The Wolf's Call (Two-Natured London) (13 page)

Happy,
if surprised, that he was taking the news so calmly, she explained. “I came across
a vampire during a case and he told me. He said he had never encountered
anything similar.”

Jack
digested this for some while, but Charly didn’t know what was causing him the
most trouble, that she was a shifter or that she had met a vampire. “Is the block
removable?” he finally asked.

She
nodded. “The vampire thinks so.”

He
frowned, giving the matter serious thought in his thorough manner. It was a
relief for Charly, who had feared he would treat her like their parents, and
cast her out outright. “Are you going to remove it?”

That
was the million-pound question. “I don’t know. The wolf wants free, but I’m not
sure I’m strong enough to face such a tremendous change in my life.”

“You’re
strong enough to face anything,” he assured her with a warm smile, and she
found herself smiling in return, happy for his praise. Then he frowned. “What
do you mean ‘the wolf wants’?”

She
explained to him about the aura. He looked both curious and disbelieving. She
doubted many humans knew about the auras. But all he asked was another
insightful question: “I get a feeling there’s more to it than simply you
choosing whether or not you want to embrace your second nature?”

She
sighed; she couldn’t help it. “Yeah.” She told him about the dinner with their
parents. He didn’t say a word, listening with an intent look on his face. She
had thought to keep Rafe out of this, because he was Jack’s neighbour and she
wasn’t sure if Jack knew the truth about him, but she related the basics about
their affair as well, without naming names.

“So
this chap claims you’re his destined wife simply because your wolves agree, and
then he doesn’t even call?” The look on Jack’s face was full of big-brotherly
outrage for such callous treatment, although Charly knew he wasn’t exactly a
considerate boyfriend himself when he bothered to date.

“Yes,
that’s basically it. But I can’t really blame him. I needed space.”

Jack
nodded, getting off his high horse. He shot her a wry glance. “So you have an
entity inside you that not only wants to be free but should be free and a
soul-mate waiting for you, and still you waver?”

“I
just feel like none of this is in my control,” she explained feebly.

Jack
shook his head, exasperated. “I have a newsflash for you, little sister.
Nothing in life is in our control. So just go with it.” But it really wasn’t in
her nature to cede control. Jack knew it and so he changed the topic. “What are
you going to do about mother and father?”

She
sighed, the hurt returning. “I don’t know. It’s nothing I didn’t expect. I
think I’ll let them be. It’s their loss, really.” Then she gave him a hesitant
look. He was so like their father that she couldn’t be sure what he really
thought of her revelation. “What do you think? Should I become a wolf-shifter?”

Jack
leaned towards her. “That’s really not something I can decide for you,
Charlotte,” he said gravely.

“I
know, but it would make things easier if I knew you wouldn’t shun and despise
me for it.” To her annoyance, she had tears in her eyes again.

Jack
squeezed her hand he had been holding the whole time. “Don’t worry. I’m more
open-minded than that.” She must have looked disbelieving, because he sneered.
“I may look like father, and I may act like him most of the time too, but I’m
not him. I have two-natured business associates and if I can deal with them, I
can deal with you too. It’s not like you can become more difficult than you
already are, can you?”

Charly
smiled through her tears of relief. She hadn’t known Jack meant so much to her
until she faced losing him. “I don’t know about that. I can be pretty difficult
when I choose to be.” And then, to proof how much she had changed already, she
reached out to hug him where he sat. Utterly bewildered by the unaccustomed
affection, he hugged her back clumsily, patting her a few times.

“There,
now. No need to start acting crazy just because you’re no longer human,” he
said, returning her to her seat. She didn’t mind. Now that she knew she
wouldn’t lose Jack, she was able to make up her mind. She would let Foley break
the block at the next full moon. Only three weeks to it, but the wait seemed
interminably long. And she definitely couldn’t wait that long to see Rafe. She
had waited too long as it was.

Raphael’s week hadn’t been any
better than Charlotte’s. He was miserable without her, her absence like a void
next to him, the strain unbearable as Might worked to pull them together. What
made him feel worse was the knowledge that their separation was his doing. Even
as he had promised her space, he had known that he shouldn’t let her go, but
acting on some strange chivalry he had done so anyway. He would only drive her
away if he pushed her, so he would let her be until she was ready to come to
him, no matter what her decision was, even if it killed him. Which it just
might do, judging by the misery his heart was causing him.

