Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (10 page)

 A slow deep growl
rumbled from his chest and then he was suddenly untying the knots again. He
didn’t really need to tie her since she would be so close
and there are no
frying pans.
If she made any attempt to run from him he would know it
immediately.

 “Just go to sleep.” He
grumbled at her.

 Surprised at her
sudden freedom she wiped discreetly at her eyes and reached down to tug her
boots off. She didn’t think he had seen her tears. Thank god. Crawling on top
of the sleeping bag that he had unzipped and laid on the truck bed she laid her
exhausted body down. Curling up on her side, she pulled the quilt up to her
chin. Even with the quilt it was going to be a long cold night.

 Kat tensed as Ronan lay
next to her and tucked one arm under his head. A few minutes later Ronan could
hear her breathing smooth out as she drifted into a sleep born of absolute
exhaustion.

 Reaching out a hand he
pulled her hair off her cheek so he could better see her face. Although it was
blacker than sin out here neither one of them had a hard time seeing. He didn’t
think she was even aware that a “human” wouldn’t have been able to do that.

 Dam but he liked
looking at her. He had continuously found himself staring at her as they drove
today. She was a beautiful woman. Dark mahogany hair streaked with gold framed
her face and fell in soft waves down her shoulders almost to her waist. For a
moment he pictured her straddling him with her head thrown back and her dark
hair cascading down her back, her forest green eyes closed as he ran his hands
up over her full breasts.

 With a groan he shook
himself free of his dark thoughts and ran his hand over his eyes. Taking a deep
breath he inhaled her wildflower scent and felt his body react with a surge of
heat. “Dam it!” He muttered and moved a little further away from her sleeping
form. He had to get himself under control. She wasn’t his and never would be. He
was taking her to his pack. He would get her settled and then strike out on his
own again. He was in no condition to be anyone’s mate. Hell, he was one step
away from feral himself.

 In spite of his
resolve to stay away from her he watched her sleeping for a while before his
eyelids grew heavy and sleep finally claimed him.

********

 Ronan glanced across
the field with a scowl, his dark brooding having been interrupted by a small
child’s laughter. Four of the five children played several feet away from him. The
fifth one and the smallest skipped a circle around the others as she gathered
wildflowers in her little fist.

 Dam it he had come out
here to be alone for a few minutes. All the well-wishers inside were driving
him nuts making him want to strike out at someone. With a frown he looked away
and wondered if he should just give up and return to the reception. Shifting
his weight on the fallen log he stretched his long legs out in front of him.

 After an extensive
amount of arguing with his father, who also happened to be his pack alpha, he
had resigned himself to a bond with a pure-blooded female from the O’Connell
pack.

 Things with the O’Connell
pack hadn’t exactly been friendly and the alliance the bond would bring would
strengthen both families. It was definitely the right move to make politically
since as the first born son he was next in line to lead the pack. He just
didn’t think it was right to bond any female to a male like him. He wasn’t…
easy to be around. His beast was always too close to the surface, too easy to
rouse.

 His mother had argued
that the bond would calm him. His intended mate wouldn’t be of age for many
years giving him time to get control of his beast. Even though she would return
to her family until she was old enough for him to fully claim, bonding with her
should still settle his beast. He wasn’t convinced though.

 Pure-blooded females
were very rare and as such bondings were usually arranged by the council elders
and done when the female was still very young. Ronan knew this, but dam it! She
was only three years old! Why would anyone deliberately tie a three year old
innocent to a monster like him?

 As he glared menacingly
at the butterfly that was trying to land on the toe of his boot two tiny feet in
white beaded sandals appeared next to his. Looking up he found himself the
subject of a little girl’s careful scrutiny. Her hair hung in a tingle at the
back of her neck and the elastic band the must have been holding her mop of curls
up now dangled over her shoulder, knotted in one of the locks. She wore a
frilly little dress that had two grass stains on the front of it exactly where
her knees probably hit it.

 Ronan frowned at her
while she tilted her little heart shaped face to the side while she was sizing
him up.

 Apparently he passed
since she took it upon herself to hop up on the log and settle herself right
next to him. How odd, children usually ran the other way from him. One tiny
hand was clenched around a fist full of wildflowers and a raggedy doll’s head
stuck out from beneath her arm where she held it like a football. Ah. The
skipper.

 “Whatcha doin out
here?”        

 “Trying to be alone.” Ronan
grumbled at her hoping she would take the hint.

 “Oh.” The little one
answered completely unphased. “I’m playing with my friends. You can play with
us if you want.”

 Ronan raised an
eyebrow at her. “No thanks.”

 “We are having a party.
You can come if you want to. Momma says it’s my bonding cer-ma-mony.” Ronan’s
eyes widened when he realized who was sitting next to him on the fallen log. So
this was Katianna. For a moment he was at a loss for what to do next. One day
this little girl would grow up to become his mate.

 Her tiny feet kicking
the log, Katianna bent her head to her wildflowers to take a sniff. One minute
she was contentedly swinging her feet and the next she let loose a scream of
pain. Tossing her bouquet of flowers she smacked at the bee that had landed on
her arm. With a howl of pain she waved her little arm like it had caught fire.

 Realizing too late
what had happened, Ronan grabbed her arm as she wailed and buried her face in
his shirt. Looking at her arm he removed the still imbedded stinger. Ah, dam. Poor
little thing got stung. Pulling her into his lap he did his best to awkwardly
sooth her, talking nonsense and patting her back. Standing up with her he began
to head to the reception. Her mother would know what to do.

