Wild Instinct

by McCarty, Sarah

  Then he hadn’t discovered everything. She let out her breath. His lips brushed her temple again in what almost seemed like . . . approval?

  “Of course,” Donovan continued. “In light of what we now know, those findings could be suspect.”

  Garrett cursed.

  Donovan laughed. “Relax, cub.”

  “Fu—” He glanced at Megan, who was leaning against his other side. “Screw—”

  Sarah gasped. Donovan laughed as the car pulled into a driveway that wound through the trees, and said, “You might just want to let that trail off.”

  He did, thank the Lord. The wolf in Sarah went on alert as the SUV wound down the driveway. Her nostrils flared, seeking the scent of danger. All she could smell was a hint of leather, the underlying scent of Donovan—wolf, but wrong. The fragrance of her daughter and the overwhelming perfection of Garrett’s scent. Which was slightly stronger in response to the tension.

  She bit her lip. If she was worried, how much more so must he be? Not only was his own talent putting him in jeopardy, but as he truly believed she was his mate, he had to worry for Megan. Even if he wanted to escape, she and Megan tied his hands. And who knew what Kelon and Daire were saying to Wyatt? They had a twenty-minute jump on her arrival, as Donovan had stopped for supplies. She glanced up at the flat set of Garrett’s mouth.

  He definitely knew they were in trouble. But he wasn’t running. She shouldn’t be surprised. He was a Protector and had claimed her as mate. The one thing a wolf woman never was was alone or vulnerable. Living among the humans, she’d forgotten how good that could make a woman feel. When Garrett looked down, she offered him a smile. The one he offered in return didn’t shake. It was full of the confidence with which a Protector was born, and it settled over her uncertainty with that uncanny yet so welcome calm.

  She lay her head against his shoulder. Whatever was going to happen, he was the one who could best handle it. Beneath her ear, she heard his rumble of satisfaction. Her conscience pinged her sense of guilt, but she was tired, worried and, as they pulled in front of the house, more terrified than she’d ever been. The car stopped. The front door of the big Victorian cracked open. Fear chased hope. Suddenly, coming here didn’t seem like such a good idea. A big man stepped through the door. Right behind him came a medium-height woman with brown hair.

  Garrett opened the door and stepped out before reaching back to give Sarah Anne a hand. “Too late to change your mind.”

  “You’re supposed to support me in whatever I do. Even if I choose not to swear fealty.”

  His hand on hers sent that scintillating rush of pleasure down her spine. When he brought the back of her hand to the heat of his lips, the sensation doubled. “So I did.”

  She pulled her hand from Garrett’s. A big werewolf who had an expectation of obedience that exuded from his very being caught her eye. That had to be Wyatt. Only the true Alpha had that. He was watching them—no, Garrett—very closely.

  Her lip curled up. A snarl rumbled in her throat. Garrett’s hand on her arm held her back when she would have stepped in front of him. Wyatt’s left eyebrow went up.

  “So it’s true. You’re mated?”

  She tossed her head, not wanting her options closed off so early. “I don’t wear his mark.”

  Wyatt’s lips twitched as he glanced over her shoulder. “I see.”

  A glance showed why. Garrett stood, head up, shoulders back, glaring at his Alpha. Sarah Anne elbowed him in the gut. He didn’t even grunt.

  Wyatt’s lips twitched again. “But I’m thinking that’s just a matter of time.”

  The woman behind Wyatt cuffed his shoulder. “Wyatt, remember when we had the discussion about rude assumptions?”

  “Not at the moment.” He reached back and drew a woman with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail forward. “This is my mate, Heather.”

  Heather was of medium height with a svelte build, gray blue eyes and a restless energy. Sarah Anne took a breath, confirming what she already knew. “You’re human.”

  Heather smiled brightly at her. “To the core.”

  “And you’re Alpha.” Wyatt’s warning skittered down her spine. She immediately remembered protocol and lowered her eyes. “Nice to meet you.”

  Garrett’s fingers brushed her back. Heather frowned at Wyatt and then at Sarah Anne. “What?”

