“Of course. He said that he stayed in
the village to make sure that you were all
right because he felt responsible for
Grandma Stacia hurting you.”
Maralee’s eyes widened. She looked
down at Nash who was avoiding her eyes.
“It was your mother who bit me?”
He emitted a murmur of a howl and
Carsha looked up at her.
“What
did
he
say?”
Maralee
prompted.
“He said that it was for Cort.”
“Cort?”
Carsha’s lower lip trembled. “My
daddy,” she whispered.
“Her son.”
No wonder the woman hated her so
much. And Carsha hated her as well. She
deserved their malice. Maralee sank to the
floor and drew her knees up to her chest.
How would she ever atone for these
grievous sins? How many Wolves had she
killed in her lifetime? Three hundred?
Five hundred? She wasn’t even sure
anymore. How many had she left behind to
mourn the loss of their loved ones? How
many
families
had
been
totally
annihilated?
“I don’t know what to do,” Maralee
murmured, arms tightening around herself,
as she tried to keep the pain from bursting
from her chest. “How can I be allowed to
live when I have caused so much
suffering?”
Nash trotted over to her. He laid his
heavy head on her knees. He howled
forlornly and Carsha hugged him, before
translating. “He says he would have done
the same to protect his people. You cannot
be blamed for protecting yours.”
“How can you say that?” Maralee
shouted, startling both Nash and Carsha. “I
killed them. Every single Wolf I ever
encountered. There had to be another way
to protect people. You must know how,
Nash. Tell me what to do. I can’t stop
protecting people, but I can’t kill Wolves
anymore. How can we end this? Please,
Nash, you have to tell me how!”
He shook his head and lowered his
eyes. Maralee pushed away from him
angrily.
“You won’t tell me,” she said
incredulously. “I ask you to show me how
to stop killing your people and you won’t
tell me your secret? Why?”
“He doesn’t know,” Carsha said. “He
is a Wolf Guardian. See the mark on his
face. It looks like a crescent moon. The
Full Moon Curse does not affect him. Not
since he was born. The rest of us go
crazy.”
Nash lowered his head as if ashamed.
“If it doesn’t affect you, then there has
to be a way to stop it from affecting the
others,” Maralee said reasonably. “Nash,
why don’t you just return to your human
form and talk to me?”
He turned his back on her. He lay
down on the floor, closing his eyes as if
he were going to sleep.
“He won’t ever be human again,”
Carsha said.
“Is he stuck this way or something?”
“No,” Carsha said, laying down
beside her uncle and using him as a furry
pillow. “It is because you made him
ashamed of who he is.”
Nash growled.
“What did he say now?”
“He told me to stop blaming you for
everything,”
Carsha
murmured,
her
eyelids growing heavy.
Nash stood up, disrupting the girl’s
impending sleep. He murmured something
to her. She stood up, before crawling onto
his back. He trotted over to the door and
whined, obviously wanting to be let out.
“Where are you going?” Maralee
asked.
“Uncle Nash says that he needs to take
me home because my mother will worry.”
“Are you coming back?” she asked
him, her heart thudding in her throat.
moment before unlocking the door and
opening it for him. She closed it again
before he could exit.
“Wait! I’m coming with you,” she said
impulsively. The thought of being without
him, even if he were to remain a Wolf
forever, was more than she could stand.
He barked at her angrily and she
flinched. He was obviously refusing her
company, but she pretended she didn’t
understand. She went to the small
wardrobe to find her clothes. Nash rushed
over to the wardrobe and closed it with
his nose, Carsha clinging to his back.
Maralee looked down at him. Her eyes
flooded with tears.
“Please don’t leave me, Nash.
Please.” She was trembling, her stomach
clenching, her throat closing off her supply
of air. “I am so lost and alone when you
are away.” She sank to her knees to hug
him. “Please. I love you. Let me stay with
you.”
Fur melted into smooth, warm skin.
Nash’s arms wrapped around her waist.
Carsha made a sound of protest as she slid
off his back to the floor.
Having grown accustomed to his Wolf
form,
Maralee
had
forgotten
how
magnificently handsome he was. She
gazed up at him, never wanting to close
her eyes again for fear of missing one
precious glimpse.
