Haulcon's Revenge (5 page)

Now here was this human female…Adair. The sound of her name in his mind was like a sweet caress. He hadn’t said her name when she told it too him. He couldn’t. It was as if his mind and body knew that if he even whispered it the act of it rolling over his tongue would link him to her in some way.

This shit is ridiculous.
He growled.

The sound must have been loud enough to attract her attention because she was now facing the shrubberies that hid him.

“
Haulcon…are you there.” She clutched her stomach with a hand as if attempting to alleviate some sort of ache.

He felt an ache in his gut as well. One he refused to acknowledge.

“
Please, Haulcon…I need you. I’m not wel—” Her words broke off on a cry. She dropped to her knees.

He spied on her for a few more moments, still warring with himself. Unable to resist going to her any longer he stepped out from the bush.

Panting, her head rose and she eyed him.

Stifling a scream, she slapped a hand over her mouth and scrambled back. Her eyes were filled with trepidation and the palm she held out to him, as if it had the power to ward him off, shook. She lowered the other hand and gripped her belly again. “Don’t hurt me, please.”

He progressed forward, one large paw after another until he reached her feet.

She pulled them back, tucking her hiking boot-clad feet under her rear. She seemed to prepare herself for flight if she needed to.

Not a good idea since he could easily run her down. However, not wanting to frighten her any further, he sat on his haunches and stared at her.

If she thought he was just some vicious wolf in the woods, maybe she would grab a pocket full of sense and disappear.

“
Mr. Wolf, please….don’t bite me. I’m not here to cause you harm. Just find someone.”

There was a calming pleading sound to her voice. Something soothing that seemed to calm the beast within him.

Who was this woman? Maybe she had black magic abilities.

He shook his muzzle; that was nonsense.

Cautiously, she glanced from his wolfen form to the trees beyond him then back. As if she was hoping any moment Haulcon, a man, would appear before her and assist.

Haulcon where are you? You have to be here.

Leaning forward he allowed himself a long drag of her scent and allowed it to saturate his body. He licked his lips. In his present form his senses were strong and he could detect an ant hustling over the dirt ground, even such a minute scent the ant left in its wake. So, taking in Adair’s natural aroma was so strong in his nostrils he felt as if he could actually taste her.

Taste her. His body desired to assume his male form to do just that. In his mind, a mental image of him peeling off her khaki shorts and the panties he was sure she wore underneath and burying his face between her full, supple mocha thighs, had a hot quiver shooting along his spine. In his fantasy she kept on her boots and that classic polo-style top.

Turning his head, he focused on collecting another scent from the forest, anything that would get her out of his head. An owl was in a tree near them. He focused on the distinct smell of the fowl.

The sound of Adair moving drew him. Looking at her, he saw she had rolled to her knees as if prepared to rise. Moving in another step he placed his large snout before her wide pug nose.

She froze.

Their gazes met.

He remained motionless willing her to see him.

Even though he could hear her unguarded thoughts, he was unable to transmit his own to her. He hadn’t released his serum into her body while he fed from her. Hell, no. That was against the valf law. Besides the fact it was only something his kind did with their mate. This human was definitely not his mate. Humans were never mates.

The fact that he didn’t have a mate was a big issue among his clan. As an alpha, he was expected to procreate and stand proud among his people with a strong female
valf
by his side. He’d hoped Nyca would be that person. However, his serum never produced for her.

Concentrating on a single problem at a time, he stared into the dark brown eyes of the woman before him.

Then as if something inside her clicked with recognition, she frowned. “Haul…con?” she mumbled unsure.

He grazed the side of her chin with his nose, hoping to communicate that she was correct. It would have been simpler for him to shift and talk to her. However, he just wanted to continue his journey. Although his kind rarely took wolf-form during the darkness hours, it was the fastest way for him to travel. Their wolves could run through a forest with precision and accuracy taking in more things than he could as a male.

“
How is this possible?” Hesitantly she began to reach out as if she was going to stroke his fur, but she pulled back at the last minute curling her fingers into her palm.

Licking across her knuckles he let her know it was okay to touch him. As a matter of fact his wolf very much wanted to be caressed by her.

Slowly, she placed her hand along the side of his neck and gave him a short pet.

Sitting still, he waited for more.

It came in the form of a light scratch that ended in a long stroke down his side.

His wolf wanted to roll over and allow her to rub his belly. But, he held on to his senses and remembered why he was in the woods away from his clan and how he knew her.

There was a small smile on her lips and her color had returned some. She appeared to recover just from the brief touch with him.

He stepped back. This shit couldn’t be happening. Something was wrong. Things were happening with this human that should never be. Like how she had managed to track him through the forest. He hadn’t been running, because he was attempting to work things out in his mind. However, he’d been moving at a steady pace in the opposite direction she had gone. So, how did she locate him?

