Her Chosen Wolf: The Were Chronicles, Book 1

by Renee Michaels

  Her mouth watered and she remembered she hadn’t eaten for about twenty-four hours. “You know the way to a girl’s heart, red meat.” She grinned up at him and grabbed the plate.

  With a pleased grin on his face, Justice handed her a set of utensils. “I need to keep your strength up.”

  “Only the steak for breakfast, where are the eggs?” The first bite melted on her tongue; her taste buds sang.

  “I don’t eat chicken babies. I’ve made arrangements for you to go back to the city. Rick’s reinforcing the high-rise and upgrading security.”

  Her sunny mood evaporated. “Like hell you are.”

  “I need to know you’re safe. It will only be for three weeks.”

  “I’ll be safer here.”

  “No, you won’t. I know you. You won’t stay put. I’ll be on the move quite a bit. I want to make sure none of the smaller packs are persecuted because they support my bid for supreme alpha.”

  Shit, he didn’t really want her. It wasn’t as if he’d actually chosen her. She’d been thrust upon him.

  “If you don’t want me, why don’t you say so, Justice? No need to drag this out.” She scrambled off the bed and pulled on the robe. She’d never felt as naked, or flayed wide open.

  Impatience flitted around his face. “You can’t possibly believe that is what this is about. Heck, if I didn’t want you, would we have spent the night loving each other?” He grinned intimately her.

  Hot color flooded her face. “Won’t you be sending the wrong signal? It might be construed you’re not capable of protecting your mate if you send me to the city to keep me safe.”

  “You have to pack your things to move home permanently. It will also give me a legitimate reason to be in the city to deal with this forced-breeding den.” Justice took her by the shoulders, forcing her to meet his eyes. “If the Redmavens get their hands on you, they’d use you to lengthen the lifespan of their bloodline. They’ll pass you around like a haunch of meat.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “If I didn’t want you, why have I made arrangements for Rick to send his accursed chopper to fly me back and forth to the city?”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “You’re going to fly?” Hell, if his willingness to fly wasn’t a declaration of love, she didn’t know what was.

  She tried to prevent it, but a cheeky grin spread across her face. “Ahh, Justice, you’re so sweet. I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not going back to the city. It’s not necessary. Do what you need to do. As for me, I can defend myself.”

  “I know, but it’s my job to take care of you now.” Justice said the words in an inflexible, don’t-argue-with-me tone.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, you’re not going to revert into a Neanderthal because we’re mated, are you?” She shot him a condemning glare. “You’ve been pretty damned liberal about female pack rights. Why the big about-face?”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re my mate. Mine to protect.”

  “I can see we should’ve had the talk before our public claiming.”

  “The talk?”

  “Yeah, the one about not pissing off your mate, or you might find yourself sleeping on the sofa.” She shrugged off his hands and turned to head to the washroom.

  He caught her, settled her back against his chest and whispered her ear, “Ambervane men don’t sleep on the couch when they have a California king handy, and you my sweet mate might object to my absence.”

  She’d married a chauvinist in wolf’s clothing. He’d always been a forward thinker, if a little on the traditional side. His to protect, her ass. If he thought he was going to send her the city to twiddle her thumbs in Rick’s tricked-out fortress, he had another thing coming.

  She studied her nails casually. “You’ll need the Lunedare vote to pull this off. It’s a pity you and Drew have butted heads since he’s lost Christa.”

  Annoyance and suspicion flitted through his eyes. “Drew will do what’s best for the packs. I’m heading up there to have a talk with him, so whatever plan is formulating in that fertile mind of yours, forget it.”

  “Yeah, but he’ll make you bleed for his support.” She grinned up at him. “Now, if you approached him in his lair of lust with someone he actually likes, like me, he might be very amenable.”

  “Lair of lust? How the hell did you know it’s what we call his den?”

  “Now that’s the question, isn’t it?” She skipped back when he reached for her, laughing up into his face. “Yeah, Drew is one hot wolf. The rumors floating about what goes on up there… Oh, mama.” She lowered her lids and moaned as if she were reminiscing.

