His Purrfect Mate (Mating Heat Book 2) Read online

  “What’s your name?”

  She paused on her downward climb to twist her head and peer at him. “Shannon.”

  He didn’t comment, or blame her for not sharing her last name. Neither had he. If she reported the attack to the police, he didn’t want them to have too much information. The last thing he needed would be bullshit questions from some overworked cop who wouldn’t see the humor in checking out a woman’s crazy tale of a werewolf attack. He pulled away from his musings to watch her climb lower.

  Anger returned when he saw blood smeared on her bare feet and he stopped breathing through his nose. The scent of her blood so soon after he’d shifted could affect him. The last thing the woman needed would be to see his eyes darken or hear his voice thicken into growls.

  He pulled air in through his mouth and hoped the scent wouldn’t be strong enough to taste. The cologne he always splashed on before pack meetings would help mask it. He’d made a habit of wearing the stuff to keep some details of his personal life private. Wolves could smell way too much but artificial fragrances could confuse their noses.

  He moved under her, ready to assist as she climbed down the tree.

  “That’s it,” he encouraged. “Don’t fall, Shannon. I’m going to reach up and help you down, okay? Don’t be alarmed because I’m not wearing clothes. I swear I won’t hurt you.”

  She paused again to shoot him a frightened look. He could make out more of her features, and his gut tightened. She had big, beautiful blue eyes framed with dark eyelashes, and they were shaped in a way that stole his breath away. Not even the purplish bruise could distract from her attractiveness. He hesitated and then lifted his arms to assist her to the ground.

  “It’s okay, Shannon.” He kept his tone soft, attempting to lure her closer to safety. “I keep my word. No one is going to hurt you.”

  Anton could tell she wasn’t certain if he could be trusted but she still lowered down the last eight feet that separated them until he gently gripped her waist. His hands wrapped around soft hips and he tried not to notice her full, rounded ass displayed in the pair of thin cotton capri pants too close to his face. He really didn’t want to become aroused. She’d scream if he allowed his body to show his sexual interest.

  He lifted her easily, placing her carefully on the ground. She turned, faced him, and kept her gaze fused with his. She didn’t glance down at his body but instead gave him a fearful look that made him wonder if she’d attempt to climb the tree again. Her back pressed tightly against the bark. He could see her terror as clearly as the cute, tiny freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose. Her much shorter height—a few inches above five feet—made him question her age. She looked mature, late twenties maybe, but then again, teens seemed to appear much older than their years, in his opinion.

  “See? I’m not going to hurt you.” He tried to sound harmless, the irony of that not lost on him since he had to be the most dangerous thing within miles of the small female. “I’m the good guy,” he lied. No one would ever call Anton Harris that title without it being the punch line of a sarcastic joke. He had become one of the most feared members of his pack. “Where did you come from? I’ll take you back there.”

  Fear gripped Shannon in such an emotionally tight fist that it made breathing difficult. She knew she couldn’t hide it from him. A big, vicious werewolf in his human shape of solid muscle and strength stood just feet from her. He had to be at least six-four. She regretted climbing out of the tree. Her instincts screamed at her to flee but her legs refused to move. They were rooted to the ground—heavy and paralyzed.

  “Hey,” he whispered, his deep voice turning husky. “Calm down, Shannon. It’s going to be fine.”

  Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She wondered if this gripping terror came from the same part of her she’d thought she’d gotten a handle on years before. Memories surfaced of her childhood, of those gut reactions she sometimes experienced, that other part of her she chalked up to her father’s diluted but rare bloodline.

  In the third grade, a bully had pushed her. She’d hissed at him and clawed his arm, not meaning to, but it just happened. In fifth grade, she’d found herself up a tree when a dog had run at her. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten up there or even making the decision to do it, but somehow she’d discovered her ability to climb pretty much anything if fear motivated her. Her teen years had been a nightmare when the urge to eat raw meat had struck with puberty. She’d feared, along with her mother, that it meant more than it had. But she’d never changed, never done any of the other things her father could, and the fear had eventually passed.

  “Where do you live? Let’s start with that.”

  His voice drew her from her childhood confusion and she stared into the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. They were framed with thick, long eyelashes that matched his jet-black hair. He didn’t look at her in a way that justified her fear but it still remained in full force. She knew she had to find her voice to answer him.

  “Anderson,” she got out. “I live there.”

  His full lips curved downward. “That’s a distance from here. What were you doing taking a stroll in the woods?”

  “I wasn’t.” Talking became easier. “I was taken from the grocery store parking lot two blocks from my apartment. That blond you hit and another guy walked up to me. The blond’s friend punched me in the face and I woke here.”

  He closed his eyes and the anger that tensed his features made Shannon push tighter against the massive tree, wishing she could climb back up it, even inside it, to hide from the large wolf in skin. He softly growled before his eyes snapped open again.

  “I’ll make them pay for this, okay? The important part is, I found you in time.” He paused. “If you tell anyone about this, they won’t believe it. Are you aware of that? I don’t want them locking you up in some loony bin. You’ve been through enough without that shit. I’ll get you home and you need to forget this ever happened, okay?”

  She nodded, acknowledging the intelligence of his advice. The cops would put her into a straightjacket if she told them the truth. Worse, it would draw attention to her, a really bad thing, and something she’d always feared.

  He relaxed. “Good. If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to beat the hell out of those boys for kidnapping you. They won’t move for weeks without regretting ever putting a finger on you.”

  Shannon saw sincerity as he spoke and some of her fear eased. His anger wasn’t directed at her but at the ones who’d attacked her. She could happily deal with that. All she wanted now was to get away from him and go home. She silently promised to move out of her apartment as soon as possible. If they’d found her, someone else could too. She loved her home but she preferred remaining alive a lot more.

  They both tensed when a twig snapped nearby. Their heads jerked toward the direction of the sharp sound. Shannon tried to spin around and lunge up the tree when a wolf came into view. Terror overtook everything else, but a big strong hand grabbed her arm to keep her tethered. She started to shake as the wolf growled viciously and his body lowered into a crouching position, preparing to pounce on her.

  Shannon clawed at the hand holding her still, a scream trapped inside her throat, but Anton wouldn’t let go. She heard him snarl at the wolf, maybe even at her; she wasn’t sure where he directed his anger. She was too panic-stricken to do anything but try to flee.

  “Enough!” Anton roared. “Jerry, back off. You’re terrifying her.”

  She couldn’t break free of the hold on her arm and she couldn’t get up the tree. She needed to climb, needed to get higher, out of the wolf’s reach, and her instincts screamed in a painful blast of strong awareness.

  She spun, faced Anton, and before she could stop herself, grabbed him. Her hand gripped his shoulder and she jumped, her body hitting his much larger one. To her horror, she wrapped around him, clinging to his body with every ounce of strength she had. Her legs squeezed around his waist and her face burrowed into his ne