Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (13 page)

Needing
to touch her, Teagan ran the palm of his warm hand up the back of her knee,
caressing her as his hand explored and slid up the back of her thigh and under
the back of her skirt. Dam but she had the softest skin.

Ava
had no idea that the backs of her knees could be so sensitive. His callused
hand sent goose bumps up her spine and made her legs go weak. She wanted to
purr as his hand stroked her skin. No simple kiss had every made her burn like
this. Bunching her skirt up over her thighs he pulled her knees up to straddle
him and pulled her over his lap.

Teagan
looked at Ava’s face as she looked up at him through passion glazed eyes. “I
love to see you like this. Eyes gone silver, tiny fangs peaking from behind
your lips.” Ava blushed and looked away from him, trying to hide her teeth.
“Don’t.” He growled. He wouldn’t allow her to hide from him. Cupping her cheek
in his hand he turned her face back up to reclaim her lips and pulled her in
tighter, bringing her hips tight against the bulge in his jeans. Ava gasped in
surprise at the sensation of Teagan pressed intimately against her core.

He
wanted all of her, just the way she was. Thinking of Joseph seeing her like
this he could feel the beast awaken inside of him. No one should see her like
this but him. His beast wanted to put his mark on her even though Teagan knew
it wasn’t possible. The image of her feeding from another male enraged him. He
wanted his blood and no others running through her veins.

Breathing
heavily he broke away from her kiss and extended one of his claws. Ava watched
him in confusion as he carefully scratched the side of his neck, causing a
small drop of blood to form at the wound. He would not force her. She had to
decide for herself. Ava hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering her head
to his neck. For a moment she squeezed her eyes tight and seemed to fight some
kind of internal battle with herself.

Tentatively
she ran her tongue across the bead of blood. A gasp slipped between her lips as
she closed her eyes, overwhelmed with the new emotions coursing through her
body. Hunger like she had never known slammed through her body. She bent her
head to his neck and gently sucked at the small scratch, sending a chill of
pleasure down his arm. Teagan held his breath, waiting to see what she would
do.

Ava
took a deep breath and… sank her teeth in to Teagan’s neck, moaning at the
taste of him. She had never tasted such bliss before. Hunger burned through
her. Teagan held her tightly to him as she began to draw deeply from the bite
on his neck. A low growl rumbled from deep within his chest at the pleasure he
felt from her bite.

Emotions
swirled through Ava’s system. A warm glow seemed to extend from where she was
pressed against Teagan’s chest and surround the two of them, connecting them.
Ava could feel Teagan’s strength pouring into her weakened body. He felt wild
and strong and just on the edges of her senses she could feel the power of his beast
and the tremendous amount of control it took to keep the beast at bay. Ava had
never experienced anything like it.

She
fed for several long moments before easing away from him and slowly closing the
wound with the slide of her tongue. She rested her forehead on Teagan’s
shoulder while they both caught their breath.

Teagan
grit his teeth, trying to regain control. Ava was blissfully unaware of his
brightly glowing eyes and sharp claws. His beast had awakened and did not want
him to stop until she was pinned naked beneath him. His beast, wanted to bite
her back.

After
several tense moments Teagan had regained control and took a moment to enjoy
the feeling of Ava still wrapped around him. Realizing she was half asleep he
stood up with her and gently laid her onto his bed. He slid her shoes from her
feet and pulled the blankets over the top of her.

Gently
he brushed her hair back from her cheek so he could better see her face.
Already the dark circles under her eyes had faded. Ava opened her eyes and
looked up at him. “How are you feeling?” Teagan said to her with a satisfied
smile on his face. “Amazing.” Ava answered sleepily. Ava frowned looking at his
neck. “I didn’t hurt you did I?” She asked worriedly.

“Nah,
just a scratch. You just lay there and rest for a moment.”

“Okay.”
Ava mumbled, it was all she was really capable of doing at the moment anyway.
She didn’t know feeding would feel like this. It was amazing. She felt like she
was floating on a cloud, so relaxed. Every part of her felt… good! Ava wondered
briefly if this is what it felt like to be high. She had never tried it herself
but she could imagine it must be something like this. It wasn’t long before Ava
drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Teagan
stood and watched her sleeping in his bed for a moment. There was something
about seeing her in his bed that just felt… he wasn’t sure what he was feeling…
but he knew he liked it. Ava in his bed, his scent on her skin, his blood in
her veins, he felt… possessive. Being one hundred and thirty two years old he
had been with his fair share of women but none of them ever held his interest
for long. Not like this.

Teagan
settled into a chair to watch over her while she slept. He could not keep her.
He knew his father and kinsmen would be furious with him if he dared to bring
her home with him. His father was the pack alpha and since his brother Ronan
had left the pack he was next in line to lead. He would be expected to take a
pureblood female Lykan as his mate to strengthen the bloodlines and pack alliances.

Unfortunately
the male Lykan outnumbered the females thirteen to one. Years ago there had
been deadly battles among the males to earn the right to bond with a female. If
one of the females came into her first season before she was bonded to a mate
the males would sometimes fight to the death to win the rights to bond with
her. To prevent this from happening, the pack elders decreed that all females
had to be bonded on their twenty first birthday. The females usually didn’t
begin their first season until they were twenty five or more. Thus ensuring
when they went into their first season they were already safely bonded to a
male thus alleviating the deadly fighting. The bondings were frequently
arranged by the pack elders and pairs were chosen based on bloodlines and pack
alliances. Teagan had not yet had his mate chosen for him but it wouldn’t be
long now.

Many
of men in the pack would not be able to bond with a pureblood female Lykan.
There just were not enough females in the pack. Many of them would take humans
as mates instead. This didn’t make the elders happy but it was generally
accepted among his pack. Vampires however were another matter.

