Fever (Blood Moon Rising, #1) (11 page)

With his free hand, he pulled her
closer. With her bare breasts pressing against his chest, he could
feel himself hardening, growing longer and more eager to mate with
her.

She must have felt him brushing her
leg, because those gorgeous green eyes ducked down. Her gaze grew
hungry and she licked her lips.

Lifting her up, he leaned back and sat
her on top of him. Though he was hard and ready to take her, he
didn’t want to do so without her permission. She was tasting this
idea, of being his permanent lover, and he didn’t want to scare her
away, not now that he had a chance of winning her
forever.

In subtle movements, she began raking
her sex along his shaft. He reached up and cupped her breasts,
teasing her nipples with his mouth. She gasped, rubbing harder,
coating him with her honey. He ran his hands over her body,
reveling in her softness.

“
What does mating feel
like?” she asked, her voice ragged.

“
I don’t know,” Gage
admitted. “I’ve heard the bond between mates is incredible. You can
feel their emotions, where they are. You’re linked closer to them
than any other person, human or were.”

She smiled. “That sounds nice, to
never be alone.”

He smiled back. “Yeah.”

He was leaning up to kiss her when a
wolf howled in the distance. Gage sighed and squeezed his eyes shut
as Danica looked toward the cave entrance. “Was that…?”

“
Nik,” he said, closing his
eyes and letting out a slow, calming breath. “Sorry to cut this
short, love.”

“
It’s okay.” She climbed
off him and began dressing, casting one last eyeful of him as he
rose. “We can take a raincheck.”

He grinned. He liked the sound of
rainchecks. And a very naked Danica moaning his name and digging
her nails into his back as he made her come over and over
again.

He quickly dressed, pulling on his
damp shirt and pants and not cherishing any part of it. Wolves
didn’t like to be wet any more than humans. Another howl came.
“That’s definitely Nik. I’d recognize his howl
anywhere.”

More howls joined in, along with a
blinding white light that spilled into the cave. Relieved as he was
to be rescued - mostly for Danica’s sake - Gage wished he’d had
more time with her.

Soon
.

Danica got dressed, and he held her
hand as they walked to the mouth of the cave. They squinted against
the brilliant, pure light that seemed to come from everywhere. A
woman with flowing white hair and a blue dress stood in the center
of the light, surrounded by wolves.

Wraiths shrieked and swirled around
her, but they didn’t dare enter her protective bubble. Raising her
arms, she shot bolts of light through the wraiths. The bolts went
right through the shadowy figures, disintegrating them as their
screams filled the air.

The wolves growled and howled, pawing
at the earth as if eager to get in on the fight.

Finally, she bellowed,
“Enough!”

Light exploded from her, radiating
through the woods like a bomb went off.

Abruptly, it vanished, sucked back
into the woman who now sparkled like snow. All the wraiths were
gone.

“
Wow,” Danica breathed,
hardly able to believe what she had just seen. Beside her, Gage
breathed a sigh of relief.

The woman smiled and walked forward.
“Gage. It has been too long.”

Danica stiffened beside him, and he
squeezed her hand, letting her know it was all right. “Penelope.
It’s good to see you. Thanks for coming.”

He gave her a quick, friendly hug. “I
couldn’t believe it when Nik called me and said you were stuck out
here with wraiths. Honestly, what is the world coming
to?”

“
What did you do to them?”
Danica asked, clinging to Gage’s arm.

“
Oh, I banished them back
where they came from. A little light and poof! All
gone.”

Danica sighed with relief.

Penelope smiled and extended her hand.
“Hi. You must be Danica. I’m Penelope. Gage is an old friend of
mine.”

“
Nice to meet you,” Danica
said warily, eyeing the witch and her mate.

Penelope caught on and laughed. “Oh,
not like that. He’s like a little brother to me.”

Gage rolled his eyes, but smiled.
“Penelope’s a White Witch, or a magic user in control of light and
life. Her powers are about the only kind that can trump Black
Magic, like what summoned those wraiths.”

