The Wolf's Call to the Moon Ch. 02

Whoever the man was, Jean-Pierre was sure he had never seen him before. He was not one of her colleagues or her students. And his garb and demeanor... was just so out of place.

Sending a text to Sophie, he instructed her to track down the unknown man and find out who he was and what he wanted from Mallory. Despite the information overload he just had, Jean-Pierre never slipped on a hunch. Something was off about this man and he would do everything to find out why.

***

"So, what would you like to eat?" asked Mallory after they've taken a seat. "I usually have the pastrami sandwich. It's good."

"Uh, yeah." Clay looked suspiciously at the menu, unsure of what it was he was reading. A few decades of living as a wolf more than a human made his choices of food rather... wild compared to whatever was on the menu.

Deciding that trusting Mallory would be his best bet, he left it to her to order. She was smiling when she left to purchase their food at the counter.

It was when he was left alone, relaxing in his chair that he spotted the buxom blonde walking his way. His senses immediately went on high alert, hisuntraceableability hiked to its maximum. He could tell that she was not human and whatever it was she was trying to do to mask it, was not done very well – or it was done on purpose to test him.

"Hi."

If Clay was any other male, he might have pounced on her right then. Her voice was dripped with sex and her feminine scent strong and alluring.

He merely kept quiet and nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

"May I sit here?" she asked, not waiting for his reply. Making herself comfortable, she crossed her legs causing her skirt to rise slightly to mid-thigh.

In response, he merely got up and moved to another empty table, aware that her eyes were two orbs burning a hole in his back. His in turn were focused on Mallory who was walking back to their table with their food.

"The sun was in my eye," he said even before she could ask the question. Mallory simple shrugged and placed their food on the table. Before she could sit, someone gave a tap on her shoulder.

"Hi Professor!" chimed the blonde.

"Oh, Sophie it's you. You're alone today?" Mallory gave her student a sweet smile.

"Yeah, you know boys... they're off chasing some girls so I'm alone today. I just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I'm enjoying your class."

"Oh that's great!" Gesturing to the empty seat, Mallory offered, "Well if you'd like you can join us. Clay here is also a student who sits in our class from time to time so I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about."

Clay narrowed his eyes at Mallory, unhappy with the fact that he had to share her with her student. The heels of his chair creaked when he stood up suddenly; the metal scrapping over the concrete floor.

Towering over both women, he crossed his arms over his chest.

Mallory sent him a look saying "behave!" Oh boy she had no idea how well he was behaving right now just by not ripping off the blonde's head. Holding himself back so as not to even bare his teeth at the woman named Sophie, he sent a 'push' in her mind telling her to get the fuck out.

When she felt it, Sophie widened her eyes in shock; stepping back to stare at the man in front of her. No one had the ability to intrude on a Light Walker's mind unless he or she was an Alpha... or otherwise a very ancient Risen.

"Oh... that's alright Professor. I'd like to finish up my assignments in the library. I'll catch you in class tomorrow!"

And she was gone in a heartbeat.

"You scared her," Mallory said accusingly.

"No I did not!" he protested. "I think she got the message that I wanted to be alone with you."

The annoyance on her face melted into one full of curiosity.

"Do you?"

"Not unless it makes you uncomfortable," he replied.

"That's not answering the question. But to answer your unspoken one, no, I'm not uncomfortable."

Taking a bite out of her sandwich, she studied him carefully. His shoulder-length black hair and unshaven jawline seemed so out of place in the strict campus setting but it only accentuated the striking blue of his eyes.

"Do I pass inspection?" he teased when his gaze caught hers.

Feeling her cheeks flushed from embarrassment, Mallory quickly changed the subject.

"Where are you from, Clay?"

Clay took a second to consider his reply. He was born during a time where boundaries were more fluid than now. Much territory had been conceded to different reigning powers over time but if he had to choose one, it would probably be...

"France."

Mallory was quiet at his answer; her eyes cast down for a minute. When she spoke, it was almost a whisper, "Me too."

Clay didn't need to hear her explanation to know that she too had experienced loss. Hadn't he seen it in her eyes for the past six months? That was what drew them to each other. Not wanting her to languish in her memories, he spoke first.

