Page 12 of Wanted
Without much thought, I scan her from head to toe. Five-eight without the three-inch heels she’s wearing, slim yet curvy hips, clear coffee-brown skin with light makeup, dark-brown hair that she’s pinned into a neat bun. The hairstyle shows off the length of her neck and her high cheekbones.
And Mother Moon, full, kissable lips on a heart-shaped face.
I shake my head at the same time my wolf yips.
It takes a considerable amount of effort to change my focus from the woman to Lucas and the man who brought the woman in.
The man is telling Lucas something. He’s turned sideways, making it impossible to read his lips. But I can see Lucas’s face. For a long time, he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he allows his narrowed eyes to linger on the woman.
My wolf growls and I tighten my hands into fists, telling it to calm the hell down. We’re not here for anything other than pack business.
Whatever the deal is with this woman is none of our concern, I silently tell my wolf. He replies back with a resoundingfuck you.
On a whim, I sniff the air. I catch the wolf scent of Lucas and his security immediately. Yet there’s a third scent that’s…odd. Human and something else I can’t identify.
The woman starts to speak and my gaze is immediately drawn to her mouth. She asks if Lucas has seen someone. The woman holds a cell phone to his face, clearly showing a picture of whoever she’s searching for.
Again, Lucas remains stoic, giving her an up and down. A wrinkle appears in his forehead, though.
“How do you know about this place?” he asks.
That’s when I realize he believes she’s human. Only shifters come in and out of this bar. The few humans that might make their way inside are turned away quickly.
The other man leaves, closing the door behind him. The woman waves the phone in Lucas’s face again, insistent that he look at the photo. His eyes drop to the screen and narrow. Again, he asks her how she knows about the bar.
Frustration displays in the way her lips scrunch and her forehead creases. She pushes out a heavy breath. From this angle I can read her lips perfectly.
I know before she even opens her mouth that her next statement is the exact wrong move. She threatens to call the police because—according to her, she knows the person she’s looking for—her sister as it turns out—was here.
Lucas’s face reddens with anger. The tension in his shoulders and the slight turn of his hips gives away his intentions before he carries out his intentions.
I’m on my feet, across the room and trapping his arm in a death grip in the blink of an eye.
He completely stills in shock.
I’m only a few inches away from the woman now. Her scent is stronger and it takes every ounce of my training andconditioning not to bury my face into the crook of her neck and inhale until my lungs fill up with nothing but her smell.
A shift in Lucas’s body reminds me that I’m still holding on to the bastard. I turn my head to him. His eyes bulge and face flushed as he tries to pull his arm out of my grip.
It doesn’t budge.
“I came here for information,” I say. “Not to watch you put your hands on a woman.”
He huffs a few times and tries to pull his arm free. Again, I don’t let go. My wolf is on a short leash. I’ve never seen or felt him this protective over someone he doesn’t know. Someone we haven’t even met.
Yet, I know if I release Lucas’s arm and he finishes his plan to strike this woman, my wolf will tear him limb from limb in this fucking office.
“Get out,” Lucas says to the woman. “Don’t ever come back here again.”
With that, the security from earlier barges back in and pulls the woman out. My wolf growls and starts to go after him but I hold him back. Barely.
Not until she’s out of our sight do I let Lucas’s arm go.
I try my damndest to refocus on the bastard and my original reason for this meeting. But I’m distracted by the one word my wolf keeps repeating in my head.
It pounds and reverberates throughout my body.
Mate.