Free Enslaved by the Alpha: Part One (Shifters of Nunavut Book 1) by Viola Rivard

human turned to regard him as well, her smile evaporating.
    “I will take her to her room,” Erik said, not bothering to look at his brother.
    Sten gave a mummer of assent and stepped back. “Rest well, Astrid.”
    “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you—”
    Erik didn’t wait for her to finish. Taking her by the arm, he pulled her along none-too gently. She put up some resistance, trying several times to tug her arm back. He would have thought by now that she’d know better than to struggle against him.
    As they entered the tunnel, she gave up resisting, likely because it was only practical. Her human eyes would not have adjusted to the low light so quickly, and without his guidance she’d likely trip and fall.
    Unable to fight against his grip, she opted to complain instead. “You know, that was pretty rude. I was just saying goodbye. Couldn’t you have waited like, five more seconds?”
    Erik barely heard her. As he’d been dragging her away, it had occurred to him that he no longer felt the strange pull that had broken his sleep. When he’d laid eyes on the human, the sensation had abated. When he’d touched her, it had vanished completely, replaced with a mild satisfaction.
    He understood why he’d woken, and he did not like it.
    Controlling his wolf was second nature to Erik. In his youth, he had battled it into submission. The wolf knew that fighting for dominance was futile, and so it spent its days pacing back and forth within him, like a sullen dog that had been kicked one too many times.
    Yet somehow, while he’d slept, the wolf had taken over. It had roused him from his bed and, by way of primitive animal instincts, had guided him to the human.
    It wanted her, and it was growing impatient.
    “Are you seriously barefoot? How can you even stand this cold? And with no shirt on, too? You must be freezing.”
    The human was still chatting away, not seeming to need his input to hold a conversation. Erik continued to ignore her, though one corner of his mouth twitched. His lips quickly twisted into a scowl, and he batted his amusement away as he would a tenacious mosquito.
      A sharp intake of breath was Erik’s only warning before her feet slipped on a patch of ice. Having been distracted, he nearly fell, but managed to catch himself and the human just in time. On reflex, he pulled her body against his. Her head collided with his chest and then bounced off.
    He expected her to whine at him, and was already preparing a scathing rebuttal, but instead she frowned and cocked her head to the side. Brows drawing together, she tentatively pressed her cheek against his chest. Caught off guard, he simply watched her, waiting to see what she would do next.
    “Oh, wow,” she breathed, her tone that of reverence.
    Taking off her glove, she placed a hand on his chest. Like the rest of her, it was remarkably soft. Though his mind did not know what to make of her sudden affinity for him, his body responded instantly, mouth watering and cock stiffening. The wolf stopped its pacing and pressed against the inside of his chest, as though wanting to feel her touch for itself.
    His body tensed as he tried to will the animal away. He pictured his claws retracting, his canines shortening, and his fur sinking beneath hard, human flesh. The mental exercise was always enough to center him and push the wolf back where it belonged. But as the human rubbed her cheek against him, the wolf became frenzied. Instead of recoiling, its claws began scraping at the seams of Erik’s skin.
    The human pulled her hand back. Offering up a sheepish grin, she asked, “Sorry, was that weird of me? You’re always so touchy-feely, so I thought it wouldn’t be that weird, but it feels kind of weird now that I did it…” She stepped back with obvious reluctance. “It’s just that you’re the hottest person I’ve ever felt. I mean that like, temperature, you know. And I guess the other way too, but that’s beside the point. How the heck do you