Authors: Melissa Morgan
She sighed, “Well,
that went well.” She huffed.
Cole didn’t sleep for
the rest of the night. He tossed and turned, and when he finally did dose off,
near dawn, he dreamed of Zara.
First thing in the
morning, sitting alone in his office, he still couldn’t get her out of his
head. He didn’t know if it was because of the memory mojo she did the night
before, or if it was because she had been naked the first time she saw him.
Sighing, he picked up the phone. Regardless of his own status, he knew he
needed the advice of his elders.
“This is Cole
Sheridan. May I speak with Gavriel please?” He absentmindedly twirled a pen in
his fingers.
“One moment Alpha
Sheridan.”
“I’ll wait.” He said
simply. There was a knock on his door. He pressed the button that unlocked the
pocket door and his second, Cassius, stepped through. He motioned for Cass to
sit.
“I’m inviting the
council of elders to join us for the New Moon feast this month.” Cole said.
“Can you instruct Grace to have the guest rooms cleaned and prepare for
visitors?”
“Of course.” Cass said
smoothly.
“Gavriel, hello.” Cole
said. “I could use your advice old friend.” He said. “Would you and the rest of
the council join the Black Moon pack for the feast this month?”
He grinned widely.
“Great. I’ll make the arrangements. I look forward to seeing you.”
He barely hung up the
phone when Riley ran in, his floppy blonde hair in his eyes. He brushed it away
from his eyes. “Alpha, come quick. There’s been a fight!” The three of them
raced from the room, Riley in the lead, to the central courtyard, where two
women were circling each other, snapping their jaws and growling. One leapt
onto the other, but was kicked off with hind legs.
“Adrienne!”
“Isabelle!”
Cole roared. The two
women circling each other froze. “That’s enough!” He commanded, letting his
power overflow from him. His eyes blazed bright blue, and the two women howled
in response to the energy swirling over them. They both fell to the ground and
shifted back to their human bodies. Cassius picked up one of the women and
motioned to Riley to grab the other. They both stood unsteadily on their feet.
“What started this
fight?” Cole demanded, narrowing his eyes at them both.
Neither one of them
spoke, heads bowed to the ground.
“Anybody?” Cole asked,
turning to the crowd who had stood around watching.
“They were fighting
over you.” One of the older women piped up. “Challenging each other, to see
which would make a better Alpha female for you.”
Cole started at them both.
“Is this true?”
His question was met
with silence.
“Ok then. From this
day forward, neither one of you will be my mate.” He snarled. “An Alpha female
should know how to set an example for the young ones. You both know fighting
outside the circle is forbidden.”
One of the women began
to cry. The other just sneered at her.
“Cassius, cuff them
together for the next week. They need to know how to work together as a team,
to depend on each other.” He said acidly. “As for the rest of you. There will
be no more fighting over this issue.” He turned on his heel and walked down to
the infirmary.
When he got there, she
was sleeping, the doctor standing over her.
“How is she doing?”
Cole asked, watching her sleep. Her dark ebony hair flowed out from around her.
Her face was soft in sleep, without the harshness that stress brings. She was
truly beautiful by anyone’s standards, but when she slept, she had an almost
childlike, ethereal glow to her skin.
“She got upset last
night, and tried to leave. The rib that was cracked broke when she tried to put
her shoes on.” The doctor sighed
“Why was she trying
to leave?” Cole frowned.
“She was hysterical
when I tried to stop her. Claiming she made a mistake coming here, and that she
had to go hide somewhere else before she died too.”
“Oh for Luna’s sake!”
He growled. “Tell her when she wakes up that I agree to her terms.” He sighed.
“I’ll be back later to check on her. Make sure she is awake by then.”
An hour later, Cole
was standing at the front gate of the property with Cass and two others of his
hunting party, ready to greet the elders. As usual, they arrived in pairs of
two, until all twelve of them were present. Cole greeted each of them formally,
as did the others. When they arrived to the den, Grace fused over each of them,
much to their amusement. Once they had all had a meal and were settled into
their rooms, Cole asked each of them to join him in the war room.
“I have given
sanctuary to a woman, a cat with an unusual bloodline.” He said. “Someone has
been hunting her and her sisters. One of them has already died. To protect her,
and my own people, I have agreed to take her as my mate.” He said.
“Who is hunting her?”
Gavriel asked.
“She claims that
Vaughn has been paid to do the hunting.” The panther leader was known to all,
to be a vicious and sadistic man. The others all turned to look at Pierce, the
panther elder.
“I know nothing of
this.” He shrugged. “Is she panther?” He asked Cole.
“She is all of us.”
Cole said. “I don’t know how or why but she has the ability to share my
memories, and somehow she was able to get deep into my lands without any scent,
or sound. No one saw her.
She can shift into
whatever she wants to be. All I have ever seen her shift to was a panther. My
medical doctor has tested her blood, and she does have wolf genetics as well.”
Voices of alarm and shock rippled through the room.
“She wants to be your
mate?” Ivan asked, holding his hand out for silence. “It is true that you need
one.”
“There are fights
breaking out over it with the women of my pack now.” Cole agreed. “It was her
idea. She offered herself to me in exchange for my help in stopping Vaughn.”
“If what she claims is
true, then he must be stopped before there is an all out war.” Finnegan said.
“We can’t afford for that many to die. Our numbers are too few as it is.”
“I plan to take her as
my mate, as soon as she wakes up.” Cole said. “And then demand that Vaughn
returns my sister in law.”
“Agreed.” Pierce said.
“Perhaps if he knows she is claimed, this will all end.”
“That’s not likely.”
Zara said, stepping into the room.
