In the Light of the Moon (Dark War Chronicles) (3 page)

“Hey princess, eyes are up here.” He grumbled, putting an arm between
them and pushing her off.

She didn’t fight him as she backed off and raised her eyes to meet his
again. Now his shaggy light brown hair, a tad too dark to call blond, shadowed
them, making the blue look darker. The panther in her urged Kass to nuzzle the
stranger in front of her as they recognized the scent. “You’re a panther.”

“Just like you.” He nodded giving her a slow, sexy grin that showed
just a hint of teeth with enough attitude to make a woman melt. “Do you pin
every cat you meet to the ground?”

She snorted and looked away, toying with a strand of her hair. “Only
the ones who pounce me first.”

He sat up and leaned in close to her. “I was just excited to see a
female cat. Lucius said that there were none.”

Her cat tried to rush to the surface and caused Kass to stiffen as it
hit the block in her. “He apparently had no intentions of us meeting, because
he never mentioned you either.”

“I’m Jaxon.” He leaned in and nuzzled her neck in a classic greeting.
She sighed against him, taking in his scent and missing the type of contact he
offered.

She returned the greeting, rubbing against him, “Kassity.” The longer
she touched him the more her beast hesitated against the block in her, calming
and edging back to wherever it hid inside her.

“My beast rises to your touch.” He whispered with his lips against her
cheek.

Heat tinted her face red. “And yours calms mine.” Panic crept up on her
as she struggled to breathe, his scent overwhelming her. She scooted away from
him, the wet grass soaking through her pants. He crawled towards her the
muscles in his arms moving like liquid grace. He peered up at her through his
shaggy hair.

She expected to see hurt in his eyes, but they were narrow and
calculating how to get what he wanted. Her. She froze when she felt her beast
collide with the block inside her, knowing that it was Jax’s beast that called
to her. Clenching her fists, she fought against the instinct to call to him and
his cry of need. As she closed her eyes, she tried to find her fading
connection with the cat inside her, tried to control and channel it. The want to
run in fear of the male overcame the beast and tried to force its way out.
 

Kass’ jaw tightened as he moved closer. He straddled her legs and
kissed her. Parting her lips with his tongue caused her cat to hesitate. Her
body tightened in all the right places as she melted into the kiss and allowed
him access to her mouth. She pulled her legs under her to get closer to him. He
moved so he knelt in front of her and cradled her face with his big hands. Her
beast settled against the block, content with the connection.

The tingling of happiness broke when their lips were ripped apart. Kass
opened her eyes just in time to see Lucius throw Jaxon a few yards away. Kass
swallowed and backed away from the vampire while Jaxon let out an inhuman
snarl, but remained where he was.

Lucius glared at him. “Stand down cat, she isn’t yours.”

“That’s not your choice.” Jaxon stood. “If our beasts-“

“Your beasts will not be meeting again.” Lucius spun to Kass. “Room. Now.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but when she met the narrow pure black
eyes of Lucius she thought better. She stole one last look at the male panther
before running back to the mansion.

Jax admired Kass as she ran
back to the mansion. Her red hair sparkled in the rising moon, her slim body
made quick work of the distance and her ass looked amazing in the wet jeans she
had been wearing. He recalled her blue eyes when they stared at each other and
how the kiss stirred things deep in him and called to his beast. He reminded
himself that she was his target. “A little over protective, are we?” He asked
Lucius, without turning to the vampire.

“She’s a special case and the knowledge that
she is here can put her in danger.” Lucius crossed his arms. “You are not to be
near her, you are not to touch her and if I find out otherwise, I will kill
you.”

Something in Jax stirred, he couldn’t tell if
it was his beast or his human side that was bothered by Lucius’ words. “Is she
from the local clan?”

“They killed all their females.”

Jax started to argue, but thought better of
it. “Probably a good thing she’s not part of them then.” Though he had to
wonder what lies Lucius told to keep Kass under his command. “I have made no
progress with the stone, it seems that it hasn’t reached its destination yet.”

Lucius gave a bob of his head as he looked
back at his manor. “I feel that Tegan will know when it arrives and I am hoping
that the damage done to her will recede and she’ll be…back to normal.”

“Is she connected to the stone
metaphysically?” With the sharp look Lucius shot at Jax for the question, Jax
held up his hands. “I don’t need to know what it is, I just need to know if
there is a connection so I know if it needs to be handled differently.”

Lucius sighed. “No, not unless whoever forced
her to send it away wove a connection, but they are constantly in her mind as
well. I can sense it.”

“To get into the mind of a vampire’s human
requires power, lots of power.” Jax ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t sign
up to go against a vampire.”

“No, you were hired to find the stone. I’ll
worry about the vampire if he comes into play. Those are politics you don’t
want to get mixed into if you can help it.”

“Ain’t that the truth, sometimes you guys can
be worse than shifters.”

Lucius chuckled. “Yes, we can be. Now get out
of here. And stay away from Kassity.” He disappeared.

“Damn vampires.” Jax grumbled and headed
further into the woods. Something about Kassity called out to him, but being
his other target he couldn’t get distracted by that. She belonged back with her
family and not with the vampire. There was a healthy sum of money on the line
and he couldn’t believe the rumors about the clan, no insanity showed when he
met with them and lycanthropes were affected by the war, which could account
for such a low number of panthers.
 
“This is all crazy, why do I take jobs like this?”

Kass lay on her bed, closing her eyes as she
could sense her beast curled up and growling. The low rumble echoed through her
when she thought about the male panther. Both she and her beast wanted to go in
search of him; her eyes flickered to the door when it opened and Lucius
entered.

