Seduced by the Wolf (5 page)

Ariel cried out and dropped her hand.

He went toward her, but she shook her head. “No. Give me a minute.”

Cloying fear clogged her throat. Her colony had vanished, her father, a tower of strength, was missing. She was alone.

But the thought didn't faze her. It was the screaming pain inside Jarrett that sent her reeling.

How could he live with that? And something else nagged her.

Despite the darkness and harsh reds of his aura, she'd read no other emotions. No grief, no anger. Not even guilt.

Clearly he still hadn't let go and moved on after the battle that claimed Chloe's life.

Jarrett had made a promise. He'd find her colony and her father. They were still alive, and that hope fueled Ariel, especially since she knew he'd never break his promise. Not the way he'd broken others.

That night, he slept with Ariel, his arms cradling her to him protectively. He couldn't fend off her worries and fears, but he could keep her safe.

At all costs, he had to keep her safe. This delicate-looking but tough Fae had wriggled past his barriers and sank into the cold stone he called his heart. He wanted her to be happy, he realized with a start as they ate breakfast the following day.

He'd do anything for her. But he couldn't give her the one thing she desired most…his love.

But maybe he could try to make her happy while they formulated a plan to attack whatever it was on his mountain. Jarrett suspected the black mass that Ariel said attacked her had claimed her people.

This afternoon, they'd check it out. For now…

He pushed back from the table and braced his palms on it. “Come with me.”

She gave a questioning look, but joined him. His boots clicked on the steps as he descended the porch. Jarrett shoved his hands into his jeans.

“You've been penned up too long in the cabin. I know you, Ariel. You need to run free and wild. This land, this meadow, it's yours to absorb nature's energy.” Jarrett began shedding his clothes and gave her a wicked grin. “I need to run as well.”

The change came over him as always, swift and empowering. His wolf howled with freedom. He pawed at the ground and lifted his head, proud and arrogant, the leader he was. A small smile touched her mouth.

“Big bad wolf. Think you can catch me? Try.”

The challenge issued, he watched her race off, her Fae powers giving her bare feet wings. He lifted his head and gave a very wolfish grin.

Time for a little fun.

 

Ariel ran through the meadow, feeling the dry grass crackle beneath her soles. Jarrett followed, a low growl rumbling from his chest. He chased her with determination, the wolf controlling the man with sheer instinct to pursue prey. She recognized his ruthless streak.

He would not stop until he had her beneath him.

Laughing, she darted, zigged and zagged, contact with the earth feeding her strength. Sounds of her own heart beating fast echoed in her ears. She smelled the crispness of autumn riding the breeze, the promise of life lying just below the ground after it rested from the long winter. This was her valley, her life, and she would not surrender it without a fight.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the gray timber wolf leap upward, and change back into a man in midair.

Jarrett tackled her from behind in a gentle whoosh of air and caught her in his arms. He fell gracefully, rolling her beneath him. A predatory smile touched his full mouth.

“Caught. Now what do I do with you? I am rather hungry…”

A slow lick across her throat, and a small nip. “Delicious Fae. Raw and sweet. Mmm.”

Ariel laughed, filled with happiness for the first time since her return to the valley. This playful side was the Jarrett she'd known, before responsibility and brutal violence seeped into his life.

He couldn't wait. His wolf howled with the primitive need to cover and claim. Jarrett's hands shook as he stripped Ariel's clothing. He felt as though the years had evaporated, and he was once more the cocky and carefree youth who cared only about pleasure and pleasing his partner. He sank to the earth, pulling Ariel with him, kissing her roughly.

Then he placed his hands on her waist and flipped her over. The taut, rounded globes of her bottom drove him crazy with desire. Blood surged into his cock, making him painfully hard.

Ariel breathed hard, anticipation mingling with fear. In this position, she felt exposed and vulnerable. A cool breeze brushed over her skin, tightening her nipples. She looked over her shoulder and saw his gaze narrow fiercely.

