Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (8 page)

 Quickly she climbed
into the claw foot tub, pulling the shower curtain closed. With a sigh she
melted under the heat of the warm water and briefly wondered at the safety of
being naked with an enormous werewolf man in her kitchen. Thinking of the
flimsy old lock on the door she began to shower quickly. Trying to reassure
herself, she remembered that if he had wanted to hurt her he could have easily
done it when they were alone in the woods.

 With a gasp, Kat
watched the blood tinged water swirling around her ankles. Feeling very creeped
out, she squirted an overly large glob of shampoo into her hand and proceeded
to scrub her dark locks and every square inch of her body.

 Finishing her shower
in record time, Kat pulled her polka dot bath robe off the hook on the back of
the door and wrapped it tightly around her damp body. Cracking the bathroom
door open she looked down the hall. Hearing Ronan moving around in the kitchen
she darted across the hall and into her bedroom.

 Quickly throwing on a
pair of jeans she tugged on a lace trimmed tank top followed by a soft flannel shirt
that snapped down the front. Returning to the bathroom she wet down a fresh
wash cloth and pulled another towel out of the closet. Heading back to the
kitchen she found Ronan standing at the kitchen sink looking very awkward and
drying his hands on a dish towel.

 Leaning around him she
could see that he had washed the dishes from their meal. She struggled not to
let him see her surprise. It was so strange in that it was just so normal and
he was a werewolf for god’s sake! He seemed embarrassed to be caught doing
something so domestic.

 Breaking the silence
of the awkward moment Kat stood next to the kitchen chair and motioned for him
to sit down. “Why don’t you let me take a look at those wounds for a minute.”

 Leaning back against
the counter top he folded his arms across his broad chest. “There is no need.”

 “What?” Kat looked at
him, surprised at his refusal. Dam it, his wounds had been much worse than hers
and she wanted to see them. She wished she could see the expression on his face
but hunks of hair hid his eyes from her.

 “They are healing.”

 Kat could feel her
temper flare to life at his refusal. The man had saved her life. He had been
injured because of her. What was so wrong with letting her take care of his
injuries? Stubborn man. Planting one hand on the generous curve of her hip she
fumed at him. “They may be healing but they are healing with dirt and blood
covering them. Lykan or not that can’t be good. Now stop being a baby and let
me look them.” The snarl on his face had Kat wanting to take a step back but
she refused to let him see how he scared her.

 With a low growl Ronan
turned his back to her and placed his hands on the counter top.
Fine.
Kat
fumed. So he hadn’t come to her and sat in the chair like she wanted but he was
a least going to let her look at them.

 Reaching around him
she turned on the kitchen sink so the water would be warm when she needed it. Suddenly
presented with his broad back she lost some of her bravery and found herself
hesitating to touch him. Taking a deep breath she placed her hand in the center
of his back and watched as the muscles beneath her fingers rippled in response
to her touch.

 God, they were both so
tense this was ridiculous. She was just seeing to his wounds, nothing else. No
big deal, right?
Riiiight.
Focusing on the task at hand, Kat gently
began cleaning the dried blood and dirt from around a wound on his lower back. Ronan
clenched his fist at the first touch of Kat’s hand on his skin. Had the
stubborn female actually just called him a
baby?
He didn’t want her
touching him. He stubbornly ignored the fact that his body had instantly
relaxed with the first touch of her hand. He didn’t need her help. He didn’t
need anyone’s help.

 Kat was amazed at how
well the wound had healed already. It had obviously been a severe wound and yet
once the dirt was out of the way she could see new pink skin where the lacerations
had been. It still had a ways to go but overall it looked pretty good.

 Rinsing the cloth in
the sink she ducked under his arm and squeezed in between him and the counter
top. Kat stubbornly refused to ask him to move since he would only ignore her
again anyway. With a sigh of masculine annoyance Ronan dropped his arms and
backed up a step so Kat could see to his chest. Again wiping away the dirt and
dried blood, Kat was satisfied to see that the jagged tear in his chest and
shoulder was also on the mend. Kat shivered as images of the feral’s teeth
tearing into Ronan’s shoulder flashed in her mind.

