Amory’s Mate

Nevea Lane

Running in the woods through deep snow in the middle of the night wasn’t
a good idea no matter who you were. Running through the woods at night,
during a blizzard with a stolen laptop, several stolen microchips, and two
goons chasing you was an even worse idea. Angel Harmon was always full
of ideas, but this late-night run hadn’t been her plan. She thought for the
hundredth time that hour that all she was doing was her job. She thought
she’d chosen a safe career in the IT field. Being a security specialist, she
found security breaches in websites and company programs. All she was
doing was her job, and now someone was dead and she was obviously
next.

Amory Monteclaire had been out on a run with his packmates when he'd
crossed paths with the mocha skinned female running through the woods.
Her scent was intoxicating enough for him to want her, the fact that she
was in danger made him want to protect her. The question is, would the
wildly independent woman stay in his world once she was out of danger?

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Cover Art: Shara Azod

Editor: Katriena Knights

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Contents

Amory’s Mate ............................................................................................................. 1

Chapter One

The past hour of her life had happened so fast and in such a blur she didn’t

know what she was thinking, but she knew she was driving in the drifting snow.

In the hours since she’d recovered from the shock of discovering her

supervisor’s corpse slumped over in his rocking chair, she’d been watching behind

her, haunted about what was going to happen next. She’d called 9-1-1 and allowed

the officers to put her in the back of the squad car and take her in. She believed she

was safer in the back of a squad car than she did on foot.

Everything went suspiciously, audaciously downhill from the moment she

stepped into the bricked walls of the small precinct. First, they didn’t take her

name, didn’t ask why she was in the apartment, didn’t ask her if she sensed she was

safe, or if she knew who did it. She might just be an IT specialist, but she knew cops

should at least ask some basic questions—hell, her local grocery cashier asked

more questions than they did. Noticing the bald, short man, who’d introduced

himself as just “Lieutenant,” wasn’t writing anything down and was barely listening

to her, she stopped giving a fuck about anything but her own survival. She’d almost

laughed in the overbearing, sweating lieutenant’s face when he’d told her to stay in

town for questioning. Sitting in the hard wooden chair stationed before the crappy

detective’s metal desk, she opted to just raise her eyebrow.

The man had just shrugged at her after she asked him a simple-ass

question—a life-or-death question, but simple nonetheless.

Do you think they will

come for me? The careless bastard fucking shrugged at her. It was like he’d already

toe-tagged her and named her a victim. Her daddy had taught her better than to

rely on anything but her instincts, and her instincts told her to run.

She stood, shook the lieutenant’s sweaty palm, and walked out of the busy

police office. The cold December air whipped around her face, making her grit her

teeth against the harsh wind. As she stuck her hands in her pockets and stepped off

the concrete steps, she noticed a man in a dark leather coat, wearing sunglasses,

push off the wall of the deli across the street. It was four o’clock in the afternoon in

winter, and the sun was already setting. He would know that if he were a simple

Minnesotan. No, his thin leather coat and laughable Burberry scarf told her he was

not from around here.

She knew she had a follower as she walked the few blocks from the police

station to the bus stop. Not that she needed to take the bus—she could have easily

walked the remaining blocks to her apartment. However, her instincts were as

strong as if she were out hunting with her dad, and she knew she had a tail. If she

stayed put, she’d be pushing up daisies with her supervisor. No, thanks. She knew

she had to get the hell out of town and fast.

The bus rolled past her apartment, but she waited to pull the bell until she

was four blocks away. The beauty of a small town was that there were shortcuts no

one from out of town would know about. Such as the bakery had a backdoor

connected to the local grocery store, which she lived above. Jumping off the bus,

she tried to appear casual as she walked into the bakery, made her way toward the

restrooms, ducked under the wooden swinging door, and crawled through the

closed deli section. She was thankful for small-town Sunday hours—the deli was

closed. She made her way three stories up the heavy wooden steps to her

apartment.

Keeping low to the floor, she crawled into the apartment and shut the door

softly behind her. She scurried around her apartment, searching for everything she

would need. The laptop, the microchips, her crossbow, and hiking boots with metal

teeth. Needing to peek outside, she peered on her hands and knees over her

windowsill.

She gasped when she saw the same guy that had been following her standing

outside across the street from her apartment building with a friend. She wouldn’t

have much of a head start to make it to her car parked in the alley. She took a deep

breath, pulled her hair into her black wool cap, and darted down the steps and out

the heavy security door on the side of her apartment. Just as she grabbed the

handle of her car door, she noticed the two men nudge each other and start

walking toward her.

She was thankful she had two guns in the glove compartment of her rusting

Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme. Sticking the keys in the ignition, she peeled off just as

the two guys entered the alley. A blizzard would be barreling down on the northern

part of town, and this was her only chance. As she drove out of the city, a black

Cadillac Escalade swung behind her, the men leering at her over their steering

wheel. She stepped on the gas and sped north. If she was going to have any chance

at all, she was going to take them on her turf—the woods. It was at least a six-hour

drive from the city to her late father’s cabin in the woods, but she knew the area

backward and forward. If the cops weren’t going to help her, then she would fight

for her life on her own.

The miles of highway stretched on, but she knew it was only a matter of time

before it would be clogged. After all, it was a Sunday evening during deer-hunting

season, with masses of hunters returning home after spending Friday through

Sunday drinking beers and swapping stories. Oh, yeah, she knew she had an

advantage as the traffic came to a standstill. She smiled as she looked in the

rearview mirror, the black SUV stuck several cars behind her.

Welcome to deer season in Minnesota, boys, she thought as she focused. The

snowflakes went from the size of a pinhead to thick, dense flakes, and then the

wind started to whip up. Her car tires began to slide, and damn her for not having

all-wheel drive. Tapping gently on her brakes, she steadied her breath. Her dad had

taught her well, but he wasn’t here—no one was here. She was on her own. Her dad

was the last of her family left, as she’d been their only child. Her family had been

scarce, both of her parents having met in foster care. It was perhaps second nature

for her not to trust the system, but it was another thing to have a detective actually

not give a damn if you were safe.

The traffic crawled forward, and night fell, the lights of cars illuminating the

torrential downpour of white fluffy snow. Of course, that made her anticipated six

hours turn into ten hours on the road. She’d hoped the men would get tired, but

when she dared to glance behind her, they were still there, a few cars back, the

Cadillac symbol glistening in the snow like an omen.

Luckily she’d learned how to live on energy bars and energy drinks, which

she kept in her car for her late-night hacking marathons. As she shoved the

horrible-tasting protein bar in her mouth, she looked back. It appeared the black

SUV had gotten caught behind a semi-truck. Perfect. Her exit was less than a

quarter of a mile up the highway.

She knew it was bad driving, and forgive her for it, but she didn’t turn on her

blinker as she veered off the highway onto her exit. Hearing a horn blare behind

her, she muttered a few cuss words as she saw the black SUV dart through traffic.

She knew her car couldn’t even compare to the engine in that thing, but it was

smaller, and the roads in these parts were narrow as a walking trail. Stepping on

the gas, she plowed off the exit. She knew there was a sharp right onto a narrow

road and swerved her car on to the dirt path, the tall evergreen branches

thwacking against her windshield. The LED lights shone behind her. They were

gaining on her.

As a precaution, and possibly very stupidly, she unlatched her seat belt.

There was a narrow hill coming up, and an embankment that led across a stream.

She’d jump for it; she anticipated them ramming her. Curling her hands around the

straps of her bag and a crossbow, she took a breath. She braced, pitched the

steering wheel right, waited for the impact, made the sign of the cross, and leapt

from the car.

The snow was soft as she landed in a mound of it and slid on her ass down

the embankment. She watched in amazement at her car sliding and bumping

through the evergreens like a bumper car. She was glad she wasn’t in it. Using the

snow as her cover, she took off.

Running in the woods through deep snow in the middle of the night wasn’t a

good idea no matter who you were. Running through the woods at night, during a

blizzard with a stolen laptop, several stolen microchips, and two goons chasing you

was an even worse idea. Angel Harmon was always full of ideas, but this late-night

run hadn’t been her plan. She thought for the hundredth time that hour that all she

was doing was her job. She thought she’d chosen a safe career in the IT field. Being

a security specialist, she found security breaches in websites and company

programs. All she was doing was her job, and now someone was dead and she was

obviously next.

Clutching the messenger bag to her chest, Angel pressed on through the

blinding blizzard. Her hiking boots were made for climbing rocks and treading

through snow, but she didn’t know if they were made for running like her name

was Jackie Joyner Kersey. Clambering up the steep embankment, she thought for a

brief moment if she gave them the laptop back, maybe they would leave her alone.

Of course, her supervisor was already dead, and the goons with guns had tried to

run her off the road. They apparently weren’t too concerned about the laptop.

Checking the status of her crossbow, she was thankful it hadn’t been

damaged when she pitched herself out of her car. It was still loaded with her single

arrow. She risked looking behind her, but she couldn’t see anything in the whiteout

blizzard conditions. Then she heard it—or them, rather. The long wail of a wolf

sounded through the woods followed by the bellows of its pack.

Shit! She pitched

her body left to avoid the evergreens looming up on her. Not only was she being

chased by some crazy-ass thugs—now she’d have to fight off wolves? Knowing she

couldn’t go up a tree—she’d be a sitting duck for the hired killers—Angel

continued to run away from the sounds of the wolves.

The snow crunched under her feet, but the storm above her was covering

her tracks faster than she could make them. This wouldn’t do—she’d probably end

up running right back into the thugs trying to kill her if she didn’t get her bearings.

She slowed her run and stopped underneath a drooping evergreen tree. There, she

pulled out the .9 mm she’d thrown in the messenger bag with the laptop. She’d

never thought her nerdy quirk of researching every weapon ever mentioned in her

comic books would ever come in handy. Here she was, complete with a crossbow, a

.9 mm, and a .22, a few homemade bombs, and a few throwing knives. Being single

and alone gave her a lot of time on her hands to study everything she’d ever been

interested in, but she’d had no idea the stuff would actually be useful.

She pulled her knitted cap over her ears and hunched down. If she was lucky,

the men trying to kill her wouldn’t see her, and she’d been in the clear. If she was

unlucky, then the wolves would find her first. Looking around—not that she could

see farther than a foot in front of her face—she tried to make out where exactly

she was. Her father’s cabin was only a few miles from where the killers ran her off

the road. The problem was getting there without being killed by wolves or thugs.

The howl of the wolf sounded again, cutting through the silence. It sounded

a lot closer this time. She turned her head to look behind her, as if she could see a

damn thing, but she wasn’t necessarily looking for the wolf—she was trying to see

if she could see its breath through the blizzard. She saw the cloud of fog rising just

ten feet from her before she heard the crunch of a boot behind her.

Shit! She was

literally caught between a hungry wolf and two killers.

She’d have to take her chances. The wolf wasn’t carrying a gun. She turned

her back on the wolf, thinking it would scurry off as soon as the sounds of the

killers’ boots scared it to retreat. . She got to her knees and crawled farther beneath

the fallen branches, trying to hide herself deeper in the four feet of fresh snow.

Dragging the crossbow from around her back, she inhaled and positioned the tip

toward the direction of the muffled walking sounds. Her only chance was to be

quiet, and since she didn’t have a silencer on either gun, her only chance was the

crossbow.

It’s just like hunting, Angel, she told herself.

She didn’t hear the wolf anymore, and for that she was grateful—she wasn’t

sure which side the beast would take since everyone was trespassing on his turf.

The boots crunching on the snow got closer. She saw the shadowy figures weaving

through the tall, snow-covered trees, their guns drawn.

If a bad guy dies in the

woods and no one is around to hear it, does the dead body make a sound? Angel

said to herself as she hoisted the crossbow onto her shoulder. She had time enough

for one clear shot, and then she was going to have to run for it.

One, two, three! She counted in her head and took one last calming breath.

Pulling on the trigger of the crossbow, she experienced elation, but she also

noticed something jump from over her head. Just as she saw her arrow plunge into

the chest of the hired killer, a huge wolf leaped from behind her, sprinted over the

first downed body, and attacked the second killer. Two more wolves came rushing

out of the thicket, their teeth bared, headed straight for the attackers.

Better them

than me. She was glued to her spot, caught in awe of the power of the wild beasts

taking down those who meant her harm. Their teeth shone in the moonlight, stark

white and visible even through the drifting snow. Blood covered their muzzles.

