Page 3 of The Mating Need
Troy bristled. “I can show you how much wolf Iam.”
“We don’t need your kind around here, freak,” the drunk toldhim.
Troy’s guts churned with a mixture of anger and grief. He struggled with his temper, the temper that always got him introuble.
Did anyone need him around? What was hiskind?
The kind that doesn’t belonganywhere.
He heard all too familiar sound – the same kind made the day his father told him they were leaving, but he was not going with them. If he tried, he’d besorry.
“Get the hell out of here.” The bartender showed him the business side of ashotgun.
Troy got the message, dumped some bills on the bar, and picked up his duffel. He headed for theexit.
Rain splattered on the sidewalk as he trudged along, ignoring the wetness down his neck, leaking past his sheepskin jacket, wetting his shirt. Worse things than getting wet and beingcold.
As he started to pass a dark alleyway, he heard a cry. Troy stiffened. None of his business. He’d already done his good deed for tonight.Can’t getinvolved.
But the same protective urges that got him into trouble before wouldn’t let him take a step further away. Instead, he headed into thealley.
Dim light leeching out from a second story window showed exactly the reason for the cry. A female, petite, her shirt torn and exposing one pale breast, struggled against three humans holding her captive. Skins, his kind called them. One kissed her neck as he held her long braid, jerking her head back. A fourth stood a little ways off watching, unzipping his pants, massaging hisjunk.
Damnit. Rape was not happening on his watch. His hackles rising, Troy dropped his duffel, ready to tear into thebastards.
Growling a little, he advanced towardthem.
Suddenly the girl’s hands were … glowing? Fuck yeah, they glowed white. Not only her hands, but her eyes turned white as if lit from within. She flung out her hands and all three Skins sailed through the air, hitting the brick wall behindthem.
Troy grinned. Good foryou.
To his surprise, she growled low and shifted into awolf.
Well damn, how about that? Another Lupine who had more than Lupinepowers.
One Skin shrieked as the wolf pounced, tearing at his leg. The other two ran to the end of the alley and were trapped. The wolf dealt with them next, tearing into their legs, incapacitating them. A hot copper smell, blood, filled thealleyway.
The watching Skin dropped his hand, his erection fading as if someone dumped ice water over him. Troy grinned again. In a few strides, he was at the man’sside.
Troy throat punched him. Perv Guy tumbled down like dead weight. For good measure, Troy kicked him in the balls. The man screamed, andfainted.
The wolf bounded over to him,growling.
He backed up, held up his hands. “Easy girl. I’m on your side. I intend noharm.”
Showing her teeth, the wolf stared athim.
Troy gentled his voice, making it low and soothing. A former lover used to call it his persuasive tone that could sweet talk the most celibate woman into ripping off her clothes climbing into his bed. He didn’t use it for sex often. Didn’t have to, not when women were willing to be his bedpartners.
On the road he used to calm volatile situations, or in this case, a volatilewolf.
“I know you’re scared. I can smell your fear. If you get into human skin, I can help you. You can’t be a wolf in the city. Too many Skins. They’ll want to haul you to animal control or worse. Like shootyou.”
She shifted back, a swirling mass of incredible colors accommodating her shift before he could even blink. Whoa. He’d never seen a Lupine shift back into Skin sofast.
Troy pushed a hank of wet hair out of his face as she clothed herself throughmagick.
Young, early twenties. Big blue eyes, wet black hair hanging in a thick braid down her back, a vulnerable look to her, like a lostlamb.
