This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In Chapter 23, Catalina and Ramon finally make love, putting aside all the prohibitions against a human becoming involved with a member of the pack, especially one who is slated to be the next leader.
In this chapter we see the morning after and what happens to shatter the peace of Caterina and Ramon’s time together.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 24
***If you are not over 17, please read no further***
Catalina woke to the feel of him spooning against her, the heat of his body bathing her back. As she stirred, pressing into him, he woke as well.
“G’morning,” Ramon said against the side of her face, a tired grumble in his voice.
She understood the reason for his fatigue. They had spent the night, short as it was, making love. Glorious, satisfying love, she thought and turned in his arms, dropped a playful kiss on the side of his mouth.
“Again?” he said, barely opening one eye, but a smile played along the corners of his lips.
“You dare to complain?” she teased, unused to beginning the morning with levity. Actually, unused to beginning the morning wrapped in the arms of a lover.
With a swiftness she had not anticipated, he rolled and trapped her beneath him, fully alert, his dark eyes gleaming with purpose. “Since last night, I dare many things, mi amor,” he said, bent his head and kissed the tip of her breast before suckling it.
“Ay, Ramon, what a nice way to wake,” she almost purred, holding his head to her as he switched from breast to breast, awakening desire. His erection growing as it rested against the softness of her belly.
A knock came at her door. Insistent.
Ramon picked up his head and glanced at her bedroom door and the knock came again, more determined. Followed by her sister’s command.
“Catalina. Open up. Father has called for us,” Helena said, clear distress in her tones.
Catalina shot a quick look at her alarm clock. Barely four in the morning. Her father would not be dragging from her bed at this hour unless it was urgent, especially knowing that she had been on patrol the night before.
“I must go,” she said, but Ramon was already in action, rolling off her and onto his feet.
The knock came again and Catalina bolted from the bed, grabbing a robe and jerking it on as she walked to the door. She only half-opened it, not wanting Helena to see that she’d had company for the night.
Her sister darted her gaze past Catalina and toward the bed, and Catalina stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
“What is it, sister?” Catalina questioned.
“Father called up from the morgue. He says it’s urgent and we need to convene the council.” As her sister spoke, she narrowed her gaze, as if examining Catalina for signs that something was amiss.
“In the morgue? One of the pack has been killed?” Catalina asked, tying the robe more tightly around her as if that would somehow guard her secrets from her sharp-eyed half-sister.
“Two wolves. Ambushed from the looks of it. By vampires.” After she finished her report, Helena leaned close and drew in a deep inhale.
“You should scrub, hermana, before you come down. His human scent clings to you,” Helena warned.
Catalina rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she considered all that Helena had said. The vampires had been growing bolder every day, but an ambush . . .
“This is so not good,” she said.
Helena nodded and seemed about to say something else, but hesitated.
“Is there more I should know?” Catalina pressed.
“Hemmerich was with Selina when I went to her room. He was rather smug, as if he knew more than he should,” Helena advised.
So not good, Catalina thought. She trusted Hemmerich as much as she trusted the vampires.
“Tell father I’ll be down shortly,” she advised and then ducked back into the room.
Ramon was dressed and pacing beside the edge of the bed, clearly aware that something serious had occurred. He stopped as she approached and faced her, tension evident in all the lines of his body.
“It’s something bad, isn’t it?” he said and opened his arms, always ready to offer comfort.
She stepped into his arms and embraced him, his comfort surrounding her. Peace suffusing her in a way that did not come with any other person. But even as she held him, she knew that her peace would be shortlived.
If the vampires were on the offense, it could mean only one thing. . .
War.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In Chapter 21, Catalina and Ramon finally allow themselves to explore the feelings they share, but their interlude is not yet complete.
In Chapter 22, Hemmerich – the villian of the piece — is spying on Ramon and Caterina, watching as they make love. His passion grows as he imagines himself with Caterina, until Selina- Caterina’s half-sister, enters the room. Mistaking Hemmerich’s passion, Selina offers herself and Hemmerich commands her to service him.
In this chapter we see the continuation of Ramon and Caterina’s love scene. WARNING: This is intended for mature audiences – over 17 only please.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 23
**For those over 17 years of age only**
Ramon paused at the indentation of her thigh and hip, nuzzling his nose against that tender skin. Inhaling deeply and imagining that if he were one of the wolves he might memorize that scent and forever be able to track down his beloved.
“Ramon, please,” she keened, raising her hips to urge him to move those last few inches.
“I do not want to rush, Caterina. I’ve waited too long not to savor this moment,” he said and in fact, it seemed like centuries when it had only been a few years since he had first laid eyes on her.
Caterina had been twenty-one and gorgeous in a deep emerald gown as she walked down the stairs on the arm of her father. All the wolves had known that night she was his Chosen. The One who would lead the pack.
At the time Ramon had only known that she was the most beautiful woman in the room and way out of his league. He was just a lowly physician attending the fabulously upscale Villalobos charity gala on someone else’s dime.
Little had he suspected that night would change everything.
“Ramon, please rush,” Caterina said, a slightly regal tone of command in her voice as she cupped the back of his head and applied gentle pressure.
“Amorcito, I’m almost there,” he teased, dropping a kiss above the nearly black curls at the juncture of her legs before slipping downward.
He parted her with his fingers and found the swollen pearl. Licked it and she surged up off the bed, inviting him to do more. As he continued licking around the nub, he eased first one finger then another into her. She was warm, her entrance slick from their earlier foreplay.
Caterina moaned at his caress and stroked her hand through his hair, imprisoning him against her, not that she needed to. She was his life and he was worshipping at the font of his existence. She had become everything to him in the last few years and he understood the severity of what would follow. Of the rules they would break and the punishment he might face and yet that did not dissuade him.
