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  Lance glanced over and smiled, not at all amused. “You’ve been controlling the wolf better than I expected. Just try breathing through it, and she should calm down enough for you to drive straight.” He chuckled.

  Rolling my eyes, I focused on the road, following close behind Luke’s truck. We were almost back in town. I wasn’t sure where we were heading, but I didn’t know if I wanted to be alone tonight. When the other Pack found the bodies, they might retaliate. And what about Annie? She never came home. My heart felt like it was lodged in my throat. Things around here were more serious than I expected. So much death, and I was right in the middle of it.

  We were heading to Luke’s house. Once again, I had to take a car down his horrible driveway. Lance shot me dirty looks every time his precious car hit a hole, but he didn’t say a single word. He had more patience than I did. I probably would have flipped out, especially with all that was happening around us. The Thatchers were used to the life, though. I had to remember that about them. They’d had to deal with murder before. It was just another day in the life of a Thatcher. I laughed to myself, ignoring the strange glance Lance gave me.

  “You should have stayed in Chicago, Riley. We may not come out of this alive.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  I sat on the back porch, looking out over the miles of pasture. Horses grazed in one field, and there were cows in another. Luke liked to keep busy, obviously. Thinking about him had me smiling, despite the shit we just went through. But the happy thoughts were immediately replaced with images of Lance ripping that guy’s head off. It took little effort for him to do it, and it scared me more than I would ever admit to anyone. He was right when he said I should have stayed in Chicago. I should have trusted my instincts and refused that woman’s case in the first place.

  Remembering Alex, I pulled out my cell phone. It was still too early to call him, so I tucked it back into my pocket. It was five in the morning, and holy hell, was I tired. My eyes felt like sand were in them. Groaning, I put my hands behind me and leaned back, allowing my head to fall back. The sky was clear, so I could see a lot of stars. Unfortunately, it was still sticky hot. The bugs were out and irritating me. A smart person would go inside to avoid them, but I didn’t want to face Lance or Luke. I needed the silence.

  Sighing when I heard footsteps, I continued to sit the way I was. If I ignored whoever it was, then maybe they would leave. Only, it felt like someone was staring at me. Blinking my eyes open, I looked up to find Luke standing over me. My nostrils flared, taking in his manly scent. He would always do things to me. I didn’t know if I could leave him behind, but I had no choice. The man didn’t want me.

  “Want to go for a walk?” he asked, coming around me so he could offer a hand.

  Nodding, I took his hand, ignoring the shocks of pleasure that went through my body. He kept ahold of my hand as we went down the steps of the porch and onto a path that led to the pasture. “I’m sorry you had to see Lance like that.”

  “I’m guessing that’s part of being a werewolf, so it’s not necessary for you to apologize, Luke.” My tone was impersonal.

  He noticed the change in my attitude and it affected him more than I thought it would. “I’m sorry for the things I said. I just don’t want to be the one responsible for keeping you in this shithole of a town, Riley. You deserve so much better than this. We Thatchers are bad news.”

  “Why can’t you come to Chicago?” I asked.

  Luke chuckled. “Me? In Chicago? Yeah, right.”

  Wow. He thought I would stay in Luna Hill with him? Why should I make the sacrifice? I hated the town. I hated the people. I hated the memories that came with it. I even hated my parents. There was no reason why I would stay behind. Not even for Luke.

  “Well, I guess that sums it up, then. We can’t be together.” I released his hand, noticing the flash of disappointment that appeared on his face.

  “But I want you.”

  “Well, we can’t always get what we want, Luke. Neither one of us is willing to give in, so this,” I gestured wildly at both of us, “can’t fucking happen.”

  Luke started stalking toward me, eyes glowing. “I want you so bad, Riley. I’m not sure I can stay away.”

  Slowly, I backed up, hitting my back against the pasture fence. “Well, you’ll have to get over it,” I said, hardly sounding convincing. I was stuttering, and my voice was small.

  “Want to run with me?”

  Confused, I stared at him, not understanding the change in topic. “Uh, I’m not much of a jogger. Thanks, though.”

