“Get off me!” She shouted so loud it hurt his sensitive ears.
Then she lifted her hands that still held the damn shotgun and whacked him on the nose, before scooting out from beneath him. He was surprised at how quickly she moved, and doubly surprised at how fast she managed to grab some shells and reload the gun.
Oh shit. She thought they were rogues and she was going to shoot him at point blank range. Even an Alpha would not survive that. He wondered if he could transform before she fired, her finger already tightening on the trigger. He could see the tension and knew his time was up.
Great. He’d finally found the one person in the universe that was made just for him and she was going to blow his brains out.
Kade lowered his head, locking eyes with hers and pleading with her. He saw her falter, indecision on her face, and then Dara had to go and spoil it by “coming to his rescue” and rushing over, all fangs and bloodied fur.
Damn. Could he not catch a break today or what?
Kade caught a black streak in his peripheral vision a second before the Shepherd they had met in the forest bounced on top of his mate, knocking the gun from her hand. It went off, a loud bang reverberating around them as the woman screamed.
“Leia! What the hell are you doing?”
Leia? She called a magnificent beast like that Leia? Hell, he hoped it wasn’t after the well-known Princess of the same name. Dang, he couldn’t help but snigger, and in his beast form, he guessed it looked odd as his head shook from side to side, his fur rippling along his body.
The dog licked the woman’s face before coming over to Kade, bowing low before him then bouncing up and licking his nose. It was the one, and only time, he would allow any animal to do such a thing. However, it was obvious the dog was his mate’s pet and if his not eating the face of her animal was a step in the right direction, then that is what he would do.
“Leia!” The woman shot to her feet, reaching for her dog. “Come here! What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
Kade decided the time was right to introduce himself, but before he did, he looked around for something to cover himself with. There was not a lot of choice apart from a small backpack. That would have to do. He trotted over then transformed, quickly grabbing the bag and holding it in front of his groin as he raised a hand in greeting.
“Hi, my name’s Kade and this is my land. We found you earlier with a rogue lying on top of you and some others were just about to attack. We . . .”
Her eyes had slowly been taking him in, then landed on his face, when she stomped over, prodding him in the chest. “What did you do to my dog? She never goes to strangers and she sure as hell doesn’t go around licking Wolves.”
Said dog was at that very moment doing just that. Over at Lennox, licking his face and pawing him as if she wanted to play. Kade raised an eyebrow, nodding to the side. Her eyes followed, her face turning scarlet as a blush crept up her throat, then her cheeks.
“See! That’s what I mean. She never does that sort of thing. Have you used some kind of magic spell on her? Tell me now because if you have then I’m telling you right now, release her or I’ll . . . I’ll . . . I’ll kick your arse into next week.”
She looked so angry but adorable and gorgeous at the same time. How was that even possible? Kade had no idea but she did. He saw her eyes lowering to his chest, her face growing even redder before she raised the shotgun and pointed it at him. Again.
“Hey, there’s no need for the gun. We’re not rogues and we’re not here to hurt you. In fact, my men and I rescued you.”
She frowned, skin puckering between her eyes as she glared at him. “Rescued me? I don’t think so. I was doing all right on my own. Well, I think I was. I’m pretty sure I hit two of those filthy animals and I would’ve gotten the rest too.”
“That would’ve been a good trick,” Kade drawled, raising an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You were unconscious and couldn’t breathe because a huge damn Wolf was on top of you, and there were more of them just about to gobble you all up. So, tell me, how were you going to deal with that?”
He saw outrage flitting across her face first, then shock, and lastly realization dawned. That’s when her shoulders dropped, the shotgun lowering as tears sprang into those impossibly green eyes. The urge to go to her surging through him but if the last few minutes were anything to go by, he thought she’d probably shoot his arse. He stepped closer, slowly, lowering his voice as he tried to keep her bag covering his naked groin.
“Hey, I’m just saying that things weren’t as clear cut as you thought. There were other rogues and your pup there had some sense about her. She came, found us, and urged us to come find you. So we did, and we got here just in time. By the way, my name’s Kade and I’m Alpha of the Pack that owns this land. I wish it were under different circumstances but I’m pleased to meet you.”
She switched the safety on before expertly unloading the gun, and then turned those eyes up to meet his. “I’m Kirsty Carmichael, and you’ve already met Leia.”
“She’s beautiful and smart.” Kade saw how much Kirsty loved the Shepherd and thought it would be a good way to break the ice. It worked,
