For Life (10 page)

“Somehow I doubt my ATM card will work even if we did make it into town.” It shouldn’t matter to her that Heidi just told her Josie slept around. He was gorgeous and single. What bitch wouldn’t spread her legs for him? Nonetheless, she’d be damned if he’d go to another bitch while she was around. And she wouldn’t dwell on why she was so adamant about him being loyal to her when they had no established

relationship. “I appreciate your bringing the clothes. I’ll figure out something so that I can get some more on my own. And I’ll pay you back for these.”

Heidi waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “Keep them. And keep the other

clothes that I brought for you too.” She leaned against the bathroom door and chewed her lower lip. Her scent revealed her worry. “Do you want to tell me what happened with you and Pete?”

She doubted this pack was any different from any other pack. Sooner or later gossip would fly. She might as well let the truth out now, before these Malta werewolves came up with their own good stories to explain her presence in Josie’s den.

The history that led up to yesterday’s events was irrelevant at this point. She shared with Heidi how she ended up dumped on the side of the highway while her friend looked at her, mortified. The spicy smell of her outrage tickled Maura’s nose. It mixed in with Heidi’s pity, which turned her stomach. She gestured for Heidi to open the 48

For Life

bathroom door, and the two of them stepped into the hallway, then moved to the living room when it was clear they were still alone.

“You could do a lot worse than staying here with Josie. I honestly don’t know the werewolf that well, but it would be so wonderful to have you here and part of my pack.

Malta werewolves aren’t that bad. It’s been three months and they’ve accepted me, although I really don’t have a lot of friends.”

“You look really happy.”

“Oh. I am. Moira comes around sometimes. And Rosa, her cousin through mating—

you’ll love her. She has the gift too, so she might be able to help you understand it a bit.

I’ll call her and we’ll all get together here really soon.”

Heidi seemed convinced Maura would stay. “You can’t assume I’m just going to move in here and make this my den.”

“Where else would you go?”

The door opened behind Heidi and both bitches turned around when Josie filled the doorway with his massive frame. “She isn’t going anywhere,” he growled with enough conviction that Maura’s heart leapt to her throat. “If there’s anything you want or anywhere you wish to go, I’ll see to it.”

“It’s not like I’m a single bitch,” she retorted, even as excitement pumped

energetically in her veins at the realization that Josie would stand up and growl on her behalf.

“Since you’re so preoccupied with your status, tomorrow you can return to your pack. But I promise you now, when you enter the
lunewulf
pack, it will be for a brief visit so that you’ll believe and accept your status as widow.”

“If you know that Pete is already dead, I would like to know how you know.” She fought the urge to look away when his penetrating gaze turned deadly.

“I’ll tell you all the details when I return.”

“Return. Where are you going?” she asked.

“To visit the
lunewulf
pack leader. You’ll stay with Heidi and Nicolo while I’m gone.”

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Lorie O’Clare

Josie took off over the mountain from his den. Too many risks were involved if he stopped anywhere else prior to heading over to
lunewulf
territory. There weren’t many Malta werewolves who could hear thoughts at the level that he could. Most of them had to be within range. And they were the lucky ones. But if he stumbled upon another member of his pack who had the gift, and they got a whiff of what he was about to do, the shit would be ugly.

The best thing to do was run hard and fast—and straight into
lunewulf
territory.

It was damned annoying hearing thoughts from every werewolf on the mountain.

Usually he could tune them out. And he would bet Dante did the same. For the most part, the others in his pack didn’t possess the gift at the level he and Dante did. Possibly Moira, but since she was a female, he didn’t press into her mind as much. She was mated, and that just wasn’t right. Rosa, Dante’s cousin who lately was sniffing around Dimitri a lot, also smelled of the gift. Josie wasn’t around her enough to determine what level. And he really didn’t care.

As long as Dante wasn’t trying to seek out his thoughts at the moment, Josie had nothing to worry about. He reached the edge of the mountain and then began stripping.

