Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) Page 7

  It seemed like an eternity before the day came to its conclusion. When everyone finally began to bid their good nights I used the Landons’ bathroom and padded barefoot across the yard towards the barn, wishing I had something sexier to wear than an old oversized t-shirt.

  Tatum had offered us a pile of blankets which Gideon had laid them carefully on top of a pile of hay. The look he gave me when I quietly entered the barn told me he didn’t mind the old t-shirt.

  I stepped into his arms and his hands quickly moved underneath the shirt into my panties. “You don’t need these,” he said, rolling them to the ground in one fluid movement. “Or this,” he said, pulling my shirt over my head. I reached out and touched the clearly visible bulge between his legs.

  Gideon hastily removed his pants, raking my body impatiently with his eyes. I stood in front of him and ran my hands down his chest, across his taut belly and finally took that desperate length of him in my palm. “Don’t hold back, Gideon. Everything you’ve ever wanted to do with a girl, do it with me.”

  His eyes were wild as he reached out to massage my tender breasts. Suddenly he grinned devilishly. “Yes, ma’am.”

  And with that he flipped me roughly over onto my stomach and crashed into my body from behind. I winced for a moment until the undeniable waves of pleasure began to assert themselves. Again and again.

  My dreams were filled with the scent of pine and the glint of silver-tipped arrows. I was running through the woods but not fast enough. They would catch me and there were far too many. I stopped and laced a bow but it wouldn’t matter. Savage howls closed in from every direction. They were here.

  I awoke with a gasp and realized Gideon wasn’t beside me. I opened my mouth to shout with alarm but he reached me before I could get a sound out. “Shhh,” he said. “I’m here.” I could hear the tension in his voice and felt a thin prickle of fear.

  “What is it?”

  He glanced back at the small picturesque window which let the night air sift freely into the barn. “I don’t know.”

  I scrambled to my feet. “Gideon, should we wake the others?”

  He was thoughtful. “No, it’s gone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He pulled me back down beside him. “I’m sure. Believe me, I wouldn’t take any chances with you here.” He still seemed troubled. “Daylight in an hour or so. Whatever it is, it doesn’t want to be caught.”

  A shiver ran through me and Gideon covered my shoulders with a blanket. I leaned into his broad chest and sighed, waiting for my heart to return to a normal beat. He stroked my hair and held me. Suddenly I smiled. “An hour, huh? What can we do in an hour?”

  His hand was instantly between my legs. “I can think of a few things.”

  I pushed him backwards and straddled him abruptly. “So can I.”

  Gideon’s strong hands seized my hips. “Show me,” he demanded.

  He didn’t need any more time to achieve his fully engorged length. I guided him into my body, spreading myself as wide as possible to fit him inside. He let me choose the rhythm. I began slowly, then bucked wildly as the crown of pleasure lifted me. I didn’t stop, propelled on by the fierce whispers in my mind that nothing anywhere matched this empowerment of riding my werewolf mate. Gideon shuddered and finally achieved his hot release. I let him linger inside of me as long as possible, feeling the spurt of his essence swim deeper, looking for something to cling to.

  Chapter Nine

  When I awoke again the first rays of sunlight were streaming through the boxy barn window and Abe Casteel was smiling at me. I gasped and quickly covered my naked body as he laughed. Gideon sprang to alertness, his face cracking into a huge grin when he glimpsed his brother.

  Abe winked at him. “Heard you’d found yourself a situation.”

  Gideon glanced at me, then back toward the window. “Artemis, you remember Abe.”

  Abe jumped neatly through the window and landed in a pile of hay. “And I remember her,” he said standing and sweeping his arms theatrically. “The savage young huntress, maiden of fleshly temptation, and the ruin of us all!”

  Gideon pulled on his pants, scowling. “Cut it out.”

  Abe raised an eyebrow in mock innocence. “What, no love? That was my best Michael imitation!”

  I felt more at ease once my breasts were no longer exposed. “Hey, Abe.” Abe was the second child in the Casteel family, between Michael and Claire. I remembered him as the cool foil to his older brother’s grim ferocity. It appeared little had changed.

