Bad Kitty (16 page)

The word now taunted him
day and night. Rafe breathed deeply and focused on Kitty. He'd
given up the fight the moment she turned those pretty green eyes on
him, followed by the moment she'd hinted that she trusted him. She
had no business trusting him after what she'd been
through
,
but
whether she saw it or not there was an innate goodness inside her
just waiting to be drawn out. A job he looked forward to if he had
to do it with her kicking and screaming the whole way.

He snarled low in his throat. She needed him
and he couldn't stand here and do nothing.

"Two minutes and then you can go," his uncle
stated. The man had stayed by his side. Probably not as a show of
support though. More likely he'd expected to have to stop him from
running immediately after her.

"You're a bastard. There had to have been
another way."

One of the nearby unshifted wolves lifted
his brow.

"Careful what you say to me young un. I'd
hate to have to make an example of you in front of the entire
pack."

Rafe bristled at Burke's words. There was no
time to start this. He glanced again at the clock and saw they had
thirty seconds to go. He quickly threw off his clothes and shifted.
His muscles grew taut with every new growl or grunt from his pack
members. There were very few others that presented a challenge to
him. Tanner would be a nuisance and a few others lost in bloodlust
would have to be neutralized, but all in all he had the best chance
of reaching Kitty first.

The command to go erupted from his Alpha and
Rafe took off at a dead run. He dove into the nearby woods and
followed Kitty's strong scent in the exact direction he'd sent her.
Good girl. A few of the pack members flew by him and Rafe let them
go. Clint and Charlie were no match for him and would lose steam
long before anyone caught up with his wild cat. He also didn't
believe that his allies in the pack were going to pursue her very
hard. Pissing off the rising alpha could be a very tragic mistake
if they weren't careful.

From the corner of his eye Rafe caught sight
of Tanner and his two closest friends. They would not hesitate in
their pursuit to support his foe. And while the rest of the pack
had torn out of the barn like they were trying to escape the fiery
gates of hell, this asshole had stuck to him like glue instead of
forging his own path. It was clear he suspected that Kitty and he
had a plan and Tanner wanted to make sure neither of them got away
from him.

Come on
,
asshole. Bring it on. I want you
to follow me so when the time comes I can grind your ass into the
ground until you beg for mercy.

First he'd have to take care of his buddies.
Rafe broke off the path he'd been running on and took a hard left
in a different direction. The wind ruffled his fur and the scent of
blooming wildflowers and various wildlife suddenly assaulted his
senses. He'd been so focused on his mate's scent he'd missed out on
the usual delights of a full moon hunt.

Now he was hoping his
change of direction and the fading scent from Kitty would serve as
the distraction he needed. Tanner's big blond
friend
,
Alric
,
followed him the closest. The white fur of his wolf stood out
well in the inky darkness of the dense tree cover and made him the
perfect candidate for his first target.

Rafe came to a sudden stop and turned toward
the man behind him with his jaws open. The surprising move made the
other wolf's eyes widen but his body didn't react as quickly as his
brain. Rafe grabbed onto one of Alric's legs with his mouth and
clamped his teeth around the limb like an unstoppable vice. Flesh
tore and blood gushed in Rafe's mouth seconds before the satisfying
crunch of his opponent's bones gave way under the immense pressure.
With one final grind to ensure the damage would last for at least
several days, Rafe tore free and spun away.

Tanner stood nearby but had made no move to
protect his friend. Rafe should have been surprised but he wasn't.
These wolves were new to the pack and thus far had not demonstrated
the same level of protectiveness towards anyone other than
themselves. They'd remained distant and displayed more than their
fair share of aggressiveness toward the females. Shortage of women
or not, pack treasured their women.

Rafe growled. Tanner might be more alpha
than beta, but he still had to fight for a higher rank in the pack
and if he thought catching Kitty or removing him from the equation
was even a remote possibility he had another thing coming. One
aggressive move, and Rafe had the right to exert natural law.
Tanner thought he had as much alpha in him as Rafe and he couldn't
be more wrong. From day one he'd sensed the other man's
restlessness but that didn't mean the same thing. His human half
had a problem with authority, but in the right situation and after
a proper ass kicking, his wolf would submit.

