“Wow, Aidan, just wow. First of all, there is no way Tala cursed you — she loved you. Second, he is not a beast, so don’t call him that. He’s beautiful and gentle and intelligent. He’s just you in animal form.” Aidan ducked his head at the offhanded compliment. He had been worried about Maggie’s reaction, but instead of being horrified or pitying him, she was defending the wolf. Defending him.
“Have you a name for him?” she asked.
“I call him Gealach. It means moon in Gaelic.” Maggie nodded approvingly.
“I like it. That fits. Now I know what to call him.” She leaned over and laid her lips softly against his. “Thank you for trusting me.”
They finished the ride in silence, both lost in their thoughts. After they’d returned to the stables and rubbed down the horses, they walked back to Aidan’s house hand in hand. He led her into his room and they loved each other gently in the sunlight.
Maggie listened to the steady beat of his heart under her cheek while tracing little circles on his abdomen and enjoying the sensation of his fingers untangling her hair. They’d spent nearly the entire week together this way, stretching out their days talking and laughing and loving. Maggie walked in the woods with Gealach in the evenings, returning to the cabin to sleep around midnight each night. They ate breakfast together, either at the cabin or his house. She wondered when she’d fallen in love with him.
“Can I ask you something?” Aidan’s voice rumbled in his chest and Maggie smiled.
“Anything, baby.”
“What’s with the tattoo?” Maggie laughed, propped her chin on his chest and looked up at him as he traced it with his finger. The tattoo was low on her back, just above the crest of her left ass cheek.
“It’s a Celtic infinity knot; you know, no beginning, no end, the infinite power of the spirit, immortality, and so on. It’s also a sign not to drunkenly accept a dare in an Irish pub.” Maggie smiled when he chuckled.
“Well it seriously suits you, my love.” Maggie’s heart tripped at the casual endearment and she ducked her head hoping he didn’t see the emotion in her eyes. He seemed able to read her like no one else.
“Can I watch you shift tonight?” Maggie had taken to calling Aidan’s transformations “shifting” because she felt it was a just that: a shift in form. She felt his muscles tense and knew his answer would be no. Before he had a chance to refuse she softly added, “Please?”
“With one condition.” Maggie nodded eagerly. “You don’t walk with Gealach for the next little bit, and you either stay close to my house or close to the cabin, but I’d rather it be here. Since the damn cabin is literally in the woods and completely isolated.
“Mags, I saw people in the woods last night after leaving you. Most were just drinking, littering, and taking pictures of scary bushes and terrifying the squirrels. But a few had guns with them, hunting rifles. I’m not just worried about you getting hurt, but Gealach will be too concerned with protecting you to protect us. It’s for all of our safety. Once they leave you can walk all night with the furry wonder, though it’ll cut into our alone time.” Aidan wiggled his eyebrows at her, but Maggie didn’t smile. “You agree to my terms, I’ll let you watch me shift tonight.”
“This is my fault. These people are here because of me. How am I supposed to keep from worrying about you?” Aidan pulled her up his chest, laying his lips on hers.
“I’ve made it nearly fourteen years without getting hurt once and have encountered hunters before. I didn’t have a reason to want to live then; I have one now. We’ll be very careful. Honestly, Gealach doesn’t wander too far from the cabin after you go in for the night anyway. Will it make you feel better knowing we’re close?” Maggie nodded.
“Deal?” Aidan asked her; instead of answering she leaned in and slanted her lips across his. His “mmm” of appreciation made her feel bold and sexy. She broke away from his mouth and ran the tip of her tongue along his jaw line to the lobe of his ear, scraping the flesh there with her teeth. His hands wrapped her waist as she worked her way down his throat. They clenched and unclenched when she sucked on the pulse thrumming under the skin there. He moaned when she nibbled on his flat nipple and gritted her name through his teeth when she licked his ribs. Enjoying the taste of him and riding high on the power of making this man throb, she worked her way down, using lips, teeth, and tongue to torment and tease.
Sometime later as they lay there intertwined, feeling the cool air of the lengthening day on her sweaty skin, Maggie smiled against his neck and simply said, “Deal.”
