Living Extinct (20 page)

“I mean no harm to your den, bitch.” He showed his respect, keeping his attention on Rose. “I simply carry a message that Moira can give to her mate. Will you allow that?”

Rose nodded her head quickly, her curiosity outweighing any fear.

Tiny hairs rose over Moira’s arms as nervous energy spiked inside her. Juan was on red alert, his expression as intense as the feelings she picked up from him. He’d recently been in his fur, the smell of earth and something wild lingering around him. Not to mention his shirt was untucked and slightly twisted on his torso. He didn’t want to be here. And it bugged the shit out of him that he had to humble himself in the doorway of an unknown den.

“Two werewolves from your pack are in this territory. They heard that Dante is here and seek him.” He kept his head lowered, not looking at either of them. Again an attempt at respect.

But that wasn’t the reason. There was trouble. She was in danger. And so was Dante. His thoughts sprang forth like a fresh spring, rushing toward her and bombarding her with fear and frustration.

“I’ll tell Dante,” she said quietly. No way would she let her feelings surface. Rose already didn’t like any of this. If she kicked Moira out of her den, Dante wouldn’t be able to find her.

“How can we reach you?” Moira asked.

“My cell phone will be on.” He turned then, mumbling his appreciation to Rose and disappeared into the darkness.

Rose almost jumped at the door, shutting and locking it then leaning against it as she faced Moira.

104

Living Extinct

“Your pack no longer exists,” she hissed. Her eyes widened and silver streaked through them as she digested the possibilities of Juan’s message.

Moira didn’t like any of the possibilities that crossed her mind either. She turned from Rose, too many thoughts attacking her to allow her to use the gift.

“You’re right.” She walked into the dark living room, Rose on her tail.

“You are from Malta,” Rose said behind her.

Moira nodded, brushing her hair over her shoulder. She tugged on the long T-shirt she wore, suddenly very uncomfortable.

“My pack was burned to extinction when I was eighteen,” she said, needing to think this through. Rose was the only one here to talk it out with.

God help her if the bitch kicked her into the night.

Rose walked around to face her, crossing her arms over her chest and staring her in the eye. There was determination masking the fear Moira smelled on her.

“Obviously that isn’t true.” Rose searched her face, and something that might have been compassion added to the worry lines around the bitch’s eyes. She let out a sigh, staring at Moira and taking her time deciding what she would say next. “Two weeks ago, two men from WA entered the office where I work. They told me not to terminate the file of a GWAR agent who had been scheduled for deletion. That sort of thing doesn’t happen every day. They made a big deal out of it. I could smell the secrecy on them. When we arranged for the file to stay active, they made me promise not to tell anyone what I did.”

“Yet you’re telling me now,” Moira prompted, needing to know anything this bitch could tell her to help her figure out what might be getting ready to happen.

No way would she break eye contact with Rose. If she kept her breathing slow, relaxed her thoughts so as not to spook the bitch in any way, maybe she would learn more. At the same time, she focused on the night surrounding the den. Any sound, any indication that someone entered or closed in around them, and she had to be ready. She guessed from Rose’s phone call that the males would be returning soon. But if members of her pack were out there, sniffing her out, sniffing out Dante, she had to know if they were closing in before it was too late.

And members of her pack! Good God! Dante had said there were others and that they would find them. Who had survived? Would she know them? Her heart lunged and she fought to keep emotions on a tight leash. She had tried on her own time, with what limited resources she had through GWAR and WA, to find any Malta werewolves who might be hiding in the States. Their reputation had been destroyed, their race feared. If they were in the States, they’d remained hidden. Not once had she heard word that a Malta werewolf existed anywhere among any of the known packs. And over the years and the packs she’d visited while on assignment, she’d never spotted a member of her pack despite the fact that she knew several had survived.

Damn the government anyway for keeping her so in the dark while they used her again and again to serve their own purposes.

105

Lorie O’Clare

“If I ran without a pack, I can only imagine how lonely that would be,” Rose said quietly.

