Wicked (2 page)

Chapter Two

Good little bitches don
’
t run by themselves at night
.

Shut up, Grandmother Rousseau.

Jaynie scowled as the old woman, who’d hovered over her whenever she’d had a chance as a cub, spoke in her thoughts. Shoving the unpleasant memory of her long-dead relative out of her head, she noted the pack leader’s den was barely visible now through the trees.

And Perry, the
Cariboo
with way too many muscles for his own good, was gaining distance on her quickly. Well, he might be almost twice her size, but he didn’t have twice her speed. The cold October air hit her like a brick wall when she stripped out of her clothes, almost tripping over her jeans and stumbling on the lace of her shoes.

God.
Freezing and nervous made a bad combination. She shook worse than bare branches during a hard storm while twisting her clothes and then securing them around her waist.

Nervous energy leapt through her like a wildfire.
Cold on the outside and burning alive inside.
Is that why she wanted to chase after this
Cariboo
? Did going after some strange tail sound so appealing that she’d risk the wrath of the pack if they found her running alone?

Damn pack tradition to hell and back anyway. It wasn’t like she didn’t know how to take care of herself.

Sparks popped in her head, white tracers dancing before her eyes. The change from human to werewolf grabbed her hard enough to steal her breath.

She embraced the pain of the change, her teeth chattering and pricking her lip as they grew into deadly fangs. Coarse white hair punctured through her skin, covering the goose bumps from the cold.

Her lip burned, the quick prick of pain something to focus on while her bones
stretched,
lengthened and changed shape. Her skin
hardened,
a natural shield against the biting cold night. Warmth and strength coursed through her.

One with the night, she dropped to all fours. The peace that rushed through her was the high after the quick, sharp pain. Nothing compared to the clarity of emotions, of her senses.

Looking around her, sniffing the air, everything became clearer, easier to see, to smell, to hear. Her tongue thickened, darting over her quickly disappearing lips, tasting fur mixed with a tiny amount of blood.

Howls filled the air and her heart exploded, throwing the change into hyper-mode. She almost fell over her paws when stumbling forward, her tail lengthening to support her.

The den had arrived, ready to release their fury on Steve.
Stupid son of a bitch.
He deserved what he was about to get. She’d hold and comfort Wendy later, give her the support she needed after the pack contacted her. There were no doubts Wendy would be given honorary widow privileges. Although her cousin would mourn, it would be a relief to be unshackled from such a terrible werewolf.

The scent of the
Cariboo
faded over the growing amount of werewolves at the pack leader’s house.

Instinct kicked in and she dug at the earth with her claws as she ran.
Time to get the hell away from her pack leader’s den.

No longer did the cold air make her shiver. Instead she embraced it, enjoying the crispness of the night. Too much time had passed since she’d torn freely through the countryside, letting go and racing at full speed.

Time in the States had spoiled her. Having run from her pack ten years ago when pack law concerning mating grew outrageous, she never thought she’d tear through this beautiful land again. Nothing compared to the open wilderness outside Prince George.

A freak phone call in the middle of the night, her closest cousin crying over the phone from the abuse and neglect of her mate, had Jaynie returning to the pack. And she’d hated every minute that she’d been here—until now.

The moon appeared between parting clouds, giving light to the overgrown countryside. Birds squawked in protest as Jaynie violated their space.

I rule the night tonight
,
my dears
.

And with that freedom
came
the reality that she wasn’t too sure what to expect. This
Cariboo
could be mated.
Although there was only one way to find out.
She had no idea if he was even heading to his den. Not to mention how unsafe it would be to sniff her way around his den. But the mystery had its appeal.
An adventure, taking on the unknown.

Inhaling his scent—he wasn’t too far ahead—made her insides swell. Craving something a bit more wild, untamable and deadly powerful, she tracked him. Racing at a speed some cars couldn’t match, she gained on him. Now to find out what he would do once he learned he’d been followed.

Perry almost took down his door when he reached the small cabin. His was the last on the row, a total of six cabins that housed the hired help on the
Toubec
ranch. A quick sniff of the air told him most of the cabins were empty, the help probably enjoying a communal run. That might make matters even worse.

Stupid bitch.
What the hell did she follow him for?

Crashing into his tiny den, anger encouraged the change, the room spinning when he straightened. Yanking the clothes that he’d tied around his neck
free,
he untangled them with a growl then dressed quickly, not taking time to mess with shoes. He grabbed his coat off the nail by his door. His human flesh was soaked with sweat and he’d freeze quickly in the autumn night air after such a hard run.

Not that he was a damn bit cold. Too outraged over seeing that little
lunewulf
chasing after him, he moved quickly, ready to knock some sense into her.

Keeping close to the wall of the cabin, he moved through shadows, his night vision grossly impaired in his human form. But he wouldn’t take on the bitch in his fur. There might be a lot of bad things said about him but Perry didn’t rape unmated bitches. And the damned fool of a thing was asking for just that, racing toward a line of cabins housing werewolves who didn’t often get to spend a lot of time with a female.

