Read Online Things That Go Hump In The Night by Lily Marie, Terra Wolf, Artemis Wolffe, Mercy May, Amanda Jones, Bliss Devlin, Steffanie Holmes, Christy Rivers, Lily Thorn, Lucy Auburn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lily Marie, Terra Wolf, Artemis Wolffe, Mercy May, Amanda Jones, Bliss Devlin, Steffanie Holmes, Christy Rivers, Lily Thorn, Lucy Auburn
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continued removing her clothes, Nicole wondered how her little brother was doing. He was halfway through college by now and probably having the time of his life.
Her jeans joined the pile of folded clothes on the carpeted floor, then her panties. She was naked now except for a red string bracelet pushed high up on her forearm.
She could feel it pulsing like a living thing against her skin, strangely warm. She knew, deep in her gut, that it was not only responsible for the werewolf curse that bound her, but that it gave Erik a connection to her, somehow, despite all the years and the miles that separated them.
One day, she would figure out how to rid herself of the bracelet.
But for now...it was nearly time for Cage Night to begin.
Nicole reluctantly pulled the heavy canvas cover off the large steel structure that was the basement's only furnishing.
She looked at its gleaming silver bars and the large dog-bed that filled the interior, and she shuddered.
Erik had kept her in a cage exactly like this for a year and a day.
After she escaped, she had sworn that no one would ever lock her up again. That resolution had lasted just one month. Then she had turned into a wolf and run wild.
When she woke up the next morning, she had been sprawled naked in a bed of poison ivy in the wooded area of a local park, her face and hands sticky with drying blood.
For days thereafter, Nicole had watched the news and scanned the Web anxiously for news reports, terrified that she might have hurt or killed someone. In the end, she concluded that it had been animal blood, but the fact that she didn't know for sure, and couldn't remember, had spurred her to try the known solution.
She had gone to a big-box hardware store to buy the necessary tools and materials and had spent a week building a cage from memory. She made a few improvements along the way. For one thing, her new creation was collapsible, so that it could be disassembled and packed flat whenever she had to move.
When it was assembled, all its parts locked together into a sturdy prison that kept the world safe from her. Her beast hated it, hated the fact that she locked herself inside every twenty-eighth day, when she could no longer control her transformation.
She hated the awful memories that came to visit her every time she crawled inside and locked the door.
A wave of pain moved over her, reminding her that she didn't have much time before bones and muscles began to rearrange themselves and her consciousness vanished in a haze of red rage and burning hunger.
No option except grit your teeth and get on with it.
Nicole dropped to her knees and reluctantly crawled inside. She pulled the heavy cage door shut behind her and locked it, placing the key within arm's reach outside.
At least werewolves don't have opposable thumbs , she thought with grim humor, and let her wolf out at last.
* * *
Gabriel followed the GPS tracker on Nicole's car until he pulled up in front of a rundown Victorian house and saw her Honda parked in the driveway.
He slowed, frowning.
Had a shape-shifter on the verge of losing control really just... gone home ?
Why? It didn't make sense. If she knew what was coming, then she should be trying to leave the city as fast as possible and head for one of the many local regional wilderness areas.
And if she didn't know what was coming...it was going to be bad. Really bad.
Gabriel parked his own car around the corner, out of sight of her house, then walked quickly back.
He approached her car and stooped to remove the tracker from the undercarriage. He didn't need it now. Then he climbed the stairs stealthily to her porch.
Gabriel stood in the shadows, wondering what to do next. Should he knock? Break in and confront her before it was too late? Or should he wait to see whether she actually went out of control?
Though he hadn't met many shape-shifters, he'd heard how Children of Lilith drained off the excess magic from their shape-shifter companions and
Her jeans joined the pile of folded clothes on the carpeted floor, then her panties. She was naked now except for a red string bracelet pushed high up on her forearm.
She could feel it pulsing like a living thing against her skin, strangely warm. She knew, deep in her gut, that it was not only responsible for the werewolf curse that bound her, but that it gave Erik a connection to her, somehow, despite all the years and the miles that separated them.
One day, she would figure out how to rid herself of the bracelet.
But for now...it was nearly time for Cage Night to begin.
Nicole reluctantly pulled the heavy canvas cover off the large steel structure that was the basement's only furnishing.
She looked at its gleaming silver bars and the large dog-bed that filled the interior, and she shuddered.
Erik had kept her in a cage exactly like this for a year and a day.
After she escaped, she had sworn that no one would ever lock her up again. That resolution had lasted just one month. Then she had turned into a wolf and run wild.
When she woke up the next morning, she had been sprawled naked in a bed of poison ivy in the wooded area of a local park, her face and hands sticky with drying blood.
For days thereafter, Nicole had watched the news and scanned the Web anxiously for news reports, terrified that she might have hurt or killed someone. In the end, she concluded that it had been animal blood, but the fact that she didn't know for sure, and couldn't remember, had spurred her to try the known solution.
She had gone to a big-box hardware store to buy the necessary tools and materials and had spent a week building a cage from memory. She made a few improvements along the way. For one thing, her new creation was collapsible, so that it could be disassembled and packed flat whenever she had to move.
When it was assembled, all its parts locked together into a sturdy prison that kept the world safe from her. Her beast hated it, hated the fact that she locked herself inside every twenty-eighth day, when she could no longer control her transformation.
She hated the awful memories that came to visit her every time she crawled inside and locked the door.
A wave of pain moved over her, reminding her that she didn't have much time before bones and muscles began to rearrange themselves and her consciousness vanished in a haze of red rage and burning hunger.
No option except grit your teeth and get on with it.
Nicole dropped to her knees and reluctantly crawled inside. She pulled the heavy cage door shut behind her and locked it, placing the key within arm's reach outside.
At least werewolves don't have opposable thumbs , she thought with grim humor, and let her wolf out at last.
* * *
Gabriel followed the GPS tracker on Nicole's car until he pulled up in front of a rundown Victorian house and saw her Honda parked in the driveway.
He slowed, frowning.
Had a shape-shifter on the verge of losing control really just... gone home ?
Why? It didn't make sense. If she knew what was coming, then she should be trying to leave the city as fast as possible and head for one of the many local regional wilderness areas.
And if she didn't know what was coming...it was going to be bad. Really bad.
Gabriel parked his own car around the corner, out of sight of her house, then walked quickly back.
He approached her car and stooped to remove the tracker from the undercarriage. He didn't need it now. Then he climbed the stairs stealthily to her porch.
Gabriel stood in the shadows, wondering what to do next. Should he knock? Break in and confront her before it was too late? Or should he wait to see whether she actually went out of control?
Though he hadn't met many shape-shifters, he'd heard how Children of Lilith drained off the excess magic from their shape-shifter companions and
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