Untamed Hunger Page 11

  “He’s in some kind of shifter form. Marco, go find the others, tell them to shift, now. And tell them he’s mine. They’re here to protect Claire.”

  Marco nodded and slipped away into the darkness.

  “Claire…” He turned back to her. To his amazement, she was stripping off her clothes. Before he could get another word out, and tell her to go back, she started to change.

  For a minute, everything else faded, as he watched Claire begin the transformation. She seemed to shimmer in the dim moonlight, dropping gracefully from her human form to land on four paws as a glorious tiger.

  She was nothing short of beautiful. Her lush female curves translated into a sleekly muscled tiger, covered in a burnt sienna-colored coat, the same color as Gunner’s. She looked up at him, grey eyes flashing, whimpering softly.

  Then her head snapped up, the hackles rising on her back. Her nostrils flared, and at that instant, he caught a strong wave of Adrian’s scent. Claire glanced back at him, lips pulled back, a low growl rippling from her throat. Even without words, he knew what she was telling him.

  The power of his tiger rose up inside him. He loved this moment, the force that swelled and threatened to consume him, overwhelming in its intensity. The experience bordered on erotic, the same feeling he had on the edge of an orgasm. But instead of letting go, and surrendering, at the last moment, he fought to gain control of all that chaotic energy. He mastered the wildness, harnessed the power, and channeled it into his new form.

  Dropping to the asphalt, he shook his head. Claire was there behind him. Ahead, spreading across the parking lot in silent unison were his clan mates, dark forms in the shadows.

  He started across the parking lot, Claire behind him. From their flanks two of his clan mates joined them, Claire now surrounded by tigers. There was no way she was safe from Adrian, but Gunner knew Adrian would have to fight his way to get to her.

  “I see you brought friends to the party, Gunner. Too afraid to fight me by yourself?”

  Adrian’s words were human, but his voice was something less, the words garbled by whimpers, and growls. Gunner turned toward the sound, as Adrian emerged from the alley.

  The last time Gunner had seen Adrian, he was a mess, but the form that emerged now was hardly recognizable. His head was misshapen, tiger-like eyes protruding from a human skull, a row of fangs glistening with drool embedded in a human jaw. Rough orange hair hung in matted clumps from his lanky form, and his legs were bowed, held at awkward angles, almost looking broken. Blood from the wounds had Gunner inflicted still matted his fur, and Gunner wondered for a moment if he’d ever managed to change into human form since they’d fought in the clearing.

  Gunner saw the effect of Adrian's grotesque form on his clan. They hesitated, glancing between Adrian and Gunner, freaked out by what they saw, unsure of what to do. Gunner advanced, lips pulled back in a snarl, a deep growl ripping from his throat. He wasn’t going to let the physical form of this monster keep him from fighting him.

  The clan fell in behind Gunner, as he moved across the parking lot. Adrian laughed, a high, sick sound that grated on Gunner’s nerves. Then in a flash, Adrian lunged across the space between them.

  Gunner was ready, and he met him full force, diving beneath Adrian’s belly. He smelled Adrian’s foul, hot breath, heard the clash of his teeth, as Adrian bit at Gunner’s neck. They rolled across the pavement, neither getting a grip on the other. They broke apart, and Gunner scrambled to his feet, turning quickly to face Adrian.

  For an instant Adrian’s face held two forms, tiger competing with human. In horror, Gunner watched Adrian’s lower jaw extend. He heard the bones crack and break, as it reformed into a tiger’s wide jaw. It took no more than a second for his nose and upper jaw to change, but in that instant Adrian was incomplete, malformed, hideously deformed.

  It hit Gunner like the proverbial ton of bricks. The way to defeat Adrian was when he was caught between forms, unable to fight as a tiger or a human. Maybe at that moment, he would be totally incapable of defending himself. He’d be defenseless—or as defenseless as Adrian could be.

  Gunner circled Adrian, drawing him into the feeble circle of light cast by the lone street light. Adrian moved with him, nails clicking on the asphalt, eyes locked on Gunner. The rest of the clan formed a rough circle, Adrian and Gunner at its center. Gunner glanced up, searching for Claire. She was still near the building. To Gunner’s relief, Marco was planted in front of her, teeth bared.

