Soul Bonded

chapter TWENTY-SIX



She woke up to Rafe squeezing her tightly, mild panic in his voice. “Katie, wake up.”

Her heart rate accelerated as she struggled into consciousness. What time was it? Was Rafe ready to transform? Was the battle about to begin? Panicked, Katie shot into a sitting position and braced herself for the worst. Had the other pack decided to ambush them? “What? What’s happening?”

Rafe put his hand on her back and she instantly relaxed. Everything was still okay. At least for the moment.

“I need to go outside soon. I figured you would want a little time awake before that happens.”

“Of course.” Katie dropped her head into her hands and exhaled, shaken by how unprepared she’d felt when she’d thought the moment had arrived. “Thank you.”

“Also, I’m finding it incredibly painful not to mate with you.” He winced slightly, then amended, “Make love with you.”

“No, I understand.” She scooted away from him, then fished over the side of the bed for her jeans. “Sorry.”

Rafe caught her wrist in his large hand. He stroked his thumb over the inside, as though checking her pulse. “Don’t be. It was wonderful to hold you like that. You’re so beautiful…so soft.”

His grip tightened slightly. Katie pulled away and stood, certain that if she didn’t, Rafe would succumb to his urges and leap on top of her. With her back to him, she fumbled on the ground for her jeans. She could feel his eyes on her ass as she zipped up. After taking a moment to collect herself, she turned back to Rafe with a smile. “It felt good to be held.”

This time she wasn’t even surprised to find his eyes glowing. An hour before transformation—she was probably lucky that he’d had the willpower he clearly did. Even now she could see his determination dissolving a little as he stared at her.

He rubbed his hands on his thighs, struggling outwardly to control his actions. She could feel him thinking of breaking down and indulging his instincts. He would ask for her consent—she was sure of that—but she had no idea whether either of them would be able to control what happened after she gave it. Though she believed in her heart that Rafe would never ham her on purpose, she knew he would never forgive himself if he got too rough or injured her right before the big battle.

Being the responsible one sucked. “No,” Katie said with less conviction than she’d hoped to convey. “Tomorrow—not now. It’s too late.”

Anguish washed over Rafe’s handsome face. “I know.”

“Use that desire as motivation.” The advice was as much for her as it was for him. “To make it through tonight.”

“Protecting you is my motivation. I don’t need anything else.”

Emotion threatened to overwhelm her. Soon, she was going to have to send her bond-mate outside to face a gang of murderous werewolves alone. Because of her. Because he’d saved her life and she’d rewarded him by running off and finding the worst kind of trouble.

Rafe shook his head. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“If I hadn’t run away—“

“It would still be the full moon tonight. We would still be alone in the woods with wolves on the prowl.” Despite his coherent speech and the rather salient point he was making, Rafe appeared more untamed than she’d ever seen him. His eyes still hadn’t reverted back to human form, and she wasn’t sure they would before morning. “You would still be a fresh piece of meat for those animals to devour.”

Katie flinched at his blunt words. “Right.”

“And I would still be ready to die to protect you,” he said, voice softening.

“I know.” Unsure how to respond to his heartfelt words without initiating physical contact, Katie gestured at the door. “We should probably go out there. Get ready.”

“Probably.” Rafe sighed and walked stiffly to the door. Shilah jumped up from his place on the floor when Rafe stepped into the hallway. “Give me a five minute head start, will you?”

“Of course.” She knew exactly how he planned to spend their time apart. She was already throbbing in sympathy. “I’ll wait here.”

Rafe managed an embarrassed smile. “You’ll know when I’m ready.”

“You’re right.” Katie chuckled, blushing along with him. “I will.” She spoke up before he could walk away. “Think of me?”

He snorted. “Like I can think of anything else.”



He was done in just over four minutes. Katie lie panting on the bed for another minute after that, overcome by the psychic vibrations of Rafe’s pleasure. This time she hadn’t touched herself at all, but this orgasm had been no less intense than the last. In fact, she wasn’t sure if her legs still worked. She allowed herself to bask in the afterglow for a brief, glorious spell, then forced her body into motion. After a trip to the bathroom for a hasty clean-up, she walked to the den to find Rafe pacing in front of the couch.

Naked.

