Page 58 of Wolf Desired
“Shit, Hank, what are you doing?” Tattoo guy said as he ran out from the office, a bag of weed in his hand. “She’s with me. Her car broke down.”
“And you believed her?”
“I heard the thing squealing as she drove up the street. I’m gonna call her a tow.” Hank put his arms around her waist. “After we have a little fun. Right, sweet cheeks?”
She traced her fingers over the wolf tattoo on his right arm. “Depends on how relaxed I get first. Can we get out of here? Your friend’s gun is scaring the shit out of me, cupcake. This whole place is.”
“Yes, cupcake,” Hank laughed. “Take the bitch out of here, then come back without her.”
“I’m not a bitch. Just a free spirit,” she said, flipping her hair back and raising her chin high in the air.
“Ignore him,” Tattoo guy said. “The name’s Snake, by the way.”
Of course it was. Snake and Hank. Or Snake 1 and Snake 2 as she now thought of them. “What’s that smell? It’s horrible,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“Cooking some goods for customers. Wanna try some?” Snake said.
“I told you I don’t like needles. Or anything that reminds me of hospitals.”
He kissed the side of her neck. “Bad experience, sweet cheeks?”
Alyssa flashed on a memory she hadn’t had in years and shivered. She almost forgot what she was doing. “Can we get out of here? Go someplace prettier? I came up to the woods for a reason. That was to get away from the city and all the steel and concrete. I like the fresh air and seeing animals.” With her forefinger, she traced the wolf on his arm.
“You like wolves?”
“Never saw one up close. Just on tv. I’ve always wondered if they’re as soft as dogs.”
“What would you do to see one? Close up. Maybe pet it.”
“And lose my hand? No way.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You really have a wolf I can see?”
“Sure do.”
She smiled and bounced on her toes. “Show me.”
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
TIERNAN
Tiernan leaned his head against the back of the cage. A rather small cage considering he was stuck in there with Rafe and Maddox, though Maddox remained on the ground, unconscious and in wolf form. At least it wasn’t a dog crate like some anti-shifters used for shifters. Either way, the metal bars and metal top and bottom were impossible to break through, even with their combined shifter strength.
Somehow it felt appropriate to be in a metal cage, considering his wolf made him feel caged for so long now. He could never fully let his guard down, be himself with his wolf trying to take control. Even something as simple as growling at Rafe when he kissed Alyssa could give Tiernan’s wolf the opportunity to seize control. Tiernan hated deferring to the alpha, watching him grow closer to his female. Except she wasn’t his. And that’s what he had to keep reminding himself. Alyssa would choose whom to be with, if any of them.
Tiernan was tempted to let go, to give in to his wolf, except he wanted to see her again. Though not like this, not caged like an animal.
With Rafe and Maddox trapped in the same cell, it would be too easy for his wolf to hurt, even kill them. There was nothing as strong as a feral wolf, and his wolf saw them as competition for Alyssa. It wasn’t their fault they were both falling for Alyssa as he had. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and strong. If she chose Maddox or Rafe over him, then it was because she didn’t have the connection to Tiernan he truly desired with a female. . . with her.
And yet his damn wolf pushed him to challenge Rafe, to eliminate him, even though he was an alpha heir. When it came down to it, Tiernan was of an alpha line too. He could conceivably take Rafe, especially with a feral wolf inside of him. And Maddox too. But not both together. That was suicide. And Alyssa would never forgive him. Hell, he wouldn’t forgive himself. They were decent shifters. He admired them both, even Maddox. A white wolf. Tiernan chuckled at that.
“What’s so funny” Rafe asked.
Tiernan nodded his chin toward Maddox’s unconscious wolf. “I was just thinking about being on the same team as a white wolf. Never dreamed that would happen.”
“Think more about how we’re going to get out of this cage.”
