Into the Night [Into the Heart 2] Read online

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  Loose Id, LLC

  www.loose-id.com

  Copyright ©

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

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  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

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  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Chapter One

  El-ian lounged against the tree trunk as he watched his clan cavort on the damp grass. By morning, the area would be flattened from their presence. Visitors to Balboa Park would attribute the blight to lovers on a tryst, or indigents camping out. More likely, they wouldn't notice at all. Too many times, humans turned a blind eye to the natural world surrounding them.

  This place wasn't the ideal location for El-ian's people, but considering the growing threat from mountain lions in the nearby regional and state parks, Balboa Park was better than nothing at all. The cat in them needed the chance to breathe free and run, to have lots of wide-open space. El-ian looked up. Tonight's full moon made it an especially rewarding experience, more or less. They were always on their guard against discovery, and the presence of one interloper watching nearby set everyone's nerves on edge.

  Trina Tate. Not one of his favorite people, though she was good-looking enough. He sighed. This was the third night in a row she'd followed them, yet she always kept her distance, watching. None of the clan questioned El-ian as to her presence. They trusted him to monitor her actions. If it had been anyone else spying on them, El-ian would have found them another remote place to explore their baser nature.

  If he'd been pressed to explain his actions, El-ian wouldn't have had a good answer. Even he wasn't sure if Trina was friend or foe. Why he let her continue to watch ... He didn't have a ready answer. Every time she was near, he inhaled her scent, yet he didn't know why her smell haunted his dreams and waking hours.

  He shook his head on a low growl, trying to get her out of his thoughts, and shifted his focus to the clan. The twelve black jaguars were in a playful mood tonight, acting more like cubs than centuries-old shape-shifters. Golden eyes pierced the dark. The full moon always brought out their youthful exuberance.

  A seldom-seen smile crossed El-ian's face as he watched the cats tumble over each other in play. Tensions had been high within the group these last six months. It was time to bond again, to mend their grief, and, perhaps, to find some direction. Even at a distance, El-ian could sense their joy and the thread of sexual tension weaving through them. He wondered if Trina felt it. If it made her pussy drip with want. His barbed cock hardened with anticipation. He'd take one of them tonight, as was his right. Duty and survival required him to assert his dominance, but that would be all the mating was for him—cementing his position as alpha. Maybe he'd even take Trina. That would teach her not to spy.

  A light breeze ruffled his fur. El-ian lifted his nose to catch the tang of salt from the nearby ocean. A whiff of charred earth hit him instead, overriding all the others. It was a sudden, stark reminder of the recent wildfires that had taken more precious members of his rapidly dwindling clan—females they desperately needed to continue their line. The loss struck another blow at the heart of who they were, or rather, what they had once been.

  El-ian pulled in another breath, hoping the ocean breeze would push to the forefront and remove the taint of destruction he knew all too well. At that point, even Trina's scent would be a welcome diversion. Instead, he sneezed.

  Joaquin trotted his way at the sound. Sleek muscles rippled beneath his black coat, boasting of the strength pouring through the large male. El-ian's equal, his friend, and, on occasion, his rival.

  "Come, join us."

  "Soon.” El-ian stared into the night and away from him.

  His gaze settled on Trina. She'd edged closer, a pale shadow in the bushes. This was the first time she'd dared to venture so close. She stood no more than fifty feet away.

  And gloriously nude.

  Her skin glowed with an inner light that beckoned El-ian with an intensity that was all too familiar. Long black hair drifted down her back, framing her body. She had curves a goddess would crave, heavy breasts that begged for a man's mouth or a cock thrusting between them. Her light brown nipples were hard, although he presumed it was more because she'd been toying with them than because of the cool air. They puckered under El-ian's watchful gaze. Or perhaps a combination of both.

  Her arousal was thick, calling to him on a level no male would—or could—refuse. From what he knew of the woman, she denied few men. She'd even propositioned him once—an offer he'd ignored without hesitation, but with a great deal of effort. Few nights had passed since then without the fantasy of having Trina beneath him.

  "Come. You know you'll enjoy it. You need a little play.” Joaquin leaped forward, batting at El-ian's ears. El-ian ducked the blow and flicked his tail in annoyance.

  "I said, soon."

  Joaquin stretched out beside him. "You haven't been the same since we returned from the Yucatán six months ago."

  El-ian swiveled his gaze to Joaquin. "Neither have you."

  A subtle growl rumbled in Joaquin's throat. He didn't like the reminder any more than El-ian did. They'd spent centuries focused on a common goal—finding and destroying the skinwalkers who'd fed on the souls of others. Once that mission was accomplished, their tight-knit group had become fractured; not so much physically, but emotionally. The wildfire deaths shortly after their return to the States couldn't have come at a worse time. Not that there was ever a good time for death. But on the heels of their greatest battle and the clan members they'd lost as a result, it was hard not to view more deaths as a sign that they hovered on the edge of extinction. El-ian swore he could feel age wearing him down, in human and in jaguar form.

