Resurrecting The Beast [Werescape Book II] Page 3

  "You mean Pa? That sorry son-of-a-bitch,” she snarled.

  "Yes."

  "Oh the trash that he sputtered. I've never met a Prophet I ever liked. How many of them live around here?"

  Too many. “A large population carried through the invasion and bred like flies in Idaho. And they aren't concerned about anyone outside their group liking them."

  She grimaced. “Lucky us."

  Luck was another topic open for thorough investigation tonight. “Do you play cards?"

  "Some.” She shrugged. “My brothers loved to play.” Her voice trailed off like following a memory.

  She focused on her rabbit and ate quickly.

  Well, I couldn't waste the opportunity for good company. I'd saved her sweet tail and had to be the good host. Poker would entertain her.

  She finished eating and shot me a smile. “Thank you for the stew. You can cook for me anytime."

  Well, until her healthy appetite was back in Death Summit. I rose to grab her plate and dumped both in a bucket of water before returning to the fire with my cards.

  She eyed me suspiciously. “That's how you wash the dishes?"

  Never invite a woman into your cave. “Until I get around to scrubbing them.” I shot her a wink. “I don't have distemper."

  "I didn't say that,” she laughed. “Men."

  “I was just thinking women."

  "So, you want to play cards, eh?” A sexy smile puckered her lips into a contemplative heart.

  My Wolf snarled.

  And thought about the white skin of her neck.

  Wondered about the scent of her skin.

  How salty a drop of her blood would taste.

  Woman in man's cave. Bad combination. Oh, the night ahead seemed awfully long. Playing cards might distract the Wolf though. I shuffled and dealt the cards for poker.

  Little Bit scooted closer and leaned an elbow onto the ground. “Excuse me for bitching but this cave needs some pillows."

  Pillows for leaning her sweet little curves back... I couldn't agree more and shot her a knowing glance, spreading out my cards.

  Whatever they were. My Wolf was so damned interested in scanning the swells of her side as she lounged facing me that I couldn't focus on the numbers. She aged a good five years in the firelight. Not that any man would look at a nineteen-year-old beauty and think she needed to fill out. Women her age were women. Soft. Ready for breeding.

  "So you ever going to tell me what scratched the hell out of your head?” She slid her gaze up from her cards and casually lifted one dark eyebrow before tossing two cards down and waving two fingers in a hook motion for more.

  She played like my old sire. I'd throw her for a loop. “Bear wrestling."

  Her other eyebrow arched in a beautiful movement to express her surprise. “Bear? Like grizzly? What did you fight him off with? A bazooka?"

  Like she thought a Shifter couldn't handle a bear. Well, explaining the fact I'd taken him on in human skin meant I'd have to confess all. Not tonight. Not with Little Bit slinking out near my fire with sweet heart lips, eyeballing me like my mate. “Brown bear. He wanted my marshmallows.” I tossed her two cards.

  "I don't even know what marshmallows are, Beast."

  "Your age is showing.” That should shut her up.

  "And just what's wrong with my age? I should have been mated four years ago.” She smacked her lips and studied her cards as if dismissing my inadvertent insult.

  So, her father kept her home to bait the ass who wanted her. Sneaky bastard. Any sire I know would have mated off a sassy female like this the minute she started to bleed. “My sire told me about marshmallows and bears. I assumed you're too distanced from that generation to hear the tales of bears and campers."

  Her face twisted conspiratorially. “And I'm supposed to be appeased with that sad attempt to smooth things over with your little-girl insult? I'll have you know, there were many men back in the city who stood around drooling when I walked through a room.” She watched me discard three cards and grab three more.

  Oh, I bet. My Wolf is slobbering like he's rabid. What a pity she noticed the men watching. The knowledge went to her head. Ruined her.

  She leaned her cloaked breasts toward me and placed her cards face up for my view. “Three tens. Got anything to top them, Romeo?” A glint of mischief twinkled in her eyes.

  My Wolf struggled to howl.

  To run.

  Chew up my cards and pounce on Little Bit's sweet lips.

