Claimed by the Wolf Read online

  He turned toward it, touched the tattoo on his chest, and Sybil heard a soft whoosh and felt her ears pop as the pressure in the room abruptly shifted. The door became solid again. She blinked, then got up, and went over to touch it. It felt as real as it looked.

  'Thanks”

  “We will erase as many signs of what went on here as we can,” His hard tone made it clear that he wasn't doing her any favors. He had his own agenda and this just happened to fit in it.

  Sybil nodded. Then frowned. “Um, how?”

  “It's a simple spell, elementary magic. You are a witch, aren't you?”

  “Yes and no.” Sybil blew out a breath, shooting a stray lock of hair out of her eyes in the process. “I'm an apprentice”

  “Apprentice.” He gave her a skeptical look. “You don't look like a child.”

  “I'm an adult. They just haven't taught me much.”

  “They?”

  My coven. They let me join because, well, it's hereditary.”

  “Hereditary.”

  Sybil blew her hair back again with a short huff, “Are you going to just stand there repeating everything I say while we wait to see if I'm going to spontaneously combust?”

  “Do you think you might?”

  He said it so deadpan, Sybil felt her heart jump. “Is that a real possibility?”

  “With demon magic, anything is possible.” He looked her over intently. “Explain why you are a hereditary witch with no training.”

  “It's not because my coven's lazy or incompetent,” Sybil said, feeling defensive. “It's just that they think if I don't know anything, T can't do any harm. Also, if I'm an active member of the coven with apprentice status, they can keep an eye on me.”

  The man-wolf tilted his head as he considered her. “Why would they fear you’d do harm?”

  “Prophecy,” Sybil said bluntly. “It's dumb. Way back in ancient history somebody prophesied that a witch of my line is supposed to end the world. So all of us, generation after generation, get brought into the coven and stuck with doing errands and odd jobs.

  It's a complete waste of talent.”

  “And yet here you are, the holder of ancient demon magic many would kill to possess.”

  Sybil swallowed hard, “Are you saying I'm going to destroy the world because a book I bought at a yard sale made me?” If she'd heard a wild statement like that this morning, she would have laughed. Now it didn’t seem funny.

  “I won't let you.”

  “That sounds ominous.” She rubbed her arms, remembering the spells scaring their way into her, “I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why you came bursting in here in the first place?”

  “You opened a gate to the shadow realms,” he answered, “I guard those gates.”

  “It made me say a spell,” Sybil said, “Is that what opened the gate?”

  “Yes. And that particular spell could only have come from the lost book. It was simple to trace the magic to its source find you.”

  “Simple for anybody besides you?” Sybil asked the question in a small voice.

  “If any others have been watching for the book, they know where to find it now.”

  “Right.” She tried not to hyperventilate, wondering what else could come through her door that would be worse than a timber wolf. The man-wolf took her elbow. She started at the contact.

  “Time to go,” he said.

  “Right. I'm just trying to think where.”

  “Where is not up to you.”

  Before she could argue, some sort of mist swirled around both of them. When it cleared, her apartment was gone. Oakton was gone. She stared around at what looked very much like a desert and asked the obvious question “Where arc we?”

  *

  Kenric released the witch he'd taken in tow and resisted the urge to curse. Not only was She a witch, she had the book in her possession. Or rather, it possessed her. The distinction might have made her innocent of knowingly opening the sate, but it made her no less a threat.

  His fellow guardians had gone after creatures who had taken advantage of the opening to enter the mortal world. He had gone after the one who made the opening.

  After all this time, the demon book had finally reappeared. At last it could be destroyed, the threat it posed ended.

  But the thing had eluded him, slipping from his grasp arid hiding in the lithe body of the witch. As if the witch wasn't already dangerous enough without it.

  He took a moment to study the source of his frustration. She was interesting to look at, arresting rather than pretty. Even without the invisible nimbus of power that crackled around her, she had a presence that attracted attention. What would his fellow guardians make of her?

