Seeing Eye Mate (14 page)

He fisted his hands at his sides and screamed his frustration into the dead night.

Why was he putting himself through this hell? Why not just come right out and take her, make her understand how much he needed her, wanted her, craved her, body and soul? Fuck.

She’d hate him, that’s why. Be scared to death of what he was.

“Son of a bitch. Be the alpha that you are and make her see.” He resisted the urge to howl.

He still had time. She wasn’t going anywhere. When all this was over, she’d still be here and then he’d be all over her.

Stripping off the rest of his clothes, he dumped them in the backseat along with his keys and slammed the door shut. He’d bring his spare set from home when he came back to get it later. Hopefully the car would still be here. It burned a hole in his gut to leave his baby vulnerable in the middle of nowhere. An owl hooted in the distance, reminding him that the only things in these woods were himself and the wild animals. One of which, he was about to become.

He tugged on the door handle one last time and then initiated his change. The woods called to him again. His nude body transformed, popping and stretching to accommodate his wolf’s shape, fur taking over his skin. When it was over, he lifted his head and howled. A plethora of other animals responded by scurrying into hiding.

He loped off into the trees, thankful his wolf’s senses would pick up a trail for home far better than his human self.

Tieran woke up gasping. Her visions were getting stronger. Always before she saw the event as an outsider. An observer looking in. That’s how she’d been able to tell the Florida police what the rapist had looked like. His features, not his thoughts. Lately, she’d been morphing into the person she was “seeing”. She knew everything the person was thinking and feeling, but had no clue what they looked like.

She shivered beneath the covers. It was a truly eerie feeling to know what someone else was thinking. At least nothing had happened this time, other than a man turning into a wolf. Right, because that was a normal, everyday occurrence.

Tieran settled into her pillow and listened to the thumping of her heart. The steady cadence of Caelan’s breathing next to her said he was still sleeping. A dull throb ticked away at her temples, but strangely, her usual nausea was absent.

No way could she go back to sleep now. Reading was an option, but she might wake Caelan with the light. The soreness between her thighs announced she was not ready for another round with the insatiable, gorgeous man lying in the bed next to her. Sleeping with her, for God’s sake! One day and the man had practically moved in with her. If the world would stop spinning for even one minute, she might be able to make heads or tails out of what was happening in her life.

She sighed and her tummy grumbled its presence. A snack would be nice. Fortification for all the calories she’d burned today. His stamina at lovemaking could run circles around any aerobic workout those Hollywood types could dish out. She’d taken more naps today than she had since she was four. Her stomach rumbled again and she rubbed a hand over her face.

In order to have a snack, one must have food on hand. She could go to the store. It wasn’t that late and the trip might help make her sleepy. Yep, a midnight raid of the grocery store it was.

Thirty minutes later, Tieran flinched when the apples she’d just bagged bounced off the wire basket of her shopping cart. She hated bruised apples. For a second she thought about dumping them back into the bin, but nixed the idea. With her luck, someone would see her. Her ears heated with the embarrassing image of getting caught putting her fruit back.

“Coward.” She sighed and glanced around to make sure no was looking and guessing what she was contemplating. The produce area was empty.

Not surprising, considering it was the middle of the night. “Normal people don’t grocery shop at this time of day—night,” she muttered. Oh, goody. Now she was talking to herself.

Perhaps she was here at exactly the right time then, because she was nowhere near normal on the weirdness scale.

Sticking her tongue out on a gag, she passed the heaping pile of disgusting smelling oranges. The cart made a repetitive, very annoying squeak and thump with every revolution of its flat-on-one-side wheel. She never even glanced at the other good-for-you stuff. Bananas and apples were about all she could handle. All the rest might look good in her fridge, but it would go uneaten and rot there.

“Maybe Caelan would like some, Tulla.”

“Maybe Caelan doesn’t live in my house,”
she responded defiantly.

“Tsk, tsk, Tullabelle. The man had clothes sent over. I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Dead people are not allowed to tsk, Gramama. And I didn’t give the ‘man’ permission to move in with me. For God’s sake, I don’t know anything about him. Besides, he seems like a meat kind of guy, I don’t see him going for the roughage either.”

“How could you not know anything after all he’s told you? He is only trying to protect you.”

From what?
she wanted to scream. She caught herself just in time.

“Can I help you find something?”

Oh, good Lord. A stock boy was staring at her, hefting a crate of mini-carrots. She shook her head and practically sprinted from the produce section. Or would have if the cart had been capable of rolling in a straight line. Instead she veered to the left and had to muscle the thing back on course before it took out the potatoes.

Her body ached in places it hadn’t for a long time. The memories of all the times Caelan had fucked her left her panties damp. He certainly had stamina. What a waste of time she’d spent with Peter. Obviously
he
didn’t have a clue when it came to sex. Good thing Tieran hadn’t known then what she was missing. Or maybe it was a bad thing.

Had she known how good sex could be, she would have dropped Peter on his ass before he ever got the chance to hurt her like he had.

“Peter’s a weasel.”

Tieran choked back a grunt of laughter.
“I believe you’ve said that before. On more than one occasion.”

“Well, it’s the truth.”

She stared at the meat. Her mouth pooled with saliva. That was weird. She wasn’t usually turned-on by meat. Okay, so Caelan had a piece of meat that made her whole body spasm. She smiled. Ooh boy, the things he could do with his meat. A giggle escaped her lips at the same time her stomach growled again.

“Man, I must really be hungry.”

What kind of meat did wolves eat, precisely? Steak, hamburger, roast? A roast sounded good. She could make one of those. But then she’d have to go back and face the produce boy to get some carrots and whatever else goes with a roast. She opted for the ready-made hamburgers. If Caelan was still around tomorrow night, they could have them for dinner.

