Free Changed: 2 (Wolf's Den) by Aline Hunter Page B

to exist
without her but it wouldn’t be a life. The world would lose color, the foods he
loved lose flavor.
    Nothing will ever mean as much to me. Not even close.
    He’d known others were watching, feeling the weight of their
stares. Personally he didn’t give a shit. He wanted them to know he’d found his
mate, sending out a threat far and wide to stay the fuck away from the female
meant for him. But he knew Rachel probably didn’t feel the same. To be safe he
carried her to his vehicle, stopping once he was hidden behind the opened
passenger door and length of the SUV.
    Pulling away, she rasped, “Are we leaving?”
    “Not yet,” he answered, leaning back in.
    Their mouths met again, eager tongues touching and darting
away. He loved her like this—eager and responsive, wanting him as much as he
wanted her. Through his shirt he felt the sharpness of her nails. They’d
obviously grown—a small sign of her impending change. If he got lucky he’d get
to feel those hands on his bare shoulders, finally experiencing the contact of
her fingers against his uncovered skin. He knew for a fact she needed guidance,
having little experience. It might have made him an egotistical asshole but he
loved knowing that he’d be the man to introduce her to so many wonderful
things.
    Dimly he recognized the hum of a motor in the distance. He
didn’t think too much about it, deepening the kiss, thrusting his hips against
Rachel’s. Then he heard the crunch of gravel behind him. His wolf had already
come up for air, scenting its mate, feeling her call. Man and beast merged,
coming together. Every instinct told him to protect his female and make sure
she was safe. He couldn’t do that with his back turned.
    “One minute, baby.” Tearing his mouth away and depositing
Rachel in the seat, he growled, “Hold that thought.”
    Whoever had pulled up behind them was stupid as fuck. He had
a raging hard-on—his cock tenting his jeans—and his mate was equally geared up.
Only a moron would interrupt a werewolf couple locked in a heated embrace.
Whipping around, he faced the unwelcome interruption. His fury intensified, the
fucking bitch walking over to him someone he was not in the mood to deal with.
    “What the fuck do you want?” he snarled at Simone, hating
the sight of her.
    As usual she was dressed in skintight clothing, leaving
little or nothing to the imagination. Thankfully she’d covered her tits today,
sparing him the visual. Compared to Rachel, Simone looked like a cheap whore
who’d been ridden hard and put up wet one too many times. If the pack’s
suspicions were true the bitch was the reason Chloe had been attacked and
Rachel had been bitten. That only made his wolf more deadly, wanting revenge
for its mate.
    Not fucking good.
    “I’m warning you,” he threatened, growling, “I’m not feeling
very social right now.”
    “That’s obviously not true,” Simone countered, arching a
brow at Rachel. With a glance down at Declan’s crotch—her eyes hovering over
his erection—she added, “You seem to be very social right now.”
    “Who the fuck are you?” Rachel, love her, apparently didn’t
give a shit about her attire. She slid out of the seat, her livid gaze homed on
Simone.
    “The better question would be,” Simone inhaled, nostrils
flaring as she scented the air, “who the fuck are you?”
    “My mate,” Declan answered, snaking an arm around Rachel’s
waist. “And as you can see we’re busy. So piss off.”
    Simone paused, staring openly at Rachel. Declan knew when
the werebitch smelled the change, identifying the burgeoning wolf within his
female. Taking her attention from Rachel, Simone studied him, shaking her head.
    “Really?” she said, laughing. “You’re mating a mutt?”
    Rachel froze when the insult struck home. Declan wanted to
knock the hell out of the female. True, Rachel wasn’t a full-blooded werewolf
or Halfling but she belonged to his pack. That gave her value. A