 He really had saved
her life. The feral had been seconds away from sinking its teeth into her neck
when Ronan had pulled it off of her. Unknowingly her hands began to slow as she
curiously ran her fingertips across the wound on his chest. Ronan’s breath
caught in his throat at the feel of her gentle touch.

 Kat’s mouth suddenly
went dry when almost as if in a trance she ran her palm across the muscles in
his chest, fascinated as the muscles beneath her fingers tensed in response to
her touch. New feelings shot through her system as the strange energy that had
taken up residence in her core sprang to life and hummed through her body.

 With a snarl, Ronan
tensed and jerked away from her touch. Quickly he moved to the far side of the
kitchen putting the kitchen table in between the two of them. Kat clenched her
hand to her chest like it had been burned and watched him in confusion, not
sure what had just happened.

 His movements were
jerky as he raked his fingers through his hair, pulling it off of his forehead
and giving Kat a glimpse of his glowing eyes.

 “Ronan?”

 Kat watched him seem
to struggle for control, taking deep breaths. What was this? Should she make a
run for it? She had no idea how to handle a werewolf. Was he mad at her?

 “Don’t leave the
house. I need to shower.” His voice thundered in the small kitchen.

 Kat gave him a nod and
slumped in relief when he left the room and headed down the hall. He left the
door open as he turned on the shower. He wanted to be able to keep an eye on
her whereabouts as she moved around the house.

 Kat could hear the
water running down the hall and stood frozen in indecision. This whole thing
was nuts. There was an honest to goodness werewolf in her house. Maybe she
should make a run for it. Maybe she should call the sheriff, but what would she
say? She didn’t think he intended to hurt her but she didn’t know what his
intentions were. Did he really have control over his beast? What if he got
angry and accidentally hurt her? He didn’t seem to have complete control a
minute ago standing in her kitchen.

 She couldn’t seem to
make her feet move towards the door though. Something about him seemed to draw
her in. She was dying to know more about him. She would never get her answers
if she ran and she was fairly certain she would have to completely leave town
to hide from him and even that may not be enough if he was determined to find
her.

 Freshly showered and
wearing clean clothes from out of his back pack, Ronan left the steamy confines
of the tiny bathroom. He could hear Kat moving around the kitchen, putting the
dishes away. Hearing him behind her she turned to face him. Kat was disappointed
that even fresh from a shower, locks of hair hung over his eyes preventing her
from having a clean view of his face. Even underneath all the hair she could
tell he would potentially be a handsome man. Any woman would still appreciate
the way his t-shirt stretched across his broad chest and strained to cover his
large biceps. Now that all the grime was washed away she could better see the
tattoo that wrapped around his forearm. The artwork on the tattoo was beautiful
with its celtic lines and symbols. She wondered if it had some kind of meaning.

 Ronan noticed the
little female’s appreciative glances and felt a responding surge of heat in his
blood stream. This was not good. Not good at all. If it was possible the scowl
on his face deepened.

 He folded his massive
arms across his dark t-shirt and spread his booted feet apart like he was
bracing himself for a fight.

 Kat could feel the
tension inside of her spike. This didn’t look good.

 “We have to talk.”

 
Oh dear, he
actually wanted to talk. Nope, not good at all.
She was positive she wasn’t
going to like what he had to say.

 Kat was unaware that
she instantly mimicked his posture. Folding her arms under her breasts and
bracing her feet apart.

 “The feral didn’t just
randomly attack you. He was drawn to you specifically.”

 “What? Why me? Why
would it do that?” Now Kat’s scowl matched his too.

 Ronan took a deep
breath and plowed ahead, ready to get the task over with.

 “Your scent called to
him. All male Lykan are attracted to the scent of a female Lykan, especially
when they come of age.”

