Read Cook, Kris - Primal Desire [Texas Wolf Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Online
Authors: Kris Cook
Cook, Kris - Primal Desire [Texas Wolf Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)
She opened her eyes and looked at Kate, the pregnant witch who was engaged to not one but two werewolves. “So our family has been intertwined with the tribe for hundreds of years?”
Kate nodded. “And I am going to tie the knot with two of its sexiest braves.”
“Why not? Everything I thought I knew about the world, my Gran, and my sister turns out to be wrong.” A thought raced through Megan. “What about your twins?”
“Shifters for sure. They might also have the gift, but Gran isn’t sure about that part yet.”
A million thoughts whirled in her mind, and if any one of them were ever shared with a mental professional, it would win her a one-way ticket to the loony bin.
“So, is there anything in this book of yours that will tell me if I’m a witch like you or not?”
* * * *
Luke Keekoti’s shifter senses went into overdrive as his nostrils caught the hint of an irresistible scent coming from south of his cabin. Since his home was exactly in the center of his ranch, the seductive odor had to be coming from a trespasser—an ovulating female.
Luke took in another big whiff of the air, causing his dick to harden, his balls to grow heavy, and a hunger to burn deep inside him.
What the fuck!
Sure, he hadn’t had pussy in more than a month, but his current reaction to this woman was new to him. He was on the edge of rushing to the trespasser, pulling her body to his, and fucking her senseless, though he had no idea what she even looked like. She couldn’t be from around here since the entire county, including his tribe, knew it was best to leave him alone.
Luke made only four trips a year to Mertzon to stock up on supplies. When he needed to feed his lust, he would travel outside the county to San Angelo or even to San Antonio, keeping the women he bedded in the dark about who—or what—he was. Supply and sex trips were the only times he ever saw another person. He liked it that way. It suited him.
Now this female, who smelled like spice and caramel, was screwing up his routine, and that pissed him off. He curled his hands into fists. Could she be his mate? That would be fucking terrible. Luke knew the tribal lore about life mates. Though he steered clear of society, he’d learned about his cousins, Troy and Rance, recently discovering their mate in Kate Bullion. If the female intruder was his mate, he’d make sure, whatever it took, that she left and never came back. If he failed, her very survival would be in jeopardy.
Luke realized that he had no idea what she looked like. She could’ve been hideous for the little he knew. Hoping that a good look at the woman might quell his growing thirst, Luke opened his front door quietly, even though the female, being human, would have no chance of hearing him. He lifted his chin and inhaled deeply. Another smell alerted his senses that approaching the woman in wolf form would be fruitless. She’d not come on foot or by car but on horseback. Even if Luke didn’t transition, the four-hoofed bag of glue would definitely alert the woman of his presence once he got within half a mile of her.
The best idea would be to stay put, but with the woman’s scent filling up his lungs, he couldn’t. Instinct was kicking in full throttle inside him. All engines were firing.
Luke shook his head, trying to use his will to calm the fire inside him. But it wasn’t working. His fangs extended. He was shifting. Ancestral, instinctual urges ripped him in pieces and prodded him to run to the woman producing the scent. He wasn’t sure if he could rein in his growing desires once he found her. His willpower was being tossed aside like child’s play by his more primitive nature to possess.
Latching on to a thread of his logic, he pulled his pistol from his holster and fired several shots in the air. The intruder was near enough to hear the gunfire. Barely on the edge of sanity, Luke prayed she would jump on her horse and ride off so that her seductive odor would dissipate. If not, well…the lesson he would give her for coming onto his private property without an invitation might be harsh, if not deserved.
Fuck!
Chapter Two
The sound of gunfire in the distance jerked Megan’s attention from her reading. Nightmare, Gran’s horse, must’ve heard the shots, too, as he nearly bucked her off his saddle.
Megan pulled hard on his reins and was able to stay seated, but she nearly dropped Kate’s spell book in the process. She clutched the tome with her left hand and the reins with her right.
The shots must be from hunters.
But the families in the ranches that neighbored Gran’s land didn’t allow hunting on their properties.
Though not expecting an answer, she asked aloud to the empty, cool air, “How far could I have ridden?”
Megan looked around and didn’t recognize the locale, and she realized that she might actually be several miles from Gran’s. Though the horse was temperamental with most, with Megan, her sisters, and Gran, he acted like a kitten. Megan had ridden Nightmare so many times that she usually let him saunter where he liked, knowing he wouldn’t lead her under a low-hanging branch or into a stream. After learning that she might be a witch two days ago, Megan was more than willing to give him free rein since she wanted to read Kate’s spell book while riding.
“Hello!” She hoped that whoever was hunting might hear her yell and stop shooting.
The gunfire seemed to have come from her left, where the sun was setting. Gran’s house had to be to the east. “Okay, Nightmare, let’s get home before it’s too dark for me to see the trail.”
She gently kicked the horse from her stirrups and made a clicking noise, but her ride didn’t budge. Instead, Nightmare began to snort and paw the ground with one of his front hooves.