Ramon continued to pleasure her with his mouth and fingers until the trembling in her body and her soft cries warned him she was close to the edge. And as much as he wanted to give her that release, Caterina had been alone for far too long in her life.
He would not let her be alone in this.
Withdrawing from between her legs and ignoring her protest, he trailed a line of kisses up the center of her body, pausing to tenderly swipe his lips across one of the bruise’s from this night’s battle. Wishing he could heal her and protect her from future hurt. But he knew all he could do was be by her side and offer her comfort.
He continued upward, until he brushed his lips across hers and met her welcoming gaze. Her brows furrowed at his delay, but then he cupped her breast and slipped his thumb over the hard tip.
“I love you, Caterina. You are all I could ever want,” he said, keeping to himself that she was also all that he should never have.
Caterina heard the capitulation in his voice. The doubt that somehow lingered despite the love, but she would no longer deny herself . . . or him.
She pressed on his shoulders and urged him to his back. Swiftly she covered his body with hers, his erection tucked against the softness of her belly. Rotating her hips, she said, “I love you, Ramon. And I want this. I’m bold enough to take what I want. Do you dare accept it?”
He groaned and closed his eyes, rocked his hips upward as his answer escaped him.
“Yes, my love. I dare.”
He placed his hands on her hips and she lifted them, reached down and guided him to her center, hesitating as the tip of him just breached her center.
Their gazes locked and in that one moment, everything faded away except for one thing — their love.
She thrust down, joining him with her. Rocking her hips to caress him, the movement stroking him in and out of her moist depths.
Ramon reached up and cradled her breasts, strumming his thumbs across the deep caramel of her nipples. Watching her expressive face as she strove to bring them pleasure.
With each roll of her hips she brought them closer and closer to the edge. He aided her, thrusting upward to deepen his penetration. Releasing a strangled groan as the feel of her nearly overwhelmed him.
She whispered his name, her tone urgent. Pleading.
He rose up and wrapped his arm around her waist. Kissed her and whispered against her lips, “This is amazing, mi amor.”
It was, Caterina thought. Being in his arms, having him buried deep filled her not just physically, but emotionally, soothing the emptiness in her heart.
She bent her head and rained kisses along his temple and mouth. Joined her mouth to his, although their rough breaths broke the kiss time and time again until finally something coalesced in her. Formed a tight ball that knotted her insides and stole her breath.
“Come with me,” Ramon whispered against the side of her face before he dropped his head down to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Bit her gently and then sucked the spot.
The feel of his tongue and the warmth of his lips there broke her reserve.
The knot came loose, sending strands of heat and pleasure racing over through her body. Spilling over onto his as with one final intense thrust upward, he called her name and shuddered beside her.
She yanked in a breath and somehow muttered his name again. Wrapped her arms around his head to keep him close.
Ramon smiled and kissed the side of her neck. Shifted to trail kisses all along the slopes of her breasts before moving upward to take her mouth again.
The kiss this time was one of tenderness and satisfaction. It continued leisurely as he remained buried deep within her, surrounded by her. Her legs around his waist. Arms around his head and shoulders. Her body milking him, accepting his release.
A release that sadly could never bear fruit. Werewolf-human mixes were virtually non-existent.
Virtually sending a sharp stab of fear through him that he had not thought to protect her.
“Ramon? Is something wrong?” she said, gazing down at him with so much love and happiness in her eyes that he could not shatter the moment with his concern.
“Nothing, querida,” he lied, but Caterina was no one’s fool and quickly detected it. Despite that, she said nothing, maybe as loathe as he to endanger the moment.
Entwined they fell down onto the mattress, clearly reticent to release one another. Never ceasing to touch and caress, almost as if to confirm that it had really happened. That after so long they were really there together, making love.
But soon those caresses grew more demanding and in no time, he was hard within her once again.
“Ramon?” she questioned, one eyebrow arched in emphasis.
“The night is almost over, but . . . I want you again, Caterina. Do you dare?” he said and teasingly plopped a kiss on the end of her nose.
“I dare,” she said and gave herself over to his loving.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In the prior chapters, Catalina had battled two vampires, including a vampire elder. She had killed them both and survived the battle, but not without injury. As she stared at the bodies of the two dead vampires, she paused to consider how it is that her family came to bear the burden of hunting the undead. In the last chapter, you learn about how a vampire comes to Catalina’s ancestral home and how his actions at feeding from some nearby wolves begin the transformations of those wolves. Those transformations will ultimately lead to the birth of the Villalobos werewolf clan.
In this chapter, Caterina finishes recollecting about the burden of being a Villalobos and heads home to the man whom she loves, but who refuses to love her . . . until this night.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 21
**For those over 13 years of age only**
The healing heat in Catalina’s body brought a sickly sweat much as it had her ancestor before her. Miguel Losada had been bitten by one of those tainted wolves as had many of the villagers when the wolves had grown bold with their attacks.
Those that had not succumbed to the plague or the wolf’s onslaughts had soon found themselves turning into werewolves when the full moon rose above their small Spanish village. A village they had renamed Villalobos as a way to warn of their affliction.
The Villalobos legacy that had been passed down over many generations and now ran in her veins. Which now healed her broken body.
She released the bone and it held. Barely knit, but in a few hours time her recovery would be complete.
Sagging back against the wall, she sucked in a deeper breath, maintained her position for long minutes until some of the pain and nausea had passed. Weakness still wobbled her knees when she finally stood, but she had to get home.
Only there would she be safe. Only there would she find any comfort.
*****
After Ramon had tended to her, she took the coward’s way out and phoned her father to let him know she had returned.
“Are you okay?” he asked, paternal concern coloring his voice.
“I’m fine, papi, only . . . There were three of them tonight. An elder with two younger undead. Another newly turned vampire,” she advised and eased into Ramon’s side, seeking the solace of his arms.
