“Let’s not talk about him anymore tonight,” he said.
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
They entered their private bedroom and David kicked the door closed with his boot. “Expanding the pack by other means.”
“What means?”
He raised a brow, then tugged off his shirt, displaying his perfectly chiseled torso. His shoulders were broad and she craved to sink her fangs into the corded muscle. “You want some pups, do you? I wonder if we’ll argue about parenting, too?”
“I don’t want to argue with you, David.”
He cupped her face and kissed her lips, just once. “You want our kids to be vegan, is that it?”
“No, they can be anything they want to be. I just don’t like your wolf doubting me.”
He walked her backward until her legs hit the mattress. “If my memory serves me correctly, you were ready to rip that girl at the gas station to shreds just for talking to me.”
“She was a whore.”
“Your wolf is no different than mine. Admit it.” He cupped her ass, pulling her against his erection. She gasped, looking up into his eyes.
“Okay, but you can’t scare away every potential pack member. As long as he behaves, please give him a chance.”
“Whatever you want, baby.” He nuzzled her neck, and she closed her eyes, needing him all over her, filling her with his cock.
He cupped her pussy with his palm and she sank down into his touch. “Yes…”
Several horns honked outside.
David pulled away from her, leaving her breathless. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He rushed out of the room in just his jeans.
They were strangers, outsiders. When she looked closer and scented the men in the trucks, she recognized them from the pit fight.
“What the fuck is going on here? This is private property,” Caleb shouted to the men who’d exited their trucks. There were five of them and two pick-ups.
“We tracked some rabid wolves. The ping ends right here. They’re around here somewhere. None of you are safe.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but you’d be wise to move on. We can take care of ourselves.”
“We just need to take a look around. These beasts cost us a lot of money and did quite a bit of damage.”
“Does it look like there are dangerous wolves around here?”
Reese and Benjamin joined them. Her uncle crossed his arms over his chest. The hunters started to back down.
“These wolves are different. And we will get them back.”
“Oh, they’re pets now?” Caleb said.
“We know they’re here,” said the hunter as he backed away toward his truck.
Heather didn’t like this at all. Who were they talking about? How had they tracked them to their home? She hated their stench on their own turf. Her nerves were frayed.
“What was that about?” Reese asked.
“Maybe we should ask our new pack member,” Caleb said.
Chapter Eleven
David knew deep down in his soul he wasn’t in an unbiased position when it came to their latest member, Maddox. He wanted the first available chance to kill him, to tear his throat out, and to end this antsy feeling deep within him. Caleb took the lead of the group, walking them toward the back of the house, near the barn, where he saw Maddox sitting on the ground, staring up at the sky.
His legs were crossed, and after one inhale, David knew the man was crying.
“It’s so beautiful, you know,” Maddox said.
They all stayed perfectly still as Maddox stared up at the sky.
“What’s going on?” Reese asked.
“I was captured a couple of months ago by those bastard hunters. That was the worst fucking day of my life. They didn’t have a single clue that I was a shifter. Why would they? I’d been running for four days straight in an attempt to rid myself of the loneliness and despair that crawls on my skin near every full moon. The memory of being forgotten still haunts me. Each night as I stared up through the bars of my cage at the ceiling, knowing the moon was taking on another cycle, I promised myself I would never let another day go by when I didn’t take the time to admire it. To bask in all the glory of what a full moon really means to experience.” He released a gasp. “I know the full moon will be here with us soon and it will be the first one I’ve seen in a long time.”
“Do you know why those men came?” Caleb asked.
Maddox stood and turned. “No, but I’ve got a good guess.”
“What?” David asked. “Are you working with them? Do you have some kind of deal with them? You got part of the money for every single shifter you chased away?”
Maddox burst out laughing. “You really think that I would work with those scum?” He spat on the ground. “They starved me. Left me thirsty. I’m not working for any human. I’ve never trusted them.”