The Red Moon

The Red Moon—

Rain pattered softly on the chilled glass pane of the gray brick estate, coating its icy surface with a layer of frost and masking the figure sleeping soundly on the bed inside. Breaks in the ice allowed slivers of moonlight to streak in and pierce the shadowy darkness of the bed. The passing clouds blocked the moon from view. Wrapped among the thick covers was a pair of long, smooth skinned ivory legs. The figure shifted causing the blankets to reveal the sleek goddess beneath, an athletic body covered in pure feminine strength. Her mass of flaming red hair fanned out over the pillow she laid upon. A rosy nipple peeked from under the navy comforter, angry at the sudden chill.

“Hm,” the figure murmured sleepily, shifting once again to expose the slightest bit more of her creamy flesh.

When the moon is full,
When the night is black,
I think of you.

The air beside the bed rippled and stretched unnaturally and solidified into the shape of a man. Even in the scant light it was plain to see the thick muscles that corded every surface of his near naked body. The soft cotton pants that hung low on his hips billowed with each movement in the wake of a wind that only touched his body. The trail of soft hair that began at his navel and slipped beneath his belt shone dark against the pale moonlight. His dark skin slid smoothly over the rock hardness of his muscle as he swung towards the bed, frost escaping his parted lips with each breath. His black brows shone eerily in the night and his eyes glowed even brighter.

When the wind calls out,
And the stars are bright,
I ache for you.

Outside the frosted window, the clouds parted allowing ruby slants of red moonlight to pierce through the pane again. The man shook as the light struck his olive skin, trembling as if in pain… or something far worse. His mouth opened in a silent scream, showing the whiteness of his teeth. Slowly the light began to dance over him and his skin began to shift and glide over his muscles with searing speed. The light caught in his eyes igniting them in a bloody inferno. His outstretched hands began to morph, sharp claws pierced through his bubbling flesh, blood streaming down his arms, through the ridges of his stomach and down both legs to pool around his clawed feet.

When you hear my voice
On the wings of the wind,
I will come for you.

The woman on the bed began to toss, gripped in a voracious nightmare, yet completely unaware at the nightmare in her room. The man, now almost completely transformed, turned his elongated muzzle towards the lithe form asleep on the bed. His mouth opened in a silent scream, revealing the fangs that lined the rows of his teeth and his gurgling growl vibrated in the room, shaking the floor and walls, and knocking everything not heavy enough to the floor. The man’s eyes began to glow red, this blood red power enveloping his wolfish body and crackling in the air around him. He raised his clawed hands above him, reaching towards the bleeding moon far beyond in the black night sky as he neared his final transformation.

The air around him rippled.

When the moon is red,
And the night bleeds true,
I will take you.

Her eyes shot open. “Ahhh!” She sat up, throwing the comforter from the bed and exposing herself to the iciness of the room. The alarm clock on the bedside table blared loudly. With a sigh of relief she pushed the switch back and the clock went silent. She felt a strangeness in the room, almost a lingering scent in the air… very masculine.

“Daniel! Are you up yet? It’s almost ten o’clock,” a motherly voice called from downstairs. The girl shook her head and stood up from the bed, her thin legs gliding across the polished wooden floor, stepping over a fallen picture frame.

“Yeah! Be right there,” she answered while pulling on a pair of gray yoga pants and shrugging into a warm pullover.

In the hall, where the thermostat read a freezing twenty degrees, Daniel flipped the switch to heat. “Damn it mom, why did you turn the heater off last night?”

“I didn’t touch it,” her mother said from downstairs, ignoring the accusation. “Are you hungry?”

“No,” Daniel replied softly as she descended the stairs and saw her mother bent over and halfway inside the pantry.

“Alright then,” her mother said as she stood, a box of cereal in hand. “I’ll leave this out just in case. You remember that I’m going with my sister to her lakehouse, right? I’ll be leaving soon seeing as she should be here any minute.”

“Yeah, I remember.” She stood in the kitchen on the cold tile floor as she sipped a mug of tea her mother had handed her, staring out at the snow-covered lawn of the castle. That was strange. It wasn’t supposed to snow until next week.

“Good. I need you to do me a favor, Dani dear,” her mother said as she walked around the kitchen gathering things to be taken on her trip.

“What’s that?” she said as she plopped down into one of the crimson cushioned chairs around the kitchen table and looked up at her mother’s round face, all the while relishing in the warmth of the hot mug in her hands.

