Page 55 of Wolf Desired
“Documenting is one of our mission requirements. Graves wants to analyze how we performed.”
“This is a body cam. It’s intended for use up close, like when we’re storming the den. Not for shooting footage from a distance.”
“He didn’t specify that,” Rafe said, pretending he didn’t know Graves’s intent. “As team leader, it’s my call how to use it.”
Her lips thinned, making him want to kiss away her frustration, but he couldn’t. Her safety was his top priority. Even above the success of the DSA program. He didn’t fully understand why that was the case, only that it was. He wanted to sayyesto her, to give her whatever she wanted, but she was his to protect. This entire team was. But Artemis. . . She was his on a more personal level, a primal level. The basest level that a shifter had.
If only he could blood-bond her. But he couldn’t. He’d finally found a female he wanted to blood-bond, to share that soul-deep intimacy with another being, and she was human. Blood-bonding her would weaken his shifter abilities. One of life’s great ironies.
“Did you even do any recon inside? Thread a borescope in through a broken window or other small opening to look inside? Or gone to the door, knocked and pretended to be lost just so you could get a peek?”
“I listened from a distance. There are only two humans inside. There are three of us and we have a way in. It doesn’t matter what the setup is inside, we have the advantage in number, strength, and surprise.”
“At least let me go back to the training facility and get a scope. It’s better than going in blind. You don’t want to walk into a trap.”
“It’s unnecessary, Artemis. This is a small operation cooking drugs. They don’t even have security.”
“See, that right there is a red flag. You need my experience. We should be working as a team.”
“We are. You’re documenting and observing from here while we infiltrate.”
“Give me a chance to prove myself to you. I assure you, we’ll be good together.”
The moment he stepped closer, her chin tipped up, blonde hair sliding back as hazel eyes gripped him with a fierceness he loved. “I know we’d be very good together,” he whispered as he scented along her neck and up to her ear. Her arousal struck him so hard he had to force his wolf down and contain the growl. “But not yet, Artemis. Next op, you’ll have an active role. After I gain a better understanding of your skills.”
“You’re such a liar, Rafe,” she said, swiping the body-cam from him.
“I know,” he said softly, hoping she’d forgive him in time. He pressed his mouth against her ear. “My instincts aren’t giving me a choice here. Those are anti-shifters over there, which means they’ll kill humans just as easily as shifters if the humans get in their way.”
“I’m trained to go up against guns. Are you?”
He looked into her face, loving that she never gave up, that she continually challenged him. Her anger and frustration disappeared, replaced by genuine concern.
She cared. And not just about him, but Tiernan and Maddox, too. Rafe watched as Maddox glanced at Tiernan. While Tiernan knew the plan, they weren’t sure how much control he had over his wolf. The shifter’s expression said enough. He was calm, bordering on seething, but he retained control of his wolf. Tiernan thought she was his. Until yesterday, Rafe had thought that too. But no longer. The entire situation was fucked up. Tiernan needed her, and Rafe couldn’t have her, but he wanted her. And Maddox seemed to bounce from wanting her to not. Ultimately, it would have to be her decision. And no matter who she chose, it would tear apart this team, and possibly the program and treaty with the humans.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
ALYSSA
Rafe seized Alyssa’s lips, kissing her long and hard, right in front of Maddox and Tiernan. She heard the slight growl from Tiernan, but as earlier, he didn’t attack. He’d made his feelings known to her and the others. And she’d told him in no uncertain terms that she wasn’t his.
Tiernan was by no means an alpha who would try to dominate over her or the situation. Not that Rafe was trying to dominate. Not exactly.
She was only starting to understand shifter relationships. What she did know was that she had choices when it came to these three. She could choose any one of them. Or maybe all three?
No, people didn’t have multiple lovers. Or mates, as the shifters called it.
“My training is not the same as yours,” Rafe said as he broke the kiss. “But I’ve been dodging hunters’ bullets my entire life. Most shifters have.”
“Hunters. Half the time, that means a bunch of half-drunk fools who think hunting shifters is like hunting deer. They aren’t the same as anti-shifters. Anti-shifters are a different breed altogether, if you pardon the expression.” Alyssa wanted him to acknowledge her value to this team. And maybe to him, too. She cleared her throat. This wasn’t the time to think about Rafe personally. Or Tiernan and Maddox. Hell, she didn’t want to choose between any of them.
Rafe smiled. “You’re not like the other humans I’ve met, Artemis. You don’t hate shifters the way most humans do.”
“Not all humans. And it’s not hate, Rafe. Most humans just don’t know shifters. Ignorance breeds fear. You can’t write off all of humanity because they give into their fear. Teach them, give them a chance to overcome that fear.”
“Is that why you fear us sometimes? Because you don’t understand us?” Maddox asked. He tended to be more serious when Rafe was around.
“I don’t fear you,” she said, looking from Maddox to Tiernan and Rafe. “Not anymore. Not since I’ve gotten to know you. But some of the other shifters still scare me. In all fairness, there are humans I fear, too. I’ve seen evil, Maddox. I’ve lived with it.”
