Bark at the Moon Ch. 04

Jason Archer didn't remember much after the car ride. He remembered some people arguing about something about him and Kara, but he couldn't remember it for the life of him. What he did remember though, was that he was a were-something. A shapeshifter.

His world was black around him, but his first sense to come back was smell. It smelled like some hippie spiritual shop. Lots of candles, woody natural smells, and incense.

He opened his eyes, and saw a lovely, dark-haired face standing over him. She had the most lovely green eyes he'd ever seen. "Well, hello there, lovely."

The woman's gorgeous features twisted in a snort of laughter. "Yea, keep it in your pants, puppy." Her voice carried just a hint of an Irish brogue. "I know you did it with Iris Nash. Trust me, you're cute, but I'm not having her sloppy seconds."

He slowly found himself moving back to reality, his head clearing. "Yea, uh, sorry. Call it Florence Nightingale syndrome or some shit."

She laughed again. God, that laugh was gorgeous. "That's the other way around. You're certainly not like your sister."

The mention of his sister brought back the memory of Iris's promise. "Kara!" He shot up to a sitting position. "Where is she?"

The woman backed off slightly. "Owen Reese left with her after some men tried attacking her." She placed a hand on her shoulder. It was soft, and almost immediately, he felt comforted. "Jason, don't worry. She's okay. Just frightened, is all."

Jason calmed, considerably. "Those men. They're coming for her for what we are." He shook his head. "But what that is, I don't know..."

The woman knelt down next to him. He realized now that he was on a cot of some sort, in a store room. "To put it simply? You're a were-coyote. A very special one."

"A special one?" He looked down to her. "How do you know that? Hell, I don't even know who you are."

"I'm Caitlin O'Dwyer, and I'm a witch."

"A witch?" He whistled. "Well, this is a weird morning."

"Afternoon now, actually." She said. "You were out for quite a bit."

Jason brought a hand up to his head, rubbing it. "Shit. Well, uh..." He whistled. "That's just great." He wanted aspirin, bad, or maybe something stronger. "So, uh, how am I special?"

Caitlin paused for a moment. "It's best I let Lieutenant Reese explain that." She said, quietly. "You're both weres, so it'd be his place to explain all this."

He sighed. "Uh, all right." Jason slowly fell back onto the bed. "I feel sore as all hell."

"Yea, that's part of what Miss Nash shot into you." She said. "I'm not entirely sure what it was, but you got a pretty potent spell knocked into you."

"So, that shot was a potion?" He thought about it. "So what did it do?"

"I'm not entirely sure," She said. "But the effect is pretty obvious. It kicked in some latent genetics, and popped out the puppy side in you."

"Genetics..." He thought about that for a second. "Kara, shit."

"Yes," A male voice came from the far end of the store room. A man who looked like a thug, but wore a cop's shield on his belt, was standing against the wall. "Kara. We have to talk to you about your sister, Mr. Archer."

"And just who are you?" Jason slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position, which every sore muscle in his body protested.

"Santiago. I work with Reese in Major Crimes." He crossed his thick arms across his chest. "In case you haven't figure it out, we're the Arcane squad in SFPD."

"Yea," He nodded. "Figured that one out. Tell me, does the super-muscle-freak deal apply for all of you? It seems like a requirement."

"Yep, he's her brother." He rolled his eyes. "Listen, Archer, you can't tell Kara she's a were."

"Why the hell not?" He wanted to try standing up, to make his protest seem more than just vocal. "She's got a right to know."

"We want to protect her, until we can figure out what's going to set off her change, and what exactly we can do to soften the blow." Santiago took a step towards him. "I don't like this any more than you, Jason. But my orders come from the Captain."

"I don't take orders from him." Jason snapped. He hadn't realized it, at first, but a growl broke into his voice, primal and fierce.

"You will, because he's got more strings he can pull and favors he can call in than you could comprehend." Santiago said. "You're going to cool your jets, man. For now, Kara's safe with Owen. And I promise you, he won't let anything happen to her."

Caitlin's hand touched Jason's, again seeming to calm the swirling cyclone of emotions brewing in Jason's body. "Owen Reese is a good man. He'll protect your sister, I promise."

*

Owen had taken her back to his place. It was the safest place he knew, he said, and even if it wasn't familiar for her, Kara felt it was at least somewhat homely. He lived in a decent part of town, that was for sure. Owen unlocked the door and let them in.

The place had a distinct feeling of being lived in. It had a nice homey feel, really. They walked into the living room. A few pictures sitting on a mantle showed Owen with some other people. The pictures, however, looked like they were from the eighties or maybe even the seventies. She wondered, suddenly, how old he really was. He certainly didn't look like he'd been around long enough to be in the navy and be a ten-year vet of the force.

