Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (16 page)

 Kat grit her teeth as
she felt a small trickle of blood run down her neck where his knife was
pressed. The jerk had actually cut her!
Dam it, I am so over this.
Adrenaline
pumped through her system as she considered her options. Ronan, seeing that she
was plotting something, glared at her in warning.

 Stumbling back against
the half breed as though she tripped, Kat found her pinned arms pressed tightly
down the front of his chest. Jerking her head back she arched away from the
blade at her neck and ruthlessly grabbed a fist full of vulnerable male parts. With
a squeal the half breed struggled to free his injured manhood, he didn’t see
Ronan until it was too late. Pain exploded inside his head as if he had been
slammed into an oncoming tractor trailer.

 Kat could hear the
sounds of a struggle and then thankfully, silence. Struggling to her feet she
suddenly gasped to find herself enveloped in Ronan’s fully shifted muscular
body. Clinging to him tightly, she buried her face in his neck and breathed in
his masculine scent. Feeling herself calm with his touch, she ran the palm of
her hand over the back of his neck. The need to touch him, to feel his skin
against hers was overwhelming. 

 Filling his lungs with
Kat’s wildflower scent Ronan felt his beast roar at the scent of another male
on her. With a snarl he held her so closely that he lifted her feet off the
ground. Surrounding her small body in his heat, Ronan struggled to keep his
beast in check. Closing his eyes he let Kat’s touch soothe him. Struggling to
shift he grit his teeth as he forced the beast back. Fearing he might hurt her
in his beast form he was finally able to get control and shifted with her still
in his arms. His hands trailed over her body as he checked her for injures and pulled
her away from him to look at the scratch on her neck.

 “I’m okay, it’s…” Kat’s
breath froze in her throat as Ronan’s lips crash down over hers. Heat pulsed
through her core as she fisted the back of his shirt in her hands and hung on
for dear life. Kat’s senses were filled with Ronan’s essence as she struggled
to get closer to him. He was suddenly her whole world and nothing existed
outside of the two of them.

 Ronan groaned as she
clung fiercely to his back and his tongue demanded she open to him, demanded that
she let him possess the dark recesses of her sweet mouth. Running his palms
down her back he cupped the firm mounds of her ass and pressed her closer to
his straining erection. Grasping her firmly he tugged her higher and wrapped
her legs around his waist.

 Kat gripped him easily
between her toned legs and rolled her hips rubbing deliciously against his
hardness. Feeling him move she suddenly found herself resting on the hood of
her truck. Releasing her lips, Kat shivered as Ronan’s mouth left a trail of
heat down her neck.

 With a low growl,
Ronan filled his palms with her full breast, pleased when she arched her back
and gasped in response. Rewarding her heated response he rubbed his thumbs over
the straining peaks. She was so passionate, so beautiful. He ached to be inside
of her. The scent of the other male on her had his beast straining to complete
the mating bond. He needed his mark on her neck.

 A groan from one of
the unconscious men suddenly had Ronan’s head whipping around and his body
tensing against Kat’s soft curves. He surrounded her small body, prepared to
protect his female.

 Satisfied when the man
again slumped to the ground unmoving, Ronan turned his focus back to Kat. Her
lips were swollen and her green eyes, glowed brightly in the night. Lowering
his head he leaned his forehead against hers and took a deep breath, trying to
get the embers burning through his veins to cool.

 Stepping back from
her, he ran his hands through his hair and paced in front of her for a moment. Kat
watch his struggle as her own heart beat crazily in her chest.

 His voice was gravely
when he finally spoke. “We have to go before someone comes out and starts asking
questions.”

 Putting his hands on
her hips, Ronan helped her down from the truck and opened the driver’s side
door. Guiding her around the door, Kat slid across the bench seat and resumed
her usual spot on the passenger side.

 Turning the key in the
ignition, Ronan pulled out of the parking lot kicking gravel at the unconscious
men lying on the ground.

