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  for me. I won't live without you in my life, Taylor. Once was enough, I won't do it again.”

  “You took the words out of my mouth.” Her hands moved up to his neck, touching the ends of

  his newly shorn hair. “What happened to your gorgeous hair?”

  “It's an Apache tradition for our people when we are in mourning. It'll grow back.”

  “Good,” she retorted, with a smile. “I am going to miss your hair. You look tamer without it.”

  He grinned ruefully before swinging her up in his arms. “Tame, huh? I guess I'll have to

  disprove that theory when we get home.” He started down the sidewalk, moving fast.

  Her stomach rumbled. He looked down and laughed before adding, “After we feed you, of

  course.”

  Marrok stopped at the door, waiting for her to twist the knob before carrying her in. Gently, he stood her up, hugging her to him once more before walking to the kitchen. “What sounds good to you to eat?”

  “Something quick,” she replied to his back. Her voice was provocative when she added, “You

  and I have much more important things to do than eat.”

  Marrok spun away from the opened refrigerator, his body immediately flaring with heat. The

  door closed behind him, unforgotten. “Talk like that might get you in trouble.” He advanced back to her, his expression lusty. “How hungry did you way you were? Major hungry, or just a little?”

  She giggled, enjoying how eager he always was to bed her. Her face turned to the opened

  curtains. The moon was full and low, its gentle rays filling the room with light. “We've got to shift tonight, or at least, you do, Marrok. I won't have you in pain because of me.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. Even though she was tall and plus-sized, his body still dwarfed hers. “You always make me feel so wanted. When I'm with you, I feel feminine, delicate, and well-loved. I love you so much, Marrok. I did before the change, but it's like the change has revealed the full extent and feelings that come from mating. I'm blessed to have you.”

  He squeezed her against him. “I adore you, Taylor, more than words could ever say. I'm not in

  any pain. In fact, I can't remember ever feeling better.” He smiled in amusement before adding,

  “Bedroom activities, excluded.”

  Taylor chuckled against his chest, the sound rich and embodied. “You have such a dirty mind...

  And I love it.” Holding him tight for a moment longer, she released him and leaned back to look up at his face. “By the way, I'm majorly hungry.”

  He groaned with mock dismay before turning back to the kitchen. “I'm going to make sure

  you're fed, often. Between the high metabolism of your wolf and keeping me satiated, you're going to need it.”

  He prepared a huge tray of cold cut meats, cheeses, crackers, and fruits. In Wolf Town,

  everything was always larger, including the plates and glasses. In between bites, Marrok filled her in on the events she hadn't been conscious for.

  When he was done, Taylor turned to stare at the window, longingly. Marrok knew how she felt,

  he was just surprised she had made it this long. The moon called to the wolf within her, its silver beams beckoning to her in a way only her wolf would understand. As if sleepwalking, she moved to stand next to the glass.

  Marrok watched her in awe as she tilted her face to the sky. The moonlight spilled into the

  room, lightening her long locks to almost white. Her skin shimmered, preternaturally glowing. It was a poignant moment, watching his mate come into her own.

  She looked over her shoulder, her lips ruby red in the light. “Join me, Marrok. I can feel the pull of the moon on me. I don't think you'll be running alone tonight.”

  He stood up, pulling his clothing off. As he walked by the door, he twisted the knob to open it.

  Pulling her body to his, he stared down at her face. “Let it come, Taylor. I'll be with you every step of the way.”

  “Will it be painful?” Her voice was already started to change, the tone husky.

  “No, my love. You can speed it up by envisioning yourself changing. When you're ready to

  come back, just picture yourself human.”

  She nodded, her body trembling against his. He helped her to undress. Returning to the shelter of his arms, she kissed his muscular chest. “I'm going to try. I love you, Marrok.”

  The moon was weaving her magic upon his body as well. He fought the change, wanting to

  comfort Taylor. “I love you too, babe.”