 “I… I’m not sure I
understand.” None of this made sense.

 “Kat, you are not
human. You are Lykan.” Ronan tensed for her reaction.

 Kat stared at him
blankly for a moment before releasing an unladylike snort. “Oh, that’s a good
one. Very funny.”

 She had stuck around
for this? Unbelievable.

 Kat stood facing him
with the same expression on her face, unbelieving and waiting for what he would
throw at her next. She began to feel antsy while he just stared at her like he
was waiting for her to process everything.

 “Ronan that’s crazy. I
am not a Lykan! Don’t you think I would have noticed if I suddenly sprouted
hair and fangs with the full moon! Why would you say that to me?”

 “Our females do not
shift. They do not appear different than humans in anyway until they reach
sexual maturity at the age of twenty five. Then they begin to grow faster and
stronger among other things.”

 “There’s no way that I
am a Lykan.” Kat glared at Ronan defiantly but he could see a softening in her
expression. Something he said must have finally gotten through to her.

 “Why do you think the
feral targeted you? I chased him across four states and suddenly he stopped
here, in your valley. You are a Lykan and it wanted you. Pure-blooded female
Lykan are very rare and male Lykan will stop at nothing to get you. You
survived the attack because it wasn’t trying to kill you. He was trying to mark
you as his mate.”

 “Ronan, it’s just not
possible!”

 “There will be others.
Any unmated male Lykan that catches your scent will try to take you. There are
other beings besides Lykan that would try to take you too. Our enemies would
use you as a bargaining tool against us. You are no longer safe here. I am
going to take you somewhere you will be protected.”

 Kat looked at him for
a moment with her mouth hanging open. She could feel a wave of panic wash over
her at his words. “I’m not leaving.”

 “You have no choice. I
have to get you some place safe.”

 “I am not a Lykan and I
am not leaving! If you think someone is coming for me we can call Sheriff
Thomas or Joe Miller at the department of conservation or…”

 “And what exactly do
you think they will be able to do?” Ronan stormed closer to her. “The humans
don’t know we exist and they never will. It is against Council law to reveal
ourselves to the humans. Even if you told them they wouldn’t believe you. Tell
them you were attacked by a werewolf and they would find you a nice little room
with padded walls and pump you full of drugs. They won’t believe you and even
if they did you would be sending them to their deaths. The humans could never
protect you from a Lykan.”

 Kat could feel her
temper beginning to rise. She hated the way he said the word “humans” as if
they were beneath the mighty Lykans. “Well I was strong enough! I’m a
human
and
I somehow managed to put four bullets in a feral’s back.”

 Ronan suddenly became
very still and the look he gave her made the hairs in the back of her arms
stand up. “No… you’re not.”

 He had got to be
kidding! Kat’s temper exploded.

 “Maybe you’re the one
who needs the padded room! We are so done here. I’m calling the sheriff, maybe
he can make sense of all of this.” Kat began to walk past him out of the
kitchen when he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him.

 “Hey! Let me go!” Kat
gave her arm a jerk but he held her firmly. Glaring up at him, his golden eyes
held her in his gaze. He hated scaring her but he had never been a patient man,
the little bit he had, he had used up hours ago. He had never been good at
dealing with women either, preferring to avoid them all together instead. The
women of his pack had learned a long time ago to keep their distance. It didn’t
matter though. She was a female he was now responsible for and she would need
to learn to do as she was told.

 “You are not human. You
are a Lykan and you are coming with me.”

 Kat stared up at him
in for several long seconds in silence and then finally lowered her head in
submission. Finally he was getting through to her. Clearly now she would behave
as a proper Lykan female should and obey his commands. He could feel her body
trembling beneath his hand and gently released his grip on her arm. Females
were so fragile, he would have to remember to be more careful with her. Kat
rubbed her arm and took a step away from him towards the kitchen sink. Her
shoulders slumped in defeat as she wrapped her arms around her middle
protectively.