Lycan It

Chapter Thirteen

Raze’s heart thundered, and his skin crawled with fingers of dread. If it came between Damon and him biting Janine to change her, it would be him even if it meant she would hate him. Raze tried not to let his gaze travel to Janine’s torn shirt. The fact that Damon had his hands on her at all sent an inferno of rage pounding through his veins.

He walked toward Damon and Janine slowly. “I’ll do it.”

“I knew you’d come around, Raze. You’ve always been the chivalrous, white horse riding type,” Damon mocked.

“Janine. Please tell me you won’t hate me.” Raze’s breath stuck in his throat when she fixed her wide, blue eyes on him.

“It’s okay. If I have no choice, I would rather it be you. It’s not your fault. I won’t forget that.” She smiled and tears spilled down her cheeks.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as relief and grief washed through him. He was about to betray his mate, the one person in the whole world he was supposed to protect with his life. She’d made it very clear to him that she did not want to be changed. Hell, she couldn’t even fully accept what he was yet. He looked over his shoulder at Anthony and Brent, who’d remained silent during the confrontation with Damon.

They both nodded at him, and he was confident that Damon would be taken out the second the opportunity arose.

Raze stepped closer to Janine. He moved slow and kept his gait smooth so Damon wouldn’t feel threatened. He had no doubt that he would snap her neck without a second thought. He gave Janine a tight smile and focused on Damon.

“Let’s get this over with.” He itched to rearrange Damon’s face for him.

The situation was near unbearable. This was not how he wanted to change Janine. He’d hoped that, at some point in time, she would agree to let him change her, but not like this. He’d imagined a calm, cool, clear night in the woods, not unlike tonight, only he and she would have been alone. He would have held her in his arms, told her how much he loved her, and as they made love, he’d have claimed her completely.

Janine’s breath was sporadic, giving away her fear, but other than that, she looked at him with determination and acceptance of what was about to happen. She was a spectacular woman, and she was his. He stepped closer and Damon forced her head to the side.

“I don’t want you to hate me, Janine,” Raze whispered.

“The only way I will hate you is if you let this creep bite me instead of you.” She gave him a tremulous smile.

He was proud of how brave she was being. “I love you, Janine.” He couldn’t go through with this unless she knew how he felt.

She let out a small cry that sounded like a hiccup. “Oh, Raze.” Tears pooled in her eyes and made them sparkle. “I love you too.”

“Enough! Do it now!” Damon yelled.

“Do it, Raze,” she pleaded.

She loved him. She actually loved him. He’d never thought in a million years that she’d return the sentiment. He tilted his head, kissed her neck and licked at the silken skin. He breathed her scent deep into his lungs and it soaked into every muscle, every cell, every part of him. She’d be imprinted on him for as long as he lived, and lodged in his heart for eternity.

Every fiber of his being balked at what he was about to do. He opened his mouth and his canines elongated. He lowered his mouth closer, closer to Janine, but at the last moment, he sank his teeth into Damon’s arm and ripped a chunk of skin and muscle away from the bone. Damon screamed out his fury, and the split second of distraction allowed Raze to jerk Janine from his grasp and tumble her to the ground underneath him.

He tucked her close and rolled them a couple feet from Damon before helping her to her feet. By the time they stood, Brent and Anthony had Damon pinned to the ground. Damon snarled and howled, bit down on Brent’s arm, shifted and tried to flee, but the ancient lycans were too fast.

Brent changed and tackled Damon. Just as their bodies hit the ground, claws shot from Anthony’s fingertips and he sliced through the thick fur and skin of Damon’s neck, severing his jugular.

The wolf choked and shifted back into Damon’s human form where he lay in a puddle of blood. He gasped once and was quiet.

“Sorry, Raze. I know you wanted to take him out, but we couldn’t risk him getting away.” Brent had changed back to his human form and the injuries Damon had inflicted on him before he shifted were healed.

“No worries. I’m happy as long as Janine is safe.” He held her close and gave her a gentle squeeze.

“You both all right?” Anthony seemed restless.

“Yes.” Janine hung on tightly to Raze. “Thank you.”

Janine watched as Anthony and Brent disappeared into the woods. She shivered as the adrenaline rush from being scared started wearing off, and the cool night air settled into her bones.

“Let’s get back to the cabin.” Raze nudged her in the direction of their lodgings, but stayed close behind her.

She shivered again. Damon had deserved what he’d gotten, but it didn’t make what she’d witnessed any less tragic or terrifying. She was tired and a bit sore from being tossed around and manhandled. Worst of all was the way her head pounded from the hair Damon had ripped from her scalp when he’d first grabbed her.

