Need slammed into Brogan Wilder like a two-by-four to the gut. He knew lust, dealt with it when it rose, but this…
This was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. The beast inside chafed at the chains of restraint, snarled and snapped to be let free.
Brogan searched the room but nothing he could see should have him ready to shift. His sister Rowan sat on the sofa, his best friend and her fiancé, Quinn, beside her. They were the only others in the room. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention and the blood in his veins heated and pumped harder. Whatever had his instincts screaming to take, to possess, had moved closer.
Skin grew tight and hot as he fought with his inner beast. Shifting wasn’t an option. Not yet. First he needed all his human skills to determine what had the power to do this to him. Then he’d have to decide if it was friend or foe. He sniffed the air, tried to place the feminine scent teasing his senses. It wasn’t Rowan or any other female he knew.
“For pity’s sake, Brogan, sit down. You’re making me nervous and I know you’re all bark and no bite. If you don’t relax you’ll scare El right back to Australia.” Rowan’s words broke into his agitated thoughts.
“What?” He tried to focus on his sister and what she was saying.
“Eloise. Remember? She’ll be coming down from her room any minute and I want you to be on your best behavior. It took months of nagging and pleading to get her to agree to come out for the wedding. I want her to enjoy herself and not regret saying yes.”
Rowan pushed off the lounge and came to stand beside him. Placing her hand on his arm she said, “Please, Brogan. She’s the best friend I’ve had since Gordie, the only friend. She likes me. Not Brogan’s sister.”
Brogan looked at her. She was all grown up, ready to face her destiny but not without scars. They all had them but Rowan would have more if it wasn’t for Eloise Crawford. He knew their friendship had been what kept his sister from going mad the few years she’d been forced to live away from home. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Okay, I’ll try. But something’s got the beast’s hackles up and I can’t figure out what.” He’d never hidden any of the ugly side of who or what he was from Rowan and he wouldn’t do it now.
“Rowan?”
A musical voice with a strange sultry accent came at the instant his beast went on red alert and yanked at Brogan’s control.
He couldn’t keep the growl inside, or stop the change in his eyes that Rowan wouldn’t miss. If Brogan’s instincts were right, his mate had just stepped into the room.
Rowan’s eyes went wide and her face drained of color. Shaking her head, she whispered, “No. Brogan, no.”
Brogan squeezed his eyes shut, dragged the beast back under control. It wouldn’t do to scare Eloise before they’d even met. When he opened his eyes again it was to find Rowan watching him warily. A rush of breath left her when she saw he had command of his coyote.
“It’s not my choice, Rowan. The fates have spoken.” He tried to ease her with a hug. Drawing her close he murmured, “You’ll need to help guide her.”
“No.”
“Yes, Rowan. Remember, what’s done is done, we move on from here.”
She pulled from his arms and stood with hands on hips. “You hurt her and I’ll tear you to pieces,” she snarled.
Brogan smiled. He had no doubt she’d follow through on her threat. He’d seen her go to battle for someone she cared about. Her loyalty to those she loved was unquestionable, but if those she loved were pitted against each other she always sided with the weaker one.
Rowan looked past him to the woman who stood twenty feet away and had his body reacting as if she were plastered to his side. He could smell her, almost taste her. If he didn’t get a hold of himself he had no doubt Eloise Crawford would run screaming into the hills or to the nearest airport and first plane out of there.
“El, you’ve unpacked?” Rowan asked as she stepped around him.
Brogan looked at Quinn, who’d remained suspiciously quiet during the little demo of his animal behavior. Their gazes connected and he could see the laughter in his best friend’s eyes. The bastard knew this wouldn’t be easy and if Quinn knew anything about him, he knew everything. As he knew Quinn. He wouldn’t fool himself into thinking Quinn felt sorry for him. Oh, no. To Brogan’s way of thinking, Quinn was looking forward to the inevitable fight to come.
El watched her best friend pull away from the man built like the side of a house. He was huge. She’d be lucky to come up to his shoulder, not that she’d get too close, something about him made her stomach churn and her heart pound.
The air in the room crackled with tension, thick with energy, the kind that spikes before a lightning strike. The skin that had tightened moments before she left her room now tingled, stretched, pulled tighter. Her hair stood on end and goose bumps broke out all over. She felt the need to strip off her clothes and rub herself all over the big man who still hadn’t turned to face her.
Her eyes bored into the back of his head, even when Rowan reached her side and grabbed her up in another hug of welcome. Distractedly, El returned Rowan’s affection and tried to ignore the slight desperation in it. She’d always been able to judge Rowan’s moods and right now anxiety rolled off her in waves.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here,” Rowan said as she gave one final squeeze and let go.
El dragged her gaze away from the rigid man across the room and looked at her friend. Nothing could detract from the happiness etched all over the beautiful face in front of her. Rowan glowed and it went far deeper than the smile spreading her lips. Her eyes sparkled and she no longer had the pinched expression El had come to expect.
“I’m glad I came, too. Although if you’d mentioned how damn cold it would be I might have reconsidered,” she joked. El gripped both of Rowan’s hands and pulled her arms out wide. “Being home must really agree with you. I didn’t say it earlier but you look gorgeous. But then you always do.”
“Stop. You’ll make me blush.” Rowan let go of one hand and tugged her farther into the room. “Come and meet Quinn and Brogan, they just got home.”
El hadn’t noticed the second man earlier and as they got closer to the two men on the other side of the room her heart rate accelerated. A layer of sweat coated her skin and her breasts grew heavy, her nipples impossibly hard. Between her legs throbbed and went slick. With each shortened breath her nostrils were filled with the scents of open air, the rich, earthy aroma of the forest, and man. It was the last smell that had her nerves in overdrive.
