The Dark-Hunters (658 page)

Before he even realized what he’d done, he’d pulled her into his arms and silenced her tirade with a kiss.

Aimee couldn’t breathe as she felt Fang’s arms close around her body. Her rage died the moment his lips touched hers and she tasted a sweet, raw power the likes of which she’d never experienced before.

His tongue danced with hers as he fully explored her mouth. Every hormone in her body turned hot and she clung to him, wanting to devour every inch of his hard body with her mouth and hands. Both the woman and bear inside her turned savage and wanton. Never had she tasted or felt anything like this.

It was all she could do not to strip him naked and make him beg for mercy.

Fang left her lips to finally bury his face against her neck so that he could breathe in her scent. It was the most delectable thing he’d ever smelled. And it awoke something inside him that wanted to experience every part of her. Every hormone in his body sang with need.

And that horrified him.

Pulling back, he stared down at her dazed expression.

Her senses must have returned to her in that same instant. She balled her fists into his jacket. “You need to leave. Now.”

He tried, but something about her …

Go!

Forcing himself away, he teleported himself back to their den in the bayou.

*   *   *

Aimee slumped against the wall behind her as she tried to steady her senses.

She’d just kissed a wolf.

A wolf.

Her family would kill him. Hell, they’d kill
her.
It was forbidden to dilute the bloodlines, especially when they were Omegrion members. Her duty was to maintain and purify their lineage. To strengthen it. As bears, they traced their lineage through the female and she was the only daughter in their clan. It was why her brothers were so protective of her.

Yet …

Aimee shook her head to clear it. She could never see Fang again.

Ever.

Never, ever, ever.

Ever.

And this time she was going to listen to her reason!

She hoped.

CHAPTER 4

Three weeks later

“Well?”

Aimee looked up from the book she was reading while lying on her bed to see her mother standing in the open doorway. Her stomach tightened in response. She’d been dreading this visit all day and hoping her mother had forgotten about it.

She should have known better. Maman had a memory that was second only to Aimee’s.

“I felt nothing, Maman. Sorry.”

Maman made a sound of disgust deep in her throat as she came fully into the room and shut the door.

Aimee got up to make room on the bed so that her mother could sit down beside her and set her book on the nightstand, taking care to not lose her place. She’d met with the other bear clan this afternoon, as hopeful as ever.

And as all the times before …

Nothing.

“I tried, Maman. I swear I did, it’s just…” She sighed wearily as she remembered the look of expectation on Randy’s extremely handsome face. He’d wanted her to accept him as much as she’d wanted it, but it was followed by a look of extreme disappointment when she’d shaken her head at him. She’d felt nothing for the other bear.

Nothing at all.

“Maybe I felt the quickening and just didn’t realize it.”

Maman gave a low laugh. “No,
ma petite.
There is no mistaking the sensation. Every part of you is awake and alive. It burns like fire through your body. The urge to mate is so strong that there is little you can do to fight it. It becomes an all-consuming necessity.”

Aimee looked away as a wave of terror consumed her. The only man she’d ever felt that way for …

Was a wolf.

“I shall tell their Regis that you’re not interested. However, they may request a mating try.”

Aimee cringed at the thought of bedding a guy she didn’t really know and one she wasn’t lusting after. “Randy was nice, but…”

“But what?”

I don’t want to sleep with him.
And there was more than just that. She also held a bitter secret that she dared not share with anyone.

Aimee bit her lip, afraid to tell her mother the truth.

I’m Arcadian.…

She tried her best to say those words out loud. She’d been trying to say them for years. Yet once again, she choked on them. Her mother would be crushed to learn the truth. Aimee had been born Katagaria just like her mother. But during puberty, she’d converted over to Arcadian like her father.

It was the most guarded secret she had. Absolutely no one knew the truth of her base form.

No one.