“Then we better get moving, lover.” He kissed her, and they dressed quickly before eating a hastily put together meal of reheated leftovers and heading out into the meadow. Maggie was equally nervous and excited as she and Aidan walked to the forest’s edge. She had been anxious to see the transformation with her own eyes, the proof her mind needed to finally accept the truth she already knew. She didn’t have any worries that it would change the way she felt about Aidan — she was in love with him and she knew it — but it was like Lois Lane knowing Clark was Superman and actually seeing the Fortress of Solitude for herself.
“Aidan, does it hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt.” He took her hand in his, and led her into the trees far enough that no one could see from the meadow or the house. Maggie glanced up at the sky; the moon would be up any second. She chose a large wide tree to sit against and made herself comfortable as she watched, with total female appreciation as her man stripped down to his skin. She saw him put his clothes in a large, watertight container, painted dark green so it blended well with its surroundings. She marveled at how she’d never considered what happened to his clothes. Aidan winked at her and Maggie smiled back, her smile spreading as he grew visibly aroused. She quirked an eyebrow at him. Aidan’s quick chuckle in response slid into a low growl as the first rays of moonlight touched his shoulder.
Maggie watched in awe as a thin blue mist covered Aidan’s skin and the air around him shimmered with magic. He blurred before her eyes and she blinked against the sudden urge to weep. That fast, Gealach stood before her, his fur thick and downy, his eyes, so like Aidan’s, watching her with concern. She smiled as a lone tear slid down her cheek. The wolf came to her, nuzzled her neck and licked the tear away with his soft, scratchy tongue. She ran her fingers over his pelt and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
“I love you.” She whispered against his side, knowing Aidan could hear her. Gealach whined softly and she pulled her head back so that they were nose to nose. “I know that wasn’t fair. You can pretend you didn’t hear it; I don’t expect you to say it in return. I want you to say it when, or if, you feel it, too.”
The wolf retreated a few steps and when she nodded her head he bound off into the dark forest. Maggie leaned back against the tree and waited for Gealach to return. She was trying to decide how best to deal with her apartment in Philadelphia, already knowing the only way she would return would be if Aidan didn’t love her. She felt sure he did, whether he was ready to tell her or not. He wouldn’t have shared his secrets with her if he didn’t love her. She didn’t feel herself drifting off, but within minutes she was asleep and dreaming.
Maggie groaned quietly in frustration as something tugged her out of slumber. She stared, uncomprehending at first, at the dark stain growing on her jeans, but when the odor hit her, she screamed and leapt to her feet. Gealach sat at her feet, his eyes patiently watching.
“You son of a bitch! You peed on me. Gealach, you fucking peed on me. You hear me in there, Aidan, do you? Just you fucking wait ’til morning. Son of a bitch!” Maggie turned and stormed out of the forest, hollering back over her shoulder, “We are so not friends anymore!”
With anger fueling her, Maggie nearly ran across the meadow, slammed into Aidan’s bedroom, toed off her shoes and socks, tossed her t-shirt and bra on the floor, and stepped into the shower still wearing her soiled jeans and panties. When she could no longer smell the pungent odor of urine, she stripped out of the sodden denim and cotton, pushing them into a ball behind her with her feet, and washed her body. As the cabin boasted only icy water, she’d been bathing here at Aidan’s, so she had her soap and shampoo and a clean change of clothes. All of which she availed herself before hopping in her car and driving back to the Black’s land.
After she’d parked and began the short hike to the cabin, Gealach appeared at her side, nudging her thigh with his muzzle. She ignored him. He tried again, and again she pretended not to notice the enormous wolf beside her. When she reached the steps, he leapt onto the porch before her, blocking her path and whined pathetically. Maggie felt her heart tug a little, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.
“Just get out of my sight for a little while, Gealach,” she grumbled. She instantly felt petty and, softening slightly, she ran her fingers through his pelt as he passed so he’d know she wouldn’t hold the peeve long. She took the few rickety stairs quickly and was glad to be inside the tiny cabin. She’d allowed herself very little time to work or balance her checkbook or keep up with friends she knew were worried about her. Thinking about her finances made Maggie grimace. Keeping the rental car was getting prohibitively expensive — she should see about getting a used car locally and wondered how much that would hurt her already maimed savings.
