The Shadow Wolf (10 page)

Stunned, she instinctively slammed her legs shut.

“Open up for me,
chère.
Let me in,” he whispered.

His fingers stroked, slid between her soaked folds. Megan clutched his broad shoulders as he touched the aching, shivering flesh. Each caress erased past fears. He slid a finger deep inside her, teased. Fire mounted within her, licking and then roaring into an inferno.

Megan arched and cried out his name as she shattered. When her body finally ceased shuddering, she saw frank male satisfaction gleam in his eyes.

He dropped a gentle kiss on her mouth, rubbed his cheek against hers. Rough bristles abraded her soft skin.

Settling his lean hips between her legs, he looked down at her.

“Look at me,” he softly ordered. “I need to see your eyes when I take you.”

Jaw tightened, he slowly pushed inside her. The pressure built, stretching and burning. Megan grit her teeth as he slid past her innocence. He felt hard and thick, her inner muscles shuddering to accommodate him. She writhed, trying to find some ease as he penetrated fully. A small tear trickled out of the corner of her eyes. He gently kissed it away.

“Shh,” he murmured. “Relax,
ma petite chou.
”

He remained motionless, as if waiting for her. Pain faded slightly. Megan slid her arms up around his neck, feeling the tensile muscles there. Her bonded mate. Her wolf. She moved her hips upward and felt him withdraw slowly, then thrust again.

A hint of untamed danger lurked in his eyes. The Feral beast, barely held at bay. As if to anchor himself more closely to her, Gabriel laced his fingers through hers.

A delicious friction began with each powerful stroke. Gabriel's muscled shoulders flexed as he strained over her. She sensed the beast howling with need, the clawing demand for rough, uninhibited sex. Megan squeezed his fingers.

In silent understanding, she whispered into his mind.
I can take you, Gabriel. All of you. I want all of you.

He consumed her, filled every pore with awareness of him. For a moment, their spirits tangled together fiercely, the Feral wolf and the emboldened Shadow. Megan lost herself in pure sensation as his silky chest hair rubbed against her tender breasts, his muscular abdomen sliding against her soft belly. She arched to meet his rhythm as the heat between her thighs intensified.

His thrusts came harder and faster and then he stiffened. Megan watched him throw back his head, cords on his powerful neck straining.

With an inhuman cry, he released himself into her. The warmth of his seed spurted deep inside her. He shuddered as the orgasm tore through him and she felt him swell inside her. Something sizzled and raced through her. It felt like a million dancing points of pleasure. She writhed, straining from the erotic sensation.

Murmuring her name, Gabriel collapsed atop her. His ragged breaths feathered over her cheeks as he buried his face against her neck. She bore his weight, stroking his sweat-dampened hair.

“What was that?” she whispered. “At the end, it felt like…”

“My magick. My powers.” He raised himself off her with a solemn look. “When I come inside your body, I fill you with my magick, as well. All our cells contain our powers, so when a male releases inside a female, she receives some of his magick. It's why I never have sex without a condom. Except with you.”

He nuzzled her cheek. “Ah, I'm not like other males, also, so when I come…I get bigger. It will take a few moments. If I pull out now, I could hurt you.”

Rolling over, he let her sprawl over his body. Wanton and savage need swirled in her. Megan sighed happily, knowing they were bonded in the flesh.

S
he was his.

The thought of having her for life made his pulse soar. Gabriel hummed as he put butter into a pan and began frying onions and mushrooms to make omelets. If she didn't like it, he'd make her something else. Warm with sexual possession, he cooked Megan breakfast while the twins slept on.

Every day would be like that with her, and then when the kids came along, lots of kids, he wanted a big family and hoped she did, as well….

Stricken by the thought, Gabriel stopped. Children? With his defect?

A family was as out of reach for him as a star. Even Megan, with her unique and wonderful abilities as Shadow, didn't have to worry about passing on a defect. Not like him.

Deep grief replaced the honest joy. Gabriel closed his eyes, seeing Amelia's smiling face, her innocent trust. He didn't deserve to have children. Not after how he'd betrayed his sister-in-law and niece.

Hands encircled his waist and softness nestled against his back. Gabriel tensed for a moment as Megan released a contented sigh. The warmth of her embrace and her honest affection tore him apart. He needed her, needed her in his life, but how could he show her what he truly was?

A Feral—a savage, dangerous Draicon who had let down those who relied on him.

She must never know.

But the feel of her against him was so soft and good, he allowed himself the luxury of being loved without fear. Closing his eyes, Gabriel savored it as he would enjoy a long, leisurely meal. He cupped her face in his hands and gently brushed his lips against hers. Gabriel closed his eyes, tasting the sweetness on her mouth. He kissed her with light butterfly strokes as he heard her sigh. Then he deepened the kiss, his need boiling to the surface.