  Hell, I didn't even know what I held. My cock was so damned hard I could have used it to beat my Wolf into submission except my Wolf was the one grasping my Gods-be-damned club.

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  Chapter Three

  I threw down my cards and gulped down a gut's worth of crow. “You win, Little Bit."

  "Okay, then I get to ask the question. You have to answer."

  If she thought I'd play along... Hell. My Wolf wanted to. “Just remember. When I win, I get to ask the question.” Of course, having those sinful little lips dancing so nearby was going to make me suffer with my Wolf digging his way through my ribs.

  "Fair. How old are you since you think you're so smart with this marshmallow knowledge?"

  What a wasted question. I'd ask her something extremely embarrassing. Like how her first time with a man went. That would end her barrage of inquiries. “Thirty-one.” I slapped her down five cards to dam the curiosity gushing up toward her lips.

  Too-damned beautiful lips. I'd need a drink to make it through the game. But I wasn't ready to leave the cards to grab a bottle. Who knew if she could be trusted not to peek? This one would, given the opportunity. She wanted to win. And most men would allow her to think she had.

  She fanned her cards out in her hand, emotionlessly.

  "You've played poker for years, haven't you?” I asked.

  She frowned slightly and nodded briefly, then shot me a beautiful omniscient look to feign she guessed what I held.

  My Wolf's little chuckle escaped me. “Discards?"

  She tossed down three.

  I replaced them.

  And she smacked her lips, biting on her upper lip with the cutest edges of her pristine lower teeth.

  Princess teeth.

  My Wolf started leaping with my Gods-be-damned cock, flailing it around like a branch in its jaws. I gulped down a lump and tried to pretend Little Bit wasn't the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

  In the firelight, her hair sparkled where the fire danced on golden strands woven into her chestnut mane.

  Oh yes. She'd brought my Wolf to its knees without even trying. Probably hadn't even realized. I had to find some way to cage the beast. Or she wouldn't have a stitch of clothing by sunrise. And the scrap of honor I managed to cling to would vanish.

  Thunder sputtered.

  Rain poured outside.

  Her gaze shot up at the dark ceiling and her shoulders fell in defeat.

  Worried about her horse. “It's alright, Little Bit. I'll take you to Death Summit tomorrow. You'll be safe there."

  Her pinched gaze locked onto mine. “Maybe I don't want to go to any village."

  Well, she damned sure was. I couldn't keep her here with my hard-on from Hell. “You'll feel better about the idea in the morning."

  She tucked her cards under her nose as if the answer to her future was hidden somewhere in the faces and ignored me.

  By the time I realized I had a Royal Flush, I really needed to adjust my pinched cock in my pants.

  She had lifted her cards to block her view.

  Like I could see the faces reflected in the mini mirrors of her eyes. And beat her! I quickly worked my Wolf's club into a new position. And found her watching me, one eyebrow cocked.

  Shit. She knew how tortured she made me.

  The stakes were high.

  My cave.

  No woman.

  Just me and my Wolf.

  Life alone was my future. I silently laid down my cards.
To rule my roost.

  Oh. Dear. God. Beast was attracted to me. And he was a Shifter after all. This could work for me. Yes. He deserved a life. Companionship. And he had honor. Lots of honor. He never really did anything but show his concern for me.

  And I kind of liked capturing his interest.

  More so than the Shifters back home. God, all I ever wanted was a Shifter. Shifters were the biggest baddest asses on the planet. I swore I'd always have one of my own. My heart. My soul. All mine. But Father got a hair up his ass to gain water rights. Like New York needed more water through me.

  And Beast wasn't a beast. He could cook. He showed genuine sincerity in his attentions. As if he truly cared about my safety. Or just my sense of security.

  Lord, those muscles were enough to enthrall me.

  All the rippling and flexing.

  Geesh.

