Unleash The Moon (The Preternaturals Book 6) (14 page)

He kissed her over his mark and growled against her
throat. “You hungry?”

For everything. Naked hot werewolf mate draped over
her at the moment. There hadn’t exactly been time or mood to be
amorous when they’d marked each other. There wasn’t time for
fighting and make-up sex. There hadn’t even been time to finish
fighting.

His erection pressed against her through the
blankets.

“
Let’s
relocate,” she said. It was a huge tub, but with all the blankets
and pillows, it was too cramped for anything but
sleep.

Sydney watched as he stood and stretched. Oh, she
could get used to this view every night. He reached down and helped
her stand. She opened the door to go into the main room but leaped
back out of the way and slammed it.

Noah moved in front of the door to stay between her
and whatever was on the other side. She knew he hadn’t smelled
anyone. There wasn’t anyone to smell.

“
What is
it?”

“
The sun,”
Sydney said. “It’s not down yet.” She didn’t even think vampires
could wake up before the sun went down. Of course, she didn’t know
any vampires mated to werewolves, either.

“
Stay here, I’ll
be right back.” Noah stepped out of the room for a few minutes and
then came back in. “The sun is setting now. It should be safe in
about twenty minutes or so.”

“
Still, I
shouldn’t be able to even wake up before it goes down. Normally I
slept a few hours past sunset.” She’d always been the last vampire
to rise.

Noah got the blankets and pillows out of the tub and
started moving them into the other room. “I’ll let you know when
it’s safe.”

Sydney peeled off her clothes and got in the shower.
A few minutes later, she sensed Noah. She felt his eyes on her
through the glass, but he didn’t make a move to join her.

“
Sun’s down,” he
said. “You can come out any time. There’s a bathrobe on the tub,
and Shira’s got a ton of clothes in the closet that would probably
fit you.”

Sydney wrinkled her nose at the idea of wearing the
clothes of a dead woman, but it would be a lot better than the
awful white clothes she’d had to wear since living in that glass
cube. She’d looked like a cult member.

The door clicked closed. Really? He’d said she was
his true mate. She was naked in a hot shower with water dripping
off her. He wasn’t getting in with her?

Then she
realized
… Noah’s never… He’s a
virgin.
He’d been taken as a kid, and
the robot voice had seriously discouraged all fraternizing. When
would he have had an opportunity? Of course he wouldn’t just jump
her in the shower.

She shut off the water and grabbed a towel to dry
off. She glanced briefly at the bathrobe, but left it draped where
it was. The wolf was clearly going to need some encouragement.

When she stepped out, she gasped. Flowers and
candles filled the room. Noah was still lighting a few of them.

“
After the way I
spoke to you last night, the way I spoke to you at that place, I
wanted tonight to be special. You haven’t had a chance to see my
very best side,” he said.

The man had no idea how sweet he
was. After everything he must have been through, being isolated
from his family and other close social contact that wolves needed
to be halfway normal—for years—and he was apologizing for all the
stress he was under.

Sydney dropped the towel and stalked him across the
room. “It’s just me. I used to tug on your fur when I was a baby.
You don’t have to impress me.”

A long breath spiraled out of him, as if he’d been
holding it since they were children. He wrapped his arms around her
and held her for a long time. He smelled clean and fresh from the
shower. She wondered if he’d gone next door for that.

He wore only a pair of sweatpants—no shirt or shoes.
She wanted to snuggle into him forever.

“
You should
feed.”

The pulse danced in his throat, calling to her. She
very much doubted that she ever could have taken enough of Noah’s
blood to endanger him, particularly when he was strong enough to
throw her off him, but now with the claim, there was no way she
could take too much.

“
Are you still
mad at me?”

He kissed the top of her head. “I
was never mad
at
you. I was worried for you. I was afraid if the
wolves knew, they might turn on us. I don’t know how that would go.
I need to keep you safe.”

Sydney’s nose wrinkled as she looked into his eyes.
“Really? Because I don’t remember it exactly that way.”

He sighed. “Part of it was just
irrational macho wolf stuff. Okay? Is that what you want to hear?
But that’s not
me
. That’s not how
I
feel. It was
just an instinct. Are you still mad at me?”

In answer, she gripped the back of his neck and
pulled his mouth to hers.

“
Y-you need to
feed,” he murmured.

“
Oh, I can do
both. Just let me take care of you.” Sydney shoved him back on the
bed. She knew he was nervous, that he had to worry he wasn’t wolf
enough for her because he hadn’t had a million conquests before.
And she had experience.

When she shoved him back, he went because something
had changed in her when they’d bonded and she’d fed from him. There
was no doubt now that she’d be a normal vampire. She’d shoved him,
and it had actually moved him. Unlike the weak push that wouldn’t
have budged him two nights ago.

He seemed impressed, and she flushed. But then she
was more interested in other things. “You had to have done more
than just run in the exercise yard all those years.”

“
I might have
lifted a few weights on occasion,” he said.

She laughed. “Such modesty.”

“
I’m a wolf.
There isn’t a modest bone in my body.”

Like most of his kind, they didn’t shy away from or
get weird about nudity. Even captivity hadn’t changed that trait.
He’d put on the sweatpants for her comfort, not his. She pulled
them off and drank in the sight of him.

That is yours.
Forever,
a dark voice in her mind
whispered.

She straddled him and licked those perfectly
chiseled abs and the lovely lines that framed his hips. His cock
jumped when her tongue stroked it. He gripped the mattress so hard,
his claws were starting to come out, and so was the mattress
stuffing.

“
You poor
deprived thing,” she teased.

He chuckled. “What have I gotten myself into?”

