Tall, Dark and Furry (The Elementals Book 1)

by Meredith Allen Conner

  Livie crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at Sela. “Seals, if you ask me that one more time . . .” she frowned, clearly trying to come up with something suitably dire and awful to threaten her with.

  Sela shrugged, unconcerned with the potential threat. “Liv, you’re thinner than ever!”

  “Seals, I was f-ing shot! Of course I’m going to lose a bit of weight.” She shot forward like a pit bull baring her teeth. “I’ll end up weighing seven hundred pounds before long with the way you’re feeding me.”

  Sela winced. Livie might have a point. Ever since they’d brought her home from the hospital two weeks ago, Sela had been stuffing as much food into Livie as she could.

  Livie had put on some weight, but Sela could still see her collarbones. In high definition.

  The bullet had missed everything vital. It punched through Livie’s side, damaging muscle and tissue, but no organs. Sela rubbed her left shoulder. But a bullet was still a bullet and it hurt like hell.

  The doctor had encouraged Sela to keep Livie in bed for as long as possible. Due to her lack of nutrition, Livie was slightly anemic as well.

  Sela had done her best, but she didn’t think she could keep her contained much longer.

  Who knew I’d be such a mother hen?

  “Well, do you want me to see if Roc has any new magazines for you to read?” Sela bit her lip. She just couldn’t help it. Livie had been shot right in front of her. She’d just have to deal with the mother hen stuff.

  Livie dropped her head back onto the pillow with a disgusted sigh. Sela narrowed her eyes. Livie drew out the sigh until it became a wail.

  “All right, all right already.” Sela grouched, secretly pleased. Livie was definitely on the road to recovery.

  The faint growl of a truck engine caught her ears. Sela cocked her head, listening. Her pulse jumped and sped up, sweet Hannah, she had it bad. “Mac’s home.”

  Livie raised her brows, “What did you hear this time? Four paws running through the woods?”

  “No, just his truck coming down the road. He should be here any minute.” Sela turned away, unwilling to let Livie see her expression. Livie had made several comments about werewolves. Not in a good way, either. Sela hoped she just needed some time to adjust.

  The bedspread rustled as Livie readjusted to a more comfortable position. Sela dismissed her thoughts and hurried over to help her. She fluffed a pillow, straightening covers, and generally mother-henning. She stopped when Livie gripped her forearm.

  “Do you think we’ll find her, Seals?” Livie whispered.

  Sela saw the fear in Livie’s eyes. She swallowed before attempting to answer. “We’ll find her, Liv. We’ll find Rea.” She shook her head ruefully, “If they didn’t get us, they certainly won’t find Rea.”

  Livie dropped back onto the pillows with a laugh. The front door slammed. Her stomach clenched in anticipation.

  “Good point. Rea’s a damn good fighter.”

  “She always carried more weapons than you.” Sela laughed. She’d found two knives under Livie’s pillow yesterday while Livie had been taking a bath.

  “I think my favorite has to be the knife she kept strapped at her back.” Livie said.

  The door opened and Mac walked in. Sela’s heart jumped. She sucked in some air, trying to calm her response. Mac grinned wickedly. Ah, the hell with it. His senses would always be ten times better than hers. She grinned back, enjoying just the sight of him.

  Mac cupped her head as he bent to kiss her. Sela leaned into the kiss, sliding her fingers into his hair. Mac rumbled a happy purr and licked his way into her mouth with devastating skill.

  “Ugh, could you two please do that somewhere else?” Livie grumped. She sat up. “Are those more magazines?”

  Mac nodded and walked over to set them on the bedside table. He was as bad as Sela. “Yeah. I raided Roc’s mailbox before I got here, so don’t be surprised if he shows up wanting them back.”

  Livie reached for the magazine on top. “Well, at least that way I can finally meet him.” She began to flip through the pages. “Did you find out anything?” She asked casually.

  Sela tensed, she couldn’t help it. She pushed her shoulders back, bracing for Mac’s answer.

  Mac came over and wrapped her up in his arms before he answered. “No. Still no sign of his body and the fairy has disappeared.” He rubbed his cheek over the top of her head. His hands sliding up and down her back in soothing strokes.

  Sela leaned into his chest wanting to be soothed.

  Her power had decimated a large section of the field. Most of the trees, shrubs and vegetation had been wiped out, along with a large group of the bad guys.

  A search had revealed the mangled bodies of the majority of the soldiers, but not the body of the tall man.

  They’d expanded the search, but Sela didn’t have much hope. That kind of evil would find a way to survive.

  Sela fervently wished the tall man had died, but . . . having Mac and her sister alive evened the odds for her. She’d turned into a love struck pile o’ mush. And was so much the better for it.

  Someone must have finally been watching out for her because none of the werewolves had been injured. Sela knew she didn’t have that kind of control over her Element yet. And frankly, hadn’t thought about the other werewolves until afterwards.

