Burning Ice: 6 (Werewolf Sentinels) (8 page)

She let Capac go, then placed her hand on his chest and gave him a little push. He rolled to his side. Riya went to hers and pressed kisses along his well-defined pecs before inching her way lower on his body. Capac moaned, the sound laced with one of those animalistic growls he seemed to like to make in bed.

She traced the ridges of his washboard abs with her tongue. She stroked a hand along his hip, going lower still until she reached his straining cock. It jerked as she trailed a finger from its base to its very tip. A bead of moisture leaked from the slit, which she smoothed into his skin.

Riya took a firm hold of Capac’s shaft at the base and gave it a lazy lick. He whispered her name as if in a benediction. She opened her mouth and took him inside. She slid him in and out slowly, sucking hard enough for her cheeks to hollow out, his musky scent filling her nose.

Capac pumped his hips, urging her to go faster. Riya did just that, her head bobbing as she quickened the pace. His cock grew harder, and she took him almost all the way to the back of her throat. Capac’s growling moans increased in volume.

He placed his hand on the back of her head and thrust his cock in and out, fucking her mouth. Riya tightened her fist around his base while she fondled his balls with her other hand. Given how close they were to his body, he had to be tottering on the edge of release.

She continued to suck, adding an extra swirl of her tongue around the head of his shaft. His hips lost their steady rhythm and then he was there, his cock pulsing inside her mouth. She took what he had to give her before she let him slip from between her lips. His cock remained hard, but Capac didn’t seem to care. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her.

Capac brushed his lips against hers. “That felt good.” He yawned largely. “Would you mind too much if I went back to sleep?”

Riya shook her head. “No. I might doze here for a bit. You get some rest.”

After another quick kiss, Capac closed his eyes and his whole body relaxed. Riya snuggled close and listened to his breathing even out in sleep. She closed her eyes as well, liking exactly where she was.

* * * * *

Riya had dozed off for a half hour before she was once again wide awake. Capac still slept deeply. Deciding she’d only wake him up the longer she stayed in bed, she carefully slipped out from under his arm and the covers. She made sure not to make any loud sounds as she pulled her clothes on.

Walking on tiptoe, she headed for the bedroom door. She unlocked it and only opened it wide enough for her to slip through before she closed it behind her. Riya walked down the stairs to the main floor, thinking to see how Wren had managed on the couch. The house was silent around her, which had her thinking Ryder was still asleep and Capac’s other roommates weren’t around.

She stepped off the last stair, then walked to the living room. Much to her surprise she didn’t find Wren there. Her roommate’s bag sat on the floor next to the couch. A blanket was at the end of it as if someone had thrown it off after lying down.

Riya went in search of Wren. She wasn’t in the powder room or the kitchen, which were the most likely places she could think the other woman could be. She decided to take a chance and see if Wren had gone outside to the backyard.

She found the glass sliding doors and looked out to see Wren was indeed there with her back toward her, appearing to look at the trees that edged the property as she stood on the lawn. Riya pulled open the slider and stepped onto the deck. She was about to say hello to the other woman when Wren’s body blurred and shimmered. In what seemed like a few seconds, a wolf with brown fur had taken Wren’s place.

Riya blinked, not sure how she should react to what she’d seen. Then something clicked in her brain and a surge of fear shot through her. Riding that emotion, she opened her mouth and screamed.

The brown wolf whipped around and stared at Riya, then loped over to the deck. That caused her to take a deep breath and let loose with another ear-piercing shriek. Behind her, more than one person came running through the patio door.

* * * * *

The sound of a feminine scream jolted Capac out of his deep sleep. He automatically looked at the other side of the mattress and saw Riya wasn’t there beside him. Deep down inside he knew she was the one he’d heard.