"Kara," Owen started. He placed a hand on her arm. "Jason was looking into a story. Looking into a drug ring, I think. But he got abducted by a woman, a werewolf named Iris Nash."

"And this Iris," Kara said. Her mind was already racing, at worry for her brother, and the thought that she was going to kill this Iris woman for whatever she'd done to Jason. "What'd she do?"

"She tampered with his genetics, using magic." He paused a moment, and his voice went quiet. "She's turned him into a were, Kara."

"What?" She hissed. "How?" Some part of her mind said that reasoning this away wouldn't probably be easy. It was, after all, magic. "No...Why? Why would she do that?"

"I don't really know. That's what we're going to find out, Kara." Owen cupped her jaw, and she let him turn her head so his eyes connected with hers.

"Those people," Kara whispered. "At Wyrd. They want to do the same thing to me?" She saw him hesitate. "Damn it, Owen, I'm a big girl. I can handle some psychos who want to abduct me."

Owen nodded. "Yea. I don't know why, but they're coming after the both of you."

She looked up at him for a moment. She was scared, damn it. She didn't like being scared. Kara was used to being an authority figure, someone who defended someone else. But, now, she was the target here. Someone, something that didn't stop for much of anything, were coming after her.

"Kiss me, Owen." Kara whispered.

"What?" Owen broke eye contact for a moment, drawing back. "Kara, I..."

"Shut up." She whispered. "I want you to kiss me, hold me, and I want to be near you."

She got impatient about the same moment that he decided to kiss her. Their lips crushed together in a hungry, desperate kiss. There was no hesitation between either of them. Kara felt the lust soar through her. She wanted him, badly. Needed him. No booze or anything, she wanted him. And even if she had to use her gun, he'd damn well hold her afterwards.

Owen's tongue thrust into her mouth, and she responded in kind. Her tongue wrapped around his, dueling with a need that she hadn't imagined could be running through her. She shoved off her jacket, feeling three sizes too small for her clothes at the moment.

His hands moved down her body, but impatience got the better of her. She slid up, and move to straddle his lap. Patience was the last thing on her mind. She grinned, baring her teeth for him. "Come on, wolfman." She teased. "I want you."

He flashed his own teeth, with the fangs that would have been at home on some sort of dire wolf. The sight of them sent shivers-all of them not entirely bad- through her. "Then you'll have me." His hands worked at her blouse, pulling at the buttons.

They worked as fast as they could to strip each other. Her blouse and bra were off in moments, and she had to fight the urge to just tear his shirt with need. Instead, she dipped her head while she pulled his shirt up. Her tongue flicked out, dragging across his flesh as she pulled his shirt further and further up.

A growl, bestial in nature, ripped from Owen's throat. She eventually pulled his shirt up over his head, the sweaty, masculine taste of him filling her mouth. "Yum," She murmured, and her teeth nipped at his neck.

"You're addictive, Kara." Owen growled. His hips arched up into her, and even through his jeans and her slacks, she could feel his heavy, throbbing arousal. She moaned, and happily ground herself against him.

She lifted herself off of him, reluctantly, just long enough to undo her belt and slide her slacks off. Kara worked off her panties next, leaving them pooled on the floor with the rest of her clothes. She looked down at him, before she moved onto his lap again. "You know, it's nuts."

"Yea, what is?" He chuckled.

"I'm sleeping with my training officer, who's a werewolf, a total stud, and if I told anyone what I've been doing the past two days, they'd think I was nuts."

"Don't worry," He chuckled. "I like a little crazy."

She reached down, and made quick work of his belt and zipper. She shoved his jeans down to his knees, and grinned delightfully at his tented boxers.

She made quick work of those as well, and took his cock in her hand. It was thick, hard, and part of her was almost glad it had been dark when they'd first slept together. Men like Owen were a fantastic commodity.

He leaned up, their lips meeting again. She sighed, lustily, against him. Her body pressed against his, pressing against his solid chest. Owen let out a rumbling growl of his own, which only shot her lust hotter.

She lifted her hips, and guided him in. His thick cock spread the lips of her pussy, and slowly, she lowered herself over him. His size made her grunt and gasp, as well as let out lustful moans.

But Owen wasn't the type to sit by, she remembered. He started to arch his hips up against her. Kara grunted, and slowly, she started to grind against him. They started a rhythm of their own. Slow, hot, grinding, drawing every bit of pleasure they could.

