Real Men Snarl_Real Men Shift

by Celia Kyle

  Each time she located an odd lump beneath his flesh, she pulled out her razor blade and went to work. A slice. An extraction. Then a dab of disinfectant. And every one of her cuts drew a low, whining moan from the wolf. His body tensed, and lips curled back to reveal his fangs, but he remained in place. He fought his instincts for her, battling to remain passive when his animal probably wanted to tear her to shreds for causing him pain.

  Damn, he was strong as hell.

  “I’m almost done.” She murmured and moved on from his flank, gentle as she addressed each scrape and gash. Then she was even more careful when she got to his chest.

  A deep gash bisected his chest, and she knew she’d been wrong about the whole “he’s done bleeding” thing. Red liquid still seeped from the long cut and a closer look revealed a smattering of white visible beneath the thick fluid. This one had gone all the way to the bone. She cringed, hurting on his behalf. She’d healed from an injury like that in the past and it’d been utter hell.

  Instead of poking, prodding, and patting the wound, she grabbed the half-empty bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She twisted off the cap and set it aside before holding the brown bottle over his body. Biting her lip, she tipped the container until the clear liquid flowed from the top, pouring the bubbling fluid into his wound. Bubbles immediately filled the channel of the gash, blocking out the red of his blood.

  That was when the wolf lost control. His eyes sprung open and his jaws parted while a snarl leapt from his chest. Utter fury edged with pain radiated from his feral expression and she forced herself to remain still. She couldn’t run, no matter how much her body decided that sprinting in the opposite direction was a good idea.

  Wolves liked the chase.

  That rumbling continued, not faltering a bit as the fur surrounding his wound retreated into his flesh. The wolf’s fur moved in a rippling wave as the beast withdrew and allowed his human half to emerge. Bones snapped, and muscles stretched and reformed as more of his inner animal withdrew until she soon had a naked man spread before her.

  And she was perverted enough to look her fill. Because holy hotness…

  He was massive. His size had him taking up most of the bed and the strength of his wolf was echoed in the man’s heavily muscled body. Each one looked as if it was carved from granite, the harsh lines practically begging for her touch.

  There was another part of him she’d like to touch—explore—but she avoided staring at his dangly bits. She wasn’t a creeper. Even if creeping on him was very, very tempting. No. Bad Ally.

  Her visual travels moved on and their eyes clashed for a split second, brown eyes flashing amber before pain dragged him into unconsciousness once more. His dark eyebrows furrowed in his unconscious state. Either he was dreaming or in pain, and judging by the wound on his chest, it was the latter.

  The fine stubble peppering his jaw hinted that he’d been too busy to shave for at least a few days. The planes and angles under the whiskers looked like cut glass, contrasting his soft, supple lips. Lips her wolf urged her to kiss.

  Hell, her beast urged her to do more than swap spit with the wolf. Visions of stripping before crawling into bed next to him ran through her head on a loop. She’d bury her fingers in his dark chocolate colored hair and then let her hands roam his thick, hard body. Would he be hard all over? Even there?

  Nope, not going there. I’m just not.

  There would be no naked explorations. Long ago she’d learned that some of the ugliest things in the world could come in the prettiest packages.

  And this guy was too damn pretty.

  Chapter Four

  Kade drew in a long, deep breath, searching his surroundings by scent instead of sight. The world tilted and spun around him, warning him to keep his eyes closed. The soft surface beneath him coupled with the cool temperature indicated he was inside…. Somewhere. But where? He searched through his memories, trying to figure out what the hell had happened. All he managed to accomplish was causing his head to pound and spin once again while his stomach threatened to crawl up his throat.

  Awesome.

  Kade’s wolf did not appreciate his sarcasm.

  He took another deep breath and this time his senses brought him good news. His mate’s scent filled his lungs. His milk and honey mate had been near. That knowledge stabilized him, gave him something other than nausea to focus on. Wherever he’d landed, she’d been there, and recently. Which meant she had to have sensed what he already knew—they were mates.

