Wolf Moon (37 page)

Slowly, one of his hands
cupped the back of my head, his fingers twisting into my hair. Everything
inside me stilled as I waited. All I could do was look into those eyes. Watch
as his gaze dropped to my mouth and his thumb traced my bottom lip. He paused
as if waiting for something.

It didn’t take me long to
figure out what it was.

“I love you too, Nick,” I
whispered against the tip of his thumb. “I want you.”

His head dipped swiftly,
stopping just before his lips touched mine. Our breath mingled, and his fingers
flexed in my hair, holding me close. The tugging sent prickles of pleasure
through my body, and I tried to fight the shiver I could feel building. I lost.

Then he closed the space
between us, kissing me finally. The instant his lips touched mine, sparks of
electricity fired through my veins, setting my skin ablaze. Our kiss wasn’t
tentative or tender like I expected; it was urgent and full of need, hunger,
and desperation. It was the perfect force and pressure as I slid my hands
around his neck and threaded my fingers up into his hair.

“You smell so good,” he
mumbled against my mouth before his lips trailed over my jaw and down the
column of my throat. The hair on his face tickled and scratched my sensitive
skin as he inhaled deeply at my jugular.
I didn’t mind, though;
I quite liked it over how smooth his face used to be. It was rough—manly.

My stomach quivered when
he grazed the responsive flesh below my breasts with his fingers. Slowly, he
kissed a trail down my sternum and over my abdomen. I whimpered in response,
and my legs trembled and melted around him. Not having his lips on mine was
pure torture. I found myself trying to find the coherency to beg as he kissed
the crook of my elbow and made his way back up and over my collarbone. I whimpered
and bit my lip as he dragged his teeth over my skin. He knew exactly what he
was doing to
me and that,
when he finally returned his
mouth to mine, I would be desperate for it.

 
His fingers curled into
my thighs, holding me against him as he hooked my legs further up around his
waist, opening me up to him as he pressed himself firmly between my thighs. His
hands roamed upward until they reached my breasts.
It was like no time had
passed between us, his touch familiar as he knew exactly which parts of my body
brought the most pleasure.
He hadn’t forgotten that ticklish
spot on my ribs, just behind my right breast, or how I reacted with a soft moan
and thrust of my hips when he lightly nipped the apex of my neck. He took pride
in the
goosebumps
that rose all over my body when his
breath fanned over my neck, and he released a shuddering sigh when I let my
fingers sweep down his chest and slipped my hand between us to wrap it around
his thick length. When his lips returned to mine, I groaned, pulling his lower
lip between my teeth playfully.

My
animalistic desire for him burned like gasoline on fire, growing hotter by the
second and raging out of control. I was willing to jump into the flames without
another thought and take Nick with me.

It
had only been several weeks since my life had been turned upside down, but
something about being with Nick again just felt
right
. Maybe it was a wolf connection, maybe it had something to do
with how protective and attentive he’d been lately, or maybe it was just our history.
I had been angry with Nick for so long, but I never stopped loving him. Not
that this negated my love for David in the least. What we shared was real and
exactly what I needed in my life. I wished he was still alive, and I missed him
desperately, but I knew that wasn’t going to bring him back. He was gone, and I
knew he would want me to be happy and that he wouldn’t want me to dwell on what
could have been.

Unlike
before, I wasn’t seeking solace as Nick’s lips pressed firmly against mine. I
wasn’t desperate to be reminded that not all men were monsters as he palmed my
breasts and pulled me against him greedily. This wasn’t
just
another symptom of my new affliction.
Everything that had
happened recently—as well as what happened seven years ago—slipped
away in that one perfect moment.
It was just Nick and
me,
and love was what fuelled our actions.

My
emotions got the best of me as I realized my feelings for Nick were coming full
circle, and my hand shook with urgency as I guided him toward me. W
e moaned in unison as he
eased his hips forward, entering me. His strong hands moved over my flesh as
our bodies undulated, seeking out the pleasure and release we both craved after
all this time apart.

Nick inhaled deeply as he
lifted his head. He licked his lips hungrily, locking eyes with me. “God, you
smell and taste incredible,” he breathed again, almost like he was savoring it.
“You’re absolutely intoxicating.”

