“And you haven’t shown you know how to tell the truth.” Sarcasm laced her words—something he found he’d missed immensely.

He preferred any mood of hers over her anger. Smiling, he shook his head. “Don’t change the subject.”

“Fine. I swear I won’t do anything stupid.” She grinned playfully and nudged him with her hip as they walked.

When she smiled at him like that, it was hard to breathe. Her dark hair fell around her face in soft waves, and as his eyes traveled lower he had to bite back a groan. The woman rarely wore a bra and today was no different. It had nearly driven him crazy when they’d first met. He’d quickly realized she hadn’t been doing it to tease him. Though that’s what it felt like sometimes. Her nipples were visible through her sweater and all he could think about was running his tongue over her breasts and of the delicious moans that would come out of her. Tonight he wouldn’t stop there.

His cock strained painfully against his zipper. He needed to get her naked and fast. “Want to go for a run before we head back?” His voice was hoarse but she didn’t seem to notice.

She frowned. “You think we should?”

He shrugged. “That dead wolf isn’t going anywhere and it’s a ways from the property line.”

She bit her bottom lip nervously, and he guessed it was because she’d have to get naked first. He wasn’t sure why it should matter but something told him it did. “I’ll turn around while you shift.”

When she relaxed he knew he’d been right. “There’s a creek about half a mile north of here. It’s probably half-frozen, but we can leave our clothes with the horses and get a quick run in.”

He resisted the urge to turn around as they undressed. Shifters had naturally higher body temperatures, so even though it was cold, it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it would be if they’d been human. Once he was in wolf form, he started to turn around, but Ana nudged him with her nose.

He’d forgotten how small she was. Because she was an alpha, compared to regular wolves and beta shifters she was still bigger, but with brown patches covering her white fur, she was cute and almost unassuming. He knew better, though. While she wasn’t part of the warrior class, she could fight if she needed. And she was fast.

She yipped loudly and nudged him again. Before he could react, she bounded away and raced through the thicket of trees. He followed not far behind. The ground was soft beneath his paws. At least in her shifted form Ana was more at ease with him, and it was refreshing. If he could get her to let her guard down, their mating process would be much smoother. Once—if—they bonded, they should be able to link telepathically in human and wolf forms. Some packs could and some couldn’t. It was just a matter of genetics. He knew her sisters and cousins couldn’t, while his former pack had been able to, and he and his brother still could when they wanted. But bonded mates were different. They could almost always communicate that way.

It scared the shit out of him that she’d be able to read his thoughts freely, but he wanted to claim all of her. His own father had become a shell of a wolf when his mother had died. Some days Connor wondered if that’s why his father had been killed in the attack against their pack a year later. His father had been strong, one of the toughest Alphas of his time, but he’d been easily defeated. Maybe he hadn’t cared enough to fight back. Connor knew that by letting Ana into his head and heart he’d be opening himself up to that kind of pain, but he couldn’t stop himself. The need for her outweighed everything else, even his fear.

When they neared the grassy bed by the creek, he shifted back to his human form. Normally he liked to get in a longer run but his adrenaline was still high and he didn’t want to wait until tonight to see Ana naked. He stretched out on the cold grass and enjoyed her confusion.

She crouched down on her belly and growled softly. He propped up on one elbow and turned to face her. “I want to see you, Ana.”

She actually barked at him. Then she covered her face with her paw.

It took a moment for him to understand what she wanted. “Fine. I’ll turn around.” Rolling over, he turned his back to her while she shifted. Most wolves didn’t care about undergoing the change but Ana was so private about it. Hell, she was private about everything. He hated that she was that way with him too.

“What’s so important that you needed to talk now? It’s freaking cold out here!” He turned to find Ana sitting a few feet away with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Completely blocking everything he wanted to see. Well, almost everything. With her legs in that position he got a nice shot of her—

“Connor!” she snapped.

“It’s not that cold,” he said as he stalked toward her. The wind barely bothered him as he drank in the sight of her. Just looking at her, his blood heated.

