It dawned on him then, her real goal. “You’re trying to stop history from repeating itself.”
Her eyes were solemn. “I remember what it was like when humans were at war with
werewolves
. I have to prevent that from ever happening again.”
“That’s a tall order,” he said, even though he also knew that if anyone could pull it off, it would be Kenzie Macleod. “And a helluva lot to take on all by yourself.”
She didn’t reply but suddenly he could see the toll that her quest had taken on her. Sure, she was brave and strong and smart. She was also a woman, and lonely.
He slid his hand up from the small of her back to the nape of her neck and applied the gentlest of pressure until her lips were barely brushing his.
“After all that emotional work, I think a little physical therapy is in order.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
“Because you’re shy?”
“Because you’re human.”
“You keep pointing that out. For someone who wants to do away with prejudice, you’re pretty adamant about not getting too cozy with me because of my species. What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of
you
, that’s for sure.”
“Prove it,” he murmured against her lips and kissed her.
It was dark when Anya woke up, and the moon floated just above the trees like a big golden balloon. She should have been cold but Stanton’s tail was wrapped around her, a thick and furry blanket that kept away the chill. She automatically looked toward Kenzie’s tent, but it was missing because of those stupid bears. Almost everything was gone now. Stanton had burned all the wrecked things that could be burned, and Josh and Kenzie had taken the rest with them. In the moonlight, Anya could make out the bright white feathers scattered like snow in the grass and in the bushes from Kenzie’s ugly brown sleeping bag. Kenzie was going to buy another sleeping bag in the city. Anya hoped she’d choose a pink one.
She yawned and stretched and snuggled back against the old wolf. Kenzie had asked her to come to the city with her, but Anya would have had to change back into a girl. That’s when she’d run away like a big silly and hidden under the devil’s club bush. She wasn’t supposed to change. Her mother had said that the wolf would keep her safe kehen , safe until her mother came back....
Kenzie had promised to bring her a present though. A surprise. That would be okay, wouldn’t it? Anya wished she’d come back soon. And Josh. She missed him too.
At least Stanton was nice—and she’d decided he was more like a grampa than a dad. She didn’t have one of those either but the old wolf just seemed like what she imagined a grampa would be like. He was just a little bit cranky when she jumped on his head while he was
resting his eyes
, but he was kind to her. He was a good hunter too—they’d eaten deer last night, Anya’s favorite. And he’d told her three whole stories before she fell asleep.
She was just dozing off again when Stanton’s head suddenly shot up, his ears swiveling to listen. A moment later she heard it too. Engines. Not from the road below but from the forest behind them. She jumped to her feet, quivering.
Let’s move away from the campsite.
Stanton led the way quickly, soundlessly, into the deep brush. He picked a narrow game trail and followed it, down the hill toward Kenzie’s dig. Strangely, he seemed to be heading straight for the sound of the engines. They were louder now, coming toward them, and she whimpered just a little.
Okay Anya, duck down here with me.
He’d found a spot beneath a fallen tree.
They’re going to go right by us. It’ll be close, but they won’t see us if we keep still.
He squeezed into the hollow spot and she burrowed quickly between his front paws and hid there, afraid to look. The ATVs went hurtling by in an earsplitting blast of sound and vibration. In the midst of it, Stanton’s voice in her head was surprised.
I’ll be damned. They’re white.
What’s white?
The ATVs.
She shivered and pressed closer.
They’re the ones that took my mom.
There was no resisting Josh’s talented mouth. Kenzie sank into the kiss as smoothly as a swimmer slides below the surface of the water, and the wolf within her seemed to sigh. In fact, her alter ego was as fully present as her human self, as if it was watching everything through her eyes, feeling everything through her skin. She was two beings at once, something which had never happened before, and yet she had no time to wonder at the oddity of her dual awareness. Because she wanted Josh, and that knowledge was both thrilling and freeing. She
wanted
him, and everything about him—his touch, his scent, his arousal pressing against the denim of his jeans—said he wanted her too.