He probably should have taken the fact that
Tanner stood at a distance watching as a sign of trouble but he
wasn't thinking at one hundred percent knowing Kitty still ran
alone and frightened. His only warning was the sudden rush of air
behind him and ear-splitting howl of Tanner's other friend a second
before he landed on Rafe's back. Rafe dropped to the ground and
rolled to his side, dislodging the other wolf's claws that had
begun to dig into his hide.

Rafe slashed to his side, catching the rear
haunch of the enraged wolf before he could move out of the way. The
wolf scrambled to the side in attempt to knock him loose. Rafe dug
deeper and wrapped his other leg around the animal's body. With the
wolf wrapped in his embrace, he bent forward and clamped his fangs
around the vulnerable throat. The wolf immediately stilled and
began to whine. Game over. Rafe bit down enough to pierce the flesh
and waited for the final show of submission from the other man.

The animal in Rafe really wanted to rip the
throat from his quarry. Every second he held on to the wolf the
more he wanted to sate the blood thirst rising inside him. The
other man had attacked and he'd no doubt be justified. Except he
didn't have time for the political fall out later. He needed to end
this and get to Kitty.

Rafe flexed his front legs and extended his
claws, making them dig deeper into the other wolf's hide. The scent
of blood and fear filled the air around them. Another quarter inch
and he'd hit the mother lode of arterial blood. It would be so easy
and final...

The wolf underneath him must have sensed
what was about to happen. He whined and the familiar magic of a
shapeshifter shimmered in the air seconds before the wolf turned
into a man. Submission granted. With renewed focus, Rafe scrambled
off his opponent and growled. He turned and faced Tanner still
waiting in the same spot near a clump of trees. Rafe caught his
next opponent's gaze. They were both playing a game and they knew
it. He guessed Tanner wanted him to use up his strength so that
when the time came for the important fight it would be an easy task
for him to take Rafe down.

Rafe panted for breath. While true having to
eliminate Tanner's allies did take some of his strength, it gave
Rafe a clear path to the other wolf. Their gazes were still locked,
their muscles frozen in place until the sound of another wolf
approaching set them both in motion. Tanner took off first and in
the original direction Kitty had taken. The bastard knew she'd run
for the neutral zone. Which is why he'd sent Kitty in a more
circuitous route to her destination.

With a renewed sense of energy, he dug into
the loosened earth and took off for the rendezvous point he'd
arranged for them. It wasn't too far off the path that Tanner had
taken so Rafe put every bit of energy into his speed and sent out a
thanks to his little brothers for making him chaperone their many
camping trips. Thanks to them he knew every inch of this forest
frontward and backward twenty times over. Unlike a lot of the pack
who preferred to live in town and only hunt on the full moon, his
family favored the peace and serenity that came from nature.

Now he just had to find her before that
bastard did.

~

Kitty slowed to a stop
when she reached the small creek that separated wolf territory from
the neutral zone. She struggled to catch her breath. She had no
idea how long she'd been running
,
only that her fight or flee instinct made her
keep going. She could return to the house Kane had given her and
hope for the best. Yet, something stopped her—pulled her back. That
God damned mating bullshit.

She'd managed to jump from one frying pan to
the next and Rafe wasn't making it easy for her to escape. He'd
rescued her, taken her in, cared for her and even claimed her as
his despite the baggage she came with. Why didn't he want to let
her go like everyone else? She desperately wanted to chalk it all
up to their DNA and be done with it. Until she remembered all the
little things. He'd talked to her when they both thought she was
dying and she'd clung to his voice. He'd been her lifeline.

There was a lot she didn't know about his
plans for his pack but she felt it to her bones that, just like
Simon said, he was destined for greatness. The last thing he needed
was a scarred woman holding him back. Except she wouldn't leave it
like this. She looked up at the giant oak tree that straddled the
treaty lines. She'd wait for him so they could settle this between
them once and for all. The cat yowled in her head. Her heart ached
from being this far from her mate.