“Pull my car into the garage for me. I left it out last night when I came home,” her mom said with a smile. A car honked outside. “Ah… that’s Jei.” Her mother slipped the strap of a small bag over her shoulder and scurried towards the front door. Dani walked after her, grabbing an apple on the way, her thick lips surrounding its succulent flesh before her white teeth crunched down, the sweet juices creeping out from the junction of her lips. She gripped the edge of her sweatshirt sleeve and swiped at her mouth.

Dani opened the door as her mother grabbed a large suitcase. “Bye, mom. Have a good time. Drink a margarita for me.”

“Bye sweetheart! Keep the door locked and don’t answer the phone before checking the Caller ID, okay?” Her mom said while kissing her daughter on the cheek and giving her toosh a good-natured slap.

“Okay mom. It’s not like you’re leaving the country,” Daniel said, rubbing her behind while her mother hurried down the walkway and passed through the high metal gates that guarded the front doors of the estate.

“I know, sweetie. I’ll be back in a few days. I’ll call you when we get there!” her mother promised from the passenger’s seat. Daniel waved as the sleek black sports car sped out of sight and the gates began to swing shut.

And then: “YES!” she shrieked. “I got this place all to myself!” she shouted to the chilly air. “Oh yeah!” It was perfect. With her mother gone, and no one for at least half a mile in any direction to bother her, she would have the perfect place to work. Dani pranced up the stairs, pausing every now and then to sigh and smile in delight. She sprinted down the hall, causing the walls to vibrate.

“Time for a hot shower,” she mused and then began to strip off the warmth of her clothes. She stood, utterly naked in her room and grabbed a towel off the shelf of the closet. Momentarily she thought of wrapping it around her, but then again– there was no one to see her nudity, was there? She giggled to herself and skipped out the door where the windows sighed at the sight of her nimble body, her cat-like grace as she walked across the floor.

Daniel emerged from the shower dripping wet and totally satisfied. Wrapped in an oversized fluffy blue towel, she wiped the foggy moisture from the mirror and brushed her sopping hair out. Her mind began to wander towards her work, the novel she was writing and deadlines and plot and characterization and the other aspects that plague the mind of a novelist. She began to wonder at the time and made her way back to her room. She fished around in her closet to find a set of clean and warm clothes. At the sight of a pair of red silk pajamas with a rather expensive matching robe she nearly drooled.

“Oh, I’d forgotten about these,” she said to herself, and grabbed them hungrily. A gift from an overconfident boyfriend, but that didn’t mean she could enjoy it anyway. After dressing herself and wrapping her hair up in a towel, Daniel made her way downstairs to find something to eat. All the while, she felt a sort of uneasiness gripping her stomach. She couldn’t quite place why she would feel unsafe in her mother’s home. It was, after all, an old castle. She brushed the feeling off. Paranoia. No one could get in without some sort of serious equipment. Then she recalled the favor her mother asked.

“The car…” she mumbled and made for the kitchen. She grabbed the keys from on top of the refrigerator and made for the front door again, pausing to towel her hair dry a bit more and left the damp towel hanging on the coat rack. Once outside, she trotted to the bright red Supra that shone like a flame in her driveway, the frozen ground like ice on her bare feet. “Well, aren’t you a beautiful thing. I’d almost forgotten,” Daniel laughed and pressed the unlock button and slid onto the leather seat. As she made to shut the door something halted her, the door wouldn’t budge. The tightness in her stomach returned with a vengeance.

She turned her head back towards the open door where the cold wind blew in carrying with it that same vague male scent from earlier in the morning. She gasped at the sight of a tall, dark man dressed in ironed pants and immaculately clean dress shoes, black and shiny. Shiny enough for her to see her reflection. Daniel shook her head and looked back at his face.

“Hello,” he said with a smile, though she could not find anything warm in its intention.

“Yes, can I help you?” she asked automatically. She could feel a heat and with a start she realized that he was the source. Almost unconsciously she raised a hand to causally cover her buxom chest.

“As a matter of fact,” he said with an accent, one that she could not quite place. “I believe you can,” once again he produced that detached smile and provided a hand to assist her out of the car. Dani found herself grasping his hand and allowing him to gently pull her forward. At the moment of touch, she felt a warm sensation began at her fingertips and slowly make its way up her arms and surge through her whole body, infusing its soothing heat within her very soul. She ripped her hand from his.

“I—I can? What exactly can I do for you, then?” Now standing on her feet, Daniel found herself very much aware of her attire, and even more so when she noticed his eyes sweep over her hungrily. She brought her arms around her slim body to rest over her stomach and met his gaze. He was a tall man, at least taller than her, and much larger in breadth. It was plainly obvious that he was of substantial strength, for the fabric of his shirt was stretched almost too tightly over the burly mass of his chest. Almost.