“The twins will be awake soon,” she murmured.

He tightened his grip. “Not if I give them a little push to help them sleep.”

“Normally I'd say no, but they do need their rest.”

He broke the kiss, rubbed his temple. “That will do.”

Turning off the heat beneath the frying pan, he then took her hand and led her back into the bedroom.

 

Flushed with joy and newly found sexuality, Megan sat at the table watching the twins and her mate dig into their breakfast. Gabriel caught her staring, winked.

The house's safety and cozy interior made her feel protected and comfortable. They were like a little family. She could indulge in the dream of her and Gabriel together like this, their own children chattering as they ate the meal he'd cooked….

Her coffee cup slammed down, spilling black liquid. Gabriel glanced up, wiped his mouth with a paper napkin.

“What is it?”

“The letter,” she said tersely. “We forgot all about it.”

The dreamy mood broke. Inside the sealed envelope was the objective of her quest. Megan dreaded opening it.

They had already suffered enough instability. She set the envelope before Gabriel, then went on her knees before the twins.

“Jenny, Jilly, whatever is inside that letter, I want you to know this. You'll always be my family and whenever you need
me, wherever I am, and wherever you are, I'll be there for you. Okay? Nothing can break apart the Three Musketeers, not time or distance or a silly old letter.”

“Four,” Jillian whispered. “Four Musketeers. Don't forget Gabriel.”

She met his solemn gaze. “Four. Gabriel. It's time.”

Gabriel broke the red seal and began to read.

Then he looked up, his tanned, handsome face slack with shock.

“What is it?” she cried out.

“I can't believe this….”

 

Jillian and Jennifer were not strangers to him.

They were his nieces. His flesh and blood. Alex's twins, the ones Simone had said were stillborn.

They were alive and sitting before him, staring at him with their mother's eyes.

Gabriel's mouth went dry as the paper fluttered to the table. Megan pressed his arm. “What is it? What did Gram say to Alexandre?”

Words lodged in his throat. Gabriel looked at Jenny and Jillian and his mind finally acknowledged what his heart knew all along. How they resembled their mother, her sweet heart-shaped face, her gentle innocence and shining belief in all things good.

“You're my nieces,” he said thickly, hugging them tight. “My brother Alex's lost girls. We thought you were dead. Oh God, we were told you had died.”

“You mean you're our uncle?” Jennifer asked.

“We have family,” Jillian said happily. “You're really our uncle. I knew you were a real Musketeer!”

“You're my brother Alex's little girls. You have a dad.” Overcome, he swallowed past the dryness in his throat and murmured
to Megan as if seeing the girls anew. “Twins.
Ils se ressemblent comme deux gouttes d'eau.” They resemble each other like two drops of water.

Tears shimmered in Megan's eyes, tears he would never allow himself. The twins did not ask questions. They merely hugged him back.

Lifting his gaze to the girls, Gabriel made the first promise he'd uttered since the day Amelia died. “On my honor as a Draicon, I make you this vow,” he said hoarsely. “I will get you to your dad. I swear, I don't care if it takes the last breath in my body. You'll be safe in my care until you at last get to meet your father. And he finally gets to hold you in his arms.”

When he stood, he met Megan's shocked gaze. Gabriel pointed to the letter. His eyes were dryer than desert sand. Emotions roiled through him, but he brutally forced them aside.

“It's from Simone, written after the twins were born.”

Watching her read the note, the knife in his heart twisted hard and sank deep. Simone had visited Shadow Island, the land of her birth, when she was pregnant and suddenly went into labor there.

The note explained the secret kept by Simone and her mother, who was Megan's grandmother. Jillian and Jennifer carried a distinctive Shadow birthmark. Simone had made the agonizing decision to leave the girls with her mother to raise because they would never be fully accepted by Alex's family, his pack, with their Shadow heritage.

Tears swam in Megan's big blue eyes as she carefully set down the paper. “She never knew that Shadow Island would become a prison. To Sissy, it was a refuge for her babies. Gabriel, they have a real father. Now I know they'll be in good hands with you by their side, too. You won't let anything happen to them.”

“I have to go out,” he muttered.

“Now? Gabriel, what's going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

The door slammed behind him. He headed for the lake needing to be alone with his turbulent thoughts.

 

Gabriel was shutting her out again.

The twins came first. She hugged them, asked if they had any questions. They did, expressing their concern over their unknown father. Would he love them? Was he a good person who, even though he was Draicon, wouldn't make them feel bad the way other Draicon had?

