Page 2 of Possessive Mate

It hit Hanson too, all too clearly. It didn't matter what this woman's mere presence did to him. He had a pack to protect, and she wasn't a part of it.

“You're trespassing,” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest as she approached. “State your business here!”

Your business is to shift and run into the woods with me, he thought, his wolf instincts imagining all the terrible, delicious things he would love to do to that woman.

It was such an instinctual, gut response that it scared even him. He wanted to take a step back as she took the stairs two at a time, but instead, he held his ground. He wasn't about to be scared off by a petite little she-wolf like her. Even if she was currently glowering at him like he had no right to question her.

As she stopped just one step below him, she continued to fidget. Her agitation was clear, and the urge to help was so intense for Hanson that he had to fight not to immediately take her into his arms. She was clearly in need of comfort, maybe even protection, and oddly, he was more than willing to give her both.

Get a grip, Hanson! He snarled silently to himself and to his wolf. For all he knew, she could be a real threat to the pack. How, he wasn't sure, but the fact remained.

“I think that is for Jack Blackwell to decide, don't you?” she hissed at him. “This is his territory, after all, isn't it?”

Hanson couldn't be surprised that she knew something like that. What he was shocked by, however, was how much her tone stung him.

Tightening his arms around his chest, squaring his shoulders, he demanded, “What is your business here?”

In response, she crossed her own arms. Hanson almost laughed. Compared to him, she was a fragile little flower. Yet the fire that burned in her gaze was enough to make him hot under the collar.

“None of your business, that's for sure,” she snapped back at him. “Now, will you step aside so I can go in?”

Instead of doing that, Hanson stepped back, blocking the front door of the manor.

“You’re a brave little she-wolf, coming onto another pack's territory alone,” he said, pausing to sniff the air just to make absolutely sure that she was, in fact, alone before he added, “demanding to be let into the heart of the pack.”

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a risk-taker. Now get out of my way.”

Hanson scoffed at that. Damn, he'd have liked to grab hold of her, pin her against the porch railing and show her a thing or two about where ordering him around would get her.

He could already imagine how sweet those rosebud lips would taste. More than that, he could smell her arousal. It was warm, sweet, and heady, intoxicating him and luring him forward.

He was leaning forward, about to take a step, when she barked, “I need to see my brother. Is he here?”

Chapter 2 - Elena

Who the hell does this guy think he is?

Elena stood on the steps of the Nightstar manor with her arms crossed over her chest, glowering at the giant of a man who had decided to stand in her way.

She didn't know him. He had no authority over her. She was a lone wolf—now, at least—but she knew every senior member of Jack’s pack and he most definitely wasn’t one of them.

Like hell she was about to tell him her business. No, she would see her brother or Jack and that would be the end of it.

“Your brother?” the guy looked dumbfounded. It was actually kind of a sweet expression on him, but in her current mood, Elena had no time for this shit. “I didn't know Jack had a sister.”

“Not Jack, you buffoon,” she growled at him, and saw the way he flinched at her words. For a second, she actually felt sorry for him—she was being one hell of a bitch. But again, she didn't have time for any of this. “Eddie.”

If he heard her, he didn't respond, and Elena didn't like the way he was looking at her. There was something wild and dangerous in his dark chocolate-brown eyes, something that drew her in, something that made her heart hammer.

She struggled not to breathe too deeply. His scent had been bad enough when she had climbed out of her damn truck. It had hit her like a giant slap in the face. Smoky, musky and masculine, it did things to her and her wolf that she would much rather not acknowledge. The scent of earth and fresh air that clung to him made her wolf claw at her insides. She desperately needed a run—with him—but she had been running in another way all night long, and she didn't have the time or energy to waste on whatever the hell her instincts were trying to tell her about him right now.

“Did you hear me? I said I need to see Eddie.”

Guilt nipped at her insides at the harshness of her tone.

“It's the middle of the night,” the wolf-man pointed out.

“Like that matters,” Elena countered. “You and I both know werewolves prefer the night. Either go get Eddie from whatever extracurricular activities he's up to right now or let me in so I can get him myself.”

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