Heat from his body traveled through mine. It was impossible not to entwine my arms around his neck and hold on to him as we fell through time and space.

But it was over too fast for anything else to happen.

The early afternoon sun greeted us when the portal deposited us in the middle of a neighborhood. The hunter had his arm locked around my waist, but he didn’t let go when the portal disappeared. Around us, small houses sat sandwiched together. The yards were tiny but well kept, and the neighborhood stretched for blocks.

The hunter dipped his head, and then whispered into my ear, “Now will you release your cloaking spell?”

A shiver danced along my spine. I was tempted. So tempted. Walking around with my cloaking spell in place added an extra weight to my very existence. It was something I was so used to feeling, but the times I released it, it was such a freeing experience.

“Nobody knows you here.” His mouth drifted to my neck. His lips brushed along my skin, and it struck me that I should be putting distance between us, but I didn’t. “Don’t hide yourself from me, colantha.”

The foreign word slipped from his lips, and melted all over me like hot butter. I shivered. “What’s colantha?”

His lips brushed my skin more. “A fae animal, like a lioness. She’s queen of her jungle. A magical predator who no other animal dares cross.”

“And that’s how you see me?”

“That’s how you could be. If you let yourself.”

Another shudder racked my body when his grip tightened. His hands drifted to my hips. “Let me scent you, colantha.”

My head tipped back, my throat exposed for the predator.

A rumble of pleasure came from him.

Oh, fuck it.

With whispered words, the thick spell encasing me fell away, as if a blanket had been dropped around me until it pooled at my feet. My power, my magic, the essence of who I really was, surged forth until the crackling power inside me vibrated along my skin.

I sighed. It felt so good.

A feral purring came from the hunter’s throat. He inhaled along my neck, the feeling fluttery soft.

Another shiver ran through me, and I pulled back enough to see the golden glow in his eyes—the glow that I knew would be there. But instead of it shooting lust to my core, it had the opposite reaction.

I jolted from his grip, his wolf in his eyes only reminding me that his desire for me was animal driven and animal driven only. It had everything to do with my scent. My magic. The strength that flowed through my veins. His wolf had obviously recognized it and decided we were compatible mates. He probably thought we would breed super-powerful, genetically enhanced uber pups.

This was Darwinism at work, plain and simple. Only, I had no desire to birth the next generation of magically charged children. I just wanted a normal life and a man who loved me as fiercely as I loved him.

And knowing that the hunter would never feel genuine love for me was like being dunked into a bucket of ice water. Frozen shards frayed along my nerves, like a needle constantly stabbing the edges of a quilt.

The hunter looked down at me with want and confusion in his eyes, as I put more distance between us.

I ran a hand through my hair, working through the blond strands.

“Does your sister live here?” I waved at the nearest home with its vinyl siding and peaked roofline.

“She does.”

I kept my gaze on the house. “I’ll follow you.”

“Tala.” He took a step closer to me, prompting me to hastily back up just as the noise of a banging door reached my ears.

“Kaillen!” Ocean jogged across her front yard, all smiles and flying mahogany hair.

I grinned, more from relief at her arrival than anything else.

She threw her arms around the hunter again, which reminded me how much wolves craved affection. Even though the Fire Wolf’s eyes stayed locked on me when I finally looked him in the eye, he returned his sister’s embrace.

Down the block, a few window curtains pulled back and curious-looking neighbors peered out. Then another neighbor appeared, trimming hedges from around the back of their yard, probably doing last-minute fall pruning.

It seemed that the Fire Wolf’s appearance was causing quite a stir.

And I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.

The hunter’s eyes narrowed in the direction of the prying next-door neighbor. The man hastily dipped back around the corner, his pruning shears bumping against his thigh. But that didn’t stop the audience that was peeking through the windows of the surrounding houses.

“Do you want to come in?” Ocean asked.

“That’s why we’re here,” he replied gruffly. He swung his attention from the nosy neighbors to me. His nostrils kept flaring, and the gold in his eyes hadn’t receded, but if his sister noticed anything, she didn’t comment.

Ocean grinned. “Perfect timing. I just made a pot of chili for supper. Want some?”

I patted my stomach. “None for me. I just gorged on all of that delicious food you left at the Fire—I mean, Kaillen’s cabin. Thanks for that.”

She beamed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She tugged her brother up the walkway and beckoned me to follow. “Would you like a tour of my home?”

I grinned. “That’d be great.”

She proceeded to show us the small three-bedroom house—a home the hunter had never seen before either. After the tour, she made a fresh pot of coffee, and the Fire Wolf accepted her chili offer, so she ladled him a heaping bowl topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, and crunchy corn chips.

“Are you married?” I asked her, noticing a few framed pictures of Ocean and a handsome tall blond on a shelf in their living room.

She grinned. “That’s Sven. We’ve been married three years.” She patted her tummy. “No pups yet, but that could change soon.”

The Fire Wolf’s spoon stopped halfway to his mouth. “You’re breeding?”

I somehow managed to keep a straight face at that very wolfy question.

“I am.” Her entire face lit up. “We just started trying.”

We settled more into our chairs in the living room, and the Fire Wolf accepted a second bowl of chili. I was still nursing my first cup of coffee but had started to truly relax. Ocean was proving to be genuinely kind and she seemed to truly care for her brother. But it was more than that. She doted on him, and not in one of those motherly ways, but more in a desperate-to-see-him and worried-it’ll-be-the-last-time type of doting. I had a feeling she didn’t see her brother nearly as much as she wanted to.

I finished the last of my coffee and was about to stand up to put my empty cup in the kitchen, when the Fire Wolf stiffened in his seat.

Heavy footsteps on the front porch came a second later, and then a knock. “Ocean? Open up! I hear you have company, and I’d like to let your visitor know a few things if he’s going to be staying on my territory.”

I took in the rage growing in the Fire Wolf’s eyes, and something told me that it wasn’t Sven at the front door.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 14

A warning growl came from the hunter just as Ocean rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

“Honestly . . .” She swung the door open, her emerald eyes flashing. “Is that any way to act after Kaillen’s been gone for ten years?”

A tall, broad man stood at the threshold. He was easily six-three, maybe six-four, and had werewolf written all over him. Brown hair, similar in shade to Ocean’s, was cropped close to his head, and his clothes looked new and expensive. Fisted hands pumped at his sides, and his dark eyes cut across the room until they landed on the Fire Wolf.