Bite of the Moon: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Boxed Set (29 page)

“Over my dead fucking body, asshole,” Lyric snarled, unsheathing her claws.

The door to the bar opened and slammed shut. “I don’t think the lady wants to go with you.”

“Be a smart man and go back inside where it’s safe. I won’t give you another chance.” Beck turned his back on Lyric.

Seeing her opportunity, Lyric nailed Dean in the nuts with her knee and swiped him across the throat with her claws. The wound would be deep enough to immobilize him, but not kill, she hoped. She wasn’t sure how long before Raul and the other would be returning with the van, but since the parking lot wasn’t huge, she assumed minutes at the most.

Beck turned at the sound of Dean’s gasp. “You stupid cunt.” The animalistic growl he emitted scared her worse than the thought of what her brother would say if she exposed what they were to humans.

“I’ve already called 911. I suggest you pick your buddy up and go.” The man from the hallway started walking toward them, cell phone in hand, bringing Beck’s attention back to him.

“Run,” Lyric yelled.

The sound of an approaching vehicle had Lyric sprinting away from the downed wolf and the open drive, putting her closer to Beck. An enraged werewolf was unpredictable, but she couldn’t allow him to hurt a human. Xan and Kellen had made sure she and Syn had trained with their best fighters, and while she knew she didn’t have the strength to take on a group of shifters, she prayed she was able to hold her own against one.

Beck had his back to her, but she could see he, too, had done a partial shift and was facing the gorgeous human. The thought of him harming the man was not something she was willing to allow. Using his distraction, she went low and took out his feet with a swift kick. Man, and wolf, tended to underestimate her because she was small and acted docile. Beck was no exception.

“Aw, fuck,” the human rumbled.

At the same time she felt the air stir. Their window of opportunity had passed, and the other wolves had returned.

“Go back inside and find Syn Styles. Have the DJ call for her. Tell her what’s happened. Go. Now.” Lyric rocked on the balls of her feet, pushing him toward the door with her back to his front.

He snorted. “Sure thing, gorgeous. Just as soon as unicorns fly by.”

His big hand came around her, trying to switch their positions. Lyric wanted to snuggle into him. She also wanted to shove him through the door and into safety. As Beck got back to his feet, and the others helped the downed wolf to the van, she thought they were going to leave.

Beck sprang at them with all the speed and strength of a full-grown werewolf on a rampage. She placed herself in front of the human, knowing she could regenerate faster than he could. His hand came around her, trying again to place her behind him. She watched in horror as Beck brought his paw up, claws extended, and hit her with the full force of his strength on the side of her head. Lyric flew across the pavement, head slamming into the concrete wall, making stars appear before her eyes. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t to see her guy ready to take on a shifter.
Whoa, slow your roll.
She didn’t even know his name. The hit to her head must have done something to her brain.

Seeing the other two men coming back from their vehicle, Lyric picked herself up. Her main goal was to help the man and hope they got out alive.

Surely, Syn was looking for her by now? The last thought gave her pause. Her best friend would never have allowed her to be gone for so long unless something had happened to her, too. She let more of her wolf out, hearing seams rip and not caring she was ruining a favorite pair of jeans.

* * * *

Rowan swore when the beautiful woman was thrown against the building. Fear for her safety had sent him outside to check on her; seeing her being manhandled by the obnoxious man who needed a shower, sealed the deal.

He’d come to the bar to get a drink or two and get laid. Looked like he was going to get in a fight, and need more than a few bottles of alcohol to erase the images of what he was seeing. Nine, maybe ten-inch nails extended out of the man’s fingers, and the last time he’d checked humans didn’t have that much hair let alone fur, and the guy didn’t have either on his body earlier. In all his training, the wars he’d fought, not a single foe compared to what he was facing.

“What the fuck are you?” Rowan asked, thinking he should’ve brought his gun from his truck.

Three men advanced on him, looking more like something out of
American Werewolf in London
.

“You should’ve stayed inside like a good boy,” the half-man growled.

Rowan felt the woman step up beside him, easing his fear that she was hurt from being tossed aside. Like all good country boys, he pulled the knife he had strapped to his side. The blade was longer than their claws, which he hoped was enough of an equalizer. She squeezed his free hand, sporting her own set of extra-long nails. Although she was on his side, he hoped.

“Since the lady doesn’t want to go with y’all, why don’t we skip the pissing contest and forget all about this?” Rowan released her hand, watching the body language of the three man-beasts. They were not experienced fighters, which gave him an advantage.