They attacked as a pack, the three of them snarling and gnashing at the second

man until he stopped fighting. As the growls died to silence in the empty night,

Angel sat there frozen. Surely they would turn to her next.

Do you play dead when

dealing with wolves? She didn’t know the answer to her own question.

She dug into her bag and pulled out the 9 mm. She didn’t want to have to

hurt the animals that had saved her life, but she wasn’t sure if she was safe yet.

With the gun in her hand, she started to crawl out from the tree branches. She

snapped a twig, and just her luck, all three of the massive wolves perked up and

looked in her direction. Holding her hands up, she showed them the gun. All three

of them cocked their head to the side and then looked back at the barely breathing

bad guy with the arrow in his chest.

They all looked back at her, and if the situation hadn’t been literally life or

death, she would’ve fallen out laughing. Their expressions could only be read as

shock or confusion, as if they could understand what either of those emotions was.

I’m losing my mind, she thought, shaking her head as if that could actually rid her

of her crazy thoughts. The good thing, and perhaps the odd thing, was that they

weren’t attacking her at all. They just kept staring at the gun in her hand.

She shoved it back into her bag, and they finally stopped staring at her hands

but finally looked at her face. Were they afraid she was going to shoot them?

You

are going nutzo—wolves don’t know a damn thing about guns. Her own thoughts

tumbled in her head, but when she took a deep breath and the cold chill of the

winter air seeped into her lungs, the sting of the frosty atmosphere snapped her

out of her own jumbled thinking. Why did she feel the insane urge to explain her

sad story to scary wood creatures, anyway?

“I’m pretty nifty at weapons, fellas. Guns, swords, hatchets, but that was my

last arrow. I mean you no harm, but those guys were trying to kill me.” She pulled

the crossbow from behind her back and showed them the weapon. The cold must

be making her daft because she had no damn idea why she was wasting time

talking to blood-covered wolves. She began to look around, wondering if she was

anywhere near her father’s cabin. She couldn’t see a damn thing through the thick

flakes of snow that were still falling. She stared down at the wolves, who were all

sitting on their haunches, looking at her as if they were waiting for her to say

something else. The largest of the pack walked over to the man with the arrow in

his chest, and with his teeth, pulled the arrow out with a quick snap of its large

head. It walked right up to her feet with the bloody thing in its mouth and dropped

it, its tail wagging…and was the beast smiling? Did he want to play fetch with an

arrow?

She’d heard that any canines were really smart, if trained. However, she

didn’t think plucking an arrow out of someone’s chest was a part of any training

manual. Maybe there was a hunter nearby, and he’d trained the beasts. Maybe they

belonged to someone?

And maybe you are going insane, she thought again as she

regarded the largest wolf she’d ever seen. Not that she’d seen one up close at any

point in her life, but she knew damn well most wolves weren’t that big. She really

needed to get out of the cold. If she was going to go insane, she wasn’t going to do

it while suffering from hypothermia. Any more time in this winter storm, and she’d

surely be a popsicle.

“I don’t suppose you guys want to lead me to someplace warm? Your

master’s house, maybe? Is home nearby?” she said in a soft, singsong voice as she

crouched to their level. She didn’t want to startle them into attacking her, but she

sure as hell didn’t want to freeze to death.

Staring at the black wolf’s brown eyes, inclined desire to scratch behind its

ears invaded her mind and it was a thought she couldn’t shake. She took a chance,

lifted her hand, and sank her fingers into the beast’s thick, wet fur. The wolf gave a

whimper that sounded so much like a moan of pleasure she almost thought it was

human-like. As she gave him a good scratching behind both ears, the other two

wolves bounded over and did little dances in circles like excited puppies until she

scratched their ears too.

“Okay, okay, lead the way to a warm spot, and there’ll be even more

scratches for everybody!” She picked up her messenger bag and waited for the

wolves to stop dancing and twirling. She took one glance at the snow quickly

covering the two bloodied bodies. In this storm, no one would find them until the

spring thaw. At least they wouldn’t be running back to tell whoever had sent them

that she’d survived. Looking down at the wolves, she experienced calm feelings and

relief. For some odd reason, she felt safe, for now.

Chapter Two

Amory looked at his packmates, almost laughing at their playfulness. It had

been a while since he’d seen them happy, so he let them play with the lost female

until he realized they should probably get her out of the cold. While in their shifted

form, their pack could run in the cold for hours protected by their thick winter fur.

She, however, would be frozen in a matter of thirty minutes.

Griffin, we need to move on and get her out of here. He looked at his friend

just as Griffin finished getting his ears scratched by the laughing woman.

I know, but she is just so fun and she gives great scratches. I haven’t had this

much fun in ages! Griffin’s eyes danced as he finally got off the woman. Amory

looked at their other packmate, Dimitri, and watched as he nuzzled his nose into

the woman’s coat as she gave him a scratch behind his ears.

Dimitri had the right idea. Amory had wanted to nuzzle up with the sweet-

smelling female the moment he’d smelled her, but they couldn’t keep her out in

this weather. Her black wool cap already looked white from the heavy, wet snow

that kept falling. It wasn’t going to let up any time soon according to the radio.

Amory let out a howl to the sky, for no particular reason than the fact that since

he’d seen her and she started talking, he wanted to howl at everything.

As his pack returned his signaling howl, he charged forward and began to

lead the way to their house in the woods. It was a refuge for them, tucked so far

back in the dense forest it wasn’t even visible from the road. Of course, on the

outside, it looked like a typical log cabin with a simple chimney and a barn. He

bounded ahead, thinking about the many comforts of the inside of their home like

the large hot tub, a fridge full of food, and plenty of fireplaces.

Taking a chance to look behind him to see if the woman could keep up with

their jogging pace, he saw that she was running at the same speed they were. That

was unbelievable. Her legs were kicking up just as much snow as they were, as she

ran with confidence. As if she could tell he was looking at her, she winked at him

and sped up, pumping her arms back and forth, almost gaining on his lead.

“Fifteen years of track and field and long-distance running,” she called out

as she pulled even with him. It was incredible that she could run through the snow,

but it was crazy that she was talking to him as if she knew a man lay under the

beast. He turned around and forged ahead, bounding over drifts of snow, thinking

about the last thirty minutes of his life.

He found it hard to believe she’d survived everything those men were trying

to do to her. He, Griffin, and Dimitri had gone out for a lengthy run in wolf form

because it was a full moon, and being cooped up during a full moon was never a

good idea for a wolf shifter. He’d first noticed her car because it was traveling

extremely too fast for the snowfall. It was strange for anyone to be traveling during

the blizzard, let alone up a steep incline at a reckless speed. The SUV behind her

was going even faster than hers, and that was when he sensed his fur rise. Instinct

told him the female’s car was in trouble.

He’d run alongside the her car with his packmates in tow and had followed

her until the other car sped up and hit her bumper so hard her car careened off the

ice-covered road. He’d watched in awe as she’d jumped from the moving vehicle

and tumbled down the snow-covered hill. He was even more amazed that after her

continuous somersault came to a halt, she picked up her bag and started walking

like she hadn’t just jumped out of a moving car.

The pack followed silently for a while until she’d stopped walking. He’d let

out a howl to keep her moving, because he could see the men had gotten out of

their car and started to follow her trail, and nothing got people moving faster than

thinking they were about to be attacked by wolves. His pack had silently gone

around her and crouched behind the dead evergreen trunk. They didn’t know what

was about to happen, but then he saw the glint of light shimmer off a gun. He didn’t

think—his body just responded. He watched her pull out a crossbow and knew

damn well she wouldn’t hit both of the men with that shot, and he knew there was

no way in hell she was going to survive if that was all she had to protect herself

with. When she pulled out the gun, he’d understood a little better about her ability

to protect herself, but he found he didn’t want anyone protecting her but him.

He turned his head to the side and saw she hadn’t slowed down a bit.

Zagging through the trees of the thick forest, he found himself running in sync

with her, which was even crazier considering she was running on two legs

compared to his four. When he darted left to avoid a branch, she did the same.

When he jumped, so did she. She was definitely a mystery. He returned his focus

forward and could see the smoke from the cabin’s chimney rising above the tree

line. They were almost there, and he could almost feel her relief when their home

loomed into view.

“Is there where your master stays? Thank the goddesses. Last one there is a

gimpy wolf!” She took off in a sprint. All three of them skidded to a stop in the

snow. Was she really challenging them to a race in the snow? Amory looked over

his shoulder at the other two members of his pack. They both smiled at him, and

they all took off in a run behind her, easily catching up to her and playfully nipping

at her feet as she high-stepped over the mounds of snow.

Amory raced ahead of all of them, using his gift of supernatural speed,

climbing up the porch and nuzzling the door open. The back porch opened to the

kitchen, and he wouldn’t have much time to shift back to human form and put

some clothes on before she got to the house. He quickly shifted as soon as he was

no longer in the main room. In the kitchen, he washed his face clean of blood. He

heard his two friends bound up the steps, and he quickly tossed the towel into the

trash. He was tying the string of the fleece sweatpants he’d discarded earlier when

she came tumbling through the front door.

He tried to act shocked to see her snow-covered body in a heap, dripping

melted snow all over the heated marble tiles.

“I’m so sorry! Your dogs—err, wolves—kind of pushed me through the door.

I had every intention of knocking, but… Sweet basil, you’re a big fucker.” She gave

a whistle.

He laughed out loud at her expletive. He’d been called giant, monstrous, tall,

gargantuan, but a

big fucker was a first. He knew that being six foot nine inches

was rare enough. If she only knew what other secrets he held. He hadn’t had time

to throw on a shirt, and he was sure she was staring at the tribal markings on his

arms and sides. As the Alpha of Pack Centuri, he was marked with the tattoos of a

sixth-generation leader across his back as well.

“My friends might be a bit overzealous. We don’t get many visitors.” A part

of him wanted to strut like the proud alpha he was, the way she was checking him

out. Her almond-colored eyes were looking up and down his body in wonderment.

She seemed to shake herself mentally as well as physically before she started to get

off the floor. She scurried to her feet and started to walk toward him, but then she

turned around, looking at Dimitri and Griffin.

“Thank you,” she said and nodded at them.

His throat tightened. In the world he lived in, he’d say gratitude was a rare

phenomenon, like a lunar eclipse. But her nod was almost regal, like a queen’s. He

swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, but that did nothing to ease the

throbbing that had started under the soft fleece of his pants. His precum pearled at

the tip of his weighty cock. He growled deep in his chest, and her back stiffened.

Shit. Control, Amory. You aren’t a young, teething pup anymore. He breathed deep,

trying to shake the feeling of possessiveness.

He jerked his head to the left at Griffin and Dimitri. They bounded off,

hopefully to change back into their human forms before this woman became aware

of their true nature. She looked back over her shoulder at him, a scrutinizing

eyebrow in the air.

“I thought they were well trained, but now it’s obvious. They literally just

saved my ass. I’m sorry. I’m not some type of crazy person who would be out in this

mess, but I’m really in a bind. There were some guys chasing me, and, well, I don’t

know if they are still alive or not, but they are back that way.” She jerked her thumb

toward the door. He smirked. No, they weren’t still alive. He’d known it as soon he

sunk his teeth into the jugular of the second man. As for him and his pack being

trained—that was still out to the jury.

“Care to tell me how you ended up out there?” he said as he walked over to

help her, hoping to distract her long enough for his friends to get back to the living

room.

“It’s a long and very complicated story.” She looked at him skeptically.

Whatever her reason for being on the run, he doubted she’d be out in a snowstorm

taking on killers if it wasn’t a complicated story.

He thought better of his planned course of action, which had been to help

her out of her wet clothes. The closer he got to her, the more his inner beast

growled. Instead, he walked around her and firmly shut the door against the strong

gusts of wind. He clicked the deadbolts into place and checked to make sure the

howling wind couldn’t blow the doors open by tugging hard on the handles.

Amory’s actions were merely busy work as he tried to get himself under control.

The primal urge to throw her over his shoulder and take her to his bedroom almost

broke free, and he had to keep himself moving or he was going to do just that.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around slowly, leaned against the door, and began

to assess her from head to toe.

His eyes met hers as he angled his head for a better look at this fallen angel.