“
Obviously, someone knew
you were coming. Those wraiths must have been summoned when you
arrived. It takes a while for a summoning charm that powerful to
kick in,” Penelope said with a frown. “Who did you say lived out
here?”

“
A generalist witch named
Violet, I think. Well, at least, I thought she was a generalist.
Apparently, she’s taken to dabbling in Black Magic.”

Penelope’s face scrunched up in
thought, then she whistled. “I remember her. She’s a bit of a quack
in the witching community. Keeps to herself a lot.”

Danica looked around at the woods.
“You don’t say,” she mumbled.

Penelope grinned. “I had no idea she
was this powerful. Guess appearances can be deceiving.”

“
No kidding,” Gage
murmured. He hugged Danica to him. She was chilled. He needed to
get her warm before she caught a cold. Humans and weres had that in
common - they could still get sick. “When we were snooping, we came
across a name several times. Ever heard of a Mistress
Black?”

Penelope pursed her lips together,
thinking. “Nope. Doesn’t ring any bells. Sorry.”

Gage’s brows stooped. He’d really
hoped Penelope would have a lead on who had hired the construction
of the cloaking charm for Onyx.

Gage smiled at Penelope. “Thank you
for coming to help us. I’d better get her home.”

“
Anytime. You know where to
find me.” With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared in a poof of
pink smoke.

“
Wow,” Danica said,
blinking. “I need to learn how to do that. I’d never be late for
anything again.”

“Sorry, love. That’s a witch trick, I’m
afraid. Come. Let’s join the others and get the hell out of these
woods.”

Chapter 11

They couldn’t walk fast enough back to
the car. Most of the wolves had changed back into men. It felt a
little weird being surrounded by so many naked men, but that was
the least of her concerns. Despite Gage’s reassurances the wraiths
would not return, Danica kept glancing over her shoulder, yelping
every time a leaf brushed her arm or she tripped over a rock.
Eventually, Gage picked her up and carried her.

“
This is completely
unnecessary, you know,” she huffed, wrapping her arms around his
neck a bit tighter. Truthfully, the feel of his enormous muscles
beneath her calves and back was comforting - and enticing. He had
taken his shirt off, saying he was hot.

She was inclined to agree. Sweat
suited him, glistening along his exquisite body.

Yum
.

“
It’ll make you feel safer,
and I won’t be so on edge with you shrieking at every little
shadow,” he said dryly.

She punched him playfully in the arm.
It was like hitting a rock. “Very funny, Mr. ‘I’m a badass werewolf
Alpha, hear me roar!’”

He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating
against her chest. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against
his shoulder, and his grip around her tightened. “Are weres always
this warm?”

“
Yes. That’s why we rarely
go to human doctors. They always think we have a fever. Our
temperatures run a bit hotter during mating season.”

She felt her cheeks heat. Technically,
humans mated all the time, but she wasn’t used to calling it
something so… carnal. It made her feel like an animal.

Might as well get used to
it
.

Nik and the others were waiting for
them back at the cottage. “About time,” Nik said, grinning and
clapping a hand on Gage’s shoulder as he set Danica down. “We
thought maybe a bear had gotten you.”

“
A bear’s no threat to me,”
Gage said with a wicked glint to his eyes that bordered on
arrogance. It didn’t make Danica think any less of him, though. If
anything, it made her pant for him a little more.

Gage sniffed and looked at her, a slow
smile lighting up his handsome face.

She shifted her weight and
looked away, humiliated. He could smell
her
. Of course he could - he was a
freaking werewolf!

Soon, my
queen
, he murmured in her head.

She blinked, startled. It was going to
take some time to get used to someone invading her
thoughts.

“
What are our losses?” Gage
asked gravely. He looked afraid to ask, like he was steeling
himself for the answer.

Nik’s expression was equally grave.
“Erik, you already know about.”

