The Fire Inside Read Free

they
had a chance to consider the terms.
    Konrad spotted Tyra’s car up ahead and he steadied his pace.
He didn’t want her to know that he’d followed. Fate couldn’t have picked a
better mate for him. He’d caught her scent when he’d exited the meeting with
Thanasis. Sweet blossoms tinged with fear. Both had caused him to run through
the brush in search of her. But while her scent had been alluring, he hadn’t
realized she was his mate until her desire for him had flared.
    His lips pulled back, revealing his teeth in happiness at
the memory. Emerald-green eyes had stared at him from beneath long lashes. Her
small, pert nose had twitched slightly as she’d taken in his scent. Full lips
had parted as she’d studied his face, making him want to nip lightly at them.
Her long dark hair had been pulled back in a high ponytail, exposing the creamy
skin of her neck. Skin so smooth it had felt like satin as he’d run the tip of
his nose up that slim column he wanted so much to mark.
    An angry snarl pushed past his lips as he remembered the
sight of Xabier so close to her. Xabier had better stay the hell away from him.
The thought of the other wolf’s hand on his mate made him want blood.
    But his mate hadn’t been totally defenseless. The gouges
she’d put across Xabier’s face made him swell with pride. She was a fighter and
that made him very happy. He never could see himself settling down with a
completely submissive mate. He liked a challenge and this dark-haired beauty
promised to be just that.
    He’d come to the conclusion that arguing with her would get
him nowhere. She had to go home—there weren’t many other places she could go at
one in the morning—and home would be in the area of her alpha. And at this
point he didn’t care if her alpha was asleep, he would wake him up and discuss
the conditions of her release from his pack.
    There were only four packs in this area and she didn’t
belong to his or Thanasis’ pack, so that left the other two. One sat north of
their position and the other sat to the east. Brock, a surly son of a bitch,
ran the pack to the north. Konrad ground his teeth, hoping he wouldn’t have to
deal with the grouchy shit of a wolf at this hour. Tyson ran the pack to the
east. His pack was smaller than the surrounding ones, but no one let that fool
them. He ran a tight ship, and his pack members were loyal and fierce. Konrad
had been toying with the idea of an alliance with the smaller pack, and what a
way to broach the subject. Happiness rose inside as he thought of the prospect
of making an alliance sealed by a mating. Hopefully Tyson was her alpha.
    When Tyra took a turn that had her going west, he started to
wonder what in the hell was going on. His own pack lay far west of this
position. While his pack had gotten large, he knew the chances of him missing
her within his own group were nil to none. He knew his pack mates and
maintained close ties to each of them. He wanted them to know that their leader
was not unobtainable. If they needed something, they all knew they could come
to him.
    The street she drove down now didn’t lead to the road that
would take them to his den. They were entering a human neighborhood. A very
rundown and crime-riddled neighborhood. What in the hell is she up to?
    Konrad had to step into an alley to keep himself shielded
from her view as he kept pace with her. The flash of red brake lights had him
peering between two ramshackle houses. Her car pulled into a small parking lot
beside a rundown apartment building. He had to repress the urge to growl as he
watched her exit the car and walk toward the rickety metal stairs. Her
sensitive hearing would no doubt pick up any noise he made. The wind began to
shift directions and he moved accordingly, making sure to stay downwind of her.
    Desire still rode her, although not as powerfully as it had
earlier. It added a sweetness to her scent that he could nearly taste. When she
inserted a key into a doorknob on