Growl

by Eve Langlais

  Again she made a disparaging noise. “Forensic folk are overworked and underpaid. Cops will find the despondent note she left behind, see the mountain of debt, and think exactly what they need to think. Forensics will make the facts fit and move on to their next case.”

  “You have this all figured out, don’t you?”

  She tapped her chin before grinning. “Yup.”

  “I’ll allow it, this time. However, in the future, as my mate, I’m going to have to ask that you not go around just killing things. At least not without talking to me first.”

  That wiped her smirk off. “Like hell.”

  “If we’re going to make this relationship work, we need some ground rules.” He knew he was sticking his foot in his mouth, could see it by the way she stiffened, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

  Nothing about Megan was going the way he’d expected. She didn’t just fall in his arms. She made him work for it. She did what she wanted and to hell with consequences. And she didn’t seem to care that seeing her pop up out of nowhere, putting herself in danger, just about made his heart stop.

  Unacceptable.

  But, of course, she just had to argue. “There will be no rules because this isn’t happening. I don’t care what you think you feel for me. I’m not your mate. I can’t be.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, for one, my family would never stand for it.”

  Was that her biggest argument? “Does your family have a thing against lawyers who do well for themselves?”

  “No, they have a thing against unapproved wolves messing with me. You know how Fabian leads the wolves out here and is considered a big shot?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, on the West Coast, my granddaddy is the other big shot. Really big shot.”

  “He’s not—” Shit. Fate really had it in for him. Even Gavin, who preferred to stay out of Lycan politics, knew the West Coast was ruled by the Bianchi family. And only idiots messed with them. Or a beloved granddaughter.

  Apparently, he wasn’t so smart, after all, because Gavin didn’t care. Megan is mine.

  “By the look on your face, I see you grasp why this won’t work.”

  “On the contrary.” He edged around the table, approaching her where she stood framed in the second entrance to the dining room. She stood her ground. “I think you’re perfect for me. I worried when Broderick explained the whole mating thing to me. I wondered how a woman could learn to accept a wolf as her husband. Who better than a woman raised among them?”

  “I don’t love you.”

  Yet. He didn’t let her words deter him. Love and trust took time, but they did have one thing she couldn’t dispute. “But you desire me.”

  At the intent he made sure shone in his eyes she retreated as he stalked her.

  “Desire is a physical thing. It goes away.”

  “Not in this case and you know it.”

  “My family will kill you.”

  “Will they? Or will they welcome a strong wolf into the fold, one perfectly ready and able to handle a headstrong woman?”

  “Welcome? Like fuck. There isn’t a man good enough for my baby girl,” was the only gruffly snarled warning Gavin received before the lights went out.

  CHAPTER 16

  A week later and Megan still pouted. She just couldn’t have articulated exactly why, though.

  Yes, her daddy had shown up and decided things for her, his well-aimed throw of a statuette knocking Gavin out. Her hollered, “What did you do that for?” was met with an implacable, “I didn’t like him.”

  Funny enough, Megan couldn’t say the same. Despite Gavin’s pompous assertions, she rather liked him. Not that it mattered. Her daddy literally abducted her and took her home.

  Megan didn’t fight much.

  Really, leaving was for the best. She couldn’t just allow Gavin—no matter how sexy or yummy or anything—dictate the course of her life.

  So what if he thought fate had designated her as the one woman he’d spend his life with?

  No one asked her.

  No one asked her if she wanted to more or less marry an almost stranger—who made her body sing and brought her to life.

  No one asked her if she could handle living with a lawyer whose ethics depended on whom he defended—and who accepted the fact that she sometimes killed people for money.

  No one asked her if she wanted her heart broken, because, despite his claim that she belonged to him, a week had passed and he’d made no attempt to contact her.

  Such a jerk.

  Yet she missed him.

  Sigh.

  The slap to the back of her head, though it rocked her, didn’t even make her scowl. Love taps were common in her family. “Hey, Grandma.”

