The warning had been delivered in such a soft, sensual, velvety voice that a tremor rippled through Shaya. She hated knowing he’d feel her need for him.

Returning her to the sofa, Nick looked down into Shaya’s snarling face and sighed inwardly. She was beyond pissed, which was the last thing he wanted. Conscious of the blood trickling down his forehead, he snatched a tissue from the box on the coffee table and used it to stanch the flow.

Realizing she was scowling at him, Shaya lowered her eyes—a submissive wolf wouldn’t be able to hold an angry dominant’s powerful gaze for very long. However, she wasn’t an average submissive. There were things about her that many people didn’t know. But as she had no wish to tell him, she forced herself to look away. “You’ll regret this, Beavis.”

“I’ll remember to watch my back,” he said with a smile.

“Oh no. When I come at you, I’ll come at you from the front.”

Her sassy response made his smile widen. “That’s my girl.” Sitting on the armchair again, he watched as she struggled against the cuffs. Sighing, he dug out the key from his pocket and unlocked them. At her suspicious look, he shrugged. “I think at this point you’re as tired of all the running around as I am…although it was fun to chase and spank you.”

“Had you honestly expected me to be quiet and compliant like a good little girl? I might be submissive, but I’m not a pushover.”

“Oh, you’re definitely not a pushover,” he agreed. “I never, for even one minute, thought that you were.” She had the strength of will to match any dominant female, to match his.

“You can’t ignore me for months and then expect me to welcome you with open arms.”

“I didn’t ignore you—”

“You didn’t even look at me, let alone speak to me or—”

“Because I didn’t trust myself not to pick you up and carry you off.” He sighed. “You’re not dumb, Shay. You know that your being submissive is a problem. If the situation was reversed and claiming me would put me in danger, what would you have done?”

“Talked to you. I’d have talked to you and explained how I felt. If I hadn’t thought that there was a way I could be with you, I’d have given you the space to live your life, but you couldn’t even give me that.”

He arched a brow. “Are you going to tell me that you’re not feeling the same pull as I am? That your wolf isn’t hounding you? That the urge to mate isn’t close to controlling you? I can see you shaking with it, Shay. So don’t make out like staying away from you should be simple for me. It never was.” He inhaled deeply, wanting that scent he’d missed to be nestled deep in his lungs. God, she smelled like the ocean, fresh crisp air, and home. He had to fist his hands to keep from touching her. It was painful to resist.

He took a calming breath, inhaling deeply again. And that was when he smelled it—her arousal. It was the sweetest smell that seemed designed to torture both him and his wolf. He wanted to find out if her taste was just as alluring. His wolf was clawing at him, growling at his lack of action, at not claiming what was theirs.

“My name is Shaya. And yes, I do feel that same pull. Yes, the urges are a pain in the ass. And that’s exactly why you’re here—for the wrong reasons. Not because you truly want me, but because your wolf’s pushing you too hard and the urges are bugging you too much. Well that’s not good enough for me.”

“I stepped down from Alpha.”

She was so startled she couldn’t speak for a few seconds. “What?”

“My old Beta is now Alpha.”

She’d met his old Beta a few times, sensed his very dominant wolf, and she’d sensed something else too—extremely dominant or not, Jon was nowhere near as powerful as Nick. She wasn’t sure whether or not he was lying about having stepped down from Alpha, but she knew one thing: “Your wolf wouldn’t be able to take orders from someone less powerful than he is—he wouldn’t obey him. Plus, everyone in your pack would still see you as the person to go to and answer to because you’re more powerful than Jon.”

“I know. That’s why I left.”

She gawked. “What?”

He spread his arms wide before crossing them behind his head and leaning back in his seat. “I’m now a lone wolf.”

Her mouth bobbed open and closed a few times. What he’d done wasn’t by any means a small thing. Not that she believed Nick had ever or would ever actually need anyone, but to be without a pack or territory or the social contact provided by a pack would be hard as all shit for any shifter. If Shaya hadn’t been half human, she was pretty sure the lone-wolf lifestyle would have been too much for her to handle. As it was, she found it pretty difficult, but that wasn’t so much to do with her shifter side as it was to do with her issue with being alone. “But…why?”

“Because if being Alpha means I can’t have you, then I don’t want the position. You’re what I want.”

Struggling to think clearly, she got to her feet and began to pace. She honestly didn’t know what to say, what to do. Here he was, claiming to have made some major changes to his life just for her. Hell, he’d left his pack, his family, his territory, and his position behind! She would have been impressed, but it made no sense. If she had really been so important to him, he would have done this in the very beginning…which made her wonder if this was nothing more than a grand gesture. Even if he truly intended to never return to his pack, she very much doubted that it would work for him or his wolf. It would only be a matter of time before the urge to go back became too much.

He rose from the chair and went to her. “Come back to California with me. I don’t have to tell you how dangerous it is to be a lone shifter right now—the human extremists are making themselves a huge problem. So if you want to return to the Phoenix Pack, fine, I’ll go with you. I won’t lie—obeying Trey would be hard because I’m as powerful as he is, but as he’s not weaker than me, it could still work. Come with me.”

Shaya looked at the hand he held out to her and swallowed hard. She could admit to herself that the temptation to go with him was like nothing she’d ever felt. Six months ago, she’d have given anything to hear those words. But not now. It was too late; betrayal still sat like lead in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head. “You walked away from me.”