In the Heat of the Night Page 8

  Mist billowed and rolled.

  Bleeding profusely, Alex materialized cradling his broken arm.

  Blood-flecked lips pulled back in a snarl, the silver wolf loomed over him.

  His face twisted with pain and shock, Alex slid to his stomach and acknowledged Kearnan’s dominance.

  Silver mist swirled. Kearnan reappeared in human form, fists clenched, blood oozing from his torn flesh. Teeth barred, he snarled, “Get out.” Spinning around, he strode straight to Serena, tossed her over his shoulder, and bolted up the stairs.

  “Stop them,” Alex commanded from between clenched teeth.

  Josh and Dave looked at each other.

  Face pallid, Alex pushed himself to his knees. Blood dripped from the slash on his ribs. A bone protruded from his broken arm. “You heard me.”

  Alesandra stepped to Alex’s side and knelt. “Stay where you are, Dave. Josh, go get the first aid kit. George, I need you to help me set this bone.”

  “Alesandra, please.”

  She knelt at his side. “Enough, Alex. Serena has made her choice, and Kearnan has won her fairly.”

  Alex stared into her face for a moment. A groan escaped him, and he began to sag.

  “Catch him, George. That’s it, lay him down gently. Dave, go find me so hot water.” Alesandra pointed her chin over her shoulder.” I think the kitchen is that way.”

  As Dave disappeared into the kitchen, Josh returned with the first aid kit. “It’s a good thing Alex keeps an entire medical kit in his truck,” he said. “That’s a nasty break.”

  “Stop talking and hold his shoulders, Josh. George, I’ll need you to pull his arm until I’m sure the bones have slid back into place.” She raised her voice. “Dave, where’s my water?”

  Carrying a large pot of water and a couple of towels, Dave pushed his way through the kitchen door. “Broken dishes and bones all over the place in there. Must have been a hell of a mating.”

  “Shut up and help Josh hold Alex down, “ Alesandra commanded. “It’s finished with Serena, Alex,” she continued to draw his attention away from the pain. “You need to think about finding a new mate.”

  When both men had firm grips on his shoulders, she continued. “George, grab hold of his wrist and pull slowly until I tell you to stop. Are you ready, Alex?”

  He nodded and snarled, “Stop nagging, old woman.”

  “The pack needs you to mate.” She glanced at George. “Pull.”

  Alex’s face paled beneath his copper skin. “Enough! I’ll–find a–woman when–I’m–ready.”

  “Stop pulling. Hold him still.”

  Quickly, Alesandra washed away the blood and splinted Alex’s arm. “You can let go, George. You two keep holding his shoulders. I want to stitch up the gash on his ribs after I wash it.”

  Alex inhaled sharply at the first jab of her needle, and gritted his teeth.

  “You can’t afford to wait. The women grow restless. They need an Alpha female.”

  Alex snarled then cursed at a particularly painful jab.

  Alesandra sewed as quickly as she could. When she was finished, she washed then bandaged his chest. “You’ll heal quickly enough, two weeks at the most.”

  Muttering about stiff joints, she pushed herself to her feet. “Josh, Dave, take him home.”

  “What about you?” Josh asked before Alex could.

  “George and I will stay here for a few days.”

  “Alesandra!”

  She shook her head. “No, Alex. Go home. The are plenty of unmated women there who will fall all over themselves to take care of you.” Her tone softened. “You and Serena were not meant to be, Alex. Surely you realize that now.”

  Alex groaned as Josh and Dave helped him to his feet. “It’s done,” he agreed softly. He turned his face towards the door. “Take me home.”

  Chapter 10

  As Kearnan carried her up the stairs, primal stimuli surged through Serena’s body. Her nostrils flared at the scent of Kearnan’s blood—and sexual arousal. He fought for her and won. More importantly, she’d accepted him. He could have mounted her there in front of everyone, and she would have reveled in his domination.

  “Mine. My mate,” Kearnan growled as he kicked a door open. Once inside, he kicked the door shut, and tossed Serena onto the bed—on the other side of the room. He joined her there with one long leap, ripped the clothes from her body, and threw himself on top of her.

