Page 3 of Under the Moonlight

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Xander helped Greer into his black Ford Bronco’s front seat, trying not to be obvious as he inhaled her sweet scent. The musk of sweat, deodorant, and floral lotion did nothing to hide the underlying smell of attraction radiating off of her. Combine that with the rapid beat of her heart every time he met her gaze and he knew that the desire he felt wasn’t one sided.

Not that he should even be thinking about wanting Greer, or any woman right now. Xander had a mission to complete.

He’d tracked his prey from Texas to Idaho, and there was no way he was letting anyone get in his way.

Even if he experienced a draw he’d never had with any other woman, wolf or otherwise.

But as the last of the Thor Pack, he had a duty to avenge his family’s death. That meant spending the last five years hunting down the clan of rogue shifters who had come through and killed everyone he loved. The guilt ate at him still; if he hadn’t been off with his friends, if he had just been there…

There wasn’t anything he could do about it, least of all wish he had made a different decision that weekend.

He’d tracked and killed five of the seven rogues. Three wolves, a bear, and a cougar. Only the leader, a shifter by the name of Pax Steel, and his bitch, Dakota Fletcher were left to dispose of and when he’d spotted a cougar stalking him from behind Greer, he’d known it was Pax. He’d taken off after him, determined to rip the son of a bitch apart, but he’d heard Greer cry out. He’d slowed in time to watch her collapse and couldn’t leave her vulnerable.

His family’s killers would have to wait one more day.

Xander reached across her to grab the seat belt, but she beat him to it.

“I bumped my head, but I’m not helpless. I can buckle my own seat belt.”

Xander couldn’t help but be amused by her. Even in the woods, when she’d first seen him as a wolf, she’d hid her fear well. He could smell it of course, but her attempts at talking to him, as if she’d realized he

was more than an animal, had left him wishing he could shift right in front of her. To show Greer that she had nothing to fear from him.

But Xander knew not all humans were shifter-friendly, especially in this part of Idaho. The Gray Wolves introduced years ago had become a problem for farmers and ranchers in the area, and a lot of them had adopted the shoot on sight mentality when it came to any predator they saw. He’d taken a slug in the back leg just outside of Carey, Idaho and had been thankful the man hadn’t been a better shot. It had hurt like hell to dig out, but he’d healed.

“Do I have something on my face?” she asked.

He realized he’d completely zoned out, his gaze focused on her. “What?”

“The way you were staring at me made me think that maybe I had a booger hanging from my nose or something.”

“No, no boogers.” Xander decided not to mention that she had dirt streaked across her face like someone had been playing tick tac toe on her skin.

“You know, I’m feeling better. I think if you just drop me at home, I’ll be okay.”

“No dice, sweetheart. You got knocked out. That means you get checked out.”

He shut the door of his SUV and ran over to the driver’s side. He could sense the frustration radiating from her before he even opened the door, but that was too bad. He’d seen the way she’d tumbled down, and it had been rough. He’d have called an ambulance if he’d had his phone on him.

Xander buckled in and after he turned the key in the ignition, tapped the screen of his GPS.

“If you’re trying to get to the hospital, just make a left and then take a right onto Moonbeam to get to the highway,” she said. “Then it’s another left.”

Xander shut down the GPS and shifted into drive with a grin. “Alright, Garmin, can you repeat that slowly? I’m not from around here.”

He watched her teeth gnaw on her lower lip, but it didn’t stop her gorgeous mouth from tipping up in the corners. Or the slight scrunching in the corner of her warm brown eyes that told him she was trying not to smile.

To his surprise and delight, she spoke in a slow, robot style register. “Make a right onto Meteor Drive.”

He chuckled as he pulled forward and did what she said, thinking it was too bad she was taken. His two older brothers wouldn’t have balked at going after another man’s woman, but Xander hadn’t appreciated his college girlfriend hooking up behind his back. He didn’t like that uncontrollable rage he’d experienced, the strong urge to turn and rip the other guy to shreds.

Xander hated to lose control like that. After he’d found his family had been slaughtered, he’d lost it. He’d found one of the killers easy enough, stuffing dollars down the g-string of an exotic dancer at a shifter strip club a month after their deaths. He’d nearly destroyed the place as he’d beat the other wolf to a bloody pulp. If Xander hadn’t been a long-time friend of the owner’s son, he would have been taken out. As it was, they’d allowed him to drag the shifter from the club, no questions asked.

What he’d done after that was between him and the Gods.

There was no thinking of his family without the wrenching pain that followed, so he buried those memories. All that kept him going was the knowledge that he was going to destroy the animals that tore his family apart.

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