  She was tall and slender, with hair streaked in shades of sun and sand that fell in locks and whorls around her face. One seamed determined to cover her left eye, leaving him looking at one blue orb and three quarters of her features, including an upturned nose and a pointed chin beneath full lips settled in a stubborn line “Not answering?” Her well-shaped mouth moved as he watched. Her face was mobile and expressive, and her brain seemed to jump topics faster than a rabbit. “Okay, next question. How’d you turn into a wolf?”

  “The usual way,” he said.

  She ran blunt-nailed fingers through her hair. “The usual way. Right. I suppose if you told me, you'd have to kill me. Can you at least tell me your name?”

  “Kenric”

  “Kenric.” She repeated it, tilting her chin to look up at him. She wasn't petite, but he stood a head above her. “I'm Sybil”

  Those words hung for a moment as if she was waiting for a response. When she didn't get one, she moved on. “So, now I have this thing inside me.” She shuddered, then wrapped her arms around her middle. “How do we get it out?”

  “Why do you assume I'll help you?”

  She shrugged, narrow shoulders rising and falling “You didn't bring me along with you out of a desperate need for feminine companionship. You seem to know a lot more than I do, and you broke my door to come after it, not me. I’m sure you have your own agenda, but when it comes to the book, you want it and I don't. I'd say we share a common goal.”

  “How do you know I don't just want to use it, or you?”

  “If you'd wanted to use it, you could have just grabbed it and ran when I opened the circle”

  “Maybe I'm trying to keep you off balance,” Kenric said.

  “Don't think so.” She seemed unconcerned. “Is there an oasis around here?”

  “Yes.” He indicated the right direction. She started off. He followed. Barely a moment passed before her voice trailed back to him.

  “Not that I'm complaining about the view, but aren't you worried about getting sunburned in awkward places?”

  “No.”

  “A man of few words. Or are you actually a wolf?”

  “Keep walking.”

  She sighed and did so. He didn't expect her silence to last long. He could practically feel more questions pulsing from her. But she managed to stay quiet until they climbed a rise and the oasis came into view below.

  “Oh. Pretty!” Her pace quickened, although her feet sank and slid in the sand.

  He supposed it was. The small body of water sparkled in the sun, the deep blue providing striking contrast to the wild-flowers, juniper, and acacia growing around the Water's edge. A red-tailed hawk circled overhead, seeking prey. Kenric envied it. The hawk's hunt would end in satisfaction.

  He watched the woman in front of him skirt around native plants until she found a rock outcropping to perch on.

  “This is great” She waved an enthusiastic hand “I had no idea there was so much life in the desert.”

  “There is life everywhere.”

  “Well, yeah. I guess.” She drew her knees up and rested her pointed chin on them.

  “It’s just that I thought it would be all empty sand it isn't. Lots of different kinds of plants. Animal burrows.”

  “Noisy witches.”


  She gave him a look that was somewhat hampered by the hair over her eye. “You, of course, have no flaws.”

  He responded with silence.

  “So, arc you a lycan . . . a werewolf?”

  If he was a wolf, she'd stop pelting him with questions. Kenric let action follow thought and shifted form.

  “I'll take that as a yes.” She leaned back to watch the hawk.

  The mixed scents of animals and plants exploded around him, tinged with the smells of water and earth. Overlaying everything was the distinctive perfume of witch and woman, redolent with herbs and magic.

  Breathing her in was worse than talking to her. The inescapable essence of female assaulted his nose. He'd been aware enough of her as a man. As a wolf, his senses took in even more detail. That heightened awareness would carry over when he shifted again. He didn't want to think of her as anything but the obstacle that stood between him and his prey, that damned book that had escaped him twice.

  Annoyed, he turned away to catch the trail of a rabbit.

  Sybil followed the flight of a bird and wondered what it had spotted. A mouse? She imagined the sharp eyes, the patient waiting rewarded with opportunity, the dive, talons outstretched.

