Shifter's Revenge (Alpha Lineage) (14 page)

In the next moment Maddox bit down on her neck. The rhythm of his hips slowed and became erratic. He growled against her skin as he emptied himself inside of her. He licked the sting from his bite from her skin as she trembled against him.

“You are amazing,” he murmured against her neck.

Kera tried to catch her breath so she could respond. Nothing came out of her mouth but a moan when he pulled out of her. Her body was spent.

Maddox held her up as he washed and conditioned her hair.

She didn’t understand how she could calm down and heat back up at the same time. His fingers ran across her scalp and she shivered.
When he finished cleaning her hair, Kera grabbed the soap and lathered some in her hand. She blushed when she looked up at Maddox. His smile urged her on. She ran her hands over every plane of his chest. She motioned for him to turn around so she could touch every inch of his back and shoulders. Kera ignored how her hands trembled against his skin, hoping he didn’t notice.

After a moment she pushed her nerves aside and knelt down to wash his legs. She watched her hands, memorized every angle and every plane of his body. “Turn around,” she whispered.

He hesitated for a moment before he turned in the spray.

Kera reached for the soap and poured some into her hands. As she lathered, her eyes traveled from his legs to his erection. She tried not to look at his reaction but couldn’t help it. Maddox looked down at her with uncertainty in his eyes. “You’re beautiful,” she told him softly.

“I can’t get enough of you,” Maddox groaned as she continued to wash him.

She moved from the front of his legs to his hips and took his erection into her hands. The soap made him slick. She was astounded at how soft the skin was when everything else was so hard.

“You’re killing me,” he moaned.

Kera explored his length with her hands. She touched the tip with the palm of one hand
and wrapped the other around the base. Maddox hissed out a breath. “I want to taste you,” she hedged nervously.

Vertigo overtook her when Maddox pulled her up and into his arms. The warm spray had cooled considerably. His arms went behind her legs and her feet left the ground. They dripped on the tile floor and then soaked the carpet on the way to the bed.

Kera kissed every inch of him she could reach.

Maddox settled her beneath the covers and made love to her again. The last thought she had before she drifted to sleep in his arms was that nothing and no one could ever hold as much of her heart and soul as this man.

The morning sky was clear blue. The wind rustled Kera’s hair and her scent washed over him. He would have liked his scent to have lingered on her skin all day, but she had convinced him to shower with her again this morning. It didn’t take much persuasion. She had woken up gloriously naked beside him and crooked her finger on her way to the bathroom. He all but ran to catch up to her.

Even now, soldiers formed groups before them and all he could think about was touching her. Maddox squeezed his fingers into the palms of his hands in an effort to refrain. 

“No guns,” Nick murmured to him.

Maddox took stock of the men and women on the field before him. Some had handguns strapped to their hips. He motioned Donavan over. The burly man walked briskly to them from where he was setting up a station with padded suits and face masks.

“What is it?” Donavan questioned in an irritated grumble.

Maddox took a moment to choose his next words carefully. “Do you think we will hurt your soldiers?”

Donavan’s frown deepened. “We have our orders.”

“And you have my word,” Maddox growled, “We are here to help, not start a war. I won’t practice or continue this partnership with guns at your men’s disposal. I can smell their fear from here. If one chooses to shoot us then there will be a war. I want to avoid that at all costs.”

“We don’t know what to expect.” He glanced over at Kera, “you said they were different from you. I don’t understand how. If you almost died as
many times as you said you did when you were first introduced to this world, I want my men protected.”

“You don’t have to worry about that right now.” Kera responded in her raspy voice.

Maddox winced and she saw him. “My failures pertaining to Kera have changed me,” he said to Donavan as he looked Kera in the eyes. Her emerald gaze narrowed on him causing him to smile. “She is stronger because of my distrust but I also know better this time.”

“Maddox is right,” Nick told Donavan. “We’ve all made mistakes. It’s time to be cautious but we cannot allow live ammunition on the practice field. If anyone is injured I can’t be held responsible for what my instincts
push me to do in retaliation.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

“Donavan,” Kera stepped up to him and placed her small hand on his shoulder, “You wanted us here because there are beings out there that are very dangerous. Maddox and Nick are not exceptions to that. The difference is that we are here to help. If someone were to shoot either one of them, I would be very angry also. We
are
going to protect each other, but we will not hurt your soldiers.”

“So
, no guns.” Donavan conceded. “Any tips on how to fight you guys without that?”

“Let’s start simple.” Maddox pulled Kera to his side. He took the hand she had touched Donavan with and brought it to his lips. “Tell me what you’ve been up against and we’ll tell you how to counterattack.”

Donavan turned around and called out to the soldiers to discuss within their groups what one or two physical attributes of a paranormal being they’ve faced that they want to know how to defend against. While they discussed amongst themselves, Maddox pulled Kera into a quick kiss and then whispered in her ear. “Be careful.”

Kera nodded. “You, too.”

Maddox walked to the center group so he could watch Kera on his right and Nick on his left. He felt his Alpha wolf instincts start to kick in. These were his pack members. The group of twenty men and women before him stopped talking when he came within twenty feet of them. The fear and curiosity in their faces was going to be a problem. He had told Kera before that you can’t fight with fear. You had to face it and defeat it.

He raised his hands to show he didn’t have any weapons. “You tell me one of your fears,” he called out, “and I’ll tell you one of my weaknesses.”

“I don’t know what I’m up against,” a man called out. “How do I know what to expect?”

Maddox nodded. “Good question,” he told him, “I reacted in fear when I met Kera. She isn’t like us and I had no idea what she could do and if I could trust her. That mistake almost cost her life. I’m not going to say that I know everything about the other beings out there. I do know we all have some similarities. Always expect strength and speed. If they don’t have that added physical ability then the mental psychic abilities will be their weapon.”

