Wild Nights

DOUGLAS

1

Textures. Right now, at this point in time, it was all about the texture, the colors, the scents and sounds and amazing sensations. It just didn’t get much better than this.

Lucien Stone threaded his fingers through the tangled mass of his lady love’s hair and followed the slow up-and-down movement of Tia’s head as her exquisite mouth slowly but surely brought him closer to climax.

He remembered when her hair had been crinkly and coarse, the curls so tightly woven that combing it out could be a nightmare. Now, with Tia’s metamorphosis to Chanku complete, it had grown softer, smoother, more accepting of his fingers, an inviting tangle of silken ringlets. He felt her scalp beneath the thick mass, shoved his fingers slowly around the curve of her skull, and then gently touched the tip of her ear.

Luc ran his fingertip around the outer shell of her ear and tickled the sensitive canal. Tia’s lips slowly released his swollen cock with a soft little pop. She raised her head and smiled at Luc, her full lips shining and moist. Morning sunlight streaming through the window behind her cast a golden glow over her high cheekbones and turned her wild blond hair into a shimmering halo.

Luc’s fingers tangled more tightly in her curls. He tugged, drawing her back to the business at hand.

She dipped low once more. The strands of her hair drifted over his belly and then brushed lightly across Luc’s groin. The tip of her tongue stroked the hard underside of his aching erection and then dipped into the sensitive slit at the top. She opened her thoughts to him, sharing the flavors she tasted, the things she felt.

Caught in the sensations of Tia’s mental link, Luc tasted his own bead of pre-cum when she licked the drop with the tip of her tongue. He felt the large vein running the length of his cock as her tongue slowly traveled from base to crown.

Luc groaned, his lungs expanding and his fingers tightening in Tia’s hair until he had to consciously force himself to relax his hold. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt what she was doing … and doing so well.

Her skin felt like satin—its dark, golden color, the gift of her African American mother and Scandinavian father, a perfect counterpoint to his lighter hue. Luc was concentrating on the shade and silkiness of Tia’s skin, comparing it to the coarseness of his own, when her lips found his scrotum.

Once more, she shared the sensation. She suckled one tight nut into her mouth, rolling it with her tongue, slipping it back and forth between her lips. He felt the solid, round ball as it slipped over her tongue, the soft slide of scrotal skin between her lips, all from Tia’s point of view. At the same time, he experienced her tender ministrations firsthand, doubling the powerful sensations.

Her fingernails raked his perineum and tickled the underside of his sac. Luc moaned and grasped the covers with his free hand. She was definitely trying to kill him!

Tia hummed against his balls. The vibrations crawled through his gut all the way up his spine. Her lips tightened around one testicle, taking Luc just to the edge of pain. She held him there, licking and rolling the round gland beneath her tongue before she finally released his nut. Her slim fingers wrapped around the heavy length of his cock. Luc groaned as she slowly worked the broad head between her lips, ran her tongue beneath the taut crown, and then sucked him deep down her throat.

Blowing as if he’d run a mile, fighting for whatever remnants of control he could find, Luc felt the undulations of Tia’s hips and knew she must be nearing her own orgasm. Raising his head just a fraction, he watched as Tinker, their packmate, feasted on Tia’s slick pussy.

Dark as ebony and built like a linebacker, Martin Tinker McClintock had admitted his love for Tia from the very beginning. Luc not only trusted the big man with his life, he trusted him with his mate.

More textures. The odd word rolled around in Luc’s mind as he watched Tinker’s big hands spread Tia’s cheeks, watched him dip low to suckle gently at Tia’s clit. Then Luc’s attention snapped back to Tia, positioned on elbows and knees between his legs, her butt in the air for Tinker’s busy tongue.

Damn, what a gorgeous picture they made.

Luc’s breath lodged behind his heart as Tia’s fingernails raked over his ass and her cheeks hollowed with the force of each slow, measured pull on his cock. He planted his feet flat on the bed and raised his hips to meet her mouth, joining Tia’s rhythm.

He linked with his packmate, if only for a moment, so that Tia’s sweet taste lingered on Luc’s tongue as well as Tinker’s.