  Wyatt folded his arms across his chest.

  “This is one of those wolf things, isn’t it?” Heather asked.

  “Yes,” Wyatt replied.

  A blush burned Sarah Anne’s cheeks. So much rode on this introduction going well and she’d already insulted the Alpha’s wife. “I’m sorry,” Sarah Anne said.

  Heather threw up her hands. “For what?”

  Sarah opened her mouth. Heather cut her off with a slash of her hand. “Whatever it was, forget about it.”

  “It was disrespect,” Wyatt drawled, displeasure still in his tone.

  Heather snorted. “More like shock, I expect.”

  That jerked Sarah’s eyes up.

  Heather’s smile made her look so much more approachable. “Wyatt’s not nearly as uptight as he appears.”

  “I’m not?”

  Heather patted Wyatt’s hand. “Nope, and as I told you before, if we’re going to have a community—”

  “Pack,” Wyatt corrected.

  “Community,” Heather reemphasized. “Of humans and werewolves, then you’re going to have to allow for cultural differences.”

  “Sarah Anne is a werewolf—”

  “Who has been living among humans for eight years.” Heather walked down the four steps, her smile never faltering. “And I, being human, prefer to be treated as one.” She held out her hand. “Welcome.”

  Sarah Anne took her hand, slowly letting out her breath as the relief flowed through her. She hadn’t offended her Alpha female.

  Heather included Garrett and Megan in the welcome before coming back to Sarah Anne. “I thought you had a son?”

  “Cur’s bringing him,” Garrett cut in.

  He didn’t know that. Cur hadn’t had time to call in. The familiar despair clawed at Sarah’s stomach. Heather squeezed her hand.

  “There’s no one better than Cur.”

  Words were beyond her, so she just nodded and stepped back.

  Wyatt stepped down beside her and put his arm around Heather’s shoulder. The other woman looked totally content as she leaned into his side. “Welcome to Haven.”

  It had to be a good sign that Heather was so at ease with her mate. “Thank you,” Sarah said.

  “Did Teri arrive?” Donovan asked.

  “About half an hour ago.” Heather looked toward the tall upstairs corner windows. “Daire has her upstairs. He says she’ll be fine.”

  Sarah Anne followed her gaze, dread and hope vying for dominance. “Do you believe him?”

  Heather didn’t pull her punches. “As a human or a woman mated to a werewolf?”

  “Both.”

  Heather sighed. “As a human nurse looking at a human patient, I don’t see how she could be. As a werewolf’s mate, I have hope. Daire is an impressive man.”

  Garrett’s fingers pressed the center of her spine and said, “Yes, he is.”

  “Thank you.”

  Wyatt cocked his eyebrow at Donovan. “I still think that’s one dangerous wolf.”

  “Not to us, I don’t think.”

  “Don’t think?”

  “Hard to tell,” Kelon said, walking up.

  “But you brought him here?”

  Kelon hauled gear out of the back of the SUV. “You find a way to tell him no and make it stick.”

  Wyatt glanced at the second story of the house. “That powerful?”

  Kelon put the packs on the suitcase. “That mean.”

  Teri must be in that room. Sarah debated handing Megan to Garrett, but with whom would she be safer? The man had muscle on top of muscle and the wherewithal to use it. And he saw the little girl as his to prote
ct.

  She shoved Megan into Garrett’s arms before he could figure out what she was doing. She kissed Meg’s cheek. “I’ll be right back, baby.”

  Megan plucked her thumb out of her mouth long enough to ask, “Stay, Garrett?”

  Sarah Anne looked up into Garrett’s hazel eyes. She hoped trusting her daughter to him wasn’t a mistake. “Yes.”

  Fourteen

  SARAH Anne made it to just inside the door, but no farther. Daire stood at the foot of the stairs, arms folded across his chest, looking broader and somehow a lot bigger than she remembered. The scars on his face lent a feral cast to his features.

  “I want to see Teri.”

  “No.”

  Just that. A “no” with no explanation. She wanted to gnash her teeth. “Why not?”