Stunned and turned on by the unexpected sight, Katie stopped and stared. His muscles flexed and jumped as he strode aimlessly back and forth, reminding her of a caged tiger. His nostrils flared in time with the rhythmic rise and fall of his broad chest. When he caught sight of her on his next turn, he barely slowed his pace and greeted her with a wordless grunt.

She stated the obvious. “You need to go outside soon.”

“I can make it another forty-five minutes or so.” His hand drifted between his legs and he stroked himself as he eyed her breasts. She was almost relieved when he swiveled on his heel to walk the other way. “Maybe less.”

“I don’t want to send you out to them before it’s absolutely necessary.” Katie folded her arms over her chest to shield herself from Rafe’s penetrating, unearthly stare. “I want to be together, every second we have.”

Facing her once more, Rafe came to an abrupt stop and jerked himself off roughly. “I’m sorry, this is incredibly inappropriate—“

“Don’t be silly.” Quite frankly, she was impressed that he could still manage multi-syllabic words. “Do what you need to do.”

Rather than take her invitation, Rafe growled and released his cock. Then he gestured with his head. “Actually, there’s something I need to show you. Consider it a last resort.”

She followed his gaze to the far corner of the room, on the ceiling—to what looked like an attic hatch door. Stunned that she hadn’t noticed it before, Katie said, “What’s up there?”

Rafe stalked across the room and grabbed a ladder from behind the couch, then climbed on top and pushed the hatch up and off the opening. He leapt into the attic with startling ease before poking his head back into the den to beckon her forward. “Come on. Quickly.”

Ignoring her twinge of anxiety, she rushed to scale the ladder and grasp Rafe’s offered hands. He pulled her into the attic as though she weighed nothing at all. After steadying her by the shoulders, he handed her a flashlight that she hadn’t even seen him find. “Be careful to only walk on the joists.”

She turned on the flashlight and illuminated their spare surroundings. The attic was larger than she’d expected, and so cold she could see her breath in the air. There was a small window at either end, enticing her with the soft light that filtered in from outside. Now that she was trapped indoors, she’d never craved the outside world so keenly. Katie took a ginger step toward the closest window, but Rafe put his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t let them see you.”

“Why not? They know I’m in here.” She shrugged away from him and cautiously made her way to the window.

“I don’t want them to get them any more worked up than they already are.”

Staying well away from the opening, Katie stepped to the side and angled her head to peek outside. Immediately she saw two naked men locked in a heated struggle. One drew back his fist and punched the other in the face. He returned the blow without flinching. Katie winced when the first man delivered another brutal hit to his pack-mate’s temple. “I’m pretty sure they’re too busy to notice me.”

She startled when Rafe stepped behind her. He gazed over her shoulder at the fight, the heat of his body scorching hers. “Fighting and f*cking. And they think humans are less evolved.”

Katie tried to ignore his masculine scent at her back. Instead she focused on the view the window afforded. “Why didn’t you mention the attic when we had time to work out a plan? If I brought the gun up here during the fighting—“

“Absolutely not.”

She turned, surprised by just how close Rafe was standing. His erection bumped against her hip and he groaned, nearly tumbling off the joist he was balanced upon. Ignoring what had just happened, Katie said, “Why? If I could take out even a couple of them when the fighting starts, that’s fewer for you to face alone.”

“You don’t even have a rifle.”

“I don’t need a rifle.” Katie threw back her shoulders and challenged him to say otherwise. “You know I don’t.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want you drawing attention to yourself during the fighting. I want them focused on me. Only me.”

“But I can actually help—“

“No.” Rafe leaned closer, invading her space. “Walking around up here is tricky, especially at night. If something happens to your flashlight, it’ll be dark. Too dark to defend yourself. You could get cornered. Believe me, they’ll find a way to get up here if that’s what they have to do to get to you. Or you could take one wrong step and come through the ceiling on top of them.”

“I could get cornered downstairs just as quickly. Maybe even quicker. Let’s face it—if they get into the cabin, I’m in trouble. I’ll have nowhere to go.”

He pointed at the window behind her. “No, listen, the window opens. You can climb out onto the roof. Look to the left and you’ll see what I mean. But I don’t want you to even consider doing that unless you’re trapped and you have no other choice. The roof will be slippery, and there’s a big risk of falling and breaking your leg or worse. Not to mention, the second you open that window, they’ll smell you. They’ll know exactly where you are.”