Tinker reared up from between Tia’s legs and grinned at Luc. His dark lips glistened with Tia’s juices, his broad, muscular chest expanding with each deep breath. He winked.

Then he began to dissolve, to shimmer and fade.

In less than a heartbeat, a huge wolf sat at the foot of the bed, tongue lolling, amber eyes glinting.

Then he dipped his long snout and longer tongue and disappeared between Tia’s parted thighs.

Tinker’s slick, wolven tongue snaked into Tia’s swollen sex and licked deep inside. She screamed and convulsed, her orgasm hitting so hard and fast, she almost bit the mouthful of Luc she was working on. His cock slipped out of her mouth just as her pussy clamped down on Tinker’s marauding tongue. The hard tip licked high against her spasming walls and Tia screamed again. Gasping for air, shuddering against Tinker’s continuing assault between her legs, Tia lifted off her elbows, swung her head around, and glared at her lupine packmate.

Dear God, Tinker! Warn me when you’re going to do that!

Tinker’s laughter rolled through her mind and his long, rough tongue found spots inside Tia that made her see stars. Lungs pounding, she tried to go back to Luc, but Tinker’s mobile tongue wasn’t about to turn her loose.

It’s okay … I’m enjoying the show. Besides, I’m with Tinker, and you taste marvelous.

She flashed Luc a wan smile. He shoved himself against the headboard, and Tia rolled over and lay back against his groin, spreading her legs wide. Tinker scooted down on his furry belly and, with sharp teeth and a tongue that should have been licensed, took Tia to the top and beyond once more.

She arched her hips as he went deep, clutched the blankets in her fists when he slowly dragged the rough side of his tongue from her ass to her clit. Once, twice …

Knowing Luc shared each taste, each clenching spasm of her pussy, took Tia even higher.

She bucked her hips, raised up on trembling legs. It was too much, too intense, but Luc held her in a viselike grip, his elbows clamped against her shoulders, his hands massaging both of Tia’s breasts. He kneaded them roughly, pinching her nipples, rolling the tips between thumb and forefinger. Her body tensed. His thighs pressed against her hips, holding her still for Tinker and his amazing Chanku tongue.

Eyes clenched tight, lungs burning as if she’d run too far, Tia crested and then raced headlong over the edge again, giving it all up in a long, low howl of pleasure.

The rough texture of Tinker’s wolven coat gave way to smooth, hot male skin. She felt him slide forward along her body, felt the meaty head of his cock press against her spasming sex, his warm, wet lips dragging at her now tender nipple.

Luc’s grip on her breasts released, his fingers ran along her hips, and then he rubbed something warm and slick—her own juices?—against Tia’s ass. She sighed with pleasure as Luc’s cock slipped between her cheeks and pressed gently at her puckered opening, each time with a little more force, before finding entrance beyond the tight ring of muscle. He filled her there just as Tinker claimed her pussy.

Stuffed full, surrounded by love and the warmth of two spectacular male bodies, Tia arched her neck, pressing her head against Luc’s collarbone as he slowly pumped in and out, matching his rhythm to Tinker’s powerful thrusts.

What more could a woman want?

She opened her thoughts, found Tinker and Luc, each man lost in his own as well as the other’s pleasure, sharing the sensations with one another. Tia joined their mental feast, passing on the amazing feelings of two solid erections slipping in and out of her slick, sensitive channels. She took their sensations as her own, felt the slide of Luc’s cock against Tinker’s, and then the same thing from Tinker’s point of view.

She was hot and tight and oh-so-slick inside both her passages, and the men loved it. Almost as much as Tia loved it. Her lungs pumped air as she flew higher and higher with Luc and Tinker’s growing arousal. She stayed inside their minds, a sensual voyeur sharing her own rushing wave of desire, sharing theirs.

Tia knew the instant Luc and Tinker drew close to a simultaneous peak, each of them climbing higher, pressure building, the rush of blood in veins and air whistling in and out of lungs. Luc’s arms came around Tia, and he held her tight, thrusting forward until she felt the crush of his rough pubic hair against her buttocks. At the same time, Tinker buried himself deep inside, pressing his tight balls against Luc’s.