The wolf looked as if he wanted to devour her. A shiver racked her, but it was a shiver borne of arousal. The sheer rawness of being outside in nature called to the Fae inside her. She felt empty and aching, the space between her legs wet and needy. She needed him inside her, now.

“Jarrett.”

The word was a plea. He seemed to understand and grasped her hips, pulling her against him. She felt the coarseness of hair at his groin, the hardness of his erection slide through her wet folds. Teasing in long, sure strokes. Arousal became sharp and painful, her breathing hitched, her skin feverish. Not the glow of her kind, but something darker and richer pulsed deep inside. Her internal thermostat cranked up to overdrive, the glow becoming molten lava flowing through her veins.

He bent over her, cupping her breasts and teasing the nipples in slow, sure strokes. “Do you want me inside you, Ariel? I want to fuck you, hard and fast. Your scent is driving me wild, ahh, I don't know if I can control myself.”

“Do it,” she begged, not recognizing the sultry thickness in her voice. “Now.”

Jarrett pressed a singularly sweet and tender kiss on her nape. Then his rough palms slid over her hips, pulling her close to him. She felt the broad head of his penis begin to sink inside her. He felt bigger and thicker than before.

With a harsh groan, he pushed forward, sealing them to the hilt. The sensation was one of invasion, her body shivering as she tried to adjust to the feeling.

Ariel's fingers dug into the partly frozen earth. He pulled out of her slowly, then sank back inside. She tightened her inner muscles as he thrust again. A guttural groan wrung from deep in his throat. She arched her back, pushing against him, and heard a low cry.

Excited by his sexual arousal, his wolf snarled.

For once he released it.

Control shattered like rock blown apart by dynamite.

Jarrett grabbed her hips and began thrusting heavily, his penis sliding in and out of her wet core, filling her completely. It was a fierce mating, not the slow tenderness he'd shown before. Ariel cried out with pleasure as his flesh slapped furiously against hers, feeling the tension mount as he took her, over and over. Her body swayed against the power of his savage thrusts, and the internal glow built to pressure. The raw scent of earth and pine rubbed in her nostrils as sweat dripped down her face. Her eyes closed as she fought the impulse to release, it was too much, too much…

“Let it go, sweetheart,” he commanded. “Let it go, now!”

Ariel tilted back her head and screamed as the tension shattered. Internal light exploded out of her as she climaxed. Sparks of red and white danced in the air like thousands of fireflies. Colors cascaded over them. Jarrett gave a guttural groan and she felt him shoot his hot seed deep inside her as he bucked and shuddered.

Slowly, they collapsed to the ground. Jarrett pulled out. After they dressed, they lay together, cradled in each others' arms. His rich scent swirled in her nostrils as the air cooled the sweat on their bodies. It felt right there.

Then the breeze shifted, bringing a slightly foul scent on the air. She coughed, gagging.

It smelled like death. And it came from the meadow beyond the fence.

Ariel sat up, hugging her knees. She studied the field beyond the jagged edges of the barbed fence.

“Why is that field fenced off?”

Jarrett sat up, his gaze flat. “Nothing you need to know about.”

She sprang up and approached the fence. Malevolence hung thick in the air, cloying as honeysuckle. Ariel held out a hand and felt the air shift and change—just the way it would before a violent storm.

“Tell me.” She turned and regarded her lover.

Gone was the playfulness, the passion. He would not look at her.

“There was something here. Something bad. I can feel it, like…”

“A fight.” He stared at the meadow, his jaw granite. “This is where we fought with the jaguars. Many died.”

Chloe as well.

She read his thoughts as if he'd spoken aloud. Ariel touched the post. “You fenced this section to keep everyone out.”

“The females knew not to visit here. The land's tainted. It did not stop your father and the other Fae from performing a cleansing ceremony.”

Startled, she studied the dead meadow. “When?”

“Shortly after we returned. Cael said it was a homecoming gift.” Jarrett snorted. “Always trying to make things right.”

“It is our way, to right the balance.”

“And erase the past? Some things can never be righted.”

So tense, so angry, he resembled the craggy mountains, his fists clenched at his side. Hands that had roamed over her skin with gentle care suddenly reached out, pounded a fence post. It shuddered and sank deep into the ground.