I kissed him again.
Harder than before.
So hard our teeth crashed together until
we found our rhythm. Our thirst for one another seemed unquenchable, and our
stamina was something most people would sell their souls for. Pressure expanded
in my belly, flowing outward until it released through my fingers and toes. I
cried out, dragging my nails down Nick’s back as I climaxed loudly.

Panting, I attempted to
catch my breath as Nick kissed my neck tenderly. Even the gentlest touch of his
lips on my neck sent a ripple of pleasure through me and made my toes curl
again and again. Every inch of my skin was hypersensitive to touch, but one
look into Nick’s bright eyes told me we were far from finished.

Our bodies were slick
with sweat, but I found a reserve of energy. My arms and legs were tight with
over-exertion, but within seconds, I was at full strength and flipping Nick onto
his back. He looked up at me with complete awe as I moved above him. His hands
ensnared my hips, guiding me at a speed that seemed to benefit us both.

My shoulder started to
burn, but before I could focus on the pain that was starting to blister down my
arm, Nick sat up and pressed his cool lips to my scars. His right hand came up
and rested on my shoulder blade as he kissed and gently nipped at the sensitive
skin of my shoulder, and soon the heat dissolved into nothing more than an
annoying tingle.

With Nick’s body pressed
tightly to mine as I rocked my hips back and forth, I could feel myself
beginning to lose control again. I pushed Nick back down onto the bed and fell
forward, laying my hands on his strong chest and bracing myself for the waves
of pleasure that slammed into me again and again. When my vision returned, I
took in the smug look on Nick’s face. As much as I wanted to call him out on
it, all it took was one shift of his hips beneath me and I was rendered
completely speechless.

With a growl, Nick rolled
me onto my hands and knees. His lips touched down on the small of my back, his
tongue peeking out and moving up my spine as though tasting the moment—my
sweat, my pheromones—he lapped it up before gripping my shoulders and
easing into me again.

We were so lost in the
sensation that the entire world slipped away around us. It didn’t matter to either
one of us that there was a houseful of people with
hyper-sensitive
hearing. We’d waited far too long for this and there was no volume button on ecstasy.

My third climax steadily
built, my muscles tensing and preparing for the release that would render them
completely useless this time. I could already tell that this would be it for
me, so I hoped that Nick would follow suit this time; his stamina was even more
impressive than my own.

When Nick’s tempo picked
up in both speed and force, I rejoiced aloud and urged him to join me. My flesh
tingled as my pleasure simmered just below the surface before breaking free in
the most powerful and intense orgasm I’d ever experienced.

My arms and legs trembled
with fatigue, and I struggled to keep them from giving out on me before Nick
was finished. With one final thrust, Nick stilled behind me, his hands moving
down my back, fingers curled and nails scratching, until he reached the swell
of my ass and rolled us over. Exhausted, I panted for breath and tried to calm
my racing heart. My hair covered my sweaty face, but I couldn’t even find the
energy, let alone the strength, to do anything about it. Instead, I told myself
to get used to it as Nick’s fingers lazily trailed up and down my side,
inviting a fresh wave of
goosebumps
to cover my body.

When my heart finally
slowed to its normal pace, I turned my head. Nick laughed and lifted a finger
to clear my hair away and then leaned forward to kiss me. “That was…amazing.”

“You’re such a girl,” I
teased, rolling over completely to face him. He was lying on his left side, and
my fingers started mimicking his, trailing up and over his chiseled body, going
over the scars I’d memorized weeks ago as well as the new ones from the last
few weeks.

“Marcus wants us all to
run again as a pack tonight. He says that, with the coven gone, he wants
everyone to enjoy the Wolf Moon.”

Even though it had only
been a handful of days since my last shift, I felt the wolf bound with excitement
within me. It looked forward to a night of wild abandon. I liked the feeling of
unity I now shared with my wolf side.

My fingers moved down
over his side, and he tried to hide a smirk as he recoiled from the ticklish
sensation. This only spurred me on, and I continued to move south. My eyes followed
the trail my fingers set, and I froze when my finger rested above the one scar
on his right hip that wasn’t like all the rest. The one that had intrigued me
since the first time I saw it.