  Blood from the gash on his shoulder smeared her breast.

  Tangling his fists in her hair, he captured her mouth in a long, dominating kiss.

  Lust jolted through Serena, her heat surging to answer Kearnan’s aggression. This was not the playful, sexy man who’d exhausted and satiated her body the night before. This was a werewolf claiming his mate. She shuddered with anticipation—and need.

  When Kearnan raised his mouth from hers, she stared into his eyes. A wolf stared back at her. He was more than a man, more than a werewolf. And she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life.

  “Mine,” he growled. “Now.” He rose, rolled her over, and lifted her to her knees.

  “Oh, gods, yes.” Bracing her hands high against the bed’s wooden headboard, Serena spread her legs as Kearnan shoved his thigh between them, the coarse hairs of his leg rasping against the tender skin of her thigh. She moaned when his fingers brushed her swollen lips. She shifted, and he snarled, pressing his hand into the small of her back to hold her still. The muscles in her thighs shuddered when he began to thrust first one then two fingers in and out of her.

  He slid his hard cock along the cleft in her behind.

  Serena moaned again and bucked against his hand.

  Kearnan leaned his weight on her back. “Submit,” he growled into her ear. Then he nipped her shoulder.

  Gasping, Serena spread her legs wider. “Yes. Fuck me, Kearnan. Fuck me hard.”

  He slid his fingers out of her and pinched her clit.

  She bucked back against him again, rotating her ass against his cock. “Please…”

  Panting harshly, Kearnan grabbed her hips, pushed her forward, and thrust a thigh between her legs, spreading them even farther apart. He held her still, positioning her for his first thrust. “Mine,” he snarled. “My mate.”

  Serena arched her back, anticipating, longing for the hard thrust that would bury his cock inside of her. “Now, Kearnan, please, hard, fuck me hard.”

  Pressing a hand into the small of her back to make her arch even more, Kearnan rammed his cock into her, thrusting his hips in short jabs to seat it as deeply as he could.

  Serena felt herself oozing around him. She ground her ass against his hips shuddering as his wiry pubic hairs caressed the soft skin of her behind. She pushed back harder, helping Kearnan bury his cock even deeper inside of her, deeper than he’d ever been before.

  Serena shuddered as her body stretched and adjusted itself around him. She had never felt so stretched, so full, so hot, as if every inch of his cock was burning inside of her. Her clit pulsated. She needed to come.

  “Gods, you’re so hard.”

  Snarling, Kearnan curled over her back, and bit down on her shoulder, using his powerful jaws to immobilize her. He covered her left hand with his, lacing his fingers through hers. Then he began pumping his hips.

  Serena keened her pleasure. Kearnan’s right hand slid up her stomach and ribcage to knead her breast. Her nipples seared to achingly pleasurable points.

  He released her shoulder and lifted his head. “Mine. My mate,” he hissed in her ear. “Only mine.” His teeth clamped onto her shoulder again.

  “Yours, only yours,” Serena moaned in answer.

  Kearnan thrust harder, his pistoning hips driving her towards the headboard, lifting her knees until she was almost vertically flat against the high oak headboard of his antique bed.

  Serena reveled in Kearnan’s dominate mating as new sensations exploded throughout her body, sensations she’d only heard about from mate
d female werewolves. Kearnan’s teeth were clamped on her shoulder holding her immobile to his will. This was how a werewolf claimed his mate.

  Kearnan used his greater strength to trap Serena between him and the bed’s headboard and continued to ram his hips against her ass, to plunge his cock into her as deeply as he could. She was his. He had shed blood for her, defeated an enemy for her. Her thighs were spread and her ass was rubbing against his hips. His balls were on fire, and his cock felt ready to explode, but he fought his orgasm and continued to pound into Serena. She was his, his alone. No other werewolf would ever mate her again. He would brand her with his scent and seed so every werewolf in the world would recognize her as his, including Serena herself.

  “I can’t wait,” Serena moaned. “I’m going to come.”

