Blood Moon

Chapter One

Derek Sawyer looked at the woman sitting across the table from him. She was already upset, so when he spoke, he chose his words carefully. Being the alpha of their pack held a great responsibility, and he’d spent many tense years keeping them together when their families were destroyed and they’d had no place to go but a deserted orange grove. Now, trouble was stalking them again, but he didn’t want to show the frightened woman how edgy he was.

“You know how careful we have to be. We’ve all talked about it.” He fiddled with his coffee mug. “Now that we live in real houses instead of the old orange grove, and many of us have jobs, we have to be extra vigilant.”

Hannah Raines lowered her eyes to her tightly clenched hands, her body rigid with tension. Her sun-streaked hair fell forward, shielding her delicate face and her unique silvery-blue eyes. When she spoke, her voice was so low he had to strain to hear her.

“I know that. I’m sorry.” She raised her eyes to Dylan. “But there I was at the convenience store, watching two men hitting a woman and trying to drag her into their car. What was I supposed to do? In human form, I would never have been able to help her. Only the wolf saved her.”

“How many other people were around?”

“I think only two other cars in the parking lot, and one was empty.”

Dylan shook his head. “So at least two people saw you besides the men you killed. Right?”

“Yes.”

He could still barely hear her words. “Did anyone follow you?”

“No, I don’t think so. I ran off and hid behind a dumpster two buildings away. I didn’t go back for my car until I was sure everyone had left.” She blushed. “I was naked, you know.”

Of all the women in their very small pack, Hannah was the shyest. At meetings, she was always restrained, staying in the background. Even her job, working for Alexa Farrell as a researcher, allowed her to keep to the comfort zone of her home. It also gave her a sense of contributing, since much of the work they now did was for Derek and Rand’s protection agency. The lust that drove the rest of them didn’t seem to be as strong in her. As the alpha, it was his responsibility to see to her welfare and help her realize the full extent of her sexuality. She had not mated yet because of it, but Derek was confident she soon would. In his role of alpha, he had taken her to his bed, not to mate, but to teach, and she was both a willing student and an increasingly eager participant.

“Tell me about the car that had someone in it. That’s probably our biggest worry. What color was it? Did you get the license plate number?”

She held out her hands, palm up. “Dark blue. Four door. I did see part of the license plate—DG. But that’s all. I’m so very sorry, Derek,” she repeated, twisting her hands together. “You’ll have to tell the others, won’t you?”

He had no choice. Alexa, a shifter married to sheriff’s deputy Jesse Farrell, had helped them settle in this group of cottages at the edge of the small town in Palmetto County, Florida. They could live as humans but shift and feel free to roam the woods under cover of darkness. Or in the privacy of their own homes. But Hannah had exposed not only herself but the rest of them to danger. He would have to call a meeting so everyone would be on guard. He would do his best not to humiliate Hannah, but everyone had to be aware of the situation.

He reached out and took both of her hands in his. “They must be prepared.”

Derek felt the sizzle of lust that struck him these days whenever he touched Hannah. From a closed blossom, she had unfolded to a fully bloomed flower in his bed, even becoming, on occasion, the aggressor. Perhaps what she needed to prepare her for the coming meeting was another session with him. Something to take the edge off and give her the feeling of strength their recent sessions seemed to provide.

She didn’t move away from his touch. “When are you calling the meeting?”

“Tonight. After everyone’s finished dinner.”

She tightened her hands beneath his even as she looked away. “Maybe I should just leave. It would take the danger away from everyone.”

“No!” Derek took a breath and let it out slowly. “No one is leaving. We have stayed together when life tried to force us apart, and now we are the foundation for a new pack. We’ll handle this, Hannah. I promise you. And no one will blame you for what you did.” He shook his head. “It was just rotten luck and bad timing, is all. But the group will stand behind you and protect you.”

Hannah looked up at him. “I trust you, Derek. You’ve been so good to me.” She sighed. “I wish….”

He knew what she wished. That the bond had been there to make them mates. It hadn’t, however, although she was quickly learning the art of erotic love. What existed between them was nothing more than pure lust. At least they could enjoy that until he had to let her go.

He checked his watch. Two hours. Plenty of time for what he had in mind. And he was sure it would take the edge off her anxiety.

* * * * *

Rogan Mueller looked at the man sitting across his desk from him. He was careful to conceal his feelings, but excitement roared within him, anxious to burst free. After all these years, all the false alarms, was he finally going to get his hands on the subject he needed?

He smoothed his hands over his straight hair, now more silver than black, before pulling a cigar from his desk drawer and clipping off the end. His thick fingers fumbled only slightly as he lit up. Although he carried a lot of bulk, he was also very tall. What might have been fat in a shorter man was massive bulk in Mueller. He presented an imposing presence wherever he went, a huge man with an impassive face, eyes that bored into people, and an attitude of pure arrogance, although, when the occasion demanded, he could roll out the charm with the best of them.

“Are you sure this time?” he asked. “We’ve had so many false alarms that my patience is running out. My projects are stalled.”

