See me, p.17
See Me, page 17
It was time. I cleared my throat, and the room went silent. Gianni Maslo, who oversaw the Camp, spoke first. He reminded the teens that, once the change began to happen, they were not to interfere with each other in any way.
Suddenly, I decided to change the plan. “Seer, with me.” I turned on my heel and headed to the door marked EXIT.
She followed me without hesitation.
Once outside, I moved into the yard where nothing obstructed my view of the full moon.
“You don’t need me to do this.” Her assertion was almost accusatory as if she thought I was showing off for her.
“Your connection with The Lady will help.” I didn’t add that I’d fantasized about her following me on her knees. She would do as I bid.
I stopped that line of thinking and refocused my attention on the upcoming event. Before the ceremony began, I needed to know. “What did you sense with that kid, Kenta?”
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped. “I don’t think it was anything.”
I couldn’t keep the growl out of my voice. “I will decide.”
I knew she heard it, because she linked her hands in front of her, so that they rested under her breasts in a classic supplicant’s pose. “It felt like he was…this is so embarrassing…”
I continued staring at her.
She frowned then lifted her chin. “I felt like he was checking me out. You know, sexually.” She blushed.
My wolf growled, and I tried to analyze what she had felt and what it might mean. “You’re a beautiful woman.”
Her reply was to roll her eyes as she mumbled, “Whatever.”
The woman truly had no idea how attractive she was. Conal and Tex spent most of their time chasing off the other men who visited her office too frequently.
I needed to clear my head. I took in a deep breath and held it to the count of five before slowly releasing it.
“Black?”
I opened my eyes to find her standing a few feet in front of me.
“Do I say good luck or something like that? I mean, you know that you’re going to have to tell me what to do in there, right? How I can help…because I haven’t a clue.”
“You are a help to the Pack, Theo. Always.”
She nodded again, but her expression was grim.
I closed my eyes and reached for my connection to the moon. I called to The Lady.
I returned to the room with Theo following closely behind me. Conal was waiting by the door and fell into line beside the Seer.
I called to the wolves as their Leader. Immediately, a female started to scream. It had begun.
For those that had an easy time, the hand-picked team talked them through the change, and then the difficult task of transforming back to human form. There were always several who didn’t want to change back, and then there were those who became stuck mid-change. Those were the ones that didn’t survive.
I hoped that by having Theo here, she might help me control the newly freed wolves and, if possible, help those that were stalled mid-change. So far, we’d had no stalls.
Tex called for me. He was with Kenta. “This one doesn’t want to change back.” He grunted. The two Camp handlers had already wrestled the wolf to the ground.
“Kenta,” I said, using an authoritative tone.
“Fuck off,” the wolf snarled.
Tex and I chuckled. There was always one.
“I am your Leader. I command you to change.” I used some of my power to keep him focused.
“I want her.” Slobber fell from his jowls, and his eyes flashed. “Her, I want her.”
“Seer,” Tex bellowed.
I watched Theo and Conal make their way to us. She looked pale, but I could tell by her posture that she wouldn’t like it if I mentioned the fact.
Conal said quietly, “We didn’t warn her about the sounds.”
Over time, a Lycan can change instantly, but at first, it’s a slow process as joints stretch, skin expands and contracts, and there are certain sounds as our form alters. Now, I understood why she was pale. “Seer, young Kenta needs assistance changing back to his human form.”
She glanced at the wolf, who was rigid in his captors’ hold, staring at her. “All right,” she said, her voice shaking a little. She moved in a semi-circle, studying the newly changed. “Wolf, you need to give up this form.”
He snapped at her.
She took a step back. “Come on, you know this is part of the deal.” She cajoled in a husky voice. “I’m sure you’ll spend the next few weeks in wolf form.”
He turned his head, following her every move. “No,” he growled.
I was growing tired of his theatrics. I sensed no fear in him, so he was being stubborn. “Change, Kenta,” I ordered.
He let out an angry howl.
Theo looked at me helplessly. “I’m going to have to touch him to make it happen.”
My wolf didn’t want her touching the male. I didn’t like it much either, but that couldn’t be the reason we didn’t try. “Bill, you take his haunches, Tex, grab his upper body, and Malik, you are on the head. Keep him still,” I instructed and the men moved to their assigned places.
Conal put his hand on her arm. “Babe, don’t fight me. If I have to yank you out of the way, just go with it, yeah?”
“No problem,” she said in a serious voice. She didn’t savor the closeness with Kenta.
“Do you need me?” I could help bolster her power.
She studied the now snarling Kenta. “First, let me try it alone. If I need more power, I’ll let you know.”
She knew that if we couldn’t get the wolf to change, I would have to terminate him.
I watched her search for the point of connection. Usually, it was the belly, but we’d learned that it could also be the throat or close to the heart. She stilled and looked over her shoulder at Conal as if she was checking to make sure that he could pull her out of harm’s way.
Slowly, she extended her hand and made contact with the wolf’s throat. “Kenta, Raider Black, the leader of the Novus Pack, has ordered that you change.” Her voice was low but insistent.
