Free Passionate Craving by Marisa Chenery Page A

line where their property ended when Brad
stepped out from behind a tree about fifty feet away with a shotgun hanging
from his shoulder. He wasn’t on their land, and made no move to come any
closer. He glared at Tori. Memphis growled low in his throat. He didn’t like
the loudmouth hanging around. Not sure what Brad was doing there, Memphis held
back. Some of the trees hid him from view, but he could still see and hear
everything ahead of him.
    “I’ve been tracking those wolf prints,” Brad said. “I figured you
might come along since you’re a wolf lover.”
    “I hope you’re carrying that shotgun for protection in case you run
into a bear,” Tori replied.
    “Maybe I am and maybe I’m not.”
    “Leave the wolves alone.”
    “Some killed one of my neighbor’s cows. Those cattle are his
livelihood, just as mine are for me. The damn beasts threaten it.”
    “Don’t even think of coming onto my family’s land with the intention
of hunting wolves,” Talon said. “You’ll be trespassing, and there are laws
against that.”
    Brad snorted. “Why do you think I’m over here? All I have to do is
wait for the wolves to come to me. You can’t stop me when I’m not on your
property.”
    Memphis had heard enough. He came loping toward Tori and Talon.
Brad’s eyes widened when he saw him. Then in a move Memphis hadn’t expected,
Brad grabbed his shotgun and took aim at him. Tori yelled at the other man to
stop and threw herself between Memphis and Brad as Brad fired.
    Tori let out a pained cry and landed hard on her side on the ground.
Brad turned tail and ran. Memphis would have chased after him, but Talon
grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
    “Memphis, don’t you dare. Your mate is hurt. I can smell the blood.
We’ll deal with that asshole later. She’s more important.”
    Memphis pulled free of his brother’s grip and ran to Tori. She held
a hand to her stomach as blood seeped through her fingers. She looked at
Memphis, then at Talon.
    “Memphis? Did you call the wolf Memphis?” She tried to sit up, but
groaned in pain. “That asshole shot me.”
    Talon squatted at her side. “Don’t try to move. Let me have a look.”
He lifted Tori’s shirt to reveal the wound and then turned his gaze on Memphis.
“Bro, it’s not good. We can take the chance of getting her to the hospital in
Helena, but it’ll be a painful ride. Plus, the bullet could move and cause more
damage. Or you can finally tell her the truth and claim her. She’ll heal then.”
    “Why are you talking to the wolf as if he really were Memphis?”
    Talon looked at Memphis. He moved his lupine head up and down in a
nod. His brother turned his attention to Tori. “That’s because it is Memphis.”
    “What?”
    “We’re wolf shifters.”
    “There’s no such thing.”
    “Time to show her, Memphis,” Talon said.
    Memphis knew there’d be no other way to convince Tori of the truth
other than shifting in front of her. They didn’t have the time for a long,
drawn out explanation. She was bleeding too heavily. He stepped to her opposite
side, then took on his human form. Tori’s mouth fell open and her face went
white, but he didn’t know if the latter was from her being shot or her fear of
him.
    As he whipped off his t-shirt, his dad, Kiel, Cyrus and Gage
arrived, all in wolf form. They must have seen Memphis shift as they’d headed
in their direction, because they all turned human as they came to a stop close
to them. Memphis ignored them, leaving Talon to explain what had happened as he
balled up his shirt and pressed it to Tori’s stomach.
    “You’re going to be okay,” he said.
    “I recognize them as wolves. I’ve seen all of you like that. Is your
mother one too?”
    “Yes. She’s the lone female. Jaimie, Shyla and Neha are human like
you. Though they aren’t exactly the same now that my brothers have claimed
them.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Wolf shifters are long lived. We can live to be a hundred and