Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury (41 page)

"Carlita?" Jorge's voice came through the wooden door a few minutes later, and he knocked lightly as a follow up. "You okay in there?”

She let out a slow breath and tried to put a smile in her voice. "Fine. What's up?”

"Eddie just called on the radio. Jill and the others are at the barn. They're waiting for you, to start.”

A burst of adrenaline made her leap to her feet and she looked at the Mickey Mouse clock on the dresser.
¡Madre de Dios!
She'd been curled in a ball, praying for strength, for almost an
hour!
She looked out the window to see the moon halfway up the horizon. Thankfully, speed was one thing she could do well. "Thanks, Jorge. Tell them I'll be right there.”

One nice thing about being late is it doesn't give you much time to think.
She jumped in the shower, not caring that her hair would be damp when she arrived, then tossed on the first thing she found in the closet in the guest room: a pale lavender top with painted lilacs and a pair of dark purple jeans she'd forgotten she left over here. Fashion didn't really matter at pack meetings because clothing didn't last very long before the moon called the wolves from inside. Still, she wanted to meet the new people looking halfway decent, so she brushed her teeth, added some makeup, and, as an afterthought, fluffed her hair with the blow-dryer. Then she gave a quick kiss to each member of her family. She hoped Rosa would remember it…if she didn't make it back.

Cara stepped into the night and the moon called to her, pulling a long, mournful howl from her throat before she could stop it. She turned back to the door, embarrassed at forgetting herself with her brother still in the house. But Jorge was standing in the doorway, Felix bouncing on his hip, a smile on his face. "Go. Bring home our Gloria. We can't have a Quinceanera without our princess, can we?" Then he raised the shotgun in his other hand and rested it on his shoulder with enough fire in his eyes that he should be turning with the moon tonight.

Cara raced into the forest, running would be faster than taking the car. Her eyes filled with filtered moonlight. Suddenly it was as bright as midday. Grabbing a familiar branch as she reached the tall game fence separating Rosa's property from the hunting grounds, she swung her body up and over. Energy flooded her muscles and fur began to tickle under her skin, fighting to get out. She held back, but didn't really want to. Her nose pulled in scents that she shouldn't be able to smell if she were only human

…traces of deer musk on that tree, a rabbit's frantic tracks away from her through the cactus. Even closed for the night, the wildflowers were incredibly fragrant. She wanted to run and run until the night was over, chase something to ground to calm the burning in her stomach.

And then the barn appeared, surrounded by cars. She slowed as she approached and heard Adam's voice from inside.

"So, we're agreed then? You're all certain you want to give it a try?”

Eddie was the first to speak, and it really surprised her. Usually he was quiet during meetings.

"Absolutely! It sounds like the best way to bring Gloria and the others home. Luis will eventually come around. I'm sorry he attacked you and I thank you for sparing him, Alpha. But you'll have to make him pack by force …as you saw.”

"He made his choice and he failed," replied Adam and then he raised his voice slightly. "What we'll be doing is a little different in a full binding. There'll be some pain, and I'll need you guys to all change form.”

Cara started to step forward but then stopped with one foot still in the air, when he continued.

"We'll add in Cara last, like we discussed. It has to work that way, in case there are problems.”

Oh. Sure, that made sense. What if instinct kicked in and she attacked him without realizing it? It wasn't just the human side of a Sazi that came up with authority challenges. The moon touched a much more primal instinct. She backed up until she was outside the wide circle of light surrounding the tall steel building and started to take off her clothes. She might as well turn into wolf form and be ready for his…

attack.
Cara wondered abruptly if he'd explained it to them—that he would have to close his jaws around each of their throats and tear flesh until they submitted to his authority. She did know
how
to bind a pack, even if she had always disapproved.

By the time she let the moon slice through her defenses and pull the wolf from inside her, she could hear Adam doing the formal side of the ritual. "Does anyone object to my rule?" No response. He raised his voice and let a low growl play along the edge of each word, readying himself for the moon to take him. "Does anyone challenge my right to lead this pack?”

She heard a rustling and a growling that she recognized. Luis must have woken up. He couldn't help himself, as she knew he wouldn't be able to. He was the third male, and with Paco not here …he let out a deep snarl, apparently already in his animal form.

