Every Miraculous Moment (Hyena Heat #6)(8)
“No smack on the head?” Aria asked, handing Miracle her drink.
“Not even close.”
Jesmin lifted her glass of white wine and said, “Let’s toast to being smack-free for the night. Just because our beasts haven’t hopped on a dick yet doesn’t mean we won’t. It’s only day one.”
“To day one,” Miracle said, clinking her glass with Jesmin’s and Aria’s.
By the time midnight rolled around, Miracle had danced with a handful of males – three wolves, a hawk, and two bears – drunk two too many martinis, and spent a lot of time with the girls. She promised to meet them for breakfast when she said goodnight to them before entering her room.
The room was dark, and she dropped her heels on the floor and strode to the screened deck. The night was beautiful – the moon was bright and high in the sky, the inky darkness was dotted with stars, and the sound of crashing waves on the nearby beach was enchanting.
Deciding not to waste the night, she changed into another bikini, topped it with her swim cover-up, and grabbed a beach towel before heading down to the ground floor and out to the beach. She could still hear the cocktail party going in full swing, but the closer she got to the beach the less she could hear, until it was just her, her dragon, and the warm ocean surf.
Chapter 4
Mack yawned as he waited for his suitcases. He would have personally vowed never to fly again if he didn’t need to fly back to New Jersey in a month. The whole day had been one nightmare after another, as his flight was delayed again and again due to bad weather. Which was what he got for trying to leave the state for warmer temperatures.
When his bags finally made their way around the carousel, he grabbed them and hailed a cab outside of the airport. The forty-five-minute drive to the resort was probably beautiful, but aside from the bright moon, Mack couldn’t see much past the window. It was so late by the time he arrived at the resort that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to undress fast enough before he passed out.
“Your room is on the fourth floor, Mr. Callahan. If you’re interested, the cocktail party is still going on. It’s in the grand ballroom,” the concierge said, smiling brightly.
“Thanks.”
He had no intention of going anywhere but straight to sleep. The room was nice as far as hotels went, with a kitchenette, a living room, and a big bed, which was currently his favorite thing about it. He decided he was too tired to do anything but fall face-first onto the mattress, so he did just that, quickly drifting off to sleep.
He woke suddenly sometime later, his wolf clamoring in his mind and his fingers tingling with the press of claws trying to break free. He was drenched in sweat and twisted up in the comforter. Jumping from the bed, he turned on the lamp on the nightstand, wondering if his wolf had reacted to an intruder. But the room was empty, and he didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
Mack couldn’t recall ever feeling like this before. His wolf was still riled up, and he seemed to be trying to get him to go somewhere. He picked up his phone and pressed the home button, seeing that he’d only been asleep for an hour. Still flushed, with his wolf banging in his skull, Mack walked into the living room and opened the sliding doors that led onto the screened balcony, overlooking the marina. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply several times, trying to settle his wolf. A growl rumbled in his chest as his beast urged him to go outside. Deciding that he wouldn’t let him get any sleep if he didn’t comply, he put his shoes on, stuffed the keycard into his back pocket, and left. The fourth floor was quiet. Mack suspected that most of the males were still at the cocktail party that the concierge had recommended he attend. He made his way to the end of the hall and down the stairs to the ground floor. Opening the security door leading outside, he found himself at the back of the hotel, facing the marina.
He faintly heard something that sounded like splashing in the distance, and he followed the sound away from the marina toward the beach. His wolf kept pushing him until he reached the beach and saw something sparkling in the water. Toeing off his shoes, he stepped onto the sand, which was still warm from the day’s sunshine, and walked toward the waves.
He stopped when his feet hit wet sand, certain that what he was seeing was a reflection of the moonlight. Staring intently at the place where he’d seen the sparkle, he saw nothing at all for long enough that he thought he’d been imagining things because of exhaustion.
Then someone rose from the water, splashing lightly. It was a female, and he could see her very clearly in the moonlight that danced on the water’s surface. She turned to face him and made a soft growling sound that carried over the surf to him. His wolf growled in answer. She was…his?
He felt her gaze lock on him and then she exploded into her shift, the water churning as an enormous dragon lifted above the surface, bellowing into the night sky. A stream of fire blew from her mouth, and Mack felt the answering tug of his wolf. This glorious female, whoever she was, belonged to him. She was the reason his wolf had woken him up and pushed him to go to the beach.
As quickly as the female had turned into a dragon, she shifted back mid-air. She screamed as she fell, her body smacking the water and slipping below the surface. Mack rushed into the water, tapping into the strength of his beast as he leaped into the surf, dove under a wave, and followed his wolf’s instincts to the place where the female had dropped. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but he could feel an inexplicable pull, and he kicked his legs and paddled downward as fast as he could. He was hampered by his clothes, but he wasn’t about to let her drown because he wasn’t wearing swim trunks. His lungs began to burn and pressure built in his ears. He wasn’t sure how far down he was, and he was reaching the limit of how long he could go without oxygen. His wolf refused to give up, though, and he pushed through the watery darkness until his hand struck something soft. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around the object, he knew it was her arm. His beast rejoiced, doing backflips in his head, as he drew her limp body close and kicked hard, propelling them to the surface.