RAFF

The brights lights of the oncoming car dazed him, but he didn't stop chasing his quarry. He pushed off of the asphalt, ignoring the squealing tires behind him, and leapt across the stream running parallel to the country road. The road ended at the beach and no one lived along this stretch as it was part of a national park. It was rare to have any traffic this late at night, especially in the winter, but this was only a passing thought as he raced into the woods.

    The rain would turn freezing in the next hour or so, but the guard hairs on the outer layer of his coat kept him dry, while the thick undercoat would keep him warm even in temperatures well below zero degrees. If the intruder thought to use the elements to his advantage, he'd be sorely disappointed. Raff had been born into a Northern pack during the depths of winter; he'd thrived in the snow and cold long before he'd embraced the ice in his soul.

He stopped long enough to sniff the wind, an image of a his prey flashing through his mind as he caught his scent. He was a wolf of average size, nothing to concern an Alpha, and his dark coat marked him as a member of the Starless Pack. Bunch of cowards.

Raff contemplated which direction to go. Despite his ability to maintain the chase in these conditions, he'd prefer to be at home, near his pack. This needed to end. Ears pricked forward, he started to change directions, planning to cut him off, but his sensitive hearing picked up another sound. A woman pleading, her voice quivering, either from fear or cold, at this distance, he couldn't be sure.

"Help.". He shook his head and readied himself to sprint away. "Please."

Damnit.

Turning back towards the road, he raised his snout to release a haunting howl. A warning to the wolf he'd been chasing. Tonight he escaped. One day soon, he would pay. Raff slowed when he reached the stream. Typically, this space was considered to be a ditch, but heavy rains turned it into a powerful source of running water. His ears flattened against his head in irritation when the unnatural light of a car blinded him again, and the wolfish instincts controlling him urged him to hide from the oncoming car.

As his eyes adjusted, he realized the car wasn't moving; instead, it was passenger side down in the water. Creeping forward, he turned his ears forward again. The woman's voice had gone quiet, but he could hear the stuttering thud of her heart. It's just a human. If you save her now, she's still going to die. Another day. Another accident. Pointless.

Shaking out his fur, he prepared to leave, but he couldn't stop himself from peering through the windshield. Only to rush forward as twin pinpricks of turquoise light pierced the darkness within the car, highlighting the most exquisite face he'd ever seen. A face with lips curving into a smile just as the seething waters swallowed her.

Growling, he burst into his human form, gray and white fur floating in the air as he raced to the vehicle and ripped the door away. Raff grabbed the woman and pulled. When she didn't budge, he allowed his hands to shift partially and raked them across the seatbelt holding her captive. She surfaced easily when he pulled again.

Dark hair was plastered to her pallid face. With one hand he held her tight to his bare chest while he used the other to clear her face. With those odd eyes closed, she looked like a normal human girl, albeit a beautiful one. A thin wound ran across her forehead. It was beginning to bleed freely now that she was free of the water.

Raff frowned. She was still too stiff even though her body temperature should be rising with her snuggled against him. Dropping to his knees, he placed her on the asphalt and began compressions on her chest. Counting to thirty, he stopped and pressed his lips against hers and delivered two rescue breaths. Repeat. Repeat. Each time, her lips felt warmer against his, but still she didn't breathe.

"Let me tell you something," he said as he made compressions, "I didn't stop chasing that piece of shit just to pull a corpse out of a car. So you're going to wake up, and you'll give me the best damn thank you I've ever received." Two more rescue breaths. "I'll leave it up to you, but I do expect it to be spectacular."

He lowered his lips only to jerk back when the woman coughed, water spewing down her chin until he rolled her to her side. A smug grin tugged at his lips. No one disobeyed an order from the Alpha. Not even humans, he thought smugly, patting her on the back. The grin faded as he felt her spine against his palm. Too thin.

"Get it up," he commanded as she continued to heave. The contents of her stomach had joined the stream water.

She was conscious enough that she lifted a shaking hand to her mouth to scrub off any vomit before she turned to him. The shine in her eyes was not as bright as it had been when being pulled under, but he felt strangely unsettled by the turquoise color. Raff waited while she examined him, her dark brows furrowed and her jaw tight.   

She opened her mouth and he waited for gratitude to pour from those full lips. Instead, he got insolence. "And just why are you naked?"

        ************************************

MERIBELLA

The man in front of her scowled. Scowled as though he were offended by her question, but she thought it a perfectly reasonable question to ask of someone. Especially someone who was naked outside, in the freezing rain, and standing over her. If she were in any condition to fight back, she might have screamed and delivered a swift kick to certain vulnerable, exposed body parts, but lifting her hand to clean her face had been a monumental task. There was also the fact that she thought he might have saved her life.

"Are you going to answer my question?" He gnashed his teeth at her, and those ice blue eyes flared with indignation. A normal woman would've cowered and cried; Meribella McNamara didn't cower for anyone: especially a man. "I'll take that as a hard no."