“There’s no reasoning with them. You should’ve run when I told you to.”

He didn’t take his eyes off the men as they fanned out in a semi-circle. “Darlin’, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was gonna leave you out here to fight off these…whatever they are.”

The sound of gravel shifting beneath the man to his right’s feet, had Rowan kicking his steel-toed boot into his knee, followed by a roundhouse kick to the head. When he looked down into the face of the man, no longer was there any indication he was human. Gone was the shape of a human face, replaced with the muzzle of what appeared to be one of his worst nightmares. Without hesitation, he grabbed the thing by the hair and cut his throat from ear to ear.

“You will pay for that.” One of the beasts’ garbled words cut across the night. Before he could hop off the dead creature, he was hit so hard in the side, Rowan was sure a rib or two was cracked.

In his line of work with the military, he’d suffered a lot worse damage and had learned to suppress the pain. His training served him well as he rolled, keeping a firm hold on his serrated knife. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the woman fighting with amazing skill.

He landed with a thud on his back, momentarily stunned. The large animal on top, snapping at his neck. Rowan grunted in pain from the weight on his ribs, knowing he needed to get the upper hand quickly or he’d be a dead man. What were wolves’ weaknesses? Never had he thought he’d need a silver bullet, or wondered if that was a myth or truth. Either way, he was going to die if he didn’t get out from under the snapping jaws.

Using all his strength, he heaved, bucking until he finally knocked the wolfman off. Claws slashing his chest as they fought. The burn, like acid eating his skin, made it hard to focus.

Rowan waved his knife hand. “Come on, pussy, is that all you got?”

An enraged howl, and then the animal came at him with more force than cunning.

Rowan sidestepped, slashing upward with his knife, slicing through fabric and tissue. He turned, giving a hard kick to the beast while he was doubled over. Erasing the distance between them, he snapped his neck.

A roar shook the ground. Rowan spun to face the leader, watching in horror as he tossed the woman aside. With a quick assessment, he saw her chest rise and fall.

“I understand it’s hard to get laid when you look like you were dropped from the ugly tree, and hit every branch on the way down, but really, there has to be someone out there for you,” Rowan taunted him, needing him to come closer, away from the woman. All of the men had partially shifted into part wolf, part man, a seriously grotesque combination.

The beast growled and lumbered on his jacked-up legs. If he made it out of this alive, Rowan was sure he’d be needing therapy for months, maybe years to come.

His side no longer burned, but had started to turn to more of a
kill me now
ache, the likes of which he’d never experienced. He’d been held prisoner for over three months in a foreign land, had been tortured for days on end, and had never wanted to die. Those days and nights were nothing compared to what was going through his system right now, but he fought the pain back. One more to dispatch then he could fall down.

He switched the knife to his left hand, using his right to shield the injured ribs, keeping his eye on his opponent. Basing his decision on the way he hadn’t reacted to Rowan’s words, except to growl and come closer, Rowan moved forward. A mistake, he realized a moment later, when he was within leaping distance and found himself with a two hundred-plus pound enraged beast on his chest. His knife flew from his hand. All the air left his lungs in a big whoosh, and then the large, gaping mouth that could easily enclose his entire skull, was heading straight for his throat. Rowan reached up with both hands, trying to stop the inevitable, but against the supernatural strength, he knew it was useless.

Not willing to give up and turn his neck for the thing, he stabbed his thumbs into the beast’s eyes. Howling, the beast shook him off, but blood ran from the now empty right socket, making Rowan happy he’d at least caused it some damage.

The last thing he saw was razor sharp teeth coming straight for his face. As he grappled with the leader’s head, he turned and felt the hot breath on his neck and then pain so immense he yelled out. Black dots swirled in his vision, and then the heavy weight was knocked off him. Rowan tried to get up, but his body wasn’t listening to his mind. The sound of fighting brought him out of the daze and or darkness trying to swallow him. He saw the woman holding his knife, her back to him in a fighter’s crouch, protecting him. From her posture, he could tell she was ready to kill. His nature wouldn’t allow him to lie there and let a woman fight his battles. With the last of his strength, he rolled to his knees. The fight seemed to have gone on for hours, when it could only have been minutes. The sound of a car coming down the gravel drive had all three of them looking in the direction of the noise.

“Your days are numbered, bitch.” The leader scooped his two fallen buddies up in a fireman’s hold and tossed them into the still running vehicle, speeding away in a spray of gravel.