She released the breath she’d been holding as Birkie’s words about being
open to possibilities
once again ran through her mind. Then and there Kenzie decided she would
have
what she wanted.
Josh’s strong hands on her were tender. And cool. A Changeling’s body temperature was much higher than a human’s, and right now she was burning up, but not with fever. She found herself craving the gliss of his hands, soothed by their coolness as much as she was aroused by their caresses.
The darkened sky cradled a buttery moon, glimmering between the mountain peaks yet outshining the city lights. Moonlight pooled in the center of the wide bed and Josh knelt in it, drew her up to her knees as well—then turned her as smoothly as if they were dancing so her back was against him. One powerful arm cradled her close enough that she could feel his erection pulsinrecees asg against her crease despite their clothing. His other hand stroked her from shoulder to thigh.
“I’ve been wanting to do this,” he murmured, and slowly, thoroughly kissed the nape of her neck. Exquisite sensation rocketed through her and her breasts tightened almost to the point of pain. As if he knew, he cradled them in his hands and softly thumbed the nipples. Her clothing felt cumbersome, hot, heavy, and very much in the way. She wanted to pull off the restraining fabric, but he had caged her with his arms and simply continued to place slow, deliberate kisses on the back of her neck. Kenzie had never thought of that spot as particularly erotic, but her body quivered like a taut wire. The new thong she was wearing was already soaked through with sheer anticipation.
He worked his way over to the side of her neck, bringing a whole new array of sensations. Her earlobe was seized in gentle teeth and she could swear that an electrical current suddenly connected every part of her to her ultra-sensitive core. Another touch like
that
and she was sure to start vibrating like struck crystal....
Time to turn things around.
She’d accepted Josh’s lead, luxuriated in his touch, but now she wanted to do a little
touching
of her own. Her wolf was on board with that notion and she used the tiniest bit of its strength to swivel within Josh’s powerful arms so she faced him. There was fire in his obsidian eyes, as if a volcano had awakened in the heart of the earth—yet it was tempered with something both softer and stronger at the same time. He released her and waited. She shook off the “deer in the headlights” look she was certain was on her face, then lowered her eyes and focused on his broad chest as if there were nothing else in the whole world.
As if his feelings for her hadn’t been plainly written in his gaze.
Kenzie unbuttoned Josh’s shirt, slowly, deliberately, trying to follow the unhurried pace he’d set, and finding it increasingly tough to resist her rising desire to simply tear his clothes off with her teeth. She tried to study his body as she revealed it, when every instinct was urging her to shove him to the floor and ride him hard.
Then it’d be over too quick, you idiot
. That thought helped her rein herself in somewhat. At least part of her wanted this to last as long as possible....
She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and he shrugged it the rest of the way off. Her hands trembled a little as they roamed freely over his bare chest, hard with muscle beneath the smooth skin. She traced over his biceps with her fingertips, surprised that he was as powerfully built as any Changeling. And what she couldn’t see was strong too, a sense of power, an energy that seemed to radiate up through him from somewhere deep in the earth’s very core. She’d never felt anything like it.
Never met anyone like Josh Talarkoteen.
She kissed her way along his solid jawline and down his throat, from his collarbone to his nipples, then applied her teeth lightly to them. Heard him hiss in a breath with pleasure and she sternly reminded herself again that she need not hurry. She flipped open his jeans casually, as if she had all the time in the world ... except the rising want within her had reached nearly unbearable proportions, and her inner wolf was becoming frantic. Was she in danger of Changing? And why the hell was her lupine self hovering so close anyway? It had never done that before, certainly not when she was, well,
busy
.
Go away
, she shouted at it in her head.
Later
, it replied.
Need. Now.
The fact that her wolfen persona had just
spoken
to her stunned Kenzie. It hadn’t done so since she was a child, and she paused in confusion. Only when her T-shirt was suddenly pulled over her head did she shake free of the distraction.