  Her sympathies were with the, mouse. She felt small and vulnerable, exposed and defenseless. If the wolf was right, something like the bird of prey could be watching her now. Or would be soon. At any moment, an unknown magical predator could sight her.

  The prophecy she’d once considered ridiculous and alarmist now seemed a lot more serious. If she allowed destructive power to fall into the wrong hands, wouldn't it be her fault if got used?

  Today's events didn't change her mind about her determination to learn. The coven was still wrong. If she'd had more training, she might have recognized the book of shadows for what it was. She’d have known demonic work when she tripped over it.

  She might have been able to defend herself. Instead, her lack of knowledge and experience made her perfect tool. She had enough latent power to perform demon magic without the skills that might have made her the master of it instead of the victim.

  If the coven had planned it for centuries, they couldn't have come up with a better way to make the prophecy a reality. The irony of it made Sybil want to groan out loud.

  She glanced over at the huge wolf, it didn't look any less intimidating on further acquaintance. Kenric was sniffing the air, his stance alert. She wondered if he sensed danger, and how much of a danger he posed himself At least he'd taken her into the middle of nowhere, it suited her to be far away from a population center. She felt like a ticking bomb. The further away she was from people, the fewer she could hurt. If Kenric was telling her the truth, she'd al ready endangered the world by opening a gale that should have stayed closed.

  Thinking about that made anxiety rise, bringing with it a sick wave of heat. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing, to relax, to not panic. But instead of dissipating, the heat became a fever that pulsed through her. The memory of seeing symbols branded into her skin made her eyes fly open. She raised her arms, frantically checking to see if she was displaying a spell Nothing marred her bare arms. Except a red flush she hadn’t been in the sun long enough to warrant. The heat grew more intense and Sybil shuddered, then gasped as flame engulfed her arms.

  “Help! Fire!” She threw herself off the rock outcropping and dropped into the sand, rolling as she shouted the words. But stop, drop, and roll didn't have the desired effect.

  She kept rolling until she hit the waters edge and plunged her arms in, hoping nothing dangerous lurked under the surface. Instead of feeling a soothing cool, the sensation of heat intensified. She pulled her arms back out and stared at the fire licking her skin.

  Male hands settled on her shoulders and moved down, smoothing away the flame.

  Or maybe just coaxing it back below the surface; she felt like a glowing stove full of banked coals, His hands stopped when they covered hers, exerting a light pressure that felt comforting.

  “All right?”

  The deep voice spoke near her ear. Kenric was right behind her, a man once again and wearing only skin. He might be a wolf, but he was all male. The knowledge sent a shiver of awareness through her.

  “Um,” she managed. “Maybe spontaneous combustion isn't off the table.”

  “You didn't combust. You're not burned.”

  Now that he pointed it out, Sybil realized he was right.” It feels like I'm burning inside,” she said. “Like a fever.”

  Kenric’s hands stroked their way back up to her shoulders, then down again. She made a restless movement in an attempt to shrug oft the prickles of heat and rubbed herself against his naked torso in the process. It fell far too good.

  “Ah, Sorry,” she muttered.

  “Does it help to move?”

  “Yes. No.” Sybil frowned and tried hard to stay still. The urge to slide back and press closer to him seemed a lot more likely to scorch her than phantom fire.

  “Which?”

  She blew out a breath, dislodging the curl that always fell over her eye. “Neither.

  You should probably let go of me.

  “His hands tightened on her “Should I?”

  “Look, this is embarrassing, but you’re making me hotter.” The blunt words were out before she could think better of it.

  “Hotter.” He sounded thoughtful. Hands caressed her Arms, making his incredibly aware of the sensitive inner hollows at her wrists and elbows, and sending a different heat flaring.

  “Yes.” The word came out nearly in a pant.

  “Then it may be best to fight fire with fire. You need focus and a release.”