  His eyes narrowed suspiciously but cleared when a wolfish smile, identical to her taunting grin, spread across his face. Crap, she’d overplayed her hand.

  “Your pal Aimee Lunedare has been telling tales. And the things you heard…they aren’t rumors.” He stalked into the bathroom, whistling.

  Not rumors. She followed to find him standing under the sprays of water. He soaped his groin and her eyes tracked the motion of his hand.

  She coughed away the lump in her throat. “We need to talk.”

  He cupped his hand over his ear. “Can’t hear you.”

  “Nice try, pal. You could hear me over the Niagara falls.”

  “It’s the morning after our first mating. Why aren’t you soft and malleable from my loving?”

  “Piffft, why aren’t you?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to stay.”

  The sly light in his eyes should’ve served as a warning. She shrieked when his arm whipped out and hauled her under the cascade of water.

  “You talk too much. Let’s not waste time. I have a bunch of stuff to do before we leave in a couple of hours.” His mouth cut off her protest. He pushed the robe back from her shoulders and it fell to the tiles with a wet plop.

  Okay. She couldn’t exactly think with his cock nudging her clit. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t going to bring the subject up again later.

  Chapter Five

  Barreling through the forest, Justice bounded over the trunk of a fallen tree and landed agilely on his feet. Without breaking his stride, he kept going, reveling in the punishing pace he’d set. The harried pants of the four wolves struggling to keep up reached his ears from a greater distance with each lope.

  He needed solitude, but at his father’s insistence four of his pack brothers accompanied him up the arête to speak with Drew Lunedare. He couldn’t shake them, but he’d make damned sure they got a workout.

  Shit, the war had begun, and until all was settled he’d have these babysitters on his ass all the time. He hurtled through the undergrowth, drawing the thin air into his lungs, welcoming the burn. He took it as a penance. He should have revealed his secret to Saffa this morning, but he’d selfishly held his tongue. How long he’d have with her after she learned the truth, he didn’t know. For now, he’d steal and hoard every precious moment with her. Savoring each caress and bit of loving he could get.

  He paused on a crag, panting, and assumed the shape of a man. Looking down on the sea of evergreens, he scanned the area. No hint of human occupation or the miasma of civilization. Perfect.

  Running the last few miles, he chose the words of his request carefully. Justice lifted his eyes and picked out the rock, timber and glass dwelling Drew Lunedare had built into the side of the mountain. It was damned near inaccessible and a pain in the ass to get to. He envied Drew for the isolation of the backwoods where his house perched high above the valley.

  “Pretty country, isn’t it? Lost your way, supreme alpha?” A voice with more than a little derision came from above him.

  “No, I came all the way up here to see your sorry ass.” He looked up to see Drew Lunedare lounging on a branch. He looked like hell, his sable brown hair flowed past his shoulders in a tangle of unruly curls, and lines of dissipation were beginning to appear on his face. His red-rimmed eyes held a studied indifference. The don’t-give-a-shit expression made Justice sigh.

  Drew too
k a long drag from the bottle of Jack in his fist.

  “Want a straw to go with your drink?” Justice asked.

  “If you came up here to go all Dr. Phil on me, you can haul your ass back the way you came. If you came to solicit my support, you have it. Now that you’ve gotten what you came for, you can trot on back down the mountain and leave me the hell alone.” Drew shoved off from his perch and dropped to his feet in front of Justice.

  Justice looked over his shoulder to assure himself they still had some measure of privacy. “Actually, I came to ask you for a more personal favor.”

  “Want me to kick Bardo’s ass for you? I’ll finish him off, as you should have done last night. Losing your lust for blood, Justice?” The unwarranted challenge in Drew’s eyes had Justice’s hackles rising. Drew had always been a difficult, hard-headed son of a bitch. Very much like him, but maybe it was the reason why he considered him a kindred spirit.

  “I want you to be my sec,” he gritted out, every word a razor slicing into his tongue.

