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 free chapter — the last in this first book of the series – that I’m offering you.
In Chapter 27, Catalina, her father, sisters and council members retire to the council chambers to discuss their plan for war. In addition, Catalina’s father decides to call for the Gauntlet in order to pick a spouse for Catalina so that their Villalobos pack heirarchy will be in order should he fall during the battle to come.
In this chapter, Catalina returns to Ramon’s room, heavy of heart, because she knows that her time with him will be over soon for once one of the wolves wins the Gauntlet, she must honor her responsibility and take them as a mate for the good of the pack.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
As I mentioned earlier, this ends the first book in the UNDEAD UPRISING series. UNDEAD UPRISING: REBELLION will be available on the website until October 1. After that, all the chapters will be rolled into one e-book and I’ve got a very special plan for that, but I’let you know on October 15th how you can obtain a copy of the complete version of UNDEAD UPRISING: REBELLION.
What’s going to be the next book in the UNDEAD UPRISING series? THE GAUNTLET. What follows for Catalina in the next book is a number of difficult choices as she is torn between honoring her duty to the pack and her love for Ramon. There will be lots of action, a traitor and a loss that will wrench your heart, but for now, I leave you with the conclusion to UNDEAD UPRISING: REBELLION.
This free read is intended for mature audiences only. NO ONE UNDER 17 should continue to read this excerpt.
Chapter 28
There was an ache in Catalina’s heart that had no cure. It hurt so much she staggered and had to reach for the wall to brace herself.
“Hermana, are you okay?” Helene asked, placing a comforting hand on Catalina’s shoulder.
She nodded curtly. Her throat was too thick with emotion for her to speak, but Helene understood.
Awkwardly Helene hugged her. Such sisterly actions were not common to them, but clearly Helene intended to grow the camaraderie that had sprung up between them. “Rest well, sister,” she whispered before heading to her quarters on the family floor.
Catalina forced herself to continue down the hall to Ramon’s area. She bypassed the infirmary where she had unfortunately spent too much time lately and went to his door. Her arm was leaden as she raised it and then knocked on the door.
Ramon tore the door open, as if had been waiting for her. With one look at her face, he understood.
She fell into his arms, more weary than ever before. The years of tears which she had dammed behind the warrior’s facade breaking past her restraint.
“Mi amor. We will work it out,” he pleaded, kicking the door closed and urging her in the direction of the bed.
She sat on the edge of the bed and he kneeled before her, examining her tear-streaked face. Reaching up and wiping away the wet trails on her cheeks lovingly as he repeated, “It will all work out.”
“How?” she asked on a heaving breath. “How can it when I will be forced to mate with another?”
“Trust me,” he pleaded, straightening a bit until he was eye level with her and the warmth of his breath bathed her lips.
She wanted to trust him. Wanted to believe and yet what possibility could there be for them? Her father had called for the Gauntlet to be run in one month’s time to allow for wolves from neighboring packs to compete for her hand.
“One month, Ramon. In one month we will hold the Gauntlet,” she lamented, digging her hands into his hair to keep him close.
“Then it will be a memorable month,” he said before bringing his lips to hers in a deep scorching kiss that rocked her senses.
There was no holding back any longer. No reason to worry about being discovered or its consequences. Time was too short for such fears.
Catalina gently pulled him upwards and then fell back against the bed, dragging him with her. The weight of his body pleasantly heavy along her length. His erection pressing into the softness of her belly.
“Love me, Ramon,” she said as she rained kisses across his face and ripped at his clothes, not wanting to waste a nano-second of the limited time they had left.
Fabric tore and buttons flew, punctuated by their moans and soft sighs as they explored each bit of flesh that was revealed in their frenzied undressing.
As Ramon yanked aside what remained of her bra and shirt, he bent and took her nipple into his mouth, sucking it deep into his mouth which ripped a strangled groan from her before he gentled his actions. Rolling his tongue around the stiff peak, he brought his hand to her other breast and caressed it, but she needed more.