The glow of her innocent aura was hard to miss. That innocent look combined with

her enchanting eyes made her look like an angel, and he wanted her, period. Her

eyes were the most decadent shade of chocolate with hints of hazel and were

shining like he’d never seen eyes do. He smiled, folded his arms in front of him, and

shrugged.

“We’ve nothing but time,

mon amie. The snow won’t let up for a while.” She

smiled at him, and his heart did that stutter again. He could smell her clearly now,

without the interference of nature’s many smells in the wilderness. She smelled of

almond and his favorite apple brandy, spicy but sweet. It made him want to hold

her to him and just inhale and get lost in her succulent scent.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but seriously, try not to judge me. I’m not insane, nor do I

watch too many movies.” He nodded and broadened his smile, hoping to encourage

her to continue. She took a breath and began to unwind the leather strap that held

her crossbow to her body. “Well, today I was running errands, and I went to my

supervisor’s house to drop off a report, and he was dead in his chair Shot through

the head. I called 911, but they didn’t help. No sooner had I left the police station

than those guys started chasing me. I was hoping I could lose them in the woods

since my dad owned a cabin not too far from here, and I thought I could lose them

on the trails. I didn’t think they’d follow me out here in this storm.”

She walked over to the fireplace and stuck her hands out toward the fire, her

wet gloves dripping all over the place. She began to unwrap the scarf from her

neck, unwinding and unwinding until it finally dropped like an overcooked noodle

to the floor. He cocked his head to the side and walked over to her, all the while

watching her every move. As she pulled the gloves from her fingers, he reached up,

his hand seemingly having a mind of its own. With the need to touch her

overriding everything else, he pulled the wool cap off her head.

She didn’t jump out of her skin like he’d thought she would but instead

sighed, and that sound made his stomach tighten.

If she sounds that sexy just

because I pulled a cap from her head, how will she sound with my hands caressing

her all over? He stepped away from her, admonishing himself for thinking of that

way when obviously her life was in danger. He quickly forgot about the danger she

was in, however, as the waves of her naturally curling ebony hair tumbled out. She

shook her head, and the fullness of her mane shimmered in the firelight. He

wanted to sink his hands in her hair as she’d sunk her fingers in his fur.

“Thanks!” Her exclamation snapped him out of his lusty dream. She bent

over to untie her boots, and he noticed the teeth in the sturdy soles. Lumberjacks

and hunters, not sexy black women with stunning eyes, commonly wore that type

of boots. Watching her kick the boots off without losing her balance made him

wonder how many times she’d done this.

“Do you hunt?” he asked as he backed away from her. If he didn’t put some

distance between them, he was going to maul her until she was naked underneath

him. He was glad he had stepped away from her when she finally unbuttoned the

heavy down coat and slid it off her shoulders. He looked her up and down. She was

tall and curvy—he’d guess her to be about five foot ten inches-with an hourglass

figure. Her frumpy, multicolored sweater wasn’t fooling anyone, as it clung to her

shapely breasts. Her black jeans clung to her thighs, and he bit his bottom lip. Her

body was a shrine to be worshipped by him.

“Oh, the crossbow and shoes?” She chuckled and shook her head. Her rich

and husky laugh did nothing but make his balls tighten. “No, I don’t hunt anymore,

although my dad was quite skilled. He took me pheasant and deer hunting when I

was kid. Since he passed, it hasn’t been the same, and no one wants to take a

woman hunting. The crossbow was a research project, and the shoes are for hiking,

to clear my head. I think too much. That’s the life of a scatterbrained nerd, I

guess… Shit. Sorry, I’m rambling!” Her eyes looked like they were sparkling with

her mood, which was strange considering she’d almost been a homicide victim.

He was chuckling with her just as his friends walked back into the living

room, wearing sweatpants and T-shirts. They tossed him one, for which he was

grateful. Griffin’s gaze darted from the woman back to Amory and back to her.

You might want to get it together, Amory. Dimitri’s voice echoed in his mind.

What were they talking about? He was merely laughing with the woman; it wasn’t

as if he didn’t know how to laugh, even though he’d been known to be serious

ninety-nine percent of the time.

It’s not that, although it is good to see you full of mirth, old friend. You

haven’t looked in a mirror, have you?

Dimitri inclined his head toward the mirror above the fireplace. Amory

turned his head slightly to get a look at himself in the antique-looking glass above

the mantel. His eyes, he knew from many years of infatuated females trying to

describe them, were sometimes called whisky colored, but right now they glowed a

jade green that he’d only seen on other shifters. He glanced at the woman standing

in his living room, warming herself by the fire. Squinting, he peeked back at the

mirror. The green had taken over his irises, and he knew it to be true. He’d just

rescued his life mate.

Chapter Three

Angel held her breath when the other two men walked into the room. She’d

spent most of her life behind computer screens and the illustrated pages of comic

books, and none of the superheroes, mutants, or otherworldly beings looked as

dangerously handsome as these men.

When she’d been running up the steps to the cabin, she thought she’d find an

elderly man, maybe in his sixties, sitting in a rocking chair, whittling wood and

waiting on his wolves to come back from their hunt. But standing in their large

house, she knew this was not like anything she’d ever read. Her mind was racing,

and she couldn’t even begin to analyze the situation. She tried not to think about

why they weren’t wondering why their pets had come back with blood on them. Of

course, they were wolves, so maybe it was something they did often and the men

weren’t in the least shocked. Her mind told her that sucked as an excuse, but she

was too tired to really give too much of a damn.

Taking stock of all three men, she wondered exactly why they seemed so

calm. They all were staring at her as if they were waiting on her either to launch

into a song and dance routine or to start talking to herself.

“Your, um, pets saved my life, and you don’t even know my name. Angel

Harmon.” She stuck out her hand and walked over to the big fucker who had been

in the door when she tumbled in. He took her hand in his, and the feeling of his

warm fingers sent a shiver down her spine. Never in her life had she experienced a

touch so electric. She was captivated watching him lift her brown fingers to his

pink lips.

“Amory Monteclaire,” he said as he bowed, placing a kiss on her knuckles

that made her knees knock together. The way his deep inky-black hair fell around

his shoulders as he bowed made her want to run her fingers through it and see if it

felt like the silk it looked like. His lips were soft against her skin, and she was bereft

with loss as he let her hand go. She didn’t think to put her hand down and she

gaped at his amazing green eyes, even as he stepped back and allowed the other

two to introduce themselves.

“Griffin O’Connor.” The blond-haired one bowed to her as he took her hand,

which was still suspended in the air, and kissed her knuckle. Griffin’s eyes were a

shocking sterling gray color that held a hint of mischief. The gleam in his eye

reminded her of one of the wolves when she’d been scratching their ears in the

snow. Somehow she knew Griffin was a troublemaker; it was in his touch, in his

eyes, and in that Cheshire smirk on his face that made her wonder what secrets he

held.

“Dimitri Panagakos.” The third man stepped toward her. He had a deep

auburn shade to his hair, and his eyes were the color of the morning sky, a bright,

brilliant hue. His demeanor seemed more subdued than the others, and perhaps

more skeptical. She couldn’t really blame him. In her books, if someone stumbled

on to your hiding place, it usually wasn’t by accident.

She nodded at each of them and looked up at the ceiling. The ceilings were

vaulted and in good shape. This was definitely not a hunting camp where a few

families got together and had community dinners and bonding after a day of

hunting. From the looks of the antique décor and the fact that Amory was walking

around without a shirt, this was definitely not a family place.

Turning her attention back to Amory, she tried to smile, but the expression

quickly turned to a frown as she noticed his eyes appeared to be an even brighter

green than they’d been the first time she’d noticed them. She shook her head and

cleared her throat.

You are seeing things because it has been a long day. Get a grip,

girl!

“Nice to meet you all. And your pets too. They literally saved my life out

there.” She watched Griffin as he handed Amory a stack of clothes from under his

arm. Amory nodded at Griffin and took the clothes. When he turned to her, Amory

had a mysterious grin on his face. She looked at the stack of clothes in his hands as

he handed them to her. The mere thought of having to be in wet jeans made her

teeth chatter.

“Of course my friend here would give you my favorite T-shirt. These should

keep you warm until we have time to dry your clothes,” he said as he laid the

clothes in her arms. His

favorite shirt happened to be very similar to one of her

favorite T-shirts. The shirt was a simple black shirt with a lone wolf howling at the

moon screen-printed on the front. Of course, her shirt was tattered and worn and

had holes in the front and back. She absently caressed the silhouette of the wolf of

the shirt and pulled the clothes to her chest, getting a hint of Amory’s distinct scent

still on his clothes. His scent had been surrounding her since she came through the

door, and now she found herself oddly pleased she’d be wrapped in it from head to

toe.

“Is there somewhere I can change?” she asked, although it sounded muffled

because her nose was still buried in Amory’s shirt.

“Through the door on the right, lass.” Griffin had a distinct Scottish accent,

and it made her giggle a bit, snapping her out of her sniffing fest. Maybe running,

almost being killed, and being saved by wolves was making her a little bit punch-

drunk. Her mind underwent so many changes in emotions, she knew she was

woozy and wired at the same time.

Oh, yeah, I had four energy drinks. I’m just

wired. As she thought, her gaze wandered toward Amory, his eyes still holding that

hypnotic glow. As if she were drawn, she walked toward Amory to close the space

he’d put between them and found herself wanting to crawl into his arms and rub

her legs up and down his. A lazy smile drifted across her face. The feeling was like

she was being drugged with really good cough syrup.

“A Scotsman, a Frenchman, a Greek, and a nerd were in a cabin in the

woods…sounds like a bad joke with a horrible punch line.” It wasn’t that she didn’t

want to stop her thoughts from being so erratic, but Amory made her feel

deliciously irrational. . Shaking her head again, she decided the running and the

fear must have caught up to her. Her feet seemingly kept taking her closer to

Amory, as if subconsciously she couldn’t bear to

not be near him. Which was

foolish because she’d been on her own for a long damn time. She didn’t need

anyone.

She abruptly turned toward the bathroom and started to walk away from the

hypnotizing man. Looking over her shoulder, as if he’d silently called her name, she

allowed herself to glance at Amory one more time. As she noticed his bronzed skin

and his square jaw, she dared to glimpse into his eyes one more time, and she

thought they were glowing even more. She could feel herself tremble from her

head to her feet.

What the hell is wrong with me? she thought as she fled to the

bathroom. Maybe she’d bumped her head harder than she thought when she

jumped from her car, because eyes didn’t glow. In her comic books maybe, but not

in real life. Of course, between stumbling onto a murder scene and almost being a

victim her damn self, she didn’t know what was real anymore.

As she closed the door behind her, she thought about the last few weeks.

When she’d first noticed the discrepancies in the access to the secure banking

website for the international mutual fund company she worked for, she’d done the

right thing and alerted her supervisor. He’d come back to her a week later, looking

nervous and sweating, handed her a bunch of flash drives, and told her to guard

them with her life.

Pulling the wet jeans from her body, she was thankful to be out of the soggy

denim. They made her legs feel like lead. She pulled the sweater off and threw her

clothes over the sliding glass shower doors. Her mind kept going over what she

knew. She’d kept logging the discrepancies until two days ago when the human

resources department called her into their office and fired her on the spot. Just

fired, like that! No warning, no severance package, and without a clue as to why.

She’d turned in her badge but took her supervisor’s laptop, and that was when

things had gotten weird.

As she pulled the huge T-shirt over her head, her thoughts came to a

grinding halt. The companies that had been accessed were Monteclaire

Investments, Griffin International, and Panagakos Fidelity. Shit! She didn’t even

think to put on the sweatpants as she grabbed the door handle and yanked it open,

causing it to crash against the wall. She ran out of the bathroom and skidded to a

halt as she saw all three men standing there. All three pairs of eyes were glowing

yellow, and their fists were balled.

She must have startled them, but what the hell? Yellow eyes? She shook her

head and focused again, and their eyes were normal—well, except for Amory,

whose irises kept getting brighter and brighter green.

This is not the time to get

flustered at the sight of the man! She chastised herself mentally and put her mind

back to the information she held. If she ever had a penchant for rambling, she’d

better get with it because they still looked ready for a fight.

“You guys, your names—you own the companies, fuck…” She was out of

breath, but she managed to dash toward the fireplace and scoop up her forgotten

messenger bag. She noticed they’d all crowded around her, but the one whose

presence stood out to her the most was Amory. His scent made her want to rush

into his arms and never come out.

