by Marie Harte
She warmed all over, and her heart took another dip in his direction. “I just hope I can live up to her, and your, expectations.”
“You will, baby. Hell, you already have.” His gaze at that moment looked entirely human in a cat’s body. “Rachel, I have to tell you something. I—” He stopped and stared over her shoulder, his eyes narrowing. “Stay by my side unless I tell you to go back to the house. We’ve got company.”
As he said it, a foul odor assaulted her. Foreign canines intruding on her land. She growled low in her throat, wanting them gone. Spores of threat contaminated her peace, breaking this meaningful interlude with Burke, and her anger grew.
“Damn, Rachel, tone it down. That mean streak in you is a serious turn-on.”
Shocked that he could tease in the face of danger, she snorted in response but felt her fury subside a little. “You’re not helping my inner beast that wants to rip their throats out.”
“You’re right. I’m helping you control yourself. This isn’t the way I wanted to introduce you to your wild nature. But when threatened, your instincts prevail. Just remember, you’re catamount. These fucking dogs are nothing more than leftover hamburger.”
She smacked her lips and he chuckled.
“Don’t let them throw you. Stand strong, right next to me, and we’ll get rid of them. Remember, this is your land. And the totem is yours as well.”
“Don’t you mean the town’s?”
“No. It’s yours to protect, just as it’s my job to protect you.” He stared into her eyes, the golden glow of his gaze sincere. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Rachel. Nothing.”
Oh, God. Was he saying what he seemed to be saying? His body angled toward hers, keeping her both well guarded and well cared for. Under his tender gaze, she even felt loved, but couldn’t tell if that was a reflection of her feelings for him or not.
It was all too soon. So many life-altering changes…and yet, Rachel knew deep in her heart that she loved him. Her beast cried out to make him aware, to mark him as thoroughly as he’d marked her.
Burke’s eyes widened with shock. “Rachel, that scent. Are you…?”
He never finished his sentence, for at that moment, a half dozen wolves stepped in sight, their mouths wide with toothy grins, their gazes hard and hungry. Stopping a good twenty feet from both Rachel and Burke, they sniffed and began growling at Burke. Before they could do more, another wolf, this one larger and more silver than the others, joined them by the small pool of water.
“Honored sister, we welcome you home,” the large one said. Cocking his head, he studied her. “I think, perhaps, my welcome is too late. You’ve been claimed by a catamount.” The wolf’s sigh was clear. Unlike the others, this one possessed an aura of dignity and carried himself like royalty. “But that’s of little consequence, really. I’m sorry to rush you, but you need to find our totem, now. There’s a hunting party coming this way, and I have no idea when they’re due to arrive. Could be today, could be tomorrow.”
“Like we can believe anything you lying dogs have to say.” Burke’s ears flattened and he hissed at the leader.
The wolves growled in response and stepped closer, until the leader barked at them to stop. Rachel caught a spicy scent from the lead wolf he seemed to be projecting intentionally. “Don’t be more of an ass than you already are, Burke. This isn’t about defending your mate, or about my idiot brethren trying to overtake Cougar Falls. This is about protecting the town from invading humans. I’m not lying.”
Rachel took her eyes off the leader to watch Burke, and his sense of amazement washed over her like rain. “Monty? Holy shit. I thought you were dead.”
The wolf shuffled on his paws. “It’s a long damned story. But not now. Time’s wasting. On our blood bond, I’m telling the truth.”
Burke shook his head, snarled once more at the wolves flanking Monty, and turned to Rachel. “Much as I wish it otherwise, he’s not lying. It’s go-time, Rachel. Now or never.”
Chapter Seven
Confusion filled Rachel on so many levels she didn’t know where to begin. The wolf, Monty, was obviously a lost acquaintance of Burke’s. But his comments about invading humans, about her being Burke’s mate?
“Rachel.” Burke nudged her with his broad head. “We have to find it. Do what Charlotte wanted you to do. Find your inner beast.”