  He released his breath in a slow exhale and forced his eyes to open. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, but soon a white popcorn-textured ceiling came into view. He tilted his head as much as he dared and scanned his surroundings. An old rocker and grandfather clock sat in the corner. Against the wall was an antique dresser. A thin quilt covered his naked body, and he moved his head slightly to find that his head nestled in goose down pillows.

  A bedroom, then. He had no memory of how he’d arrived, but he was in someone’s bedroom. Concentrating as hard as he could, he forced his mind to recall what had brought him to this bed. He’d been in wolf form and spotted his mate crossing the street. He’d run after her, and then… Nothing.

  The screech of tires reached through the window, the sound bringing the rest of his memories to the forefront. His impulsive wolf had been so focused on its mate, it had acted like a pup and run into the street without looking both ways. The sensation of hard steel colliding with his ribs, then flipping through the air, and finally landing with a painful thud. Then everything went black.

  His mate must have seen the accident and brought him into her home. He spotted a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, some bloodied cotton balls and a tube of antibiotic cream on the bedside table and their presence made his heart warm.

  That sensation of warmth was put on hold when he was interrupted by tinkling laughter from somewhere below him.

  My mate! His wolf joined him and released a yip followed by a happy howl.

  Kade placed a palm on the soft mattress and pushed against the soft surface. He tensed his abs and struggled to sit up. He couldn’t remain in bed when his mate was so near.

  Pain put a stop to his attempt, though. A hot ice pick of pain shot through his chest and every muscle screamed its objection to movement. Yeah, well, it was happening. He gripped the bed post and used it to hold himself steady as he pushed to his feet. He shuffled across the room, the lingering aches making walking difficult, but he was determined to reach the full-length mirror near the door.

  He paused when his reflection came into view and he scanned his body. A bright red scar cut across his chest, obviously the largest of his wounds. It had already closed, and would no doubt be fully healed by night fall. The bruises along his ribs had already yellowed and the handful of scrapes he’d suffered were all but gone.

  He’d be good as new by morning. Unfortunately, today he’d suffer from his wolf’s recklessness.

  Asshole.

  Instead of experiencing even an ounce of guilt, the beast paced inside him, demanding they follow their mate’s scent until they tracked her down and claimed her forever. Kade thought it might be a good idea to learn her name first. The wolf snorted at him.

  Of course, the odds of successfully finding and claiming her would be greatly improved if he wasn’t buck naked and two seconds from falling over. He carefully made his way to the closet and dug around in search of something to wear. Except he came up empty. For clothes, anyway. He did find two dozen jigsaw puzzles and fifty back issues of Redbook.

  “Crap,” he grumbled.

  The dresser didn’t yield anything more useful. Nothing but drawer after drawer of moth-eaten, gaudy afghans in a variety of bizarre patterns. God, there wasn’t even an old chenille robe! He tugged out a neon pink blanket edged in bright purple and wrapped it around his hips. Desperate times called for desperate measures and Kade—and his wolf—were desperate to be near their mate.

  Kade eased the bedroom door open and stepped in
to a wide hallway. He used his nose to follow the sweet scent of his mate and he couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her laughter once again. He carefully traveled down the old, worn stairs, unable to stop himself from scanning the pictures lining the wall. Each one showed the same girl throughout the years. From her time as a cute baby held by an older woman until she grew into a gawky preteen with a softball bat slung over one shoulder. Then she was a beautiful young woman in a college cap and gown, one arm draped around the shoulders of a stout, older woman.

  That last photo drew him up short. Those blue eyes, blonde hair, and familiar face had him freezing in place. The girl in the photos was Lucy, his brother’s newfound mate. Which meant the older woman had to be Lucy’s grandmother—

  “Tessa!” The young woman’s voice was a mixture of scandalized and suppressed laughter.

  “What?” came a hoarse response. “I can’t believe you didn’t sneak a peek. Didn’t anyone teach you how to play nurse?”