He threw the covers back and jumped out of bed. He didn’t bother to pull any clothes on and rushed from the bedroom. Capac brushed past Ryder in the hallway, then ran down the stairs two at a time. He followed the sound of the other occupants of the house’s voices to the glass sliding doors that opened onto the deck in the backyard. Reaching it, and seeing what took place out there, his only concern was for his mate.

Capac barreled out the door, pushing past some of his wolf brothers and their mates to get to Riya. She stood on the deck, her face completely white as she stared at the brown female wolf—who could be no one else but Wren because it was a wolf he hadn’t seen before—that was in front of her. Edensaw had his arm around Riya’s shoulders, telling her she had nothing to be afraid of.

He snatched Riya away from Edensaw and pulled her protectively against his chest. “I’ve got you,” he said.

Riya’s eyes were like two round saucers when she looked at him. “Wren…I saw her turn into that wolf. Edensaw said he and the others are werewolves too, including you.”

Capac kissed her. “It’s all right. Shh now.” He looked at Wren. “Shift back to your human form. It’s scaring Riya to see you like that. She wasn’t ready for this.”

Wren shifted as he’d said. “Sorry, Capac. I had no idea Riya was behind me when I took on my wolf form. Everyone was asleep so I thought I’d go for a little run in your trees.”

“It’s all right. It’s not as if you can do anything to change what happened. I had planned to tell Riya everything after I woke up.”

His mate shook her head as if she didn’t want to accept what was going on around her. “Capac? You’re really a werewolf?”

He brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. “Yes, I am. There is a lot I have to tell you.”

Riya silently nodded, then peered down his body. Her mouth rounded into an “O”. “You’re naked.” She stepped closer and pressed her front to his as if to hide his nudity. “In front of everyone.”

Capac shook his head and chuckled. “You just learned about werewolves, that I’m one, and all you care about is the fact that I have no clothes on?”

“Your ass is hanging out for all of us to see, including another part of you. Go put something on.”

He smiled and gave her a kiss. It pleased him that she didn’t pull away. “All right, if it will make you happy I’ll get dressed.”

Capac released Riya and walked inside the house. On the way he heard Wren say, “That is one fine ass he’s got there, but I bet Ryder’s is even better.”

He looked over his shoulder and saw Ryder edging away from Wren. Capac put on a burst of werewolf speed and ran up the stairs to his bedroom. It only took a matter of seconds for him to pull on some fresh clothes.

He stopped in the bathroom to brush his teeth. While he did so, he thought it probably had worked out better for him that Riya had seen Wren shift. His mate didn’t appear to fear him, at least not yet. There could be a chance she would once she learned the whole truth about him.

Capac returned to the main floor and walked into the living room where everyone had gathered. He set his gaze on Riya, who sat in one of the armchairs. She appeared to have calmed down a lot now that Wren was no longer in her wolf form. He walked over to where Riya sat, picked her up, then sat down where she had been with her on his lap. She settled comfortably against him and seemed to have no problem with what he’d done.

Edensaw cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Capac, do you want me to do the explanations since I’m the alpha of our pack, or would you like to do it?”

Before Capac could answer, Wren asked, “Alpha? I thought all packs had pack leaders? And isn’t there supposed to be only one pack per territory?”

He turned his gaze onto Riya’s roommate. “I guess some of my explanations will be for your benefit as well. We’re not like you. And from the sound of it, you don’t know much about werewolf pack life.”

Wren shrugged. “I’ve never been part of one. My mother was mortal. My father is a lone wolf, who chose to leave his pack and wasn’t kicked out of it for bad behavior. He likes being on his own, so much so he wasn’t around half the time when I was growing up. Before you can ask, my mom wasn’t his mate. And as I told you in the car, she was psychic and passed her gift on to me. She knew what my father was before he told her, and she also knew she’d have his child. They seemed to get along just fine when they were together.”

“What happened to your mom? You talk about her as if she is no longer around.”

“She isn’t. She died about five years ago from breast cancer. So if you guys aren’t like me, then what kind of werewolves are you? I only thought there was one kind.”

