Lycan Lust

Chapter Three

When he found the rogues who were responsible for killing her family and chasing after her, he’d kill them all. She was his mate, and any werewolf that came near her would know by her scent, or lack of, that she was meant for another. Mates had two scents. The main scent was one that called to all lycans alike, but the mating scent was only recognizable by a fated mate.

His kind was supposed to protect any female who had the main scent, but apparently that had not happened. In recent years, many of the packs had gone rogue, deciding that any woman with the main scent was fair game.

Many women had been raped, held prisoner, and even killed. Such acts against potential mates were forbidden and punishable by death. Most of the rogues were younger lycans who had trouble controlling their newly overwhelming urges, those who got high on their new strength and speed.

He was older and had had more than enough years to decide what was right and wrong, and what kind of man he wanted to be. He’d had some younger, wilder days and had done things he wasn’t extremely proud of, but he’d never raped or hurt a woman. And he’d never hurt anyone else for that matter, unless it had been unavoidable. But God help the ones who’d been after Rindy. They were all dead, and they didn’t even know it yet.

Pain ripped through him, cutting at his chest like an invisible knife. She was beautiful, Rindy, and so tiny. And, though he was angry at what she’d endured the past several years, he was proud of her for having the wits to survive and stay safe. He figured he’d managed to get the drop on her where other lycans had failed because he had two scents to follow her by. He understood why he’d lost her over the past several weeks’ time and again now, though. Every time she’d hopped on a bus or plane or train, her scent had vanished. Yeah, his girl was smart and crafty.

“Rindy, I know this will be hard for you to understand, but now that I have finally found you, it will not be possible for me to allow you to be on your own again. It is ingrained in me to protect you. And, besides, I want to keep you safe. I don’t ever want anything or anyone to hurt you again.”

He reached his hand toward her slowly. Her cool eyes watched him closely, but she did not shy away from him in fear. He took a few strands of her blonde hair between his fingers and let the softness sift over his skin. He sighed. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, claim her, but he was smart enough to realize he’d probably end up with a swift kick in the crotch if he so much as tried any of that.

“I don’t give a shit what is ingrained in you. I don’t need your protection.

I’ve done fine on my own.” She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him.

He found the gesture endearing and caught a smile before it made it to his lips, figuring she wouldn’t find it amusing in the least. “Yes. You have done fine, but now you don’t have to do it all on your own. Now you don’t ever have to be afraid again. No one will hurt you again as long as I breathe.”

“You aren’t listening to me,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t need you. I don’t want you here.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Rindy. I think you are the one not listening.”

He stepped closer to her, so that her back was flattened against the wall. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as the warmth of her body seeped into him and her sweet sent assailed him. He opened his lids to find her watching him intently, measuring his every breath, his every move. “I am not leaving you alone. Period. End of discussion. Case closed.”

She started to argue with him once again when he put his hand lightly over her mouth. “Shhh.”

He sniffed the air. Son of a bitch. She cried out when he grabbed her and flung her to the sofa seconds before a wolf sailed through the window she’d tried to escape through. It landed on the wood floor and skidded sideways, its claws screeching along the way. Within moments, the wolf shifted into a man. He was a big man, as most lycans were. He had stringy hair and pale blue eyes. And since he’d just shifted from wolf form, he was completely nude.

Brent’s fangs lengthened and claws pushed through his fingertips. He was older and able to partially shift. Younger lycans were only capable of complete change. Partial shifts had to be mastered as a werewolf matured.

The man focused on Rindy, who was sprawled on the couch, and sneered. “I see you’ve started the party without me.”

Brent growled in warning. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you know that this woman is not meant for you. You also know it is forbidden to harm her in any way.”

The man laughed. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” Rage began Brent’s blood boiling. “And I’m telling you the woman is mine.”