The numbing cold she’d felt from the moment she stepped off the plane no longer existed. Instead her body burned with a heat unlike anything in living memory. Fire burst and consumed, leaving behind an arousal so great each step, each rub of her thighs took her closer to an orgasm that would be shattering.
What was going on? Sure she hadn’t had sex in months but then she hadn’t wanted to. Until now. Now she wanted to get down and dirty with the guy who still had his back to her. El’s feet faltered and she stumbled. Rowan turned to glance at her, her eyes going wide when she caught sight of El.
Great. It was painfully obvious that her friend knew what had made El trip over her own toes. She felt her cheeks blush. She was already so hot with arousal they were probably day-glow red.
“Jeez, Brogan, turn it down.” Rowan’s words made no sense. “Here, let’s go into the kitchen while my brother gets himself sorted out.”
Doing an about-face, Rowan marched them back the way they’d come. “Quinn, get him calmed down or make him leave,” Rowan said over her shoulder as they cleared the doorway.
Dazed and confused, El let herself be led past the stairs and down a long hallway toward the rear of the house. Picture frames covered the walls, a perfect mixture of people, nature and animals. All the photographs showed Rowan’s distinct style. One large photo caught El’s attention. A lone coyote stood on a snow-covered hill, his body facing away, his head turned to look straight into the camera. He appeared to be posing for the person taking the shot.
A chill raced down El’s spine. He seemed to stare straight at her as though he could see her. His gaze held her captive and she swung her head to keep him in her sights as Rowan pulled her past. Those yellow eyes followed her, and caught in some sort of trance, she twisted her neck to the point of pain, her eyes ensnared by his.
A door swished open and she was forced to turn, to watch where she walked or risk an injury. The second they stepped into the kitchen El was swamped with warmth. The room, large and bright, welcomed her with its cozy feel. Big windows covered the back wall, the view of the yard, forest and mountains in the background unobstructed. The winter sun reflected off the snow and lit up the huge room.
The big, granite-topped island in the center of the room held a sink and work area with four stools lined up on one side. Rowan pushed her onto one before heading to the wall of cupboards.
“Sit. I’ll get us a drink, something warm, and we’ll catch up.”
El watched Rowan open a glass-paneled door, pull out two tall mugs and make her way to the coffeepot. She changed filters, scooped in coffee and flipped a switch, all her movements smooth and confident, so different from the woman El had first met. Oh, she’d seen an improvement in Rowan over the years they’d spent together but now she saw the woman that had been hidden inside. Strong, sure of herself, Rowan had finally grown comfortable with who she was and the world around her.
Something El wished she could be again.
Brogan let his muscles relax and his coyote subside. The beast was still wide awake but no longer threatening to pull free. Knowing what he was dealing with made things easier. He couldn’t just take El and expect her to fall into line. If she was a shifter it would be easy but she wasn’t. He wasn’t even sure she knew what they were, never mind that he was one.
“You need to back off some.”
Quinn’s quiet voice pulled Brogan’s gaze across to where his friend stood beside the fireplace. When had Quinn moved from the lounge? Normally he was aware of everything around him. Had El messed up his instincts so much that he failed to notice what went on next to him?
“I know. I just didn’t expect it. I’ve never struggled to hold my control like that before. Was it like that for you?”
“Yeah. You get used to it and once you join it’s not as bad.”
“Jeez, no wonder you drove me insane all those years ago. Good thing you and Rowan finally sorted everything out.”
“There was never any doubt as there isn’t with you and El. But it’ll be an interesting time between now and then.”
Quinn’s smirk had his hackles rising but Brogan knew he deserved everything the other man dished out. He’d given Rowan and Quinn plenty of crap while they had danced around each other before she’d been forced to leave home. Brogan sighed. Obviously it was his turn at the mating waltz.
“The problems won’t just be between you and El,” Quinn said.
“I know. But since I can’t change who my mate is I’ll just have to deal with what comes.”
“The Council will have to be informed and there are those who will use El’s non-blood status to undermine your position.”
“I don’t care about any of that. What I care about is making sure El doesn’t freak out when she discovers we aren’t exactly human.”
“That might prove to be the easy part yet.”
“I doubt any of this will be easy.”
“Probably not, but we’ll have to keep her from the pack until she understands, Brogan.”
“Yeah, I’m more than glad you and Rowan decided on a small ceremony. El won’t have to face anyone until after.” Brogan didn’t say after what, they both knew that until he turned El she couldn’t be left alone or come in contact with any members of the pack.
“She’ll be safe here but after the wedding we were supposed to take her up to the cabin. She wants to take wilderness photos for her next book. That gives you a week to convince her to stay and do what’s necessary so she can.”
“And if I can’t convince her?”
Quinn shrugged. “You don’t have a choice and you know it.”
Brogan had no idea where to start when it came to wooing El. He’d never wooed a woman before. All he had to do was open his bedroom door and they fought each other to get inside. El would be different. For starters he had to tell her what he was without scaring her half to death and then convince her that he wasn’t an animal when in essence he was.
The first step would be to actually meet her. The sooner they got used to each other the sooner they could get on with what had to be done. Hopefully Rowan was telling her who and what they were, but if not, he’d have to. He swallowed over the lump in his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. His muscles were tight—hard—but not from the beast wanting to break free.
No, now he was tense with nerves. If he didn’t do this right he stood to lose more than his mate. He stood to lose his position as sovereign of the pack.