Far From Innocent (2 page)

Obviously the female didn’t fear much and was more than willing to take on an adventure. Her littermates would have her locked in a closet if she were caught out here. He exhaled silently, knowing beyond a doubt he’d save her from that humiliation.

Again he reminded himself that a little bitch like her was the last thing he needed in his life right now. Not only was she wild, untamed, but she used her gift to toy with werewolves. There were Malta werewolves who could do things other werewolves couldn’t—like make tree branches fall to the ground. In spite of Dante’s efforts to convince their pack that showing off their gift would make it harder on them with the other packs, obviously not everyone listened to him. And Juan wasn’t sure he agreed with his littermate anyway. It was a hot topic, and one Juan tried to avoid since he didn’t have the gift.

Dante was another of those werewolves blessed with the gift their previous pack leader had bestowed on some of them. It wasn’t anything the two of them had ever discussed. Juan didn’t consider it any of his damned business. His littermate fought hard to gain respect as a normal werewolf, and Juan wouldn’t challenge his efforts.

But Erin never gave any indication that she fought for anyone’s respect. The little bitch did whatever the hell she wanted. Nicolo and Dimitri Spalto, her older littermates and all the den she had, fought hard to keep her under lock and key. For the most part, he pitied the two werewolves. Erin didn’t make it easy on either of them. Her incredible sex appeal and defiant attitude only made their job as her protectors even harder.

She was hot as fucking hell, with powers that made the Malta werewolves feared.

Fucking dangerous combination. And one he’d be real smart to steer clear of.

Steering clear at the moment wasn’t an option though. Erin needed him. And he had no problem jumping in with tooth and claw to save her hot little ass. But it would just be that. No involvement, nothing more than protecting her like he would for any Malta werewolf bitch.

His cock hardened again in spite of his efforts to keep it soft. Damn. He wanted to fuck her. Raw energy pumped inside him. No matter that over the past few months he’d gained respect in their newly formed pack by helping to build many of the dens, Nicolo and Dimitri would be damned fools to think he was a good candidate for chaperone of their younger sister. Even the cold air brushing over his bare chest didn’t calm the burning need building inside him.

One thing he couldn’t deny—Erin was by far the hottest bitch in their pack, and Juan never had a problem sniffing out the best in life. Those
lunewulfs
wouldn’t lay a paw on her.

She twitched her tail defiantly against that hot ass of hers. The three injured werewolves crawled away from the scene, more than likely humiliated and hurrying to 7

Lorie O’Clare

go lick their wounds. So that narrowed the odds—just two males to contend with. They ignored their pack members and watched Erin warily. She barked at them, her tone cheerful and inviting. Juan didn’t trust the manipulative wag of her tail and doubted the two
lunewulfs
did either.

Erin wagged her long, fluffy black tail faster, lowering her head and yelping at the werewolves. Damn her. If that wasn’t an invitation, he didn’t know what was.

The
lunewulfs
obviously agreed. At the same time, both of them leapt on her. Juan stripped his unbuttoned shirt from his body and kicked off his shoes faster than he’d ever undressed before. His heart raced so hard in his chest, the change consumed him before he could control it. No matter how wild Erin might be, he wouldn’t believe she’d invited those
lunewulfs
to fuck her, and this time, her toying with others had gotten her into deep shit.

He told himself it was his duty. She was an unmated bitch from his pack. Good little bitches didn’t go around fucking werewolves without properly dating and gaining approval from their den. And they sure as hell didn’t romp around at the edge of their territory with werewolves who weren’t even part of their pack. Her reprimand would come later. Right now it was time to save her adorable little ass.

He ignored the voice in the back of his head that tried announcing loudly that he had no say over her. Sure she needed protection at the moment, but beyond that, what Erin did with her life wasn’t his business. God. It wouldn’t be too much trouble to make it his business.

Muscles screamed with new energy inside his body. Blood raced through his veins too fast for his human half to handle. Juan’s teeth pricked against his lips, the slight taste of blood not distracting him from the white pile of fur that attempted to cover Erin’s long black coat.