“We gotta get you outta here.” His angel knelt next to him, her cool hand brushing his hair back. Rowan thought he would just lie back and let the darkness envelop him, but she had other plans. “Come on, big guy, I’m going to need you to help me. You’re way too heavy for me to carry.”

Grunting was his only acknowledgement. What didn’t she understand about him wanting to lie down and rest?

“Lava is running through my veins, darlin’. Find my phone and call 911. Find out why they didn’t send a car out when I called. That’s the only thing that’s gonna help me.” His voice sounded raspy to his own ears, and lacked conviction. He knew he was dying from the injuries he’d sustained and wondered how she was going to explain to the authorities what had happened.

“Shit, you’ve been bitten. Fuck, fuck, shit.” She leaned forward and sniffed his neck, ripping his flannel and T-shirt down the front.

On the verge of dying, Rowan was amazed to feel his dick harden when the woman licked at his wound, easing the pain. In the next instant, he nearly shot off the ground when her teeth sank into his already wounded shoulder. Instead of more pain, ecstasy rolled through him.

Rowan grabbed the woman around the waist, uncaring about his injuries, making her straddle his thighs. The last time he’d dry humped a female was in junior high with a girl three years his senior. Like then, the girl on top of him panted and climaxed right along with him. Only difference was then, he could get up and get a towel to clean himself. Rowan wasn’t sure he could move, let alone get up. Clearly, his dick hadn’t gotten the message they were in danger, the way it still pressed against his zipper.

“You two need to get a room for crying out loud.” A man’s laughing voice jerked him out of his musings.

“Don’t move. Wait until he goes inside so he can’t see the blood on you.”

Rowan didn’t want to tell her he didn’t think he could move even if he’d tried, so gave a brief nod and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. Her golden-blonde hair fanned them like a curtain, shielding them from others. He wondered what she’d look like spread out naked on his bed and had an answering jerk from his cock. Damn, the thing had never perked up quite so fast before.

Chapter Two

Lyric couldn’t believe she’d just had her first orgasm with a man, fully clothed and in public for crying out loud, having just fought off four full-grown shifters. She needed her head examined, but first they needed to get the hell out of there. She didn’t bother telling him the police tended to ignore calls unless a fatality was reported. At this point they needed to get him somewhere safe.

When the door to the bar shut behind the couple who’d brought her out of the lust filled haze, she noticed the man beneath her was staring.

“My name’s Lyric. What’s yours?”

He cleared his throat. “Rowan,” he answered. “Listen, I’m not sure what’s going on, but we need to file a police report.”

She shook her head. How was she going to explain what she’d just done, or what had been done to him. Had she allowed the other shifter’s venom to continue flowing through his veins, Rowan would have become connected to him, a part of his pack, whether he wanted to be or not. Lyric had done the only thing she knew would fix it, making him part of her pack. From the moment she’d seen him in the hallway, her wolf had sat up and called to the man, but Lyric had pushed her back. Now, she’d gone against pack law and would have to face not only Kellen, but her brother Xan.

Her wolf beat at her to mark him and claim him as her mate.

“We can’t. You know what you saw can’t be explained. They’ll think you’re crazy and lock you up at best. Worst, they’ll arrest me and possibly make a lab experiment out of us.”

Rowan’s grip on her waist tightened almost painfully. “Never. Nobody will ever hurt you.”

The fear knotting her stomach lessened, but the urgency to get him as far away from the bar as possible was paramount. She needed a few minutes to figure out where to go that was secure for them both. Somewhere he’d be safe for the change, before she had to face her alpha and her brother. Then she’d offer to let him go free.

She wouldn’t mate him. Her wolf whined.

“Come on, help me get you up, big guy.” Lyric eyed the gorgeous man beneath her, trying to think how she could maneuver him into a vehicle. The man had to be taller than both her brother and Kellen, putting him at over six foot two. She imagined him on a motorcycle with her wrapped around him. The thought of the tight fit made heat rise to her face.

“If you don’t quit looking at me like that you’ll be under me in ten seconds flat.” His black eyes flashed.

Lyric laughed. “When you’re all better, I’ll take you up on that offer. Now, let’s get out of here.” With the agility of her kind, she hopped off him. “Did you drive?”

He got up with a lot less finesse than she’d seem him move with earlier. The wounds from the wolves were already healing, but she had seen humans turn, and he was going to be hurting sooner rather than later. Lyric wanted to find the ones that got away and turn them over to her brother. A shiver raced up her spine. Xan was going to kick her ass.

