Cook, Kris - Primal Desire [Texas Wolf Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Kris Cook

  Megan knew having sex with Luke had changed everything. Without caution or logic, she’d leapt forward and surrendered her heart to him. I’m a fool. Luke was a loner. That was evident.

  She listened to the sound of the bacon frying in the pan and looked over at Luke, still naked, preparing their food. The whole scene painted a perfect picture. But it wouldn’t last. Couldn’t.

  Megan closed her eyes tight and wrapped her arms around her naked torso. She was certain that because of what had just happened with Luke, unlike her ex, who she’d let go of so easily, the inevitable loss of this cowboy would destroy her.

  * * * *

  Luke watched Megan finish off the meal he’d prepared. “You tired?”

  “Yes.” Her blue eyes sparkled. Then she closed them and yawned. “Really tired.”

  “Sleep. I’ll clean up the dishes. Then I have some things I need to do outside.” He wanted her here with him. Her scent would be easy for any tribal pack member to pick up from a mile away. “Won’t take me long.”

  “I know it’s dark, but do you mind finding a book I dropped? I was reading it when my horse panicked. It should be on the ground near there. You have a flashlight?”

  “I don’t mind. Don’t need a flashlight.”

  “Oh? Right. Shifter powers.”

  “Yep.” He resisted the urge to swoop the sweet Megan up in his arms. Everything she said or did mesmerized him. “Go to sleep, little trespasser.”

  “Yes, Sir.” She grinned and sent him a mocking salute. Her head hit the pillow. Clearly the girl had no guilt, unlike him, as she was fast asleep in seconds.

  Walking out the door, he used all his senses to see if there might be any danger or intruders in the area. Besides his thirty-five Brahmans in his south pasture, the family of deer that roamed his property, the little foxes that hunted for small game, his little trespasser, and himself, Luke’s ranch didn’t have any other occupants. The residual scent of Megan’s horse was almost gone. Good.

  Still, he needed to make sure that no passerby of the tribe picked up any scent that might give away the fact that Megan was with him. A few dead skunks placed at various points on the perimeter of his property would do the trick. It would only buy him a couple of days, if he was lucky, but it had to be enough.

  He required more time alone with his mate to convince her that she was his. That task might be easy, but making her understand how he expected her to live from now on…well, that would be harder. Isolation fit him perfectly. For her, it would take time to settle into it. Clearly, she was a very extraverted person and enjoyed crowds. She’d told him about her life in Dallas as they’d eaten. She loved the excitement of the city and had several close friends there. Plus, her sister and grandmother lived in the county. Luke would have to give her some space for that. Perhaps infrequent visits, three or four a year, while not ideal, might have to be allowed.

  He recalled an anniversary party with two-dozen celebrants surrounding his parents. The happy event had occurred when he was ten. The image continued to play out like a movie, with his mother and father dancing around the room.

  Luke clenched his jaw tight, pushing the memory away. Guilt shredded his insides. For the first time since the accident, he wanted to spend time with someone. Outside his fences were too many unforeseen perils and random threats. He wouldn’t risk letting her out of his sight, losing her—ever.

  There would be no trips to visit friends for her.

  In time, Megan would grow accustomed to solitude. He’d make sure of it.

  Chapter Seven

  Megan sat up in the bed and looked down at her ankle, which was swollen to twice its normal size. A single lamp by the old chair burned dimly. Luke wasn’t in the cabin. A chill swept over her. What the hell had she done? What did she know about the man that had just given her the best sex she’d ever experienced in her whole life? Nothing. Her logic, which had been so absent earlier, was in full force now.

  What had Luke done with her clothes? And where was her cell phone? She had no clue. No matter. She wrapped the sheet around her, creating a makeshift toga. She needed to let her sister know where she was. In fact, she needed to get back to Gran’s. She scanned the room and found no phone in the place. She left the bed, pressing her feet gingerly down to test her ankle. It hurt, but she could tolerate the pain. Trying to put as little weight as possible on her bad ankle, she walked to the door, opening it up cautiously. The temperature had dipped quite a bit since she’d fallen off of Nightmare. No sign of the cowboy-shifter anywhere. What she did see was her way off the man’s property—a truck. Megan estimated that Gran’s house was less than four miles from here. It wouldn’t be like stealing. More like borrowing. Once back home, she could dress, call her sister to come over, and then return Luke’s truck with Kate by her side. Hopefully, Luke had found the book and would give it back to them once they returned his vehicle.

