What a Wolf Desires (Lux Catena Series Book 1)

by Amy Pennza

  “Ah,” Remy said, “that’s better.”

  “What?”

  “You smiled.” He held her gaze. “I’ve been waiting to see it. That was the whole reason I came over here.”

  “It was?”

  “Mmmhmm. A beautiful woman shouldn’t look so sad.”

  Her heart flipped over. He thought she was beautiful? As quickly as the thought came, she brushed it off. This was Remy Arsenault, the Casanova of werewolves. She looked away. “You shouldn’t say that.”

  “Why not?”

  Because you’re just being nice, and that hurts more than being ignored. She used her chin to point toward her father’s wolves. “They might hear you.” Actually, it wasn’t even a question of “might.” They could have probably heard him if he’d whispered. There was no such thing as a private conversation around werewolves.

  “Besides,” she added, “I’m getting married in three days.”

  “You seem sad about that, too.”

  She gasped and jerked her gaze to his. His voice had echoed through her head as if he’d spoken next to her ear. “You just—”

  “Talked in your head,” he said, out loud this time. “I’m a Telepath.”

  “I-I know. But I thought you could only speak mind-to-mind to other Telepaths.” At least that’s what she’d been taught. Telepathy was a somewhat rare Gift. Some wolves theorized it wasn’t necessarily uncommon, just that wolves with mental Gifts were disadvantaged against those with physical abilities like superior speed and vision. In a fight, they were almost certain to lose. Some Telepaths were reluctant to reveal their Gift for that reason. Others refused to mate with a Telepath for fear their offspring would inherit the Gift.

  Remy grinned. “That’s usually true. I guess I’m just special.”

  Special. Wait, did he know what she was thinking right now? He’d started their conversation by telling her she was going to be all right. She covered her throat with her hand. “So you can read minds?”

  He shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I can have a two-way conversation with another Telepath. But I can only send to non-Telepaths.”

  Before she could respond, movement near the front of the vehicles drew her gaze. The Betas had finished talking and were moving toward the rest of the group.

  “Looks like the party’s over,” Remy said.

  Her stomach fluttered. One step closer to Vermont.

  A wolf from her father’s pack turned and motioned for her to join the group.

  She looked at Remy. “I should go. It was nice talking to you.”

  He put a hand on her arm. “We don’t have to stop.” His scent swirled around her—a mix of lemon, peppermint and something she couldn’t quite place…like inhaling a sharp gust of clean, cold air in winter.

  “What…” She swallowed. “What do you mean?”

  For the first time, the faint amusement in his gaze turned to something else. Now he seemed…intense. His gaze held hers. “We don’t have to stop talking,” he said. “You’re riding with me and Dom through New York.”

  Now why did that information do weird things to her belly? She glanced at the waiting wolf and lowered her voice. “People will hear—”

  “Not if I talk in your head, chère.”

  Her stomach flipped over again as his accent curled around her brain like smoke. That was another thing she knew about Remy Arsenault. The seat of the New York Territory hugged the Quebec border, and the wolves there switched between English and French like another person might change their shirt. Although he sounded as American as apple pie most of the time, every once in a while she caught a hint of an accent in his speech—an occasional rolled R or dropped H that made blunt, ordinary words sexy and exciting.

  And heaven help her, but she wanted to hear more of it.

  She flicked another glance at her escort. Two more wolves had turned and now watched them, irritation stamped all over their faces. If she didn’t get moving, they’d come to her.

  “Don’t worry so much, Sophie.” Remy’s voice drifted through her head like a cool river. His hand on her arm was warm, and his eyes twinkled with mischief.

  Dangerous. Talking to him was so very dangerous. At the end of her journey lay a wedding and a lifetime with Asher Benton. Considering the average werewolf lived around one hundred and thirty years, lifetime took on a whole new meaning—even more so because there was no divorce in her species. Once two werewolves completed the mating ritual, their lives were metaphysically chained to each other. Lux catena, the name of the ritual, literally meant “chain of light.” If one mate died, the other quickly followed.

  So forging any kind of connection with Remy Arsenault was dangerous, because it couldn’t last.

  Her father’s Beta cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled down the line of cars. “Let’s go!”

  Her heart sped up. She pulled her arm from Remy’s grasp. “I have to go.”

  “So it’s a yes?”

  She licked her lips. “I don’t—”

  “Just say yes, Sophie.” He smiled. “What’s so dangerous about talking in a car?”

  Her breath caught. He’d said he couldn’t read minds…

  “Say yes.” The smile still played around his mouth.

  Maybe he was right. There was no harm in talking, especially if no one would find out. Remy Arsenault was a notorious heartbreaker, but he could never have her heart. Her father had already sold it, along with her freedom. Talking to him was like sneaking a handful of chocolate on a diet—a moment’s indulgence that made no difference in the long run. Why not seize the chance to taste a little sweetness? It might be the only opportunity she got.

  “All right,” she said.

  His eyes gleamed. “Until later then, Sophie Gregory,” his voice said in her mind. Under her shirt, her nipples tightened. Good grief, what kind of powers did he possess?

  One of her father’s wolves broke away from the group and started toward them.

  A lifetime of obedience made her gasp and hurry away from Remy. She’d gone a few steps when he called her name.

  She spun around. “Yes?”

  “No matter what, it’ll be all right.”

  About the Author

  Amy Pennza has been a lawyer, a soldier, and a copywriter. Although she liked the first two well enough, she decided writing romance is the job she loves best. After years in Tornado Alley, she now makes her home in the Great Lakes region with her husband, kids, and two demanding animals.

  Keep up with new releases, news, and giveaways by visiting amypennza.com

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