She pulled out the laptop, flipped it open, and practically punched the power

button with her index finger. “Please work, please work,” she pleaded as the

machine made whirring sounds, stirring to life.

“What is it,

cherie?” Amory had taken a position behind her and started

rubbing her back. His hands were calming her and exciting her at the same time.

She took a depth breath and mustered the courage to walk away from his warming

embrace.

She looked around and spied a large bar separating the kitchen from the

living room. She plopped down on the barstool and tried to think. When Amory

was standing next to her, her mind experienced a fog, and it was impossible to

think. When she looked up from logging into the computer, she noticed they’d all

followed her and took places around her, Amory standing at her back, Dimitri to

her right, and Griffin in front of her. She looked like she was about to hold court.

Shaking her head, she tried to focus.

“I was on the run. You know this. I’m an IT technician at Brock Worldwide.

Or was.” She noticed they all stiffened at the mention of her previous employer.

“They canned my ass two days ago for no reason, and my supervisor was shot dead

because of something to do with your companies. Or I think they are your

companies. The names are so distinct, how could they not be?” She shrugged and

began to click icons, opening various windows on the laptop screen. “I mean, I

wasn’t trying to locate you—hell, I didn’t know you guys knew each other. I think

Brock Worldwide is trying to bankrupt all of you right under your noses!” She

sputtered her words out as the data she wanted finally opened on the screen.

She could see Griffin’s chest puff out over the screen of the laptop, and she

raised her eyes to meet his gaze. His body was poised for a fight. His eyebrows

were knit together in confusion but his jaw was locked tightly.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Griffin said, his voice low, angry.

She took a deep breath as her fingers began flying over the keyboard,

opening more files, praying she could sneak past the firewall and gain access to the

real-time tickler that showed the slow siphoning of money from all three of their

companies’ funds and accounts.

“I used to work for Brock. Two days ago they shit-canned me without so

much as a see ya and good luck!” She snapped her fingers to emphasize how

quickly they’d pushed her out the door. They wouldn’t even let her get a box to

take home her knick-knacks from her desk and told her that they would be shipped

to her. “I was fired because I found traces of strange access permissions into your

companies. At least I think that is why they fired me. Look.” She pointed to the

account ledgers of several different dummy companies that were draining the

three companies’ accounts every fifteen minutes with penny investments. If the

algorithms she discovered worked the way she thought they would, it would slowly

bleed the multibillion-dollar companies dry within a few years.

She pulled out the documents she had bundled in the bag and handed them

to Dimitri. One of the last documents she’d secured was the bank statements for

Panagakos Fidelity. She watched as he unfolded the documents, and he rubbed his

chin. He frowned as he scanned the pages and pages of bank statements.

“I don’t know who in Brock Worldwide is out to get you guys, but they

apparently have the patience of a saint if they plan on taking years to steal your

money.” Angel was relieved that finally someone else knew about the troubles

she’d gotten herself into, and she thanked whoever was above for letting her find

the very people she was trying to help and protect. She thought about her

supervisor. His death still ate at her conscience. If it weren’t for her digging too

deep, he might still be alive.

She turned a one-eighty in the barstool to face Amory. His company was the

largest and had the most money. It was the Monteclaire account in which she’d

first discovered the deceit.

“Mr. Monteclaire—”

“Amory, please.” He said as he bowed his head and rested his hands on her

shoulders. She took a deep breath and relaxed under his fingers as they kneaded

her shoulders. The foggy feeling started to take over her brain, and the strong urge

to sink into his toned arms and let them bear- hug her overrode all other thoughts.

Closing her eyes, her head bowed, she tried to find some form of strength.

“Amory, I think my supervisor died because of this. I want to help. I want

them to pay. We were only doing our jobs.” Her eyes welled with tears, and finally

the emotional turmoil of the past two days caught up with her. The tears fell over,

and she choked on her own breath. She sighed in contentment as Amory gathered

her in his arms and held her close. Enclosed in his tight embrace, she finally let the

sobs break free.

Chapter Four

Amory inhaled her scent as he comforted Angel. It was hard to be

comforting when he wanted to rip the head off something. Landon Brock had been

trying to kill them for the past fifty years. He’d also known that with the Pack

Centuri wiped out, Brock’s own clan would assume a power position within the

Council of the Fates.

Being a wolf shifter wasn’t all running and rutting, as much fun as those

activities were. There were responsibilities and those who needed to be protected.

The Pack Centuri were protectors of the weak, the ill, and the helpless. His line

protected the centuries-old banking ties that kept the supernatural beings of the

world funded and working under the noses of mortals. Brock wanted more money

and needed power in order to declare war on the mortals. In Brock’s opinion,

mortals should be enslaved and made to serve. His plan to overtake earth was

more than a few decades in the making. Amory’s pack had been charged with

making sure Brock’s devastating plan never made it to fruition.

Now, just when he’d thought they’d backed Brock into a corner without

outright killing one of their own (which was forbidden unless a jury trial was given

by the council), this woman had stumbled in with evidence that Brock was merely

pretending to lay low.

Holding Angel close, he picked her up off the barstool and took her place on

the worn leather, settling her on his lap. He sensed her heartbeat increase even

though she didn’t tense up. That was a good sign she was not stiff in his arms, it

meant she had some trust for him. Instead, she leaned into him and steadied

herself by wrapping her arms around his back. Even for a wolf shifter, the instant

attraction to her was just bizarre. He needed, wanted to think about the plots to

steal everything the Pack had, but all he could think about was Angel’s warm legs

on his lap. He released her only to reach for the laptop. Turning the laptop toward

him, he began going through the pages and pages of ledger lines that showed the

slow bleeding all their companies were facing. How had his people not noticed the

breach?

Dimitri chose that moment to speak to him telepathically, as all members of

the same pack were able to do.

They didn’t notice because there is a magical ward on the systems, Brock

must have put a cloaking spell in place. I can feel magic all through the system.

Dimitri’s unique gift was the gift of black magic. Even though they all had

gifts, some were more pronounced than others. What made their pack the most

powerful and the most dangerous was that all three of them possessed a unique

power granted to them at birth by the Three Fates, or as they knew them, the

Mothers of Creation. Dimitri was capable of sensing magic, and even casting a few

spells of his own. Griffin, his oldest friend, could control the elements—earth,

wind, water, and fire—and Amory had the power of telepathy and telekinesis.

Then how did she find it, Dimitri?

I would say… He watched as Dimitri closed his eyes, sniffed the air, and

smiled. Composing himself, his ward stared at Amory with an air of certainty.

would say one of the Fates intervened so your mate would be led directly to us.

Griffin looked toward Amory, who was still stroking her back, trying to calm

the sobs of his Angel.

He may be right. I think the Mothers might have intervened to bring her to

you. It’s time.

Amory hugged her close and could feel his nose twitching. The full moon

only increased their need to mate. He’d known it was far past time he found his life

mate, but no one had the scent. None were

his Angel. Funny her name was Angel.

He’d been mentally calling her an angel since he’d seen her face.

However, he couldn’t deny the scent coming from Angel was the scent he’d

been waiting for most of his adult life. Amory growled deep in his chest. It was

going to be a long night.

He could feel every single emotion running through Angel’s body. His gift of

telepathy told him that not only was Angel speaking the truth, but she was every bit

as attracted to him as his was to her. It was probably wrong of him to invade her

feelings and her thoughts as he did, but he couldn’t help himself. She’d been

throwing off her attraction since she tumbled through the door. He probably

should concentrate on the lines of numbers and watching his money slowly trickle

away, but he couldn’t think about anything but her. Her thoughts of him made it

difficult not to take her back to his bedroom and make love to her through the

night and into the morning.

He smells so good. His skin is so warm. I’ve never been so…safe. Jesus, I need

to get a life. I must be lonely. Wanting to surrender my body to a total stranger like

this. I should get off his lap. I should, but not yet. Just a few moments longer.

Her arms tightened around his torso. Her fingers were digging into his back,

and his inner beast growled deep in his heart,

mine! She wasn’t even aware of what

she was doing to him clinging to him like this. He gave up all pretense of giving a

damn about what was on that laptop. He pushed it toward Griffin.

Picking her up, he carried her to the futon near the fireplace. The newly

stoked fire had finally blazed up to full roar, and it still couldn’t compete with the

way his blood boiled at the feel of her in his arms. He settled them both on the seat

and cradled her in one arm while his other arm draped across her long legs. His

fingers traced up her calf. He couldn’t resist that simple touch. Then he

remembered he was a gentleman, and he stopped caressing her, but he let out a

sigh. Using his gifts for her good, he tried to tell her to relax and calm herself.

You are safe. Calm yourself and relax. He sent the thoughts to her and her

body bristled and tensed. That was a first. Most mortals never

felt him speaking to

their minds.

“I know what you are trying to do, and I’m calm. I just don’t like feeling

helpless.” She wiped at her face and sat up in his lap. She rubbed her palms over her

eyes, swiping away the last evidence of her tears. Amory was shocked that she

could feel his telepathic connection so easily and had called him on it.

“

Excuse moi, but what am I trying to do?” Amory sat back, putting his arms

over the back of the futon. He purposely thought about the fact he could still see

the soft white cotton thong she wore. His gaze was still on her face, but the way her

sexy chocolate ears went red and she looked down at her legs, her eyes d going

wide all the while, he knew damn well his mate could sense everything he thought,

and she didn’t even know it.

“The rubbing, the soothing words, all that. It feels great, and I feel safe in

your arms, but I don’t know you. And stop looking at my undies.” She tried to get

off his lap, but he grabbed her waist and held her still. To test his theory that she

was already experiencing the bond between them, he used his power of telepathy

to invade her mind but this time spoke to her directly, as himself.

You are a very beautiful woman. How could we not want to help you? Your

“undies,” as you say, are very cute, by the way. Simple and sexy.

To his surprise, she turned her head and met his gaze with a fire blazing in

her eyes.

“I don’t need fake flattery to give you what I know. I was already doing that

before I even—”

“Fake flattery?” Amory didn’t even let her finish that sentence. He didn’t

understand how she didn’t know her value, her worth. Her rich chocolate skin

made him wish he had a sweet tooth, and her soft body gave the impression of the

finest silk under his callused fingers.

“Why are your fingers callused, anyway? I thought you were a white-collar

office worker, silver spoon in your mouths and all,” she said, cutting off his

thoughts.

He couldn’t hide his shock at her hearing the thoughts he wasn’t purposely

throwing at her.

“We’ve done plenty of jobs, sweeting. We weren’t always suits in offices,” he

responded but he realized she didn’t even know she was picking up on his thoughts

without him voicing them. He looked over to see Griffin and Dimitri looking at

each other in confusion. They couldn’t hear the internal conversation between

Angel and Amory, but he and Angel both were answering out loud to unasked

questions. He knew they couldn’t hear Angel unless he invited them into their

mental circle.

Our Angel can hear us. Isn’t that right, Angel? He included her in his thought

to see if she would respond.

“How can I not hear you? You’re talking, aren’t you?” she said absently as she

lifted herself off his lap. As she rubbed her arms, he stood and walked over to his

pack. Griffin and Dimitri both quickly dropped what they were doing and stood

behind him.

Look at us, love, Amory commanded and waited.

She lifted her head slowly and stared at Amory, and glanced at the other two

before returning her gaze to Amory’s eyes.

They all cocked their heads to the left and stared at her.

Tell us what you feel. Amory stood still and waited for her to respond to his

silent command.

“I feel like I’m crazy, because I hear your voice, even your accent in my head,

and you’re lips aren’t moving. I feel

you,” she said, pointing a finger at Amory’s

chest, “in my head, on my skin, and you aren’t even touching me.” Amory smirked.

Can you hear me too? Amory was actually shocked that Dimitri spoke. Out of

all of them, he was by far the most silent one.

“Of course.”

And me too, lass?

Amory smirked as Angel looked at Griffin with a confused look.

“Why are you asking? Of course I can hear you, and if I stop to inhale enough

air, I can smell you too.”

It was at that moment that Angel chose to bend over and pull her socks off

her feet. It gave them an unhindered view of her rounded ass. It made Amory

wonder if she could handle a good spanking, because that thick ass was calling for

a good smack.

