Kate stiffened with the couple’s approach, a sudden wariness tingling down her spine as she was pinned beneath black, granite eyes. The man she noticed was as immensely large and abundant of muscle as Ronan, he too wearing a noted black tee. Dark, mahogany hair fell unruly about a face adorned with two to three days growth of stubble, his mouth set in a grim line.

          She averted her eyes to the woman clinging to the man’s arm. She was just as tall as her stony-eyed companion. Her hair, a peculiar shade of red, dispersed her shoulders in a fiery spread. Her eyes, as they settled suspiciously over Kate, were an unworldly pale blue, glinting with a buried secret obscured in that glossy glare.

          Kate straightened in her heels as they inched closer, the tension thickening tenfold as they came forward. Black eyes assessed the length of her, the implication clear as he practically undressed her with that obsidian stare.

          Ronan nudged his head and when he spoke his voice was noticeably rigid, “Von.”

          Black eyes drew away from Kate and for a moment she’d forgotten to breathe.

          “Where did you find this one, Ronan?” the woman purred almost indignantly, eyeing Kate with contempt.

          She was seemingly taken aback the couple’s coldness and somewhat suspicious stares. There was a hushed warning of something unbeknownst to her laced heavily among the air. Whatever it was, she knew she wanted nothing to do with it.

          The man and woman scrutinized her as if some trollop off the corner and she could almost suspect that the red-haired woman was an old flame of Ronan’s? Was that the reason for the woman’s spite and venomous sneer?

          She couldn’t have been more relieved when the valet suddenly appeared, keys in hand. Kate snatched them from the unsuspecting boy and stalked away, not caring whether Ronan followed or not. A few scant moments of being scrutinized by a brute with black eyes and an old harlot of Ronan’s were plenty for her.

          “I have to say your taste for the human female concerns me.” Von said with a hint of ire, “Here of late you’ve been entertaining the weaker species a bit excessively.” He fell silent a moment, his eyes narrowing, “When you should be choosing a mate.”

          Ronan felt his hands curling at his sides, his anger rising and fueled by Von’s gall, “What I do outside the pack shouldn’t concern you, cub.”

          Von’s scowl deepened, “There are others, myself included that will dispute that.”

          Ronan took a step forward, his hands tightly fisted as he surveyed the wolf with a rising anger, “What have you to say then?”

         Von retreated in his retort as he felt Kura’s warning grip about his arm.

        He raised his chin, undaunted, relishing in the provoking of the alpha beast reflected in that metallic glare, “Do you forget that the Bonded Calling is nearly upon you?” black eyes wavered to the female human whose frantic heartbeat carried rapidly to him, her fear fueling his daring all the more, “You waste time frolicking with humans.” He paused, his black eyes flickering back to his alpha, “You know the law. You cannot run the pack without a mate, that being a female of loup-garou.” he grew silent, black eyes sharpening eagerly, “If you fail in doing so, you will be challenged.”

         Ronan took a menacing step closer and hissed ominously beneath his breath, “I dare any to dispute my right as pack leader-“ his eyes flared slate, “-especially you, dog.”

        Von’s face darkened considerably with the warning, “Nico will be pleased.”

        Ronan’s hands fisted at the mention of the beta wolf that accosted him at every turn. Von was by far the least of his worries, the most vexing being Nico Roux. The wolf was threatening to go rogue and would do just about anything to be alpha. On many occasions he and Nico had tussled and spewed blood. The wolf was increasingly becoming a liability to the pack, ever hostile, ever eager to shed innocent blood and risk exposure.

          Nico’s antics couldn’t be tolerated for much longer. He had the pack to consider as well as his turf, and with Nico walking a fine line of revolt, he would potentially coerce the others to follow in his uprising.

         Kura who had all but shrank beneath her mate’s shoulder nudged Von gently, “I’m hungry, darling.”

          Ronan held Von’s gaze, “I will choose a female readily so without your interference.”

          Von huffed something inaudible beneath his breath and with one last heated glare the couple swept past him. He watched them until they vanished inside the restaurant, his anger doubling over, curling like black wisps of smoke as it intensified beneath his seething resolve, recalling the wolf’s leisure perusal of Kate.

