Howling Moon Part 12

Lucas grunted in acknowledgment and gestured at the cigarette pack. Raphael tapped out one for each of them before pulling out his lighter.

"Did Ned give the pack first right of refusal?" Raphael asked as he held the lighter for his pack leader. "I didn't see anything cross my desk." Ned give the pack first right of refusal?" Raphael asked as he held the lighter for his pack leader. "I didn't see anything cross my desk."

"No," Lucas sighed. "It came to me. Tatya figured she'd handle it while I was out of town."

"Oh."

Raphael watched as Lucas stared up at the star-filled sky and the silver moonlight that lined the few visible clouds. The older man hadn't actually looked at him or met his eyes since they'd left the building. "She thought, if she turned him down and then waited a few weeks, she could negotiate down the price."

"Bad idea." Raphael took a long drag of nicotine. He forced himself to relax. It hadn't been a disaster. Nothing irretrievable had happened. But d.a.m.n d.a.m.n it had been a close call. Sometimes Tatya was so impulsive it qualified as stupidity. "Ned's real proud of that place and mountain land's in high demand." it had been a close call. Sometimes Tatya was so impulsive it qualified as stupidity. "Ned's real proud of that place and mountain land's in high demand."

"Very." Lucas took a long pull on the cigarette, making the tip glow cherry red. He slowly released the smoke from his lungs and watched as it floated upward. "Now he wouldn't sell to us if we were the last people on the planet."

"Yup."

"And Cat, who would probably have been reasonable about sharing hunting rights before, is totally p.i.s.sed off." Lucas leaned his back against the large black SUV he'd driven up in.

"Right again."

"Don't suppose you can talk sense to her?" Lucas s.h.i.+fted his body so that he was looking straight at the other man with a burning intensity.

"What makes you think I'll have any better luck than you would? And what makes it sensible to change her mind?" This time it was Raphael who looked away and tried to keep his tone casual.

Lucas gave him a long, flat look that Raphael tried unsuccessfully to ignore. Eventually Lucas took pity on him and broke the silence. "Have you talked to Betty about getting tested to see whether the mating is one sided or mutual?"

Raphael took a deep breath. He hadn't said it out loud, but he didn't need to around Lucas. He might well be the only only person in Boulder who understood what he was going through. Mated. person in Boulder who understood what he was going through. Mated.

And to Jack's get after everything that had happened. He closed his eyes and let out a short, frustrated chuckle. "I scheduled an appointment for next week. Didn't tell her what it was about."

"Next week?" week?"

"Yeah, next -week, -week, when Daphne Black is on vacation. I'd like to keep this as quiet as I can." when Daphne Black is on vacation. I'd like to keep this as quiet as I can."

Lucas flinched. "I'm getting slow in my old age. You shouldn't have had to remind me of that."

"Nah, you're just tired. Too much on your plate. Go home. Get some rest. It'll look better in the morning."

"Right." Lucas dug out his keys and climbed into the SUV. "What're you going to do?" Lucas dug out his keys and climbed into the SUV. "What're you going to do?"

"Long term, I haven't got a f.u.c.king clue," Raphael answered. "But right now, it's a gorgeous night, the weather's perfect. I'm going for a run. You?"

"I'm going to drive home nice and slow and hope that by the time I get there my wife will already be in bed, asleep."

"Good luck with that."

Lucas acknowledged the joke with a soft snort of laughter before rolling up the window and driving off. Raphael watched him go. When die SUV was completely out of sight he began to undress.

It really was a perfect night for a run. Crisp and clear, with a thousand stars sparkling like diamonds in the distance. A north wind blowing just hard enough to rustle what few aspen leaves still decorated the trees. It had been a night much like this when Candy Streeter died. Raphael shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about that. He'd done his best. Not that it had mattered in the end, she had been just as dead as if Raphael had stood by and done nothing at all, all because of a single scratch.

The Sazi code of conduct was harsh for a reason. The consequences for carelessness were just too severe.