  Abe looked from Gideon to me and then back again. “So,” he finally said. “What should we talk about?”

  Gideon’s brother was easy company, keeping us regaled with tales of his frequent travels. I wasn’t exactly clear as to why he traveled but his activities seemed to incorporate a never ending parade of comical people. People whose hands became inexplicably stuck in the airport urinal drain or who arrived at a business dinner in a dress made of real bird feathers.

  I laughed until my cheeks hurt. “So, you have no, ah…”

  “Mate?” he finished with a wink. “No, many a buxom Bellini lass has tried but as of yet I am still a menace to society.” He clucked his tongue regretfully. “So my little brother finally got one over on me.” He boxed affectionately with Gideon.

  I wrapped a dark red blanket around my body more firmly and tried to stand without inadvertently revealing my assets to another member of the family Casteel. Abe watched my struggle merrily and made no attempt to turn away until Gideon began to shoulder him out.

  “I was just leaving anyway,” he sputtered. “Lest those Landon boys come barreling out here with their teeth bared, thinking I might be someone else.”

  Gideon frowned. “Have you seen him?”

  Abe grew somber. “Yes. He is…displeased. And that dour little rag he mated with seems unable to handle him.” He jerked his head toward me and nodded approvingly. “I don’t think you’ll have that problem, Gid. I’d wager a good sum that Goddess Artemis can handle you just fine.”

  Once Abe left for the Landon house, intending to disturb whoever still remained asleep, I dressed quickly as Gideon watched. “Love you,” he said.

  “You’d better.” I stood on tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Love you back.”

  Abe stuck around only long enough to hug his sister, tickle the baby and flippantly inform Tatum he would be serving as her midwife. He’d always been very important to Gideon, an unquestioned ally and a buffer between him and Michael. I knew Gideon was relieved he had returned.

  Just as I was idly wondering if any other unexpected guests would descend upon us, my body tensed with unmistakable warning. Werewolves approached. Gideon and the Landon men appeared from all directions, as if they’d been loudly summoned. I flinched at the sound of a low growl but Benji slapped at his twin. “Showoff. You know it’s just the Ivanovs.”

  Sure enough, three women walked slowly out of the woods. I squinted, recognizing Kate Ivanov ahead of the two redheads who looked like younger versions of herself. They were all barefoot and even at a distance I could see they were somewhat unkempt. They moved with the easy stealth of cats.

  The Ivanovs were the Luna Junction family who kept notoriously to themselves. I never knew the girls very well as they only attended school sporadically and had a simmering, unapproachable air about them. Yet the young woman on Kate’s left smiled at me in a shy, friendly manner.

  Kate kept her intense green eyes trained on me as she approached. “Well,” she said finally, stopping twenty feet away, “this is startling.” Her tone indicated she thought it amusing as well.

  Gideon nudged me behind him protectively while Cade stepped between us and the Ivanovs. “Hey Kate,” he said. I didn’t miss the wary note in his voice, as if he didn’t completely trust this trio of red-haired sirens.

  Kate sighed. “I had hoped one of my girls might tempt the Casteel boy but apparently he found another option.” Her voice grew louder. “Huntr
ess, what are your intentions?”

  I swallowed and stepped from behind Gideon. “I’m not your enemy,” I said.

  The werewolf’s green eyes glittered. “Well, you’re not really a friend either.”

  Gideon’s hands rested on my shoulders. “She is now,” he said firmly. “Whether you like it or not.”

  “Whether you like it or not,” I repeated.

  Kate watched me for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Spirited little thing. I watched you, you know. When you were a child and didn’t know I was watching.” Her voice lowered. “You could never be like them.”

  I thought at first she meant I could never have been like the other children of Luna Junction. Then her mouth turned up in a dry smile and I realized she meant something else. That I could never be like the hunters; lurking, observing, threatening. All in the name of some lofty notion that they were sacred guardians.

  Cade relaxed and held out his arm to the Ivanov matriarch. “Can I offer you some breakfast, ladies?”