She could feel the swell of energy as Adam descended on him and the snarls and growls as they fought. Luis was no match for an alpha timber wolf. He probably even knew it, rationally—but logic didn't mean much on the first night of the moon. She winced inwardly as a sharp animal yelp cut the air and she prayed that Adam hadn't gone too far. She forced herself not to race to her pack mate's defense, and lay down on a bed of pine needles in the darkness, closing her eyes so she couldn't see, and digging her claws into the ground to hold on.

One by one, wolf screams split the air and each subsequent whimper cut her heart. She wished there was another method, but there just wasn't. It was the Sazi way. He didn't mean them any harm, and blood had to be spilled for the binding to complete.

Power began to grow around her until even the branches of the trees shuddered and moved upward with a protesting creak. The air was alive with magic. It called to her, pushed aside her human mind until there was little left but the wolf, scenting the air and waiting …waiting for him to come for her. Then she smelled him and her eyes opened. He was in human form, bathed in moonlight that paled to the glowing power from under his skin. "It's time, Cara.”

She rose to her feet, front legs splayed and hackles raised while a growl formed deep in her chest. No! She was supposed to be submissive, the human argued. No, replied the wolf. He would have to
prove
his dominance. She was no whelp, to roll over and bare her throat. Only the strongest should lead.

He smiled, laughed at her snarl. Blood painted his mouth—the blood of her pack; now
his.
The laugh enraged her wolf. With barely a thought, she flung herself at him, aiming for his neck. She expected him to back up, to run, even to shift forms. So she wasn't prepared when he opened his arms and caught her—pulled her against him so tight she couldn't turn her head enough to bite, and whispered, "Right idea, wrong form.”

The mass of energy in the air descended on her like an axe and she howled…fought to be free of the magic that sliced through her and stripped the fur from her body. She was abruptly human again, but her mind was still mostly the wolf's.

"
No!
I will not submit!" Again she fought to be free, but he'd apparently gained some of their speed already, because his mouth dropped to her throat before she could react, while he adjusted his hold around her to her new form, tight enough to bruise, trapping her arms against her body. She shrieked as his teeth, feeling every bit as sharp as a wolf's, broke skin and wetness began to flow down her naked chest as he fed; swallowed the last bit of her pack necessary to bind them. The shock of sensation broke through the moon haze in her mind and she gasped. Lightness flowed through her limbs. Dizziness overcame her as he pulled back to meet her eyes. "Adam! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fight—”

"You may not be done yet. We'll have to see." Then he gripped her hair in his fist and pulled her mouth against his in a fierce kiss. His tongue forced the mingled blood into her mouth and pushed until she swallowed involuntarily. No! This wasn't right. He was going to ruin the ritual. He had to …had to—

Again he sent his magic into her, but for a different purpose this time. He growled into her mouth and dug fingers into her back. Her wolf responded, suddenly shifting gears from wanting to kill him to wanting to …
mate
him.

¡Madre de Dios!
Dear heavens, he couldn't actually be considering…the pack was just a few yards away. And the wolf in her wanted them. Wanted them all under the light of the full moon until she was sated. With all her strength Cara pulled back, fought against the moon that threatened to open her pores; start the frenzy. But he was stronger now, with the power of the pack behind him. She stared into those glowing blue eyes, as haunting and foreign as the stars overhead. "Adam, you have to let go. I don't know if I can control myself much longer.”

He smiled again, a baring of teeth stained with red. "Oh, you're not
going
to control yourself—

I'm going to make sure of that. You're going to give yourself to me with every last ounce of the fury I know you have inside, and then we're going to rule this pack…
together.
The others are already bound but I've frozen them. They'll just have to suffer through my mating you and wait for me to finish turning you into a smoking, satisfied puddle before I release them. They'll have to wait for their
Alpha Pair
to return and lead the hunt.”

She felt her heart still and a buzzing filled her ears.
Alpha Pair?
There was no such thing, not in truth. There was an Alpha Male, who ruled the pack, and an Alpha Female, often his wife or mate, or sometimes a female who just wished to rule alongside. "There's no such thing as an Alpha Pair. It's a myth.”

