Wolves’ Bane (8 page)

For warm-up,
he had told me before leaving me behind to stare and squirm.

The men hadn’t
seemed
to notice my entrance, apparently so entranced in their kata, so dedicated to their training, that none, not even Cal, had shifted his eyes to me. But I wasn’t fooled. They all knew I was there, even Cal. The electricity in the room had spiked and was growing, crackling with excitement, arousal, and my own frustration.

I swept my gaze over the men, coming to a rest on the one I found most appealing.
Oh yeah, this is definitely not the way to avoid thinking about Cal.
Not when he moved with such fluidity, his massive body flexing, his muscles pumping with each strike and kick. It was mesmerizing. And though my gaze strayed to the others, I always returned to him as if pulled there, hungry for another ogling. Despite the sting of what felt like yet another rejection from him, I continued to gawk, feeling safe to stare when his back was to me.

I licked my lips and pulled at the collar of my shirt. The room’s air was thick with the scent of male musk, and my body buzzed as I inhaled it like a ravenous slut, certain that I could detect Cal’s smell mingled within.

Oh god, how am I going to keep my hands off him?

The blush that burned on my cheeks was spreading slowly down my neck, and I forced my eyes to scan the rest of the room, taking it in for the first time in its entirety. Andrew had called it the training room and it looked exactly like that. We had descended a flight of stairs to the lower level of the west wing, passed into a hallway and then through the door into this immense gym. From what I could see, it housed some impressive-looking training equipment, elliptical bikes, treadmills, weight-lifting systems, dumbbells, punching bags and, of course, this massive court where the men were currently running through their katas.

As my gaze strayed back to the chiseled bodies, and then to Cal, I felt my blush deepen.

How could I lust for a man who was determined to keep me at arm’s length? Why did it seem like I was such a sucker for the unavailable ones? First Jimmy and his no-strings attached policies and now Cal with his “reasons” for pushing me away. And then there was Lazarus, a werewolf with evil intent and from what I’d experienced, disgusting to boot. Mixed into to all that was the psychic’s prediction that one of the two men was meant to be the love of my life.

How could that be? Cal certainly didn’t want to fall in love with me and was going to do whatever necessary to ensure that didn’t happen. So what was the alternative? Seek out the werewolf king? I cringed. No matter what Cal had said about the king being able to turn human, I didn’t get all hot and bothered at the thought of running into Lazarus again. No, more like nauseated and fearful.

The psychic might have said I had a choice, but I’d already made my decision—or at least, my body had. I wanted Cal. I wanted him in a huge way. My stomach fluttered with each of his movements, my heart pounded with more intensity when he was near and deep down in my core I grew tight with want and wet with desire. Oh yeah, I had it bad for Cal and, no matter what I told him, it was going to take all of my power to deny my urges.

I shifted my gaze down to my shirt, busying myself with picking at stray pieces of lint. Andrew had said he would be back to fetch me in a moment, but that moment had stretched on for a long time. I needed to either get the hell out of there or walk right over and stick my tongue down Cal’s throat and get it over with. I glanced back at him through my lashes and was startled to find him looking at me, his eyes blazing with intensity as he continued his movements.

I sucked in a deep breath and stumbled backward, using my butt to hit the door, my hand fumbling on the knob until I could push it open. Cool air hit me the second I made it out, a welcome relief for my burning body. With my heart fluttering and my body aching for him, I leaned against the other side of the closed door and lowered my head, my chin almost resting on my chest as I sucked in deep, calming breaths.

Andrew had set me up. He had walked me right into a den of sex. It was intoxicating, and he had to have known what effect it would have on me.
Bastard.
I sighed, but I couldn’t blame his calculated move. He wanted me to be with Cal and so did Kelly—that much was clear.

I took in another deep breath, and rested my head against the door, still fighting to rein in my desire.
What harm indeed
. Seeing Cal in there had me doubting my vow to never sleep with him. Cal was definitely a hunk—a big walking sex magnet, and I had no idea how long my conviction to deny him would hold out. Because if it was up to my body, I’d be dragging him out of the training room in a heartbeat. I closed my eyes briefly, then pushed myself from the door. What I needed right now was a distraction. My bedroom had some novels on the shelves. I had some reading to catch up on.

