All I Want For Christmas Is A Werewolf (Changeling Encounters) (2 page)

But it hadn't been just his ultra-hot appearance that had gotten her attention. There was something about him, something that called to her, made every primitive instinct in her body stand up and take notice.

Have you already forgotten that you're in your current situation because of a man?

Really, Faith’s last boyfriend should have put her off men
for life
.
She was poor, had no job, and not a prospect in sight. All because of a handsome face and a charming smile.

She had just found out today that her low-life bastard of an ex-boyfriend - if she could really call a few weeks together a boyfriend - had just taken the job that she had been angling for, after stealing her doctoral thesis, making it his own and securing a position that she had long coveted.

Tears misted her eyes as she spotted her car, and made her way toward the small, barely-running vehicle.
She clutched the bag in her hand tightly, trying not to let herself be overwhelmed by her dire situation.

Two years of my life down the drain, stolen from me by a no-good piece of crap without a conscience.

She had spent the last two years of her life as a nomad, studying the grizzly bear, recording her findings, building all of her knowledge into her thesis.
She had met James during her last trip to Alaska several months ago.
Why hadn't she suspected, been suspicious?
Since when
had an attractive guy actually paid her any attention? She was a mousy woman with plain features, a few extra pounds on her ass and hips, glasses that did nothing to improve her appearance, and gray eyes that added to her drab exterior.
Still, James had come onto her hot and heavy, hanging on her every word, claiming to be a professor in wildlife biology.
They had spent several weeks together in Alaska, James following her around like a lost puppy, turning her head with his interest in her project and his dimpled-cheeks-smile good looks.

Then, on the last day of her stay in Alaska, she had returned to her rustic cabin to record her findings for the day, her thesis completed, but every single remnant of her research had disappeared.
No laptop, no paper notes, not a single thing had remained of the last two years of her research.

All gone, and not a sign of James.
Probably because he was too busy hightailing it back to the city with your purloined thesis to steal your job.
She had since discovered that he had been a doctoral student, just as she was, obviously anxious for her coveted position, and he didn't want to work two years to get it.

She mentally kicked herself again for not backing up her information, having the information stored somewhere, so she could actually prove that she was the researcher, the author of the thesis.
But she hadn't, and she was paying for it now.
Really, who would have thought that a person would be sneaky enough to steal a damn thesis in the wilds of Alaska?
Her bank account was dwindling rapidly, as she had planned on having a decent job by now, having calculated her finances tightly to cover the two years she would need to get through her thesis.

Shit, I'd take any job at the moment.

Anything to stop the rapid disappearance of her savings.
Currently, Faith was living in a major dump of an apartment in a rough part of town, trying desperately to get any available work.
She had applied for any open position, even seasonal retail positions and gift-wrapping, all with zero results.

Please Santa, I really, really need a Christmas miracle!

Tears started trickling down her cheeks as she reached her car and began searching for her keys.
She'd have to start all over again, do another thesis so she could become Dr. Faith Prescott.
And she would.
Right after she picked up the pieces of her previously carefully planned future.
She'd do another thesis, another study good enough to earn her doctorate, find an even
better
job than the one she had planned on securing this year.

In the meantime, some asshole will be doing the job I wanted.

Sighing, Faith pulled her keys out of her bag, searching in the darkness for the key to the car doors and ignition, wishing she could have gotten one of the computers on the Black Friday deal.
She didn't just want the computer, she needed it.
If she was going to file more applications for jobs, look for work and start another thesis, she needed a computer.
And the bargain on a decent computer had slipped right through her fingers.
Not that she could really afford the laptop, but it was a necessity, and the Black Friday price had put that computer within her grasp.

Damn it! If only Mr. Tall, Blond And Terrifying hadn't gotten to it first. There was no way I was going to take the last computer from him. He looked even more desperate than I am. And I'm pretty damn desperate!

Unlocking the door of the car, she tossed her plastic bag into the passenger seat, shivering as remembered the fierce look in his eyes, the low growling noise that she had thought she heard escape from his throat.
The man had to be desperate. Or psychotic.
Ah well, at least she had picked up some supplies; a notebook, pencils and folders at the dollar store to start writing.
Since James had already turned in, and been credited with her thesis, she truly
did
have to start over.
Doing her thesis on the grizzlies now was not an option.
Her specialty was large mammals and she'd have to find another species to study.

Two wasted years. Two more years of writing another thesis. On another subject. All because a man gave me a little attention, showed the slightest bit of interest. How pathetic is that?

Faith blinked repeatedly, trying not to allow herself to cry.
It was her own stupidity, her own mistakes that put her into this situation.
She'd just have to somehow pull herself out.

How? I don't have the resources for two more years?
I barely made it through the last two.

She shook her head slowly, refusing to let herself be daunted.
Fighting through obstacles was something she did well, had always
had
to do.
Crumbling under pressure was not an option.

Shifting her body to sit behind the steering wheel, Faith was halfway into the seat when an arm shot out of the darkness and seized her around the waist.
A strong, masculine arm, corded with muscles powerful enough to pull her up against a hard body.

Faith didn't have to look up at his face to know that it was
him
, the intense guy from the electronics store.
She could actually
feel
him, sense the vibrations that thrummed around her as their bodies made contact.
It was the same sensation that had washed over her, held her in momentary thrall, from the simple touch of her hand over his.

