Moonlight (8 page)

“Will you kill him?” I was still a little shaky on wolf politics, but it seemed fighting to the death was the way of things. Definitely not a selling point for anyone about to become one, but I guessed I would just have to get used to it.

 “Don’t concern yourself with it.” He waved the thought away as if it were a fly, and then enveloped me in his strong arms. “We have more important things to consider. Because of the dissension in the pack and Micah’s challenge, I think we will have to have you turn sooner rather than later. Will you be okay with that?”

My stomach did a somersault. I leaned into his chest and listened to the drumbeat of his heart. After the almost-fight in the lobby, I knew I would have to do it sooner than we’d discussed, but I hadn’t expected him to say tonight. In the back of my mind there was the worry: would I die? But that seemed a moot point. I’d given my word, and whether now or in a few days, the outcome would still be the same. I gulped back the knot that had suddenly formed in my throat. “I guess now is as good a time as any. How do we go about doing this?”

He heaved a sigh. “There is really no easy way to do it, but I’ll try to make it as pleasant as I can.”

That wasn’t very reassuring.

He must have sensed my fear. He nudged me away from him and flashed a devilish grin. “First… I’ll need to tire your body out.” 

“Is this something you do for all your new recruits?” I gave him a coquettish wink and softly bit my bottom lip.

He growled appreciatively. “Alphas get special treatment.”

That sent a thrill racing straight down to my core. He grabbed me with his muscly hands and pulled me up to him, crushing his lips into mine. I loved it when he got rough. He nudged me backwards as he feasted on my lips. I butted up against the bed and our momentum sent me toppling backward onto my back. Aiden remained upright and gazed down on me with hungry eyes.

I’d never feel self-conscious again if he promised to look at me like that forever. He nudged himself between my legs. “You have too many clothes on.”

Hearing him say that had a Pavlovian effect on my body, instantly making me wet.

“Well, you’re in charge here. Why don’t you remedy the situation?”
Make it memorable, it could be our last.
Even in the throes of passion, I still had that worry in the back of my mind.

“Always ordering me around. You were born to be an Alpha.” He pushed my legs aside and made quick work of removing my pants. I hadn’t worn underwear, and the eyebrow waggle he gave told me he approved. “You’ll have to help with the sweatshirt.”

I sat up and quickly yanked it over my head. Before the sweatshirt hit the floor, he buried his head in my chest. I giggled at the way his stubble tickled my nipples. He took the right one in his exquisitely warm mouth.

“That’s right, suck my tits, baby.” He knew what drove me wild. My nipples practically buzzed with sensitivity. He nipped and sucked, rolling my nipple into a tiny nub before moving to the left and repeating. “Don’t stop,” I panted. He could get me there with just that, but I didn’t want it to be a quickie kind of night. I reached out blindly, found the belt at his waist, and unlatched it. His button and zipper were no challenge for me. I was determined to find the prize.

And find it I did: hard and ready. I grasped him tightly and listened to the satisfied groan he let out.

I pumped him slowly, massaging every inch of his thick shaft to his mushroom head. He nipped harder, making me yelp. At that moment, pain and pleasure were the same: intense and primal sensations.

I moaned and gripped him harder, milking him.

He lifted his head, met my eyes for a brief moment, and found the tender spot at the crook of my neck.

Oh, baby! He knew every spot I needed to be touched, kissed, rubbed. I was soaking wet and ready for him. My pussy ached to be filled. And he was more than ready for me as well. As I pumped him I felt the small beads of moisture at the head of his cock.  I wasn’t a wolf yet, but even with my human nose I could detect a heady, masculine scent permeating the room.

“Give it to me, baby,” I panted with excitement and released him.

“Not just yet.” He slid down between my legs, kneeling on the ground in front of me.

I rose up on my elbows.

He grabbed my legs and pushed them up, putting me on display, and growled appreciatively.

My eyes clouded with lust as I gazed down on him, waiting for that moment when he would dive between my legs. He tortured me with anticipation, licking his own lips and smiling, making the seconds tick by agonizingly slow.

“Do it.” I was practically begging. I would burst if he didn’t touch me soon. All the blood in my body had been sent south to the throbbing nub, and all I needed was for him to touch me and I would explode.

When that velvety soft tongue of his finally did, my whole body shuddered. It felt like an electric shock, and my legs became jell-o. Thank goodness he’d been holding them. I melted. His mouth was heat and silk and velvet.

I threw my head back into the mattress, hissing and moaning like a harlot while he painted my sex with his tongue.

He ate like a starved man and I writhed and rocked my hips in a slow, obscene rhythm. That familiar coiling pressure began to build.

“I’m going to come, baby. Harder.”

He mumbled something—maybe he moaned too, who knows—but that little bit of vibration sent me over the edge. My body exploded and I lost control, panting and wheezing and writhing.

Aiden devoured every ounce of my pleasure and when the throbbing stopped he lifted his head and licked his glistening lips. “Ready for round two?”

It took me a moment to catch my breath. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were going to tire me out, were you?

Though he’d just finished eating, there was no less hunger in his eyes. He was the predator and I was his prey, ready and willing. In a fluid motion he stood and braced his hands on the bed and rocked his hips forward. In one smooth stroke he found home, sliding into me like a hot knife into butter.

I almost hyperventilated, he felt so good.

I hooked my arms around his torso and looked up to meet his dark eyes. “If this is the last time we are together… it is so worth it.”

His chest rumbled and he responded by rocking back and driving home again and again. He buffeted my body with his, driving so hard he nudged me backwards on the bed. I dug my nails into his back, holding on for dear life, and buried my head into his hard chest.

“Bite me.” Aiden wasn’t requesting it. This was an order.