  “No, I meant run as a wolf.” Luke shook his head, exasperated.

  Nodding, I allowed him to help me over the fence. He led me over to the far left side of the pasture, behind some trees. Slowly, he started to undress me, his gaze holding mine the entire time. It was intimate, and my body was responding sexually, despite my inner monologue of, No, don’t do it! You can’t be together! None of it was working.

  His fingers brushed against my nipples, causing me to suck in a breath. I forced myself to stay still, keep strong, and not jump him like a crazy-horny lady. Luke was teasing me, and it was completely unfair. How was I supposed to stay away from him? He insisted on pushing my buttons constantly.

  When I opened my mouth to say something, he put a finger against my lips. “Change,” he whispered, stripping off his own clothes.

  Sighing, I decided to give in, even though I knew that things would end the same way as they always did. He would say this couldn’t happen, and then run off like the asshole he was. Thinking about changing, my body began to sprout fur along my skin. My body bowed as the bones reshaped to turn me into the wolf’s form. I fell to my hands and knees, closing my eyes so I didn’t have to watch my body change in front of me. It was disturbing to watch my hands turn into paws, the bones bending and fusing awkwardly.

  Seconds later, Luke was next to me, his body covered in black fur. He grinned at me, his wolfish smile growing larger as the teeth lengthened. It was truly horrifying to watch someone else go through it. My stomach rolled violently as I watched his body reshape itself. By the time he was finished, he was two times bigger than I was. His body could easily cover mine, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. He seemed far deadlier in his wolf form.

  Jerking his head for me to follow, Luke started down the pasture. I chased after him, wondering where he was taking me. When he started increasing his speed, I lengthened my stride, trying to keep up to his huge gait.

  “Wait until you see what I have to show you.”

  Tripping over my feet, I fell face-first into the grass. Where the hell did that come from? I heard a voice, and it was inside of my head! I stumbled to my feet, looking around me. Luke trotted up next to me, tongue hanging out.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Snapping my head in his direction, I growled in response. “You!” I could talk, too! I yipped in amazement.

  Luke started laughing and then took off running. I chased after him, my muscles burning from not exercising as much. Slowing down when we neared the end of the pasture, I started panting, ready to lie down for a nap. We only ran a short distance, but I was out of shape. As an investigator, I knew I should work out more, but I did the bare minimum. I trained a little every week with Alex, and then I was vegging out on my couch in my free time, or in the car while I was on a stakeout.

  Butting me with his head, Luke began to crawl on the ground to go under the fence. I groaned. Where was he taking me? I wasn’t up to traveling far, especially when I was running on little sleep. Yeah, I was lazy, but I wasn’t about to apologize for it. That’s the way I was. Maybe one day I would find enough motivation to actually get in shape. I could run a couple miles a day, but I didn’t see that happening in the near future. I liked the way my life was. Well, before coming to Luna Hill.

  Following him by crawling on the ground, I growled when my head it the fence as I went under. I climbed to my feet and shook out my fur. Luke started running
again. Deciding I wasn’t going to chase him, I picked an easy pace and followed his scent. It was becoming easier to identify smells. Even though I didn’t ask to be a werewolf, I was adapting faster than expected. If I could go back to the way I was before, I would do it immediately. Then I hesitated. Would I? So far, things were better. The smells were stronger, my eyes were better than before, and my hearing was amazing. Also, the speed and strength were huge improvements. Though, amazingly, I was still out of shape.

  Catching up to Luke, who was waiting for me, I bumped him hard with my shoulder. He grunted, baring his sharp teeth at me before turning his focus to a river in front of us. I knew there’d been a river around here, but I never had enough motivation to check it out as a kid. I mostly stayed away from exploring because it was too dangerous for me to be out alone when criminal activity was so easily accepted in our town.

  We went down a hill toward the water, coming to a stop on a rock’s ledge. He lay down and waited for me to do the same thing. I stood there, debating if I really wanted to lie down like a dog did. Maybe I wanted to be human again—but how comfortable would that be on a rock?