"I had a very large family. My mother had five younger sisters and the youngest was my uncle so I grew up with lots of crazy cousins to annoy me even though I had no siblings of my own." He laughed recalling a distant memory. "Me and a few of my cousins would sometimes sneak out in the middle of the night to the little bar at the edge of the cliff where we would then dare each other to jump off into the sea below."

"That's crazy!" she gasped, slapping her hands on the table.

"Trust me. When you're a teen, nothing is crazy except maybe your parents."

Unsure how to respond, Mallory gave him a smile and leaned back in her seat.

"Well, I never had any crazy cliff jumping memories though" she said after a while. "Mine... well mine were filled with mostly memories of moving from house to house until I was old enough to be on my own."

"It's always hard being on your own." He'd know. For a century he'd been alone.

Hoping to put the past behind them, he forced himself to smile. "What are you doing tonight, Mallory?"

His question startled her.

She opened her mouth as though to answer him but she was silent; her mind devising some lame excuse to refuse him.

That was when she noticed Jamie coming towards her from a distance. Leaning forward, she whispered quickly into his ears, "Would you like to go out tonight?"

"Meet you here at 8pm?"

"Deal." She gave him a peck on his cheek and excused herself. There was no way she was going to allow Jamie to take this from her. Clay made her feel like herself again and she knew he would do everything to take him away if he found out she was getting too close to someone else not 'authorised' by him.

***

"So, what did you find out?" Jean-Pierre looked up from the papers he was reading to the blonde tracker in front of him.

"She said that he is a student who occasionally pops into our class."

"You don't buy it."

"I checked school records and no one with the name of Clay popped up. But that's not the most worrying thing." Sophie took a seat in front of him. "He can speak to me with his mind."

That got his attention. Sitting up, he frowned as he tried to piece the information together. If this man had gotten past their keen senses for such a long time, he must be a very powerful person – Light Walker, Risen or otherwise.

"What is your assessment?" he asked.

"At this moment, I can only tell you that he is definitely not human. He has no scent, JP and that worries me."

"Untraceable" he nodded, catching her trail of thought.

"I have yet to meet a Light Walker with that ability. So it's possible that he is in the ranks of the Elders of the Risen Council. Mallory and whatever she's working on must be damn important."

Jean-Pierre concurred but something about the way Clay moved disturbed him. Risens always had an air of arrogance about them and would have made their abilities clear right from the beginning. But Clay had only done so in retaliation –a very 'pack' like trait.

Even then, he didn't deny that Sophie could be right. A Risen withsubterfugeability could trick a Light Walker's mind into thinking he was a pack member; allowing him safe entry into their telepathic network.

Of course, the alternative and simplest explanation would be that Clay was a Light Walker.

The problem with the latter theory was that Light Walker communications between clan members were a two-way signal. Light Walkers can instinctively initiate communication with anyone at the same rank or lover. Sophie would not have even known that she could communicate with Clay if he had not forced his thoughts into hers. Only five Light Walkers in the world had that ability and they were the Shadow Lords.

Rubbing his temples as though to clear his mind, Jean-Pierre dismissed Sophie and told her to keep an eye on Mallory and Clay. He had to find out which of his theories was right and how it would affect their clans.

Picking up his phone, he decided to contact the two people he knew would have answers – his own Alpha Alexander and Alkina.

***

When Mallory finally got back to her temporary lodging that evening, she was not surprised to see Jamie leaning against her door waiting for her.

"I have not been able to catch you at all the whole day," he said in a flat tone.

Unsure if he was accusing her or simply being matter-of-fact, Mallory shrugged. "I've been busy Jamie."

The Risen did not appreciate that the human felt it her right to ignore or challenge him. She belonged to him and if it took drawing her blood to make her understand that, then so be it.

Closing the gap between them, he pressed his knuckles gently on her cheekbones.

"You should stop resisting me Mallory," he whispered in her ears, his teeth scraping her earlobe as a warning. Her body stiffened in shock at the contact. "I could give you so much pleasure... if only you'd stop denying me."

Soft lips were slowly kissing down the column of her neck.

It would only take one bite...

"Jamie... please..." Hands pressed against his chest, Mallory tried to push him away but he was too strong; overpowering her body and mind.

