Connors Pursuit (Amber Woods Shifters) (9 page)

The soft sound of Brianna’s voice broke her gaze from Luke’s heated stare.

“Not a chance baby, until we know what we are dealing with I want you to keep a safe distance”

Brianna visibly shook with anger.

“She is my friend and needs me right now, she will not harm me Marcus”

“And I am your alpha and I say no”

Brianna planted her hands on her hips, taking one step closer to him. If she was tall enough she would be nose to nose with him right now.

“And I am your alpha female, so I say yes”

“Brianna, baby, please stay calm”

“Calm, I am calm!”

Her words were shortly followed by big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Bloody hormones!

“Baby don’t cry, come on, you need rest”

Sniffing
, she marched out of the kitchen with her mate quick on her heels. Anna distracted herself by washing the dishes, knowing that Luke was still staring at her. Why did she suddenly feel like a bloody teenager on her first date?

“So,
I think we need to talk sweetheart”

God why did his words just roll of his tongue like that, smooth, velvety and dominating at the same time.

“Not tonight Luke, I have work early in the morning”

She made to make her way past him, but the gentle pressure on her arm had her glancing down at his strong fingers.
The tremor within him was obvious as it passed across her skin.

“You cannot avoid me for ever Anna, I will not give up. You know you feel the connection between us and granted I know I have held back these past few weeks, but I wanted to be sure. Sweetheart, I have never been so sure of anything in my life. If its time you need then I will give you
a little, but I cannot wait for an eternity, I ache for you now”

Anna could hear his words so sincere, just for her.
Sometimes words were just that, noises coming out of mouths, but sometimes they truly touched you deep and that is what she felt in that moment. Unsure of how to respond for fear of giving herself completely she stepped forward, kissing him gently on the lips. Maybe when she figured out what the hell was going on with the threatening letters she could give herself completely to him, but that was her own shit to deal with in her head. Softly, she stepped around him, feeling the weight of his eyes on her back as she walked out the door.

8

Lizzy felt as if she was coming down off a massive high, her head hurt and she felt physically drained. She was still unsure of what had just happened and now she felt so embarrassed by her actions. The moment Connor had come near her, everything calmed, which both surprised and annoyed her. Since leaving the Oakfield pack, she had strived to maintain her independence, to be who she wanted to be and answer to no-one. Yes she loved that she had someone to lean on but she also needed to be her own individual unique self. Connor had not said anything as he left the pack house, but the grip on her hand told her he wanted to know what the hell was going on. She could not blame him, he probably saw a crazy fucked up woman on the verge of a meltdown, because that’s exactly how it felt at the time.
Oh god, maybe I am starting to lose it after all these years, maybe this is the end of the road.
As he guided her to the beta house she dug her heels into the earth. Quickly, his head spun around, giving her a questioning look.

“Connor, I really just need to be on my own tonight, I feel exhausted and my heads kind of a mess”

Connor took in the image that was before him. His beautiful mate was tired, he could sense her energy was depleted, but what really annoyed him was that she was almost hanging her head in defeat. Hell, he had no idea what had just happened in the pack house and he really needed to talk to her to find out. A small part of his mind was questioning about her powers, if they truly were repressed what if they were doing further damage to her or her wolf, she could quite literally be a ticking time bomb.

“Baby I don’t think you should be alone tonight, whatever is happening to you we face it together”

To his disapproval she pulled out of his grasp, wrapping her hands around herself.

“Whatever the hell that was in there Connor was not me, I felt totally out of control, shit I could have endangered anyone!”

She knew she was yelling but it was the only way she could express her feelings right now.

“Lizzy, there is something you need to know. Luke found the original order that Duncan was born into. They are willing to meet with you in three days. It is possible that they may be able to release your wolf”

Lizzy’s mouth dropped open, it was one of those situations where you are given just that small piece of hope but you dare not ask too much for fear it may be taken away again.

“Tell me more” she whispered.

Connor sighed, unsure how much to tell her, he could scent her emotions that were a mixture of fear and excitement.

“What we do know is that Duncan was into some crazy dark magic, which is why he was expelled out of the order”

“Dark magic? How dark?”

Connor stepped toward her but she took a small tentative step back. He was unable to contain the small growl that escaped his lips. She was still emotionally charged and he did not want to add
his dominance to that. Calling on his wolf he took control back and answered her question.

“We will not know fully until we meet with the
m. Baby, there is something else. I was unsure if I should tell you this, but I think you have a right to know”.

Her head which had been staring at the ground snapped up.

“Tell me”

“The leader of the order, Samuel, explained to Luke that the longer your wolf is bound the stronger your powers will be. When your wolf is released, your telekinesis will magnify, and we don’t know if that will harm you in the process”

Lizzy blinked rapidly. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? Her telekinesis was strong, she had proven that a few months ago when she helped the pack infiltrate the compound where female shifters where being held. She managed to disable the weapons swiftly, and to her that had drained her for a few hours after. How the heck could this get any more powerful?

“
Shit, this just keeps getting weirder by the second. Do you know how much energy it takes at the moment to use my power?”

Connor watched as she paced back and forward, her hand rubbing her face as if to clear her thoughts. Suddenly she stopped, turning towards him, her expression wary. His hands reached out for her but just as they touched she jumped back as if he had burned her.
What the hell?