The rush of cool air was welcome on her burning skin, and one of Josh’s fingers traced the inner edges of her bra. The sleek fabric was the color of merlot and her sensitive hearing could pick up the faint rasp of his fingertips against it. She was
so
thankful she’d worn one of the new ones and left her old bra (the one with one strap held on only by a safety pin—why couldn’t the damn bear have eaten
that
one?) in the dressing room trash. New or not, however, she was even more relieved when Jos
h unhooked it, drawing the satiny material down her arms and away.
Josh pulled her close, pressing her hardened nipples to his skin. Sighing, she circled her arms around his neck, rubbing her breasts over his chest, and was rewarded when he leaned down to nuzzle them. He rolled a nipple gently between his teeth and at the same time squeezed her ass with his strong hands, causing her fingers to clench his hair
hard
.
“Ow,” he chuckled.
“Ow, nothing. If you don’t help me get my jeans off
right now
, I’m going to have to hurt you,” she said through her teeth.
Chapter Fourteen
J
osh laughed and tossed her backward onto the pillows, then seized the legs of her jeans and tugged them off without even unzipping them first. Stood back a moment in sheer appreciation. His gaze traveled up her long, long legs to her elegant vee and curvy hips, trailed over her belly to full breasts pleasingly draped with the moon’s creamy light. With her tousled hair, she seemed more like a painting he’d once seen of a Roman goddess, the huntress that ruled the moon and all wild creatures, than a flesh and blood woman.
His own flesh and blood was satisfied she was real, however, and shucking his jeans was an enormous relief. His body was strung tight with arousal, his cock hard and heavy, but he tried to ignore it. After all, a goddess should be worshipped.
Thoroughly.
Josh slid his hands under her hips, pressing her legs apart with his shoulders. Slowly he kissed Kenzie’s soft inner thighs, giving them the same attention he’d given her graceful neck. Soft, openmouthed kisses from each knee all the way up to the glistening triangle of her sex. Heat radiated from her skin wherever he touched her, not the parching heat he’d known in the Afghan summers but the welcoming heat of a campfire. Soothing, even healing. He dipped his head and ran a tongue along the crease of her leg, feeling her jump in his palms. He squeezed her shapely ass and licked again, parting her this time, seeking her hidden pearl.
The urgent little moan she made had his balls high and tight, as he indulged in tasting her, the rocking of her hips rubbing her clit along his questing tongue. The scent of her called to him as the taste of her made him crave more.
Instead he gave more, slipping a finger inside her, then two, stroking her soft, wet heat as he worked her with his tongue. Held her tight with an arm around her hips as she bucked frantically, as she was caught between trying to escape the intensity and wanting even more. He drove her now, pushed her on, drank his fill as he urged her to the very brink—and over.
Josh sat back and stroked his cock with his fingertips, thinking Kenzie might want a moment to regroup. Instead she glided up beside him and replaced his hand with hers. She squeezed him slowly, one finger at a time, from base to tip—
omigod, yes
—as her lips met his, and her kisses were hungry and hot. Suddenly he was consumed with need, burning up with it. Damn, if he didn’t take her hard and fast, he was going to spontaneously
combust
.
That was when she shoved him backward, still holding his cock like a throttle and milking it with her strong fingers. Josh caught a glimpse of her silvery gray eyes in the moonlight and saw something feral in them. He tried to suck in a breath but all the damn air in the room disappeared as she settled over him, as wet heat came in contact with—
She slid down him and he nearly came off the bed. Then she readjusted herself, squeezing his cock with her inner muscles, repeating the milking motions her fingers had been making. Slowly she began to ride him in long smooth strokes, until he could feel his eyes roll back in his head. The pleasure was drawn out to the point of insanity. And then he went a little insane, he must have. Kenzie was strong but he reared up and flipped her over, following her down and sinking his cock deep. Something fell from his lips, not even words but a wild and primal sound as he pounded into her heat and she urged him on.
Sound and sight disappeared as the orgasm took him over, as powerful waves of sensation passed through him like a tsunami passes through the deep ocean, and for a brief instant he could feel them ripple through Kenzie as well. As he sank bonelessly beside her, his last act before oblivion was to throw an arm and a leg over her and gather her tightly to his heart.
