Mating Kendra Read online

  “Atta girl, Kendra,” Galen said as he grabbed the gun, unloaded it and tossed it to the side. “Go back to the SUV. I’ll be with you in a minute.” He then turned his attention back to the man who would most likely have killed him for his truck, grabbed him by the front of the shirt, lifted him off the ground and snarled.

  “Now I’ll show you what happens to those who prey on others. Keep in mind that there is always someone or something stronger, in one way or another, than you. Perhaps next time, that something will prey on you.” Galen let a bit of his beast show in his eyes. He knew from experience that it gave his eyes an inhuman glow and he growled, letting his wolf out just a bit but not enough to get him into trouble.

  The man whimpered and pissed his pants, a yellow puddle forming on the ground beneath his feet. Galen made a face at the strong odor.

  “The next time you might not get so lucky.” He growled again. “The next time, that something stronger just might make you their dinner.” He let the man drop at his feet, picked up the shotgun and hurled it into the woods so far it would take the man the better part of the night to find it.

  Taking a deep breath, he headed back for the truck, knowing there was no way the man could shoot at him anytime soon, even if he managed to gather what was left of his courage and pick himself up off the ground in time to do so. He’d thrown the man’s gun so far into the woods it would take him at least ten minutes to get to its general vicinity and that was only if he knew where to look.

  “Get in,” he said to Kendra who stood just outside the opened door.

  I was afraid he might get the drop on you again.

  “There’s little chance of that happening,” he replied with a chuckle. “I showed him just a bit of my wolf and the idiot pissed his pants.”

  Kendra gave a mental giggle. That’s hilarious. I wish I could have been there to see it.

  “No, you don’t. I wasn’t nice and I don’t want to frighten you any more than that damned doctor and his goons have already done.”

  Galen held the driver’s door open as she jumped up into the truck. He climbed in after her when she settled herself on the front seat. “Do you want to try changing back into a human now, or would you rather wait until we find a room?” He clenched his teeth together. He didn’t want to encourage her in either way. If she did it here, she would undoubtedly be naked in front of him. If she waited until they got to a hotel, there was the chance that someone would see him enter the room with what they would perceive as a dog. Both options had their drawbacks. Not that seeing a beautiful woman naked would be a drawback for him.

  I think I’ll try it now. I don’t want to stay this way for any longer. Besides, the longer I stay this way, the more likely it will be that I’ll change back because it’s time, not because I’m trying to force it.

  She had a point. “Okay. I’ll keep my eyes on the road, but I’ll try to talk you through it.” He tightened his hands on the steering wheel and told himself he wouldn’t look at her naked.

  Yeah, right. Who was he kidding?

  “Think about what it feels like to be human and reach for that part of yourself. Concentrate on what it feels like to have arms and legs, fingers and toes. Think about how it feels to have smooth skin, your small, pert nose and straight even teeth.”

  You think I have a small, pert nose? She giggled again. I’ve always thought my nose was big.

  “Not to me. To me, you’re perfect in every way.”

  Right.

  “I’m serious.” He turned and gave her a stern glance. “Are you concentrating? It won’t work if you’re not concentrating.”

  Yes. I’m concentrating. She closed her eyes. Now what?

  “Keep imagining what it’s like to be human. It’ll come.” Galen started the engine and put it in gear. He made a U-turn and hit the gas. They needed to get out of here before that idiot found his gun and gathered the courage to come after them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kendra did as Galen instructed and imagined what it was like to look like a human, feel like a human. She imagined eating dinner with a fork and knife, drinking from a glass. Thought about her legs being smooth and hairless, the pain of her Brazilian wax—all of it.

  Soon, she felt her body changing, her legs grew longer, her snout shortened, shrinking into her human face. Her sense of smell grew less pronounced as her olfactory glands changed from that of her wolf to human. Kendra paid attention to the sensations during the change, knowing that if she needed, or wanted to, she could reach for the wolf and bring it on at will. She didn’t know how she knew it, she just did.

  What startled Kendra the most was the fact that this shift didn’t hurt as acutely as it had the first time around. She’d been concentrating on feeling the human side of herself, instead of concentrating on the pain.

  Thinking of her human side gave her something to focus on that wasn’t destructive and painful. Kendra smiled. “I did it!”

  Not one thought crossed her mind about being naked until Galen turned his head her way, his eyes going wide as he ran off onto the side of the pavement. He turned his attention back to the road, jerking the wheel to get them back in the center of the lane.

  “Yes, you did,” he said with a smile. “Though, you might want to climb into the back and put your clothes on before someone passes us and gets a free show.”

  “Like you just did?” she asked dryly as she moved to climb between the seats. Kendra wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Galen groan. He probably did. After all, she was totally naked, and he was a man—a man who, if she believed what he said about her being perfect, was at least slightly attracted to her.

  “Yeah.” He chuckled. “Though, I can’t be angry at myself for looking, I would get angry at anyone else for doing the same.”

  “Why?” She glanced back at him in the mirror. “Why would you get mad at someone else for looking? We have no connection other than you rescued me from a lunatic and his minions.”

  “We do have a connection.” He sighed. “I just don’t know how to tell you about it so that you won’t think I’m just as nuts as that crazy doctor.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” She frowned as she struggled into her clothes. “What kind of connection could we possibly have?”