“Lizzy, don’t do that, it pisses my wolf off more than you can know”

She began to pace again, her boots making patterns in the gravel.

“In the kitchen, I felt a burn throughout my body, initially I thought it was some sort of bloody miracle and my body was trying to shift. But it felt different, no matter how hard I tried to get control
, it pushed me until I felt only anger. Oh god Connor, what if it was all that contained power, all that energy and nowhere to go?”

Connor internally grimaced, she had reached the same conclusion as him. All the facts fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. But the one hope they had was the order,
if they could reverse Duncan’s magic, they could surely help her to control her powers? Cursing he went to reach her but his phone rang. He let it ring but the caller was not giving up. Lizzy watched as he glanced at the ID, then to the alpha house.

“Lizzy, Marcus is wanting some answers, I will be back very quickly. Your bags are already in my house, get some rest and we will eat later and talk about this further baby”

Shaking her head she walked toward the guest house. She needed time alone, her head was a mess and if she was going to meet with the order she needed her head in a better place. As far as she was concerned she was an unknown entity right now, the whole pack must be talking about her.

“No Connor, I need space right now
, I need some time to think, and having you around distracts me”

His legs crossed the distance so fast Lizzy did not even see it happen. Shifter speed was cool sometimes but right now, she would settle with slow. Inhaling she scented his anxiety and his anger. His hands tilted her head up to him, the green storm swirling to amber, lust and anger reflected back at her.

“Baby, the more you push me away the more I will chase. Right now my wolf wants to claim yours, make you ours and that time is coming soon. I ache to sink into your depths until we are gasping for breath. Don’t do this tonight, your vulnerable and scared and I totally understand, let me be with you”

Lizzy knew what her heart was saying, maybe what they both needed was to loose themselves in each other, taking them to the brink, letting all that pent up sexual frustration pour into them. But her head was indeed fucked up and she knew from the past that the only way to clear it was to be alone. Reluctantly, she pulled back. A building growl came from his chest, expanding to his throat before slowly being released.

“I’m sorry Connor, please, just give me this”

Connor was clawing with rage and protectiveness right now. His mate was hurting and all he wanted was to take that away from her.
And then he opened his dumb mouth, the words came out wrong, the frustration flowing out of him.

“
Maybe I should have left you at the Oakfield pack, to be with those you know. Because, right now, I am not sure if you even know who you are right now”

The moment the words left his mouth he regretted it, pools of water gathered in her eyes
, the bitter scent of pain flooded his nostrils.

“Baby…….”

Reaching out she placed her hands up to stop him, his eyes noticing the trembling that vibrated from her fingers.

“No, I think you have said enough Beta, I think we should both just
call it a night”

With that he watched her walk briskly into the guest house, slamming the door behind her. And didn’t that make him feel like shit, he totally screwed up. His phone rang again, fuckin piece of crap, his fingers gripped the metal in preparation to throw it as far away as possible. He needed to get a grip, every time he was around Lizzy he seemed to lose all sense. Growling that his alpha was obviously wondering where the hell he was, he jogged up to the alpha house. Round fuckin two, here I come.

Lizzy was furious and hurt all at the same time. The one person she had come to rely on had thrown the truth back at her. Truly, she did not know who she was anymore, maybe he was right and she should have stayed with Oakfield, mated Oliver and said goodbye to her life because right now it was getting out of control. After slamming the front door she scented Luke in the living room. Trying to hold back tears she slumped into the sofa, letting the cushions absorb her. Luke had been drinking a bottle of beer, feet on the table tapping on his laptop. His eyes flicked to her, taking in her appearance. She probably looked like shit, but she did not care.

“Well I know why I am angry, but I am not sure about you”

Lizzy smiled softly.

“I need ice cream”

Luke grinned knowingly.

“Uh oh, if there is ice cream involved then it must be bad. Wait there and I will get some, then you can tell me all about it”

Kicking off her shoes, she relaxed into the comforting fabric, letting her head tilt back, closing her eyes briefly. Moments later, Luke came back with two spoons and one gigantic tub of ice cream.

“Who said you were getting some?”

He laughed out loud, passing her a spoon which she quickly took. For the next two hours they talked about each others’s problems until they reached the same conclusion. They were screwed but would not give up. Lizzy had realised she was beginning to fall in love with Connor, even if he did spell out the truth for her. Luke was head over heels in love with Anna and needed to claim her, as he was going crazy when other males were near her.

“
So what you are saying is that having a mate is complicated”

“Pretty much” he sighed.

“Do you remember when life was easier?” she quietly asked.

“Yeah
, when we worked at Lunar securities and the only thing to think about was the next job and where you next lay came from”

Lizzy picked up one of the cushions and bounced it off the top of his head.

“Luke, you are so crass” she snapped

“You never used to complain”

Lizzy could feel her cheeks heat up, her mouth fell open. His hands came up in a placating fashion.

“Easy she wolf, there is only one female for me now, as there is only one male for you, what happened in the past was
right at the time, but now we both have a new path to follow, or chase whichever mood you are in”

Feeling slight better, and annoyed at herself for getting embarrassed she picked up the remote control
. Her mood picked up slightly when she noticed the hammer horror marathon.

“Well I don’t know about you, but if there is one thing that makes a girl happy, its cheesy vampires and monsters, with lots of fake blood and gore”