          The bastard had eyed her like a slab of meat and the very thought of it implanted a red haze, burning a path of unimaginable rage and an unsuspecting pang of possessiveness.

          It had startled him completely asunder and he quickly dismissed it, pegging the impulse for his mere desire of her. It was somewhat alarming, seeing as how he’d taken many females to his bed and not once had he reacted so defensively. Was it because of the gentleness he sensed in her? The pain she tried so desperately to conceal yet flourished like clear skies in the beauty of her haunted, green eyes – eyes he found more and more captivating.

          He’d taken numerous of women to his bed, all of them being strictly human for to take a female of loup-garou meant to claim her wholeheartedly, body and soul, as ones mate and though he found several of the women in his pack attractive, none of them appealed to him or his wolf in that fiery, bonded way.

          He mused this over. If his intended mate wasn’t of his loup-garou pack, than whose pack did she belong too and where was she? Where was the woman meant to be his, body and soul?

          No wolf could resist the Bonded Call. It was a fiery thread, spun by the sweet tantalizing lure of the moon that bound two souls in the throes of a carnal love deemed impenetrable. Once seized in its heated rapture, a wolf is incapable of resisting its fervor. It wrenched every fathomable, burning desire to the forefront with a wild, delirious flame that only its mate could assuage.

          His wolf had been restless here of late. He could feel his beast succumbing to the heated lure as well as the stirrings of a kindling flame searing beneath the flesh, growing and spreading like wild fire.

          He wasn’t a fool. The Bonded Call was upon him and with every full moon it magnified all the more. His body yearned and ached in ways it hadn’t before with a hunger almost insatiable, its fervid ache nearly intolerable. He felt it taking hold of his sound and mind, igniting a flame that couldn’t be snuffed.

          He had bedded countless women the last several months, more than his usual mundane count, heedless of the Bonded Call and thinking little of it, until recently that is. Something had set to flame its burning captivation. His sex drive was by far at its max, the burn and itch for a woman nearly unbearable.

          He’d heard tales of wolves falling prey to its maddening, all-consuming flame. Having not found a potential mate, they’d gone rogue. If he didn’t choose a female soon he too would be at risk of the same fatality and Nico would jump at the prospect of it and like the sapless cub he is, Von would follow lapping at Nico’s heels.

          His wolf growled in response to that unwelcoming thought, its gnarl ringing in his ears as a seething contempt all but seized him. Nico would never have mastery over his pack. He would ensure it with his death if need be.

          As he slipped in behind the steering wheel he noticed immediately Kate’s silence. It bothered him more than it should and yet he couldn’t seem to utter a word of apology.

          What could he say? He was certain she’d felt the tension. She’d been treated distastefully and for that alone he’d see to thoroughly thrashing Von and Kura.

          It shouldn’t bother him. She was human and typically he didn’t cater to human feelings, just their wanton desires whenever in bed, all other emotional ties were kept aside but somehow her feelings mattered.

          Was it because Kate was unlike most women that occupied his bed? She was quiet, secretive and unaware of her beauty.

          He was prone to women that thrived in their sex appeal and used it to their advantage, as opposed to the woman sitting beside him that hid well within her shell, every bit awkward in her pink heels, yet damn sexy.

          He tried focusing on the stretch of blacktop ahead of him but found it nearly impossible as her alluring scent wafted to his nose.

          She smelled damn good.

          Did she not know the affect she had on him?

          His body burned and ached most uncomfortably, finding little to no relief as he adjusted his weight in his seat. He couldn’t quell the sudden vision that arose to mind, her flat beneath him, the lovely length of her captured in his hands as he spanned every desirable curve, his hands tangling in the wealth of her dark hair.

          He suppressed a groan and glanced over at her. She stared out the window, her mind completely absorbed else where.

          His eyes settled hotly over her mouth and every imaginable desire all but amplified at the thought of staking claim to those sweet lips.

          Though he could think of nothing more but having the lovely Kate in his bed, he had to remind himself that she wasn’t like all the others that frequented his bedroom.

          She wouldn’t slip wantonly into his arms for him to have his carnal way with her. She would most likely refuse him. He felt her fears as if they were his own.

          He had to remember that he practically coerced her into this date which was something he was not accustomed to doing.

         Most women swooned at the sight of him.

