Dawn's Path: Completed Work

Drew slowly reached out a hand and ran it down the wolf's back. The fur was every bit as soft and plush as he'd guessed. Slick beneath his fingertips. He lifted his chin, offering the wolf his neck. The wolf's black nose was cold, her exhales hot against his skin as she inspected his scent, evaluating if he were friend or foe, or perhaps, prey. Riffling through his hair with her nose, she continued sniffing him. Obviously, he met with her approval. With a satisfied snort, she sat back on her haunches and allowed him to stroke her luxurious pelt.

There was no hint, not even the slightest trace of danger to the man's aroma. Her nostrils were filled with the essence of the Great White Wolf. He was pack. He was safe. Curiously, she lapped at his cheek with her tongue, evaluating his taste. Sweet. Good.

Proceeding cautiously, not wanting to frighten the majestic creature. Drew slicked his hand up the wolf's back and over her erect ears. Making long sloping arcs from the top of her head and down to her haunches. The fur was thick and luxurious, a treat to his sense of touch. Each stroke brought more of the musky scent of combined wolf and woman to his sensitive nose. They continued to inspect one another. In her case, sniff and taste. And in his, touch. And every stroke of his fingertips, sniff, and lap of her tongue across his skin built trust and a bond between them.

The curtain of evening fell down around them. Sunlight gave way to dim, cool, wafting, breezes. On the air, the wolf caught the scent of prey. Deer. A hungry rumbling echoed deep in her gut. And she could not ignore the instinct to hunt. Leaping onto her paws, she yipped at the male to follow her and trotted into the trees, following the intoxicating lure of a meal.

Drew bounded to his feet and ran after Tala's wolf, matching her rapid trot. Wolves hunted in packs. And he supposed the wolf considered him pack. The beast inside of him methodically evaluated the sent of prey. Perked his ethereal ears at the gentle crunch of snow beneath the deer's hooves. And the soft scent musk and rustle of fur as the wind changed directions. His wolf knew more about hunting than he sure as hell did. He hunted by learned trial and error and many, many missed meals. The wolf simply hunted by instinct.

This hunt was Tala's or rather, her wolf's. His muscles coiled in anticipation as he watched the she wolf leap on to the deer's back. The buck loosed a startled grunt of pain. Rocking and pitching, trying to throw the wolf from his back. But, the she wolf was nothing if not tenacious. Digging her claws into the buck's powerful shoulders and latching her jaws around the buck's neck, she clung to his back, holding fast as the deer wore down.

Excited by the thrill of the hunt, Drew's predatory instincts took control. The wolf inside of him pounded against his skull and tore at his limbs in desperation to break free. If he ever doubted Tala's explanation of what was happening to him. He didn't any longer. The wolf was so close to the surface of both his awareness and his body. Threatening to tear him apart. And the pain of it was more agonizing than being born. The wolf wanted to hunt, wanted to consume the life of the dying buck, and feast on the death. Drew was more animal than man. His muscles coiling and uncoiling as he launched his body and landed on the deer's back. Tearing at the buck's hide, his fingers found purchase in the flesh. And with the fury of a wolf's intent to claim the prey, he drove his fangs into the buck's neck.

The buck kicked in a final desperate attempt to save his dwindling life. Dropping to his knees, grunting from the pain of death, he surrendered. Drew drank deeply, swallowing mouthfuls of blood until the heartbeat sputtered in a series of useless beats. Shuddering and grappling to maintain control, he rolled off the deer's back. Covered in gore from the she-wolf's kill, he battled the instinct to eat. Consume what he'd helped kill. The wolf showed him mental images of what he wanted him to do. Tear at the flesh with claws. Rend meat from bone with powerful jaws. Rip the hide away to get to the warm entrails beneath. Drew gagged and what he'd drunk bubbled in his throat. Crouching on all fours, a fresh wave of pain seized his trembling limbs. His wolf was going to break free and take complete rein of the body they shared.

He prayed to the goddess. He called on the ancestors for help. And he cursed the man who had left him with this gift...this legacy of flesh and blood and hunger. His body was still his for the moment. He clutched at the muddy snow covered ground with his fingers. Panted against the agony assaulting his limbs and tearing at his flesh. He could not lose control. He could not let the wolf win. He would not consume the kill as the wolf commanded him to do. He was a man with a rational mind. And to relinquish his hold over it was to lose so much, too much, of what he'd always believed himself to be. He didn't want to be more than a man. He didn't want this gift...this curse. And yet, he was powerless to the instinctive call of the wolf inside of him.