She knew how it felt, how Luc loved the feel of Tinker’s pouch slammed up against his, loved the slide of his cock tight against his packmate’s, separated by nothing more than a thin wall of tissue deep inside Tia’s body.

Tia opened her mind, her body, her heart … gave it all to sensation, to the textures of rough and smooth, slick and wet … and heat … always the heat of man and beast and lover. To love itself. The love of her mate, the love of her friend … the love of the amazing breed that was Chanku.

Tinker left first, dragging himself off to his own apartment across the hall. Shaking his head, mumbling something to himself that sounded like, Those two are trying to kill me, he quietly shut the door behind him.

Luc went in to shower. Tia joined him long enough to rinse off and then slipped out of the bath before Luc came up with any more ideas of how they should spend the rest of the morning.

When he strolled out a few minutes later, Tia was sitting in an old rocker by the window, her naked body wrapped in a multicolored quilt, her thoughts a million miles away … actually, a few city blocks from their room.

Luc leaned over and kissed her and then straightened up. She nuzzled against his groin and kissed the damp curls of hair at the base of his flaccid cock. I love you.

Why, whenever she said those words, did her eyes sting and her throat feel full?

Luc leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. I love you, too. But why do I get the feeling you’re not very happy right now? You should be sated and satisfied and glowing…. Well, at least satisfied.

Tia wished the only thoughts filling her mind were of Luc and the way he made her feel, but other worries had taken this quiet moment to invade. She shook her head, unsure how to put her concerns into words. I’m worried about Dad.

Luc jerked upright and frowned; then he shook his head, grinning. What is it about unbelievable morning sex with two absolutely perfect men that makes you think of your father?

Tia laughed. Absolutely perfect, huh? Well, when you put it that way …

Luc sat down on an old trunk under the window and took her smaller cold hands in his warm ones. Why are you worried about Ulrich? The man’s healthy as a horse, he’s still doing a hell of a job running Pack Dynamics, and he’s actively searching for more Chanku. What more could he want?

Tia shrugged. What we have. A companion. Someone to warm his bed. A mate.

Honey, I hate to disabuse you, but your father has not lived the life of a monk since your mother died. He’s rarely alone at night.

It’s not the same. Other than us, he doesn’t love anyone … doesn’t have anyone to love him. Don’t you remember what it was like before? You could have sex five times a day, every day of the week, but you still felt empty.

Five times a day, eh? Luc leaned close and nuzzled the sensitive juncture between her neck and shoulder. If we’re still on that schedule, you owe me two more times.

Tia giggled and scrunched her chin down. Cut it out. I’m trying to be serious here. I sense that emptiness in Dad. It’s like he’s never really moved on since Mom died.

Luc sat back and put his palms on his thighs. I do know what you’re saying. He sighed. What can we do? It’s not like we can just go out and dig up another Chanku female. He reached up and touched the end of Tia’s nose. It took me twenty years to find you.

She nipped at his fingertip and then took his hand. I’m so glad you did, Luc. So very glad.

The past few weeks still felt like a dream to her. She had come home to San Francisco to a new teaching job, hoping to learn the true story of her mother’s death. She’d discovered that Camille Mason hadn’t been the victim of a nameless mugger. No, she’d been shot by a young rookie cop who saw a wolf running wild in Golden Gate Park.

A rookie cop named Lucien Stone. Tia knew now that Luc had regretted his action every day, still couldn’t forgive himself for killing a young woman who was of the same amazing species as he was—Chanku. Shape-shifters from an ancient bloodline, born on the rugged, wind-blown steppes of the Tibetan Himalayas.

But Luc hadn’t known about the Chanku. Not then. Not until he faced Ulrich Mason after Camille’s funeral and learned the truth about the woman he’d killed. Without any warning, Ulrich had shown Luc what it meant to shift from human to wolf. He’d scared the young cop just about half to death.

Then Ulrich Mason had explained the ancient race of shape-shifters. He’d told Luc that Camille Mason was Chanku. So was Ulrich … and so was Luc.