A sickening wave of vertigo swept over her at the thought of actually choosing to escape out a second-story window with more wolves no doubt waiting below. “Trust me, that’s definitely my last resort.”

“You’re afraid of heights,” Rafe murmured, as though committing an important fact to memory. He reached out like he wanted to touch her, but held back, grimacing. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t run out of options. Honestly, I don’t want you up here tonight unless you’re actively running from them. I only showed you this as a worst-case scenario—that’s it. I don’t want them to see you in the window. I don’t want your scent on the wind because you’re leaning outside, even from up here. Inside, they won’t be able to smell you. So I want you to stay inside, with Shilah, and hunker down and hide. If any wolves get in here, shoot to kill.” He paused. “Remember, any wolves.”

Stark frustration threatened to shatter her composure. She knew Rafe was only trying to protect her, but he obviously didn’t understand that she had the same desire to defend what was hers. “Why won’t you let me help? I’m a good shot, Rafe, and you know that. I can make your job easier—I could help protect you.” She searched his face, frustrated by the lack of discernible human emotion she found there. He stared through her, his entire body coiled like a snake about to strike. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”

“We’re not talking about this.” As if in pain, Rafe curled his arm around his stomach and walked stiffly to the open hatch. “I said no.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to let you call all the shots,” Katie sniped at his naked back. She couldn’t help it—nothing elicited her temper like having a man boss her around. “It’ll be so chaotic down there once the transformation happens that I doubt they’ll realize where a few stray shots came from. And that would be two or three fewer of them to gang up on you.”

“Enough.” Whirling around, Rafe stared at her with eyes that glowed menacingly. “Now get downstairs.”

She dug in her heels instead. “We’re bonded, Rafe. Our lives are interconnected. So why don’t I get to help protect you? Is it because I’m a woman? If that’s what you—“

“Because you’re human,” Rafe roared. “Goddamn it, Katie. Do you understand that they’re out there salivating over what they want to do to you? I can barely control myself with you smelling like that. How do you think they’ll react if you open the window? It’ll drive all of us crazy. And you’re so goddamn fragile. You can’t even heal yourself if you get injured! So don’t be stupid about this, or I swear—”

In his pre-transformation state, her bond-mate cut an imposing figure. His deep voice shook the walls, impassioned and containing barely suppressed rage. Rather than shrink away, Katie stood her ground. “Or what?” She let the challenge hang in the air.

He deflated. “I’m not going to able to do this unless I know you’re going to stay safe. So please, Katie.” Gentling his tone, he said, “Please.”

It was clear from his bearing that he was in no condition to argue. Taking pity on him, she decided to let the matter drop. There was no point in upsetting him in the last few minutes they had together. “All right. No shooting.” Unless it’s necessary.

She kept that caveat to herself.

He held out his hand. “I appreciate that you want to protect me. I do.”

She made her way back across the joists, then laced their fingers and squeezed lightly. “And I appreciate that you’re afraid for me.”

Rafe said nothing as he helped her down through the hatch and into the den. He left the hatch open and the ladder poised beneath. “Just in case,” he said, then walked back to the couch and sat heavily. He bowed his head and scrubbed at his face with his hands. “Soon now.”

Katie sat beside him. “Does it hurt?”

“What?”

“Transforming.” She ran her gaze along his lean, muscled body, trying not to linger in any one place too long. Besides his still-glowing eyes, he looked entirely human. Deliciously human. The thought that his body would soon undergo a forced metamorphosis—one that would strip away his human conscience—was unnerving. He exuded an animalistic energy that both frightened and excited her. “Does it hurt to transform?”

“Only for a minute.” He lifted his face. “Then there’s nothing.”

“Is it scary?”

Rafe allowed a brief smile. “A little. But I’m used to it.” He hesitated, then said, “I remember the first time. I was six years old and scared to death. My father took me into the woods and held my hand until it started. In the morning I woke up right next to him. I’m pretty sure we stayed together the whole night.”

“That’s sweet.” She tried to imagine Rafe as a pup and couldn’t hold back a fond giggle. “I bet you were adorable.”

He grunted.

Very aware that their time together was ticking away, Katie wished that he was capable of a proper goodbye. Not goodbye, she amended silently. Until tomorrow. She wanted to kiss him so badly it hurt. Holding back was torture.

“I’m not telling you goodbye,” Rafe muttered. “This isn’t goodbye.”