“And here I thought spankings were only for when you were being bad.”

Angel sassily tossed back at him, looking him in the eyes as she finished pulling the

socks off, then she stopped and looked at each one of them individually. The socks

tumbled from her hand, and she stood utterly still.

“You haven’t been talking out loud, have you?” She looked at Amory. They all

shook their heads simultaneously.

“I’m not crazy, and you’re really talking to me in my head?”

“You’re not crazy, my Angel.” His voice sounded husky even to his ears.

Angel looked at Amory and cocked her head to the side. She looked at them

all, and Amory knew damn well what she was feeling. He wouldn’t pretend to even

know how to explain why she was experiencing what she was feeling. The legacy of

the Pack Centuri was that once the Alpha found his life mate, she’d be able to feel

and mentally link with every member of the pack, depending on how pure of a

heart the mate had. Angel Harmon must have a heart of pure gold.

She sank to the floor so fast it seemed like her legs gave out from under her.

She grabbed the hem of the already too big shirt and pulled it over her knees. With

her hugging her knees, his heart constricted with sympathy when her innocent

brown eyes finally gazed at him.

“Slow the hell down. Pack, life mate, alpha, and all these other words you are

tossing around are way over my head. Well, not really. I read a lot so it doesn’t

escape me, but that would mean, and that’s just not…” She squinted, and those

chocolate eyes actually looked accusing. “What are you?

Exactly.”

Chapter Five

She’d read enough of her comics and occult books to believe for herself that

there were supernatural beings of some sort out in the world, whether it was aliens

or spirits, but she just knew humans were not the only life forms. There was a lot

she could’ve ignored if she chose to, but some things about these three couldn’t be

blamed on taking a knock to the head. The way they read her mind was one of

those things. Also, the fact that the wolves had never come back after she stumbled

into this cabin made her think there was much more to the three very handsome

men who were in this secluded place in the woods.

There were no other women in sight, and not one female touch on the place.

From their good looks, she would have made the assumption they were playboys

and had whisked some thin models up here to show off their cabin. Yet, from her

own gut feeling, she knew damn well this wasn’t just a vacation for them. First, in

all her days of camping, she knew there would be snow boots, hiking gear, skis, and

all sorts of things piled by the door drying out from the snow, and there weren’t

any.

Dimitri’s growling had her on edge since she’d heard him do it, and when she

was sitting on Amory’s lap, she could almost feel the whimpers of emotional

distress coming from his chest. Whether he thought he was covering it up or not,

she could distinctly hear the whimpers of a puppy when she laid her head on his

muscled pectorals. When her father would take her hunting, she’d always

suspected she could hear the animals and where they were. It was probably why

her father had always called her his lucky charm.

She thought about how the wolves had let her scratch them when anyone

with common sense wouldn’t have tried to pet a wolf. They hadn’t given her a

warning growl when she raised her hand to touch them, and as crazy as all of it

may seem, the only thing that made sense was that they were the wolves. Amory

hadn’t seemed startled when she came over his threshold damn near ass over

teakettle covered in snow. One wolf had taken off ahead of them, and that led her

to think that one would have been Amory.

“Show me I’m not crazy. Show me I’m safe. Show me I’m not really lying out

there in the snow and having a crazy dream because I’m dying.” Her voice was

husky, and the air became thick. She shouldn’t even be saying what she was saying,

but honestly, what did she have to lose?

“It’s best to get the shock over with quickly, and explain later,” Griffin said as

he nodded at Amory. Amory nodded back and then nodded to Dimitri.

Watching in awe, she was transfixed as she watched Griffin, Amory, and

Dimitri began to strip in front of her. She turned away from Griffin and Dimitri,

choosing to stare at Amory’s feet. He even had nice feet.

“Look at me.” Amory’s authoritative tone made her bite her lip and raise her

head to make eye contact with him. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted

to as he took the hem of his T-shirt and began to pull the cotton garment over his

tight, toned abdomen and over his head. He tossed the shirt to the side and put his

hands quickly to the waistband of his sweatpants

. This wasn’t happening. He

wouldn’t dare just take his pants off, would he? She preferred to look at his face

than see—well, not that she didn’t want to see but… Oh, fucking hell.

His smirk was evident as she focused on Amory’s pink lips. She shook her

head and tried to focus. Amory stepped out of his pants and rolled his neck. He

stuck his head high in the air, and a fog began to roll into the room. Her head

turned to each man’s face, her eyes bulging in disbelief. Their noses elongated into

snouts, and their teeth transformed into sharp, deadly fangs. She clasped her hand

over her mouth, covering her gasp as their hands shifted from human ones to furry

paws. A green mist filled the room, and when it cleared, Angel knew she was

staring directly at the three wolves that had saved her. She could’ve screamed, but

at that moment, looking at three mammoth-sized wolves staring right back at her,

she experienced the safest feelings she’d had in her entire thirty-five years on the

planet.

She beckoned the wolf that stood in Dimitri’s spot to her by crooking her

index finger and making a “come here” motion. With his brindle coat, a mix of

golds, auburn, and some black, she just wanted to sink her hands in his fur and feel

if he was real. She stroked behind his ears, and his tail began thumping on the floor.

Shit, that feels too good, Thea mou. Angel chuckled at Dimitri’s exclamation.

She was no goddess.

Yes, you are a goddess, Amory confirmed when he inched closer to her and

nuzzled her foot with his nose. Amory’s fur was a deep black, like tar, with white

markings around his eyes and mouth. She gave him a scratch behind his ear, too,

with her other free hand.

You speak Greek? Dimitri said as he rolled onto his back with his paws in the

air.

“Yes, and French, and German, some Italian, passable Portuguese,” and she

looked at Griffin. “I haven’t learned all Scottish slang yet, but I’m getting there. I’m

just a nerd with a knack for getting into trouble, it seems.” She was really losing her

mind. This couldn’t really be happening to her. She was surely lying dead in the

snow; the men had gotten her.

Griffin, whose fur was a deep brown and white, chose to walk over to her

and give her arm a nudge with his head.

Look at us. Griffin’s voice was even accented and husky telepathically. You

are very much alive. This is real. We are real.

She looked at Griffin, then to Amory. His wolf eyes were a warm brown color

that reminded her of autumn leaves with crisp golds and browns. The purity of his

gaze startled her. She looked at Griffin, whose eyes were still the same sharp gray

they were in human form, and to Dimitri, whose ice blue irises were almost ghostly.

Yet, Amory’s eyes had been a startling green in human form.

Green means I found my love, mon coeur. Amory’s reply was a sonorous

sound, as if he was trying to seduce her even in wolf form.

“We’ve only just met, Amory.” She sighed. Even as lovely at that sounded, she

found it easier to believe they were werewolves than it was to believe he, the

gorgeous wolf and even more gorgeous man, was in love with her. Lust, she could

believe—she suffered lust every time he looked at her. She could have sworn she

saw the big black wolf snicker, or at least his body shook as if he were laughing.

“Are you always going to be in my head?” She looked at him. Privacy was her

middle name; she didn’t like having her thoughts invaded.

Only until you learn how to block me, but I’m not trying to hear your

thoughts. I can feel you, everything about you.

She looked at the others.

Just me, love. I can feel you—they can hear you.

That word again. Love. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in it—she wasn’t

bitter—she just had never comprehended the idea of love. The sensations she had

for Amory was beyond words.

A lot like love, Amory said. I understand it may be hard for you, but

shifters—we just know, at first sight. It is common for us.

“There is nothing common about any of this.” She laughed and rubbed her

hand over her face. She was thinking rationally, at least she thought she was

rational, except when Amory touched her and then, even as crazy as it seemed, she

couldn’t help but feel that somehow fate had intervened to bring her to this place

in the woods.

“What are you, anyway, besides werewolves?” They shifted back to their

human forms, again, the snouts retracting and the fur disappearing before her

eyes. Within a minute, they were all sitting around her, cross-legged and human.

“One, we are not

werewolves. Those are the ones that are cursed. They’ve

been bitten. We were

born,” Dimitri said with emphasis. “We are shifters,

protectors of the earth.” Dimitri reached for his pants and shirt. Turning her head

toward Amory, Angel somehow suspected in her heart that he was an anchor she

could lean on. Wolf shifters existing, she told herself, she could accept. Yet the part

of her that made her fear was the mysticism, and she couldn’t even begin to

understand why and from what the earth needed protecting.

Griffin, she noticed, had dressed too. She stood, thinking she should go put

on pants since Amory had already commented on her underwear.

Girl, get it

together. You really need to get a grip. She clenched and unclenched her fists. They

should really repurpose the phrase TMI, because I’m definitely on too much

information overload.

Amory snickered. Then he had the audacity to smile. He did have a killer

smile. The thought made her frown. The one time she’d seen Landon Brock, he’d

flashed a smile that was sinister. That thought brought her back to why she was in

the woods in the first place.

“Do you think Landon Brock sent those guys to kill me?”

“Lass, I’m certain,” Griffin said as he took the laptop and walked out of the

room down a long dark hallway. That made her shiver. How would she possibly

survive?

“Don’t worry,

Thea mou. You have us and Amory. You’re a part of our pack.”

“You’re still a pack, like wolves?” She was trying to get her logical and

sometimes too rational mind to wrap around the fact she was sitting around

talking to wolf shifters. She wasn’t even going to address being a part of their pack.

Dimitri tilted his head and smiled. “Yes, we’re a pack, just like the lion

shifters are still a pride, and believe me, you are definitely a part of this pack.” He

looked at Amory, nodded, and disappeared down the long hallway.

“Okay then, who is the Alpha?” Her eyes settled on Amory. It wasn’t like

Griffin nor Dimitri had left her a choice.

“That would be me,

mon amie. I am the Alpha of the Pack Centuri, from the

isle of Corsica.” She almost laughed at the way he pushed back his shoulders and

puffed out his chest.

“Such a proud man you are, Amory.” She looked around at her surroundings

before her eyes settled back on Amory. If anything, even if Amory weren’t in love

with her, maybe she’d finally made some friends. It would be fun to hang out up

here like she did with her dad.

“But I

am in love. I’ve been in love with you since I first caught your scent

outside. We are different than ordinary mortals that way. For a wolf shifter, it is

love at first sight or nothing at all.” Amory’s words made her quiver, and she

backed away from him, watching him with wide eyes as he took a step toward her.

His slow stride was almost predatory, and she took one more step backward.

“You can put your pants back on now,” she said, shielding her eyes from

Amory’s swinging manhood. If that was what it looked like... She stopped herself

mid-thought, knowing damn well he would know if she even considered thinking

about him that way.

“No.”

“What?” Putting her hand over her eyes, she turned on her heel, wanting to

get away from him and his magnetism. Love at first sight didn’t exist. “Okay, freeze

your ass off if you want to, but you not wearing pants isn’t going to push me into

believing…umphf.” She didn’t have a chance to finish what she was going to say

because Amory grabbed her elbow and spun her around so fast she landed on his

chest before she could blink. He put his thumb on her chin and forced her face up

to look at him. His eyes were hypnotic. They were like jade stones submerged

underwater. She found herself swaying on her feet, and her arms circled Amory’s

waist without provocation. Her ear lay perfectly over his heart, its rhythm soothing

and arousing her.

“You’ll believe me,

mon amie, if you just let yourself feel that it is true. Close

your eyes.”

She closed her eyes and let herself stop thinking that she wasn’t good

enough for a brief second. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the act of love, but

falling head over heels because of a smell, a scent—it wasn’t that simple to her. Her

own father told her that he courted

his mother for a whole year before she even

agreed to be his boyfriend.

Yet, when she thought about the odd but powerful urge to dig deeper when

the names of their companies came across her malware quarantine list, she

deemed what she was doing was right. The more she’d looked into their accounts

at work, the more sure she was about the absolute need that compelled her to

protect their companies without knowing a damn thing about them. The vision of

them jumping over her head and wrestling down those hired killers made her

shiver. It was as if they were meant to protect her. Just like she was trying to

protect them.

The anticipation in the room was almost tangible, but she wasn’t ready to

open her eyes yet. She believed she was just about to stumble into truth. Then she

thought about the way she’d became immediately at home with his pack as wolves

while in the woods. When she saw them with bloodied snouts, she wasn’t afraid.