 Kat stared out the
window in silence, overwhelmed by her response to Ronan. He hadn’t said a word
to her and hadn’t glanced her way once since they left the restaurant. She
could feel the tension radiating off of him and she didn’t think it was about
the fight.

 Kat looked down at her
slim hands in astonishment. Her fingertips had turned into tiny claws when that
man had grabbed her. She remembered his groan of pain as she had raked her newly
discovered claws down his arm in her struggle to get free. She really was a
freaking Lykan. Unbelievable. She had claws! She wondered what other surprises
were in store for her.

 “So those men. They were
Lykan?”

 “Yes, half breeds.”

 “Is that why they
didn’t fully shift like you do?”

 “Yes, the half breeds
lack the strength of the purebloods.”

 Kat took a deep
steadying breath before asking her next question.

 “And I am a pureblood
Lykan?”

 Ronan finally looked
away from the road and gave her his full attention as he answered her.

 “Yes, you are a
pureblood Lykan.”

 Kat closed her eyes
and leaned her head back against the back of the seat as the truth of his
statement settled in her bones. God this was all so messed up. Lifting her head
she looked at Ronan again. She let her gaze roam over his strong profile.  Sometimes
when she looked at him he felt so familiar, like she had known him for years
instead of days.

 She had never
responded to a man the way she did to Ronan. With just one kiss she became
completely mindless in his arms. It stung that every time he touched her he seemed
to become angry with her.

 “Those men at the restaurant,
how did they know I was Lykan, when I myself had just barely figured it out? I was
completely across the room from them.”

 “You are an unmated
female who is of age, even a half breed would be able to scent you from a mile
away.”

 “God, they could smell
me? That’s so wrong.”

 Kat ran her hands
through her tousled hair in frustration.

 “So that is why you
insisted I was in danger at home? More Lykan, like the men at the bar would
find me? This is why you took me?”

 “Yes, you would have
been unprotected and at their mercy.” Just saying the words out loud sent rage
shooting through his veins. Kat, all alone and vulnerable to any male who
wanted to take her.

 Kat looked at her
hands again in concern. “You’re sure I won’t shift right?” The thought of turning
into a beast like Ronan terrified her.

 “Our females don’t
shift. Because our females carry our young they do not shift. The change would
harm any child they were carrying.”

 Kat thought about that
for a moment. Well, she supposed in some crazy way it made sense.

 “Why did you say I was
“of age”, what does that mean? Of age for what?”

 “Our females don’t
mature until around the age of twenty five at which point they develop more of
their Lykan abilities and become capable of carrying our young.”

 “So I’m a late bloomer
then? I’m twenty seven.”

 “You may have remained
dormant since you had no contact with other Lykan. Both my and the feral’s
presence may have finally triggered the change.”

 Kat sighed and looked
out the window into the night. “Great, yet another gift from my feral friend.” Truthfully
though as she looked back, she had been experiencing strange symptoms before
the two of them showed up. Things just seemed to go into overdrive around the
time the feral decided to turn stalker on her.

 Ronan shifted
uncomfortably in his seat. His beast was prowling just beneath his skin. Kat’s
heated response to him kept replaying through his mind no matter how hard he
tried to block it. He curves had fit perfectly with his. Her full breast had
more than filled his palm and she had arched her back so sweetly for him, eager
for his touch. Ronan grimaced as he once again had to re adjust his pants to
account for his hardness.

 He hated that she
still had the males scent on her. It was time to find a place to stay for the
night. Remaining closed up in the truck with her was no longer an option. He
had vowed to take better care of her so no sleeping in the bed of the truck
tonight. Besides, he could put more distance between the two of them in a hotel
room than he could in the truck bed. He didn’t know what he would do if he woke
with her draped over his chest again.

 Kat was surprised when
Ronan took the next exit off the highway. After driving down the road for just
a mile or two they pulled into the parking lot of a little motel. Kat looked up
at Ronan in confusion. Was she actually going to get a real bed tonight? Her
shoulders sagged with relief.

