The animal crawled a few feet closer, keeping its body low to the ground and its ears back. Was it afraid of her?
“You don’t have to be scared of me, buddy. I like animals more than most people I know. Animals are more loyal and reliable than most men I know. But what kind of dog are you? Not any one I’ve ever seen before, and I thought I knew them all. Or are you one of those magical creatures the postmistress in the village told me about yesterday?”
Katee had always had a strange affinity for animals, which made her good at her job as a veterinary technician. Holding out her hand, palm up and fingers down, she allowed her visitor to sniff her and get her scent.
She was surprised when it licked her hand, then moved even closer to lay its head in her lap.
“You are a friendly one,” she said, slowly settling her hand on its neck, then running her palm down its back.
The animal wore no collar, so she couldn’t tell if it lived locally or not. It gave a whine and rubbed its cheek against her bare belly, tickling her even as it reminded her that she was naked.
“I’m so tired of getting screwed by the world,” she admitted, knowing the dog would not tell anyone her secrets. “I moved here to be with a guy I met online, and it wasn’t until today when I finally went to surprise him, but I got the shock instead. I found out he’s married with four kids. He also isn’t an independently wealthy banker like he claimed. He works in a fucking garage. How could I be so stupid and trusting?”
Closing her eyes, Katee allowed herself to cry a little more. She had given up her well-paying job at the veterinary office in the city and moved here with the hope of finding a job before her savings ran out. She had thought that after six months of emails, texts, and phone calls, she knew Jack Parsons well enough to make the move.
Boy, had she been wrong.
At least she had been able to stay in her grandmother’s cabin the next town over from where Jack lived. Once she had arrived with everything she owned packed in her car, she understood why. What had been a cute cabin in the woods when she’d been a child was barely habitable. Her mother had said she could stay as long as she wanted. Katee wondered how long it had been since her mother had visited.
It turned out everything Jack had told her about himself had been a lie, and now she was here with no job, no future plans, and no man.
Katee jumped when warm human arms wrapped around her, lifting her and moving her so she straddled a warm, wet, definitely male lap.
Opening her eyes, she stared into a pair of deep cobalt-blue eyes. The same eyes that had been looking at her from the dog’s face.
“Whoa, you’re not a dog after all.”
The man smiled, sending a shaft of need spiraling straight to her pussy. That was strange. She hadn’t thought she would ever want to be with another man. But this wasn’t merely a man, he was a shapeshifter.
Sitting on his lap felt strangely right. No, not right, it felt perfect, like this was meant to be. Maybe all the stories Gran had told her as a child had not been so farfetched after all. Katee should probably be shocked, but all she felt was a rightness at being held by this man.
“No, I’m not a dog,” he said, “I’m a wolf shifter. And you, my sweet dancer, are my mate.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, looking around and confirming the big black dog was really gone, and that they were still in her backyard. “Well, that’s about right. I’ve totally fucked up my life with one man, and now another man, who can turn into a wolf, tells me I’m his mate. Next you’ll be telling me you’re king of the shapeshifters or something.”
“No, not king of the shapeshifters, but I am alpha of my pack.”
Katee nodded as she looked at the man holding her. He was big and beautiful and just what she had always wanted in a man. For some reason, the fact that he had the ability to shift into a wolf form did not shock her as much as it probably should.
Instead, it turned her on, despite only being with him for a handful of minutes.
Chapter Two
Well, at least she didn’t run away screaming, Toren thought as he rubbed his hands up and down her sides, careful of the bruises over her left side.
“What’s his name?” Toren asked, needing to know who had hurt his mate. He wasn’t sure if he would thank the bastard or tear him to pieces, but he wanted his mate to be laughing as she danced, not crying.
She shook her head even as she began to stroke her fingertips down his chest. “I already took care of him. He won’t be bothering me any longer.”
Toren stroked a finger over the bruise on her cheek. “So he’s in worse shape than you are?”
“Well, he got a few cheap shots in as he dragged me to where we could talk privately, but by the end of it, he was walking funny and crying like a little baby.”
She sounded proud, which made Toren smile. He still wasn’t happy, but the fingers now tracing the length of his cock distracted both man and beast, bringing his attention back to where it should have been all along—to claiming his mate.
Wrapping a hand around the back of her neck, Toren pulled her closer and kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, the sexual fire that ignited the moment he saw her caught fire and burned bright.
He parted her lips and took the kiss deeper, not surprised when she tried to wiggle closer. The kiss went on and on until he had to pull away to catch his breath. Her breathing sounded as harsh as his, and her hands were now both wrapped around the length of his cock.