The Cull: Claimed

By Renee George





Copyright Information

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then purchase your own copy from appropriate distributor. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement from the author of this work.

Copyright © Renee George 2014 All Right Reserved

Cover Art: Renee George





Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my best friends Michele Bardsley, Dakota Cassidy, Robbin Clubb, and Emma Ray Garrett for encouraging me to get off my ass and write, write, write.

Michele Bardsley – Your critiques and suggestions have made me a better writer and they made this book a better story. I love that you get me so completely. Dakota Cassidy – I can’t think of another person I’d rather be out on a ledge with. Our midnight talks keep me sane in an otherwise insane process. Robbin Clubb – There is no one I’d rather share my love of books with than my sister! Emma Ray Garrett – We practically started this roller coaster life together. You are a wonderful CP. I always know I can count on you for an unvarnished critique!

I’d also like to thank my dear friends in the writing community for their wonderful support and shares of my books: Robyn Peterman, Dawn Montgomery, Ditter Kellen, Eve Vaughn, Selena Illyria, Madeline Pryce, Patricia A. Rasey, Kate Douglas, and so many more.

Authors who support other authors completely ROCK!





Dedication

For my husband, with whom I have spent over half my life. thank you for always supporting my dreams, accepting my crazy moods, and loving me through all the ups and downs. I can’t imagine any other man who would have put up with me so long or so well.





Table of Contents

Copyright Information

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Culled Against Her Will

Conor’s Ultimatum

Anna makes a discovery

Conor makes his claim

That Happened

The Challenge

The Change

First Chapter Excerpt for The Cull: Protected (Book 2)

About the Author

More Books by Renee George @ Amazon.com





Claimed





Culled Against Her Will

When Anna Davis woke, her chemo-ridden limbs, no longer thin and bruised, pulsed with vitality and power. Am I asleep? Still dreaming? Hair clung to her face and brow. She lifted a honey brown lock away from her face and stared at it. She’d been nearly bald after her recent round of therapy, wearing wigs and scarves to hide her patchy scalp. Now her hair hung loose around her shoulders. It hadn’t been this color since her late twenties when she’d gone bottled blonde. She pushed back the tangled locks. Where am I?

Anna predatorily tracked her surroundings with a sweeping gaze.

The room had a low ceiling, concrete walls, and a floor littered with heavy, colorful blankets. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she caught the scent of something more than damp wool. Amazingly, her vision zoomed in and out, reminding her of the autofocus feature on her son’s digital camera, until she could clearly see who she’d been scenting.

A naked man, who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, sat cross-legged against the opposite wall. The lean muscles across his wide chest and arms created a maze of grooves and hard angles in his chiseled torso. A crop of black hair fell around his ears. His head was down, but she knew his eyes were the color of rubbed sage. Just like she knew his full, sensual lips curved like a bow ready to fire when he was deep in concentration. Conor Evans.

�śI should have known,” she said, unable to keep the anger from edging her voice. Another person might have been grateful to suddenly be cancer-free, but Conor hadn’t cured her. �śI made peace with death. You had no right to make me into this�Śthis thing.”

Conor flexed his arms as he combed his fingers through his dark hair, the move pushing the loose curls off his square, masculine face. The sight of him made her lower parts clench with need. In twenty years, he hadn’t changed. Anna couldn’t say the same. She’d been curvy her whole life, something she’d never been ashamed of, but age had a way of making the curves sag a bit, and cancer had a way of deflating the rest. Self-consciously, she touched her body. The emaciated woman she’d been before waking up in this room was gone. Even though her lush body had reappeared, it didn’t matter how good or healthy she felt, she only had one thought: I didn’t choose this life.

Last week, Conor showed up at her chemo treatment and begged her to let him save her. He wanted Anna to become like him�"a werewolf. When she’d worked as his assistant, he’d told her about his tribe and their ritual of culling. He’d explained that the last cull had taken place during the Great Depression. His mother, a struggling jazz singer, had been one of the invited. Shortly after, Conor had been born�"a first generation lycanosapien. An evolutionary breed of werewolf and human.

Conor still looked so young for someone who had lived more than eighty years. Seeing him made Anna realize she’d never stopped thinking about Conor�"never stopped loving him. Turning down his offer had been difficult and painful, but she’d made her peace with dying and had been firm when she’d told him no.

What he’d done to her, taking her and changing her without permission, was forbidden by his kind. Werewolves only took the willing. This wasn’t her choice, she thought again, while trying to ignore the small, niggling hope worming its way into her brain.

When they’d met in the 90s, Conor had been a doctor�"a researcher in the field of medical biology�"and Anna had been his assistant while she finished her education. She’d been married at the time with a baby. All the same, she’d fallen in love with Conor, and he’d trusted her with his secret. For the sake of her family, she refused to leave her husband Robert for Conor. Later, Robert cheated on her, but she couldn’t deny that she’d claimed the first betrayal�"a betrayal of the heart. Had Anna left Robert in the beginning, she might have saved them both�"along with their son�"many years of grief.

God! Her son. Sam. He was twenty-one now. Her stomach lurched. Because Conor had changed her, she’d outlive her own child�"the main reason she’d turned him down.

Anna couldn’t take the quiet tension in the small room. �śWhy? Make me understand, Conor. Why would you go against your own laws to do this to me?”

Conor’s didn’t speak. His penetrating gaze made her uneasy, but not afraid. He wouldn’t go through all this trouble just to harm Anna. She looked around the room again to avoid his stare. She grasped at the blankets under her butt and her fingernails scraped against the dirt floor beneath. Strangely, the contact with the cool earth calmed her nerves.

This had to be one of the many dens on the tribe’s large plot of land in the Ozark Mountain Range in northern Arkansas. She’d always wanted to see the beauty he’d described when he talked about home�"the rolling hills, clear springs and falls, the flowering catalpa trees, and the fresh scent of pine.

Conor leaned forward, pressing his knuckles against the floor and moving to his knees. He sniffed the air�"a quick inhalation. He cracked his neck to one side before his gaze locked with hers. In this position, Anna could see that his gray-green eyes were nearly black.

He crawled toward her. She pressed her back into the wall and turned her head, not afraid, but somehow instinctually knowing that direct eye contact could make the situation escalate. His hot breath huffed over her skin.

�śWhat are you doing?” She couldn’t keep the shakiness from her voice.