For that matter, no one outside of the immediate family knew Papa Bear Peltier was Arcadian. The scandal of
that
had scarred her mother, and yet Maman had mated with him so that she could have the cubs she’d always wanted. So that she would be able to continue the Peltier seat on the Omegrion—a seat that had been held since day one by her mother’s line.

It was the animal in her mother that pushed her to mate and procreate.

But the proud human in her rebelled at the thought.

Her mother leaned forward. “You are about to be in season again. For decades you have spurned suitors. It’s time—”

“Maman, please. I know my duties.” And she did. The problem was bears were different from the other animals. Even when in season, the female picked out the male. If he didn’t appeal to her, win her over, as it were, there was no sex and therefore no chance of mating.

If they didn’t mate, there could be no cubs.

Her mother’s illustrious lineage would die out and another clan would take the Peltier place on the Omegrion—yet another reason her family was so incredibly protective of her. If Aimee could mate with a Katagari bear, then there was a chance she could have a Katagari daughter who could take her mother’s place at the Omegrion when Maman grew too old for those duties. Then no one would have to know the truth about Aimee.

It was the only hope they had and the full weight of that responsibility was never far from her thoughts.

“I will keep trying.”

Maman nodded. “There will be more Katagaria here tomorrow. This is a clan out of Canada. They have a dozen males for you to survey. I pray you find at least one of them worthy.”

So did Aimee. “I’ll do my best.”

Maman nodded. “That’s all I ask.” Rising from the bed, she made her way to the door and left.

Aimee flipped the pages of her book as thoughts poured through her. What was she going to do?

It’s not your fault.
Her mother had mated to an Arcadian. No one could help that. Dev, Remi, Cody, and Kyle were all Arcadians and her mother knew about them and still loved them, regardless of their base form. Granted, her mother was in denial over it, but they’d never hidden the fact from her.

Only from the rest of the world.

She’s your mother. She’d never hurt you.

Not entirely true. Her mother was a bear with the full instincts of one. To protect their den, her mother would kill any of them who threatened their security and well-being. It was the nature of their species.

Aimee never let herself forget that. Her mother had more compassion than most, but when Maman hated someone, such as in the case of Wren, there was no reasoning with her. Once Nicolette’s mind was made up, she could never be swayed.

And that was truly frightening.

“What am I going to do?”

You will mate with one of those bears tomorrow and pray to the gods that one of them causes you to get a mating mark.

It was her only hope.

Otherwise …

No, she couldn’t even contemplate that. Her clan’s survival was all that mattered. Above her happiness and most of all, above her life.

She would mate with a Katagari bear even if it killed her.

CHAPTER 5

“Fang?”

Fang froze as he heard the seductive voice of what had to be the sexiest wolfswan in their pack. Petra. Tall, sultry, and stacked like a brick house, she stirred the hormones of every wolfswain who saw her. He’d never been an exception to that.

Until tonight.

He frowned as she closed the distance between them and rubbed herself against his side. Reaching up, she grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged at it.

She purred in his ear. “I’m in heat, baby. You want to help me out?”

Was that a trick question or what? Fang nuzzled his face against her neck, inhaling her scent. Normally that would have been more than enough to flame his lust to the point he’d be more than able to accommodate her.

C’mon, body, wake up.

But he only stirred a little bit.

What the hell?

She reached down to cup him like a pro. “Is something wrong?”

“No.”

She pulled back to grimace up at him when he didn’t get instantly hard. “You haven’t mated, have you?” That would be the natural assumption since the moment a wolf mated he could only be enticed by his mated female and never again by another. Something that seriously sucked. It was why he was in no hurry to find a mate. Too much like eating the same meal every night. Who wanted that?

Petra jerked at his hands, looking for the mark that always signaled them when the Fates had chosen their significant other. It was a mark that only appeared on their palms after they’d had sex.

Problem was, he hadn’t touched anyone in the last three weeks. Not since he’d seen Aimee.

He pulled his hands away from her. “I’m not mated.”