In
less than a day his bad mood spiralled down to such depth that his clan-mates,
Jamie included, thought it best to give him a wide berth. His mood lightened briefly
when Kieran and some soldiers caught the man who had shot at him and Charly,
and he felt even better when it turned out that his smart Charly had been right
– the villagers objecting to the building project feared shifters would be
moving in there. To counter this, the Greenwood clan was planning to launch a
goodwill campaign in the area to assuage those fears. In hindsight, they should
have been more open with their project in order to avoid this kind of nonsense.

But
what truly satisfied his foul mood was when they hunted down and caught the
wolves who had attacked him, the violence of the showdown exactly what he
needed. They tracked the wolves to Luton, northwest of London, to a small,
shifty clan on the verge of breakdown from an inner power struggle. Without the
consent of the clan’s old alpha, some younger members had begun to fund the
clan by hiring themselves out as thugs and assassins. They weren’t that well
organised, however, so when the Greenwood clan soldiers, along with some token
additions from London clans moved in on them, they weren’t able to mount a good
resistance. They had fought hard enough, however, to give Rafe a chance to vent
his anger on the bastards who had dared threaten his woman.

His
violent behaviour didn’t go unnoticed. “We need to talk,” Jamie said when they
were back at the manor that evening. Rafe had been about to go to his room to
shower and clean some of his wounds, but even he had to obey when his alpha
took that tone, and he followed Jamie to his study.

Jamie
pointed at a chair in front of the fire, but he had blood and mud on his
clothes, and although the chairs had been through a lot, Rafe opted to stand,
only leaning his hip against the backrest. Jamie did the same after noticing
the condition of his own attire. He hadn’t exactly held back in the fight either.
Then he sighed. “This has got to stop. You need to bring your mate home.”

Rafe
squeezed his hands into fists, fighting the anger that being reminded of her
absence brought. “I promised her she could work this out on her own.”

“Are
you out of your mind, leaving her to deal with something this momentous alone?
I thought you were having a lovers’ spat; otherwise I would have spoken
earlier.” Jamie was getting angry too. “She doesn’t know how to handle the
wolf. What if something goes wrong?”

It
hadn’t even occurred to Rafe. Charly was so strong that he had assumed she
would manage perfectly. But now Jamie’s words made his body go cold in fear.
“You’re right. I’ll go fetch her home immediately.”

He
turned to leave, but Jamie halted him. “Not right now. Definitely not in that
state of mind.”

Rafe
turned back to snarl at his brother. “I won’t leave her to deal with this alone
for one moment longer!”

Jamie
only sneered. “So you’ll do what, order her to follow you?” That was exactly
what Rafe planned to do. He had been remiss with his responsibilities to his
mate and he would make amends immediately. But Jamie had other ideas. “She’s a
dominant with an alpha streak. She won’t just obey you.”

Rafe
felt fairly certain he could make her wolf obey, but the stubborn woman was
another matter. “Then what should I do?”

“You’ll
have to win her over.”

Jamie’s
matter of fact comment hit the mark. Rafe had once again forgotten that he had
to prove himself worthy of his woman. He hadn’t done anything to that end yet
and had, in fact, abandoned her when she needed him most. He itched to go to
her instantly, but he knew Jamie wasn’t done talking.

“And
you can start that by politely inviting her over. No ordering about. We’ll be
signing the land deal with Foley tomorrow. We should celebrate. That’ll give
her a good reason to come here. If you like, I’ll even fetch her myself, or ask
Eliot to bring her with him.”

“A
bloody vampire will not go near my woman,” Rafe growled. Since he didn’t trust
anyone around his Charly, he said he would go and fetch her himself tomorrow.
Annoyed with the delay, he rubbed his face, causing flakes of dried blood to
rain down. He ignored the signs of his recent injury and instead fixed a
frustrated gaze at his brother. “How the hell do you deal with it, the loss of
your mate?” He had been separated from Charly for less than a week and already
he felt like falling apart; Jamie had endured this for almost three decades.
His admiration for his brother multiplied for understanding some of the torment
Jamie must have gone through – still was going through.

Jamie
sighed and for once confessed how he was feeling. “The love obviously died ages
ago. It’s only the shifter nature keeping things alive, and even that gets
easier to handle – or if not exactly easier, at least you go numb and stop
sensing how Might tries to pull you towards your mate.”