“You are awake
already?” Cole asked.
“Apparently, I shifted
in my sleep.” She said. “I heal quickly.”
“So, you are the
catling that invaded wolf territory.” Pierce said, standing. “I am elder of the
Panthers, Pierce Davison.” He walked toward her and greeted her. She rubbed her
cheek against his.
“It is good to meet
you brother.” She smiled.
Gavriel greeted her as
well, and they licked each other’s open palms.
The others greeted her,
but not as formally. It wasn’t required of them. She went to stand beside Cole.
“If you are in
agreement,” She said to the room of elders. “I need to be with my mate as soon
as possible.” She took his hand in hers. Immediately the energy swelled and crackled
between them. “There is no more time to waste.” She said, staring up at him.
“Forgive me, Elders.”
He said, grinning. “As my lady wishes.” They all laughed well naturedly.
They walked hand in
hand out of the war room, through the library of staring Omegas and Betas,
through the hallway and up to the wide grand staircase to his suit. Thomas
opened the door for them and Cole locked it behind him. As soon as they were
alone, she dropped his hand and turned into him.
“Are you sure about
this?” She asked him.
He stared down at her.
“I know we don’t know each other at all.” He swallowed. “But you…you are a
treasure that should be protected. From the first moment I saw you…I felt drawn
to you. “He shook his head, somewhat dazed at the revelation. “I don’t
understand.”
“Well, to be fair, I
was naked the first time you saw me.” She pointed out.
His grin turned into a
full belly laugh. “True.” He gasped. “That might have had a little something to
do with it.”
She grinned. “I, for
one, would rather be your mate than anyone else’s. You are a good man, Cole.
Our children will be lucky to have a father like you.”
“Children?” He stared
down at her.
“Yes, children. You
know…tiny were-beasts that keep you up all night and run around your legs all
day long and steal your heart the second they come into the world.”
“Will they be… like
you?” He asked, curious.
“I don’t know.” She
confessed. “But with one of my sisters gone, and the others in danger, I just
can’t let my bloodline die off.” There were tears in her eyes. “My parents died
to protect us. I can’t let that be in vain.” Her voice shook, and one tear
escaped from her eyes. He wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“We won’t let that
happen.” He whispered, as his mouth descended down onto hers. Immediately,
sparks ignited between them as the kiss deepened. Clothing flew off in between
passionate kisses until nothing stood between them. Skin to skin, they both
burned.
He picked her up
easily and she wrapped her legs around his hips tightly. He rained kissed down
her neck, nipping lightly and walked them to the bed. Gently he laid her onto
it, starting down at her. She was truly beautiful.
His scent was
intoxicating to her. Desperate for him, she tried to reach down and touch him,
but he grabbed her wrist. “Another time.” He growled. “I don’t want to wait to
taste you.” She groaned and he came down on top of her, settling between her
thighs.
His eyes burned into
her, seared her very soul. Deep inside her, her muscles clenched and she was
flooded with heat. Need. She pulled him down to her, growling softly. “Hard and
fast. Now” She whispered urgently.
“No.” He groaned.
“Softly.” He kissed down her belly. Then lower. “Slowly” He vowed. Her cries
filled the room until finally, neither one of them could stand to wait. When
they came together she screamed in pleasure and pain. He grunted softly, his
eyes closed. “Look at me.” She whispered, wrapping her arms around him.
Instantly, he was filled with her essence, her scent, her memories, and her
soul.
His wolf found hers as
their bodies fit together perfectly. With one hand, he grabbed her hip, slowing
their rhythm. She hissed in response, wild, scratching at his back, writhing.
“Let go, Zara. Give me all of you.” He growled. She shivered violently, she
arched into him, the rhythm taking them again and again, and she was so lost in
the pleasure of him, she screamed and her whole body went stiff.
Energy ripped between
them, and filled the room, and she shifted into her wolf for the first time.
She howled her release with him. Outside the room, Thomas howled, and one by
one, every wolf howled a wolf song in return.
It was hours before
the mated pair left the room. She had wanted to shower, but he refused to let
her. “It’s better if they all smell me on you. And you on me.” He said
sleepily. They lay locked together, spooning until they both drifted off. He
slept, utterly peaceful, for the first time in years, his arms wrapped around
her warmth. She snuggled into him, completely spent and, finally, unafraid. In
the night, she dreamed of her sister.
Faline shivered in the
dark, damp of the basement. Totally nude, she was shackled to the wall, her
body literally covered in bruises. Every day the man had come to her, demanding
that she tell him where her sister was hiding, and every day, she refused.
Beatings ensued, until
she was huddled in the corner, barely conscious, barely breathing. She was
beyond caring of her own safety. Her only goal was to keep silent, so that her
sisters would remain safe.
“Where are you, sister?”
Zara cried out to her. “Tell me.”
“Do not come here.”
Faline mumbled through her broken jaw.
“Of course I will
come.” Zara insisted.
“No. Leave me. Stay
with your new mate. You are safe there.” Faline shivered and slid into the
blessed blackness of unconsciousness.
In her sleep, Zara
moaned, thrashing, like she was trying to run. Cole woke immediately, holding
her tightly to him. “Hush, sweetling.” He murmured. “You’re safe now.” He
reached his hand to rest on top of her head and stroked his fingers over her
forehead and nose. Immediately, she calmed her whole body relaxing against his.
She never woke, but instead began to purr in her sleep.
He chuckled and buried
his face into her hair, breathing her in. In bed with him, she was a wild wolf,
but in her sleep, she was still all cat, and to his surprise, he found that he
rather enjoyed the sound of purring to sooth him back to sleep.