Get away!

Get closer!

Run!

Need him!

Conflicting emotions raced through her mind faster than Faith could process them.
How could she be in this much danger, in the middle of a dark parking lot, and feel her nipples harden, her core flood with heat?

She struggled, trying with her conscious sane mind to get away from him, but he only held her tighter, pulling her body against the solid muscle of his chest and abdomen, her back to his front, his warm ragged breath caressing her ear as he bent his head.   "I won't harm you."
His voice was harsh, but somehow comforting.

Wasn't that how all sociopathic murderers lulled their victims? Trying to gain trust, trying to give comfort...initially. Don't be stupid, Faith!

Slamming her elbow back with as much force as she could muster, Faith hit him in the stomach, but he didn't even grunt, didn't flinch. Squirming, she tried to twist, to break his unyielding hold around her waist.

As her ass came in contact with his groin, she halted abruptly, momentarily stunned as her jean-clad butt came in contact with the largest, hardest erection she had ever encountered.

Crap. He's a rapist? Was this actually turning him on?

Strangely, her pussy flooded, her body melted.
Involuntarily, her ass shifted backward, trying to make contact again and again with his sizeable cock, needing to rub against it, wanting to sink into his intensely hot body.

Panic gripped her as she realized that her body was
responding
to him, even as her mind rebelled.
Putting every bit of strength into her attempted escape, she grabbed the open door of the car, trying to use it for leverage, pulling with all of her might to get out of his steely grasp.

He was panting, hot and heavy exhalations wafting over her ear.
"Stop.
You'll hurt yourself," he growled, as Faith continued to struggle with him, getting nowhere.

"Let me go.
I won't tell anyone."
She'd run straight to the police, but the lie was worth a shot.

"Stop!" he said with authority, as though he expected her to obey.

Faith opened her mouth to scream, looking around frantically for another person in the parking lot, but she didn't see a soul.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to try to attract attention.

The anguished sound had just started to leave her throat when a large hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her immediately.

Suddenly, her head started to spin, twirling faster and faster until it was unbearable.
Nausea rose in her throat and darkness threatened, throwing her off- balance, her legs refusing to support her.
She inhaled deeply through her nose, her mouth covered by his hand, and the scent surrounding her was incredible.
She sank into his body, struggling to regain her equilibrium.

I'm only twenty-seven years old and I'm going to die.

It was the last thought she had before darkness consumed her.

Gavin cursed as he materialized back into his home, his woman held safely in his arms.
Her eyes were closed, obviously shocked into unconsciousness by the volatile transport.
He should have taken it slower, but her panic had made him hasten the task.

He sank down on his leather couch with his bundle of femininity sprawled on his lap.
What now?
It wasn't like he was
keeping
her.
His cock as hard as granite, prodding into her luscious ass, he muttered, "She won't accept me as a mate.
And I don't really want to go through the hell that I went through twenty years ago." Unfortunately, he might not be able to avoid it. Mating instincts weren't something that could very well be ignored after one encountered their mate.

Twenty years ago, Gavin had found his intended mate. He had courted her, given her every material item she'd wanted...and then some.
Lena had been young, timid, and completely horrified when he had revealed what he really was to her, wanting her to accept him as her mate.
She hadn't.
To this day, Gavin remembered the look of repulsion on Lena's face, a look that made it clear that she viewed him as a complete abomination.

Like the woman he was holding in his arms, Lena had been human, probably with a very diluted
Changeling
bloodline.
Many
Changeling
mates were human with a
Changeling
ancestor somewhere in their family history.
But still, they were human, unable to accept the existence of
Changelings
.
Noah and Rafe had gotten lucky, their human women accepting them, bonding with them.
Unfortunately, he
hadn't
been as fortunate, and had needed to wipe Lena's mind of his existence, perform the ceremony to break the mating connection between himself and Lena because she had rejected him.
It was a painful process, one he wasn't anxious to repeat anytime soon.
Actually, he didn't want to do it again - ever!
He had been perfectly happy to remain unmated, having been through the pain of refusal once.

He'd never told either of his brothers about the humiliating experience.
The pain had been too raw, too intense.
Later, it had just never seemed important enough to talk about, not to mention the fact that it had been fucking embarrassing.
No
Changeling
really wanted to confess that his mate had found him so abhorrent that she cringed in horror whenever she looked at him.

He frowned as he glared down at the woman in his arms.
His body was reacting completely different to her than it had to Lena.
And so was his wolf.
His connection to Lena had been more subtle, not as overpowering.
His wolf had been quietly content, mildly pleased, barely whimpering when Gavin had been forced to break the mating connection between himself and Lena.
Now that he thought of it, Gavin, the man, had felt about the same way about Lena.
Happy that he had found his mate, wanting to bond because she was his chosen partner.
No intense reaction, no violent physical lust. The painful part hadn't really been disconnecting himself from
Lena
, it had been the ceremony of separation.
The pain of the ritual had sent him to his knees, making him feel like he had been thrown into the fires of hell, making him almost wish for death rather than suffer another moment of the soul-shredding, body-ripping agony of the procedure.