Capac put his arm around Riya as she took a deep, shaky breath, the only outward sign that she wasn’t quite over her fear.

“We’re sentinels,” he answered. “Edensaw, Wachei, Ketah, Kajakti, Durlach and myself are the very first werewolves. We were all born during the last ice age as Tlingit hunters. Our first shaman, Ryder’s ancestor, saw in a vision that an evil would grow that would need a new race of man that was stronger and faster to fight them. So he selected six of the best hunters in our village and offered us to become the very first werewolves. We all agreed. All modern-day ones are descended from one of us.”

Riya swallowed audibly. “All of you are ice age hunters? How old are you?”

Capac met his mate’s gaze. “Over ten thousand years, but we spent the majority of them asleep in an ice cave on one of Juneau’s glaciers. Almost three years ago, Cassidy found us and woke us up.”

“Holy shit that’s cool,” Wren said. “So which one of you am I descended from?”

“That would be me,” Wachei said as he held up his hand. “We can tell from a werewolf’s scent which bloodline they were born into.”

“What about your mates? They’re werewolves too. It would be kind of weird if you ended up mated to one of your great, great, etc. granddaughters.”

Capac answered Wren’s question. “Cassidy, Eryn, Meadow, Jaren and Haven were mortals before we found them. Our first shaman gave us the ability to turn our mates, at least that was what we thought he meant. But it turns out we can turn any mortal with a single bite in wolf form. Carson is our newest wolf brother. Wachei turned him.”

“So if you have lived that long I take it you’re all immortal instead of very long-lived like the rest of us werewolves.”

“Correct.”

“Capac,” Riya said in a strained voice. “Sorry to butt in, but I have to know. Am I your mate?”

He smiled and stroked her cheek. “Yes. I knew at the river that you were. Your scent set off my mating urge.”

“And you want to turn me like the others did with their mates?”

“Yes.” He sighed, then said, “Before last night, I would have said only when you’re ready, but that would put you at too much risk. The dark wolves, the evil our first shaman had a vision about, have grown stronger. Their leader Tanner was able to find out about you and where you lived. That’s why Ryder and I came to your apartment to bring you here.”

“So you’re going to turn me?”

“If you want to stay with me, yes. I can probably give you today to get adjusted to the idea, but come tomorrow it has to be done. You’re too vulnerable as a mortal.”

“What about Ryder?” Wren asked. “He’s mortal too.”

“Don’t worry about me,” the shaman answered. “I’ll be taking steps to come into my full shaman powers in the next couple of days.”

“Good. Since you felt the need to bring me here with Riya, even after finding out I’m a werewolf, I take it these dark wolves are stronger than us normal ones.”

Capac nodded. “Correct. The dark magic in them makes them so. Before that they used to be ordinary werewolves as well. Only we sentinels can stand a chance against them.”

“You can turn a mortal with a bite? What about me? Would you be able to make me like you? I don’t want to be vulnerable.”

“We assume it could work, but we’ve never attempted it.”

Wren stood. “Okay, which one of you wants to use me as a guinea pig?” She glanced at Riya. “Plus, this way Riya will be able to see what will happen when you turn her.”

Capac looked at Edensaw. His alpha nodded, then said, “I guess we can try since she’s offering herself up for it. It would answer that particular question. Who wants to volunteer to do it?”

“I will,” Capac said. That way his mate could see him in his dire wolf form while she was still relatively calm.

He stood, then placed Riya on the armchair before he crossed over to where Wren waited. “I’ll shift, then I’ll need to bite you hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. If it works, you’ll feel some pain.”

Eryn gave a small laugh. “You mean she’ll feel a lot of pain.”

Capac shook his head. “Okay, it will be very painful, but once you start to feel it, shift to your wolf form. That will end it.”

“That’s it?” Wren asked.

“Yes. I’ll shift now,” Capac said more for Riya’s benefit than for Wren’s.