Nick’s body went rigid
right then. Something from the past few months struggled to resurface. I moved
my hand, but continued to stare at the circular scar. Then I remembered he had
a matching one on the back of this same hip.

“You were shot,” I
stated. That one confession cleared the blackness from my mind until the images
became visible. It was like a rapid-fire slideshow, and it made me dizzy.

A dead girl in the middle of the park…

Sounds that drew me to the bushes…

Wide, yellow eyes, staring through me…

A wolf with a sandy brown coat, white teeth gleaming
before it leapt for me…

David firing his gun, the bullet shooting the animal in
the hip…

Nick finding me, days later, limping as though favoring
his right leg…

Everything inside me
tensed, my temperature dropping drastically as I felt the color drain from my
face. With great effort, I pushed myself up and away from
him,
my head shaking as I tried to deny what my mind was telling me was the truth.
“I-it was you,” I croaked.

B
ile churned in my stomach as I threw myself off the bed. I snatched my
clothes up off the floor and pulled them on my body as quickly as possible. I
felt completely exposed and vulnerable as an emotional torrent ripped through
me.

“Brooke,” Nick said,
climbing off the bed and pulling his jeans on quickly before he moved toward
me.

Suddenly he was too
close, and I took several steps away from him, tears burning my eyes. “Don’t,”
I pleaded, trying to wrap my head around this new information. “It wasn’t
Jackson that night in Scottsdale, was it? It was
you
.”

His eyes held nothing but
regret, they begged for my forgiveness, but I felt betrayed by him.

Again.

There was no holding back
after that.

“You son of a
bitch
!” I lunged at him like a wild
animal and slapped him across the face. He didn’t move as a handprint formed on
his face. “You lied to me!” I cried, my tears falling freely down my cheeks
now. My entire body shook with rage as it pumped freely through my veins now.

Nick shook his head and
reached for me again. I swatted his hands away, but I wanted to do so much
worse—I imagined doing worse.

“I never lied,” he tried
to justify, his voice trembling.

Sniffling, I wiped my
tears away roughly. “Well, you sure as hell weren’t very forthcoming.”

“I tried to tell you, but
every time I started, something came up…” He paused. “Our first night here,
right before we found the dead wolf… Over the holidays… There was never a good
time.” Another pause. My knees threatened to buckle with the truth of the
situation.

“
Wh
-why?”
I demanded, unable to rationalize his actions that night. “I was happy.”

Nick reached me, cradling
my face in his massive hands and forced my eyes to his. I wanted to pull away,
but couldn’t; the force of his stare was magnetic. I knew this would happen if
he got too close, it was why I tried to avoid it. “I didn’t mean to. It was an
accident. I saw you there, and then I saw
Gianna
in
the distance. I pushed you down but had no intention of biting you.”

I thought back to that night,
denial polluting my memories. “You were growling at me!”

Nick shook his head,
fighting my claim. “No. I was growling at
her
.
You were the one holding my neck. When your arm slipped, I wasn’t expecting it.
And you know how it is when one of them is around…
Gianna
was so close—taunting me—I wasn’t thinking clearly. I bit down out
of instinct.” He quickly pulled me into his arms, his hands splayed across my
back, holding me in place.

“I’m so sorry,” he
whispered over and over again. His lips pressed onto the top of my head before
moving down the side of my face. “Please forgive me.” He kissed me on the lips,
and I momentarily gave into it before my stomach rolled again.

“
Mmmf
…
No,” I protested, pushing him away and wiping his lingering taste from my mouth.
“You can’t just kiss me and hope that this will all just disappear. You bit me,
Nick… And, what’s worse, you let me blame someone else for it.” Nick reached
for my hand again, but I refused him this time. “I need to get out of here.
Clear my head.”

“Brooke, please. Can’t we
talk about this?”

I brushed past him and
headed for the door. “I need some time to process all of this.” With my hand on
the doorknob, I froze and glanced at him through my periphery. He looked
defeated. “You should have told me.”