“I’m
sorry.”

“Thanks.” And since there was nothing more to add to that,
Rafe left Jamie to brood by the fire and headed to his room to finally clean
himself up. He had his mate to bring home.

Rafe knew he should stay at
the manor, but the pull of town, where Charly was, proved irresistible. Fresh
from his shower and fortified by some grub, he borrowed Jamie’s sleek new BMW
and drove to their Mayfair flat. Jack had returned home so Charly had no reason
to stay over at his place, and since Rafe didn’t know where she actually lived,
he figured he’d be able to keep away from her until he had calmed down.

But
even as he thought that, he knew it would be a restless night, he’d be unable
to settle down without her. He considered heading to the park to shift. The
anti-shifter demonstrations had died down due to lack of interest from the
media and the greater public, so he wouldn’t have to be careful. Plus, the
shift would help heal some of his wounds faster too, now that the full moon wasn’t
amplifying his healing ability with the onslaught of Might.

He
drove his car into the car park underneath the building where Jamie’s black
sedan blended better with the expensive vehicles there than his own beaten-up
Land Rover. He hurried to the lift, eager to change his clothes to something he
wouldn’t mind leaving behind if needed. Once in the lift cage, he greeted
whoever was keeping watch with a small salute at the camera and was answered
with welcoming words through the loudspeaker. Smiling, he stepped out of the
cage at his floor, only to come face to face with Charly.

His
whole world paused and focused on her. She had just exited Jack’s flat and was
heading towards the lift, but she froze when she spotted him. He drank her in,
the precise clothing and beautiful face drawn with fatigue. He felt a pang in
his heart knowing he had caused her tiredness.

For a
few moments he was unable to speak, his heartbeat too erratic. She didn’t say a
word either but just kept staring at him calmly with her beautiful dark eyes.
Only, her calmness was faked, he could tell. Her heart was beating frantically
and her wolf was acting up on her chest, trying to reach him.

“Hi,”
he said eloquently, the poet that he was. Then, because it felt natural, he
opened his arms for her and, with a small cry, she came to him. Wrapping her
arms tightly around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder, he put his
arms around her, holding her fast, his head leaning on hers. For the first time
that week, he felt calm and complete.

Then
he was kissing her, his passion igniting them both. With the last vestiges of
his reason, he fumbled for his keys and managed to open the door to his flat,
practically carrying her in by her waist, never breaking the kiss. As the door
closed behind them, she was already naked.

Charly’s arousal was so
blinding she didn’t even notice how Rafe had managed to open the long zipper at
the back of her dress to peel the garment off of her. Her bra instantly
followed. Too impatient to pull down her panties, he simply tore the seams open
and let them drop on the floor on their own. She was too busy pulling off his
clothes to care what happened to hers.

Then
she had no time to care anymore. The moment she opened his zipper and freed his
erection, he rammed her against the wall opposite the door, not bothering to
remove his trousers. Supported by his strong arms, she barely had time to lift
her legs up and wrap them around his waist before he entered her with one deep
thrust.

Their
joining was fast and frantic, but she needed it with all the frustration their
separation had caused. His face buried in her neck, he kept driving her against
the wall, every thrust causing a large mirror next to her rattle in its
fastening. In only a few moments, she felt her orgasm building; and when Rafe
sensed it he increased his pace, bringing them both to completion at the same
time.

But he
didn’t let her go. Taking a better hold of her, he carried her to his bedroom
where he lowered her down onto his bed, following her there. Then he began all
over again.

Hours
later, they were lying on the bed, naked, sweaty and out of breath, but very
much sated. “Hi,” she said, almost the first words they had spoken outside of sweet
nothings or screams of pleasure. She felt calm and complete. For the first time
in days, her wolf wasn’t demanding anything from her. It had disappeared inside
her the moment Rafe had kissed her, as if giving them privacy, but she knew it
was aware of everything that was happening.

He
smiled, making her heart swell at the tender look on his face. “Hi.” He kissed
her nose, her jawline, her neck, grazing the pulse there with his teeth, and
she leaned her head back, bringing her throat closer to his mouth. He gave a
low, throaty laugh. “Gods, it makes me want to sink my teeth into your throat,
seeing you do that. Such a surrendering gesture from a woman so in control is
both humbling and empowering.”

