Waking Up Were (4 page)

Declan rolled his eyes and whoofed at his Beta, and friend, encouraging him to sit. It didn’t take long for Connor to collapse onto the ground beside him.

It also didn’t take long to find out why he’d sought Declan out. “Another text about the rogue.”

Declan snarled, angered by the unknown man’s continued presence in his territory. The bastard needed to die. Now. The interloper had already attacked six males as well as Brenna. Who knew how many others would be injured before he was caught.

“I know, I know. I’ve got Donovan and Ballard on it. They’re gathering a few others and going on a hunt tonight.”

That had him bristling, annoyed that he didn’t seem to be included in the plans, that Connor had taken leadership upon himself. He growled, the sound rolling through him and vibrating the earth beneath them.

Connor tilted his head, baring his throat, but kept arguing. “Damn it, Declan. You know you can’t leave Brenna to search for the rogue. Your wolf won’t allow it.”

Declan wasn’t sure he cared about the man’s logic. Not when it meant his Beta overstepped his bounds.

“You’d risk her? Risk her and leave her vulnerable to the rogue? What if the bastard circles back? You know you won’t mate her tonight, even I know that. Which means you won’t have that connection to her, the bond won’t be in place. She could be dying, and you won’t know because you won’t be with her.” Connor’s words were rushed, but no less true. “I can’t have a conflicted Alpha on my hands while I’m trying to run the bastard to ground, Declan. I just can’t.”

He hated when others were right. Declan huffed, agreeing with his Beta’s logic.

“All right then.” Connor pushed to his feet, brushing off his jeans as he rose.

A soft click, the low squeak of hinges, drew their attention back to Brenna’s home. Harper emerged, carefully stepping on the back porch and then picking her way down the stairs.

Declan kept his gaze on her as she approached, hunting her expression for any hint of how her visit went with Brenna. It wasn’t until she stood before him that he noticed the way her eyes shone and the small smile on her lips.

It went well, then. At least, he hoped so.

He whoofed at her, wolf demanding she speak, and she was quick to rush the words past her lips.

“She’s fine. Overloaded with information and exhausted, but fine.” Harper paused for a moment and then blurted out the rest of her thoughts. “She’s not running a fever.”

The unsaid
yet
hovered in the air. When a human was changed, successfully changed, the final step in the transformation included a raging fever as their wolf settled into place. The fact that the fever hadn’t debilitated her before now meant she was a very strong wolf. A wolf meant to be at his side.

Declan huffed, anxious to find out if there was anything else.

“She said you can come in. She understands some of it and knows what’ll happen if you two stay separated. She just wanted me to tell you that the ‘mating thing’ was off the table right now.” Declan glared at the house and Harper continued speaking. “She said maybe someday, but she refuses to bump uglies just because she’s got a furball in her head.”

He smiled. Well, as much as a wolf
could
smile. There were a few things he forgot about his little mate. Things he should have remembered after working with her day after day. His little accountant had a sensible mind and a wicked tongue.

His tongue was the same, yet his was wicked in other ways.

Ways he’d love to show her.

The sound of the door opening once again had their small group turning their attention to the porch. Brenna stood framed in the doorway, steaming mug clutched in her hands as she stared at their gathering. Harper slowly stepped out of her way while Brenna stared intently at them. Then his mate turned and delved into the home.

The only reason he wasn’t crushed by her departure was that she’d left the door open.

Connor and Harper forgotten, Declan padded toward the home, wondering what he’d find once he stepped inside. He climbed the low steps, his nails clicking and clacking on the aged wood. The closer he drew to the entrance, the more of Brenna’s natural scent called to him, drawing him forward. He needed to be beside her, inside her.

At least he could do one of those things.

The moment he stepped into her home—her kitchen—he nudged the back door closed with his bulk, waiting for the tell-tale click ensuring it was shut completely. He eyed the deadbolt, glaring at the offending hunk of metal. He’d love to shift and lock them in, but he wasn’t sure Brenna was ready for a nude male in her kitchen.

He glanced between the lock and Brenna where she hovered in the arch leading to the rest of her house. With a low chuffing bark and a tilt of his head, he drew her attention to the door. Her gaze flitted from him to the door and back again and she seemed to finally get his quiet message.