  Huffing out my annoyance, I laid down beside him. Seconds later, I was changing back into myself. That wasn’t planned. When I looked over at Luke, he was doing the same thing. “Don’t worry. I have some stuff out here. I like to run, and then relax in the wild for a bit.”

  Naked, he walked over to a bush concealing a plastic tub. He peeled off the lid and began to pull out blankets and sweats. He tossed me a pair of the sweats. I knew immediately they would be too big, but I didn’t complain. What mattered was that I would be covered up. Though, it would get hot, considering the weather was nasty.

  Luke laid out the blanket, and then motioned for me to come lay with him. Reluctantly, I went to him, allowing his arms to wrap around me. He pulled my body into his, and I could immediately feel how hard he was. Smelling my hair, he sighed happily. “It’s peaceful out here. I can have you all to myself,” he mumbled before placing a kiss on my cheek.

  “What are you doing, Luke?” I asked, clutching onto his arms as if he would let go any second.

  “I don’t know, Riley.”

  Annoyed, I moved away from him, climbing to my feet. “I can’t play these games with you. You’re hot and then you’re cold. Make up your mind.”

  “What the hell do you want me to do? I can’t go to Chicago, and you won’t stay here.” He climbed to his feet, towering over me as his gaze met mine.

  “Then we shouldn’t be doing this. I can’t do the casual sex thing with you. Maybe with someone else, but definitely not you.” I shook my head, disgusted with my feelings. I hated feeling connected to people. It made me feel vulnerable. Alex was the only one I let know me, and even he knew when to keep his distance.

  “You won’t fuck anyone else,” Luke snarled, grabbing ahold of my arms.

  I shoved him away from me. “You can’t tell me what to do. No man can.”

  “But you’re mine.” The way he said it almost made it appear like he was confused with my rejection, but he shook his head, frowned, and turned away. “You’re right. You can do whatever you want, with whoever you want.”

  “Exactly! As long as you get that through your thick skull.” I folded my arms over my chest, pleased that I’d made a stand.

  He whirled around on me, grabbing my arms again. “But I can’t handle it. You’re mine, Riley, and I won’t share with anyone.”

  “Well, that’s going to be hard when we’re hours apart. You can’t guard my door from men twenty-four seven.” I pointed out, trying to pull away from him. His grip was too strong. I could feel the heat of his body against mine, and it was doing things to my concentration. Must. Remain. Strong.

  “No, you’re right.”

  Sighing, I rolled my eyes. “Of course I am! Let go of me.”

  “No, no, you’re wrong. I don’t have to share.” He shook his head, confused.

  “This is ridiculous. We’re not together. You have no say in what I can and can’t do. So, let go of me, caveman.” I managed to worm my way out of his grip. Seeing a gleam in his eye, I slipped away, trying to escape him before the wolf came out.

  Suddenly, he was on me. He snagged me around the waist, pressing my ass into his groin. I moaned, squirming at the same time. Only, it was causing the opposite reaction than what I was going for. “Yes, keep doing that. Feels good,” he growled in my ear.

  The warmth of his breath on my ear while he was pressed up against my ass made my knees go weak with desire. I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my escape, but I couldn’t think about anything else but having his cock deep inside me. I wanted him so bad, it was hard to resist his hand that snaked out and around my stomach. He dipped it under the waistband of the sweatpants, grazing his fingers close to my entry.

  “We have to stop, Luke.”

  “How can you say that? I can’t even say no, right now. Are you saying no to me?” he asked, thrusting his fingers into me.

  “N-n-no.” I let him spin me around so I was facing him. He claimed my lips with his. Weaving my hands through his hair, I moaned, nipping at his bottom lip. He started pulling off my sweatshirt, not caring how rough he was. Then he shoved down my pants, moving to lift one of my legs up so he could dive his fingers further into my wet heat. I cried out, throwing my head back in pure bliss.

