McQuade: The Lone Wolf Takes A Mate by Lynn Richards

he’d hound him to death. As quickly as he could and with as few words as possible, he explained the events of the night, leaving out the part about biting Rose. And that he’d had to fight his wolf to keep from taking her to bed.
    “So you took this woman…”
    “Rose.” Just saying her name sent heat straight to his groin.
    “So you took Rose home and stayed with her?”
    Damn- it-all-to-hell. “She was scared, Dickhead. I couldn’t dump her off at home and leave.”
    “Do n’t get your panties in a wad, Sissy-man. So what did this wom…Rose look like?”
    Beautiful. Sexy. Hot.
    McQuade straddled a chair and set his half-empty bottle on the table pretending to consider Briggs’ question. “Wet.”
    Briggs shot up, beer coming through his nose as he snorted. When he’d stopped coughing, he said, “Wet as in…”
    The bottle McQuade had halfway to his mouth hit the table with a thump. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Shit-for-Brains.” Was that really how his best friend saw him? A Lothario who would bed anything at any time?
    Was that what he was like?
    “She had to walk to the bar from her car after she had a flat. It was raining buckets.”
    “Oh.” Briggs returned to his seat, t aking a deep drink from his bottle.
    The two men sat in a companionable silence, sipping their beers. “So you think they’re alright with you whisking something they wanted right out from under their noses?
    Fuck.
    The lions.
    His hormones had been on overdrive, altering his good sense. It was a distinct possibility the lions might seek Rose out. Predators didn’t like it when their kill was stolen from them and Rose had been their game tonight. Once McQuade’s scent wore off, there’d be nothing to stop them from going after her. It was a matter of pride.
    He could have laughed at the unintended pun if he weren’t so worried. Rose would be unable to protect herself. She’d be such an easy target for them.
    Unless you bit e her again. His wolf was sitting up grinning like a lovesick fool at the idea.
    “Sh e’ll be fine,” he told Briggs. “The bar wasn’t exactly her usual hangout.” But his friend’s question had put him on edge. He’d done nothing to cover his trail and he’d driven straight to her apartment.
    “I wouldn’t worry about it, dude . She apparently knew what she was doing going to the bar. It’s not like you’re ever going to see her again, right?”
    “Right.” McQuade agreed quickly.  His wolf took exception to his assent, growling irritably and turning away, leaving the man alone. Again.
    *****
    Rose groaned. The garbage truck’s noisy clunking right below her bedroom window had awoken her from a deep sleep. She flopped over onto her back, keeping her eyes shut. It could not be time to get up already, could it?
    Memories of the night before came flooding back, a short m ovie clip of highlights. Of McQuade. The kisses. The bite. And her sister. A sister who hadn’t even bothered to call. She didn’t know exactly what McQuade had said in his text, but she assumed he’d asked Alice to call Rose as soon as possible. It saddened her to know her sister hadn’t cared enough to find out if Rose was okay. For all Alice knew, the call could have been from the police or the hospital. Of course, if her sister had known the text had been made by a sexy wolf shifter, she’d have rubbed the numbers off the keypad trying to return the call.
    Glancing at her clock, Rose groaned again. She’d overslept. If she hadn’t heard the garbage truck, she probably would have slept through her entire shift. As it was, she knew she’d catch flack for being this late. Thankfully she wouldn’t have to shower since she’d taken her late night bath. She grabbed clean underwear from her dresser drawer and slid it on. A touch of deodorant, a quick brushing of her teeth and a little splash of water on her face and she was ready to pull on her scrubs. Smashing her hair into a bun on top of her head, she drew