When I opened my eyes, determination set in. I could fight this insane urge to jump on Cal and ravage his body. Just as I told Andrew, I was in control. I didn’t need sex. I would not lose this fight.

“Nice move, Andrew,” I mumbled as I headed toward the stairs that would take me back to the main level. “But now it’s my turn.”

Chapter Twelve

Cold Shoulder

He was trying not to stare, but despite all his efforts Cal’s eyes seemed to have a will of their own. Morgan was seated quietly next to him at the grand dining table, looking like she was taking in all of the chatter going on around her, absorbing the men talking, Candy yammering. And seemingly without effort, thoroughly ignoring him.

Shit, she’s still pissed.

He lay his fork down on his plate, suddenly not hungry.

Morgan’s eyes trailed from one warrior to the next, studying each in turn as she continued to ravish her own meal. His gut clenched with frustration and jealousy. He wanted her eyes on him, just as they had been in the training room hours before.

When Andrew had stepped into the gym with her, it had taken all of his power to stay focused on the kata, to continue leading the men through their movements. He had enjoyed a lot of satisfaction from the feeling of her eyes on him while he worked out, but he was greedy for more. Every time her gaze strayed to the others in the room, he wanted to reach out and yank her face toward him and only him. She was his. He wanted her, and he needed to claim her in order to feel satiated and secure.

Bonding, it seemed, held more power than he had realized.

Cal clenched his jaw tightly when Lance turned his attention to Morgan, engaging her in a flirtatious conversation about watching them train earlier. Teasing her in a way Cal wanted to. Morgan’s face brightened with a rosy glow, and she shifted her eyes down to her plate, mumbling something about being tricked. After a hard look from Cal, Lance ceased his teasing and returned his focus to the others.

Cal’s fingers itched to touch her, even if it was just to caress her hand or pat her knee. He needed some contact—some acknowledgement to let her know that he would beat the hell out of Lance if she wanted him to, anything to avenge her, even if it was simply because she was being teased.

He jerked his fingers in her direction, slowly moving toward her hand, which loosely gripped her fork. He paused when her body tensed and her gaze darted toward him. She gave a slight shake of her head then pushed her chair out and rose.

“Thank you for dinner.” She directed her comment to Andrew. “But I think I need to go and lie down for a while. I’m feeling a little tired all of a sudden.”

Andrew smiled. “Of course, Morgan.”

Candy moaned. “Oh, but I thought we could do something fun, like play a game or watch a movie.”

Andrew turned his smile to her. “Candy, we’ll play a game with you. Leave Morgan alone. She’s had a rough few days—give her time to rest.”

Candy pouted, crossing her arms. “You guys are no fun to play with. You always hog the controllers or cheat.”

Andrew patted her hand. “Let Morgan get some sleep and tomorrow you can fetch her to start her training.” He shifted his eyes toward Morgan. “If that’s all right with you, of course.”

Morgan shrugged, her face drawn in an expression of defeat. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to do some working out.”

A snicker ran down the length of the table and Morgan narrowed her eyes at the men, clearly sensing a hidden joke. Candy was practically jumping in her chair. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Morgan, knew that working out and training were two totally different things in the Hunter world.

“Okay, I’ll come and get you bright and early and we’ll start our running.”

Morgan’s expression relaxed. “Running? Yeah, okay, I can handle that.”

Another snicker from the men, but with Cal’s hard glare down the length of the table, most looked from Morgan to their plates. He rose from his seat, intent on escorting her to her room, but she turned those lovely brown eyes on him again and frowned, raising her hand slightly as if to tell him to stay seated.

“Night all,” she said as she exited the room, not bothering to look back at him.

He slumped down in his chair and pushed his plate away.

“Candy, why don’t we go get the game board set up?” Jeremy pushed himself up from his seat. “We’ll play in teams again.”

Candy jumped from her chair. “Okay, but I don’t want to be on your team tonight, Jer. You suck and I’m tired of losing.”

The men chuckled and a few of them rose as well.

“I’m on rotation tonight for cleaning up so you’re off the hook, Candy.” Jeremy motioned to the others. “Games room, five minutes.”

The others grumbled, some nodding as they shifted out of their seats and made their way out of the dining room, leaving Cal, Andrew, Lance and Ken behind.

“So she’s still being stubborn, eh?” Ken chuckled as he stabbed another piece of his steak.

