Awaken a Wolf (7 page)

She harrumphed.  “You’re the one who’s being pushy.”

His lip curled as a growl vibrated in his chest, making her palms tingle.  “I’m being remarkably docile compared to what I’d like to do.”

“Which is what?”

“Throw you over my shoulder and take you back to the den.”

“Den?  I thought you lived in a house?”

He grinned.  “You’re changing the subject.”

She dropped her head to his chest and sighed.  Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and actually hugged him.  The tightness in her body, the strange twisting ache, settled as heat flared through her.

He nuzzled her hair, and she shivered.  “You can’t deny the connection between us, Cinder.  I know it’s new and frightening, but the full moon is only five days away.  I can’t stand the distance between us.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes. “Can’t you ask me out on a date?  Are wolves against being normal guys?”

He snorted.  “I’m hardly normal.”

She laughed.  “You’re proud of the weirdest things.”

He sighed exaggeratedly.  “Fine.  Go out with me tonight.”

She looked up at him.  The gold was gone, and his eyes were back to the icy blue color she found so enchanting.  He seemed more relaxed, and she could admit that while she was turned on, she wasn’t feeling nearly as out-of-sorts as she had before he showed up.  “I’m off at four, and you can pick me up at six.”

“Five.”

“I wasn’t negotiating.”

“I was.”

“Five thirty.”

He lowered his head and kissed her.  It was the simplest of kisses, just a pressing of their lips together, but the whole world dropped away, and her wolf howled in her mind.

He lifted from her mouth and said, “Five thirty.  Be safe.”

She had to force herself to let go of him.  She smiled at him, and he watched her as she walked into the store until the door shut behind her and he was obscured from view.  She almost opened the door to see him again; her hand gripped the door handle before she realized it, but she forced herself to let go and turn away, leaving her wolf behind.  At least for now.  She’d think more about the strange circumstances of her life later.

* * * * *

Adam waited until the door closed and then he turned as Joe and Solan walked around the corner of the building.

“Keep an eye on the building, and when her shift is over, make sure she gets home safely.”

“Why don’t you do what you said you wanted and take her home now?” Joe asked, folding his arms.

“Because she’s not a wolf, and I don’t want to drive her away.”  He’d already made too many mistakes in a short period of time, and he could tell by the way she melted in his arms that he needed to have a softer touch.  It went against his natural tendency to bend people to his will, but he didn’t want her to hate him.  She was going to need him on the full moon, and he needed her too.

“We’ll make sure she gets home safely, Alpha,” Solan said.

Adam nodded and strode to his SUV.  Five thirty couldn’t come fast enough.

Chapter 7

Cinder was aware of the wolves watching the store.  Not only had Lorene and two of the unnatural Wiccans mentioned it, but she’d felt them.  It was as if being near one of Adam’s wolves called to a deeper part of her being.  She was tempted to talk to Lorene about the situation, but she decided to keep her thoughts to herself for now.  With the full moon drawing closer, she was aware that her life might change drastically.  She feared losing her powers if she actually shifted, which is what everyone seemed to assume would happen.  She didn’t know what she would do if she lost her connection to her powers over flame and fire.

Pushing those thoughts away, she walked up the steps to her apartment and smiled to see another envelope with her name on it in the same spot where she had taped Adam’s envelope that morning.

Inside were the necklace and the chocolates.  After popping a chocolate in her mouth and savoring the sweet, dark flavor, she headed to the bathroom to shower, with the necklace once more around her neck.  She chose a black tank dress and paired it with her favorite kitten heels.  She double-checked her makeup and fluffed her hair, debating once more on whether she should wear her long tresses up or down.

There was a sharp knock on the door, and she felt her body clench low in her belly.  Letting her hair fall back down, she walked quickly to the door and took a moment to settle her nerves before she opened it.  Adam, dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and red tie, stood before her with a single red rose in his hand.

He growled, the sound sultry and filled with hidden promises.  She took the rose, a red so deep it bordered on black.

“It’s the color of passion and commitment,” he said, his voice low and growly.

She touched the bloom to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent.  She peeked at him and found him watching her intently.  “You’re dangerous, Adam Beaumont.”

“Never to you, and only to those who would try to harm you.”

Wow
.  That made the panty-dropping alarms go off in her head.  Stepping out and closing the door behind her, so she didn’t do something embarrassing and invite him to spend a week naked in her bed, she smiled.  “What are we up to tonight?”

“Dinner and dancing.  How’s that sound?”  He offered her his arm, and she looped hers through.

“Really good.”

He opened the passenger door of his SUV and helped her inside, and after shutting the door, he strode around the front and climbed behind the wheel.  On the way to dinner, he asked her about her work at the Wiccan store.

