Military Mate

Chapter 16 : Heat Denial

   We trained together, suffered together, laughed together, and cried together through our first brutal year. He's exotic looking, his mother is African American and his father is Hispanic.

   In all the time I've known him, he's worn his hair in the same kept looking shoulder length dreads, and the dimples in his cheeks when he smiles always seem to make my day a little bit better.

   His eyes are a deep brown color, that are often mistaken for black, and he's tall, about 6'7 with a strong muscled build. His skin color reminds me of dark Caramel, on the verge of a darker shade, but lighter in color.

   His face is angular, high cheekbones, full lips, and long eyelashes all inherited from his mother- all the while shapely eye brows and a fuller nose from his father.

   I've never seen him without a light sprinkle of stubble of his jaw, and he always refused to cut it. Saying " It makes me look manlier." Even though it's not like he looks like a woman without it...

   Without him, I'm sure I would've never made it through that first crucial year. And I'll always appreciate him for that. In all the time we've spent working our asses off together, we've formed a bond like that of something between a brother and his sister.

   The whole compound knows how close our bond is, so we've been through more then a couple missions together.

   I know for a fact, that with his assistance, I would be out of this situation and enjoying the rights of a free woman once again. We've always seemed to figure things out. With both of our intelligent minds working together, we've gotten out of some very tough situations.

Ah man, he'd tease me about going soft if he heard all these thoughts for sure! Well whatever, as far as I know he can't read my mind. Although, he does always seem to know what I'm thinking, or at least my train of thought. As far as I know...

My fabulous choo-choo train of thought is interrupted when Red Eyes takes advantage of my spacing out and gets a little too close for comfort.

His blood red eyes are focused on my face as he lowers his lips towards my own. His un-naturally hot breath fans out over my lower face. He gets about one solid centimeter away from touching his lips to my own before I snap out of my trance and react.

That wavering presence sneaks it's way into my mind again. The familiar feeling of my wolf tugging at my control. This time, I'm smart enough to know not to hand over the reigns so easily.

Although, is does seem like we have the same objective at the moment.

     ' Momentary truce?' The huskier wisp of a voice in the back of my own mind offers me a few minutes of agreement. ' Fair enough. ' I give a little mental shrug thing- if that's even possible- and suddenly I have that intoxicating power again.

    Our minds fuse into one, and my heart begins to beat at a much more rapid pace. Adrenaline pumps through my blood and into every crevice of my body, and my whole body hums with energy.

   Learning from my past mistake, I don't let my emotions overpower me. And because of that, this time I have control. It's different this time, now that I have control over my own body. I'm not on the sidelines, and it feels pretty damn good if I do say so myself!

     I can feel my pupils stretch out into slits and my k-9's elongate into killer weapons and poke against the soft flesh of my lower lip, my body still humming with a euphoric sensation.

   Red eyes is frozen in shock for a split second, his ruby red orbs widening in realization. His jaw sharp structured jaw un-hinging slightly. Apparently, he's realized that the playing field has been leveled quite substantially.

We're at each other throats in seconds. Rolling on top of each other and growling viciously. Our growls echo throughout the forest, and the slight sound of some small animals scrambling away from the scene makes its way to my ears.

After an especially brutal punch by my wolf, we don't expect the reaction of his snapping jaw so quickly.

Blood seeps down my cheek from two twin cuts caused by red eye's now blood covered k9's.

A deep primal growl escapes my lips and my muscles coil in preparation to strike. The pain is almost non-existent in my current state, the two cuts equivalent on the pain scale to a minor paper cut, but the sight of our blood enrages my already wound up wolf.

At the sight of my blood, Red eyes stops in his tracks. His whole demeanor does a complete 180 in a matter of seconds. He assumes a submissive position, putting his muscles arms above his head and slumping down defeated.

His head turns to the side as he bares his neck to us in submission. His bare abdomen pressed into the mossy ground. My wolf and I freeze for a moment. There's no way he's serious. How dare he mock us!

Disrupting our thoughts, he whimpers pathetically. Looking up at us through his long coal colored lashes, his eyes look like swimming pools of regret and apology. What the hell is he sorry about? We're in the middle of a fight, one of us was bound to end up drawing blood eventually!

Taking the opportunity of having our prey in a vulnerable position, I bare my fangs and snarl- my wolf is about to take a bite out of his neck and see how he likes it, when our action is cut off by an un-familiar voice.

" Both of you stop this non-sense right now!"

Underneath me, Red Eyes gulps I'm recognition. Surprised by his reaction, I look up to something that shocks my wolf right out of her enraged and wound up state.

Standing in front of the two of us, is a middle aged man. He looks to be about late thirties or early forties, with short coffee colored facial hair streaked with grey.

His features are sharp and angled, the creases underneath his eyes and the small wrinkles on his forehead make him look older and wiser. The way he carries himself- proudly and rigid demands respect. His whole aura radiates power and authority.

The hardness in his dark eyes and his structured posture reminds me of my first drill sergeant.

Alright his thin lips are pressed into a line and his voice was laced with frustration, I don't miss the glint of amusement that passes through his eyes. My wolf lets out a low growl at the distraction of a man that interrupted the hunt of our prey.

Still underneath me, Red Eyes retreats into his human, leaving me back with my kidnapper. His pupils reshape into the normal circular shape, and his ruby red eyes swirl back into the deep chocolate color of the human counterpart.

"D-dad."

The man gives a husky chuckle. What in the hell is he laughing about? Wait did he just say-

" Hello son, good to have you back. Now if you could help your mate get the full controls back from her wolf everything will be right as rain."