It hadn’t been until Tia returned to the city of her birth that she finally learned the truth about her own heritage, finally received the mixture of nutrients that allowed her body to develop the way nature had intended.

Only then had Tia embraced her Chanku heritage.

She gazed into Luc’s beautiful amber eyes and saw the self-recrimination that would never go away. Though it had been an innocent mistake, Tia knew Luc would always feel guilt for having killed Camille Mason.

He’d robbed a young girl of her mother, a wonderful man of his mate, and ended the life of a vibrant young woman much too soon. Tia leaned forward and kissed him, and Luc wrapped his arms around her shoulders as if Tia were his lifeline.

We’ll think of something, Tia said. I’m not sure what, but we have to do something.

Luc nodded. You’re right. But, for now, you need to go teach a classroom full of rug rats, and I have to get to work as well. We both have a full day of the mundane before things get interesting again. Playfully, he kissed her nose. Don’t forget, my sweet Chanku. We’re running with the guys on Mount Tam tonight. It’s a full moon.

The moon cast an eerie glow across the western slopes of Mount Tamalpais and trailed a silver band over the broad expanse of ocean not far from its base. The lights of San Francisco glowed under clear skies to the south. Five wolves filled a small meadow on the southwestern flank of the mountain, their eyes glinting like stars in the moonlight.

Four of them, all males, sleek muscles rippling under dark coats and sharp teeth flashing, nipped and parried with one another. Their battle might be play right now, but the underlying power in each of the animals hinted at how easily their actions could tip into violence.

The lone female stood aside, smaller boned, features more delicate compared to the larger animals, yet self-assured and enjoying her level of command. Tia settled back on her haunches and watched as Luc, Tinker, AJ, and Mik went through their nightly ritual of essentially finding out who was top dog.

Luc, of course, always took the lead, with Tinker faithfully by his side. Mik and AJ, lovers for many years, generally yielded to Luc without question.

Luc, of course, would always defer to Tia. Love and the order of the pack was an amazing combination.

Tia yipped once, turned, and raced up the trail. The rough-and-tumble ended immediately as the four males fell into position behind her. This was the time she usually loved most, the freedom she felt when they raced through the forest as Chanku, the occasional hunt for deer or rabbit, the clean night air and the solidarity of their pack.

Most nights her human worries faded into the background, much like the hum of traffic on the nearby freeway. Tongue lolling, tail streaming behind her, Tia bit back the howl that might alert the locals there were wolves in the forest. She picked up the pace and raced into the darkness.

Tia truly loved the night, loved the freedom of Chanku, the freedom of running at the head of her pack.

Usually.

Tonight, though, Tia raced far out in front of the others, heart heavy, Chanku eyes alert for any danger, her human mind unwilling to release its hold. In spite of the call of the wolf, the woman worried about her father.

2

They ran for more than an hour, five wolves in the moonlight, when Tia suddenly pulled up, eyes wide and mouth gaping. Luc! I need to get to Dad. Now!

What’s wrong? Luc skidded to a halt beside Tia, his sharp nails kicking up clods of dry turf. She looked frantic. Her ears lay back against her skull. Even her hackles were raised, as though something threatened her.

I don’t know. Only that something is terribly wrong. I need to go to him.

Luc nodded at the others. Go ahead, guys. I’m taking Tia home.

Do you need our help?

Tinker, concerned as always, waited for Luc’s answer. Luc shook his head. No. Enjoy the night. I’m sure everything will be okay.

Tinker nodded and then whirled and chased after Mik and AJ. Luc and Tia raced back to their car. Within minutes they’d shifted, dressed, and were heading back across the Golden Gate Bridge toward San Francisco.

Tia wrung her hands, obviously upset about something, but her mind was blocked to hide her thoughts, and she stared straight ahead, as if willing the heavy traffic to clear and the car to move faster.

When they reached Ulrich’s home in the Marina District, Tia was out of the car and racing up the walk before Luc even had the vehicle parked. He followed Tia up the steps, feeling her fear, sensing her overwhelming concern for her father.