“Pretty,” he growled.
“Kenta, you must do this,” she urged him.
I felt the increase in her power, and the wolf growled.
“Change,” she gritted out the word. Her hand was shaking.
The fucker attacked. He snapped his head in her direction and knocked Theo to the floor, while he jack-knifed his body with such force the guards went flying. He was half-way over her body by the time Conal pulled her backwards, away from the newly changed.
All hell broke loose. I changed instantly, my wolf intent on stopping Kenta. He had touched Theo. I had the newly changed wolf on his back, my jaw clamped around his throat. Theo was safely in Conal’s arms, crying. Solle was running toward them to check on Theo.
Tex and the other guards were on their knees staying still. They didn’t want to attract my enraged attention or interfere unless ordered.
I commanded through my locked jaw. “You will change or die. Your choice Kenta Lu.”
The boy chose to change, but I didn’t loosen my hold until he was again in his human form.
“We can take over from here, Laird,” Tex said, his voice calm.
I lifted my head, but I didn’t shift off of his body. “No,” I growled. We communicated in our wolf form in words but they were garbled and hard to understand, or so I’d been told by Articles. Other Lycans understood perfectly. I made sure the boy felt the full impact of my weight. I probably had four hundred pounds on him in this form. “She is mine,” I thundered while I fought the urge to tear off his head. “You dare touch what is mine?”
The boy started to cry.
I changed to my human form and pushed off of the kid. I turned to Tex. “Make sure he is chained. If he disobeys again, I will issue the termination order.”
By the increased volume of his crying and the other teens joining in, I knew that I didn’t need to spell out the edict. My word was the only law.
I followed Theo’s scent. Conal had smartly moved her to the infirmary area. She was sitting on the gurney, and Solle was stitching the back of her arm.
“It isn’t that deep,” Conal assured me.
I stepped around my Second. I needed to see that Theo was all right.
She was using her other hand to hold an ice pack to her jaw.
Solle stepped away and was doing something on the small table a few steps away from where Theo sat. “The scar will be hard to see.” She returned to place a bandage over the area and secured it.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Theo tried to smile at the doctor.
“I’m sorry. I got her out of there as fast as I could,” Conal said.
“I’m fine,” Theo said a little loudly.
“That wolf, he’s not right,” Solle said, her cheeks reddening with anger.
“He’s very strong,” Theo said, her gaze dropping.
“He could have killed you,” Solle insisted, still in protective mode.
“But he didn’t,” Theo countered. “Thanks to your mate.” She gave Solle a brave smile.
It wasn’t a real one; her eyes didn’t light up.
The muscle at the side of Solle’s jaw pulsed. She was still furious.
I grunted. “Why don’t you go find a closet and show your man how proud you are of his heroics?”
She made a “humph” sound as she passed me. She knew they were being excused.
Once we were alone, Theo gave me a real smile, and her body finally relaxed a little. “Really? You sent them off to have sex.”
I gave her a shrug. “He saved your life; he deserves a reward.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t even think of an argument to that.”
I liked hearing her laugh. My wolf settled a little. “Are you all right?”
“I won’t lie. Tonight was tough.” She slumped a little. “He moved so fast.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked several times to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.
I stopped fighting my need. I stepped closer to her and hugged her. I didn’t know what to say.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to break down.” she said against my chest.
I could feel her warm breath through my T-shirt.
“Shhh.” I made more comforting sounds to quiet her as I tried not to notice how perfect she felt against my body.
Twenty
Theodora Morrissey
I am such an idiot. I told myself as I slowly got to my feet once again. I wiped my damp palms on the seat of my yoga pants and tried not to let my frustration show. I should have kept my big mouth shut, but the dream, or maybe it was a mini-vision, had bothered me so much that I’d asked Glass if there was any way that I, a mere human, could stop a Lycan.
The very next day, the warrior had added more hours of training to my schedule. Training? Who was I kidding? It was two hours of me getting my ass kicked three days a week.
“Are you even trying?” she asked in a monotone.
“Would you believe me if I said yes?” I let out a puff of breath that lifted my sweaty bangs off my forehead.
“Hmph.” Clearly, she didn’t.
The gym door opened and slammed shut. I knew the Laird had entered the area. I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him. This “awareness” had grown since the Night of the Change. I hadn’t been alone with him in the intervening week. Something was going on with an escort, so he’d been scarce. Not that I noticed. Nope. I did not miss our tutoring sessions. I could study just fine by myself.
“Again,” Glass said with no inflection.
I tried to be ready. I had my weight on the balls of my feet, I attempted to block her advance, but she was too powerful and so fast that I didn’t even see her until she was on me. I stayed on my back on the mat, trying to decide which part of my body hurt the most.
Glass was already on her feet and standing over me, frowning. “You weren’t ready.”
I sat up, still evaluating whether it was my elbow or my ass that hurt worse. “I was too ready, but I don’t see you. One second, you’re over there, and the next, you’re on top of me.” I tried to keep the whine out of my voice since he was around, and I’d said this about a hundred times before.