Anger contorted the younger lycan’s features. He looked at Rindy, then at Brent, and back at Rindy. He shifted to wolf form in seconds and lunged for Rindy. But before he made it, Brent tackled him in midair. The wolf yelped as Brent’s claws sunk into its side, through flesh, and broke ribs. The wolf snarled and clamped its jaws around one of Brent’s forearms. Brent raised his arm until the wolf was dangling by it from his teeth and slammed it to the floor.

The wolf let go of Brent’s arm. Brent reached for the neck, intending to snap it, but an instant before he reached his target, the lycan reared up and clamped down on his thigh, taking him to the floor. Brent blocked the pain from his mind and pinned the wolf between his legs. He squeezed until his thigh was released, and the raspy breaths left the wolf’s lungs for the last time.

Brent took the wolf’s limp head between his hands and gave it one quick twist, breaking the neck. The wolf slowly shifted back to a man.

“Oh, my God! Is he dead?” Rindy sat on her knees and clutched the ratty arm of the sofa.

Brent turned to her. His thigh and arm burned like a mother, but they would heal quickly. “Yes. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“A-are you hurt?” She looked at his arm and thigh.

“I’ll be okay. We need to get out of here in case there are more in the area.” He held his hand out to her. “Come with me, please.”

Apprehension marred her lovely features. He took a deep breath. “Surely you can see that I’m not going to hurt you, and that I will in fact protect you with my life.”

One tear slid from the corner of her eye. “I don’t know what to think.

I’m so confused. I can’t trust you. You’re what I’ve been running from for what seems my entire life.”

He took her pixie-like face between his hands and marveled at how small it looked cupped there. “You have not been running from me. There are good lycans and bad lycans, just like there are good and bad people.

Unfortunately, you’ve only met bad ones. I am not one of those. Please, give me a chance to show you that I will not hurt you. Besides, wouldn’t it be nice to be somewhere that you knew you were safe for a change?”

He knew he had her. She was tired of running. He’d seen it in her eyes.

“Where is it that I will be safe?”

“I have a place in Michigan. Come with me. Give it a try. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.” He wasn’t exactly lying. He’d let her leave if she was truly unhappy after giving it a real chance. He just omitted the part that if she did choose to leave, he’d go with her.

“How are we going to get there? I don’t have a car or anything.”

“I do.” He watched her worry her bottom lip with her teeth. She was exquisite. He didn’t deserve her, yet he’d gladly get on his knees and thank God every single day for making her just for him. He just prayed that one day she’d give thanks that he’d been made just for her.

He knew he was getting through to her. The prospect of being someplace safe, someplace she didn’t have to look over her shoulder constantly was too appealing to turn down. Which was a blessing for him, as the alternative would be to carry her kicking and screaming against her will. And, as stubborn as his little Rindy seemed, he figured she’d be able to hold a grudge for a very long time, possibly forever. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

After several silent minutes, she shrugged. “Fine. But if you so much as look at me wrong, I’ll kill you.”

He grinned and watched as she pulled a backpack from a tiny closet by the front door.

She turned to him. “Are we going or what?”

“Yes.” He checked outside the doorway before he let her walk through it.

“And stop grinning at me like a fool before I kick you in the balls.” She huffed.

He stopped smiling on the outside, but on the inside, he continued to smile like the fool she’d accused him of being. He’d found her. She was beautiful, tough, and . . . perfect. He felt joy course through him. He wouldn’t be alone any longer. He’d have a mate to love, to cherish, to protect. He’d have someone to hold at night, to hug, someone to talk to.

He’d have someone to run with in the woods . . . maybe. He’d been so excited over finding her, he’d never thought of her reaction once he told her he wanted to change her.

Human lives were extremely short compared with those of lycans, and if she wasn’t changed, he’d lose her when she died and face possibly hundreds of more years without her. That, he could not endure. He would convince her somehow. If she didn’t agree, could he do it anyway? Could he live with the hatred she would no doubt have for him for forcing her to become the one thing she’d hated for years? He didn’t think he’d have it in him to make her become what he was if she refused. If it came to that, he’d love her until the day she died. Then, he’d follow her into death. One way or the other, he’d spend eternity with her either as a werewolf or in the afterlife.