sleepily snuggling closer against him. A small smile pulled at the
corners of his lips, and for the first time he felt … content. Leola turned out
to be the perfect woman for him in almost all ways a man could want. Yet, he
was not a man, and the one thing she lacked made a permanent, binding
relationship impossible. He almost wished he was only a man instead of a
pure-blooded Lycan . Leola was a human bitten and
turned. True, she held amazing aptitude for controlling the beast living inside
her, but she still could only be one thing. A Were. Her limitations were
glaringly apparent at the time of the full moon when her animal rose. Unable to
shift into the pure wolf form, she transformed into the humanoid cross between
human and wolf.
He knew he
should let her go, let her find a mate up in Washington state where he had
thousands of acres for his Weres to roam, a city with
which to live and be productive between full moons. He was a selfish bastard,
not yet ready to relinquish her to another. The very idea of another man’s
hands on her made him growl with possessiveness. If only he didn’t have the
weight of his race’s fate resting on his shoulders. Never before had he wished
he could turn his back, live his life in peaceful bliss with this woman who fit
him so well.
If, if, if… There was no room in his life for ifs.
As the leader of the Pure Bloods it fell to him to mate with only another Pure
Blood and save his dying race. He let his hand wander down the smooth, warm
skin of her back. No, he couldn’t let go of her yet, but he could try to
distance himself from her, prepare for the painful separation, which would come
far too soon.
His cell buzzed
on the small end table, intruding on the small haven he enjoyed for a few
precious hours. Reality checking in on him with the force of
a jackhammer to the skull. He rolled from the bed, grabbing his cell and
growling into it.
“I wouldn’t have
interrupted if it wasn’t important.” Lucien’s deep voice rumbled over the
receiver sounding like boulders grinding against each other.
Temple struggled
to get his temper back under control. His second in command never called him
without good reason. He let out a heavy breath. “What is it?”
“The
Preservation Society is stepping up their game, and it looks like they have a
new player hitting for their side. A woman, from what I could dig up. And the
kicker is she’s Lemurian .”
Temple’s
irritation faded as his attention sharpened. He’d been waiting for Amari to
make her move. With hindsight he should never have agreed to give her the
artifact. At the time, filled with bitter desperation over the plight of his
dying Pure Blood Lycans , he’d wanted only to cause
Marcus as much suffering as he could. If his Enforcers got in the way, then
they would suffer as well. Even though Temple was no closer to solving his
breeds crisis, bloodshed was not the way to help his kind. Since he refused to
give Amari Oman’s Seal he knew it would only be a matter of time before she
retaliated.
“Watch them
closely, especially the woman. Consider her dangerous, so don’t take any risks.
If that female so much as sneezes I want to know when and where, got it?”
“Loud
and clear.” The sound of traffic filled the space for a brief moment before he continued,
uneasiness thickening his voice. “What is going on here, Temple?”
“I wish I knew,
my friend.”
“Things on the
streets are … tense. It’s like a powder keg ready to blow between us and
humans, and the added kink with this Lemurian may tip
the scales toward war.”
“Knowing Amari,
it’s exactly what she’s building to.”
“What about the
Enforcers? We can come clean, let them know what we
know.”
“No.” Temple cut
him off with a harsh growl. “I don’t need Marcus up my ass. Besides, he’s
plenty busy with putting together his first summit between us and the human
rulers. And then there is the whole business that happened at Atlantis with
corners of his lips, and for the first time he felt … content. Leola turned out
to be the perfect woman for him in almost all ways a man could want. Yet, he
was not a man, and the one thing she lacked made a permanent, binding
relationship impossible. He almost wished he was only a man instead of a
pure-blooded Lycan . Leola was a human bitten and
turned. True, she held amazing aptitude for controlling the beast living inside
her, but she still could only be one thing. A Were. Her limitations were
glaringly apparent at the time of the full moon when her animal rose. Unable to
shift into the pure wolf form, she transformed into the humanoid cross between
human and wolf.
He knew he
should let her go, let her find a mate up in Washington state where he had
thousands of acres for his Weres to roam, a city with
which to live and be productive between full moons. He was a selfish bastard,
not yet ready to relinquish her to another. The very idea of another man’s
hands on her made him growl with possessiveness. If only he didn’t have the
weight of his race’s fate resting on his shoulders. Never before had he wished
he could turn his back, live his life in peaceful bliss with this woman who fit
him so well.
If, if, if… There was no room in his life for ifs.
As the leader of the Pure Bloods it fell to him to mate with only another Pure
Blood and save his dying race. He let his hand wander down the smooth, warm
skin of her back. No, he couldn’t let go of her yet, but he could try to
distance himself from her, prepare for the painful separation, which would come
far too soon.
His cell buzzed
on the small end table, intruding on the small haven he enjoyed for a few
precious hours. Reality checking in on him with the force of
a jackhammer to the skull. He rolled from the bed, grabbing his cell and
growling into it.
“I wouldn’t have
interrupted if it wasn’t important.” Lucien’s deep voice rumbled over the
receiver sounding like boulders grinding against each other.
Temple struggled
to get his temper back under control. His second in command never called him
without good reason. He let out a heavy breath. “What is it?”
“The
Preservation Society is stepping up their game, and it looks like they have a
new player hitting for their side. A woman, from what I could dig up. And the
kicker is she’s Lemurian .”
Temple’s
irritation faded as his attention sharpened. He’d been waiting for Amari to
make her move. With hindsight he should never have agreed to give her the
artifact. At the time, filled with bitter desperation over the plight of his
dying Pure Blood Lycans , he’d wanted only to cause
Marcus as much suffering as he could. If his Enforcers got in the way, then
they would suffer as well. Even though Temple was no closer to solving his
breeds crisis, bloodshed was not the way to help his kind. Since he refused to
give Amari Oman’s Seal he knew it would only be a matter of time before she
retaliated.
“Watch them
closely, especially the woman. Consider her dangerous, so don’t take any risks.
If that female so much as sneezes I want to know when and where, got it?”
“Loud
and clear.” The sound of traffic filled the space for a brief moment before he continued,
uneasiness thickening his voice. “What is going on here, Temple?”
“I wish I knew,
my friend.”
“Things on the
streets are … tense. It’s like a powder keg ready to blow between us and
humans, and the added kink with this Lemurian may tip
the scales toward war.”
“Knowing Amari,
it’s exactly what she’s building to.”
“What about the
Enforcers? We can come clean, let them know what we
know.”
“No.” Temple cut
him off with a harsh growl. “I don’t need Marcus up my ass. Besides, he’s
plenty busy with putting together his first summit between us and the human
rulers. And then there is the whole business that happened at Atlantis with
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