Mated

After the Moon Part One

Lyric woke up with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed and clutching the blankets to her chest. She had just had the most horrible nightmare. The Moon had come and she had watched Kieran change and her wolf had finally won. She let out a slow breath and licked her lips.

"What?" she murmured when she tasted copper. "Blood?!" she almost screamed when she put her fingers to her mouth and saw red dying the tips. She leapt from the bed and then realized she was naked to boot and let out another shriek of horror. She was in a strange place, her mouth tasted of blood, and the body that had been in bed beside her had blood covering its back.

What did you do?! She screamed at her wolf mentally. Who did you kill?!

"Lyric?" the body in bed rolled over.

No one, her wolf said.

"Kieran?" she whimpered. She let out another small shriek and tried to cover her naked body. "Don't look at me! I'm naked!"

"What? Oh!" He rolled back over. "There's a dresser to your left. Top drawer has night shirts in it. Will you toss me one as well?"

She scrambled for the dresser, pulling on a black flannel nightshirt, and tossed him a red one. He hissed softly as he pulled on the shirt and got out of bed. Blood covered his left arm and the left side of his neck; there was even some dried on his face. Lyric felt her heart hit the ground. She'd hurt him. Her mate of all people. He stepped toward her and she moved away.

"I hurt you!" she yelled. "Don't! Don't come near me!"

"Lyric, you . . . You don't remember last night?" he asked.

"The last thing I remember is your wolf standing in front of me," she whispered. "How gorgeous you were." She blushed. "But then I woke up with blood in my mouth and you are covered in it! I can put the pieces together! I hurt you! My mate!"

"You gave me a nip when I made you stop hunting for sport," he said, crossing his arms. "You killed two deer, seven rabbits, and a fox before I got to you. And you ate none of them. You really don't remember? After I got you to quit hunting, we ran through the woods all night. Chasing each other. Wrestling and playing until the sun came up."

"I killed last night? I changed?!" she gasped. Her knees felt weak and she leaned against the dresser to avoid toppling to the floor.

"Yes," Kieran said. He moved and stood in front of her but didn't touch her yet. "Lyric, it was magical. Running with you . . . I have never in my life felt more alive than I did last night."

"I hurt you," she sniffled. "I bit you. I could have killed you."

"Nah," he said with a shrug and a wince. "You gave me a nip on the shoulder when I made you stop what you were doing. It will be healed by breakfast. It just broke open when I changed back. No big deal."

"No big deal?!" she yelled at him in pure anger. "Kieran, I haven't changed in years. I blacked out when I did changed. I went on a mass killing spree of forest animals and to top it off I fucking BIT my mate in the back for making me stop my killing. I'm a monster. I should have never gone with you."

"Lyric," he started.

"Did I do anything else?" she demanded, getting into his blood splattered face. "And where in the hell am I?"