Saving Kat (6 page)

He reached down, running a hand over her
cheek. She could read the worry in those dark eyes. “I’m sorry I
put you in this position. I never would have chosen this life for
you, not if it meant losing your connection to the Goddess. Don’t
get me wrong, I would do it again in a heartbeat to save your life,
but I’m sorry you lost so much.”

“You had no right.”

“I love you, Kat. You’re my mate and if you
don’t let me help you, the moment you die, you’ll take me into the
black abyss with you. If any part of you loves me the way I love
you, let me try and make this right.”

She opened her eyes. Tears leaked down the
side of her face. Adam brushed them away. The move sweet and unsure
she couldn’t help crying more, viewing him through tears “You’re my
mate?”

He brushed his lips against hers. “My heart
is yours. I’ve always loved you. I’ve just been too blind to see
it. Mari thinks the virus triggered the mating bond and the only
person who can guide you past this sickness is me. I didn’t know
when I bit you that it would connect us this way, but it doesn’t
change how I feel. I loved you as a witch, and I will love you as a
wolf. All you have to do is let me.”

Kat had longed to hear him admit he saw her
as more than a friend for too long, and she clung to the hope his
confession represented. It wasn’t enough for her to let go of the
anger, but a much needed start. The pain eased some as he settled
beside her, his comforting scent and strength a balm to her
battered body. “Help me.”

He wished he knew how this would play out.
Adam rested his hand on her stomach and poured power into her. She
mentally pushed back as if to stop the flow. “Don’t fight it, Kat.
Let go and trust me. I would rather die than hurt you again.” He
spoke the words close to her ear in a whisper that only she could
hear. The tension in her body slowly started to dissipate and
suddenly nothing fought against him.

She gasped and everything changed. He’d seen
plenty of wolves shifting for the first time, but this wasn’t just
another member of his pack, but Kat. Her back arched, her muscles
jerking as black fur erupted all over her body. The sound of
clothes ripping as muscles filled them, echoed through the tight
cave. Only a crazy person sat close to a human shifting, but he
didn’t want to risk breaking the connection. As he tipped more
power into her, her eyes shot open and her face started to change.
In a few short minutes his beautiful witch had shifted into a
stunning black wolf with emerald-green eyes.

Kat slowly rolled onto all fours. Her first
few steps were unsteady and she stumbled, before finding her feet
and turning her attention to him. The next battle was about to
begin. In the end it didn’t matter, he’d finally told her how he
felt as a man. Their human halves had accepted each other. The time
for the wolves to meet had come.

He rose to his full height, undaunted by her
display of fangs. “I’m your mate, Kat.”

The black wolf in front of him growled, her
meaning clear—prove it. An answering growl ripped through him and
he shifted. Muscles strained and grew, tearing through clothes
until he shrugged them off and landed heavily on all four paws. For
him, the change was natural, seamless and soon she’d get used to it
as well. Kat watched him with wide eyes, and it dawned on him this
was the first time, in a long time, she’d seen him shift.

She darted off into the undergrowth and he
raced off after her. Her scent had changed, Still laced with all
the things from before but with a hint of wildness. Watching and
helping her shift, even though Kat had fought him every step of the
way, had been worth it. Amazing and stubborn as hell, she’d always
been like that and he wouldn’t have her any other way.

She took a left toward the river cutting
through a narrow crevice at the base of the mountain. She’d
probably sniffed the water out when she’d first changed, the fresh
scent hard to miss. If she hit the river before he caught her,
she’d become harder to track, but not impossible. Adam needed to
take her down before then. He scanned his surroundings as he ran,
ignoring the twigs that whipped across his face. He turned a hard
left and sprinted up the side of the mountain, thankful it wasn’t
his first time dealing with a rocky route. His paws found grooves
in the stone, and he jumped to a jagged outcropping. He took a
second to get his bearings and then followed the enticing scent of
his mate.

***

She’d wanted it to be different, difficult
even. She didn’t want this new way of life to be as easy as when
she’d been a witch. The wildness called to her, replacing the
connection to the Goddess. The forest felt more alive than it had
been for weeks, like it welcomed her back with open arms. Not far
ahead, a river rushed. The water would screw with Adam’s finely
tuned senses. She’d jump in, destroy her scent, and then backtrack
on herself. She leaped over a fallen tree and kept running. She
should still be angry, by the Goddess she’d held onto that emotion
for weeks, but it had changed when Adam had found her, coaxing her
back from the abyss.

The words he’d whispered, haunted her. He
loved her, called her his mate. The title felt right to her. She’d
spent a lot of energy hating him and rejecting what he’d done to
her, but before everything had gone horribly wrong, she’d liked
him. Even if she’d kept her feelings deeply buried, worried he
didn’t want her. Was it now enough to forgive the loss of her
witch?

She caught his scent a second before his body
crashed into hers, sending them both tumbling down a hill and
deeper into the forest. The shock of it took her breath away.
Snarling and snapping, she held onto him the best she could, which
wasn’t easy with four paws and no thumbs. They skidded to a halt,
their limbs entangled. His hard body pinned her to the earth, so
compelling. In animal form, he smelled of the forest…and home. Kat
tried to pull herself free. A little nip to her throat stilled her.
Adam kept his jaws around her neck and pushed her face down. She
hadn’t been a wolf for more than an hour, but even she knew she’d
lost. His growl vibrated through her and the message came through
crystal clear…submit.

She nodded and a wave of power surged through
her, pushing the wolf aside. Her human side reclaimed her body. The
next second Adam’s broad chest pressed against her back. Judging
from the hard-on resting against her butt, he was very happy to be
there.

“Adam?” The word came out breathless.

