Free Ecstasy Untamed by Pamela Palmer Page A

nearly flattened him every time he saw Maxim’s arm around her. He’d wisely stayed away from dinner because his control had been razor-thin, and he’d feared he’d lose it completely and rip the bastard’s head off. None of the Ferals would have minded, he was sure. But Faith would have really looked at him in horror, and he couldn’t bear that.
    Lightning bolted across his skull, fiery fingers crawling across the inside of his head, setting off the hawk’s angry cry.
    Dammit. Enough! I’m not hurting you intentionally!
    “You okay?” Lyon asked, watching him worriedly.
    As the talons released him, Hawke nodded. “Fine.”
    Lyon pinned him with his gaze for several seconds, apparently deciding not to press the issue. “I think it’s best if you stay out of Maxim’s path until we bring him into his animal. Hopefully, he’ll be more agreeable afterward.”
    Wulfe grunted. “Do you really think that’s going to happen?”
    “Goddess, I hope so.”
    “Where is he now?” Hawke asked, then wished he hadn’t. The last thing he wanted to hear was that he’d taken Faith up to bed. He had no business feeling that way! She’d come with Maxim. She belonged to Maxim. But the wildness inside him vehemently disagreed. Mine.
    “The media room,” Wulfe said. “Lyon managed to elude Maxim after dinner, so he cornered Paenther.”
    “Poor Faith,” Kara murmured. “She’s so embarrassed by the way he’s acting.”
    “We’ll bring him into his animal in the morning.” Lyon sighed. “At least then I can put him on nightly draden-hunting duty. Maybe the draden will wear down that outsized ego of his. Before we have to beat it out of him.”
    Hawke smiled dangerously. “If the draden fail, I’m first in line.”
    But he wouldn’t be, of course. The moment he started fighting, the damn hawk took over. He was of no goddamn use anymore.
    A movement in the doorway caught his eye. “Faith.” In the dress she’d worn during the reception—a soft, clingy, black number at once modest and sexy as hell—she eyed them with dismay and embarrassment, and a look that told him she was about to turn and bolt. After watching Lyon and him go feral earlier, he could hardly blame her.
    “Hi, Faith,” Kara said, having followed his gaze. “Come join us.”
    To Hawke’s relief, Faith nodded and started forward, slowly at first, then with less hesitation. He felt sorry for her, certain that her partner’s disfavor had her wondering if she was even welcome anymore. When she reached the table, she dropped wearily into the chair beside Kara.
    “Is everything okay?” Kara asked gently.
    Faith ran a slender hand through her hair, scattering the blue-tipped ends over her shoulders. She opened her mouth, then closed it, as if loyalty to her future mate kept her from voicing her frustration. “I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I don’t understand him.”
    Kara’s hand covered Faith’s. “No one’s judging you by his actions.”
    Lyon grunted. “New Ferals are often a pain in the ass.”
    Faith’s gaze slid to Hawke for the first time since she walked into the room, then away again, as if she couldn’t quite bring herself to look at him. Out of loyalty to Maxim? Or because he’d scared the shit out of her by going feral? He ached at the thought that it might be the latter.
    “I’m surprised he let you out of his sight,” Wulfe muttered.
    Faith’s expression turned rueful. “Maxim’s attention is . . . erratic.”
    In other words, as long as Hawke wasn’t in the room, he ignored her. The prick. She didn’t belong with him. But Maxim would never willingly let her go. Certainly not to him. War would erupt, and Faith would forever be caught in the middle.
    No, if she left Maxim, she’d leave Feral House. And neither of them would see her again. Which was the worst outcome of all.
    She stood, and he was afraid she already meant to leave. “I actually came to find another glass of lemonade.”
    “I’ll get