  “Hay is for horses.” A familiar retort. Grandma settled herself on the rocker and snagged a ball of wool and a pair of needles out of a basket. “Stop sulking,” she admonished.

  “I’m not sulking.”

  “Says the girl with the lip hanging so low it’s dragging on the floor. I thought you were tougher than this.”

  “I am. Or haven’t you seen Kit’s black eye?” Stupid cousin had dared mock her getting framed. She mocked him for getting hit by a girl.

  “I’m not talking about that kind of strength, but the one to go after what you want. Or, more specifically, who you want.”

  “I don’t want anyone.”

  “Oh please. I’ve heard enough of what happened out east to know you wanted that lone wolf, or else he’d have been singing soprano before he ever laid a hand on you.”

  “So he was hot.”

  “More than hot or you wouldn’t be pining for him.”

  It occurred to her to lie again, but given Grandma held two sharp objects—and wouldn’t need much incentive to use them—Megan wisely stuck to the truth. “Yes I miss him, even if I shouldn’t. We knew each other only a few days, and in that short time I discovered he’s arrogant, with no scruples. He seduced me. Lied to me about what he was. Ordered me around. Drove me crazy.” In bed, out of bed, in her head … She just couldn’t shake him, much like a tick that burrowed under the skin.

  “You love him.”

  Megan snorted. “I don’t love him.”

  “Why not?”

  “What do you mean, why not? Did you hear what I said?”

  “I heard that he engaged you on so many levels you didn’t hesitate when it came to mentioning a few. I heard he doesn’t stand for your stubbornness and that he liked you in spite of it. His lack of scruples makes him a perfect fit for our family, or have you forgotten who you are?”

  Why did her grandmother have to turn Megan’s arguments against into reasons for? “But he doesn’t love me.” Because if he did, once he’d regained consciousness he would have come after her.

  “Doesn’t love you?” Grandma made a noise. “Look out the window and tell me that’s not a man in love.”

  Say what? Megan flew to the window and peeked out. Bright sunlight shone down on the short, trimmed grass of the front yard to her grandparents’ place—where Daddy had dumped her after Megan decorated his beloved gun collection with stickers, cute, really gluey ones with dancing unicorns and rainbows.

  The image of her father staring in incredulous shock at his decorated arsenal paled before the image of Gavin striding up the front walkway, in his suit, tie and all, determination in his stride.

  “He came.” She could barely believe it.

  He came for me. And was stopped.

  From behind bushes, from around the corners, from anywhere a Lycan could hide, slunk forth family members, male ones, Daddy, Uncle Bernard, Cousin Robert, another cousin.

  Oh dear.

  They’d kill Gavin.

  “What are you waiting for, girl? Get out there before they get blood all over my begonias. I already watered them once today.”

  Megan didn’t need the order to already be flying out the door. She paused on the front step, caught by Gavin’s stare
as he immediately noted her appearance.

  “There’s my little rabbit.” He smiled. Slow. Sexy. And hungrily.

  A little too hungrily. Daddy punched him.

  Gavin barely budged, and his only concession to the blow was to rub a hand on his jaw. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t believe we were properly introduced last time we met.”

  “You should have stayed back east, boy.”

  Growls from her other male family members agreed in chorus.

  Faced with a threat that would have made more than one wolf piss himself, Gavin remained tall and undaunted. Such a sexy idiot.

  “Staying east wasn’t an option. Megan is here. Which means I’m here. She’s my mate.”

  Even louder grumbling from the assembled males.

  “It took you long enough to remember that,” she muttered.

  A sardonic grin tilted his lips. “Miss me, little rabbit? I would have been here sooner. However, the police finding me at the apparent scene of a suicide created a bit of havoc. It didn’t help that once Larry saw me in the cell alongside his he recanted and tried to pin the blame on me and you.”

  “I’ll kill the thug,” she snarled.

