Mountain Wolf

by Amber Ella Monroe

What would she tell her father? She hadn't told him a word about signing up to be a temporary wife of a shifter just so she could earn all the money to take care of his surgery and medical bills.

  "I…"

  "Six weeks. Three days. Is all I'm asking."

  Dane Magnus had backed her into a corner. She wondered what he did for a living because he'd just literally turned the tables on her. She would have to give up more of her freedom than she thought.

  Six weeks. Three days.

  "So…" He leaned forward.

  "How do I know you're not some serial killer on the loose?"

  "You had no problems accepting my cock in that sweet pussy of yours with these suspicions." He smirked. "And if that was the case, I would have been arrested that night when I bit the arm of the man who held up that nightclub."

  "Has anyone ever told you that you're a very candid bastard?" Trina wanted to punch Dane and kiss him at the same time. What was wrong with her?

  "Why yes, as a matter of fact, I've been called both of those names." His voice sounded like a deep bass, and as he spoke he assessed her with a dark teasing stare. "I should warn you that I am not popular with your human government. I'm…how can I say this…active for the rights of shifters."

  Trina couldn't blame him for fighting for what he believed him and for a group in which he obviously belonged.

  "Since there is risk…" A warm sensation crept up her spine and she shifted in her seat. "…pay me all the money up front and you've got yourself a deal."

  "Whoa…"

  "You want me locked away in a secreted location with a ball and chain around my ankle. I need some reassurance that I get paid in the case that your Plan A doesn't work because you said it yourself…you don't have a Plan B."

  Trina smiled sweetly.

  Dane rested in his chair and remained silent for several moments before he opened a drawer. He pulled out a blank check and began writing the details on it with the full amount of payment. After signing it, he slid it over to the table at her. "Deal."

  "Then you've got yourself a human wife."

  Chapter 11

  Dane rose from the sofa in the living room the moment he sensed Trina coming down the staircase. He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse, but her distinct sweet honey smell lingered everywhere causing him to crave her constantly. Her scent wouldn't have been an issue if his wolf didn't go crazy each and every time she was around. He didn't know how long he could keep his wolf in check, but the reality was that both sides of him wanted her. The arrangement to marry was completely separate from this lethal need to truly and indefinitely have her.

  This time Trina was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt. Everything about the outfit was normal, but she couldn't hide the fact that she was exquisite. And she certainly couldn't drown out the natural scent that was her own with the subtle perfume she wore.

  He wiped his slippery hands on the front of his pants and tried to act calm, yet he was anything but. This woman awakened his deepest urges, urges he never had any problems subduing before if he wanted to. With Trina, he didn't want to subdue them. Trina was no shifter. She wouldn't understand the lustful appetite running through his body.

  "Everything okay?" He met her halfway in the room.

  She nodded. "I think so."

  He could tell by her demeanor that she was having second thoughts. The nice girl he'd researched was very much a stranger to his way of life. Something told her that she'd never planned to do something so drastic for money.

  "Change of heart?"

  "No, I want to do this." She lifted a small bag. "I packed two nights' worth of clothes like you said. The rest of my luggage is still upstairs in the closet."

  Dane took her bag. "And your father? Is he comfortable?"

  Trina visibly swallowed. "For now. I had to tell him that you hired me to build a marketing plan for one of your companies and that I had to go away for a little while. I didn't want him to know…I don't want him to know about this."

  He didn't like seeing her sad. "You know what I said about you always being under my arm…that's not possible all the time. You don't need permission from me to come see your father."

  Trina smiled. She had a beautiful set of pearly white teeth that complemented the rosy hue of her lips and almond-toned skin.

  "He'll be okay for now, I think," she said. "I think he really likes the lady you hired to help him."

  "Marcia just recently retired," he replied. "She was the assistant to a very prominent doctor in the city. She knows what she's doing and will take care of him while we're away. That includes getting him to appointments and such."

  "She's a very sweet lady." Trina smiled. "Thank you for doing all this extra stuff."

  "Consider it part of the deal. There's no use being unhappy during this whole thing. I know you care about the well-being of your father and I didn't want to interfere with any of that."

  "You said the lawyer was meeting us at the home you're trying to win back at noon. We have less than an hour to get there so I hope you've got your car ready."

  "I don't drive a car, sweetheart."

  "So how are we going to get there?" Her eyes were innocent, but held him in a demanding stare as she pressed for an answer.

  He dug a set of keys out of his pocket and slung her bag over his shoulder. "My bike." He started off toward the door.

  "Those things are too dangerous and I've never ridden one."

  He chuckled. "There's a first time for everything. You'll get your first riding lesson from a shifter." He turned to take quick glance at her over his shoulder. "That way you'll remember this day either one of two ways."

  She stopped in the foyer as he held the door for her. "Do you mind elaborating on the second way?"

  He gave her a once over for the hundredth time. She had curves in all the right places. Her waist was cinched in where the jeans were buttoned and the fabric clung to her hips and thighs. Her breasts pushed against the thin fabric of her shirt and even though she wore a bra, the material must have been really flimsy because he could detect where her nipples were ready, erect, and suckable.