 Her wails quickly
brought two of the O’Connell males and her mother running around the building. Ronan
could easily see the rage in their faces when they spotted the crying Katianna
in his arms. Ignoring the men, Ronan waved her mother closer when they stood in
between her and Ronan. Katianna’s mother ignored the protests of the men and
raced to her daughter’s side.

 “She was stung by a
bee.” Ronan choked out over the strangle hold the little one had on his neck.

 Katianna’s mother
reached to take her but she held tightly to Ronan’s neck and wouldn’t let go.

 “Katianna, come to
mommy.” Her mother’s soothing voice finally penetrated the little girls panic
and Ronan was able to pry her small body from around his.

 Her mother wrapped her
in her embrace and looked warily at Ronan. “Thank you.” She said before heading
towards the building with Katianna’s head resting on her shoulder.

 Little Katianna’s tear
filled eyes watched him from the safety of her mother’s arms as she carried her
away.

 An hour later Ronan
found himself standing in the sacred circle inside of the pack’s temple. His
brother Teagan and his parents stood at his back. Katianna’s father Donavan
O’Connell and his second, Lorcan O’Connell, stood across from them.

 Etched into the stone
beneath their feet, there were five circles in all one surrounding the other. The
center circle was the celtic symbol of his clan the next one represented earth
then wind, fire and water.

 They had kept the
gathering for the ceremony small due to his little mate’s age. It would just be
the pack alphas, and their mates, one representative from each pack and the
priest.

 Katianna arrived alongside
of her mother Moira, as she held her hand and walked into the circle. Her hair
had been redone and she wore a new frilly pink dress. Looking none the worse
after her bee attack, she walked happily next to her mother.

 Ronan looked down in
surprise when little Katianna immediately dropped her mother’s hand and took
his instead. Looking down into her little face he could see that she looked
back at him with an expression of adoration in her eyes. Apparently he had
scored big points with the little one when he had rescued her from the bee. Looking
into her little face he could feel something inside of his chest soften. The
unexpected feeling made him want to squirm but he forced himself to stand
quietly.

 They listened quietly
while the priest blessed both of them and said prayers for the two clans that
would now be united as one. Then finally it was time to give her the bonding
mark.

 Ronan wasn’t very good
with children or anyone for that matter but for his little mate he would try. Taking
a knee he lowered himself so he wasn’t looming over her. From the corner of his
eye he could see her mother, Moira lean into her mate and cover her mouth with
her hand. She was clearly concerned, frankly so was he.

 His stomach flipped
over with what he must do. Reaching into the pocket of his suit he pulled out
the ragged doll she had lost in the field when the bee had stung her.

 With a squeak of
happiness she pulled the doll close and hugged it tight. “You found her! I was
so worried! Thank you Ronan.”

 Ronan’s usual scowl
cracked and he couldn’t help but smile at her obvious happiness. He hated to be
the one to take the smile off her face. “Little one, did your mother tell you
about the bonding mark?”

 “Oh yes. She told me. Are
you going to mark me now?” Katianna looked at him worriedly.

 “Yes, it’s time. Can I
hold your hand again?”

 Her tiny head nodded
in agreement and she put her hand into his without hesitation.

 “Good girl.” Ronan
loosened the leash on his beast just a bit and felt his fangs descend. It was
best to just get it over with quickly. Raising her tiny hand to his mouth, he
gently placed his teeth around her wrist and bit down, breaking the skin.

 The power within him
suddenly surged until every cell in his body was encompassed in a bright
blinding light. A sudden surge of energy was released from him and flowed into
Katianna. It swirled around the two of them, twisting and swirling and then
returned to his body, except the returning energy now felt… different. It was
quieter, warmer and surrounded by her innocence. Then just as quickly as it had
flared up, it settled back down into his core.

 Shaken by the
experience Ronan gently released her wrist and wrapped the ribbon covered
bandage over the wound. His hands shook as he quickly tied the ribbons around
the tender wound. The knots tied he looked into her forest green eyes just in
time to see the first tear fall. Her bottom lip quivered with the effort she
was making not to cry.

 Her mother reached for
her only to be brought up short by her mates restraining hand. Ronan wiped the
one tear off her cheek with the tip of his finger.

 “Ah Katianna I’m so
sorry sweet. You did very well. Such a brave girl.” With that she launched
herself into his arms and held tightly around his neck.

 “We are done now?” Her
words were muffled against the collar of his shirt. “No more biting?”

 “We are done.” He
stood up with her in his arms and walked her over to her mother again. Again
she wouldn’t release him as he tried to pass her to her eagerly waiting mother.

 “Come on Katianna,
let’s go find your friends and show them your pretty ribbons.” Moira spoke cheerfully
to her little girl but Ronan could see the tightness in her smile.

 Reluctantly she
released Ronan’s neck and went to her mother. Ronan watched as the two of them
left the temple. The men shook hands and offered congratulations. Katianna’s
father spoke optimistically about what the alliance between the two packs. Ronan
assured him he would do everything in his power to be a good mate to his only
child and to protect her with his life. Donavan’s second in command, Lorcan, seemed
less than pleased with the union but still went through the motions of shaking
his hand and offering congratulations.

 Ronan knew that Lorcan
wasn’t the only one that had reservations about the alliance. They still had a
long way to go. They would see in time though that it would benefit both sides.
For now he and the little one were a bonded pair. On her twenty first birthday
they would complete the mating bond. He found that he was anxious to see what
kind of woman she would turn into.