Raphael unlocked the door to his car and set his boots and folded clothes neatly on top of the driver's-side seat. He tucked his keys under the rear floor mat and shut the car door with a brisk slam. A moment's concentration was all it took. His body transformed effortlessly into the second shape it had been born to take. Seconds later, a huge black timber wolf disappeared into the shadowed woods.

Raphael ran easily over the rough terrain, paws skimming over frosted tufts of gra.s.s. He leapt over a dry gully that waited for spring's melt to fill with pure rus.h.i.+ng water. The scent of pine filled his nostrils as his paw crashed needles piled beneath the trees, fading as it was carried off by the breeze. Other than the rustle of the leaves and the hoot of an owl, the forest was nearly silent. The prey had all gone to ground, hoping the predator would pa.s.s them by.

In the distance he heard the thump and crunch of brush as a startled doe bolted. Instinct took over. He turned, to give chase.

He put on a burst of speed, gaining on the doe with every stride. Raphael could hear the thundering of her heart, her ragged breathing. He felt a burst of pure, unfettered joy as he leapt, his teeth closing around her throat, his weight and the power of the impact driving her to the ground.

He finished her off quickly and settled down to feast on his kill, coherent thought washed away in the salt-sweet taste of fresh meat and blood. He gorged until he was sated, then lay on his side letting the food settle. His stomach was heavy, and so were his eyes. It would be easy to sleep here. Really, there was no reason why he shouldn't. There was no one at home to miss him, nothing but an empty house with photographs of kids he never got the chance to raise and those few things Raven left behind for use on his visits. Once upon a time he'd believed in the fairy tale. That he, too, could have the kind of life Lucas had managed; the pack, the business, a beautiful wife, and a pa.s.sel of kids. It had been a cruel trick that every relations.h.i.+p he'd invested his heart in had wound up in disaster.

Only Raven's mother, Star, was still friendly with him. Although if he was being totally honest, the fact that she didn't, didn't, marry him when she was pregnant with Raven still stung. marry him when she was pregnant with Raven still stung.

It was probably for the best, though if they had had gotten married, they would've ended up divorced and bitter. They were too much alike stubborn and hardheaded, neither one ever able to compromise on anything. He did hope he'd be able to talk her into coming up for Thanksgiving. It would give him the chance to sneak in some healing before her arthritis got too bad. gotten married, they would've ended up divorced and bitter. They were too much alike stubborn and hardheaded, neither one ever able to compromise on anything. He did hope he'd be able to talk her into coming up for Thanksgiving. It would give him the chance to sneak in some healing before her arthritis got too bad.

Raphael found himself wondering what Cat would be doing for Thanksgiving. As if the thought summoned her, he caught her scent on the breeze, heard her soft footfalls.

"Raphael?" Cat called his name with both voice and mind.

"Over here," Raphael answered.

He heard her turn, following both his scent and the sound of his voice. Before long she appeared at the opposite side of the clearing, moonlight gleaming off the length of her hair.

She was gorgeous, breathtaking. Low-slung jeans clung to those long shapely legs, leaving just a thin band of tanned skin showing on her abdomen between them and the little blue b.u.t.ton-up sweater he'd been admiring... G.o.d, was it only this morning? It felt as if it had been a year ago at least.

Her steps slowed as she neared the deer carca.s.s. Raphael knew a battle was raging between the two parts of her nature. The cat wanted to feed. It was obvious from the way her body stiffened, her nose twitching to get a better scent of the raw meat. But Cat Cat rebelled, horrified by the b.l.o.o.d.y mess of torn flesh and bones. rebelled, horrified by the b.l.o.o.d.y mess of torn flesh and bones.

"You can have some if you want," Raphael offered gently.

"Thank you." Cat's voice was taut with strain. "But no."

"It's all right to want it."

"Is it? Is it really?" She didn't bother to hide her disbelief, tinged with horror. He could hear that she was very nearly hysterical. "I don't think so!"

She stalked away from the carca.s.s, throwing herself to the ground with her back to it, so she wouldn't have to look. But tension sang through her body as her cat fought her for control.