The heat from his body warmed her skin as he closed the distance between them. Anna froze when he rubbed his rough cheek against hers, his hands traveling down her arms while an inhuman growl rumbled from his chest and his words left no room for debate. �śYou. Are. Mine.”

Crap! A part of her wanted to yank off her panties and throw her legs wide open while screaming, Take me now! But the saner part of her brain bitch-slapped her libido and told it to back off. �śGet away from me,” she said, trying to put as much command in her tone as he’d had in his. She wanted to tell him to fuck off. She wasn’t his or anyone’s for that matter. She belonged to herself and no one else.

Conor chuffed, his breath blowing against her ears. Anna turned her head slowly and met his eyes. �śDon’t you dare fucking big, bad wolf me, Conor Evans.”

Hearing his name made him blink. He growled, but backed off. �śI could be in a lot of trouble for bringing you here.”

�śThen why did you do it?” Why would he take the risk? His veins pulsed and rippled like snakes under his skin. She’d never seen him like this, not even the one time he’d shifted into wolf form for her as proof of his species’ existence. His eyes watered as his soulful gaze met hers. �śI couldn’t let you die.”

�śSo you’d rather die. That makes no sense.”

He pursed his lips and shook his head. �śI want you to live, Anna. You had days, weeks at the most. I couldn’t convince you and I couldn’t think straight. I could never think straight when it came to you.”

A sob escaped from Anna’s lips. She put her hand to her mouth to stifle another cry. �śI didn’t want this life, Conor. I didn’t.”

He closed the distance between them, this time wrapping his arms around her shoulders and drawing her in. �śI love you, Anna.”

It was the only apology she would get from him.





Conor’s Ultimatum

Watching Anna stare at him with such defiance and courage, Conor couldn’t regret his decision. This close, she smelled of earth and nature, and beneath those scents, he could smell her desire. Her gorgeous body, so thin with illness the day before, vibrated beneath him with restless energy.

If Anna told the pack she hadn’t chosen to be part of the culled, they would punish Conor outright�"no defense and no trial, only judgment. It didn’t matter that his father was a tribal elder or that he was a first gen. They would not show leniency.

He’d resisted the urge to run his thumbs over her bra�"the blue satin fabric barely concealed her tightly drawn nipples. He’d always loved her sexy curves, the ample shape of her ass, her round hips, and full breasts. More than her body, her indomitable will and inner fortitude had made him fall hard. She’d always been the most spirited woman, human or lycan, he’d ever encountered. He couldn’t give up on her. The disease had taken her will to fight, and he’d taken this measure to help her find her strength again. The strength to live.

Her gorgeous brown eyes, deep set and large, were wide as she kept them averted. She had a small nose with a slightly broad tip that twitched when she became nervous. It twitched now. Conor wanted to soothe her fears, but it was all he could do to keep his beast from completing its claim to Anna.

Finally, she turned to him�"her pupils so dilated only a hint of her chocolate irises remain. Her rounded lips parted in a soft pah as her warm hand pressed into his chest, keeping inches between them. If he tilted his head forward their lips would meet. They’d only kissed once when she’d worked as his assistant, and he would give the world to taste her again.

Anna’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears as her unwavering gaze held steady with his. She finally spoke, her voice tight and strained. �śConor. Don’t.” Her fingertips caressed the hair on his chest in an act of betrayal to her words.

The musk of her arousal made his cock hard and made him ache to touch her. He deeply inhaled her again. The sweet, pungent odor of cancer had disappeared. Her scent�"the one he’d memorized all those years ago, the scent he still smelled in his dreams�"had reverted to its healthy state. When her fingers grazed his stomach he bared his teeth.

Fuck! He wanted to sink his bite into her flesh�"to mark her as his own. Without thinking, he snapped his jaws.

Anna gasped. She dropped her hands to the floor, clenching fistfuls of the blankets beneath her. �śYou’re scaring me.”

He could sense her fear mixed with anger and another emotion, one that had very little to do with being afraid. Inside, he cried out in rage and triumph. Rage, because he’d never force his claim on her, and triumph, because he knew she would offer little resistance if he did. �śI won’t hurt you.”

�śYou already have.”

�śLet me save you, Anna.”

She blinked�"a tear spilled down her cheek. �śOh Conor. How little you’ve changed.”

Conor wiped the tear with his thumb, placed it to his lips, and drank her sorrow. He couldn’t keep the truth from her. Not anymore. �śIf you want to leave, you can go.”

�śBut I can’t now. You’ve taken away that choice.”

He caressed her face. He loved Anna, and real love had a price. He chose to let her go if she truly wished to be free of him and his world. �śYou’re still human.”

Shock and disbelief animated her expression. �śHow can that be? I’m not sick. I feel stronger than I ever have in my life. My sense of smell, my hearing, my sight�Ś Hell, my body.” She cupped her large breasts. �śIt’s like I’m thirty again. I don’t understand.”

Explaining would have been complicated if Anna had been a layperson, but she’d spent time at his side in the lab. �śI’ve developed a serum using the enzymes from lycanosapien saliva. Its effects are�Śtemporary,” he said ruefully. �śYou can go back to your life.”

Her eyes widened, and she couldn’t keep the excited tremor out of her voice. �śAm I cured?”

The question felt like a kick to his gut. �śNo.” He couldn’t keep the anger from his tone. �śThe cancer will come back after the effects of the serum wear off.” He gripped her by the shoulders. �śPlease. Let me change you, Anna. I�"”

Conor froze as the energy in the room shifted. Anna tensed. Her eyes widened for a moment�"and he knew Rebecca Johnson had entered the den. Anna’s gaze narrowed in on the woman behind him. He cursed himself for not sensing her sooner.

Rebecca’s sultry, low voice echoed in the small space. �śI can’t believe you spurned me for a bitch who doesn’t even want you.”

Conor’s stomach clenched as a growl rumbled through his chest. How long had Rebecca been listening? The concrete dens on the tribe’s property were built to keep sound muffled, especially in their human forms, but if she’d been at the door�Ś He couldn’t think about the consequences. If Anna agreed to the culling, the point would be moot.

He’d been family-bound to Rebecca. They’d both been first gen�"littered together�"and their parents had made arrangements for them to mate in their fortieth year when they’d become adults.

He turned to look at her, unsurprised to see her lean body completely naked. �śWhat are you doing here, Rebecca?”

She tilted her head sideways. Her long red hair brushed against her arm and fell over her small breasts. She pursed her lips, her cheeks flexing as she scrutinized Conor and Anna. �śI’m trying to figure out why you’d turn your back on me. On us.” She pointed at Anna. �śFor this pathetic human.”