Hello, she already had. “I’m standing on four feet aren’t I? And don’t tell me you’ve forgotten last night already.” Glaring at Burke and Monty, who seemed to be grinning at them, she tried to concentrate. Aunt Charlotte had mentioned following her beast. Well, her inner beast had traipsed all over the damned woods after Burke and seen nothing resembling a twenty-foot tall totem pole.
“Monty, you can stay.” Burke nodded toward the surrounding wolves. “But the rest of them need to get the hell away. This is hard enough as it is. We don’t need the extra pressure.”
Monty gave a short bark and the others slunk back into the woods, leaving Rachel, Burke and Monty alone.
“Want to tell me why anyone would want to go hunting right here in our town?” Burke asked Monty.
“It’s worse than that. A group of a dozen or so professional hunters is paying through the nose to bag some wolves, cougars and foxes promised them by a fucking traitor in the Gray Wolf clan. And we’re not talking run-of-the-mill sports nuts. We’re talking specialized killers with no qualms about murdering nonhumans.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly. The rogue made a deal with them to exterminate most of the Shifters a small faction of the Gray Wolf clan wants gone. With the totem lost, anyone can find this place. And once the town’s finally been cleared, I’m assuming that faction will turn on the expendable hunters and any of the wolves not agreeable to the situation. You know how much wolves hate hunters. Anyway, I volunteered to find and keep safe the new guardian. Once the totem’s in place and Rachel’s under wolf control, a new Order can begin for the pack.”
Rachel began to understand the danger they were all in, and she stepped instinctively closer to Burke, eased somewhat when their bodies touched.
Monty surprised her by shifting to human form. Tall and lean, he looked both haggard and incredibly strong. A handsome Shifter, he had dark hair threaded with silver and ice-blue eyes that promised honesty. He held his hands up in a sign of surrender. “I’m not the threat here. Look, if I had wanted the rogue’s plan to work, I wouldn’t have warned you about it. You know me, Burke. I’m the same brother I was all those years ago, no matter what’s happened since. But I don’t want the gray wolves taking over Cougar Falls, and I really don’t want those damned humans tainting our town. You have to put the totem back in place.”
Burke shifted into human form suddenly, but put his hand on Rachel’s head, cautioning her to stay as she was. “Why should I believe you, Monty? You up and disappeared years ago. Not a word in all the time you’ve been gone.” Funny, but Burke sounded hurt under his gruff disbelief. “I thought you were dead, and now here you are when the town’s at its most vulnerable. How do I know this isn’t some ploy to put your hands on the totem and get me out of the way so you can try to control Rachel?”
“Please. I could have ordered the wolves to stay, or I could have ambushed you an hour ago when you watched her make her first change.” Monty huffed a breath and lowered his arms, crossing them over his chest, not a bit embarrassed about his nudity. Then again, when a man looked like he did, what did he have to be ashamed about?
“Look away from him, right fucking now.”
Shoot. She must have unintentionally projected her appreciation to Burke. “I’m still a woman, Burke. You people really need to wear clothes, you know.”
Monty stared at them curiously, and she realized he didn’t understand them. “He can’t hear us?”
“Not when I use this particular pathway to talk to you. And don’t change the subject.” His hands were curled into fists, and she could smell his aggression.
&nb
sp; “Burke, we don’t have—”
“Yeah, yeah, Monty. No time for this. I fucking get it. Rachel?”
She glanced away from Monty. “Look, I’m only human. Okay, so maybe I’m not. He’s an attractive man. But he’s not you.” She stared into Burke’s eyes, the need to tell him the truth overwhelming. It was almost as if Aunt Charlotte were there whispering ghostly encouragement. And that was plain weird. But like Burke had said, it was go-time. The truth needed telling.
“I love you, Burke.”
The change that overcame him was instantaneous. He flowed into his cougar form and touched his forehead to hers, his scent overpowering.
