Saved by Wolves (Shifters Meet Their Mate Book 1) by Elena Hunter Page A

three.”
    “No, not that.” She waved her hand between them. “This. How long are you going to give me the cold shoulder?”
    For a second, she thought he’d deny knowing what she meant, but he crossed his arms across his broad chest and met her eyes squarely. “I was thinking,” he said.
    “About what?”
    “Not what I should have been thinking about. I should be worried about telling the alpha we may have broken the treaty and will likely be at war with the Cats. I should be figuring out how to explain why we did this for a human and why he shouldn’t throw you to the Cats as a peace offering. And I really should be thinking about what I’m going to do when Marcus and I are kicked out of the pack.”
    She’d never heard him string so many sentences together before. And his accusations weren’t fair. She stopped him from killing Lash and breaking the—
    He took two steps toward her, and she backed up at the fire in his eyes, coming to a stop when her the heel of her boot hit a tree trunk. He planted a hand on the tree, right above her left shoulder, and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “That’s what I should be thinking about.”
    Kirra lifted a hand to ward him off. It ended up resting on his chest, above his heart. His heartbeat pounded against her palm. “Surely your alpha will understand once we explain the situation.”
    A harsh laugh was his answer. “Explain the situation? I don’t even know what the ‘situation’ is. And right now I don’t care.”
    “I understand you’re upset, Jackson, and I’m really sorry you had to fight Lash and that other Cat because of me, but—”
    Jackson shook his head, cutting her off. He braced his other arm on the trunk, effectively caging her in. 
    ***
    S he thought he was upset because of a little tussle with the Cats? Frustration and anger roiled through Jackson, spiking when Kirra gazed up at him, acting innocent as a mouse right before it was taken down by a house cat. He took a long slow breath, trying to control his temper and slow his raging heart rate. It didn’t help.
    “You ran off in the middle of the night without telling anyone where you were going. If we hadn’t followed you, you could be dead.” A crushing weight pressed down on him at the thought, leaving him lightheaded. He gritted his teeth and focused.
    Frowning, Kirra tapped her fingers against his chest. “Okay, I admit it. It was stupid of me to go off on my own. But in my defense, I thought this was Wolf territory. I had no idea the Cats would track me here. And I really need to talk to the council.”
    If she was trying to placate him, she wasn’t doing a very good job. He traced a finger along her throat, following the raised red welt that Lash’s claw had left. An inch deeper and...
    Ducking her head, Kirra swallowed hard and her lips parted. Under his touch, her pulse picked up, and her breath came faster, deeper. He nudged her head back up and met her eyes, reading uncertainty, wariness, and desire in their depths. And trust.
    The combination did him in.
    She could have died. The thought was unbearable. He’d never allow such a thing to happen again.
    Mine. The word reverberated in his head, crowding out all other thoughts. His Wolf howled in agreement, urging him on.
    She was meant to be his. 
    He crushed his mouth down on hers.

Chapter Fifteen
    P arting her lips at the urging of his warm, questing tongue, Kirra arched into Jackson’s touch. She attempted to wrap her arms around his neck, but pressed against the tree, with his arms and body still locking her in place, the angle was awkward. She settled for hooking a leg around the outside of one of his hard thighs and rubbing her lower body against his.
    Lust rose in her, sharp and unsettling in its intensity. She was shivering and throbbing at the same time. It was the kind of overwhelming, crazy lust that she’d thought a fairy tale. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to give herself over to Jackson,