“You aren’t allowed to be near him. I forbid it.” He crossed his arms,
eyes narrowed and jaw clenched.

Her mouth turned up in a smirk. “Scared our beasts will mate?”

“Killers cannot have mates, it makes them weak. You are mine.” He
snapped and tangled his hand in her hair using it to pull her up from the bed.
Kass let out a snarl and tried to pull away only for him to yank her back
against his chest. “Do you understand me, Kassity? You owe me your life and I
can do what I want with you.”

Panic tried to crawl through her and her panther rushed up against the
barrier. The physical pain in her chest caused a delay in her response. “Yes,
sir. You’ve made that clear before.”

“Remember when Josh brought you here?” He unwound his hand from her
hair and ran his fingers through it. “Remember how scared and beaten you were?”

Her mind flashed back to Josh carrying her through the woods while she
clung to consciousness. How her body ached when she had out run the rest of her
family and survived the game they played. Never having to care for a lycan
before he did what he could to tend to her wounds, but still turned to Lucius
for help.
 

“When will you learn that you belong to me? That your beast recognizes
that debt that you must pay?” He moved her hair to the side, his fingers
brushing over her pulse.

She shivered and her breath caught in her throat as she turned her back
to him. “I was never good at being locked up and owned.”

“Your family aimed to kill you. Did you know that they still have
others looking for you?” He whispered in her ear, his hand cupping her jaw from
behind.

Her heartbeat sped up as she froze. “I thought faking my death took
care of that.”

He rested his lips on the pulse point on her neck. She could feel her
body already bending to his power, his will. “It threw them off, but do not
worry kitty, I will protect you.”

She closed her eyes, trying to fight off the visions of struggling
against her siblings for the means to eat and survive. Phantom pains of claws
slicing her skin and teeth on the back of her neck flooded her senses. A growl
escaped her lips as she tried to escape his powers.

“So tell me,” His breath was hot against her skin. “Is having a mate
worth leaving the only protection that you have?”

She swallowed and shook her head; she could feel him smile against her
neck.

“Good.” His teeth broke the skin over the pulse and her body went slack
against him when a small moan escaped her lips. Power flooded through her
veins, her sex tightening as the fire burned through her and pleasure took its
place. She shivered against him and he wrapped an arm around her waist,
steadying her.

He pulled away, leaving a cold spot on her neck. She touched her neck
and then examined the blood that came away. There was no lingering pleasure or
pain as she slouched against the wall, self hate causing her to hang her head.

“Next assignment will be coming soon. I need you to kill another
political figure, one that the humans have put in place. He knows about the
supernatural creatures and believes we should all be destroyed and is willing
to do what he can.” He squatted so she met his gaze.

His power still flowed in her, soothing any anger that rose at his
words. “You think killing one human will do it? They will only put another in
his place.”

“We have it set up so that one of our allies will be taking his place.”
He cupped her cheek and smiled. “Do this without a fight and I will let you run
free in the woods for a night.”

“No cage?”

“No cage, no chains, no collar, a night of freedom and full control in
the forest.”

Kass tried to control the excitement that ran through her and her cat.
“We agree.”

“Good girl.” A smile snaked across his face allowing his fangs to peek
out from behind thin lips. He played with the tips of her hair for a moment
before letting it fall against her shoulder. “If I find you with Jaxon again,
there will be punishment. For both of you.”

“Of course,” she nodded, her thoughts somewhere else. Exhaustion
cramped her muscles, her mind fuzzy with the after affects of Lucius’ feeding
and power. Even her inner cat curled up, providing a break from the constant
battle. “When will I gain all my control back?”

He jumped up with a booming laugh. “When I decide that you and your cat
agree that I am your master. Then, and only then, Kassity. Until then, I
control you and your cat runs free inside you.”

She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, biting her
tongue.

“Painful, wasn’t it? To lose all that control you had learned when you
were at home with the other panthers.”

Her lips lifted in a snarl, a not so subtle warning that she wasn’t in
the mood for mocking. She opened her eyes, keeping them narrowed. “You have no
idea how painful it really is for a shifter to lose control.”

He spun on his heels and started out of the room. “You’re scheduled to
work at the bar tonight.” He opened the door, hesitating a moment, “so get
dressed and get over there.”

She rubbed her eyes as the door slammed behind him. The need to run and
escape him went through her, but no solution came to mind. If she was to leave
the chances of her family finding her would increase and she knew she couldn’t
go back.

The noise of the crowd beat against her,
already testing her patience when she entered the bar. A hand squeezed her ass
as she passed a group of males and a snarl escaped her lips. She never could
understand the human need to paw at a female. Pushing the short door open to
allow her access behind the bar, she nodded to Mae who stood with a customer at
the other end. Kass fell into the rhythm of the bar, working with the beat of
the music, serving drinks to those who made their way to the bar and flirting
with those she deemed worthy. She paused as a scent crossed her nose. Her head
shot up, eyes searching the crowd as her panther tried to swim to the surface
as the male’s scent surrounded them. The bottle of vodka in her hand shattered
against the tiled floor as she stumbled.

“Fuck.” She hissed trying to force the beast down, but it pushed
against the barrier, pain coursing through her body.

Mae hand was on Kass’ back in an instant. “Kass?”

“Fine, I’m fine.” She groaned, trying to control her cat. “Panther.”

Mae ushered her to the back door, shoving their way through the crowd.
“Outside, get some fresh air.” Gain control remained unsaid, but Kass knew what
Mae was getting at.