by Renee Rose
Let the record reflect: Wolves are into power games. Because that’s definitely what’s going on here. Even little ole human me can sense it.
A rumbling sound comes from the hall, just as Jared gets the lock free on the strange wolf’s cage. He springs back when the cage gate swings open.
I turn to figure out what’s making the sound in the hall. In stalks Garrett’s wolf, looking ten times bigger, eyes glowing like a demon’s. It prowls forward, raising a nose to sniff the air, and then leaps over me, landing in front of Jared and the stranger. Wet spatters onto the ground. Something dark and liquid drips from the wolf’s maw and side.
Blood.
Garrett’s wolf roars. Jared cowers, and the Mexican wolf drops to his side to show his belly.
“No,” I shout, and rush forward like a crazy woman. “Don’t hurt them.”
“Boss.” Trey staggers in, naked, human form also covered in blood. “Easy, man.”
Garrett’s power rolls through the room, sending me to my knees. Jared and Trey drop to the floor. The stranger jumps back in the cage, in wolf form, and rolls on its back with a whine of submission. His eyes roll with terror.
“Garrett, come back to me.” With effort, I raise my face. Whatever alpha weight he’s throwing around, it affects me, but I can fight it. I stagger to my feet and approach the giant gray wolf, palms turned out. “Please. I need you.”
Another roar, and Garrett starts to shift. It takes longer than usual, but he appears, his head bowed, face twisted. When it’s done, his chest heaves like he’s done an Ironman. His muscles are slick with red, and his eyes still glow silver. I scan his torso to see if any of the blood is his and gasp when I see a bullet wound.
He gives a dismissive shake of his head. “It’s nothing.”
Jared and Trey rise slowly and put themselves between their alpha and the strange wolf in the cage who’s still whimpering his submission. I notice they have matching wolf paw tattoos on their shoulders, like Garrett’s. Must be a pack symbol.
“Garrett,” I say, a bit breathless. He might be back in human form, but his predator self is still running the show. “What happened?” I ask at the same time Jared says, “The raiders—”
“Dead,” Trey answers us both. “They’re all dead.”
Garrett wipes the blood from his mouth and flexes his fingers into fists.
I look away, to distract myself from what Garrett’s done. They were bad guys; they deserved it. It’s still a lot for our second date.
“Did you find out anything about—?” Jared asks.
“No.” With a roar, Garrett picks up a nearby cage and hurls it. “I lost control.” Hearing the bitterness of self-censure, I step forward, longing to comfort him. But I don’t know how.
He paces a few swift strides away, turns, and paces back, stabbing his fingers through his hair. “No one left to question now,” he growls. His voice is barely human.
“What about him?” I tilt my head toward the strange wolf. He creeps forward and jumps lightly from the cage. Head lowered to the floor, he whines, as if waiting for permission.
“Shift,” Garrett growls.
The strange wolf contorts and changes into human form. I keep my eyes above his waist. Ribs show through his brown skin, and his eyes are hollowed out with dark circles. Long hair falls around his eyes. I wonder how long he’s been held prisoner.
Garrett prowls a circle around him. I step forward, between them, and he growls, picking me up with an arm around my waist, spinning, and setting me down behind him. Trey and Jared close in at his sides, making a human wall of protection, me behind it.
I clear my throat. “Do any of you speak Spanish?”
“You can translate from back there,” Garrett rumbles.
I roll my eyes. “Señor, did you see a white wolf? Small female?” I ask in Spanish, raising my voice to get through the wall of wolf-men.
“La Americana? Si.” he answers.
I scuttle around to Jared’s side to see the man, but Jared throws an arm out, keeping me back.
“Don’t. Touch. Her,” Garrett growls.
Jared drops his arm. “Not touching, Alpha.”
“Where is she? Do you know where they took her?” I ask in Spanish.
“They sold her to the Montelobos. In the jungle.”
I translate his answer. “Where in the jungle?” I ask sharply. “Do you know?”
“Monte Lobo.”
