Cat's Howl: A Macconwood Pack Novel (The Macconwood Pack Series Book 2) (2 page)

He was left to wonder how people who were so strong could be
so weak? How could any Werewolf decide to take his or her own life? Leaving
behind their children or spouses? Was it really so bad? The separation, that
is. Tate was terrified of it. For many years he was afraid of what would happen
the first time he heard the full moon call to him.

After his first Change he more than understood. The exhilaration
of being one with your Wolf was quickly replaced by depression and anxiety on those
days after the full moon. The waiting was sheer torture. Weeks felt like years
and it was only alleviated when he was whole again. When he was complete again.
When he was Wolf again.

He almost didn’t make it once or twice, but Rafe had helped
him through it. He owed Rafe. Not just for that. But also for being his friend.

Where Zev saw another strong back and set of teeth for the
Pack, Rafe made him feel like a person and more. He made him feel like he mattered.
He was valuable. His friendship important.

That was why he said yes when Rafe had asked him to take his
baby sister to her senior prom. And that was why he wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
No matter how damn good she smelled. Or how she looked at him with those
crystal blue eyes of hers.

“You ready to go inside?,” his voice sounded rough even to
his ears and he grimaced.

“Yeah, sure,” Cat’s answer was low.

Tate ignored the pounding of Cat’s heart in her chest as he
extended his arm and led her across the pavement. He refused to note the
sparkle in her eyes, the breathy laughter that escaped her parted lips, and her
overall excitement that smelled to him like orange zest and rose petals.

The flash of a camera surprised him as they walked through
the decorated gym doors and he nearly growled out loud. Cat’s hand on his arm
was the only thing that stopped him.

Her hand was warm through the sleeve of his tux. It felt
good there. Too good. He looked down at Cat and she smiled at him. A dazzling
bright smile.
Oh damn!
This was not going to be easy.

Later that night.

The bonfire roared around them and Cat felt as if her feet hadn’t
touched the ground all night long. This was the best night of her young life.

For the first time ever she felt feminine, beautiful, and
free, truly free. Tate had whirled her and twirled her all around the dance
floor until she gasped for air. Just like a dream! A wonderful, fantastic
dream. And she didn’t want it to end.

They got invited to go down to the beach with some of her
classmates for an after prom party. And Cat had jumped at the chance. Anything
to make the night last.

She didn’t notice the chilly night air or the clouds that
had gathered. All she noticed was the man next to her and how he made her feel.
As if her heart was singing inside of her chest.

Tate danced with her and only her all night. He held her in
his arms. He smiled and laughed at her jokes. He made her feel special in every
way possible.

To her mild annoyance, he was very, very respectful. His
hands never wandered. Not an inch. No matter how desperately she wanted them
to. Still, she had a wonderful time.

He was gorgeous to look at, intelligent to talk to, and oh,
that smile. Her heart skipped a beat every time she saw that dimple winking at
her on his right cheek. And the way everyone had stared at him when they walked
in!

Cat had to work overtime to keep in control. She almost snapped
at one or two of the girls who had brazenly strutted up to him and asked him to
dance. But there was no need.

One look from his black eyes had sent them running. He could
be cruel she realized, but that was okay as long as it wasn’t directed at her.

To her, Tate had been kind, funny, and courteous all night. A
little too courteous, but she had a plan to change that. Finding her courage,
she decided there was no time like the present.

She pulled him by the hand until he stood up and wiped the
sand from his very nice backside. He took a swig of the warm beer someone had handed
them and put it back down before raising an eyebrow at her.

“What’s up, Cat?”

“You’ll see,” she laughed and pulled up the hem of her dress,
kicking off her shoes as she did so. She raised an eyebrow at him, mimicking
his own questioning expression.

“Race ya!,” she yelled and then she was off.

Cat sped alongside the dunes kicking up sand as she ran and
jumping over the tall grass that grew there. She could hardly catch her breath.
She was so nervous. Anxious maybe.

