“I vote for skipping it.”

“Of course you do. You have no patience.”

“So?” she snapped.

He chuckled and meshed his fingers with hers as he led her out of the movie theater. As he made his way to the car, he passed two of the Nazi’s wolves waiting in a vehicle: his bodyguards. He gave them a wave, which made them roll their eyes—they didn’t seem to like him much as he always insisted on losing them.

A few car spaces away from them were two of the human extremists in a white van. So Nick gave them a wave too, which made their faces turn interesting shades of purple. Derren, who was waiting in his SUV near Nick’s Mercedes, had his window down and was talking with the rebels.

Shaya shook her head. “If they weren’t so dangerous, it would actually be funny the way all three groups are watching you like this. Particularly since you have absolutely no interest in bothering any of them.”

“Yeah, ironic.” As Nick arrived at his car, the rebels turned studious gazes his way and nodded in greeting. Nick returned the nod before sighing at Derren. “Why are you still following me when I fired you again earlier?”

“I just wanted to park up and admire the evening sky.”

Rolling his eyes, Nick urged Shaya into the car.

“The rebels want to introduce themselves,” announced Derren. Turning his focus to the three males, Nick waited.

“I’m Jesse”—the well-built male with dark eyes and stubble for hair was clearly the leader of the three—“this is Bracken”—a tall male with playful eyes and an equally playful smile nodded at Nick—“and this is Zander.” The blond, athletically built male gave a slight incline of his head.

“I’m not interested in trying to take over here, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Yeah, we noticed you haven’t joined Hadley,” said Jesse. Quietly—most likely because the human extremists were close by—he added, “He believes the humans are running a game preserve where they hunt shifters.”

Nick also kept his voice quiet. “I know, he told me.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Yes. You should be careful that you aren’t the next shifters to be taken.”

Jesse exchanged a look with the others. “We aren’t sure we can trust him.”

“I can’t vouch for his nature; I don’t know him. But I do believe he’s being honest about the game preserve. In any case, you guys need to watch your back, because if Hadley’s not after you, the humans will be.” Finally, the three males nodded and walked away. As Nick went to hop into the driver’s seat, he asked Derren, “Do you think they’ll stop hovering around us now?”

Smiling, Derren shook his head. “You really don’t know why they linger?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t ask.”

“They see you and all the power radiating off you, and they’re drawn to you, just like their wolves are. You could provide them with the guidance and direction they need, and they sense that.”

“I’m not here to form a pack. I’m here for Shaya.”

“I know that, and I’ve explained it to them.”

“Good.” Nick slid into the car and was just about to close the door when Derren spoke again.

“Have fun.”

Nick grinned. He’d be having all kinds of fun.

Neither he nor Shaya said a word during the journey to her home. Anticipation built inside him and licked over the surface of his entire body. Shaya’s own anticipation was like a buzz in the air, seducing his wolf with its intensity. The scents of their arousal filled the car, which suddenly felt much smaller than it was. As such, it was a relief to finally get out of it.

Having helped Shaya out of the car, he let her take the lead as they advanced up the path. When she unlocked the front door and held it open for him, he paused. “Be sure that you want this, Shay. Be absolutely positive. I can hold off on claiming you until you’re ready…but if I walk through that door, I am going to f**k you. Not soft and slow, but hard and deep. Over and over, until neither of us can move. Are you ready for that?”

He hoped to God that the extent of his dominance didn’t unnerve her because he was who he was, and he truly didn’t know how to tone it down. He half-expected her to fidget nervously, considering his words. What she did instead was shoot him a sexy grin and stroll inside, leaving the door wide open in invitation. That was all Nick needed.

Shaya was a calm, practical female who was not reduced to being tongue-tied and shaky at just a guy’s presence. But as she and Nick stood in the hallway like two cowboys about to have a showdown, it was exactly what happened. His intensity and power wrapped around her like a cloak—not just his power as an alpha, but his masculine power. It seized and overwhelmed both her body and her mind, and she felt totally captivated by it and by him.

Shaya’s need to have him and be taken by him was primal and potent, making it hard to keep her breathing even and her hands steady. Her mouth was suddenly bone-dry, and her heart was pounding. He hadn’t even touched her, and yet she felt owned at the possessiveness now blazing from his eyes. Then he spoke, and his even, deep, authoritative tone made her and her wolf snap to total attention.

“Come here. Last night, I pounced on you. This time, I want you to come to me.”

And she had every intention of doing just that, but she also wanted to test him, wanted to see exactly how much she could get away with. It was in her nature to push boundaries.

“Shay,” he drawled warningly. “Come to me. Show me this is what you want. Show me you can handle this.” Pride filled him when she straightened her spine before coming toward him. When she was finally before him, she boldly met his gaze. “Very good.”

The drive to possess her in every way had him wanting to hungrily ravish her again. The only thing that kept it in check was that, having waited so long for this, he wanted to savor every minute. He wanted to familiarize himself with every inch of this body that had been made for him. He could sense that Shaya, on the other hand, was too highly strung to last through the savoring. She needed the edge taken off.

When his hands roughly slid into Shaya’s hair and he licked along the seam of her mouth, she gladly opened for him. Immediately his tongue delved inside and he groaned. He didn’t coax a response from her, he took it. Took it with the confidence of a guy who owned his sexuality and knew exactly what he wanted and just how to get it. Took it like no other guy had come close to doing before now.