Contents
Claimed By The Enemy
NEWSLETTER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Extended Epilogue
NEWSLETTER
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
BRATVA BEAR SHIFTERS
LAIRDS & LADIES
RUSSIAN UNDERWORLD
IRISH WOLF SHIFTERS
Claimed By The Enemy
AN OLDER MAN YOUNGER WOMAN ROMANCE
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IRISH WOLF SHIFTERS, 3
FLORA FERRARI
Copyright © 2020 by Flora Ferrari
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.
Claimed By The Enemy
Shannon O’Donnell is the last woman on earth that Cormac Killanney should want to claim. Not only is she a virgin, but she is also the sister of his most dangerous rival in the Irish mafia. Going anywhere near her could start a turf war. But as soon as he sets eyes on her lush curves Cormac knows that there is no way he can keep away from her.
Lusting after Cormac is not a good idea, but Shannon knows she has little choice in the matter. She craves him so much it is almost a physical ache...one that she has to fill. But what will her brothers say? And what about the fact that he is not quite like other men?
Not to mention the fact that wolves mate for life…
*Claimed By The Enemy is a SHORT insta-everything standalone instalove romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
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Chapter One
Cormac
The night is mine.
I keep to the shadows as I run along the back streets towards the docks, knowing that being seen by anyone will not be a good idea. For them.
No one expects to see a wolf in Dublin of course, much less a werewolf, so their minds will tell them what they are looking at is a big dog. A big, black, snarly dog with huge teeth. The last thing I need is to come on anyones radar, so I keep myself as invisible as possible.
I wouldn’t usually come anywhere near the city in wolf form, but tonight I’m tracking. The O’Donnell’s are up to no good and I need to see what that is. We’ve had a tip-off that they are expecting a shipment tonight – but not of drugs. So what? If its arms then they’re in direct competition with us and are trying to piss us off and, no doubt, looking for a turf war. It’s been brewing for a while.
A mix of scents assail my delicate wolf nose as I approach to the docks but one stands out more than any other. Patrick O’Donnell. The older of the O’Donnell brothers and our arch enemy. Not only does he want to take over, but ever since my youngest brother – by all of twenty minutes – Brendan killed his cousin a few months ago, he’s been after blood. The fact that his cousin was blatantly in the wrong by breaking into our premises and attacking Brendan’s woman means he can’t take justified revenge, but we all know he will be planning something. The younger O’Donnell, Sean, seems both more intelligent and less vicious, but sadly in thrall to his brother in a way that Brendan and Aiden have never been to me.
Triplets, all three of us Killanney brothers have inherited the werewolf gene that usually affects the oldest male in every generation. Or curse, if the legends are to be believed.
But it doesn’t feel like a curse. Except on full moons when we have no choice but to shift, the supernatural speed, strength and healing abilities are a boon in our kind of work. It gives us an edge no enemy would expect, although we have to be careful to hide our true nature.
Ever since Brendan killed the O’Donnell cousin in his wolf form, the rumors have been flying in Dublin that wild dogs patrol our house. We even found poisoned meat outside the door. Idiots.
I catch the unmistakable scent of Patrick O’Donnell as I pad down the hill towards the docks and I growl low in my throat before I can stop myself. In this form it’s even harder than usual to resist the temptation to rip out his throat. Hearing voices, I run low alongside the wall that runs down to the quay, then stop and look carefully over the top. It’s a cloudy night with no moon, so while I can see and smell them, they won’t detect me from here unless I want them to.
I see Patrick and a few of his goons, but Sean isn’t with him, which is interesting. I’ve heard rumors of a slight rift between them, which I had dismissed, but maybe there’s something in it. If this is the beginnings of a major operation I would expect them both to be here.
I see the ship that has recently moored, and watch as three men walk off the boat towards Patrick. I can hear muffled voices, but not what they are saying. There’s a disused warehouse at the end of the hill that should bring me within hearing distance and I start to run towards it, again keeping low behind the wall.
As I approach the warehouse I pick up another scent. A woman. In the warehouse? I slow down, unsure of what to do. It could be a homeless woman sleeping in there, but she’s likely to scream bloody murder if I enter. I slow down, creeping towards a hole in the side wall, trying to figure out her scent.
She smells fresh, and young. An adult, but not very old. And she doesn’t have the smell I tend to associate with Dublin’s homeless, which comes with its own special brand of despair. As I get closer, she smells...enticing.
