"taber." shocked, nearly paralyzed by the needs clawing through her system she could only whimper his name as he pressed her forward.

he held her still, her shoulders to the floor, her hips raised, opening her for him, giving him access. he didn't wait to claim what he believed was his. roni barely had time to draw in a breath before she felt the thickness of his erection pressing against her cunt, sliding against the small slit until he found the opening to her vagina. he held her hips, he whispered her name, and then thrust forcibly inside her untried pussy.

roni screamed out at the pleasure/pain of his hard thrust as he buried in her to the hilt. taber cursed, almost brokenly, but he didn't stop. she writhed beneath him, terrified now by the fierce contractions of her womb, the force of his thrusts, the spiraling sensations colliding inside her. she could feel his cock stretching her, the muscles of her cunt both protesting and welcoming the thick intruder, clamping on it as the sounds of moist suckling flesh filled her head. she was too wet, too aroused. her juices coated her thighs, her pussy. the sharp bite of pain should have drawn her back from her arousal, should have had her crying out in protest, but it only blended with the pleasure. her world centered only on the deep, heavy thrusts of taber's cock inside her gripping cunt. the agonizing pleasure seared through her body, electrifying nerve endings, taking her breath as the sensations piled, one atop the other, drowning her in their force.

the feel of taber, one hand pressing at her shoulder blades, holding her still, the other gripping her hip as he thrust hard and deep inside her sensitive cunt, was nearly too much to bear. she couldn't move, she could only feel, and what she was feeling threatened to destroy her. the carpet beneath her rasped her knees, the tender flesh of her breasts, but the minute sensations only blended with the others. lightning arced from her pussy through her womb, sizzling beneath her skin as it streaked through her body, throwing her higher, driving her closer to destruction. he pushed her headlong in her flight to ecstasy, his cock powering into her, filling her, stroking the already blistering heat higher, hotter.

"no!" she tried to scream as she felt her womb tighten, ripple, convulse. it would kill her. whatever the sensation, the power building furiously inside her-it would kill her. then there was no breath left to scream, to cry. her eyes widened, her vision blurred. the muscles of her cunt clamped onto his cock as she felt the sudden change occurring in it. it was as though a small thumb had distended beneath the flared hood of his erection, swelling, lodging against a bundle of nerves inside her, caressing, vibrating, until she exploded.

"god! roni! baby..." deep, hard, the blasts of heated semen shot into the ultra-tight channel, triggering another tremor, another explosion that left her gasping, fighting for breath as she collapsed to the carpet. what was it? she shuddered again as taber followed her down, groaning harshly as the small caress of the added stimulation kept shuddering through her body. as though... no. the thought was pushed away, denied. there were no physical characteristics of the animal he was. the scientists had assured the public of it. other than the longer canines, they were human. weren't they?

then she couldn't think anymore. the next explosion that tore through her was nearly brutal in its intensity. she could only cry out, could only let it have her while taber collapsed over her. his breathing was harsh, his body as damp as her own now.

"roni." his voice sounded tormented, pained, as he fought to catch his breath.

"what did you do, taber?" she whispered, the blurring at the edge of her vision becoming darker.

"what did you do..."

chapter nine

"she'll be fine." dr. martin patted roni's slack hand as he gently settled it on the bed beside her unconscious body. he had finally finished his examination. on the table beside the bed were the vials of various samples he needed. "remember, she's only the second known mate, and her body's been under the strain of it for over a year. physically, it could be much different for her than it was for merinus. i'll run my tests and we'll see how she does when she awakens."

taber stared down at roni from the other side of the bed, his conscience searing him with remorse. what had he done to her? for the first time since his childhood, the animalistic side had controlled him, rather than the human. when it had mattered most, he had forgotten he was a man.

"is she sleeping or unconscious?" taber almost winced at the sound of his voice and the pain seeping into it.

doc shot him a worried glance. "she's just sleeping, taber. the day has been quite eventful for her. let her body rest and her mind cope. sometimes it's all that saves a soul." the haunted shadows that lingered in the scientist's eyes gave testament to that fact. "have her in the lab first thing in the morning. we'll run a few more tests, make certain they are coinciding with the readings we had from merinus, and then we'll just wait and see."

wait and see if she conceives. taber's fists clenched with an almost murderous fury. from the moment he had seen the attack on her on that damned television his only thought had been taking her. marking her. assuring himself that no other could ever touch her again. he pushed his fingers wearily through his hair as he stared down at her.

she was pale. dark circles lingered under her eyes, showing the scattering of freckles across her nose in stark relief. she looked so innocent... hell, she had been innocent. a fucking virgin, and he had taken her like an animal.

he turned to the window at his side, drawing back the dark curtains, staring out at the grounds of the estate. he had taken her from her home, brought her to a damned armed camp and molested her before even taking the time to explain the changes taking place in her body after his kiss. he had known when he kissed her what he was doing. had known what would happen, but he had been helpless to stop. he had protected her since she was a child, until the moment she had truly needed his strength. then he had failed her. he had allowed the animal to take control and now roni would pay the price.