Gary Lisbon was the direct physical opposite of Mueller—whipcord thin, medium height, with undistinguished hair and features. It served his purpose well to be able to blend in wherever he went and allowed him to do the job he’d been doing for so long. He nodded his head at his employer’s question.

“I tell you this time it’s for real. I saw her shift right there in the parking lot of the convenience store.” He stared at Mueller. “What’s the big hurry, anyway? If we don’t capture one now, we’ll just keep looking. You’ve got other things going on.”

Mueller slammed his hand on the desktop. “This particular project has been in the making for ten years. I have a lot of money riding on it, and many powerful men waiting for the results.”

Lisbon raised an eyebrow. “What’s so great about breeding a special strain of shifters, anyway?”

Mueller snorted. “You’re kidding, right? We can study her blood in my lab and experiment with injecting humans with it, trying to recreate the shifting ability. Adding DNA from other species. And with the added use of the drugs we’ve developed, we can produce a unique and challenging prey for hunters who pay me big bucks for things like this.”

“I don’t know. I still think you’re biting off more than you can chew. You have no idea what will come out of all this.”

A malicious smile crept over Mueller’s face. “Maybe I’ll end up with something even better. Meanwhile, go back to that convenience store and try to pick up traces of the female. Scout the area. Someone will know where she lives. Or, better yet, maybe you’ll see her again and be able to follow her.”

“All right. I’ll give it my best shot. But I still think you’re crazy.”

* * * * *

Derek undressed Hannah with great care, removing each garment slowly until she stood naked before him. Unlike their first time together, she stood proudly, making no effort to shield her nude body. Her dusky nipples were already swollen and pebbled with anticipation, stark against the creamy color of her skin. The curls covering her cunt were the same dark red as her hair, and, experience had taught him, just as soft. His eyes skimmed the line of her shoulders, the slight roundness of her belly, the swell of her hips, and the tapering legs. She was a compact package with luscious curves, and again he regretted the instinct to mate with each other didn’t exist between them.

He dropped to his knees in front of her and nudged her legs apart. The backs of his fingers caressed the insides of her thighs, sending a shiver racing across her skin. The scent of her arousal drifted past his nose, and he bent his head to lick the curls and the portal they protected.

Hannah’s cunt, even after all their sessions, was still tight and gripped his tongue, his fingers, especially his cock like a hot, wet fist. After each session, she invaded his dreams, giving rise to a lust he had yet to completely satisfy. He opened the lips hiding the pink, swollen flesh and traced every exposed inch with his tongue. Hannah trembled in his grip, her hands braced on his shoulders.

As always, just the taste of her nectar excited him, arousing him to an almost painful point. His cock was hard enough to hammer nails, swollen and throbbing with unfulfilled need, and his balls tightened in their soft sac. He had to restrain himself from thrusting his tongue fully into the channel of her pussy, but that would come later. Now, he was just teasing her to a state of excitement that would give rise to the lust that would burst forth from her.

Derek pulled his head back, stood up, and lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the big bed in the center of the room. Some nights, three or four of their very small pack would enjoy each other there, and the images that called up excited him even more. He arranged her on the soft sheets, positioning her so her feet were planted firmly on the mattress, knees bent and apart. His eyes feasted on the sight of her cunt, glistening with her juices and those of his mouth. His hand moved to his cock, stroking it as he raked his gaze over her.

How she’d changed from that very first night when he introduced her to erotic lust. A hint of shyness still remained, but the fire in her eyes overrode it.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded. “You know what I like to see.”

Her small tongue peeped out from between full lips and wet them until they glistened as her hands stole down her body to her pussy. Two fingers of one hand opened her labia while the forefinger of the other hand circled the tip of her clit in a rhythmic motion. A glazed look came into her eyes as the stimulation of her clit gave rise to more liquid in her pussy. The muscles of her belly contracted, a sure signal the first flutterings of orgasm were building inside her.

Derek climbed onto the bed and positioned himself between her legs, one hand on each knee, holding them apart. Her hips hitched as her finger moved faster and the pressure grew in her body. Derek leaned forward and moved the fingers holding her open, pressing the lips even farther apart.

“Finger fuck yourself,” he told her, his own breathing uneven. “Do it.”

She lifted her ass slightly from the bed as she slid two fingers inside her slick pussy, timing their in-and-out movement with the stimulation of her clit. Soft moans rolled up from her throat as her hands increased their tempo.

“Take your fingers out,” Derek rasped. “Come wide open for me.”

Hannah pulled her fingers free but continued to torment her clit until the orgasm broke over her, shaking her body, her hips thrusting up and up. Derek opened the lips of her cunt as wide as he could, watching the wet flesh spasm and more liquid seep out from her deep channel.

Hannah’s moans grew louder as she sought the fulfillment only something inside her would bring. But Derek wasn’t ready to give her that yet. He loved watching her orgasm like this, until the last flutters died away. Then he bent forward and sucked the juices from her, bringing her another brief climax. She lay back on the pillows, exhausted but still panting with need.

This was one of the things Derek liked best about being a shifter. The level of lust in each of them far exceeded that of humans and spurred them to a variety of acts of satisfaction. He removed his hands and rocked back on his heels.