  Kearnan slammed himself into to her harder. “You—are—mine!”

  Serena froze against him. “Yours, Kearnan. My mate.” She threw her head back and howled as her orgasm ripped through her body.

  Kearnan’s last few thrusts lifted Serena off the bed. Then his deeper howled joined hers, and he collapsed against her, only the sound of their harsh breathing breaking the silence.

  Panting, Kearnan braced both hands on the headboard of his bed to take some of his weight off of Serena’s back and rested his forehead on her shoulder. Once he caught his breath, he pushed himself away and collapsed on the bed, his arm thrown over his eyes.

  Never had sex been so good.

  Never had he been so violent.

  Never had he felt so afraid of himself.

  For years he’d struggled to control his animal side, to keep the untamed instincts and urges that boiled through his blood under control. He’d chosen a human life over that of a wolf. He would not act like an animal. Yet, the moment Serena had been threatened, he’d fought with the intent to rip out another man’s throat. And, after he’d defeated his rival, he’d taken Serena to his bed and mounted her like she was some kind of animal.

  Gods, what was he becoming?

  Sighing contentedly, Serena slid down to his side and snuggled against him.

  Kearnan drew away. “I’m sorry.”

  Her voice was surprised. “Sorry? Why?”

  He turned his head away, his arm still over his eyes. “For the way I treated you. My behavior was inexcusable. It won’t happen again.”

  Her chuckle was deep and throaty. “Why not?”

  “Because you won’t be here.”

  Serena pushed away from his back and sat up. “What!”

  Kearnan still refused to look at her. “Damn it, Serena, all I’ve ever heard is that my mother was a wolf, an animal, that I was less than everyone else, that I couldn’t be trusted with anyone’s daughter because I might go feral on her. I’ve spent most of my life fighting to keep the wolf half, the animal half, of me under control, to protect those around me. Today, I completely lost control. I could have killed Alex. I almost did. I can’t let it happen again.”

  “But you didn’t kill him. You stopped.”

  “This time. And what about how I treated you? I couldn’t have stopped fucking you if I’d had to. I was totally out of control.”

  Chuckling, Serena leaned against him and rubbed her breasts against his back. “Can we do it again?”

  Lowering his arm, Kearnan turned to face her. “Do it again? For Christ’s sake, my lust was so strong, all I could think of was mounting you, of overpowering you until whether you accepted my dominance or not. I didn’t care if you liked what I was doing, if I was hurting you, if you didn’t want me. I was only thinking of myself. Damn it, Serena, that’s rape.”

  Her voice piqued, she jerked away. “ You’re a werewolf, Kearnan. You fought off a challenger who wanted me. What’s more, I’m in heat. You acted exactly how you were supposed to act. Besides, I’m not complaining. I liked it. I would have liked it if you had mounted me in front of everyone to prove your claim. But you didn’t to that. You care enough about me to bring me up here where we could be alone, where no one else would see me submit to you.”

  Kearnan shook his head. “That’s not the point. If I can attack you like this now, what will I do next time? I could hurt you. No. I won’t allow that to happen. It will be better if you leave.”

  The bed heaved as she rolled off the other side. “Leave? You want me to leave? After chaining me to the bed and fucking the daylights out of me for almost two days, you want me to leave! You ass. You self-centered, manipulative fuckhead. Go to hell.”

  Dark mist swirled, and a black wolf sprang over the bed and sprinted out of the room—without opening the door. It split down the center. Half lay splintered on the floor. The rest sagged from the top hinge.

  Kearnan rolled over and stared out the window. “Without you, Serena, I’m in hell all ready.”

  Alesandra was climbing the staircase when Serena bolted past her.

  “Serena!”

  The wolf ignored her and leaped through the storm door, leaving the tattered screen dangling behind her.

  Alesandra sighed and muttered. “She always runs away.”

  Alesandra continued up the stairway and down the hall, stopping in front of the shattered door. Kearnan Gray reclined on the bed, his back facing her.

  Nice ass , she thought to herself as she stepped into the room. “What have you done to my granddaughter?”

