The Wolf Within

Chapter 9

Julie watched her three brothers stalk into the bookstore, her eyes widening as she saw the way Ethan struggled to restrain Jason. What the hell was the matter with him? His glare searched the room, and she sensed the feral rage inside him as it passed over her.

Without warning, Jason snapped his teeth at Ethan, who jumped back in surprise. The moment he was free, he ran for the coffee counter where Samantha stood.

Julie watched the scene play out, mesmerized by the depth of emotion. Jason grabbed Samantha, his hands running over her as if checking for injuries before cradling her in his arms. She looked bewildered, but clutched his back, whispering in his ear. Whatever she said seemed to work as his body slowly drained of tension.

Longing filled her as she took in the scene. But even as she wished for the comfort of her lover’s arms, they surrounded her. She knew it was Brendan without having to look. His familiar embrace and scent eased her tension. As his lips brushed against her neck, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Gwen? What are you doing here?” She looked up in time to see Gwen cross to Ethan.

“Laurie called, said there was a family meeting. Did you not want me here?” she asked, a thread of unease entering her voice.

“Of course I do, pet. I just couldn’t call while trying to wrestle one-hundred and ninety pounds of enraged wolf.”

Oh no. Realization struck as she looked at the clock above the counter. Not even eleven o’clock. There was only one reason why her whole family would have ditched work and flocked to the bookstore. The stupid surprise gift. She looked at Laurie who met her gaze with no apology.

Julie sighed, resigned, and Laurie took it as her cue to move to the front door and turn the Open sign to Closed.

Trapped.

Brendan watched his mate as they gathered around some tables. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, which worried him more than he’d like to admit. Why wouldn’t she look at him?

“Julie got flowers and a bottle of champagne delivered this morning.” His head shot up. Flowers and champagne? He pushed down a growl. Julie was his. “She said it was from an ex, but the note in the trash was addressed from someone different. It wasn’t particularly worrisome, except for the fact that Julie panicked while reading it.” Laurie passed the note around, and Julie glared at her sister.

“You went digging through the trash,” she accused. Brendan put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her while inside his gut burned with jealousy and worry.

He looked at the note as Jason passed it to him. The Premier hadn’t let go of his mate since entering the bookstore and held her on his lap, refusing to let her have her own seat.

Brendan read the words, and the growl he’d tried to contain burst out.

“Who the hell is Jay?” he asked, holding back his snarl. Julie flung a glare at him, but he couldn’t help himself. His emotions were too close to the surface. Instinct screamed at him to bundle her onto his lap and hold her the same way Jason held Samantha.

She glanced around the room, searching the faces of her siblings. It bothered him that she sought support from others. Everyone must have shown her the same determination he did, because she clenched her fist and whispered a curse toward the ceiling before looking at him, an apology in her eyes.

“Do you remember the guy I told you about when you–” She paused, sparing a quick glance at her brothers before clearing her throat, “uh, brought pizza to my place?”

He nodded, remembering the moment of fear she’d tried to conceal. At the time, she’d said it was over.

“The flowers were from him. But I met him a few towns over and never gave him any information. Just my name. My first name.”

“Who is this guy?” Danny asked, looking down at the card.

“He hit on her. She said no.” He explained what he knew. Whoever he was, he was stalking the wrong girl. Brendan would rip him limb from limb just for scaring Julie.

His mind flashed to her broken apartment door. Whoever this man was, he’d signed his own death warrant.

“We’ve got bigger problems,” Jason announced, clasping his arms around Samantha’s waist. “We got a letter at the office this morning,” Danny took over, “threatening Samantha if we didn’t agree to back some policy being passed through the shifter council. It’s a ridiculous proposal and would undoubtedly set all canine and felines against each other. I don’t know why the cheetah prides are trying to get it passed to begin with.”

“Why is that a bigger problem than Julie’s letter?” Brendan asked, looking around the room. Both issues were concerning.

“This is my mate,” Jason said, as if that explained everything. Brendan felt his face flush with anger.

