Adele, Claire - Guardian of His Love [Wolves of West Texas 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (3 page)

“It’s not like it sounds. I can explain.”

He paced the floor in front of the couch. “Good, because I damn well want an explanation.” Here he’d taken a chance on letting his feelings get involved again, and it was already backfiring.
Hell and damnation
.

“My family is a werewolf pack.”

Derek stopped in his tracks and turned to search her face for the truth of her words.

“Yes, I’m also a werewolf,” she said softly. “I watched you fight off the Hawks while I hid inside the Rescue Mission that night. You took my breath.”

Derek ran his fingers through his hair, and a grunt of amazement escaped him. “Interesting. But that shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

“No, it shouldn’t.” She shook her head slowly.

“So, what’s the problem? Tell me.” He sat beside her on the couch and took her hands in his. She was a werewolf.
Good God
.

“The problem is my family holds to old family traditions and pack laws.”

“And?”

“Our family, the Wolford pack, has been marrying members of the Wolfgang pack for generations. In my generation it’s no different. I’m the oldest daughter, and my family pledged me in marriage to the oldest son of the Wolfgangs. My family refuses to break with tradition. But I’m a modern woman with a mind of my own. I refuse to marry someone I don’t love, and I shouldn’t have to in this day and age. I want to marry the man that I’ll love someday. And now my brothers have found me, and I know they’ll insist on taking me home to be mated and wed.”

“Kelly, you don’t have to go with them if you don’t want to. You don’t have to mate and marry someone you don’t love. I can help you.”

“I don’t know how to avoid it unless I sneak away and go on the run again.”

“You won’t have to. We’ll work this out. You can stay here in Mike’s guarded home while we figure this out.”

“Are you sure that’s all right with Mike?”

“I’m positive. I’ll let him know you’re going to be staying here. I‘ll stay here with you if you want me to.”

“Yes. I want you to.”

“Good. That’s what we’ll do.” He had to know if she’d had sex with this Wolfgang guy. Just the possibility made him want to rip the guy to pieces. “How close are you to this guy they want you to marry?”

“I know him because we’re close in age and our families’ properties are side by side in central Texas. But I’ve never had sex with him. He doesn’t appeal to me at all. He’s the alpha of his siblings, and he’s aggressive and arrogant. I’ve never liked him much.”

It didn’t sound like Derek had any competition from the guy. The problem must be with her family insisting she marry their family friends’ son. “Doesn’t your family know that it’s against the state law for cousins to marry?”

“They keep pretty much to themselves. And as it turns out, Rafe and I are third cousins. There’s been fewer children born to first cousins over the years. The families take that into consideration when arranging marriages. They’ve been close friends for so many generations. The cattle-ranching business is a partnership between them. I don’t care anything about cattle ranching. I want to live in the city where things are happening. I want to live my own life.”

“You will. I’ll see that you do. We’ll work something out with your family, but meanwhile you can stay here where you’ll be safe.”

“I hope they’ll leave me in peace.”

“Bet on it, sweetheart. Why don’t we get out of here and take a walk. You’re safe in this neighborhood.”

“Sounds great. I’d better change into some clothes, though.”

“We wouldn’t need any clothes if we shifted.” He raised his eyebrows in question.

She stared at him and then smiled. “That would be nice. I haven’t shifted in ages. What if someone sees us, though?”

“No one will notice. The people in this neighborhood drive into their garages at night and don’t come out until they drive back out the following morning. We can leave our robes over the chairs on the back patio.”

“Lead the way. I’m ready.” She jumped up from the sofa.

He stood and took her hand. “The door’s over here.” He led the way to the oversized doors between the great room and the kitchen. The doors opened onto the patio and backyard. He crossed the length of the patio into the shadows. “Leave your robe here.” After tossing his across the back of a lounge chair, he helped her out of her robe and draped it over the back of the chair as he indicated the gate in the rock wall.

“There’s a path we can follow along the top of the foothill.” He took her hand and escorted her through the gate, which he opened and closed behind them.

“When will we shift?” Her voice sounded eager.

“Right now if you want. No one can see us behind this wall.

“I’m ready. You go first.”

He chuckled and grinned at her. “Ladies first. I insist.” He needed a strong emotional reaction in order to shift and figured the sight of her shifting would be just the thing.

“Okay. The moonlight is beautiful on the desert. It makes me want to run.” She took off along the path heading north, away from the neighborhood.

Derek watched, enthralled as the moon revealed her shape-shifting. She quickly morphed to a were form the actual shape of a wolf, her hair pale silver. She stopped running, her beautiful wolf shape and shining fur revealed to him as she turned. A smile on her wolf face, darker fur outlined her pale-blue eyes that gleamed in the moonlight.