Oh. Well, of course the Montelobos live in Monte Lobo. That’s almost too easy. I pull my purse off my shoulder and thrust Garrett’s phone at Trey. “Monte Lobo—in the jungle. Get Kylie on it.”
After a glance at his alpha, the wolf grabs my phone and takes off. Jared goes with him.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” I ask the stranger in Spanish, and repeat in English for Garrett’s benefit.
He shakes his head. “Ask him how big their pack is, how strong.”
I translate the question to the stranger.
“More than one hundred wolves,” he says. “Well defended.”
“Gracias, señor.”
“A ustedes.” He gives a half bow, backing away.
Jared walks in, dressed in cargo pants he must’ve found. He tosses clothes to Garrett and the strange wolf, who wrinkle their noses but dress quickly. “I found keys to their van outside. Trey’s still trying to get through to Kylie, but we should get out of here.”
“Will you be safe if we leave you?” I ask the strange wolf in Spanish.
He nods, explaining in rapid Spanish that he’s from a small coastal town but has a strong pack there.
“All right. Gracias,” I tell him, and we head out, down the hallway.
“Cover your eyes,” Jared murmurs.
Before I understand what he means, a large warm hand closes over my eyes and an arm cinches around my waist. The way my senses leap up, I know it’s Garrett. He’s not gentle but steady and strong. My feet lift off the floor. I try not to think about the metallic smell of blood as Garrett carries me down the hall. Or what I’m not seeing.
Focus on Sedona.
Once we’re outside, he drops me to the ground, and I take deep breaths.
Garrett spins me around and peers into my face with all-silver eyes. “Are you hurt? Tell me you’re not fucking hurt, or I’ll go back and kill those guys a second time.”
The violence of his assertion ought to frighten me, but it doesn’t. It’s for me. All that passion is for me. “Not hurt,” I whisper.
He yanks me against him, crushing my body to his so tightly I can’t breathe.
“Easy, Alpha,” I choke.
He releases me abruptly and paces away, as if afraid to be too near me.
Trey trots up to us, cell in hand. “I don’t have a cell signal to get through to Kylie. Let’s go to the hotel, and look it up ourselves.”
Garrett nods, grim. “I need to call my dad for reinforcements. We’re not going into Monte Lobo alone.”
“I already did,” I admit, wincing as six pairs of glowing eyes swing to me. “I wasn’t sure I would make it out of the warehouse, and I didn’t want to…” The low growling coming from Garrett’s chest warns me I’m worrying his wolf again. “Your dad’s on his way.”
Chapter Eight
Garrett
I can’t speak the entire ride to the hotel. I’m barely staying in human form. I’ve never been so on edge, so close to losing it. No—fuck that—I already lost it. I went savage on those guys back at the warehouse when the situation called for intelligence. If the guy in the cage hadn’t given us a lead, we’d be no closer to finding Sedona right now, thanks to me.
The whole evening was a cluster-fuck. We showed up at the textile factory. Like most of the buildings in Mexico City, it was all concrete on the outside, no way to see in. I sent Jared and Trey in one direction around the building, and I went the other.
When we met up, some asshole had Trey in a headlock, a gun pointed at his head. “Manos arriba,” the mother
fucker yelled.
I didn’t have to understand Spanish to know what he wanted. I had no choice but to put my hands in the air and climb into the fucking cages that lined the warehouse. A wolf can survive a gunshot wound, but not to the head.
Only shifter I know who survived a gunshot to the head is an elderly panther in Tucson, and she was extremely lucky the shots didn’t hit anything vital. I wasn’t about to risk Trey’s life.
But the second I was in the cage, I shifted, shredding my clothes. The place reeked of wolves, but I swear I picked up Sedona’s scent. I tried to bust through my cage with sheer force, but they weren’t ordinary dog cages. No, these guys knew what they were doing. The cages were made of reinforced steel. If Amber hadn’t shown up—
I growl in the backseat of the van, and Amber turns her lovely blue eyes up to me. I don’t know why the fuck she’s not afraid of me when I’m like this. She sure as hell should be.
