Destined for Harmony (2 page)

He smiled.
She was good and pinned. “Yield, little hellcat. I think we know who won.”

She struggled against
him, her face reddening with exertion.

“Come on, you lost. B
ut you put up a good fight. I’m impressed.”

Her body
froze except for rapid rise and fall of her chest. His gaze locked on her breasts, noticing how perfectly sized they were for his hands.

“You like hurting women
, don’t you?”

That snapped him out of his daze.
Fury built in his chest and he didn’t hide it. “Excuse me?”

“You get off on it.”

He lowered his head so they were nose-to-nose. His lips formed a snarl and he bared his teeth. “I do
not
hurt women.”

“You’re hurting me now.”

He blinked then released her as if he were touching a flame. He opened his mouth to apologize but she sat up and slammed both elbows into his chest. Next thing he knew, the clever girl had the pointy end of a dagger at his neck. And the little witch nicked him with it.

Her mouth turned up in a lopsided grin.
“Sucker.”

She sheathed the knife in her belt
and pushed him. He was too stunned to stop her. Gathering his wits – and his pride, which lay crippled on the ground – he watched her saunter away.

Her firm ass was just too tempting in the
form-fitting khaki ranger uniform – and she was sassy enough to deserve it – so he jumped up and slapped her backside.

Sh
e spun around and fixed him with an icy glare. But her twitching lips betrayed the offended front she tried to maintain. “That was a cheap shot.”

“You deserved it.” Femin
ine pride be damned, he didn’t regret touching that fine ass.

He waited, more eager than he’d like, for her response. After
a cold, calculating stare, she spun back around and tossed over her shoulder, “Let me know when you get a schedule for our training settled.”

And she
walked away. Though he’d never felt so disrespected and frustrated, he couldn’t seem to wipe a ridiculous grin off his face.

The new moon called to Harmony like it did most werewolves. Her mind swirled with images of bounding across the meadows of the mountain valley. She shuddered at the chill in the air, but it didn’t stop her from stripping bare on the front porch of her cabin and shifting to her most primal form. A small, sandy-colored wolf.

Sprinting across camp and through the woods, she caught up with her
friends, Darla and Monica. They raced together through the tall grass under the starry sky. She relished the fresh mountain air, even if it was a little chilly. Her thick coat protected her and running pushed warm blood through her veins. There weren’t many women left who could shift to their wolf form. When a werewolf became pregnant, she lost the ability to shift forever in order to keep the baby safe in her womb.

Harmony would never
choose to lose her wolf. She loved the wild edge it gave her as she ran off the stress of the last month. When she found a mate –
if
she found a mate – he would understand and accept her need for this primitive freedom.

She stilled when she caught the dangerous scent.
Blood. Vampire.

Nose to the wind
, she followed it cautiously, knowing she was still a safe distance away from the source. Vampires in their territory were dangerous. They preyed on the natural wolf population. The wolves’ blood, for some reason, had an addictive effect on vampires – it made them stronger and gave them a high they couldn’t find elsewhere. The Northwest pack had been protecting the grey wolf population for centuries, fronting as forest rangers.

If va
mpires were near, the pack needed to know where they were hiding. Harmony searched for her friends, but they’d left her behind. She was alone. The scent was strong and she couldn’t waste the opportunity to follow it. Plus, the council couldn’t keep writing her off if she proved herself as an asset. And she was no novice when it came to hunting vampires. So she slipped into the thick trees surrounding the meadow.

Her nose led her to a wide stream
where the scent died. It was too deep to cross in wolf form. She contemplated shifting, but crossing the cold river naked in October was suicide. She may not have the best judgment, but she wasn’t stupid. And she didn’t have a death wish.

She turned around to head back to the meadow
then froze when she spotted the black wolf staring at her. Dangerous steel blue eyes withered her with a you’re-in-deep-shit look. If she was human, she’d have sighed. She knew that look all too well, having been on the receiving end since joining the pack only a year ago. It wasn’t her fault. She’d been raised outside pack hierarchy. The adjustment from her liberal, rule-free upbringing was difficult, to say the least.

A whiff of the air and she withered further. The wolf glaring daggers at her was none other than the pack beta she’d sparred wit
h a few days ago, Sorin. Had he been spying on her?

Before their disagreement, she’d admired him. Her wolf instincts perked up in the presence of any strong, masculine figure –
a natural urge to mate with a man who could protect and provide. Though the human woman in her scoffed, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him, even if he was a barbaric, sexist, arrogant jerk.

The black wolf
inclined his head in the direction of camp then growled. Yeah, yeah, she got the message – get your ass out of trouble, young lady. Granted she wasn’t centuries old like many werewolves, but she wasn’t a child either. She’d just recently hit her prime at twenty six and stopped aging.

She started forw
ard then halted when the wolf jumped into her path. They stared at one another for a long, uncomfortable moment. If he thought she would belly-up for him, he was barking up the wrong tree. She’d been told she had more guts than sense. It would probably cost her, but she remained standing, averting her eyes, but still on her feet.

Fina
lly, he bit her muzzle. Hard enough to shock her, but not hurt her. It was so very wolfy. She had the urge to bite him back but even she knew better.