“Yeah. I’m cold and tired.” She kept walking, and as the cabin came into sight, relief washed through her.

She couldn’t believe what had almost happened. She had thought Raze would change her, as Damon had demanded. Strangely, she hadn’t been that upset about the prospect. She’d been terrified at the thought of becoming a lycan, but it had become somewhat of a trivial matter when she thought Raze’s life was being threatened. When he’d offered himself up to Damon in exchange for her, she thought she’d have a panic attack.

The thought of Raze dying was more than she could bear, and at that moment, she’d come to realize that she never wanted to lose him, and if that meant becoming like him, so be it. To be honest, the wolf Raze shifted to was nearly as beautiful as he was in the flesh. She stopped, and he frowned at her.

“Something wrong?”

She nodded. “No. I was just wondering, since you are still naked and all .

. .” She boldly looked him up and down, then promptly blushed. “Well, I haven’t really seen you up close after, well, you know.”

He grinned, and before she could blink, a big, golden wolf stood in front of her. She gasped and kneeled. Standing, the wolf’s back nearly came to her waist. Kneeling, she was eye to eye with him. She tentatively reached out to touch the thick fur and hesitated a mere inch from it. Familiar gray eyes watched her, and she could have sworn he smiled, but wolves didn’t smile, did they?

It’s okay to touch me, Janine.

“Holy crap!” She snatched her arm back. “That really was you in my mind earlier, wasn’t it?”

Yes. We have to be able to communicate some way other than growling and howling while in wolf form.

“Oh.”

She stretched her hand toward him again, and let her fingers glide through the golden fur. It was wiry, but soft. She laughed when he nudged against her and she plopped back on her rear. She stroked him and he sat beside her. After a few moments, he shifted back to human form and stood before her with his hand outstretched.

She took it and he helped her up. “Thank you, Raze. What is it like?”

“It’s amazing. It’s like you become one with nature. You are free, and the constraints of humanity seem to disappear. The power that emanates through you is exhilarating, and it’s as if you are in sync with the world.” His eyes glowed as he tried to explain what being a wolf was like.

They made it to the cabin and stepped through the door before he firmly closed it behind them. She reached out and ran her fingers along the smooth line of his shoulder and down his chest. He groaned and leaned into her touch.

She stood on tiptoe and placed her lips against his. “Make love to me, Raze.”

She gasped as he took her to the floor right in front of the door and began tugging at her clothes. She had thought he’d take her to the bedroom, but was glad when he hadn’t, proving his need for her matched hers for him.

Once she was naked under him, he nudged her thighs wide until he could settle his hips between them. His cock bumped against her already slickened entrance, and his mouth claimed hers.

Their tongues danced, tasted, and mated, and he rocked against her. She arched her hips up off the floor, and he buried himself to the hilt with one smooth push. His strokes were bold, deep, and matched the rhythm of his tongue Her muscles clenched hard around him each time he retreated, and rejoiced when he slid back home.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked in perfect time with his thrusts. She dug her nails into his hard ass, anchoring herself for his possession. The pressure built deep inside, and she arched up and took him even deeper.

“Raze,” she panted.

“What?” His breathless answer told her in no uncertain terms that he was as affected as she by their lovemaking.

She looked up into his glowing eyes. “Change me. I want to be with you completely.”

He smiled down at her and took her mouth again. He reared back and thrust deep, and she cried out as her release exploded through her. Her muscles clamped down hard around him, and he growled as he joined her.

She could feel every rush of his hot seed as it shot from him into her womb, and could literally feel their souls intertwining. He was hers, and she was his.

Forever.

He carried her to the bed afterwards, and she lay snuggled against him.

“Why didn’t you change me?”

He gently stroked her hair. “You aren’t ready.”

He was probably right, but she was still willing to do it for him. She would have gotten used it, and she had no doubt that they’d be happy together. “Isn’t it hard for you not to change me?”

He smiled and kissed her. “Yes. My instincts scream at me to claim you, but I will never do anything that might cause you pain for my own selfish needs.”

“I love you, Raze.”

“I love you too, Janine.”

He’d sacrificed so much for her, risked his life for her, and had denied himself for her. “I’ll be ready one day. I promise.”

“Doesn’t matter as long as you love me and we are together.” He rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him.

She raised a brow. “Again already?”

He chuckled. “I think you will find me ready again already a lot where you are concerned.”

The laughter died in her throat when he arched up and slid into her. The familiar fires he stoked to life inside her burned bright, and she’d never get enough of him.