Mating Rights Read Free Page A

breakfast.”
    The man opened the
door, allowing Jaxon to walk inside. “It won’t take long,” Jaxon said, applying
his politest voice and immediately spotting the loft above the kitchen and the
table set for three. Jaxon stopped at the table. Beneath his foot, he felt the
floorboards sag beneath a rug covering. Placing his hands on his hips, he
stared at the table then glanced at the plump woman. “Any reason you have three
plates? Were you expecting someone?”
    The wife hurried to the
table. “That was just some extra I fixed for my husband. Sometimes he wants
seconds in the morning.”
    Jaxon stooped and
flipped the rug up, revealing a trap door. “What’s this?” he asked, glancing
from one to the other.
    “It’s just the root
cellar,” the old man said, crinkling his forehead and shifting his weight from
one foot to the other.
    “You don’t mind if I
check it too?”
    “Nothing down there but
salted meat and preserves,” the old man said, walking stiffly into the room.
His wife waited by the open door, wringing her hands.
    “Just the same…” Jaxon
nodded, then pulled the rug and lifted the trapdoor.
    As soon as it was
opened, a form lunged through the opening knocking Jaxon back on his ass. The
wind left his lungs and the floorboards reverberated with the force of his
landing. A girl leapt over his prone body, heading for the open door.
    Jaxon snatched at her
ankle as she ran past. The girl stomped his fingers before continuing through
the small house, bursting outside and leaving him behind as he recovered.Rolling on his belly with a roar, Jaxon launched
himself to his feet. She was quick, he’d give her that.
    “Too old for this,” he
growled, following seconds behind her.
    She rounded the
building, moving away from his men waiting outside the front gate instead of
heading straight for them.
    “You got this?” Ranger
called when Jaxon came into view.
    He didn’t answer,
focusing instead on catching the girl. Dust sifted into the air from her feet
striking the bare ground. She ducked around the thick trunk of a pine, heading
for deeper wood. Pine needles and leaves scattered in her wake.
    Jaxon surged behind her
and felt his knee threaten to buckle beneath the strain. He realized her head
start would keep her just out of reach if he didn’t do something drastic. He
didn’t have time for this shit, and he damned sure wasn’t going back to his men
empty handed and showing them he didn’t have an edge anymore.Without pause, Jaxon shifted seamlessly to the wolf,
his loose clothing no impediment to the change. Years of practice, from the
time he was a mere boy, allowed him to transform without pain or strain.Padded feet hit the ground, soft and lithe, carrying
him with a speed his human form could never match. He charged through the
underbrush, a dark blur as he pursued the girl.She
glanced back, eyes wide as she saw him. She stumbled over a root, careening to
the left to avoid hitting the trunk.
    The scent of her fear permeated
the air, and he caught a whiff of fine sweat as she pushed herself ahead to
recover her unsteady gait. Weaving through the trees, she swiveled through the
sentinels in her wooden shoes and kicked them off to gain better traction in
the soft, moist loam.
    The tactic wouldn’t
save her.
    Jaxon shot forward,
energy pulsing through his powerful muscles. Her panting rang in his ears,
making his blood thunder with excitement as he closed in on her.Her lilac dress flapped like a sail in a breeze of
her own making. He launched off the ground with his hind legs, snagging the
coarse fabric with his muzzle. Ripping at the fabric like a wild, excited
beast, he snatched her backward. She screamed, flipping backward to land on her
backside.Halting her flight, Jaxon immediately
shifted back to human form, landing on top of her. He pinned her back to the
ground kicking and screaming, snapping her teeth at his arms and face and
flailing her arms in a tornado of movement that nearly