  Adrian stopped, shaking his head, the last vestiges of his human form fading, tiger ears emerging from his skull. Adrian threw his head back, releasing a guttural cry to the sky. Still howling, he rose on his hind legs, his forelegs shifting to arms, paws changing to hands. Whatever had a hold on Adrian, it was running wild with his ability to keep any form.

  Gunner charged, hitting Adrian in his stomach, knocking him onto his back on the pavement. Gunner landed on his chest, as Adrian’s hands closed around his neck. But something was different. Adrian’s grip was weaker than before, the fingers digging into his fur shrinking, morphing back into paws, clawing ineffectually at Gunner’s neck. Adrian lost his grip, and Gunner pressed forward, sinking his fangs into Adrian’s neck.

  A rush of blood filled Gunner’s mouth, a hot, foul-tasting liquid. Gunner gagged, but held on, desperately wanting to let go, to get this horrid taste out of his mouth.

  Adrian kicked at him with his back legs, claws scraping at his underbelly. Pain flared in his belly, and Gunner knew Adrian was doing major damage. But Gunner held on, twisting his head, teeth tearing flesh.

  Suddenly Adrian was twisting beneath him, his legs no longer kicking Gunner in the stomach, claws pulled away from his skin. He let go of Adrian, and drew a deep breath, spitting blood onto the ground. Adrian was screaming now, which made Gunner glance over his shoulder.

  One of Gunner’s clan mates had Adrian by the leg, fangs sunk into his flesh, legs braced, tugging Adrian out from beneath Gunner. Adrian pushed up hard against Gunner with enough force to send him onto his side on the rough pavement.

  As Gunner got back on all fours, Adrian kicked at the tiger holding his leg, hitting Gunner’s clan mate in the side of his head. There was a sickening crack of breaking bone. The tiger screamed, a high whistling sound of pain, and lost his grip, scuttling backward away from Adrian. The tiger’s jaw hung askew, and he slunk back into the shadows.

  Several more tigers began to advance, but hesitated, several whimpering with uncertainty.

  “One down, just a few more to go. And those are already pissing themselves with fear. Come on, Gunner, that all you got?”

  Gunner spun around. The bottom half of Adrian’s face was more or less human, and he could speak, sort of, in a weird garbled growl. Gunner’s clan mates responded to the sound with whines of unease. But Gunner held his ground, snarl firmly in place, teeth bared.

  Adrian dropped to the ground, again wavering between tiger and human. For a long moment, he held Gunner’s eyes. Gunner was chilled by the insanity he saw there. The eyes were human, but there was nothing left of the human behind them. They were bloodshot, heated by whatever internal hellfire raged inside Adrian.

  Adrian tensed, and his eyes flickered away from Gunner for a split second. Gunner took a step forward, watching intently. Adrian took a step to his left, eyes shifting back to Gunner.

  Then Adrian lunged to his right, sliding past Gunner. Gunner whirled, snapping at matted striped fur, coming away with air. Gunner watched in horror as Adrian hit Marco, knocking him aside. Marco hit the ground hard, head crashing against the building. He drew a ragged breath then lay still.

  Behind Adrian was Claire, eyes wide, looking between Gunner and Adrian. Gunner howled at her, the sound urgent and loud, echoing off the brick walls.

  Claire reacted, ducking as Adrian jumped, trying to slip beneath him. But her reaction time was too slow. Adrian slammed her against the wall of the building, and she fell in a crumpled heap on the cement landing.
/>
  Anger flooded Gunner, as he watched Claire trying to gain her feet. Adrian was already on his feet, body turned away from Gunner, eyes trained on Claire. His intentions were pretty damned clear: he was going to kill her.

  With a snarl and snapping teeth, Gunner pushed off from the concrete, hitting Adrian hard in the mid-section, as he bent over Claire. Gunner felt Adrian’s ribs breaking beneath him, heard the breath forced out of Adrian’s lungs, as he hit the ground. Gunner landed on top of him, teeth sunk into Adrian’s shoulder. He came away with a mouthful of dirty, matted fur full of old blood, and debris.