“Besides providing me with a delicious sight to see, I would ask only to use your telephone. My car died on the road, you see. And I have no phone with me.” His voice was wholly captivating, she found herself nearly asleep on her feet. Her eyes met his again, and in that split second she saw something primal and purely animal within him, something not human and not at all normal. And yet she could do nothing but acquiesce to his requests, as if she had no control over herself. Something should have sparked a sign of mistrust. He was dressed for business and didn’t carry a cell phone? As quickly as the thought had entered her mind it was dismissed.

“Of course,” she said without qualms and found herself leading him up to the castle’s double doors. She knew she should have wondered how he had gotten passed the towering iron gates that protected the front entrance, how she had not heard his approach, or why, even now, she could not stop her movements. But she didn’t, she couldn’t. Her mind was filled with the picture of him, big and warm and captivating in a bath of steaming water surrounded by bubbles and holding a welcoming hand out for her to join him. Daniel shook her head trying to coax the blush off of her face. Then she noticed the predatory manner in which he moved, that stealthy walk and silent footsteps. Suddenly, as if she had grabbed hold of a hot pan, her mind returned to her and she stopped and whirled to face him. His dark eyes, which had been locked on the back of her head with a queer fascination, peered into her eyes without hesitation, like that of a hunter gazing into the eyes of its prey. Sure of itself, confident that it knew what she was about to do. For an instant, a brief second of time she could have sworn his eyes shone a brilliant golden amber color. Almost as if the light had caught in them like it would a dog’s.

“I—I’ll,” she stuttered, “I’ll get the phone and be back in a moment.” The smirk that had been plastered on his tanned face slipped and he slowed in his movements. His black brows frowned.

“Oh, I see,” he said. It was now that Daniel realized how close the man was to her and how far she wanted to be from him. She stepped backward, only for him to step forward, his stride eating up hers easily. She turned and was ready to run into the safety of the house, still completely aware that he was coming closer. Her adrenaline was pumping wildly.

“I’ll only be a moment—“

“I would like to come in out of the cold, if you don’t mind,” he said with a voice that was so smooth it sounded detached of emotion as he gripped her elbow. Daniel gasped, suddenly fully aware of the situation she had gotten herself in.

“E—excuse me? Please let go!” Dani tried to turn but his other hand was there to grab her waist and keep her moving straight ahead.

“Please don’t make a fuss… just go right inside. I know you must be freezing considering you’re wearing nothing but those thin pajamas.” The hand on her waist grabbed a fistful of the fabric. “Mmm. Very soft.” His voice became thick, velvety, soft enough to kiss. She felt herself want to turn and press herself against him. She shook her head like a dog. What the hell was wrong with her?

Daniel walked on in utter shock. Had this man just taken her hostage in her own home? What the hell was going on? And now he was marching her around while commenting on her sleepwear. “Please, I’ll give you whatever you want. The car is yours if you want it. The keys are in the ignition—“

“Anything?” he said quietly as stopped them both to close the door. “Really, now, that’s quite kind of you.” She could hear the smile in his voice and she shivered. As soon as the thought came into her mind she wanted to banish it, throw it out and never think it again, but it would not leave her. It was entirely possible that he could have in mind to rape her. As if to confirm her nightmarish thoughts, he stepped closer and swung her up into his arms, now carrying her up the stairs and down the hall to her room.

“Wh—What are you doing?” she cried, digging her nails into his forearm. If she had hoped to dissuade him, she was sorely disappointed. Once again she found her movements slowed and an unbidden calm washed over her. As if she had just been lulled to sleep by a wonderful book by the fireplace. His soothing laugh poured into her, like she was being filled up with warm water until she swore she could feel that velvet voice caressing her in places that no voice could have gone.

He chuckled, a sound that left her drunk with a strange passion and craving more, and turned sideways to slide through the doorway. “I’m only taking you to your room.”

“How could you possibly know where my room was?” she asked dazedly as he dropped her onto the bed and sat beside her. Immediately she sat up, but his hands were there to push her back onto the bed, this time pinning her hands on either side of her face.

“My dear, I know a great deal more than that,” he whispered, his lips an atom’s width from her own.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked slowly, her voice breaking as the tears began to fill her green eyes. The heat of his being coursed through her, willing her to be calm and comfortable, but she fought. There was no way this side of hell that she was going to willingly let this man take advantage of her. She sank back into the bed as to not touch her lips to his.