She needed him buried deep inside her. Needed the length of him driving into her. The weight of him above her, his arms surrounding her.
She kicked off her pants and tugged at his, freeing him and with little finesse, shifted her hips so that he could enter.
He seemed to sense her urgency. He plunged into her, yanking sharp gasps of pleasure/pain from both of them before he stilled.
Ramon glanced down at her. The warrior was there, battling for these last stolen moments. Fierce in her determination that nothing ruin the short time they had left.
His warrior. His woman. An enigma like none he had ever encountered. Like no other woman he would ever know and he would not waste a second of that miracle.
Bending his head, he whispered against her lips, “I will love you forever.”
“Dios, Ramon. You are my forever,” she replied, tears thick in her voice again, but he did not want for this to be a time of sorrow.
He wanted to embrace the joy of their love.
He kissed her deeply once more, pouring his heart out to her as he slowly tempered the kiss and began to move his hips. He met her mouth again and again, then dipped his head to adore her breasts, wanting to bring her pleasure. Wanting for her to remember every caress, every second of their loving to fill the empty days when they could no longer be together.
As her passion grew, he answered it, stroking and caressing until they were both at the edge and still he somehow held on, letting her fall into her climax before he raised her up again. Higher. More intensely until they were wrapped around one another, so tightly it was almost impossible to know where he began and she ended.
Which was as it should be, he thought. It was what would be right, he thought as he finally lost control and tumbled down with her.
In the aftermath they lay entwined, silent. Both lost in their thoughts. Similar thoughts. She that she could not live without him. He that he would find a way to keep her.
Ramon knew that then without, as their heartbeats were almost as one and skin kissed skin in their tight embrace.
He would find a way to stay with Catalina.
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 26, Catalina, her father, sisters and council members leave the morgue to discuss their plan of action after the three sisters have a not-so-sisterly chat. In this chapter — the next to last chapter in Book 1 of the series which I am titling REBELLION — the leaders of the Villalobos clan decide what to do about the seeming vampire rebellion which is taking root.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
After I post Chapter 28 shortly, I will be rolling all the chapters into the first book in the series – UNDEAD UPRISING: REBELLION – which will be available for a free download until October 1. I am deciding what to do about its availability after October 1 and would appreciate your comments on whether to charge, pricing, etc. Here’s your chance to decide what I should do with this first book in the series so please leave your comments!
So you’re probably wondering what’s the next book in the series? THE GAUNTLET. What follows for Catalina in the next book is a number of difficult choices as she must decide whether to honor her duty or love Ramon. She will also have to deal with the traitor in their midst as well as the loss of someone dear to her (I am so not spilling the beans!) as the war comes to the clan in a way in which they had not imagined.
Chapter 27
The mood in the council chambers was somber. Two in the clan were dead, but any decision that the Villalobos council made that night would likely result in more deaths.
If the council opted to do nothing, Catalina had no doubt that more lives would be lost to attacks such as the one that had happened earlier. If they went to war…
She didn’t want to think about that option for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the possible loss of life to the clan. On a more personal level, her father had already warned her that he would call for the Gauntlet to choose a mate for her soon. With war on the horizon, that time had just arrived. She understood as he did that without someone by her side, someone who the council could trust to control her when she was in her wolf-state, it would be a battle for her to assume leadership of the clan if something should happen to her father. If the council skipped her and went to her sisters…
Catalina glanced over at Helene and Selena as they stood to the left side of the dais where the council had gathered. Her father was at the center as was his right as the leader and as was her duty as the next-in-line, she sat at his right hand.
“There is no doubt this is an act of war,” said Francis, the eldest wolf amongst the council members. He was her father’s older first cousin, but childless, ending any possibility of that side of the family assuming leadership.
“No doubt, but fighting the vampires will not be easy. Urban warfare is difficult and we risk collateral damage to the humans. We must fight in a civilized manner to avoid such complications,” advised another council member which earned murmurs of agreement from several of the other elders.
