Shadow Walker (28 page)

He dragged one around in the gravy and took a bite, moaning. “It’s heavenly…or I’m starved still. Either way, this is the best roast I have had in a long time.”

She was happy to see his appetite restored and even happier that he seemed to be feeling much better. Once he was done, she reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the next dose of the herbal medicine Aquene had prepared.

* * * *

He frowned when Amber handed him a syringe of a greenish/brown liquid.

“Just squirt it into your mouth and swallow, it will help with the nausea. Aquene made it for you.”

Holding his breath, he took the shot and grimaced. Unfortunately, it did not taste good at all. Dipping another biscuit in the gravy, he popped the entire thing into his mouth to rid himself of the acrid flavor. “So long as it helps keep down everything I just ate, I’m good.”

She laughed and cleared away their plates. Outside he could hear the rumble of Braedyn’s old SUV and the pick-up his father was borrowing.

“Make sure you’ve eaten your fill because your dad and Braedyn are here.”

He leaned back and rubbed his belly. “I think I’m good for now. Though I may not be too happy with them later for finishing it all off.”

Her chocolate colored eyes danced when he grabbed her hand and pulled her down into his lap. Slipping his hands into her hair, he kissed her. The Tigress purred. Having put so much work into the house of late, they’d not had much time for intimacy. It didn’t take much before they were both panting.

Amber moaned against his mouth. “Wait…”

“Why?” he countered, sliding a hand across her thigh.

She sighed while their tongues danced together.

Dean closed his eyes, remembering her tenderness when they’d showered. This time his body had the appropriate reaction. Slipping his hands under the black T-shirt she wore, he cupped her pert, full breasts, and thumbed her nipples. Her hips jerked against his.

A sharp wrap of knuckles rang out on the door, and they both froze. Amber attempted to pull away, but he held her in place.

“Come back later!” he hollered out, pushing his hands lower to the buttons on her jeans.

Inhaling her scent, his lips traveled across her throat, and he snaked a hand through the opening, to the warm moistness below.

By this point the Tigress would have shown her impatience and would use magic to remove their clothing, but it seemed she was enjoying the foreplay involved.

“Oh come on! Don’t contaminate the food!” Braedyn shouted, banging on the door again.

Grinding his teeth, Dean shouted again, “Come back later!” a throatier edge entered his voice.

She giggled when he rose, lifting her and carrying her back to the bedroom. He laid her down and kicked the door shut. She reached up, pulling the sweatshirt over his head and ran her hands down his chest.

He lifted her shirt, kissing the exposed flesh. Pulling her shirt over her head, he nuzzled her breasts, and then reached around to unhook her bra. She wrapped her legs around his waist instead of removing their jeans. It was apparent Amber was in no hurry, she ground shamelessly against his erection. Grinding was a lost art he had enjoyed in his teens. Her soft gasp when she shuddered beneath him was his undoing.

When he pulled back, she attacked his buttons, pushing the jeans down his hips and using her feet to slide them down his legs while she wriggled out of her own at the same time. Closing his eyes, feeling her wet warmth, he kissed her. A perfectly timed shift of both their hips caused him to glide into her.

They groaned in unison.

His entire body tingled from head to toe. It was something he’d never felt before, not unpleasureable, just
very
different. In fact, it seemed to heighten the experience. Every moan or gasp from Amber or shift of her body against him, caused it to grow. Their bodies were completely in sync, their breathing, and he was certain their hearts as well.

“Oh…Dean…” She wrapped her arms around his neck, biting her lip to keep from growling out her pleasure.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he drove one final, deep thrust into her. A growl ripped forth from his chest, and he joined her in pleasure. Dean closed his eyes, gasping, and rested his head against her shoulder while trying to sort out the new feelings flowing through him.

Seeing the goose bumps rise on her skin, he wondered if she’d had the same tingling experience he’d had. Even now, it still lingered. Out of all the times they’d shared their bodies over the course of the last month, this had to be the best yet.

Lifting his head, he gave her another passionate kiss. “I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

Amber grinned, cupping his face in her hands. “I love you, too.” Letting out a deep breath, she looked in his eyes. “That was…wow.”

