“Hi.”
“Hello?” She spoke a little louder into the phone. “Hold on a sec.” Gradually the noise dwindled until it was a low murmur in the background.
“Hey, how are you?” He was nervous.
Unbelievable.
“I’m so glad to hear your voice.”
He smiled at her comment, relief filling him. Had he actually thought she would forget about him? “I’m so glad to hear your voice, too, mila .” He ran his hand through his hair. “How is it going? Are you enjoying it?”
“It really isn’t as bad as I thought. The people are very friendly.” Her soft sigh was like a punch to his gut. “Do you miss me?”
He smiled, loving how she could tease him. “I always miss you when you’re not around.”
Her soft chuckle sounded sexy yet innocent. His cock instantly became hard, and he shifted it around in his jeans.
“What are you wearing?” Her gasp of surprise at his blatant question turned him on even more.
“Adrik!” Her voice was a whisper, laced with amusement. She exhaled and whispered, “I’m wearing a pair of shorts and a tank.”
He could just picture her long legs barely concealed by the material of her shorts. He knew the generous swells of her breasts would be pressed snugly against the fabric of her tee, which would no doubt be formfitting. As his cock swelled another inch, a scowl crossed his features.
“How many males are there?” He knew it was a stupid question even as the words came out of his mouth, but his need to protect his female overrode the rational part of his brain.
“Why, are you jealous?” Her tone was teasing again.
“Yes.”
Another soft chuckle from her. “There are a lot of guys here.” At his growl, she laughed and continued, “But there are also a lot of women and children, too.”
That knowledge didn’t ease him at all. There were still males around, and they were most likely noticing Kayla’s long, slender legs and the other incredible assets of her body.
He sure as hell noticed.
“When will you be back?” He wanted her back where he could protect her, where he could touch her, stroke her, fuck her.
“I am only going to stay tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Why?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Do you want to see me?”
He breathed out and rubbed his shaft through the material of his pants with his free hand. He was so hard for her. “God, do I want to see you.”
She chuckled softly. “Okay, it’s a date then. I’ll call you when I get home.”
Tomorrow seemed like an eternity.
“Adrik?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know how much I love you?”
He placed his hand over his heart, the organ aching with the feelings he had for her. “Not as much as I love you.”
Kayla smiled to herself as she closed her phone and stared at the huge group of people around the massive bonfire. This whole place, and everyone around, seemed like home. Everyone acted like family, as though they cared for each other on a whole different level.
They made her feel welcome.
Her gaze found Kaleb, and she watched her twin. He held a Sam Adams in his hand as he talked to a pretty, young girl. As she looked at him, she opened herself up to her twin’s feelings. It wasn’t hard for her to do. She had always been able to do it, since she could remember. Now that she had finally found out what she really was, she wondered if being a Lyken had anything to do with her ability to connect with her twin on an emotional level.
She started forward, planning on going back to the group of women she had befriended.
“Hello.”
The deep, scratchy voice had her spinning around. She tried to see who hid in the thick bushes that were shrouded in darkness. She could hardly see, and as she was about to go back to the crowd of people, a large form stepped out of the shadows.
Kayla took a step back as she stared at the man in front of her. She had seen him briefly during dinner. She didn’t know his name, but she remembered him vividly. He had scars around his wrists, thick ones that looked like someone had restrained him.
“Dè an t-ainm a tha oirbh?” He took a step forward as he tilted his head to the side and looked at her curiously.
“What?”
He spoke Gaelic, as did everyone else she came across in the clan. She shook her head and looked around, feeling very uneasy around this man.
“You are a Lyken, yet you do not speak Gaelic?”
She shook her head, not knowing where this conversation was going.
“What is your name?” He took another step forward.
“Kayla.” She spoke on a whisper, not even knowing why she was so frightened. There was just something about him that made her instincts scream.
“I can smell your fear, Kayla. Didn’t your brother tell you we don’t harm our females?”
