S. Yule - Lycan Lust

Why had she told him that? What the hell was wrong with her? He’d followed her, broken into her apartment, and was holding her prisoner on the floor. And she’d told him her name. Smart, Rindy, smart.

“Rindy. I like it. It suits you.” He sat up, his thighs pressing against her sides snugly, still holding her firmly to the floor. “Now, if I let you up, do you promise to be good?” He rubbed at his nose.

Good. She wished she’d broken it but knew she hadn’t as it wasn’t swollen or even bleeding. She’d have to work more on her technique. “I will never promise to be good.”

He laughed. “That’s my girl.”

He got up and held a hand out to help her. She glared at him and got to her feet on her own. “And I’m not your girl, nor will I ever be.”

He scowled, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that had been hurt she’d seen for a fleeting moment in his murky eyes. Why would her never being his girl have any impact on him emotionally? They were strangers, and that’s what they would stay. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

Werewolves were supposed to be made-up, not something from a nightmare that came true.

She’d known immediately he was one. She didn’t know how exactly, but ever since her first encounter with the beasts, she’d been able to tell when one was near. She’d chalked it up to her God-given instincts. And hers had never failed to warn her of danger. The caution bells had practically been cracking they’d been going off so hard when Brent had grabbed her. Yet she did have to admit that while the mere thought of being within one hundred feet of a werewolf again was enough to send her into panic, his presence was more annoying than anything.

He’d frightened her when he’d yanked her in from the window, but he hadn’t tried to hurt her, even when she’d busted his nose. It seemed out of character from her experiences with his kind. She’d come across a few since the initial attack, and all of them had been quite aggressive. She’d done a decent job of evading them . . . until now. Why had they been following her her entire life? Now’s the perfect time to find out, Rindy.

“Why have you been chasing after me for the past ten years?” She leaned against the wall and watched him warily.

“I haven’t been chasing you for the past ten years. I’ve been trying to find you for the past several weeks.” He took a breath “Or my entire life.”

She didn’t catch the last sentence as he mumbled the words. “Why? I don’t understand. I never stay in one place for long, and the minute I get the feeling someone is watching me—which is quite often—I jump on a bus, train, or plane and get as far away as I can as fast as I can. Start over in a new town, but I always end up being followed no matter where I go. And how do you keep finding me?”

“Your scent.”

“My scent?”

He slowly came toward her, and she stood up straight. “I won’t hurt you.

I swear it.” He stopped inches from her and slowly trailed his eyes from her face to her toes and back. “You have a scent that calls to my kind.”

“You mean I’ve been followed because of the way I smell?”

He nodded. “Yes. But it’s not as simple as that.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before wincing. It was obviously still tender. “The ones who have had contact with you were supposed to protect you, not hurt you or your family. But I’m sorry to say that there are those of us who don’t always follow the rules.”

“Why would I need protected? The way I see it, the only thing I need protection from is you.” She glared at him.

“No. You will never need protection from me. And, I guarantee you, I am not like the others you’ve encountered.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I would really like you to leave now.”

“I’m sorry. I will not hurt you, you have my word, but I will not ever let you go again. I cannot. I hope one day you will come to care for me.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you insane? What do you mean you will never let me go? You are frightening me.”

When he found the rogues who were responsible for killing her family and chasing after her, he’d kill them all. She was his mate, and any werewolf that came near her would know by her scent, or lack of, that she was meant for another. Mates had two scents. The main scent was one that called to all lycans alike, but the mating scent was only recognizable by a fated mate.

His kind was supposed to protect any female who had the main scent, but apparently that had not happened. In recent years, many of the packs had gone rogue, deciding that any woman with the main scent was fair game.

Many women had been raped, held prisoner, and even killed. Such acts against potential mates were forbidden and punishable by death. Most of the rogues were younger lycans who had trouble controlling their newly overwhelming urges, those who got high on their new strength and speed.

He was older and had had more than enough years to decide what was right and wrong, and what kind of man he wanted to be. He’d had some younger, wilder days and had done things he wasn’t extremely proud of, but he’d never raped or hurt a woman. And he’d never hurt anyone else for that matter, unless it had been unavoidable. But God help the ones who’d been after Rindy. They were all dead, and they didn’t even know it yet.

Pain ripped through him, cutting at his chest like an invisible knife. She was beautiful, Rindy, and so tiny. And, though he was angry at what she’d endured the past several years, he was proud of her for having the wits to survive and stay safe. He figured he’d managed to get the drop on her where other lycans had failed because he had two scents to follow her by. He understood why he’d lost her over the past several weeks’ time and again now, though. Every time she’d hopped on a bus or plane or train, her scent had vanished. Yeah, his girl was smart and crafty.

“Rindy, I know this will be hard for you to understand, but now that I have finally found you, it will not be possible for me to allow you to be on your own again. It is ingrained in me to protect you. And, besides, I want to keep you safe. I don’t ever want anything or anyone to hurt you again.”

He reached his hand toward her slowly. Her cool eyes watched him closely, but she did not shy away from him in fear. He took a few strands of her blonde hair between his fingers and let the softness sift over his skin. He sighed. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, claim her, but he was smart enough to realize he’d probably end up with a swift kick in the crotch if he so much as tried any of that.

“I don’t give a shit what is ingrained in you. I don’t need your protection.

I’ve done fine on my own.” She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him.

He found the gesture endearing and caught a smile before it made it to his lips, figuring she wouldn’t find it amusing in the least. “Yes. You have done fine, but now you don’t have to do it all on your own. Now you don’t ever have to be afraid again. No one will hurt you again as long as I breathe.”

“You aren’t listening to me,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t need you. I don’t want you here.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Rindy. I think you are the one not listening.”

He stepped closer to her, so that her back was flattened against the wall. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as the warmth of her body seeped into him and her sweet sent assailed him. He opened his lids to find her watching him intently, measuring his every breath, his every move. “I am not leaving you alone. Period. End of discussion. Case closed.”