  He didn’t bother to roll over. “Told her something she didn’t want to hear.”

  Alesandra settled into an overstuffed chair. “Oh, and what was that.”

  “The truth.”

  “She knew the truth about your ancestry before she declared her willingness to become your mate. What other truths are there?”

  Kearnan rolled over and sat up. Glaring at Alesandra, he pushed himself off the bed. He stood before, making no move to cover himself.

  Alesandra’s gaze roamed down Kearnan’s body to his crotch. “You’re not saying Serena was dissatisfied with the sex? You’re hung well enough to satisfy any woman.”

  Kearnan snorted with sour laughter. “Can an abomination such as I satisfy any woman? I covered your granddaughter like she was an animal, old woman. I bit her. I clamped her shoulder in my jaws to keep her from struggling against me, to hold her still while I mated her. It was more rape than love. What woman would want to be treated like that?”

  Alesandra shook her head. “What fool raised you?”

  Nostrils flaring, Kearnan stepped forward. “My father…”

  “Your father was a man heart-broken over the loss of his mate. You’re right. If you and your sibs hadn’t demanded that he teach you the change, he would have sought the dark path. But, Artemis Gray was a werewolf who enjoyed sex and celebrated it to the fullest of his senses before he chose to stay with your mother. He did not tell you to control your passions by hiding behind your humanity.”

  Kearnan stared at Alesandra. “How do you know…”

  Her smile interrupted him. “I was young once, too. And, like Serena, I was entirely too willful. My lovers were wide and varied before I mated her grandfather. Your father and I spent a full moon together once. I still have scars from his teeth.”

  “But…”

  “Whoever told you to control the wolf in you to the extent that you had to keep your emotions under control in a full werewolf mating was a fool—or afraid to lose you.”

  Kearnan’s narrowed eyes confirmed her hunch.

  Alesandra sniffed. “A woman. I should have known. Who was she?”

  Hands clenched, Kearnan walked to the door and wrenched what was left of it from its hinges. He tossed it on top of the half already on the floor and turned back to Alesandra. “Once we were all able to hold our human forms fairly consistently, Father took us to his pack. It never occurred to any of us that so many of our father’s people would hate us. The vote to cast us out was close. A last minute plea by my father’s mother swayed just enough votes in our favor.”

  “So you were pack yet not pack.”

  “It wasn
’t so bad as long as my grandmother was alive. She held a great deal of power and respect within the pack. My brothers and I managed to meet a few younger males willing to be our friends. My sisters seemed to fare better. There were always young females about. Of course, all of them were warned to stay away from my brothers and me.”

  Alesandra snorted. “That’s like telling a child not to eat the candy lying in plain sight on the table.”

  Kearnan nodded.

  “Which one ruined you?”

  He shook his head. “Not one of the girls. Not me, Garth. The sad thing is, she really loved him. Her parents sent her away to another pack.”

  “None of your sisters’ friends were interested in you?

  Kearnan shrugged. “They may have been. I wasn’t interested in them.” He looked full into Alesandra’s face for the first time. “No, there was an older woman, a widow who I wanted. And she returned my interest. She was in heat the first time I met her. She was hot and willing. I spent more time in her bed than in my own, even after her heat was over. Then my grandmother died.”

  After a bitter laugh, Kearnan continued. “Suddenly, my sisters’ friends stopped coming around. More and more pack member began shunning us.”

  “And your widow?”

  “Told me I was a stinking animal. She said she’d done her best to teach me how to be a man and not a beast in bed, but I was too rough, too interested in only my own pleasure. No woman, even a werewolf, would ever want me in her bed because I didn’t care how much I hurt them as long as I was satisfied. She said all that she got from me were bites and bruises without satisfaction.”

  “She doesn’t deserve to be called a bitch.”

  Kearnan nodded. “True, but the bruises and bite marks I gave her were real. That day I swore I’d never treat a woman like that again.”

  “She threatened to bring complaint against you to the pack Alpha if you said anything to anyone, didn’t she?” Alesandra said in a thoughtful voice.