  He motioned toward the doorway to the right. From the dark wood paneling and the big desk, she figured it must be Wyatt’s office. “We need to talk.”

  “After I see Teri.”

  The hair on the back of her neck lifted as the floorboards creaked behind her. Wyatt stepped past. Where had he been hiding?

  “We have some things to sort out first,” Wyatt said.

  “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

  The soft smile he gave her did nothing to cover the order. He motioned to the room. “I’m afraid it can’t.”

  A touch on her thigh had her looking down. Megan clutched her leg, blue eyes wide as she stared at Wyatt. She made a soft sound of distress.

  Sarah Anne glanced over her shoulder for Garrett. He strode up the porch steps, wearing that slightly baffled look everyone had the first time Megan slipped their grip.

  Wyatt’s gaze dropped to Megan. And that fast, his expression softened.

  “Hello, Megan. Welcome to your new home.”

  Sarah Anne blinked again. Was he being . . . charming?

  “My name is Wyatt.”

  “Mr. Carmichael,” Sarah Anne corrected.

  Wyatt cocked an eyebrow at her. “That’s a mouthful for a bit of a thing like her.”

  Sarah Anne licked her lips. “Manners are important.”

  Daire nodded. “So are traditions.”

  She licked her lips again. That didn’t bode well. Tradition would have her packless. Tradition would have her daughter killed. “I’m not that fond of tradition.”

  Wyatt’s golden brown eyes met hers. The corner of his mouth twitched. In annoyance or a smile? “I’ve never been overly impressed with pack tradition, either. That’s why we’re starting new traditions here.”

  She decided to take the bull by the horns. “If they involve you kidnapping my child, they’re not going to fly.”

  His mouth twitched again. And it was definitely a smile. He motioned her into the room. She didn’t have any choice but to go. Thank God Garrett was right behind her.

  “Is that a threat?” Wyatt asked.

  She squared her shoulders as she passed. “Yes.”

  Two things happened simultaneously. There was the sound of a scuffle and the door closed, trapping her in the room with Daire, Wyatt and Donovan.

  “Not much of you backing that threat,” Wyatt commented as she spun around.

  “Wyatt,” Heather gasped from the other side of the closed door.

  Garrett’s energy pulsed against the edges of Sarah Anne’s mind in a relentless wave. He was telling her to stay calm. That he was there. She took another gamble, holding hard to that energy. “I’m not alone.”

  “You’ve accepted Garrett as your mate, then?”

  She looked at Daire’s stony expression. She didn’t doubt for a minute that he’d take her daughter if he saw a need. She looked at Wyatt. He still had that half smile on his face, but she didn’t have any illusions there, either. He’d take Megan, too, if it meant pack safety. Donovan was the wild card.

  “Yes.”

  The walls closed in around her. Energy whirled. She could feel Garrett’s intent. He was coming in. She held tighter to his energy, needing him.

  Stop it.

  The order came out of nowhere, echoing in her mind. Startled, she gasped and spun around. Daire?

  There was a series of hard thuds against the wall. Daire warned, “He’s not going to wait much longer.”

  Wyatt shrugged. “He doesn’t have much choice. If I say he waits, he waits.”

  “He has mating lust. She’s telegraphing like crazy. I give him about two minutes before he stops giving two hoots who you are.”

  Wyatt smiled. “Then I guess we’ll have to make it fast.” He turned back to her. “You sure about accepting Garrett as your mate?”

  She nodded again. “Yes.”

  Garrett cursed. Not like this.

  What does it matter? she shot back.

  She couldn’t believe that she was the only one who heard Garrett’s thoughts.

  With a pointed glance toward Donovan, Wyatt said, “Then it’s settled.”

  Settled? What was settled? She wasn’t even aware there had ever been an option. “What does that mean?”

  The sense that events were spiraling out of her control increased.

  “It means just that. Your relationship is settled.”

  “And Megan?”

  “She’s your mate’s responsibility.”

  “And Josiah?”

  “He’s pack, and will be brought home.”

  She couldn’t ask for a more solid promise than that of her Alpha. A bit of her anxiety faded.