Relief lightened her expression as she reached for his fly. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Inspiration … and an erection would definitely help. His cock twitched as she skimmed it with her nails, but didn’t do much more than that. Not even her groping was helping.

Fang kissed her and she attacked him.

Still he was cold. Empty. Where was the usual fire he felt? The driving need to be inside her.

He just felt …

Nothing.

She sank her hand deeper inside his jeans to cup him as she breathed in his ear. That sent chills over him, but he still had no desire to touch her.

Nipping his ear hard, she pulled back with a curse and slammed her fists into his chest. “What is wrong with you?”

Fang looked at her blankly, wishing he had an answer. Instead, he could only think of one thing. “Parvo.”

She screwed her face up in disgust. “Parvo, my ass. C’mon, Fang. I don’t want to mate with the rest of these losers. You’re the only one I want.”

“The mind is right there with you, baby, but the body…”

She slapped him. Hard. “You suck!”

Fang wiped the blood from his lips with a grimace. That was the biggest problem with wolfswans. When their hormones took over, they were brutal bitches. Come to think of it, the last time they’d had sex, Petra had bitten his shoulder so hard it’d bled. He even had a permanent scar from it.

She grabbed his hair and kissed him again.

Now his own anger snapping, he pushed her back. “Go slap someone else. I’m not in the mood to be bitten and clawed tonight.”

She wrenched at his hair hard enough to pull a handful of it out. “It figures. You would have PMS when I’m in heat.” She growled at him. “Fine. I’ll go find Fury.”

And may you both be mates for all eternity …

In hell.

It was what they deserved. Brushing his lips, which were still stinging from her blow, he zipped his pants, then sank down to the ground. He lay on his back to stare up at the dark sky, trying to find some kind of solace.

He heard a scuffle in camp where Petra must have spread her scent around to incite the others. Most likely they’d fight and the winner would take her.

But pleasing a wolfswan in heat was no easy matter. It often took a whole night and sometimes two or three others would be needed to sate her. Of course that all changed once a female mated. Then she was off-limits to any except her chosen male.

Fang couldn’t believe he’d had to turn her down. Even hostile and hormonal, she was one fine piece of …

“What is wrong with me?”

Maybe he did have parvo or rabies. Could a Were-Hunter get that? He’d never heard of anyone contracting it, but …

Something had to be seriously wrong with him. The scent of a prime female in heat had never failed to stir him before. He should be in there right now, pawing it out to be the one who mounted her.

But as he contemplated that, his thoughts turned to Aimee. The way she’d looked bringing his food out to where he’d been sitting by the bikes. The way his jacket had swallowed her whole as she wore it and smiled up at him.

She’d been beautiful and kind. Gentle and sweet. Even when she’d yelled at him, she’d been …

Bingo. He was hard as a rock now.

Fang let out a grateful sigh.
Thank the gods.
At least he wasn’t broken. He still worked.

Just not for Petra.

That thought made him physically ill.
Oh, gah, I was better off having parvo.

“What are you doing here?”

He tilted his head back to see Vane standing a few feet away, looking puzzled by Fang’s pose. “Nothing.”

“Why aren’t you with Petra?”

“Why aren’t you?”

Vane sat down beside him. “I can’t stand her. She claws like a cat. However, that’s never stopped
you
before.”

Fang shrugged as he tucked his hands under his head. “There’s more to life than sex.”

Vane scowled at him. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

Fang gave him a droll stare. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“All right. I’ll leave you alone. But in all seriousness, are you okay?”

“When have I ever been okay?”

Vane laughed. “Good point. I still think it comes from Anya pushing you down that ravine when you were a pup. Definite head injury that screwed you up for life.”

“I think it was from you always sleeping on my head when we were pups. Years of nightly oxygen dep do take a toll.”

Vane laughed. “Yeah, I probably killed all six of your brain cells before you even reached puberty.”