My wolf is ready to break out and rip more throats just thinking about Amber being back there, putting herself in danger for us.
I want to turn her over my knee and smack her pretty ass red for it, but I know it’s not safe for me to touch her. Not that I’d hurt her—not that way, anyway. But I’m inches away from marking her. Between the full moon and my wolf’s desire to protect her by forever imprinting her with my scent, I’m shaking from the effort of keeping it together with her.
We get to the hotel and I head straight for the shower. Maybe if I rid myself of the scent of blood, I’ll be able to calm the fuck down. Doubtful. But it’s worth a shot.
I strip out of the too-small pants and step into the spray of water, pinching my wound to expel the bullet my body has already sent to the surface.
I remember the way my little lawyer paled when she saw the wound, the horror that streaked her face. Damn, I’ve done nothing to earn that concern, but I sure as hell am going to try to be worthy from here on out. And I have to do a better job keeping her safe. Fates, she could’ve been taken prisoner, too, and we’d all be locked up now. Or worse.
I ought to be grateful to her, but instead I’m just pissed. Pissed she had to put herself at risk to rescue me. A growl reverberates in my throat.
I turn the water to cold. It does nothing to cool my burning skin, to stomp down the wolf.
Mark her mark her mark her.
I’m burning to sink my teeth into Amber’s ripe flesh. Make her forever mine. I’m burning to sink my cock into her sweet little body, feel what it’s like to move inside her. I bet she’s tight as fuck. Like heaven. Maybe there’s some way I could fuck her without marking her.
I can’t tell if it’s my wolf or my own mind trying to talk me into doing what can’t be done, but I want her with a desperation that makes my canines pop out, dripping with the serum to mark her. I bite my own lip and draw blood.
My tough-as-nails little lawyer is all gooey soft inside. A giant heart made of soft downy feathers. I’d give anything to earn the right to call her mine. What would it be like to have Amber beneath me? I’m dying to see her look up at me with those big blue eyes, trust shining bright, her small body yielding and sweet. Fuuuuuuck.
I turn off the water and wrap a towel around my waist. My wound has already stopped bleeding, the edges starting to close.
We booked a suite, with two beds in one room and a living area in the other. Trey and Jared are in the living room, and I want to howl because Amber’s with them. Which is all kinds of stupid, because while I know they’d die for her, it’s only because they know she’s mine. And my guys are rock solid. They would never, ever fuck with what’s mine.
Still, I slam my fist down on the dresser. I want to tear the room apart.
I don’t know how I’m going to survive the night in the same hotel suite as Amber.
~.~
Amber
It sounds like Garrett is throwing things in the bedroom. I sense his agitation through the wall. Guilt, anger, frustration roll off him in waves. Have I always known exactly how people feel? Or is it just him?
Trey looks in the direction of the bedroom then shoots a concerned glance at Jared. We’re sitting around the small table. They finished my torta in about three seconds flat and have ordered more food from room service. “I’ve never seen him this close to losing control,” Trey mutters.
“I know.”
“What’s wrong with him?” I ask.
Jared fiddles with a book of matches that were on the coffee table, spinning it on its edge. “Full moon. Sister’s missing. And you.”
“What about me?”
“He was scared for you back there. I think he’s still pissed off. He’s really got it bad for you, Amber.” The matchbook spins to a stop. He picks it up and starts it again.
My heart leaps then trips and falls. “But wolves can’t be with humans.”
“That’s a problem. But it doesn’t matter to his wolf. The animal’s claimed you. Once our wolf makes its choice, that’s it. You have to mate or—”
“Or?”
“Or your animal might go moon mad,” Trey supplies, fiddling his lip piercing with his tongue.
“What is moon mad?” I ask.
“They turn animal and can’t change back. They’re lost forever. It doesn’t happen with every wolf,” Trey explains.
“Only the most dominant ones,” Jared says.
I swallow hard. Garrett is as dominant as they come. But he doesn’t want to mate me. He already told me it can’t work. “Do wolves ever mate with humans?”