Incisors lengthening so precariously close to the tender flesh...

A blur of darkness caught Jamie's attention and he retracted his fangs and spun Mallory behind him so quickly that she almost fell.

"Get indoors and stay there!" he instructed, using a blast of power on her mind to ensure she'd comply immediately.

With Mallory behind closed doors, Jamie began to scan the forested area in front of him. He didn't sense anybody but that never meant no one was watching.

Then out of the shadows, a blur of white jumped at him so fast that Jamie was unable to block the attack, gaining a deep gash in his abdomen. Although the gash was aimed to maim and not kill, it was still deep enough that Jamie had to clench his hands over the wound to stop him from bleeding out.

"Fuck!" When it came to healing, Jamie had no inert abilities. Though Risen wounds heal faster than humans, it would not be fast enough for him to recover to launch a physical counterattack.

Hidden in the darkness provided by the trees, Clay remained low and at a distance safe enough to prevent the Risen from using his abilities to render him defenceless. He continued watching as the Risen – whom Mallory had addressed as Jamie – kept searching for his attacker in vain until he could no longer stay in the open and retreated to heal his wounds.

Satisfied that Mallory was no longer in immediate danger of being marked by a Risen, Clay decided to return to his temporary accommodations to get ready for his date with Mallory that night. He wasn't intending on allowing her to stay in that wretched hell-hole aside the Risen so he was going to do all he could to make her stay in his – even if that meant seducing and pampering her all night...

With his mind occupied with thoughts of Mallory, Clay almost missed the scent of another Light Walker in his midst.

Retreating back into the shadows, Clay kept his eyes on the lone brown wolf padding her way through the foliage.

Clay was sure that he hadn't betrayed his scent ever since stepping foot in Europe but when a Light Walker scout was out hunting, there would be no mistaking the wolf prints and marks he had left behind.

And while the tracker was tracking his tracks, Clay knew he would soon have to follow the tracks that the wolf left behind in an attempt to understand who was following him and why.

But first he needed to get dressed for his date.

***

Jamie stormed into the spacious abode he temporarily called home, slamming the door behind him.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" He bared his teeth at the uninvited guest; eyes glowing a silver that signalled an over-exertion of powers.

"I can help."

"Get your fucking hands off me. I'm a fucking Elder am I not?" Pure venom laced his voice as he spat out his frustrations. "What do you want Yuli?"

The ghostly figure simply stared at him with eyes as mysterious as night betraying no emotion. Yuli could smell every cell of blood flowing out of the Elder; the tang of iron rich in the room. It would have taken him a mere minute or two to repair that damage and yet...

"I sensed a Light Walker nearby and followed her here. I didn't think she would be a threat. You bear no scent of a Risen."

Still wincing in pain, Jamie clenched his fingers tighter across the wound; channelling all his powers to stitching what he could to stop the bleeding. His blonde hair fell across his face as beads of perspiration dripped from his forehead.

Gritting his teeth, Jamie lifted his head to look at his personal bodyguard.

"You didn't think the animal was a threat?" Every word punched by an antagonised breath. "I want you to eliminate any Light Walker that dares to come close, much less breathe near this place!"

Yuli's eyes was focused on the ground – a cockroach was running helter-skelter as though aware that a predator had spotted it.

"What of the human?"

Jamie's eyes snapped up to look at Yuli. "What of the girl?"

Yuli considered telling the Elder about the earlier interaction he had witnessed between Mallory and the unknown stranger but another look at Jamie's current state had him changing his mind.

He would keep it his secret for now.

"She's slowly fighting your control."

"Don't you think I already know that, Yuli? Now fuck off and do your job."

Nonchalant, Yuli simply vanished; his body disintegrating into smoke.

***

Mallory had been staring at her closed door for the past fifteen minutes; her face expressionless and her body stiff as a corpse. All she could think about was the cold chill creeping up the back of her neck at Jamie's touch.

There was something about the way he held her that felt... wrong. It made her blood hum in her ears; her pulse thudding at her temples. Mallory closed her eyes and he appeared as a magnet; her blood inadvertently drawn out through every pore of her body.

Snap out of it!

Her eyes flared open; palm pressed against her own chest to still her thundering heartbeat.