“I want to see.”

Maddox listened to the group explode into demands for a demonstration. He glanced over at Kera to see if she had the same problem. He didn’t want her exposing her magick just yet. They had discussed it at breakfast and she had agreed. She was the only one of them who could shift without having to strip down first. He could tell by the look on her face that she was getting more questions that she didn’t know the answer to. Her time in this world of supernatural was short.

“Kera,” He called out to her. When she looked over, he motioned her to come to him. She held up her finger to the group and told them she would be right back. When she jogged over at the pace of a human he smiled. “I need you to do something for me.”

“What?”

He pulled her to his side and turned to Nick.
Nick
, he whispered.
Pretend you can’t hear me. I am going to have Kera shift and circle around the back. Once she gets in position I will whisper my next orders. I want to show them how we can work together under the radar without shifting. Kera in this demonstration will be our assailant. We are going to protect the humans from her attack.

Nick nodded quickly and went back to answering a question.

You, my love, are going to run out behind us, shift where everyone can see and disappear. Let your hunting instincts take over.

I don’t know, Maddox.
She breathed softly,
what if…

Nothing is going to happen to you baby.
He pulled her in for a kiss and then motioned for her to go on behind him.

Maddox turned back to his group and saw Kera’s group watching them intently. He walked over between the two groups and addressed them together. “As a partnership we need to show you what we can do for you not just in training but to protect you. Behind me, Kera will shift into a panther.”

Nick called out the same thing to his group in case they hadn’t heard Maddox. All eyes fell on Kera. She waived cutely before kneeling to the ground. As her body began to contort and change the crowd behind him stopped breathing. The silence lasted until she finished and was broken when she tilted her head and roared.

The fear jumped up a few notches and escalated even further when she shot into a patch of tall grass on the edge of the field. Maddox lifted his head and took a deep breath. He began to track her movements as the groups talked amongst them. For soldiers they should have known that silence and strategy were important from the moment they sensed danger to the moment they engaged.

Have your group make a tight circle with the strongest in the front facing out.

Nick followed the instructions. His group formed their protective stance as Kera and his group began to panic without direction.

Maddox walked leisurely up to a few men and asked them to follow.
He made his way to the front and placed the men evenly in a line. “Just watch.” He ordered them.

Visual.
Nick told him.

Maddox took a deep breath and scanned the area. Kera was hidden well. None of the soldiers had noticed her yet.

“What do we do?” one of the women called out in a fearful voice. She looked over at Nick’s group who looked safe in the circle.

“No,” Maddox shouted when they started to form the same circle. “Do what you are trained to do in this situation.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t have training for this.”

On the move,
Nick updated him. He lifted his head and breathed deep.
She’s nervous.

Kera, let your instincts take over.
Maddox pushed her.

In the next moment a black blur streaked across the open field. She was silent and deadly and beautiful. Her form stayed close to the ground. She did just as he’d hoped and ran for the smallest soldier who was furthest from the crowd.

The woman shrieked.

Nick was in motion before Kera got too close. He ran from his position next to his group and cut Kera off from her prey.

Being the most deadly of the beings next to her, Kera changed course and darted to the other side of the group. She took off after a soldier who was bigger but had let fear of the situation get the best of him. He ran away from the crowd, singling himself out and inviting danger.

Maddox sprinted to Kera, ignoring her prey. He reached her just before she leapt into the air and caught her around the middle. His arms tightened around her when she struggled. “Shift back,” he ordered. Kera hissed at the man who ran from her but did as he asked. Maddox felt every bend of her bones and ripple of her muscles. Her clothing replaced the soft hair that covered her body.
When she was back to her human form, her chest rose and fell as adrenaline coursed through her body. She turned in his arms and let him pull her up from the ground.

“How was I?” she asked hesitantly.

Maddox smiled. “Perfect,” he assured her gently.

Nick waited for them in the front of the crowd. He stood next to the six men Maddox had asked to watch. Maddox walked in front of them with Kera tucked into his side. “What did you see?”

The men looked between each other before the reported their findings. Donavan walked up briskly to listen as well.

“None of our soldiers took the lead. They didn’t associate the situation with a real life assault because the danger wasn’t something they understood. The men who had a strong leader weren’t even attacked. The other two groups could have been killed because they didn’t rely on their training.”

“Exactly,” Maddox agreed. “In this situation, what would you do different next time?”

Donavan spoke up, “
We prepare, learn to work as a group.” He turned to his soldiers. “We have more in numbers than any of the beings we go after. If we can’t rely on each other than we’ve lost this war.”

They broke back off into groups of twenty. The six men that watched were separated in twos between the groups.

What do we do next?
Kera asked softly beside him.

Maddox smiled at her. “How close are you and your feline?
”

A smile graced her lips. “We are becoming very close.”

“Good,” Maddox mused, “it’s time to let her out to play.”

They continued their training
for the rest of the morning. Kera became more and more aggressive that he pulled her aside after each mock battle to question her. Her cheeks were flushed with exhilaration and her breath came in steady pants. She said she was tired but she was in complete control. After the last simulated battle left a woman screeching in panic, Maddox pulled her aside again.

“She loves it.” Kera said breathlessly. “I haven’t let her out this much… ever. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed just living one side of things. I never knew how unhappy she has been. I feel her joy Maddox. She loves this.” Kera looked behind her at the open fields as her breath continued to pant from her lips.

Maddox tightened his grip on her shoulder and palmed her chin in his hand. When he brought her eyes back to him, he couldn’t help the smile that curled on his lips. “I think we should end this now and go for lunch.” Her expression of disappointment told him the next thing he planned would make her happy. “Then it’s just you, me and Nick for the rest of the day.”

Her eyes lit up causing his heart to swell. He would give anything to this girl.