Sydney slid up his body and positioned herself over
him. She let out a sharp whimper when she took him inside her. He
was so warm. Much warmer than a human. Their eyes met.

“
You okay?” he
asked.

She felt the blush rise up her
throat and into her face. “Yes. You’re just warmer than I’m used
to…”
Way to kill the mood,
Sydney.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have
said that.”

Noah’s hand rested on the side of her cheek. “Hey. I
don’t care. You’re mine now. Nothing before that matters. I know
sex and feeding often go together with vampires. You didn’t know I
was your mate. You didn’t even know I was alive. I would never
expect you to be miserable or alone. Ever. Okay?”

She nodded and began to move. She smiled when his
breathing became more erratic, then she let her fangs come out and
bit him. She hadn’t realized how hungry she’d been. This time it
wasn’t overwhelming. He tasted like peace and love and comfort and
safety, and she couldn’t believe she’d been drinking anything less
for all these years.

Lust and tenderness, protectiveness and love made
the blood sweeter than anything she’d ever had before. His hands
dug into her hips, and a moment later he’d flipped the two of
them.

The combination of his blood and the way his body
rubbed against hers, sent her spiraling into the best orgasm of her
life. It caused her fangs to clamp down harder, urged her to drink
more deeply as she bucked and writhed underneath him.

He let out a roar when he came.

“
Wow,” he said,
as he collapsed on top of her.

She laughed and licked the last bits of blood that
strayed down his throat.

They laid sprawled together for several minutes, and
then Sydney started to cry. “I thought for years that I was never
going to see you again.”

Noah held her hands in his. “Mates always find each
other. Always. Destiny pulled you to me.”

Sydney wanted to say that was nonsense, but she
wasn’t so sure right now. If Jacob hadn’t betrayed her and taken
her to the city, would Noah have been motivated enough to fight so
hard to get out?

“
We should go
downstairs,” he said. “I need to get a sense of how loyal they’re
still feeling after they’ve had time to sleep on
it.”

Noah pulled the sweatpants back on
and blew out the candles around the room. Sydney forced herself to
get out of the fluffy bed and went to Shira’s closet to find
something to wear.

“
Holy crap. This
chick had a ton of knives.” Sydney gawked at the rows and rows of
sharp, pointy weapons designed to do maximum damage and the array
of holsters to conceal them. “Why would she have all this when she
had claws?”

Noah poked his head in. “It’s not always convenient
to shift to wolf form for fighting. With her size, she probably
took all the advantages she could find.” He left Sydney alone in
the closet to continue her search.

He was right, the alpha had been
just about her size. It wasn’t a perfect match, but it was close
enough that nothing but the most form-fitting clothing would reveal
an ill-fit.

She chose a red tank top and jeans from the closet,
making sure the top displayed Noah’s mark. They’d smell it on her,
of course, but she wanted them to see it. If they saw how hard he’d
marked her, it could only make him look better. Then maybe they
wouldn’t notice her claim simmering just below the surface.

The mark she’d left on him wouldn’t heal, either.
But hers was more discreet.

“
Maybe you want
to cover that,” she said.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, then
shrugged. “Or maybe I don’t. They’ll find out eventually. It’ll
look weak to slink around in the shadows covering it. I’m not doing
a thing, and if anyone has anything to say, they can get their ass
beat.”

“
I’m not sure I
want to beat any asses right now,” Sydney said.

“
Smart
ass.”

She rifled through the drawers in the bathroom until
she found a brush and some hair sticks. She ran the brush through
her long blonde hair and then put it up in a bun with the sticks.
She found some brown boots in the closet and added some
jewelry.

“
Are you going
to the mall?” Noah asked.

“
I can’t even
believe you know what a mall is. No. I just thought, if we’re
really doing this thing with the pack, I can’t look hesitant about
wearing or using anything that belonged to the former alpha. We
have to lay claim to everything. Isn’t that how wolves
think?”

“
Yeah. That’s
how they think. You’ll fit right in.”

“
Or I’ll beat
asses.” They both knew these weren’t idle words. Sydney wasn’t sure
if he realized it, but drinking a full normal amount from him had
made her even stronger. She was confident she could hold her own
with most of the wolves lower in the hierarchy. And she could bluff
with the others.

When they reached the lobby,
Sydney was underwhelmed. No one was down there. There was only one
wolf in the bar. Had they deserted? Maybe they’d gone hunting.
It
was
the
full moon, still. But from what she knew, the alpha led the hunt on
the full moon. Packs didn’t just wander off on their own without
permission.

The guy behind the bar stepped out, nervously.
“T-they were supposed to be back before sunset.”

“
Where. Are.
They?” Noah said, sounding very much like the asshole who’d called
her by a number instead of a name in the exercise yard, back when
she’d thought he might bust through the glass and kill her. “Rafe?”
he growled.

Rafe was visibly shaking.

“
Did they go on
the hunt?”

The other wolf shook his head. When he spoke again,
his voice came out barely above a whisper. It was hard to discern
his words over the metal pounding through the lobby. “T-they went
to bury her.”

***

Noah growled and Rafe jumped back as if he’d caught
on fire. He thought the other wolf might piss his pants. Good. It
wasn’t that Noah cared about them burying Shira. She’d been their
alpha, maybe even for a long time. Giving her a proper burial
ceremony was the right thing to do and would facilitate the
transition that much easier with no bad blood. But they should have
gotten permission first.

The fact that they’d slunk off to do it in the day
behind his back was not a good thing. And he had no idea how he’d
handle it. If he went on a killing rampage, they’d all fear him. If
he acted like it was no big deal, he’d never hold the pack.