He laughed. “You stole my line.” Kissing her nose, he curled her into his arms. “That was…sensational.”

Giggling, she snuggled against him. “I agree.”

They cuddled for a few more minutes, and then jumped back in the shower to make themselves presentable again. Dean’s eyes kept going back to the clock, the time was getting close, and he could feel it in his bones.

She slipped her hand into his and rubbed his arm. “It’s going to be all right. There’s still plenty of time. It’s only barely after one.”

Dean took a deep breath and nodded, though he’d much rather wait out the rest of the time in bed with her naked body curled against his. Lying like that would let nothing else cross his mind.

“How are we going to do this tonight?”

Amber licked her lips and nodded. “I’m going to take you out into the forest where there’s no one around. It’s for the best. The least amount of people around you, the better it will be. We’d pretty much decided I would be the one to take you out there.”

“Alone?” He looked in her eyes. “Is that wise?”

She grinned and stroked his cheek, looking in his eyes. “So long as you’re not hungry and are well sated…there shouldn’t be any problem. I think I’ve handled both of those predicaments rather well, if I do say so myself.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, I think you’ve done pretty well.”

“Just calm down, I have faith in you.”

Throughout the afternoon, Amber, Aquene, and Casey kept food in Dean’s hand at all times. Whether it was an apple, another biscuit, or some other tasty morsel. It seemed like an enormous amount of food, but Dean wasn’t a man of small stature. He would need lots of food to gain the energy required for his shift. His appetite would forever be affected.

Amber knew Braedyn was not happy with her. They had argued the previous afternoon about who would take Dean out for his first series of shifts. He felt it was his duty because he was the Alpha. She had demanded the right because he was her lover.

“Why make it any harder on yourself? We know what he’s going to become Amber. You need your time to grieve,” Braedyn had said.

But she wasn’t going to be sad. She loved Dean regardless of whether he was human or a werewolf. So they wouldn’t be able to have children together. With her memories of childhood, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing. Was that really the kind of legacy she wanted to leave on the world?

For a brief moment she had the vision of holding a baby with her dark hair and Dean’s emerald eyes. Amber took a deep breath and passed a banana over to Casey, who then handed it to her brother.

Pushing any further thoughts along those lines from her mind, she concentrated on keeping him well sated. With that in mind, another trip to the kitchen to grab a few more snacks gave her the privacy she needed to shed a few tears. Thankfully Dean’s empathy was off or she would have been in trouble for hiding like this.

“Amber?” Casey came into the kitchen.

She quickly wiped away the tears and took a deep breath before turning to her friend.

“Oh, honey…” The blonde came closer to console her.

Amber held up her hands and cleared her throat. “Just give me a minute, please?”

“Things are going so well.”

“For now.” Sniffing, she proceeded to dry her eyes.

“Maybe I should go with you and let Braedyn handle Dean—”

“No,” Amber growled. “I can handle it.”

“But you shouldn’t have to, not alone.”

She shook her head again. “No, I promised him.”

Casey hugged her. “You’re my best friend, and he’s my brother. I know how much you love each other. I pray it can outlast this.”

Struggling to hold back the flood of tears, she returned her friend’s embrace. “I hope so, too.”

* * * *

Dean’s heart thrummed in his chest. It was four p.m. when he slammed the rear door of Amber’s SUV. Braedyn had helped him pack a few supplies for them to bunker down for the three days of the moon if Dean deemed it necessary not to return until he felt more in control of himself.

He remained quiet while Amber fought the wheel, steering them through steep drifts. When she finally stopped and killed the engine, they sat there a few minutes in silence, staring out the windshield.

“It’s getting close,” he whispered. “I can feel it. Almost like I’m on fire inside.”

Amber nodded, turning to him, a pained expression on her face. She didn’t want to be here.

Sighing, he put his face in his hands. “You don’t want to be out here with me, do you?”

She paused a moment. “Dean…”

Grinding his teeth, he opened the door and slipped out, not wanting to hear the rest of what she had to say.

Jumping out, Amber rounded the SUV in front of him. “Don’t do this right now, you have to calm down.” She moved to put her hands on his shoulders. “Okay?”

