Free Passionate Craving by Marisa Chenery

didn’t totally agree with how other wolf
shifters handled newly mate branded males. He sure as shit wouldn’t want to
have all the unmated females lined up for him to sniff to see which one made
his cock hard. And then have to go off and claim her without knowing anything
about her. It’d be demeaning for him and the woman. That wasn’t for him.
    Even though he found it hard not to make Tori his, he liked getting
to know her as a human male would. It’d given him time to fall head over heels
in love with her. He had a hard time picturing his life without her in it. Now
he had to find a way to convince her to stay.
    So far, he’d had no luck getting Tori to commit to not leaving in
three weeks. Even though he’d taken her to bed every chance he got, which was
as often as often as his self-control would stand. She always was as eager for
him as he was for her. There was no denying the sex was good. Really good.
    Memphis washed his face. Tori had already gone out to search the
property for wolves. He and his family had been taking turns going wolf and
“letting” her find them. They mostly did what they’d normally do while in their
animal forms, which wasn’t exactly like gray wolves. They didn’t hunt and kill.
That didn’t mean they wouldn’t chase a rabbit or a mouse if one happened to be
nearby.
    Tori had been back in town a few times, doing her best to get the
townsfolk interested in protecting the local wolves. She’d been mostly met with
opposition with Brad at the head of it. He’d already gotten more than a few
residents rallying to his side, demanding Tori keep her nose out of where it
didn’t belong. Memphis had already decided the next time she went into town to
go with her in case things happened to go a little too far.
    Memphis finished up in the bathroom, then went to the bedroom to get
dressed. He’d made the decision that today would be the day he grew a set and
told Tori everything. He’d promised himself he’d give her a week to get to know
him better, and that time was now up.
    He headed out of the cabin and then walked to the tree line at the
far side of his yard, where he’d seen Tori go into earlier. He took on his
animal form as he stepped into the bush. He’d spend some time with her as a
wolf, then as a man.
    Memphis had no trouble picking up Tori’s scent. By now, it was
permanently engraved in his mind. He’d never be able to forget it. Her trail
swung around toward Talon’s cabin. At that point, his brother joined her.
Memphis looked at the tracks they’d left behind. Talon was in human form.
    He continued on. Tori and Talon were close to the property line by
the time Memphis spotted them up ahead. They were talking, and his brother
laughed at something Tori had said. She had no idea, but his family had already
accepted her as part of their pack. She’d forged friendships with each of them,
and was thought of as his mate, even though he hadn’t made it official and
claimed her.
    Memphis ran toward them and let out a howl to tell them he was
there. Tori turned in his direction and smiled. He came up to her and leaned
against her thigh, his typical greeting while in wolf form. She reached down
and scratched behind his ear.
    “It’s good to see you,” she said.
    “I had a feeling he’d show up,” Talon said with a grin.
    Of course his brother would. Talon had been the most vocal in
getting Memphis to get the truth out in the open. It was getting to be a bit of
a strain on the family to have to watch when they shifted. The hiding was no
good for anyone.
    “Do you want me to leave the two of you alone?” Talon asked with
humor in his voice.
    Tori chuckled. “No, it’s fine. You said you saw some gray wolf
tracks around here. You still have to show me where.”
    “That I did. They’re not too far from where we are.”
    Memphis ranged a little away, trying to pick up the scent of his
wolf cousins while Tori and Talon continued on their way.
    They’d just reached the