“Let’s do it again.” She thrust out her hand to help me up.
Once again on my feet, I tried to stretch my back. I would definitely need to stand under the hot shower for an hour when I got home.
This time, I jumped before she moved.
“Concentrate,” she ordered.
“I’m trying.” I grimaced as I straightened and bent my aching arm.
“I have a suggestion.” Black was striding toward us.
“I think I’m hopeless,” I said, grimacing. I didn’t want to embarrass myself any longer.
“You asked for help,” he said, reminding me that his people reported to him. “You did that for a reason.”
I looked at my shoes, I didn’t want to talk about what I’d seen and how much it upset me. What had happened with Kenta affected me. His attack was a huge reminder of how vulnerable I was.
“Let’s try this. Seer, instead of seeing with your eyes, use your senses,” he said as he joined us.
“All right,” I said, although I didn’t think it would help.
“And instead of trying to stop me, roll with me,” he suggested patiently.
Oh fuck, that means he’s going to touch me. I took a step backward. “Okay, that’s a good idea. Glass, let’s try it.” I nodded my head several times. Was it wrong that I wondered if I smelled bad? I was so sweaty.
“Theo.”
I swear he purred my name. “Right here, Black,” I snapped. I didn’t want to do this with him.
He chuckled low and deep. “We’ll do it three times.”
Of course, my mind went there. I glanced at him briefly, and his eyes were sparkling with laughter. “Okay, let’s get this over with…but if you break me, Solle will be pissed,” I warned.
“I’ll go slow.”
God help me. He was teasing me, and I was letting him. I took in a deep breath, and then slowly let it out. I closed my eyes and tried to find my center. When I’d gotten my emotions under control, I nodded.
“Now, reach out to sense my movement. Maybe you’ll feel the air change. Keep your eyes closed and feel.”
I did as he instructed, and I felt it. I stiffened in anticipation of impact. He was bigger than Glass and it was going to hurt.
When his arms circled my middle, gently but solidly, my eyes flew open in surprise.
He said close to my ear, “Don’t go stiff. Stay relaxed, and just go with me.”
Jesus, he sounded seductive. I did as he asked—well, as much I could. He dropped us to the mat. He took most of the impact on his side and rolled on top of me, and I’ll admit, I think he rolled me on top of him. We kept going. My body was still stuck on how good it felt having him covering me. He was hard, and I was soft. Gaaaawwwddd. I was a mess.
Once I stopped thinking, I realized I was staring down into his face.
“Better?” he asked with a knowing smile.
Damn tricky wolves and their senses. “Much,” I said, pumping enthusiasm into my voice and immediately climbed to my feet.
I looked around for Glass.
“She left,” he said.
Great, we were alone. “So, I’m supposed to just move with you?” I guess it made sense.
He gave me a cocky grin. “I’ve always found that it works best that way, for both partners.”
I rolled my eyes. I signaled with my hand for him to come at me again.
This time, I used our momentum and went with him, and I ended up on top again. I smiled. “Okay, so now what do I do?”
He was watching my mouth. I became aware that if I shifted just a little, I would be over his cock. My boobs were already crushed to his chest. “Don’t answer that,” I said shortly. I went to my knees, which definitely put me into contact with his… Jesus, he was hard. I used my hands to push off of his chest.
He laughed at me as he gracefully got to his feet.
This slyly sexy version of Black was too much. I mean, I only had so much self-control. I shook off my awareness. “So, I end up on top. Then what? It’s not like I can run away or tear their heads off… So, what can I do?”
“You pray that one of your guards is nearby and that you bought yourself enough time for him to pull your ass out of danger.”
“Is this hopeless?” I asked honestly. I depended on the Laird for many things but most of all honesty.
He hesitated, and I knew his answer.
I dropped my head. I had known I was much weaker, but now I was utterly defeated.
“Theo,” he said quietly.
I didn’t raise my head. I was trying to wrap my head around this.
“You are Marked by our Goddess. No Lycan should ever touch you with violence.” He paused and frowned. “But there are those who don’t follow the rules. Sometimes, they aren’t right in the head, or they don’t care.” His gray eyes lost some of their fierceness. “No human is strong enough to stop a Lycan, especially if they’re in their wolf form.”
I knew this. I’d seen it in my head.
“What you could do is go for the eyes. They are vulnerable.”
“Yeah, I remember the prisoner’s screams,” I said roughly.
“Stun him and pray.” He shrugged once. “One more time.”
“Just don’t break anything,” I groused.
* * *
I felt pretty satisfied with myself. I’d talked Conal and Solle into going out on another date night, and Issa and I were going through my closet.
“I don’t need more clothes,” I told the tiny fashionista.
“You don’t have one sexy outfit in here.” She was shoving my hangers to the right.
“I don’t need to be sexy,” I argued.
“Oh, honey, we all need to be sexy,” she said haughtily.
I wanted to change the topic. “Tell me about that female we saw in the grocery store.” We’d been shopping for snacks for later. We’d filled our cart with junk because these damn Lycans could metabolize anything in an hour and were always hungry.