Ariel brought his fist to her mouth, pressed a kiss on his palm. But his expression remained tight.

The rich scent of loamy earth and pine drifted over the fence. Her father's scent. Maybe there was a clue about what had happened.

Ariel vaulted over the fence post and walked over the meadow, ignoring Jarrett's warning. She'd gone barely fifty yards when the same stench filled her nostrils, making her gag.

Pain suddenly speared her foot. Ariel cried out. Struggling to keep her balance, she grabbed her foot and examined it.

A bead of blood bubbled up. She dotted it with her finger. Suddenly she didn't want to be here on this land with the malevolence thick in her mouth.

She ran to the fence. Jarrett clasped her waist and lifted her over. Ariel sat on the ground and examined her foot.

The puncture mark was gone. No stinger, no sharp object. As if it had vanished.

“What is it?” Jarrett gently stroked a finger over her sole.

“Nothing.”

But as they made their silent way back to his cabin, Ariel had a bad feeling about it.

 

She was Lupine Fae. Filled with magick, light and the ability to draw energy from the earth. His people needed her and her energy. For more than thirty years, they'd lived in darkness after the pack males were imprisoned for fighting with the jaguars.

Jarrett couldn't admit the deep truth. He needed her, more than for mere sex. He craved her lightness and truth. He'd forgiven the jaguars for the violence, had forgiven Daimon, the Ancient who had killed his sister. He'd forgiven all.

Except himself.

Some things could never be forgiven.

Ariel erased the shadows always dodging his heels. Maybe with her at his side, he could finally find peace. Her toughness, her ethereal features and her rising passion were as addictive as a drug. He could handle her in bed.

He could not handle her in his heart. He'd keep her safe, would die himself before letting anything happen to her. But love? Sharing his heart?

Jarrett placed a hand over his chest, feeling the rapid thump of that organ. He tried to retreat into the dark corners, where it was safe. He found himself craving the safe shadows.

Light would reveal what he truly was, the beast that had killed.

The climb up the mountain later that afternoon filled Ariel with dread. She suspected what they would find.

Adrenaline spiked her blood as she trailed behind Jarrett. Whatever was in the mine held her people captive. The mine was made from man, tainted with metal and iron and all things irritating to the Fae.

Her father had not gone there by choice.

They reached the mine. Ariel shied away from a rusty iron cart near the tracks leading deep into the recesses. Jarrett peered inside.

“Stay behind me,” he told her.

Ghostly gray light filled the cavern. As they ventured down the narrow tunnel, the light became stronger. Her stomach knotted as they reached a large room filled with old mining equipment. Ariel stopped, stricken by the sight. She heard Jarrett mutter a low curse.

Her father sat in a corner, surrounded by the other Fae. Pale light spilled from their eyes. The irises were pale and glowed gray. Ariel raced over to her father and fell to her knees by his side.

“Father, tell me, why are you here?!”

“The land,” Cael mumbled. “It's tainted. The meadow. Jarrett's meadow, fenced off…”

“I know. What happened?”

“Can't kill it, can't eliminate it. Not us. Only Jarrett.”

Then he fell forward, collapsing to the ground. A moan came from him. “Can't stand the sunlight, the exposure, too bright, too much, hurts my eyes. Keep it dark. Safe. The monster.”

“What monster? Father, please!” Ariel shook his shoulder but he did not respond.

Jarrett squatted down and gently propped Cael upward. He felt his pulse. “He's alive. For now. We have to get him out of here.”

Lifting her father as if he weighed no more than a child, Jarrett started out of the mine. But the minute sunlight touched Cael's face, he screamed.

She felt a jolt of agony rush through her, her father's pain her own, a cold knife sliding over flesh. “Take him back into the dark!”

Jarrett ran back into the mine and gently laid Cael on the ground. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stood. His expression was humble and contrite. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't know what this is, how to cure it…”

He took a deep breath, punched the rock wall. Shards shattered under the impact. Jarrett studied his bruised and bleeding knuckles.

