Scent of a Wolf's Mate (9 page)

“It’s not a very big place. You’ll have two
assistants, Ellie and Patrick, to help you with surgeries and to
keep the place clean. Right now your only patient is a bald eagle,
but you should be able to release her back into the wild by the end
of the week.”

“A bald eagle!” Serena couldn’t contain her
excitement. “I got to work with one during my internship. They’re
magnificent.”

“Yes, they are.” The look Connor gave Serena
spoke volumes. His gaze made a hasty sweep over her appearance
before he turned his attention back to the road. “You look
magnificent in that dress.”

“Thank you.” His husky compliment sent a
thrill down Serena’s spine.

She knew the short sleeved, light grey
sweater dress with the scooped neckline fit her curves like a
glove. Usually she wore black leggings under it, but had decided to
forego them that evening in favor of her black knee-high boots. She
hadn’t packed with the thought in mind that she’d need anything
dressy, yet she knew the simple elegance of her attire would go
great for any occasion. Once Serena had accepted the job at the
sanctuary she’d put everything else she owned in storage, deciding
that she’d send for what she needed if the job worked out.

As they were traveling down a long driveway a
large house came into view. It was a rustic two-story structure
with a wraparound porch, a huge stone fireplace on the side, and a
large picture window at the front. As Connor followed the circular
drive, the headlights of his Hummer showed several sets of glowing
eyes in the distant field beyond the house.

Serena caught her breath, looking at Connor
as he switched off the engine. “There must be a dozen or so animals
out there. Are they–”

His chuckle of amusement gave Serena her
answer before she got her question out. “They’re wolves, baby.” He
opened his door, exited the vehicle, and walked around to her side,
opening her door. “It’s okay, the only one who bites is me.”

Serena took the hand he offered, letting
Connor pull her off the seat. He closed the door behind her, then
caught her by surprise when he pushed her up against it with his
body.

“I need a bite now,” he grumbled, taking her
lips with his. His kiss was hot and needy, his lips moving over her
mouth until she let his tongue slip between her lips. They both
moaned.

Wolves howled in the distance, causing Connor
to smile against Serena’s mouth. He gently took her bottom lip
between his teeth, giving it a tug. Her breath caught, her nipples
turned hard, and her pussy began to buzz. His hands glided around
her body to cup her bottom, and he pulled her up sharply against
his cock.

“You make me so damned hot,” he whispered
into the night.

“What do you think you do to me?” Serena
asked softly. “Until you the most important thing in my life was my
work. Now all I want to do is…” She stopped abruptly.

Connor thrust his hard-on against her. “Say
it,” he demanded with a low growl. “I want to hear the words on
your pretty lips.”

Serena laughed nervously. “All I want to do
is fuck you.” She ended the comment with a breathy whisper.

Connor lost control and kissed her roughly,
grinding his cock against her. The sound of wolves could be heard,
getting closer, but Serena wasn’t afraid. She felt safe with
Connor, and instinct told her that the wolves weren’t a threat.

“Damn!” Connor swore, pulling away and
leaning his forehead against hers. “You’ve got me so messed up
inside.”

“Hey, you two!” A laughing female voice
called out from the front door. “Are you coming inside or do you
want us to bring dinner out to you?”

Connor chuckled, kissed Serena on the nose,
and pulled back with a sigh. “We’ll finish this later.” He took her
by the hand and turned toward the house.

Serena’s first impression of Rose, as she
stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and a knowing smile on
her face, was that she looked like an angel. The light she was
standing beneath cast a halo type glow over her platinum locks and
pale complexion. Serena wasn’t able to see her face clearly until
they were closer, and then she was able to see how truly beautiful
Rose was.

She had a pixie look about her, very petite,
but curvy, in an elegant one-piece jumpsuit. The welcoming smile on
her face revealed dimples at the corners of her full mouth, and a
flickering twinkle in her blue eyes.

Brief introductions were made, and then they
were walking into a warm house filled with the teasing aroma of
something delicious. “Serena, I wasn’t sure if you were a meat
eater or not so I made meatless lasagna.”

