Chapter 3
Forge
Demetrius.
The word rips through me, charged with dismay.
All these years I’ve been primed to hear this asshole’s name. Ready to make good on the oath I made to my pack.
And now it’s spilling from this little angel’s lips.
He’s her mate? Her crush? I want to steal the name from the air and grind it to dust. I want to hunt him down and tear him apart.
She’s perched on the edge of the chair, eyes like saucers. She has no idea that her jeans are halfway down, and her panties are peeking out. The same sexy lace panties that almost made me come in my pants a few minutes ago. Cherry pink, for a sweet little cherry.
Because I can tell from her scent that she’s untouched.
Even now, I’m torn between getting the truth out of her, and finishing what I started—
The tattoo, I mean.
Because I’m not going to seduce her until she’s begging for me to strip off those panties. Even though my cock has been rock-hard ever since she stepped inside my shop.
I exhale for four beats, forcing my beast back down. “Who’s Demetrius?” I demand.
She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, full of sadness. “He’s my brother.”
Her brother.
Relief storms through me. Not her boyfriend. Not some dude I’m going to have to pulverize.
And if he’s her brother, he’s not the guy my pack is looking for. Because the Demetrius on my most-wanted list is a werewolf. And this little princess is one-hundred percent human—
“Well, my half-brother,” she continues.
Fuck.
“Same mom, different dads.”
“And you’re close?”
She nods. “Kinda.” She hesitates, her chest rising and falling.
“He went missing almost a year ago, and my mom’s been out of her mind ever since.
She’s real sick. Some kind of immune disorder.
The doctors don’t know what it is. But I just think, if I could track down Demetrius and bring him home, she might get well again.
” The words tumble out of her. I fight the urge to gather her up in my arms. Kiss away her pain.
“What’s his last name?” I ask through gritted teeth. There’s no word I want to hear less in the whole world.
“Ramiro.”
I clench and unclench my fists as ice shoots through my veins. “You have a photo?”
“Sure.” She scrambles off the chair, and I’m not so preoccupied that I fail to notice her discovering the state of her jeans and hurriedly zipping up, while her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink.
She scampers over to her folder and returns with a dog-eared photo printout.
Of course, it’s him.
It’s a different image from the one I have, but the familiar face stares back at me.
My mark.
The object of the oath I made in blood. My freedom in exchange for his.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My head spins. What I need to do right now is lock her up someplace while I make a call to my pack.
What I want to do is break all the rules. All the rules that have allowed me to escape the life I was born to.
When I glance up, she’s staring at me, trembling.
“You know him, don’t you?” she says. She looks scared, but defiant, and yet again, I’m in awe of her guts.
She’s not a reporter or a busybody, but a young girl who loves her mom, and will do anything to help her.
Even throw herself on the mercies of the mean streets of Perdue.
I weigh my words carefully.
“Was he caught up in something?”
She gives a quick nod. “His father was killed a few years ago. And ever since then, Demetrius has had this obsession with avenging his death.”
I suppress a groan. In other words, my pack killed his father. But I’m not about to tell her that.
“He’s got this whole pack loyalty thing going on—” She claps a hand over her mouth. “I mean, family loyalty.”
I frown. “You didn’t know I’m a werewolf, too?”
Her eyes get bigger as she looks me up and down. “Y-yeah, I guess I did,” she stutters.
She didn’t, obviously, and now she looks a little freaked out.
Shit. Her reaction is a stab of pain in my gut.
I want to tell her that shifters are as loyal as hell. That I’d protect her with my last breath. I’ll even protect her from herself, if necessary. Because she’s brave, but she’s also real innocent. And she needs taking care of.
It’s too soon for all that, though.
I need to show her instead, get her used to my ways.
Meanwhile, I’ll remember how she was looking at me before she knew I was a wolf—lips parted and pupils dilated. Lovely tits rising and falling in time with her elevated breaths.
She wanted me, and when I’ve gotten to the bottom of her screwed-up family situation, I’ll make sure she’s desperate for me to claim her. Begging for me to take her virginity with my werewolf cock.
My phone rings. I slide it out of my back pocket.
It’s Meredith.
“Yes?” I bark. Last thing I need is to have her chewing my ear off about Maya.
“Forge, someone just came in the bar looking for that girl of yours.”
Shit. I close my eyes. “You sure it was her?”
“Yup. He had a photo. No mistaking those eyes.”