“What does it matter?” Now that he was closer and she had the opportunity to inspect, it was obvious that he had longer, sharper and more prominent cuspids. His facial structure was different, almost animalistic. She felt a cold trickle of sweat sliding down the back of her neck. Suddenly she felt alone, isolated, and completely cut off from anything native to her. Something was wrong with this man—if that’s what he was.

“It matters because it is my life!” she whispered coldly and lowered her lashes.

“Hm. So you think that by knowing why I have decided to hold you here will change your situation?” He wondered, while turning his head to place a tender kiss on her jaw line.

She lost her tongue; a strange feeling came over her as his lips touched her skin, almost like a sedative. What was this? What was happening to her? She felt her body relax and sink into the pillows. His lips began a hot trail down her neck and into the valley between her breasts, his tongue began to snake out and lick her flesh. It felt odd, rougher than a normal tongue, but still absolutely marvelous. That sensation of velvet began to trail along the flesh of her arm, down her stomach and dipped between her thighs.

“No! Stop!” Daniel cried, lurching forward. The man growled and pushed her down, leaning forward onto her, his weight pinning her to the bed. Dani looked up into his face only to see something much different than the handsome dark man that had carried her up to her room. His eyes, once dark and mysterious were now a vibrant amber that pulsated pure predatory instinct. The hair from his head began to spread downward to cover his face and neck and chest. “Ahhh!” she screamed and began to struggle helplessly. What was this creature on top of her, in her bed?

“What’s the problem sweetheart?” His once deep and masculine baritone was now a gurgling hiss, almost as if he was struggling to speak. His newly formed jaw, she realized, was not meant to speak. “Now what you were expecting?” His amber eyes narrowed as the woman beneath him shrieked at the top of her lungs. He growled and leaned forward to smother her lips with his own. The strangeness of his looks melted away like a snow cone in a Texas summer. She felt completely human lips pressed against her own. Her cries were silenced immediately as his tongue explored her mouth. His velvety voice held her in limbo as she felt some nameless thing reach inside of her mind and flip the switch to her sense of touch. Everything was magnified. She felt a scream begin in her chest but what came out was a gasp. Dani’s tears ran over her lips and through the creases of her lips. Then the realization hit her. She hadn’t even put up a fight against this. She jerked her head to the side. The… thing above her growled.

“Oh, come now,” he whispered with that strange accent as he licked her cheek. It had only been slightly noticeable when she had first heard him speak, but now it was almost difficult to understand him. “What is it?”

Tears crept down her face as he licked them off, probably enjoying the saltiness. “Please stop… please,” she sniffled. It froze, blinking its slatted amber eyes.

“I’ve got it.” It was the man’s voice again, and she felt him tremble. Looking up, she watched as he changed again, his body transformed into that gorgeous man that had first caught her. “Is this more to your tastes?”

Her tears stopped, but she did not reply. His eyes were still not completely dark but rather gold with a dark brown rim suddenly smiled, and once again there was no warmth but a hunger. “I take that as a yes, then.”

“No! Please! I’ll do anything, just—“ He silenced her with a firm finger to her lips.

“Oh but that’s exactly what I’m getting at. I don’t want you to do anything.”

Then she found her tongue, her rage at what was happening and she struck out. “No! Why are you doing this to me? I haven’t done anything to you. Why would you do something like this?! You’ve never even met me before and you came in here like you know my house inside and out!” Daniel cried while writhing beneath him. His face came into hers, their lashes combing together. Once again that soothing heat overcame her and she found that her body sagged against her will, pressing down into the softness of her blankets. When he spoke, she watched her vision spiral down until she had eyes only for him, and ears only for that velvet tongue.

“My name is Baron. And your name is Daniel Jamison.”

“What?! How could you possibly know that?” she whispered while thinking frantically if she had ever heard his name before. It was no use. He was a complete mystery man to her.

“Let’s just say that I did my homework.” His body shifted so that he straddled her hips and held her wrists above her head with only one of his massive hands, leaving the other free to wander across her shapely form. His fingers settled on the red silk of her robe sash, tugging at the bow and pushing the silky material off her shoulders so that it was simply a crimson pool around her.

“I know what you are. You’re one of those stalkers who watches people until you know their personal life like it was your own. Why? Why me?” Daniel asked.