Danica subconsciously glanced at the
car and wished she hadn’t. Nothing remained of Erik but a dark
stain on the ground. A tremble worked its way through her body, and
Gage pulled her to him, keeping her face away from the
gore.

“
Tony, and that kid from
Kansas, Alec, I think his name was didn’t make it,” Nik said. “They
couldn’t outrun the wraiths when they started swarming in the
woods. Apparently, that’s where the trap was set.”

Gage swore.

“
Only a handful were
injured. They’re back at the mansion recovering.” Nik gave Gage a
hard look, and Danica had a feeling he was intentionally not
telling Gage something.

Gage nodded once, curtly. “We’ll have
funerals arranged for them when we get back.” He swallowed. “Then
we’ll notify their families, and contact the Prima if Penelope
hasn’t already.”

“
Prima?” I
asked.

“
Witches and warlocks are
big on the whole north, south, east, and west thing. There’s a head
witch or warlock of every corner of the United States. They have
laws, same as we do. Some things, all of the Underworld has to
obey, including reporting when a witch is illegally practicing
Black Magic, especially when there are deaths involved.”

Heavy silence settled over the
group.

The other weres had watched the
exchange but now came over and acknowledged their leader. Gage
looked happier to see them than the other way around.

Something felt off to Danica. There
wasn’t so much warmth in their eyes as accusation.

They blame
him
, she realized.

Fisting her hands, she started
forward, mouth open to defend Gage, when Nik shoved an arm out.
“Not now, little queen,” he said quietly.

Danica looked from Gage’s brother to
her mate, and pressed her lips together. Feeling restless and
alert, she crossed her arms, warily watching the wolves that she
would soon rule.

She blinked. Since when did she start
to think of them as her subjects?

Since you decided to give
Gage a chance.

She shivered. Taking
chances on people in the past had cost her dearly. She had thought
people had loved her enough to stick around, but they
hadn’t.
She
hadn’t
been enough.

Would she be for Gage? What was to
stop him from leaving her someday?

She rubbed her arms, trying to think
about anything but her upset stomach.

Gage spoke in low tones to the others
for a moment before declaring they head out. “There is much to be
done,” he said, heading for the trunk and pulling out a change of
clothes. “Gather the remains and meet back at the base.”

The wolves put their right fists over
their hearts, some giving lingering glares to Gage before heading
back in the opposite direction, to the cars waiting down the
road.

Danica watched them leave, frowning,
then eyed Gage as he changed out of his wet clothes into some dry
ones. “You keep clothes in the trunk?”

“
We’re always prepared,”
Gage said, “since you don’t know when you might need to
Change.”

Not much was said after that. The ride
back was tense. Gage sat in the back beside Danica, though he and
Nik went over details of what had happened. “Damn things trailed me
for clear eight miles,” Nik said. “I didn’t think I was going to
lose ‘em, but I did.”

That troubled look left Gage’s face
for the briefest of moments. “Nik’s the fastest wolf in our pack,”
he explained with a look of pride.

“
Ah, stop, precious,” Nik
said gruffly. “You’re making me blush.” His eyes glinted gold.
“Onyx was there, all right. I could smell him all over the woods
and in that cottage.”

“
So could I,” Gage said.
“If we can’t find anymore leads, we should find him.”

“
My thoughts
exactly.”

The two men made arrangements while
Danica listened silently in the back. Yesterday, her life was
boring. Today, she didn’t recognize who she’d become. Who was this
girl who made out with a stranger, who got involved in
life-threatening situations? She’d never strayed too far from the
safe zone. Maybe that was why this freedom - the permission Gage
gave her to enjoy being a carnal creature - felt so good to her. It
felt right. Until she’d lived on the edge, she realized she hadn’t
fully been living. She’d grown numb to life. It was easier to deal
with that way, deal with her friends moving on and creating the
perfect life she couldn’t seem to reach, of her boyfriend dumping
her for someone more “suitable” to his lifestyle, of the aunt who
chose her boyfriend over her niece, a house that would probably
fall apart within the next ten years, and a job she
loathed.