Silence reigned as all eyes turned to her father. He reclined in his chair and shot her a sidewise glance. “A civilized war? An oxymoron, don’t you think, mi’ja?”
With a curt nod, she agreed as much as it pained her to do so for it would set in motion the cogs of death. “We not only risk wolves, we risk being revealed if we cannot contain this threat quickly and efficiently.”
“Are you suggesting we launch a first strike?” Francis asked, raising one bushy eyebrow that was liberally peppered with salt.
After another quick glance at her father, she inclined her head respectfully, aware that as a council member Francis currently outranked her. “I’m suggesting that we first make provisions for moving the clan members to locations where we can defend them, lessening the possibility that they will be attacked.”
That earned agreement from most of the council members and at her father’s motion that she continue, she said, “Then we should capture some of these vampires and get what information we can from them. Once we know more, we can map out a war plan that will limit our casualties and maintain our cover from the humans.”
Her father shifted forward in his chair and glanced at all the council members. As he noted their seeming accord with what she had proposed, his gaze swung over to her sisters before finally coming to rest on her.
As she met his keen-eyed gaze she had no doubt about what was coming. She wanted to plead with him, beg him not to proceed, but could not. Her entire life her father had raised her to take responsibility for herself and for the members of her clan. She could not fail them now as much as it pained her to accept her father’s orders.
Her father understood that as he turned from her shimmering gaze to face the council members once more. “If there will be war, we will need our heirarchy in order. I am therefore calling for the Gauntlet to be run to chose a mate for Catalina as she will take my place should I fall during this conflict.”
A stunned gasp escaped from Selena, but she quickly restored calm to her features. Helene remained stoicly beside her half-sister, but as she met Catalina’s gaze, she realized that Helene realized the sacrifice Catalina was making. Knew how it pained her. She also understood her sister would be there for her which made her feel not so alone.
Francis spoke first. “Let us set a date then, Rafael, so that your daughter’s place will not be challenged.”
***
Hemmerich smiled and shut off the video feed from the council chambers.
The Gauntlet, he thought with delight. He had sensed that Rafael de Villalobas was close to naming his successor and had hoped the father would show some sense and bypass Catalina. Imposing her as his heir had seemed like too great a challenge what with her inability to control her wolf. It was why he had skipped Helene-who had no interest in men-and become involved with Selena.
Hemmerich was suprised the council had rolled onto their bellies so quickly, but then again, maybe they were hoping that whoever won the Gauntlet would be able to handle Catalina.
With a smile, he imagined doing just that-handling Catalina. It was what he had wanted all along and if we could win the Gauntlet…
No, not if. When he won the Guantlet, because Hemmerich would do whatever it took to win control of Catalina and the clan.
Whatever it took, including aligning himself with the clan’s enemies.
He intended to rule and no one, not even the high and might Villalobos family, was going to get in his way.
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 25, the werewolf pack is faced with the murders of two of their members by a group of vampires. The two pack members were out for a date and not on the hunt, signaling to the leaders of the Villalobos clan that the vampires may be declaring war on the pack.
In this chapter, Catalina’s father and the council members leave the morgue to discuss their plan of action, leaving the three half-sisters behind for a sisterly chat (not!).
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 26
As leader of the pack, her father was first to exit the morgue, followed by the council members, leaving the three half-sisters behind with Hemmerich and Ramon.
Hemmerich shot Catalina a knowing look before sneering at Ramon. “I’ll be back in the room if you need me,” he said and dropped a perfunctory kiss on Selena’s cheek before leaving.
Ramon stood by her side, his uneasiness conveyed by the way his hands were locked together in front of him. Catalina knew he wanted to reach out and comfort her. Tell her things would be okay despite the grim happenings of the night.
But touching her in public, announcing their relationship, was impossible as much as she wanted to do the same.
Understanding that while at the same time frustrated by it, Ramon nodded curtly and bowed. “I’ll be in my quarters should you need my services.”
Selena chuckled in disdain and murmured, “I don’t imagine Catalina will be needing you to service her further you tonight.”
