My wolf yipped his excitement, jumping onto his hind legs and pinning her to the tree. His nose found my temporary mark on her neck, sniffing excessively until he was satisfied that she smelled like him.
He was furious when I first stepped into the night, urging me to go back inside and tear Dustin to ribbons. The wolf didn’t care if we were brothers.
A brother didn’t threaten to steal a fated mate.
That was why I ran, carrying Angie with me because my problem would multiply tenfold if I left her behind—with Dustin.
The choice was to run as fast and far as I could, or risk killing my brother.
Or mark Angie.
I came too close, only controlling myself as I remembered those painful early memories.
I wouldn’t mark her without permission. Never.
And Dustin wouldn’t either. The asshole just didn’t know when to quit.
They didn’t believe Angie was my mate. I was too happy to let her sit at a table of unmated males.
If only they knew. I barely spoke a word at dinner, afraid my voice would come out garbled by the growl I was suppressing. Every bite of food was a rock in my stomach, my knuckles white as I forced myself to keep my touch light, intermittently brushing my hand over Angie’s.
She thought I was trying to appease my mom. The reality was that I was trying to appease her. To ease her into this life—the pack dynamic, shifting—and let her see what I had to offer before I tried to drag her to the nearest bedroom and coat her in my scent for the next two weeks.
That plan went out the window the moment I brought her out here.
Except I didn’t bring her out here. She brought me out here. Angie knew what I needed. I was two seconds from shifting in the kitchen and mauling my brother, and she didn’t hesitate to intercept me.
Even now, as she huddled against the tree, waiting to see what I would do next, she was oddly calm, making my wolf settle too. I could hear her heart beating rapidly, but her breathing was becoming even, her eyes lighting up as she realized I wasn’t going to hurt her.
Of course, I wasn’t going to hurt her.
I just wanted to taste her. She smelledincredible.
In this form, her scent was an explosion of delicious notes, and I wanted to memorize all of them.
“Hi,” Angie whispered shakily. “You’re a really big fella.”
My snout was traveling over her rapidly, sucking in the air around her. I paused at her greeting, shoving my face in hers and wetting her cheek with my nose. She shrieked, wiping her face with her sleeve.
“Don’t do that. I’m already c-cold.”
Shit. What was I thinking? She was standing out here with no shoes, her thin shirt doing nothing to hold in heat.
Grudgingly, my wolf acknowledged her discomfort, dropping back onto all fours and giving in when I demanded a shift.
He receded, but I could still feel him at the surface of my skin, humming with contentment.
Angie blinked at me, her eyes roaming over me. She caught herself, jerking her head away, but not before she got a good look at everything.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself to take the clothes from her shaking hands and shove them back on. She was standing on my shirt, so I left it there to keep her feet dry.
“Holy shit,” she said. “You really are a shifter.”
I snorted. “You didn’t believe me before.”
“I just couldn’t picture it. I’ve never seen anyone—holy shit.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again, taking her hands in mine because I felt like my heart would stop beating if I wasn’t touching her.