  And his scars were just scars. Lines sketched on his face. A face cut by birth with a squared jaw line and determination deeply ingrained in his brow. He had large green eyes that took in everything. Apparently, everything. I'd been flirting with him a little. But he had such a sharp wit. It was fun to tease him. To make him bite back with a snappy retort. And I'd been so bloody lonely. Running. Hiding. Scraping together something decent to eat. Who cared if Beast wanted me? Life could be far worse.

  "Discards?” he prompted.

  Hell yes. I'm going for a winning hand because I have to ask more questions. Someone had to explain what he was doing out here in the BFE, alone, hiding in a tomb. I threw down four cards.

  His eyebrow arched, bending his scars.

  Poor guy. He didn't think he was handsome. Did he? God, if he could just see what I saw. It had been a good sixty degrees at the warmest part of the day. And Beast hadn't bothered wearing a shirt the entire time he'd been with me. All the better with the incredible view. I could just stare and stare at that field of dimples and deep hollows of his musculature. Muscles doling out more cards... I took the four cards he dealt me.

  Two twos, a seven, and an eight. Add that to my ten and so much for my question. “Do you have anything?” Besides a big-ass hard-on. Oh, I could get him to keep me! Here. With him all of the long freezing cold winter. What was I thinking? Like he was going to change his life on a whim.

  "Five cards,” he mumbled and fingered them, studying them like he could make something materialize.

  Poor baby. I get to ask the question. I laid down my cards. “Two of a kind."

  His gaze rolled to mine.

  Awareness reflected in those sparkling eyes.

  Just what was he aware of?

  He planted his cards atop mine. “Flush."

  Damn. Guess he was aware I was screwed out of my little question.

  "So, Little Bit, who did you lose your virginity to?"

  Evil man! “No personal questions—"

  "Uh,” he settled onto his side propping an elbow beneath his massive chest and watched me, firelight massaging the depressions where his muscles bent into shallow pockets of shadow, “you've done nothing but bombard me with personal questions since you walked into my cave."

  Beast set me up with his hard-on. I'd fix his wagon with a little disconcerting truth. “I'm a virgin. Although, I'd fancied letting a Shifter named Maximus take care of the little problem."

  Beast's eyes pinched a fraction while his chest rose and fell. “Problem? Usually, it's the other way around. The males have to work to take it."

  More like his problem now that I confessed a man's name. But I'd play along. “Father's little peace negotiation between Pittsburgh and our city required he provide a virgin to seal the pact. So, I went nowhere unattended. Always chaperoned. Always guarded by the finest Shifters east of the Mississippi.” Which excluded Beast and all his reinforced west-of-the-Mississippi glory.

  He waited as if ensuring I'd finished my stupid little shallow confession. Like it mattered that I had a man to solve my little problem. I suddenly felt like I was ten years old explaining why I snuck out my window to go see the Shifters wrestle in Wolf skins in the sewers beneath the city. I felt so chastised that I had to slide my gaze to the hearth to focus on something other than his insistence that I confess.

  "Why did I my question embarrass you?” he asked, suddenly gentle and concerned again.

  Why couldn't I stop staring at the dancing flames in the fire? “I don't have anywhere to go. I hate this world. Is this what it's going to be like until I'm tied to some man's bed and forced to submit to some farce of a marriage?"

  My heart smashed in two.

  Faded into a gut wrenching twist that almost brought tears of reality to my eyes. And I wanted to run, screaming into the howling wind where icy cold rain stung my skin to make me tremble until my guts puked. This was my damned future.

  Empty.

  Daunting.

  Inescapable.

  A finger touched my chin.

  I flinched and found Beast squatted at my side, his fingertips holding my chin where I faced his worried mask. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Little Bit,” his voice resonating strength. “Tomorrow, the clan leader will force you to choose a mate from his kin. You need to know this before you go to Death Summit."

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  Chapter Four

  The world became more fucking insane every second that passed since the alien invasion. Sylvie tried to gulp back her thrashing heart. Tried to inhale. But the dark walls closed in from every direction.

  "Little Bit?"