  “No need. Larry was taken care of. Between the evidence uncovered at his apartment, courtesy of my maker”—Gavin made a moue of distaste—“and the unfortunate slip he suffered in the shower, Larry is no longer an issue. Leaving me free to pursue more important matters.” His stare left no doubt as to what matters he meant.

  “Megan is not available for the likes of you,” her daddy said.

  Gavin flicked his gaze to the man standing in his path. “You, sir, are placing me in a difficult situation. All of you are. On the one hand, as my mate’s family, I am to treat you with respect. Which, for normal people, means no violence. But on the other hand…” Gavin loosened his tie, and his eyes took on a dark glint. “She’s mine, and I will allow no one to stand between us.”

  Daddy cracked his knuckles. “A pity she doesn’t want you, boy. I could almost admire your balls.”

  Didn’t want him? “Hold on a second. Who said I didn’t want him?” Megan demanded as she skipped down the porch steps.

  “If you did, you would have never let me put you on a plane and take you back home,” her daddy argued.

  “You zip-tied my hands and gagged me for the trip,” she reminded.

  “Well, you didn’t try and go back once we got here,” her father announced. “If you truly cared for him, none of us could have stopped you.”

  “Well, maybe I was still making up my mind,” she sassed.

  “And what does your mind say?” Gavin asked.

  Seeing him again, she finally had to admit the one thing she’d tried to ignore. I love the idiot. Even if he drove her nuts and she couldn’t see how it would work. Damned if she didn’t want to run to him right now and plaster herself against him, and not just because it would possibly give the entire male side of her family an apoplexy.

  “I missed you,” was what she said. Only that.

  Yet the admission was enough for his entire face to brighten, and he stupidly took a step forward, only to have her cousin step in his path.

  “Where do you think you’re—”

  Poor Robert, he never did finish his sentence, as Gavin just grabbed and tossed him out of his path, her cousin landing and squashing Grandma’s roses. Grandma would have words with him for that. Not Gavin, of course. Wasn’t his fault Megan’s idiot cousin didn’t know how to get out of the way of a man on a mission.

  Her other cousin and uncle went to stand in his way, but Gavin wouldn’t allow himself to be deterred, and when Megan said, “Let him through, or else,” she shot them a look that promised painful retribution. They knew she didn’t issue empty threats and wisely scattered.

  Except for Daddy.

  He crossed his arms and glowered. “I don’t think he’s good enough for you.”

  “I’m probably not, sir. But I can promise to do my best to do right by your daughter.”

  “You know she’s a killer.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And a pain in the ass.”

  “So I’ve noticed.”

  “She’s evil, too. You don’t want to know what she does when she’s pissed.” Her father stroked the butt of his pistol, which still held a faint sparkle from the glitter glue she used for the less cooperative stickers.

  “I kind of like that about her, sir.”

  Awwww. Megan had never heard anything so sweet.

  “It’s your funeral, then. Which mated or not, I’m not paying for,” Daddy grumbled as he stalked away.

  “But you will pay for the wedding,” she hollered at his back just so she could see his step stumble, his shoulders tighten, and a shudder rock his body.

  Then she saw nothing but a broad chest as arms swept her up and hugged her close. “Married?”

  “I might kill people for a living, but I refuse to live in sin.”

  Gavin snorted. “Your warped set of values is really going to take getting used to.”

  “It’s not too late to walk away,” she offered.

  He declined. “Like fuck. It’s been hell these last few days. It’s been much too long since I saw you.”

  “Not my fault you aren’t as good as you think. A hotshot lawyer like you should have had the charges dropped before they got filed,” she teased.

  “I see life with you will never be boring,” he declared before dipping his head to kiss her.

  She allowed the embrace, savored the taste of him, the excitement of his touch, before whispering, “Run!”

  “What?”

