Authors: Amarinda Jones
Truro wasn’t sure it was a chance she would take. “So how does this thwart Absolon?”
“By making him think she is her ancestor incarnate so he will come to watch us be destroyed,” William explained matter-of-factly.
Destroyed
. The word sounded so final yet William made it sound like it was an everyday occurrence.
Paranormal beings—stoic or insane?
“Have I mentioned you’re all very odd and this plan sucks?”
Murphy chuckled and pulled her close. “Can you come up with something better?”
“Well, no, but then I’m new to thwarting evil.”
“If she has intense feelings against us, petal, then the more realistic she will be and the more likely we will be able to trip Absolon up.”
Joan nodded. “That one time certainly made me want to hate you.” She looked at Gil specifically.
Truro wanted to ask how they were going to “trip up” a madman but decided against it. Some things were better not known.
“Could you have been more obvious?” Murphy had virtually dragged her out of the room and outside into some bushes.
“I needed you.”
Truro could see that intense longing in his eyes. She felt the same yet she needed to settle a few things between them. “We need to talk.”
“Uh-huh,” Murphy murmured as he pulled at the buttons of Truro’s shirt.
She closed her eyes when his hands cupped her lace-covered breasts.
Concentrate.
“This whole soul mate deal.”
Murphy leaned in, his mouth inches from hers. “Yes?”
His breath was hot on her neck and the urge to touch him was overwhelming.
Focus.
“Um, I’m not a forever kind of girl.”
“Do you really believe that?” His hands were sliding on down to the waistband of her jeans.
Truro stilled their progress. “I’m pretty certain I’m not capable of staying in one place and settling down.”
Murphy’s eyes were on hers. “You’ve been in Ludlum two years, petal.”
What was it with everyone pointing that out?
That didn’t make Truro feel settled. Settled was all about feeling a peace and relaxed with yourself and in your surroundings. Truro could honestly say right at this moment she had never felt less relaxed. “I’m not sure I could guarantee another two years or twenty in the one place with the one person.” Love was all well and good but fear often trumped love.
“Just because you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you can’t.”
That was true. But is also wasn’t the point. “But what if I—”
“Run? Hurt me?” Murphy supplied the words. “You know despite the fact you disavow its existence you do have a heart and I believe you love me.” His lips descended on hers in a soft, sweet kiss. “And here’s the thing, I love you. I’m bound to hurt you somehow. That’s what people do even when they love each other. But you deal with it and you move on and get stronger because of it.”
That sounded all very well and good in theory but theory was not practice. “I know that but what if I can’t stay?”
“I’ll come with you.”
“What about your clan?”
“They are not as important as you.”
It was sweet to say but she knew that wasn’t true. Although Truro had never had it, she suspected kinship with those who believed and accepted you was everything.
“Wolf man—Murphy.” Truro stroked his face. His eyes were full of love and any woman in their right mind would not want to walk away from a man like this. But she also knew this was an all-or-nothing kind of man. Murphy would want, and he deserved, someone who could give her all. “I want to promise you everything but that’d be wrong. So just for now, can we just be as we are? I want you to hold me and kiss me. I want to suck your cock until you come. I want you so high and hard inside me that I don’t know where you stop and I begin. I just want us to be together without worrying about the future.”
Murphy kissed her hand and enfolded in his. “This whole soul mates thing really worries you doesn’t it?”
“Yes.” Truro had to let it out. Holding it in would have made her want to run. While she was good at moving when life didn’t suit her, this time Truro wanted to make herself stay.
“I’m glad you told me.”
“Good. Now, I need your cock.” The grin he gave her was so sweet and sexy, Truro felt her inner thighs sweat with need. “I meant what I said. I want to suck and fuck.” Now maybe a lady may not have said that and maybe Truro needed to revisit the correct etiquette for offering sexual favors but she wasn’t worried about correct terminology. This was all about pleasure and giving. “Drop ’em.” She indicated his trousers as she descended to her knees. Anyone passing by and looking hard enough could have seen them. But Truro didn’t care
. I just want to be with Murphy
. It was like each time could be their last. Maybe it was pessimistic to think that way, but it was how Truro had survived as long as he she had. Expecting nothing lessened the chances of her getting hurt.