  "If I'm so damned little, what in the hell will those Guardians want with me? I'm not mate material.” I shoved onto my feet and turned to the cave entrance, paced a few steps, and turned back to his kneeling form. “I'm cursed. It doesn't matter what anyone says now. I'll be choosing some man who'd rather be hunting."

  Firelight kissed his bronzed skin as if he were an immobile bronze statue.

  But he shifted his footing, dispelling the illusion. “You said you wanted a Guardian to help you with your little problem."

  "One of my choice! A man I knew and respected. That's what love is. It isn't picking just any mongrel passing through."

  His mouth hitched to the left. “Define passing through."

  How much more could a sane woman take in this madness? Enough was enough. I'd be better off trying to walk in the cold rain than waiting around here for some man to save me. I groaned at the ceiling and whirled to the cave's entrance.

  "Sylvie!” He finally used my name.

  A name he learned from someone other than me. He probably already knew the bounty required I was returned with my virginity intact. No big revelation in my confession. He played me for fun all evening. Beast was just another annoying man. I strode toward the sheeting silver rain slashing across the cave's entrance and burst into the icy shower, heading toward the tree line.

  A chill jolted through me.

  Whatever happened now didn't matter. The world was so bloody cold I'd freeze within an hour. I should have found a safe place during the summer. I should have already set in for winter.

  Should haves weren't getting me anywhere.

  Chilly water trickled down my neck between my shirt and skin.

  My leather coat wouldn't repel the water much longer. The thick supple hide already felt heavy with icy dampness.

  "Gods-be-damned, Sylvie! This is not how to plan your future,” Beast howled into the wind.

  What future? I headed deeper into the forest away from the cave. Into the darkness of freezing rain and bitter wind.

  My hands were so cold I had to tuck them into my armpits.

  Maybe I had misjudged this whole situation? Maybe the icy world helped me find my little voice of reason. Or hear it. But my chattering teeth rattled fathoms. Beast's cave wasn't all that bad. Only his news that was. Yes. It was too damned cold to search for sanity out here. I turned to go back.

  To return to face the rising sun.

  All I saw was darkness.

  My teeth began clatter
ing.

  God help me before my body shakes apart. “Beast!"

  Why had she run off so helplessly into the night? Bounders could be anywhere, hunting those foolish enough to stray out after sunset, Beast scolded himself internally. I shouldn't have asked about her virginity. Even though I had to help her. Stop her. Bring her back to civilization.

  My Wolf growled.

  Okay bring her back to the cave and wrap her in blankets. I strained to listen for some sign of her location in the wintry storm.

  Completely pissed, my Wolf sniffed into the indifferent wind.

  I'll find her. Dammit.

  The storm's brutal deluge killed any luck of catching her scent.

  A sound carried on the wind.

  Little Bit. I turned into the slanting rain and stretched my stride across the sloshing bed of pine needles.

  My footsteps sank into the damp forest mat.

  "Beast?"

  The woman needs her tail beat. Although, I'd never hit a woman. But running out into the rain was absolutely ridiculous. For her. I hadn't really done anything to her. Just repositioned my cock. Why did that sound so horrible now? Fortunately, the dropping temperature took care of my erection. All would be easier if I just shifted—made the sacrifice of losing the scars for pushing her into bolting. I could find her more easily in my Wolf skin.

  What came over me with her? She was an innocent. Young. Although somewhat brash. But she'd had every reason to play along with me because I toyed with her. As much as she toyed with me.

  "Beast!” Her desperate voice sounded closer.

  Somewhere. I scanned the shadows through angling rain.

  Something tall and thin stepped from the side of a tree trunk.

  She had her arms crossed over her chest and seemed to stand free, a shadow among the trees, but sagged back against a trunk.

  Freezing her tail off.

  I should leave her until she collapses.

  Teach her a lesson.

  Weak, Wolf bitched at me.

  Her or me?

  As cold as she has to be I'd have a time warming her up. Lighting a bonfire in the cave would attract Bounders and Pa. Pa had to be out searching for his bounty. Probably brought back reinforcements. No blazing fire meant I'd have to sleep with her. Nude.