Love, Be-Were! Ch. 01

"Nyrra, he's here! Rye has been found!"

"Oh praise the heavens! Keep him safe, I'll be right there!"

Relief swept through Nyrra's lithe frame, causing her to sag against the nearest tree. She'd spent the last three hours in the woods, diligently searching for the errant child, praying that she'd find him before something with foul intentions did. She blamed herself for letting him out of her sight, knowing what a penchant he had for bending the rules and separating himself from the rest of the children.

Rye, with his broken heart and damaged soul had claimed her heart two years ago; she'd looked into his soft eyes, and promised him that she'd keep him safe. She wasn't very clear on many of the details in his past. She only knew that sometimes, when she could distract him enough, he'd start opening up to her. In those moments, she'd glimpse a pain in his gaze that was so intense it would shake her to the very core. There was a wildness in him then; she could sense it, like he was struggling with an inner demon. She'd stop questioning him, pull him onto her lap, and soothe him until he got back under control.

When she first noticed he was missing, she hadn't even waited long enough to get a search party together. Delegating that to her intern, Sarah, she had immediately grabbed her pack and a couple of extra water bottles and headed into the nearby forest. It had been difficult to smother the panic that threatened to overwhelm her as the hours ticked by with no updates, and no sign of the child. Sarah's message had been an answered prayer, and she turned her steps back toward the park. She couldn't wait to see, for herself, that the small waif was safe and sound.

Fussing over the boys nicks and bruises, the busy intern barely spared a glance for the man kneeling down by his side. Anonymity suited Rhochlan just fine. He would have already melted away if it not for his instinctive need to learn the kit's story; that, and his sudden yearning to put a face with the alluring voice on the radio. Something about it had called to him on an instinctual level, threatening to send his inner rabbit into a frenzy.

As he watched the young woman intently, he realized that Rye was staring at him. He smiled with reassurance at the child, and was surprised when a small hand stretched toward him. Keeping his gaze locked on the boy's, he stretched out his arm and enveloped Rye's fingers with his own. His enhanced senses picked up the slowing rhythm of the little one's heartbeat as his inner Were instinctively reacted to the Alpha's presence and support.

Rhochlan's other senses suddenly went into overdrive as a soft, sweet aroma arrested his attention. The subtle scent of clover enveloped him; succulent, as if the blossoms were tipped with early morning dew and bearing a kiss from the sun at dawn. Awareness raced through his system as the smell triggered something deep within him, and his rabbit struggled for freedom. It took him by complete surprise; normally, he and his inner beast were so well balanced that he didn't have to use conscious effort to remain in control. Something had piqued the interest of his other half and it was determined not to cooperate.

His entire body stiffened as he heard the unmistakable sounds of movement in the underbrush behind him, and it was with a great deal of difficulty that he reined in his feral side. Forcing himself not to move, he ruthlessly shoved the animal down in his consciousness, only slightly reassured as he recognized the hurried cadence of human tread. Again, the smell of clover washed over him; that scent, combined with the soft exclamation that heralded the boy's caretaker, almost made controlling himself more than he could manage.

"Ah, sweet boy! You just about scared the life from me. I was so afraid when I couldn't find you. Thank God you're safe!"

Suddenly, his line of sight was filled with extremely well toned, bronzed legs as the child was scooped up from the bench and hugged fiercely by the newest addition to the small group. Rhochlan allowed his eyes to travel up the firm calves to well muscled thighs, his gaze lingering before traveling up to the khaki hiking shorts above. His breath caught as he realized that those shorts were hugging the most perfectly rounded pair of hips he'd ever seen. Continuing his perusal, his fingers began to ache with the urge to bury themselves in the wild black waves of hair brushing against her narrow waistline with a mind of their own.

He watched as she relinquished her hold and set Rye back down, brushing his face with her long, slender fingers. He barely registered the intern speaking to the new arrival, until he heard her mention that Rye was brought back to the park by a man and her apology for not taking the time to find out any details. His pulse began pounding as she pivoted on her toes, and turned to face him. Raising his eyes toward her own, it was difficult for him not to linger on how the shirt she was wearing clung to her voluptuous curves...but all of that was forgotten the instant he got his first good look at her face.

Rhochlan found himself fighting to control the instant wave of desire that flooded his system. His eyes traced her slender neck to the gentle curve of her jaw, her pouty lips splitting into a generous smile. Perfect, white teeth glittered in the sun's light as he raised his gaze past her gracefully high cheekbones before meeting her eyes. Large, slightly tilted and almond shaped, her eyes were the color of pale honey; they were so light they were almost translucent, with deeper flecks of amber around the outside of her irises.

Nyrra was so thankful to see that Rye was safe that she asked how he'd made it back to the park almost as an afterthought. She turned to thank the man that had found him in the woods, expecting to see a worn out hiker, as muddy and exhausted as she was. One thing she did not expect to see was an extremely well muscled image of perfection kneeling at her feet. She felt the blush blossom on her cheeks long before his gaze finished lazily roaming up her body. She took the opportunity to scope him out as he was so obviously doing to her.

With him crouched down so low, she couldn't see much of his body beyond an impossibly wide set of shoulders, and sculpted forearms. His hands were very large with long tapered fingers draped casually together in front of him with one elbow propped across his knee. His hair appeared to be rather long, framing his face and brushing well below the collar of the shirt he wore. It was a very unusual shading, and although she first assumed he had simply dyed it in an "emo" style, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that it looked too natural to be chemically altered.

He had very chiseled features; a strong jaw that blended perfectly into a square chin, deep lines at the sides of his generous lips that she could imagine breaking into long dimples when he smiled. A proud nose led into a smooth brow, heavy enough to give him a slightly brooding look and add a little element of mystery. Just then, his long lashes lifted, and his eyes pierced her with an intensity that took her breath away.