  Kate walked right past him and headed for the house. “Normally I’m not up for flesh this early but if you’re offering a pound or two of Bellini’s best cows, then I can’t refuse.”

  “Of course,” said Cade, grinning at us and putting his arm around Tatum as they headed inside.

  One of the Ivanov girls silently followed her mother, not so much as glancing at me or Gideon. But the other, the one who had briefly smiled my way, hung back. “You don’t remember me,” she said.

  “I do,” I replied. There were a number of Ivanov kids but she had been only a year younger and Luna Junction was pretty small. “Tess, right?”

  She seemed pleased. “Yes.” She paused. “You’ll have to forgive Amelia. She’s always been terrified of pissing Mama off.”

  In the background Zane gave a little whoop and threw a football right at Tess Ivanov. She caught it expertly but looked annoyed.

  “Coming back to school in September?” Zane asked.

  Her face dropped. “No,” she said, tossing the football back. “I should have graduated this month,” she explained to me.

  I shrugged. “Hey, no judging here. I didn’t exactly make it to my own graduation.”

  Tess frowned and played with the ends of her fiery hair. “Mama always said the human school isn’t worth shit, that it won’t make us strong. She only ever let us go when the state came around and complained.” She sighed and started to walk toward the house. “Anyhow, welcome back. You’re bound to make things interesting.” She turned and looked at me curiously. “I’ll see you again?”

  “I hope so.”

  Tess smiled and disappeared into the Landon house. Gideon squeezed my shoulder. “They’re wild,” he said.

  “What do you mean wild?”

  “I mean they bay at the moon every night of the year, sleep naked in the woods and like to rip out Bambi’s throat because they still have a taste for blood.”

  “Oh,” I shuddered.

  He laughed. “Don’t worry, the Ivanovs are harmless.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m starting to wonder about your definition of harmless.”

  He pressed against me, his voice thick. “I can show you some harm.”

  I gaped up at him. “Is that all you think about?”

  “Why not? Isn’t it all you think about?”

  I considered. “You’re right.” I slapped his backside. “To the barn, wolf boy.”

  Gideon swept me into his arms and I clutched at his neck, reaching in to peck at the skin underneath his jaw. Anyone who saw us would realize what we were headed for but I didn’t care. I began to suspect that no matter how many times we had each other it wouldn’t be enough.

  “Gideon!” I shouted suddenly, but he already knew. He swung me down and pushed me behind him as a low growl rose from his throat. The barn door opened and standing there, gazing at us inscrutably, was the sheriff of Luna Junction.

  “Acie, run!” yelled Gideon before he shifted into the wolf.

  “Don’t,” whispered Michael, training his gun on me.

  Gideon crouched low, ready to spring for his brother’s throat. Michael scowled at him. “Stop it, junior. I only want to talk to you.”

  I desperately wished for a bow. “Then put down your gun,” I said.

  Michael studied me. “All right, you’re unarmed.” He holstered his weapon.

  Gideon’s clothes had torn irreparably when he changed shape but he was unconcerned. “What do you want?” he said icily, once again standing tall beside me on two legs.

  Michael’s smile was rueful. “Don’t you give me the benefit of the doubt at all? I’ve taken care of you all these years.”

  I spoke up. “And what should I make of our last encounter, Michael?”

  He glanced at me with annoyance. “That? I thought it better for everyone if you were scared off quickly. Trust me, if I’d wanted you dead then you would be.”

  Gideon stepped in front of me. “You stay away from her.” His hands were clenched in fists. I read the tension in his shoulders. He was ready to return to wolf form in a second if need be.

  Michael Casteel stared at his younger brother, who happened to stand a good five inches taller. “Gideon,” he shook his head. “What am I supposed to do about this?”

  “Nothing,” Gideon spat. “We can easily leave. There are other places.” He took my hand. “Other towns, even urban colonies.”

  “Yes,” Michael’s look was mean. “And then someday perhaps your children can hunt my children.” He took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that. Artemis,” said Michael evenly. “Understand something. I don’t hate you. I just love my brother.”