I slide a glance at Maya. She’s right. They’re as blue as the bluest ocean, and twice as deep.
“He say anything else?”
Meredith sighs. “He told me some sob story about her being a runaway, but I wasn’t buying it. I sent him packing, of course.”
“And what did he look like?”
“Oh… tall, dark, wolfy. And as mean as a snake. Big dagger tattoo on his shoulder.”
Fuck. Grinder. An enforcer from my pack. Really fucking bad news.
For everyone.
“You okay, Mer?” I demand.
“Yeah, of course. Nothing I can’t handle.” Her laugh is a little tight. “I’ve got protection, y’know.”
She means the 12-gauge shotgun she keeps under the counter. Which reassures me. That, and the fact she’s a big old grizzly. Telling her to call me stat if anything else happens, I slam the phone down on the chair and turn back to Maya.
“Someone’s after me?” Her lower lip quivers, and the fear in her innocent features cuts right through me.
Possessiveness burns in my veins, and my animal snarls and scrabbles, desperate to break out.
I’ve never felt like this before. All these years I’ve lived without the mating urge. Without feeling much of anything. And here it is. Arriving like a wrecking ball.
This girl is my mate.
Mine.
Even if she doesn’t know it yet.
But this is a disaster of fucking epic proportions: I’ve finally found my mate, and her brother happens to be enemy number one of my pack.
“No one’s going to hurt you,” I say.
Her eyes get even bigger. “B-but—” she stammers. “What do they want from me?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I tell her, already planning how I’m going to take out Grinder. “I’m here to take care of you. I’ll keep you safe.”
She blinks, shocked. “Why would you do this for me, Forge? You don’t even know me.”
I can’t resist smiling. Because already I know she has a pure, courageous heart that connects with my own.
That she would risk her life for her loved ones.
That she’s smart and resourceful. And all of this is wrapped up in a package sweet enough to turn my animal crazy with lust. A lot of knowing, considering we only met an hour ago.
But I’ve got to tread carefully. I’ve already alienated her by telling her I’m a shifter.
“I know you’re a good person,” I say at last.
“And, that’s enough for you?”
My heart swells as I take her in. She’s such a beautiful contrast to all the dark, fucked-up things in this world. She has no idea. “That’s more than enough.”
Her eyes get very bright and a single tear spills down her cheek. “I’ve been scared for so long,” she hiccups out. “Can’t even remember the last time I wasn’t—” she breaks off in a heart-rending sob.
“You don’t need to be scared anymore.” I try to make my gravelly voice soft for her. Impulsively I hold out my arms, and suddenly, she’s there. Falling into them.
When her body touches mine for the first time, I swear a meteor shower rains down. Slowly, gently, so I don’t scare her, I wrap my arms around her. She feels like a scrap of silk. Tiny, vulnerable, yet full of womanly curves. I hold my breath, worried the slightest thing could make her flee.
Then she lays her head against my chest, and a pleasure like nothing I’ve felt before floods my veins. I used to chase all kinds of highs when I was younger, and they were all nothing, nothing compared to the euphoria of having this girl in my arms, seeking comfort from me.
My hand is unsteady as I lift it to her head and stroke her beautiful blonde hair. Warm, spun silk. I can’t resist sliding my fingers in and feeling it tumbling through them.
As I continue to stroke the length of her hair, she makes little sounds of contentment and I find myself muttering all kinds of things that have never come out of my mouth before. “There, there… everything’s gunna be okay… Forge is here now… he’s gunna take care of you.”
Stupid shit, but it feels right, and it seems to calm her.
At last, she lifts her head. Her face is tear-stained, but her eyes are clear. “Your heart is beating real hard,” she says.
That’s an understatement. It’s practically beating out of my chest. “Guess it’s the effect of being close to you.”
Her eyes rake my face, taking in my rough-ass features. “My heart’s beating hard, too,” she murmurs.
And that’s it. My resolve snaps like a rubber band.
I dip my head and press my lips to her lovely mouth.
Soft, sweet cherries. Too soft for a man like me. How do I deserve this angel’s lips? I think.
And then she parts them.
Holy hell.
Pillowy lips angling, welcoming me in. Holding her tight, I kiss her deeper, plunging my tongue in. I’m drowning in her sugary taste, her little tongue shivering against mine. Her mouth is inexperienced, but so eager it floors me.
Her arms loop around my neck and I feel the press of her round breasts against my ribcage. My cock is so hard it hurts, and my wolf is pushing at my skin, demanding I claim her.