  Her body shook even more. Within seconds, his shapely mate was gone, replaced with a solid

  white wolf. She was beautiful, more gorgeous than any wolf he'd ever seen in his long years. Taylor stared at him, her blue eyes wide and luminous in the moonlight.

  Marrok squatted down in front of her, running a trembling hand through her soft pelt. “You're

  doing great, Taylor. I'm going to shift, then we can take a long run. Does that sound good?”

  Taylor whined in response.

  With just a thought, he easily shifted into his wolf form. Marrok was much larger than her, his pelt solid black except for the small, white mask around his red eyes. With his broad snout, he nudged her, urging her to the doorway.

  Blue eyes met red, catching and holding for a long moment. Taylor sought guidance and

  comfort from him, and it was instantly and freely given. Emboldened by the pride blazing from his eyes, she turned and ran through the doorway, not looking back.

  Marrok's chest swelled with satisfaction. His patience and hard work had finally paid off. Taylor was secure in the belief that her mate would always follow, his love and desire for her absolute and unending. As a male, and as a mate, he'd done what he needed to do, making sure his mate was happy and fulfilled.

  Throwing his head back, he howled at the moon, the sound echoing down the streets of Wolf

  Town. In the distance, he heard the answering howls as his pack mates joined in his joy. It was a time of celebration, of death and rebirth, as another joined their kind. Lowering his head, he took after Taylor, his gait light and carefree.

  Chapter 10

  Taylor woke in the dead of the night, immediately wondering what disturbed her rest. Marrok

  was sound asleep behind her, holding her tight to his chest. Wolf Town was quiet, and all was well. She lay still, not wanting to wake him. He couldn't have been asleep long, considering the wild, passionate lovemaking that had kept them up late.

  Two weeks had passed since the night of her first change. Two amazing, bliss-filled weeks.

  Marrok had taken her for runs nearly nightly, and Taylor now felt unbelievably comfortable with her wolf.

  In her time at the research facility, she'd seen wolves in various states of change. It wasn't anything she'd ever associated with pleasant. The scientists had taken something natural and normal for this peace-loving group of people and changed it into something horrible. The screams she'd heard nightly would haunt her for the rest of her life.

  It was fading, though, thanks to Marrok and her acceptance into the pack. When she'd first

  arrived she'd been scared, tormented, and confused, despite her drugged state. Her future had been vague and likely short-termed. Now, the playing field had been leveled. She was clearheaded and more powerful than she'd ever dreamed of being.

  It was likely that Carlos was still searching for her, but she was no closer to a solution than she'd been when she arrived. Her lips tightened into a grimace. One thing was for sure. She wouldn't be leaving her mate. Doing so would be admitting defeat, allowing Carlos to rule her future. He'd taken enough from her. She wouldn't let him have Marrok.

  Action needed to be taken, though. She felt slightly ashamed that she hadn't done something

  already. Marrok would see it as a lack of her faith in him, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. He needed to be prepared, and t
he only way he could be was to know what their enemy was after.

  “Taylor, what's wrong?” Marrok asked, his body instantly tense and alert behind hers. He

  relaxed when he didn't perceive any danger. “Are you having another bad dream?”

  “No,” she denied, twisting so her front touched his. Burying her face in the crook beneath his neck she inhaled deeply, letting his warm, masculine scent comfort her. “It's not a bad dream, but it's a reality.”

  His voice was puzzled but quick when he asked, “What are you talking about?” Taylor found it

  to be sexy as hell. Marrok was full of energy, never caught off-guard. He was always ready to go, day or night, both in and out of bed. It was one of the things she loved most about him.

  She pushed him on his back, wiggling up so she could see his face. He stared back at her, his

  expression serious. “I need to talk to you. I know the middle of the night probably isn't the best time, but I can't wait any longer.”

  “It doesn't matter,” he brushed it off, his black eyebrows drawing together into a frown. “What's disturbing you?”