Eventually, he knew he would lose to the wolf. The force, the power of the wolf was too great to battle forever. But, he would not lose today. The power contorting his limbs receded. He was weak, trembling from the aftershocks of the relentless energy holding him under siege. He'd managed to maintain his human form and his mind. A winter's breeze cooled his heated skin and dried the sweat and the blood coating his face. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the night sky. A full moon hovered low on the horizon bathing the woods in her silver light. Lazy stars dotted the treetops with burning points of brightness. The pain was gone. And the wolf in his head was silent. The goddess did answer prayers. And for the time being she'd given him a reprieve from the beast inside of him.

The wolf tore eagerly at the animal's fur, ripping at its pelt with powerful jaws. Hungrily, the wolf chewed, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of rich, meaty, muscle in absolute bliss. Once fully sated, she ran her pink tongue over her blood drenched muzzle and sat on her haunches. The buck was large, plenty for a pack, and more than she could eat. Sniffing around on the ground, digging through the snow and at the layers of decaying leaves and humus she found the perfect place to hide her cache. Playfully shaking the carcass, she dragged the remains over to the hole she'd dug and buried them.

The she-wolf was a magnificent creation of nature and one of intense beauty. But, he wanted to speak to her human half. Shook up by the pain of almost becoming what she was, he needed answers. And the wolf, as much as she accepted him as pack, couldn't give them. "Tala, come back to me."

The wolf yielded to his gentle call. Awareness flooded back into her consciousness. Trembling and shivering she gave her body and her mind back to her human host. The sound of bone and muscle rebuilding crunched and crackled. Human gasps of pain broke the silence of the woods. And Tala awoke shuddering from the cold and the lingering spasms gripping her limbs. Sprawled out on her belly atop a thick layer of soft, wet, earthy smelling frost covered leaves, she pushed herself up and sat huddled and shivering on the ground.

Her tongue was coated with the metallic taste of fresh kill. Her wolf had hunted and hunted well. Bits and pieces came back to her slowly. And she became aware that she was not alone. Drew had already stripped off his shirt and was in the process of handing it to her. Dried blood trailed down his chin and stained the shirt. He looked shook up and deeply disturbed. His face had the pinched expression of someone in pain. Given the blood and the furrows between his thick, dark brows, she suspected the worst. On her feet, running her hands over his bare chest, she checked for injuries. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

The Great Father averted his eyes from Tala's naked body. Tingling with awareness of just how naked she was beneath his button down shirt and how good her fingertips felt brushing over his bare skin. He almost wished he were wounded. The tip of her index finger probed an old, puckered scar, scant millimeters above his heart. The round area of raised, thickened flesh marked the spot where the bullet pierced his chest and ended his mortal life. He never spoke of it. Of how he laid that on that battlefield, listening helplessly to the cries of the injured and dying men around him. In that moment of darkness, of knowing he was going to die, it hadn't mattered who believed in what, or which side of the battle they were on. They were men, bleeding the ground red as equals in their suffering and pain, and in their death.

He longed to reach out, to still her busy hands, reach under the billowy shirt and stroke back as he had when she'd been in wolf form. He could imagine the feel of her smooth curves beneath his palms. He started conversation as a diversion, thinking of anything to keep his mind off her full lips and the rich brown of her eyes. "Do you remember what happens while you're in wolf form?"

"Sort of. I don't have solid memories or trains of thought. I see pictures and images. Feelings mostly." She shifted her weight from the balls of her feet onto her heels and exhaled in relief. She, rather her wolf, hadn't hurt him. He was just bloody from the hunt. The shirt he'd lent her was speckled with dried blood and tufts of stray hairs from her wolf. Self-consciously, she wrapped her arms around her waist and grappled with the loose shirttail billowing in the breeze. It was almost laughable the way Drew tried so hard to pretend not to notice exactly what the shirt wasn't covering when the wind gusted. He looked across the distance at the dark outline of the trees, up at the stars, the toes of his boots, anywhere but at her.