  She’d simply been determined to kill the man with the sword.

  She’d succeeded in killing a great many of his soldiers, but the tall man and possibly several others had somehow escaped.

  Cam sent Roc to try and track them down. Roc had followed their trail to Canada where he lost them. He’d spent the last couple of weeks searching for them and probably would still be there, but the Wolven had called him home.

  The men were not happy. Sela and Livie weren’t either, but they’d had lots and lots of experience with the Order of the Elements. They hadn’t expected a tidy ending.

  Sela leaned back in Mac’s strong arms and smiled. “Well, at least this time they are the ones on the run.”

  “Damn straight.” Livie growled.

  Mac grunted. Sela had found him prowling the yard at night when he thought she was asleep, scenting the air for trouble. Her werewolf took protecting her to any lengths he deemed necessary. And he deemed a lot.

  A slight tingle ran up her spine, being on the receiving end of all that intensity could overwhelm a girl. Sela discovered she loved being overwhelmed.

  Sweet Hannah, grant her strength, she’d better. Mac had casually informed her yesterday that when a werewolf took a mate that mate gained the werewolf’s immortality.

  How could I possibly live without you? He’d asked.

  ****

  Mac narrowed his eyes at her little shiver. His nostrils flared slightly as he caught her burgeoning arousal and a distinct wolfish grin spread over his face. He caught her up high in his arms, “Sela will check on you later, Livie,” he said as he walked out of the room.

  Livie’s groan escaped out of the room with them.

  Mac tightened his arms around Sela, loving the feel of her soft body in his arms. Mac took several steps down the hall before he stopped. It seemed he could not get enough of her these days. He lowered her body, pressing her firmly against the wall.

  “Mac?” Sela breathed.

  He didn’t have a verbal answer to her question. Mac bent towards her neck, he brushed aside her shirt collar until his mark was revealed. He loved to see it, to see his mark of possession upon his mate.

  He lapped at it, enjoying her shivers as his tongue laved his mark. Mac knew Sela loved the mark as much as he did. The mate mark. Could he say it enough? His mate. His mate. His mate!

  A lifetime of loneliness ended with Sela.

  It would never be enough. She would never be enough. He would want her and crave her forever. He would always want her, always crave her.

  He loved her.

  Mac opened his mouth over his mark, sucking, he drew her skin into his mou
th. He sucked hard, unable to stop, to be gentle. His beast snapped its jaws, impatient. Sela gasped beneath his grip, she arched her neck, baring her throat to him. Immediately he relaxed, drawing back slightly and licked the reddened skin.

  He saw it again, that moment on the field when that bastard aimed his gun at Sela and Livie. He’d known he couldn’t get to her in time. That he couldn’t prevent her from being harmed. He heard the shot again and saw Livie fall, felt that brief rush of relief followed by helplessness and fury as Sela dropped beside her sister, terrified.

  Then the raging flood.

  He never wanted to go through that again.

  He couldn’t live without her.

  ****

  His arms clenched around her and he pressed his forehead to hers. Alarmed at his tension, Sela petted his large chest. “Mac?” she whispered.

  “You know that I can’t live without you, don’t you?”

  Sela smiled and felt her heart clench as it did everyday when he asked his questions. “Yes.”

  “You know that you are the one for me, the only one that I will crave and chase after and cherish forever, don’t you?” His arms trembled around her.

  “Yes.”

  “You know that I love you, don’t you?” He’d asked her these same questions every day since the battle in the field. He told her he planned to keep asking them until he knew without a doubt that she understood what she meant to him.

  “Yes.” Sela pressed her cheek to his chest and smiled. “I love you too.”

  She kept her face hidden so he wouldn’t see her expression as she waited for his last question.

  “You know that you’re my mate, don’t you?” His heart pounded fiercely in her ear.

  Sela lifted her head and frowned at him. “Actually, I’m not so sure about that.” Mac’s eyes widened. “Maybe you better show me what that means again.” She drew her finger around his lips.

  Blazing need sparked amber swirls in his eyes. Mac grinned in a distinctly predatory manner.

  “I’d be more than happy to show you, Lupa.” Mac began moving again, almost running down the hall to their room.

  Sela shivered in anticipation. She knew he would. These days her werewolf got it right every time.

  The Author

  Meredith Allen Conner fell in love with romance the first time she read Jane Austin's "Pride and Prejudice." She now loves to create her own happily-ever-afters. In between writing - she also finds time to read, cross-country ski and do a little bit of crafting. She makes her home in Southeastern Idaho along with her husband, two daughters, three dogs and two cats - yes she has one of those households.

  You can contact her at: www.meredithallenconner.com or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/meredith.a.conner

  Copyright 2014 Meredith Allen Conner

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