When Conor had petitioned the tribe to receive special dispensation to go to college and study medicine, the elders had granted his request. This had effectively changed the terms of his binding contract with Rebecca. He’d been working to find a treatment for the infertility in lycanosapiens when he’d met Anna. He’d kept up the research until the day he’d found out Anna had developed cancer. From that moment on, he’d turned his efforts to curing her instead.

He’d failed.

In his research, he’d discovered an enzyme in his saliva that made his kind impervious to human diseases. He’d tested the isolated enzyme on several terminal patients in the end stages of cancer, and while they initially exhibited signs of being healthy, the effects wore off in days. Subsequent injections were less and less effective. Four out of the five patients in his trial study had accepted his invitation for transformation, but only two had survived long enough to take part.

Conor regretted his inability to save the other two patients, but it was too dangerous to change a human outside of an organized culling. The reconstruction of a person’s body to that of a lycanosapien could be extremely painful and deadly. It’s why the tribe only changed people in a controlled environment and only after they’d pumped the invited full of sedatives. Even then, the newly converted werewolf would need the support of the tribe upon awakening.

Because he’d been born a wolf, Conor would never know what a culled member went through when altered by bite and blood. But he knew with certainty, if Anna didn’t allow him to change her, she’d return to her fragile state of health in a couple of days, and be dead in a couple of months. All his work would be for nothing.

�śMy wolf claims you as mate, Conor Evans.” He heard Rebecca drop to her knees behind him. �śIf your woman won’t submit, then you must allow our second natures to decide.”

Rebecca, by right, had first claim on Conor, but she’d never have him where it counted. He kept his gaze trained on Anna. She seemed strangely calm now�"her demeanor almost cold. �śI have chosen you, Anna Davis. In all my life, I will never love another. You are the ruler of my heart and body, but if you refuse the invitation, then I’ll let you go.” He squeezed her shoulders for emphasis. He needed her to decide now. �śI want you, but I will take Rebecca. It’s my duty to my kinsmen and to my tribe to take a mate.”

The pull of Rebecca’s wolf was hard to resist with his own animal so close to emerging. When she rubbed her breasts against his back, her fingers tangling in his hair as she kissed his neck, he didn’t respond but he didn’t stop her.

�śI won’t let you go,” Rebecca whispered fiercely.

Anna threw herself forward, wound her fingers into Rebecca’s long hair, and yanked her sideways. �śDon’t fucking touch him, bitch. Conor is mine!”





Anna makes a discovery

Anna had felt tricked and betrayed, but on learning Conor hadn’t really changed her, only given her a short reprieve, another emotion occurred. Disappointment. It felt like the first time she thought she was pregnant. She hadn’t been ready for parenthood, hadn’t been sure if she loved Robert enough to share the responsibility of a child, but when the test had been negative, she’d mourned for all the possibility of that new life. She hadn’t wanted Conor to make her a lycanosapien, but now that she knew he hadn’t, she grieved the life that might have been.

She’d been prepared to let him go, but when the tall and lanky woman, with her perfect face and perfect body had skulked into the room, Anna’s disappointment turned into bitterness and jealousy. If she rejected Conor, his life would go on without her. Worse, his life would go on with Rebecca and her perfectly buoyant breasts.

Even when she’d been married to Robert, she’d never been the jealous type, and he’d given her plenty of reason to go through his clothes and check for lipstick stains on his collar. Maybe I didn’t care because he wasn’t Conor.

She yanked Rebecca’s hair again, resisting the urge to punch her. The man-stealing bitch rolled to the side of Conor, coming up on the balls of her feet and fingertips. An attack stance. Rebecca’s lips curled back revealing sharp canines, unnaturally large, designed to tear into prey and enemy alike. Her eyes were golden and wolfish, her nails elongated into claws, and her muscles bunched on the edge of transformation.

Anna should have been frightened. The display should have made her recoil in terror, but she was a dying woman with little to lose but her life. So instead of cringing and cowering, Anna barked a laugh.

The abrupt sound stopped Rebecca better than a full on assault. The woman jerked her head to one side, as if the noise Anna made confused her.

Anna fixed her gaze on Rebecca until she forced the other woman to look away. That’s right. I’m not scared of you. �śCome near Conor again and I’ll give you the fight you’re spoiling for, bitch.”

Conor stared at Anna as if she’d just grown a second head. �śGo, Rebecca. Now.” His expressions shifted as if he were sifting through a gambit of emotions and couldn’t land on any of them. When Rebecca withdrew from the room completely, he sat back on his heels. �śDoes this mean you want me, Anna?”

His hesitant question gave her pause. She could see a fragile hope in his expression. So fragile, she worried the wrong word might shatter him. Did she want him? Yes. She’d wanted Conor Evans since the first time they’d met. But she had other responsibilities, even now. How could she justify having an existence where she would outlive her own child? Dying before he could marry and have children of his own was bad enough, but to outlive him, outlive his children�"the idea was too painful to consider.

Did she love Conor? Yes. Did she love him enough? The answer came with two suitcases full of uncertainty and doubt. �śIt’s not that easy, Conor.”

�śBecause you won’t allow it,” he said with a rise of irritation. �śI’ve always known you were more, Anna.”

�śMore than what?”

�śI don’t know if I can explain it in a way you’ll understand.”

What did he see in her? She’d never been certain. �śTry me.”

He rubbed his face briskly, his eyes turning up in concentration. Finally, he looked down at Anna. He held his hands out. �śOkay. For lycanosapiens, there is a structure. A hierarchy.”

Anna remembered him telling her about this when she worked for him. �śAn alpha system.”

�śYou remember.” He smiled and took her hand. �śYou are a rare anomaly. A human who has the traits of an alpha, even if you don’t have the supernatural strength.”

�śI don’t get it.”

�śYou made Rebecca look away.” He circled her palm with his thumb. �śYou dominated her without lifting a finger.”

�śYou knew I could do that?”

�śI suspected.” He shook his head. �śI’m very dominant, Anna, and there have been times when I’ve felt the strong urge to bend to your will.” He shook his head. �śI’m doing a lousy job of explaining. You drew me, Anna. From the first time we met, I never wanted another woman the way I want you.”

She wet her lips, her breath hitching while her lower parts tightened with desire. �śSo, you are like�Ś what? A moth to my flame. A fly to my bug zapper. PMS to my chocolate.”

