Page 13 of Wolf Desired
“I don’t think he expected a fight to break out over the target.”
“Look, he’s backing away,” she said as the silver wolf retreated and shifted.
A disoriented man, just as naked as Rafe and 86, crouched on the ground. His hand sifted through his hair, and he looked like he’d had a few too many drinks.
“Hi, there,” Alyssa said. That force she’d been trying to ignore pushed her toward him. He looked like a wounded animal, crouching there naked with blood on him and a wild look in his eyes. And yet she had this overwhelming need to comfort him.
She recognized him now, from the line of shifters back at the facility. The blond shifter who had been smiling at her while he blatantly ignored Graves. He’d made her laugh and feel like everything would be okay. Her type of guy.
Damn, what was she thinking? A shifter was the last person she could get involved with.
* * *
TIERNAN
Tiernan clutched his head,trying to clear the fog from his brain. His wolf had done a number on him, forcing a shift with no warning, no consent. That wasn’t good. In fact, it was fucking bad. And the reason he’d lost control was crouching next to him, with her feminine scent teasing him, calling to his wolf, stirring up the beast he’d finally forced into submission.
“Hi, there. Do you need help getting up?” Artemis said, her heavenly voice as sweet as her scent.
Her hand landed on his bare shoulder. That touch, flesh to flesh, sent an immediate charge through his entire body, especially his cock, making him instantly hard. He couldn’t rise like this and maintain any dignity before the female, a human who wouldn’t understand his intense need to claim her. Hell, he barely understood it.
He’d lost control to his wolf when he’d seen her all banged up, her shirt torn, and Maddox leaning into her, ready to take what belonged to Tiernan. Whatshouldbelong to Tiernan, according to his wolf. Damn wolf already staked a claim on the female and he hadn’t even formally met her yet. But his wolf wasn’t in charge here. Not yet.
Ironically, the female Tiernan had fought to protect, the female who wanted to help him, now created a different problem for him by unwittingly riling his wolf. Tiernan refused to let his wolf control him again. He needed this female, they both did, but his wolf only knew how to take, to dominate. That was not how shifters behaved. Tiernan would not force her, which meant he needed to ignore her so he could regain full control of his wolf. With her scent overwhelming him, he could feel his wolf growing stronger, preparing to force another shift.
If he lost control again, there was a good chance the other shifters would put him down. Together, Rafe and Maddox had enough power to do it.
Artemis knelt before him and stroked his upper arm. Warm flesh heated him in the chilly air. When the wind changed, the full impact of her scent hit him like a brick. The urge to take her, to taste her, became overwhelming, and his wolf clawed at him, determined to break free. He couldn’t warn her away; talking took too much focus away from controlling his wolf.
Tiernan shoved Artemis away, harder than he intended, but Rafe caught her. Seeing her with Rafe was no better than seeing her with Maddox. His wolf started to rise up again, trying to take control.
“What’s wrong with him?” Artemis asked.
“It’s not my place to say,” Rafe replied.
“He’s going feral,” Maddox said, unconcerned with protecting Tiernan’s secret.
“Leave it to a white wolf to out another shifter in front of the enemy,” Rafe said.
“I didn’t think I was the enemy,” Alyssa said.
“Not you, specifically,” Rafe replied, but he didn’t apologize to her. He wouldn’t. Alphas rarely apologized, especially when they were right. And Rafe was right. Humans didn’t know that shifters could go feral. If they did, they wouldn’t be so keen on forming this alliance. It was the exact reason Tiernan had volunteered to come here. His people needed this alliance. He had volunteered to come, thinking the challenge here would focus him, help him maintain control over his wolf.
And if he failed, there’d be plenty of strong shifters to put him down.
She returned to his side, a blessing and a curse. He’d have a chance of blood-bonding her, if he could talk to her first, make her understand. But right now, he needed to get rid of her.
To his surprise, Artemis cupped his cheek, calling to him and his wolf. Tiernan sank into her hand, loving how her skin felt against his. The longer she touched him, the calmer and easier his wolf became to control. That’s what having a female meant. Stability, control over the wolf. Sanity.
“What do you mean he’s going feral?” Artemis asked Rafe and Maddox.
For weeks, Tiernan had avoided telling his alpha he was going feral in the hope he may yet find the female that spoke not just to his wolf, but to him as well. And now that he’d found her, two other wolves were going to scare her off before he had the chance to gain control of his damned wolf and talk with her.
“Won’t. . . harm. . . you,” he sputtered, the words taking too much energy. He was so completely drained, not from fighting Maddox’s wolf, but his own.
Strong, gentle fingers brushed the dirt off his face and then sifted through his hair, calming him, calming his wolf, who quieted. A blessed sense of peace Tiernan hadn’t known in weeks washed over him. It felt like he’d been drowning in a muddy lake and had finally surfaced to inhale gloriously clean, fresh air.
His wolf practically purred at the idea of mating Artemis here and now. Except Tiernan couldn’t, wouldn’t, allow his wolf to take what hadn’t been offered. He’d let his wolf go feral and force Maddox and Rafe to put him down before he’d ever hurt her.