And she raced toward them as if craving a formal announcement. Tiny paws crashing through underbrush. A full-blood
lunewulf
, blessed with speed no other creature on earth could match. If any of the ranch hands were in their cabins they’d pounce on her with one thing on their minds.

Slowing at the edge of the trees, the moonlight caught her white coat, making it glow in the darkness. Limber and slim and so petite, she stole his breath with her intense beauty. Perry had been with this pack well over a year. He’d have remembered this little
lunewulf
bitch if he’d seen her before.

She sniffed the ground, her silver eyes glowing in the light streaming from his cabin. Perry stood very still in the shadows. Her scent drifted toward him. She moved warily, continually looking around her. If she searched for his animal scent, it would lead her to his cabin.

Mere feet from the entrance to his den, light shone over her smooth white coat.
A beautiful creature, sultry in her movements.
Almond-shaped eyes, glowing silver, stood out against the soft contour of her head. Even in his human form, his insides hardened in appreciation of the sexy female
lunewulf
who moved with either incredible bravery or as a complete idiot toward the dens of unmated werewolves.

He waited. Not breathing,
not moving
an inch. This bitch was no expert tracker or she’d have picked up his human scent. Her thoughts were preoccupied, with what he would soon find out. But he patiently held his position until she was right where he wanted her.

“Inside.
Now.”
Perry moved behind her, pointing toward the cabin door.

The little
lunewulf
turned on him, baring her long fangs and growling. Her hackles went up, not fazing him in the least.

“You can get inside and change,” he hissed, staring into those intent silver eyes. “Or I can change and we can stay out here in our fur.”

His meaning wasn’t missed. In their fur, he’d fuck her first and ask questions later. Instinct and primal desire ran strong in his more pure state. Human hesitation and good manners fogged the natural instinctive reaction to fuck silly a sexy woman.

She backed up, pushing the door to his cabin the rest of the way open with her rear end.

Perry
smiled,
his cock hardening while the adorable little bitch backed into his den. No matter what form he took, a sexy female was just that. And one this full of energy and cockiness turned him on even more.
Living on the wild side and more than likely completely untamable.
Add that to beauty and defiance and you had the perfect female.

The door slammed in his face.

“What the fuck?”

Darkness enveloped him as quickly as his anger did. Like hell she would lock him out of his own fucking den.

He hit the door hard, pounding his shoulder into the wood. The vibration racked his body as wood split, jarring his muscles. The door swung open.

The female inside shrieked. And the sight of her made him forget how cold he was a second ago. Heat rushed through him as fast as his blood did. His cock danced back to life.

Her body glistened with sweat, slender with large breasts and curvy hips, and holy shit—a beautiful shaved pussy. Unable to breathe, unable to move—hell, he wouldn’t have been able to form a word if he tried. It was as if his tongue had made the change leaving the rest of him standing there in human form like a complete idiot.

“You made me change. Now turn the fuck around and let me get dressed.” Bright blue eyes glared furiously at him while she fought to untangle the clothes she’d tied around her waist.

Perry shut the door behind him slowly. Thankfully it still shut, although he’d have to fix the broken doorframe and lock first thing in the morning. A cold breeze blew against his backside. This time it had no effect on him.

“You followed me here. Looks like you’re going to have to face the consequences.” No way would she start demanding anything of him. “Put your clothes on if you like. But then you’re going to explain yourself.”

Her nipples puckered and her full breasts bounced slightly as she fought with her clothes. He almost felt sorry for her, watching her shake like a leaf while trying to get her jeans straightened so she could slide them on. Long blonde hair fell down her front, parting around her breasts. Damn, she was fucking hot as hell.

“There’s nothing to explain,” she said quickly. “My cousin’s mate is finally getting what he deserved. Forgive me for deciding not to watch.”

“Yet you didn’t run to her den to tell her?”

“Tell her that her mate raped an unmated female? That he committed the most heinous of crimes and that she’s now a widow?”

He wouldn’t be anxious to share that news either. “You must know the queen bitch will contact her immediately.”

She nodded, not looking up but focusing on her jeans, which she now had pulled up to her thighs. He would miss that awesome view of her pussy.

“Yet this cousin of yours sent you out to report back to her? What kind of den approves of an unmated bitch running on her own at night, especially into such dangerous territory?”

“I can take care of myself,” she snapped, shoving her hair over her shoulder and glaring at him.

She didn’t deny being unmated. Knowledge that she had no mate, an available bitch, put an exciting edge to this little scene.

Her anger filled the air with its spicy smell. It didn’t hide the slight tinge of fear he smelled too. She knew she wasn’t out of the woods with him yet.

“I can see that.” Maybe a fire would be a good idea.

Sweat had started to dry on his flesh, leaving the chill there. Moving to the wooden box next to his small fireplace, he pulled a fresh log and some kindling and dumped it into the hearth.