Chagrined
by the chastisement, she trudged toward camp. Sorin escorted her the whole way. She wished he were in better spirits. She sorely needed some fun and would’ve loved a race. But with his current mood, he’d probably assume it was a challenge and bite her again once he caught her. If he could catch her. The temptation to find out was almost too much.

As if he could read her thoughts, he growled.
What now? He nudged her side and she realized she’d walked right by the trail to camp. She changed directions and plodded the rest of the way, feeling like a criminal with Sorin watchful behind her. He even walked her to her cabin and sat down at the bottom of the stairs. If he thought she’d shift naked in front of him, he was out of his wolfy mind.

S
he waited for him to leave. He didn’t budge. She growled. He growled back.

Werewolves weren’t modest creatures,
having grown used to shifting in front of each other frequently, but something about being naked here and now, in front of Sorin, made her feel especially vulnerable.

But
unless she planned to stay furry all night, it appeared she had no choice. A cold ripple swept through her body as her muscles bent and flexed and she stood human again. She spun around and pulled on her jeans and sweatshirt as fast as she could.

“Could you at least turn around?”

He just stared.

Dressed and slightly warmer
she reached for the doorknob to the cabin. A growl made her turn around again. He glared at the porch chair then back at her. A lower, fiercer growl erupted when she didn’t respond.

He wanted her to sit in the chair. With a sig
h, she obeyed.

“I’ve never seen a wolf manage to sound so bossy,” she told him.
When he continued to stare, she snapped, “I’m sitting in the chair! Isn’t that what you wanted?”

He grunted at her tone
then sauntered slowly into the woods. She pulled on the socks she’d left under the chair then tucked her feet under bottom. Suddenly concerned with her appearance, she smoothed her hair into a messy bun with an elastic from her pocket. When small tendrils fell out in the front, she blew out an exasperated breath.

“Oh, why bother?” It wasn’t as if she was trying to impress anyone.

Stuck outside on a chilly night, waiting for him to return and scold her was annoying. Who did he think he was anyway? Well, beta of the pack. But he’d never paid attention to her before. Why now?

F
ive minutes later, Sorin emerged from the trees, dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting black t-shirt. She’d noticed his muscles when they’d sparred, but then he’d been on top of her – she’d hardly had time to appreciate such things. Things she could appreciate now, like the way his eyes sparkled with anger and sent shivers down her spine. Or that his jet black hair swept back from his face accentuated his chiseled jaw covered with a five o’clock shadow she suddenly wanted to rub her cheek against.

She sh
ook her head, erasing the images. “You bit me,” she accused when he ascended the stairs.

Not an ounce of repent
ance showed on his face. “You deserved more than a nip on the nose, little girl.”

There was nothing worse than being talked down to. Her parents
had raised her better than to allow that. She stood up, needing to feel taller. “Stop calling me that. I’m not a child.”

His gaze swept over her body, lingering a m
oment on her breasts. He exhaled a deep breath. “What were you doing out there?”

“Running,
just like everyone else.” Her gaze darted to the other cabins, looking for someone to corroborate her story.

He shifte
d his body so he blocked her view. “Why were you following the vampire’s scent?”

S
he swallowed hard. Shit. He knew. The floor seemed like an appropriate thing to look at just then.

“Harmony.”
His low voice, dark and dangerous, weakened her knees. “Look at me.”

Slowly
, she lifted her head. He had a beautiful face. Too bad he could be such a prick. What a waste of hotness.

Sorin
peered down at her. “Have you done that kind of thing before?”

Technical
ly, no. She’d never run as a wolf, detected a vampire scent, and followed it alone. But she’d certainly done other things regarding vampires that he wouldn’t approve of. Considering it was safer, she chose to stick with a loose version of the truth. “No. I haven’t.”

His ey
es narrowed. She tried to tame the pounding of her heart, but it was difficult when he stood so close. His pinewood scent wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

Maybe he was satisfied with her half-truth
, or maybe he just wanted to get on with other lines of questioning, but he nodded and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re never to do that again, do you understand?”

His tone of voice mixed with t
he command chafed. “Why?”

His brows quirked.
“Why? It’s not safe, you ridiculous, careless girl.”

She
pursed her lips, holding back a string of profanities she’d like to scream. “You seem to be taking an excessive interest in my extracurricular activities lately. Is there a reason?”

“
I could name you at least a dozen. Foremost, one of my duties is to keep the pack safe. And you have proven to be a paradigm of bad judgment. And I have a feeling you’re not telling me the whole truth regarding your ‘extracurricular activities’.” He stepped closer, crowding her against the cabin wall. His eyes blazed with fire. “What were you thinking, hunting a vampire alone?”

If she didn’t know any better, she’d ha
ve thought he actually cared about her.

“If you ever do that again, so help me –”

“I wasn’t hunting it.”

“
Really?” He backed away and she could breathe again.

“I was just….following it.
To bring information back to the pack about its location.” She forced herself not to fumble with her hands and show her nerves. “I wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed it.”

“
That’s not for you to worry about.” He stepped toward her again.

Laughter bubbled
up in her throat. She felt like she was in a square dance. Step back, step forward. And, one, two, three…

“Do you think this is funny?”

She shook her head. “No. Sorry. I was….remembering a joke someone told me.”

His lips formed a tight line.
“Who taught you this blatant disrespect for authority? Who are your parents?”

“You wouldn’t know them. They’re not pack.”

“Who’s pack then?”

“None.”