“Sometimes,” Jared says with a shrug. “But mating with humans is discouraged by most packs. And an alpha male takes an alpha female.”
I hear the subtext. Not a wimpy human.
“Garrett’s dad wouldn’t like it.” Trey snatches the book of matches from Jared’s fingers and taps it open, pulling one out.
Great. I’ve already made a bad impression.
“But there are many who believe there’s only one true mate for each wolf. And the wolf recognizes his mate when he sees her. Being near her both riles him up and calms him down.” He strikes a match against the side of the box and flicks the burning stick at Jared, who yelps and dodges it with a grin. “That’s what he’s like with you.”
Amber Drake, psychic. Tamer of werewolves. Maybe I’ll hang that shingle after all.
A thud sounds from the bedroom, like Garrett put his fist through the wall. Good thing the room’s not on my credit card. If he’s upset over me, it’s my job to defuse it. I push open the door and step inside, closing it behind me. I ought to be afraid, but I’m not. “Hey. Are you mad at me?”
“No,” he snarls, whirling. I sense his pain.
“You’re upset because I was in danger? Why don’t you talk to me about it?”
He stalks over, eyes flashing silver. Picking me up by waist, he pins me against the wall, holding me at nose level. “Baby, you scared the fuck out of me. You could’ve been captured. Or hurt. Or killed,” he growls. “Do you think I could live with myself if anything ever happened to you?”
I can’t speak. A lump forms in my throat. Has anyone ever cared so much about what happens to me?
“Well, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to go on.”
“Garrett.” The extent of his anguish stuns me, cracking some hardened piece of armor that’s been around my heart for most of my life. Someone cares—about me.
“I ought to turn your cute little ass red.” He drops me to the floor and cradles my cheek. His touch is far gentler than I expected. He leans his forehead against mine. “You do not put your own safety at risk for me. I am a shifter—I heal almost instantly. You are human.”
Yeah, I got that, big guy.
“You could’ve been shot or had your throat torn out tonight,” he goes on. “What if they took you for breeding?”
“But I’m not a wolf.”
“Don’t argue with me.” He pulls me into a rough embrace, his huge arms wrapping around my waist. He drags his lips up the column of my neck.
“You’re mine, dammit. I can’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I whisper as the words you’re mine knock around in my head, causing my brain to short circuit. For someone who never belonged, nothing could sound sweeter. And, somehow, I do belong with Garrett. Even though I am human and he is wolf. Even though we have nothing in common—I am his and he is mine. A simple equation with no basis in logic. Only in love.
Except he told me last night he can’t be with me.
He palms my ass and squeezes. “I reserve the right to punish this juicy ass later.” His voice is deep and gravelly.
I give a husky laugh. “Sorry, there’s no retrial.”
He tongues my earlobe. “I’ll have to do it now, then.” He turns me to face away from him. “Hands on the wall.” The deep command sounds like pure seduction. He slides his palms slowly down my arms to grip my wrists and lift them to the cool plaster. “Don’t move them. If you do, I’ll double your punishment.”
I waggle my ass, only excited by his threat. This man—wolf—wants me. Needs me, even. I’ve never felt so desirable in my life.
His fingers work the button on my jeans open, and he hooks his thumbs in the waistband of both the jeans and my panties and drags them over my hips. They drop in a puddle at my feet.
“What’s my sentence?” I say hoarsely, stepping out of them.
He lands a hard slap on my ass. “This.” He strokes both palms over my bare ass and squeezes. Slaps again. “I want you,” he says gruffly, unpinning my hair from its French twist. It falls over one shoulder. He slips his fingers under my T-shirt and glides them up until they reach my breasts. With a flick, he opens the front closure on my bra and cups my swelling girls.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Amber. I’ve wanted you since the moment you cocked that hip and gave me attitude in the elevator. I don’t know how I’ve kept from fucking you senseless.” His voice is thick.
“What are you waiting for?” I dare.
His sharp intake of breath has me biting my lip. One quick movement and my shirt and bra fly over my head. “Hands back up.” He pins my wrists against the wall with one palm, smacks my ass with the other.