“And this is my mate and your sister! You’re just going to abandon her whenever something more important comes up? She needs your protection too.” How dare they think of Julie as an acceptable loss. He’d always thought of the Callahans as nurturing, but this was a side of the family he’d never expected. Throw the youngest and weakest to the wolves, so the rest of them stayed safe. Was this typical behavior for her family? If so, he’d take her away so quickly their heads would spin.

“Brendan, calm down. None of us are abandoning or ignoring Julie’s problems. We just need to figure out how to keep both of them safe,” Danny said from across the room.

“No. This thing with Samantha is more important,” Julie contradicted.

Brendan swung toward her as she spoke. He opened his mouth to ask what the fuck she meant by “no,” furious she would deny her own safety, but Julie cut him off. “The letter is a real threat. This Jay guy is just kind of creepy. We need to look at this logically and not let emotions get in the way. Samantha is in real danger. We need to keep her safe.”

“We need to keep you safe!” What the hell was wrong with everyone? Couldn’t they see the same danger he saw? “It’s not solely the note, Julie. I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t want to worry you, but I didn’t break your front door. Someone else did. My blood runs cold imagining what might have happened had I not been there.”

There was no disguising her shock. Her mouth hung open, and she stared back at him, stunned. He had wanted to keep this from her. To eliminate the threat before she knew the danger. As her mate, his job was to protect her and keep her happy. He didn’t want her to doubt his ability to do both.

Well, that added a new level of fright to the whole situation. What if Brendan hadn’t been at her apartment? She shook her head, not wanting to imagine the possibilities. Thank God he hadn’t listened to her rejection.

The broken door flashed through her mind and she paused, recalling the damage. Something wasn’t adding up. The more she thought about it, the less sense the whole situation made.

“Who would have the strength to break the lock like that?” she asked. There’d been claw marks around the handle, and she’d thought Brendan’s wolf, eager to see her, had done it in his haste.

“Probably a shifter. Whoever did it must have been strong,” Ethan told her, clutching Gwen’s hand. With danger so close, the men felt compelled to keep close tabs on their mates. A threat to any one of them raised the collective alarm.

She mulled over the information as she looked around the room. She’d always been good at puzzles, and this whole situation was certainly puzzling. But it wasn’t logical to assume two separate threats were out there at the same time.

“Wait. What if the person, or shifter, trying to break into the apartment wasn’t after me,” she said, seeing a pattern.

“What do you mean?” Jason asked.

“I met Jay in Oakville, a full-human town. I didn’t get the impression he was a shifter. And Samantha lived in the studio up until a few weeks ago. So what if the person who broke my lock was after Samantha and stopped when he realized she wasn’t inside. It might have nothing to do with me.”

It made sense, at least to Julie. She doubted more than one threat existed, and the letter clearly declared Samantha their target. Jay probably had nothing to do with any of this. After all, some guys were just intense. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t see him following her home and trying to break into her apartment. No one got that attached after three sentences. Poor guy didn’t know what kind of trouble he’d stumbled into by sending flowers.

“What about the note? You’re not safe, either.” As she looked into Brendan’s eyes, she saw the worry and love there. Her breath caught. She needed Brendan. She’d already known that, just as she’d known he loved her. But for the first time, she realized the depth of his emotion. He needed her as much as she needed him.

“I love you.” She couldn’t help but say it, even though it was random and out of place. Even knowing her family would tease her about it later. He tried to pull her into his lap, but she resisted, hearing him grunt with displeasure.

Priorities. Right now she needed to explain. With Samantha in danger, Julie needed to make sure everyone else’s priorities were in line with hers.

“The gifts this morning were creepy, but not in a life-threatening way. Chances are he’ll swing by the store if he wants to see me, especially since I’m living with Brendan now.” The thought of their house brought a smile to her face, but she forced herself to continue. “And since Samantha works here all day, any protective detail can watch both of us. So I think we should concentrate on protecting her. Even during off hours, I’ll be around her a lot as we prepare for the wedding next week.”

