Embracing the Wolf (7 page)

Paul cocked the
gun.

She turned, yellow eyed,
to face him. The surge in power was mind-blowing as she accepted
the wolf inside her.

“
Will you kill
me too when they put me on the list?” she said.

Paul swallowed hard. The
gun shook in his hand.

“
If you kill
Amon, I’ll follow him into the darkness.” She furrowed her eyebrows
and stood slowly, not wanting to startle Paul into reacting by
moving too fast. “I need him.”

A growl echoed low and
deep in her chest and rumbled through her mouth. Her teeth
extended, the feel of them elongating making her sick to her
stomach. Trembling all over, she stood her ground, frightened of
the strange feelings inside her as she surrendered to her true
nature and started to change.

She could do this. This
side of her was the only one who could save Amon. She needed to
embrace it and accept it. Her heart filled with strength and
resolve. Amon was everything to her.

She had made her
decision.

She would protect
him.

With a feral growl, she
sprung at Paul. She knocked the hand he held the gun in to the
side, grabbed his collar and slammed him into the black asphalt
with her body weight. Her claws ripped through his jacket and
scratched at his flesh. The smell of blood filled the air, driving
her on. She fought the change, not wanting to turn completely. She
was stronger and more agile in this strange in between state. She
had to stay strong and not lose control.

Paul shoved her away and
she rolled to her feet, crouched low and ready for the fight. He
swung his arm around, bringing the gun to point at her, and she
leapt and swept her leg out in a high kick. Paul grunted when her
foot connected with his hand, sending the gun toppling from his
hand.

She flinched as it hit the
floor, afraid that it would go off. Paul launched himself at her.
Kat blocked one punch after another, drawing on her years of
training as a hunter to predict Paul’s moves and the speed her new
heightened abilities gave her. They had been trained together at
the Werewolf Control Forces, but while their combat was similar,
she was stronger.

He caught her hard with a
left hook that sent her mind spinning. As she stumbled backwards,
he grabbed her by shirt and pulled her back towards him. She
quickly ducked to avoid his fist and slammed her own up into his
gut, heaving him off the floor. His face hit her shoulder as he
doubled up. She pushed him off her and brought her leg around in a
lotus kick, catching him across the head with her heel and sending
him down onto the wet asphalt.

Breathing deep and steady,
she readied herself for his counter attack. He was faster than she
had anticipated, coming at her from a low crouch and grabbing her
around the waist. He tackled her to the floor, landing heavily on
top of her and knocking the air from her lungs. She grunted on
impact. Her head smacked off the asphalt and her bones ached from
the force of the blow.

Paul grabbed her
shoulders, pressing down on them, pinning her. She wriggled beneath
him, fighting his hold on her. He pushed his hips against hers and
she growled, disgusted by the feel of his crotch against hers. Her
growl was joined by another, this one deeper and fierce. Amon. Her
gaze shot to him where he knelt a short distance away. Bloody
murder shone in his eyes. He tried to push himself up but collapsed
back to his knees.

Paul laughed. “You wanna
watch while I take your bitch?”

Kat’s eyes locked back on
Paul’s, red-hot anger burning through her. Never. She would never
let another man touch her.

The wolf side of her bayed
for his blood. It wanted his life as payment for hurting her mate
and threatening her. She shut out the coaxing whispers in her mind.
She couldn’t kill Paul. No matter how great the
temptation.

She forced Paul off her,
rolled away and went to rise to her feet.

Paul kicked her in the
stomach while she was still on all fours. She coughed and turned in
time to see him stand, his gun back in his hand. He swung it to
point at her. She stared down at the barrel. Cold flashed through
her. Her heart stopped.

A second of silence ticked
by.

Kat rolled as Amon rose
behind Paul, eyes flashing gold and his growl splitting the air.
His claws ripped through the back of Paul’s neck in a swift
devastating arc. Blood splattered up the wall.

Paul wobbled on his feet
and then crumpled to the ground.

Kat crouched, breathing
hard to control her desire to change completely and her need to
vomit at the sight of Paul’s neck snapping.

Her gaze crept to Paul
where he lay in a pool of his own blood.

Dead.

****

Chapter
4

Amon threw his head back
and howled at the night sky, primal in his strength and raw in his
power. Kat cowered, awed and drawn to him by a pull so strong that
she couldn’t ignore it. She didn’t want to. His howl called to her
blood, to every fibre of her being, and said that he needed her and
he would have her. She belonged to him.

Standing, Kat met his eyes
and tilted her chin back. He stared at her. Her breathing turned
heavy, her own hunger and love for him growing more intense the
longer she looked into his golden eyes.

Amon stalked towards her,
his coat flaring out to reveal a tight t-shirt and jeans that
emphasised his lithe body and made her fingers itch to explore. He
lowered his head and looked up at her through his lashes. His eyes
narrowed. When he was within arm’s reach, he growled. It sent a
shiver of need through her. She kept still but dropped her gaze to
the ground and turned subservient. Amon was still a danger to her.
Even though he hadn’t turned completely, he was still close to the
edge. One wrong move and she could end up like Paul.

Amon leaned in towards her
neck and breathed deep. His lips coursed over her skin. He was
tasting her, checking her identity and willingness. She was
willing. More than willing. He growled again.

Kat returned with one of
her own, instinct controlling her actions. His hands grasped her
upper arms. It was difficult for her to avoid tensing. The more
compliant she was, the less likely he was to hurt her.

His tongue traced a hard
line up her throat.

She shivered and moaned,
her eyelids falling to half-mast.

He started to growl but
his grip slackened. His knees buckled. Kat grabbed his arm to
steady him and placed it around her shoulders. His show of weakness
shocked some reality back into her. They had to get out of
here.

