Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Eli glanced from Nick to Marcus, and then sighed. “Follow me.” He led Marcus out of the lodge, into the forest, and deep into Mercury Pack territory. Nick and Derren came along, but they remained silent. Eventually, Eli halted near a fallen oak. “If you keep walking straight ahead, you’ll come to a clearing. That’s where she is. We’ll have to stop here or she’ll scent us. Her wolf won’t let any of us near her—not even Shaya.”
Derren scratched his nape. “Her wolf is clearly as pissed off as Roni is. And since Roni’s frustration will be feeding hers . . .”
“She has no tolerance right now,” finished Marcus.
Eli nodded. “We’ll wait here for you, just in case she warns you off.”
“She won’t.”
“What makes you think her wolf will allow you close, when she’s keeping everyone else away?” asked Nick. The hostility was gone; it was a genuine question.
“Because as far as the wolf’s concerned, I belong to her.” The brand might only be temporary, but that wouldn’t matter to the animal—their wolves were fiercely possessive.
Leaving the others, Marcus walked on ahead, letting the twigs beneath his feet snap loudly so that she would sense his approach. Startling a wolf was never a good idea. Soon enough, he stepped into the clearing. The dark-gray female was lapping at the small stream there, but her eyes—so alert, intelligent, and watchful—were honed on Marcus with lethal precision.
He’d encountered Roni’s wolf during the battle against the extremists. She was even-tempered, but she was also vicious when the situation called for it. And that was the very reason why he had no intention of releasing his own wolf—the male’s natural reaction would be to attempt to dominate her into calming. That wouldn’t work. The female would sooner fight him than submit.
Marcus took a few steps forward. “Hey, gorgeous.” Of course the wolf wouldn’t understand the words, but his calm, cajoling tone would assure her that his intention wasn’t to throw his dominance around. Also, he knew Roni could hear and understand him.
The female lifted her head, but didn’t otherwise react. To his relief, she wasn’t warning him to leave. That meant she’d at least accepted his presence, though she might not particularly welcome company right now.
He squatted and tapped the ground with his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.” She didn’t. She just continued to watch him with that hunter stare that missed nothing. Making his way to her wouldn’t earn him any points. To the wolf, he was already invading her private time uninvited. There was no sense in pushing it.
A minute or so later, she finally moved. He remained still as she prowled toward him, looking both graceful and dangerous. She didn’t halt until she was up close, eating up his space, clearly believing it was her right.
“Good girl,” he said softly. He gently stroked her neck; her dense fur was softer than he’d expected. Marcus rubbed his cheek against hers, and she returned the gesture before delivering a delicate lick to his jaw. “Beautiful, aren’t you?” Another lick to his jaw. “Come back, Roni.”
Human eyes filled with irritation briefly flashed at him. Sharp teeth then nipped his chin and the wolf pulled back. He got the message—she didn’t have any intention of shifting just yet.
“But I want to talk to you.” The female kicked dirt at him. “Oh, like that, is it?” he asked with a smile as he stood, wiping the specks of dirt off his clothes. “All right, I guess I’d better make myself comfy then.” He sat near a tree and leaned back against it, making a statement that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Again irritation-filled human eyes flashed at him as the female curled her upper lip, baring her teeth, a low growl trickling out of her. The warning was coming from Roni, he knew. It was actually fascinating to see how close the line was between the human and the animal.
“You can’t get me to leave. I’m staying. I’m not here to crowd you. If you want space, you’ve got it, but I’ll be sticking close.”
The wolf cocked her head, reminding him a little of Roni just before she delivered one of her useless facts. Then the wolf dismissed him with a distinctly haughty sniff and trotted off.
For hours, he sat against the tree, watching the wolf as she moved around the clearing, lapped at the stream, bathed in the sun, and occupied herself with batting at fish. The entire time, she pointedly ignored him. But he knew the female was supremely aware of every move he made.
When his ass started to go numb from sitting on the hard ground—at which point it was also beginning to get dark—Marcus moved to lie on his back, his arms crossed beneath his head. He was just about to doze off when he heard rustling in the grass. Then a cold muzzle rubbed against his cheek and a wet tongue lapped at his ear.