“I had similar reports from others after the hunt. They encountered at least two groups where the vampires were not alone. Where there were new vampires, as if they’ve increased the pace at which they are turning humans.”
“This is so not good. We need to discuss it with the pack,” she said and glanced at Ramon uneasily.
Ramon slipped his arm around her and cradled her close as her father replied, “In the morning. Rest. Let your wounds heal. Although you haven’t said it, I know you were hurt.”
“I’m fine. Buenas noches.” She hung up the phone.
Easing fully into Ramon’s embrace, she laid her hand over his chest, needing the reassurance that came from being close to his solid presence. “There’s no fooling him.”
“It’s why he’s the leader.” Ramon covered her hand with his and scooted them down in the bed until they were lying side by side, she on her uninjured right side. “How do you feel?”
“Better.” She ran her hand back and forth against the planes of his chest.
He bent his head, kissed her forehead. “I worry so,” he admitted and stroked her back.
Catalina ran her hands across his bare shoulders, brought herself near, needing the warmth of his body even if that was all that they would share tonight. “I’ll be fine.”
Ramon knew she believed that and yet in the past week, she had been injured twice. What would happen the next time she went on patrol? Or the time after that? How many more times would she be hurt now that the undead seemed to be gathering together?
How would he handle seeing her hurt again or something even worse?
His stomach knotted at the thought. At the possibility that she would be gone long before her time should come. He couldn’t let it end between them in this thoroughly unfulfilled way.
“Catalina?” He tipped her chin up with one free hand.
When she met his gaze, she clearly understood. She would risk what would happen with the pack in order to share this. To share what they were feeling for one another. Dare he risk it? Was he strong enough to deal with the pack’s displeasure?
“You will always be the only one for me. The other two . . . they never had a piece of my heart.”
“Daniel — ” he began, recalling the young wolf who had been her first guard during her monthly change.
“Was my best friend. Like a brother. But he knew how I hated it. Hated not being myself once the wolf took over. That was why he did it. The other one . . .”
Ramon understood and stopped pressing. Easing his hand between their bodies, he cupped her breast and touched her. Not to keep away the beast but to love the woman.
She sighed with pleasure as he caressed her, as they kissed again and again.
Catalina strained toward him. Toward his touch. Between her legs, the throb of desire reared up. Mortal desire. Needing appeasement.
She pressed on his shoulders, rolled him to his back and straddled his body.
His erection pressed up into her and she dragged herself along the length of it, seeking fulfillment. Wanting more and yet uncertain that he would dare until . . .
She looked down at him. Determination filled his gaze and realization awoke that this time, he would not stop. That he would bring them together as they were meant to be.
He flexed his body and rolled her beneath him, slipped between her legs and trailed a line of kisses down her body. Stopping between her legs for only a second before kissing her intimately.
She arched her hips upward and thought, Finally.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In the prior chapter, Catalina has battled two vampires, including a vampire elder. She has killed them both and survived the battle, but not without injury. As she stares at the bodies of the two dead vampires, she pauses to consider how it is that her family came to bear the burden of hunting the undead. This chapter provides you a glimpse of the actions that will lead to the birth of the Villalobos werewolf clan.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 20
Galicia, Spain, 1348
Even a vampire could only stomach so much death and decay.
Pedro de Aragon had hoped that the verdant hills in the north of Spain and the nearby villages would provide him more fertile feeding grounds than the crowded cities filled with pestilence.
As he stood at the edge of the woods, waiting until full night before entering the village below, the sights in his native city and the others through which he had passed in his quest for sustenance haunted him. Bodies piled high outside city walls. Sick stragglers dead in their tracks along the roads leading from one town to the next.
In one city they had tossed dozens of bodies into the river when the graveyards and fields could no longer hold more. Grimly the bodies bobbed along, carried downward by the current to the next unfortunate town.
Pedro wished that here, far away from the crowded and rat-infested cities, it might be different. The air was certainly an improvement, he thought, breathing in deeply of the forest — pine with the refreshing touch of eucalyptus.
Sí, definitely better, he thought and padded down the hillside toward the modest seaside village, eager for a meal. A few hungry weeks had passed since he had last fed. It showed. His body was gaunt with bird-like bones visible; skin pale as milk. Every day he grew weaker. If he couldn’t dine soon . . .
To one nearly immortal, the prospect of death was even scarier.
A nice plump villager, he thought and smacked his lips. One of the healthy ones to sustain him.
The closer he got to the village, the fresh scent of the forest disappeared to be replaced by the tang of the ocean as a breeze blew inward from the shore. But occasionally, there came the smell of something else — death.
Pedro had barely gotten to the edge of the town when he passed his first body. That of a shepherd in a meadow between the forest and a row of buildings marking the furthest edge of the town. Beside the grizzled old shepherd lay his small herd of lifeless sheep, their bodies bloated and stiff.
He had seen it before, faithful animals dead alongside their masters. It didn’t bode well for what awaited him in the village below.
At the first lane of buildings — strong stone warehouses constructed by the Romans who had conquered this small Galician aldea — were piles of corpses, rotting beneath the revealing light of a full moon.
Pedro held his breath against the putrid smell and moved onward quickly, rushing through the town’s streets to confirm what he already knew — the pestilence had reached here as well. Those not infected were barricaded tightly in their homes, out of his reach.
As he rounded one corner, a man staggered into him and grabbed hold. “Ayudame,” the man pleaded in a weak voice, his eyes glazed with fever. A bright flush marked the sick man’s cheeks.
Pedro wanted to weep with frustration and tossed the plague-ravaged human away.
He would not feed here anytime soon. He couldn’t risk slaking his thirst on one of the dying. He’d already seen some of his kind, their armpits and groins swollen, oozing blood and pus as the disease ravaged them slowly. Vampires were difficult to kill, but the plague seemed to delight in wreaking vengeance on his fellow undead before finally taking them.
