by Tasha Black
The wolf lifted itself up on its back legs, raising its snout, as if drinking in the scent of blood.
This was it.
Rose took a deep breath, grabbed the knife in her teeth and the tracker in one hand.
She launched herself out of the tree, legs running in the air, desperate to hit her mark on the first try.
She hit the wolf’s back hard, jarring her teeth against the blade.
The beast dropped to all fours in surprise.
With all the speed she could muster, Rose dug her knife into the creature’s neck and crammed the tracker in place.
It cried out and reared up, throwing her to the ground and knocking the wind out of her. Rose gasped like a fish out of water, unable to even remember her mission.
Finally, breath made its way back into her chest.
She swiped at the comm unit on her wrist to activate the inhibitor in the tracker, but nothing happened. She brought it up for a closer look. The small screen of the communicator had been damaged by the fall. Only a cracked reflection of herself stared back from the glass.
She needed a new one. Or a new plan.
But the creature was already bending over her. She could smell the rancid breath.
And behind it, Rex was approaching.
He would kill it if he could.
She couldn’t let that happen. She had to act now.
With the last of her strength, Rose ripped off her wrist comm and launched it as far into the woods as she could, praying it would be far enough.
A tone like a siren echoed off the glass walls of the forest.
The creature fell back to all fours, a big paw rubbing at its ears.
Three…
Two…
One…
Would it be enough?
Rose watched as the creature began to shake and jerk convulsively.
Then its huge body shrank inside the fur until it looked like a tiny pup inside a giant wolf body.
The fur blurred and roiled.
Rex moved protectively to Rose.
They watched together as the thing on the ground shrank into a small frail body with a shock of silver hair. It wasn’t in its customary bun, but the woman was still immediately recognizable.
“The wife,” Rex breathed.
“Maude Shoemaker,” Rose said. “I was afraid you were going to kill her. But there was no time to explain.”
“Well, I was afraid she was going to kill me,” Rex retorted.
“That’s valid,” Rose agreed. “I’m just glad she didn’t kill her husband.”
“Rex, Rose,” Jensen called from the entrance to the forest.
“We’re back here,” Rose called to Jensen.
“You were amazing,” Rex said softly.
“I’m military trained, too,” Rose said, shrugging.
“No,” he said. “No, it was more than that. You’re extremely cool under pressure.”
“Thank you,” Rose said.
“And you removed my tracker,” he added.
“I trust you,” she told him simply.
He bent to kiss her.
It felt like rainbows were arcing in her soul.
“Oh, wow,” Jensen said.
Rose pulled away from Rex, embarrassed.
He held on a little longer and then let her go.
“What the heck?” Jensen asked, seeing Maude on the ground, naked and passed out.
“We found the wolf,” Rose said.
“Did it hurt Mrs. Shoemaker?” Jensen asked, sounding horrified.
“It is Mrs. Shoemaker,” Rose replied, looking down at the little body in awe. “I think she’s a shifter of some kind. It looks like she might have hurt her husband in here earlier. He’s a little ahead of us, on the other path.”
Jensen waved two of his men that way. “So, she shifted into a massive wolf?”
“Yes,” Rex said. “And this whole ship would still be in danger if not for Rose’s quick thinking.”
“What happened?” Jensen asked.
“I removed Rex’s tracker device and implanted it in her neck,” Rose said. “Then I threw my wrist comm to set it off. The shock was enough to knock her out, and she shifted back.”
Rose removed her own sweater and knelt to drape it over the older woman’s frame. She should not be naked in the cold woods.
“Maude?” she heard Howard’s quavering voice approaching.
“She’s okay, Mr. Shoemaker,” she told him.
“Oh, Maude,” he wailed, kneeling on the ground beside his wife. “She didn’t mean any harm.”
“I’m sure she didn’t,” Rose said, trying not to think about the wild roars and the sound of Rex’s scream.
“When her time comes, she doesn’t know herself,” Howard said, gently easing his wife’s limp form into his lap. “We didn’t think about how it would work on a ship.”
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
“Well, the ship keeps moving, so the star that brings her wolf stays in the same position,” he said. “We had enough medicine to last two cycles. But we’ve been in position since we boarded. The ship physician said he only had a minor amount of that compound left, and when I couldn’t tell him what it was for, he refused to issue it. I tried to ration her pills, but…”
“She’s so big,” Rose murmured.
“Exactly,” Howard said sadly. “They wouldn’t let us off the ship on Sheldrahk, even though I begged.”
“You’re the ones who wanted to get off on Sheldrahk,” Rose murmured.
“Yes, and I felt bad about stealing that nitrate from your farm,” he continued. “But I hoped it might be enough to sedate her for a few more nights, just until we got to port.”
“That was you?” Jensen asked.
“Yes, sir,” Howard replied, stroking his wife’s cheek. “She would die before she would hurt anyone. Knowing you’ve seen her like this will mortify her.”