“You’re a natural Wiccan, right?”

“Yes, south power, which is fire.”

“Can you just think something on fire?”

“There are basic spells for lighting items on fire, but I can throw my power to an object and set it on fire without a spell.  When I was younger, I had trouble controlling it.   When I would get upset, objects near me would catch on fire.  My mom went through five sets of curtains in my bedroom before she gave up and said I had to deal with uncovered windows until I could handle myself.”

He chuckled.  “Sounds like what pups go through.  It’s hard to know how to deal with power no matter what form it comes in.  Young pups can lose control when they get emotional and people can get hurt.”

“Did you ever hurt anyone, when you were young?”

“No.  I’ve always been careful to handle the beast, but others aren’t so lucky.  I had great teachers in my father and grandfather.”

“Why isn’t your dad alpha?  Aren’t packs like a family hierarchy with who becomes the alpha?”

“Not at all.  The alpha is the best male in the pack.  Before me, it was a male named Lit, and he was a great alpha, but he had family issues and was too distracted to take care of the pack.  I was third ranked and knew that it was just a matter of time before someone tried to kill him to take over.”

“Why didn’t his number two guy become the alpha when he couldn’t?”

“Because I skipped over him and took out Lit.  It was the right time, and the beta is Brick, who is my cousin.  He’s an excellent beta, but he’s not alpha material.  You have to be ruthless at times.”

“You mean being an asshole?”

“Not just that,” he said, laughing.  He stopped the SUV in front of a restaurant and turned off the engine.  “If I could go back, I would grab you on the dance floor that first night and sweep you off your feet.  But I didn’t do that.  I treated you like a wolf, and you almost died.  I’m furious at myself for what happened.”

“I’ll forgive you eventually, don’t worry.”

“Eventually?  At least there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

She put her hand on his arm as he reached for the door handle.  “I’m scared.”

“About dinner?”

“No, about what this means between us.  I kind of hate you because of what you did, but I also really like being around you.  You settle something inside me.  I know what it means, and I’m scared because I don’t know if I can handle what’s coming.”

She swallowed hard and blinked at the sudden tears.  He leaned over the console and pulled her close.  She was immediately enveloped in his dark scent, and the tears eased away as quickly as they had come.

“I don’t know what’s coming for you either, Cinder, but I know I’m not going anywhere.  Whatever comes, I’m there.”

She pressed her face into his neck and slid her arms inside his jacket to feel the heat of his skin through the silk dress shirt.  “I’m not going to apologize for being pissed at you for what you did.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” he said with a chuckle.  “Let’s have dinner and then we’ll see where the night takes us.”

* * * * *

By the time dinner was finished, Adam was head over heels for Cinder.  She was amazing.   More than once during dinner his conscience had been pricked over how he’d taken her two closest friends from her.  She was a stranger in Northern Ohio, and he’d pulled from her the most important people in her life.  Not that he planned to let her hang out with those unmated males anytime soon, but he still felt bad.

They shared a tiramisu, and he told her about the pack’s full moon gathering.  “The town has been the pack’s territory for generations.  No one hunts in the woods but us.  We have pack members working in most every business, from city hall to the police force to the diner.”

“Do females hold rank in the pack?”

“No.  The females are led as a group by the alpha female, but of course everyone, including her, is under the authority of the alpha.”

Adam watched as she stirred the spoon in her coffee and looked thoughtful.  She was so beautiful.  He loved her golden hair and wanted to sink his fingers into it and see if it was as soft and as thick as it looked.  Her green eyes shimmered in the candlelight, and her lips were just begging to be kissed.

“What if I can’t be the
Sahri
for the pack because I shift this full moon?”  Her teeth dug into her lower lip.

“We haven’t had a
Sahri
since Lit left.  His mate was Wiccan.  If you really are going to shift this full moon, then you’ll need to concentrate on that alone.  Until you’re ready to be the
Sahri
for the pack, we will do without.”

“Someone else from the coven–” she spoke, but he stopped her with a soft snarl.

“I don’t want anyone else to be the
Sahri
but you.”

She smiled and it warmed him from the inside out.  The physical pull of their mating was difficult to ignore, but it wasn’t only because of the physicality of their bond as mates.  He flat-out liked her.  She was witty and sarcastic, generous to her friends.  She probably didn’t realize that when they mated, the pack would become her family.  Not for the first time, he wondered just how much she knew about wolves and whether she truly understood what becoming his mate meant.  He wanted to tell her everything and mate with her immediately.  The alpha in him demanded his female was by his side at all times.  But worry over pushing her away by coming on too strong held him back.  It was only because he felt her softening toward him that he resisted
bulldozing
over her life and forcing her to bend to his will.  He didn’t
want
to force her.  He wanted her to come to him because she didn’t want to be with anyone else, ever.