“Steady, boy. It’s okay. The hunter has to be at least a mile away.”
But the more she talked, the more agitated the horse became. He began to buck, and she jerked on the reins. But there was no change in Nightmare. She gripped the leather tight with both hands, letting Kate’s book fall to the ground.
If I survive this, I’ll come back for it.
“Whoa!” Megan stayed in the saddle even though she couldn’t get back in control of Nightmare.
Just as she spotted the shadow of a person at the edge of the clearing, Gran’s horse turned and made a mad dash in the opposite direction of the silhouette.
The hunter?
No time to worry about that now.
At first, she thought Nightmare might gallop all the way back to Gran’s house with her on top of him. But that changed when she spotted the direction the horse was headed in. A low-hanging branch was dead ahead of them. She tugged on the reins once again, but no luck. Nightmare was in a full-tilt panic. Megan tried to jump from the horse and off the saddle to the ground, but in her own panic she’d wrapped the reins too tightly around her hands and couldn’t free herself of them.
She closed her eyes tight and braced for the impact ahead. But instead, something from the left hit her in the side and knocked her off the horse. Her hands finally jerked free of the reins. She felt the form roll past her as she hit the ground with a thud. She rolled over the hard earth several times before coming to a stop. She took a deep breath and became aware of the aches and pains the fall had produced in her body. Opening her eyes, she looked for the man who had knocked her out of the saddle in the nick of time. She wanted to thank him for saving her.
“Hello?” she asked, looking around.
No one close…well, no human.
At least a quarter mile away, Nightmare continued his flight up the hill. When she looked to the tree line to her left, she knew why he’d been so spooked.
The black eyes and bared teeth of the lone wolf told her everything she needed to know. Had the beast been the one who knocked her off Nightmare? If so, the thing had to be rabid and was likely about to make mincemeat out of her.
Then she remembered what Kate had said about Troy and Rance. They were shifters. Could this wolf actually be one of the members of the Loneekawa Tribe?
She shifted her legs closer, preparing to stand or run, whichever she would need to do. “Hi. You wouldn’t happen to be a man in wolf clothing?” The beast didn’t move but continued glaring at her. Now, she felt stupid for asking.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she realized Nightmare was long gone. She’d been foolish to take a ride without a pistol. Gran had taught her and her sisters to shoot early on. Being so remote demanded a certain way of living, and a gun was not a “nice-to-have” but a necessity. Megan had been away in the city for too long. She’d forgotten her upbringing.
I need to think and fast.
She spotted a tree that might serve as her escape. She doubted the wolf would be able to get up that tree. Running would be tough. She was wearing her boots. Plus, her ankle was killing her. Had she broken it in the fall? Turning back to the dark-eyed, wild animal, she made up her mind to go for it. The tree was her only chance. Once up it, she might get reception on her cell, though she doubted it.
As fast as possible, she stood up. Pain shot up her leg, and her knees buckled. But she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she felt fur under her.
The wolf?
Completely panicked, she began clawing at the beast behind her. Then she felt fingers wrap around her wrists.
“That’s enough!” a male voice commanded.
She turned her head, now resting on a human male’s chest, and watched the last shimmering change of the wolf becoming a man—
in every way.
He was completely naked. She looked down between his legs and saw his long, thick cock.
“You’re a…werewolf?” She gulped.
His eyes never left hers. “Obviously. But the correct term is ‘shifter.’”
Something about this man—whether creature, werewolf, or shifter—was having an impact on her. She had the oddest urge to wrap her arms around his neck and cover him in kisses. Magic. Werewolves. It was too much to take in. She leaned away from him and winced as the pain in her leg exploded.
He lifted her off the ground, making her feel light. The ache subsided a bit.
“You are trespassing on my property.” His tone was filled with anger and made her tremble.
“I’m sorry. I–I…well, I was distracted. Put me down, and I’ll be on my way.” Being held by this naked man had her heart beating faster and faster.
“Your ride is long gone.” He looked up at the sky. “The sun is down, and it will be pitch-black without the moon tonight.”
“No moon? I thought you guys needed a full moon to turn into…ah…wolves.”
“You thought wrong.” He began running the opposite way than Nightmare had gone. The trees seemed to blur beside them.
“Do you know Mabel Bullion? She’s my grandmother. I’m Megan Bullion.”
“I know Gran.”
“Your name is…?”
“You’re quite the chatty one, Megan.”
“So I’ve been told. Your name, please?”
“Luke.” He said it in a way that made it clear he didn’t like answering questions.
Softening her tone, she asked, “Would you mind taking me to Gran’s house?”
“Yes, I would mind,” he stated firmly.
Though his naked body felt good to her, his demeanor was tough to take. He seemed like a man who didn’t care for company much. “I don’t understand.”
“Your ankle is twisted or broken. It’s nightfall. I’m taking you to my house for the night.”
“But…”
“No more questions. Be quiet.”
Megan snapped her jaw shut. Arguing with this man would get her nowhere fast. Besides, he was right about her ankle. The pain was making her woozy.
She leaned into his chest, too tired and hurt to resist.