Serena was thankful of her consideration.
“That was very nice of you. I am a vegetarian, but I do eat fish.”
She didn’t miss the amused glances exchanged between Max and
Connor. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Nope, everything is done. Should we enjoy a
glass of wine before dinner?” Rose asked. She was tiny next to
Max.

“How about you ladies enjoy some wine while
we boys have a glass of something stronger?”

“I like the sound of that,” Connor added.

He and Max went straight to a corner bar,
while Rose led Serena to the sofa. “You have a beautiful
place.”

Rose laughed as she sat down. “Thank you. I
can’t take the credit, most of it was done before I came into the
picture. This was Max’s family home.”

“Here you go ladies.” Max handed them each a
glass of wine. “We should probably eat soon if Connor and I are
going to have time for a run.”

“Yeah, it’s bad enough we’re not going to
have any meat for dinner. Don’t want to miss running with the
others,” Connor joked.

“I saw them out there.” Rose took a sip of
her wine. “They’ll wait.”

Serena sensed that they weren’t talking about
jogging. Her gaze lingered on Connor as he drank from a tumbler.
God, the man was dangerously sexy! His jeans were just tight enough
to show the outline of his muscular thighs, and taut backside. His
pullover sweater looked as though it had been poured over his hard
body.

He gave her a smile and a wink when their
gazes met. She smiled in response and then teased him by wetting
her lips with the tip of her tongue. Connor’s grin disappeared and
his eyes darkened as they narrowed on her mouth.

“I don’t know how much longer Connor can
wait.” Max’s joking tone held a grain of truth to it. Serena
couldn’t help but notice the amused look the two men exchanged.

Apparently Rose noticed it too. “You wolves!”
She placed her hand on Serena’s to gain her attention away from
Connor. “Next to sex the most important thing to them is the run.”
She turned her gaze to Max. “And God help you if they don’t get
either.”

Serena got the impression that she was
talking from experience. Rose and Max held a lingering look. It was
clear the two loved each other very much.

“God help the woman caught in the middle of
that,” Max said after a while, gaining a soft laugh from Rose.

“Would you two like to finish this
conversation in the bedroom?” Connor joked, downing the rest of his
drink.

“Maybe later,” Rose replied, rising to her
feet. She glanced down at Serena. “Come on, honey, let’s feed the
beasts, and while they run we’ll become better acquainted.”

Serena got to her feet and they all followed
Rose to the dining room. The harvest style table was set with a
simple kind of elegance. A huge covered dish sat in the middle of
the table, a basket of rolls on one side and a huge salad on the
other. As she and Connor were seated by their hostess, Max poured
wine for him and Connor. Serena shook her head no when he indicated
adding more to her glass.

It was clear that the men had one thing on
their mind during dinner, and that was to eat and then get outside
to run. Conversation was kept at a minimum, and Serena and Rose
found themselves talking to one another as if they were the only
ones at the table. It amused Serena, seeing this side of Connor. He
and Max were like little boys who couldn’t eat fast enough in order
to get outside and play again.

At one time Connor glanced up from his plate
and caught Serena’s gaze. The warmth in his smiling eyes flooded
her, and she knew it was meant as much for her as it was for his
anticipated run. Why had he waited until now, if he liked it so
much?

“Rose, that was the best vegetarian lasagna
I’ve ever eaten,” Serena praised as she finally pushed her plate
away. She meant it. Rose had loaded it with fresh mushrooms,
spinach, yellow squash, onions, and tomato.

“Thank you.” She shot Max and Connor a smug
look. “All of the ingredients came out of my garden.” She placed
her napkin over her plate.

“Since you lovely ladies are finished I think
we men will head out.” They both rose to their feet and surprised
Serena by taking up their plates and glasses and walking to what
she assumed was the kitchen.

When they returned it was obvious that they
weren’t going to linger. Max gave Rose a brief kiss. “Be careful,
love.”

“Always,” he answered back.

Serena glanced at Connor, feeling a little
nervous and a lot curious at what was about to happen. For all
their talk about being wolves, she had yet to see anyone change
their forms. It occurred to her that until that happened, she would
remain skeptical.