Eyes wild as he searched for a meal, he realized there would be none tonight in this village. He ran as fast as he could, eager to return to the forest with its fresh air and clean scents.
At the edge of the woods, he paused to look down at the city once more and ponder what to do. He leaned his hand on a tree as he sought to catch his breath from his sprint up the hillside. Taking a deep inhale, the scent of something else teased his nostrils. Fur, wet with a mist that had started on his rush back to the woods.
From nearby came a growl, low and menacing. Movements cautious, Pedro peered toward the sound. Bright red eyes met his. A wolf. Fur the color of chestnuts glistened in the bright light of a full moon from the drops of moisture clinging to it. A warm regular breath marked the night air. A chill had swept down the hillside with the coming of night.
This was no sick animal, he thought. Allowing himself to transform, the strong steady beat of the wolf’s heart sang with life. He knew then what he had to do.
Long fangs erupted from his mouth. He issued his own growling challenge to the wolf before he flew at it.
Sensing danger, the wolf turned and raced into the forest, but even weak from his lack of feeding, he was able to keep up and the thrill of the hunt energized him.
He dodged low-lying branches. Jumped over the underbrush in the forest. Slowly he gained ground on the fast moving animal. The wolf’s haunches bunched and moved with strength as it tried to escape, but Pedro was too desperate to allow that to happen.
With one final lunge, he had the beast within his grasp. The lush fur soft in his hands as he wrestled the wolf to the ground. The wolf fought him, pawing at his undead flesh with its sharp nails. Tearing through the fine cloth of his pants, raking deep into his leg.
He managed to avoid the wolf’s powerful jaws as it snapped at him, trying to break free, but Pedro’s hold was too strong. With a quick twist, he bared the wolf’s neck. A sound, almost like a pleading whimper, escaped the animal, but his hunger was too strong for compassion. He needed fulfillment after weeks without sustenance.
Pedro bent his head, sank his teeth into the wolf’s neck and fed. Wolf’s blood, richly luxuriant, filled his mouth and ran over onto his lips as some of it escaped his fangs. He sucked greedily, a reckless glutton, forgetting a wolf was unlike a human and would not give up the fight so easily.
As he gorged on its blood, the wolf renewed its struggles and reared up. It sank its teeth deep into Pedro’s thigh. Just one final futile attempt to free itself before he drained the last of its life and the wolf’s jaws gave up their hold.
He lay down beside his prey, giddy with the strength flowing through his veins from the kill and took a long moment to enjoy the rush. Smiling, fangs and lips crimson from the blood of his prey, he realized he’d discovered how he could survive the pestilence decimating the cities and towns of Spain. The forests were full of wolves. He had seen them roaming the edges of many a city on his journey to escape the sickness. More than once he’d wondered why they had seemed unaffected by the death sweeping across the country and killing almost everything else in sight.
Whatever the reason, he didn’t care. He had found a way to survive.
Rising, still in his demon state, he used those heightened senses to search the night air for yet another source of food. A howl pierced the night, as if to challenge him. He raced off, emboldened with the wolf’s blood in his veins. Eager for another meal.
He didn’t stop to look back at the body of the wolf he had ravaged. Didn’t notice, as he raced away, the slight hint of breath that came from the wolf’s muzzle or the quiver of muscles reanimating.
Pedro’s blood lust was unstoppable.
As the wolf slowly awakened and lumbered to its feet, its body heated as it changed, the moisture clinging to the wolf’s fur steaming in the night air. The wolf’s eyes glowed, but with an unnatural light. With a low growl, razor-edged fangs erupted from its upper lip. The wolf shook its head, as if fighting the transformation, but it was inevitable.
Altered strength energized the wolf’s body as it headed down toward the village. A new carnal lust as the vampire’s blood now running through its veins drove it onward, eager for slaughter. Needing to feed to drive the heat of the ongoing vampire transformation consuming its body.
Its first hunting ground — the unsuspecting town below.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In the prior chapter, Catalina is out on the hunt and has encountered a vampire elder. She battles the elder and triumphs, but suddenly senses the fight is not yet over. The battle continues in this chapter.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 19
She rose slowly, not wanting to give away the element of surprise.
Immediately behind her came the sound of a footfall, but only one. She whirled to avoid him, but the vamp flying through the air still managed to get a jab into her side with the silver-tipped pike he held in one hand. The leather and then the chain mail kept the pike from breaking through her skin, but the blow was strong enough that a rib cracked with a sickening snap.
Shit. She tucked her left arm tight against her to blunt the pain and immobilize her injured side. The last thing she needed was for the broken bone to puncture her lung.
The vampire landed before her. Older than the newly turned vamp, but not an elder. Infinitely bigger than the first two, with the build of a WWE wrestler. All big overblown hard as rock muscle. Plus, a cocky air wafted about him that said he planned on doing some damage before he killed her. That was clear as well — he had no doubt he would defeat her.
He held the pike like a gladiator, jabbing at her and keeping her too far away to use her sword. As for the crossbow, it rested in the middle of her back, useless for now. To reach it, she risked puncturing her lung and if that happened . . .
They circled around each other, the vampire prodding and jabbing at her. Catalina blocked the thrusts with her sword. Their little dance took her closer and closer to the body of the dead younger vampire. The one with the quarterstaff.
When she was almost upon the young vamp, she switched the sword to her left hand and bending, picked up the shaft of the staff in her right. Pain lanced through her side with the motion, but she bit it back and concentrated on the fight.
They were equals now distance-wise. With the staff she thrust out as well as deflected the pike. She landed a few blows to his body, which angered him. That was good. Anger clouded judgment.
She continued her attack, prodding at his midsection, even managing to catch him between the legs, but he had prepared for that with some kind of padding. The blow to his groin did little to slow him. If anything, attacking his manhood only enraged him more. He finally did what she wanted.
