Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (7 page)

 “What do you mean
feral? Is that why he attacked me?”

 “In part, yes.” Ronan
began to close the distance between them and Kat once again scrambled away and
grabbed her forgotten rock. He was out of patience.

 Her fear of him was making
him want to snarl at her in frustration. He was used to others fearing him but
for some reason the fear coming from her bothered him. “I do not have time to
answer all your questions right now. Come with me and I will take you home.” He
would give her the chance to come with him willingly. One way or another though
she was coming with him. It would be easier though if she chose to cooperate.

 Kat looked at Ronan’s
outstretched hand and chewed her bottom lip in indecision. The action had Ronan
grinding his teeth as he watched her.

 It was all just too
much to take in. How the hell could she trust him? He had been an actual real
life werewolf just a minute ago… a werewolf that had saved her life.

 Dropping her rock Kat
stood hesitantly and dusted off her jeans. Eying him cautiously she began to
calm when he made no further moves to grab her. Cautiously she moved away from
the refuge of the cave wall.
God, I must be crazy!
Right now though all
she wanted was to get out of these woods and back home again in one piece. He
had said he would take her home, right? He had been hanging out outside her
shop for days and never made any move to harm her. Dam it, she had brought the
man ham sandwiches just two days ago but then she had just thought he was a
poor homeless bum, not a honest to goodness werewolf! This was so messed up. Surely
if he was out to hurt her he would have done it by now. Taking a step closer to
him she raised her hand as if to place it into his.

 With sudden horror Kat
realize she was standing in front of him in her bra. With a groan of embarrassment
she jerked her hand back and instead wrapped her arms around her chest. “Um,
what happened to my shirt?” Kat bit out as pink began to fill her cheeks.

 Ronan snorted and went
to look for the fleece jacket that had fallen away in her scramble for freedom.
Kat rubbed her aching shoulder as she watched him move away from her. Now that
she was pretty sure she was in no immediate danger from him the rest of her
brain finally kicked it in gear. Looking at her shoulder there were bright red
marks where her skin had been torn open but the wound itself was already
sealed.

 “What… what happened
to my shoulder? It’s… it’s healed.” Kat pulled up the leg of her jeans and
looked at the healing pink skin on her ankle in wonder. She had felt the
monster’s teeth tear through her skin and the blood on her clothing proved the
wound had been a bad one. How was this possible?

 Ronan stood in front
of her with her recovered fleece jacket in his hands. “You were badly wounded. Your
shirt was destroyed.”

 Kat looked at him in
confusion and took her jacket. She noticed he seemed to be avoiding answering
the rest. Sliding her arms into the sleeves she prodded him again.

 “And my wounds?”

 Kat gasped when Ronan
growled and grabbed her hand, pulling her with him away from the small cave. He
was glad she was finally covered up again. He had been trying to ignore the
creamy flesh swelling above the lacy cups. God, the way she had smelled upon
waking this morning and sent a jolt of heat straight through his body. The
sooner the two of them parted ways the better.

 Kat allowed him to tug
her along for a moment and then her temper flared. Ronan was suddenly brought
up short as the little female dug her heels in and dared to yank back on his
arm. Turning to glare at her he was surprised when she stood her ground and
glared right back at him.

 “Why am I healed and
why won’t you answer me?” Kat finished her demand by planting one fist on her
rounded hip. Ronan would have been amused if he wasn’t in a hurry to get her
out of the woods.

 Scowling at her he
barely stopped himself from snarling in response. This was why he couldn’t be
around people anymore. “You were given my blood to heal you.”

 Kat stared at him in
horrified shock. That was the last thing she had expected. “What?”

 “Female come.” With a
tug on her hand he got her moving again. With a frustrated sigh we wondered if
it wouldn’t have been easier to just carry her out kicking and screaming.

 “Wait! Am I going to
turn into a werewolf too now?” Kat stumbled along behind him while her thoughts
raced at a ferocious pace.

 “My blood cannot turn
you into a werewolf. It was done to help you heal.” Ronan grit his teeth at the
half truth. His sensitive ears picked up a quietly muttered “Ew!” He knew that
he would never get her out of the woods if he gave her the full truth of what
she was. Now was not the time.

 Kat was finally
blessedly quiet while she processed that little kernel of information. Her
silence didn’t last long though.

 “You know you can stop
calling me “female” now, I have a name.” She muttered in irritation.

 “I know this.”

 “You do?” Ronan
groaned and waited for her latest round of questioning.

 “Yes, the male where you
work called you Kat.” Great, he had been listening to their conversations while
lurking in the shadows of the shop. Maybe he was some kind of crazy werewolf
stalker. Dam it, Kat had thought he was some poor homeless lost soul! She had
fed him and everything. How could she have known he was a werewolf for God’s
sake.

 “So… do
you
have a name?” Kat knew her questions were aggravating him but she pressed on
anyway.
Way to go Kat, lets poke at the crazy werewolf man.

 “Ronan.” His name came
out in a growl. Kat decided she should maybe give the big half naked werewolf a
break, she didn’t know how far he would let her push him and had no interest in
finding out.

 Kat could do nothing
but stare at the broad back before her as they made their way through the
woods. The very width of him seemed to block all the daylight in front of her
as she grudgingly followed behind him in his shadow. Kat huddled a little
deeper into her fleece. The air was a bit chilly but he didn’t seem to notice
at all. With a blush she suddenly remembered how hot his skin had been when she
had woken up on his chest this morning. She figured werewolves must be hot
blooded or something.

 She could see where
several of his wounds were still healing and blood was smeared on his skin. If
he were human he would be dead now, several of the wounds looked like they had
been near fatal. In fact if Kat hadn’t shot the feral, Ronan would probably be
dead right now. A feeling similar to panic surged through her body at the
thought of Ronan being killed. Kat shook the feeling off with surprise. What
was that all about? He was terrifying and she didn’t even know him, stupid hormones.