  She inhaled deeply. “I haven't told you everything about my time in Hell's Pit. You know most

  of it, but you don't know about how twisted the commander really is. He's not going to stop, Marrok, and I'm terrified I've put this entire pack in grave danger.”

  “He's not going to stop what, Taylor? Explain what you mean.”

  She pushed away from his chest, turning so she was sitting up but facing away from him. He

  immediately raised up as well. Her voice was tormented as she chose her words carefully. “All those years in the facility, you could say I was lucky. Sure, I was tested and mistreated, but not really sexually. Until the new commander took his post. For some reason, his attentions settled on me, and I hated every second of it.”

  He rubbed her back comfortingly, remaining silent as he waited for her to continue. She cleared her throat. “He had me moved away from Nicole and increased the tests they were doing on me. He was exceptionally cruel, treating me as his personal pet. Whenever he was at Hell's Pit, he kept me close by. Sometimes, he'd have me to do odd jobs like cleaning, while other times he chained me and made me follow him around.”

  “I'll kill him,” Marrok muttered, his voice soft but lethal. “When I find him Taylor, he's dead.”

  “I hope you do find him, Marrok, before he finds us. Because if he finds this pack, he won't stop until he's taken all of you for testing, or he kills you. Believe me, he has very inventive means of torture.”

  “But not you? What aren't you telling me, Taylor?”

  “He's taken my eggs, Marrok, the eggs from my ovaries. I was the only human specimen, ever,

  with a wolf essence that wouldn’t fade away as time went by. He's got some kind of God complex, and he believes it's his destiny to breed a supernatural army. It got to where they were running tests on me, and the other women daily. Right before you rescued me, they'd come to a discovery.”

  “What was that?” he asked, his voice quiet. Taylor suspected he already knew the answer, but

  he wanted to hear her say it.

  She turned to face him, her face wet with tears. “I was the only female alive with the ability to breed half-human, half-wolf children. It had to be me, a surrogate wouldn't be able to carry. My egg and his sperm wouldn't take root outside of my body. They were waiting for my next ovulation cycle for Carlos to take me. So you see, Marrok, you're holding the one thing that they will never let go....

  And they'll do anything to recapture me.”

  Marrok's feet hit the floor as he grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table. Pushing a button, he pulled the chain of the lamp as he waited for it to be answered. A tired man's voice answered,

  “Hello?”

  “It's Marrok,” he hissed out, his voice dangerous and lethal. “I need to call an emergency

  meeting.”

  Like a switch being flipped, Alexander's voice went from tired to alert. “We'll meet in fifteen minutes at headquarters.”

  “I'll see you there,” Marrok replied, as he ended the call. His eyes swung back to meet hers.

  “Get dressed, Taylor. You're coming with me.”

  She climbed out of the bed and grabbed the first set of clothing she found in the dresser drawer.

  He watched her, his face expressionless. His voice biting when he asked, “Why didn't you tell me this before? Didn't you think the pack needed to know this?”

  Closing the drawers slowly, she turned to face him. “I didn't plan on staying, Marrok. I wasn't going to endanger you by doing so.”

  “You're here, though,” he replied, brusquely. “You've had weeks to just speak up. I figured the commander would want you back, but I had no idea it went so far. We're just damn lucky he hasn't attacked yet. If he would have, none of us would have known what we were fighting for. You put the pack in a bad place, Taylor, simply because you didn't trust us to keep you safe.”

  “I'm sorry,” she said quietly, staring at him. “I don't know what else to say.”

  His dark eyes blazed back at her. “It's a stretch, but I can force myself to understand why you didn't tell all in the beginning. What about after we had sex, though? Or the night we mated? Or even the night after I turned you? I've given you everything, while you've carefully selected which crumbs you were going to toss at me.”

