Prologue
The faintest rustle of foliage drifted on the night air, and she dropped lightning quick into a crouch. The soaring body, aimed at her back, missed her completely. Her attacker hit the ground on all four paws and skidded, his claws digging furrows into the dirt. Whirling, the hairy beast faced her, his upper lip pulled back in a snarl that revealed sharp teeth. As if that would intimidate her. Mine are bigger.
Shaking her head, just like she’d scold any misbehaving member of her pack, she approached him. “Seriously? Did you really think you’d take me unaware? I’m not some submissive bitch, eager to roll over and bare her belly, or spread her thighs for your cock. If you think to take me, you’ll have to do better than that.”
The furry form in front of her shifted into the familiar shape of Jeffrey, alpha and leader of the Ottawa pack. Decently built, with wide shoulders, muscles all over, and a firm cock nestled in a bush of dark hair, not for the first time, did Deena wish she could give in to him. Why can’t I just let him claim me as his mate? It would make life so much easier. Blessed with muscle, but without any sense, Jeffrey was the most powerful male she knew, and attractive she guessed, yet, he left her cold. Actually, worse than uninterested physically, he bored her. And I won’t spend my life with a man who makes me want to rip out his throat out because I can’t stop yawning.
“You know we’re meant to be together. With the combined strength of our packs, we’d rule all of Canada, and even some of the states south of us.”
A roll of her eyes didn’t wipe the fervent expression from his face. It probably didn’t help that all the blood in his body currently resided in his prick instead of his brain. Men really were at a disadvantage in that respect. “Ooh, now there’s a hot proposal. Marry you as some sort of business merger. Gee, talk about sweeping me off my feet.”
A growl emerged from him as he took a menacing step forward. “We are not hormonal teenagers, Deena. We are leaders, and as such, we need to look past silly things such as emotion and do what is best for our packs.”
“Best for you maybe. I already rule the biggest pack in Canada, while yours ranks a measly fifth. And while I’m not asking for flowers and poems, I’d like to think I could mate with a man because he wants me for me and not because I could kick the ass of anyone who opposes him.
“I fight my own battles.”
“Good for you. Then you won’t be offended when I say not in a million moons. When I mate, it will be with a male of my choosing whom I not only respect, but who at least has a semblance of affection for me.” She’d given up on love a long time ago. No male wanted to bind himself to a female who could break every bone in his body without breaking a sweat, and she’d yet to meet a strong man who made her heart flutter, or her inner bitch howl. Not that she’d admit her fantasy aloud or the fact that she still searched. Such a feminine notion didn’t own a place in her life as pack alpha, a life made harder because the lack of a cock between her legs forced her to constantly prove her strength to others. At least within her own pack, her people followed her with a fervent devotion, but as soon as she left her territory, the challengers swarmed—and left with scars and bitter words. She gave them one chance. The second time they thought to challenge her, they died.
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” he replied, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck, a pre-battle signal she knew all too well. “But you leave me no choice. If you won’t come willingly, then I’ll take you by force. Once I mark you, it won’t matter what you think or say.”
Oh really? Deena smiled as her rejected suitor rushed her. The fierce grin split her lips, a smile her enemies knew well and which in her past made more than one wolf piss itself in fear. Bracing herself, all six foot two
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