He came at her, the pike close to his body and seemingly forgotten in his rage to get his hands on her and make the fight more personal.
She seized the opportunity, bringing the quarterstaff up under his chin and delivering a punishing blow to his trachea. He dropped the pike and fell back, grabbing at his throat. A weak wheezing sound erupted from him. He frantically clawed at his neck, fighting for air. Vampires didn’t need much, but he obviously wasn’t getting enough.
Dropping the staff and kicking the pike out of his reach, she stood before him, cradling her injured side. His death would be the slow one he had envisioned for her. Already his eyes were bulging from the lack of air. His milk pale skin gained a bluish tinge as he continued working at his throat. Given that he was a vamp, he might linger that way for awhile. Might even recover if he could free his passageway and heal.
Catalina freed his throat for him, thrusting her sword forward, clear through his neck and spine.
He looked up at her, still alive since her blow had not totally decapitated him. It couldn’t since she lacked the mobility to make it a clean move thanks to the injury to her rib. He had sealed the mode of his death with his one blow.
She ripped out her sword, plunged forward again and again until the head finally dropped off his shoulders to land at her feet.
A sloppy kill, only she didn’t have time to think about it. Her body had begun to heal, but with the rib bone out of place. If it did that, she would have to have it rebroken into its proper position.
Slipping her sword into its scabbard, she stepped over the vamp’s body and headed to edge of the building where she leaned against the ledge and slid down. She couldn’t lift the jerkin over her head, so she settled for slipping her one hand up beneath it. Also not as easy due to the tighter fit of the garment thanks to the chain mail beneath. But if it hadn’t been for that protection . . .
She hadn’t been as lucky in these past two outings as she had in the past. How much longer would it be before her luck totally ran out? Before some vampire had a better night than she did, exacting their own brand of vampire vengeance for centuries of being hunted?
When would it ever end? she wondered and ran her hand over her ribs. She located the broken one and the tip of it, bending inward dangerously toward her lung. She managed to shift the broken tip back, toward its mate.
A chill sweat broke out over her body as she did so and waves of pain nauseated her. She pressed on, a warmth inside her body warning that the wolf’s powers of healing were already at work. Knitting bone back together with bone.
Stars and blackness swirled before her eyes as she maintained her hold. Just a little bit longer, she thought and as she waited for the healing to finish, recollected why she was caught in this war.
How it had all begun.
Copyright 2009 Caridad Pineiro Scordato
I just realized that it’s been a few weeks since you had a chance to follow the adventures of Catalina in UNDEAD UPRISING. So this week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
In the prior chapter, Catalina and her half-sister Helena have met with their father, their other half-sister Selena as well as one of their clients. Tempers have flared during their meeting and the family is less one client. Catalina’s father has given her instructions on what to do about Hemmerich, one of the pack’s alpha wolves and a prospective suitor for Catalina. In this chapter, Catalina follows her father’s commands, but is surprised by the outcome.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 16
She wasn’t sure what annoyed her more — that Hemmerich hadn’t complained or her half-sister Selena’s smug smile as she had led him out of her office to show him where he would now be working.
“What do you make of that?” Helena asked from the sofa where she sat.
“I don’t. How about you?”
Helena shrugged. “It’s almost like he’s glad about it.”
She recalled the look on Hemmerich’s face as she had made the announcement about his reassignment. Helena’s comment wasn’t so wrong. There had been a glimmer of . . . satisfaction before he had controlled his features. “We’ve been played. He wanted to be here all along and we gave him exactly what he wanted.”
Sliding forward on the sofa and then rising, Helena smoothed the front of her jacket. “More reason to keep an eye on him.”
She examined her sister, recollecting her father’s words of the day before: Helena is one you need to watch. With a nod, Catalina said, “I’ll be sure to watch my back.”
Her half-sister’s head shot up at her words, obviously aware that she wasn’t referring just to Hemmerich. “As I will when I hunt tonight, hermana.”
Guilt came as it always did at the mention of the hunt since Catalina would not be there to safeguard the pack. She followed her Helena as she walked to the door.
“Helena,” Catalina said and laid a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
Helena half turned, a puzzled look on her face.
“I know we haven’t been close — ”
“You are a master of understatement,” Helena said and looked away. After she did so, she added in soft tones, “I know you don’t trust me. In your shoes, I probably wouldn’t either only . . . ”
Helena faced her then, her crystal blue eyes glistening with tears no alpha would shed. “We have to start believing in each other sometime, don’t we?”
Did they? Catalina wondered, but didn’t say, knowing that it best not to reveal too much when you hadn’t yet decided if someone was friend or foe. With a nod, she repeated her half-sister’s words. “We have to start sometime. Be safe tonight, hermana.”
“You, too. Have an easy change,” Helena replied and after, walked out.
Catalina closed the door and then leaned back against it, confused by the emotions swirling within her. For too long she had been at odds with Helena and Selena and now . . .
She wanted to trust Helena. She needed reliable people around her if she was to lead with any level of comfort. And she wanted to believe that Selena was just misguided rather than actively plotting with Hemmerich. Having both her sisters on her side, along with Hembra and her father, would cement the Villalobos’s leadership of the pack.
Without their support . . .
It would only make a hard job she didn’t want to do all that much more difficult.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. The tentative title is UNDEAD UPRISING and I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
This chapter is after Helena and Catalina have met with their father, their half-sister Selena as well as one of their clients and tempers have flared during their meeting. Now Catalina and her father will discuss what needs to be done for both their company and the wolf pack.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Also, don’t forget this week’s b’day bash. Just visit any of the blogs listed below this week and leave a comment and you’ll be eligible to win a prize from me! At Barbara Vey’s blog, there are tons of other prizes as well!
I’ll be visiting all of these blogs and if you’ve left a comment at any of them, you’ll also be eligible to win a $25 Godiva gift card! The more times I see your name at the different blogs, the more your chances improve to win the gift card. So take a moment and stop by one or all to improve your chances of winning a prize.
