Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (32 page)

 Two more shots
ricocheted off the rocks near Caleb and Liam’s feet as they ran. Just as they reached
the safety of the trees, a dozen fully shifted werewolves attacked from the
shadows of the forest. The air crackled with energy as the McLaren men made the
shift to werewolf and began to fight their attackers. Kat was now surrounded by
fully shifted werewolves, it was a sight that was sure to haunt her for years
to come. Inhuman snarling and howls of pain and rage echoed through the silence
of the forest and all around her.

Connor struggled to
keep himself between Kat and the two Lykan that he faced.

 “We have to get her
out of here!” He shouted to his friends.

 The tree closest to
her suddenly splintered in half as Caleb slammed one of the O’Connell weres
into it with a flash of claws and a snapping of razor sharp teeth. The strength
of the fully shifted Lykans was incredible and a sight that only seemed
possible in movies.  It didn’t seem possible that it was happening right in
front of her.

 Kat could see that
Liam was back on his feet in spite of his gunshot wound but she wasn’t sure how
long he was going to last.

 Kat had to fall back
from her position as Conner was thrown backwards, his attacker’s teeth flashing
in the light as it tried to close its massive jaws around his throat.

 Kat screamed as
powerful arms seemed to materialize out of thin air and wrapped around her in a
bone crushing bear hug from behind. The air was squeezed from her lungs, he
gripped her so tightly and she began to see spots before her eyes.

 Throwing her head back
she slammed her head into the massive Lykan’s nose, causing him to groan and
suddenly drop her to the ground. The minute her feet hit the ground Kat began
to run. She had only managed a few steps when she was once again caught from
behind. This time he grabbed her arm, yanking it painfully and swinging her around
to face him. As Kat came around she swung her claws at his chest, leaving deep
scratches in their path and causing the Lykan to howl in rage.

 His free hand became a
blur as he brought the back of his powerful arm crashing against the side of
her face. Pain exploded in a million stars inside her head and then she knew
nothing as the hard forest floor rose up to break her fall.

Kat’s head pounded as
something cool was laid on her cheek. Limply she raised her hand to knock it
off and was confused when someone caught it and held it down to her side. Strange
smells assaulted her senses and she could hear footsteps moving across the
room. Struggling to open her eyes, a bleary face began to come into focus. It
was the face of a strange women who she was certain she had never seen before.

 “Be gone. I can take
it from here.” A deep male voice came from the foot of the bed and the woman
sitting on the bed beside her quickly scurried to do as she was told.

 With a groan of pain
Kat raised her hand to her throbbing cheek and struggled to piece together
where she was. Memories of the fight in the woods began floating back to her
and she gasped, struggling to sit up, the motion bringing instant nausea and
pounding to her skull.

 “Easy there. It looks
like Brady gave you quite a nasty blow to your head.” The deep voice echoed in
the room again.

 Standing next to the
bed was a towering dark haired man. Kat scanned him quickly in alarm, deep
lines creased his brow, marking him as an older male as did the slight gray Kat
saw at his temples. He was not built like an older man though. Broad shoulders
and thick arms marked him as someone she certainly would not want to cross. Oddly
enough, he seemed… familiar.

 “Little Katianna. What
a beautiful woman you have grown into. You look so much like your mother. You
may not remember me but I am Lorcan O’Connell, the current alpha of the O’Connell
pack.” Kat could feel her skin crawl as his dark eyes traveled over her body
possessively as though he could see beneath her cloths.

 Kat sized him up, her
distrust written all over her expressive face. “Why did you attack us? Why am I
here? Where are my friends?”

 “Ah little one, you
have it all wrong. We were saving you from them. You see we have been at war
with the McLaren pack since the day they murdered your father.”

 Kat didn’t believe him
for a moment. Something about the man was just wrong and creepy. The way he
looked at her with so much hunger and longing, sent another wavy of nausea
through her stomach.

 “And my face? Just a
token of your hospitality?” Kat glared at him.

 Lorcan chuckled at
her. “A simple misunderstanding. Brady tends to take his job a little too
seriously. Those were some nice scratches he had on his chest by the way.”

 Kat fumed at his
amusement with her. “What happened to my friends?”

 His fake smile
suddenly disappeared as his dark eyes clouded with anger. “They are no longer
your concern. Don’t worry, they got no more than they deserved.”

 Kat sat up higher in
the bed pulling her knees beneath her. Please god, don’t let them be dead. “Those
men were my friends. They were trying to protect me.”

 Loran’s eyes began to
glow with his building anger. “You were born Katianna O’Connell. The McLarens are
not your friends. You are the daughter of the alpha Donavan O’Connell. The only
thing that is keeping me from killing all of them is that that none of their
filthy males had put their mark on your neck yet. That right is reserved by me,
your true mate.”

 Fear shot down her
spine as she stared into the eyes of a crazy man. Kat could see that the veil
of his fake concern for her was beginning wear thin. “I am not your mate.”

 Kat moved further
across the bed as she felt the anger in the enormous Lykan growing.

 “Ah, now there you are
mistaken. You should have been mine from the day of your birth. I was the most
powerful male in the pack. It was I that you should have been bonded to, not
that pathetic excuse of a male from the McLaren pack. Your father sought only
to weaken us with the alliance.

 “But… but surely there
are other purebloods to bond with. You don’t even know me. You don’t need me
for this.”

 “Ah but you see I do. There
have been challengers over the years. Others who sought to take the pack away
from me. They all paid with their lives. I grow weary of the pack fighting me. You
see I have the strength to rule but not the alpha’s bloodline in my veins so
they think to challenge me. With Donavan O’Connell’s daughter as my mate they
will finally accept me as their true leader. You see I knew this from the
beginning. I thought your mother of all people would understand. Instead she
betrayed me, hiding you from me. 

