NocC 003 - The Ancients 02 - Bonnie Vanak - Mated to the Wolf - Harlequin 2011-11 Read Online Free PDF Page B

things. Hell, not now, when the real thing lay in the next room. Instead, he leapt out of bed. Naked he padded down the hallway, opened the guest bedroom door. Beneath a pile of quilts, Samantha lay fast asleep. Her mouth parted slightly, she looked angelic and sweet. Desire punched him hard. Grayson softly closed her door and went to the sunporch overlooking the meadow.
    Clouds scudded across the sky, blotting out light from the nickel-sized moon. The rain had stopped, but a fierce wind stung his body as he stepped outside. He gave a long stretch, the cold sinking deep into his bones. Closing his eyes, he called forth his beast.
    Fur erupted on his skin as his bones lengthened. Grayson howled with the pleasure-pain of the transformation. He was wolf, strong, free and wild. Swaying on all fours, he rocked with the wind, protected from the cold by thick fur. He loped toward the forest, his paws crunching over the frosty grasses. Only as wolf could he escape the past, push away the loneliness snapping at his heels.
    He ran through the woods, trying to eliminate the deep hunger he had for his mate. Snapping at the wind, he leapt into the air.
    A while later, his lust banked as the moon shone bright, he started back for the house. At the forest’s edge, Grayson went still as a delicate scent rode the wind.
    Moonlight splashed over the darkened cabin, glinted off a cap of shining white-blond hair. Samantha. His ears pricked forward as his nostrils flared. There, a shadow among shadows in a splash of gray moonlight.
    In the wake of the storm, the temperature had dropped. In her worn sweater and jeans, she couldn’t last long before hypothermia set in. Then again, her considerable talent at making fire could come in handy. The wolf bared teeth in a canine grin as Grayson padded quietly through the frozen meadow. Strong white and red striations threaded through the dull black of her aura. He sensed her darkness struggling to take over the white light inside her. Her angelic side had a surprising ally—a powerful sexual need pulsing like a lighthouse beacon. The red hadn’t been there when he’d caught her.
    It only awakened when they were alone together in his cabin.
    Grayson trotted a discreet distance behind her. Now he understood why it was so important to become her lover. Another male with less honorable intentions might take her sensuality and use it against her. Then the fear that brought her demon raging to the surface would overcome her and she’d be lost to the white light.
    Samantha had barely reached the end of his long drive when he caught up to her. Before he could shift back, she turned and saw him. Mirrored in her expression was sheer terror. He imagined what she saw…a monstrous wolf with jaws like a steel bear trap, a muscled body that outweighed her times two.
    “Get away from me.” She backed away, fear etching her face.
    Oh shit, fear was not a good thing . The demon liked fear, ate it for supper and grew stronger.
    Flame red glowed in her eyes. Talon erupted from her fingers as her skin grew gray and mottled. A mouthful of serrated teeth showed as she snarled at him.
    Shifting back would put him at a disadvantage. Trying to connect to her telepathically, he found her mind clouded with darkness. Grayson kept trying as her body elongated and shifted into a demoness. She raced forward and attacked.
    A talon raked through his thick fur in a hot, burning slice. Grayson danced out of range, then swayed on all fours as his mind fogged. Focusing his powers, he muted the agony, and shifted.
    The wound was already healing, but hot acid from the venom in her talon raced through his veins. He gritted his teeth against the pain and faced the demonized Samantha, as she raised her talons to strike again. Grayson concentrated his magick to shield against her powers and tackled her to the ground. Naked, he pinned the screaming, writhing demoness. No colors showed in her aura. His fear that he’d lost her for good