He stood and held out his hand to her.  She took it immediately, and the connection between them flared once more.  It felt as though they’d been holding hands for years when she linked their fingers together and walked with him through the restaurant.  They only let go of each other for seconds as they got into his SUV and headed to Lykos.

He could have walked her into the club through the back and whisked her right to his private table, but he could admit to a bit of masculine pride at wanting to show her off.  She was gorgeous, in the almost too-tight dress that showed most of her short but shapely legs.  He slipped his arm around her as they walked down the sidewalk in front of the club, past the humans and other shifters who were hoping to gain admittance.

“Welcome, Alpha,” Grey, a bouncer and pack member, said as he unhooked a black velvet rope and stepped aside.

Adam nodded as he ushered Cinder through the open doors and into the club.  As the long line outside suggested, Lykos was packed.  Strobe lights and lasers painted the crowd as they danced and writhed together.

“This way, sweetheart,” he said into her ear as he led her around the perimeter of the dance floor to his private table.  His table was in the back of the club in the center of the wall.  The horseshoe-shaped booth had soft leather padding on the seat and circled a round wooden table.  The booth was partially obscured in darkness thanks to carefully arranged lighting, so in a sea of bodies, it felt relatively private.

Cinder paused in front of the table, her fingertips brushing against the smooth surface.  “I think you promised me dancing,” she said.

Removing his jacket, he laid it on the seat and held out his hand to her once more.  She took it, a beautiful smile lighting her face, and he swept her into the crowd to dance the rest of the night away.

* * * * *

Cinder had thought Adam was charming during dinner.  He listened to her as if every word she spoke held hidden mysteries of the universe.  And then he’d danced with her until she thought she’d combust from being so close to him.  He’d held her tight with his arms wrapped around her, and they’d played a few hours’ worth of grinding-pelvis, which left her throbbing and tingling by the time they were ready to call it a night.

Adam watched her unlock her apartment.  He had surprised her by not inviting her back to his place, considering he’d asked his sister to invite her twice.

As if reading her mind, he said, “You asked me to give you time to get to know me.  The clock is running down on the full moon, but I can give you
some
time.”

She leaned against her closed door.  “What’s going to happen?”

He rested his hand on her neck, and his thumb stroked her pulse.  “I don’t know.”

“No, I mean aside from whether I shift or not.  Doc mentioned something about…how the alphas get together.”

She felt her cheeks heat and Adam chuckled lasciviously.

“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it, okay?”

“No.  No bridge crossing without advance warning.”

He glanced around and said, “Let’s table this discussion for tomorrow, sweetheart.  I don’t particularly want to discuss
bridges
out in the open like this.”

“Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.  Did you have a good time?”

“I did.  I hope you did too.”

He placed his hands on either side of her head against the door and leaned forward.  “I did.  You’re amazing, and I’m crazy about you.”

Her heart stuttered a little at his confession.  Hooking her hands over his arms, she tilted her face, silently asking for a kiss.  He didn’t hesitate, pressing his lips to hers.  They’d kissed from time to time while they were dancing, but this was different.  She could feel the heat of his body as he leaned closer, and the wild scent of him intensified.  His tongue swiped at the seam of her lips, and she opened willingly, unable to stop the moan of pleasure when their tongues slid against each other.

She felt the muscles in his arms grow taut, and there was a sound of metal creaking.  He lifted from her lips with a soft growl and said, “You said I was dangerous, sweetheart.  Your kisses are addictive.”

They hugged and kissed once more, and she turned to open her door and saw several dents in the metal where his fingers had made impressions.  Looking over her shoulder, she raised her brow and he shrugged with a smile.

Shaking her head with a chuckle, she said goodnight and walked into her apartment.  After turning the deadbolt, she walked to the window overlooking the parking lot and watched him walk to his SUV.  He stopped before getting inside and looked up at her.  She smiled and waved, watching until he was gone.

Part of her wanted to call him and ask him to come back and stay with her.  But she knew without a doubt that if he came into her apartment tonight, they’d have sex, which would probably be the most amazing sex of her life, but then what would happen?  He was being
docile
and letting her have time to know him.  It wasn’t only the whining wolf in her head that wanted to roll over and show him the goodies.  Cinder had never felt so strongly about a man so quickly.  Sure, she’d been attracted to Cyrus and to Leo, but she’d known deep down that what she had with them was nothing more than fun.