Passionate Craving

Passionate Craving

Marisa Chenery

Edited by Marisa
Chenery

Cover design by
April Martinez

Copyright 2014
Marisa Chenery. Published by Forever More Publishing, 31 Wycliffe Place,
Kitchener, Ontario, N2M 5J6, Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the author.

ISBN:
978-1-92785-951-3

This ebook is
licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or
given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re
reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use
only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard
work of this author.

This is a work
of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the
author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to
actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

For Memphis, a simple trip to town turned out to be a whole lot more
than buying items on his shopping list. Being mate branded and finding his mate
in the center of a disagreement with some of the townsfolk within minutes of
each other hits him like a ton of bricks. From then on, his life won’t ever be
the same.

As a wildlife biologist, and working for a foundation to protect the
wild gray wolves, Tori was used to butting heads with those who didn’t agree
with her opinions. Having a gorgeous hunk come to her rescue was new, though,
and something she liked more than she cared to admit.

Having convinced Tori to stay at his place to study the new species
of “wolves” he’d told her about, Memphis soon learns his mate will do anything
to protect them. Even if there’s risk to herself.

Chapter One

Memphis turned his 4x4 pickup truck onto the gravel path that led up
to his youngest brother’s cabin. Talon was supposed to be waiting outside for
him. They were going to make the short trip to the small town of Canyon Creek,
where they lived in Montana, to pick up a few items at the general store. Since
they both needed to go, they’d decided to drive together.

Talon stood from where he’d sat on his porch as Memphis stopped in
front of the log cabin. After his brother climbed into the passenger side,
Memphis did a three-point turn to leave the way he’d come.

“So no mate brand yet?” Talon asked once they were on the main
gravel road on their family’s land.

“No. Don’t worry. You’ll be the first person I tell when it
happens.” Memphis shot Talon a hard look. “And you can stop asking me every
damn day. It’s starting to get on my nerves.”

Talon and his family were wolf shifters, which meant they were born
wolves with the ability to take on human form. He had five brothers. They’d all
been born in the same litter thirty years ago. Once a male of their kind
reached that age, they became mate branded, the sign that it was time to find
the woman meant for them. The brand, when it’d appear on his neck where it met
his shoulder, would be black. It’d have intricate Celtic-styled knot work in a
circular design that surrounded a pair of wolves that stood and faced each
other with their heads thrown back on a howl. After he claimed his mate, the
black knot work would change color, taking on the jewel tones of reds, blues
and greens. The same marking would appear on her in the exact same place on her
body.

Male siblings born at the same time were mate branded in order of
birth. Since Memphis’ three older brothers, Kiel, Cyrus and Gage, had already
been and had found and claimed their mates, he was next in line. After him
would be Rhett and then Talon, the last born. His brother wasn’t exactly keen
on finding his mate. No matter, though. Whether Talon wanted it or not, it
would happen. And he would claim his mate. He’d have no choice. Once the brand
appeared on a male’s skin, he had three weeks to find and claim his mate or
he’d lose his humanity forever. He’d then be no different than the wild gray
wolves that roamed free in this part of Montana.

Talon let loose with a low, rumbling growl. “Excuse me for wanting
to be prepared for when my doom hits.”

Memphis chuckled. “Being branded and having to find and claim a mate
isn’t something I’d consider a male’s doom.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“That wandering eye of yours, and other body parts, will soon be
brought to a stop. Since you’ve practically worked your way through all the
unmated females in the three closest wolf shifter packs, and left some of them
not in good terms, you’d better hope your mate ends up human.”

Their three older brothers had human mates. As far as his family
knew, they were the first not to have claimed a female of their kind. Memphis
had a feeling his mate, along with Rhett’s and Talon’s, would be human as well.
It stood to reason that all six of them would since they were from the same
litter. That in itself was a bit of an oddity for wolf shifters as well. Most
litters consisted of four cubs, not six.

“If I had my way, I wouldn’t have a mate. I really don’t know if I
can be happy with just one female. There’s a good chance I’m not made to be
mated.”