“
Amon?” she
whispered.

His eyes met hers again.
Still golden and deadly.

“
We have to
split,” she said and tenderly brushed the bloodied strands of his
black hair from his face. “We’ll get you back to the warehouse.
Leyton will help.”

He shook his head, defeat
surfacing in his eyes for the briefest of moments.

“
Don’t you dare
give up on me now!” She almost growled the words and started
walking. Her senses dulled when she changed back to her human form,
her canines shrinking back into place.

She had accepted what she
was and had embraced the wolf. Amon couldn’t give up now. She
wanted to mate with him and save them both. It couldn’t be too
late. It just couldn’t.

The walk back to the
warehouse was slow, Amon’s weight on her shoulders almost too much
to bear. She took the time to check him over as best she could. A
nasty jagged cut ran from his temple into his hair on the left side
of his head, and a deep gash on his right cheekbone. Paul had
pistol-whipped him. The image of Amon killing Paul flickered across
her eyes. He had been protecting her. He had killed to defend her.
If he was trying to keep her safe from harm, he had to know who she
was and that she was his mate.

The warehouse loomed ahead
of them. She glanced at Amon. The rest of the wounds that she could
see were superficial. His weakness had to be from the head wound,
or perhaps his transformation into a feral violent creature. She
shook away such a terrible thought and focussed on getting Amon to
safety. Everything would be all right. She wasn’t going to lose
him.

Kat’s eyes hurt when they
entered the bright white room. The glass walled steel cage stood in
the middle of it, exactly as she had remembered. She led Amon over
to it and he released her when they were close. He walked in
through the open door and she followed him. There wasn’t even
anywhere to sit.

“
Where’s
Leyton?” she said, realising that she hadn’t seen anyone on the way
in. No guards. No Leyton.

Amon shook his head again
and held onto one of the steel bars as though he needed it to
steady himself.

“
Gone?” she
whispered. Leyton had left him? She couldn’t believe
that.

“
At my
command,” Amon said and his fingers tensed around the bar. His face
contorted in pain. He released the bar and backed away from her.
His eyes were wide and full of fear. She had never seen him look so
scared and lost. “I changed Kat... when I was back... I came to
find you...”

“
Shh,” she said
and reached out to him, touching his shoulder. There was a long rip
in the black material of his coat that she hadn’t noticed before.
Had Paul done it? She removed Amon’s coat from him, wanting to
check whether he was cut anywhere on his body.

He stood motionless, his
eyes closed and face pale while she removed his black t-shirt. She
kept her touch nothing more than a light caress as she moved around
him. Not a scratch on his chest or back. Her gaze rose to his
temple and the cut. She needed to tend to it. Did they have a
medical kit around here?

When she stopped in front
of him again, Amon’s eyes were as dark as midnight. She was
relieved to see that he was back in control again. It lightened her
heart and eased her fear. She brushed her fingers across his
temple, frowning at the wound. He flinched and inhaled
sharply.

“
Sorry,” she
whispered and swept away the long tendrils of his black hair so she
could see the cut more clearly.

Her eyes met his again and
her fingers paused, tangling in his hair with her fingertips
against his scalp. Her lips parted and she dropped her gaze to his
mouth. Leaning forwards, she closed her eyes and kissed him. Her
heart skipped a beat at the slow kiss. Her beast rose as she poured
her feelings into it—love, acceptance, fear. Everything in her
heart went into the sensual glide of her mouth against
his.

His hands claimed her
upper arms and held her tight, as though he feared she was going to
stop kissing him and wanted to keep her there. She’d never stop
kissing him. The light caress of their lips stirred her heart like
nothing else could, filling her with warmth and shivers of
anticipation. She resisted deepening it, wanting to keep it slow
and gentle, a reaffirmation of past feelings that they both
needed.

She ran her other hand up
his arm to his neck and leaned into him, pressing her body against
his broad chest. His heat was incredible, seeping through her
clothes into her body. A shift of her hips and she felt the
evidence of his hunger and arousal. The thought that he wanted her
now as badly as he had ever done reignited the need that she had
always felt for him, an intense undeniable craving.

Her tongue traced along
his lower lip.

Amon jerked backwards with
a growl and pushed her away. Kat’s eyes widened, her mind reeling
as she struggled to understand what was wrong. He shoved her again,
half screaming, half growling at her. The horrible sound made her
take a step back. His eyes opened to reveal bright yellow orbs of
malice. His teeth grew.

“
Run!” he
shouted, pushing her again, desperation and fear written in every
line of his face. “Run, Kat! I can’t stop it. It’s too
late!”

With a pained howl, Amon
clutched his head and fell to his knees so hard that the entire
cage shook. He flung his head back and his claws extended and
darkened, digging into his scalp. So much pain and suffering. It
was all her fault. She couldn’t leave him now when he needed her
most.

Quiet and resolved, Kat
knelt before him. His eyes were screwed shut and blood ran down
from the points on the side of his head where his claws dug into
his flesh.

She wasn’t afraid of
anything that might happen or where this would take her. Slowly,
she reached out to him.

“
I’m not going
to run,” she whispered and his eyes opened, narrow pupils fixing on
her. Her hands edged towards his chest. “I’ll never leave you
again.”

Her fingers brushed his
pectorals. He trembled beneath her touch and she could sense his
struggle and fight against the change. She trailed her hands up to
his cheek, grazing it lightly and hoping it would give him the
strength to keep fighting to be with her. Finally, her hands
covered his and she eased them away from his head. He stared at
her, his look boyish and scared, laced with a hint of
disbelief.

Taking a deep breath, she
told herself that she wanted this and him. She had to do
this.