“Of course I drove, darlin’.” Rowan’s Texas drawl seemed thicker.

For crying out loud, his voice was panty melting.

“Lead the way, or do you need me to?” Lyric asked.

She snorted at the outraged look he gave her. The overly large four wheel drive pickup truck he led her to, gave her a lady boner. Big trucks, hot cars, and motorcycles were things she enjoyed. Thankfully, the MC had a lot of toys for her to play with. Rowan’s truck would definitely fit in.
Back up, girlfriend.
She needed to quit thinking about keeping him like he was hers.

Eyeing the huge leap into his rig, Lyric had visions of her needing some sort of equipment to lift him into the vehicle. He shocked her by expertly maneuvering himself into the passenger seat without groaning or showing the least bit of pain.

Lyric shook her head and went around to the driver’s side, happy he had running boards installed, making it easy for her to climb in. Once inside, she held her hand out for the keys. His way too sexy lips tilted up in a grin, before he reached into his tight denim jeans. Her eyes followed his fingers as they dug into his pocket, seeing the bulge still straining against his fly. Licking her lips, she tore her eyes away, only to meet the heat in his. Quick as a snake, his free hand shot out and pulled her to him. Their lips met in a clash of teeth and tongues. There was no finesse, only a deep hunger fed by the fans of heat within her body and his.

Rowan pulled back, blinking to peer at her through heavily glazed eyes. “Darlin’, you better start this truck, or I’m thinking we might be christening the backseat.”

His words were teasing, but his brow was furrowed and his expression tight. His entire body seemed poised as if he’d toss her over the seat and follow through on the threat at a moment’s notice.

A wicked thought of doing exactly what he’d said at a later time—especially since he’d used the words
christened,
meaning he’d never had another woman there—had her smiling slowly. “Another time, big guy.”

She took the keys from him before she could change her mind, pulling to the back of the club where her bike was parked. Making a quick decision on how to load her precious baby without the use of a ramp, Lyric circled to the side of the building. After backing up to the ditch that bordered the edge, she quickly climbed out, pulled the tailgate down, and released a sigh. Her calculations were spot on. Hurrying over to her Harley Davidson Sportster, which was far from original, she started the Harley before easing it into the back of Rowan’s truck. It took longer than she’d have liked, strapping it with tie-downs.

The poor man in the vehicle had fallen into a restless sleep, not even stirring when she opened the driver’s door. “What am I gonna do with you?” She had an insane urge to run her hand over his beard-roughened jaw. Instead, she put the truck in gear and pulled away from the bar.

Syn had mentioned the cabin on Kellen’s land, but that was too close to the alpha for Lyric’s peace of mind. He’d smell Rowan on the first stiff wind. She needed time to get him through his change and give him a choice. Stay or go. Mate or no. Even if the last made her wolf whine like a little bitch.

“Where you thinking of taking me?” His voice rasped.

Lyric maneuvered his truck onto the busy highway traffic. “I’m trying to figure that out. I don’t have enough cash for a hotel and not sure if that’s really a safe place anyways for your first time.”

Rowan straightened to look out the window. “Darlin’, I’m far from a virgin.”

She nearly slammed into a BMW at his words. “Not…that first time. I mean, shit, I can’t do this on a six-lane highway.” She smacked her hand on the steering wheel.

A pained groan filled the extended cab pickup, followed by a deep exhale. “I know what you mean. My place is a couple miles down the highway. I think my truck has a mind of its own,” he tried to joke.

She glanced over to see his expression in the low dim lights from the dashboard. “You’re an ass,” she said smiling.

He gave her the directions, but she wasn’t properly prepared for the place he called home. Yes, his truck was top of the line and new. However, she didn’t expect his home to rival the size of a lodge. “Is this your home?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The man was one shock after another. First with the way he’d handled three full-grown shifters, then the fact he was still alive and talking while being bitten, and now as she stared at the million dollar spread. Kellen and Xan were going to flip their collective lids. “I’m so in deep shit.”

Rowan turned his head. “I’ll protect you.” His tongue peeked out and licked his lips; teeth sharper than normal appeared.

Shivers raced down her spine at the thought of him placing his canines in her throat, or anywhere on her body. She’d heard mated pairs talk about the eroticism of having their mate bite them during sex. She’d love to wear his marks, and wondered if he’d want hers. Her own teeth ached to grow. The bite she’d given him had been to erase the other packs venom—a mating mark was a whole other ball game. One she didn’t want to push on him even though her wolf was chomping at her.