          Kate Channing had fled.

          He resisted a grin for if there was one thing the loup-garou relished most it was a chase.

          But it was more than that. He was confounded by his intrigue of her. He wanted to know more than just the simple pleasures of the flesh. He wanted to know her which was most boggling seeing as how the others hadn’t mattered to him.

          It was also dangerous, especially considering the fact that she was human. He’d never bothered with all the others and particularly hadn’t cared. Among his pack, there wasn’t anything wrong with appeasing ones sex drive with a female human, so as long it went no further than a tumble in bed.

          His motto was to bed them and then discard them. It was safer that way for the both of them. If the pack thought for a moment he’d chosen a human as his mate, they’d seek to kill the human and his position as alpha would certainly be afflicted.

          He had never encountered another wolf that had taken a human as his mate, perhaps it was because that wolf never lived to tell the tale. It was also impossible to claim a human as mate; both had to be of loup-garou for the Bonded Call to take hold.

          His intense desire for Kate was merely because she was different than all the others, a challenge deemed enticing at best. She was simply a means to appease his ravenous needs and nothing more.

          It was late when they finally pulled into her driveway. A dull, discernible light filtering from one window of her home marked Julie’s eagerness for her return.

          Kate released a breath she realized she’d been holding and practically stumbled from the car as she got out.

          Smooth, Kate smooth.

          Her nerves were intensely and utterly amok. Ronan unsettled her in a way that was quite alarming. He was every bit the man she was running from and after tonight hoped to never encounter again.

          Not to mention he’s all sex and danger warped into a fine line of muscle. Her subconscious chimed from afar.

          “Thank you.” She muttered in hopes to appear perfectly in control of her composure despite the knotted mess of her nerves as she started for the porch.

She didn’t hear anything but her heels crunching in the gravel yet somehow he’d manage to sneak up behind her.

          He caught her about the waist, one lengthy forearm reeling her sharply against the wall that was his chest. Her heart erupted against her breast as the softness of her all but slammed into the hardness of him, her hands falling instantaneously to sinewy muscle.    A breath hitched wildly in her throat as her eyes clashed with his smoldering, gray stare. She felt his forearm against her back, tightening, crushing her firm to every inch of his solidness. His breaths were even and his heartbeat smooth but she could see his hunger reflected in that steely gaze, burning a path over her.

          She felt immobile, incapable of breaking his hold and if she tried knew it impossible. She felt the strength in that grip, the power he could so easily wield. Her senses were intensely a flutter and she couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought past the immense and unsuspecting rush of exhilaration that consumed her.

          Her chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, the lacey material of her dress catching the cotton of his tee. She felt the leather of his jacket as it brushed her skin and could smell that wild, untamed spice of him as it carried to her senses.

          His gray eyes fastened over her, caressing her with a heated sweep of his gaze as they locked fervently on her lips, the flame in his eyes burnishing a raging glint of heat.

          Her heart leapt as he took hold of her chin, his grip firm yet gentle as his thumb flicked softly over her lower lip.

          Kate knew she should stop him. Ronan was every bit frightening as he was dominating but the feelings he roused in her were most stimulating, unlike anything she’d ever felt. Her skin tingled from head to toe, that forearm at her back making her achingly aware of the hardness of him pressing into her navel.

          She was frightened and her heart threatened to explode from her chest but she knew she was incapable of stopping him and wasn’t so sure she wanted him too.

          His thumb caressed her lip, forcing her mouth to part and a tiny breath escaped her as his head dipped forward and before she could utter a word of protest, his mouth staked claims to hers.

          Her eyes fell closed as something wildly and fiery sparked, setting her skin aflame. His mouth at first brushed sweetly over her lips but a flame stemmed and his kiss deepened, turning fierce with rampant need as he held her chin, his tongue rolled and swept her hungrily.

          His arm crushed her against him and a groan arose deep and coarse from his throat.

          He kissed her with fire and dominion all in one; her willpower faltering beneath his ministrations. She felt a stroke across her collar bone, a butterfly caress that ignited flames anew, his hand whisking like a whispered breeze until wrapping at her nape, his fingers delving the wealth of her hair, tangling and curling about her darken tresses.