�śI wouldn’t put it that way.” He leaned in close to her again and brushed his lips against her ear. �śBut if you want me to eat you, I’m definitely up to the task.”

Anna’s pussy clenched with a jolt of strong desire as she imagined Conor �śup to the task.” She craved his hot mouth all over her body. When the heat of his hard length brushed against her thigh, she groaned. �śWhy are you naked?”

Better question, why wasn’t she naked? The bra and panties she wore might as well have been chastity belts. They were thin reminders that she had a choice in what happened next.

�śI went for a run while you were sleeping.”

�śYou mean unconscious,” she quipped. She narrowed her gaze. �śYou don’t mean jogging, do you?”

He smiled sheepishly. �śNo, not that kind of running.”

�śDidn’t think so.” She’d watched him transform to wolf one time. The process had been quick and painful to watch, but the result�Ś His wolf form had astounded her.

His lips caressed the side of her neck making her body constrict with lust. She couldn’t think with him this close�"touching her. �śMaybe you should go back to the other side of the room.”

�śIs that really what you want?”

�śNo.”

When he licked the side of throat, she moaned and blindly reached for him. He kissed and nibbled his way down to her shoulder, but when his teeth grazed her collarbone, she jerked away. �śNo, don’t, Conor. Please. No teeth.” She knew how lycanosapiens were created. Bite and blood. He’d explained the process to her all those years ago, and while she knew she wanted to wrap herself in the warmth of his body, she didn’t want to commit beyond the moment.

�śI won’t,” he panted.

�śPromise me.”

�śI promise.” He kissed her shoulder. �śNot without your permission.”

Anna laced her fingers into his hair, allowing his green eyes to drink her in. �śOh Conor. I feel like we’ve waited forever.”

�śWe have.” He closed the distance between them, burying her mouth with his own. His lips parted, making room for her tongue as they sipped and drank the passion already blazing between them.

In all her years, even when she’d been healthy, Anna had never felt so alive.





Conor makes his claim

Conor burned with a fevered passion he could barely control. He’d promised Anna he wouldn’t take more from her than she willingly gave, but as her tongue tangled with his, her lips teasing and nipping as she moved her hands along his chest, he worried she’d make a liar out of him. He rubbed the surface of his palms up her sides until he cupped her covered breasts. Next, he unsnapped the front latch on the bra and freed the soft, mounds of flesh. He brushed his thumbs across her taut nipples. His cock responded with a hard jerk. Tearing away from the kiss, he dipped his head, taking one rigid nub into his mouth, sucking and teasing until Anna cried out with pleasure.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her onto his lap�"the only thing separating his cock from her hot pussy was a thin pair of saturated panties. She ground herself against his groin, making them both moan. He wanted nothing more than to be inside Anna�"to take her hard and fast until her climaxing screams echoed throughout the camp. But fast and hard wouldn’t get him what he wanted long term: Anna’s permission.

He lifted her and placed her back on the pile of blankets. Anna hissed as he trailed hot kisses down her stomach, lightly grazing her velvet skin with his canines. He tugged her panties between his teeth and growled as the scent of her arousal firmed his resolve. I will make her mine.

Gently, Conor lifted her leg and placed it over his shoulder. He pressed the back of her thigh, lifting her ass from the floor as his mouth connected with the heat of her sex. He licked the satin fabric and smiled when soft noises of surrender passed her lips. He hooked a finger between the soaked panty and the swollen lips of her pussy.

�śIn me. Oh God, I want you in me.” Anna spread her legs for him, inviting Conor to take more and more.

Her pleas brought his beast even closer to the surface. The slight shift stayed below his skin except for the razor sharp claws extending from his fingertips. He curled his fists into the crotch of her underwear, his nails easily slicing the damp cotton, and yanked.

Anna bowed forward, crying out as the satin underwear tore from her body. Conor looked up and met her gaze, her eyes wide with wonder, and her full sensual lips parted in a sexy pout that made his balls draw to his groin. �śSweet Anna,” he whispered, deliberately punctuating her name by delving between her swollen labia and licking her pussy from her succulent opening to the tender mound of flesh at the top. He sucked her clit into his mouth, watching her face as he teased and tormented the sensitive bundle.

He dug his fingers into the blankets, claws slicing through fabric until they found purchase in the earth. It took every ounce of self-control not to bite down on her engorged clitoris and let her blood mingle with his saliva. It would be so easy to let instinct override his morality.

�śOw, fuck,” she panted. The sound made him ease the pressure he’d been applying.

As an apology, he licked her bruised flesh. He hadn’t broken the skin. No harm. No foul. Her juices, fragrant and sweet, flowed into his mouth as he drank the pulsing heat of her sex.

�śGoddamn it, Conor. I’m going to come.” Her voice, constricted with need and desire, had raised an octave. �śI need you in me now.”

Hearing his name from her lips made his heart skip a beat. He wanted nothing more than to thrust into the warm, lubricated heat of her delicious sex, but if he did now, he knew he wouldn’t last. Not with Anna. �śI want you to come again and again,” he murmured against her skin. �śI want to feel your pussy explode while my tongue is deep inside you. Only when you’ve been completely sated, then I will fuck you, Anna. I’ll fuck you so good.”

�śYes,” she gasped. �śYes.”





That Happened

The edges of an orgasm burned any doubt from Anna’s mind. At least any doubt about having sex with Conor. His hands and mouth on her body were even more erotic than she’d imagined all those years ago. God! Why had she denied herself this pleasure when she’d been healthy? You were a fool, her body screamed. That’s why!

She propped herself up on her elbows and watched�"mesmerized�"as his mouth explored the wet slit of her pussy. When his tongue darted inside, she moaned. �śOh Lord,” she whispered. �śSo good.”

She fisted his hair with one hand, his head undulating beneath her grip as he licked and sucked and fucked her with his mouth. Rocking her hips forward, she urged him to go deeper, his tongue dancing over the sweet spot just an inch or so inside her channel. �śOh God. Oh God.” The slow burn of lust and desire raged into a

bonfire threatening to consume her with its heat.

Conor snorted, hot breath blowing out across her skin as he wrapped his arms around the backside of her thighs, lifting her for better access. He darted his tongue in and out. She felt him so impossibly deep. When his teeth scraped her clitoris, the stimulation drove her over the tenuous edge. She cried out as the flood of ecstasy tore through her, her pussy clenching and unclenching at the relentless stabs of his tongue. She threw back her head and arched her back as her hips bucked and legs quivered in his grasp until she could only make desperate noises of total surrender.

