Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (32 page)

“Teagan,
the sun.” Ava slowly raised her arm and pointed to the dim light coming from
the horizon. This time he looked at her but didn’t bare his teeth.
What did
that mean? Did he understand?
Growl once for yes and twice for no?
Surely
he hadn’t carried her all this way just to let her burn. Did he even know the
sun would kill her?

Ava
remained silent for a while as he continued along the bank of the stream they
seemed to be following. She was beginning to panic as the sun continued to rise
up from the dark forest floor. The shade of the trees would filter some of the
light but it wouldn’t be enough. Burrowing her face into his furred chest she
hid her face and tucked her hands out of sight. The little bit of sunlight that
had broken the morning sky was beginning to heat her skin. Maybe she should try
to break away from him, but where would she go?

The
dull roar she had heard playing in the background of the music of the forest
seemed to be getting louder. Daring to take a peek, she gasped as Teagan walked
directly into the stream and headed straight towards a small waterfall that
cascaded down the side of a cliff and into the water.

What
is he doing?
So instead of barbequing me he is
going to drown me instead!  
Ava gasped as the frigid water beat down
on her small body as Teagan walked into the waterfall. Sputtering and coughing,
she flipped the soggy curtain of hair out of her face. Ava gasped in relief to
see a small cave hidden behind the water.
Thank god. He must have understood
her all along, jerk. He could have let her know instead of scaring her like
that.

The
beast slowly lowered her to her feet, with a snarl of warning. She got the
message, loud and clear. She wasn’t going anywhere. Ava wrapped her arms around
her stomach in a pitiful attempt to stay warm. She stood dripping and miserable
while the beast explored the shallow cave. Carefully he scented the air and
checked the darker parts of the cave, seeming comfortable that they were alone
he returned to her side.

Looking
up at him miserably, Ava’s breath came out in frozen puffs of white in the damp
cave air. She shivered violently in her now sopping wet cloths.
Okay. I’m
not barbeque, I didn’t drown, but I think I may be freezing to death.
Could
a vampire freeze to death?

The
beast seemed to look at her shivering with curiosity for a moment.
What’s
the deal? Surely watching her shiver wasn’t that interesting.
Ava flinched
when he raised his hand towards her shoulder. Surprisingly he pulled his hand
back again but still showed her his teeth.

With
a low growl he reached out for her again with his claw tipped hand. This time
she managed not to finch as he reached for her. Grabbing a fist full of her
shirt he began to pull it down her shoulder. With a gasp, Ava instinctively
smacked his meaty paw away from pulling her clothes off of her body. Realizing
what she had done too late, she ducked and covered her head as his snarling
jaws flashed before her eyes in retaliation to her defiance.

Hands
shaking in fear, she froze in that position, waiting to feel his snarling teeth
sink into her flesh. When nothing happened she lowered her arm and dared to
peek at him. He was clearly pissed off but made no move to harm her. As the
beast stalked closer to her, Ava tripped over her feet in retreat. Coming up
against the cold cave wall she could go no further. Baring his teeth in a snarl
he caged her in with one massive arm on either side of her small shivering
body.

Slowly
he lowered his face into the bend of her neck. Gasping, Ava cringed away from
him, squeezing her eyes closed. Lowering his mouth to her shoulder Ava held her
breath as she felt his teeth closing over the muscle of her shoulder. Tensing
for a scream, she froze in shock when there was no pain. After a moment he
released her and simply stood over her for a moment. With a snort he finally
set her free, she could feel his warm breath fan down her face as he seemed to
accept her frozen form as submission.

Again
his hand lifted to her sopping wet shirt as he curled his lip at her and dared
her to defy him again. With a tug of his massive hand, he drug the cold wet
material over her shoulder. With one final jerk the few surviving buttons
popped off the bottom of her shirt and Ava shivered as the wet material slid
over her arms and landed with a soggy plop onto the cave floor.

Oh,
God! Why did he want her clothes off? Surely he didn’t expect to be her mate in
every way! Should she fight him? He would kill her either way, of that she was
sure. Okay Ava, get a grip.
So far he hadn’t
touched her except to pull her shirt off, she would have to just bide her time
and wait to see what he would do next.

Extending
one long black tipped claw, the beast ran its length along the inside of the
waist band of her jeans and growled low. Ava shivered at the feel of his claw
against her tender skin. When she didn’t immediately respond he yanked his claw
against the waist band of her jeans. Ava gulped in dread. Clearly the message
was
take them off or I will tear them off of you.

“Okay,
okay.” Ava’s numb and shaking fingers had a hard time with the button and
zipper but she eventually got them undone and slid the soggy material down her
legs. Sliding off her shoes she kicked the heavy jeans off her legs and bent to
pick up her shirt, holding both in her hands.

When
he made no further demands on her, she slowly and carefully inched away from
him. Keeping her eyes on him she began wringing the water out of her cloths as
best as she could and then draped her wet clothing over a couple of large rocks
to dry. Fortunately he didn’t insist she remove anything else and Ava resumed
her shivering, feeling ridiculous standing in her lacy bra and underwear. Okay,
so the werewolf had a point. The wet cloths had needed to come off but even
with the wet material off of her skin she was just as cold as ever.

Ava
was surprise when it dawned on her that the beast was not behaving like a
mindless monster. He had understood that the sun was a danger to her. Maybe he
could understand her. If she could communicate with him it would go a long way
to helping her figure out a way to save him.

Ava
eyed the beast wearily as he again stalked closer to her. He approached her
slowly and cautiously as though he expected her to bolt. Moving in close to her
she tensed as he wrapped his massive arm around her bare back. With a squeak of
surprise, he scooped her up in his arms and moved with her to the wall of the
cave. Sitting down with her stiff form in his arms he sat down on the sandy
floor of the cave with his massive back against the wall and tucked her frozen
limbs against his chest.

