Page 29 of Wolf Desired
“Sound advice coming from an unmated male,” Maddox said with a sour expression. “If you treat Artemis like the solution to your problem, you’ll create an even greater problem than your wolf going feral.”
“He may not have time to woo a female properly,” Rafe said.
Maddox shook his head, like he was dealing with children. “I didn’t say woo. But he can’t treat Artemis like he’s installing a generator in his cabin to solve a heating problem. An approach my current and previous alphas took. One female ended up dead as a result. The problem here isn’t Tiernan, though. It’s his wolf. Tiernan’s wolf may push him to blood-bond her before she’s ready.”
“Forced blood-bonds rarely work. And even if they did, I would never force her,” Tiernan said, shoving Maddox in the chest.
“I said your wolf, not you. But you know your wolf better than me. Tell me, Tiernan, if he takes over, will he respect your wishes?”
Tiernan turned pale.
“You’re not making this easier on him,” Rafe said.
“Wasn’t trying to make it easy. Just making him aware that he might be a bigger danger to Artemis than Kingsley and his team right now.”
A yelp drew their attention. A few hundred feet off the trail stood Kingsley and Artemis. He had grabbed hold of her upper arm and must have been squeezing hard, threatening to break the bone given the pain registering in her face.
“Let go of me,” she warned, her tone one that meant business.
Rafe forced himself to stand there and watch. The female had expressly told him to stay out of her business.
Maddox locked his hand on Tiernan’s shoulder. “She can handle him,” Maddox reassured, trying to help Tiernan keep control of his wolf.
With his free hand, Kingsley touched her ass. All her moves to escape his clutches failed. Whether she wanted his help or not was irrelevant. She needed it. And Maddox was right. Tiernan couldn’t afford to give in to his wolf. But Rafe could. . .
* * *
ALYSSA
Kingsley draggedAlyssa off the main trail. The shifter’s stealth was off the charts; she hadn’t even seen him come up behind her. Her heart raced as he shoved her forward, where Brock and Xavier waited.
She reached for her gun, but Xavier trapped her arms behind her.
Kingsley ran a finger down her cheek. “You made us look bad out there, doll.”
“Let me the fuck go.”
“Or what?” Brock asked. “You’re no match for one of us, let alone three. You need to learn your place.”
Suddenly, all three shifters’ heads lifted and looked west. There stood Maddox, Tiernan, and Rafe, with expressions that said they were ready to fight because of her. Graves would kick her out for sure if someone got hurt. It wouldn’t matter that she didn’t start it; he’d still blame her.
She couldn’t afford to get kicked out of the program. She hadn’t found the answers she was looking for. And now she had more questions such as why she felt calm,normal, when she was with Tiernan, Rafe, and Maddox.
“Artemis, return to the dorm,” Rafe ordered. And it was an order, one she was inclined to follow and not just because it would get her away from Kingsley. There was an air to Rafe that said she better listen. But he didn’t know why she was here, why she couldn’t give in.
She opened her mouth to protest.
“This is between shifters, Artemis,” Maddox added. “Leave.” Maddox didn’t even like Rafe, but he was backing him.
Tiernan brushed his hand along hers, catching her off-guard. She wasn’t ready for tenderness at that moment, but his touch made her feel as if she could trust him.
“Let me take you away from here. Where you’ll be safe.”
Safe? That’s what he thought mattered? It did, to some degree, but there was more at stake for her. He didn’t understand, and she couldn’t explain it, because then he’d hate her. And shelikedTiernan.
Alyssa pushed past Brock and Xavier, hating that she had to have herguardiansrescue her. What type of agent, secret service agent no less, was she if she had to be rescued?
One who let her fear of shifters rule her.