When she could finally breathe again, Anna stroked her fingers through Conor’s thick hair as he nuzzled his cheek against her thigh. �śWell,” she said, exhausted and sated. �śThat happened.”

Conor tilted his face toward hers. �śYes, it did. And it can happen every day for the rest of your life if you’d only say yes, Anna.”

A tingle stirred in her groin, the beginnings of arousal, as his words glided on her skin. With her heightened senses, she could see his face glistening with her fluids. A more modest part of her thought she should be embarrassed to have the evidence of her excitement plastered all over his scruffy cheeks, but the part of her that had ridden the wave to nirvana found the sight sexy as hell.

Anna sighed. Longing and need drew her lower parts tight again when he licked around his mouth and smiled. To say he wore a wolfish-grin might sound cliché, but she couldn’t think of a better way to describe how truly pleased he seemed. �śYou know I can’t.”

�śI know nothing of the kind. There’s no reason for you to go back to that�Ś Life.” He spit out the word as if it were bitter fruit. He’d started up her body, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him. �śI don’t understand, Anna. Make me understand.”

�śSam.” She blurted softly. Her son.

When Conor had offered her a new life, she’d made all kinds of overtures about being ready to die. Getting sick hadn’t been part of her plan, but she’d come to accept it in the end. She’d made preparations, had her will in order, her funeral already paid for, and arrangements had been made for her son. Anna fought the hot tears threatening to roll fat and heavy down her cheeks. She’d just shared a beautiful, magnificent moment with the love of her life, and all she could do was mourn a future she wouldn’t live to see. �śI can’t live, knowing my son won’t be there with me at the end.”

Conor jerked away from her. His glare pierced the darkness to the depths of her soul. �śI never thought I’d say this of you, Anna. But you’re a coward.”

His words slapped her across her face�"more damaging than an open hand. She flinched. �śHow can you say that to me? Without you in my life, I’ve had to be brave every waking moment.” She’d regretted turning him down all those years ago, and since then, she’d had to find a way every day to make it without Conor. Sam had been the one person who’d kept her from losing her mind.

�śNo.” His anger made her recoil. �śYou hide when things get tough, Anna. I don’t know why I thought now might be different. When it comes down to it, you always make the easy choice. Not the choice that will make you happy, but the one that disrupts your life the least.”

�śStop it,” she said. Her own rage simmered. �śJust stop.”

�śWhy should I? What do I have to lose? You?” He barked a sardonic laugh. �śYou’d actually have to be mine for that to happen.”

�śFuck you, Conor Evans.” Anna shoved him, but he didn’t budge. �śYou don’t know anything about my life or the choices I’ve made. None of them have been easy.” She scowled and leaned forward until her nose nearly touched his. �śStaying with a man I didn’t love. Not easy. Living a life without you. Not easy.” Anna poked Conor’s chest. �śYou say I’m not yours. Well, asshole, I’ve never been anyone’s but yours. It has been a complicated and miserable existence without you. My son has been the only light in an otherwise dark life. So, excuse me if I’m reluctant to watch him die.”

His eyes widened and the edges of his mouth softened. He caressed her cheek, his fingers tracing the edge of her ear. �śThen watch him live.”

�śWhat?” His words startled her. She’d spent four years fighting cancer. Four years of coming to terms with death. She’d left nothing unsaid between her and Sam. His life would go on without her.

�śWatch him live.” His mouth moved over her lips, brushing them with a light kiss. �śYou’re so focused on him dying. You forget he’s only twenty-one years old, Anna. He still has years ahead of him. Years of falling in love, getting married, having a career, buying a home, having children�"all these wonderful things will happen for Sam, and you, well, you won’t be around because you’re too afraid it will hurt when old age finally takes him.”

Anna gasped as a sob broke from her chest. She couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her cheeks. Was Conor right? How many times had she wished she could be around to witness Sam become a man? Conor was offering her exactly what she needed. Time. Could she make this choice? The choice to live?

�śYes.” The word, full of emotion, bypassed her brain as it tumbled from her lips. �śYes, I want you to change me. Make me a part of this cull,” she said clearly, so they would both know she meant it.





The Challenge

Conor’s stomach flipped and his palms began to sweat. He’d longed to hear her say �śyes.” Prayed she would say �śyes.” But never in his existence had he really believed she would. Anna Davis was the most stubborn woman he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her curvaceous figure and ample breasts might have been what he first noticed about Anna, but her conviction to her ideals had been the reason he’d fallen in love with her.

He’d kept his expectations low, having been resolved to the idea he would probably have to go on without her in this world. But she’d said �śyes.”

�śAre you sure?” Mentally, he kicked himself in the ass for not just sinking his teeth into her, but he didn’t want Anna to feel coerced. He wanted to make sure she was certain. �śIf you say yes again, I won’t give you another option.”

His gut clamped into a contracted ball as he waited for her to respond.

She leaned back far enough for him to see her large brown eyes blink once. Her lips parted in a soft sigh. �śYes, Conor Evans. Yes.”

Conor had never been a sappy or sentimental man, but he wanted to roar his joy loud enough to shake the trees. Instead, he pulled Anna close again. �śOh Anna, my Anna. My love,” he murmured, his cheek pressed to hers. �śI’ve waited so long.”

�śWill it hurt?” Her lips brushed his jaw. �śI want this, Conor. Mostly, I want you. But I’m scared.”

�śI’ll make it as quick and painless as I can. The pain fades.” He kissed her neck, nipping lightly as she tensed in his grasp. He would have to partially shift in order for the bite to be effective. It was one of the reasons they usually gave the chosen a sedative before proceeding. The actual change took twenty-four to forty-eight hours to complete, and the transformed human felt a burn as the lycanosapian’s bite and blood destroyed and rebuilt their DNA structure.

�śYou should let me give you something to help you sleep through the process. It will make things easier.”

Anna’s mouth quirked into a simple smile. �śAren’t you the one who accused me of always taking the easy route? No, Conor. If I’m going to do this, I’m doing it with my eyes wide open. No sleeping through a minute of my life. Not anymore.”

Looking deep into her eyes, he tried to pour all the love and pride he felt into his gaze. He gently kissed her, pulling her into an embrace. �śI’ve dreamed of this moment, Anna. I’ve dreamed of you so long. I can’t believe you’re finally in my arms.”