She thought about the wolf she now knew as Amory picking up the arrow and

dropping it at her feet. The way Amory had held her, cuddled her, and even laughed

at her rambling, she’d never endured feeling protected because she would never

have allowed anyone to protect her. Even her boyfriends hadn’t made her feel that

protected.

Her eyes opened. While she didn’t always believe everything she heard, she

did believe what she sensed. She hadn’t felt

home since her dad died five years ago.

No amount of work, comic books, reruns on TV, or bottles of very cheap wine

soothed the ache like being in Amory’s arms did.

Listening, she noticed she could hear his heartbeat as if they were playing on

a loud speaker. When she listened even closer, she realized she was hearing both

their heartbeats, beating as one rhythm. Now that was freaky. She pushed herself

away from Amory. Looking into his eyes, she tried to figure out how to ask her

question.

“So, where do we go from here, Amory?”

Chapter Six

Amory released the breath he’d been holding since he told her to close her

eyes. He hadn’t meant to sound mean when he told her he wasn’t going to put his

pants back on, but the last thing he wanted was a barrier between them. She wasn’t

wearing pants, and so neither was he. His inner beast told him to just mark her and

satisfy the aching desire running through his veins.

Had the circumstances not been so dire, he would have wined and dined her,

given her trinkets of affection, and would have coaxed her into understanding

what a wolf shifter needed in a mate, but the Mothers of Creation had decided it

wasn’t in his hands. He picked her up in his arms, cradling her as if she was a child,

and carried her into his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

At his thought, candles began to light around the room, illuminating the dark

room with their amber glow. He looked at her beautiful skin in the soft lighting.

Her chocolate tone made him want to lick her from head to toe. Walking over to

his California king bed, he laid her on top of the covers in reverence. He took a few

steps back from her; he had to get his breathing under control. He didn’t want to

scare her with the ferocity of his need for her.

“That still won’t stop me from feeling it, Amory,” she said, sitting up on the

bed. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked at him. “I can feel you—you

said so. I won’t pretend to know what all this means, but it just feels right.”

He couldn’t deny that it seemed right, but he knew what he was capable of,

as a man and as a beast. He didn’t want to hurt her or scare her, but he wasn’t a

small man, and his father had told him that once he’d found his mate, their

lovemaking would be ferocious and wild. Clamping his mouth shut, he tried to pace

himself and shove down the growl that had formed in his throat.

“Angel, I’m not going to rush this.” He clenched and unclenched his fist

twice before walking back toward the bed.

“Explain.” Her simple command made his cock twitch. She had no idea what

she did to him, and while he was being honest,

he didn’t know what she was doing

to him. What he did know was that the need to be with her overrode everything

else. He sank next her on the bed and buried his head in his hands.

“I’ve never had a mate,” he mumbled, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

He was an Alpha—he wasn’t supposed to be unsure. He was supposed to be hard,

arrogant, commanding… But with Angel he wanted to be gentle, pleasing, and

loving, and at the same time, he wanted to seat his cock in her warm body to the

hilt and not stop until they were both sweating and winded.

“Naturally, wolves mate for life. I know this.” Amory sighed, and she closed

the distance between them by scooting closer. His Angel placed her hand on his

neck and started to massage his taut muscles. Her fingers on his skin accelerated

his heartbeat to the point the sound seemed like it was thumping in his ears.

“I mean that I don’t know if I can control myself. I want you too badly—the

need to be inside you is too bad. I don’t want to scare you, and I know you don’t

have the first clue how being with a shifter can be.” Amory had never had any

qualms about taking women to his bed before, but this time, he wouldn’t touch

Angel unless she knew what it was she was doing. Mating now, under the full

moon, she was going to be bonded to him for life.

“You’re so wrong, Amory.” He stiffened and turned to look at her. No one

had ever told him he was wrong—no one had ever dared. A growl snuck past his

lips, and she merely smirked at him. She placed her hand on his chest and stroked

her fingers through his faint chest hair. Was she petting him?

Yes, I’m petting you, wolf. She ran her fingers up and down his pectorals

until his breathing was regulated and he no longer felt the need to growl.

Mon Dieu! The things you do to me. He folded his hand around hers as it

rested over his heart.

“I know. You do the same to me. When you are near me I feel like I’m in a

fog. I feel like something unknown is pulling me to you, like you are a magnet and

I’m just drawn to you. I feel drunk just being near you. Your scent drives me to the

point of distraction. I can’t stop rambling around you, yet you calm me. So, you are

wrong. I do

feel the same. I just don’t know what to think. Someone is trying to kill

me, there are wolf shifters, and you are supposed to be my mate. None of it makes

any sense, and yet it makes too much sense. Help me to make sense of this. What I

feel, this bonding, does that have something to do with it?”

It wasn’t a small thing she was asking. He was born into this life, and had the

advantage of knowing who he was since birth. He couldn’t imagine what it must be

like to be pulled into this world without consent. Sighing, he lay back on the bed,

unashamed of his nakedness, pulling her with him until she was nestled in the

crook of his arm. He pushed the mass of curls away from her face and, gazing into

those depths, an epiphany hit him. Talking about everything would take longer

than the hundred years he’d been alive. However, he could show her more than he

could ever say.

“Close your eyes for me, Angel.” He’d never done this before. However, his

father had told him when he’d first met his mother, her mind bombarded him with

many images of what she wanted to do to him in the bedroom. He smiled now,

remembering his father’s claim he was spent just receiving the mental images. His

mother was supposed to be a viscount’s daughter and act like a proper eighteenth-

century lady. However, when his mother laid eyes on his father for the first time,

his father knew that woman was his mate. . The mental link between a mate and

the shifter is what made the bond beautiful and dangerous.

Breathing in deep, Amory unearthed the buried memories of forty years ago.

* * *

“Get back! It’s going to blow!” Amory had yelled at Griffin. Amory had been

fighting his way through a warehouse, trying to see through the cloud of smoke.

Griffin had followed Landon Brock into an empty warehouse with Amory right on

his heels. This time, they were going to lock Brock in the deepest of jail cells, one fit

for someone as slimy and crooked as he was. He’d already killed one prominent

family of the council, and it was only a matter time before he killed again.

They’d followed Brock into a dark room, and when they’d thought they

finally had him cornered, the sadistic bastard lit a match and set a barrel full of

gasoline on fire. Then, like the bastard he was, he’d held a howling wolf pup over

the flames.

“This is the last member of the Paganakos family. You wouldn’t want to be

the cause of his death now, would you? He is just a puppy and doesn’t even know

how to really shift yet.” The mewls and yelps of the wolf cub tore at Amory’s heart.

Help me, please! It hurts so bad. Amory could hear the thoughts of the pup as

clearly as if they were his own. The lad couldn’t have been more than six months

old, but his power was great. Amory could feel the black magic in the pup, so strong

it made him gag.

What is your name, pup? I am going to need your help. Amory sent calming

feelings to the wolf pup even as the warehouse filled with smoke.

Dimitri, sir.

Okay, Dimitri, on my signal, I need you to show fang, got it? Amory knew it

wasn’t common to let wolf pups show their fangs until they were at least a year old,

but at this point, rules were made to be broken.

“Brock, you really need to put the pup down,” Griffin said, moving around to

a better position. They had Brock surrounded, but he was worse than a wolf with

rabies. He was a man hell-bent on world domination.

“I’ll put him down right in this fire, O’Connor. Back up! I won’t be stopped

this time. With the Paganakos line dead, you won’t have many allies left,

Monteclaire! We should be ruling the earth, not trying to fit in!”

Landon’s face contorted into a half-man, half-wolf shape that was so

grotesque it should have been in a horror movie.

Dimitri, now! Amory ordered and shifted into his wolf form. He charged

Landon as soon as the wolf pup bared his elongated teeth at his captor. Landon was

so shocked that he tossed the pup high into the air.

“Disrespectful bastard!” Landon growled. Griffin charged him just as Amory

leapt into the air and caught flying pup Dimitri in his teeth. Griffin was still in

human form as he wrestled with the half-shifted Landon, trying to wrangle a gun

from his fur-covered hands. It was a disturbing sight—Landon Brock’s limbs

covered half in fur, half in human hair, his nose elongated in the most grotesque

fashion that was neither a wolf snout nor a human one. His eyes were wild, dancing

between yellow and red.

He is mad, Griffin. Don’t get bit, Amory communicated to his packmate.

“We can’t just let him go, Amory,” Griffin said through gritted teeth as his

hands circled around Landon’s neck. Landon snapped his teeth at Griffin’s face, and

Amory could tell Griffin had had enough. He watched as his friend curled his

fingers into a fist, and, pulling his arm fully back, unleashed a punch into Brock’s

nose that was so hard, Brock immediately crumpled to the floor. Griffin had picked

up Landon’s abandoned gun and pointed it at the unconscious man’s head.

We can’t kill him, either, Griffin. That is up to the council. Amory shifted into

his human form and, using his power of telekinesis, beckoned a chain.

Wait. The wolf pup thumped his tail on the ground, his tongue hanging out

the side of his mouth.

Amory and Griffin both turned to look down at the exited pup.

I can bless the chains. My momma taught me. I can do and say stuff. She

showed me how. Dimitri’s tail banged eagerly on the ground.

Hurry, pup. We have no time. This place is going to be in flames in minutes.

The chains began to glow and felt hot to Amory’s touch as they wrapped the

heavy iron around Brock’s legs and hands. They’d turned him over to the council,

but Landon had pleaded that he was acting under the influence of a hateful witch,

although he didn’t name names. The last forty years had been relatively quiet, until

now.

* * *

Amory closed his mind and pushed away the memories of forty years ago.

He wondered how Angel would feel knowing that this battle with Landon Brock

was far from over, and that she’d just stumbled unknowingly into a hundred-year

war.

He could feel her breathing. It was slow and steady, and she seemed eerily

calm for someone in great danger.

Am I in danger with you, Amory Monteclaire? Her voice sounded sweet even

in his head.

Perhaps, mon couer. I don’t know if I can control myself around you. He

snickered. He knew he’d never hurt her intentionally.

Maybe I can’t control myself either—you are very handsome—but that isn’t

what I meant. Maybe none of this is in our control. Have you thought about that,

Amory? Have you thought that you have no say whatsoever in what happens next?

If Landon Brock wants us both dead, what is going to stop him?

I can’t allow myself to think that way, love. I’m the Alpha. Besides, there are

more of us that want to protect those on earth, and there are more of us that want

peace than the chaos Landon wants.

Yes, but you aren’t fate. Do you know my dad once told me that he believed I

was destined to do great things because my mother had me so late in her life?

Amory sat up and pulled Angel into his arms and cradled her.

“Tell me about you.” Amory wanted to hear her voice out loud. He felt so

alive with her, he wanted to hear her talk, hum, sing, and just make noise so he

could feel how alive she was.

“Not much to tell. I’m an only child. My mother had me when she was forty-

two, believe it or not. I was a miracle child, because neither one of my parents

should have been able to have kids. My father lost a testicle in the Korean War…”

Amory sucked in a breath. He couldn’t even imagine what that felt like, but he’d

heard dogs complain about getting neutered, and he imagined it was the same

thing. “Yeah, tell me about it. And my mother, well, she only had one working

ovary. It was one of the reasons they’d started dating after they found each other

again after bouncing around in foster care. They’d lost touch, gone separate ways,

but found each other again years later. They were jaded about having kids because

of the way they grow up, so they thought they’d be a perfect match—a missing

ovary and a missing testicle. It was quite the joke, but they really didn’t expect to

have kids with each other. Then, after fifteen years, out I came.”

Amory pulled her closer so he could feel her heartbeat and her heat. He

could easily fall asleep just holding her; he felt like he’d finally found the other

missing half to his soul.

“So Dimitri—he is kind of like adopted?”

“Yes. After that night he became a part of my pack. We, like wolves, once we

hit a certain age and find our mates, we branch off to make our own pack. Griffin

had a wife once, but she went mad trying reconcile her mind with what Griffin was.

She wasn’t his true mate, and he refuses to make that mistake again. Griffin and I

have been friends for the last seventy-five years.”

He could feel her stiffen in his arms. That was one part he’d been dreading—

telling her their ages. Dimitri was the youngest at forty-one, and he barely looked a

day over twenty-five. Then he felt her laugh. Her warm body shook as her deep,

husky laugh bubbled from her sexy mouth. Then she stroked his chest. Her pretty,

unpainted, simple nails scratched against his skin, and he felt his cock tighten.