She rubbed her hands over her shorts, her skin suddenly becoming tight and sweaty. He raised an eyebrow when she didn’t answer, and she cleared her throat.
“I should be getting back.” She threw her thumb behind her, as if to emphasize her point.
Arms crossed over his thick chest, they looked like twin tree trunks. “I’ll be seeing you around, Kayla.”
Chapter 14
Kayla walked briskly to where Kaleb spoke with the young brunette. The girl leaned against a thick oak while Kaleb propped his arm above her head. Before Kayla even made it over to them, she heard the girl giggle loudly.
Kaleb glanced up and pushed off the tree when he saw her coming toward him. “What’s wrong?”
Kayla looked to where she had been standing in the shadows and shivered. The stranger’s large, darkened silhouette was illuminated like an eclipse against the moonlight. She looked back at Kaleb and lowered her voice.
“See that guy over there?”
He looked in the direction where she tilted her head. “Kay, you’re going to have to be a little more specific. There are about thirty guys around.”
“There is a guy over by the side of the compound. You can’t see him, only his silhouette.”
He knitted his brow and shook his head. “There isn’t anyone there.”
She turned her head and breathed out as she was greeted with…nothing.
“Did someone hurt you?” Kaleb’s eyes gazed over her, as if he were looking for an injury and a reason to kick someone’s ass.
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, he just gave me the creeps. I wanted to know if you knew him.”
“What did he look like?”
The image of his rugged face flashed in her mind. She described what he looked like, but left out the scars she had seen on his wrists.
“That describes almost half the guys here. Can you be more specific?”
“He had scars on his wrists, like cuffs or something had been around them.”
A dark look crossed her brother’s face. “I want you to stay away from him.”
“Who is he?”
“Caelan Shaw. He’s dangerous.”
She had no doubt he was dangerous, not with the way he looked at her, as a predator did its prey. “Aren’t all the men here dangerous?”
Her twin took a hearty swig of his beer. “Yes and no. Listen, just stay away from him, okay? The males don’t like the females around him.”
Well then why in the hell do they let him stay here?
That question was best left unsaid. Instead, she simply nodded and said okay. She had no intention of going near him again anyway.
The moon was full in the sky, and the party was growing stronger than ever. It seemed as though more and more people were showing up—where they came from, she had no idea. Kayla felt a little uncomfortable and out of place. Even though everyone treated her kindly, as though she was a part of their family, she still was an outsider.
The children had long since gone inside, and now half of the men groped and fondled the females. They didn’t even bother finding privacy. Many of the men just propped the woman against a tree, wrapped her legs around their waist, and got to it. The longer the night went on, the more explicit the couples’ actions became.
She didn’t want to be a voyeur, but it was hard not to stare at them when they were being so blatant with their sexuality. She stared at the blazing fire, feeling the warmth of the flames seep into her skin like a thick blanket wrapping around her.
“Ye’re enjoying yerself?”
The masculine voice behind her startled her, and she jumped. Callum stood behind her, a bottle in his hand and a smile on his face. Did she really think the scarred man would be behind her? Yes, it had crossed her mind, but she was happy that it was Callum instead.
“Yes, thanks.” The truth wouldn’t have sounded nearly as polite. What could she have said? There was no way she was going to tell him that watching all these horny people was like watching a live-action porno.
He watched her, his eyes glossy and slightly bloodshot, as he took a long drink out of the whiskey bottle he held. The bottle was half full as he offered her some. She held her hands in front of her and shook her head.
“How are ye goin’ to turn away
usge beatha
?”
Now that she was really paying attention to him, she could hear how his words slurred together. He was good at keeping his composure, though.
“Turn away what?”
“Water of life.” At her raised eyebrow, he chuckled and replied, “Scotch whiskey.”
The bottle was as dark as the night, but when the firelight hit it just right, she could see the liquid churn inside of the glass, like a tidal wave on the shore of an ocean. Maybe she did need to lighten up a bit? Taking a deep breath, she took the bottle and brought it to her lips.