  With only the sheet around her, Megan limped barefoot to the truck and peered inside the cab. No keys, which was unusual for ranch trucks. Dammit. She went back to the cabin, looking around for any sign of Luke.

  “Where are the keys?” she whispered.

  * * * *

  Luke shifted back into human form once he found Megan’s book on the path. Paws were great for many things but not for picking up items. Hands worked better in that department. The night was still and quiet. The task of hiding Megan’s scent from tribal members in the area was complete. Three skunks had given their lives to ensure her presence at his cabin would remain undetected. He’d need to wipe down his skin with the three cans of tomato soup in his kitchen, followed by a long soak in the tub.

  Once done, he would crawl into bed next to his mate—Megan. The last few hours with her had changed part of him. He’d never let her go. She wouldn’t understand at first, but he’d make her see why his way was the right way. Whatever he needed to do to be her entire world he would do.

  When they had another round of lovemaking, he would prepare her a feast of thick steaks and baked potatoes. His own stomach growled at the thought.

  Suddenly, he caught the scent of a wolf. Someone from the tribe was about a mile and a half from his cabin. The hair on the back of his neck stiffened. When it came to protecting Megan, he would never take shortcuts. He turned his focus to where she was. Only her delicious aroma hit his nostrils. Good. She’s alone.

  A familiar engine turned over by his cabin. My truck.

  “Fuck!” He shifted back into wolf form, letting the book fall to the ground, and ran to his escaping mate.

  As Luke rounded the corner of his cabin, he saw Megan behind the wheel of his truck. In a flash, she peeled out, spreading gravel in every direction. The taillights let him know that there would be no way he could catch her by following. Still in wolf form, he ran left into the trees. The shortcut was his only hope to intercept her before she left his property, but it would take all his strength and speed.

  * * * *

  Megan looked in the truck’s rearview mirror. The wolf, who had to be Luke, was no longer running after her. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Had she blown any chance with the man? Probably, but what else could she do? Their time together was more than fast—it was supersonic. Relationships needed time. People had to get to know each other. She didn’t know him, and he didn’t know her. Finding the keys hanging on the nail by the front door, she’d acted without thinking, knowing Luke would return soon.

  They needed space and time apart. It was the sensible thing to do. Sure, he might be pissed at her, but if they even had a chance to be together, things needed to slow down. Later, they might actually have a proper date together. But Luke didn’t seem like a guy who liked anything proper, let alone dinner and a movie.

  Had she done the wrong thing by leaving so abruptly and without his knowledge? Probably.

  She wiped her eyes and gazed down the dark dirt road. “Kate will know what to do.” Megan decided to go to her sister’s place rather than Gran’s. She didn’t want to b
e alone.

  Another round of tears fell until her eyes burned.

  As she turned another corner, the headlights revealed the reason she had to hit the brakes. Six wolves were in the center of the road, shoulder to shoulder, blocking her path.

  * * * *

  Luke’s wolf breath came fast and furious as he raced down the path on all fours. The tribal shifters were on his land, and worse, Megan was headed straight for them.

  The sound of his truck skidding on the gravel told him that he was too late, and still he ran. Another thirty seconds and he came to the entrance of his property just in time to see six tribesmen shifting back into human form, completely naked per usual.

  His truck, with Megan inside, was only a few inches from the six males—Rance, Troy, Hawk, Sloan, Cort, and Darius. He saw her eyes were wide and her white-knuckled hands were clutching the steering wheel.

  “There’s the motherfucker.” Hawk Tartoka pointed at him. “Over there.”