  She grabbed his hand and tugged. “I said run, unless you want to eat some buckshot. I think someone forgot to tell Grandpa we got Daddy’s approval and he’s coming with the shotgun.”

  Lucky for them, Grandma tackled him before he caused any damage.

  And by the time the wedding came around, a few days later, because the testosterone half of her family said it wasn’t proper her sharing a room with a man, Grandpa had even managed an almost friendly scowl and a wedding gift that consisted of a promise not to kill the damned lawyer.

  The warm welcome to the family almost brought a tear to the eye—probably because Grandma stamped a few toes with her pointy-heeled shoes.

  Later on that night, alone in the honeymoon suite, her skin dewy from passion, Megan traced the line of his jaw. “Say it again.”

  “I love you, little rabbit.”

  Just like she loved him. And to think it was murder that had brought them together.

  Beat that, Cousin Kit.

  EPILOGUE

  Back east, in an office tucked at the back of a strip club …

  Having nine lives was well and good in theory, but when a woman straddled a man, held a gun to his head, and said, “What are you doing in my drawers?” it probably wasn’t a smart thing to say, “Hoping to lick some delicious cream.”

  Broderick could blame his stupid statement only on the fact that his mother claimed he’d landed on his head instead of four paws more than was healthy for a kitten.

  He could also blame hormones, as it took only one look and scent to realize the goddess threatening his life was his mate.

  Meow. And he meant ow! as she dug the barrel into his skin, not at all impressed by his compliment. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t shoot.”

  Apparently, “Because I’m pretty sure we’re soulmates,” wasn’t the right answer.

  FERAL PASSIONS

  Kate Douglas

  This tale is dedicated with much love to Margaret Riley, owner and publisher of Changeling Press, who convinced me many, many years ago that yes, I really could write stories about shapeshifters and werewolves. Thank you, M! I guess you were right. ☺

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  My thanks as always to my beta readers, Ann Jacobs, Rose Toubbeh, Jan Takane, Lynne Thomas, Karen Woods, and Kerry Parker—six women with busy lives who always manage to find time to read for me. Tha
nks also to my editor, Eileen Rothschild, who has given me a chance to play once again in the world of make-believe.

  CHAPTER 1

  Thursday

  “Aw, c’mon, Cherry. It’ll be so much fun. Please?”

  “Cissy, I…” Cherry turned away. She hated to disappoint Christa, but there was just no way. No way at all.

  Her sister’s BFF, Stephanie, chimed in. “If you don’t come with us, that fully paid reservation is just going to go to waste. We bought the package for three because Gina said she wanted to go, and then she bailed on us.”

  Cherry ran her fingertip through the salt on the rim of her margarita glass and stuck her salty finger in her mouth. Damn. Did she or didn’t she? She stared at Stephanie. “There has to be someone else who can fill a third spot. Especially since it’s paid for.”

  Christa chimed in. “Gina bailed an hour ago. We leave Sunday morning, so we don’t have time to hunt for anyone. I know you have time off coming. Talk to your boss tomorrow and let her know you’ll be gone all next week. Please?”

  “C’mon, Cherry.”

  Cherry glanced from her sister to Steph and pulled back feelings that were more about envy than irritation. She’d never had a close friend other than Christa, aka Cissy, not the way Steph and Christa had each other. They’d been inseparable since they’d been, quite literally, in diapers. Two adorable little girls in day care together when they were toddlers, two stunning and perfectly slim, trim twenty-five-year-olds.

  On top of that, each of them was smart and successful, and they were almost too nice to be true.

  When she was with them, Cherry felt like a toad. A very fat toad. The idea of spending a week at a luxury resort with her gorgeous dark-haired baby sister and Christa’s equally beautiful blond best friend—each girl perfectly sleek and toned while Cherry had to lie on her back on the bed to get her fat pants zipped—was beyond depressing.

  Except she really loved her little sister, and Steph had never been anything but nice, and Cherry did have vacation time she had to use or lose …