The midday sun already battled with oncoming clouds, which made the breeze even colder. He didn’t dwell on the weather. Even as it attacked his bare skin, he let the change take over. The boiling energy in his veins prevented him from shivering uncontrollably and he quickly tied his clothes together and wrapped them around his neck.

There would be no laws binding him, no one capable of stopping him. That

knowledge brought the change on with even more fury. Unconquerable. Invincible.

Nothing and no one possessed the ability to stop Josie from doing what needed to be done.

Muscles and bones altered as he changed from a human male into his werewolf

form. His surroundings grew more vivid, while every smell got stronger. Josie fell to all fours, the pain that racked his body fading quickly as the change finished its process.

He focused on the snow-covered mountainous terrain in front of him while his mind quit analyzing everything and switched over to instinct.

In his animal form, suddenly his plan was simple. What needed to be done seemed like pup’s play. Taking off down the mountain toward the narrow highway that ran between Malta territory and
lunewulf
territory, Josie’s long black coat protected him from the elements. Not that he gave the weather much thought. He dwelled on Maura, on the wrongs done to her. And what he needed to do to set her world right.

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For Life

Maura wondered if he would kill Pete, offer her freedom and a widow’s status but then not wish to mate with her. When she put it into words, it sounded like a rather coldhearted action. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Maura.

God. He didn’t want to mate with anyone. Josie wasn’t good mating material. At least he knew that about himself, unlike many werewolves who claimed a bitch and then made her miserable for the rest of her life.

Maura did more than enter his den and offer damned good sex. Other bitches had done the same in the past. Although usually his gift made them nervous or a bit too curious. They would play mind games, intentionally think something just to see what his reaction would be. Or they would panic inside, becoming almost frigid. Then their scent would turn grossly unappealing. Others would fight him just to see what parlor tricks he might perform.

Maura hadn’t done any of those things. She accepted him for who he was without challenging or making demands. What appealed even more was that she actually liked him for who he was. She didn’t want him to change, and she didn’t want to analyze him. That damn near made her just about the most perfect little bitch he had ever sniffed out. Maura was perfection in every sense of the word. Not that any of that mattered. And that wasn’t why he was racing into
lunewulf
territory right now.

Then why was he?

Josie slowed when he reached the highway, knowing few humans traveled on this road, yet using caution nonetheless.

The animals native to the mountains surrounded him. He didn’t need to sniff them out when their primitive minds were so easily heard. Even though deer and smaller rodents didn’t think per se, instinct led them. He could hear the basic patterns that controlled their minds, but it didn’t bother him. Coming out into the wilderness offered a peace he never experienced when he was with the pack. For once his mind was clear.

The only thoughts he heard were his own. Although today his thoughts were as jumbled as if he heard an entire pack thinking at once.

Josie moved fallen trees out of his way with his mind, watching them float through the air as he rearranged them to create bridges over dangerous streams that ran down the mountain. He chose a straight path between his pack and the
lunewulf
pack, which he was able to do only because he used the gift to clear the way and make it easier to run along.

Most of this took little thought, which allowed him time as he worked his way across the mountain to think about what had happened to him since he woke up this morning. Those soft, alluring thoughts that called to him, woke him from a dreamless night’s sleep, seemed to be changing his life. Never had he gone to such effort to ensure a bitch’s happiness. And after knowing her less than a day.

Granted, he did meet her a few months ago. And she had entered his thoughts a time or two since that meeting. Maura was just about the hottest little bitch he’d ever laid his eyes on. Her scent added to her appeal, so fresh and full of life. But when her 51

Lorie O’Clare

male appeared on that day months back—the day Nicolo took Heidi as his mate—

Maura had shriveled inside, her mind giving up, as if she accepted being sentenced to a miserable existence.

Something happened to her over the past few months. Because when he found her this morning, the determination soaring inside her made her beauty and her scent absolutely irresistible. He would fight for this bitch. And he planned on killing for her.