  “And Garrett? You’ll leave him alone?”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Him I haven’t decided about yet.”

  For a moment Sarah Anne was torn, but she owed the debt of her daughter’s life to Garrett. The least she could do was to insure he had pack. “If I decline the mating, would that help you to accept him?”

  A snarl erupted behind the door. She felt the surge of Garrett’s energy.

  Wyatt’s expression was sympathetic. “No, it won’t.”

  “So I chose him with no certainty?”

  “Only the certainty any wolf is born with when meeting their mate,” Donovan answered.

  How could she trust that?

  Another surge of energy and a mental warning. Stand back!

  Sarah Anne jumped back. Megan spun around as the door hit the wall. Her face lit up with joy as soon as she saw Garrett.

  “Gar!”

  All the males watched as the little girl ran, with total trust, toward Garrett. He scooped her up in one arm and then put the other around Sarah Anne’s shoulders. The gesture of possession summed up the one word that slipped past his lips. “Mine.”

  Instead of reacting with a snarl and a challenge, Wyatt just laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Apparently no one, least of all her, is contesting that.”

  Garrett whipped around to look at Sarah. She forced herself to meet his eyes.

  “Sarah Anne was in the process of accepting your mating claim when you . . . interrupted,” Donovan said.

  Garrett studied her for a heartbeat. The probe in her mind was as gentle as his thumb’s touch to the corner of her mouth. There was hesitation but also . . . joy? His “Finish it” was beyond arrogant.

  He was so irritating. She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not sure I want to now.”

  Another bark of laughter from Wyatt and a chuckle from Donovan.

  Garrett’s thumb slipped between her lips, teasing the inner lining. “Do it anyway.”

  She wanted to melt into a puddle at his feet. She wanted to kick him in the shins. Neither was the option a mature woman would pick. More was the pity. Which left her only one. With as much dignity as she could muster she said, “I accept his claim.”

  Garrett leaned in until his breath caressed her lips, mingled with hers, inviting her to taste what he had to offer.

  “Good girl.”

  She stood on tiptoe, closing the distance between them. As his lips parted against hers, she kicked his shin. There were some things that needed to be understood from the get-go. “I
’m not a girl.”

  His chuckle puffed into her mouth in an erotic invitation. “Good.”

  Good. She shivered from head to toe as his kiss flowed through her. Yes, it was very good.

  Megan giggled. Wyatt tossed an envelope on the desk.

  “What’s that?” Garrett asked, watching Sarah Anne’s mouth so intently as she ran her tongue over her lips that it felt as if he had kissed her again.

  “Keys. We have three houses currently available. The addresses are in the envelope. Pick one and return the others.”

  A house? They were going to have a house? It was more than Sarah Anne had dared to hope. A house spoke of permanence, acceptance. Garrett slipped his hand from around her back and reached for the envelope. She held her breath. Would he accept? “Just like that?” Garrett asked.

  “Yup.” Wyatt folded his arms across his chest. “Just like that.”

  Fifteen

  SARAH Anne liked the cape the best. Garrett could tell from the way she lingered and trailed her fingers across the few pieces of furniture in the living room. He hitched a dozing Megan up higher onto his shoulder. Her mouth pressed against his neck. There was a suspicious dampness.

  “Is she getting drool on me?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  He grimaced.

  Sarah Anne laughed. “Suck it up.”

  “Easy for you to say. You’re not wearing kid drool.”

  She paused and turned, facing him. “Do you really mind?”

  She meant more than just the drool. She was worried that he resented her children.

  “Can’t say that I didn’t expect to.”

  “But?”

  There was a world of hope in that “but.”

  “Apparently, it’s not in me. Maybe I’m more human than wolf in some ways.”

  Her head cocked to the side. Her hair swung around her face. She looked very pretty standing there, studying him.

  “Do you think saying that will make me more comfortable with you?”

  “I hope something will.”

  Her gaze dropped to Megan. “You’re growing on me just the way you are.”

  “You sure?”

  “Don’t make me think on it too much, okay?”

  “Why?”

  “Because if I don’t think about it, I’m more comfortable.”