  Drew spewed out the mouthful of liquor he’d taken into his mouth. It had cost Justice to ask, but the astonishment on Drew’s face was worth it.

  Drew opened his mouth several times and threw back his head and laughed. “You had me going for a minute there.”

  “I wasn’t joking,” Justice bit out through clenched teeth.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me. You’re offering me your woman as a fuck buddy?”

  The crude question sent a red haze of anger billowing though him. The bald statement made it sound crass. This was his love the man was reducing to an outlet to scratch an itch. He took a threatening step toward Drew. He stopped in his tracks when he caught the glint of satisfaction in Drew’s eyes. He’d been testing him.

  “Don’t be an ass. It’s in case anything happens to me, you’ll become her mate. It is my right to choose.”

  “As your sec, I also have the right to seek her bed. Somehow, I don’t think it’s what you actually want. What the hell’s going on here, Justice? You’ve kept any man worthy of being her mate at bay since her aroma signaled her maturity. And here you are offering her to me, a man with appetites the little redhead couldn’t begin to comprehend.”

  Justice shifted uncomfortably under the sharp probing of Drew’s black eyes.

  “The hell I did. She’s had boyfriends.”

  “‘Boyfriends’ being the operative word. I repeat, what’s going on?”

  “The Redmavens will target Saffa. It’s one of several steps I’m taking to make sure she stays safe until I become supreme alpha.” Justice sighed. “They’ve created a den in the city, Drew. I’m going to need every wolf I can trust at my back while I deal with this mess.” He stared directly into Drew’s shocked eyes and lied through his teeth. He hoped the liquor in Drew’s bloodstream would hamper his ability to smell the lie in his words.

  Drew snorted. “You can put a beat down on the Redmavens without my assistance and we both know it. Why not honor your brother Rick with this request?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Saffa thinks of Rick as a brother. You, she’d accept in our bed. The Redmavens will think twice about coming up against both the Ambervanes and the Lunedares. Consider yourself and your pack as another wall of defense. Our instincts haven’t been watered down by civilization like many of our brothers’. Between the two of us nothing can harm her.”

  “By my calculations, she should be nearing her first mating cycle. All your problems would be solved if you planted your cub in your mate. She’d be untouchable,” Drew pointed out.

  If only his reasons were simple. How could he explain what it took for him to make this request?

  Drew stared up at him for a long time. He looked away before Drew saw too much.

  “It’s just killing you to ask me this, isn’t it? And for the record, I don’t believe a word of the bull you’re shoveling my way.”

  Justice swung around to face his tormentor, fists clenched and body poised for attack.

  Drew grinned wolfishly at him. “It’s what I thought. You wouldn’t have asked me to do this unless something deeper was going on here. I have already thrown my support behind you. You don’t need me as a sec.”

  Justice met his gaze. Drew was waiting for an explanation.

  Too bad. He wasn’t getting one.

  Drew shrugged. “Fine, keep your secrets. I have enough of my own, I won’t pry any further.” He tucked the flask into his back pocket. “I could use something to break up the monotony of my days. Just so you know, I’m going to stick to you like glue.”

  “No need. Keep Saffa safe. I want you to make her your priority.”

  “I disagree. I have to make sure your hide doesn’t end up nailed to Maxime’s wall. And there is the added benefit of watching you squirm when Saffa realizes what you’ve done.” Drew shot him a look tinged with a little envy. “Women tend to get more than a little pissy about things like this. You have to tell Saffa soon Justice. The scent of our spoors will have to be all over her to protect her, or all this will be for nothing. If you don’t, she’s going to hurt you in ways you’ve never conceived of.” Drew walked off in the direction of his house chuckling. His laugh was rusty, as if he hadn’t used it since his mate died.

  “Don’t bank on it happening, Andy, because you’re not going to mention it to her until I’m ready.” Justice called to his retreating back.

  “It’s pretty damned hard to chew a good steak with bad teeth. The last man who called me Andy or Andrew had to get a full set of false ones. I hear his wife’s learned to make a killer stew.”

  Justice grinned. It felt good to spar with Drew again. Both men turned in the direction of the familiar footfalls of the pack brothers as they emerged from the woods.