“The wedding is off. We’ll plan another one once I’m sure it’s safe,” Jason declared. Because he held Samantha on his lap, he missed the heat that shot into his mate’s eyes. Julie hid her smile behind her hand, knowing what was coming as Samantha shoved his hands off and stood.

“Oh no you don’t, Jason Callahan. You don’t get to make that decision by yourself. We are getting married as planned, and it is non-negotiable.”

“But–”

“Non-negotiable!” she yelled in his face before stomping off. Jason turned his head to watch her, his shock evident.

Julie tried to stifle her laughter. It wasn’t every day the big bad Premier got schooled by his tiny, arctic fox mate. Normally, Samantha was more reserved and a bit meek, but she’d just proven to them she was more than capable of handling Jason when needed. Julie dared to look up, her gaze colliding with Danny’s. Both burst into laughter at the same time.

“Ha ha. Very funny,” Jason snapped, following after his mate.

“We need to talk.”

Julie jumped as Brendan spoke in her ear. She hadn’t been paying attention, and he’d snuck up behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the fierce expression on his face. Uh-oh, this couldn’t be good.

“Sure. Everything all right?”

“Well, something’s bothering me. If you threw out the note, how were you planning on showing it to me later?” Although his voice was calm and reasonable, something in the way he watched her preached caution.

“I don’t know. I guess I wasn’t thinking about it,” she lied.

“Weren’t thinking about it, or weren’t going to tell me about it?” She wracked her brain, trying to remember anything she’d said or done that might have revealed her true intentions. Besides throwing away the card, she couldn’t think of anything.

“Of course I was going to tell you. I wasn’t thinking.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she found herself backed up against the bookshelf, Brendan’s arms caging her. The anger burning behind his eyes would have scared her if she didn’t know for certain he would never harm her.

“Laurie said you asked her not to tell me. So either she’s lying or you are? Something tells me she’s not.” His eyes changed to yellow, and as she watched, his fangs dropped. The animal was close to the surface. Very close.

“I didn’t want you to worry.” It was a lame excuse, and she knew it.

He growled, grinding his hips farther into hers and pushing her farther against the bookcase.

“How can I not worry, knowing you would keep this from me?” He snarled at her. Actually snarled at her!

Heat pooled in her belly, and she felt her blood bubble. What was wrong with her? She shouldn’t be turned-on by this primitive grunting and growling. As he moved closer, she gripped his shoulders, his breath falling hot against her skin. He ground his hips against her again, and his mouth claimed hers in a brutal kiss.

Her head fell back with a clunk against the shelf. Reason struggled to the surface, her eyes opening as she realized they stood in one of the aisles during business hours. “Brendan, we can’t. Not here.”

He growled but moved away. He took her hand and pulled her toward the back of the store, opening the door to the storage closet and pushing her inside. He followed her in before shutting and locking the door.

“They’ll still hear us,” she whispered, as if they could hear the naughty thoughts in her head.

“Let them. Then they’ll know you’re mine.” He pulled her back into his arms, his hand reaching under her skirt and pushing aside her underwear. He groaned into her mouth as he sunk a finger into her heat and felt her desire. Without warning he turned her around, flinging her arms on the wall above her head.

“You’re mine, Julie. Don’t ever forget that. You will not keep secrets from me. Will you?” God help her, the demand in his voice burned through her, heightening her senses. She’d never seen this side of him, but it was sexy as hell.

“No more secrets.”

She leaned forward, her head hitting the wall as he plunged into her from behind. Her hands clenched, searching for something to grip onto as sensation after sensation flooded her.

This was a side of Brendan she’d never seen. He was wild, letting his animal instinct control him, and she loved every minute of it. He pressed her shoulders farther into the wall while his other hand tilted her hips back. A strangled cry passed her lips as he sunk farther into her.

He made no effort to start slowly, but thrust into her with abandon. She neither needed nor wanted anything slow. The raw intensity of his need made her feel powerful. He might have pushed her up against the wall, but she’d pushed him to this. This was about his passion for her, and she gloried in every moment.

