Page 14 of Wolf Desired
As long as he was in control of his wolf, there was still a chance to convince her to blood-bond him. That certainly wouldn’t be as easy as asking a female shifter. As a human, Artemis knew nothing of blood-bonding, and Tiernan didn’t have a lot of time to get to socialize with her as she was likely used to in the hope she might say yes to a blood-bond. He scrubbed his face and released a ferocious growl, a remnant of all the frustration that had built up over the last few weeks.
She rose and backed away, right into Maddox’s arms.
Tiernan had scared her again.
“Aren’t you going to help him?” she asked Maddox, not trying to escape him like she had Tiernan. If anything, she seemed to sink further into the shifter’s body.
“It’s never smart going near a feral wolf, especially when he’s near his—”
“Shut it,” Rafe ordered, rightfully so. Telling Artemis that she was Tiernan’s fated mate before she was ready to hear it would complicate matters. For both of them.
“Smart! That’s it! Maxwell Smart from the old tv sitcomGet Smart.” Artemis’s face lit up like she had found the answer to some great mystery. “No wonder the code name 86 sounded familiar. That’s what I should call you. Maxwell. Or do you prefer Max?”
Maddox and Rafe both stared at her blankly. For the first time in weeks, Tiernan wanted to laugh. Artemis stood with three naked shifters after a fight while she talked about a tv show as if he hadn’t just tried to kill Maddox. Maybe she didn’t understand what had happened.
Or maybe she did and wanted to ease the tension. He’d seen the sly look of hers when she started talking about giving Maddox the name Maxwell for a codename. His female was bright, observant, and so full of life.
His female? No, she hadn’t consented. He could not think of her as his despite how his wolf had already chosen her. Tiernan was in control here, not his damn wolf.
“No objections?” she persisted, looking at Maddox.
“Why would I object? It’s just a name.”
“Because Maxwell Smart was sort of a buffoon.”
“Then it’s fitting,” Rafe said, smirking.
“Did this Maxwell Smart have a female?” Maddox asked, his eyes locked on Artemis, onTiernan’sfemale.
Fuck, I can’t think of her as mine just because my wolf wants her.
Tiernan turned away before he lost all control. This had to be Artemis’s choice. He barely knew her. If she were attracted to Maddox, then Tiernan would have to leave the DSA program, return home, and. . . and nothing. The damn beast had already rejected all the females in his pack, even those who had been offered to blood-bond him. He certainly hadn’t come here expecting to find a female that would settle his wolf, but now that he had, she was all he could think about.
“Agent 86 had a girlfriend. A fellow agent. She wasnota buffoon in any regard, but she saw something special in 86, fell in love, and they married. We never got to know her real name, though. She was only ever known as 99.”
“You can be my Agent 99 anytime,” Maddox said, moving in close to her, his hands landing on her hips. “Or 69. A much better number, don’t you think?”
Tiernan had no chance with her if Maddox wanted her, too. The guard had control of his wolf. His behavior wasn’t erratic, and he wouldn’t scare her off. Even now, Tiernan could barely put two words together, because controlling his fucking wolf took so much focus and energy.
“Forget it,” Artemis said, walking back to Tiernan. She ran her hand along his shoulder, which felt heavenly and soothed his wolf. This definitely felt better than beating his wolf down. “My name shouldn’t be hard for you to remember,” she said, still talking to Maddox. “It’s Artemis. As in the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, the moon, and chastity.”
“Sounds like you were made for me.” Maddox waggled his brows, but kept his distance from Tiernan. The shifter was playing a dangerous game, flirting with Artemis in front of Tiernan.
“Did you not hear that last part?” she said. “Chastity.”
“I don’t do fancy words.” Maddox offered his hand to her, trying to lead her away from Tiernan, but she stayed beside him, her fingers running through his hair.
“I believe in being wild, Artemis. And hunting. Devouring my prey,” Maddox added with a playful growl as he held his hand out to her once more.
Tiernan snarled. Fucking wolf was alert again.
Maddox backed off, deferred to Tiernan, which surprised the hell out of him.
Her hands stopped moving, and she knelt down to be face to face with him. She showed no fear. “Why are you growling at me?”
“Not you, female,” Rafe said. “Tiernan’s wolf is growling at 86. He sees him as a threat.”
Artemis’s fingers caressed the back of Tiernan’s neck, trying to distract him from glaring at Maddox. It was working. Too well. Her scent seeped into his lungs and her touch. . . He was getting hard again, still crouched, naked beside the one female who stirred his wolf. And him.