The white ATVs would have been easy to see even if there hadn’t been a full moon. Out in the open like this, there was little true dark in an Alaskan summer night—the sky retained its deep twilight glow until dawn. The vehicles rolled with earsplitting precision past Kenzie’s dig and on up the rise, finally coming to a halt in the middle of the destroyed camp. Stanton welcomed the sudden quiet as he counted six machines, ten riders, and one large empty kennel mounted on a trailer. The riders dismounted and began casting over the ground, dressed alike in camo coveralls and armed with bulky-looking rifles—tranq guns most likely. There was no mistaking the night vision goggles, which would amplify the moonlight into something approaching daytime sight for the humans.
None of that was cause for concern. Any Changeling worth his salt could elude human hunters. But the men hadn’t come alone. Their ATVs were trailed by several massive dogs, of a type Stanton had seen only a few times in his veterinary practice and once in the IBC compound: Anatolian Shepherds. Big, powerful, and totally fearless, these animals were a favorite in many parts of the world among farmers with flocks to protect. Two or three Anato-lians could do a lot of damage to a wolf pack—the dogs were bigger than many wolves and heavily muscled—and Stanton had a sinking feeling they might not run from a Changeling either.
He had to get Anya out of here
now
.
The little wolf shivered beneath his chin and he licked the top of her head to comfort her as he quickly considered which direction they should go. There was no room for mistakes. North, the direction the searchers had come from, was out of the question. And right now the searchers had split into three teams, beating the bushes west and south of Kenzie’s camp. That left east—which meant he’d have to leave the bluff and lead Anya down to the river flats. There was th. Te bick cover along the water and, if they could just move quickly enough, maybe no one would see them or pick up their trail until they were too far away to follow.
Stay close behind me, Kiddo.
He crept from their hiding spot, flattening his body as much as possible. Wished his coat was inky black again, as it had been in his youth. Tough to blend into the shadows when his damn fur was silver, and the bright moonlight would reflect off it like snow.
As he slipped through the thick brush, Stanton could feel the breath from Anya’s tiny nose within an inch of his left hind foot. When he stopped at the edge of the embankment, she bumped into his leg and sat down hard. The river below looked oily in the moonlight as it wound its multi-fingered way through hazy clumps of willow and tall grass that grew on endless sandbars. Stanton eyed the steep embankment, noting that probably nothing larger than a mink had ever climbed it here. About thirty feet straight down. A few decades ago, he would simply have jumped. Now? Probably break a damn leg, and no way could little Anya make it.
But there wasn’t time to look for an easier way, and it didn’t seem that his wolfen form was going to be a lot of help.
Stand back a minute, honey.
His fur rippled as though stirred by a sudden breeze. A moment later, he crouched at the edge of the embankment as a human being. Thanked the powers that be that Changelings brought their clothes with them during transition and he was fully dressed. He tucked his worn T-shirt into his jeans and cinched up the belt as tight as he could, then grabbed the neckline and stretched it out wide with both hands.
Okay honey, you’re going to squeeze in here and I’ll carry you down.
In there?
Sure. It’s just like a—
He almost said
baby carrier
but stopped himself in time. No self-respecting kid wanted to be thought of as a baby.
Like a secret compartment.
What if I fall?
Her voice in his head was small and tight with fear.
You can’t fall unless I do, and I’ll make sure I’m on the bottom. I’ll be like a big fluffy pillow for you, okay?
Pillows are soft. You’re too bony to be a pillow.
Better. She still had her sense of humor.
A lumpy pillow beats no pillow at all, Kiddo. Let’s go.
She wriggled in nose first and curled up over his belly, making herself as small as possible. He remembered carrying his own kids like this from time to time, but they’d been a little younger and more compact. Still, it would work. Probably.
Stanton made his way over the edge and started down, instinctively feeling for handholds and toeholds. He might be an old fart, but his Changeling nature still gave him more strength than a human to make the climb. The toughest job was trying not to squish Anya between the hillside and his body.