“Because you match my needs,” he stated as he ripped the silk top from her thin frame, apparently annoyed that he could not remove it fast enough. Daniel jerked her hands down, but to no avail, his grip was just too strong. “Tsk tsk… none of that now.” Baron grinned, his white teeth nearly blinding. “I suppose that you will not believe me if I told you how I knew that you would be here and not at your own apartment, so let’s just say that I followed you.” He then buried his face in between her breasts, kissing the fleshy globes with a hungry passion. Dani gasped in disbelief. Or was it pleasure? She tilted her head back into the softness of the bed. His tongue was hot, searing even, the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.

“There’s a good girl,” he chuckled, swirling his tongue around her stiffened nipple before closing his teeth around it.

Daniel hissed in pain. He hadn’t bitten hard, but it was enough to make her jerk back. She lost her grip on the unimaginable velvet heat he had been sending through her. “Why are you doing this?!” Her shrieks made him wince and yet he did not lessen his hold enough for her to do much of anything useful to her escape.

Baron sighed. “If I tell you will you stop fighting this and enjoy it?”

“I will promise no such thing!”

He shrugged. “Your choice, but I did offer it to you,” he said before leaning down to untie the drawstring of her pajamas. The sensation of his hot, strong hands sliding down her bare stomach was too much. Too violating. She had to make him stop! She shrank back, pulling her hips as far away from him as possible.

“Wait! Wait, Baron! I want to make a deal with you.” She paused as he lifted his dark rimmed amber eyes from her flat stomach, over her bare chest, and to her flushed face. Once again he flashed that hungry smile.

“Excellent.” He seemed pleased that she had used his name. “So you promise to stop struggling if I tell you why I chose you?”

Dani licked her dry lips. She hadn’t really wanted to make such a deal, but the sensation of his hands untying her pants had nearly driven her into a rage. Her mind was in shreds! She couldn’t even see straight for pity’s sake! Or perhaps that was the result of his intoxicating smell. Unaware, she nodded.

“Delicious,” he murmured while deftly pulling the string that loosened her pajamas. In a swift motion, he had removed the silk red pants and sat astride her once again as if nothing had been done.

Sake stared up at him in a daze. “How do you do that?” she asked weakly. There was no energy in her body. Nothing but relaxed comfort. Heat radiated through her every cell, synapse and molecule to the point that she lost track of time. That velvet sensation was crawling throughout her body, making muscles in her lower stomach clench. Had she been here for minutes? Hours?

“I’ll answer the question that was a part of our deal first,” he stated while his hand released her wrists, smirking slightly when they did not move a centimeter. “When the moon bleeds— like it is for the following four nights— a certain type of… creature, for lack of a better word, has the ability to leave the shadow realm and surface for um… breeding purposes. I happen to be that type of creature, ruber lupus, if you were curious. I believe the closest idea your civilization has is a legend of a werewolf. As for why I chose you,” he shrugged. “To be honest, this is the house that all of my ancestors came to when they bred, and I guess by chance I got lucky that you were here.”

Suddenly it all clicked in Dani’s head. “So it was you who was in my dream last night!” A glint from the floor caught her eye. The picture frame! Upon closer inspection, she saw that the frame had fractured and the glass covering had shattered all across the floor. It would be a pain to clean up. Pain. Sharp. That sharp edge could be a weapon.

His face grew tight. “You remember. How odd.”

Despite the fact that she had no control of her body movements, she was in total control of her mind. She had to keep him talking. If she could get him comfortable enough, then he might relax the mental hold he had on her body. Then she would have to be quick and squeeze out from under him and grab that frame. She shifted her weight minutely to the right, hoping that the …werewolf, ruber lupus… above her would not notice.

“Yes, I remember. There was a song as well. Something about the moon?”

His face changed then, and he became almost pleasant. “A song, yes. It is remarkable that you can recall such detail. I was sure you were asleep when I came.”

His thighs rested against her bare hip loosely, detachedly. Again she shifted, only this time she did so while locking her eyes onto his. She did, after all, have to maintain some sort of credible hapless-damsel look. “Oh I was asleep. I only thought it was a dream. I never saw anyone, but I could hear your voice.” A pause. “You sounded different than you do now, though.”

He laughed. His legs tightened momentarily. “Silly girl. Of course I did. Everyone sounds different when they are speaking telepathically.” Dani began to sweat, the cold dread creeping down her neck and between her breasts.

“Telepathically? You can really do that, speak through your mind?” she asked. It was such a fascinating ability. Daniel found herself entranced once again as an ungodly heat sprang into her abdomen where his skin made contact with hers. Her entire body went slack against the feathery pillows. Searing tentacles plunged within her veins, traveling higher and higher until that inferno planted itself deep within her skull. She was vaguely aware of the man’s hands on her body. His strong thick fingers working their way down her belly, following that graceful line until reaching her center.