“God, Rachel. I love you, too. I want to mate with you, I want to marry you. I
want—”
“Hell, Burke. You’re both giving off some really strong scents. Do you have to do this right now?” Monty glared down at his rising erection. “Not all of us have a female to share in your happiness, you get my meaning?”
The human part of Rachel was embarrassed she’d forgotten about a naked Shifter standing so close. She kept her eyes glued to Burke, who now found his friend’s nudity amusing. Men.
Burke directed his thoughts back at Monty, and she followed his mental pathway. “Sorry, Monty. Rachel, baby, we’re sure as hell going to get into this later. But right now I need you to tell us exactly what Charlotte said in her letter. And all of it this time. I know you’ve been holding back.”
Rachel growled. “So what if I’ve been holding back? What Aunt Charlotte proposed was nuts. Or at least, I thought it was crazy when I read the letter. She told me to stop dwelling on the past and have some wild and crazy sex with you.”
Burke’s shit-eating grin made Monty roll his eyes.
“And she wanted me to marry you, Burke, because she thought you were heaven-sent.”
“Smart woman. Always liked Charlotte.”
“She also told me to find the totem before the town had major issues.”
“But she didn’t tell you where or how to find it?” Monty asked.
“No. She said, and this is verbatim because it sounded odd to me, “Trust yourself, look deep into your heart and follow your beast, for he’ll show you the way.””
Burke and Monty exchanged a look.
“He’ll show you the way?” Burke sounded excited. “She’s not talking about your inner beast.”
“Seems to me like Burke’s your beast, Rachel, especially if you’re considering mating the pathetic feline.” Monty chuckled at Burke’s glare while Rachel stared at Burke in astonishment.
“She did tell you to follow your heart,” Burke added. “And I’m your heart, aren’t I, baby?” His gentle voice had her pulse pounding, and a throbbing started behind her eyes.
“Yes, you are. I love you.” She realized again, her heart opening as she looked into Burke’s beautiful golden eyes. She breathed heavily, as if she’d been running, and felt as if she might burst.
“Rachel? You okay?” Monty took a few steps closer but stopped when Burke swung his head toward him, hissing a warning. “Easy, Burke. I’m not poaching. Something’s a little off here.”
“Rachel? Honey, you’re starting to shift back. Are you all right?”
She couldn’t answer him. Immense energy vibrated along her spine, flowing down her limbs and into her brain as if she’d been plugged into something. She saw Burke’s eyes widen before blackness overtook her, yet she remained alert.
A rainbow of sensation, red anger, yellow happiness, blue calm and more, streamed through her consciousness. Tentacles of power pulled her into a vast embrace, making her feel at one with everything around her. Animal cries mingled with the flow of life through nature, water rushing through trees and grasses, wind rushing through the sky, on which raptors and eagles flew with wild abandon.
She could feel Monty’s surprise and growing pleasure, could sense Burke’s overwhelming love, lust and worry as he hovered protectively over her. The presence of other cats filtered, Grady and Dean in their animal forms rushing to her side. Time passed and more Ac-taw arrived. Wolves, foxes and bears, raptors and eagles. Animals gathering to celebrate life. Her inner beast stirred, and she felt her body completely return to its feline form.
“Rachel, wake up.” Burke nudged her with a large paw, and this time she opened her eyes. Directly before her, amidst a grouping of trees that had before been quite normal, stood a tall relic throbbing with power. The ancient carvings on the totem showed different animals blending one into the other, with the cougar reigning over all with wisdom and fierce devotion. Like Burke, she thought and smiled.
“You did it, Rachel.” Dean purred and rubbed against her neck. “You found it again.”
“Way to go, honey.” Grady shoved Dean out of the way and took over Dean’s affectionate petting.
From behind her new family, dozens of Shifters howled their approval, beaming at Rachel as if she’d saved them from a fate worse than death. Which, come to think of it, she had.
“Congratulations,” Monty sent her, having changed back into wolf form. He cocked his head at Burke, who blinked lazily and took a step back from Rachel. She waited with curiosity as Burke actually allowed Monty—a male not his brother—to sidle next to her and rub under her chin with his muzzle as if seeking acceptance.