  “Bastard…fucking bastard.” Adrian rasped out the words, pulling himself along the ground with bloody hands, nails ripping from his fingertips, the upper half of his body human. In a remote part of his mind, Gunner wondered what kind of painful hell Adrian was going through, changing back and forth, and half-assed changes at that.

  Gunner got to his feet, eyes traveling over Adrian’s naked body, now in human form. A bloody gash ran from his ear down his neck, blood running freely. But not gushing; Gunner had missed the major arteries. Blood trickled from his mouth, and as Gunner watched, Adrian spat a foamy gobbet of spit onto the pavement. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, breath tearing from his throat.

  “You think this is the end?” The words were clotted in Adrian’s throat, and he spit another wad of blood on the ground. Adrian winced, face contorting in pain.

  Gunner took a step to the side, growling. Adrian held his ground. Gunner saw a deep purple bruise, the end of ribs sticking through torn skin. How the hell this guy could still be standing was beyond Gunner’s imagination.

  He shouldn't be standing, and Gunner wasn’t going to let him go. With a fierce howl, he dove at Adrian, hitting him at the knees, driving him back into the chain link fence beside the building. The fence rattled, bent under their weight, then broke, sending them crashing to the ground.

  Gunner went for Adrian’s neck. Without the tangled fur, Gunner’s teeth sank into human flesh. Adrian let loose an inhuman scream as Gunner clamped his jaws down and blood ran over his muzzle, dripping on the ground.

  Adrian twisted beneath Gunner, hands beating at his shoulders, grabbing fistfuls of Gunner’s fur, pulling at it, tearing out clumps. But the pain was minor, nothing compared to saving Claire.

  The pounding on Gunner’s shoulders grew weaker as Gunner bore down, sinking his teeth deeper into him, as Adrian’s blood drained to the ground. Gunner shook his head, tearing deeper.

  Finally, Adrian let go of Gunner’s fur, his hands falling away. Gunner released his grip, stepping back. Adrian’s eyes were half-closed but still burning with an infernal light. He blinked at Gunner once, lips twitching into a rictus of pain.

  “Got your wish, didn’t you? Got the girl…you get to be Alpha.” Blood trickled from the corner of Adrian’s mouth, pooling beneath his body. “Bastard…” Adrian’s eyes rolled back in his head, his body going slack.

  Something brushed Gunner’s shoulder, and Claire was there beside him, looking at Adrian. She whined softly, nuzzling Gunner’s neck. He stepped back, and she turned, meeting his eyes. For the first time, as either a human or a tiger, he saw relief in those grey depths.

  The rest of the clan was behind them, standing in a loose circle. Gunner turned, and looked across the group, at his family. Marco was there, standing unsteadily, but standing. They’d stood behind him, and let him do what he needed to do. Adrian wasn’t a threat to them anymore.

  22

  The clan was gone, melting back into the streets, headed for their homes. Claire let Gunner lead her back up the stairs, closing the door behind her. It was followed by the reassuring sound of the locks shooting home.

  A chill washed through her, and she began shivering violently. Her knees went weak, and she instinctively turned to Gunner. He was there, arms pulling her against his chest, and she melted against him, letting him support her. For a long time, they stood silently in the dark room. Finally, Gunner patted her back, gently pushing her away.

  “Come on. Let’s get you back to bed.”

  With an arm around her shoulder, he took her back to his bedroom, sitting her on the edge of the bed. He flicked on the bedside light, then tugged the blanket up around her shoulders.

  “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” He knelt in front of her and looked at her closely, eyes moving over her body. She shook her head.

  “No, just scrapes. I had the wind knocked out of me.” Her eyes met his. “I’m sorry, Gunner. I didn’t listen, I got in the way…Marco got hurt…”

  Gunner reached up, caressing her face. “Marco’s fine. He’s a tough guy.”

  “And you’re hurt…” There was a trickle of dried blood along Gunner’s side and scratches and bruises on his body.

  Claire held his gaze, sudden panic welling up inside her. “Is he really gone, Gunner? For good?” Her voice choked on the final words.