  Kade blinked. And then blinked again, following it up with a shake of his head. Somehow, he’d wound up where he was supposed to be without even trying.

  He reached the bottom of the steps and turned left, following those voices until he finally stepped into the archway of a kitchen. His mate’s scent overwhelmed him then, sinking into his pores and overwhelming his other senses. Nothing existed beyond him and his mate. He scanned the small space, his gaze immediately going to her. He’d only caught a glimpse of her beauty earlier and now that they were face-to-face… She stole his breath away.

  One look and words were erased from his memory, her mere appearance enough to make him mute. He vibrated with need for her, and he struggled against his wolf’s desire to stalk her, hold her, and claim her right there on the kitchen floor. And counter. And table. Then back to the floor, maybe.

  Against the refrigerator?

  His body responded to his fantasy, cock twitching and pressing against the obnoxious afghan around his waist. Being so close to her, so near her heat and the purity of her scent, he struggled to keep his wolf—and body—contained.

  Baseball. Old people getting it on. Falling off a cliff. Damn, no matter what he thought of, his body refused to calm.

  Kade gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus on the world around him and not on the glorious woman mere feet away. He pushed the wolf back and slammed it into its mental cage, which gave him a little relief from the constant drive to take her. But there was still part of him…

  Yeah, he needed to get control of his horny ass.

  He shook his head and truly focused on his mate, meeting her stare. Her hostile stare. Her eyes were narrowed in a tight glare and her body remained tense. As if she was ready to pounce and destroy him, but… why? He didn’t think he’d done anything anger-worthy after the crash. He hadn’t been awake long, but he couldn’t have offended her while unconscious, right? His wolf snorted, the beast trying to remind him of that one time in second grade when—

  Kade cut the animal off at its knees and wrapped a thick as hell blanket around the mental cage as well. He didn’t want any comments from the peanut gallery.

  His mate stared at him and he stared at her staring at him and… And after what felt like an eternity, the old woman stepped forward. She grinned up at him, meeting his eyes for a moment before her stare traveled the length of his body. Her gaze slid all the way down to his toes and then up once more before giving him an even wider smile.

  “Well, hello there.” The woman cocked her head to get a better view of that area below the waist.

  Kade cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. He put his hand in front of his cock and snapped his fingers. “My eyes aren’t down there.”

  Tessa laughed, the wide smile making the years melt away, and she extended her hand. “Sorry, it’s not every day a handsome, almost-naked man ends up in my kitchen. I’m Tessa Morgan and this is my friend Ally Rose.”

  Ally Rose. He let her name roll around in his mind for a moment, allowing it to sink into him. His mate had a name—one that perfectly suited her—Ally Rose.

  “Kade,” he replied with a smile. He gently took Tessa’s birdlike hand in his own. “And I think you’ve been expecting me. Lucy sent me to help you move to Ashtown.”

  Ally’s eyebrows shot up, but Tessa slapped her thigh and barked out a throaty laugh. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kade,” Tessa said, tipping him a playful wink before growing serious. “Ally told me about your accident. She saw the whole thing. I can’t believe someone would just leave you in the street like that.”

  As far as he knew, Tessa was ignorant of the shifter world, which meant Ally had probably left out the part about him being a wolf when he was hit. He didn’t want to blow Ally’s cover, but the last thing they needed was for Tessa to call the cops and report a hit and run.

  “They were probably just scared. Besides, I barely got scratched. See?”

  Ally’s lips pressed together to form a thin line as Tessa stepped closer to inspect his body. All that remained were a few red marks and some old-looking bruises. Tessa shifted slightly, and if he hadn’t known any better he would have sworn the old woman was trying to see between the holes of the blanket. The woman was over eighty. She wouldn’t be trying to… Then again, Lucy had said her grandmother was “frisky.”

  “Still…” Her eyes lingered on the quickly deflating mound at his groin for a moment, before she met his gaze. “What happened to your clothes?”

  Right. What happened to his clothes? “I, uh—”

  “I threw them out,” Ally cut him off. “They, um… They were a mess, so I got rid of them.”