Declan restrained the wolf when she drew close, battling the animal to keep it from pouncing her the moment she came within reach. She wasn’t ready for them. Not yet, but hopefully soon.

The click from the lock reached him and the moment it split the air, Brenna was gone, striding away from him. Nervous tension combined with a hint of fear lingered in the air. His mate was afraid. Of him. There was no doubt he was the source and he hated himself for it. Not the attraction or the tie that brought them together, but the fact that he was the catalyst for her emotions.

She shifted from foot to foot, body never stilling as they stared at one another. Damn it, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to find his mate, claim her, and then they’d live happily ever after with a dozen pups.

Instead, his mate’s first introduction to werewolf life was an attack by the rogue and then Declan going after his own Beta with claws and teeth bared. He didn’t think he’d won any points with that display.

“So, uh, this werewolf thing, huh?” She licked her lips and he fantasized about her taste, whether she’d be sugary sweet or the deep warmth of chocolate.

Silence continued to reign, her words having drifted off while he was stuck with a wolf’s body.

“Damn it,” she cursed and then huffed. “I can’t exactly talk to you like this, can I? And you’re gonna be all naked when you shift back. Argh.” She narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot. “Fine. C’mon.” She spun on her heel and left him standing in the middle of her kitchen, wondering what the hell had happened
now
.

Declan wasn’t an idiot. He was quick to bolt after her, followed her through the small home until she finally halted in what had to be a guestroom. Brenna pointed at the closet and he noted the fine trembling in her hand. He ached to hold her close and assure her everything would be fine.

Again, he couldn’t exactly do that with paws.

“There are clothes in there. They’ll probably be a little small, but I’m not going to sit down for a conversation with a friggin’ dog.” He growled at her words. He wasn’t a dog, damn it. That had her huffing and rolling her eyes. “Sorry,
wolf
.”

With that, he was left alone once again.

That thing inside her—the wolf—grew stronger with each passing second, with every breath it pushed against her. It fought to grow and expand within her skin, attempting to burst free. It’d surged the moment Declan stepped into her home, pummeling her with growls and leaps. It’d only gotten worse since she left him in her spare bedroom.

A loud crack, the sound of something snapping in two, reached her and that sound was immediately followed by another. Then another. They came in rapid succession rolling into a constant wave of bones shattering. That was what she heard, wasn’t it? Harper had demonstrated a partial shift during the
Great Big Info Dump of Furry Doom
.

Knowing the source didn’t lessen her reaction to the echoing snaps filling the house. If anything, being aware it was Declan going through the pain of a shift hurt her even worse. Her wolf urged her to go to him as he shook off the last remnants of his shift.

Instead, she padded into the kitchen and set her cooled cup of cocoa in the sink. She turned toward her fridge, anxious to get some sort of high-protein dinner on the table. That was another thing Harper explained. Shifting felt good to werewolves, even if it was painful to go from one form to another. One of the few things that eased the ache was food, lots of meat and the more, the better.

The other method was sex, but Brenna wasn’t quite there yet.

Yet
being the important word in all that. Because, sure, she recognized her wolf wanted Declan more than buttercream-iced birthday cake, but that didn’t mean she’d bare her belly now. Maybe later, but not
now
.

Making sure to keep visions of sex with Declan out of her head, she hauled three steaks from the freezer. Eh, she grabbed a fourth, just in case. At the sight of the raw meat, her inner-wolf swung its attention away from trying to get to Declan and onto craving the beef. Already saliva pooled in her mouth, gums aching and teeth pulsing with the need to sink them into the bloodied flesh.

Ew. Fuck.

While disgust roiled in her stomach, it combated her animal’s cravings. She struggled with the urge to toss the meat in the garbage and instead worked to unwrap them and then slip them into plastic baggies.

More of that throbbing ache filled her mouth, teeth seeming to push and stretch her gums. Shit, she was not ready for this weird wolf crap. She had questions and wanted answers, damn it.