Owen lowered his head, his lips finding one of her breasts. He licked, nipped, and teased it, making Kara thrash on top of him with eagerness. She grabbed his shoulders, and started to ride him harder, faster. "Owen," She panted his name, needing more of him.

His hands slid down to her hips, pulling at her as they they kept that slow, but incredibly intense pace. Slowly, he guided her to a faster, harder pace. She bounced along his length, rocking with lustful, eager moans.

Owen's mouth moved up from her breast to the base of her neck. Now, however, his fangs scraped against her skin. She moaned, tossing her head back in delight. That was way, way better than it should have felt. His sharp fangs sent all sorts of wicked tingles through her. She moved faster, more desperately, wanting to push herself over the edge.

But Owen was more than eager to help her along. He started to increase his pace, ramming up into her. She felt her body shake with each delightful thrust, and he head her growl, quiet, though it seemed to reverberate with a single word throughout her.

"Mine."

She didn't have long to think on what that meant, beyond how utterly sexy it sounded. Kara tossed her head back, in wonderful bliss, screaming his name as she climaxed. Her muscles clenched around him, eager to milk his shaft for all it could give.

And again, the base of his shaft seemed to swell, filling her and stretching her as hot ropes of seed filled her. She moaned his name, softly, holding on to him, afraid to let go. His fangs grated against her skin, not piercing, but still driving her even deeper into pleasure at the sensations.

He lasted a very long time, for which she was entirely fine with. She seemed to drift between peak and trough, riding a series of climaxes like waves. That swelling, whatever it was, was heavenly.

Finally, when it was over, Kara groaned. She was sore and tired, in the best possible way. "Hold me," She pleaded, her voice a whimper.

"Of course, Kara." His thick, warm arms wrapped around her, and she sighed in happiness.

Kara nuzzled into his neck, utterly happy. "You have a ton to explain to me, wolfman."

"I'll explain later." He murmured his promise.

She was satisfied with that, for now. But his growled word rang through her head, leaving her with so many wonders.

His.

What did it mean?

*

Corvus wasn't pleased. The two wolves that had gone after Kara Archer had seriously bungled the job. They apparently hadn't been paying attention, and they hadn't known there were two witches and a were, all of whom were incredibly dangerous.

He didn't understand the weres and their mentality. Whatever they saw in the two Archers was irrelevant to them. However, he had an uneasy alliance with them. He needed to support them.

Iris Nash stood in front of him. "They weren't equipped to take on those detectives." She said those detectives like there would be something wrong with referring to her brother.

Corvus knew Iris's true name, Iris Reese. But for some reason he did not understand, she took the mother's maiden name. It mattered little to Corvus. He only wanted loyalty. No, he didn't even want loyalty. What he wanted was competency.

"And what do you expect me to do?" He hissed. He watched as she recoiled when he spoke, enjoying it. His lungs were destroyed, in reality. He knew his voice sounded horrific. It was just another tool. "Stupid bitch, two men against three cops? Save me from idiots." He had half a mind to hit her. The bitch-and she really was one- responded adequately to pain.

"I'm sorry, sir." She bowed her head, submissively. "I'll do my best next time."

Yes, she would. Because he'd offered her the one thing she wanted. Her brother's head. That, and power. Revenge and power. Iris Nash was not a woman with very pure motives.

"I require another sacrifice." He said. "Two more, and I should be able to work the summons."

"Is there any specific one you ask for?"

Corvus chuckled. "Good, you thought to ask." He sat down at the card table, and pulled a file out. "Here. She's a regular at a vampire bar. Watch her tonight, study her. Then take her tomorrow."

"It's as you wish, sir." She bowed, and picked up the file. "Where do you wish her taken?"

"The workshop. I'll want to begin immediately once we have her."

"Yes, sir," She looked over the file. "What makes her special?"

"Grandmother had the gift." He remarked. "Had a minor form of touch telepathy. He likes them. The mind-readers."

"Yes, sir." Iris's voice was quiet. "Is there anything else?" At the shake of his head, she scurried from the room.

Just two more. Two more, and he could get his revenge.

To pay back Caitlin O'Dwyer back for almost a century of pain, misery, and suffering.

*

Well, some questions answered, some mysteries arise. Thanks for reading, and leave some feedback! Also, a little update...I'm considering starting up a second series as a semi-companion to Bark at the Moon. I've got some other characters I'd like to play around with, but I don't want to necessarily have that many characters running around in one story, so it would be either a sequel to BATM, or another series. If you guys want, feel free to give your opinions on it, either here in the comments or in an email. Thanks for reading!