If I don’t stop now, I’m gonna lose control of my animal.
I draw back. She looks a little stunned, and I get a surge of satisfaction as I pick up the honeyed scent of her arousal.
First things first, though. My priority is making sure she’s safe. After that, there’ll be all the time in the world to make her my own.
“I need to think about the situation,” I tell her, and she nods like she understands.
Reluctantly, I release her from my arms. I turn my back on her quick, before she glimpses my erection, and I stride down the length of the shop, gathering my thoughts.
I’m as sure as I can be that no one in Perdue will give up my location to Grinder.
Unless he threatens them.
Which is the kind of thing he’d do. And this is a small town. Can’t be too long before he figures out that a tattoo shop might be the kind of business I’d get into.
I’ve got a place upstairs, which is where I live most of the time. All the windows and doors are heavily reinforced. I could lock Maya in and know she’s safe there. And then I’ll deal with him. Taking him out is the best thing to do. It’ll be a while before the pack figures out what’s happened.
But what if he hasn’t come alone? There could be a whole bunch of them in Perdue already. I know my wolf is fiercer than any one of them. If it was just me, I’d kill him, then wait it out, see what else my pack was gonna do next.
But there’s no way I’m going to risk Maya’s safety like that.
I turn back to her. Her hands are braced on the back of one of the chairs and she’s watching me expectantly. Like she’s starting to trust me a little. My chest glows.
“I’m going to take you someplace safe,” I tell her.
Her pretty forehead furrows. “Where?”
“It’s kind of a hideout of mine.” It’s probably best if I tell her as little about it as possible.
But I catch a glimmer of uncertainty in her eye and I remind myself: she’s human.
She doesn’t have that instinctive mate awareness that shifters do.
She might’ve just kissed me, but I’m still a stranger to her.
“It’s a cabin deep in the forest. No one else in the world knows about it.”
“Far from here?”
“Yup.”
She shakes her head hard, blonde hair flying. “No. I can’t go. I need to keep looking for my brother.”
“No!” I bark, way louder than I meant to.
She pales and gives a little gasp.
“Sorry, sorry.” Always too damn gruff. “Maya, you’re in a lot of danger right now. You need to understand that.”
Her lower lip trembles. “But so is my mom. So is Demetrius. If I can help them, that’s what I’ve got to do.”
I’m so stunned, I can’t speak for a while. This girl’s lack of self-preservation is mindboggling. “Maya, your safety is the most important thing. The only important thing right now.”
She looks at me, confused, not saying anything.
“Did you want to get a tattoo when you came into my shop?” I demand.
She hesitates, then shakes her head and says in a very small voice, “guess not. Just thought it would help my brother.”
I exhale a long breath and I’m surprised when jets of fire don’t shoot out of my nostrils. “You don’t go getting a tattoo for someone else’s sake. And you definitely don’t throw yourself in the path of a psychopath like my packmate because you think it might help someone else.”
I work my jaw back and forth, trying to understand her. “Is this how you were raised?” I say at last.
Her pretty forehead puckers. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, not putting your own needs first.”
She drops her gaze to the floor. “I guess,” she mumbles.
“Because you were human?”
A sweet sigh escapes her lips. “Partly, maybe. My mom was all caught up with Demetrius. After his dad was killed, the pack was desperate to get their hands on him. My mom spent all her time trying to appease them, and keep Demetrius from getting involved with them. And it happened anyway. It caused her a ton of heartache, so I pretty much tried to stay out of trouble. Avoid causing her any more grief.”
My heart aches for this poor, neglected, self-sacrificing girl. I reach out and take her hands in mine. “Your life is not going to be like that anymore. From now on, you’re number one. You understand me?”
She frowns some more.
I want to tell her that I’m not going to let her come to any harm. From now on, everything else in the world comes second to her. My oath, my pack means nothing in comparison to her. I’ll tear the whole damn world down to keep her safe.
“I’m here now,” I say instead. “I’ve got connections that I can use to track Demetrius down. But it’s dangerous for you to stay here. That’s why we’ve gotta leave, right now.”
She looks at me and a light comes into her eyes. “Guess it’s dangerous for you to stay here now, too?”
“Yes,” I say. Whatever will persuade her to come with me. I’ll have plenty of time to work on her self-worth later. Now, I just need to get her to safety.
“Okay.” She straightens up. “Let’s go.”