I didn’t give him a
chance to say anything else before I pulled the door open and headed downstairs,
leaving him alone with the guilt of what he’d done.

I
ignored Nick as he called after me. Ignored the sound of his feet as he
followed. I couldn’t get the image of him in wolf form on top of me out of my
head. I remembered with perfect clarity exactly what it felt like when his
teeth sank into my shoulder and scraped the bone. Anxiety clawed at me as I
yanked the front door open and ran out into the cold. Several people called my
name, but I just kept running. I needed to be alone for a while to process the
new revelation.

The
sky overhead darkened as the sun set in the distance. Soon the Pack would be outside,
shifting and heading off to hunt together. It wasn’t very long ago that I
looked forward to it, but now I just wanted to be left alone. Needed it.

How
could Nick let Jackson take the blame for that night? It wasn’t fair. I
wouldn’t have been such a bitch to him if I’d known the truth.

I
wanted to reset the clock by about fifteen minutes. I wanted to forget that I
knew any of this. Once again, I experienced one moment of pure bliss, but it
was doomed before it even began. Just like all the rest. I was going to start
expecting that from the get-go.

I
was so deep in
thought,
I hadn’t realized I was
running. Snow kicked up behind me as I raced toward the forest. I needed to put
as much distance between the manor and me until I could figure out what I was
going to say to Nick.

He
told me that he never
meant
to bite
me, but that’s not how it seemed. I forced myself back to that night, reliving
the attack…

The wolf
who
attacked me must have weighed about two hundred pounds,
and I remembered the weight of him forcing all of the air from my lungs. When I
struggled to free myself, the wolf gave a warning growl, pressing its paws down
on my chest. It continued to growl, its eyes focused on something beyond us…

Holy shit,
I thought to myself. I remembered thinking he must
have been looking for someone who might come to my rescue—possibly David—but
what if Nick was telling the truth? What if it
was
Gianna
he was looking at?

The anger, hurt, and confusion inside me continued
to simmer until my muscles tightened.
The change was
starting, and I was in no mood to fight it. Instead, I found a quiet place and
removed my clothes before speeding up the process. Changing came quite a bit
easier for me now, but suddenly being in this body upset me, too. It only
reminded me of what Nick had done.

It
was a lose-lose situation.

I
snarled and snorted at nothing in particular as I tramped through the snow
angrily. Out of nowhere, I caught the scent of something. My mouth watered as
the smell occupied my thoughts, distracting me, and when the bush to my left
rustled, I took off. As I gained on the smaller mammal, I recognized the scent
as that of a rabbit, and I sped up my pursuit.

Its
footprints were sloppy and hurried as it ran from danger. My adrenaline spiked,
and I pushed myself further and faster, the rabbit’s fear calling to me and
making me salivate even more. It scurried beneath a low bush, its bare branches
barely off the ground. Instead of following it and getting my coat stuck on the
naked branches, I vaulted over them and landed with ease on the other side, my
jaws closing around the white rabbit’s neck.

The
rabbit used its hind legs to defend itself, but I had no plans of releasing it.
I worked for this meal, and I was
damn-well
going to
enjoy it. I prepared to bite harder in order to end its struggle, but before I
could, a shrill scream rang out in the dark forest.

Surprised,
I let go of Bugs and lifted my head as it scampered away. My ears flicked back
and forth, trying to find the location the scream had come from, and my eyes
scanned the darkness for movement. I saw nothing—heard nothing—and
I was just about to go off in search of something else to hunt when I heard
another scream.

This
time, I recognized the direction it came from—West—and I took off
running. Someone was in trouble. I could practically taste her fear as I picked
up speed, and I worried that I might not make it to her in time. I inhaled
deeply as I ran, trying to catch this woman’s scent. The second I had it, I
faltered. There was something off about it.
Off, yet …
familiar
?

Movement
to my right caught my attention, and I quickly veered in that direction. Thin,
bare branches whipped at my face and tugged at my coat as I tried to weave
around them. Another scream and a cry for help pushed me to move faster.

