yes,” Gareth whispered, “he is.” He reached for Alerac.
The other werewolf bared his throat, acceptance of his fate written on his face.
Gareth’s claws flashed toward him, stopping a bare inch from his jugular. “But if you ever take my kill again…” He let the threat hang in the air.
Alerac swallowed, his head moving in a quick nod of under-
standing. He knew he wouldn’t escape punishment a second time.
“Good.” His claws disappeared and he pulled Alerac to his feet.
“Michael, get rid of the body.”
His cousin pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call.
Gareth hesitated, staring at Alerac. “I’m sorry about Lisa. She was… very special.” Lisa had been the first female werewolf born in thirty years. When she’d died, the pack had mourned for years.
“Yes.” There were tears in his eyes. “She was,” Alerac said.
“She was our hope for the future,” Gareth continued.
Alerac glanced at Trinity. “But now we have a new hope.”
“Yes,” he agreed, staring at his mate’s confused, and beloved face. “We do.”
Bite of the Wolf: Chapter 7
Within minutes, two black vans pulled up at Trinity’s house, and several suit clad men appeared. They bagged Rafe’s body and then they yanked her carpet up, taking care to remove all traces of Rafe’s blood.
“Trinity.”
She tore her horrified gaze away from the men and found Gareth watching her with his steady golden stare.
“Trinity, we need to talk.”
She nodded, and turned away from the room, rubbing her
chilled arms. She walked down the hall with Gareth following closely behind her.
She knew they needed to get away from the others. Knew they had things to talk about, to settle. Your little brood mare. The words still echoed in her mind. Had Rafe been right? Was that truly all she was to Gareth?
She opened her patio door and stepped outside, tilting her head up to feel the sun’s warmth, needing the warmth to chase the strange cold from her body.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft, sincere.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she glanced back at him.
“What did you just say?”
His lips thinned. “I said I was sorry. I exposed you to danger.”
He drew closer, his hand lifting to stroke her cheek. “Please know that was never my intention.”
His hand felt warm against her skin, and she wanted to rub against his touch, but she couldn’t do that. Not yet. She had questions to ask him. With an effort, she held her body still. “What was your intention?” she asked, then paused a beat. “To get me preg-nant?”
You can give him the whelps he wants so badly.
Gareth stiffened, and his hand dropped.
Instantly, she missed his touch.
“Why did you come to find me?” She had to know.
“Because you’re my mate,” he said, his jaw clenched.
“Did you really get a doctor’s report on me?” Had he checked her out? Checked to see that he could breed with her?
; He nodded.
Her heart seemed to freeze. “I see.” The sunlight wasn’t warming her. She just felt cold now.
He pulled her against him. “Let me explain—”
“Explain? Explain what? How you want to breed with me?” All along, he’d just been using her because she could have his children.
“Alerac’s sister, Lisa, was the last female werewolf born to our pack. Before her, there hadn’t been a female born in thirty years.
When she died,” he swallowed, “when she died, I thought the pack’s future would die with her.”
His fingers bit into her flesh. She stared up at him, barely feeling the tears that trickled down her cheeks. God, when had she started caring for him so much? When had she fallen in love with him?
“Without women, without possible mates, my pack was going
to die out. My people were going to die.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t let that happen.” He stared down at her, his eyes blazing brighter than the sun. “I found a doctor, one of our kind, and he started doing tests for me.”
“Tests?”
“Genetic tests. Tests to see if humans could merge their DNA with my kind.” He took a deep breath. “A small group of women were found. Women who would be perfect genetic matches for us.”
“So is that all I am?” she asked, jerking away from him. “Some sort of DNA match for you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “You’re more than that.”
She tried to step around him, to run into the house, but he moved, blocking her with the strength of his body.
“Trinity, you’re everything to me.”
Her breath caught and she stared up at him.
“From the moment that I first saw your picture, I’ve been obsessed with you.” His fingers lifted, tracing the curve of her lips.
“I saw your smile in a photograph, and I couldn’t wait to see it in reality. To see you.”
Her lips parted. She wanted, quite desperately, to believe him.
To believe what he was saying. “Gareth…”
“Then I did see you.” His hand fell to his side and his mouth curved. “You were strong. And so alive. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.” His voice roughened. “I wanted you, so much. I wanted to touch you. To claim you.”
“You kidnapped me,” she reminded him, her voice husky.
He winced. “I needed to protect you. Rafe found out about the research. About you. I was afraid that he’d hurt you. I couldn’t risk your safety.”
“You could have explained. Maybe told me—”
“That a crazy werewolf was on your trail? That he wanted to hurt me by killing my mate?” He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have believed me.”
He was right. She would have thought he was certifiable. That first night, she had thought he was a nutcase.
Then he’d proven to her that monsters were real. That heroes were real.
“Please give me a chance, Trinity. A chance to start over, to show you how good it can be between us.”
She wanted to. Trinity stared up at his face, stared into his beautiful golden eyes, and she wanted to give him a chance, wanted to give them a chance. But… “Is it just because I can give you children?” she whispered, her heart aching.
He shook his head. Then he kissed her, a hot, long kiss. His tongue slid past her lips, slid into her mouth. Teased her. Stroked her. “No, it’s because I love you.”
And she believed him, believed the emotion she saw reflected in his golden eyes.
“I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
You’ll be happy with me, Trinity. I swear you will be.”