Murphy’s hands went to his zipper. “You’re going to drive me mad.”
“That’s the plan.” His cock greeted her with an eagerness she was beginning to like a lot. “Now we also need a condom.”
“Yes ma’am.” Murphy searched his pockets. “The chemist in town must be making a fortune off me from condom sales.”
“Hurry up.” As the seconds passed, Truro was more and more anxious to be filled. Clearly Murphy wasn’t the only one with obvious desires that needed swift attending to.
He held a small packet up in triumph. “Needy, petal?”
“As are you, wolf man.” Truro smiled as Murphy covered his cock in record time. She decided this was an excellent habit for him to develop. Once covered, Truro leaned in and licked the tip of his latex covered cock. Murphy squirmed. “I love this power.”
Murphy’s hands raked through her hair. “Is that what this is?”
“Yes and the fact that it’s fun.” Truro sucked the head of his cock between her lips and cupped his ass as she sucked.
“You’re a strange woman.” Murphy chuckled at her words.
Truro let the cock pop out of her mouth, the rubber all wet and shiny. ”But you love me.”
“Yes I do.”
She smiled at his words. “Lucky you said that or I would have stopped.”
Murphy pushed her head back gently and dropped to the ground before her. “I need to be inside you now.” He held out his arms to Truro.
She needed no further invitation. Truro quickly kicked off her boots and pulled down her jeans. Dressed only in her bra she climbed onto Murphy’s lap and impaled herself on his cock. Wolves suddenly howled. “Are we being watched by them?” That was weird yet strangely kinky, bordering on exciting.
“Probably. But don’t worry, mating for wolves is natural.” Murphy grabbed Truro’s hips and directed her movements. “Just once we should try this slowly.”
“I can hold on if you can.” She was lying. Truro couldn’t. When she was with Murphy she lost all control and stopping to think and slow down was not an option.
“I have no control with you.” Murphy’s mouth found Truro’s and they kissed long and hard until she choked back a scream and he growled as their mutual orgasm shook them hard.
“Do you think we impressed the wolves?”
“Oh yeah.”
———
William stared at the night sky. Soon it would be time to answer the call of the moon and rejoin his clan. Normally it was something that gave him great freedom and joy. “But we do not live in normal times,” he murmured to himself.
“No, we don’t.” Bess came to stand beside her man. They linked hands and looked at the stars together.
“Keep an eye on Truro. She is our weakness.” As much as he liked the woman she was someone who could inadvertently destroy the clan. Until they could find a way to thwart Absolon, any vulnerability in the clan could destroy them.
Bess turned to him in surprise. “She is a strong woman.”
William added. “Yes but she is the soul mate of Murphy. What he does and feels will affect the clan. Absolon would be only too aware of that.” It was exactly the same way fifty years ago when he and Bess came together as one. William lifted her hand and kissed it. “If Absolon had taken you it would have killed me.”
“But he didn’t.” Bess leaned against him.
Her touch also made William stronger. It was like her energy flowed into him and renewed his spirit.
“Truro is a fighter. William. She is smart and knows what is at stake.” Bess sighed. “The thing that worries me the most is she would rather walk away from the love of her life than endanger others.”
“She is independent and headstrong.” They were qualities William normally admired but now admiration would not keep them safe.
“Yes,” Bess conceded that. “But she is also smart.”
“I worry about her and everyone.”
“I know. You’re a good man.” She gave him a gentle shove. “It’s time for you to go to the clan.” They had been hearing gunshots all day. Both of them were worried. “The hunters will have frightened them. The clan will need your reassurance or they will scatter into small packs to try to escape.”
Divide and conquer
. “And that will be our doom.”
———
“The woman called Truro is our new target.” Absolon sensed the shift in powerbase between the males. The Irishman would be the next leader. If they took his woman and used her as bait, it would make it easier to make the werewolves walk into a trap.
“What about the woman in black?” Tavernier was swathed in bandages and seemed to be in constant pain.