I stop, confused at what I’m feeling. My senses are screaming Mine, which makes no sense. I have no woman and I don’t want one. I tried, I really did. I had a few one-night stands in my twenties, aware of the way women look at me, but they left me cold. As a wolf, I’m supposed to mate for life, and to know my mate when I find her. So my late Uncle Padraic always told us. I had started to think it was a myth, but in the last two months both of my brothers have found their women and now they’re both talking about getting married. Aiden keeps teasing me that it’s my turn. I keep telling him to get to feck.
I creep close to the gap in the wall and lower my head to look inside. The woman is standing just out of sight of the main entrance with her back to me, and she looks as though she’s waiting for something, although she’s also being careful to keep where she can’t be seen. I can hear the voices of O’Donnell and the other men much clearer now. They’re discussing payment – and another shipment scheduled for next week. I need to see what they’re about, but now the woman is in my way, and I’m pretty sure that if she sees me she’ll either run or scream.
Then I see her tilt her head and I know exactly what she’s doing. She’s listening. Whoever this girl is, she isn’t here by chance, but for the same reason I am. She’s spying on Patrick O’Donnell.
Is she insane? He won’t show any mercy if he captures her jus
t because she’s a female. I should be annoyed that she’s jeopardizing the whole operation, but her scent is getting right into my nostrils now and it’s almost hypnotic. I creep through the gap, being careful to make no noise, and look at her. Even from behind there is plenty to look at. Just because I don’t bother with women doesn’t mean I can’t tell beauty when I see it. Caramel curls fall down a slender back that flares out into a generous ass and full thighs that are encased in skin tight jeans. As she turns slightly to the side I see the outline of an impressive set of breasts and a softly curving belly, and I have to stop myself from growling again.
Who the hell is she?
Then I hear her gasp in shock. Her hand flies to her mouth as she realizes how loud it sounds in the empty warehouse, but the men’s voices continue. They’ve heard nothing. She has seen something though, and it has terrified her. I can smell the fear coming off her in waves.
She steps forward and I know she’s about to do something crazy. She’s going to confront them.
They will kill her.
Without thinking, I shift, knowing I have to stop her and I’ll have less chance of scaring her into screaming if I’m in human form.
Too late, I remember I was naked when I shifted before leaving the house. I’m sick of ripping my clothes and having to carry spares around in my jaws.
I step quickly behind a brick pillar, leaning my head round to see her.
“Don’t go out there, it’s dangerous. And don’t scream,” I add as she whirls round, her expression panicked.
“Who are you?” She hisses.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” I retort, catching my breath as I see her full on.
She’s gorgeous. Big shamrock green eyes, full lips and that body...I can feel my cock stiffen. Which is not a good look, considering I’m as naked as the day I was born and in an abandoned warehouse with a woman I don’t know. Thank the gods it’s dark. She peers through the gloom at me.
“I’m...just getting out of the cold.”
Her voice is melodic. I try not to imagine her moaning beneath me.
“While spying on dangerous criminals?” I challenge and she flinches.
“What are you, a cop?”
I briefly wonder whether to lie. A cop would be more reassuring than the truth.
Then she steps towards me, and a breeze moves through the warehouse, and the full force of her scent hits me. And even though it makes no logical sense, I can’t deny what my instincts are now screaming at me.
I’ve found my mate.
Chapter Two
Shannon
He stiffens as I move towards him and I stop, swallowing my fear. I’m pretty sure he’s not a cop. And why is he hiding behind that pillar? In the gloom, I can just make out a broad shoulder and piercing green eyes. The shadows fall on his face revealing a strong jaw, fine bones and a dimple in his chin. As far as I can tell in this light, he’s hot as hell.
I wonder if he is a cop, and what that means for me. If I tell him what I’ve just discovered about Patrick...then what? I don’t trust the police, or the Garda as we call them in Ireland. And I’ve been brought up to see them as the enemy. You don’t tell them anything. Especially about Patrick O’Donnell...not if you want to live anyway.
And especially not if he’s your brother.
Growing up as the youngest of the O’Donnell’s has never been easy. Having two big brothers that everyone is terrified of means that guys come nowhere near me and even my friends are wary. But Sean at least has always adored me. Patrick...well let’s just say I’m not always convinced that blood is thicker than water.
As for what I seem to have just discovered...my brother deserves to go to prison for a very, very long time.
As though reading my mind, Mr Mysterious asks me, “What did you see out there? And why are you watching them?”
“I’m a journalist,” I say, thinking quickly. “You?”
“I’m a detective. Private,” he adds quickly as though sensing I’m not about to talk to a Garda. We stare at each other through the gloom. His eyes are beautiful, and I feel a flutter of warmth go through my body as he looks me up and down, a slight smile on his full lips. This is so not the time to be getting distracted.