“What the heck? Cat!,” Tate followed her across the sand and
wondered if the half a beer she had went to her head.

He doubted it since most Werewolves had such a fast
metabolism that alcohol had little to no affect unless taken in mass
quantities.

He didn’t know what she was up to. He just wished he had taken
the time to remove his dress shoes before he ran after her. It didn’t matter
for long. She had stopped running.

Underneath an old rotting dock, down by the edge of the
water. That was where he found her. The waves were loud as they crashed into
the nearby rocks and sand and Tate realized they were out of sight of everyone
else. He ran a hand through his hair. His chest was heaving and not from the exertion
of following her.

“Cat, what are you doing? Watch out! Your dress. It’ll get
all wet.”

Cat stopped when they were far enough away from the crowd
and the music that they were nothing more than a hum in her sensitive ears. She
turned towards Tate, her chest very near to bursting.
This was it.
This
was the where and when. She reached behind her, biting her lower lip as her
hands moved.

“Cat? What are you-”

Tate couldn’t finish his thought. He heard the sound of her zipper
being lowered and he froze like a deer in headlights.

She wouldn’t, would she?
He didn’t have a chance to
talk or even to think. A second later, it was too late.

The beautiful blue confection that was Cat’s prom dress fell
to the compacted sand in a soft
whoosh
that sounded much louder to his
supernaturally heightened ears.

She stood there before him, barefoot in the sand, in nothing
but a pair of white silk panties. The soft moonlight hit her body through the
gaps in the wooden slats of the dock revealing all of her perfection in a
sensuous play of shadow and light.

Tate gulped loudly. Twice. His eyes drank her in like a man
dying of thirst. When he finally spoke his voice cracked like he was still a
pup. Green and wet behind the ears. But damn, she was the most beautiful thing
he had ever seen.

“Um, Cat,”

“Tate?”

“You, um, dropped your dress.”

Cat’s heart pounded in her chest like thunder. Louder than
the waves even. She knew he could hear it, but she wondered if it sounded like
it was going to bust his eardrums the way it did to her?

She had never done anything so forward before. But this was
it. She was leaving for college soon and she knew that she wanted this more
than anything in the world.

She wanted
him
more than anything in the world. Since
she was just a pup following him and Rafe around. It had always been
him
.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. She stood there against
the rough support beam, frozen in place. She was just about to lose her nerve.
Then he stepped forward. His scent filled her nostrils, sea air and pine trees.
Tate stood close enough to touch her, but his hands remained stubbornly at his
sides.

His eyes though, his beautiful dark eyes seemed to caress
every inch of her from the tip of her golden head to her sand covered toes. He
leaned forward and Cat exhaled the breath she was holding. She swayed on her
feet. The wanting was nearly her undoing.

Their heads were close then. So close that she tasted his
breath on the air. It was heady and sweet and Cat had never felt quite like
that.

Any memory of stolen kisses with other boys fell far from
her mind. This was the one she had waited for her entire life. This was the
culmination of every silent wish, every sweet daydream, every yearning ache of
her young heart.

Cat’s skin buzzed in response to his strength and energy. It
seemed to vibrate in the air. It touched her skin, filled her nostrils, and
made her blood sing.

Tate leaned in. His full lips brushed hers in a whisper of a
kiss that was so fragile she felt like glass. One wrong move and she would
shatter completely.

His lips were so soft, Cat sighed into them. He pressed his
body against hers and she clung. Following him wherever he led. Never had
anything felt so good.

Her heart thundered inside her chest. Nothing else mattered
in that moment.
Just them
. The entire world seemed to spin out of focus
and fall away from her. Tate became her only reality.

He moved his lips to her neck, then her shoulder. She opened
her eyes and saw his closed in concentration.
God
, he was beautiful to
watch.

His dark head was bent in such a way that she saw the slight
movement of his tongue under his sweet lips against her skin. She was so pale
against him.

Tate was bronzed and hard, like some ancient Greek warrior
statue. But he was alive and warm.
So very warm
, she shivered and goose
bumps broke out along her skin.

