Destined for Harmony Read Free Page B

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.”
    His brows shot up. “Rogue? I should’ve known.”
    Fury tightened in her chest. When it came to her parents, she was fiercely protective. No one, not even the pack alpha himself, would get a way with criticizing them. “They’re not rogue! They’re independent and they taught me to be the same way.”
    She’d grown up in Monterrey Bay where her human mother and werewolf father worked as activists for the aquarium, keeping the ocean clean and the marine life safe. It was an odd existence for a werewolf. Gener ally, they craved a pack – shared living, lots of children, even the constricting governing system. Harmony craved that too, but she couldn’t change her upbringing.
    She was an only child, but not doted on. Her parents believed in freedom and independent thought. How her father managed to suppress his inner wolf was beyond her. But they did pass onto her their desire to fight for the environment. It was one of the things that drew Harmony to Cristian’s pack. She’d helped clean the beaches, now she protected the endangered wolves.
    Sorin studied her face. He must have seen the emotion behind her words because he wisely dropped the subject. “Then what are you doing here, Miss Independent?”
    Another tough question. How did he know exactly what to ask to make her squirm?
    “Ah, I see,” he said after a quiet moment. “You’re looking for a mate.”
    Her head snapped up in surprise.
    His lips curled in a half-smile. “You put on a tough act, but deep down inside, you want a man to own you.”
    Her eyes widened and she clasped her han ds together to restrain from striking him. “You chauvinistic pig! I am not a pet! I’m an adult and I’m here for the social connection. Not for a mate.” Liar, liar. Just to put a little sting in it, she added, “How did you get so surly and overbearing? Were you born in the ice age? The Neolithic era called, they want their caveman mentality back.” She could’ve smacked herself in the forehead. Admittedly, it wasn’t her best joke.
    He chuckled, surpr ising her that he didn’t lose his temper at her tirade. “Not just a little girl far from home, but a geek too.”
    She closed her eyes. Must not kick pack beta. Must not kick pack beta. A finger under her chin tilted her head up. She opened her eyes.
    “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
    Momen tarily, she got lost in his deep blue eyes – eyes the color of the sky over the California ocean. “I’m convincing myself not to kick you in the shins.”
    His lush mouth formed a smile, flashing perfect white teeth. “Yes, it would be very unwise to kick the beta.”
    “That’s what I keep telling myself. Unfortunately, my body doesn’t agree.”
    With a mischievous look in his eye, he said, “That’s why you need a man. To keep you under control.” He chucked her under the chin.
    She fought back the fire rising under her skin. “I suppose you’re volunteering.”
    He snorted. “Knowing the trouble you ’d cause, honey, you couldn’t pay me to do the job.” Then he turned and walked away. Just before stepping into the trees, he said over his shoulder, “No more vampire hunting, necazuri mea .”
    The oldest werewolves had immigrated from