Free Running with the Pack: Cannon Pack, Book 3 by Beverly Rae Page A

lust. If he’d had more time, just a few minutes longer, he’d have slammed into her, bucking upward into her dripping snatch.
    Yet, unlike the other women he’d had sex with since Torrie’s death, he couldn’t force Lauren from his mind. Instead, thoughts of her had invaded him often since their brief moment together, tearing at him, making him swell with desire. He’d gotten a taste of her, and now he wanted the full-course meal. He yearned to savor the silkiness of her skin, feel her pliant bottom in his hands again.
    She’s a hunter.
    The admonition he’d tried so many times fell flat yet again. Somehow, her being a hunter hadn’t deterred him from thinking about her, dreaming about her, wanting her. At least, not until now. She’d gone too far tonight, helping to kill a member of his pack, then shooting at him. A whimper filled his throat, but he forced it down.
    Tyler was gone. Killed when he’d only wanted to help the homeless human. Tyler, whose heart was as big as the sky, lay dead in that alley. Daniel could almost see the hunters using his friend’s lifeless body in a tug-of-war game, vying to take his pelt home and mount it on their wall. And Lauren was part of their group.
    Daniel leaned against the dirty brick wall and hung his head. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have let Tyler go into that alley alone. He should’ve ordered him to stop. But how could he have known the hunters would come out again tonight? They never went on hunts this close together.
    He ground his teeth against the churning in his gut, dressed quickly, and decided it was time to take action. Instead of doing what the pack had always done—staying one step ahead of the hunters, hiding in the dark, avoiding confrontation whenever possible—the shifters needed to take a stand. The hunters would become the hunted.
    Lauren’s face, her brow furrowed, her eyes searching his, came to him, and the ache in his chest intensified. Snarling his determination, he shook as though physically ridding his body of her, freeing his mind of her face. He no longer had time for ridiculous yearnings. He had to act.

    “I don’t know why we didn’t do this before now, Daniel.” Tucker lifted his nose to sniff. Even in human form, their sense of smell was better than other humans.
    “Shifters have always taken a defensive stance when it comes to hunters. For decades, we’ve countered their deliberate attempts to harm us with a peaceful, fight-only-when-forced-to-fight position. But those days are gone. We’ve lost too many good people.” Good people like his Torrie and Tyler. Daniel breathed the dank air into his nostrils and attempted to separate the myriad of scents hanging over the human city into separate definable aromas. He closed his eyes and concentrated, refusing to give up after two hours of hunting. “Stay human until I tell you to change.” Although they couldn’t move as quickly and were less able to defend themselves, they also had less chance of getting shot.
    “Maybe they aren’t hunting tonight.”
    The disappointment in Tucker’s voice bothered him. “Remember, we’re not out to kill. We just want to wound them, to make them think twice. We aren’t sinking to their murderous level. Not yet anyway.”
    “Shit.”
    Although Daniel sympathized with Tucker, he wasn’t ready to step over the line. “And yeah, I’ll bet my claws they’re out tonight. I get the impression that this group gets together a lot more than the average hunter clan.” A whiff of telltale gunmetal and human sweat tickled his nose. “We’re in luck. They’re close.” He broke into a jog, knowing the six shifters would follow.
    Daniel stayed cautious, moving noiselessly as he led his men toward their adversaries. At last, he could hear the hunters’ voices, their laughter ringing in his sensitive hearing.
    The hunters talked about the other night’s hunt and the shifter they’d gunned down. Fury gnawed at Daniel and he silently damned