But Cat wasn’t cold. This was pure reaction. A sigh escaped
her open mouth and her head fell back as she moved into him.
Closer
,
mmm,
need to get closer
.

Delicious
. Tate’s brain was in overdrive. He couldn’t
quite wrap his head around what was taking place. This was Cat. Little Cat. But
damn, she tasted every bit as delicious as he always thought she would.

Fresh and clean, sultry sweet with a hint of salt. Her skin
was all smooth pink and gold. She was flushed in the moonlight. Ready and
willing and too sweet to resist.
This is Cat.

Tate trembled as he reached out with his work callused hands.
He couldn’t help himself, it was as if he needed to touch her. To posses her.
Mine
,
his Wolf growled in his mind’s eye.

He brushed his finger tips over the tender slopes of her
breasts.
God
, she was so damned soft. Cat purred as he stroked his hand
back and forth across her hardened peak. He bit back his own moan as he leaned
down and kissed her.

Honey
, she was honey in his mouth. His tongue snaked around
her soft skin, licking, nipping, kissing her soft flesh. He knew he was getting
in over his head when she grabbed at his long hair and pulled him closer.

It took all his strength to draw back from her sweet body. The
hazy look in her ice blue eyes made him want her so damn bad. He knew he could never
stop if he did what she wanted him to. Her body language, heck, even her scent
was begging him to finish what they had started. And if he was honest with
himself, he should acknowledge that he wanted her like mad.

Cat dropped her hands to her sides. She didn’t know what to
do, what she was allowed to do. She had never been kissed like that before and
she knew right then that the boys she had tried a kiss or two with had
absolutely nothing on the man in front of her.

The world spun around and around when his mouth was on hers.
She felt dizzy, alive, insane and so very good that she never wanted him to
stop. She smiled and lifted her hands to his face.
Serious
, he was so
serious.

Cat pulled him down to her mouth and they kissed again. This
time he lifted his lips and ran them down her neck and shoulder, then down again
to her aching breasts. Her nipples tightened and she purred again, wanting
more, wanting him. She hardly noticed the sound of her dress being pulled back
up over her body.

Tate raised his head just as Cat’s eyes flew open.
He was
dressing her?!
Her cheeks burned with humiliation. She felt a tear pour
down her cheeks, and she bit back a sob.
She would not cry!

She felt as though her heart had been ripped open, but she
would not cry. That she promised herself. She grabbed the dress from him and
tried to pull away, but his arms were like iron.

“Cat we need to talk. Don’t run.”

“Talk? About what? I just offered myself to you and you
rejected me. What’s to talk about?”

“It’s not that easy, Cat, come on, look at me.”

Despite her best efforts, another tear spilled down her face.
She shook her head as a nervous laugh escaped her lips.
Would the shame ever
go away? Why wouldn’t he just let her leave?

She struggled against him, but Tate refused to let her go. She
managed to wipe her cheeks and shake her head as she yanked the zipper closed.
Heat burning her cheeks so hot she must look like a beacon in the night! No
matter which way she moved his iron grip held her squarely in front of him.

She threw herself at him. Like a slut.
Like her
father had said she would.
Zev often called her an “easy mark”, he said she
would be just like her mother. Those words cut her, but never so much as now.
Because
maybe he was right.

“Look, Cat, I know you have a crush on me, but I didn’t
know-”

“Crush? You think this is some little crush? Tate, is that
true?,” hope sparked in her chest. If she could only make him see, it would all
be okay.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Cat, it’s okay.”

“No, you see, it’s not. I don’t have a crush on you. I love
you! I always have, Tate. And you have to feel something for me too! I mean,
you
asked
me
to prom, you never even looked at me before, but you asked me
so I know you feel something too-”

Tate just couldn’t listen to this. Confessions of love from
his best friend’s baby sister? No way. No how. He knew what he had to do. She
would hate him for it, but it was for the best. For both of them.