  Dane's mouth watered and his cock pushed against the front of his zipper. "The other way involved me being as quick and as thorough as you requested it to be."

  He was still thinking about the way her tight wet pussy milked him.

  "Hmmm." She gave him a teasing shove. "Well if your bike rides better than you do, that would certainly be a shame."

  "Oh, that mouth of yours…"

  Trina led the way out of the door and Dane followed her with no hesitations.

  Chapter 12

  Johnston, the lawyer, was a shifter. Trina could tell right off the bat.

  Brock Justice, the guy from the bar who claimed he didn't like fruity drinks, served as the witness to them, signing and agreeing to the marriage on paper.

  Johnston had gotten down to business, explaining every term for her when she'd asked. Brock never cracked a smile. In fact, it seemed that he was against the arrangement.

  Something she learned was that shifters who identified with a pack did nothing to hide their true nature. Many of her loyal customers at the dry cleaners were shifters since the business was located so close to a pack home. By now she knew how to pick them out of the bunch. They didn't look so different on the outside, but sometimes their instincts and mannerisms gave them away. She had an advantage, though. Before her dad lost both legs in the car accident, he volunteered regularly at a wildlife rescue facility. He'd tell her stories of his adventures in saving animals from near-death experiences. In the past, she'd gone with him a numerous times to care for the animals.

  "This document represents the pre-nuptial agreement. It basically says that should the marriage end, and it will, nothing will be gained. All parties are left the same as when they entered the marriage with the exception of the prior agreement that you've made with Magnus. He keeps the land and you keep your cash. Understood?"

  Trina
looked from Johnston to the document. It was a one-page document stating in expanded form what he'd just told her. She suspected that had this been a marriage to a human under normal circumstances the document would have been ten times as long and required much more attention on her part. The simplistic manner in which the terms were presented on the document told her that the shifters were more direct and forward in their approach. They left out the fluff.

  Brock cleared his throat and nudged Dane's side. They got up and retreated into the other room.

  She was no dummy and knew they were discussing her and the agreement Dane was about to sign. One would think they would have talked about this before Dane decided to do this. Even if they had, it seemed Brock still had reservations.

  "Those boys have always been indecisive. Even as young pups," the lawyer commented after a moment of silence.

  "Then you've known Dane a while?"

  "Since the day he was born." Johnston stroked at his chin. "He was a good kid back then. Never got into any trouble. Things change when you're faced with whether you want to just get by in life or live your life. I don't blame him for what he did and joining his brothers on their rampages from state to state. The majority of us don't. He's still a good man. And he does what's necessary to protect his pack."

  Trina's lips parted on a question. There were many questions running through her brain. Dane and Brock returned so she never got to ask the lawyer about anything.

  Dane picked up his pen and motioned for Johnston to continue. Johnston slid the first prenuptial agreement back across the table.

  Dane signed the document and she so did she. The next agreement detailed how and when the marriage would end and there was even one that bound her to confidentiality, prohibiting her from discussing the arrangement during or after the marriage. The final piece was the marriage agreement.

  Her attention lingered on the clause that said the marriage was considered valid after six weeks under human laws and only valid when the male marked the woman under shifter laws. And they needed to validate the marriage both ways because of how they weren't really officially mated. He needed his mother's land, but had to legally marry a human to do so and he needed his pack's recognition. His pack would not recognize the marriage without seeing the mark. The lawyer had made all of this clear.

  Trina felt as though she were signing her life away, but in reality all the agreements were set to end in less than two months from now. She'd give away two months of her life if it meant that her dad could enjoy the rest of his life and be happy.

  After Johnston and Brock left, they both sat behind the solid oak writing desk side by side.

  "My mother was a journalist," he finally said out of the blue, running his fingers through the cracks and ridges of the desk. "She'd write all her articles here by hand. I remember going with her to the city to deliver them to the newspaper and magazine companies."

  "What was her name?"

  "Debra Smyth. Her father grew corn, wheat, and barley on the land before he passed on. It was his business. There were plans to revamp harvesting when my father took my mother as a mate, but they passed on before any of it could be done. All the paperwork, even the one with my mother's will, was left in shambles."

  "Was there anything you could have done to carry on the business?"

  "I was thirteen. Even under human laws, I couldn't legally sign a thing. Plus, I was a shifter. Had I been a human, the rights would have reverted to me when I turned eighteen."

  "You were really young when you lost your parents. It was so hard for me losing one, but I can't imagine how it felt losing both at such a young age."

  "I coped. I have half-brothers who are all full-blood shifters. Brock is one of them. In fact, he's the oldest out of all of us. They took me under their wings and taught me how to be a man. I became a wolf without a pack as my brothers had split from Aspen Valley Pack years before my parent's death. I joined their outlaw group and I had a family again."

  "Outlaw group?" She gasped. "You mean the wolf groups who roam from state to state and protest against the government."