 Unable to ask him all
the questions rattling around in her head Kat found her eyes constantly drawn
to the muscles in his back and arms as they cautiously made their way through
the woods. The man had muscles in places she didn’t know men could have
muscles. Were all werewolves built like this? A burning curiosity nagged at
her.

 He was shirtless, she
supposed so he could shift when needed but he did have on a pair of worn jeans.
For some reason the jeans had survived his shift. She still wondered what he
was hiding beneath the long hair that hung past his shoulders and fell in his
eyes. She couldn’t really tell what his face looked like beneath the full beard
either. She could see the handle of her gun where he had tucked it into the
back of his jeans too. Great, crazy werewolf man also had her gun now.

 Pulling her eyes away
from his broad back, Kat forced herself to focus on the trail. Although her
ankle was mostly healed it still ached with every step she took. She wanted
nothing more than to get back home again and put this nightmare behind her. She
was thirsty, she was hungry and desperately trying not to fall apart.

 After several hours of
hiking they finally neared the end of the trail by Kat’s little house. She
almost plowed into Ronan’s back when he suddenly stopped and turned to face
her.

 “Stay here.” The look
in his eyes promised serious consequences if she dared to disobey. With a gulp
of understanding Kat nodded and leaned against a tree to wait. He returned in a
matter of minutes with a large black backpack slung over one shoulder. Apparently
he had stowed his gear on the trail before tracking her yesterday. God, had it
only been yesterday?

 The last three miles
of the trial went quickly and they were soon at the edge of the woods next to
her yard. Ronan’s hand darted out to stop her before she could leave the
shelter of the woods. She looked at him questioningly. “Wait here while I look
around.” Although the feral was gone he was still on his guard, especially now
that he was responsible for protecting Kat.

 Her eyes went wide as
Ronan’s medallion glowed brightly along with his eyes and then the beast once
again stood in front of her. Kat couldn’t help the step she took back from him.

 The small action made
him scowl at her, he didn’t like her reaction to his beast. With a low growl,
Ronan turned and cautiously approached her house. Kat watched as he skirted the
woods and circled around her property before moving out of sight. What was he
looking for? The feral was dead right?

 Relief coursed through
her system when Ronan quickly returned. “Let’s go.” Kat followed Ronan to the
front porch of her little farm house. She wanted to weep with relief at the
sight of her home. Opening the door she led the way into her kitchen and headed
straight to the sink where she filled two glasses of water and handed one to
Ronan. Kat flinched at the sight of his claw tipped hands reaching for the
glass.

 “Um, no offence but do
you think you could, you know, power down now?” Handing him his glass, Kat
watched him as she began to gulp her water. His beast form looked enormous in
her tiny house. Even when he wasn’t in this form the man was huge. She figured
he had to be a little over six foot which meant he towered over her compact
five foot six inches. With his broad shoulders and thick arms he was
intimidating to say the least. In his beast form he was even more so.

 With a lupine frown he
gave her a curt nod and then his medallion was glowing again. Satisfied that he
was a man again, even though a big and hairy man, Kat went to the fridge to
make them some food. She knew she was dirty but she was too hungry to care
right now. Food first, shower second.

 Kat washed her hands
then quickly reheated some left over pasta and threw together some sandwiches
for them, snacking as she went. She couldn’t seem to keep herself from staring
at Ronan as she worked. She knew that she was being rude but she couldn’t seem
to help herself. Her brain was on overload.
Werewolf. Werewolf. Werewolf. Oh
my god. He is an honest to goodness werewolf, and he is in my kitchen.
Feeling
Kat’s eyes on him Ronan’s scowl began to get deeper.

 He was relieved when
she placed two plates down on the table and she suddenly became totally focused
on filling her stomach. They both ate quickly and Ronan knew that as soon as
she came up for air the more serious questions would begin.

 Once she had inhaled
the sandwich she started on her pasta and began asking questions in between
bites. “So your pendant. Why does it glow when you shift?”

 Here we go Ronan
thought. With a sigh he resigned himself to answering all the questions that
were coming. “The medallion is enchanted, it gives all Lykan males control over
their shifts and helps to balance both the man and the beast. Without it we
become like the feral, all beast and very little of the man and we are forced
to shift with the full moon.”

 “So the feral didn’t
have a medallion?”

 “No he chose to remove
it.”

 Kat gaped at him in
surprise. “Why would he do that?”

 “We don’t know. Sometimes
our males have a darker side, one that denies their humanity. They embrace the
beast, they crave the power that comes with it.”

 “So if he had kept his
medallion on he would have been like you?”

 “Yes.”

 Ronan watched in
fascination as she licked her finger tips and leaned back in her chair. With a
groan that sent an unexpected blast of heat shooting through his system, Kat
rubbed her stomach. “Do you need anything else to eat? I want to take a
shower.”

 The sudden image of
her naked in the shower with warm water cascading over her had his teeth clenching.
Dam it, what the hell was wrong with him? “Go shower, I can take care myself.” He
practically growled at her. Kat raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in his
mood and quickly took her dishes to the sink. She decided the dirty dishes
would have to wait until after her shower.

 Leaving Ronan in the
kitchen Kat headed to the bathroom. Turning on the water she quickly striped
out of her ruined cloths. Kat gasped as she suddenly caught a glimpse of her
face in the vanity mirror hanging above the pedestal sink. Blood was smeared
across her forehead and cheek and was caked in her hair. Leaning in closer she
looked at the healing wound on her forehead. “Whoa.” Kat muttered in amazement.
“Already healed. Incredible.”