“My bond brother,” Burke explained. “He’s one of us, even though he’s wolf. Kind of like Joel and Maggie, but a lot closer.”
And that was good enough for her. She returned the affection and saw Monty’s toothy grin.
“Now how about a celebration, Chastell style?” Burke roared to the crowd. “Come on over to my place and we’ll throw one hell of a party.” He turned to Grady and murmured something she couldn’t quite hear.
Everyone began making noise again, and Rachel let Burke lead her away back toward the house.
“Is it safe to leave it there in the woods?” she asked, referring to the totem.
“It’s as safe as you are. The power to conceal it or to make it appear is yours and yours alone. I don’t know what Charlotte was thinking not to have shown you all this years ago.”
They began running toward the house, Rachel following her heart, her beast, with contentment and still a small measure of worry. “But what if the rogue wolves try to steal it?”
Burke chuckled. “Are you kidding? The minute any of them try to touch the thing, it gives off a very ugly vibe. Like an electric shock. You and your protectors are the only ones allowed to touch it.”
“I still have a lot to learn about all this, don’t I?”
They reached her house and Burke shifted into human form, urging her to do the same. She did so easily, stunned at how simple the transformation was with Burke and the totem’s magic telling her what to do. The minute she changed, Burke swept her into his arms and into the house. He didn’t stop until they reached her bedroom, where he set her down in the middle of the bed.
Standing over her, he placed his hands on his hips and glared. “We don’t have a lot of time before we need to join the others. So let’s have the truth. You’d better not have been screwing with me out there, Rachel. You said you loved me.”
She smiled, a catlike grin full of lust and affection. “I’m not sure. Maybe you should remind me of how much I have to gain by loving you.”
Burke narrowed his gaze and pounced. She squealed with laughter and hugged him to her. “I love you, Burke. More than I ever thought I could possibly love anyone.”
He inhaled her scent at the crook of her neck and nipped lightly. Trailing his lips from his bite to her ear, he stirred a path of heat that soon build into a bonfire in her womb. “Good, because we’re mating, Rachel. And I’m never giving you up. No other women, no other men, not even my brothers,” he emphasized, squeezing her tight when she mock-groaned in protest. “Sharing you was really hard.”
He kissed her lips, drawing her breath deep into his mouth. “But loving you is so damned easy. I’ll have to thank Charlotte every d
ay for the rest of my life for leaving her stuff to you.”
Rachel smiled against his lips. “So does that mean you’re no longer interested in my property?”
“Keep the house and this plot for our grandkids. The only property I want right now is between those luscious thighs.” Burke kissed his way down her body, lingering on her breasts as he sucked her nipples into hard peaks. His hands were everywhere, his mouth following suit. And then he had her legs spread wide, his mouth over the hottest part of her.
“I thought we had to join the others.”
“They can wait. Any last requests?” he murmured, his breath torture over her aroused and moist clit.
“Love me, Burke.” Her eyes welled with tears of joy. “Make me yours.”
His scent, thick and sexy, fell over her in a huge wave, until she could no longer differentiate him from her.
“Honey, you’ve been mine since you walked into that damned diner with a chip on your shoulder.” She was surprised to see his eyes glossy as well. “I love you, Rachel. All of you, forever…on just one condition.”
She stared at him, embracing the lust and love consuming her. “Condition?”
He sucked her clit hard, drawing the nub between two suddenly very sharp teeth. The pleasure pain was exquisite before he let go. “Yeah. On the condition that you never look at Monty naked again.”
She laughed before he resumed his carnal worship of her body. Groaning, she gave him his answer. “Anything for you, Burke. Anything.”
About the Author
To learn more about Marie Harte, please visit www.marieharte.com. Send an email to Marie at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Marie at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/M_Hgroup.
Look for these titles by Marie Harte
Now Available:
A Scorching Seduction
Ethereal Foes: The Dragons’ Demon