“Did the nitrate work?” Rose asked.
“No,” Howard said. “And now I’ve gotten those kids in trouble. I put the container in their bin so you wouldn’t suspect me if you found it. I hoped the refuse would be gone before anyone noticed.”
“Those kids had a crate of stolen rantyfann kits in their rooms,” Rose told him. “Thank God you gave us a reason to search it.”
“Howard,” Maude whimpered.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he told her tenderly. “Everything’s okay.”
“Am I? Did I?” she trailed off, pressing her face to her husband’s chest, as if she were unable to face what might have happened.
“Mrs. Shoemaker, we’re so glad you’re okay,” Rose said. “A lot happened tonight, but we can’t get into it right now. We need your help.”
An idea had occurred to Rose, and she hoped it was a good one.
“What is it, dear?” the lady asked, straightening up a little in her husband’s arms.
“The young people in the room down the hall from you were smuggling motherless rantyfann kits,” Rose said. “We need someone who can care for the little guys until we get to port.”
“Oh, the little darlings,” Mrs. Shoemaker said, perking up. “I’ll be glad to look after them. I have a way with canines.”
I’ll bet you do.
With any luck, the kits would sense an alpha presence in Mrs. Shoemaker right away, and end their reign of terror in Rose’s stateroom.
“In the meantime, we’ll consult with the ship physician to see about refilling your prescription,” Rose said. “Under the circumstances, I think he’ll agree to issue the last of his supply, since you are being such a help to us with the kits.”
“Thank you, my dear,” Mrs. Shoemaker said, placing a hand on her wrist.
“It’s my pleasure,” Rose told her sincerely.
22
Rex
Rex looked around the sparkling clean room.
Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker were settled in their own room with the rantyfann kits. And housekeeping had worked a miracle in Rose�
��s rooms. He hardly recognized the kits’ former den.
Rex bathed as soon as the housekeeping crew was gone, knowing Rose would slip downstairs to have a meeting with Anna.
The warm water soothed his aching muscles and made him feel more like himself. Amplifying after a long period in his normal form always left him with a hollowed-out feeling.
When he stepped out, Rose was there with a tray of food for him.
“Eat,” she said. “I’m just going to shower.”
She left him alone without telling him what happened in her meeting. Rex was fully prepared to have the tracking device re-implanted in his neck. He only hoped that Rose wasn’t in any kind of trouble for violating her orders.
As he saw it, she had taken the only possible action that allowed her to protect the ship and its passengers without harming Mrs. Shoemaker. It was a smart move, and she’d come up with it in the heat of battle.
She’d had to trust that Rex wouldn’t run.
And of course he hadn’t. He would never do anything to endanger her.
Surely Anna and the others would appreciate that. They had known him a long time. And even without knowing Rose a long time, it ought to be clear what kind of person she was.
“Hey,” Rose’s voice was soft. “What are you thinking about?”
He smiled and turned to her, nearly groaning in response.
Rose was wrapped in a towel that barely covered her breasts and skimmed over her thighs. Her hair was glistening ebony and her cheeks were flushed.
“Gods, you’re beautiful,” he breathed.
She smiled and he swore he heard bells.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied with a saucy smile.
“Please tell me Anna wasn’t angry,” he said, forcing himself not to imagine tearing off the towel.
“The opposite, actually,” Rose replied. “She’s very grateful to both of us and wanted me to tell you so.”
“I’m glad,” he said, relief washing over him. “I’m ready to have the tracker re-implanted now, or as soon as the doctor is available.”
Rose shook her head slowly.
“No?” He was stunned.
“I vouched for you,” Rose told him.
“You-you did?” he asked.
She nodded. “I know we’ve had our misunderstandings,” she said. “But I’m beginning to see that you may just be the most trustworthy person I’ve ever known.”
“You can always trust me,” he told her.
“I know,” she said. “You said something to me about true mates once. And I’m beginning to believe you.”
His heart threatened to burst.
“I feel different when I’m with you,” she went on. “Happier, smarter… safe.”
“Oh, Rose,” he said, opening his arms to her.
She moved to him and he embraced her, wishing he could let her inside his head, so she could feel what he felt.
“You said when the tracker was out, you’d know for sure,” she reminded him. “So, were you right about us?”
“Yes,” he told her. “I didn’t want to frighten you, but I’ve really known all along, even with the tracker. I could feel it with every part of myself. We belong to each other, Rose.”
She pulled back and he braced himself.
But when her eyes met his, there was only happiness there.
“I’m glad,” she told him. “I’m not afraid.”
“Forever is a long time,” he warned her.
“Right now it doesn’t feel like long enough,” she murmured.
He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers.
The sensation was incredible. His body responded with a surge of lust and it took everything he had not to rip the towel off her and throw her on the bed.
Rose whimpered against his mouth and his resolve was lost.
He pulled her close against him, loving the soft warmth of her breasts, the way her belly felt against his raging cock.