Then he glanced at Ariel and his eyes widened.

“The Luminaire,” he said hoarsely.

Ariel lifted the charm in her hands. But its light stuttered, like a flame disturbed by a breeze.

A slow, sluggish feeling invaded her limbs. She felt her muscles cramp with coldness, and turned as she heard a screeching howl rush from deep inside the mine.

Ariel pushed Jarrett against the wall as the black mass whirled forward. Then it slammed into her, engulfing her in icy coldness. She saw the truth hidden in the darkness, howling like a banshee. The reason her people were dying.

The last thing she saw was Jarrett's face, stricken and pale, as he shouted her name.

Then the grayness rose up and she fell into it.

 

Ariel sagged against the cave well, listless and desolate.

Frantic, Jarrett clasped her shoulders and shook. “Ariel! Come back to me, sweetheart. Don't fade away.”

Fear clogged his throat, stealing away his breath just as it had when he'd gathered Chloe into his arms, begging her not to die. Watching the blood trickle from her forehead and spill onto the cold ground. The earth would not claim Ariel as it had claimed Chloe.

Jarrett dug his thumbs into her shoulders, squeezing hard. Hating the sound of her pain, but knowing he must force her into consciousness. If she slipped away, she might never wake up.

She was light to his darkness. Life was about balance, she'd said. Light and dark. Violence and peace.

“Making war and making love,” he'd teased, and she'd blushed.

Making love. The antidote to this dead coldness. Fill her with warmth, heat her with passion and chase away the demon darkness.

“Ariel.” He bent his head, brushed his mouth against her cold lips, chilled as the granite surrounding them. “My Ariel. Come back to me. Come on, sweetheart. You can do it.”

He deepened the kiss, coaxing a response.

She did not move. Her mouth was icy and he recalled kissing Chloe one last time, life leaving her body, her mouth growing cold.

Never again. Jarrett fisted a hand in her hair, held her still and blasted all his passion into the kiss. Desire had flared between them like a roaring flame.

He would not let the fire die.

The beast inside, trembling with need and sensing a loosening of restraint, growled in approval.

Jarrett thrust his tongue into mouth and crowded her against the wall. He let her feel the hardness of his body, his burning need for her. With his mouth he made love to her, giving his heat and life force.
Please
, he thought, emotion choking him,
please live
.

The smallest touch of her tongue against his. A sigh into his mouth. Ariel's chilled fingers brushed against his forearm.

Jarrett didn't dare stop to hope. He kept up the pressure, warm and authoritative, sealing her to him. He stroked deep, dominating her through sheer willpower, pouring all his feelings into the kiss. Ariel responded with another breathy sigh, and he felt her skin warm slightly.

Power sang inside him, the magick of his wolf prodded by sexual arousal. His wolf howled to be freed. Had to save Ariel.

Then he felt her slip a little further. Ruthlessly, he kept kissing her, urging a response.

And then she opened her eyes. White light shone from them. Her internal glow, now seeping through her eyes, fading even as he held her tight.

Ariel struggled to speak, her pale lips moving. He sensed each breath was a struggle.

“The land, it's tainted with blood. Father and our people cleansed that, but they could not erase what seeped into the earth and took root. What you buried there, Jarrett.”

 

Ariel did not want to fight anymore. It felt too exhausting. A dull ache pounded in her limbs, making them feel sluggish. She wanted to fall down and sleep, avoid the light. The light that showed the truth.

Lines of tension whitened his mouth. “The burial was a secret. No one saw it.”

“You blame…yourself… for the deaths. For Chloe. For the violence. You've shut yourself away from your feelings because you could not bear to face them. Hoping to keep them locked away. You banished your guilt into the ground when you erected the fence…and put a spell on it to restrict the land. My father tried…removing it. It was siphoning off our energy, started when you returned. Guilt, tried returning to you. Spell backfired, and went into my people. Barefoot, it pricked them, infected them. Infected… me.”

She struggled to pull air into her lungs. She had to tell him, save him somehow. “The monster leaching life from my people…it's you.”