  Tessa’s grey eyes sparkled with mischief. “I should have known. How many times do I have to tell you to be more careful when ripping off men’s clothes? The poor boys need something to wear home, dear.”

  Men?

  His eyes snapped to Ally, and jealousy consumed his entire being. A low growl rumbled deep in his throat before he could suppress the sound. It was too low for Tessa’s human hearing, but Ally’s wolf didn’t have that problem. It also didn’t like him growling. Her eyes widened with fear for a split second and then that emotion was replaced with anger. She carefully grasped Tessa’s frail wrist and pulled the older woman away from him.

  Did she think he’d hurt a little old lady? Shit.

  Damn, she was one wary wolf. She went to suspecting the worst before even giving him a chance to explain himself. She heard a growl and immediately jumped to the conclusion that he meant Tessa harm. That was the last thing he’d do and not only because Tessa was his Alpha Bitch’s grandmother. Tessa was a female, old, and human—three very good reasons to keep his paws to himself.

  But why did she expect the worst without them exchanging a word? He mentally shook his head and commiserated with his whining beast. It hated her mistrust and the heavy weight of anger pointed at him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that could be fixed with the snap of a finger. It’d require gaining her trust slowly, carefully. But how?

  He wracked his brain while Ally helped Tessa take her seat at the kitchen table. Maybe if he got his mate alone…

  “I’ve got more clothes at my motel, but I’m not sure how Pepper feels about public nudity.”

  Tessa lit up like a Fourth of July fireworks display. “Ally will drive you wherever you need to go.”

  Ally looked as though someone had slapped her, but her lips remained pressed together in that harsh line.

  “You never get out of the house.” Tessa patted Ally’s hand and then gave her a little nudge. “Take your time and get some fresh air while you drive Kade to the motel.”

  Ally glared. Kade smiled. And Tessa cackled with glee.

  Hell, he almost joined her with the cackling. Sitting alone in a car with Ally—no distractions, no interruptions, no little old lady eyeballing his junk?

  That sounded like heaven.

  Chapter Five

  Sitting alone in a car with Kade? Yeah, that sounded like Ally’s
version of hell.

  Kade’s gaze caressed her and Tessa simply grinned, tipping her head toward the door as if to move them along. Saying no wasn’t a viable option, not after everything Tessa and Lucy had done for her. They’d given her a place to live when she’d had nothing and no one. Now, they were the only family she had.

  Her love for them was greater than her wariness of this strange wolf. A wolf who somehow knew Lucy. What had her friend gotten herself into now?

  It didn’t matter. She’d figure it out. Just as soon as she got away from Kade, so she could think straight. Because at the moment, her wolf wanted to bare her belly for a nice rub from the hottie.

  “Better get moving,” Tessa apparently got tired of waiting on them to move and herded them toward the door that led to the garage. “Lucy’s been waiting and there’s no time to waste now. If I know my granddaughter, she’s more than a little impatient.”

  Ally nodded and steeled her spine, preparing herself for what was to come—being locked up in a vehicle with Kade and surrounded by his scent.

  She grabbed her small leather purse on her way out, not bothering to check if Kade followed. Of course, she didn’t need to look for him. His scent wrapped around her like a cozy, warm blanket—growing stronger as she stepped into the garage.

  She clenched her jaw and swallowed hard, doing her best to ignore the sensual molten heat flowing through her veins. To ignore the way her core throbbed at Kade’s nearness. Her wolf howled for her to follow her body’s lead, turn around and slam him against the wall. A quick rip would have the afghan in shreds and then she could truly jump his bones.

  Not happening. She ignored the wolf’s pleas and hopped into her silver Ford Focus. She loved her little car, the color and model chosen carefully. It was one of the most popular models from 2005 and silver had been the go-to color that year. Which meant there were a bajillion silver Focuses on the road and hers looked just like everyone else’s. Bland. Generic. Forgettable. And hopefully, difficult for Brian to find.