The
closer I got, the more intensely the familiar smell invaded my head. It was…
Wait
,
was that
wolf
? It wasn’t anyone from back at the manor, though there
were definitely familiar notes to it that I couldn’t quite place. A hint of
copper infused this scent—blood—and panic needled at me when
another familiar odor joined it. Death. Vampires were in the mix. We were wrong
to think the coven was dealt with, and it pissed me off to think we’d been
duped.

As
I raced onward, I let out a loud howl, hoping the others would hear and come to
my aide. I’d beat them there, but I was confident in my ability to hold off the
parasites until the Pack showed up.

Up
ahead, I made out the shape of a body on the ground. It was female, her long,
dark hair spilled over her face and shoulders. There were twigs and dirt in it,
and it looked tangled. There must have been a struggle. I listened as I made my
way for her, and I picked up the gentle breaths she took. She was alive, but
barely from the sound of it.

I
was close—maybe five yards from where she lay. My instincts told me it was
a trap, but the wolf was in control. Something about this girl drove the wolf
more than my human common sense—she was somehow important—so I
focused my attention on staying alert and safe instead of trying to stop.

I
surveyed the area again, ready for an ambush, but nothing happened. I couldn’t
understand why. I smelled the vile creature, yet it was nowhere to be seen.
This was clearly a trap, so where—

A
loud metal
SNAP
echoed through the
trees. The sound reverberated in my ears and was followed by a painful yelp and
howl that I didn’t realize was coming from me until I fell to the ground and
pain shot up my left hind leg. I tried to scramble to my feet, but the pain
kept me from moving…no, not just the pain; something was literally tethering me
to the ground.

I
glanced back and was horrified to find the lower half of my leg caught in what
looked like one of those archaic bear traps. The bone was snapped right in
half, blood quickly coloring the snow that had hidden the trap from my sight,
and I whimpered as I tried to pull my leg free.

As
my skin tore, I had to stop myself, remembering something I’d seen on a documentary
when I was younger about how, when caught in one of these traps, an animal
would pull and tug and often amputate the limb only to bleed out while they
tried to escape.

I
attempted to stop so this wouldn’t be my fate, but the wolf continued to struggle.
It was an instinct I couldn’t control—fight or flight. My panic was
rising as I continued to scramble. Skin tore further as the jagged metal teeth
dug into my muscle tissue, and I yowled in pain before something pinched my hindquarters.
It felt like a bee sting, which was ridiculous being the first week of January.

Confused,
I turned around and found a flowery-looking pink tuft sticking out from my red
fur. My vision clouded, so I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping to clear
my eyesight. When I opened them, everything was spinning and my head felt
heavy…

A
tranq
dart, I realized, shaking my head again. I’d
been tranquilized.

I
moved my front legs, tried to lift myself up, but they were numb and gave out
beneath me. I whimpered as my eyelids grew heavier and my vision blurred
further. The drowsiness overpowered me until my breathing calmed and evened
out. The sound of my pulse thumping through my veins was all I could hear. The
beats were deep and even, strangely soothing, and I gave into the drug that
coursed through my bloodstream as they slowed.

The
sound of snow crunching caught my attention.
The Pack
. I forced my eyes open. The lids were too heavy, but I
managed to lift them about halfway. Even through my blurred vision, I noticed a
silhouetted figure approaching me. Human… No
;
based on
the smell that burned the inside of my nostrils, he wasn’t human. It was darker
now and my vision was compromised even more than a moment ago, so I couldn’t
make out his features as my head fell back into the snow.

I
huffed, tried to gather enough strength to call for the Pack again, but
couldn’t get anything above a whimper out.

The
vampire stood above me, his dark brown hiking boots within inches of my muzzle.
I attempted to lift my head so I could see the thing that had captured me, but
failed. My strength continued to wane, my eyes falling shut again as the
vampire crouched.

His
hand moved over my head and down my neck, petting me calmly as though I wasn’t
a threat. Rage bubbled inside me, but I was too weak to let it out. I imagined
ripping the arm off and then sinking my teeth so far into his jugular that his
head fell off, but it was nothing more than a pipedream. A fantasy. A dream
that carried on beyond that to me being rescued…