She changed into a nightgown, made herself some hot chocolate, and sat down with her laptop. She couldn’t email or check her bank’s website, but she could write, and she needed to quickly sell some freelance articles. Maggie pulled out her checkbook and made a few more credit notations, feeling saddened by the lack of deposits. Her resolve renewed, she opened the word processing file and began a short article on Chengwatana Forest from the research she’d done when she’d still planned to write about Gealach, before she’d met the wolf and the man who had stolen her heart. She wondered, absently, if Aidan would mind if she brought her laptop over and used his wireless to get some work done. She suddenly realized she hadn’t heard Gealach in a while, though she had heard him occasionally pass the cabin or clack his paws on the porch earlier.
Maggie went to the door, opening it and peering out into the darkness for any sign of the recalcitrant lupine. She couldn’t see him, and Aidan had assured her that Gealach wouldn’t wander far. Slipping into a pair of canvas sneakers she kept near the door, Maggie headed out onto the porch for a better look. She heard what sounded like a gunshot somewhere to the left inside the woods. Terror filled her as she thought of Gealach wounded, of losing Aidan, and she streaked toward the area where the shot had echoed from.
She passed a strand of trees and ran straight into a small clearing. Arms, seeming to come out of nowhere, grasped her firmly around her waist. She screamed, truly scared, for both herself and her lover. The arms released her; she whirled and saw the two men who must have been standing behind the patch of trees she’d passed. They looked drunk and mean. She saw two rifles sitting against the tree they’d been behind.
“Check her out, Leeroy,” the one who’d grabbed her said. The one called Leeroy leered at her, a nearly empty six-pack ring and its lone remaining can dangling from his fingers. Maggie felt her hot chocolate churn in her stomach. She was in trouble and she knew it. The two stepped closer, and Maggie took a step back, her gaze shifting toward the cabin that was just out of sight. Leeroy saw her glance towards safety and moved himself between Maggie and her escape route.
“Oh, I’m looking, Mikey. And I thought it was just going to be some boring, old wolf hunt.” Maggie’s eyes flitted between the two men and fury coated the fear like a shield. She lifted her chin; she’d be damned if these two half-wits were going to cow her.
“Back off. Where’s the wolf you shot at?” The two men laughed at her and moved closer, backing her up another step. “I said back off.”
The one named Mikey reached out and grabbed at her breast, squeezing hard and laughing when she tried to pull away. Enraged, Maggie pulled back a fist and punched him, hard, in the face. He screeched, released her, and grabbed at his nose. “She made my nose bleed, Lee. Bitch damn near broke it.”
Leeroy moved faster than Mikey, and with a closed fist he backhanded Maggie before she had a chance to block the blow. She fell to the forest floor, her ear ringing and her face in flames. A growling, snapping, blur of silver streaked over Maggie’s head and she watched as Gealach bit down on Leeroy’s forearm. The man hollered for his friend, who went straight for his rifle. Maggie scrambled across the ground, unmindful of the fact she was scraping her knees, and beat him to it. She stood pointing the rifle at Mikey, keeping herself between him and the other weapon.
“Gealach, let him go. I’m okay; let him go.” She watched as the wolf tried to look at her without releasing the man’s arm. “Please, Gealach. I’m okay. Come, see for yourself.” The wolf released Leeroy’s arm and slinked over to Maggie’s side. She looked at the two men, one with a bloody nose, the other a bloody arm, and cocked the rifle, proving she knew how to use it.
“You’ll find your guns at Red’s Press in town by lunchtime tomorrow. Now get out of my forest and don’t come back.” The two men stared at her and Gealach for a minute, appearing to silently debate the wisdom of taking on an armed woman and an angry wolf, before turning and disappearing into the trees, in the general direction of the road.
Maggie picked up the other rifle, slung it over her shoulder, and, keeping the other cocked and at the ready, she slowly backed out of the glen, Gealach by her side. Once the cabin was within sight and Maggie was confident the two drunkards weren’t doubling back, she slumped down onto a fallen log, shaking. Gealach nudged her until she stood and they crossed the last few yards together. Maggie locked them both in the small cabin, wet a washcloth, and, sitting on the raw wood floor, cleaned the blood off Gealach’s fur. It looked so obscene on him. Guilt, fear, revulsion sent Maggie running for the tiny bathroom, retching.