Cat's Wolf (A Shifter Romance Novella) (4 page)

It spurred her into action and she
slammed the door to the bedroom open and was rummaging through the bedside
table in the next second.

No!
There weren’t any.
Hurrying to the other side she searched that one too.

“Nooo!” She groaned, unable to find
anything in that one either.

“Anything?” He asked tightly.

“No.”

She heard him swear colourfully and
then the slam of the door. Had he gone? Left her here alone? Walking back
through to the main part of the cabin she saw it was empty and then went over
to the window, mildly surprised to find the black car still outside but no sign
of Rhys. He must have shifted and gone into the woods.

That was a good thing, she told
herself, as she forced her feet to move back across the room. Opening one of
the top cupboards she found some tinned goods and a few dried spices. At least
it was something.

Crouching she looked in the one
Rhys had left open and found some pots and pans. Pulling one out she set it on
the counter, upsetting some dust which then caused her to have a sneezing fit.
Rubbing her nose, she got up and surveyed the cabin.

Planting her hands on her hips, she
decided to clean the place up a bit. Opening all the cupboard doors she
searched for a dustpan and brush and a cloth and finally found them.

Half an hour later she had managed
to remove most of the dust, though there was still a lot floating in the air;
swept the floor and cleaned the windows, which were now letting the soft afternoon
sunlight into the room and giving it a more homely air.

Wiping her sweaty brow, she
surveyed the room and smiled proudly. At least it looked liveable now or at the
least, ready for a romantic interlude.

A car engine rumbling to life
outside had her tensing. Stealthily moving to the window she peeked around the
sill and saw Rhys sitting behind the wheel and let out a relieved breath. He
was back.

Kaitlin walked outside and waited.

“I’m going to head back into town
and grab a few things,” he called through the open window.

Condoms?

She raised her chin slightly in
understanding and watched as he spun the car around and then drove away from
her, whipping up a dust cloud as he sped off down the dirt road.

Her lust was under control once
more and it seemed so was his. If only for a couple of hours because when
midnight came she would shift to her puma form and he to his wolf form and they
would mate, probably for hours.

If
her puma submitted to
him, that was.

Female puma’s were very particular
about who they mated with and would only submit if they believed the male was
good enough for the job.

She had a feeling both herself and
the puma would quite happily spread their legs to have Rhys inside them. He was
alpha material after all. But then again, she didn’t have full control of her
puma so who knew what might happen.

Shaking her head to clear those types
of thought, she went back inside. Maybe she should make dinner?

Fifteen minutes later, she was just
pouring a tin of stewed steak into a pan, to make some sort of curry, when her
phone started ringing. With a frown she pulled it from her pocket and checked
the caller ID. It was Tito.

Biting her lip with indecision she
played out how the conversation would go if she answered and then what might
happen if she didn’t. Her parents were expecting her to be with Tito during her
needing and if they found out she wasn’t…well, things could get ugly.

Decision made, she accepted the
call. “Hey?”

“Hey, babe,” Tito drawled in his
low voice. “Where are you? The full moon will be on us in a few short hours,
why don’t you come over now?”

“Actually, I’m busy right now,” she
hedged, biting her lip in the hopes he’d believe her.

“Doing what?” He asked, his voice
clearly letting her know he thought she was deranged, giving up sex time with
him for something—anything—else.

“Stuff,” she told him lamely.

The growl of Rhys’ car coming back
up the drive had her pausing. She watched as the car pulled up outside and he
climbed out. Her breath caught. He’d removed his shirt somewhere along the way
and her mouth watered at the sight of his muscled chest glinting in the late
afternoon sun.

Rhys’ gaze locked with hers and an
involuntary sound left her. He started towards her purposefully, the small box
of condoms visible in his hand and she trembled.

“Are you masturbating? Seriously,
babe, come over and I’ll take care of it for you. I’ll take care of
you
,”
his voice went low and smooth but it didn’t affect her the same way Rhys’ did.

She blinked slowly; suddenly
realising she was still on the line with Tito.

Kaitlin opened her mouth to say
something but gasped when hands fastened on her waist from behind.

“Babe, your little moans and gasps are
turning me on big time. Come over already.”

A growl vibrated her back as Rhys
heard Tito’s words. He reached for the phone and snapped it shut, affectively
ending the call, before throwing it onto the old sofa and turning her in his
arms.

“You belong to me now, Kaitlin,” he
urged before covering her mouth with his possessively.

Chapter 6

Kaitlin awoke with a start and
checked her watch. Eleven twenty.

Her needing scent had perfumed the
room during her sleep and it hung heavy. She was surprised it hadn't woken Rhys
yet, but maybe he’d become attuned to it since he’d been in her company for the
last twelve hours or so?

It was time to go for a run.

Rhys would find her and mate with
her in animal form but only after winning her puma over.

She glanced across at his sleeping
form and smiled. They’d certainly worked each other into a frenzy earlier and
she had to admit she’d had the most mind-numbing orgasm of her life. Maybe he’d
be worth the hassle in the end. Her parents would most likely disown her but he
seemed the type of guy who’d stand by her whatever happened.

A cloud moved and bright moonlight
lit the room. Her needing scent intensified and she felt her body twitch with
the urge to shift. For a second, she considered fighting it. It was stupid of
her to shift when she still didn’t have one hundred per-cent control of her
puma but she also knew it was futile. The full moon was impossible to resist.

Rhys moved under the covers and she
knew she had to leave now.