Her words quickly dissolved all of Moira’s efforts to keep her feelings hidden. Her eyes burned and she looked away from Rose, focusing on the front door. All was quiet outside. Juan had disappeared without a sound. Other than the nightlife searching for food and the gentle, occasional breeze rustling through the pines, all remained still beyond that door. Unlike the emotions fighting to rage to life inside her.

A salty smell filled the air between them. Nervous and confused, Rose bit her lip, capturing Moira’s gaze again and staring at her with glowing green eyes sparked with silver.

Rose lowered her voice even further, barely whispering. “I know a little bit about Dante Aldo,” she said, almost mouthing the words as if afraid to voice knowledge she viewed as close to terrifying.

Interesting that he had that effect on werewolves, as if speaking his name might bring them harm.

“WA is looking for him and no pack leader will deny him anything. My mate knows this and has his tail. Our pack leader called him here and we’re very loyal to him. But you would know if you were with Dante when Ollie called him. For that reason, you are safe in my den.” Rose’s breathing came harder, her fear getting the better of her. “According to WA you were stolen. You don’t appear to be with Dante Aldo against your will.”

Moira shook her head. “I’m not. Dante came to me because he is my mate.” There was no reason to elaborate. Besides it was the truth. They were mated.

“And they are coming after your mate. Will you fight by his side or defend your pack?”

For the past week she’d run in her fur alongside Dante. It had been a bonding more primitive and raw than could possibly occur in their human form. Although little discussion occurred while they stayed in the mountains, a union formed between the two of them she couldn’t deny. They’d moved as two animals, incredible predators that feared nothing and commanded the wilderness they’d claimed briefly. During that time, they’d hunted together, bathed together, slept wrapped around each other. Sex had been raw, primitive and aggressive. It made them one.

In the high altitude with very few resources, they would have struggled to survive in their skin. But as werewolves, isolated and free to roam the Rockies, she’d fallen hard for the mysterious and powerful werewolf—an alpha without a pack, feared and respected by every pack leader on the planet.

“I am Dante’s mate. But I will hear why these werewolves from Malta seek him out.”

Rose nodded and some of her fear broke. She straightened, her gaze gentle as she met Moira’s. For the first time since their conversation started, Rose’s expression relaxed, understanding in her eyes. A good bitch would stand by her werewolf.

106

Living Extinct

A sound outside tickled Moira’s ear. She focused on it, tuning out all other sounds.

Two cars approached on the quiet street outside. Rose heard it too and moved to the window, parting the curtain far enough to peek outside.

“My mate is here,” she said, sounding more than relieved.

She hurried to the door, pulling it open and running into the yard. Moira stood in the doorway, sniffing the air when car doors opened. Dante’s scent surrounded her like a warm blanket. Her insides responded, heating quickly while her heart thudded in her chest. The electrifying energy of his presence filled the air. How could they all not notice it?

Dante was more werewolf than any other male she’d ever been around. He moved silently, his broad shoulders swaying while his long legs carried him to her. Without a word, he wrapped powerful arms around her, yanking her to him. She collapsed against steely muscle, her body turning to fire, need bursting into flame inside her as he crushed his lips against hers.

He smelled of earth—a tangy, slightly salty aroma that excited her even more.

Rough hands grabbed her ass, pushing her into his hardness. A growl tore through him, aggressive and demanding. Claiming her all over again, as if they hadn’t fucked several times daily for a week in their fur and he couldn’t wait to be inside her.

For a moment she forgot her worries over her pack members. Nothing bothered her when Dante’s body pressed against hers like this, touching her everywhere, giving her strength that assured her all problems of the world were easily conquered.

Dante tore his lips from hers, licking and nibbling at the side of her face and then her neck. “What is this message Juan has for me?” he growled against her throat, his hot breath torturing the sensitive spot at her nape.