“Do you?” he demanded, looking in her eyes. “Say it!”

“Dean…I love you. I’m here because I don’t want to see you get hurt or have any reason to hate yourself. It would kill me, too, do you understand that?” Tears welled in her eyes.

“You’re tired of crying. Over me. Over this entire fucked up situation.” He shook his head and clenched his fists. “I wouldn’t change one single minute with you for my sake, but I would if I could save you the pain.”

“Nice time for your empathy to rear its friggin’ head.” She wiped her nose and placed her other hand on his cheek. “No matter what happens, Dean, I’m
always
going to love you.”

Pulling her into his arms, he buried his face in her long, curly locks and prayed it wouldn’t be the last time he would be able to do so. Her lips found his, and the tingle he felt earlier came roaring back. Even his scalp prickled. Wherever she touched him, warmth blossomed and radiated out into his body.

“We need to get you out of these clothes,” she whispered against his lips. “Or you’ll tear your clothes to pieces when you shift.” Amber unzipped his parka and slipped it off his shoulders.

Dean closed his eyes while her hands roamed over him. Her mouth found his again as she sought to lift the layered sweater and shirts. The cold barely affected him when he pulled his arms from the sleeves. Her right hand traced the scars on his chest, while the left curled behind his neck, pulling him closer.

His hands felt like they were on fire, but a colder fire seemed to burn down his left arm and into his hand. She gasped, pulling away the arm she’d placed around his neck.

Amber’s eyes were wide, and she held her wrist, looking up into his eyes. Confusion wracking her features.

The cold fire grew in intensity, and then burned out just as fast. Dean let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and noticed she did the same.

“W-what—” Amber swallowed, and shoving her sleeve back, stared in awe at the six-knot eternity emblem that emblazoned her left wrist.

Dean looked down at his wrist and shook his head in short-lived confusion when the fire ripped through him again. This time stronger than before. It took his breath away, forcing him to double over.

“Get your boots off, quick!” Amber quickly began unlacing his boots and pulled them from his feet. She’d only just managed to get his pants down his legs before he fell to his knees.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Amber back away. Groaning, he buried his hands into the snow, trying to cool the fire within, but he couldn’t feel the cold at all. Nothing seemed to relieve the burn.

“Channel as much of it through your hands and feet as you can,” Amber coaxed. “It helps, I promise.”

Dean tried to listen, but the roaring in his ears drowned her out. Clenching his jaw, he tried to concentrate on his hands and feet touching the ground. The first painful snaps and crunch of bone rent the air. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out and tears of pain coursed down his cheeks. His spine twisted and his hips broke. Dean wondered how in the world he could still be conscious through all the pain. Then suddenly, the pain ebbed away. It was slow at first, then faster, until it was gone.

He could feel the cold snow against his belly and chest, his entire body shook and quivered from the change. Taking a few deep breaths, Dean felt how his new body expanded with each one. His ears picked up the sound of Amber’s rapid heartbeat and her accelerated breathing. He could even hear the zippers jingling on her parka while she shivered.

Dean opened his eyes and looked up at her. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head. His heart felt like it did a freefall to the bottom of his chest, and he managed to get to his feet. A hot tear slid from his eye and moved through the fur that now covered his face, and then froze in the cold air of the evening.

Amber rushed over and threw her arms around his shoulders, sobbing against his neck. He’d known there would be pain from the contact but didn’t care. Seeing her tears, he’d thought they meant he repulsed her. Confused but glad she didn’t feel that way, Dean nuzzled her shoulder and found himself…purring?

Shocked, he pulled away and looked at her.

Brushing away her tears, she laughed. “You’re not a wolf, Dean,” she whispered, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

Even more confused, he lowered his head and looked at his…incredibly large black and white striped paws? Feeling his jaw fall, he dropped back onto his haunches. His heart galloped in his chest. Finally he looked up and saw the warm smile spread across her face when she stepped back and flashed her clothing from her body. Amber’s shift into the Tigress was a thing of beauty. Her steps were measured as she stalked her way over and nuzzled him.