He froze when she easily slipped out from under the two werewolves. Erin sat down several feet away from them and daintily began cleaning her paw, looking way too damned pleased with herself. The
lunewulfs
stumbled over each other and then straightened, glaring at her.

The ground trembled, almost knocking him off balance. Just a ways up the hill, a large boulder tore free from the earth and rolled toward the
lunewulfs
.

What the fuck?

Erin focused intently on cleaning her paw, lazily stroking her fur with her moist, red tongue. She ignored the
lunewulfs
. They hesitated in pouncing on Erin as the boulder picked up speed. When the
lunewulfs
moved, the boulder altered its path and continued coming toward them.

Juan cocked his head, the change freezing inside him, leaving him partially transformed between human and wolf. He struggled out of his pants, underwear and socks, then formed a rope out of his clothing and tied them around his neck.

The two
lunewulfs
looked in his direction. For the first time, they noticed him, looking directly past where Erin sat primly cleaning herself. He glanced at her and she 8

Far From Innocent

glanced sideways to meet his gaze, opening her mouth and panting. The little bitch was laughing at him.

He’d had about enough of this shit.

The boulder raced toward the
lunewulfs
. They managed to jump out of the way at the last minute to prevent being crushed. The large rock crashed into several trees.

Juan allowed the change to fully take over. Dropping to all fours, muscles bulged against growing bones. The world around him changed. Everything grew crisper, clearer. The smell of each tree, the moss growing on the sides of them and the anger and confusion of the werewolves staring at him, coming at him each with their own distinct scent, filled his nostrils. He acknowledged each scent in a fraction of a minute.

Juan roared and leapt at the werewolves. On all fours, he towered over the two male
lunewulfs
. Maybe burning off a little energy would rid him of his aching desire to mount Erin.

She casually stepped out of the way when he made contact with the first
lunewulf
.

Seems you’ve strayed a bit too far out of your territory,
he howled, burying his teeth into fur and flesh, unable to voice the words that he craved to hiss in the male’s face.

The
lunewulf
he’d captured with his mouth growled furiously. It crossed his mind to snap the
lunewulf
’s neck, end this and do more appealing things with his day. But he’d give the
lunewulf
opportunity to come to his senses and realize he couldn’t defeat Juan. He let go of the male. The
lunewulf
rolled over and jumped to his feet, shaking himself furiously. Then, glancing at the other
lunewulf
, the two turned tail and tore over the ground, running faster than Juan cared to try to match. He slowed after a minute, allowing them to escape but howling a warning for them to stay the fuck out of Malta territory.

Juan took a minute to sniff the air, searching for the three injured
lunewulfs
. The rich, sweet smell of so many pines around them made it difficult to pull out their scents.

What he managed to pick up faded the longer he inhaled, and he turned toward Erin.

The little bitch was running back up the mountain. He raced back to where he’d left his clothes. She glanced over her shoulder, and for the first time since he’d stumbled on to her little scene, he smelled fear and worry.

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Lorie O’Clare

Erin Spalto’s heart thudded against her rib cage hard enough to hurt. Damn Juan Anthony for showing up and ruining her fun. Never mind the fact that she shouldn’t have been down by the creek by herself. But hell, it wasn’t like she’d never been there before. She sure as hell could protect herself. Damn pack law and its backass way of looking at single females. If she wanted to be mated right now, she’d be mated.

Well, maybe that wasn’t completely true. It was just the right werewolf hadn’t come along yet.

After dealing with the gazillion chores her older brothers never tired of giving her, just a bit of time on her own was all she asked. Time to sort through her thoughts and figure out what the hell she was going to do with her life. Seemed everyone else had things in order.

Erin didn’t anticipate her life falling into a pretty little picture anytime soon. She didn’t need a slap in the face to know what the pack thought of her—what all single males thought of her. Erin wasn’t the type of bitch a werewolf sought out to be his mate. She was the kind of bitch they sought out for the night.

