Free Lure of the Blood by Doris O'Connor Page B

moisture. She scrambled off the bed.  She may not know much about
shifters, but it had to be a bad idea to wake up a wolf when dressed in nothing
but a thong soaked in her own arousal.
    She left him sleeping instead, and on her way
downstairs, was cornered by Leah’s mum. She forced herself to pay attention to
what she was saying, as she glared at another young man approaching her.
    “And of course the moon has everyone on edge. A
wolf scenting his mate will find it impossible to not act on his desires at
full moon, but you’ve got nothing to fear from this lot. The boss would have
their furs for rugs if they actually tried anything.” She shooed the newest
sniff tester away with a low growl of her own and a dismissive wave of one
suddenly clawed hand, before smiling at Marnie. For all intents and purposes
she was back to being just an ordinary, slightly rounded new mother.
    Sheesh, would she ever get used to that––and
hang on, since when did she have to? She felt almost back to normal now, so
there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t demand to go home, was there?
Other than the fact that the only times she had truly felt safe lately had been
in a certain alpha wolf’s arms. Best not think on that too much, right now.
    “It can be so romantic, though. Pedrus claimed
me on a full moon, and well, I don’t think we saw the light of day for a
week.”  Marnie had to smile at the far away expression on the woman’s face. “Of
course it may be different if one party is human.  You’d have to talk to
Louisa’s mum, but now that her mate is dead, she tends to stay in town, rather
than here, so you haven’t met her yet. She’s the only human to ever have mated
and stayed with the pack, or so I’m told. I’m quite new to the pack myself, but
it can certainly be done; mating with a human, I mean.”
    “And you are telling me this why?” Marnie
wasn’t at all sure she wanted to hear the answer, looking at the sympathetic
smile on the full face looking back at her.
    “Oh, Marnie, I may not have been here long, but
I do know what a man looks like, when his wolf has chosen and the way the boss
has been around you, it’s obvious. If you were one of us, you’d have sensed it
already.” Her smile deepened when Marnie couldn’t stop the heat rising into her
cheeks at those words, and she patted her arm in an affectionate gesture. “Oh,
I see. Let me guess, he suddenly smells irresistible? You can’t keep your hands
off him? How marvellous. Well, maybe it’s not that different for humans, then.“
    Marnie shook her head at the woman’s obvious
delusion, ruthlessly tamping down the surge of excitement her words had caused
for just a minute. Yeah, sure, that’s why he’d kept away from her. She had
sensed him earlier, behind her. She’d known it was Ion by her body’s instant
awareness. Her heart rate had picked up, the fine hair on her body standing to
attention and she had to force herself to not turn around. His gaze had been
like hot coals roaming over her skin, setting her on fire, moisture erupting
between her thighs as his scent washed over her. And then he disappeared again.
So much for him not being able to stop himself.
    Before she could voice any of her inner
musings, she watched in disbelief as the would-be sniff tester from earlier
erupted into furious growling and shed his clothes, running for the open doors.
The air shimmered around him for an instant and with the next blink of an eye
it was a wolf leaping out onto the terrace, swiftly followed by others, until
Marnie was alone. Even Leah’s mum had disappeared. Surely she hadn’t shifted
too? What the hell was going on?
    The howling carrying in through the open doors
raised goose bumps all over her skin, and she forgot to breathe altogether,
when Ion’s furious growl reached her, floating on the wind.
    “Get the fuck off my territory, Lucas.”
     
     

Chapter Ten
     
    Fear held Marnie in its icy grip, as she
followed the rumble of