She did not understand what was happening. Hadn't she been around Jamie for close to a year now? Why the sudden change in his behaviour towards her – this claiming, this... chill.

Shuddering to rekindle some heat in her body, Mallory made her way to the bathroom and forced herself to soak in the hot tub. The warm water slicked over her skin, lulling her into slumber. She felt herself slipping lower and lower into the water...

It had been such a long day...

England was so cold...

All she wanted to do was snuggle...

Against bronzed skin...

Savouring the dangerous scent...

"Clay!"

Mallory sputtered; coughing violently as she regained her consciousness.

Then she began to laugh – a full bodied laughter that started from her belly and up to her head. Throwing her head back, Mallory was gleeful as her laughter sounded like a gurgle in her throat.

"Well Mr-I'm-so-sexy-and-mysterious, you are going to be the death of me someday!" she chuckled as she got out of the bath tub.

Humming a tune in her head, Mallory walked to her closet to pick out a decent outfit for the date. She didn't really have much to be honest. A few pants, jeans, t-shirts, sneakers...

Rolling her eyes, Mallory let herself freefall backwards onto the bed.

"I'm never going to get laid with this wardrobe," she sighed holding her hands up high in front of her.

She remembered the gentle way he had held her hand; pretending to ignore the sizzle that was there.

"I want to touch you again," she whispered to herself.But I'm scared.

A quick look at the wall clock told her that she had exactly twenty more minutes to get dressed and haul her ass out of the room.

Ten minutes later, Mallory was scrunching her face in front of the mirror, scrutinizing what she had put on. It was a simple getup: Jeans and a tank top under a blazer.

Twirling around, she checked her bum in the mirror, hoping he wouldn't think it too big. Satisfied, she wrapped a shawl around her neck, slipped on her only pair of heels and left.

***

When Clay finally spotted her, he couldn't help whistling in approval. How does the woman make jeans and blazer look sexy, he didn't know.

"Hey, am I late?" she started, apologetically.

He gave her a casual kiss on both cheeks. "Nah baby, I'm early."

Her smile was broad; the gleam in her eyes almost childlike. "So what do you feel like having? I don't actually know this place that well... so... we might just have to explore."

"I'd like that." He grazed his lips over her fingers. "You up for a drive out of campus? I might know a fantabulous place up north...It reminds me of home."

More kisses on her knuckle.

Mallory found herself fluttering her eyelashes at his remark. Clay was making her feel all molten inside just from that intimate gesture.

Seated in the car, Mallory tried her best to ignore her little desires to come closer, to take in a little more of his scent, to touch him.

"I like you," she suddenly blurted.

Mallory froze. Where did that come from!

Clearly sensing her embarrassment, Clay snickered. "Hey, what's there not to like about me? I mean I'm smart, sexy, handsome, good in bed... ya know... just to mention a few things."

His candour got her slapping at his arms.

"Now you're abusing me..." he pouted.

They continued with the banter for the next half-an-hour until they finally reached the outskirts of the campus compounds itself and into the city.

When she was finally tucked into the seat of a quaint little French restaurant, Mallory gave a decadent sigh. It had been too long since she indulged herself in good food, wine and most importantly, a date.

Looking over the rim of her wine glass, she studied the man in front of her. Unlike Jamie, he was not conventionally handsome. He had a sharp, dangerous edge to his looks, accentuated by his square jawline, slightly crooked nose and mutinous length of hair. Mallory had no doubt that he started and ended fights all the time.

However, basked in the warm glow of the candles, he appeared completely harmless; his innocent dimples flashing ever so rarely when he laughed.

"You don't strike me as a Cambridge student," she said finally, leaning back in her seat with the wine glass in hand.

"No?" Eyebrows rose questioningly.

When he offered no explanation, Mallory leaned forward, her voice a silky whisper, "I don't date my students."

Unrepentant, he merely gave a chuckle and brought his face closer to hers. "Bite me."

Caught off guard by his response, Mallory tipped back into her seat; her eyes widening in surprise.

"You cannot say such things!" Her eyelashes fluttered with every punctuated word.

A devilish grin curled on his face. Taking her fingers to his lips, he pressed a gentle kiss and oh so very lightly grazed his teeth over her knuckles.