She didn't have a problem being naked. But, he sure seemed to. With a grunt he turned on his heel, suddenly all business. Leading the way back to the compound. Tala really didn't need his help to find her way back. Her wolf knew. But, she humored him and let him act as her guide. His steps were wide and made two of hers. He took advantage of his height and giant strides, keeping a safe distance between them. They hadn't walked very far when he stopped and bent to retrieve a bag. His back turned, he handed the plastic sack to her.

Tala's lips curved into a snicker as she reached inside the bag and pulled out clothing. It was freezing out here and she wasted no time pulling on the sweatpants and yanking the sweatshirt over her head. "I didn't hurt anybody did I? The woman, she frightened me and my wolf responded. I couldn't control it. It just happened."

Drew surveyed Tala from the top of her head to her painted toenails. In her haste, Janine had forgotten to include shoes or at the very minimum socks. "Don't apologize for what happened. We just need more time to get used to each other. This is going to work out. And as for Janine, you rattled her fangs a bit. But, she's fine."

Tala wasn't sure if he was talking about sharing the acres of wooded grounds with their two families or something deeper. His expression was one of stern determination. He meant and he believed every word. And maybe, it was true. Her arrival here certainly had turned his world upside down. She guessed it wasn't easy for the vampires to realize they weren't at the very top of the food chain, preternaturally speaking. The wolves were every bit as lethal and dangerous and packed on hell of a bite. She smiled up at him as he deftly plucked twigs and debris free from her hair and ran his fingers gently though the strands. He'd seen her naked, twice now. But, the intimacy of his gesture flashed a blush to her cheeks.

She was a little weary and wobbly on her feet, although not as badly as she had been before. Her wolf had only been given a few hours to roam free. The longer she let the wolf have her way with their body the harder the transition back to human was. "I'd really like a shower." Tala thought it best not to argue with the man and accepted his proffered arm. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for him. Grappling to keep up with this ever changing world.

Sometimes, he behaved like any other ordinary male. But, there were times, such as this, when he reflected times long past. In some ways, he reminded her of her father. In both his mannerisms and speech. The man still hadn't quite gotten it through his thick skull that women were equals. He tried, much as Drew tried to adapt to the world. But, stubbornly clung to the belief that women were the gentler sex. Especially, when it suited his needs. And that in and of itself was another reason why she'd come here. She wanted to declare her independence as a woman in all ways.

Drew's wolf was so close to the surface Tala could smell him on his skin. The hunt must have awakened him. She wondered exactly how hard he'd battled to keep the wolf trapped inside of him. Drew was rattled. Hiding it well beneath a cool mask of indifferent stoicism. It was just a matter of time before he lost the battle and the wolf broke free. It would be easier if he'd allow the wolf his freedom. The magic would come and the wolf would emerge. It would hurt. There was nothing gentle about the wolf. But, it wouldn't be as painful or as terrifying as fighting so hard to keep him contained. Tala sensed that now was not the time to bridge the subject. But, she'd have to soon. Teach him to accept the wolf and bond with him, before the wolf did it for her, and Drew got the shock of his very long life.

Drew's lips curved with the hint of a smile at Tala's reluctant acceptance of his gentlemanly gesture. Her tiny hand rested on the curve of his elbow. Their bodies so close her hip brushed against his as they walked. She smelled of wolf, wild, and the sweetness of woman. Her hair blew in the night cold wind, tangling over her shoulders in a fall of sleek velvet darkness. He could no longer hide her or what she was from the brothers. Undoubtedly, by now word had spread. And Toby had certainly captured the whole thing with one of his hidden security cameras.

If his brother had wanted to keep the wolves a secret, he might have been better served to hide them where they were instead of bringing them here. Drew had no words to explain the events that led the wolves to the brotherhood's doorstep. And there was no way to demand the brothers extend their protection to the wolves without telling them the absolute truth. All of it, and that included the truth he was reluctantly beginning to accept about himself. He'd rather stick his head in the sand and try to ignore the stirrings of the spirit wolf trapped in his body. And he'd thought he could not afford to release the beast. Imagined it might be safer that way.

The events of tonight forced him to realize he had no other choice but to set it free. It wasn't so much a matter of how to do it. The wolf inside of him had that pretty much covered. It was more to the point that if he didn't learn how to master the wolf. The wolf would master him. Even now, he could sense him. Feel his barely contained power surging through their shared body.