  Joaquin's eyes narrowed. "Have a care, my friend."

  "You'd be doing good to remember that."

  The tip of Joaquin's long, black tail snapped. "I share my mate with you, Wyatt."

  The use of his human name reeked of challenge. El-ian was the only one of their group to continue using his ancient name when they shifted. Leave it to Joaquin to call attention to that now, a not-so-subtle reminder that El-ian was part of the old order, a command structure rapidly disintegrating.

  He was half tempted to battle it out and let Joaquin win. Joaquin could take t
he alpha role and see how well he liked the weight of responsibility. El-ian's heart had grown weary of the task, and his soul ... Well, his soul pined for something that could never be.

  "You share nothing. I take what is my right.” El-ian leaped to his feet and hovered over the other male.

  Joaquin matched his stance, teeth bared in a silent snarl. El-ian wasn't silent or subtle in his response. His warning growl alerted their group to action. The cats froze as a whole, turning to watch the battle between the alpha and beta male. From the periphery of his vision, El-ian saw Trina take a step back.

  Fight me, El-ian silently begged. Take the lead. Then he could also banish the constant reminder of his perpetual solitude.

  He and Joaquin stared at each other, their molten gazes locked, white fangs gleaming. Joaquin slowly edged away, not out of fear, but El-ian doubted it was out of respect. He turned his back on El-ian, lifted his tail high as if to say “fuck you,” then stalked toward his mate.

  Carmen crouched, muscles tensed to run away. Joaquin was too quick. In one leap, he overcame her and clenched his teeth into the scruff of her sleek neck to hold her in place. Carmen might acquiesce in jaguar form, if it pleased her, but once they shifted back, El-ian had no doubt she'd retaliate. The longtime couple had been at odds since her rescue from the wildfires that took both her sisters and the child she carried. The rift between the couple grew wider every day and threatened to drag the clan down into the chasm with them.

  Joaquin shot a fiery glance at El-ian and thrust his cock into Carmen, daring his leader to take her.

  El-ian refused to let the challenge go this time. They were going to fight it out once and for all. He risked a loud rrawow guaranteed to raise a human's hackles and alarm anyone stupid enough to be out in Balboa Park at midnight. They'd probably pee themselves, thinking one of the big cats had escaped from the San Diego Zoo.

  Joaquin snarled back, thrusting faster into the female beneath him.

  "Enjoy it,” El-ian told him. “I'm having her for the rest of the night."

  "You'll have to kill me to take her.” Joaquin slammed his body into hers.

  "So be it."

  Slow, measured steps carried him toward the couple. Blades of grass caved under his paws. The others moved out, forming an arena for the battle. Halfway to his goal, the scent of Trina's arousal cut through the air.

  All heads turned her way. El-ian saw Carmen take advantage of the distraction and try to roll away from Joaquin. He nailed her in place with one heavy paw on her back. Carmen hissed at him. His extended claws most likely ensured she stayed where he wanted her.

  El-ian ignored the domestic power play and studied the woman standing nearby, near the closest crop of trees and bushes. She could do with a hard fucking, among other things. So could he, for that matter.

  He understood why she was drawn to them and could even sympathize with her confusion. Seeing her here ... knowing she'd briefly shared a connection to the woman he'd once loved, tripled his want of her almost more than he could bear. But she wasn't Ka-ra and the sooner she accepted that, the better off she'd be. The better off he'd be, too. It was time to make her realize there was no place for her among the clan. And he was in the perfect mood to intimidate her into leaving.

  He spun around and grabbed the first jaguar he could reach—the youngest male. Dean settled before him without hesitation. In a group that now contained only two females, members mated whenever and with whomever they could.

  El-ian snarled at the intruder and plunged his barbed penis into the willing male's ass. Dean arched into the fucking, his head rolling back as muted squalls signaled his pleasure. El-ian wished he could feel the same way. His focus was locked on Trina, wanting her, imagining her on all fours while he pounded into her. Dominating her, letting her know he would not be led around by the dick, like her other conquests.

  Trina pulled her plump lower lip between her teeth. Her wide brown eyes shimmered, looking more like blue-black pools that begged to be plundered. An illusion, or the promise of what could be? El-ian snarled and pounded into the cat beneath him.

  He heard the catch in Trina's breath, carried on the breeze. Watched as her fingers drifted down her torso on a straight path to her pussy. Saw the moisture gleaming on her thighs, enhanced by moonglow. Hell, he didn't need to see, he could smell it. The scent assaulted his brain, overriding everything else, imprinting its signature there for all time. El-ian snorted. Like he needed a reminder. She'd haunted his nights from the moment they'd met.

  Her wanton disregard for her safety fired El-ian's anger. She should be running for her life, not...

  Fingers dove into her pussy. Her scent flooded the copse of trees where she stood and dispersed among the clan. Jaguars paired up, excited by her pheromones, except for the odd man left without a body to mate with. El-ian yanked from Dean and let Barry have him. He turned toward Trina.