She climbed his chest, taking his mouth in a fierce kiss of possession. Where their skin touched heat blossomed. When her fingers gripped his erection, he shuddered. He grasped her ass, lifting her slightly, and she moaned her pleasure when his fingers found her swollen heat.

�śFuck,” he groaned, burying his face against her breasts. �śYou’re so goddamn wet. Still so ready.”

She straddled him, and in a brisk downward motion seated his cock deep inside her drenched pussy. The lubricated heat of her sex gripped him tight, driving him to the brink of release. He dug his nails into his own thighs�"cutting into his skin�"to leash his control.

When she began pistoning her hips against him, he growled, �śAnna, stop!”

She froze in place. �śAm I doing something wrong?”

Her incredulous expression made him chuckle. �śNo, just the opposite. You’re going to make me come before I’m ready.”

Anna pursed her lips, a devilish smile tickling the edges. �śTough shit, Sally.” She rocked her hips forward and made a soft �śah” sound, all the while holding his gaze. �śWho’s a big, bad wolf?” Humor danced in her eyes.

A flush of heat rushed through Conor. If she kept it up he’d come too quick. Anna might not know it, but she was challenging him. He slid his hands up her back, tracing the curve of her spine, until his fingers laced into her thick, honey-colored hair. Fisting a handful, he yanked her head back with a gentle but firm tug.

Challenge accepted.

He placed his teeth against the apex of her throat and chuffed�"the measure enough to make Anna stop moving. Slowly, he scraped his claws against her scalp. She wanted to see a big, bad wolf. He would fucking give her a big, bad wolf. He nibbled at her throat, savoring her racing pulse as it danced on his tongue.

�śConor?” Hesitancy had replaced her mirth.

Anna’s strength, her inner-power drew Conor, but the slight tremor in her voice made him want to fuck her until she cried out for mercy�"until she begged him to do it again.

�śYou don’t know what you do to me, Anna Davis.” He yanked her tight against his chest and felt the first shift of his muscles and bone moving beneath his skin. He nuzzled the space between her collarbone and neck. His tongue slipped past his growing fangs to taste the beads of sweat pooling on her skin. �śHow you test my control.”

�śOh God,” she moaned. �śI can feel you getting bigger inside me. How is that possible?” She leaned back, breaking the skin to skin connection with his chest, and stared at Conor. �śYou’re�Ś You...” Her eyes titled down his chest and back up to his face.

Conor knew what he must look like to Anna in his anthropomorphic form. Not quite man�"not quite wolf�"all monster. The shift was necessary for the change to take place. His chest rumbled at her scrutiny. �śAfraid I’m going to eat you?”

�śYes. No,” she panted. �śI’ve never seen you like this.”

His forearms lengthened as he easily lifted her, moving them both until he was on his knees. In a swift motion, he had her shoulders to the ground, her body displayed for him--the warm grip of her pussy held him captive. Her heaving breaths made her clamp around his length. With his cock, painfully hard, buried so deep in her sweet, tight pussy, he knew he could never go back to the loneliness that had consumed him before this moment.

It had been one thing to fantasize about the amazing creature in his arms, but actually having her, tasting her, loving her�Ś The fantasies were a pale comparison to the reality. Conor would rather die than go back to that existence. He leaned over, his body longer, broader with his vertebrae stretched up and out, and scraped her breast with his teeth.

�śOh God,” she whispered�"her gaze searching his face.

�śI’m going to take you, Anna. I’m going to take you and claim you and make you mine. Mine.”

She arched, her hands wrapping around his head to hold him close to her breast, and moaned in response. �śYes.”

Conor slowly withdrew his cock until just the tip remained seated in her. He sucked her nipple between his teeth, lathing the tender tip, as he enjoyed her squirming against his hold. Her mewling protests inflamed his desire. He thrust his hips, driving his length deep until his groin slammed against her swollen clitoris, and she cried out. Her fingers clasped and clawed to find purchase.

She had already taken more than any human could, and he knew it had to be because of the injection he’d given her the night before. So when Anna shouted, �śMore, oh God, Conor, more!” he took a generous portion of her breast into his mouth and bit down, her blood hot in his mouth, as he thrust, quick and hard, sucking at the wound and savoring the last of her humanity. With sharp canines, he bit through his tongue, adding his own blood to hers to complete the transfer of the lycan gene. It had to be a combination of blood and bite to work, nature’s way of preventing accidental turnings.

When Anna began growling and grinding harder, rotating her hips with enough force to take him to his knees if he hadn’t already been there, Conor peered at her through wolf eyes. She’s turning. It was too quick. The actual change took up to two days to complete, but Anna’s brown eyes had already lightened to the color of blended whiskey and her ears had taken on points. It had to be because of his serum.

His mate! His love! the wolf cried within him, finally joining in with his choice. His beast rarely interfered with Conor’s decisions, but the way his wolf embraced Anna, he knew he’d been right. He’d always been right. �śSo fucking sweet. So fucking mine,” he murmured, his mouth still moving over the bite marks. �śTell me you’re mine.”

Anna shuddered violently, her voice taking on a low, guttural tone. �śI. Am. Yours.”

Her submission drove his need. His balls tightened as he stroked into her body, driving her shoulders into the blanketed floor. At this pace, it wouldn’t be long before he came, but he couldn’t stop himself. The force in him that needed Anna�"that would die without her�"would not relent. Her expression was a mixture of pain and rapture and savage yearning as she grunted and moaned with every plunge into her changing body.





The Change

Anna couldn’t control the hard bark of pleasure as Conor filled her, not just with his cock but also with his essence. He forced life into her dying body with his love�"with his devotion. The bite had been painful, almost excruciating, but only for a second. The moment he began licking and sucking at the punctures, the pain turned to a form of pleasure that burned in her blood. The thumping of her heart sounded loud in her ears making her want to scream to pierce the thick, muffling noise.

His deep, penetrating thrusts drove her wild, satisfying the agonizing ache pulsating just under her skin. She watched him through slitted lids, amazed at how his shift had not changed her desire. The widening of his eyes, the thickening of his brow, the sharp teeth and claws�"they should have frightened Anna. But all doubt and fear had washed away the minute she’d said, �śI. Am. Yours.” No three words had ever freed her more.

Now, his blood and saliva coursed through her like a new awareness. She felt every long inch of his thick shaft stroking her�"bringing a rush of blood to her stomach, her thighs, her groin�"to the edge of untamed rapture.