Cal raised his gaze slowly to scan the remaining men, shrugging his answer as he slumped lower in the chair.

Andrew sighed. “I thought bringing her to the training room might do the trick. Kelly always said she loved watching you guys work out…all those hard bodies.”

Lance laughed. “Well, her eyes were definitely saying something different when she was watching us running through our katas…fuck me…”

“Lance,” Cal growled as he pushed himself forward, fist clenched on the table. “Enough.”

He snickered. “Whoa there, Cal. I’m not interested in taking your woman, even if she is begging for it.”

Cal lunged forward. Lance pushed his chair back, brought his hands up in defense, a smile still tugging at his lips.

“Now fellas, calm down.” Andrew rose from the table, his hands resting on the back of his chair. “This is getting serious. I thought for sure Morgan would want Cal to come to her tonight.” He turned his worried look to Cal. “You need to convince her to bond, Cal. She needs your strength.”

He sighed as he steepled his hands in front of him. “You saw as well as I did, she doesn’t want me to go up there after her. She clearly gave me a red light.”

“Maybe she was just doing that because she was in a room full of men,” Ken offered as he took another bite of his food. “Maybe she really does want you. I mean, all joking aside, I know what Lance is talking about. She did seem very into you earlier. I don’t think it would take much to get her to cave. She wants you.”

Cal shook his head. “She wants me and I want her—that’s not the problem.” He looked over at Andrew. “Doesn’t Kelly have some insight into this?”

Andrew shrugged. “She says that you’ll do the right thing.”

“Great,” he said as he dragged his fingers roughly through his hair and pushed himself back into his chair. “That could mean two different things.”

“Maybe you should go and speak with Luther,” Lance offered, his tone serious for once. “He’s been through this—he might be able to help you figure things out.”

Luther, a crazy man. The only Hunter to have lost his Huntress in the same way that Cal might lose Morgan—by his own hand. Luther was also Cal’s father and the Huntress he’d been forced to kill had been Cal’s mother.

Thirty years earlier, Cal had been only a small child, but he remembered the chaos, the heart-wrenching moaning, the violence. His mother, the only Huntress at the time, had gone up against Lazarus on the night of a lunar eclipse. She’d faced the beast in his human form, his more vulnerable and most bewitching form, the same as Morgan would. Cal’s mother had been well trained. She had been powerful. She had been confident. And yet, despite her love for his father, despite their bond, she hadn’t been able to fight Lazarus’s seductive power. She’d fallen into his trap and before Lazarus could claim her, before he could whisk her away to breed from her a powerful heir, Cal’s father had pierced her heart with an arrow, killing her instantly and ending any possibility of sanity for him and normalcy for Cal.

“The man is a lunatic,” Cal growled as he stood. “What could he possibly tell me that I don’t already know? If I fall in love with Morgan, if I care for her in any way, I could doom us all. How will talking to my father make it any easier to do my duty if she fails us? If Lazarus seduces her, if she succumbs to him, I will have to kill her. There is no other way. Father knew that. We all know that.” He flexed his arms, clenching and unclenching his fists. “Lazarus wants her, and he’s going to do whatever he can to claim her that night.”

“You don’t have a lot of faith in your woman,” Ken grumbled. “You’re talking as if she’s already betrayed us.”

He shook his head. “It’s happened once before with my own mother, Ken. What would be so different this time? Luther almost couldn’t do it, right? Isn’t that how the story really goes? My father loved my mother so much that he almost let her go with Lazarus rather than killing her.” He worked his jaw, grinding his teeth together. “If Lazarus succeeds in getting his heir, especially from a Huntress, we are all doomed. The texts warn us, we cannot let that happen, no matter what the cost.”

“But if she succeeds, Cal,” Lance said, his brow furrowed. “If she succeeds in killing Lazarus, the power would finally shift for us, we would be able to regain the ground we’ve lost over the centuries.”

Cal sighed. “She tempts me in ways that I can’t deny.”

Lance stood and stretched, raising his arms to cradle the back of his head. “Then go to her, man. Go be with her. She wants you too. Convince her.”

Cal nodded, still hesitant but willing to give it a try.

“And stop looking like you’re off to your death.” Andrew smirked. “It might be a challenge, but you’re the only man for the job.”