Cat's Wolf (A Shifter Romance Novella) (3 page)

Kaitlin threw the front door of her
parents’ home open and halted when she saw her father sitting in his favourite
chair nursing a tumbler of dark liquid. “Dad,” she murmured.

Paul Mahone was an intimidating
man; he was six-foot-three and had an air of power about him. He was feared by
almost everyone in the cat clans—him being one of the few jaguar shifters—which
meant they left her alone too. It had pissed her off for a while, no males
wanting to touch her, but she’d found a way around it in the end.

“Did you have a nice evening,
Kaitlin?” He didn’t look up from the whiskey in his glass as he swirled the
liquid.

Her nape prickled in warning.

Did he know Misha had left her
alone at the club? Or did she smell of wolf?

“It was great, we went to a club,”
she moved towards the staircase.

“The full moon cycle starts in three
days, Kaitlin.”

Her eyes widened at that. Ten years
after a female’s first shift, she went into a needing period, where she would
be fertile for the few nights of the full moon period. Her needing scent would
trigger the male’s need to mate with her and she would have to pick a worthy
male to relieve the ache and possibly become the father of her child.

“You understand what that entails?”

Of course she did. “Yes.”

His dark brown eyes met hers across
the room, “Goodnight, Kaitlin.”

“Goodnight.”

She hurried up the stairs and into
her room. Once there, she dropped onto the edge of her bed and stared into
space. There wasn’t one man she could go to, to help her with this. Unless she
went to the Crescent Bay…

No! He’d used her. She wasn’t going
to him for help with this. Not that it would help if she did. During the full
moon she’d be in puma form, her human half shut away—quite literally for her—and
it would be the puma who decided who was worthy, not her.

Dropping backwards on the mattress
she stared up at the white ceiling as she ran possibilities through her head.

Chapter 4

Kaitlin stared up at the Crescent
Bay Hotel and realised how desperate she must be to come here. The full moon
was tonight and she’d run out of options.

She’d begun to smell the beginnings
of her needing coming through her skin this morning and it had startled her
into action. She’d briefly entertained the idea of going to Tito but he no
longer appealed to her, not after seeing Rhys. It wasn’t a good idea to be
around any other shifters at this time anyway. Her scent would drive them crazy
and they’d do just about anything to mate with her so going to the bear
compound or anywhere where there would be shifters…no.

She raised a palm to shield her
eyes from the bright glare of the sun and took a good look at the hotel,
wondering which room he was in.

“Kaitlin?” She jumped, lowering her
gaze to see Brent, who she then glared at. “Sorry. Rhys saw you and told me to
come get you.”

Her lip curled in distaste. She
hated being bossed around. “Did he now? Well, tell him that if he wants me,
he’ll have to come get me himself.” Brent hesitated and she gave him a smug
little smile, “Afraid?”

He grimaced, “
Please
come
upstairs.”

“Nope,” she said sweetly.

Brent dropped his head and sighed
loudly, “I’ll go deliver your message but if I get thrown out the window, I’m
blaming you.”

She laughed as she watched him go
and then decided to make the most of the warm weather by sun-bathing. Lying
down on the grass, she closed her eyes and waited.

When no-one had come for her five
minutes later, she opened her eyes, flinching when she saw Rhys leaning over
her. His eyes were a dark gold, almost bronze, as he met her gaze. “You’re
nearing your needing!”

Kaitlin blinked at the anger in his
voice. “So what if I am?”

His eyes narrowed on her, “You come
here, to a place teeming with wolves, on the day of the full moon, when your
needing will be on you in full force? Are you trying to make me crazy?”

Her mouth parted as the
implications sunk in; her versus a hotel room full of male werewolves? She
wouldn’t have had a chance. Deciding to put on a brave face, she said, “Then
aren’t you glad I didn’t come up?”

Rhys growled and in the next second
was straddling her waist, his hands holding hers on either side of her head.
“You have a smart mouth, Kaitlin, and if you’re not careful, it’s going to get
you in big trouble.”

A thrill ran through her at his
domineering attitude and the puma purred inside her.

