Page 32 of Wolf Desired
“Oh.” Her gaze returned to him. That’s when he realized he could sit here all day, simply watching her. No words needed. And no fighting his wolf. The beast hadn’t scratched, clawed, growled, or bitten him once since he sat down beside her.
“I didn’t think the shifters here would be so. . .”
“Difficult?” he offered, loving how she was opening up to him. “That’s because there’s no alpha in charge. And I don’t mean Graves. He’s the instructor in charge, sure, but he doesn’t know how to handle shifters. But you don’t have to worry about Kingsley. Rafe will get control of him soon enough.”
“That’s just it. I’m supposed to hold my own against all of you.”
“If you were part of a pack, you wouldn’t have to. You wouldn’t even think that way. A pack means having others protect you, even if they hate you. Pack is everything.”
“I never considered that. It’s kind of nice, actually. Knowing you have someone there to pick you up in case you fall.”
“Or to keep you from falling,” Tiernan added. “The shifters here are not the enemy, Artemis. Well, most of us. We’re here to learn about one another, right?”
She nodded, but that doubtful look returned. “What do you want with me, Tiernan? You’ve been following me around, even up on the cliff earlier today, when I was arguing with Brock. I saw your wolf watching from behind a tree.”
“You saw me?” That surprised him. He approached in full stealth mode, which was one of his specialties as a scout. Not even Brock had notched his ears or looked in his direction.
“Why do you care what happens to me? We’re not pack. I’m like everyone else here. An outsider. Maybe not the enemy, but still not one of you.”
“Can we start with something easier, like how far shifters can see or if we can see in the dark?”
“The fact that you’re avoiding answering me tells me I asked the right question.”
“You won’t like the answer.”
“If it’s the truth, I’ll learn to deal with it, whatever it is.”
He took a deep breath and released it slowly, hoping this wasn’t the biggest mistake he ever made. Once he told her, she’d probably run from him.
“I need to mate you, Artemis, so the others don’t kill me.”
* * *
ALYSSA
From the momentTiernan found her by the stream, he approached Alyssa with caution. It warmed her, knowing the shifter cared enough to follow and check on her. By the time he sat down beside her and started telling her about shifters, it felt so perfectly natural being alone with him. As if they’d been friends for a lifetime.
Despite all she didn’t know about Tiernan, his presence calmed her and made her feel right at home. The shifter had a casual, easy way about him that made her want to tell him everything.
She almost did. Fortunately, she caught herself.
With the sun bouncing off his blond hair and his gray eyes taking on hues of orange and yellow reflecting the colors of the leaves around him, Tiernan looked so completely at ease with his wolf, the woods. . . with her.
Until he unloaded that bombshell on her.
“I need to mate you,” Tiernan repeated. “So I can gain full control of my wolf.”
And here she thought she was hearing things again. Another wayward, unexplained voice plaguing her. But nope, that was Tiernan’s deadly serious voice telling her in no uncertain terms why he needed her. Eyes that had always been gentle moments before now glowed around the edges, even as they narrowed. He was watching her every blink, breath, and movement, trying to predict how she’d respond. Very predatory, which was not a word she usually used when thinking of Tiernan. It was as if he, or maybe his wolf, expected her to bolt any second. She might, if she weren’t so stunned by his words.
“The negative consequences of being the only woman here. By default, I’m the go-to girl when someone gets horny. Lucky me,” she joked, trying to relieve the escalating tension while she figured out what the hell was going on. This had to be some sort of prank.
His face fell, horrified by her comments.
Tiernan was serious! No, he couldn’t be. It had to be a joke.
“They put you up to this, didn’t they?” she struck back, tired of being the target in this program. First Graves, then Kingsley and his team, and now Tiernan. And here she’d thought he was a decent, honorable guy, one she wanted to get to know better.
“They who? What are you talking about?” he said, his voice rather growly.
