Wild Hunts (16 page)

After all, she wasn’t a foolish child. She was an experienced hunter. A strategic wolf who knew how to hold her own.

“We know little. They’ve been isolated from the other packs for generations. There’s been an ongoing vendetta between Dark Moon and any pack that shows allegiance to the whites. They’re bitter, cranky women who have nothing better to do than bare teeth at those who they believe shunned them.”

“Were they ever truly shunned?”

Micah shook his head, drawing her attention away from Slade. “No. Not that we’re aware. When I was a pup, I often overheard our parents whispering about the absurdity of Dark Moon’s speculation regarding their place among the wolf communities. They did this to themselves. No pack we know of every shunned them outright, but when the women of Dark Moon tried turning members of temporary packs against the whites, they were quickly banished from said packs.”

Micah snorted in obvious disgust. A soft sound, to Kasa’s surprise, that sounded quite masculine and not as childish as she would’ve thought. Half snort, half growl. The man made goose bumps rise over her arms.

“They’re crazed women. Laela had it in her head that Shyla’s mates belonged to her, and tried to kill your cousin. Eliza used Ayasha’s rebel mate to infiltrate his pack. She used him as a homing device, so to speak, to locate your other cousin. And here, we’ve got either Eva or Lilia hunting you down with their victims at their mercy. It’s the perfect example of a dysfunctional family at its most extreme.”

“A family of scorned women. Never pleasant,” Slade added.

Kasa fidgeted in her seat. She could hear the whistling winds at intervals, causing the snow outside to swirl in vicious white funnels before calming, awaiting another blow. She could barely see a few feet past the window. “How many sisters are there?”

“Four,” Micah said. He finished the last of his dinner and climbed to his feet without looking at her. She watched him drop his plate and utensils into the sink then stretch his arms over his head.

Damn it to hell, the man was delicious! Muscles rippled down his arms as they flexed and relaxed. She could see the solid form of his back as he arched, the tight white T-shirt he had stripped down to enhancing every fantastical idea of muscled geography which lay beneath.

She swallowed, fighting the lump in her throat. Averting her eyes, she turned to Slade. A knowing glimmer lit the back of his dark gaze. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He folded his hands over his plate and rested his chin on his knuckles. Kasa shifted, her traitorous body aching with a need to be touched by these men.

In a vain attempt to keep her arousal under wraps, she cleared her throat and shrugged. “So, you’re saying that one, possibly two, women are responsible for this massive underground operation of kidnapping weres, mentally breaking them down and reprogramming them, then setting them free in the world to hunt us down?”

“Doll, you’re smelling so sweet. And your lovely face is such a delightful shade of pink. Are we making you hot in that seat?”
Slade’s smile grew as she burned beneath his silent observation. Aloud, he said, “Don’t underestimate the power of determined weres, male or female.”
“Are you thinking about my cock sliding into your tight, wet pussy right now? You’re coiled so tight I’m sure with a long, slow lick of my tongue through your cunt, you’d explode. And to taste you as you cream—”

“Stop it,”
Kasa scolded. She didn’t need Slade feeding fuel to her untamed fire. Her gaze dropped from his, avoiding the carnal hunger glowing like dark obsidian in his gorgeous face. A stubborn wave of hair fell over his eye, but nothing could soften the hard man she knew lay below the surface.

The memory of his thick erection gliding between her wet nether lips, his glistening bulbous head appearing over her mons, the hard ridges of his dick creating enough friction against her clit…

Kasa blinked. Fuck, she was hot as hell turned over twice. Standing abruptly, drawing both men’s attention, she tugged her fingers through her hair, mussing it from the clip that held it up.

“Um, I’m going to change into something for the night. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She glanced pointedly at each man. “Give me a few minutes of privacy, okay?”

“As you wish.” Slade chuckled, sliding the chair back enough to recline comfortably. He made a show of adjusting the bulge in his jeans with a groan. Kasa rolled her eyes and hurried to the safety of her room before she could make an absolute fool out of her wanton self.

I need the cold. A dip in the storm.

A romp in the forest during this blizzard would do wonders for her lack of dignity around her mates. Tonight wasn’t the night to start playing in bed. Not until she was certain Jordan was safe. Capturing a Dark Moon madwoman wouldn’t be so bad, either.

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Kasa clamored around her room, throwing open her closet doors, opening her chest lid and letting it drop with a loud crack. She growled and kicked a sneaker against the wall. Anything to cause more of a ruckus that would ultimately cover her reason for escaping to her room.

She hurried to the window next to her nightstand, opening the drawer and slamming it shut as she stepped by.

“You okay in there?”
Slade asked.

“Yeah. Burning off some excess irritation, thank you,”
she snarled back. His honey-rich chuckle filled her head and a shudder of pure pleasure shot down to her crotch.
Damn him!
Hell, damn them both. She ignored the rush of blood that pulsed straight down to her pussy and flicked the locks open on the window. Holding her breath, she reached down to the sneaker she had kicked and heaved it across the room. She tugged open the window as the sneaker bounced off the door, covering the slight squeak of resistance from unused tracks.

