Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46587 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
I’m twitching within, my heart beating as though ramping up for a change, but I can’t let that happen.
Down, down, I roar in my mind, talking to the wolf.
But then I think of her hand against me, how soft it felt, and the emotion in her eyes. Her scent returns to me, strongest of all, as though she’s suddenly in the room.
She’s going to be here soon. I can’t keep letting myself go like this.
How will I ever stop?
We can never be together like this.
I can’t hurt her.
Since the room is only scent-proof, not sound, I hear the car coming up the lane.
I stand slowly, reminding myself time and time again that I don’t need to give into these urges, this overwhelming desire.
I can claim her, kiss her, save her. But I can do it in this form without letting my wolfish hunger – no, starvation – guide me.
Walking through the house, I stand at the front window; my fists clenched at my sides.
It’s the fight, how primal I had to become to protect her. The aftershocks of it are still pounding through me.
As the car approaches, my nostrils twitch. Her scent is attacking me, surging through me, making it difficult as my muscles tremble and my resolve threatens to crack.
I can’t do this.
It’s a thought I’m not used to. Not that arrogance ever got a man anywhere.
But hard work, grit, blood, claws, and teeth are normally enough. Or you can think your way out of the problem.
This makes me feel more powerless than I ever have.
But it’s a strange sort, tempting to lean toward the power; to the wolf.
She’s getting out of the car. My head clouds as my gaze devours her. She’s still wearing her work clothes, the polo T-shirt and the chinos...my wolf howls, demands to be let free. To devour those curves, to consume her juicy breasts and watch as her young, innocent cheeks glow red.
As red as the eyes of the wolf. As red as the release. As red as giving myself over to the savage.
“Wait here,” Liam says, stepping from the car.
Through Ruby’s swirling scent, I detect Liam. He’s in a state of supreme calm, as he always is...as I was, for years, over a decade before I scented my Ruby.
“You good?” he asks, walking up the porch steps.
My gaze is fixated on Ruby, hardly conscious of the human standing next to her.
The woman. I’m not the wolf, not now.
“Ramsey.” Liam’s hand is on my shoulder, his gaze hard. “You good?”
I nod. “Yeah. I just...I’m fine.”
“You can wait in the meditation room if you like.”
I shake my head, slowing my breathing. Then, with effort, I manage to push her scent away a little, the barest inch.
It’s like there’s a very thin protective shield around me, but she’s still there, swirling through the air, calling to the wildness in me.
“I’m fine,” I repeat. “I’ll go say hello.”
He frowns as I walk down the porch steps. His scent shifts slightly, a hint of readiness there; he thinks I might change. I’d never let that happen, not now, not after I fucked up so bad in the city.
But I saved her.
You could’ve saved her as a man. Now the hunters know she’s valuable to a wolf.
Fuck, fuck.
She looks up, blinking, her eyes puffy as though she’s been crying. My hand tries to rise, to tenderly caress her cheek. To let her know it’s okay.
But what if my hand becomes a claw halfway through, the suddenness of the change sweeping me up?
I’m not sure it’s ever happened so fast.
I’d have time to whip my hand away. Wouldn’t I?
“Hello,” she says. “This is Mom. Ilsa. Mom – Ilsa, this is Ramsey. My, err, my boss.”
My heart thunders harder when she hesitates. It’s like she doesn’t know what to call me. As I say hello to her mother, I feel her watching me.
I want to study her scent deeper, to learn how she feels, but it’s too overwhelming. The wolfish part rumbles away when I even try to inhale her and let myself go.
So I have to stay distant, relying on human signals, which are always far messier.
“Let’s go inside and get something to drink,” Liam says. “Ramsey, a beer?”
“No,” I say quickly, then Liam winces.
He gives me a look. His scent shivers, more difficult to detect with Ruby’s right there, but I can sense it. I’ve trained enough. I can’t imagine what an untrained wolf would do with a scent like this.
Go insane, kill their lover, get killed by another shifter.
I shake my head at Liam. He’s telling me he’s sorry for offering me a beer. My mind has to be sharp, my defenses raised. There are horror stories about shifters who got blackout drunk and lost control of their abilities.
They don’t last for long.
Normally, I’m fine with alcohol. But with Ruby nearby, I have to be careful.