Passionate Craving by Marisa Chenery

Chapter One
     
    Memphis turned his 4x4 pickup truck onto the gravel path that led up
to his youngest brother’s cabin. Talon was supposed to be waiting outside for
him. They were going to make the short trip to the small town of Canyon Creek,
where they lived in Montana, to pick up a few items at the general store. Since
they both needed to go, they’d decided to drive together.
    Talon stood from where he’d sat on his porch as Memphis stopped in
front of the log cabin. After his brother climbed into the passenger side,
Memphis did a three-point turn to leave the way he’d come.
    “So no mate brand yet?” Talon asked once they were on the main
gravel road on their family’s land.
    “No. Don’t worry. You’ll be the first person I tell when it
happens.” Memphis shot Talon a hard look. “And you can stop asking me every
damn day. It’s starting to get on my nerves.”
    Talon and his family were wolf shifters, which meant they were born
wolves with the ability to take on human form. He had five brothers. They’d all
been born in the same litter thirty years ago. Once a male of their kind
reached that age, they became mate branded, the sign that it was time to find
the woman meant for them. The brand, when it’d appear on his neck where it met
his shoulder, would be black. It’d have intricate Celtic-styled knot work in a
circular design that surrounded a pair of wolves that stood and faced each
other with their heads thrown back on a howl. After he claimed his mate, the
black knot work would change color, taking on the jewel tones of reds, blues
and greens. The same marking would appear on her in the exact same place on her
body.
    Male siblings born at the same time were mate branded in order of
birth. Since Memphis’ three older brothers, Kiel, Cyrus and Gage, had already
been and had found and claimed their mates, he was next in line. After him
would be Rhett and then Talon, the last born. His brother wasn’t exactly keen
on finding his mate. No matter, though. Whether Talon wanted it or not, it
would happen. And he would claim his mate. He’d have no choice. Once the brand
appeared on a male’s skin, he had three weeks to find and claim his mate or
he’d lose his humanity forever. He’d then be no different than the wild gray
wolves that roamed free in this part of Montana.
    Talon let loose with a low, rumbling growl. “Excuse me for wanting
to be prepared for when my doom hits.”
    Memphis chuckled. “Being branded and having to find and claim a mate
isn’t something I’d consider a male’s doom.”
    “Speak for yourself.”
    “That wandering eye of yours, and other body parts, will soon be
brought to a stop. Since you’ve practically worked your way through all the
unmated females in the three closest wolf shifter packs, and left some of them
not in good terms, you’d better hope your mate ends up human.”
    Their three older brothers had human mates. As far as his family
knew, they were the first not to have claimed a female of their kind. Memphis
had a feeling his mate, along with Rhett’s and Talon’s, would be human as well.
It stood to reason that all six of them would since they were from the same
litter. That in itself was a bit of an oddity for wolf shifters as well. Most
litters consisted of four cubs, not six.
    “If I had my way, I wouldn’t have a mate. I really don’t know if I
can be happy with just one female. There’s a good chance I’m not made to be
mated.”
    Memphis shook his head. “Don’t be an idiot. Once you’re mate branded
and find your mate, you’ll be changing your tune. It’s not something you’ll be
able to ignore. Look how far Cyrus went to claim Jaimie.”
    Cyrus had become mated not that long ago. When he’d found Jaimie,
she’d been in the hospital, days close to death from cancer. Unable to lose her
so soon after finding her, Cyrus had bitten Jaimie to claim her with the hopes
of saving her life. Human mates were able to heal at a much faster