Memphis shook his head. “Don’t be an idiot. Once you’re mate branded
and find your mate, you’ll be changing your tune. It’s not something you’ll be
able to ignore. Look how far Cyrus went to claim Jaimie.”

Cyrus had become mated not that long ago. When he’d found Jaimie,
she’d been in the hospital, days close to death from cancer. Unable to lose her
so soon after finding her, Cyrus had bitten Jaimie to claim her with the hopes
of saving her life. Human mates were able to heal at a much faster rate, and
from just about anything, once claimed. It’d worked, and the two of them were
more than happy.

“I know I won’t be able to just wish it away,” Talon said. “It
doesn’t mean I have to like it, though.”

Memphis smiled. “I still think you’ll be singing a different tune
when your time comes.”

They’d arrived in town, and Memphis pulled into a parking spot on
the street close to the front of the general store, which was a coffee shop and
Laundromat as well. It wasn’t until he’d shut off the engine that he noticed
the group of people standing by the entrance to the building. They seemed to be
having a heated conversation with lots of hand waving and stern faces.

“What do you think that’s all about?” Talon asked.

“I have no idea. I guess we’ll find out soon enough since they’re
standing right where we have to go.”

He and Talon got out of the pickup and headed for the sidewalk. As
they walked down it, Memphis easily heard the loud conversation taking place.
Since their voices were raised, he didn’t need his sensitive wolf shifter
hearing to do so. He and his brother stopped a short distance away from the
others.

A pretty woman with long, auburn hair appeared to be arguing with
some locals about the hunting of wolves. She was against it while the locals
were for it. It was a subject Memphis and his family felt strongly about, and
were on the side of the woman.

“The wolves need to be protected,” the woman said when Memphis and
Talon had almost reached the group. “They could easily become endangered once
again.”

“They were delisted from protection under the Endangered Species Act
so obviously the government doesn’t think they will,” retorted Brad, one of the
locals who raised cattle. “The damn animals have taken down some of my livestock.
I have no sympathy for them when they jeopardize my livelihood.”

Even though she was tall for a woman—Memphis guessed her to be
around five-foot-eight—Brad still was a few inches taller and had a heavyset
frame. He’d gotten right up into her face as he’d spoken, but that didn’t have
her backing down at all.

“They still need to be protected,” she shot back.

Brad glared at her. “Who are you to come here and tell me how I
manage my land? You don’t live in Canyon Creek. You have no understanding of
what it takes to make a living here. So don’t think you can arrive in our town
and make demands on us.”

The way the woman glared at Brad, Memphis could see this situation
easily getting out of hand. It didn’t look as if any of the other spectators
were inclined to step in before that happened. Memphis decided it was time for
everyone to go their separate ways and cool off.

He went to take a step in the woman’s direction and had two things
happen at once. The urge and craving to mate slammed into him, causing him to come
to a sudden standstill and catch his balance. The need was so bad he had to
force himself to breathe through it. The burning sensation on the left side of
his neck where it met his shoulder had him quietly hissing with pain as he
brought his hand up and covered the spot. That only lasted a few seconds, but
the arousal hadn’t diminished a bit.

Memphis knew exactly what had happened. He’d been mate branded.
Talon, who’d come up to stand beside him, turned his head in Memphis’ direction
and sniffed the air.

“Ah, man,” his brother said with a scowl. “You’ve got to be kidding
me? Now? Like right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn, you stink.” Talon took a step away.

Memphis did his best to ignore the next wave of arousal that hit
him. As expected, his cock remained soft. His ability to get a hard-on was now
gone until he found his mate, then he’d be back in working order. Until such
time, his mind would be willing, but his body wouldn’t.

The wind changed direction and blew the woman’s scent toward
Memphis. He sucked in a sharp breath as his cock instantly went rock hard. The
third surge of arousal that tore through him was more intense than the last,
and had his scent stronger as well.

Talon looked at Memphis, then at the woman and back again. “No way.
She can’t be your mate.”

“It would seem that she is. Something is ‘pointing’ right at her.”

“What are the fucking chances that you get branded and then a few
seconds later find your mate? At least your human likes wolves since she’s here
hoping to protect our wild cousins.”