“Yes?” He still hadn’t moved, his breath
tickled her neck and she shivered, from pleasure that swept over
her than rather than the cold. She twisted her head slightly gazing
up at him. That they were both naked should have scared her, but it
didn’t. Her heart pounded, and she wiggled her hips. Adam groaned
into her neck, and Kat couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her
lips. “Do you want me to get off you?”

Her heart melted at the words, Adam giving
her an out. It didn’t matter how all of this started. All that
mattered was they were together and it felt right. “I want you to
let me turn around.”

He lifted his body slightly and she managed
to get onto her back. She trailed her fingers up his side,
exploring the muscles beneath taut, smooth skin. Every inch of him
was hard and unyielding. His eyes were anything but, as if he’d
finally found what he was looking for.

And she’d found it too.

She lifted her head and caught his lips.
Home—this feels like home
. The random thought pushed out of
her mind as Adam accepted her gentle kiss. She parted her lips and
moaned when he nibbled her bottom lip, pushing his hips against
hers, and she opened her legs, giving him better access. She felt
him there, the head of his cock rubbing against her warm and wet
entrance. The final barrier between them, the final wall, and she
wanted to tear it down. Adam turned his attention to one of her
nipples, stroking and teasing her until she cried out, throwing her
head back.

As he slowly pushed into her, her moans
merged with the chorus of bird songs from somewhere in the trees.
Her eyes flickered open and the love on Adam’s face tipped her over
the edge. A slow swirl of pleasure blossomed in the pit of her
stomach and spread out, intensifying, like wild fire, then ebbing
in an incredible warm wave.

Adam captured her lips in a hot kiss,
tempting and promising and so much more. She gave herself over to
him. Desperate to keep the feel of him against her, she hooked her
foot under his and flipped him, a move she couldn’t have
accomplished a few weeks ago. Power and strength coursed through
her body now. She could probably bench-press a car if she really
wanted too. He laughed as he hit the ground with a
thud
, and
she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped in response. The laughter
died down as his hands traveled down her back, settling on the
either side of her hips.

“I’m sorry, Adam. I shouldn’t have run
away.”

He buried his head in the curve of her neck,
and the move sent shivers down her spine. The hairs at the back of
her neck stood on end. “Never apologize, Kat. I don’t regret saving
your life. I’m just sorry I took the choice away from you.” He
flexed his hips and she gasped, every inch of him inside of her. “I
never want to lose you again. I love you.”

She sat up with him buried deep inside her.
The cool autumn breeze generated goose bumps over her skin. Her
nipples hardened. She leaned back, loving the way he didn’t take
his eyes off of her. “I love you too, Adam.” She worked up and down
his hard length. He reached between them, slowly playing with her
sensitive nub, and a growl of pleasure escape from her lips. “Let’s
see if you can live up to some of my fantasies of you.” Her wicked
words got a grin from him. .

“Let’s see if you live up to mine.”

***

“Kat, open your eyes.”

They loved each other for hours, exploring
and enjoying each other’s bodies. The sun had slowly vanished,
replaced by the moon, casting everything in an ethereal glow. This
moment should have been the time she’d taken her first steps as a
wolf, but he was glad that he’d found her and forced the change. At
least that way he’d been able to control it without the wolves of
the Grey Beard Pack unintentionally butting in with their presence.
Kat stretched out, the movement like a sweet caress, and Adam’s
cock stirred into some semblance of life. Even lying behind her, he
knew the precise moment her eyes opened. She shot up and confusion
played on her face. He might not have been paying much attention to
anything but her as they’d tumbled down the hill together, but even
he would have noticed the abundance flowers if they’d been
there.

She got to her knees and brushed her hands
over the newly grown blossoms. Long dark hair covered her back like
a cloak, hiding her lovely curves, but she looked beautiful, wild
and free, unburdened by the world and the events that had brought
them to this moment.

“I can sense them.” She glanced at him. “Why
now?”

He rolled to his feet and drew her into the
safety of his arms. “I really don’t know, but it looks like the
Goddess hasn’t abandoned you after all. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, a little confused. Nothing like
this has ever happened before.” He pulled her hair aside and placed
a tender kiss on the side of her neck. If the Goddess blessed them,
Kat would find a way to reconnect with her plants once her system
adjusted to becoming a wolf. He wanted that for her more than she’d
ever understand, but no matter what, she belonged in his arms and
in his world. He wouldn’t let her walk away again without a fight.
“Whatever it is, Kat. We’ll find the answer together.”

She sighed happily, and rested her head
against his shoulder. “Together. I like the sound of that.”

Ella Grey likes to tell stories which feature
very human characters, even if those characters sprout fur or can
conjure fire with a click of their fingers. Ella has been writing
for over a decade and has been published for the last two
years.

She currently lives in the UK with her son,
partner and cat. She rarely sleeps and can often be found with a
cup of coffee in one hand and her other hand on the keyboard.

You can visit Ella at:

http://www.ellagrey.wordpress.com

Driven by Rebecca Royce

My name is Rachel Clancy. Forty-six years
ago, life as humanity understood it ended. Armageddon. Well, that’s
what My name is Rachel Clancy. Forty-six years ago, life as
humanity understood it ended. Armageddon. Well, that’s what we call
it, anyway. What other term works as well to describe the day the
Vampires and Werewolves slaughtered nearly all of humanity?

When Rachel Clancy turned sixteen, she
inadvertently changed the lives of everyone around her. Now, six
months later she has to figure out how to live with what has
happened.

Sent back into the wilderness—this time with
a new love—she will find herself face-to-face with two people she
never thought to see again: the boy she thought she loved and the
man who wanted to destroy her since birth. If Rachel can learn what
drives her forward, there may be a chance for everyone to start
again. If she fails, all is lost.