Chapter One
Ryder slumped in the patio chair and leaned his head against
the back of it. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. It was now
the beginning of September in Juneau, Alaska, and colder weather had slowly
crept in.
He closed his eyes and sighed. He’d hoped to have gained his
full powers by the change in the seasons. So far nothing he’d done made that
happen. It frustrated the shit out of him. The wolf brothers needed him to have
all his shaman abilities to aid in their fight against the dark wolves. And it
didn’t help that for the last few weeks his shaman ancestor had sent him vision
after vision, almost demanding he claim his powers.
The sliding glass doors opened behind him. “There you are. I
was looking for you.”
Ryder barely held back another pained sigh. The voice
belonged to Wren, the only unmated female werewolf of the house and the one who
had set her sights on him the instant they’d met. So far he’d been successful
in keeping his distance, but his luck was soon going to run out. Not because
Wren was persistent. No, it was because his will was weakening. She had no idea
how very attracted he was to her. If she ever found out he would be toast.
He opened his eyes, sat up straighter and watched Wren sit
in the chair next to his. “As you can see I wasn’t that hard to find,” he told
her.
“No, but this is the second place I looked. I went to your
bedroom first.”
Of course that was where Wren would have gone before coming
out here. She was forever trying to get him to allow her to share his room with
her. And he was pretty sure she didn’t want the sleeping arrangements to be in
separate beds. Right now she slept on the couch in the living room. Durlach,
the wolf brother who lived with his mate Meadow next door, had offered Wren one
of his spare bedrooms, but she’d refused.
“Was there something you wanted?” Ryder asked, hoping to get
rid of Wren as fast as possible. The longer he stayed around her, the harder it
was for him not to stare at her beautiful face and think about all the things
he wanted to do to her sexy body.
Wren shifted her chair closer. “Yeah. You.”
Ryder bit back a groan. When Wren talked like that, it played
havoc with the act of indifference he put on around her. Unlike the wolf
brothers, he wasn’t a werewolf, so he had no idea if Wren was his mate.
Edensaw, the alpha of the sentinels, had offered to turn Ryder, but that wasn’t
to be his fate. He was their shaman, and like their first one, he’d remain what
he was.
He shook his head. “Are you ever going to give up?”
Wren smiled. “No. I go after what I want, and I definitely
want you.”
“We’ve discussed this before. You’re a werewolf, I’m a
mortal. I can’t take one whiff of your scent and know you’re my mate. For all
you know there’s a male werewolf out there just waiting to find you to set off
his mating urge.”
She waved what he said away with a flick of her hand. “I
know there isn’t one. Psychic, remember? I’ve never seen me with a
werewolf for a mate. Not even an ordinary mortal.” Wren leaned toward him. “The
only mortal I see with me is the one I’m looking at right now.”
Ryder’s cock twitched in his jeans. He shifted his hands
inside his jacket pockets to cover his crotch. If Wren happened to notice the
bulge in his pants had suddenly gotten bigger she’d be all over him.
“So you actually saw us together, as mates?” he asked.
“Well, to be honest, the vision I had wasn’t all that clear.
I didn’t see your face, but I know it was you I was with. And it was hot.”
She was going to kill him. Already his mind was filled with
his imaginings of what Wren would look like naked as he made love to her in all
the ways he’d thought of over the last few months since she’d moved in. If he
did them all, they wouldn’t leave his room for at least three days.
“I’m not going to comment on that one,” he said, hoping
Ryder slumped in the patio chair and leaned his head against
the back of it. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. It was now
the beginning of September in Juneau, Alaska, and colder weather had slowly
crept in.
He closed his eyes and sighed. He’d hoped to have gained his
full powers by the change in the seasons. So far nothing he’d done made that
happen. It frustrated the shit out of him. The wolf brothers needed him to have
all his shaman abilities to aid in their fight against the dark wolves. And it
didn’t help that for the last few weeks his shaman ancestor had sent him vision
after vision, almost demanding he claim his powers.
The sliding glass doors opened behind him. “There you are. I
was looking for you.”
Ryder barely held back another pained sigh. The voice
belonged to Wren, the only unmated female werewolf of the house and the one who
had set her sights on him the instant they’d met. So far he’d been successful
in keeping his distance, but his luck was soon going to run out. Not because
Wren was persistent. No, it was because his will was weakening. She had no idea
how very attracted he was to her. If she ever found out he would be toast.
He opened his eyes, sat up straighter and watched Wren sit
in the chair next to his. “As you can see I wasn’t that hard to find,” he told
her.
“No, but this is the second place I looked. I went to your
bedroom first.”
Of course that was where Wren would have gone before coming
out here. She was forever trying to get him to allow her to share his room with
her. And he was pretty sure she didn’t want the sleeping arrangements to be in
separate beds. Right now she slept on the couch in the living room. Durlach,
the wolf brother who lived with his mate Meadow next door, had offered Wren one
of his spare bedrooms, but she’d refused.
“Was there something you wanted?” Ryder asked, hoping to get
rid of Wren as fast as possible. The longer he stayed around her, the harder it
was for him not to stare at her beautiful face and think about all the things
he wanted to do to her sexy body.
Wren shifted her chair closer. “Yeah. You.”
Ryder bit back a groan. When Wren talked like that, it played
havoc with the act of indifference he put on around her. Unlike the wolf
brothers, he wasn’t a werewolf, so he had no idea if Wren was his mate.
Edensaw, the alpha of the sentinels, had offered to turn Ryder, but that wasn’t
to be his fate. He was their shaman, and like their first one, he’d remain what
he was.
He shook his head. “Are you ever going to give up?”
Wren smiled. “No. I go after what I want, and I definitely
want you.”
“We’ve discussed this before. You’re a werewolf, I’m a
mortal. I can’t take one whiff of your scent and know you’re my mate. For all
you know there’s a male werewolf out there just waiting to find you to set off
his mating urge.”
She waved what he said away with a flick of her hand. “I
know there isn’t one. Psychic, remember? I’ve never seen me with a
werewolf for a mate. Not even an ordinary mortal.” Wren leaned toward him. “The
only mortal I see with me is the one I’m looking at right now.”
Ryder’s cock twitched in his jeans. He shifted his hands
inside his jacket pockets to cover his crotch. If Wren happened to notice the
bulge in his pants had suddenly gotten bigger she’d be all over him.
“So you actually saw us together, as mates?” he asked.
“Well, to be honest, the vision I had wasn’t all that clear.
I didn’t see your face, but I know it was you I was with. And it was hot.”
She was going to kill him. Already his mind was filled with
his imaginings of what Wren would look like naked as he made love to her in all
the ways he’d thought of over the last few months since she’d moved in. If he
did them all, they wouldn’t leave his room for at least three days.
“I’m not going to comment on that one,” he said, hoping
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