They
had been at war with the vampires many years ago. When the Lykan leaders
finally agreed to join the Council things had changed. The Council had brought
many of the Lore species together but the alliance with the vampires was fairly
new and shaky at best.

His
father had been one of the few Lykan in favor of joining the Council and had
fought long and hard to convince the other packs to align with them. This was
something that had not made him a favorite among his clansmen. Many of them had
agreed to join the Council but there were still a few that were very much
against the alliance.

That
was one reason his father had sent him and Daniel to help Victor’s clan. He
wanted to work on solidifying his alliance with the vampires. To set an example
and show the others that it could benefit both parties.

Teagan
watched as Ava slept. As of yet, no one in his pack had ever taken a vampire as
a mate. Alliance or not, the elders would never allow it. He could enjoy the
time he had with her now, but he was going to have to leave her behind.

Ava
woke with a long luxurious stretch, burrowing her face into Teagan’s pillow,
she savored his woodsy scent.

“Bout
time you woke up sleepy head.” The deep base of Teagan’s voice rumbled from the
corner.

“Oh
my gosh!” Startled, Ava sat up quickly. She had forgotten where she was.
Memories of their kiss and feeding from Teagan washed over her and her cheeks
turned a fiery red.

Teagan
chuckled, thoroughly enjoying her discomfort. He looked like he was fresh from
a shower. He finished lacing up his boots and flipped the leg of his faded
jeans over the top of them. Standing up he stretched his arms for a moment
while Ava watched his shirtless chest in fascination. He took his charcoal gray
t-shirt off the back of the chair and pulled it over his head. Ava gulped and
closed her mouth, clicking her teeth together, suddenly realizing she had been
staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

Teagan
grinned, enjoying Ava’s eyes following his every move. After sliding his blade
into the sheath on his belt he tucked his Glock under his shirt behind his
back. Once he was done, Teagan came around the bed to face her.

Ava
plucked at the bedspread, feeling awkward and not having a clue what she should
say to him. Not liking that she was suddenly shy again with him, Teagan sat
down next to her leg and surrounded her with one arm on either side of her
hips. Softly he asked her. “When will you need to feed again?”

“Um…
at least every three days.” Ava couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. Teagan
put his hand to her chin, tilting her face up to his. “In three days you will
come to me. Understand?”

“Teagan
I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You
will not go to anyone else.” Ava was startled when his eyes began to glow for a
moment. “We Lykan are very… possessive and it would go badly for anyone else I
find you feeding from.” He wanted to add,
especially that asshole Joseph,
but
didn’t want to fight with her.

Ava
looked at him speechless. She didn’t know what she had expected from him but it
certainly wasn’t this. Teagan place a chaste kiss to her forehead and stood up.

“I
have to go, it’s my shift on patrol. You are welcome to stay in my bed until I
return.” Teagan gave her a wolfy grin causing Ava to laugh.

“Be
safe.” She said as he turned to leave, already worrying about him.

“I’ll
be fine. Just try to stay out of trouble while I’m gone.” With that, Teagan
walked out and shut the door.

Ava
just sat there in the bed for a moment. “What the heck just happened?” Ava
snapped out of it with a laugh and flopped back on the bed, snow angel style.
“Crazy werewolf.”

Ava
was in trouble. She stood in front of Victor while he looked down at her with a
disapproving look on his face aristocratic face.  After Teagan had left
she had gone to her room to clean herself up and change out of her wrinkled
dress. She had barely finished when there was a knock at her door. Opening the
door she had found one of Victor’s servants waiting outside. She had very
politely been informed that Victor was expecting her in his office. She had
considered hiding in her room but she knew she would have to face him at some
point.

Now
here she stood in front of him. She felt a little like she had been called into
the principal’s office. “I was worried about you Ava. We didn’t know where you
had gone after you left Joseph.” Ava felt guilt wash over her at the mention of
Joseph’s name. “I understand that things didn’t go well with Joseph. He was
most concerned about you.”

“I’m
really sorry to have worried you. I should have checked in with you so you
would know I was okay.”

“Well,
I would imagine you were resting after feeding from Teagan so couldn’t check
in.” Victor said, looking down at her sternly.
Oh god, of course he knew.
A
little chill ran down Ava’s back in reaction to being on the receiving end of
Victor’s displeasure.

“I
had hoped that when you were unable to feed from the humans that you and Joseph
would be well suited for each other. I did not expect you to be foolish enough
to turn to a werewolf. Ava, Teagan will be leaving once we get the Salvatore
issue resolved. A werewolf is not a good companion for a young female vampire.
They can be violent and unpredictable. From what I understand Teagan is
expected to succeed his father and become pack alpha. There is no place for you
with him.”

Ava
could feel her heart falling with his words. She knew he was right though. She
should have known that the vampires would never approve of her being with
someone like Teagan. “I… I understand. I wasn’t expecting anything long term
with Teagan, really.”

“Ava,
I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“No,
I appreciate your concern, really I do.”

Victor
suddenly smiled at her. “Anyway… now that you have fed, how are you feeling?”

Ava
smiled hesitantly at him. “I feel amazing, as a matter of fact.”

“Good.
Now that you have fed, you should begin to experience some of the changes we
had talked about. Today I thought you might enjoy a bit of practice. You are
going to need to learn what your new body is capable of. I would certainly feel
better if you had a little self-defense training. At the very least you should
know some evasion techniques. I wouldn’t expect you to be able to take out one
of Salvatore’s rogues but perhaps we can work on your escaping one of them.
Let’s get you to the training room where you can experiment without hurting
anyone or yourself for that matter.”