  He grabbed his neatly folded clothing off of the chair next to the bed. “How many other secrets are you keeping from me, Taylor? We've damn near been inseparable since the night I got you back to Wolf Town, but even mated, you still didn't tell me this one.”

  He started to the bathroom, with his clothing in his arms, before stopping dead in his tracks.

  Without facing her, he asked, “What did you do for those guards to keep them busy the night Neal and Cody escaped? It's a question that has damned near burned me alive, but I didn't want to ask it and make you uncomfortable. Since we're telling all, though, I'd like to know. It wasn't sex, because I know for a fact you were a virgin when I took you.”

  Anger shot through her body. The way he worded it sounded like an accusation, and it seared

  her to the core. “How dare you? You should know, I never had a choice in that place. Think what you want, Marrok. And go to hell while you're at it.”

  His shoulders tensed. Without another word, he walked into the bathroom, closing the door

  quietly behind him. With a sob, she threw the clothes on the bed and started changing. Her confession had went even worse than she could have ever imagined.

  * * * * *

  Taylor flipped off the television, leaving the room in darkness. Her thoughts were sad, making

  her sigh loudly. She was alone in the house, although, there were two guardians stationed outside. It had been that way for three days now, since the night she'd told Marrok about Carlos.

  He was gone to another guardian meeting, not that it really made much difference in how she

  was spending her evening. Things had gone terribly bad between them, and she wasn't quite sure how to find her way back to him. Marrok barely spoke to her, and when he did, he was extremely

  impersonal.

  Taylor had tried to apologize to him after they met with Alexander and the other guardians that night, but he'd refused to listen. Instead, he'd returned to the spare bedroom, closing the door behind him. The distance between them hurt her worse than anything she could ever recall, even worse than her time in Hell's Pit.

  She hung her head, lost in her thoughts. Was it possible for a mated couple to break up? She'd never heard of it before, but then again, most mates were happy. With the way Marrok was acting, she didn't feel very secure. He acted as if he despised her, and she couldn't blame him. Keeping her time locked away had been a childish thing to do, but telling it left her feeling vulnerable and shamed. Even now, she was still humiliated from having to repeat her story to the guardians in the meeting room that
night.

  They had been kind, though, and non-judgmental, and for that Taylor was grateful. Alexander

  hadn't appeared surprised by the news. After thanking her for letting them know, Alexander had asked her if she wanted to sit with Carole Anne. She'd agreed, desperate to escape Marrok's tension within the small meeting room. The two women had sat in the lobby, while the men had discussed her revelation.

  Since then, Marrok was gone even more. He generally came in for good after she was in bed,

  and he was gone when she woke up in the mornings. She felt like a fish out of water, uncomfortable being where she wasn't wanted. Taylor wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

  Standing up, she decided to take a walk. It was early fall in Missouri, and the temperatures at night were cool. It felt good to her, and it would hopefully help her to clear her head.

  Stepping outside the front door, she looked at the guardian that snapped to attention. “I'd like to take a walk.”

  He nodded. “We'll follow along, discretely,” he told her, as the guardian from the back joined him. They were true to their word. She quickly forgot about them as she walked down the cobblestoned street.

  Wolf Town was fairly quiet, at least, everywhere but the tavern. The music was loud and the

  crowd rowdy. She wondered if Marrok was inside as she passed by. Another time, she might have

  stopped in to look. Things were so bad between them, though, she didn't bother. Anymore, she

  wondered if he even intended to honor his claim upon her.

  Moving along, she came upon the empty house where Nicole had stayed. She had left the day

  before with her new mate, Alonzo. She would be part of the New Mexico pack now, and Taylor was happy for her. Being with Alonzo would heal a lot of the pain the other woman had experienced.

  She followed the sidewalk to the base of the hill and looked up at Alexander and Carole Anne's home. It was a large manor home, and it overlooked the entire settlement. Marrok had told her it was built hundreds of years before and expanded as needed. It was a very impressive structure.