“He's Gabriel's brother, remember? You like Gabriel, he's been good to you. I'm sure Alex will be just as brave and good as his brother.”

But as secretive? She'd wanted a mate who wouldn't hide from her emotionally. Megan smiled to assuage their fears and told them to go clean up.

She ran water into the sink and began washing dishes. The closeness of last night caved into morning doubt. Would Gabriel ever fully open to her and bond with her emotionally instead of physically?

She needed all of him, not just the parts he chose to share with her.

Now she needed space. Megan set aside the dishes, grabbed a bottle of water and went outside into the sultry heat. The wood swing hanging from a large tree branch provided a perfect place to contemplate and relax.

At least now they knew the twins would never be alone. Megan smiled at the girls as they scampered outside, embarking on a furious game of tag.

“Cousin Megan?” Jennifer stopped. “Is it okay if we play hide-and-seek? There's no one around to see us.”

“Why not? Just keep it to half an hour. Don't wear yourselves out.”

Shrieking, the girls ran toward the forest. She tracked their scent, and settled back into the swing.

“Where are the girls?”

Gabriel joined her, thumbs hooked into his jeans, his long legs splayed before him. Megan shivered in pleasurable remembrance of the soft hairs on those limbs rubbing against hers as he thrust slowly inside her.

“Playing. They're fine. What about you?”

“I don't see them.”

“Stop worrying, they're fine.”

“They're my nieces now, my responsibility.” He shaded his eyes. “I can scent them, but can't see them.”

His expression darkened. “Jennifer is in the tree.
Merde. Descends del la droite maintenant!
Get down from there!”

Emerging from Shadow, Jennifer climbed down. Megan told them to keep playing.

“Gabriel, they're the same little girls they were an hour ago, before you read the letter,” she reminded. “You've done a wonderful job making sure we are out of danger. Stop worrying.”

“I can never stop worrying. It's like asking me to stop breathing.” He stood up and whirled around as giggles surrounded them.

Anger dawned on his face. “They're in Shadow.”

“Jennifer asked and I told her it was fine for them to play their favorite game, hide-and-seek.” Megan listened as the laughing girls ran toward the woods.

“They shouldn't be. They have to keep their energy levels primed, not waste them on play.”

As he started toward the forest after them, she leaped up and grabbed his arm. “What is it, Gabriel? Why are you like this all of the sudden?”

He halted, looking down at her hand on his arm. “I don't want anyone unprepared, not after what happened at the last house.
We're still being followed and it's only time before we're found again.”

“They're just little girls who need some normalcy, as you said last night,” she pointed out. “Let them play.”

“Play is fine. But not while using their powers.”

“I told them only thirty minutes.”

He walked over to the azalea bushes wreathing the tree trunk. She could not see his expression, but pain radiated from him like glowing embers.

Suddenly she knew he wasn't being authoritative about the twins because he was exercising his rights as a blood relative. He was worried about their safety.

“Thank you for looking after them. You risked a lot for them.”

“I only wanted them to have as normal a childhood as possible, despite the restrictions placed on us. They're good kids, Gabriel. They deserve to be loved. Doesn't everyone?”

Silence filled the space between them, broken by the twins' shrill laughs. “Some don't deserve love,” he said finally.

Emotion clogged her throat. “Everyone does. Especially little boys who think they don't deserve it.”

For a moment he stared into her eyes, his yearning evident. “You can trust me now, Gabriel. I will not betray you.”

It seemed as if a connection had been made, bonding them together. Hope rose that maybe this could be the moment when he finally opened to her.

She waited. Gabriel leaned forward, his muscular forearms braced on his splayed knees. The sounds of the girls playing, squirrels chattering overhead and the distant caw of a crow rubbed against the silence between them. The heat was a sultry, living creature licking his spine and dampening his shirt. A bead of sweat condensed on his temple, rolled down his angular cheek.

Sensing his thirst, Megan handed him her water. He smiled
his thanks. Gabriel tipped up the bottle. Fascination stole over her as she watched his strong throat muscles work.

He wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. Her gaze settled on that warm, wet mouth.

The bottle dropped to the ground as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Gabriel drew her closer and intensified the kiss, making her toes curl. Heat pooled between her legs.

A loud, frightened shriek broke them apart like two strong hands.

Megan shot to her feet as Gabriel bolted toward the woods. “Jilly, Jenny,” he yelled. “Where are you? What's wrong?”

“Gabriel, help us! Something's got Jilly!”

He vanished into the woods. With each frenetic beat of her heart, Megan raced toward the screams.