And it wasn’t that she’d done anything to earn such a reputation. Hell, her littermates kept her under such lock and key, loading her down with errands and chores while they worked to build their den, that she wouldn’t have time to get in trouble if that had been what she wanted to do.

Nope. Erin didn’t run wild. But she looked like she did. And that wasn’t her fault.

Not that she minded how she looked. Her breasts were large and she had more curve to her than a lot of bitches. But she liked looking sexy. It was great having every werewolf sniff her way when she pranced by. The attention rocked. Her spirits lifted when a werewolf showed interest or appreciation for how she looked.

Most of the time, that was enough. Like her littermates would allow her to actually date any of the rogue werewolves who looked her way. And she didn’t mind building their new home. Supplies were limited, and it seemed like it was taking forever. But ever since leaving Malta, life had pretty much sucked. Staying in run-down trailers or motel rooms, never getting to finish school or make new friends had grown old.

Coming here was the opportunity to try again at life. Possibly to once again have a pack, a den of her own.

Those were her thoughts when she’d headed out for some alone time after filleting fish for supper and hanging curtains in her room. The only room in their den so far that had curtains. And for obvious reasons.

She hadn’t planned on smelling out trouble. Usually there wasn’t reason to. No matter her intentions, trouble always found her. She shivered, her human flesh damp 10

Far From Innocent

with sweat and the settling evening air. She fell on her bare ass, hitting the rocky ground hard. She grabbed her socks. Her pussy pulsed between her legs, exposed and growing wetter as the cold air hit her.

She pulled on her socks. Somehow covering that small part of her body helped against the growing chill as the sun slowly disappeared. Next came her sweatshirt, clothing she despised. With her rather large breasts, baggy clothes just made her look fat. But well-fitting clothes, which she preferred, showed off everything she had—

something both of her littermates growled loudly over.

Hidden behind several large rocks, she worked to get her clothes on, sniffing the air while she struggled to come up with a believable explanation for what had just happened. It pissed her off that she had to explain herself at all. Just because she’d wanted downtime, an escape from everything, now she’d have to endure being hauled back to her den like a bad little girl.

It wasn’t her fault the
lunewulfs
found her at the creek.

Erin had no problem giving them the chase they craved. But she’d never been worried. The gift protected her and kept her safe when her pack faced trouble. Granted, the gift also made most werewolves think she was a freak. But she had been so busy playing with the horny assholes, she hadn’t noticed Juan until he was too close. She’d catch more than hell in a handbag for leading the
lunewulfs
on the way she had.

Good little bitches, even those who possessed the gift, didn’t take on five males—

not to tease them or for any other reason.

She fought with her leggings, sticking her legs up in the air so that she could slide the silky material over her bulky socks and up toward her ass. Dimitri and Nicolo would have her ass if they knew she’d left the den wearing them, but her baggy sweatshirt was her compromise. She wouldn’t live in a gunnysack. A branch cracked nearby and she sniffed the air, filling her nostrils with the rich scent of werewolf just as Juan appeared, climbing up the side of the mountain toward her.

Why did it have to be Juan Anthony who found her?

The werewolf was fucking hotter than any other werewolf in her pack. And unmated too.

His dark skin glistened with sweat and his shiny black hair curled at his nape, slightly damp. Blue jeans clung to his muscular legs. Roped muscle shifted under his flannel shirt when he moved in on her. His determined expression was filled with reprimand and something else, something more carnal and dangerous. She swallowed her breath and stared up at him. Her lips parted slightly until they went dry. She quickly wet them with her tongue. His gaze moved to follow the small act.

The only way to handle an alpha male like Juan was to come on strong and quickly gain the upper hand.

“Don’t even think you’re taking me back to my den like some naughty pup.”

“What would you have me do with you then?”

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Lorie O’Clare

She could think of a few things he could do with her. Instead of answering, she let him ponder it for himself.

Erin pulled her leggings up over her ass while he watched. He had thick black lashes that hooded his attentive gaze. Everything about him was dark, mysterious and damned appealing.