“What the hell do you do, Rowan?”

The tree-lined drive was lit up with security lights, but the most breathtaking view came from the wraparound porch. Several wooden rocking chairs with tables between them sat invitingly on one half, while a huge swing hung on the other side.

“Pull up in front. We’ll worry about putting this in the garage tomorrow.” He sounded exhausted, and she felt guilty for putting him in the position he was in.

“What about my bike?” She never left Pixie out in the elements.

“Shit, I forgot about that. Keep going around to the back.”

She did as instructed. The rear of the property was every bit as impressive as the front, with a four-car attached garage. From the middle of the console he pulled a controller and pointed it at the big bay doors. As they opened, she stared slack-jawed at what all he had inside. The boys at the MC would definitely want to come over and play with his toys. If they didn’t kill him first.

“Ease in beside the Lexus.” His voice came out in a rough whisper.

Thank gawd there was only one open space big enough for his truck. Like she knew what the fuck a Lexus looked like. She was completely out of her league.

With a nod, Lyric coasted Rowan’s truck inside. She was so fucked.

* * * *

Rowan had felt Lyric pulling away from him when they’d drove onto his property. He was puzzled by her actions since most women couldn’t wait to explore and put their stamp on his home. He wanted to reach over and reassure her, wanted to take her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be fine, but his insides felt like they were on fire. His skin ached from his fingers to his toes. Hell, even his ears hurt. The lights spilling in through the windshield felt like ten thousand watts burning straight into his retinas.

The doors shut down with another press of his finger to the opener. Before he tried to get out on his own, Lyric was there to help him down. Much to his consternation, he needed the extra help. “Thank you. I swear I’m not usually so needy.” Rowan groaned.

Her scent tickled his nose. Sweet strawberries dipped in sin. He loved strawberries covered in whipped cream. Imagining her spread before him, ripe like the sweetest berries, dripping with her own cream, had him pressing her against the side of his truck. “You smell so damn good,” he growled.

“Inside, big guy. Let’s go.” She raised her hands to press against his chest.

He wanted to protest going anywhere that didn’t include him in her, until another round of pain hit him. Rowan swallowed the bile trying to rise in his throat and took a step away from the delectable scent of Lyric. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her injury if he lashed out in a moment of weakness. He listened as Lyric gave a brief outline of what to expect. The story sounded like something straight out of Hollywood, but he’d seen the truth for himself. Now, with agony lighting up his insides, he was sure either death was upon him, or she was telling the truth.

“Follow me. I’ll show you to a guest suite, and then you should probably lock yourself in for the night.” His words came out less clear than he liked, but he held his head up and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. He placed his hand in front of the scanner, gaining access to his home, and then remembered he had Lyric with him. “Put your palm here.” He grabbed her tiny wrist and placed her palm on the screen. A few adjustments, and his system now recognized her palm print as well.

“What the hell was that?” she asked.

“I’m thinking I may be out of it, right?” At her nod, he continued. “Now you can open the doors without alerting the security company of an intruder.”

Lyric rubbed her hands together but didn’t say another word. Rowan wasn’t sure he had it in him to explain further. Hell, he wasn’t sure what to expect other than he was going to be turning furry shortly, and if he survived the change, he could still be killed by Lyric’s pack.

“You’re not going through this alone, Rowan.” Her soft hand on his back burned through his flannel.

It took everything in him to continue walking, lights coming on as they entered the kitchen. What did she want him to say? He was raised to protect women and children, not place one directly in harm’s way, and the way he was feeling, he was sure she was in danger. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, darlin’.”

“Quit calling me that. My name is Lyric. Not darlin’, sweetheart, or any other bullshit name you call some nameless, faceless woman,” Lyric growled.

Rowan spun at the challenge in her tone, seeing the glowing amber eyes staring back at him. “Lyric.” Her name sounded right rolling off his tongue. “No matter what I call you, the name doesn’t matter. All I can seem to focus on is your scent. What did you do? Roll around in a vat of strawberries?”

He watched her expression go from angry, to wary, to alarmed in a matter of seconds.

Her hands rested on the top of the counter. “Shit, this is happening faster than I’ve ever heard of before.”

Lyric put the large granite surface between them, and in his head, he calculated how quickly he could eliminate the space. “I’m going to go shower. You can…make yourself at home,” Rowan said.