The ire faded from his face and guarded amusement took its place. Amusement that morphed to irritation as she tried to rise to her feet. She waited for a reprimand as she struggled to stand, but he continued to watch her like one would watch a newborn foal trying to stand for the first time.

"What happened?" he asked her.

In an attempt to steady herself, she placed her hands on her knees and stared at the wrecked vehicle. "A damn animal darted out in front of me. I hit the brakes and lost control of the car."

He snorted. Snorted! "Those are some shitty tires if you lost control that bad. The roads are just now starting to freeze over."

Maribella cast a disparaging glance towards the bare toe he was using to brush the surface of the road. "I was planning on getting the tires replaced this weekend," she lied. "Bad timing I guess."

"Irresponsible is what it is. Now you're out of a car, and you almost lost your life. Humans are utterly stupid sometimes."

The way he said humans gave her pause. She'd met a few of her own kind over the years, though she kept away when she could. They weren't dangerous, and they didn't shun her. Well, not exactly. It was worse really, the pity that poured from them when they recognized her for what she was. But she knew there were other non-humans out in the world; she wasn't naive.

"Humans? And you're somehow better than a mere human," she fished.

"Look at me. What do you think?"

"Why you cocky bastard." But she looked as he'd commanded and couldn't find herself disagreeing. Towering over her five foot ten inches frame by several more inches, he somehow managed to pack muscles over every inch without appearing bulky. Sinuous grace, lethal and sexy as hell. Her eyes dropped lower, and she blushed before turning away.

The man growled and thundered towards her, the heat in those ice blue eyes subduing the shivers wracking her body . But the heat wasn't from anger like before. She might not have much experience, but her senses, more heightened than the average person thanks to her ancestry, could smell the desire. On him and...oh gods that's embarrassing...herself.

"You're standing awfully close," she whispered, losing her balance as she tried to lean away from the broad chest filling her vision. He caught her and held her upright.

"How do you plan on getting back into the city?"

"I-I'm not staying in the city. I'm in the Seascape Cottage just outside of town."

Nostrils flared as he scented her. "Alone?"

"Yes." Another growl. Savage. This man was savage. "I can walk from here."

"Absolutely not. I've got someone coming to pick us up. You'll stay at my house tonight."

"Um, excuse me. I am going home. And how the hell does anyone know to come pick you up? I don't see a place for you to keep a cell phone."

"I didn't rescue you for you to die on me immediately afterwards. You will stay with me this evening, and if I decided you're healthy enough to leave, then you may go."

    Everything went quiet as rage flooded Maribella. Spots of black blurred her vision, but it wasn't from the recent trauma. A part of her whispered caution, whispered that her eyes would be glowing like turquoise ocean waters beneath the full moon, whispered that if she didn't get control, she would regret this later.

    Lights from an approaching car distracted her enough to allow her to wrest control back. "I am freezing cold, but I am nowhere near death's doorstep. So, you will not treat me like a child. I will go home, go to sleep, and pray that I wake up with only a dim recollection of this night."

    The blasted man ignored her and signaled to the driver of the car. When he reached to grab her and pull her along, she delivered a swift kick to his shins, making him yelp in shock. Wincing at the way her toe throbbed as she bolted down the road, her wet clothes chafing her skin, she knew it was a yelp of shock and not pain because her toe was most certainly broken.

    Lungs burning from the cold and bout of vomiting, she urged her legs to go faster. If she could reach the beach, she could find refuge in the salty waters. The turn off was just to her right, and through the flurries, she could see the dark expanse of churning waters. The briny scent wrapped around her, easing her aches and pains.

    The even pavement gave way to uneven ground as she scurried towards the waves. Forty feet. Thirty. Her fingers stretched out in front of her. Twenty. Ten. Five. Water brushed against her feet as a wave crashed in. 

    "Put me down," she screamed as the lunatic grabbed her around the middle and tossed her over his shoulder. Her face banged against his lower back as he jogged back towards the scene of the accident. Putting her hands just above his hips (good lord he has those damn dimples), she lifted herself up so that she wasn't bouncing with every step. Her fingers dug into his skin. Skin that was surprisingly warm despite the freezing temps.

    The man shifted his grip to open the car door before he tossed her into the backseat. Heated, supple leather swallowed her, and for a moment, she was so captivated by the warmth that she forgot she was supposed to be escaping. Her captor didn't immediately get into the car, and she took the chance to try and open the door closest to her.

    "It's locked," he grumbled, sliding in next to her, clothed in jeans and a form fitting polo that dried her mouth out.

    "Please," she begged, forcing tears into her eyes. Men couldn't stand it when women cried.

    "Doesn't work on me. Herron, to the compound," he barked at his driver. Turning back to her, he studied her at length before stating, "You're very fast."

    She shot him a dirty glare before staring out the window. "Not fast enough."