  Luke growled, pushing me up against a tree. I gasped in surprise, my eyes flying open. When he started kissing down my neck, nibbling along my skin, I closed them again. He growled, moving his pants down so I could feel the soft skin of his head touching my mound.

  Moving my hips, I tried to get him inside of me, but he grabbed my hair, yanking back my head. “Not yet,” he growled, nibbling on my neck. He kept hesitating, but would move on to kiss me again.

  With no warning, his hand was gone and he was lifting me up so I could slide over him. He yelled out, pumping hard into me. I cried out at the pain of having him so deep. The pain quickly turned into pleasure, and I wanted him to bite me. I wanted to feel his lips close over my neck and sink his teeth into me.

  Luke reached between us, running his thumb over my clit. I cried out, eyes rolling back at the sensation. I gripped him tight inside of me. The heat began to build, covering my body like a warm blanket. When I crashed over the edge he went with me, teeth sinking right into my neck.

  *

  “Fuck.”

  “Luke, that’s not the word I want to hear coming from your mouth.” I said, slipping on the sweatpants. I snatched the sweatshirt off the ground and looked over my shoulder to glare at him.

  “I bit you, Riley.”

  “I realize that.”

  “You don’t understand what that means.”

  “I don’t suppose it means you’re hungry.”

  “This isn’t a joke!” He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook. “What I just did ruins everything. Your life is changed.”

  “I’ve had sex before, and my life went on just fine.” I rolled my eyes. As if he was any more special. Okay, that was a lie. He was a lot more special, but telling him that was out of the question.

  “I just made you mine. I claimed you as mine.”

  “I’ve had a lot of guys try to make me theirs, Luke. You’ve made it clear that you won’t be moving to Chicago, and I sure as hell won’t stay here.”

  Luke gripped my shoulders, his mouth opening as if he wanted to say something more, but he didn’t know how to explain it. Finally, he released me. “It means that we’re soul mates. There is no one else for you, and no one else for me. We’re it for each other.”

  “That’s impossible, and for you to be making up stories just to get me to stay is pathetic.” I started stomping through the woods, praying that I wouldn’t step on a sharp stick.

  “I’m serious. You don’t feel it now, but when the next full moon hits, there’s no escaping it.”

  I looked behind me. “Whatever. I’m going to bed. I’m tired. Tire
d of this town, tired of the drama, and tired of you.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Oh, shit, looks like someone is in a bad mood,” Lance chuckled from the darkness of the living room.

  I rolled my eyes, heading toward the stairs of Luke’s house. “Bite me.”

  “I would, but I think Luke beat me to it.”

  Stopping, I spun to stare at his shadowy figure. “How do you know that?”

  “I can smell him all over you, honey.”

  “You smell our fucking, nothing else,” I snapped.

  “I smell more than that. A man has just claimed his mate.”

  “Whatever. You two are stupid.”

  I went up the steps having no idea where I was going. His house smelled clean, and of his cologne. It was definitely the home of a bachelor. There was nothing pretty decorating it. Most of it was bare and plain. As I headed up the steps, I was met with even more space. I found a bathroom that was mostly white, with the exception of a blue toothbrush. Then there were three other rooms. The master bedroom was obviously his because of the clothes that hung on a chair with a belt. He had shoes by the window, as if he took them off while staring outside. I could picture him doing that. Following the same routine every day.

  Moving down to the next room, I decided it would be mine until the morning. There was a bed with a flowered quilt on it. It was the most girly thing I had seen in the home. Closing the door behind me, I crawled into bed, enjoying the scent of fresh sheets. They must have been recently washed; how else would they smell so good?

  Sighing happily, I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me over. The sun was starting to peek through the curtains, and I groaned in irritation. I rolled over, covering my head with a pillow. Downstairs, people were slamming cabinets and male voices echoed through the house. Why couldn’t they be quiet? I could see why Lance was still awake. His daughter was missing, after all. But Luke and Brad should have been passed out.

  Yawning, I rolled onto my back, letting my arms fall out to the sides. I couldn’t stay awake any longer. Not even long enough to try and listen to the men talk downstairs.