Page 6 of Wolf Desired
She pulled her arm back. “That’s one.”
“One what? A strike against me? Like Graves is counting strikes against you?”
“More like that was the freebie you get away with because I didn’t set the ground rules with you.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up.
Damn, he’s handsome.
“There are no ground rules here, female, beyond the ones the DSA and my alpha set. And according to my alpha, I’m to attend this training course, then fulfill my requisite two ops. Just like every other shifter here. Beyond that, anything goes as far as I’m concerned.”
“So you won’t listen to Graves because he’s not your alpha?”
“Oh, I’ll listen, because he’s the man in charge. But he only said not to injure the humans here. Believe me, I have no intention of injuring you. Maybe mating you, but certainly not hurting you.”
Mating?Her mouth fell open.
“Careful, it’s only early fall,” he said as he pushed her mouth closed with a finger beneath her chin. “You might swallow a bee like that. Or something else with all these males around here.”
Is that what these shifters thought of her? Just because she was the only woman here? The rage surfaced too fast to push down. An uncontrollable rage that had no place to go. She’d taken much worse insults, but this rage had another source, a frustration she didn’t understand.
Images flashed through her mind and in a moment of weakness, she gave in to the impulse and punched the shifter in the face. She heard a crunch and felt the displacement of cartilage. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to know she’d broken a man’s nose. No, ashifter’snose. He’d heal soon enough, but that didn’t resolve the real problem. She’d lost control to an anger she didn’t understand. That seemed to be growing.
The shifter clutched his nose and doubled over as blood poured to the ground. Before he could retaliate, she shot off, hoping to outrun him.
* * *
MADDOX
Maddox’s wolf pranced inside,laughing at him for having been bested by a mere female. A human no less. As if it weren’t bad enough that Drake would laugh him out of the pack if he ever found out he’d let the female get away so easily, Maddox now had to deal with his obnoxious wolf. And a broken nose. His wolf would heal him, but until then, the pain would be a constant reminder that he’d let his guard down.
This was going to be a long few weeks unless he figured out how to deal with these humans, starting with the female. The sinfully sexy and spirited female with golden hair and sparkling hazel eyes.
He hadn’t intended to insult her, only flirt a little to pass the time until a team showed up to capture her and end the exercise. He should have assessed the situation better. As the only female here, she had to be on edge. Propositioning her, treating her as less. . . That wasn’t who he was. At least it never used to be. He’d definitely lost a part of himself when the blood-bond broke. It was as if his moral compass had died along with Isabella. Or maybe he just didn’t give a damn anymore.
As his wolf healed his nose, Maddox tracked the female. He had to admit, he’d never found a scent as attractive as hers. Not since Isabella’s. A full year had passed since his mate’s death, and he hadn’t had any interest in another female since. Until he’d scented this one as she stood in the line of humans with that jackass Graves laying into her for no reason. That man needed an attitude adjustment.
Maddox’s wolf bit him. Hard.
“Fuck you,” he said out loud.
“Talking to yourself, or mad because a woman broke your nose?” Artemis said from above.
Maddox looked up. There she sat, her lush hair braided behind her as she perched on a branch midway up a maple tree. With the camo pants on, she was well hidden among the leaves that hadn’t changed colors yet. How she’d climbed so high in such a short amount of time, he didn’t know, but that thin branch wouldn’t hold her weight very long. And she’d climbed too high. It unsettled his wolf and him, too. Humans were fragile. She could break her neck falling from that height.
“Come down, Artemis,” he ordered.
“When my hour’s up.”
“Screw the challenge. That branch won’t support your weight.”
“Did you just call me fat?”
He’d never understand humans and their obsession with body weight. From what he’d seen, the female was tone and in excellent shape, but even if she weren’t, he wouldn’t insult her like that. At least not intentionally.
His wolf whimpered. Maddox didn’t know what was going on with his wolf, but he couldn’t worry about it until he convinced the stubborn female to come down.
A sudden and loud crack echoed through the woods. Maddox had heard dozens of trees fall during his life, but none that held such precious cargo. The female shrieked as the branch collapsed beneath her. Her body tumbled through several branches before she caught hold of a limb with one arm, both legs swinging below her.