Memphis didn’t reply to what Talon had said as he walked toward his
mate. Brad was entirely too close to her for his liking. It was his right to
protect her, and at this moment, Brad was a threat.

He pushed his way between Brad and the woman, facing the other man.
“Back off, Brad.” It took a lot of his self-control not to curl his upper lip
in a snarl and growl as a warning.

“Taking her side, Memphis?” Brad asked as he turned his gaze on him.
“As a trapper by trade, I’d think you’d be against her the same as I am.”

“My family and I don’t trap wolves, and we’d never go out of our way
to hunt them.”

Brad snorted. “Oh yeah, I forgot. You allow the wolves to live on
your land. That could be one reason we have a problem with them killing our
cattle.”

Memphis had made the mistake of forming an acquaintance with Brad a
few years ago. It was after he’d learned that the other man was a loudmouth and
liked to throw his weight around did Memphis try to keep his distance whenever
they both were in town. Usually he and his family didn’t go out of their way to
be friends with the people of Canyon Creek. As wolf shifters, their lifespans
were a lot longer than a human’s, at around a hundred and fifty years. After a
while, it’d be noticeable that his family and he didn’t exactly age the way
everyone else did.

“You can say whatever you want,” Memphis said as he reached behind
him and blindly took hold of the woman’s wrist. Just that small amount of
contact sent a surge of pleasure through him. “I think the two of you have said
everything you need to say on the subject of the wolves.”

Without giving the woman a chance to agree or not, Memphis turned
from the group of townsfolk and walked away as he pulled her along with him.
Talon fell in to step on his other side as Memphis adjusted his grip on her
wrist. She had to walk at a fast pace to keep up with his longer strides.

Once they were a short distance away from the others, she said,
“Thanks for diffusing the situation back there, but you can let go of me now.”

“Not yet.”

He kept her walking until they were half a block from the general
store. He stopped and turned to face her. Memphis ran his gaze over her face.
Blue eyes stared back at him. She had a pert little nose and lush lips he
craved to taste. Her long, auburn hair was shoulder length. He itched to touch
it to test its softness.

His gaze still on hers, he asked, “What’s your name?”

*

“It’s Tori.”

Tori met Memphis’ gaze and tried not to let what she felt show on
the outside. Her heart beat at a faster rate and she was a little breathless.
It had nothing to do with the fact she’d had to walk at a fast clip to keep up
with him.

No, it had everything to do with the fact she found him utterly
gorgeous. First laying eyes on him, her body had stood up and yelled, Hell,
yes. Memphis’ straight, black hair was on the longish side, and his light green
eyes were enough to have her breath catching when they were focused on her. He
was also tall, somewhere close to six-foot-five, which at her height she liked.
Same with his very muscular body. She couldn’t forget about that.

“Nice to meet you, Tori,” he said. “I’m Memphis.” He gestured toward
the man with them. “And this is my brother, Talon.”

Talon had similar looks as Memphis, right down to the same hair, eye
color and build. There was no mistaking them as siblings. Talon gave her a
smile Tori was sure had made more than one woman weak in the knees.

“Hi,” said Talon. “It was pretty gutsy of you to take on Brad and
the others like that.”

She shrugged. “That’s what I do. I work for a foundation for the
preservation of wildlife that are threatened with extinction or when their numbers
decrease because of humans. Be it from hunting or loss of habitat. We go to
affected areas and try to educate people to prevent a species from dying out.”

“So you’re an animal activist,” Memphis said.

“I wouldn’t say we go that far. I’m a wildlife biologist and
specialize in wolves.”

“Which means you study them as well as try to protect them,
correct?”

“Yes. I have my degree in wildlife biology from the University of
Montana.”

Talon looked at his brother and said with a laugh, “She
specializes
in wolves.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Memphis rolled his eyes. “Grow up, Talon. Why don’t you go to the
general store and pick up the things we need while I stay here with Tori.”

“Fine. I’m going. Meet you back at the truck.”

Talon turned in the direction they’d come and walked away. Tori
stared after him, not sure what he thought was so funny about wolves being her
study of choice. She turned her gaze on Memphis.