The contest ends on Friday, March 13th at midnight EST, so be sure to get your comments in there on time!
Barbara Vey’s Beyond Her Book Blog for lots of fun and giveaways!
http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288/post/1240041524.html
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Harlequin Paranormal Romance blog: http://paranormalromanceblog.wordpress.com/
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Long and Short Reviews: http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/search/label/Caridad%20Pineiro
Chapter 15
Catalina’s father examined the recommendations they had made about reassigning Frank Black’s detail. He rubbed his forefinger back and forth across his lips as he considered them. He tossed the papers onto the desk before him. “You’re sure about this?”
“Do you have some doubt about all our decisions or just one in particular?” Catalina asked, arching an eyebrow to emphasize her point.
“You have Hemmerich assigned internally. To the research section?” Her father grabbed the papers, looked at them once more and shook his head. “Seems like a waste of prime wolf.”
“So you do feel us desk jockeys are lesser warriors?” Her reiteration of his earlier words had a teasing tone since she’d had enough fighting for the day.
He grinned then, a devilish grin that lit up his eyes with amusement. “Hemmerich will feel that way. I love it.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Papi, you never cease to amaze me.”
“Nor do you. I wasn’t sure you’d do the right thing — ”
“And you think putting Hemmerich at a desk is the right thing?” she questioned, interested in hearing her father’s rationale.
“Keep your friends close — ”
“But your enemies closer. It’s exactly what I thought,” she admitted out loud and crossed her legs, adopting a casual stance, but her father saw right through it.
“You’re worried about him?”
She shrugged. “I had an interesting visitor this morning.”
When he didn’t ask who, she continued. “Helena came to warn me about Selena and Hemmerich.”
“Selena isn’t someone you need to worry about. But I don’t like that she’s being used.”
“You knew?” She leaned forward onto the edge of her seat, confused by her father’s inaction.
He brought two fingers to his mouth, rubbed his lips thoughtfully before replying. “Selena is a great deal like her mother. Needy of affection. Honorable, but gullible because of that need.”
“Helena — ”
“Helena,” he said forcefully and pointed at her. “Helena is one you need to watch. There’s something . . . off about her. I don’t know what it is, but you need to keep an eye on her.”
She suspected what was off — that Helena was in love with her half-sister. Her father could never understand and if Helena’s offer of allegiance was true, she would keep her Helena’s secrets for now.
A first — she had never intentionally kept something from her father.
It was odd to have so many people warning her about so many other people. But she had no doubt which people she could trust. Helena and Selena were possibly not on that list. “Is there anything else I should know, papi?”
“Hemmerich won’t take kindly to this move. His pride — ”
“Is a dangerous thing. I’ve known that for some time.” Standing, she grabbed the papers off his desk. “Will you support me on these decisions? Hemmerich is sure to come to you to complain.”
He laughed and his teeth were a bright white against the blackness of his beard. “Mi’ja. Hemmerich has done nothing but complain for years.” After a chuckle, he added, “I will support you in all things. Except one.”
She had no doubt about what he referred to, but she wouldn’t be his daughter if she gave up so easily. “On that, I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.”
He inclined his head, the gesture one of affection and admiration. “For the moment. I will leave it up to you and your sisters to communicate the assignments.”
“And I will leave it up to you to deal with Hemmerich.” She left his study to head to the public wings of the building where their corporation conducted its daily business.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. The tentative title is UNDEAD UPRISING and I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
This chapter is after Helena and Catalina have had a not-so-sisterly discussion about their father’s wishes for the pack and Catalina’s romantic involvement with Ramon. Now Helena and Catalina must meet with their father, their half-sister Selena as well as one of their clients and tempers will flare during their meeting.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 14
The meeting with the annoying A-List asshole client began much like she had expected. He groused, he complained, he preened. Then he ranted that he wasn’t getting the kind of security he warranted. Not that anything had happened, it was just that his ego almost wished it would since that would confirm that he rated.
“Mr. Black — ”
“Frank, please, Catalina. After all these years, you and
I . . . We can be on a first name basis, can’t we?” He punctuated that comment with a leer.
“Mr. Black,” her father repeated, thankfully jumping into the conversation. She didn’t think she could maintain her tone of forced pleasantry much longer.
“We have our top people guarding you — ” her father began, but Frank Black would have none of it.
He pointed to Catalina. “I want her. She’s the best. I want her watching me.”
“Mr. Black.” She didn’t get to finish as her father covered her hand as it rested on the table.
“Catalina isn’t one of our field operatives, Frank,” her father explained.
“I want her or your employment is over,” Frank said, his handsome face marred by an arrogant sneer.
She looked across the table to where Selena and Helena sat. A cat that ate the canary smile sat on Selena’s face and concern etched lines into Helena’s.
Catalina suspected that she knew why — Hemmerich was part of the detail responsible for guarding Frank Black. A few discreet words dropped here and there to the prima donna movie star had been sure to elicit just this response. Hemmerich had played him and the human was too stupid to realize it.
She couldn’t have guessed her father’s reaction, however. He rose and extended his hand to the actor, who was inches shorter and not as well built despite his claim to action hero fame. “It’s been a pleasure having you as a client, Mr. Black. My assistant can recommend some other security companies on your way out.”
Shock crossed the actor’s face as well as Selena’s. “What? No one says no to Frank Black.”
The arrogance of the puny mortal, she thought and stood beside her father. “We do.”
“What?” he nearly screamed and took an angry step toward them, but Helena was already there, holding his arm.
He tried to shake her off, but couldn’t. As she tightened her grip, he actually winced and weakened at the knees.
“I believe we’ve made ourselves quite clear, Mr. Black,” Helena said, her tone brooking no argument.