Indeed I can. Tell me, beautiful, do you really think me so base? Do you think I do not know what you are doing? That I am oblivious?

Dani’s stomach sank straight to the floor. He knew. He knew she was trying to get away this very moment. Her might shouted shame, embarrassment, and then cried rage.

With a strangled cry of anger, Daniel thrust her hips forward, catching the heavy werewolf off balance. He toppled off to the side, but something was wrong. His face looked calm, passive, amused. In her rush, she cared not. Her only thought was to grab that broken frame and make her way towards the door. She allowed her body weight to sling her to the floor and then she rolled once, her eye caught on the shiny silver but her roll went too far and she felt the sharp sting of broken glass on her back. With a hiss she sat up, turning madly to grasp that broken shard.

Daniel gasped. “Where is it?”

“What?” a deep, throaty voice asked. “This?”

Daniel’s fiery hair flew around as she whipped her head to see the werewolf standing nude beside her bed. Her green eyes followed the thick line of Baron’s arm and rested on the piece of broken frame in his hand. Her face fell.

“Now look what you’ve done to yourself. A bloody mess. Tsk tsk.” Baron chided as he took the pieces of the broken frame and pressed them together. Technically he was a man since that’s what form he is in, she thought. She could see the look in his eyes when he saw the blood on the floor, on her back. Hunger. Pure and basic hunger. Oh God, she thought. He’s going to ravage me and then eat me. As he walked towards Daniel, who sat unmoving on the hardwood floor, he placed the repaired frame on her nightstand. “No more of that,” Baron said while stooping down to pick her up, his eyes becoming pure golden. Faintly she heard the beginnings of a growl within his throat and his fingers tightened rhythmically on her skin in an almost kneading fashion.

Once again Daniel found herself unable to move, his power obviously having a severe effect on her body. Or perhaps it was the presence of blood that enhanced his abilities. There had been something about blood mentioned in his song. In her daze she could smell him. Deep, powerful, and masculine. Spicy. Like the forest. She drowned in it, it was everywhere around her, inside her. She was bathed in everything that was him. While her mind reeled in a dream-like state, his hands were hot on her body, dragging his fingers through the cuts on her back, smearing the blood over her hot skin. His mouth trailed along her spine, up over her shoulder, and settled beneath her ear where it whispered in the tongue of his kind, she presumed. Soft was his voice, and yet the phrases were harsh by nature it seemed. What was this sorcery? How was it that she found herself totally helpless and beyond control? Her eyes slipped shut with the blinding pleasure he forced on her.

Daniel felt his hard body shift until she lay flat on her back, her wounds strangely soothed, and his massive weight above her. She briefly feared that he would crush her. Maybe he planned to kill her during this ‘breeding session’. Maybe it was all part of his plan. He seemed to sense her fright and stopped his tongue’s assault on her toned stomach.

“Am I hurting you?” his voice was arrogant once again.

“Yes,” Dani managed weakly.

“How? Where?”

“Get off me.”

His laughter was a whiplash on the already broken flesh of her back. “It is not a physical pain that I inflict then?” His weight shifted until he straddled her hips once more, the length of his desire standing proudly in front of his chiseled stomach. He leaned down, tongue extended to lick sloppily around her nipples, allowing a strand of saliva to connect from the hardened peak to his puckered lips. “I have only wounded your pride, eh?” he said, snatching her wandering gaze, before blowing on the moistened bud. Daniel shuddered in response, her eyes shutting on their own accord. The look was much to intimate. Something that should be shared between two lovers, not a woman and a werewolf.

“Why?” Her voice was so soft that even his enhanced hearing had to strain to pick it up.

“Why?” he repeated with annoyance. “I’ve already told you why. Don’t belabor it.”

“No…” she whispered again, as his power began to lace through her muscles and her free will began to slip farther and farther from her grasp. She could see only a tunnel of vision and it was narrowing on his eyes. Both hungry and demonic and staring back at her with nothing left to the imagination.

“Ahh, but it has already begun, my sweet human. It has already begun.” His voice changed, the deep smooth baritone grew more and more like velvet. Her vision finally blanked out, whether from her eyes being closed or from his awesome power, she couldn’t tell. She could, however, feel every touch on her body. His finger worked a pattern down her sides, making her muscles twitch and clench with need. She could feel the sweet ache between her thighs like a strong beating drum in her head. Baron seemed to notice because he slid his body down until he was suspended above her in a half-pushup position. She felt him press his groin into hers and heard that rumbling growl that shook the walls. There was a vague sound of a moan and Daniel realized it was her own breathy voice. She was enjoying this! Her body was enjoying every second of it. His position changed so that she was sitting and he was reclined on the pillows, almost completely on the flat of his back. Baron rearranged her legs so that they folded on either side of his waist and her groin rested on the bulge of his thighs.

