Page 9 of Fighting Furry

I studied him for a minute, taking in his words. He was undeniably hot and the initial attraction I'd felt for him before had intensified to a molten lava hot level. I mean, the dude's eyes met mine and my panties got wet. He spoke with that deep rumbly voice and my stomach tightened and I throbbed all over with want. But I'd dealt with inconvenient attraction before. I could manage it again. “You mean I'm your mate?” I asked.

“Mate?” he asked, his body tensing further. I was on the right track.

“Yeah, like in the movies. The werewolf sniffs out his mate and, bam, they're it for each other for life.”

“Life?” he said, the word come out a bit raspy, making my nipples instantly hard.

“I get it,” I said. “That's your wolfy way, but it's not my way. I mean you seem like a nice guy…Actually, you don't really seem that nice. You're pretty damn grumpy and I don't think it would take much to send you into a killing rage, which is actually a little terrifying.” Okay, I was babbling, but I couldn't stop, because the matey attraction thing was in serious overdrive and I was one step away from rubbing myself against the bars and begging him to help me out. “And honestly, you aren't at all my type. I mean I'm sure a lot of women would find you attractive, but you just don't do it for me.”

“Not your type?” he asked. “I guess the band boy is your type? You like pretty boys?”

“Exactly. I like pretty boys. Boys who know how to shave and get regular haircuts and have abs—”

“I have abs,” Axel said, his expression more than a little miffed, but was that…Amusement glinting in his eyes? He lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal a six…No, an eight…No, aw hell, an incredibly impressive set of abs and huge pecs, both nipples pierced with shiny silver barbells. I wanted to lick those barbells, to suck them into my mouth and— No. Just no.

“Mm-hm,” I said, pretending nonchalance. “They're okay.”

He dropped his shirt and stalked over. “Just okay,” he said, pressing against the bars. “Because the lust I smell rolling off you says different.”

Shit, could he really smell that? I sniffed the air, but I just got another waft of his wolf smell that almost made my eyes roll back in my head with desire. “Look, just let me go. You and I would never work.”

“Too bad,” he said, his voice dropping another octave, so deep I could practically feel it. “You're my mate and I'm going to drag you back to my place and lick every inch of your body until you smell like me. I'm going to make you feel things you've never felt before.” His lips curved up, and he bit his bottom lip. Damn he had luscious lips. “I'm going to bend you over and—” He took a step back and broke out into a full-on, deep-throated laugh. It was just as rumbly as everything else about him and it made me…Wait, why was he laughing? Clarissa was laughing, too. And Jeremiah?

I glared at him, because he didn't get to laugh at me, none of them did.

“Can you imagine?” Axel asked, straightening and wiping a tear from his eye. He gestured from himself to me and back again. “You and me? Mates?”

“You'd be damn lucky to have me,” I said.

He smirked. “Sorry, sweetheart. I prefer my women a whole hell of a lot more submissive.” Damn, the way he said submissive made my toes curl. I hated him and his perfect rumbly voice. “And with a bit more to offer up top.” He cupped his hands to his own pecs and I looked down at my breasts, which were perfectly perky b-cups, thank you very much.

Clarissa hissed her disapproval, but Axel was unswayed. “She started it,” he said to the other woman.

“Just tell her what's going on, Axel. Quit being a jerk.”

He was the alpha, so I expected him to tell her to back off, but he just grinned. It wasn't a friendly grin. His teeth were white and straight and his tongue flipped out to wet his lips. I almost moaned aloud. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Wolves don't mate for life,” Axel said, his serious demeanor returning. “Wolves rarely even date for more than a couple weeks.”

“Speak for yourself,” Charlie muttered.

Axel rolled his eyes. “Wolves in general tend to be a bit more lustful than humans, especially newly-turned wolves and especially this time of the month.”

“This time of the month?”

“The full moon,” Axel said. “Wolves get a little extra horny during the full moon and pretty much anything goes. When Jeremiah grabbed you, he was assuming you were a wolf out on the prowl. Once he sniffed you out as human he backed off.”

“He was awfully aggressive for a dude just asking if I wanted to go home with him.”

Axel nodded. “He was. Rules are consent is required before any touching occurs and no one gets to use their dominance to force anyone to do anything. That's why Jeremiah is in a cage. That, and because he bit you, but that will be taken up with the council.”

“Dude,” Jeremiah whined. “It was an accident. Can't we just pretend it never happened?”

Axel glared at Jeremiah. “No.”

I blew out a sigh of relief not to find myself mated to Axel. “So, if I'm not your mate, why'd you say I'm yours?”

“Because I'm your alpha. A new wolf can't stray too far from her alpha or her pack or she…Let's just say it's not good. You need to stay here. In a couple years, if you still want to leave, you'll be free to go.”

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