  Years ago, Hawk’s mother, Luke’s aunt, had left the tribe to marry an outsider from Dallas. His aunt had returned with Hawk eighteen months before the awful accident when everything had changed for him and his cousin. His kinship with Hawk no longer mattered. With the anger the guy carried for him now, Luke knew that Hawk would be perfectly thrilled to try to rip him to shreds tonight.

  Remaining in wolf shape, Luke braced himself for the pending brawl.

  Rance and Troy, Megan’s sister’s fiancés, glared at him but didn’t approach.

  “Let’s get him.” Hawk shifted back into wolf form, but Rance grabbed him by the ear.

  “Cool your jets, Hawk. Let’s hear him out,” Troy stated. He went to the driver’s-side door of Luke’s truck and opened it. “You okay, Megan?”

  Luke felt his fur rise up at the sight of another man being so close to his mate.

  “I–I’m…okay. Yes.” Megan left the cab and walked to the front of his truck with Troy following close behind.

  The sight of another man inches from Megan, who was wrapped in only a sheet, drove Luke to the brink of rage.

  He willed himself to human form.

  His mate gasped. “Luke? Wow. I’m not sure I’ll get used to the magic stuff or werewolves.”

  “Shifters,” Hawk corrected.

  Luke glared at Troy. “Step away from her. Now.”

  He frowned. “Fuck off.”

  Luke lunged forward, but the other five men jumped in front of him. His fists became living things, pounding on the naked bodies of the men that stood between him and his mate. He smelled blood, his and the others’, though he felt no pain. But the sharp odor of freshly spilled plasma added to his craze. He shifted back to wolf form before the five tribesmen did. He got his fangs into Hawk’s right back paw, causing the young shifter to howl.

  “Stop it!” Megan screamed, pulling him from his madness. “Damn it, what the hell is going on? This is ridiculous!”

  Luke saw Megan from the corner of his eyes. She dropped to the ground on her knees and put her hands up to her face. Instantly, he stopped fighting the others. He felt a wolf bite his right leg and another his left, but when they realized that he’d ended his attack on them, they stopped.

  Catching his breath, he shifted into human form again. All but Cort and Sloan also became their human selves again. The two who remained in wolf shape growled at him, staying within pouncing distance should he make a wrong move. He wouldn’t.

  “It’s okay, Megan. We’ve stopped,” he said, hoping to calm her.

  She looked up. Troy was behind her, but Luke vowed not to react. Not now. “What the hell was that about?”

  Rance looked at her. “Nightmare came back without you. We came looking.”

  “And?” She stood up, wrapping her sheet even more tightly around her body.

  “We followed your scent to the edge of Luke’s land.”

  “Got it. Shifter powers. So? That still doesn’t explain why you were ready to rip him to shreds when he showed up.”

  “He attacked us, missy,” Hawk spat.

  “I said to cool it.” Rance glared at the young shifter. He turned back to Megan and pointed at Luke. “He did attack us, but that is not the point. We were ready for a fight when we showed up.”

  “I could see that. Do you have some kind of grudge against him?”

  “You weren’t fooled by the skunks, Rance?” Luke looked at Megan, wondering what she would do once she learned that he’d tried to keep her whereabouts secret.

  “No. Not one bit.”

  “What are you talking about, Luke? Skunks?”

  “He killed some skunks to try to hide your scent from us.”

  She stepped right in front of him. Her face turned dark. “Why?”

  Luke didn’t answer, didn’t move. What the hell had come over him? Yes, she was his mate. There was no denying that fact. But he didn’t deserve her as a mate or anything else from her for that matter.

  “Answer me, please.” Her delicious aroma filled his nostrils, calling to deep, ancient urges. But he resisted.

  “Ask them.”

  She deserved better, so much better than him. How selfish had he been? What kind of life could he give her? A cold, isolated life, that’s what.

  “I’m asking you, Luke. Tell me.”

  “He didn’t want you to be discovered so soon, Megan.” Troy touched Megan’s shoulder, and Luke went blistering hot.

  “Don’t touch her,” he growled. “Mine.”