Baron pink tongue licked his lips almost nervously. Dani stared down at him with nothing but adoration in her eyes. Suddenly she could see again.

“Stop doing that!” It was then that she saw her new position and she felt her stomach clench. The most unsettling part was that she didn’t know if it was in fear or excitement. She moved to get up, but his hands clasped on her thin waist and held her in place. She turned her green eyes back to glare at him. Any fear she had was suddenly replaced with something angry… something close to a need to overcome. Overcome what? Him?

Baron watched the emotion play across her face and then he laughed a bark, something that was not a sound of happiness, but not of anger either. More like anxiety, tension. “You are already beginning to change. How interesting.”

“Change? What are you talking about?” She was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Baron didn’t answer. He merely looked at her with a face half amused and half … afraid. Afraid? Was that fear on his face?

“Well?” she asked. And once again he did not move to answer her. She felt something fierce and passionate and utterly destructive rise up within her. It began beneath her chest and rose up her spine, slithering between her vertebrae until she wanted to scream in a primal rage, but instead she channeled it and let it build and build until it surfaced between her eyes and she felt like a knife plunged into her neck, down her spine. Then she screamed. Her spine bowed back and she felt Baron’s hands clench tighter, felt his mouth hot on her throat, kissing, licking, comforting her. How it was comforting was beyond her rational mind now. Nothing was rational. It was all heat, passion, and touch. She needed to be touched, anchored in place or she was going to be ripped apart. Baron seemed to sense this because his hand slid around her back and began to knead her muscles and they felt like they would burst into flames. Again she screamed, but this time it felt different, strange, alien to all her senses. But those changed too, she felt the air around her become tastes, smells, and sights. Things that she had never been able to sense before.

“What have you done?” Dani asked, her head tilted back. But her voice was different. It was a growl and it shook the walls with a different vibration than before. She felt her hands clench onto Baron’s strong, thick, warm forearms and squeeze her nails into his hot flesh. Daniel felt that smooth, perfect flesh part and smelled the hot, liquid fire of his blood. Just the smell made her gut tighten. She heard him hiss at the pain and then growl and suddenly the room upended and she was on her back again with him above her.

“You have begun to change,” Baron said, though his voice was now that velvet sensation that had sent her to her knees before. She clung to him, kissed and bit and scratched until he laughed that half bark, half growl and forced her back into the softness of the sheets. His lips met hers and in that instant she melted. The softness of those lovely red tinged lips were everything to her. She felt his tongue slip out to caress the line of her lips. Immediately she opened her mouth for him and returned his caress. Then it became a heated, passionate battlefield. He pressed against her mouth with a bruising force and she didn’t care. Dani’s hands reached around his back, pressing him harder into her. She gasped as he ground his hips into her and she felt his hardness.

Baron chuckled, making her head spin with that liquid velvet sensation. His hand slipped between them and touched the red silk of her underwear. He slid down the length of her body, letting his tongue lick every inch of the way. His hands played along the insides of her thighs, tickling the edge of the crimson silk. Daniel trembled with the urge to not scream. Baron’s mouth found the top of her panties and his tongue dipped just beyond, leaving a hot trail on her abdomen. He tugged gently at the material and Dani lifted her hips so he could strip her of the last piece of clothing that lie between them. She heard the faint thump of the heavy silk hitting the well but her attention was stanched by Baron’s cool breath blowing on the trail of moisture he had licked only seconds ago. His palms rested against her soft flesh, pushing her thighs apart and allowing him to dip his tongue between them. He blew on the already glistening flesh and let his lips kiss the flesh of her thigh again. Dani nearly screamed with the need to release. Baron sensed her impatience and chuckled, sending that vibrating wave outward and letting his trembling lips rest against her crotch. Daniel gasped and fisted her hands in the sheets. Baron flicked his tongue out in a slow, slow motion until the very tip came to rest on the hardened nub of her clitoris. He began to encircle it with agonizing slowness. Dani’s stomach muscles clenched and spasmed until she sat up and reached for him. Before she could grab his face, Baron slipped his tongue deep inside, making her freeze before thrusting her hips wildly into his face. He grabbed her hips and held her against the bed, still maintaining the slow motions of his tongue. Dani felt the heat surge forward and rise up to claim her and then Baron’s tongue withdrew.