“
I don’t understand how this wolf can be you. But, in here.” She pressed her palm, the same one that had touched him, flat against the place between her breasts. “I know it. Not sure why or how. I also know that over the last two hours something has been very wrong with me, Haulcon.” Shaking her head, she went on, “But, now…I’m okay?” Her voice and eyes were full of questions.

Questions he should have answers to, but didn’t. If she were valf this would be simple. He’d shift, drag her body to the dirt, fuck her as he released his serum into her and she’d be biting him on the side of the neck and doing the same. They’d fuck for hours, joined in the most carnal of ways. Days later they would return back to their clan as one.

As much as his body seemed to relish the idea of splaying her body spread-eagle on the ground and burying his cock deep inside of her, it wasn’t something that should be done.
It wouldn’t be done
. His voice growled within his own head. A warning to himself.

It was time to end this. On a breath he shifted. As a full valf male, he barely even felt the supernatural burning in his joints or the lightheadedness when the shift happened. The transition was just as smooth as breathing for him.

Adair gasped.

“
You should not have followed me.”

“
Wow.” Her eyes were stretched wide with amazement. “I’d been told that you all could change into different kinds of animals. But to see it…”

He frowned and remained silent on that. It was not in their nature to share anything with humans or even clarify misconceptions about their abilities.

His silence must have made her nervous. Her gaze lowered and rose twice, as she took in his nude form crouched before her.

“
I know. I tried not to come after you.” She dragged a hand along the top of her hair pulled back into a ponytail. The bunch of hair extending beyond the band that held it was short. Some strands were out and stuck up in disarray as if she had pulled at them in her stress.

For a moment he wondered how it would look down, did the end fall below her chin or brush the top of her shoulder. He pushed the thought away. They were not here on a social meeting. Besides,
she was not of his kind
.

“
Then you should go.”

“
But, I’m not we-ll.” Her brow creased as the words came out broken, hesitant…unsure. She rubbed her stomach and felt her face as if she were searching for signs of sickness.
No nausea? No headache or dizziness? No allover ache?

He could hear the thoughts running through her mind.

“
You appear fine to me now. You should go.” He repeated again. He would have rose and walked away from her, but his nudity had seemed to disturb her so greatly the last time he remained in the position he was in.

Titling her head, she looked at him and appeared a little flummoxed by the situation. “I am, strangely enough.” She licked her lips.

His gaze tracked the pink glide. If she were a valf and his mate, it would make sense that she had felt ill away from him. Not that two mates had to always been side by side, but there were ways to part that would keep the separation ache at bay. But she wasn’t of his kind. He was willing to chalk up the symptoms she was feeling to how much of her blood he had consumed. Generally a little over a pint would do a valf in a standard feeding. However, he had taken more than normal. He was sure what he consumed had been closer to three pints. The reason it had taken her several hours to recuperate.

“
I feel a bit foolish now.” A chuckle slipped from her mouth, a little broken and unsure.

“
Don’t. Now that you are better you should head back to the city.”

“
You’re right.” She rose to her feet, strong and steady, not like the quivering mess she was when she came looking for him.

A wolf howled and the sound was echoed by several others. His throat itched to return the call. The wolves would know he was something different, something more, but when his people were in wolf-form the canines accepted them; allowed them to run with them in the night if they chose.

She glanced left then right. “I’m a little turned around. I wasn’t quite paying attention…more like my body was just dragging me around.” She ran one hand up the opposite arm.

Unsure or chilly, he didn’t know. He wanted to just point her in the right direction and say, ‘head that way’. But, somehow he knew that if he did that, they would still end up with her tracking him down.

He exhaled loudly, making sure she understood that helping her was an inconvenience to him. There was the pressing matter of reclaiming his clan and avenging himself that he needed to attend to. “Where did you park?”

“
The rest stop beside White Shadow Bluff.”

The place was well known to even his clan. The thickness of the trees in that area provided a great feeding ground for them. Hikers were always meandering off into the woods there. That area allowed morning fog to settle practically until mid-day before it cleared, keeping it shadowed. Perfect for valfs.

They understood why humans loved that spot. When the fog lifted it revealed a breathtaking view. The mountains and valleys of the forest were showcased with a sparkling flowing river. A waterfall was not too far from that point which added to the heavy morning mist.

“
You shouldn’t park there in the future. If you can take the longer walk, park at the base of the river closer to town and hike up. Keep to the riverside,” he advised. With her delightful blood, his people would hunt her down if they got a taste.

Even now, his fangs were dancing in his gums—lowering and retracting. He wanted another taste of her. There was another feeling in his body that let him know, it wasn’t just her blood her desired, but her body as well. The latter thought he shoved aside.

“
I would spend most of my day walking. I’m a wildlife photographer and more animals are higher on the mountain and moving in their natural habitat. Better shoots.”

That bit of knowledge gave him pause. “You’re a photographer?”

Her eyes lit up and a smile graced her lips. “Yes. I’ve done if for years and love it.”