His hand stroked up her back, reached around and pulled down her shirt and bra, exposing her breast to the cool air. The heat of his hand covered it, circling the nipple before rolling it with his fingers, pinching and releasing in rhythm. Each pinch, timed perfectly with his inward thrust, propelled her need higher.

She felt the climax building where they were joined. Every glide brought her closer to the edge, and she cried out, struggling to reach the precipice. Her hips jerked as she tried to shove back against him, but his hand tightened, preventing it. The message was clear. He controlled the pace.

“Say it,” he demanded.

Say what? Pleasure filled her mind, dulling everything else. All she could concentrate on was the feel of him inside her.

She moaned as if in pain when his hips froze, his hand stilling her movements. No matter how much she wiggled, she couldn’t escape his grasp.

“Say you’re mine, Julie.”

“Yes, I’m yours. All yours. Please.” She knew she begged, but couldn’t stop the words. Release was so close yet out of reach. She needed him.

With one hard thrust, he was seated fully inside her. She cried out as her body clenched around him.

His lips nuzzled the back of her shoulder. It was the only warning before his teeth sank in, marking her. Giddiness filled her, even as pain shot down her shoulder. Finally she was his forever, and no one could claim otherwise. The sharp sting faded as heat radiated outward from the mark in a steady throb.

The orgasm crashed through her without warning. Her muscles tightened before the world exploded, blinding her. The onslaught of sensations bombarded her until she shattered. Never had she experienced release this intense. She heard cries and vaguely registered they were hers before conscious thought fled.

The last thing she heard before the world went black was Brendan calling her name, but she was helpless to respond.

“Julie, come on, baby, wake up.” He sat on the floor, cradling her in his arms and nuzzling her cheek with his nose. Jesus, she’d scared ten years off his life. One moment she was clenched tight around him, and the next she’d fallen forward and would’ve hit the wall if he’d been slower reacting.

He’d heard that a mating bite gave both lovers intense orgasms when the enzyme binding them together was released. But he hadn’t realized what “intense orgasm” meant until he’d experienced it firsthand. He was lucky he hadn’t passed out along with her.

As the bond linked them together, Brendan’s world had exploded. He’d felt her pleasure at the connection, and they’d fed off each other. The enzyme wouldn’t change her, although she might gain some shifter perks. Not that he wanted to change anything about her, except maybe her ability to scare the living daylights out of him.

She groaned. His breath whooshed out in relief at the sound. Her eyes opened, and her gaze connected with his. The wicked smile curving her lips was so contradictory to his frantic worry he had to take a mental step back. His brows furrowed in concern.

“Are you okay?”

“No.” His heart stopped, but her smile belied the words. “I’m not ‘okay.’ I’m wonderful.” Then she looked around in confusion. “How’d we end up on the floor?”

Stunned, he continued to stare at her. Could she really not know she had passed out?

“What?” she asked, looking nervous.

Now that the panic had abated, he felt…smug. Making Julie orgasm so hard she passed out could easily become his favorite habit.

He nuzzled her jaw, enjoying the way her head tilted to give him more access. She did it without thought, unaware of the action, her body opening into his embrace.

“Promise me you won’t keep things from me anymore. Mates shouldn’t have secrets.” She pulled away, and he felt the loss like a blow to the heart. But as he was about to follow her, she turned around, straddling his hips and resting her forehead against his.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn’t think it was a big deal, and didn’t want to worry you.” Needing to touch her, he stroked her back. Mentally reaching out with their new connection, he sensed her regret.

Each mating was different, but he could tell their bond was strong. He couldn’t read her thoughts, few pairs had that ability, but he could sense the nuances of her emotions. It was a handy trick, considering her skill at hiding them.

Wanting to test the link between them, Brendan thought only about Julie, letting his love for her, the delight he took at holding her in his arms, fill him. He projected his love through the bond and watched Julie’s eyes dilate with pleasure.

“Oh, Brendan,” she whispered before her lips slid against his in a tender kiss. Her tongue slipped inside his mouth, gently stroking his as if they had all the time in the world. After all, they did.