“Maybe I want to get in trouble.”
She arched her back, pressing her breasts into his chest.

“Kaitlin…” he groaned against her
throat, his nose moving up and down the sensitive skin. Rhys pulled back
suddenly, “We can’t do this here.” Grabbing her hand he pulled her to her feet.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his mobile and speed dialled a number.

“Brent? I’m not coming back up. I
need to take care of Kaitlin.” He listened for a few seconds, “It might be a
few days before I get back.” Pause. “No, I’m not sure where we’re going to go.”
Rhys sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “Look, I’ll be fine. And in
the circumstances I think it’ll be better if it’s just me and Kaitlin. It’s not
like we can’t look after ourselves, anyway.” Pause. “Brent!” He growled
warningly, then, “Goodbye!”

Terminating the call, he grabbed
her hand and pulled her behind him to the car park and to the same big black
car the wolves had used that first night at the bear compound.

“Get in,” he ordered, as he walked
around the bonnet to his own side.

She did as she was told without
comment, sensing his anger and the need to get away.

Once on the road, he seemed to
relax somewhat.

Twisting in the seat, she eyed him
hungrily. His scent was driving
her
crazy never mind hers him. Brent had
done nothing for her but Rhys…she wanted him.

The needing turned her more
animalistic, going with her baser needs: food and sex. The closer the time came
to the full moon the hornier she would get. The scent of her arousal wouldn’t
be detected by humans but shifters would catch it from as far as a mile away
when the full moon was out later tonight.

At the moment it was filling the
confines of the SUV quite nicely. She couldn't help it; she wanted him. Badly.

Kaitlin shifted on the leather
seat.

“Kaitlin,” he growled warningly.

Biting her lip, she shifted again.
“I can’t help it, Rhys, I
need you
.”

He shot her a quick assessing
glance and then swore. Checking the mirrors, he pulled over at the first turn
off he found and followed it until he reached an old dirt road and turned onto
it, driving a mile or so before braking.

Kaitlin was on him in the next
second; her lips locked with his, her hands running up and down his muscled
chest and her knees on either side of his hips as she rubbed herself against
him.

Rhys groaned and gripped her hips
tight, holding her steady. “In the back,” he growled; his voice more wolf than
man.

Not needing any more encouragement,
she crawled between the seats. He followed her through and she purred as his
lips teased her neck with kisses and nips. Positioning his knees on either side
of her, he pulled her between his legs and kissed her possessively. Kaitlin
wrapped both arms around his neck to hold him close to her as he bit her bottom
lip making her hiss in a mix of pleasure and pain.

“I need you, Rhys.”

“I know,” he agreed, his breathing
ragged. His hands tugged at the hem of her t-shirt and she arched so he could
pull it over her head. Once gone, Rhys paid homage to her breasts, licking and
nipping at the tender flesh that was trying to burst free of her bra. Arching
into him she moaned her encouragement. With a flick of his wrist, her breasts
were no longer confined and he bent to take a nipple into his mouth. A ragged
gasp left her as she watched him.

Wanting to touch him, she ran a
hand over his t-shirt covered back. It wasn’t enough. Moving her hands down his
sides she found the bottom of his tee and gripped it in her hands before
pulling upwards. He broke the connection reluctantly to let her pull it over
his head and then moved his lips to her neck and the sensitive part below her
ear, causing her to purr.

Kaitlin moved her palms down over
the muscled contours of his back, loving how they seemed to jump and twitch
under her touch. Moving her hand to his side, she slid her finger under the
band of his jeans to feel the hot skin beneath. Removing her fingers she moved
her hand to the front of his jeans and cupped him through the rough material.
He jerked at her touch and she hissed in a breath as he retaliated by biting
her on the neck.

“If you keep that up, this’ll be
over before it’s even begun.”

“I don’t care,” she whimpered. She
was burning up inside and it was driving her crazy. She needed a little relief.

Arching, she pressed herself
against him again and let out a little half moan half purr at how delicious he
felt pressed against her.

