The Moonlit Curse

Ch 36: First Shift

"How much longer?" Kiya asked again for what must have been the tenth time in less than an hour.

"I told you," August answered the same way he had every time, though his irritation was becoming more and more evident. "It's already started. Your body changing shape will happen all at once, but the shift itself is a long process."

She nodded, forcing herself to take a deep breath to calm down. Everything was happening the way he said it would. Since waking up that morning, her muscles and skin felt stretched over joints that were too loose and ready to pop out of place. The tension in her jaw crept up the side of her face that turned into an unrelenting headache by noon. By mid-afternoon when they left for the caverns, Kiya was so restless that she swore that she was wearing a line into the ground. Now she had no way of knowing how much longer it would be before the full moon took effect.

August had been on edge too. He was sitting on the edge of a rock jutting out of the wall of the cave and bouncing his knee in a jerky rhythm. His fists were clenched tight and flexed every time they spoke, as if he were holding back from taking his rising temper out on her. She saw that, recognized that the best thing she could do was leave him the hell alone, yet she still opened her mouth to ask the same dumb question over and over and over again. A nervous habit that even the military couldn't drill out of her.

Biting her tongue from asking a different but equally dumb question she'd already asked a hundred times, Kiya turned her back to August and lifted her arms high over her head to stretch. She rose up on her toes and winced as her calf muscles tensed and cramped. Keeping careful control of her muscles, she bent at the hips and folded herself in half and breathed through the stretch in her back.

"Goddess curse me again," August growled huskily, sending a shiver of excitement rippling through her spine. "That's a view I'll never get tired of."

Kiya lost her focus and burst out laughing. She stood up straight and glanced over her shoulder. As she expected, August's silver eyes were focused on her ass. Not that she could blame him. The caverns were hot as hell, and since Hadyn was patrolling outside the entrance, she felt no shame in wearing nothing except for the ratty old tunic she used as a nightdress. The fabric fell loosely around her hips, revealing an inappropriate amount of her lower body. The upper body wasn't much better considering how low the collar dipped over her chest.

August looked at her like she was a piece of meat. Hungry. Starved, even. His eyes flickered red once before they lifted to meet her gaze, and another excited thrill pulsed through her. It got her wondering if bending over and presenting herself like that triggered his alpha. By the mark she hoped so. As much as she enjoyed his efforts in being slow and gentle, a rather loud part of her wanted him to lose control.

He was right... again. She did want both the innkeeper and the alpha. She wanted to be loved and respected as an equal partner, but she also wanted to be dominated and protected like she was some helpless damsel. Damnit, she was giving herself a headache with the back and forth of what she wanted from the man.

Lifting a hand, August crooked a finger in a come hither motion. Kiya sauntered towards him, slowly and deliberately swinging her hips with every step, resisting the urge to run into his arms. His growl turned into a purr, appreciating the view.

Large hands wrapped around the backs of her thighs when she was finally within reach, and he tugged her between his legs. In contrast to her only wearing a shirt that barely covered anything, August only wore pants with the drawstrings open and loose. Between the two of them, they made one somewhat fully dressed adult. It was still too many clothes for her liking.

His skin was scorching under her touch. The way he kissed her burned. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of her spine, and still she craved more of his warmth. "I can smell you, little hunter," he whispered, leaving a searing hot trail of open-mouthed kisses down the side of her neck. "I know how badly you want me."