Moonlight

Argona woke up feeling rested and very relaxed. A grin spread on her face as she remember the long hours spent bed wrestling with the wolf. Glancing over at Aisling still sleeping form, she quietly slipped from the bed, wrapping a sheet around her body. Going to the door and easing it open, she peeking out to make sure no one was around before stepping out into the hall and heading for the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom she locked the door, dropped the sheet and turned the shower on. She stretched her sore muscles then looked in the mirror, grinning at the love marks on her body from the previous night. She had to admit that Aisling was definitely one of the best lays she had. Shaking her head, she stepped into the now steaming shower and sighed contently as the water cascaded over her aching body. Grabbing the shampoo, she washed her hair then finished her shower.

After turning off the water, Argona stepping from the stall and grabbed a towel for her hair then body from the rack. As vigourously dried her hair and body in front of the mirror, something on her hand caught her eye. Curious, she looked at the palm of her hand and almost fainted. There in the center was the intricate design of the mate mark. Argona just stared at it then tried to scrub it off. Realizing that it was very real, she started to panic. Growling under her breath "AISLING!" she hit the door and ran back to the wolf's room.

With a towel wrapped around her form, Argona burst into his room, the door slamming back against the wall. Aisling having just awoke, arched a brow at the irritated drakos as he sat up in the bed. "What the bloody hell has gotten ye so riled?" he asked, pushing a lock of his dark hair back from his eyes.

The drakos stalked over to where he still laying in the bed, grabbed his hand and flipped it up. Both of Aisling's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What the bloody..?" was the only response that left Aisling mouth as he looked at his upturned hand. Argona placed her palm next to his then sat heavily down on the bed.

"I can't believe this! This has to be a cruel joke, right?" she asked him. Aisling just looked at his hand, then tried to rub off the mark. "I already tried that. It's real." She then stood up and started to pace the length of the room, muttering to herself. "I can't believe it! I'm mated to a god damn wolf. Me! A dragon mated to a four legged, car chasing howler who licks his balls and scratches his butt. This is so not right!"

Aisling narrowed his emerald eyes as he slowly emerged from the bed and flashed himself into black t-shirt, blue jeans, riding boots, black leather jacket and sunglasses. Giving Argona a passing glance he walked to the door and left.

Argona paused, when she realized that he'd left the room. "What the hell?" she said to herself, still wrapped in the towel she followed him out. Upon reaching the living room she heard his Harley-Davidson fire then peel down the driveway. Standing there she couldn't believe it. He had left and not said a word. Frowning, she turned and marched back to her room cursing the damn wolf the whole way.

~****~

Max stood on the balcony of his penthouse looking out over the Vegas Strip, knowing that his Gataki was out there somewhere. What bothered him most was what SC had told him about her going into heat. Banging his fist on the railing, he turned and went back inside.

Sighing heavily, he left the balcony doors open as he slowly made his way to the bathroom. Removing his clothes and entering the shower. Max allowed the hot water to caress and relax his muscles as the tried to clear his mind. He needed to sleep tonight since he had not had a good sleep in several nights. Turning off the water, he stepped from the shower and dried himself. Tossing the towel over the door then he walked into his bedroom, pulled back the sheets and climbed into bed. Once the lights in his penthouse were out, a pair of vivid blue-green eyes glowed in the darkness, watching and waiting. The Predator was on the hunt...

Roxane watched Max from the shadows, hanging upside down from above while he stood on the balcony. Her impressive genes had given her the abilities that Spiderman would envy, which included being able to scale walls, hang upside down, walk or run up the side of walls and buildings, just to name a few things. All this without having to use webbing. She could have taken him out right then and there, but the pantheress didn't like audiences when it came to her work. She saw him bang his fist in anger against the railing before going back inside. 'Hmm...he's pissed about something,' she thought. 'Should make for a good fight...that's if he's awake when I strike."