The human won. But it wasn't easy, and it wasn't pretty. Raphael very carefully didn't express the pity he felt for her. She was a proud woman. Pity would stick in her craw, make her even angrier than the helplessness he knew she was feeling. Instead, he lay still, waiting.

"Do you have any idea how much I hate hate this?" she asked. Tears glittered in her wide green eyes. this?" she asked. Tears glittered in her wide green eyes.

"I know it's hard."

"Hard?" She snarled. Again, Cat fought for control. Again she mastered herself. Eventually she broke the silence. "It's like I'm not me me anymore. You tried to warn me. But I didn't realize " anymore. You tried to warn me. But I didn't realize "

"It'll get easier with practice," Raphael promised.

"Oh, G.o.d, I hope so!" A single tear tracked down her perfect cheek. If he hadn't been in wolf form, he'd have brushed mat tear away, taken her in his arms to comfort her.

"You're actually doing very well. Much better than I expected."

She laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "I hit Michael a little while ago. I think I broke his nose. I did break a couple of my fingers." Her gaze locked with Raphael's, and the scent of her pain and confusion easily overpowered the smell of the deer on the ground.

He perked his ears with interest. "What happened?"

"Where do I start?" She rose to her feet in a fluid movement and began pacing. There was no mistaking her exasperation as she related her tale. Raphael found himself growing angrier and angrier on her behalf. He watched as her body vibrated with fury, and the smell of rage boiled off of her in an almost visible mist. "So then I thought about that girl in the memory you showed me "

"And you hit him." Raphael worked very hard not to put any emotion into the words, not anger, or disapproval, or even what he actually felt: sincere appreciation. The kid was a total a.s.s, completely unlike his father, and he'd wished he could personally deck him more than once.

"Yep." Her voice was likewise flat, but the roil of scents told an entirely different tale. Fear, anger, frustration, worry they were all mere, blended into one tiny word.

"And broke his nose?"

"I think so."

He sighed. While Lucas probably wouldn't blame her once he learned the story, it did raise a valid question. If Raphael was mated to her, what's to say Mike wasn't as well? Multiple matings to an alpha were fairly common. It was becoming pretty obvious that Cat was an alpha to be reckoned with. "Then what?"

"Then I climbed out of the car and stormed off. I heard him drive away."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'd probably have done the same tiling." Raphael spoke gently.

"Ah, but you 're you 're his alpha. You get to. I, on the other hand, am 'the cat that's intruding on our territory' who everybody thinks should be run out on a rail if not killed outright." She shook her head; her voice was soft, almost awed when she finally spoke again. "They would've killed me tonight, if you hadn't stopped them. They would've done it. I just don't his alpha. You get to. I, on the other hand, am 'the cat that's intruding on our territory' who everybody thinks should be run out on a rail if not killed outright." She shook her head; her voice was soft, almost awed when she finally spoke again. "They would've killed me tonight, if you hadn't stopped them. They would've done it. I just don't get get it. I haven't done anything wrong!" it. I haven't done anything wrong!"

"It's going to be all right," he a.s.sured her, hoping she couldn't smell his own doubts.

She glared at him. "Don't lie to me, Raphael. The pack hates me, I have a madman strolling through my mind at will, oh, and and I get to turn into a wild animal once a month and go kill things! No," she corrected herself. " I get to turn into a wild animal once a month and go kill things! No," she corrected herself. " I I get to turn into a wild animal get to turn into a wild animal anytime anytime I want. Oh, I want. Oh, goody." goody."

Raphael lay utterly still, trying to come up with the right words to comfort her. What could he say? She had every right to be angry and terrified. Her entire life had been torn away from her. It was one of the reasons so many attack victims committed suicide within the first few months. The physical stresses were phenomenal. Mentally and emotionally it was worse. But he wanted, needed needed Cat to make it. He just wasn't sure how to make it happen. The silence grew between them, but it changed subtly, becoming less angry, but more sorrowful. Cat to make it. He just wasn't sure how to make it happen. The silence grew between them, but it changed subtly, becoming less angry, but more sorrowful.