He felt nothing from Ulrich. Nothing at all from the man who was his closest friend.

It all made horrible sense when Luc stepped through the door. Tia kneeled at Ulrich’s feet, a loaded revolver in her hand. She was carefully removing shells from the chamber.

Why, Dad? Why would you even consider …

Ulrich shook his head. From the slur in his voice it was obvious he’d been drinking. I’d already decided not to, sweetheart. I’m sorry you had to find me like this.

Oh, Daddy…. Tia set the empty revolver on the table, leaned close, and wrapped her arms around her father. Luc stayed back, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment. Guilt ate at him. If Camille were still alive, Ulrich wouldn’t be here alone, drinking, with a loaded gun.

Ulrich raised his head, his eyes suddenly clear, and stared at Luc. That’s not true, Luc. This isn’t about you. He swept his hand over his daughter’s tangled hair and held her close. Sweetheart, will you and Luc do something for me?

Tia raised her head and stared at her father through tear-filled eyes. The misery on her face tore at Luc’s heart. Anything, Daddy. Whatever you want.

Ulrich sighed. I had a long talk with Anton Cheval tonight, with regard to a letter that arrived from him this afternoon. Please don’t think I’ve lost it, but I want you and Luc to go back to Montana with me. Anton thinks he can contact your mother’s spirit. He said Keisha has felt Camille in her dreams, that she’s near, that she needs to communicate. The thing is, Anton wants to try something that will bring your mother back, if only for a short time.

Tia sat on her heels, obviously stunned, and definitely unsure. Luc shifted his gaze from Tia to her father. What Ulrich said sounded impossible, but the Chanku alpha, Anton Cheval, had managed the impossible on more than one occasion. Luc wasn’t going to be the one to say the man couldn’t do anything he claimed.

Not only was Anton an alpha Chanku, he was a powerful wizard with abilities well beyond those of anyone Luc had ever seen. In fact, it was common knowledge among them that Anton already had been a powerful wizard when he discovered his Chanku heritage while researching ancient, arcane rituals.

If anyone could bring back the dead, it would be Anton. Tia obviously had come to the same conclusion. She nodded, agreeing. Whatever you want, Dad. When?

Ulrich pulled an envelope out of a drawer in the table beside his chair. He opened it slowly and showed it to Tia. It has to be done this week, on Halloween night, if we’re going to try it at all. On Samhain.

Tia frowned. "Sow-in? What’s that?"

Basically it’s another name for Halloween. According to Anton, that night is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is open the widest. The period lasting from just before midnight to dawn. Anton thinks he can contact your mother during that period, but only if we’re all there, all of us calling to her.

Ulrich looked directly at Luc when he spoke, though his words were obviously for Tia. Luc felt a shiver run along his spine at the intensity in the older man’s voice.

We are the people who meant the most to your mother. Me, as her husband. He brushed Tia’s hair back from her face and planted a kiss on her forehead. You, as her only child.

Then he turned to Luc once more. And, you, Lucien, as the man who ended her life. No. Don’t look at me that way. Camille brought it on herself. Her actions caused her death, not yours. It wasn’t your fault. Still, all of us felt a loss with Camille’s death. Sometimes I think you, Luc, lost more than either Tia or myself. You lost your innocence, your sense of purpose…. Though, I hope, by gaining your Chanku heritage, you made up for some of that loss.

Luc sat down on the couch, hard. I don’t know what to say. He wiped his hand over his eyes, as if he might sweep away the memory of the breathtakingly beautiful wolf staring at him across freshly mowed grass, the bright flower of red when his bullet pierced the animal’s shoulder—the broken body of a beautiful woman lying on the ground.

Luc raised his head and looked into Tia’s eyes, expecting condemnation and finding only love. She spoke to her father, but her gaze never left Luc. When do we leave, Dad?

Ulrich cleared his throat. We go tomorrow. Anton will send his private jet. He needs a couple days to prepare and wants us close. He said he’s never attempted this before. Ulrich’s voice cracked. He coughed and then sighed deeply. "Thank you. Thank you