“You silly woman,” he murmured.
“How can you love a Wolf?”
His voice, so smooth and deep—the
sound made her heart warm.
“How can I not?”
He smiled, not the crooked one that
made her heart thud with excitement, but a
wide, genuine smile. Her breath caught in
the happiness that suffused her.
“Oh Nash,” she said. “I do love you. I
do.”
He kissed her then. Her soul lifted to
the clouds. Carsha’s timid giggle brought
them back to their senses.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he promised.
“You are still recovering and it wouldn’t
be fair to Rella to wait until morning to
take Carsha home.”
The thought of him leaving still filled
her with loneliness and dread, but she
nodded in understanding. Hearing the
words from his lips made her more
inclined to believe he would return. He
kissed her once again, making her sigh
with pleasure, and then reverted to his
Wolf form. It was an amazing sight,
watching him melt effortlessly into a large
black Wolf.
“Wow, Uncle Nash!” Carsha said.
“How can you transform in front of a
human?”
He said something to her in their
language.
Carsha giggled. “She must be spec
ial
for sure.”
Carsha climbed onto Nash’s back once
again and Maralee wrapped her arms
around his neck.
“Hurry back to me, love,” she
whispered into his ear. “I want you to
make love to me for hours and hours.”
He whined. Maralee didn’t require a
translation
to
know
that
he
was
anticipating the same thing. She released
him regretfully and moved to open the
door for him. This time she let him leave
for she knew he would return. She trusted
him. With her life. With her heart.
CHAPTER 30
Maralee did not sleep well that night.
She kept imagining she heard Nash’s
return. Several times, she climbed from
her bed and padded down the hallway to
the front door, but he was never there. She
had placed her faith in that man, made him
responsible for her happiness. She had
never depended on anyone before. The
idea of doing so now made her a tad
crazy. What would she do if he realized he
couldn’t love a killer? Questions like
these had her staring at darkness well into
She wasn’t sure when she finally fell
asleep, but she was aware of the exact
moment she woke up. A cold nose pressed
against her neck and a warm tongue bathed
her skin just below it. She smiled and
burrowed her fingers into his thick fur.
“Nash,” she murmured drowsily.
He licked her ear, making her giggle.
She opened her eyes to find it was still
dark, although dawn was threatening.
“And I was worried you wouldn’t
return.”
He melted into his human form and
touched her face. “Do you really want me
to make love to you?” he whispered as if
in awe.
“So that’s why you returned,” she said,
grinning.
“No,
I
would
have
returned
regardless. That’s why I ran.”
She laughed and pulled him down on
top of her. He kissed her eagerly, stealing
her breath with his passion. She clung to
him, desperate to keep him near.
“This is a bad idea,” he said, while
his hand moved under her hospital gown
to stroke her breast.
“Why do you say that?” she asked, her
hands finding the naked skin of his back,
his firm buttocks.
“The way you call my name when you
get excited will certainly alert Doctor
Witha Crush to our antics.”
“I do not call your name,” she said,
knowing she spoke a lie. “Well, I do, but I
can be quiet if I try.”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, removing
her gown with very little effort. “I can
wait...” He shifted downward to suckle
her breasts, stroke her belly, her thighs.
“…for at least five minutes.”
“Did you lock the door?” she asked.
This wasn’t exactly the ideal place for
this, but she wanted him. Desperately.
“Damn,” he muttered.
He stumbled from the bed and moved
to the door. He locked it, leaving the key
in the lock. She lifted her head to look at
him, drinking in the sight of his perfect
body in the dim light. He stood over her,
gazing at her with love and desire.
“I want to taste every inch of your
skin,” he murmured.
“Yes,” she agreed, lying back weakly
upon her pillows at the mere thought.
“Don’t make me wait any longer.”
He approached the end of the bed
where he licked her toes and the insoles of
her feet.
“That
tickles,”
she
murmured,
wiggling her toes.
He licked her ankle, her calf, the back
of her knee. She sighed with pleasure as
he made his way slowly up her thigh. He
expected her to try to stop him when his
tongue moved to the sensitive flesh
between her thighs but she merely opened
up to him with a shudder of pleasure.
“Oh Nash,” she whispered, trying to
be quiet.