“Turn over, Hannah, and show me your ass. Have you been wearing the plug?”

“Yes,” she hissed as she rolled onto her stomach. “But I took it out today and forgot to put it back in.”

“That’s very naughty of you.” Smack! He brought the palm of one hand down on her ass. “Very naughty indeed.” Smack! He spanked the other ass cheek. “Now, let’s see how well you’re doing.”

Slowly, she pushed herself to her knees, bent forward, and used both hands to spread the cheeks of her ass.

Derek used one finger to scoop the liquid from her cunt and rub it into the tight ring of her anus. Then he gently inserted the finger, feeling the tissue give with very little pressure.

“Good girl,” he praised. “You have been using the plug. Tonight I’m going to fuck you here and give you an orgasm greater than any you’ve had so far.”

 

Hannah’s pussy tingled at the words, and a shiver skittered over her spine. She could still remember how timid she’d been the first time Derek took her to bed. Very unshifterlike. But he’d been very patient with her, tender while at the same time lustful, teaching her things she’d only dreamed about. And tonight! Tonight they would break the final boundary. She shivered again.

Derek kneeled behind her, massaging the lips of her pussy in a way he knew made her blood heat. Her nipples were hard as diamonds and her breasts ached, but not as much as her cunt did, or her pulsating clit. And the orgasm, rather than giving her satisfaction, had only left her craving more.

She heard Derek move and in a moment, she felt something cool at her anus.

“Gel.” His voice was husky. “To ease the way. The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt you. I want this to be the hottest sex we’ve ever had.”

She didn’t know how he could top what had happened so far. Their level of lust had risen with each session they’d had together. She was truly sorry the invisible link between mates did not exist for the two of them.

Derek massaged the gel into the hot length of her dark tunnel, rubbing it thoroughly into her tissues. Then the broad head of his cock was probing her rectum, easing past the ring of muscle in slow increments.

“Breathe,” he told her. “In and out. Come on, Hannah. You can do it. Breathe in now.”

She drew in a lungful of air, he pushed in a little farther, and she exhaled slowly. His enormous shaft filled every inch of space as it pushed in farther and farther. Just when she was sure she couldn’t take any more, he gave one last thrust and seated himself completely, his balls slapping against her thighs.

“That’s it, Hannah. Good girl. Just keep breathing in and out like that.”

His hips rocked in a steady tempo, his rigid cock sliding in and out, igniting her nerve endings and sending jolts of lightening through her. Every pulse beat thrummed, her heartbeat raced, as he took her higher and higher to a plane she’d never reached before.

“Chafe your clit,” he ordered in a rough voice. “Do it, Hannah. Balance yourself and do it now.”

Head down, she braced herself with one hand while using the other to chafe her clit, her motion increasing in speed as Derek increased his. The climax grew within her, building and building, spreading its heat through every part of her. His cock seemed to fill every space inside her, driving her higher and higher. Icy heat flashed through her, chilling and burning her at the same time. Lost in a fog of desire, she could no longer think, no longer do anything except thrust her hips back at Derek to meet his motion and rub herself faster and faster.

Derek’s fingers dug into her hips with almost bruising intensity as he pushed harder and harder into her hole. Every muscle in her body tightened as the climax grew and grew.

“Pinch your clit, Hannah. Hard.”

When she did, the wave inside her crested.

“Now, Hannah,” Derek shouted and took them both over the edge.

Hannah shook with the ferocity of the orgasm, falling into a black space, fireworks exploding against her closed eyelids. She shuddered and shuddered as Derek emptied himself into her, the heat of his cum searing her sensitive channel.

Weak and spent, she collapsed forward, Derek following her, catching his weight on his forearms. She wasn’t sure if the thundering heartbeat shaking her was hers, or Derek’s pounding against her back. The only sound in the room was their breathing as they drew in great ragged gulps of air.

Derek’s lips brushed against her shoulder, and his tongue licked the edge of her ear. “You did well, Hannah.” His voice was raw and ragged.

“You, too,” she breathed, her lips curving in a smile.

“We would make a great pair if we were meant to mate with each other,” he told her.

“I know.” She sighed. “But I’ve learned since I was very young that the connection is either there or it isn’t. That we’ll know in an instant if someone is our mate, and if it isn’t there, you can’t force it.”

Derek nodded. “Very true. That includes mating with humans, too, you know. Look at Alexa and Jesse. Liana and Charlie. And others in our group.”

“I just hope I find my own mate soon. Sometimes I think….” She bit her lip.

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Think what, Hannah?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just maybe wishful thinking. But I want to thank you very much for helping me reach a point where I’m ready to come out of my shell. Ready to mate with someone.”

“I think the pleasure is mine.” His eyes darkened with lust.

She grinned. “And I definitely think I’m ready to face the others tonight.”

He chuckled in her ear. “If not, I’d be willing to work on this again.”

Hannah laughed, a low, thready sound as she tried desperately to gather herself. “Sacrificing your body, are you?”

“Any time.” He pulled out of her and rolled to the side. “However, we’d better think about getting ready. I expect this to be an intense meeting.”

And once again, Hannah was plunged into the anxiety of her situation, one she had caused herself.