Without releasing her grip around her knees, she leaned back a few inches. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I told you I wanted to see you.” As he crouched in front of her, he placed his hands on her arms and pulled them away from her knees.

“Wait. See me, see me? You don’t want to talk about anything?” Her voice slightly shook.

“Talking is the last thing on my mind, love.”

“We’re in the middle of the woods,” she sputtered as he pushed her knees down.

His abdomen clenched as he drank in the sight of her. The flat plane of her stomach was bunched tightly and her nipples were rock-hard points. From the cold or because she was turned on, he couldn’t be sure. The look in her dark eyes was a mix of lust and hesitancy. The erotic combination had him clenching his hands into fists to keep from grabbing her and taking her hard and rough. The way his body demanded.

He skimmed his fingers down her thighs to her knees, then gently pressed them apart. He wanted to see what was his. The scent of her desire hit him with startling intensity. No doubt about it now. The sweet perfume was all the confirmation he needed. There were some things she couldn’t hide. The soft, dark hair covering her mound was trimmed into a perfect strip.

“Connor.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders. For a brief moment her fingers dug into his skin, but then she scrambled away and drew her knees back up, covering herself. “This is crazy. You said you’d give—”

“You time. Yes, I know,” he growled. How much more time does she need? He started to say something else when his brother projected to him.

Connor, get back to the ranch now! Something’s happened to Teresa. We think she’s been poisoned.

He clutched his head at the abrupt intrusion. Why now, of all times? “Shit.”

I’m on my way, he projected to Liam.

Ana raised her eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got to go. Teresa’s hurt.”

She looked around in confusion. “Teresa? What are you talking about?”

“Liam just told me he thinks she’s been poisoned.”

“What do you mean he just told you?” Disbelief laced her words.

“We communicate telepathically.” It’s what had saved his and Liam’s life. His father had warned them away the day he’d been killed.

“In wolf and human form?” Her dark eyebrows rose.

Some related shifters could communicate in their animal form but it was much rarer to do so as a human. Connor’s line had just been genetically blessed. “Yeah.”

“Wow … Did he say anything else about Teresa? Is it serious? What happened?”

“All I know is that we need to get back.”

Without a word Ana turned over and shifted to her animal form. Connor pushed back the acute disappointment that forked through him and the surprise when he noticed a tattoo on her shoulder before doing the same.

He was worried about his packmate, but soon enough he’d get Ana exactly where he wanted her, and nothing was going to stop him.

Chapter 10

Ana clutched Teresa’s chilled, sweaty hand tightly in one of hers and held her cell phone against her ear with the other. “Thank you so much, Doctor … We’ll see you in a few minutes…. No, the gate will be unlocked. Just come to the main house.”

“He’s coming?” Carmen asked as Ana snapped her phone shut.

She nodded. “He’ll be here soon. Luckily he was on his way home from the hospital, so he’s nearby.”

Teresa stirred against the sheets and her eyes flickered open. “What are you all doing in my room?” she muttered.

Ana brushed back a few strands of her cousin’s sweat-soaked hair. “Sweetie, Dr. Graham is on his way. And you’re at the main house now, okay?”

“Doctor? What are you talking about? Don’t need a doctor,” she slurred before her eyes drifted shut.

“Is this what it was like before?” Standing behind her, Connor squeezed Ana’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Ana looked up at him. “Yeah. It started with one, then spread. It moved through the males and the pregnant females like wildfire. Once we realized what was going on we managed to stop the damage, but …” She tore her eyes away. Talking about it brought up too much agony inside her. It had been an unthinkable time. Watching her father and so many of her male cousins die within hours of one another had been awful. Then to see the pregnant females, some in their third trimester, die—that had truly been the hardest thing she’d ever had to watch. She’d never felt so helpless in her life and she hated the feeling. If she hadn’t had her two sisters by her side she didn’t know that she’d have held it together for so long.

Connor sat on the edge of the bed next to her. “What about their blood? Was it ever tested?”

She nodded. “I sent it off to a local clinic that’s shifter friendly, and each sample tested positive for some kind of poisoning.”

“Why didn’t you ask the Council for help? They have doctors.”