          He tugged gently, exposing the creamy length of her throat and he released her mouth only to capture that pulse beating rapidly at her throat, pressing his mouth hot and hungrily to its frantic cadence.

          Kate gasped and she clutched at his broad shoulders as her knees all but buckled from beneath her.

          His arm held her firm as his mouth abandoned that pulse, dipping to the hollow between her neck and shoulder, nipping gently at that enticing flesh.

          Ronan couldn’t get enough of her. He palmed the weight of her hair, its softness slipping through his fingers like spun silk, its texture exactly as he imagined it to be.

          The curves of her body molded perfectly against him, every inch of her small frame fitting almost wholly to every hard line of him.

          He felt her breasts, full and ever inviting, pushing against his chest. It took every bit of his willpower to keep from touching and caressing those soft, enticing mounds.

          Her skin was soft, just as he envisioned. Her lips now swollen from his kiss was just as pliant and sweet, if not more.

          Though he felt her inner struggle to keep her defensive walls intact, she’d melted in his arms which only magnified his lust for her. He had only confirmed that she felt something for him, whether small or something akin to his own.

          His desire and hunger for her blazed like a raging sun. He struggled to maintain his willpower, every inch of him burning to take her.

          He could so easily do so. He had only to release his throbbing part and take her to the ground and rip the dress from her body. He longed to do just that – every carnal beat prompting a maddening flurry of impulses that he meagerly restrained.

          Would she stop him?

          His wolf struggled beneath the surface which took him by surprise. It was restless, growling and snarling in responses to his advances, aching to break the surface. His skin tingled not only with a blazing, profound burn, but the change was upon him and he typically was in full control of his wolf. He felt the pull and tug of the moon as it hovered above his head in the blackened sky.

          Kate was not only in danger of being fully ravished but his wolf yearned to stake its own claim to her.

          This immediately brought him to a standstill. The very fact that his wolf was responding so demandingly was unwarranted and dangerous.

          He pulled back some, his eyes moving over her face recognizing the haze of emotion that veiled her eyes. As the spell lifted, her defenses immediately locked into place. She straightened almost abruptly in his arms, her pale cheeks darkening crimson as she wrenched sharply out of his reach.

          Her eyes now a vibrant, furious green leveled incredulously on him, “How dare you!” she cried with outrage.

          Ronan suppressed a grin for even in all her rage she was damned beautiful. Her mouth pink from his kisses, her face flushed with either the heat that which he kindled or sheer mortification, he cared not. She was the loveliest thing he’d ever set eyes on.

          Unable to resist smirking, his mouth pulled into a teasing smirk, “What bothers you most, sweet Kate, that I kissed you or that you kissed me back?”

          He caught her audible gasp and her shoulders stiffened at the remark, “If you thought for a second that I enjoyed any bit of that, you’re wrong.”

          She reached down and snatched the pink heels from her feet, his eyes inherently caressing the curve of her bottom with a widening grin.

          “Thank you for tonight-“ she snapped, stomping for the porch, “-but I believe we’re even.”

          His eyes followed her all the way inside until a gratifying slam of the door.

          Damn, she was all fire and entrapment.

          As he turned around and started back for the car he tried pushing the remembrance of how she felt beneath his hands and mouth from his heated thoughts. After tonight, Kate Channing was a mere chance encounter of a possible fling. He knew nothing would come of their date, no quick tumble in the sheets, no pleasuring of the other, so with that he reacted on his impulses and seized the one thing he would have.

          A kiss.

          And damn if he hadn’t added fuel to the fire. He was not only further aroused but his throbbing part still surged the seam of his jeans.

          He needed a cold shower and pronto, but there were other pressing needs he needed to tend too, ones that simply couldn’t be doused with icy water.

          His wolf was nearly breaking the surface. He could feel it rising beneath the skin, his body tensing with the forthcoming change.

          Shifting his Nissan into reverse, he backed from Kate’s driveway and drove about a mile down the road before coming to a stop.

         He sat there a moment in the dead silence of the abandoned road with the vivid moon glinting off that smooth blacktop.

        As if lulled by that sliver of moonlight, he opened his door and stepped out into the street. It was then the oppressive calm was disrupted by the sudden ominous snap and crack of bone as he all but succumbed to his inner beast.

**********