Dropping down the fifty feet from the ledge she was hanging from and landing lightly on her feet, Roxy stayed in the shadows, doing her best to fight off the heat cycle that was threatening to consume her body. The rush of hormones would spell disaster should her target catch her scent. He had already seen her once, she wasn't going to give him another chance to see her face. For the next time he saw her would be when he as he was drawing his final breath. Stepping through the opened balcony doors, she entered into the penthouse to carry out the hit.

~****~

Max laid with his back to the bedroom door as the sound of the heating unit lulled him to sleep. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone in his apartment and just chalked it up to his overly tired mind. But then a silhouette appeared against the wall. Someone was definitely in his territory! Willing his body to lay still, he waited.

Roxane had her gun in hand as she stepped carefully into the bedroom where her target lay sleeping and silently approaching the bed. She could hear the sound of his steady breathing as she aimed the M9 with its silencer to the back of the lion's head. 'Sweet dreams, Maximus Leon,' she smiled as she placed her finger on the trigger. Just as Roxane could squeeze off the shot, a blur of motion caught her off guard. Her target wasn't a sleeping duck after all as he whipped around, grabbed her wrist, and flipped over onto the bed and pinned her down. He snarled into her face as the gun fell away from her hand and her eyes widened in shock.

"Just what do you think you're doing....Gataki?" he asked puzzled.

Taking his moment of confusion, the pantheress brought her leg up and kicked him hard in the side before rearing back and biting down into his shoulder until she tasted blood. Max roared as he let go of her and pushed back. A thin line of blood trailed from his shoulder down over his chest. "Don't do that again, Gataki," he said to her.

She hissed at him before dodging yet another attempt by the lion to grab her but he managed to grab her ankle. Rearing back with her free leg, Roxane brought it down hard against the side of Max's head and his grip when slack as he grabbed the side of his head, letting out of string of curses in Greek. 'Damn, Gataki is trying to kill me,' he thought to himself as he watched her roll to her feet with the grace of a cat. 'I don't care, I'm not letting her get away, whether it kills me or not.' Rolling himself into a defensive crouch, he dodged her next kick but got caught by an unexpected upper-cut, which knocked him back into the wall. 'And damn she has the punch that could knock Ares' lights out.'

"Want some more?" she taunted as she watched Max wipe the blood from his bottom lip. He looked at her a moment before lunging at her. Pinning her down once more, Max held onto Roxane's wrists as she struggled to knock him off. Bracing her feet up to the center of his chest, she gave him a wicked smile seconds before launching him up into the air and landing a series of kicks to his midsection, the force of the last kick knocking him back onto the bed. Gasping for air, Max sat up and stared at her in disbelief. She was much stronger than he anticipated!

Getting to her feet, Roxane stood to her full five-ten height and fell into a defensive stance. Seconds later, her heat cycle flared to life and the intensity of it caused her to become dizzy and she swayed uneasily on her feet. 'No not now,' she thought as her vision began to blur and turn black around the edges.

The lion watched her curiously for second. He mumbled a curse in Greek as he saw her sway and her legs buckle. Moving in a blur Max caught her easily before she hit the floor for she weighed practically nothing in his arms. Lifting her up into his arms, he held her close before carrying her over to the bed and placing her down on it. 'She is so beautiful,' he thought, brushing a lock of her dark hair from her face. Not wanting to take anymore chances, he began stripping her of various knives, shurniken, daggers, and other weapons that she had hidden on her body. 'Damn, she's a walking armory!' he mumbled silently as he tossed the last knife onto the pile he had on the floor next to the bed. Once he devested her of the skintight catsuit and boots that she wore, leaving her only in a pale blue bra and panties.

Not wanting to take chances with her trying to attack him again, a set of chains appeared around her slender wrists and wound around headboard before locking in place. There was no way she would be able to escape those chains since it prevented a Were from using their powers. Covering up her with a sheet to keep her lush, tempting curves from his view, Max then flashed on pair of dark gray sweatpants before pulling up a chair and sitting down. As much as he wanted his Gataki, he wanted some answers first. But there was one thing that Max Leon knew was true, there was no way in hell she was getting away from him. She was his and he would be damned if he let her escape him again.