Nude, she stood and silently made
her way outside. Crouching on the wooden porch, she relaxed her body and
reached out to the power of her puma. She gritted her teeth against the pain of
the shift as muscles and bones lengthened and stretched to accommodate her
feline form. A few minutes later the shift was complete and she yowled and
shook herself out, getting the feel of her new body.

Rustling came from inside the cabin
and she turned to see Rhys coming out of the bedroom looking dishevelled but
extremely hot. His amber gaze locked with her grey and the puma hissed at him
before turning and running.

It was strange for her when she
shifted to puma form because it was like she was having an out of body
experience, she could hear and feel the puma’s thoughts and feelings but they
weren’t her own. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Her mind and the puma’s
were supposed to be one and the same, she was supposed to have some control of
the animal’s actions but she had none as the puma weaved through the trees at a
steady run.

Kaitlin could sense Rhys closing in
behind her and the increasing distress of the puma. That wasn’t good news.

Minutes later they reached a steep
cliff overlooking a murky river and the puma backed away. Rhys skidded to a
stop behind her and the puma hissed a warning and backed up a few steps, the
cliff crumbling a little beneath her feet.

No, no, no…

The puma couldn't seem to decide
which way was safer; past the wolf or into the water. It seemed to choose the
water, turning to leap.

“Kaitlin, stop!”

Her entire being froze at the command
in his voice and she breathed an inner sigh of relief. He was using his alpha
tone and it was working. The puma glanced over her shoulder and she saw he was
stood there naked in the moonlight, his eyes bright with some emotion.

He must have pushed himself hard to
perform an almost instant transformation from wolf to man. It must have hurt
immensely but he’d done it to save her.

“Back away from the edge and shift
back,” he ordered, his voice wavering slightly.

She held her breath waiting to see
whether the puma would obey. After a few tense seconds it stepped forward and
she felt it give itself over to her and she quickly reached for the energy that
made her shift possible. This time it seemed more painful and took every bit of
energy she had to shift back to human form.

Kaitlin curled in on herself on the
hard ground and shivered, too tired to do anything.

“Fucking hell, Kaitlin! Why the
hell did you come to me if you don’t have control over your puma?! It’s
suicidal—as you nearly found out! Wolfs and pumas are natural enemies so to
have me chasing you was a stupid idea.” He dropped to his knees beside her and
pulled her into his chest. “I nearly lost you,” he whispered.

“S-s-sorry,” she managed to say
through her chattering teeth.

Her eyelids fluttered closed and
she fell into a consuming blackness.

Kaitlin shifted and winced. She
hurt everywhere.

Opening her eyes, she instantly
knew she was alone and in an unfamiliar bed. Glancing around, memories came
back to her of the previous night and she cringed.

She’d hoped it had all been a bad
dream but obviously not.

“Ugh,” she groaned, rubbing a hand
over her face.

The bed beside her showed no sign
of being slept in and she wondered where Rhys was.

Rising from the bed she moved into
the other room and found him sat at the kitchen table. His gaze was fixed on a
point across the room and his face was tense. “Why?” He growled.

Kaitlin shifted stance slightly.
“Why, what?”

“Why can’t you control your puma?”

She shrugged. What could she say?
She’d never been able to. “I don’t know.”

“Who trained you?”

Kaitlin frowned at him. “What’s
that got to do with it?”

“Who?!” He shouted, his voice
taking on an inhuman rumble, startling her.

“M-my father,” she stammered.

Rhys let out a ferocious growl and
she shrank back from him, her fingers latching onto the door frame as she
noticed his fingers had shifted to claws, digging into the table top. “I should
have known.”

Anger spread through her, “What’s
that supposed to mean?”

For the first time since she’d come
out of the bedroom he looked at her. A tic was pulsing erratically in his jaw
and his eyes were dark and stormy. “Have you not wondered how I managed to stop
you from…” he broke off and swallowed, “to stop you?” He eventually finished.

That was an easy question. “You
used your Alpha.”

He nodded and raised a brow,
waiting for her to get what he was saying. She thought it over carefully and it
suddenly hit her like a runaway freight train.

Her father was an Alpha! He should
have had the same control over her as Rhys had!

“Oh my God! Why didn’t he…?”

“I think he wanted to control you.
A female shifter is becoming rarer all the time so for him to be able to
control you, by you being afraid of shifting, he can decide who you mate with.”

“Tito…”

Rhys’ lip curled at the name.
“Probably in on the plan.” Kaitlin shook her head vehemently. “Cat,” he said
softly, “you heard what he said that night. He was bragging and not in a good
way.”

Kaitlin knew he was right. Things
had always felt strange between herself and Tito; like it had been planned. Her
whole life suddenly seemed like a lie. Closing her eyes she dropped her head
into her hands.

“Cat…Kaitlin…I’m sorry you had to
find out like this.”

The whole thing was playing havoc
with her head the more she thought things through and she could feel a headache
coming on, so decided to change the subject, mumbling through her fingers,
“Where did you sleep last night?”

His amber eyes blinked slowly,
thrown by the sudden change in conversation. “I didn’t sleep.”

“You didn’t? Not at all?” Grimacing,
she said softly, “Afraid I might throw myself off a cliff?”

His voice was soft, “You were
unconscious so that wouldn’t have happened.”

But he’d obviously thought about
it!

Ugh, could she have made a bigger
fool of herself last night? In front of her supposed mate as well.

Remembering that gave her an idea.
It was still early and her scent was still lingering in the air. She eyed him
appreciatively. “Since we didn’t get around to it last night…why don’t we pick
up where we left off?”