  On a weekly basis the news anchors were always talking about wolf groups protesting for more rights. There were those groups that were organized and presented their protests to the U.S. President in a business manner, and then there were those groups who demonstrated their discontentment by force and other actions.

  He nodded. "Besides my wolf pack, they are the only family I have."

  "Then you're still a member?"

  "I am. I fund and advocate their activities."

  "I understand." His involvement in an outlaw group must have been the risk he referred to yesterday.

  "If you ever have question about who is loyal to me, ask to see their emblem or mark."

  Dane lifted his shirt, revealing a dark tattoo on his upper chest above his heart. The same one's she'd glimpsed while they'd had sex. She'd paid no mind to them then, but now they were the topic of discussion. The pattern was intricate, almost like a crest. A wolf pack crest. She'd never seen this one before, but she understood that physical marks among the shifters remained hidden from human eye.

  Trina placed her finger on his tattoo. His flesh was raised slightly in the same pattern, which indicated to her that this was more than some tattoo. She heard Dane's sharp intake of breath as she traced the lines on his chest. Her fingers glided smoothly along the ridges of hard muscle and flesh. There was a smooth and almost invisible coating of hair, or maybe fur, on his chest. As her fingers and gaze dropped lower, the hair grew dense and darker and led a trail from his belly button into the waistband on his jeans.

  "You're no different than a human man," she whispered her thoughts loudly.

  His eyes glossed over when she traced her fingers back upward. The fine mist of hair covering him had to have been fur.

  Dane took her hand and pressed her palm against his heart. "I'm a real man, Trina. My make-up is different, but I feel and crave and think the same way any real man would. My heartbeat is a bit quicker and my blood runs a little faster…and that is all for the sake of maintaining the wolf within me. My body works harder to sustain both."

  "The man and the wolf."

  His pulse beat rapidly against her palm and his hand over hers was hot, yet soft to the touch.

  "You really want this land, don't you? No matter what it costs you?"

  "No matter what it costs. I'm not partial to things being taken away from me, especially when there is something I can do to prevent it."

  "Then we definitely understand each other in that regard."

  He offered his hand. "I've been told I'm a good cook. Why don't we have a nice dinner, talk, and then take it from there."

  There was more to this man than met the eye. She just had this feeling and she wasn't quite sure if it was all good or all bad.

  Chapter 13

  “I’d hand you a fully endorsed blank check to hear your thoughts."

  The statement came from Dane, who sat across the dinner table with his arms folded over his chest. Trina brought her attention back to the present, the recent chain of events that had just saved her from making a drastic decision, and the resulting fate.

  "Nothing really." She shook her head and picked at the cheesecake with her fork. "I was just thinking about my father and all."

  "Want to call him? Make sure he's okay." Dane smiled. "Although, Marcia is a much better host and cook than I am."

  "I'm sure. My dad isn't really that picky. As long as he's got enough crime novels to keep him interested, he's not too demanding."

  "Has he always been in the dry cleaning business?"

  "Sort of. When he and my mother split, that's when he emptied his savings and retirement account and started the venture."

  "For some reason, I thought your parents were together before your mom d—." He diverted his gaze. "I apologize. I'm prying again, aren't I?"

  "That's all right. When I went off to college, my parents grew apart. They were both v
ery old in age, but young at heart. My mother had already started seeing this older guy, so at that point, I knew my parents would never get back together again. She always insisted that they were still the best of friends, but I know they still argued. They never argued in front of me though."

  "I bet your father misses your mother."

  Trina nodded. "He does. He blames the accident on himself, but no one could have prevented it."

  Dane's brows furrowed. "What happened?"

  "They were coming to visit me up at college for spring break. They were always frugal spenders, so to save money they traveled together. My mom didn't like flying so she insisted on driving. They were just one hundred miles away when they were involved in the accident with one other SUV and an eighteen-wheeler. No one survived the crash except for my dad. But he lost both legs and his vitality and passion for life."

  "I'm sorry about your tragedy."

  She swallowed. "It was a tough time. I had to give my dad my support, as the whole thing damaged him both physically and mentally. But it's crazy how during tough times you learn what people's real ambitions are."

  "What do you mean?"

  Trina glanced up. "Didn't you dig deep enough? I was engaged to be married at the time."

  He nodded. "I did. I saw the local papers dated about a year ago with the engagement announcement. It seems you had already planned the wedding too."

  She cleared her throat. "Most of it. Jacob wanted to get it over with quickly. We bumped heads every step of the way. He stepped out on me when I moved from Manhattan temporarily to help with my dad's outpatient surgery. It hurt me so bad that he would accept from another woman what I had never refused him. I needed him to understand that my parents were everything to me, but I also loved him. I'm not sure Jacob ever did. I forgave him for the infidelity, but by that point we had all kinds of issues. Our relationship was beyond repairable. Our wedding was set for three months away and all the plans were virtually screwed. When he suggested that I put my dad in a home and come back to New York that was the last straw for me. I broke off our engagement for good."