The whiskey flowed into her mouth and down her throat like lukewarm water, but that wasn’t the grand finale. After a second, the liquor seemed to kick into gear. Fire raced down her throat and into her bloodstream. Eyes watering, Kayla started coughing uncontrollably. She handed him back the bottle and tried to catch her breath.
“Holy hell. That’s like straight gasoline.”
Callum started laughing, a full belly one that had several people looking over at him in question. “There, there, lass. You did verra well.”
“That has to be illegal.”
He took a long drink out of the demon bottle without any of the problems she had faced. “Aye, it is. But we donna follow the same rule as others.” A devilish smile and wicked wink followed his comment. He really was a handsome man, but the more she looked around at the couples, the more she missed Adrik.
“So, Kayla, ye have a male?”
Startled by his blatant question, she wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes and cleared her throat. She was about to confirm she was with someone, but then she remembered what Kaleb had said about the Lyken beliefs. What if they found out she was with a vampire? What if they hunted him down?
“I…” Should she even admit she was with someone? “I’m dating someone.”
He took another swig of his whiskey and looked down at her. “Is it serious?”
What to say, what to say.
“Not so much.” She noticed a smirk cross his features and immediately felt guilty, but she reassured herself it was for Adrik’s protection. She didn’t know anything about these people. They all seemed nice, but they were werewolves, after all.
“So ye’re single, aye?”
Did werewolves not realize that when someone said they were dating another that meant they
weren’t
single? Hell, he probably just didn’t give a damn.
“Things are moving to the next level.” Not a lie, but not the entire truth either. One of his eyebrows rose, and she thought he was going to press it, but she was thankful when he just shrugged and smiled.
“Did yer brother tell ye about tonight?”
She didn’t know what he was talking about. “You mean about coming up here and meeting everyone?”
He shook his head and took another swig. She wanted to tell him to go easy on the liquor. He already seemed pretty intoxicated.
“No, but ye’re in for a treat.”
She looked around. Everyone started to spread out, the couples breaking apart and gathering around the fire. Aedan stepped out of the shadows, his shirt off, the firelight bouncing off his rippling muscles.
A hushed silence fell over the grounds as everyone stared at their alpha. “Tonight is a full moon.” Aedan’s loud, booming voice rang out. Everyone shouted with excitement after he spoke. “Are my brothers and sisters ready to run?” More hollering and shouting was their response.
All of the men suddenly started to undress, and she felt her eyes widen.
Oh hell no.
Not only did they take off their shirts, but also their pants. Her mouth dropped open as man after man became naked in the firelight. She didn’t even try to search out Kaleb for reassurance, because frankly, she feared her brother would be nude as well. That was something she did not want to witness.
The sound of a zipper going down and a rustling of clothes rang out like a cymbal right behind her. On instinct, she turned and stared at Callum. Bad move on her part. He was butt-ass naked. His smooth, muscular chest took up her entire view, and she took a step back. He grinned down at her, and her gaze inadvertently dropped below.
Oh. My. God.
He gave her a wink and then moved over to the other group of men who were forming a large circle away from the fire.
I have got to get out of here.
It was no use, though. In order for her to go back to the compound, she would have to push her way through the group of very naked men.
“Let us run free, my brothers.”
It took all her strength to look at Aedan when he spoke. As he started to speak Gaelic, he walked around the fire. His muscular back came into her view, and she got a glimpse of the giant tattoo that covered his golden flesh. A giant tribal wolf stared back at her, the eyes as dark as obsidian and equally as ominous. The swooping lines and sharp edges brought the creature to life.
She leaned against the tree, trying to catch her breath as everything became eerily silent. The women all stood off to the side, the children put to bed long ago. The females gripped the hems of their clothing and removed it. When all the females were nude, they took off into the forest. It was clear that the males could barely hold themselves back as they watched them leave.