“I need you, Rose,” he whispered.
She twined her arms tightly around his neck, and he lifted her and carried her to his bed, laying her down gently in spite of the violence of his lust.
She lay back on the bed, her wet hair spread across the pillows.
He crawled on top of her, cupped her cheek in his hand.
“I love you, Rose,” he told her.
Her smile made his chest ache. “I love you too, Rex.”
“I’m going to claim you now,” he told her. “If you’re sure you’re ready.”
She nodded, her eyes bright.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then her sweet lips.
She was trembling beneath him.
He hoped it was desire and not fear that made her quiver. He never wanted her to be frightened again.
“I won’t hurt you, Rose,” he promised her.
“I know,” she told him. “Please, I need you.”
He buried his face in her neck, sucking and biting gently, loving the way she arched her back and gasped in response.
He made his way down her body, stopping to lavish her breasts with wild kisses.
Rose moaned and clenched the sheets, her soft thighs opening slightly, as if to tell him she was ready for him.
He pressed a kiss to her belly and another to her right hip.
Rose stilled, as if she were paralyzed by the anticipation.
He rubbed his rough jaw against her inner thigh, and she cried out.
He would have liked to toy with her like this forever, teasing, feeding on her responses.
But the need to claim her was rising in him, drowning out everything but the demand to fill her and take her as his own.
23
Rose
Rose moaned with the first touch of his tongue on her sensitive sex.
She was so ready for him, needed him so badly. Her whole body was practically vibrating in anticipation.
But Rex moved so slowly, deliberately pushing her closer and closer to the edge without letting her get there.
She felt herself opening like a flower, need pulsing with every touch of his hot mouth against her hungry opening.
At last he flicked her clitoris with the tip of his clever tongue.
Rose practically shot off the bed.
“Good,” he crooned, teasing her again, circling with his tongue without touching.
“Please,” Rose moaned.
He rewarded her with another flick of his tongue.
She whined and lifted her hips, pleading with herself not to grind against him.
His arm came down on her belly, pinning her in place as he teased her again and again.
The world was fading away, there was nothing but Rex, the feel and scent and sound of him, and the cruel sweetness of his mouth on her.
When her need outpaced her self-control and she struggled under his weight for satisfaction, he pulled away.
She nearly cried at the loss of his mouth, but he was on top of her almost instantly, pinning her hips with his, gazing into her eyes.
“I need you, Rose,” he said. “Will you be my mate?”
“Yes,” she moaned.
He pressed his lips to hers and she felt him guide himself against her.
His cock was huge, and she might have been afraid if he hadn’t made her so desperate.
She closed her eyes and prepared herself. But he pressed inside her so slowly the pleasure eclipsed the pain.
“Oh God, Rose,” he groaned.
She opened her eyes again, gazed up at his beautiful face transported by pleasure.
When he moved again the sensation was dizzying.
He kissed his way down her jaw, back to the place where her neck and shoulder met.
She knew what was coming, but she didn’t fear it.
He withdrew from her slowly, then filled her again.
She cried out with the ecstasy of it.
On his next stroke he bit down.
Instead of pain, she felt a cool, sparkling sensation, tr
aveling from her neck through the rest of her body, as if she were bathing in a stream of pleasure.
When he thrust into her again, she thought she would die.
“Rose,” he moaned.
She lifted her hips to meet him, desperate to feel his essence inside her, to seal the bond.
“Please,” she whimpered.
Rex seemed to unleash his lust. He set a frantic pace, sliding a hand between them to massage her most sensitive place with the pad of his thumb.
Rose cried out as the pleasure shot her so high that she thought she would never return. She saw stars being born and exploding, the universe expanding.
As she crashed down again, she felt him swell inside her, filling her to bursting with his hot seed.
“Rose,” he murmured as the last of the tremors left them. “Gods, but I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she told him.
He rolled them over so that they were on their sides, her body cradled against his chest.
She meant to ask him what would happen next.
But the steady pounding of his heart and the heat of his body against hers made her so warm and sleepy.
24
Rose
Rose sat in a booth at the Old Americana themed diner on the main deck of the Stargazer II.
Her best friend, Juno sat beside her, dragging curly fries through a massive puddle of ketchup on her plate and looking resplendent in her ensemble of work overalls and a jewel-encrusted crown.
Rose was so glad to finally get to talk to her about everything that had been going on with her.
Across the table, Ambassador Serena Scott sipped a black and white milkshake with an adorable baby in a sling on her chest.
Is this really my life now?
But it really was her life.
Rose and Juno had been working in Agro all morning. They had been fortunate to schedule a meeting with Serena, though they were surprised she wanted to meet right away, and even more surprised that she wanted it to happen at a diner.
“I love this place,” Ambassador Scott confided. “The shakes are magnificent, and I think the hustle-bustle helps Starla sleep.”
She pressed a kiss to the top of the baby’s little head.