Awakened by the Wolf Read Free Page B

bull.
    Wolfy wasn’t as quick on two legs as he had been on four furry ones. He thudded to the ground.
    â€œDammit, Cybil. How long are you going to hold a grudge?” Shoving the sow aside, he lumbered to his feet. Undeterred, she circled around and plowed into him again.
    Transfixed, Cassie watched them tussle. Crazy as it seemed, she found herself rooting for the wolfman, who was trying not to hurt the disgruntled pig. Cybil wasn’t as careful.
    In the scuffle, she stomped his leg. A silent scream of pain twisted the wolfman’s face. Cassie’s chest tightened in sympathy, though she couldn’t fathom why.
    Cybil backed away, allowing him to sit up and rub his calf. After a few long-drawn breaths, he opened his palm. The sow shuffled close enough for him to scratch beneath her chin. Then he murmured in her ear.
    Cassie wasn’t one to ascribe human attributes to animals, but the hog’s expression appeared contrite. Cybil snorted, flicked her tail and trotted back into the woods.
    A werewolf pig-whisperer. Imagine that.
    Cassie rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to imagine anything of the sort. She wanted her sanity to return.
    The wolfman peered at her with the same stark expression the wolf had given her. He—whatever he was—crawled toward her, his movements smooth, stealthy. Deadly.
    Cassie jumped up and ran. For all of ten feet before she was falling.
    Oh, no. Not again!
    The wolfman cradled her as they hit the ground.
    â€œDamn, you’re fast.” Rolling Cassie onto her stomach, he immobilized her with the full length of his hot, hard body.
    â€œGet off me.” The more she squirmed, the more a wicked heat licked her skin. Fear was supposed to be cold and clammy, so what the heck had ignited those fiery flashes?
    â€œEasy there, Sunshine.” His deep, rich voice dripped like sickly sweet sorghum.
    Suddenly Cassie remembered a spilled bottle of syrup. Tasted the sticky sweetness on her fingers. Smelled the gingerbread cookies baking in the oven. Heard her mother’s tinkling laughter in the sunny kitchen of the run-down apartment where they had lived when Cassie was seven.
    Is this what it means to have your life flash before your eyes when you’re about to die?
    â€œAre you listening?” The wolfman’s insistent growl dispelled the memory. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened on the porch.”
    Cassie’s survival skills abandoned her. She tried to buck him off, but her body was too busy mooning over his mesmerizing accent to respond.
    â€œI’ll release you on two conditions. First, don’t run. The woods are too dangerous for you. Second, keep your knees away from my groin. They’re too dangerous for me. Agreed?”
    Considering her position, did she have a choice?
    Though she couldn’t bring herself to verbalize consent, Cassie nodded. His weight lifted, yet the heat from the intimate contact remained. She sat up, rubbing her arms.
    He squatted just beyond her reach, yet close enough to catch her before she could make it to her feet if she tried to run. Twice he’d caught her and not harmed her. Three times might break her luck.
    Moonbeams filtered through the trees, giving just enough soft light to make out the concern etched in his features.
    â€œAre you hurt?” His polished tone contradicted his appearance. Bits of leaves and pine needles stuck out of the waves of his thick black hair. A scruff of dark whiskers framed his determined jaw. Dirt smudges accented the sharp angle of his cheeks. A smear of blood crusted beneath his nose.
    â€œNo.” Cassie struggled to remain calm, rational. “Well, maybe.”
    Nothing ached, yet something unbalanced her mind. Had she imagined the wolf or the transformation? Because the man invading her personal space was no delusion.
    The hard, sleek build of his scarred, muscled body pulsated with a raw, masculine strength and a primal vitality that