Everything looked different now. The room and Conor equally looked bleach-washed with high levels of contrast. The vibrant colors of the blankets around them had dulled, and Conor’s natural golden skin took on a pale, almost white color. Even though her ability to see color had dulled, the rest of her senses made everything around seem vivacious and alive.

She could see every hair and bead of sweat on Conor, and every hard cut of muscle as if someone had turned on a magical light. She could hear his heart thrumming in his chest, the pace impossibly fast. But even beyond that she could hear other heartbeats and strangers’ voices in the distance, laughing, cries of pleasure, and cries of pain.

Anna concentrated on Conor’s breathing, on his pulse, driving the other distractions away. She didn’t want anything or anyone taking her out of this one moment of pure perfection. The feel of Conor inside her, the heat of him running through her blood and under her skin. Her jaws snapped to taste the air between them, his scent, earth and musk, coating the roof of her mouth. She pierced her tongue as her teeth shifted, grew, and sharpened.

Outside the den, a sound drifted through the euphoria. Rebecca, the woman who had tried to take Conor from Anna, scoffed in contempt. The sound triggered a shock of determination. A force inside her, one that hadn’t been there before the bite, compelled Anna to claim Conor as he had claimed her�"to mark him so that no bitch would ever wonder if there was even the tiniest bit of space to come between them. She would kill anyone who tried. Her violent thoughts shook her to the core.

�śFuck, Anna, fuck,” Conor moaned as he grabbed her hips with both hands and pulled her to him as he quickened his pace. The sweat on their bodies mingled where they collided in the ugly-beautiful act of their savage union. When he cried out her name, �śAnna!” She opened her wide jaws and bit into his shoulder, piercing muscle and flesh until her newly formed canines hit bone.

Conor howled while his blood rushed into Anna’s mouth. The sound and the taste drove her beyond the brink. She let go�"screaming as the orgasm ripped through her. It tore away all sense of self, of individual, until she was no longer an �śI” but a �śwe.” She shook�"her back arching as another wave of pleasure forced tears from her eyes and her skin stretched and tugged over her bones�"the tightening sensation rode the sharp edge of too much.

Conor roared�"his thighs quaked between her legs as she ground her clit against him. He pumped his climax hard and fierce until he thrust one final time. He held her so firmly in his embrace that she had to fight for breath. The orgasm had waned, but the burning in her flesh and blood remained. While it had felt good, better than good moments before, now it hurt. The closest she’d ever come to this kind of pain had been during a bone marrow biopsy when she’d first been diagnosed with cancer. This pain was similar�"bone deep�"but not just isolated to her hip. No. This pain stretched her entire body.

�śOh,” she groaned.

�śAnna?” Conor held her away from him, his inhuman face with glowing eyes, beautiful and wolfish, but still human-like in this half-form. �śTake a deep breath.”

�śI don’t understand.” The searing fire in her bones moved from her chest to her hip and shoulders, her arms and legs, and finally, the mind-numbing assault flared hot white in her brain. She screamed and screamed, the merciless pain stealing her ability to think.

Conor withdrew from her as gently as he could. �śIt’s okay, Anna. It’s okay. This will pass.”

If Anna knew anything at all, it was not okay. This felt like death. At least it made her wish for death. She didn’t resist when Conor picked her up in his arms. The bright shock of moonlight calmed her frying brain when they passed through the doors of the den. He lay her down on the dirt and started barking orders to the gathering crowd. So many people. She’d heard them after he’d bitten her, but now actually seeing them, it made everything more or less real.

The roar in her ears deafened her, and she couldn’t understand what Conor was yelling as he cradled her limp figure. Soon, the onlookers began shifting into wolves of various sizes and colors from light to dark. They huddled around, the close contact of their fur quieted Anna’s mind and took the edge off her misery.

�śWhat’s happening?” she asked weakly when she regained her voice.

�śIt’s so fast, baby.” He stroked her hair, her neck, and her back, holding her tight to his body, also covered in fur now, but still in half-form. �śBut you’re shedding your human shell and becoming one of us. Don’t fight it. The first time can be so hard, but it’s easier if you don’t fight it.”

Any questions she had cut off when the bones in her body began to snap and crack. Her spine pressed up and outward as it grew hunched. She wasn’t prepared for the high, the rush of joy, when fur sprouted and fell like dominoes falling down her skin. The adrenaline surge and power brought the entire world around her into clarity. Where she’d heard everything before, now she heard the steady thrum of heartbeats, all in unison with her own, slowing as her pulse slowed.

Her lips didn’t feel right when she tilted her face to Conor and smiled. Her brow narrowed when her tongue lolled out the side of mouth.

In her head, she heard his words so plain it was as if he’d spoke directly in her ear. You okay, baby?

Am I a wolf? she answered back in the same way.

He grinned. His green eyes glowed with heat and energy. Yes, and you are magnificent.

A million things went through her head in that moment of realization, but the only response she gave him was the one response that mattered. I love you, Conor. I always have. She licked his face and strange noise wheezed from her throat as she tried to laugh. Let’s run. I want to run. Can we run?

As long as you want to run with me or to me, we can run all night.

She took a second to appreciate his Slow Ride reference before twisting her new body until she freed herself from his grip. Her tail awkwardly smacked his thigh. Anna still had things to figure out. Her son Sam deserved an explanation. She couldn’t just disappear from his life. But those problems could wait until morning. Tonight, she was Conor’s�"completely and irrevocably. She growled and snapped at Rebecca as she trotted past the little bitch. Conor is mine. Rebecca dropped her gaze and turned away.

Anna looked back in time to see Conor shifting into full wolf, a large beast�"his fur a mixture of white, brown, and black. She sang a note through her throat, instinctually knowing the call as a summons.

Conor’s wolf raised his brow.

She swished her tail. If you catch me, you can have me.

Conor huffed, a strong snort of air lifted the dust from the ground between his huge paws. He leveled a gaze at Anna and took a giant leap in the air, stopping just inches from her.

Anna’s laughter filled both of their minds as she turned and raced into the woods.

She could hear his voice, even with some distance between them, as he took off after her. His last words were: Challenge accepted.



Note from Renee: If you liked The Cull: Claimed, please consider leaving a review or a rating on the site where you purchased the copy. Reader reviews help the author and the author’s books to remain valued by the distributors.

I appreciate ALL the readers who take the time to offer feedback or recommendations for other readers who might enjoy my work. You all are the reasons I keep telling stories! If you do leave a review, please email me at [e-mail].