She should have known he would search her mind, demanding to know all that happened to her while away from him the second he returned to her side. He had her in such a fog of lust she fought to learn what happened while he was away from her without as much success. She still wasn’t as good at moving her thoughts into other werewolves’ minds as Dante was. If her own emotions flared out of control, she had a hard time moving into someone else’s mind. Dante, on the other hand, never seemed to be out of control. She took a calming breath, determined to mix with his thoughts before answering him. He stared down at her patiently, beckoning her inside him.

Blood, death and frustration tormented his brain. She sucked in a breath, retreating quickly in spite of her need to know what he’d been through.

“Members of my pack…”

“Are looking for me,” he finished for her.

Taking her by the arm, he pulled her from the den. She almost ran to keep up with his determined gait as he guided her toward the truck and the other two werewolves.

“You honor me by taking care of my mate,” he said seriously, nodding to the other werewolf.

107

Lorie O’Clare

Rose had her arms wrapped around her mate. She gave Dante a worried look, and then met Moira’s gaze.

“Our den will always welcome you, Aldo,” Bruce Silverman said. “You fought with the strength of ten werewolves tonight. Our pack is in your debt.”

She watched the two werewolves shake hands. Dante opened the passenger door for her and then moved around the truck, looking more powerful than she’d seen him even in his fur. Muscles rippled under his T-shirt and his blue jeans hugged his long, thick legs like a second skin. And damn—talk about buns of steel.

Need crawled over every inch of her flesh, burning to life inside her, making her wish they could just disappear for a few hours. Adrenaline from fighting dripped from his skin. She smelled his energy, sensed it coursing through his veins. She wanted him more with every breath, ached for him to fill her, to appease the throbbing pressure growing inside her with every passing second.

She willed the driver’s side door to open for him, wanting to smell him, to have him next to her as quickly as possible. Dante slid in and wrapped strong fingers around the steering wheel. He looked at her with pale blue eyes that were so unlike any other werewolf’s eyes she’d ever seen. They glowed in the darkness against his creamy white skin and black hair. Black stubble shadowed his chin and reminded her how rough it felt against her. She almost cried out just staring at him from the sexual charge he ignited. Chills rushed over her, but it wasn’t from the cold night air.

“Will you not shut the door for me too?” he asked, his voice a low growl, his thoughts dwelling on the swell of her breasts and not the damned door.

“Watch your fingers.” She matched the gruffness in his tone, keeping her gaze locked on his as she willed his truck door to close.

The door shut next to him, trapping his virile scent in the small cab of the truck. He grabbed a large portion of her hair and yanked her face to his. His roughness turned her on even more and she almost drowned in the intense smell of her lust that filled the air around them. Dante’s expression showed his approval.

“These pack members from Malta will find me. They believe as many do that I had a hand in destroying your pack.” His mouth was so close to hers. He wouldn’t allow her face any closer but kept them a breath’s space apart. “You will honor any decisions I make concerning them. Do you understand?”

And at that moment she did.

She craved him physically. The sexual bond between them consumed her. Yet there was more to mating than just good sex—or even damned good sex. Trust. Honesty.

Believing in the decisions her mate made and backing them. All of that was needed for a successful mating.

However, even with all of those feelings for him intact, none of them would weather the test of time without love. In their fur, the words hadn’t been spoken. They had shown each other through their actions how they felt. Bringing her kill to him, 108

Living Extinct

lying relaxed while he bathed her meticulously, finding the freshest of mountain water to drink and bathe in—they had shown each other their growing love.

Voicing those simple words proved harder to do. “I might know these pack members. I want to see them.”

He growled, letting her know she hadn’t answered his question.

Enduring the pinch when he pulled her hair, she leaned into him anyway, nipping at his lower lip. “Whatever decisions are made, we’ll make together, wolf man.”

“And if the choice is that it is their lives or mine?”

“If they want you dead then they are misinformed, as I was. They will be offered the truth. If they don’t accept it, then I will take them down myself.”

His gaze bore deep into her soul. “You would kill for me?”