  He was so not helping Sybil closed her eyes and fought to keep from flinging herself at him. That became much more difficult when his hands skated along her shoulders and down the front of her until his fingertips brushed the upper swells of her breasts. The sleeveless top she wore didn’t seem like much of a barrier. The flimsy bra underneath was more of a seductive tease than a shield for modesty.

  “This is a bad idea,” Sybil said.

  “Because I'm a werewolf?”

  She arched her back to thrust herself into his hands. “I was thinking more because we can't really trust each other and you might have to kill me to destroy the book.”

  He caressed her breasts and teased her nipples with his palms. “Trust isn't necessary for this.”

  The intimate contact made her crave more. The need for release had never felt more urgent. And it wasn't like they had a better option. Sybil surrendered to the moment and fed the heat inside her into his touch.

  Three

  Fighting fire with fire wasn't cooling her off, so Sybil reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up. Kenric helped and between the two of them they bared her torso except for her sheer scrap of a bra. It wasn't much, but the small triangles of fabric trapped heat against her Skin so she fumbled for the front clasp and sighed with relief when it opened.

  “Small,” Kenric muttered, tracing the underside of her breasts with his fingers.

  “Maybe, but right now they're naked,” Sybil said. The words came out in a low, throaty tone.

  “Observation. Not complaint or comparison.” Clever hands found nerve endings and played them to blistering effect.

  “Whatever.” She turned to face him and caught sight of his penis, now fully erect and taut against his belly. “You're not disinterested.” More heat kindled inside her and flared out. She pressed her body into his, willing to let him smother the fire with bare flesh.

  His hands closed on her waist, pulling her closer. 'I’m male. You're female.”

  “You noticed that? I did, too.” She arched her back, enjoying the sensation of his muscled flesh against her naked breasts.

  “I noticed you have more on than me.”

  “Hmm, you’re right. That doesn't seem fair.”

  Kenric's grip shifted as he lowered her onto her back beside the water. F
ingers found the snap and zip at the waistband of her khakis, opened both. The air that touched her exposed belly did nothing to cool her down.

  One thought, however, did.

  “Is this another spell taking over?” Sybil stared at Kenric, alarmed by rhe possibility because even if it was, she didn't think she could stop. He didn't seem inclined to, either.

  “Its energy seeking an outlet,” he answered, “Better to give it one of your choosing than risk it taking the path of least resistance.”

  She raised a brow at him. “I'm not feeling much resistance here.”

  “Good.” He lowered his head to her and Sybil sighed in pleasure as she felt his lips skint the valley between her breasts. Nice, but . . .

  “Your aim is off.”

  “My aim is perfect.” He continued downward in a straight path, his, breath sending shivers of delight through her as it tantalized her bare skin, A smile tugged at her lips as she realized he was right. As much as she’d like to have his mouth exploring her upper curves, she was half-crazed to feel it right where he was heading.

  When he reached her navel, the tip of his tongue teased the sensitive recess. Hidden nerve endings sparked to life. The wicked caress made her hips move in silent urging as desire for more turned hotter.

  He worked her pants down her hips with her enthusiastic cooperation, then leaned back and pulled until they reached her ankles. She quivered as his fingers followed the lower edge of her panties from her hips to her inner thighs. The tips of his fingers slid underneath the fabric, and she groaned as she felt him brush so close to her sex that anticipation made her jerk.

  It was crazy. She didn't know him, didn't know where they were, who might be watching. And she didn't care. The sand underneath her felt cool against her heated skin, and the friction it created when she moved amplified her reaction, adding another frisson of stimulation.

  If anything could take her mind off the fact she was currently possessed and a real threat to herself and others, a good orgasm ranked right up with a bomb going off for distraction quotient. Also, if the conflagration under her skin was energy seeking an outlet, an orgasm seemed like the safest channel.

  Saved by sex, she thought, and then stopped thinking as his hands moved to the insides of her knees and pressed out, making an open diamond of her legs.