 Getting out of the
truck Ronan came around to Kat’s door and held it open for her. He still wasn’t
sure he could trust her to stay in the truck while he got their room. Kat’s
skin tingled where Ronan arm settled at the small of her back. She didn’t miss
the fact that he still wanted to keep a hand on her.

 Several minutes later
they got back into the truck with their room key, headed to room number twelve.
Pulling up outside their door, Ronan got out and reached into the back of the
truck, grabbing both his and one of Kat’s backpacks from home.

 Opening the door to
their room, Kat breathed a sigh of relief to see that although outdated it
looked fairly clean inside. Hunter green carpet and beige drapes never looked
so good. There was a dresser on one wall with a television on top of it and one
queen size bed. Hmmm. Kat would worry about that in a minute. First things
first, Kat used the restroom and was happy to see that it too was fairly clean.
With a groan, Kat looked at herself in the mirror. She looked terrible, what
she wouldn’t give for some clean cloths and a shower. Well at least she would
be able to take a shower.

 Kat walked back out
into the room so Ronan would have a chance to use the bathroom before she
hopped in the shower. Her mouth hung open in astonishment to see Ronan pulling
some of her clothing out of the backpack he had taken from her home.

 “Ronan, I didn’t know
that you had brought me clothes! I would have changed this morning had I
known.”

 Ronan at least had the
decency to look guilty. “Sorry, I was… distracted this morning and we left
before I had a chance to tell you about the clothes.”

 Kat frowned at him in aggravation
but didn’t dare say anything else. She hadn’t meant to bring up this morning
when she had all but thrown herself at him.

 “Here.” Ronan handed
her clothes to her, not meeting her eyes. “It would be best if you showered, I
can still scent the other male on you and … my beast isn’t handling it well.”

 Kat’s eyebrow went up
as she looked at Ronan. After handing her the clothes he wouldn’t look at her
and instead started rummaging through his bag. She couldn’t help the little
jolt of pleasure at his words. Could it be that Ronan was mad that another male
had touched her? Maybe he was just mad over the fight. Kat wasn’t sure and she
had been through too much to give it a whole lot of thought just then.

 “Do you need to use
the bathroom?”

 “No, go ahead.”

 “Okay then.”

 A few minutes later
Ronan relaxed as he heard the shower turn on. He struggled not to think about
the fact that Kat was now naked only a few feet away from him with nothing
separating her from him but a thin little hotel door.

 Kat emerged a short
time later freshly showered and smiling, happy to be clean again. Ronan
foolishly let his eyes take in the sight of her for a moment. His eyes drank
her in from her bare feet to the low waisted jeans that clung to her every
curve to the new tank top she wore… Ronan’s forehead suddenly broke out in a
sweat. Clearly she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath the tank top.

 Feeling himself
swelling in response, he clenched his fist and gathered up his clothing. He was
looking forward to a nice hot shower but now it looked like it would need to be
a cold one. Dam it, he needed to call his pack tonight. The longer he was with
her the harder it was going to get to stay away from her. It was a miracle he
had managed this far.

 Realizing Ronan had
once again left the bathroom door open Kat pulled back the bedspread and sat on
the bed. Apparently he still wanted to keep an eye on her, smart man. Quickly
she slipped out of her jeans and pulled her legs under the sheets while she had
a moment of privacy. Fluffing the pillows she leaned back in the bed with a
sigh and glanced towards the bathroom. God she felt so stiff and achy tonight. She
was thrilled they were not sleeping in the truck again.

 Her next breath
suddenly froze in her chest. Although Ronan was out of view in the bathroom,
she could see him in all his glory in the bathroom mirror and oh what a view. She
knew that a more respectable woman would have looked away but she just couldn’t
bring herself to do it. Kat wanted to drool, watching the muscles in his back ripple
as he reached into the shower to adjust the temperature. Her gaze roamed over
the dimples on either side of his spine and down his firm back side.
Beautiful
male.
Kat’s inner Lykan purred. She watched in disappointment as he entered
the shower. With a huff, she flipped on her side facing away from temptation. She
certainly didn’t want to get caught peeking at him when he came back out,
things were tense enough between them.