Page 8

Story: Tempting the Wolf

Kieran suppressed a growl. He had to be careful. She was human. Fragile. And yet the beast inside him recognized her on a level deeper than conscious thought.

The protocol was clear—eliminate the threat. But the moment he caught her sweet scent in that forest, everything had changed. The magnetic pull, the electric recognition, and the sense of rightness that penetrated to his bones... it couldn't be denied.

Kieran's wolf howled silently.Mine.

The silence in the cabin snapped like a tripwire.

"Who the hell are you, and why did you kidnap me?" Her voice filled the room, sharp as a blade. "I saw you on my footage. You were changing—into a wolf. What are you? Some kind of experiment? Military project? And what exactly do you plan to do with me now?"

Kieran's eyebrows rose slightly at the barrage of questions. His wolf stirred, intrigued by her fierceness. Most humans cowered in the presence of predators, even when they didn't consciously recognize them as such. Yet here she was, her copper hair catching the dying firelight from his fireplace, challenging him with those remarkable green eyes.

"One question at a time," Kieran said, his voice deliberately calm, a counterpoint to her intensity. He set the half-carved wolf figurine aside and leaned forward. "My name is Kieran Silvercrest. My family has lived in these mountains for generations."

"That's not what I asked." She crossed her arms, her jaw set in defiance. The subtle flex of her forearms suggested she was calculating how hard she'd need to hit him to gain advantage. "I saw you. On my camera."

Kieran maintained his steady gaze. "You saw a man walking in the woods at night. Nothing more."

"I know what I saw." Her chin lifted, revealing the elegant line of her throat. "The footage shows you beginning to transform."

"Cameras malfunction." He shrugged one broad shoulder. "Especially in this remote location."

"So you're denying it?" Her eyes narrowed, challenging him openly. "I'm a scientist. I trust evidence, not convenient explanations."

The corners of Kieran's mouth quirked up. She was smart—dangerously so. His wolf preened at the idea of a worthy mate, one who wouldn't be easily deceived or controlled.

"I brought you here because you were trespassing," he deflected. "These lands aren't open to the public. We don't take kindly to strangers setting up surveillance equipment on our property."

Her freckles stood out against her pale skin as she flushed with indignation. "I wasn't on private property. I checked the land surveys."

"You checked wrong." Kieran stood, unfolding his tall frame slowly, a deliberate display of physical dominance. The move brought him closer to her, and the scent of her—wildflowers and determination—hit him harder. "Your turn. Who are you?"

Their proximity seemed to register with her, but she didn't cower. Instead, she leaned her weight forward slightly on the bed, as if accepting his unspoken challenge.

"Dr. Maya Collins. I have a PhD in Wildlife Biology specializing in wolf pack dynamics and communication patterns." Her voice took on a different quality when she spoke of her work—passion threading through the anger. "I've been tracking unusual wolf packs in these mountains for several weeks."

Unusual wolf packs. Kieran nearly laughed aloud. If only she knew she was looking at the son of one of the Alphas she'd been studying.

"And what makes them unusual, Dr. Collins?" He couldn't resist asking, amused by the irony.

"Their behavior is too sophisticated." Her eyes lit up, professional excitement momentarily replacing her wariness of him. "Their pack dynamics show almost human-like decision-making patterns. They're displaying intelligence beyond anything documented in scientific literature."

Kieran bit back a smile. She was describing pack meetings and territory patrols, seeing only the shadow of his world projected against her human understanding. The wolf inside him rumbled with satisfaction at her unwitting compliment.

"Fascinating theory," he said, stepping closer still, deliberately invading her space. "Except wolves are just wolves. Maybe you're seeing what you want to see."

"I don't make that mistake." Her breathing quickened, but she held her ground. "I record observable facts. And one of those facts is that you were turning into something not human on my camera."

The tension between them crackled like static electricity. He was close enough now that he could count each freckle scattered across her nose, and close enough that his heightened senses could detect the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"You should be more careful about the conclusions you draw, Maya," he said, her name rolling off his tongue like something to be savored. "There are things in these mountains older and more dangerous than scientific curiosity."

Maya rose up on her knees on the bed, bringing herself nearly eye-level with him. The movement was bold and deliberate—a challenge he found both infuriating and intoxicating.

"And you should be more careful about who you kidnap, Kieran," she fired back, her voice low and steady.

The sound of his name on her lips sent a jolt through him that was almost physical. Her scent intensified with her defiance—wild and untamed—and his wolf surged forward, demandinghe claim what was his. Kieran clenched his jaw, fighting back the primal instinct to pull her against him and to press his mouth to hers, and taste the fire he sensed beneath her cool exterior.

Six generations of Alpha blood roared in his veins, urging him to dominate and to possess. With supreme effort, he leashed the beast within, though his eyes flashed silver for the briefest moment before he regained control.