She was a sight to fire any wolf’s blood. Charges of electricity swept the length of Derek as he began to morph. Although his were shape was more human than wolf, he remained upright on two legs. His nails turned to claws, and his canine teeth elongated. A deep growl of desire escaped him as he took off at a run, following Kelly’s arousing form. She gave a little yelp of excitement and ran along the path in front of them, her white-haired plume of a tail wagging happily like a flag.

Derek followed her, holding in his almost overpowering feral need to mate with her again. This was for Kelly’s freedom and pleasure in a nighttime run.

She set the pace, and warmth filled Derek as he witnessed her joy. They soon turned onto a path that led higher to the steeper slopes of the mountain.

Concerned they could run into one or more of the Mexican gray wolves in the area, Derek called to her to wait for him. “It’s best we stop here. I don’t want to meet up with the wildlife that lives in the mountains, wolves being part of the community.”

“You mean real wolves, not werewolves?”

“Yeah. Real Wolves.” He heard the foot pads of large animals approaching behind them at a swift pace. “Hell. What the fuck?” He remained in his wolf form in case danger threatened.

“Oh, hell, it’s my brothers, and Rafe and his brothers. They must have been searching for me.”

“Damnation,” Derek swore. “Do you want me to chase them off?”

“No,” she said. “I’ll talk to my brother and tell him to leave me alone.”

The wolf pack circled them. Derek watched, wary in case they tried to separate Kelly from him and drive her away in their custody.

“What do you want, Beau?”

Her brother walked up to her. “I need to talk to you in private.” He stared with obvious anger at Derek.

“I’ll talk to only you.” She glared at Beau. The plume of her tail swished with angry flicks.

Beau stalked up the path about ten feet away from Derek.

“Kelly, you don’t have to,” Derek said softly to her.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Wait here. This won’t take long.” With that, she walked slowly up the path and joined her brother.

Derek’s sensitive wolf hearing picked up their conversation as the pack stood waiting, their eyes on Derek. He returned his attention to Kelly and her brother.

“Quit growling, Beau,” she warned.

His lips drew back in his wolf snarl. “I can scent that you’ve mated. You’ve broken family pack traditions. Everyone in our family feels they can no longer trust you. You now face a testing ceremony, first, to discover who you’ve mated with, and second, to decide whether your betrothed, Rafe Wolfgang, or your recent mate will win the testing ceremony. Care to tell me who you’ve recently mated with?”

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

“No need. I have a damned good idea who it is.” Beau looked straight at Derek.

“I won’t submit to the testing ceremony.” Her tail flicked sharply.

Beau gave a low growl. “You must prove your trustworthiness to your family by your submission to the testing, or else you face being thrown out of the pack.”

Derek’s temper boiled at her brother’s threat. They had no right to treat her so badly.

Kelly shook her head and her growl turned to a sharp bark of anger. She howled softly, once. Derek tensed, ready to leap at the first wolf who tried to touch her.

“Kelly.” One of Rafe’s brothers barked near Derek. “How can you waste yourself on this joker? He isn’t even a proper werewolf. He looks more human than wolf when he shifts.”

“Ty, he’s werewolf enough for me. Derek Wolfson has saved my life twice.”

“Enough!” Beau ordered.

She kept her eyes on the wolves surrounding Derek. “I’m an independent woman now.” She turned to face Beau. “I’ll let you know when I’m damned well ready to tell you, whether I’ll agree to the testing ceremony, or leave the family pack.” She bounded down the path, away from Beau, and rejoined Derek at his side.

“Let’s go,” Derek said. He turned away from her pack, and she moved with him, right at his side. “You go ahead of me,” he said softly.

She trotted along the path ahead of him, and he followed. He glanced back a couple of times to make sure Beau and the pack had not followed.

When they reached the gate into Mike’s backyard, Derek called to her to wait. “Lets’ change before we enter the backyard.”

“Good idea.” She morphed to her human form.

Derek quickly took on his human shape. He opened the gate and she passed through, waiting for him while he locked the gate behind them.

Now, how about some of that cherry pie and whipped cream?”

“Sounds delish.” She smiled at him.

He helped her into her robe, slipped on his own, and held out his hand to her. She put her hand in his and they headed for the kitchen and dessert.

After they gathered eating utensils, napkins, and plates piled with cherry pie and whipped cream, they returned to the sofa.

Derek turned the lights down low. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried to the bedroom and found the box of condoms in the bathroom. After stuffing a handful in the pocket of his robe, he hustled back to Kelly’s side. She’d already eaten a third of her pie and whipped cream. He smiled at that.

With the sofa facing the story-and-a-half-high windows, they could stargaze while they ate their pie, and later while he sank his hard cock deep inside her hot pussy.

Her soft sigh told him she was relaxing. The need to protect her blazed inside him. No one was going to force her to do anything she didn’t want to. He scooped up a little whipped cream on his index finger and dabbed it on her lush, firm lips.

She gasped and looked at him in surprise right before she laughed.

“Kiss me,” he said, smiling.

She swiped some of the whipped cream up with her tongue. “Yum, that’s good even without the cherries.”