The hatred in the other man’s eyes meant little to Absolon. Use and abuse was his motto, As long as he got what he wanted that was all that mattered. Absolon thought about Joan Scott. She was useful but a wild card who could not be relied upon whereas true love could be exploited for his own ends. That she was not the flaky woman he’d anticipated her to be annoyed him so his attention shifted to the other woman. “Scott is still useful but not as much as the Irishman’s lover.”
“How are we supposed to kill these werewolves? A silver bullet?”
Tavernier was as unimaginative as he was stupid. That he had to rely on this man angered Absolon.
I really should have killed this ugly little man.
“Only in the movies.” He would keep Tavernier alive a little bit longer just in case something went wrong and he needed to throw someone—literally—to the wolves. “Besides each wolf clan is different. Some are more resilient to the old method of killing like sword blows. They have evolved to heal any wound incredibly quickly.” William’s clan was like that.
“But they’re not immortals.”
“No but they have a strength that is beyond any being known.” That was what had thwarted Absolon the first time. He had misjudged William.
I will not do so again.
Absolon still had his sword. He had a plan to use it to force William to submit to his own doom. While werewolves were virtually invincible, humans weren’t. The women of the clan were human and therefore a weakness to be exploited.
Tavernier looked confused. “So what do we do?”
“We take out their heart.”
“I thought you just said cutting wouldn’t help?”
Absolon scowled in anger. “Not their literal heart you fool.” The sooner this idiot was gone the better. “The heart of what makes them strong. The nucleus of the clan. The old man. We take that which the wolves love and we destroy them.”
“I see.”
Absolon doubted Tavernier could see anything beyond his nose. “Yes but more importantly we destroy the successor, the Irishman.”
“So you’re trying to tell me his own woman will take him out? That’s ridiculous.”
No you are
. “His woman is his soul mate. We kill her, we kill him. The clan will be weakened sufficiently for us to finish them off.”
“Let me go, you bucket of pus!” Truro bit down hard on the fingers that were trying to cover her mouth as her legs kicked out aiming for unprotected groin.
“She bit me.” Tavernier slapped Truro hard. This in turn made her struggle harder to free herself.
“Hold her still,” Absolon snapped as led the way through to the small car park behind the caravan park.
“Easy for you to say old man. I’m still in pain from your knifing.” Tavernier half carried, half dragged Truro, who fought all the way. “She’s fucking insane.” He slapped her again.
“She’s only a woman.”
“Who could kick your ass,” Truro roared in anger. He hit her once more but she wasn’t about to stop fighting to free herself.
“Shut up!” Absolon yelled at her.
“No you shut up, dickhead.” Where the hell were they taking her? She and Murphy had come back from Bess’. As soon as the moon became full, Murphy had kissed her and promised he would be back soon. Truro had watched him walk off into the surrounding bush to join his clan. She had mused to herself how easily she had accepted loving a werewolf.
Maybe that’s why Truro had not heard the two men come up behind her. One minute she had been walking to the communal trash cans, admiring the night sky and feeling pretty damn good after sex and the next she felt arms grab her around the waist and start dragging her. Wolves started howling and Truro had no idea who the gorilla was who held her but from what little she could see of his arms, they were bandaged. That gave him a weakness she could exploit. Only problem was his hands were okay and they hit hard. And the barbeque boys had been no bloody help at all. She had yelled at them and waved her arms trying to get them to rush over and help. They in turn waved back drunkenly as if seeing a woman being dragged kicking and screaming was an everyday occurrence for them.
Absolute morons
.
Absolon opened the trunk of a nearby sedan. “Get her in the car before the wolves come.” He then moved around to the front of the sedan.
As Tavernier lifted her up into trunk, Truro braced her feet on either side of the opening and refused to move. No matter how much she was pushed and slapped she kept her legs stiff and yelled her head off. Where was everyone? Murphy she knew had joined his clan but he promised he would be somewhere close by. Hadn’t she made enough noise to wake the dead? And where the hell were the other tenants?
“We don’t have time for this.” Absolon’s words were angry as he watched his henchman.