The next thing she knew she was on
all fours, her jeans at her knees, with Rhys behind her running a hand over
lower back. Kaitlin lowered to her forearms and she felt him press into her. A
moan ripped from her throat as her inner muscles clenched around him. He felt
so good.

Rhys growled and gripped her hips.
“You feel so fucking good, Cat.”

The ache was increasing inside her.
She needed him to move. Forcibly pushing backwards, she took more of him inside
her and mewled in pleasure.

His fingers tightened fractionally
before he slowly moved out and then pushed back in. She moaned her pleasure and
dropped her face to the cushioned seat as his pace increased and moments later
he was pounding into her. Her fingers curled into the leather seat as she
moaned, purred and eventually screamed in delight as she orgasmed. Three
thrusts later, Rhys joined her with an animalistic growl.

As they recovered, he pulled her
back against his chest and nuzzled her neck.

Kaitlin sighed, “That was…crazy.”

“Mmm…” he lazily agreed, taking her
earlobe between his teeth and gently biting.

“Is it like that for everyone? I
mean during their needing?”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been
with another shifter during her needing.”

Now that was a surprise. So was the
fact that the burning need inside her had been reduced to a soft smoulder.

“Maybe it’s because we’re mates,”
he murmured softly against her hair.

Was that it?

Chapter 5

They eventually got back on the
road and Rhys drove them to a small cabin on the edge of some woods.

“Is this yours?” She asked, eyeing
the one storey wooden shack.

He shook his head. “It’s one of the
wolf clan’s many safe houses.”

“Is it safe?” She asked, eyes going
to the surrounding forests, wondering if they would have any hostile visitors.

“With how remote it is, it’s not
used very often. In fact, I’ve never known it to be used.”

It would only likely be used by
them for a night, maybe two. It seemed unlikely anyone would come by.

Moving up the porch steps that
squealed under their weight, she waited for Rhys to unlock the door using the
key he’d found on top of the door frame.

The door creaked open and an
overwhelming smell of damp hit them and she gagged. Rhys brushed past her and
moved inside to check out the interior and she reluctantly followed. It looked
like it hadn't been lived in since the late nineteen-hundreds with the old
fashioned furniture and the amount of dust on everything.

Rhys waved his hands to try and
avoid breathing in the dust they’d disturbed.

Kaitlin grimaced. To think she’d be
spending her first needing here of all places.
So romantic
, she thought
wryly.

As if sensing the direction of her
thoughts he glanced back at her, “Sorry about the state of this place. If I’d
known it was this bad I wouldn’t have come.”

“I’m sure we can spruce the place
up a bit before we…” she trailed off as a blush heated her skin.

He grinned across at her. “When
midnight comes, I don’t think you’ll be bothered about
where
we do it
but the
number of times
we do.”

Shifting on the balls of her feet
self-consciously, she glanced down at her converse trying desperately not to
replay scenes of their earlier sex in his car. It would likely spark her puma’s
lust and she’d prove him right, taking him on the dusty floor without a second
thought.

“I wonder if there’s any food
here.”

Running a hand through his hair he
glanced at the kitchenette and frowned. “You know I never thought of food when
I came up with this idea.”

Shifters need food when they shift
to their animal forms as it takes a lot of energy and leaves them weak for a
while afterwards. Shifting back to human could be equally taxing if not more
so.

“I’ll check the cupboards, why
don’t you see if there’s anything in the bedroom.”

Her brow crinkled in confusion.
“Like what?”

Rhys winked, “I’ll leave that to
your imagination.”

Turning from her, he moved to a
cupboard and pulled it open. His back and shoulder muscles rippled with the
movement and memories of her digging her nails into those hard muscles and what
happened afterward had the smoulder flaring into a raging inferno once more.

She wanted him again.

Kaitlin’s needing scent eased from
her pores and she saw the exact moment he caught it. He stopped what he was
doing and took a deep breath. Rhys’ entire body rippled as he instinctively
reacted to the scent but held himself in check.

“Kaitlin…Cat…we need—I
haven’t—protection,” he eventually growled.