“Gareth—” She broke off, not knowing what to say. “We just met a few days ago—”
“We’re mates,” he told her, his jaw clenched. “We’re meant to be together.”
“Will I change?” She asked, her hand lifting to her throat as she remembered his bite. They’d bonded last night in the way of his kind. Would she now become… like him?
He shook his head. “No, my love. You’re not going to start howling at the moon.” His lips twisted in a faint smile. “You’ll always be just the woman you are.” His smile disappeared. “My Trinity.”
“So I’m not going to become all furry?” She really wanted clari-fication on that point.
“No.” He shook his head. “Only those born as werewolves can change.” He swallowed. “So our children…”
Would become all furry when they hit puberty. They’d change.
They’d have the power of the wolf.
She took a deep breath and stared at him. At his handsome face, his strong body, his warm golden eyes.
And she smiled. “Our children would be just like you.” That didn’t sound bad to her. No, not bad at all.
He nodded, his face tense as he waited for her answer.
“I think I can live with that,” she told him, reaching up to stroke his hard jaw.
Stark relief flashed across his face. “Are you sure?”
Her lips curved as she nodded. “I’m sure.” Sure that she
couldn’t imagine her life without him. Sure that she needed him.
Sure that she wanted him…
And, yes, even sure that she loved him.
Fur, fangs, and all.
About the author:
I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. As a child, I wrote short stories all the time for my number one fan—my mother (who, of course, never, ever had anything negative to say about my fabulous misspelled work!). As I grew older, I still wrote, but the stories became longer, more complex.
I have long been a fan of the paranormal genre. I just can’t ever seem to get my fill of ghosts, werewolves, or vampires! I was thrilled to have the chance to write my paranormal tale for Red Sage.
I would love to hear from my readers. Please visit my website at: www.cynthiaeden.com or you may send an email to: info@
cynthiaeden.com .
Falling for Trouble
* * *
by Saskia Walker
To My Reader:
Before I became a full time writer, I worked in an office. At the end of the working week we would all wish each other a really wild weekend. Perhaps you do that too.
One Friday evening, Sonia Harmond wonders what it would be like to have a really wild weekend. Would it be the kind of weekend that would involve jetting across Europe, defeating an international crime syndicate, being seduced by a gorgeous man… and trying not to fall in love along the way?
Sonia’s about to find out… and so are you.
Falling for Trouble: Chapter 1
“Here you go ladies, drop number one.”
The taxi driver drew the car to a halt. Sonia grabbed her bag and attempted to pull herself into order before the light flashed on. Too late. The cabbie, a cheeky-mouthed Londoner, had flirted with them all the way from the West End, keeping their sprits high, and now he’d turned round and was watching as she struggled to her feet. No matter how big the inside of a London cab was, it was quite impossible to get out of them in a short skirt and high heels with any sense of decorum, especially after a girl’s night out in the city.
Somehow she managed to get one stacked heel onto the pave-
ment, then the other, and swung loose of the cab, her trio of work-mates cheering as she whipped round and gave them a bow and a wave, before slamming the door.
“See you at work on Monday, girls.”
“Hey, Sonia, have a wild weekend,” Alison called out of the window as the cab sped off, whooping as her blonde hair flew up in the breeze.
“You, too,” she murmured, watching as the lights disappeared into the night. A wild weekend? Her evening out with the girls was probably as wild as it was going to get. Sighing, she walked toward the wide steps that led up to her flat, a conversion on the second floor of a Victorian terrace. She opened up her bag as she went, hunting down her keys.
A sound behind her stopped her in her
tracks. She spun on her heel and scanned the bushes that lined the path, her senses suddenly alert and honed, despite the cocktails she’d indulged in over the course of the evening. Someone, or something, was there.
Her hands trembling, she rummaged in her bag for her keys.
Her pulse rate picked up, her lungs constricting. The steps to the entrance were a couple of feet away. If she made a dash for it she could get to the door in maybe five seconds.
“Sonia Harmond?”
She jumped at the sound of her name, then swore when she
dropped the keys. A figure emerged from the far end of the bushes.
He stood just outside the fall of light from the streetlamp, but she could tell it was a man—a tall, well-built man. She didn’t recognize his voice, but he knew her name. Caution was in order. Who the hell would hang out in the undergrowth after midnight? Not anyone she knew.
“Who is it?” she asked, playing for time. She stooped down and fumbled on the pavement for the keys. Maybe someone would walk by. Her fingers closed on the key ring. She stood up just as the man stepped forward into the light from the nearby street lamp.
Wowza. He was tall, dark and handsome. She’d spent the whole evening hoping to meet a gorgeous guy and then one mysteriously emerges from the bushes when she gets home? What the hell was in that last cocktail?
He stepped closer, slowly, so as not to alarm her. She could see him clearly now.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you.”
He looked genuine enough. If he’d wanted to mug her he could have done it by now.
“You don’t know me, but we should talk.”
She stared up into his mesmerizing green eyes, sharp and darkly fringed. Talk? She’d be lucky if she could remember her own name. He was to die for. Just one look at his mouth and all the dor-mant regions of her body flashed into action. The core of her body hummed with the kind of response only brought on when a really impressive male specimen was on show.
He offered her a friendly smile, and when that sexy mouth
moved, so did something inside her. Oh boy. She couldn’t help returning that kind of a smile.
He obviously wasn’t about to attack her. He knew her name. He had to be the new neighbor who’d moved in on the third floor. Oh, lucky day! She took a deep breath, trying to regain her equilibrium.