I nipped at his pec, tasting his salty skin.

“No,” he growled and his hips stopped. “Bite me. Hard. Draw blood.”

That kind of killed the mood for me, but Aiden quickly remedied that by slowly nudging into me again. “C’mon, babe. You can do this. Don’t worry about hurting me.”

His voice was husky with need, as if he really wanted this to help him get off.

Pain wasn’t really the thing stopping me, I was put off by the meaning behind what he was asking. There would be no turning back. But I had to do it. I opened my mouth against his skin. His hips picked up pace again.

“Do it,” he urged.

I closed my eyes and let his primal rhythm take me away. A moment later, I bit down as hard as I could. My teeth slowly sank into his hot flesh. He let out a loud moan and slammed harder into me.

My mouth filled with his blood and instinctively I swallowed the hot sticky liquid.

Immediately, my head began to buzz with an electric current. I felt as if I was one with Aiden, sharing his pleasure as my own. He buried himself one last time before filling me with his heat. The spasms rocked through both of us—my release was his and his was my own. It was a beautiful moment that left us both spent and collapsing on the bed.

The taste of blood filled my mouth. Sour, metallic, disgusting. For a moment I thought of Alyssa and how she lived by drinking this stuff. Just the thought of it, knowing I had just swallowed blood, made my stomach turn.

“Try to keep it down,” Aiden hummed in my ear. “I know it’s hard, but you can’t throw up, babe. It’ll affect the transition.”

Normally his baritone voice so close to my ear would get my motor running, but this time it had no effect. I was turning green. My stomach ached and burned, and bile threatened to bubble up to the surface. I clamped my lips shut as a wave of nausea rode up the back of my throat.

“Looks like it’s time for you to leave,” Aiden said, his tone suddenly changing from sexy to businesslike.

I dared to open my mouth and the word came out as a shout. “What?”

A pained expression crossed his face. “You don’t want to know what comes next. It’ll upset you too much. Just go. Head into the woods and get acquainted with nature.” He pasted an obviously fake smile on his face. “It’s about to become your new best friend.”

I knew what was next. This was the part that scared me most of all. I was to be hunted down and savaged. And not in the good sense of the word.

I gulped back the lump in my throat. “Isn’t there another way? Couldn’t you just bite me?”

“I’m not a vampire, babe. Just go. I’ll see you in the morning.” He sounded light, but the strain in his voice gave his true feelings away. He was just as nervous about this as I was.

If I survived
. “Sure.” I picked up my favorite sweatshirt off the floor and started to pull it over my head.

“You might not want to wear that. It’ll get destroy... uh, dirty.”

“Thanks.” The irony wasn’t lost on me. Moments before he’d be forced to nearly kill me, he was still worried I’d ruin my favorite sweatshirt.

I dropped the sweatshirt on the bed and walked to the dresser to grab one of his. “Try to go easy on me. And I’m wearing your Bruins jersey to ensure it.”

“That’s not fair. I love that jersey. I think I have a Yankees jersey around here somewhere.”

I laughed. “You know you don’t have one of those.”

“And you’re stalling. Let’s just get this over with,” he grumbled. I could see he wasn’t looking forward to the next step either.

“Wish me luck.” I pulled the yellow and black jersey over my head and painted the most convincing smile I could on my face.

“Just go, babe.” To avoid continuing the conversation, he stood from the bed and started to transform.

The air in the room took on an electric charge. Dark gray fur began to grow all over Aiden’s body as he began to twist and contort. Each movement was accompanied by a strange popping sound, like the cracking of knuckles. His nose lengthened into a muzzle; bones began moving and shifting underneath his fuzzy skin. It was hard to witness because it looked so painful, but Aiden did not cry out as he continued to contort, slowly becoming the large wolf, his other self.

A hundred thoughts ran through my head. Was the transformation painful? Would I make it through this next step, or would I die tonight? How would everyone react if I did die? No, I couldn’t think like that. If I did, there would be no way I could leave the room.

Please go easy on me.

I sighed. My stomach churned from both nerves and the blood and flesh I’d just had to ingest. I walked out the door and down the hall to the front entrance.

Outside, winter’s chill felt colder than ever, and I was too exhausted from the day to withstand it. Immediately, I wished that I had worn more clothes.

I heard a howl. A rallying cry. Was it Aiden? I couldn’t tell. Though I had been through a few moonlight revelries, I hadn’t yet learned to distinguish each wolf and his or her particular tone. I wondered if that would change.

Too many questions. Too many worries.

The wind picked up and goosebumps prickled across my skin. My teeth chattered. I needed to move. I hugged myself tight and started walking. The wolf preserve was a mere clearing amid a thick forest, and the treeline was not too far away. I headed toward it.

Moving helped. Moving kept me warm. Moving kept me sane. What was I thinking, letting myself be put into this situation? I was walking into a fight. Willingly!

Another wolf answered the first call with a long low mournful howl.

Two? How many were joining in on this hunt?

My heart picked up speed and my feet matched it. I found myself trotting now, heading for the darkness of the forest, wishing I could escape the horror that was to come.

My stomach churned and bile rose again. My throat burned from the effort it took to keep it down. My whole body began to warm from the inside. The contrast made the bitter cold feel even more biting.

I tripped over a shallow root and landed on my palms. There was no stopping it now. I lost the fight with my stomach and it all came spewing out, searing my throat.

When I looked up, I spotted two ice blue eyes staring back at me. Those eyes weren’t Aiden’s. They weren’t Brady’s either. The owner had silvery-white fur and dusky gray paws.

The wolf’s ears were pinned back. It bared its teeth but didn’t growl.

That scared me more than anything. It was almost as if the wolf were smiling, as if it were happy about what was about to come.