For her part, the cub was doing well. She remained still, curled up tight and quiet. He wondered if she was holding her breath. His T-shirt was holding up too. It was stretched nine ways to Sunday, probably permanently, but functioned well as a sling. Still, he was relieved to make it to the ground. He extricated Anya and they crept along the wall of the embankment as snatches of voices drifted down to them. The dogs were still silent and Stanton hoped that was a good thing. He remained in his human form for the time being, heading south past Kenzie’s camp high above them.
Suddenly, a deep continuous barking eruptedarkorm from somewhere overhead. It wasn’t the excited baying of a hound, but the business-like voice of a guardian, one that had discovered a threat and was on its way to neutralize it. The rest joined in. Had the dogs discovered their trail or simply run across the bears that had wrecked the camp earlier? Stanton hoped it was the latter, but as he rounded a bend, that slim hope was dashed.
A massive sow grizzly stood directly in their path. One by one, three young bears as big as their mother emerged from the brush.
The ripe moon was high above now and tugged Kenzie awake. She wasn’t subject to the lunar call, but she felt it nonetheless, loved it as all Changelings loved it. Tonight, however, her inner wolf was already sated and it wasn’t the moon that gave her such contentment and bliss.
She had a mate.
Holy Jeez.
There was no doubt now about what her lupine self had been up to—witnessing and affirming a lifetime bond. The knowledge was exhilarating, outrageous and completely terrifying at the same time. Her inner wolf hadn’t consulted her one bit, and she should have been more suspicious when it lingered so close to the surface. Maybe she had been, especially when it spoke to her as though it were a completely separate entity. But Josh had been there, and she had
wanted
. Wanted so damn bad that she could no more have walked away than flown.
Sex, as she had known it in the past, would never have satisfied such a soul-deep yearning. But sex with Josh had taken her to a whole different level, involved her entire being in a way she hadn’t imagined possible. The thrill of discovery had vied with a fierce joy of something almost like
homecoming
. Josh was still a mystery yet he was familiar in some way she could neither describe nor deny. Was this how Connor had felt when he found Zoey? Or what James experienced when Jillian walked into his life? Kenzie had thought the feeling would be more subtle, perhaps easy to mistake for something else. She hadn’t expected it to pulse in her with every breath like a second heart.
An odd thought ran through her head.
If you’re close enough to hear the thunder, you’re close enough to be struck by lightning
.
She nestled closer to Josh and his arm tightened around her, though he was sound asleep. One leg was thrown over hers. It all felt intimate and familiar and right, but how could it? Wolves didn’t question their attraction to a possible mate. Changelings didn’t question it much either.
It is or it isn’t
, her mother had once said. Yet Kenzie didn’t see how this relationship could possibly work, human and Changeling together, didn’t even know how strong Josh’s feelings for her were. And—
He has no way of knowing what just happened to us.
To
me ...
Omigod.
What if it happened only to her and not to him? Her inner wolf was bonded to him now but what truly connected a human? Her anthropology studies were not much help in this area. In fact, Josh had been annoyingly right about one thing. She knew
about
humans but didn’t really know them.
Still, she had seen something in his eyes, felt something in his touch that was far more than physical. Because of it, for the first time in her long life, she was daring to trust, daring to be vulnerable. It was flat-out terrifying, and she would have run as far and fast as she could, except for something else that she was experiencing for the first time.
Hope.m">t t
Chuffing, the grizzly sow flattened her ears and shook her head from side to side, popping her jaws at Stanton with gunshot-like noises. He knew it meant that she felt threatened, but it was nothing compared to what he was feeling at the moment. She might decide to charge, and there was no way of knowing if it would be a bluff charge and she would stop at the last minute, or an all-out attack. Never taking his eyes off the bear, he backed up one step at a time, using his leg to push along poor Anya, who was half-paralyzed with fright. If he could get a little room, he could call up his inner wolf and any threat by the grizzly could be dealt with. But Anya was too close. It took a lot of energy to make the transition, and Changelings were efficient at drawing it from their surroundings—so much so that the immense buildup of static became dangerous to anyone standing too close. The little wolf would be injured for sure. For now, all he could do was hope that backing off would be enough to mollify the mother grizzly.