"Then I'm about to go all kinds of mythological on you." A loud roaring sound rose up over her head and she looked up to see leaves and bits of debris sailing in a circle around them both. It was a tornado of magic, and they were at the center. He raised his arms into the wind and then closed them together and the magic compressed, pushed inside her as if driven by a battering ram. She screamed, cried out, shrieked—over and over, as fast as she could draw air. But it wasn't a scream of pain. When she opened her eyes her entire body was one throbbing mass of need and the wolf inside her was not going to allow this to pass. Not again. Her glands opened fully, drinking in the moonlight, pulling on the energy around her—searching for the pack, but finding only one wolf—
the wolf,
who was hard and hungry and growling. She could taste the colors in the air, see the scents as the world dimmed behind the glowing man in front of her. He smelled of fur and sex and blood and she wanted him. Needed him beyond reason. His every muscle was highlighted by moving shadows from the trees and his lightly twitching erection made her suddenly wet and ready to do anything he asked. But he didn't have to ask, because she could suddenly see it in his mind—she could feel him in her head; she knew what he wanted. And she finally understood what
she
needed, what she'd needed all along.

30

Cara dropped to her knees in front of him and Adam could feel her smile pull at his own lips. He reached out and touched her hair, that silken mass of red and brown. She let him guide her forward. She took him into her mouth in one smooth movement and the sensation nearly dropped him to his knees. Her lips were smooth and slick and her mouth so cool that it felt like ice water on his superheated skin. The wolf in him wasn't overriding his mind tonight when he caught her scent. They were of the same opinion, had the same needs. Her fingers dug into his hips as she suckled him, teased back and forth with her tongue and lips, until he was nearly mad. When her hand slid between his legs to rub the muscle just behind his swollen sac, he nearly lost his mind. "You need to stop," he gasped, and pulled back on her hair, even though he was desperate to have her finish him this way. "I won't last long enough to finish the ritual.”

She growled just a bit and nipped the head of his dick lightly as she moved off, causing him to utter a strangled sound that was half pleasure, half pain. Instead of leaning back onto the springy bed of pine needles, she turned around and dropped to all fours. She wiggled her hips just a bit and fire filled his mind. It was the way it should be. His mate needed him and he had to give her what she wanted. Adam dropped to his knees between hers and used one hand to slide himself inside her with one smooth movement. He caught some of her juices on his fingers and couldn't resist a taste. The scent nearly shut down his brain, even as he struggled to keep his senses enough to finish the ritual. But oh yah, she was slick and hungry for him. Cara gasped in pleasure as his hips bumped hers, the force and the angle causing contractions that pulled at him. It made him pull her hips tight against him to give her more of the same.

"Oh God, yes!" She dropped to her elbows on suddenly boneless arms while he began to take her, make her his, make her the
pack's
one and only Alpha Female. A long slow lick of his tongue down her sweat-soaked spine brought a deep groan and lowered her head nearly to the ground. The human in him was moved by the sight and scent of her—it wasn't just the animal in him that needed this. He bent over her, slowed his movements and began to toy with her nipples while she moaned. "Carita," he whispered into her neck, "This isn't just about the pack. I want you to be mine,
mi amor.
Just mine. I'm falling in love with you.”

"Adam—" She breathed it into the night air, and the word was filled with almost too much emotion to be real. "Yes, God help me, yes.
Make me yours."
She adjusted her balance and grabbed one of his hands, moving it to her lips to kiss each finger and then his palm. When she reached his wrist, he knew what she was going to do and braced himself. It didn't hurt when she bit through the delicate skin and drew blood. In fact, it felt pretty damned good. Then she flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her face back, past her shoulder.

It was time.

He had to raise onto his toes to kiss her and remain inside her, but it was worth the effort. Fire exploded as the last piece of the puzzle slammed into place. The blood of the pack mingled in their mouths and their consciousness suddenly spread out, found the waiting pack in the barn. Energy flowed through them, feeding the cords between them all until they were solid as steel. And they ruled at the top together as one unit; one mind. He saw inside her for a flash as the pack opened, each baring themselves to the whole. Pain was washed away in the unity, in the complete acceptance of the pack. He felt Eddie take comfort, and knew he would have enough strength to get through his grief. And Jill's joy as her mate fully touched her mind again made her tail wag until it was nearly a propeller. Even Luis …poor prejudiced Luis was swallowed in the magic of the night until he forgot why he even was against this. Adam was looking elsewhere, though. He saw Cara's past, felt the pain of her childhood, knew her faith and discipline, and the strength that was
familia.