Reaching over, she buried her left hand deep in his fur, scratching the perfect spot just behind his ear. Her touch was electric, her scent... Raphael wanted to wrap himself in the scent of her.

"I walked back to the bar. It took awhile. n.o.body was there, but your car was still in the parking lot. So I decided to use some of that training you gave me this afternoon."

"And you found me." He turned his head, licking the tear from her cheek, tasting the salty sweetness of her sadness on his tongue. "I guess you were paying attention after all."

She stuck out her tongue at him. The childish gesture made him laugh. She gave him a playful shove, but winced.

Without even thinking about it, Raphael used his magic to change forms. "Let me see," he ordered. She held it out gingerly. Two of the knuckles were red and the whole hand was badly swollen.

She'd broken it all right. Based on the damage to her hand Raphael would bet that Mike's nose was badly broken, too. Not that it mattered he'd heal. And Tatya would make sure his nose wound up straight. But, s.h.i.+t, Tatya would be p.i.s.sed n.o.body got to mess with that woman's cubs.

Raphael took Cat's hand in his. He concentrated, focusing his power, picturing the delicate bones of her hand whole and aligned the way they should be. The power washed out of him in a gentle wave. Cat gave a soft gasp of pleasure. Raphael's body hardened in response.

Raphael started to pull back, but she was having none of that. Pulling her hand from his, she took his face between her two palms and kissed him. It was not a chaste meeting of lips, but a slow, seductive demand.

Raphael groaned as electric energy poured through his body from their mouths, every cell aching to take this woman and make her his. He pulled her close, pressing against the strong supple length of her. His hands seemed to move of their own accord, unfastening the clothing that kept her from him while her hands explored his body in a way that made coherent thought impossible.

Keep that up and this won't last long, he warned.

She didn't answer, at least not with her mind. Her hands, however, knew the perfect response, one finger tracing along the sensitive skin behind his testes, before delicately running the length of him from base to tip in a single, languid movement.

He pulled back from the kiss to look into those gorgeous green eyes.

Raphael had been with more than his share of women. As Second for a pack with a mated Alpha, he was breeding stock. breeding stock. But never in his life had a woman affected him the way Cat did now. It was more than a wanting. It was a primal need. He had to know if she felt the same. He prayed she did, because this was no mere roll in the hay for him, and while he might be able to stop physically magically and emotionally he might very well be too far gone to turn back. Mated. But never in his life had a woman affected him the way Cat did now. It was more than a wanting. It was a primal need. He had to know if she felt the same. He prayed she did, because this was no mere roll in the hay for him, and while he might be able to stop physically magically and emotionally he might very well be too far gone to turn back. Mated.

It was a terrifying and exhilarating thought.

"Raphael, what's wrong?"

Her voice was tentative. He could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes. He felt a pang of remorse. His confusion was hurting her, and she was the last person on earth he ever wanted to see hurt. In that moment he made his choice. He wanted this this woman. Not just for tonight: for always. To h.e.l.l with the pack and the future he'd planned. Without her it would mean nothing. To h.e.l.l with Jack. They'd face him, fight him, together. woman. Not just for tonight: for always. To h.e.l.l with the pack and the future he'd planned. Without her it would mean nothing. To h.e.l.l with Jack. They'd face him, fight him, together.

He reached for her. "Just admiring the view," he teased. There would be no smell of black pepper. It wasn't a lie. She was so beautiful, inviting, lying there, and her answering smile was an invitation he couldn't refuse.

He ran his hand lightly over her breast and down her abdomen, his hand teasing the blonde triangle between her legs. She was wet for him, eager, her scent heavy with musk.