  “Are you going to give them a breather before heading back?” Drew asked looking at the new arrivals.

  Justice grinned. “What do you think?”

  ***

  Saffa felt wonderful. Little aches in rarely used muscles hummed most satisfactorily. She grinned like a fool and ran down the last few steps to come face-to-face with her grandmother.

  “Well, aren’t you chirpy this morning?”

  “Gran, I thought you’d gone home.” She wrapped her arms around Gretchen’s tiny body.

  “Been and back. It’s almost noon. I wanted to talk to you before you return to the city.” Her grandmother patted her cheek lovingly. “You look happy, and I’m glad. Trying times are ahead of us. There’ll be times when you’ll have to allow yourself to be guided by your instincts rather than logic.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Darling, you’re mated to an alpha. It stands to reason he’ll be overzealous in his efforts to protect you.” Gretchen looked past her shoulder and grinned.

  Saffa turned to see Justice walking down the hallway from the kitchen, followed by Drew Lunedare. How on earth did Justice persuade him to come down from his aerie?

  “Drew.” She walked over to him and gave him a hug. To her surprise, he returned it with more warmth than necessary. Saffa pulled out of his embrace to see him staring tauntingly at a scowling Justice.

  She plowed her elbow into Drew’s belly.

  “Saffa, the chopper should be here any minute to take you to the city. I’ll come down with you now since a snow storm is headed our way by nightfall,” Justice said, smirking at Drew’s pasty face.

  Drew released her as if she had become too hot to hold. “Chopper?”

  “Yeah, chopper,” Justice replied with a shit-eating grin. “Did I forget to mention I’d be flying back and forth to the city for the next couple of weeks?”

  “No, it seemed to have slipped your mind.” The pissed intonation in Drew’s voice made Justice’s smile widen. Justice dropped a kiss on Gretchen’s wrinkled cheek and pulled Saffa to his side.

  “You can always stay behind, Andy, if you don’t think you can handle it,” Justice jeered.

  “If you can take it, I can too. And don’t call me Andy.
”

  Saffa watched the interchange between the two men, happy to see Drew interacting with Justice. She didn’t know why these two were the best of chums all of a sudden, but she was happy Drew had descended from his lofty lair. Her friend Aimee worried about her brother.

  Her grandmother’s soft cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “You’d better head out now before it starts to snow.”

  Saffa gave her grandmother a swift hug and pulled on the parka Justice held out for her.

  Gretchen looked at them with the oddest expression. “I envy you for the next few weeks, child.” She chuckled cryptically and walked out of the room.

  Chapter Six

  Saffa slipped into her bed and sighed tiredly. She’d spent the afternoon listening to Justice, Drew and Rick strategizing to take out the den. By the time they were done her head buzzed. It worried her Justice would be the one leading the charge, but she kept her fears to herself. She left the men having a nightcap from a bottle of thirty-year-old Johnny Walker Blue.

  She turned her head at the sound of footsteps approaching. Her words of welcome dried up as she caught sight of Drew following Justice into their room. Justice met her questioning eyes, but Drew avoided her gaze. She sat up and waited. Why did she have the sinking feeling she sat on the brink of some pivotal occurrence?

  “What’s wrong?” she asked nervously.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I’ve asked Drew to be my sec.” His voice was a mere rasp, but there was no plea in them. He stated it as a fact, one he expected her to accept.

  The words echoed hollowly in her ears. This wasn’t happening.

  Her lower lip pushed out fractionally. She bit into it to control the telltale sign of her temper rising.

  “Is this where I thank you for choosing someone I actually like, or tell you to go to hell?” She slid off the bed and pulled on her terrycloth robe. Shoving her fists into the pockets, she stared at the men. Drew looked as uncomfortable as a chicken in a slaughter house.

  “Neither. It’s an accepted practice to choose a sec to assure the safety of one’s mate.” Justice walked over to her but he didn’t touch her. “I’m a marked man, Saffa. You must have known I might choose a sec.”