There was one problem with his simple, foolproof plan. Fighting for a bitch, killing her mate, meant taking her as his mate. Josie always honored pack tradition. He killed in the name of werewolf law and tradition in the past. And would again in a second.

But take a mate?

That would mean being with only one bitch for the rest of his life. It would mean opening up to her, letting her inside his mind. Already Maura questioned the fact that he knew her inside and out after their brief time together, yet she knew nothing about him. He accepted his gift—if anything, he took it for granted. Knowing everything that everyone else thought was one thing. Letting someone else climb into his thoughts was something else altogether.

Sharing his thoughts with a bitch would mean he would have to know his own

mind. Why was it so much easier to understand others than it was to understand himself? The last thing he would ever admit to a soul was that he didn’t get why he felt the way he did. He never shared his feelings with any bitch. He didn’t because he didn’t have feelings. Well, he did—everyone did. But Josie didn’t like focusing on how he felt. More times than not, it led to pain and heartache. A gash in his arm or leg mended easier than a broken heart. He had to protect that part of his body with everything he had. That meant not opening up to a soul.

There was no way he could give Maura what she wanted.

But he could give her what she deserved.

Josie slowed down when the
lunewulf
pack came into sight. They were growing in number it appeared, a newer development visible from where he stood, climbing up the side of the mountain opposite him. Roads had been cleared and foundations poured.

Werewolf Affairs provided funding for pack improvements, something the Malta pack had seen little of. This country still wasn’t sure they wanted Malta werewolves on their land. It was a heated topic of discussion, and one Josie didn’t want to dwell on at the moment. His reasons for being here were a bit more personal.

He wouldn’t dwell on how personal.

Hell. He might as well not think about a damned thing. Act on instinct and then head to his den and call it a day. Josie growled at his unwillingness to focus on the reasoning behind his actions.

Which of course was the main reason he had almost threatened Nicolo when he

made him promise to hold on to Maura until he returned. Nicolo was probably the only werewolf who wouldn’t judge or question Josie’s actions. His lifetime friend’s knowing gaze disturbed Josie though.

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For Life

Josie had taken off quickly, not allowing any of them to question his motives, because that would only mean he would have to explain what he wasn’t ready to accept himself. He might care a little bit too much for the
lunewulf
bitch who woke him this morning with her thoughts.

Damn it. Maybe he should just return to his pack and leave well enough alone. Josie paced the length of the cliff where he stood, his long black coat damp from running through deep drifts of snow. There was no turning back. Such a serious wrong would not go unpunished. He would sit and wait, listen to the thoughts of this pack, get the feel of them and then make his move when the time was right.

That was how it would be.

Josie watched the sunset and felt the cold night air chill his bones. Dimitri would know by now that Josie had left the pack. Which of course would mean he would know about Maura too. Josie left Maura with Nicolo because she was safe there, but he was also Dimitri’s littermate. Dimitri saw Nicolo usually about once a week, and Nicolo wouldn’t keep secrets from Dimitri if he showed up. Josie was too far away to know what was happening at his pack right now. He prepared himself for the possibility of his pack showing up before he reached the
lunewulf
pack. So far though, he sensed no one.

Lunewulfs
were a small breed, known for their blond hair as humans and white coats as werewolves. Their most advertised trait, though, was speed. Josie considered himself in excellent health, at the prime of his life and the victor of every challenge he’d entered. His track record was impeccable because he possessed enough sense to know when not to enter a fight.

His hackles rose as he made his way slowly down the cliff and into the
lunewulf
pack. Gangbangs kicked ass when all parties were willing. The last thing he wanted happening tonight would be half the
lunewulf
pack chasing his ass down. Not his idea of a party.

Years of training made it easier to hang out in a pack—or in this case, on the edge of a pack—keep his emotions in check so he wouldn’t be sniffed out as easily and listen to the thoughts surrounding him. In his earlier days, it took a lot of work to narrow down on the mind, or minds, he wanted to hear. But after thirty-some years of focusing on perfecting his gift, he managed to hear what he wanted a bit faster these days.