But, he and his wolf weren't at odds about everything. They liked Tala close to them. She smelled of pack and of home, of things that solely belonged to them. The wolf was a fiercely protective beast. Guarding what he considered his. Drew didn't know if he was reflecting the beast or if the beast was reflecting the man. But, in their instinctive feelings about Tala they were of one accord. The human male persona he'd worked so hard to cultivate considered his self-proclaimed assumption that she was his chastised him for being so primitive. Women were liberated. They were strong and fierce, just as much or probably more so than any man. And while he respected this new era of women, and he respected Tala and her bravery in coming here to ask for his help, he still considered her not only under his protection, but his.

He walked to the compound, slowing his steps to match her shorter strides and to keep her by his side a little longer. He had no idea of how to court a modern woman. He'd never thought to consider such a thing. He just assumed he'd spend his immortal life alone. He hadn't, well he didn't want to think about how long it'd been since he hadn't. He'd tried to forget his wife and what he'd done. She wasn't destined for immortality and her body rejected his gift. She died in his arms. And instead of having her forever, he'd robbed them of the twenty or thirty years they might have had together. He'd tried to spare her the pain of death and delivered her into its hands.

It was a cruel trick of fate and destiny that he was surrounded by his Sons and still so very alone. Women throughout the ages had been a temptation he'd avoided, beautiful, fragrant, shimmering beings that he enjoyed looking at but didn't dare to touch. Hadn't thought about touching, and assumed he never would, until now. This woman tied him in knots. Had him helplessly wrapped around her dainty little finger. And even at that, he wasn't completely certain if it was his wolf that responded to hers or if it was him responding to the woman. The two parts of him were becoming more and more as one. Man. Wolf. Wolf. Man. It was confusing and terrifying and at the same time he'd never felt as complete as he did right now. As if he were finally seeing the realization of his destiny. And she was standing here beside him.

Chapter 58

Angel used her nose to ferret out Keene. Following his scent to the gym. Luckily, Dane was with him. Saved her the trouble of having to explain things twice. Fueled by the friendly competition of a sparring match, they were in pretty good moods. Which might make selling them on her idea a little easier. "I need to speak to the both of you," she interrupted. Stepping onto the mat, she ducked a punch, intended for Keene.

The two sets of eyes focused on her, one brown the other deep gray, made her nervous and doubting the merit of her plan. She just didn't want to see anyone die. After all, Keene was just like her. They'd both been rogues in another life. The brothers had spared them. Why would the rogues worth saving be any different? These men were not killers. And they did not take lives randomly. If the Sons killed, it was out of lack of other options. They enforced their laws. They couldn't afford not to. And there were plenty of rogues who deserved not their mercy but the full force of their vengeance. However, there were others, reluctant victims of circumstance, worthy of pardon. And it was those rogues she desperately wanted to save.

"The rogues need a leader." Angel ignored the curious raise of Dane's brows and went on to argue her case. "Some of the rogues hide in fear. Others flaunt what they are boldly without a care for who sees them. They're dangerous. Lethal. Bored. But, not incapable of being contained." She swallowed past the lump in her throat and took a deep breath. Dane and Keene were listening to her. Their undivided attention focused on her. She never thought she'd see the day when she'd plea for a rogue's life. But, here she was doing so.

Angel knew she was right about this. And she was certain in her convictions that this was the right thing to do. The world was a dangerous place and the brotherhood needed all the help they could get just as badly as the rogues needed a purpose other than preying on humanity. Why not satisfy both sides of the coin and do both? She placed a hand on Keene's shoulder and lifted her chin to meet his steely gaze. He already knew where she was going with this. He simply didn't know the extent of it.

"Keene, you're someone from the rogues' past. Someone they recognize, respect, and fear. We're not so different from them. You've done things you're not so proud of and so have I. But, we were lucky enough to get a second chance. And the rogues deserve the same. I know there are some who don't, who are so far gone there isn't any bringing them back. But, for the most part, they, like us just want to live. I know you're a Son and this is where you belong. And what I'm suggesting is temporary. Call them out, unite them, and be the leader the rogues so desperately need. Get to the rogues before someone else does. Make them our friends instead of standing by and doing nothing until they become our enemies again. "