As if reading her mind Connor said, “Do you
think you’re ready to see me in my wolf form?”

Serena didn’t know how to respond to that.
Without warning, movies she’d seen began to flash through her mind.
Little Red Riding Hood
,
An American Werewolf in
London
, the
Twilight
series. She smiled to herself,
never expecting in her wildest dreams to discover that werewolves
truly existed.

She rose to her feet, as did Rose. “As long
as you promise not to bite me.”

“Awe, but, sweetheart,” Connor winked, “I’ve
already bitten you.”

Max’s brows shot up, and he and Rose
exchanged a knowing look. “Then–”

“Not yet.” Connor cut Max off before he could
finish what he’d been about to say. “Soon, though.” He brushed the
back of his hand across Serena’s cheek, holding her gaze. “Come
outside.” He chuckled. “Rose has rules against wolves in the
house.”

Oh, God!
Put like that, Serena wasn’t
sure she wanted to see what was about to happen. Nevertheless, she
followed Connor and Max outside anyway, thankful that Rose was also
there. She didn’t know Rose that well yet, but Serena knew the
other woman had been an outsider, too.

They stepped out onto the porch, the door
slamming shut behind them. Connor kissed Serena tenderly, barely
rubbing his lips over hers. It was so unlike the many other kisses
they’d shared, yet her senses went into instant overdrive,
recognizing her mate was claiming her in more ways than one. He
pulled back almost reluctantly.

“I haven’t gone out in awhile, I don’t know
when I’ll be back. Rose–” Connor looked over to where Rose was
standing.

“Don’t worry,” she began, smiling in the face
of his concern. “I set the guest room up just in case.”

He nodded, and then took a deep breath,
making eye contact with Max. Without words, the two men walked down
the porch steps, and without hesitation they both shot forward into
the air. Before their feet touched the ground again their bodies
had morphed into huge, beautiful wolves, their clothes left behind
on the ground.

Serena caught her breath, her eyes rounding
with disbelief and mild shock. What she was witnessing before her
eyes went beyond rational thought and explanation, yet she couldn’t
explain it away. She’d actually witnessed two men turning into
wolves. As soon as she saw the huge silver wolf, she knew that
Connor was the one who’d saved her from the wolf attack the few
nights before. Even though he’d admitted as much earlier, a part of
her had remained skeptical.

Serena was vaguely aware that Rose had taken
hold of her hand and was leading her toward one of the porch
chairs. She let Rose direct her down into it without protest, her
eyes glued to the rapidly disappearing wolves as they joined their
waiting friends into the darkness. Then the night was filled with
the sounds of howling and shrieking, until that too faded away in
the black void beyond.

Serena shivered and glanced at Rose,
returning her understanding smile. Inhaling deeply, she slowly
shook her head. “I can’t believe what I just saw.”

Rose laughed softly. “It’s the same reaction
I had the first time I saw Max, only I watched him change from a
wolf into a man. You’ll get used to it.”

“How? When everything I’ve ever known about
fairytales and myths tells me that werewolves are fiction and not
fact?”

“I know it’s hard to take in, but doesn’t
this explain some of the changes that you’ve been going through?
The strong sexual urges and how intensely you and Connor are drawn
to one another?” Serena looked at Rose, wondering how she knew
that. “Max and Connor are best friends, they talk. Max talks to
me.”

“Connor has said a lot of things to me, which
I’m now thinking must be true considering the fact that he just
changed into a wolf in front of me.”

“I know this is all new to you. I invited you
here not only to get to know you, but to help you if you need me. I
came from the outside too, and even though you were born Connor’s
mate, you weren’t raised with the knowledge and beliefs of the
culture as they were.”

Serena stared at Rose, almost afraid to ask
what she was thinking. “Are you a werewolf?”

“Yes. You can’t live in Savage Hills and not
be a wolf. I wasn’t born a wolf, though. Max turned me.”

“How?”

“With a bite during mating. That’s when their
wolf wants to make itself known, but the man is trying to keep him
away. And speaking of that, hasn’t Connor bitten you?”