I’d love to thank you personally!





First Chapter Excerpt for The Cull: Protected (Book 2)

He’s Not My Mate, He’s My Sponsor

When Braden Jackson spotted the tall, curvaceous naked brunette stepping out of the concrete den, his stomach dropped, his cock stiffened, and his inner beast howled. The newly culled woman’s face was round with wide cheekbones and wide-set eyes�"indigo with tiny gold flecks that shined when the morning sunlight crossed her path. Her wide mouth stretched in a yawn, and when she glanced his way and smiled, sharp dimples dinted her cheeks.

Beautiful.

It had been three days since the invited had been culled and transformed by bite and blood. The tribe’s land in the Ozark Mountains, lush with colorful foliage, trees, and clear streams and springs, was a perfect and private location. Members of the tribe used it when the need to run as a wolf overwhelmed them, but usually no more than a handful of lycanosapiens attended at a time. The place hadn’t seen these kinds of numbers since the last cull during the time of the Great Depression.

Most of the tribe members�"natural borne and culled�"would spend the week naked, changing back and forth from two legs to four legs at their pleasure. His kind was very comfortable with both their forms. In that sense, the woman’s nakedness didn’t surprise Braden. His visceral reaction to her�"that was another story.

When she reached for the sky, clasped her hands, and twisted her torso to Braden, his breath caught in his throat. Her lush breasts swayed with the movement. Brazenly, she held his gaze as she dropped her arms to her sides, her fingers sliding over her ample hips in mild reproach.

His cock jerked, making him glad he’d put on jeans after his earlier run. Otherwise, the proof of his desire would be pointedly obvious and hard to hide. He smiled when she winked. What a woman!

Braden had been born in the late sixties, a son of two first generation lycanosapiens or natural borns. His people had been culling human’s to create more of their kind for thousands of years. They usually waited for times of great disaster. He’d heard the stories from his parents and grandparents, and from the tribal elders, but actually watching a cull take place, being a part of the process, had been an eye opening experience for Braden.

The invited were usually people in desperate circumstances: the destitute, the terminally ill, and the desperate. Which category did the enticing woman belong? Whichever, she certainly looked happy and healthy now.

She went up on the balls of her feet. Her breasts gave a slight bounce as she dropped back on her heels. Braden grinned. Very healthy.

The woman put her hands on her hips and sauntered over. She looked Braden up and down while tugging the side of her lower lip into her mouth. Finally, after a moment’s assessment, she asked, �śAre you okay? You look like you swallowed a bug.”

Oh, man. She had a sweet, southern accent, but not so Deep South he’d need a dentist. Some of the newly culled were shy about their bodies, but not this beauty. She acted completely unaware of her nakedness. �śI’m Braden,” he said.

The charming brunette held out her hand. �śEve. Eve Taylor.” A pulse of energy washed into Braden as she shook his hand with friendly enthusiasm. �śNice to meet you, Branden.”

Braden inwardly groaned. It was never a good sign when a woman couldn’t get your name right. �śIt’s Braden,” he said again.

�śAll right,” Eve smiled. She hadn’t let go of his hand. �śBraden.”

�śEve!” a man shouted. Braden and Eve both looked. Tom Ellis, a first generation, stood outside the den where Eve had emerged. He was a broad man, built like a heavy weight boxer.

Braden ground his teeth as an unnatural fury surfaced. His fingernails turned to claws and cut through his fisted palms. Had Tom and Eve shared a den? The thought made him sick to his stomach. Tom worked in law enforcement in the human world�"no stranger to violence and death. Braden was a teacher. Ellis had a reputation for getting exactly what he wanted when he wanted it. What chance did Braden stand up against such a hardcore beast?

�śI guess I better go,” Eve said, looking over her shoulder to Tom.

With surprising speed, Braden grabbed her wrist before she could leave. �śAre you mated to him?” He punctuated his question with a growl. He should have sensed her as claimed or mated, but she didn’t feel tethered�Ś to anyone.

Eve narrowed her eyes. �śWhat are you talking about?”

�śEllis.” Braden could barely control his reaction. Fuck! He could feel Ellis’s glare almost burning his skin, but he couldn’t stop himself. He wanted Eve�"wanted her to the point of stupidity. He had to know if he had any chance with the dark-haired beauty. �śTom Ellis. Is he your mate? Have you�Ś”

Eve yanked her arm away from Braden before he could say more. �śDon’t be crude. Of course I haven’t--” She waved her hand dismissively. �śHe’s my sponsor.”

The word �śsponsor” took Braden aback. �śAs in AA?”

She snorted. �śYou’re funny.”

�śEve!” Ellis barked her name like an order.

�śSorry,” she smiled apologetically. �śI told Tom I’d go for a run.” Eve took Braden’s hand, her fingertips lightly dancing on his palms. �śMaybe I’ll see you �Śround later.”

She jogged backwards a few steps, her cheekbones widening as her nose and mouth began to protrude, and her eyes shifted from dark blue to the color of a clear sky. Within seconds her muscles began to ripple as a layer of fur sprouted smooth and thick over her entire body. In wolf form, she was a rich cream color with touches of brown, black, and white with the thickest concentration of brown around the crown of her head.

She glanced at Braden once before taking off in a brisk lope into the woods. Ellis didn’t immediately follow. Instead, he approached Braden as soon as Eve was out of sight.

Ellis was a tall man, at least six feet four inches�"a good three inches taller than Braden. Even more intimidating, he was nearly twice as wide, all beefed up with workout muscle. No wonder, he looked astonished when Braden didn’t flinch.

The big man pointed a finger at Braden’s chest. �śGo near Eve again and I’ll take you out, Jackson.”

Anger overrode Braden’s good sense. �śShe said you two aren’t mated.”

Tom Ellis’s face turned ruddy and his mouth thinned. The veins on his necks bulged and twitched as he clenched his fists. �śI plan to remedy that real soon.”

A knot tightened in Braden’s chest over Ellis’s declaration�"something so sinister in the way he’d said remedy. Before Braden could respond, Ellis turned on his heel, transformed into a large gray wolf, and raced into the dense woods. A half second later, Braden was out of his jeans and tracking after him.





About the Author

Award-winning author Reneé George has been a medic, a nurse, a website designer, a small press editor, an artist, and a teacher, but writing is her true passion. Reneé loves creating stories about sexy alpha men (BEST JOB EVER!). She and her family live in a small, mid-western town, sharing their home with two dogs and a very independent cat.

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