Raphael lowered his mouth to her taut stomach, his tongue teasing her belly b.u.t.ton before licking a slow line downward. She gasped, thighs spreading for him. He slid his hands beneath her, cupping her a.s.s as he began giving slow, sensuous licks to the skin of her upper thighs: coming ever closer, but not quite quite touching the very core of her. She whimpered then, her body arching, her hands tangling in the length of his hair as her body struggled for release. touching the very core of her. She whimpered then, her body arching, her hands tangling in the length of his hair as her body struggled for release.

He had to fight down his own need, force himself to wait. He didn't want to rush this. There would only be one first time. He wanted it to be something to remember.

When he pulled back, she groaned in frustration, until he slid his hand between her thighs and began using his fingers to bring her to climax as his mouth covered hers. Her body arched, muscles tightening around his hand, her cries silenced by his mouth on hers. Only when the thunder of her pulse had begun to slow did he pull away, s.h.i.+fting position to thrust himself deep inside her.

Not only did her body respond, her magic did as well, building with each stroke until their combined power sizzled across his skin in a way that was just one hair short of painful. It was the power that pulled him over the edge, made him lose control until they both came in a single, overwhelming burst.

CAT OPENED ONE eye. It was raining. Soft fat drops plopped down on her skin through the canopy of tree limbs above. She s.h.i.+vered, snuggling farther in against Raphael. He was so eye. It was raining. Soft fat drops plopped down on her skin through the canopy of tree limbs above. She s.h.i.+vered, snuggling farther in against Raphael. He was so warm. warm. It felt wonderful being nestled in his arms, feeling his body curled protectively around her body, pulling her close. What It felt wonderful being nestled in his arms, feeling his body curled protectively around her body, pulling her close. What didn't didn't feel wonderful was the sharp rock digging into her left hip, or the second, third and fourth cold drops that splattered more quickly down from above. feel wonderful was the sharp rock digging into her left hip, or the second, third and fourth cold drops that splattered more quickly down from above.

Raphael s.h.i.+fted, grumbling in his sleep, pulling her more tightly against him, squeezing until it was almost painful. She took a deep breath, reveling in the scents of him: skin, fur, and, oddly fresh baked bread.

"Raphael," Cat whispered. There was no reaction. "Raphael, it's raining."

He s.h.i.+fted again, making a grumbling noise. Cat s.h.i.+fted, and lifting his arm, she slid away from him and stood. She needed to get dressed. But first, first she needed to find a nice private spot in the woods and take care of business.

"Where are you going?" Raphael cracked open an eye to stare up at her.

"I have to pee."

"Mnnn." His other eye cracked open as fat wet drops started beating a tattoo on his body. "Hey! It's raining." raining."

Cat rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. Instead, she walked into the trees. She didn't go too far, just put enough distance between them for a semblance of privacy.

She was sore, and more than a little stiff from sleeping on the bare ground, and there were other small hurts as well. Hurts of the kind that came from uninhibited s.e.x. It had been wonderful, really amazing, and oddly she didn't feel at all awkward with him this morning. It just felt right right waking up next to him, as if they'd been doing it all their lives. She'd never felt this comfortable with Brad, or any of the few other men she'd been with. waking up next to him, as if they'd been doing it all their lives. She'd never felt this comfortable with Brad, or any of the few other men she'd been with.

Of course Raphael was the first man who'd ever accepted her for exactly who she was, faults and all. In fact, he was quite possibly the first person in her life to do so. Her parents had loved her unquestioningly, but her mother had been constantly pus.h.i.+ng her to "toughen up," while her father wanted nothing more than for her to share his interest in all things mechanical. They'd loved her, they'd even liked liked her. But she knew there were things about her they would've changed if they could. Only fair she had her complaints about them, and hadn't appreciated them nearly enough. It made her sad, but she didn't feel the overwhelming pain she had before. She would always miss them, but today she could actually believe that eventually it was going to get better. her. But she knew there were things about her they would've changed if they could. Only fair she had her complaints about them, and hadn't appreciated them nearly enough. It made her sad, but she didn't feel the overwhelming pain she had before. She would always miss them, but today she could actually believe that eventually it was going to get better.

It's already eight o'clock, we'd probably better hurry.