  I thought about the things Gideon had told me about Michael. The beatings, the threats. I felt justified in correcting him. “I’ve seen that kind of love before, sheriff. It’s cruel. Ruinous and cruel.”

  That took Michael back a step. He stared at us quietly, then slowly shook his head again. “Don’t leave,” he said. “You need to stay close.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Whatever it is you know, my father also knows. He gave us a similar warning. Care to summarize?”

  Michael straightened the cheap tin star he wore pinned to his chest. It seemed to be an amusement to him, a joke at the expense of human world authority. He smiled at me. “The devils are multiplying, huntress. And they’re coming for you too.” He moved past us fluidly and began sauntering idly toward the house, breathing deeply and talking to himself. “Is that raw meat I smell?”

  When he was out of earshot I leaned against Gideon, grateful for the hard strength of his chest. “What did The Riddler mean?” I asked.

  Gideon snorted. “Who the hell knows?” But he glanced in a troubled way towards the woods and I recalled his early morning sleeplessness.

  I swallowed. “We should go back to the house.”

  Gideon ran his fingers through my hair and then took a firm hold of my chin so that he could look deeply into my eyes. “I would die to protect you, Artemis.”

  “No,” I said. “Because I can’t be without you.”

  He kissed me sweetly on the forehead and led me back to the Landon house as I clung to his side, shivering under the warm sun. They’re coming for you. The part of me containing the strange vestigial instincts which identified disguised werewolves recognized the truth in Michael’s words. The devils were coming indeed.

  Chapter Ten

  Zane tapped me on the shoulder as I set the dining table for an early dinner. “Full moon tonight,” he grinned. “The gloves come off and the wolves come out.”

  The Ivanovs had left hours earlier but Michael hung around, talking quietly with Cade and periodically wandering over to the dirt road which led towards town. He would stand there in stony thought for a period of time and retreat with a worried expression which frightened me more than any portentous utterings. Michael Casteel was afraid. I had not thought it possible.

  Gideon came inside sever
al times to check on me. I begged him to tell me what was wrong. “Acie, I don’t really know,” he said honestly. Then he would return outside to brood with the men while I waited with Tatum and Claire and the baby. The girls cooed at Peyton while I stared at my own hands. They’d always been strong. Teachers had once encouraged me to do something meaningful, like piano or equestrian jumping. But as I clenched and unclenched my deft fingers I knew they had been bred for something else. I had no teeth or claws lurking under the surface of my skin. Without a bow I was virtually useless. With it, I was deadly. It was the only way I could defend myself and those I loved.

  My reverie broke when I realized Claire was urgently calling my name. She stood by the front window, her face white. “Acie,” she said again. “Your father is here.”

  For a moment I stared stupidly at the spectacle of Max’s shabby orange pickup truck pulling up to the Landon front door. They all lined up to meet him; Cade, Matthew, Benji and Zane. Directly in front of them, tensely waiting as a united pair, stood Gideon and Michael.

  Max stepped from the vehicle slowly, his arms raised. I could hear Michael’s growl from the other side of the plate glass window and I came to life, bursting through the door intending to stand between the hunter and the wolves.

  But Gideon had already stilled Michael with a warning hand on his arm. The brothers watched silently as Max slowly removed a pair of bows and a bundle of silver-pointed arrows from the bed of the pickup truck. He held one out to me. “Artemis.”

  I stared at the weapon. I wanted it. But those silver-tipped arrows meant something more than self-defense. They were designed to pierce the tough flesh of werewolves and still the heart. I did not take it. “Why?” I asked.

  Max lowered the bow, looking grimly at the edgy pack of werewolves. “It isn’t what you think.” He gazed directly at Gideon. “I’ll have to learn to make peace with this, and not just for my daughter’s sake. Bad days are coming.” He grimaced. “The Western Council is here and I’m not sure why.”

  Michael’s voice was mocking. “You mean they didn’t tell you, oh great watcher of Luna Junction?”