He moved his tongue against her until
her breathing quickened and she was near
her climax and then he continued his
journey up her body.
“Why did you stop?” she asked,
shuddering when his tongue dipped into
her navel.
When he reached her breasts, she
buried her fingers in his thick hair to hold
him near.
“This feels familiar,” she sighed, “and
wonderful.”
He continued upwards again. Just as
his tongue touched her lower lip, he
paused. His heart thudded out of control.
Did she truly accept him for what he was?
“Do you still think I’m horrible?” he
asked.
“How can you ask me that?” she
whispered, lifting her head to kiss him.
“At one time, you said—”
She covered his mouth with her
fingers. “I didn’t understand. Your
physical form doesn’t matter. You’re you.
You’re Nash. I love you.”
He wanted to believe her words.
Needed a physical connection to validate
the emotional one.
“Can I move inside of you now?”
“Do you need to ask?” she whispered.
Her hand worked its way between
their bodies to stroke the hardened length
of him. She knew just how to touch him.
He’d forgotten how intoxicating lust could
be—how quickly she consumed him.
His head fell back and he sighed with
bliss. “I thought you would take a
submissive stance when you were ready.”
“On my knees?”
He gasped when she guided him to her
beckoning warmth. He slid inside of her
marginally and she moved her hand away.
The feral growl he emitted made her body
spasm.
“I prefer this way. I can watch your
face,” she whispered.
As he sank into her body slowly, he
lost his train of thought.
When he had filled her completely, he
paused and looked down at her. He found
her head tilted back in wonder, eyes
closed. She wasn’t watching his face at
all.
“Does it hurt?”
She forced her eyes open to look at
him. “I’ve never experienced anything so
glorious in all of my life.”
When he began to move within her,
she gasped, her back arching in ecstasy.
“Except that,” she amended. “Oh Nash.
Nash!”
“Shh,” he murmured with a smile,
taking her faster and deeper, grinding into
her. He withdrew completely until she
moaned a p
rotest and he buried himself
within her again.
She bit her lip, keeping her cries of
bliss locked inside of her, until unable to
keep quiet, she grabbed the back of his
head and kissed him heatedly to keep her
mouth occupied. He added to her
excitement, knowing exactly how to
please her. His fingers glided between her
thighs to find a nub of sensitive, engorged
flesh. He stroked her there, his rhythm in
perfect time with her racing heart.
Caught in his own bliss, he tore his
mouth away from hers, forgetting to touch
her, forgetting everything but the pleasure
and urgency. With one final deep thrust, he
let go, barely aware that he had cried out
in triumphant ecstasy. Maralee’s gasping,
answering cry told him she had found
release as well. He collapsed on top of
her. She wrapped her arms around him,
holding him close as they drifted back to
their senses.
The doorknob turned from outside,
followed by a rapid knock. Maralee
ignored the summons. She cupped Nash’s
sweaty face to kiss him. “I love you,” she
murmured, surprised that her eyes were
wet with tears. Perhaps she would
conceive a child this time. The thought
filled her with remarkable joy.
“I love you,” he answered.
“Maralee!” Jared called from outside
the door. “Answer me. Are you hurt? I
thought I heard you cry out.”
She giggled. Nash moved away from
her before taking his Wolf form again.
“I’m fine, Jared,” she called loudly. “I
just need a moment of privacy.”
“Is there someone in there with you?”
he asked.
“Just Nash.”
Nash barked loudly to announce his
presence and Maralee wrapped both arms
around his broad, furry neck.
“There’s a package for you here.
Thomas Starling just brought it over from
the post,” Jared called through the door.
Maralee sat up abruptly. “Is it from my
aunt?” she asked, climbing from the bed to
find something to cover her nakedness.
She found her discarded hospital gown
and haphazardly tossed it back on. Nash
watched her drowsily, curled up on her
bed with his head on both paws.
“Will you just open the door?” Jared
said impatiently.
“Just a minute,” she said. “I’ll be right
there.”
Maralee opened the door. Jared stared
at her, mouth hanging open, and dropped
her package. It was rectangular and heavy.
A thrill of excitement raced through her.
She squatted down and picked it up before
Jared had recovered. She gazed up at him,