Heat crept up Catalina’s cheeks, matching the blush on Ramon’s and yet he could say nothing to her half-sister in deference to her station in the pack. But she could . . .
“Sister. I’d guard my tongue if I were you.”
Selena glared at her, angered by the rebuke as Ramon exited the room. “Really? Do you suppose father would approve – “
“Father is well aware of Catalina’s activities, Selena,” Helene jumped in and then plowed onward. “And considering that you’re sharing a bed with that mongrel Hemmerich, I would not be too quick to condemn.”
Selena quickly defended her lover. “Hemmerich is one of our top wolves.”
“A mere foot soldier,” Catalina challenged and then motioned to the door with her hand. “It’s time we went to chambers, sisters. We need to support father and be certain of the steps to be taken.”
With an irritated huff, Selena whirled and stalked from the room.
Catalina shot a half glance at Helene, who rolled her eyes and said, “Drama queen. Let’s hope she has the sense to wise up to Hemmerich.”
“Let’s hope. We need trust her, but as long as she is with him . . .” Catalina paused, knowing she needed to go no further since Helene agreed with her about the other wolf.
Hemmerich was not to be trusted. Catalina hoped that in time, Selena would see that.
With a quick nod to her half-sister, she strode from the room, Helene following her as they raced to the council chambers for the discussion of 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 24, Catalina and Ramon’s peace after making love is shattered by news of a vampire attack.
In this chapter we find out more about the attack and what it might mean to the Villalobas pack.
For those of you who may have missed the first chapters, you can read them here:
Chapter 25
The scene in the morgue was grim.
The council stood behind her father while Hemmerich and her half-sister Selena stood off to one side. On the gleaming stainless steel tables in front of them lay the naked bodies of two of their younger adult pack members.
Catalina paused before the bodies, Helene on her left and Ramon on her right. It staggered her to see the young wolves there, side-by-side in death much as they had been together in life. Had it only been a few years since she had attended their wedding? Less than a year since she and the other wolves had welcomed their new son into the pack.
“The child?” she asked, her gut tightening into an ever more malicious knot as it occurred to her that the child might have been with them.
“Left at home with the grandparents. Kate and Edward had decided to go out for a long awaited night alone,” her father replied and Catalina strode up to the tables for a closer inspection.
The two wolves bore dozens of defensive wounds, a testament to how bravely they had fought for their lives. Numerous bites also marred their bodies. The vampires had feasted on them, but more troubling was the possibility that Kate and Edward had been turned during the feeding. Although it was rare for vamp-were hybrids to occur, it was possible and there was only one way to prevent that.
“Incineration — ”
“Already scheduled,” her father replied, but then quickly added, “They were not on the hunt.” He motioned to the pile of bloodied and shredded street clothes lying on another table beside the bodies.
Catalina nodded and asked, “Who found them?”
“Kate managed to shoot off a distress signal after they were attacked. Victor and the pack members on guard tonight tracked the signal on her cell phone, but arrived too late,” her father advised, prompting a series of distressed murmurs from the council members behind him.
She glanced at the council, who were wringing their hands and moaning like a bunch of old ladies at a funeral. She expected more from them and as her father turned and shot them a condemning look, she realized he did as well. When her father returned his gaze to her, she said, “Have you secured the compound and sent out a warning to the other pack members?”
“It’s been done, daughter,” her father answered. He lifted his hand and with a wave to the bodies, he instructed the two wolves manning the morgue to take them away. Then with another annoyed glare at his council, he said, “We need to retire to the chambers and discuss what to do next.”
“Do you think they mean war, father?” Helene asked and beside her, Catalina sensed Ramon’s uneasiness. As the physician to the pack, he would be the one responsible for tending to the injuries of the wolves, as well as her own because she had no doubt who her father would appoint to lead them into battle.
Turning to face her half-sister, she said, “It’s always been war, Helene. Only now it’s our turn to be on the defensive.”
Sadly, not one person in the room disagreed.
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.