For a moment, she thought he was wearing Halloween contacts. Upon closer inspection though, she couldn't see any lenses, and realized that his eyes were that bright naturally. She'd never seen that shade before; she was used to bearing the brunt of scrutiny because of her own unusual eye color, and could only imagine what he may have to go through. They were such a vibrant yellow, and were boring into her with such a blatant hunger, that she could actually feel her body temperature rising. Chiding herself for being silly, she plastered a huge smile on her face, and extended her hand to him in greeting.

"Hello there. My name is Nyrra; I can't possibly thank you enough for returning Rye safely to us."

She watched him stand, fluid grace belying his huge frame as he uncurled himself from the ground. Being a tall woman herself at 5' 10", she wasn't used to feeling small on a daily basis. However, as the man in front of her rose to his full height, she felt unusually tiny. Tilting her head back, her heart started racing as he stepped closer to her, his eyes burning into her with a heated intensity. Her mouth parted on a silent gasp as he curled his long fingers around her hand and lifted it to his lips. As she felt the velvet touch brush across the back of her knuckles, desire slammed into her so hard it left her completely stunned.

The rest of the world ceased to exist as he closed the distance between them, using her captive hand to pull her soft curves against his hard frame. Sliding his hand along her jaw, he curled his fingers behind her neck, wrapping his fist gently in her wild mane as he tugged her head back. Searing her with his eyes, she couldn't stop the soft moan that issued from her as he lowered his face to hers. Hot lava exploded through her veins at the first touch of his lips on her own, the tip of his questing tongue tracing her bottom lip.

Coherent thought became impossible as another low moan granted him access to her sweetness, his mouth teasing her unbearably. Sliding her hands up his rock-solid chest, she wound her wrists around the back of his neck, almost having to stand on her tiptoes to do so. Her full breasts pressing against him ached with the need to be touched, and she arched into him as his other hand slowly inched up her waist. His fingers on her rib cage, his long thumb traced the bottom curve of her breast before slowly grazing her taut nipple.

Her instant reaction to him sent heat racing to her core, and she felt her sheer cotton undies beginning to dampen. His lips left hers, finally letting her catch her breath as he placed soft kisses along her jaw, sweeping her hair to the side so he could have access to her neck. Wrapping one large forearm securely around her waist, he lifted her up and she didn't even try to keep her thighs from wrapping around his waist. As he cupped her rounded ass in his large hand and pulled her tightly against him, she cried out softly in pure need as she felt his hard length pressing against her moist heat.

"My name is Rhochlan, and believe me...the pleasure is all mine."

The deep baritone of his voice made Nyrra blink as her surroundings slowly came back into focus. The beautiful man before her was still holding her hand near his lips like a gentleman, murmuring a response to her against the back of her fingers. His eyes were dancing with amusement as well as a lingering desire, and she squirmed uncomfortably as she realized just how wet she was after her little fantasy.

She hoped she hadn't embarrassed herself by making any noises out loud. She'd never had anything like that happen before, and the fact that it happened in front of such a young audience left her absolutely mortified. Glancing quickly at the intern and child near her, she was relieved that they didn't seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. A slight frown creased her brow when she saw the expression on Rye's face; he was suddenly watching the man with an excitement he seemed barely able to contain.

Rhochlan's nostrils flared as he scented the arousal on her skin. As Alpha, he had the ability to read not only the minds of members of his colony, but the minds of other Weres and the minds of those destined to be Weres. He was curious how she would respond to the mental images he'd been projecting to her for the last few moments. His inner rabbit was doing a jolly little dance now that they'd made contact, and his mind raced with the implications of what that might mean. The fact that she was receptive to his mental advance was very promising...very promising, indeed.

A slow smile spread across his lips, and Nyrra froze when she saw it; it was as if he knew exactly what she'd been thinking. She blushed profusely as she lowered her eyes. She usually had very high inhibitions, always taking dating seriously and never letting things go too far too fast. She couldn't believe she'd let a perfect stranger, one that she had no aspirations of being in a relationship with, have that kind of effect on her. She was, however, completely convinced that if the mystery man had placed any of the moves on her she had allowed herself to imagine, she would have been putty in his hands.

Rhochlan could feel the excited buzz coming from the child as he tilted his head, looking over Nyrra's shoulder to catch his eyes. He found Rye staring at him with a very strange emotion flickering on his tiny face. Briefly touching on the young kit's mind, he was staggered by the chaos evident there. The boy's expression left no doubt, however, that he had realized the man's name and that of the rabbit he met earlier was the same.

Something about the possibility of the man changing into a rabbit had triggered a cascade of memories in his young mind. Rhochlan's brow darkened as he picked up disturbing flashes of violent images scattered through those memories. He realized he was going to have to have that conversation with the little one much sooner than he'd anticipated. Allowing Nyrra a few moments to compose herself, he spoke to the intern, giving her his contact details and requesting some information about Rye and his background.

Nyrra finally felt the flush begin to leave her face as the man conferred with Sarah. She didn't miss the fact that he held gently onto her fingers the entire time he was speaking or the hint of promise in his eyes when his gaze again met her own. When he brushed his lips against the back of her hand once more before parting, she was able to keep her naughty mind under control and assure him she would contact him with the requested answers.

Her eyes drawn to his muscled back as he turned and strode away, she smiled sadly to herself. She probably wouldn't see him again, and her earlier thoughts would be a moot point. Regardless of how hard she tried to banish it though, his voice kept replaying in her mind...She couldn't help but shiver as she remembered how his eyes had blazed when he'd said the word "mine."