Cold air blasted her. A smile came to her mouth, and she slid through the opening without a second to waste. By the time they discovered her gone, she’d be deep in the hunt. She’d be so far out that the thick swells of snow pummeling the forest would hide her, scent and sight.

She dropped to the ground on hands and feet, absorbing the cold winter storm like a breath of fresh air. Flakes instantly clung to her lashes, clothes, hair. Almost an inch of white already blanketed the ground.

A quiet giggle lodged in her throat. She turned toward the front of her cabin and lurched forward—

And came to a slippery halt, nearly landing on her ass.

“I had a feeling you’d try something like that,” Micah said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Didn’t help your case that you and your friend decided passing notes back and forth like schoolgirls would cover your plan.”

No degree of cold could match the frozen temperature that paralyzed her. The snow gusts slowed, mocking her failure. Micah stood, formidable as always, a few feet in front of her. Nothing could shield the dangerous glow behind his eyes or the hard cut of his face. His wolf growled against her mind, a subtle warning.

She shifted slightly, placing her left foot behind her, and lowered close to the ground. All she had to do was change in mid-leap and blend in with the snow. She’d be free in a matter of heartbeats…

But her heart beat a different tune at the moment. Anxiety, danger, hunt.
Chase.

“Don’t think about it, Kasa.”

She didn’t need to think.

She sprang to her left, away from Micah and her cabin. Her clothing tore away from her body as she fluidly transformed from human to wolf. Fur sprouted up through her skin, the thick undercoat protecting her from the blustery winds that picked up with a vengeance. Her bones and joints stretched, shortened, lengthened, and molded into her sub-natural being.

Kasa landed on paws, her pads providing traction against the slick snow. She bounded forward again, not hesitating to put as much distance between her and Micah as possible. She barreled through the forest, accustomed to its geography. Not even the dense storm could trip her up. On a sharp look over her shoulder, there was no sign of Micah. Only squalls of white, the crisp scent of the storm, and a sense of impending excitement.

Leaping over a boulder, she landed just as a black blur slid in front of her, kicking up an arc of soft snow. She skidded to a stop, claws biting into the hard ground. Micah pulled back his black jowls, baring his lethal fangs.

“I warned you.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“Oh, I can stop you, little love. Go ahead and try my patience.”

Kasa growled. She hopped to the right, feigned a duck to the left, then bolted back to the right. She made it three leaps before Micah caught her shoulders and knocked her to the ground with his imposing weight. His teeth dug into her scruff, stilling her without harm. He adjusted himself on top of her, forcing her belly-down, her back legs splayed out.

Trapped. She was stuck with her brute mate on top of her, covering her, infiltrating her entire body with his scent, heat, and heady desire. He was so close to her, hind legs wedged up against her rear, her tail shoved to the side.

Something thick brushed against her vulva. She shuddered, her traitorous body tipping her hips into Micah’s belly.

“You wanted a chase that landed you beneath me?”
Micah growled softly against her neck. Kasa stilled as he brushed his penis over her sensitive opening. She wiggled back, but he shifted just out of reach.
“Nice try, naughty girl. You’re not getting me that easily.”

“Damn you, Micah! Damn you!”
She seethed beneath the intensity of her own churning arousal, her frustration, and the realization that she had been outsmarted.
Again
. And that Micah was teasing her as both her mates had done since the night before.
“Either finish what you’re starting, or get off me.”

“Slade wasn’t kidding when he said you were wound up like a toy about to explode. Turn back, Kasa. I want you facing me.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Suit yourself.”

Kasa didn’t know what to make of his casual response until the thick paws pinning her shoulders to the ground changed, elongating and thinning. Fingers pressed into her fur. Micah’s hold on her scruff disappeared, as did his penis and his hind legs from her rear. Within moments, she found herself beneath her man, his mouth close to her triangular ear.

“No biting. My teeth are far more painful, and surely you wouldn’t care for a pinch tonight,” he whispered. The menacing undertone lit her thoughts on fire and drew her into the raging inferno.

Micah rolled her onto her side and caught both her front legs and hind legs in his grip before she could kick out. She snapped her teeth at him, receiving a dark smile in return. Her anger simmered for only a moment before the sight of his naked body stole her breath. She had imagined, vividly, what he looked like beneath all his clothing, but this…He was sin on two legs. No man should’ve been graced with such splendid cords of muscle that flexed with the slightest movement. No man should’ve honed such perfection in the form of articulately cut pecs, an enviable board of abs, and powerful thighs.

Fuck, no man should’ve been endowed with a thick, jutting erection that made her wonder how he would ever fit inside her.

Even in her wolf coat, her mouth watered to taste him, explore him, learn every inch of this flesh-and-blood phenomenon. If Slade was anything like him, she would certainly end up in a sex-addiction coma.

So entranced by the man crouching beside her, she barely had time to register the moment he ducked his head and tossed her around his shoulders. She weighed more in this form, that she knew, but the ease Micah exhibited lifting her made her wonder how much her extra weight strained him.

“You can change any time you wish, little love. The walk back to the cabin might be more comfortable for you as a woman.”