  * * * *

  Megan’s jaw dropped. “He’s my sister’s fiancé. Troy isn’t interested in me that way, Luke. Stop being a jealous prick, please. This is too much. I’d like to go to my Gran’s now.”

  She felt Troy remove his hand. “Be careful, Megan. He’s not in his right mind.”

  “He’s in mate lust,” the guy next to him stated.

  “What the hell is that?” she asked.

  “Shifter stuff, Megan.” Rance studied Luke and then spoke. “Probably true, but he’s got some control, or we’d all be sporting a lot more wounds than we are now, Sloan. So, everyone, just be calm.”

  Megan couldn’t wrap her head around what all this meant. “Mate lust? Is that why he called me ‘mine’ earlier?”

  “I think so.” Troy looked hard at Luke. “We’re not here to take your mate. Understand?”

  Luke didn’t move a muscle but just kept glaring at him with a bloodlust that frightened her.

  Sloan shook his head. “If he shifts back into wolf shape, someone is going to get killed.”

  “I want everyone to chill.” Just as the last words left her lips, Megan felt an electrical surge shoot down her hands. Suddenly, a sheet of ice appeared under their feet. Had she done that? She had said everyone needed to chill. Had she invoked a spell that had created the ice under all their feet? I’m a witch. Oh, my God. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “It’s okay, Megan.” Troy looked at her with understanding eyes. “You are just learning how to use your powers.”

  “Let me make it go away.” She concentrated on the ice, imagining it melting away. In a matter of seconds, it was gone. “Better?”

  Troy nodded. “My feet are warmer, but Luke is still on the edge.”

  “Megan, say something to him,” Rance suggested.

  “What? I really don’t know what to say.” I only just met him.

  “Doesn’t matter. He has imprinted on you. We can talk until we are blue in the face and he still might not even be able to really hear us. You can get through to him.”

  “I’ll try.” She tried to think of something that might reach him but came up blank.

  Rance said in an even tone, “Better hurry, Megan.”

  Luke looked like a man who had lost all sense of reason and civility.

  “Luke, can you understand me?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “Did I do this to him somehow?” She thought about the sex she’d just experienced with him. Had that been the cause? Perhaps shif
ters needed something different for sex to keep them on a path free from homicide.

  Troy whispered, “No. This is uncommon in our tribe but not unheard of. Try again.”

  “Luke, please listen to me. Everything is going to be fine. I’m fine.”

  Nothing. Not a single glimmer of humanity could be spotted in him. She watched the two shifters who were still in wolf form come up behind him. They were about to try to take him down, but she doubted they could. Someone would die tonight. It might even be Luke, if she failed to reach him.

  Trembling, she stretched out her fingers and touched his naked chest. “Luke, I’m here. Everything is okay.”

  His eyes remained fixed and his lips shaped into a horrific snarl.

  “Please, hear me. Don’t do this. I can’t take much more.” She began to weep uncontrollably. “You’ve got to snap out of this.”

  As the trees began to sway with the sudden breeze, Luke blinked several times.

  “That’s it, cowboy.” Megan touched his chest. “You can do this for me, please.”

  He reached out and cupped her chin. “Little trespasser?”

  “Yes, I’m here. Are you okay?”

  “You’re not leaving?” Luke’s face was a storm of pain and worry.

  Of course, Luke had gone crazy when he found the cabin empty. He’d cared for her and made her comfortable. How had she repaid him? By running away. She was the cause of his suffering, and she hated herself for that. Why had she chosen to run without so much as a note? In her old life in Dallas, falling so quickly, so deeply wouldn’t have been possible. But here and now as he’d done with her, she was imprinting on him in her own way.

  Though earlier she’d wanted nothing more than to get far from him, now Megan desired to stay with her whole heart. “I’m here. I won’t go.”

  “But we promised Kate to bring you back,” Troy argued.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed, and Megan knew he could slip back into the madness in a heartbeat so easily.

  She faced Rance. “Tell my sister where I am. As long as she knows I’m okay, she’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”