“How old are you?” she asked innocently, but the whispered tone of her

voice sounded seductive. She curled her leg around his waist and crooked the

inside of her foot into his thigh, effectively pulling him closer to her. She was

sprawled across him like a lazy cat, and her nails left red marks on his skin like

claws.

“I will be one hundred and seven years old the day after Christmas.”

The minx laughed. A delightful sound, then she shocked the shit out of him

by flipping onto him, straddling his torso, and balancing her hands on his chest. His

first instinct was to buck his hips upward to meet hers, his hands circling her waist.

She took a moment to grind her hips back and forth and sighed.

“Then I guess I’ll have to take it easy on you,

old man.” She pulled his shirt—

that’s right,

his shirt—over her head and exposed herself to him. Words like

exquisite came to mind, but then pure want overrode any more thinking. He

wanted to touch those perky nipples and lick them at the same time. He licked his

lips as she stared at him.

“Did you just call me old man?” His hips bucked upward, and she lost her

balance, toppling onto him and squishing those sexy, voluptuous breasts. Her hips

and thighs were supple but toned. Must be from her years of running, he thought

as his hands roamed over her skin.

“Hey, if the shoe fits. I mean, you are…”

Smack. His hand connected with her

ass before she could finish that sentence. She actually purred back at him. Oh, she

liked it a bit rough, did she? She rubbed her leg up and down his, and he was done

thinking. His inner beast cried out “mine,” and he was going to take what was his.

His hand slid slowly and gently up her thigh, as if he were stalking his prey.

She didn’t move, although her breathing became more ragged, and her hands

clenched the sheets next to his head. As he held her like that, he lifted his nose to

the air and parted his lips to use his olfactory senses. He could almost taste his

Angel’s need, and the want and need to mark her seemed to take over his body. His

cock swelled as her scent settled over him. The beast inside him had no problem

taking her until she came on his cock and screamed his name; however, the human

side of him cared what she’d been through, how tired she must feel. She chose that

moment to roll her hips on his torso as if she were trying to take a lid off a jar. It

took all his will power to stop his fangs from lengthening to deadly points.

“I’m not tired. I can’t be, Amory. I can feel you want me as much as I want

you. It aches, Amory.” She put her hands on the side of his face and nuzzled her

nose against his as she stared into his eyes. Then she planted a simple but chaste

kiss on his lips. That wasn’t enough—it was just a tease, it was just a taste, and he

was a large man with large needs.

He let go of her hips and ran his hands up her back. Her body arched into his

like she was begging to be petted. He sank his hands into her thick curls and pulled

her head closer to him and devoured her mouth with his lips. As he ran his tongue

across her bottom lip, her lips parted, and she sighed into his mouth. Her sweet

sigh reminded him of honey. The urge to taste more of her was one he couldn’t

resist, so he gently thrust his tongue deeper, and his beast whimpered as she

slipped her tongue over his, mimicking his kiss with skill. The staccato rhythm of

her heartbeat matched his, sounding like mating drums in his ears. Her luscious

body writhed on his until the last of his restraint was gone. Tearing his mouth from

hers, he sucked in a breath. His fangs had fully descended. His beast would no

longer be denied.

Chapter Seven

“Angel.” It was all he could say; his chest was heaving, the urge to howl was

too close, and her lips were still pressing closed-mouthed kisses on his cheek and

his chin.

“Amory,” she returned. Her voice was serious, even if she had no idea what

she was doing or what he was saying. She sighed then laughed. Stopping her assault

on his body with her mouth—for which he was grateful—and sitting up, she

looked him in the eye. Her normally almond-shaped eyes were in the most

seductive slits he’d ever seen. There was something to be said about a woman who

could look at a man without a look of fear—he just couldn’t think what it was.

What he saw, in that moment, was the warrior his Angel really was. Her look was

sensual and defiant. His chest swelled as she stared at him. “What? You think I’m

going to cower because of what you are? You think you howling, growling,

grunting, and whimpering is going to stop this want I have for you? Are you really

that bad of a wolf, Amory?” That last question was asked in defiance, as if she was

daring him. “Well, are you? Are you that bad of a wolf that you don’t think I can

handle you?”

“Angel, I don’t want to hurt you.” His eyes searched her face. That was when

he saw it. It was a flash of anger followed by a challenging glare.

“You think I’m weak?” She pressed her hand against his chest, her palm

resting against his heart. His mental connection with her didn’t pick up on her

intention, it happened so fast. His peripheral vision saw her knuckles twitch

slightly before he felt the sharp pain of her nails in his flesh. His blood seeped out

of the half-moon cuts she’d left in his skin. The combined effect of the pain, the

astonishment, the gall of this woman, and smelling his blood in the air tore the last

thread of restraint Amory possessed. His growl started deep in his chest, his

breathing became ragged, and the strained howl of a wolf in need erupted from his

chest.

* * *

She didn’t know why she’d done that. The urge to goad him into showing

what he kept hiding from her made her dig her unpainted nails into his tanned

chest without remorse. No part of her being would stand being considered weak,

not after what she’d just seen and experienced.

“Woman…” His subdued tone was a warning, and if she gave a damn, she

would have heeded it, but she didn’t.

“You say you love me, yet you refuse to do what we both need.” She grabbed

his chin, his strong-set jaw, which was clenched so tight it was ticking. She ran her

thumb over his cheek, feeling the stubble of his beard and feeling the raised area

by his cheek. She knew underneath, his fang would be protruding and probably

hurting like hell, the firm set of his lips telling her he’d clamped his mouth shut

after he growled.

Her head dipped, and she smiled, a mischievous plot forming. She slid her

body down his large frame until her nose was over his heart. Licking her lips and

opening her mouth, she ran her tongue over the marks she’d made.

“I marked you first, Amory. How well does that sit with your beast?” she

whispered into his fine, dark chest hair. Her voice was eerily taunting, a surprise

even to her own ears, but her need to be with him, to feel him over her, his cock

stretching her pussy, dominated even her own inhibitions. It was, however, not all

she had left in her arsenal.

She suckled at his nipple, raking her teeth across his taut chest. Her other

hand worked between their bodies and slid down his sculpted abs. Her fingers

curled around the head of his cock, which was already dripping precum from its

bulbous head. Her thumb circled over the pearl of wetness, smearing it over his

head before enclosing his thick, long member in her hand in a vise-like grip. She

squeezed until Amory’s cock pulsed in her hand, the head twitching from the

pressure.

It was the last thing she did. With a speed that rendered her breathless,

Amory’s arms circled her waist, and with a Roman-style wrestling move, he flipped

her on her back, and had her arms pinned above her head in one hand, his other

hand on her stomach, holding her down. His eyes were staring down at her body.

She didn’t squirm; she just let him stare. She stared back, admiring his form, his

waist, the way his muscles were pulled tight and his veins bulged all over his

tanned skin.

“That was very provoking, c

herie. I don’t think you thought that through.”

She met his gaze defiantly, ignoring his sharp tone. . The hand on her belly moved

down her stomach, his index finger curled into the top of her thong. His other

fingers dug into the fabric, and with one tug, he ripped the panties from her body.

“Around me, you won’t ever wear panties again.” His hand smacked her pussy with

a thwack. The moan that erupted from her throat shocked her. His palm came

down again on her pussy, harder this time, and her hips bucked involuntarily. He

ran his hand up and down her pussy, sliding different fingers through her slit with

each pass—his pinky, his middle, his index, and his thumb—torturing her slit with

each swipe of his warm hand. Up and down his hand passed over her pussy, teasing

her clit, but not giving her any form of satisfaction.

Without warning, his middle finger slipped into her pussy, deep and hard.

Her moans were quickly stifled, his mouth coming down on her lips as his finger

plunged in and out of her wet canal. He slipped in another finger and spread her

pussy lips open before sliding his fingers back in. Faster and faster, he pumped her

pussy, her walls beginning to quiver and convulse. She knew she was breathing

hard, and she could hear just how wet he’d made her.

Then he stopped. Taking his fingers out of her pussy, he held them up so she

could see the glistening digits in the candlelight.

“See how ready you are to be mine forever? You are so wet for my cock and

my mark. Taste it.” She opened her mouth, and he stuck his fingers. There was

intense eye contact between them, his gaze holding hers even as her tongue

worked up and down his fingers, savoring every last drop. His gaze, for a moment,

broke from hers as he looked between their bodies. He let go of her wrists, instead

taking hold of one, and guided her hand to his manhood. Her fingers circled the

base of his cock, and her eyes fluttered closed. She couldn’t even make her

fingertips meet around his girth. She swallowed, but she was determined—she

needed him, wanted him, never wanting anything more than this moment. Her

hand closed around his cock and stroked again, winning her another growl from

him. She had to admit that turned her on, that growl of his. Her hips bucked

upward, and she positioned the tip of his thick cock at the opening of her pussy,

teasing him by sliding his long and powerful member through her moist folds until

it was covered in her juices.

Without warning, he pushed her hand away, grabbed his cock, and slid into

her soaked pussy, her walls stretching to accommodate him. He didn’t stop until he

was fully seated inside her. She felt like his cock was skewered through her, filling

her until she felt like she couldn’t swallow, but it was so good. She’d never been so

full in her life, and she craved more. Knowingly, she made her walls convulse

around his cock, the delicate folds fluttering around his pulsing member.

“You’re antagonizing the wrong wolf,

mon cherie.” His words were a

whisper. The sweat on his face proved he was still holding back. Damn him. She

didn’t know why his holding back from her struck a nerve, but it made her insane.

She wanted to believe this crazy night was actually happening, and to her, in her

logic, that meant Amory showing her exactly who he was.

“Oh, yeah. Then maybe I’m not your mate. Maybe I’m not the one for you. If

you can’t show me who and what I’m dealing with, then your talk of life and

forever is utter bullshit,” she hissed. It was probably ridiculous to be arguing with

him with his rod impaling her, but she felt betrayed, like she wasn’t worthy of the

full brunt of his passion, and it annoyed the shit out of her.

That did it. Or least she thought it did. His eyes turned from green to their

normal whisky color eyes. And were they menacing. She bucked her hips up and

down. Amory let go of her wrists, and his large hands clamped down on her waist,

and he pulled her down on his cock.

“If you ever say that to me again…” His voice trailed off as his eyes drifted to

the headboard. “Grab hold of me, now.” She complied because it was the first time

she’d seen his normal eyes, and if green meant love, then she didn’t know what

she’d done to snap him out of that state. Her arms went around his neck and her

legs around his torso, his cock still lodged deeply within her walls. He backed both

their bodies up until she felt the cool leather of his curved wooden sleigh bed. Her

back arched as he pressed his powerful and heated chest against her heavy breasts.

Her pussy quivered as his hands seized her ass, and he began to move her whole

body up and down his cock.

The insides of her pussy walls coiled around his cock. It was searing her, how

hot he felt inside her. Her hips rocked back and forth, matching his rhythm of

withdrawal and surging forward. Every time he buried himself deep within her, she

moved her hips side to side, arching her back when he withdrew.

Amory’s black hair was starting to stick to his forehead, and as he dipped his

head, she wiped the wet strands from his brow. His tongue circled her nipple

before enclosing the enlarged bud in his mouth, and she was in heaven. His lips felt

so soft and hot against her skin, and she sighed. He licked her nipple before trailing

his incisor along the puckered bud. He was teasing her, like prey, the tips of his

sharpened fangs trailing her skin before piercing gently above her right breast.

“Mine!” he snarled. And then he suckled at her blood until she felt delirious.

Here came that fog again. It felt glorious. Amory’s cock slid in and out of her, filling

her when he plunged in, making her feel bereft and empty when he withdrew. Her

moans filled the air, and she could smell the scent of their sex in the air. She didn’t

care—she finally had him where she wanted and needed him to be.

“I’m going to come, Amory.”

“You better.” His response was authoritative, as if she had no choice in the

matter.

She was stunned at his commanding tone until the rippling of the beginning

of her orgasm began to overtake her body and her senses. Her body quaked and

quivered, but Amory didn’t relax or relent in his prodding assault of her pussy. His

cock plunged in and out of her, and then he sunk his thick member deep, and held

still, and then began to move in short fast strokes, the head of his cock bottoming

out in her with every surge of his hips. Her orgasm poured over her and out of her.