Moving fast, she snared a bowl and set it in the sink. Then, in went the plastic-wrapped steaks followed by lukewarm water gently flowing from the tap. It’d take an hour to thaw the steaks, but it was better than a microwave’s defrost feature.

That done, she pulled her attention from the beef…
mmm… beef…

Brenna shook her head, banishing images of her gnawing on a frozen block of meat from her mind. No, she wasn’t eating anything raw. Except for cake batter. Or cookie dough. Or melted fudge…

Man, she really wanted dessert. Something sweet that’d send her into a sugar coma while the wolf bitch inside her forgot about the stea—

The
things
. The animal needed to forget about the things in the sink.

She pressed a shaky hand to her chest, fighting to ignore the trembles as she took a deep, calming breath. Except that merely brought her more of Declan’s scent which, in turn, had her beastie scraping at her nerves once again.

Scent. Gah. She was sniffing and huffing like a hound dog, unable to draw in enough of the warm musk to her liking. The animal wanted to hunt him, pounce on him, sink her teeth into his flesh and… The human half of Brenna gagged at the idea, stomach heaving.

Shoving the sensations aside, she fought to go into action, to do
something
that would distract her from Declan’s presence. Tugging out the ingredients for dessert did not do it. Neither did mixing them all together. Nope, none of that took care of the craving.

With a sigh, she leaned against the counter and laid her forehead on the smooth granite surface. The coolness helped in reducing her desire, but couldn’t banish it entirely.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

Declan still hadn’t emerged from the guestroom and she was thankful for the reprieve. With each passing second her need increased, every breath bringing her more of his flavors and sending her wolf howling anew.

Then those aromas increased, overwhelming her in a blanket of delicious musk, and she moaned. Her body reacted to the increased scent, nipples pebbling and her very center tightening with the desire to have him inside her. The soft shuffle of bare feet on carpet reached her just before she sensed his presence. She turned her head, allowing it to loll to the side and spy him leaning against the kitchen doorjamb.

“Hey.” His voice was low and seductive and he needed to not speak. Not when her inner-animal reacted to the sound with a pleading whine. “How are you feeling?”

“You’re an ass for being mean to Harper and Connor,
and
should stay way over there.” If he didn’t, she’d drop at his feet and beg him to touch her.

Now that Harper had explained the whole dominance, possessive thing, she was a lot more forgiving of his “what the fuck” behavior at his place.

Declan winced and frowned. “I’m sorry about that, at the house.” He sighed. “My only excuse is that you’re mine.”

“Right.” She got that part too. “Thing about it is, I have super powers now too. So I will put you on your ass if you try that crap again. Supposedly I’ll do the whole sharp teeth thing at some point like you guys and I’ll bite your ass when that happens.”

The grimace turned into a grin filled with pure sex. “Baby, you can bite me any time you want.”

Yup, there went her clit twitching again. “I’m not your baby.” Which reminded her of something she and Harper
hadn’t
discussed. Pushing away from the counter, she rose to her full height. Well, her short height that barely brought her head to his shoulder. “And why am I suddenly the chick you wanna hump like a fire hydrant? We’ve worked together for years, Declan.
Years.
”

Lots of years. Several, even.

“Baby.” Declan grimaced and she mentally cursed when she realized even that was sexy.

He pushed away from the doorjamb, and his easy strides brought him closer. Hell no, she couldn’t take that. Not now, not yet.

Brenna held out a hand, palm raised in an attempt to ward him off. Of course, that didn’t work. Bastard.

“Don’t baby me and answer the question.” She eased away, trying to retain the distance between them. Her little beastie did not like this new drama and nudged her to go to Declan already. Well, the bitch could wait a god damned minute.

“Brenna…” His tone was soothing and sinful and…

“My name is not an answer. You should say, ‘I didn’t drool after you because…’ There, I started it for you. Now, finish.”

He sighed but didn’t halt. Jerk.

Okay, well, she didn’t have teeth and claws to use against him, but she had a kitchen filled with crap she got from those late night
As Seen on TV
infomercials. Such as… She glanced at her utensil holder and snagged the first thing that caught her eye. She brandished her makeshift weapon, ready to whack him to death with… a potato masher.