She
knew it, her wolf making her understand body language in a whole different
level, but she didn’t care how submissive she appeared. Outside the bedroom,
she would fight to be equal with anybody, but inside it, he could be in charge.
“Do it.”

Rafe
inhaled sharply and she felt him grow hard again against her thigh. He
hesitated briefly, kissing the most vulnerable part of her throat softly. Then
she felt his teeth sink in. It wasn’t a deep bite; he only meant to mark her;
some pain, but mostly just incredible pleasure, her wolf howling in joy inside
her for being one with their mate.

Then
she was screaming too as she came again in an ultimate surrender.

“I’ll drive you to work.”
After a night of endless passion, they had woken up late, and Rafe was watching
Charly hurry through her morning routine, a happy grin on his face. “Or better
yet, since it’s Friday and the deal will be signed today, why don’t you call
your boss and tell him you’re spending the day with your client.”

Charly
turned to smile at him. “Doing what?” she asked saucily. “I can hardly tell my boss
I’m staying home to spend the day in bed with you.”

“Please.”

It
wasn’t in his nature to plead and she understood it, because she abandoned her
frantic gathering of her clothing – minus the ruined underwear – and paused to
study him. Then she nodded. “Fine, but there will be no more sex until I’ve
recovered from last night.” He nodded, but something in his face revealed he
wasn’t going to keep that promise.

She
gave him a stern look. “I mean it. And we’d better head to your home so I can
claim with a clear conscience that I’ve been working the whole day.”

That
amused him. “Haven’t you ever skived off?”

He
wasn’t surprised when she said she hadn’t. And it didn’t surprise him either
when a half an hour later he found himself in Jamie’s car with her, driving
towards Epsom without so much as a kiss. She had disappeared over to Jack’s
place after calling her boss to change into something more suitable for the
countryside, and she hadn’t allowed him to follow her there. “We’ll never get
out of the house if I let you have your way with me.”

Rafe
didn’t mind that the sex had been postponed – there would be much more – even
though her nearness threatened to drive him as mad as her absence had before,
albeit for different reasons. For the moment, he wanted to divert his thoughts
from how she had ridden him the night before in wild abandon, and he asked,
“So, how have you been this week?”

“Miserable.”

“Thank
gods,” he sighed with feeling.

She
bristled. “Why would you want me to be miserable?”

He
ignored her upset and just wrapped his left arm over her shoulder to pull her
as close to him as her seatbelt would allow. “Because I’ve missed you
tremendously, and I would hate to think it was only one-sided.”

“Then
why didn’t you even call me?” she asked, peeved.

“I
couldn’t do that. Otherwise I would have rushed to you no matter what I had
promised.”

Her
shoulders sagged under his arm and he stroked it a few times, making her relax.
“I didn’t think it would be so difficult to be apart from you,” she confessed.

Emotion
swept over Rafe and he had to concentrate on traffic so he wouldn’t crash the
car. She did feel the wolf’s call, even if she didn’t know what it was. Thank
gods. “When wolves make their choice, they want to be together constantly,” he
said finally, his voice gruff.

She
leaned into his arm. “It’s a lot for me to learn.”

He
could understand that. “But you don’t have to learn it by yourself,” he
reminded her.

She
sighed. ”I know that, and I actually wanted you to be around. But at the same
time I needed to be on my own with this too, to see how I would cope alone. I
definitely needed to make up my mind without your influence.”

“And
have you made up your mind?” He asked it casually, but his whole life depended
on her answer and he held his breath.

“I’m
fairly sure I have. It’s just that turning my life upside down scares me and I
find the thought of actually shifting really frightening.”

It
wasn’t a definite yes, but he would take what he could. He smiled warmly at
her. “I’ll help you. You really don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thank
you.”

Rafe
cleared his throat. “Would it help you make your decision if I told you I don’t
care whether you choose the wolf or not? I just want to be with you, no matter
what form you come in.”

He
smelled her tears and took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her.
She looked incredibly happy, even though tears were running down her cheeks. He
couldn’t kiss her while driving, but he tightened his hold of her shoulder.
“Yes, it means a great deal to me,” she finally said, wiping her face. “More
than you know.”

Rafe
could only hope that didn’t mean she would choose to remain human. But he would
stand behind his words. He would have her and keep her in whatever shape she
chose, for as long as he could.