Larissa Ione - Desire Unchained

“I can’t talk about Kynan. You know that.” Arik paused. “There’s my luggage. Gotta sail. Love you.”

“You, too.”

She hung up, and for whatever reason, she looked down the street. A man stood on the corner, his heated gaze focused on her. A tingle skittered over her skin. Why, she had no idea, but when he jerked his gaze away, she followed it to where another man sauntered up the sidewalk toward her. He was as light as the other man was dark, but something united them.

Something familiar.

Her pulse began to race.

The men glared at each other, both measuring the distance between themselves and her. Their eyes glowed with hunger and impending change, and she drew a startled breath. They were wargs.

Her body flooded with heat and liquid arousal. Oh, God. That was why she’d been so unsettled lately. She was entering her first yearly breeding heat.

She needed to call Shade, and now. Before instinct overruled her mind and caused her to do something stupid, like take one of the werewolves into her cage to mate. Female wargs in heat waited for the males to fight it out, and would then mate with the victor. If she became pregnant during the moon cycle, the pairing would become permanent, as wargs formed bonds similar to those of Seminus demons, and mates were for life.

The men came together in a crash of fists. They were as propelled by instinct as she was, and though they’d started the fight in human form, they’d finish it in beast bodies. Which could turn into disaster in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

“Go,” she muttered to herself, because the darkest, most primal part of her wanted to watch, to root for a victor, but the still-human side knew she had to get out of there.

Shade, hurry … He’d sense her sudden hunger and was, no doubt, on his way now. No matter what kind of emergency had prompted his trip to UG, instinct would bring him home.

She looked up at the sky, at the rapidly growing darkness, though she didn’t need to. Her body told her the moon would be up in a matter of minutes.

Quickly, she let herself into the house and darted to the basement. The unfinished room was large, the soundproofed walls allowing for as much noise as two werewolves could make.

She slipped inside the cage in the center of the room, which she and Shade had enlarged and made comfortable for both of them. She slammed the door shut and spun the combination lock.

The crash of glass sent her pulse into overdrive, and then the men were in the basement with her, launching at each other. Come on, Shade. She dug her phone out of her pocket and dialed Shade.

“I’m almost there, babe,” he said, without a hello and with panic dripping from his voice. He hung up before she could say a word.

Cursing, she called Tayla. She’d gotten to know Eidolon’s mate over the past couple of weeks, and right now, she was their best hope to keep the wargs outside the cage from running amok.

“What’s up, Runa?”

“I don’t have time to explain. I’ve got a problem. Wargs in my basement. If they get out of the house …”

“Shit. Okay, I’ll gather a team and get them contained.”

“Don’t kill them.”

“I know. We’ll be careful.”

Runa hung up, wondering if, even after a year of being bonded to a demon, it still felt odd for Tayla to ensure the safety of creatures such as werewolves instead of killing them. Granted, Runa had wanted to kill Luc for what he’d done to her, but she was thankful that she hadn’t. He wasn’t the most friendly guy on the planet, but he had, in his gruff way, apologized for attacking her.

The apology was unnecessary. She was stronger, tougher, and her longer lifespan would give her plenty of time with Shade. If a cure ever became available, she’d turn it down.

She glared at the men who were tearing apart her basement. She’d be happy to inject them with the cure, however.

Shade’s roar shook the entire house. His scent flooded the basement as he flew down the steps and leaped into the center of the fray. He was still wearing scrubs, but he wore his usual combat boots, and they caused the rivals a world of pain as he landed kicks as high as their heads.

“Stay in the cage!” he yelled at her, when she reached for the lock.

“But you could just slip inside—”

“I need to win this.”

Her heart swelled. After a year of being a were, she instinctively understood his determination. The fights struck her human side as barbaric, but the part of her that was female and warg appreciated the raw thrill of being the prize in an age-old battle for possession.

If Shade’s enthusiasm was any indication, he felt the same way. He needed to fight for her. Wanted to fight for her. He’d bonded with her as a Seminus demon, but he was compelled to do the same as a warg.

A shiver of both feminine excitement and fear prickled her skin. If he lost …

Shade’s boot caught the dark-haired man in the chest, sending him crashing into a shelf of canned goods. As the other man crumpled to the floor, unconscious, Runa let out a relieved breath. One down, one to go.

Testosterone and fury turned the air to soup as the blond launched himself at Shade, slamming them both into the stair railing. The blond nailed Shade with an uppercut that snapped his head back with enough force that his eyes glazed.

“Shade!” She rattled the cage, fumbling for the combination lock as the blond took advantage of Shade’s stunned state and pulled a Swiss Army knife from his jeans pocket.

In a sweeping arc, the man brought the blade down. Shade twisted away at the last moment. The blade struck a glancing blow at his shoulder, slicing open his scrub top and leaving a thin red line.

“Son of a bitch,” Shade snarled. He whirled, crunching a series of blows into the other male’s torso and face with his fists and feet. The knife flew out of the blond’s hand, but in about ten seconds it would be useless anyway …

The painful tightening of Runa’s skin caught her by surprise. The change was upon them all.

“Hurry, Shade!”

Hands trembling and already beginning to elongate, she shed her clothes. Shade caught the blond by one furry arm and slammed him to the ground, then quickly kicked off his boots. The blond snared his ankle, bringing Shade to the floor with him. They were both more beast than man now, and their snapping jaws and flashing claws brought a whole new element of danger—and excitement—to the battle.

Runa’s mind began to go fuzzy, her thoughts hijacked by her growing lust, her body taken over by the scent of battle in the air. The door. She needed to open the door before she was nothing but animal.

She fumbled with the lock, and as the door clicked open, pain tore through her. Her bones cracked and her joints stretched, and through the roar of blood rushing in her ears, she heard the males’ groans of agony, as well. This was the worst part of being a werewolf, dealing with the painful transformation.

Through the misery, Shade somehow held on to his determination to win the battle. He palmed the other warg’s forehead and slammed his skull into the concrete floor. The sharp crack echoed through the basement, and by the time it had faded away, Shade was there, leaping through the cage door. He slammed it shut, and though he didn’t lock it, she didn’t care. The transformation had taken her completely.

So had the mating heat.

Shade stood before her on two black-furred legs, a massive, beautiful creature that was as fully aroused as she was. He lunged at her, and she dodged to the side. As much as she wanted him, he had one more test to pass.

He had to best her, as well.

His raw, erotic growl swept through her like a muscle-deep caress, warming her, preparing her for him. Right now she was little more than a raging mass of hormones, and deep inside her womb contracted and her sex clenched. Still, when he reached for her, she slashed him with her claws.