“What the?” she breathed. But as soon as she looked down Baron had himself poised above her, ready. She had one moment to think before he spread her legs as wide as they could go, holding them against the bed with his hands clenched around her thighs, before he plunged deep within her. Every sensation was magnified until she couldn’t tell the difference between pain and pleasure. Baron held his rhythmic slowness until Dani leaned forward to meet his face, their eyes in perfect alignment.

“I won’t break,” she said, her eyes going from green to an emerald fire that shone brightly even in the dimmed lightness of the afternoon. Baron’s eyes followed her lead, turning completely amber and glowing like an angry star. His rhythm faltered and became ragged and needy. Baron wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her forward onto him. Dani responded by lifting her legs and wrapping them around his back to lock in place. She nearly hissed at the sensation. It was sharper this way; the sensation of him deep inside her was harsher. Her mouth dropped open in a pant. Baron echoed her and together they found a rhythm that intensified that heated velvet and Dani felt him swell within her and it sent that rising tide over the edge. She cried out as her walls convulsed around him. Baron released his own growl and then he fell back, letting Dani remain on top of his slick chest. They lay there together, panting in the aftermath, with him still inside of her and her tongue licking the salty sweat off his chest.

Baron chuckled. Dani frowned. “What?” she asked.

“I had no idea that you would be that powerful.”

“Me powerful? I didn’t do anything.”

He shook his head. “Oh but you did, beautiful. You took in my power like you would drink until you exploded. I was only expecting to give you enough to heal your wounds, but you siphoned enough energy to Shift.”

Dani didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean Shift?”

Baron sat up, bringing her with him in his arms. “It means, Daniel, that you are now able to take on two forms. You have the ability to be woman or wolf.”

Dani paled. “You mean I’m a… I’m a werewolf?”

“If that is what you want to call it, yes.” Then he pulled away from her, disconnecting their bodies and tugging her down to lie beside him. “It also means that you are my mate for life.” Dani stiffened. She could not believe this. What had happened? How had things gone so wrong?

“Why did you do this to me?”

Baron laughed, but it was a cold, emotionless laugh. “It was not I that gave you this power. You took it on your own. It is no fault of mine that you have become one of my kind.” He leaned into her and nuzzled the flesh of her throat. “You should be happy, my queen, that you are so gifted.”

“Gifted?” she asked. “People will think I’m a freak!”

“Then come back with me. Be my queen and live with the others of our kind.” He pressed his lips of velvet to her throat, letting that pink tongue caress the hollow above her chest. “I will teach you how to control the beast. I will show you what kinds of powers you possess.”

Dani tilted her head back and let those velvet lips dance over her skin. “Show me. Shift for me.” His lips vanished and Dani opened her eyes to see his chocolate brown ones. He was completely back to his original form.

“Are you certain you want to see?” His face, his eyes, and his body were all seriousness, no pretense.

Dani nodded, not breaking eye contact with him. “Yes.”

Baron stood from the bed looked at her, met her eyes. “As my lady wishes.” And then his body began to transform. Daniel watched through half fearful, half mesmerized eyes as his flesh bubbled and began to slide freely over the hard muscles of his body. He threw his head back and clenched his now clawed fingers into fists that could punch through a man’s skull. Gradually his shape began to change until those clenched fists became giant paws, that boxy head grew an elongated muzzle. Within minutes she had a wolf the size of a pony in her bedroom.

She watched those amber eyes follow her as she crawled to the foot of the bed. Daniel reached a hand out and stroked the soft fur of his head. She vaguely wondered if he could still speak. I would be difficult since the jaw was not meant for it, but it was possible. She smiled suddenly and swung her legs down from the bed so that they dangled above the floor. She scooted her hips to the edge of the bed and spread her legs with her hands, watching his amber eyes flick to that slick wetness between her thighs.

“Come here puppy. Come clean up your queen.” She felt before she heard that rumbling bass that was his voice. At first it sounded like a growl but it faded into an amused chuckle. So he was capable of some speech. Dani gasped as she felt that feather soft fur stroke along her inner thighs. The sensation of his cool nose made her gut ache with need. She felt his intake of breath and the cool wind as he exhaled.

That heavy, rumbling bass filled her head as she made out the words: “My queen.”

It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, certainly a fate better than death. Besides, it would be a fascinating topic for her new novel. Dani gasped and let her body fall back against the bed as Baron’s rough tongue dipped between her thighs.

Not a fate worse than death indeed.