  “He is, Claire. He’s gone…he’s dead.” Gunner rested his hand on her knee. “We’re free of him, forever.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, drawing a shuddering breath. She opened her eyes, and met his gaze, managing a hesitant smile. “So now what?”

  Gunner smiled. “Now? We go back to bed.” He took her hands. “You’re still exhausted, and I need sleep.”

  Gunner rose and she swung her legs onto the mattress, letting Gunner pull the sheet and blanket over her. He leaned down, kissing her gently on the forehead.

  “I’ll be right back. I'm just gonna clean up a little.”

  She nodded, watching him walk out of the room. A moment later, the bathroom light clicked on, dimly lighting the hallway. She heard the sound of running water, and she wined, thinking of Gunner, of the wounds he’d suffered because of her. She turned her face into the pillow, tears sliding down her cheek.

  “Hey…it’s okay, Claire.”

  The bed moved as Gunner climbed into bed beside her. She raised her head, shifting as he settled beside her, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “You’re safe…”

  “I know. It’s not really that…sort of. I think it’s relief. Hard to tell. I just know it’s not like it used to be.”

  Gunner’s arms tightened around her, and he leaned over, kissing her forehead gently. “I’ll take tears of relief. It’s a big change in your life, it’s going to take some time to adjust.”

  Claire snuggled closer, head resting on Gunner’s chest. “As long as we’re together, then I think I’ll be able to get through this. But yeah, not having to sleep with one eye open is going to take some getting used to.”

  They were quiet for a long time. Claire knew he wasn’t asleep. One last question nagged at her, and now seemed as good a time as any to ask.

  “Why did you run away with me, and take me to your cabin?”

  “I wanted to spend some quality time with you.”

  “Don’t joke, Gunner. You could have faced Adrian then, or left me there. But you ran with me.”

  Gunner shifted beneath her. “You’re not the only one who runs from things. I’ve been running away most of my life.” His voice was low. “Difference is; I wasn’t running away from someone. Well, I was, but I thought I was running toward something…something better. Greener grass, and all that.”

  “But you always came back?”

  “Yeah. Like a bad penny. And they always took me back.” He was quiet for a long moment, and Claire lay still, letting him think.

  “You know; I don’t even know some of those guys that came here tonight. Not by name, not by face. A few I’d only seen at Reece’s shop. I had never talked to any of them. But they showed up to help me…help us. I guess that’s what family does. Stands by you even if they don’t know you. And you’re part of that now, too.”

  “So we’re both done running. It just doesn’t seem really real, not yet.”

  Gunner laughed. It was a nice sound in the dark. “‘Really real?’ Yeah, I guess I’ll take that. It’s not really
real, yet. But it will be. Now…no more talking. Go to sleep.” He leaned over her once more, kissing her softly on the lips.

  As exhausted as she was, sleep eluded her. She watched the patterns of light and dark play across the sky, the moon playing hide and seek in the clouds. Eventually she watched dawn break, the sun setting up a dingy haze on the bedroom window. Gunner had been asleep for hours, arms still wrapped loosely around her.

  Her mind just wouldn’t stop circling around everything that had happened, playing over every detail. From the first day she’d met Gunner at the diner, their hell bent-for-leather ride, fleeing from Adrian, running like she always did, dragging Gunner into her crazy life. Then the rest: Adrian finding them, taking her. Trying to kill her.

  And Gunner had come after her and chased down Adrian. He’d come after her and risked his life for her.

  Somewhere in all that craziness, Gunner had told her he loved her. And she’d told him she felt the same about him. She smiled in the gray light. Out of all the horrible crap with Adrian, maybe she’d found a man she could love, someone who loved her back.

  She closed her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time, drew a deep breath, and finally felt herself drift off into sleep.

  23

  The rumble of voices dragged Claire from her slumber. The room was filled with soft sunlight. She tried to focus on the clock by the bed, pulling it toward her. Then she sat up in confusion. It was late afternoon, almost evening. She’d been asleep for over twelve hours.

  The voices were coming from the living room, and among them she recognized Gunner’s voice and then Reece’s. Someone else was with them. None of the words were clear, but the tone was. And if she was a betting girl, she’d place good money that they were talking about Adrian, about her, and about the mess that was her life, the mess that was now Gunner’s.