Awkwardly pushing the reluctant cart up and down the aisles, she added several other items. Doritos, a case of Mountain Dew, hamburger buns, pickles, pre-packaged potato salad, which she had to go get from the deli section, and a six-pack of Bud Light.

“Nope, better get the twelve-pack.” She shoved it under the cart. No reason for the beer to touch her soda and contaminate it.

Turning the corner at the frozen foods aisle, her skin prickled. Tieran whipped around at the sudden sensation of being watched. She half-expected Caelan to be standing there glowering at her for having left him in bed without asking permission.

A flash of movement caught her eye and then was gone, beyond the corner of another aisle. Uneasy, she shivered. Had someone followed her then jumped down the aisle? Or was she imagining things, spooking at nothing? With her last vision prominent in her mind, who could blame her?

“Don’t go look.” She forced herself to continue her shopping if for nothing else than to get the hell out of there. Her belly grew queasy.

She grabbed a box of fettuccine Alfredo out of the freezer and threw it into the cart. The box tilted to one side and slid to the bottom of the stack. She had to laugh at the innocuous box that had been the start of her crazy-ass day. Maybe this time she’d get to eat the damn thing, she thought, still smiling.

Done. She’d pay for her groceries and leave. If she asked they would probably lend her the produce boy to walk her to her car.

Tieran couldn’t help but look down the aisle where she’d seen the momentary glimpse of movement. Whoever it was, was gone now. She blew out a breath, angry with herself for jumping at shadows.

At least her trip had helped with her temporary insomnia. She was more than ready to go home and slip into bed against Caelan’s naked body.

*

He dragged in a long breath. The grocery store had been too close a call. After missing his meeting, he’d come back here just in time to catch Caelan’s new mate leaving. He’d thought about taking care of her right then, but didn’t. He would save her for last and savor the look on Caelan’s face when he did so.

She’d already conceived. Caelan must be beside himself thinking about his mate carrying the next little Primelet in her belly.

It would be his pleasure to rip the whelp from her womb before it had a chance to live. No one would stop him from becoming Prime. Not even a single-celled embryo.

It should have been his position all along. He was the stronger shifter.

The house was dark. Enough time had passed for the cunt to be back asleep. Dumb motherfucker. Didn’t Caelan give a shit about his mate? So many things could have befallen her. Especially now with a killer on the loose. Reminded of the pack’s feeble attempts at finding him, he laughed. No one would ever suspect him. Ever.

Tomorrow he’d call and reschedule the meeting. Same time, same place. The trap was set and things would have gotten taken care of tonight if he hadn’t had to bow out. It was the perfect plan to pin everything on a red herring. While everyone was sitting around scratching their asses, he would have plenty of time to move in for the ultimate kill.

Right now he was going to have a little fun with the Prime’s mate.

He’d sensed her in Elizabeth’s mind as he’d torn her apart. No fucking psychic cunt would take away what was rightfully his. Not when he was this close.

He itched to storm into her house and be done with it. Instead, he forced his feet to remain still, and reminded himself that the Prime was in there with her.

His cock hardened in his jeans. He soothed it, rubbing his palm over the length. Maybe he’d fuck the cunt before he killed her. Better yet, he’d do it in front of the Prime and then kill them both.

No. He liked his plan for their demise. He wouldn’t alter it now.

From his hiding place in the shadows across the street, he centered all his energy into the house and waited for the fun to begin.

*

Tieran’s eyes flew open. What had woken her? Again. Her gaze flashed to the open bedroom door. There it was. The tiniest of creaks. Not her front door then, because opening it was paramount to setting off a nuclear explosion. She was still surprised she hadn’t woken Caelan when she’d gone to the store earlier. Or when she’d gotten home.

What then? Had Eli come back? She glanced at the clock, glowing a red one-o-four. Geez, she’d only slept about an hour since getting back in bed. At this rate, she’d be lucky to get a full five hours in tonight.

Another sound. A footstep? Her heart pounded ferociously. Nudging Caelan’s still form, she leaned over and whispered, “Wake up.” He didn’t move. She shook his shoulder. “Psst.” Nothing. Christ, what did she have to do?

There was another creak, louder and closer this time. Someone was definitely in her house. No time for subtlety. She punched him. He never flinched. Jesus, he gave new meaning to the term sleeping like a rock.

Apart from screaming like a banshee, what could she do?
The phone, you idiot!
Tieran crawled over Caelan’s seemingly lifeless form, wincing when the bed squeaked. She froze, sure that whoever it was outside her bedroom could hear all the racket she was making. She turned to the door, expecting to see someone there.

The floorboards groaned in the hallway. So not in the doorway yet, but getting closer. She scrambled to the nightstand, ignoring the noise. Dialing 911 would at least alert the operator to her location, even if she didn’t get the chance to talk. If nothing else, she knew they would send a policeman to investigate.

Holding it close to her chest to try and hide the glow, she pushed the buttons and set the phone face up beneath the bed. Her dust ruffle would contain the small light.

With both hands, she shoved on Caelan’s back. “Come. On,” she grunted, terrified. The man was immovable. She’d never get him off the bed. Why didn’t he wake up? As a last ditch effort, Tieran yanked the comforter up from where it bunched at his torso until it concealed him from head to toe. She had to do something to try and protect him. If the intruder wasn’t blind, then he’d have to be a moron not to see Caelan’s form under the covers.

She squeezed herself into the crevice between the nightstand and bed and heard the operator droning on through the phone. Scooping it off the floor, she breathed, “He’s here.”

“Ma’am? Ma’am, stay on the line.”