“Working for whom?”
He narrows his eyes.
“Client confidentiality,” he says and I have a horrible thought.
“Are you working for the Killanney’s?”
I see him stiffen and know that I’m right. My first thought is to alert Patrick after all, he’s still my brother. All I know about the Killanney’s is that they are the most feared crime family in Dublin and Patrick is after their crown. Sean thinks he’s insane and will get us all killed, but he will go along with Patrick as he always does. But he might finally turn against him when I tell him about this.
Headlights suddenly sweep the warehouse and I shrink back as I hear an engine start. The detective cranes his head.
“They’re putting people in a truck,” he says, his eyes wide. He looks at me in horror and then anger. I nod.
“People smuggling. Or worse, outright trafficking.”
I see his fists clench and the lights sweep over him as we hear the truck pull away. He shrinks back, but not before I see what he’s wearing.
Which is precisely nothing. He’s butt naked. He shrinks back behind the pillar and the lights fade away, but not before I’ve caught a glimpse of an impossibly strong and muscled torso, rock-hard thighs...and a very large cock. Not that I’ve got anything to compare it to, of course.
I stare at him, wondering why I’m not scared. I’m completely alone in the middle of the night with a naked man who looks like he could snap me in half without breaking a sweat. Yet somehow, I’m not scared at all. I wonder if I’m in shock.
“Why are you naked?”
“I got mugged.”
I raise an eyebrow. “For your clothes? Plus, you don’t look the muggable type.”
“My clothes were designer...and they had a knife. I decided not to argue.”
He’s lying, I’m sure of it. But why else would he be naked? He could be an opportunistic sexual predator I guess, but why lurk around here? And he definitely flinched when I mentioned the Killanney’s.
“So...what are you going to do with what you’ve just seen?” I ask, thinking quickly. If he does work for the Killanney’s then my brothers are in trouble and I should warn them...but if Patrick is involved in what it looks like then he needs to be stopped. Smuggling in illegal immigrants is one thing, but that doesn’t sound like my brother’s gig. But would he really sink to human trafficking? I suddenly feel cold all over. I’m definitely in shock, which is perhaps why I’m finding this man’s presence comforting when I should really be running away screaming.
That and the fact that I have an almost unbearable urge to get a better look at that naked body. A wave of sheer want hits me out of nowhere and the air seems to crackle between us. Barely knowing what I’m doing, I step around the pillar and kiss him. As soon as my lips touch his, a current of heat goes through my body.
For a moment he freezes and I think he’s going to push me away, but then his lips part and suddenly we’re kissing hungrily. His tongue probes mine and his strong arms are like a fortress around my body. One that I don’t ever want to escape from. I press my body into his and I can feel his cock against my thigh. My nipples stiffen and I feel a rush of wetness between my legs as I whimper into his mouth.
Then suddenly he steps away. I resist the urge to look down at his groin.
“This isn’t right,” he murmurs. “I’m naked.”
“I can see that,” I nod. I don’t know whether I’m touched at his belated attempt to be a gentleman or wildly disappointed. The crazy mood I’m in right now I would have let him take me right here on the warehouse floor.
Not quite the way I’ve always fantasized about losing my virginity, to be sure.
“I have to go,” I say. I need to get home before Patrick
. If he thinks I’ve been out this late there will be hell to pay. Dad was never so bad, not even when I was a teenager and he caught me smoking. I miss him.
“Yes,” he says. I hesitate, staring at him. At that full mouth...I touch my lips with my fingertips, feeling them throb from our kiss. I want to ask him his name, or if I can see him again, but I know that’s crazy. He thinks I’m a journalist. If he finds out who I am and reports back to the Killanney’s then I’m in big trouble.
I still have to decide what to tell my brothers.
“Well, ‘bye then,” I say as I turn around and hurry out of the building. He doesn’t speak but I feel his eyes burning into me as I walk away. As I walk outside the air from the Irish Sea hits me and brings a rush of reality with it.
What the feck was that about?
Chapter Three
Cormac
I wait until she’s safely up the hill then shift again. It’s a relief to be back in wolf form, although I’m still drawn to her like a magnet, I’m throbbing with an all too human lust.
I have to find out who she is...I have to have her. When she kissed me and the scent of her arousal filled my nostrils and pumped my cock, I knew for certain. She’s my mate.
Now I just have to explain that to her. I didn’t think here and now would be the right time, given the whole birthday suit issue.
Claimed By The Enemy (Irish Wolf Shifters Book 3) Page 1