"taber, i'll need samples from you as well," doc said softly from the end of the bed. "as soon as possible, if you don't mind."

taber pulled back from the window, allowing the drapes to fall back in place.

"when she awakens," he said softly. "i'll come down then."

"now, taber. there may not be time when she awakens." merinus stepped forward then, her voice firm. "you go with doc. i'll sit here with roni. besides, she might need a more calming influence than you are at the moment when she awakens."

taber wanted to deny it, but he knew she was right. roni didn't need to face him when she first awoke.

hell, he was terrified of facing her. of seeing the hatred and disgust she must surely feel for him now. how would he ever convince her how much she filled his heart when he had taken her as little more than an animal?

as he left the room he was aware of callan following him, sensed the strange discord in his leader, and sighed wearily.

"shoot me," he muttered as they entered the lab on the basement floor of the mansion several minutes later.

"what would be the point?" callan asked, a thread of amusement coloring his deep voice. "i shoot you and there goes roni's mate. she may not thank me for that later."

taber removed his shirt as the doctor indicated he should. he knew what was coming. blood samples, saliva, semen and perspiration samples. the list went on and on and the very thought of them had his body tightening in distaste.

"she might kill me herself when she sees me again," he grunted, his anger building by the second. "i took her like an animal, callan. i fucking drugged her, then raped her. like an animal."

"stop, taber." callan shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as his golden-brown eyes narrowed. "it wasn't rape. i could smell her heat when you brought her into the house. and we both know the hormone doesn't react unless you're with your mate."

"she said 'no'." he shook his head, unable to stare his leader in the eye any longer. "she said 'no', callan, and i ignored her."

taber extended his arm for the doctor and his wicked needles as he avoided callan's gaze. son of a bitch, this wasn't how he had foreseen his first time with roni. he had wanted-hell no, he had needed

-to touch her gently, to ease her into the mating.

"my studies indicate that the ferocity of the mating is mutual, taber." doc martin slid the needle into his arm with no more than a small prick. "wait and see how she feels when she wakes up. the heat of lust often makes little sense when reality returns. even if you aren't a breed."

"she can't go back, taber. you know that," callan told him softly. "besides, we have other problems. from the minute that story hit the airwaves, movement began among the council members and their known soldiers. her home was set ablaze within the hour and there are indications that orders have gone out to take her, no matter what, before conception. she's in more danger than merinus ever was."

the council. rather than negotiating with washington and trying to play fair, they should have slipped into the homes of the bastards running that little show and sliced their throats. they didn't deserve the mercy that had been afforded them.

in the past three months, since the discovery and rescue of nearly a hundred other feline breeds that kane had located, the council had waged a silent, deadly war against them. they hadn't been neutralized as the government had promised they would be. they weren't powerless as kane had hoped would happen.

in the past month alone, four of their liaisons to the government and military had been murdered. the last, a young female, had been returned to them in pieces, literally. and now roni would be in even more

danger. they needed her to understand the mating process that had been leaked to the media. needed her to figure out the best way to control, or to destroy, the creations that had escaped them. taber was determined that anyone who tried to take her would die.

taber's lip lifted in a snarl. "let them try, callan. i won't play nice this time."

through the years they had tried to be merciful. they ran rather than killed, and they killed only when no other answer was available. they had gained more amusement, more satisfaction, in seeing the soldiers running back to base in disgrace rather than in pieces. but if one dared to touch roni, then he swore there would be too many damned pieces for anyone to attempt to collect.

"none of us will play nice in such an event," callan assured him. "but this worries me. the council has lain low until now, with the report of the second known mate to the felines, and suddenly they're moving. it leaves me wondering what they've been planning while they were so silent."

taber grunted. they had been waiting for the other shoe to drop for three months now, knowing that eventually the day would come when they had to face the monsters of their past without the public support they had garnered. but moving now made no sense.

"what do they want?" taber shook his head. "no one has even tried to threaten merinus since we came forward. why now?"

"because kane has every damned c.i.a. agent in the world swearing vengeance if his baby sister is touched, and he has the clout to back it." callan grunted. "the tyler family name is protecting her, for now. i don't know if it would hold the same weight for roni, or even if this is the reason why the council hasn't moved yet. it's too soon to tell. at the moment all we have are questions and supposition. i need more information to be certain of anything."

"could be the hormones the female produces during heat," the doctor spoke up as he stuck a swab between taber's lips and poked it under his tongue.