"We can't," she whispered, hoping eventually
the longing would dissipate.

Kitty lifted her body upright and landed her
two front paws on the tree trunk. Her claws flexed and dug into the
bark as she prepared to jump for the low lying branch.

The cat scented him first and turned on a
scream. Her wolf emerged from the tree cover fifty yards away at a
dead run. He didn't stop or slow, he simply slammed into her and
pinned her to the tree. Kitty snarled and scraped at the bark.

"Shift!" he commanded. She barely made out
the word as the magic shimmered around them. They both changed at
the same time and one minute she was pinned by an angry wolf and
the next she was skin to skin with the man who wouldn't let her go.
There was nothing left to do except succumb.

"I need you." He laved the side of her neck
with his tongue. The scent of sweat and earth and man surrounded
her.

"Oh
,
hell," she moaned, her need just
as obvious as his. How was she supposed to deny him
anything?

"Has to be now. I can't wait." His teeth
grazed the same path his tongue had taken sending shivers shooting
up and down her spine.

"Yes," she breathed, unable to stop the moan
that followed.

His hands roamed her sides, the rough skin
giving her tingles everywhere he touched. His hand cupped the side
of her breast and he raked over her nipple. Oh damn.

Her fingers flexed and her feline claws
grasped at the tree. Without his support she'd fall to her knees.
The hard, corded muscle of his chest pressed into her back. The
current running between them arced as the burning inside her grew
to an impossible level.

In that moment her awareness dawned. No
matter what happened, whether she stayed with him or not, nothing
would ever be enough when it came to him. She'd crave him
constantly. Her thoughts scattered when calloused fingers trailed
down her side and between her legs. What could she say that her
wetness hadn't already told him? Still her body stretched and her
back arched into his touch. She definitely had to have more.

She felt the hot, rigid length of his
erection pressed to her backside, dipping lower and lower...

"Tell me you want this too," he growled.
"That you'll stay and we'll do this together."

Before she could answer, Rafe was ripped
away from her.

"She's mine, asshole."

Her head whipped around. Shit. Tanner had
found them and he'd caught Rafe in the worst possible moment.

"No," she cried.

To her surprise, Rafe recovered quickly. He
shook his head once and ran at the shithead who'd attacked him,
shifting into a giant half wolf half man as he did. In a blur of
movement the fight became a whirlwind of teeth, claws, and hair.
Tanner's darker wolf didn't look like he stood a chance against
Rafe's bigger body. Except the bastard's gaze was filled with so
much rage it propelled him to be a more matched opponent.

Kitty yelled for Rafe until her throat ached
as they tore into each other's hides, legs and shoulders. Her mate
had as much anger going for him as Tanner did with the added
adrenalin of protecting her. Every time the darker wolf pounced on
him, Rafe kicked him off.

"Face it, Tanner. You lost her fair and
square. She's my mate and you can't have her."

"Mate? Seriously? You'd mate with that?" He
pointed to her and the blood drained from her face. He didn't say
it but between being a feline and damaged goods, he thought Rafe
had to be insane.

Kitty watched Rafe's features change. This
time the human became part of the beast before he ran at the other
man.

"Rafe stop!" She tried but neither man heard
her. Wolf teeth tore into Tanner's side and blood filled Rafe's
mouth. Tanner pushed back and they both tumbled through the trees
and out of her view.

She had to stop this. She started to go to
them and a big hand grabbed her wound-free arm. "You can't
intervene."

"But they'll kill each other." She turned to
the stranger and blinked up at the man now towering over her,
shoulders so broad he blotted out the moonlight behind him. His
brilliant yellow eyes were fixed on her, as if nothing out of the
ordinary took place behind her. His T-shirt, jeans and shit kicker
boots might have appeared casual bad boy to most but there was
nothing remotely casual about the grip wrapped around her arm or
the power wielded in his eyes.