“I know.” Katie closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. The knowledge that Rafe would soon leave her to spend a terrifying night alone made her stomach rumble in anticipation. Nausea overwhelmed her.

Clearing his throat, Rafe husked, “But just so that nothing is left unsaid, know that I’m glad I found you the other night. I’m glad I brought you home with me.” His large hand landed on her knee. “The only thing I regret is not protecting you better.”

She shook her head. “You protected me just fine. I’m the one who ran out into the night without a plan.” Her mind wandered to the small crowd gathered outside, all of them determined to avenge their pack-mate. “If it weren’t for me—“

“Zeke deserved to die. You think you’re the first woman he’s hunted down?”

Katie shivered. She knew she wasn’t. “But his son…”

“That’s on Zeke. And me. Not you.” Shuddering, Rafe leapt up from the couch and jogged to the front door. He eased it open a few inches, peeked outside, then shut it quickly. A ripple of fear unsettled the air around them—Katie didn’t know whether it originated from her or Rafe. “Katie, I think it’s time.”

No. It was too soon. Far too soon. Panic overwhelmed her need for caution and she ran across the room to grab Rafe’s arm. “Please…”

He stared down at her with cold amber eyes. “You know I can’t stay. Another five minutes and I won’t be safe for you.”

A quiet sob burst from her throat as she threw her arms around Rafe’s solid torso. “I love you. Survive, do you understand? Whatever you have to do, just survive.”

Rafe palmed her ass, squeezing and releasing her buttocks in a slow, rhythmic caress. “You, too. Remember what I said…the attic is a last resort. Not a plan.”

Katie chose her response carefully, wanting to leave her options open. “I remember.”

He moved his hand between her legs and rubbed her sensuously through her pants. “If they get inside, aim for their heads. Don’t hesitate. If it’s a wolf and it’s coming after you, kill it. Period.”

His bold touches were distracting, but she managed to focus on their meager plan. There was no way she would be able to shoot Rafe even if he did come inside, but she didn’t plan to tell him that. There was no time for another argument. “Got it.”

“Start with the shotgun and move on to the revolver only when your shells run out. Don’t let yourself get spotted through any windows—if we’re lucky, they’ll be so busy with me that they’ll forget about the hot piece of human ass I’ve got hidden away.” Rafe paused but never stopped fondling her. She knew he regretted his word choice, but his self-control was clearly slipping. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m glad you think my ass is hot,” Katie said. It was the truth. Crude as they were, his blunt words really did flatter her in some strange way. And his candor was just plain amusing.

“No matter what happens, don’t come outside before the sun is up tomorrow morning. Bring a weapon when you do. I’ll try to be back inside as soon as I can, but if you haven’t heard from me before noon, I want you to take my truck and drive into town. Don’t stop for any reason.” He moved his hands to her back and simply held her against his chest. “The keys are next to the icebox. Take the road to the highway and go right. I love you.”

He tried to release her but she clung to him tighter. Things were moving too fast. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye. “I don’t want you to go.” The thought of sending him outside to face those animals made her stomach churn. “Please don’t go.”

Rafe buried his nose in her hair and inhaled. “I need you to be brave, darling. For me.”

She would feel braver if she were able to do something other than hide away from the fighting. Rafe’s plan left her helpless, which made it difficult to gather her courage. But his body seemed to vibrate against her, and his chest heaved, and she knew in her gut that he needed to leave the cabin—now. “I promise.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his surprisingly soft lips. “Kill them all.”

He bared his teeth in a malevolent grin. “I will.” Nipping at her throat with sharp teeth, he exuded danger. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She released him only because she knew his time was up. As he turned and stalked to the front door, she murmured, “Be careful.”

Rafe threw open the door without looking back. A raucous cheer arose from outside, and Katie glimpsed the crowd that awaited him. It had grown. Naked men and women—all of them with glowing eyes—froze in place and turned to face them. Lisa cackled cruel laughter, then the rest of her friends joined in. There were more than ten of them now. Katie counted at least fifteen. Maybe more.

“Ready to die?” Lisa snarled.

“No.” Rafe stepped onto the porch and shut the door behind him. Stumbling forward, Katie pressed her ear to the wood just in time to hear his next words. “But I hope you are.”

Katie closed her eyes and locked the door behind Rafe. The longest night of her life had just begun.