 “In two days, under
the light of the full moon, I will claim you as my mate. The pack will once
again be united as I claim the child of Donavan O’Connell. Then the pack will
follow me as the true alpha of the O’Connell’s as I was destined to be. The
McLaren’s are a disgrace to the Lykan breed. They allow their males to mate to
females who are not purebloods. They weaken our bloodline, making us vulnerable
to our enemies. Soon the other packs will join with me and together we will
remove the threat to our species and with me as their leader, we will become
one of the strongest species of the Lore, a breed to be feared and respected.”

 “But that’s crazy. Surely
the other packs will not go along with this. The McLarens have done nothing
wrong. They only seek mates for their males. Having a family to love and
protect doesn’t make them weak, it only strengthens them.”

 Lorcan sneered at her
in disgust. “I can see that they have already clouded your judgment. Soon you
will come to see that I am right though. As my mate our children will be the
strongest of our kind. They will be a testament to the pure-blooded Lykan and with
Donavan O’Connell’s daughter by my side the pack will once again be united
under my leadership.”

 Kat could feel true
panic beginning to rise at his words. She stared at him in horror. “I won’t let
you. All your pack will see is you forcing me against my will. I will fight you
with everything I have. Surely your pack won’t allow this.”

 Chills went down her
spine at the mocking look he gave her. “Oh, I will have your cooperation. You
see I was already prepared for the chance that you might be resistant at first.
I know in time though that you will begin to see that I am right. During the
ceremony, you will smile sweetly at me while I place my mark on your neck or
your little McLaren friend… Liam, I think his name was, will have his head
separated from his body.”

 “No!” Kat jumped from
the bed, backing away from the hatred she saw in Loran’s eyes. “What have you
done with Liam?” Kat could feel her claws beginning to sharpen as her eyes
glowed with her anger.

 Kat was disgusted to
see her sharpening claws only fanning his heated stare. “Your little friend is
resting comfortably for now. Just know that his continued existence is dependent
solely on your good behavior. It’s all up to you Katianna. His very life rests
in your hands.”

 “You bastard!”

 In a heartbeat Lorcan
was across the room and had slammed her against the wall, holding her beneath
him by her throat. “You will speak to me with respect or you will be punished
my little mate.”

 Kat struggled for air
as he squeezed her throat beneath his hand. Loosening his grip just slightly the
look in his eyes sent dread pulsing through her as he pressed his body closer
to hers. His fowl breath fanned her cheek as he raised his free hand and grazed
the backs of his fingers across her face. “So much like your mother… “Kat
groaned as his hand trailed down her face to her shoulder then down the outside
curve of her breast and down to the curve of her hip. “You even smell like
her.”

 Just as quickly as he
grabbed her he released her throat and stepped away from her. His boot heels
pounding across the hardwood floor as he headed for the door. “I look forward
to taming that temper of yours Katianna. As he opened the door to leave Kat
could see the two guards standing out in the hall. With the closing of the door
her fate too was sealed.

Kat paced the confines
of her room. She had been over every inch of it, looking for something that
might help her escape. Realistically she knew it was pointless but it made her
feel like there was still hope. Once again she looked out the two small windows
just like she had at least a hundred times. They were nailed shut and if she
pressed her face to the glass a little closer she could just make out the top
of the head and shoulders of the guard below her second story window.

 She was truly trapped
and out of options. Even if she managed to escape she didn’t know where they
were holding Liam. They would kill him for sure if they hadn’t already. Today
was the day of the full moon. Not once had she been released from her room. The
guards brought her meals three times a day and took away the dishes again. Other
than that she saw no one, not even Lorcan thank goodness.

 With nothing to do she
often found her thoughts turning to Ronan. She wondered if he had left the
pack. Did he even know that they had been attacked? She hated the way they had
left things, hated that she had bated him into shifting. She knew she shouldn’t
have done it, using his lack of control against him like that. She knew how
much he feared hurting her. He just made her so crazy that she just couldn’t
think around him. She just… she…. was in love with the man. Kat sat down on the
bed in defeat and fought the tears that threatened.

 A heavy weight settled
in her chest as hopelessness overwhelmed her. She wondered what had happened to
Connor and the others. Had they been killed? Connor with his dimple, smiling
down at her. It was her fault they had been attacked. The O’Connell’s had been
after her.

 She had been brought a
new dress to wear to her big day. She thought to rebel and remain in the jeans
and t-shirt she had been given yesterday but had decided it would be best to
choose her battles wisely. Besides she wouldn’t put it past Lorcan to dress her
himself if she refused. She hoped to still find a way out of this mess, a way
that did not end with Lorcan O’Connell’s teeth marking her neck.

 The rest of the pack
had been told that she had been injured while rescuing her from the McLaren
pack and that she had needed time to heal. Lorcan didn’t want her talking to
anyone before the ceremony, a wise move on his part. She had been hoping to
maybe be able to rally someone to her side or at the very least try to get some
information about Liam’s condition and where he was being held. She hadn’t been
given a chance to do any of that and now today was the day of the full moon.

 She paced the width of
the room on bare feet, the silk of her dress swishing with every turn. She was
dressed in a gown of shimmering white. It was a simple shift style dress and it
skimmed her full curves until it stopped just above her knee. She was sure the
skimpy nature of the dress was chosen to give Lorcan easy access to his mate’s
neck during the ceremony. It was very feminine and delicate and very virgin
sacrifice looking, bleck. Dam Lorcan. They may as well tie her between two totem
poles and wait for King Kong to carry her off.