“Let go.” His tone was almost pleading and Helena being Helena, held him just a little longer and a bit harder until the man cringed and began to sag.
When Helena finally released him, he said, “You’ll be sorry. I’ll tell all my friends about how lousy your services are.”
“Do that and you’ll be hearing from our lawyers. Or maybe from me, personally,” she said and took a step toward him, but the actor rushed out the door, mumbling about suing as he went.
“I think he wet himself,” Helena said as she glanced at her father and sister. With a sniff, she confirmed it. “Definitely. So what do we do now?”
Rafael sat back down and shrugged nonchalantly. “I think it’s time Hemmerich and the rest of Mr. Black’s detail did some desk duty.”
Selena immediately piped up. “Hemmerich’s too important to be jockeying a desk.”
“Really, mi’ja?” Rafael faced his second-born. “So I guess all of us aren’t. Important, that is.”
Selena blanched. Her hands fluttered in the air nervously as she backpedalled on her statement. “I didn’t mean . . . I’m sorry, papi. That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?” Catalina sat beside her father as was her right as the first born and heir to leadership. She wanted Selena to be reminded of it given her earlier conversation with Helena.
“I meant . . . He’s better in the field. He’s a warrior.”
With each word Selena seemed to be digging a bigger hole for herself, unusual for her. She was usually the most diplomatic of all the sisters.
“So are we, hermanita.”
“I’m sorry, Catalina. You’re right. We’re all warriors, it’s just that . . . ” She fumbled, obviously trying to avoid yet another faux pas.
“Whatever you think is best, papi,” she said demurely and cast her gaze downward.
Catalina glanced at her father from the corner of her eye while he considered his three daughters, looking from one to the other before he finally said, “I think my daughters should decide what to do about Hemmerich and his detail. There’s a waiting list of clients who need our services. Put your sisterly skills together and find the right fit.”
With that, he walked out of the conference room, leaving the three of them staring at one another uneasily. They might be his daughters, but as for sisterly skills . . .
They were sorely lacking in those. They were pack members first and after that — their allegiances had generally been toward the respective mothers that their father had forsaken.
Except for her and Hembra, who had been raised almost like flesh and blood siblings. As for her two half-sisters, Catalina didn’t quite know what to think of that combo yet. She wasn’t sure she could trust Helena. And Selena . . .
Selena was an unknown commodity. One on which she had to get a handle. Reaching for the speaker phone before her, Catalina buzzed her assistant. When the young woman answered, she asked for the client waiting list and after, turned to her two half-sisters. “There’s four men we’ll have to reassign, including Hemmerich.”
Selena’s mouth tightened at his mention and she asked, “Do you have an issue with Hemmerich? Is there something we should know?”
Selena shot an uneasy look in Helena’s direction, as if expecting her half-sister to answer for her, but Helena kept her silence. Selena finally said, “Hemmerich and I are . . . involved. I’d rather his assignment be one that’s close.”
That Selena could be so forthcoming about her relationship with the other wolf was a good start. It meant she had nothing to hide . . . yet. And if there was one true adage in life, it was the one about keeping your enemies close. “I understand, Selena. We will certainly take that into consideration.”
A knock came at the door then, and she called out for Mary, her assistant, to enter. The young woman did, handed her the folder, and then quickly stepped out once more.
Catalina reviewed the first few names on the list and their requirements. She motioned to the papers. “Why don’t you both come over and take a look at this. After, we can make our decisions.”
And with that, they got to work on their sisterly skills and the reassignments as their father had ordered.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. The tentative title is UNDEAD UPRISING and I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
This is the morning after Catalina has become the wolf she hates. Ramon has been resting at her side and now they are arguing about Catalina’s fate. After, Catalina goes to office only to have a surprise visit from one of her half-sisters.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 13
The cold of the metal made him jerk back in surprise, but she pressed forward and held it there, forcing him back step by step until she trapped him against the wall.
“This is my destiny.” She pressed a bit more and the blade pricked his skin. She continued. “Death and destruction. Hatred and violence.”
Ramon wouldn’t be cowed by her actions. Hands outstretched, he pleaded with her. “Your destiny is to lead your people. To keep them safe. To keep the humans they protect safe.”
“My father’s words, not yours.” She dropped the sword to her side, all fight and desire gone from her.
He cupped her cheek as he pressed his point home in a more tender way. “What do you want me to say?”
“I . . .”
Catalina shook her head, because she didn’t really know what she wanted other than for him take her into his arms and promise her . . .
She dropped the sword, closed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. “Tell me your destiny.”
He tightened his hold on her, almost to the point of pain, bent his head and whispered against the side of her face, “To be with you until the day I die.”
She wanted the same thing, only she feared that death would touch their lives much too soon.
#
The deep burgundy Armani suit hugged the curves of her body and accented the darker highlights in her auburn hair. Her power suit. The one she always wore when they had either an important or difficult client visiting.
She grabbed the stack of messages from her assistant who chased her down the hall. Slowing her pace as she realized the young woman had trouble keeping up with her, she shot her assistant a grateful smile. “Sorry. I’m on a Starbucks rush,” she teased and the young woman smiled.
“Then maybe I should have the venti mocha latte waiting on your desk for you.”
She chuckled. “Actually, it was a rough night so I could use the extra jolt. Thanks.”
“Rough, huh?” said her half-sister, Helena, as she walked toward her and after, followed Catalina into her office. Uninvited.
Catalina closed the door behind them, but before she could sit down, Helena wagged a finger at her neck. “You may want to button up.”
“Huh?” she said out loud, walked to the full-length mirror behind her door and took a look. At her neck, barely visible as it finished healing, was Ramon’s love bite. “Oh.”
Helena came to stand beside her, sniffed and then wrinkled her nose. “Human? Papi’s still putting up with that with so many wolves eager to — ”
“Why are you here?” she asked as she moved away from the door and to behind her desk, where she sat down and crossed her legs.