Ava
lay tensely against the heat of his chest. Slowly her shivering began to slow
and she started to relax when he made no moves to molest her mostly naked form.
Burrowing in closer to the heat that was radiating from his chest, she could
feel her frozen skin beginning to thaw out. Giving in to her fatigue she sighed
and began to relax. Thank god werewolves were so warm.

 Ava
marveled at the paleness of her hand lying against the dark hair of his chest.
Curiously she dared to run her fingertips over the dense hair under her hand.
Strangely she could feel the tension in the best beginning to ease beneath her
innocent caress. Apparently even with her mate gone feral the bond between them
was still firmly intact.

She
watched him wearily but didn’t move as he raised his hand and curled his claws
into his fist. Hesitantly he trailed the back of his fingers down her arm from
shoulder to wrist. He seemed curious about her skin the way she had been with
his fur. She tensed as he growled and ran the back of his hand close to one of
the wounds in her shoulder. The bleeding had stopped but her wounds wouldn’t
heal until she fed again.

Bringing
his free hand around her back, Ava flinched as his rough hands, brushed against
the back side of her arrow wounds. “Hey.” Ava squirmed away from his exploring
hands. The beast growled low in his throat. The pain and hunger he felt in his
mate was beating at him. She belonged to him and his instincts demanded that he
provide for her.

Even
in this form he understood what she was. She was a vampire and she was his. His
bond with the little female was strong. His mind had been full of rage and
revenge as he hunted the one that had betrayed him and harmed his mate. Even
consumed by rage her pain pierced the red haze of his mind and called out to
him. He had reluctantly given up his pursuit of his prey and sought her out.
The scent of her blood in the forest had driven him mad as he raced towards his
mate. By the time he had found her his mind had been so consumed with rage that
he might have destroyed her had she ran from him or fought him. Had that
happened he would have been lost to the darkness forever. Fortunately, she had
been incapable of either in her weakened state.

Breathing
in deeply he allowed her scent to calm him. He continuously fought against the
rage that was trying to consume him. The darkness called out to him demanding
that he kill, that he destroy. He would be lost except for the little female
that he clenched against his chest. Just being near her, helped to calm him.
 

Unfortunately
he could feel the strength of his barely contained aggression rising as he
sensed her need and her pain. His mate was injured and needed to feed.
Must
protect. Must provide for my mate.

Bringing
the arm he had wrapped around her back across her chest he held is clenched
fist in front of her. He could hear her heart speed up as she looked at him in
confusion. Lowering his head to his wrist he scraped a fang across the surface,
opening a small cut in the skin. Raising his hand in front of her mouth he
waited expectantly.

Ava
could feel her body instinctively respond to what he offered. On the surface he
was all beast and yet her body responded to the scent of his blood as though he
were still a man.
Oh god no! He has got to be kidding! There is no way I am
going to take a chance of pissing off the feral werewolf by sinking my teeth
into him.
Ava turned her head away from his wrist with a firm
No!

Growling
at her defiance Teagan snarled at her, and gripped her tighter in his lap.
Ava’s heart raced in alarm as she realize her resisting him could possibly anger
him more than actually biting him might. “Alright, alright.” She muttered in
annoyance. Hesitantly wrapping her small hand around his thick wrist she guided
his wrist to her mouth.

She
would have to be careful to go slowly and not anger him with her bite. From the
little bit that she understood of Lykan’s, biting was definitely something that
was done to show dominance. Any hint of dominance from her would surely enrage
the dangerous feral werewolf beneath her.

With
a gentle lick, Ava tasted him with the tip of her tongue. It was entirely
possible that the drug he had been injected with was still in his system and
would also affect her.

Fortunately
Ava neither tasted nor smelled any trace of the chemical lingering in his
system. With any luck his body had already burned through the drug. Ava felt
hope rising in her chest. They had made it this far, maybe she could find a way
to bring him back to her yet.

Very
gently she broke his skin with her fangs, ready to release him at the slightest
sign that he wasn’t handling it well. Ava drank from him tensely for a few
moments before releasing him and closing the wound with her tongue. Peeking up
at the expression on his lupine face she let out a sigh of relief. Even in this
dangerous lupine form she could feel the satisfaction he felt at providing for
his mate.

Shifting
so they lay on the sandy floor of the cave, Ava settled against his broad chest
and relaxed against him as the euphoria of her feeding spread warmly through
her limbs. The constant ache in her wounded shoulders began to fade as her body
repaired itself. No longer able to fight against her exhaustion Ava burrowed
into the warmth of the beast wrapped protectively around her and drifted to
sleep.

Ava
was slow to wake as a deep rumble shook the warm chest beneath her cheek.
Cracking one eye open, she could see that it was still light outside and too
early to leave but still something had woken her. A faint electronic beep
interrupted the quiet of the cave and Ava was suddenly wide awake in the span
of a heartbeat. Again Teagan growled softly at the electronic beep that seemed
so out of place in the stark confines of the cave.

Sudden
understanding of what the beeping was filled her with joy. The bottoms of
Teagan’s pants had been torn away but the waist band of his loose jeans had
survived his shift. His leather utility belt remained around his waist. The com
unit remained in the holster at the small of his back.

Careful
not to alarm him she slowly reached around his back and released the snap
holding the com unit in the holster. Bringing it around him she sat up and held
it in her lap, looking at the many buttons on top of the unit. Turning the one
that looked like a dial she turned the volume up on the radio. Praying that it
wouldn’t send the tensing werewolf into a rage she pushed the button on the
side of the radio and softly spoke into the unit.