  He'd drive Trina Tate from their midst, one way or the other.

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  Trina pulled her hand from between her thighs. She wasn't sure if it was her heartbeat thudding in her ears, or that of the huge black jaguar coming her way. She wasn't sure of anything anymore: who she was, what she'd become, her job, her life, her choices. One day she was Trina Tate, stepping on others, elbowing them out of her way in her climb up the ladder of success. The next day, she was a stranger to herself.

  She'd often wondered the last six months if she was going insane. That seemed the only rational explanation for what she was feeling. In her heart, though, she realized logic had no place here, even that of insanity. What had happened to them in the Yucatán—her and the jaguar shape-shifters—had been real. Sticking her head in the sand wasn't going to change that.

  Work she once relished felt empty, just like the rest of her life. Trina was lucky she still had a job, considering how absentminded she'd been the last six months. She'd gone from the cenote incident in the Yucatán straight to her archaeological dig in Mexico in a daze and stayed that way ... until fear and confusion took over. It seemed the other worldly events that had occurred in the underground cavern would haunt her for eternity. It was a wonder she'd gotten any work done. Maybe she hadn't, and no one had noticed yet.

  Trina sighed. Not that she needed to work anymore. That trek to the Yucatán had left her wealthy. Yet it was a hollow victory. She needed the anchor of employment, something to give her purpose in life, yet she couldn't focus on tasks she'd once accomplished by rote. All she'd been able to think about was completing the dig and getting back to San Diego, being near them, near him. The instant her plane landed from her Mexican dig, she'd felt the tug of El-ian's soul calling to her.

  Instinct she hadn't realized she possessed brought her right to this stretch of Balboa Park. Her breath had caught with the first sighting of the jaguars, their sleek bodies like liquid shadows in the night. She'd tightened with the need to join them. No, not join, rejoin. Hidden behind the trees, she'd studied them, waiting for the chance and the courage to step forward.

  Trina recognized most of them, knew their rankings and personalities in jaguar and human form. Vague memories hovered at the edge of her mind like a foggy dream she couldn't retain. One jaguar stood out among all the rest—the huge male coming her way. El-ian ... Wyatt Caldwell to the human world. Head of the Braden Institute. Her boss. The man she ... the man Ka-ra once loved more than life itself. Ironic that Trina stood here now wanting him just as much.

  Glowing amber eyes held her captive. Her skin tingled in anticipation. His wide head came up to her chest. His paws were the size of dinner plates. She quivered with every breath she took when he stopped a few feet away. His long, thick tail swept from side to side.

  She'd seen the neighborhood cat, Lupe, do the same thing once, right before she pounced on a bird. The image of white fangs sinking into feathers didn't sit well with Trina. Considering her previous face-to-face meeting with Wyatt—they hadn't started out on the best of terms—he could very well be sizing her up for
the kill. One swipe of those massive claws, and she'd be history, considered a victim of one of the mountain lions the wildfires were pushing into the city.

  Wyatt took a step forward; a growl rumbled deep in his throat. The sound vibrated through her, pumping her heart faster. Moisture trickled down her thighs. His nose twitched. His golden gaze fell to her crotch. It was all Trina could do to stand there and not fall to the ground and spread her legs wide for a lick of his raspy tongue.

  Head bent, he nudged his nose into her pussy. The impact sent shivers through her. Lips pressed tight against a groan, she dropped her hands to his head and caressed his velvet-soft ears. His contented purr vibrated against her clit. It cut off too quickly, and she felt him start to move away.

  Trina clamped her thighs around his muzzle and rocked, begging for more. A low growl shuddered through her. He nudged her harder, knocking her off balance. She toppled face-first onto his back. Short strands of fur felt like pinpricks against her skin. Trina whimpered with the sweet sensation and cradled his spine between her breasts.

  He nudged her higher up his body until she straddled his neck. Her body still didn't match his in length. Grass tickled her toes, but she couldn't reach beyond that. She wrapped her arms around him, dancing her fingers in his soft belly fur. His body heat surrounded her. Another low growl rumbled beneath her. Another jerk positioned her over his shoulders. They spread her wide, those short hairs stabbing into her clit.

  The strong smell of musk pulled her attention away from her aching crotch. His tail loomed over her. Without hesitation, she rubbed her hands down his haunches and cupped his furred testicles. His rrawow sliced through her. She felt the base of his thick tail flex ... then it lashed over her right butt cheek.

  Trina's muffled squeal faded into a moan as fire raced over her ass and swelled her clit. Her fingers spasmed around his balls. Another lash struck her other buttock.

  She jerked her head up on a groan. Golden eyes stared at them. The others watched ... and wanted. Suspicion mingled with their lust and curiosity. Trina didn't know how to reassure them she was no threat. All she wanted was to experience a feeling of belonging, something she'd never known before.