Helena smiled — her Big Bad Wolf smile — before plopping onto a black leather chair before Catalina’s desk. “Are those Jimmy Choo? Very nice, hermanita.”
“Helena. You and I are — ”
“Barely social, I know. But rumor has it that Papi’s decided you will lead and unless you fuck it up somehow — ”
Her sister emphasized the point with her carefully manicured hands. Nails artfully done, just like the rest of her. Her blonde hair perfectly styled. Brows waxed to emphasize the sharp arch that framed stunning crystal blue eyes.
Cold eyes, she thought. “So you’re here — ”
“To offer my allegiance. To warn you that Hemmerich is making trouble.”
“Hemmerich who couldn’t handle two vamps — ”
“He killed three last night. Or so I heard. Three less undead while you were chained with your pet.” Helena motioned to the Starbucks cup on the desk and before Catalina could refuse her, grabbed the coffee and took a sip. Then she grimaced.
“Too sweet.”
Sweet being anethma to her hard-edged and bitter sister. As the third born and a woman, her path to leadership of the pack was even harder than Catalina’s. “So, you want to be — ”
“On the winning side.”
Annoyance flared through her at the interruption, but she tamped it down. To give into it would give Helena too much satisfaction. Leaning her elbows on the arms of her chair, she steepled her fingers before her, conveying her position of power. “And if I don’t win?”
“Don’t win?” Helena asked with a harsh laugh. Leaning forward, she said, “That isn’t an option and you know it. Papi will never turn over control of the pack to anyone else.”
“There’s you. Selena. Hembra.”
“Hembra is just a child. A helpless unwanted child.” Bitterness flavored her tones and she could understand it well. All of Rafael Villalobos’s daughters were unwanted — second best to the son he had never had.
“There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
“Hemmerich has been courting Selena in the hopes she will choose him.” Helena flounced back on the chair as she said it, her annoyance all too obvious.
“Selena should be wise enough — ”
“She isn’t. She can’t see past his attentions — his sheep’s clothing as it were.”
One of her best traits was her ability to get a read on people. To gauge what they weren’t saying by their body language. Her half-sister was clearly angry. But she was
also . . . hurt. Worried. Jealous and not in a good way, she realized.
“Selena’s your sister,” she blurted out, unwilling to believe she was right with her observation.
Helena jumped out of her seat, obviously unnerved and uncomfortable. “Watch your back, hermana. Watch Hemmerich — ”
“And Selena? What do I do about her?” Her half-sister had to be well aware that if Selena acted against her . . .
Helena braced her hands on the edge of the desk and leaned forward until she was directly in Catalina’s face. “She is our sister. If you hurt her — ”
“Then help me keep her safe. If you’re so sure Hemmerich is behind something — ”
“I will keep on eye on him. On them,” she promised and as she hurried from Catalina’s office, she had little doubt Helena would do as she said.
This week’s Wicked Wednesday brings you another installment of my urban fantasy involving a twist to the werewolf mythology, battles with vampires and a struggle for control in a werewolf pack. The tentative title is UNDEAD UPRISING and I hope you like this next free chapter that I’m offering you.
This is the morning after Catalina has become the wolf she hates. Ramon has been resting at her side, armed and ready to protect her if necessary. Tortured by his love for her because he knows that what they both want can never be since Catalina is destined to lead the Villalobos pack.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 12
His gentle touch woke her as he undid the leather straps confining her to the bed.
“Buenos dias,” she said, her voice husky. Her throat sore, as it almost always was the day after. Most of her body ached from the transformation of the night before.
Ramon stood beside the bed, fully clothed in battle gear. “Buenos dias,” he replied and soothed a hand over her hair.
She reached up, which made her wince from the stiffness in her arms, and ran a hand across her dishevelled hair. “I must look a fright.”
He smiled tenderly. “Not so bad.”
“I imagine you’ve seen me looking worse,” she replied, thinking about how she must appear during the change. Gazing back up at him, she motioned to his clothes and asked, “Why are you ready to fight?”
Ramon shrugged. “I felt . . . uneasy with what’s happening. I wanted to be prepared.”
To protect her, she realized and worried about his safety if they were attacked. But she wouldn’t let him know her fear. Fear brought hesitation. Hesitation brought death.
She stood and touched his cheek. “Gracias.”
Turning his head, he placed a kiss in the middle of her palm. “For you, I would . . .” He stopped, almost uncertain, but when he met her gaze, she knew they had both been thinking the same thing.
He’d die for her just as she would die for him.
Trying to lighten the mood since she was tired of always being gloomy lately, she slipped her hand around his neck and said, “For me you would run my bath. Scrub my back. Massage fragrant oils into my skin.”
Ramon smiled as she had intended, leaned close and cradled her face. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips before placing his hands on her shoulders where he slowly kneaded the sore muscles there.
Her skin was soft, but beneath it were faint bruises attesting to the trauma her body had suffered the night before. Ramon had seen them before and yet, he didn’t think he could ever get accustomed to them. To seeing her hurt as she had been the other night and before. On those nights when her patrol had not gone smoothly.
But physical hurt would mend quickly unlike the pain in her heart which would take longer to heal. “It’s late. I need to be at the hospital shortly.”
When he moved away, she laid a hand on his arm to stop him. “I don’t want to lose you.”
He shook his head and grabbed hold of her hands. “You won’t. Ever.”
“I won’t allow the Gauntlet,” she said and embraced him.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, buried his face in the crook between her neck and shoulder and kissed the lingering remnants of his bite from the night before. “You can’t avoid your destiny. As much as we may want to be — ”
“My destiny, Ramon?”
Catalina suddenly couldn’t bear being with him any longer. She shoved him away and strode to where her sword rested against the wall. In one smooth move, she grabbed it and brought it to his throat.