Her eyes fluttered shut as the aftermath raked through her limbs. She could feel

wetness on her thighs as her legs quivered in her release. Her breathing was

ragged, but Amory had other ideas. He kept going, plundering her insides until

another orgasm crept up and out of her, a scream of delight bursting from her

throat.

“That’s right, Angel, come for us.” Amory’s voice was soothing. His

authoritative tone was still there, but soft. Her eyes opened. Instinctively, she

moved her head to the door. It was open, and she could see the silhouettes of

Dimitri and Griffin in the doorway. That was what he was reluctant to tell her. They

were bonded, a pack—what Amory felt, they felt. Understanding washed over her

lust-filled mind. The words Griffin and Dimitri had spoken washed over her.

You

are a definitely a part of this pack.

She swallowed and turned her head back to Amory. His eyes were a deep

rich green color, and his eyes held a look of promise, yet fear.

“You are my mate. They are bonded to me. I can understand if you are

scared, but to complete this, sealing you to me, you need to bond with them too.”

His words only solidified what she thought and felt. She’d thought the

mental bond was strong when she’d seen them. She looked down at where she and

Amory were still joined.

Will you be okay with that? She prodded him mentally. If anything, she didn’t

want to hurt his feelings if her passion got to be too much for her. She heard him

laugh in her head before she felt him actually shake from his laughter.

“I think we would like that very much, mate.” Amory’s lips curled into a

mischievous grin, and for the first time, she watched as the green color seeped into

his irises. It was amazing, watching his eyes do that, and his eyes made her feel

lustful and wanton. She looked over toward the door again, and while their eyes

hadn’t changed color, the shades of blue and gray had intensified.

“Good, cos I could smell her down the hall, and it was making it damn near

impossible to think.” Griffin’s Scottish burr made her laugh and moan.

Her pussy convulsed at the same time around Amory’s cock, and he groaned

deep in his throat. He nodded at the men in the doorway, and their presence in the

bedroom made it feel extremely small. Amory wrapped his strong arms around her

waist, pulling her slick body from his leather headboard and pulling her on top of

him. Almost exhausted from her two orgasms, all she could do was lean forward,

relishing the feel of his expansive chest under her. She felt the sides of the mattress

buckle as the weight of the rest of the pack settled on the massive bed. Taking a

deep breath, she looked up to see the two gorgeous men, already unclothed,

crawling over to her, stalking her, watching her every move.

Dimitri’s olive-toned thighs were muscled, and she felt dwarfed as she saw

his cock jump under her attentive glare. It had a beautiful color, and it made her

lick her lips. He grabbed her chin between his fingers, and Dimitri’s mouth swept

across her lips with a gentle but possessive caress.

“I told you that you were a goddess. Don’t you ever forget you’ve managed to

captivate the most powerful wolf shifter in the last century.” Dimitri’s voice was

harsh, commanding, as if her thinking too little of herself infuriated him.

It does infuriate him, mon cherie, mi amore. It pains him because he is

sensitive, and it angers me because you really don’t see just how desirable and

enchanting you are. No, I don’t think you are weak. I think your strength could

bring us all to our knees.

Amory’s private declaration settled around her like a blanket, yet the last of

her inhibitions drifted away, like a veil had been lifted. She moaned and lifted her

head for another one of Dimitri’s kisses. Then she felt Griffin’s hand slide across

the curve of her hip, caressing her ass. His fingers traced her right cheek, and she

felt warmth creep up her leg to her belly. It felt so good to be worshipped like this.

All six of their hands roaming her body. Her back arched toward Griffin’s caress,

and she felt herself give in to it all.

“You are so wonderful.” Griffin’s hushed words were breathy, and it felt like

a gentle breeze across her heated flesh. Her mouth formed an “O” as she felt

Griffin’s tongue lick her like she was ice cream. She raised her chest from Amory’s,

and Dimitri’s hands found her breasts, and his thumbs began to knead her flesh in

tune with Griffin’s nips on her ass. Amory held still, his eyes flickering as he

watched his packmates indulge in her body. The thought of Amory watching her

take pleasure made her shudder.

Then she felt Griffin’s tongue plunge into her nether hole, exploring her and

suckling her at the same time. Her knees trembled at the sensation of his hot

tongue buried in her and Amory’s thick cock twitching inside her. Dimitri’s head

dipped, and his mouth surrounded her breast, sucking as much as he could into his

mouth. All four of them groaned in pleasure, and her pussy contracted. She felt

adored, wanted, and utterly spellbound.

We haven’t even gotten started, mon ami. Open your mind to them,

sweeting. Show them you want them because you want me. Open yourself. Amory’s

command made her pussy flutter.

How do I do that? Amory, please. I want this so bad.

Tell them that. Call them. You are their Alpha’s mate. Tell them what you

need, command them. Take control. You aren’t weak, remember? They were trying

to please her, she realized and gave in to the emotions that came with being

adored.

Griffin, yes, don’t stop. Ready me for your cock. Griffin’s moan vibrated

against her as he plunged his tongue deeper into her sphincter, then slid his finger

inside her. He began to stroke in and out of her, fucking her with his digit.

Oh, yes,

just like that, Grif.

Aye, oh, lass you taste so good.

Doesn’t she? Amory’s words flittered through her brain. Their three-way

mind fuck had her feeling daring.

Dimitri, I need you too. Come here. Angel opened her eyes and met Dimitri’s

gaze as he straightened from suckling her breasts. He kissed her lips again briefly

and hesitated. She smiled in understanding. While this was new for her also, she

knew they all needed this moment more than anything. She grabbed his cock and

guided it to her mouth, licking her lips in anticipation. She brought his thick cock

to her mouth and licked around his tip, tasting him, getting lost in the sensation of

everything that was happening. Amory’s hands roamed over her body, teasing her,

exciting her, and making her feel drunk.

Ah, Dimitri, feed me your cock, baby, feed me all of it. Her eyes met his as he

glided his length in and out of her mouth.

Aw, hell. Griffin’s rough voice vibrated through her senses. She felt him rise

behind her, and then his cock was sliding up and down the crack of her moistened

ass. She shuddered as she readied herself. She arched her back, pushing herself

toward Griffin like an offering.

Are you ready, mistress? While the word mistress shocked her, it made her

feel empowered.

Yes. She was glad at that moment for a mental connection because she

couldn’t talk as Dimitri’s cock slowly slid in and out of her mouth. She tensed a

little when she felt Griffin place the tip of his own thick member at her opening,

but she relaxed when Griffin’s rough, callused fingers moved around her waist,

followed by Amory’s.

Breathe in and then exhale, mi amore. Relax and trust us. She could only

murmur her consent.

It was the last coherent thought she had as she felt Griffin push the first inch

of his cock into her ass. She could feel his engorged bottom vein pressing against

the flesh separating her ass from her pussy. Amory’s cock pushed upward, and that

was it. She felt herself allow Griffin to push the rest of his cock inside of her.

I’m so full! Angel’s thought seemed like it bounced off the wall. All three men

began to whimper as they all surged upward simultaneously, each in their own way

filling her to the hilt.

That’s it, my Angel. Take all of us. Dimitri’s voice was raspy, and totally sinful

as his hands coiled into her hair. He cupped her chin and guided his cock in and

out of her mouth. She dared to glance up. Dimitri’s face was a picture of peace and

pleasure. His mouth was curved into a smile, and with his eyes closed, his dark

lashes rested against his flushed cheek, he looked like a satisfied cherub. She

looked down at Amory, and his eyes were fixated where his and her bodies joined.

His eyes shone brightly, and she could see his excitement in his irises. His lovely

pink mouth curved into a gorgeous grin as he caught her watching him.

She returned the smile and began to buck backwards, meeting each one of

Amory’s and Griffin’s thrusts. She could feel the overwhelming sense of another

orgasm overtake her. It was building as she rocked back and forth, taking them

both as deep as she could within her, and Dimitri as deep as she could down her

throat. Amory’s hand left her side and centered between their joined bodies. His

thumb found her swollen clit.

Her hips bucked as Amory, her mate, ran his callused thumb over her

sensitive bud.

That’s it, mate. Let go. Let go. Come so I can feel your juices slide down my

cock as I pump into you.

Aye, lass, your ass feels so good. You feel like heaven.

Your mouth is so warm, Thea mou, so inviting.

Their accolades and their hands roaming her body made her convulse. Her

pussy clamped down on Amory’s cock, and she sucked more of Dimitri’s cock down

her throat. She bucked her hips back toward Griffin’s cock, and her toes curled.

That was it—she was done. Her orgasm washed over her in a torrential wave,

making her body shake, her juices pouring down Amory’s cock.

Griffin began to pump his thick rod in and out of her, faster and harder. She

felt his hips thumping against her ass, his powerful thighs ramming her forward

and his strong hands holding her still.

Here I come, lass. Oh, lass, oh, fuck. She felt Griffin’s cock swell and pulse

before he unleashed his seed deep within her ass, pumping his hips until his cock

stopped twitching. He slid slowly out of her, and she felt his hands leave her waist.

Dimitri pumped his hips faster, but keeping her hair pulled away from her face and

slowly enough that she didn’t choke.

Yes, Goddess, take my seed, please! Dimitri’s plea came just before he

exploded within her mouth, his sweet-tasting cum sliding down her throat. Dimitri

withdrew his cock from her mouth and planted a swift kiss on her lips before

kneeling and sliding off the bed. Amory’s arms circled her waist, and he began to

pump himself into her, harder, holding her sweat-covered body close to his. His

hips bucked up, stroking her deep.

That’s right, you belong to us now. You are my mate, always and forever. I

hope my brothers find mates half as sweet as you. You are exquisite, perfect, my

Angel. His tone was ragged, and he emphasized each word with a thrust. Tell me

you’re mine. Tell me you belong to me. Tell me now, Angel.

“Yes, Wolf, yours. I’m yours!” Angel bent and held on to Amory as he kept

thrusting up into her, filling her over and over again. He pulled her even closer,

and his hands came to the side of her head. He gently pulled her hair to the side,

exposing her neck to him. Angel shut her eyes as fatigue and another orgasm

began to settle around her. This time, it wasn’t a violent orgasm, just a shuddering,

shivering, body-quaking, rocking orgasm.

“Then bear my mark,” Amory whispered against her exposed neck, and she

felt his canines sink in, piercing her skin. The feeling of Amory in her, penetrating

her with his teeth and his cock, sent her over the edge. She felt Amory’s cock

stiffen, then pulse just as her pussy walls began to contract. The sensation was too

much. Her orgasm overtook her as Amory spilled his seed deep within her. Her

mind went blank and then black. She remembered Amory letting go of her neck

just as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She smiled and murmured,

“My

wolf,” before drifting off in an exhausted slumber.

* * *

Amory stroked his mate’s back as she fell asleep on his chest, her gentle

snores tickling his chest hair. What a night. He knew he’d have to do something

about Landon Brock sooner rather than later. He’d keep Angel hidden as long as he

could, but he knew this was about to get a whole lot worse before it got better.

He looked down at her, sweeping a lock of her raven curls from her

forehead, and realized this time, he had a hell of a lot more to lose. This time, there

would be no bargaining, no way out. Landon Brock had to die.

Books by Nevea Lane

With Shara Azod Presents –

B is for Backseat – Waiting in Essex

Black Licorice Forever

Eight Ball Side Pocket
If I Could Go (Prequel)

Love as Wide as the Atlantic

Not So French Vanilla

Party of Four

Prelude to Launch (sWet)

Prima Materia
Silver Bells and Straps

Sprint Heat (sWet)

Temporary Insanity

With Mocha Memoirs Press-

Aquarian Stars

Java Rain

With Beautiful Trouble Publishing –

Chased Through Montana

Chasing Nickels Around Dollar Signs

Disturbing the Yuletide
Falling Leaves in Autumn

Initiate and Ignite

Marked in Montana

Midnight and Mayhem

Ronni’s Romanian
Shaking Up the New Year

Stunt 101

Nevea Lane’s books can be found here:

http://www.amazon.com/Nevea-Lane/

http://beautifultroublepublishing.com/xcart/Nevea-Lane/

http://www.sharaazod.com/book-series/nevea-lane.html-0

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Amory's Mate
AM_Lane
- Amory’s Mate

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