  “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?” She pulled her socks over her feet and slipped her shoes on. “You’re a strange one, Galen. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  Kendra climbed back into the front seat and stared through the windshield. She didn’t look at Galen. She wasn’t sure she could face him now that he’d seen her naked, yet again. He hadn’t seen much of anything at the lab, she’d kept the sheet wrapped around her for the most part and he’d been a gentleman and looked away. This time, though, he had gotten an eyeful especially when she’d crawled into the back and nearly shoved her rear in his face.

  Her cheeks burned as she stared straight ahead. Here she was, in a vehicle with a man she barely knew, and he’d already seen her naked. Twice!

  “Would it help if you saw me naked?” Galen asked as he stared straight ahead, his attention solely on the road in front of them.

  “Uh...” Speechless for a minute, Kendra shook her head. “No. I don’t see how my seeing you without your clothes is going to help matters. No matter how tempting it might be.”

  “Tempting? You find me tempting?” He grinned but kept his eyes on the road.

  “No. I find your offer of letting me see you naked tempting,” she lied. “As much as I might want to turn the tables, I don’t see how it’s going to make me feel any better.” It might give her a nice show, but Kendra was sure it would embarrass her more than anything else.

  She’d never been able to watch a male strip show without getting embarrassed. She didn’t know why men dancing for her entertainment should embarrass the crap out of her, but it did.

  “Can we stop there?” Kendra asked, pointing to the large billboard they approached. I
t advertised food and lodging fifty miles to the north.

  “I don’t see why not.” Galen set the cruise control and glanced over at her. “You realize we’ll have to share a room, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I figured as much.” She sighed. “Still, sharing a room is better than spending the night trying to sleep in the SUV.” She stared out through the window into the growing darkness. “How will your friends find us?”

  “That’s easy.” He reached over and turned the radio on low. “They have GPS on my vehicle and on my phone. They’ll find us with no problem. I want them to find us. There really is safety in numbers, especially when we’re dealing with that lunatic Thornton.”

  “I can see why you’d say that.” Kendra sat on her hands so she wouldn’t keep twisting her fingers together. “Why does he do it?” She frowned. “I mean, doesn’t he worry about the authorities finding him and putting him in jail?”

  “I doubt it. He was working for some part of the government, as near as we can figure. Someone in the Defense Department was paying his bills.” Galen shrugged. “Hell, they might still be paying his bills. He’s getting funded somehow.”

  “Oh. I guess that would explain his ego and the lack of fear at being caught. He acted as though he wanted to breed a personal army.”

  “Breeding an elite army is exactly what he has in mind.” Galen looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Which brings me to a question that I should have asked you already.” He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Did they hurt you? I mean did they...” Galen couldn’t seem to voice the question Kendra suspected he wanted to ask.

  It didn’t escape her attention that he gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles growing white. A muscle twitched in his jaw and his expression grew fierce. It was almost as though just the thought of someone forcing themselves on her made him angry.

  “No.” Kendra didn’t know why she wanted him to know that. She just did. Something inside her needed to make him feel better, and she knew her answer would calm him, though she had no idea why it should. “No one touched me in a sexual way while I was there.”

  “Thank the gods for that.” He relaxed a little and the tension seemed to drain out of him.

  “However, the doctor kept alluding to someone they had in custody already somewhere with whom they would try to pair me.” She bowed her head and stared at her lap. “I can’t thank you enough for saving me before they took me to him. I don’t know why, but something tells me that this person would have done whatever the doctor told him to do.”

  “Then he would have died.” His grip tightened on the wheel again and Galen’s expression changed. It was almost as though he were doing everything in his power to hold his wolf at bay.

  “Why would you say that? Is there something inside me that will kill people now?” Should she be worried about what she’d become?

  “No.” Galen shook his head. “That’s not something you would have done or even could have done.”

  “Then why would you say something like that?”

  “Because, Kendra, understand this, there is nothing in you that would harm him. It is I who would kill anyone who attempts to harm you.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Galen almost cringed at his heartfelt declaration. Kendra grew very quiet and turned to look out her window. What did she think after what he’d said? Did she think him even more of a monster than she already had?

  The urge to look at her was nearly overwhelming. How could he resist the impulse to glance her way? Just knowing he had made her uncomfortable was a distraction and he couldn’t afford to let her distract him from watching the road, as well as the areas around them. It was full dark now and any number of animals could dart out in front of them. That, and he needed to keep his wits about him, at least until they made it safely inside a motel room.

  Once inside and away from prying eyes, he would have an even more difficult time of keeping his wolf at bay. His wolf wanted its mate, and he wanted her now. Galen knew that the beast didn’t understand why he hadn’t mated her already.

  His beast urged him to cover her over and over, to plant his seed deep in her belly. He needed the connection, and he needed it yesterday. The wolf knew better than the man how rare and precious a mate was, and he refused to let her get away.

  The wolf rode him hard to mate with Kendra as soon as possible. He couldn’t think straight when he looked at her. Hell, he couldn’t think straight with her scent permeating everything in the SUV’s interior. His cock had been hard since they climbed into the vehicle together. His wolf wanted nothing more than to sink his cock deep into her tight sheath and ride her until she screamed.

  “Talk to me. Say something, anything, to keep me distracted.”

  “Are you getting tired?” Kendra asked, resting her hand on his arm. “I can drive if you’re tired.”

  Galen groaned. “That’s not it at all. Keep me distracted. Keep me rational.” He sighed, wishing he could stand the touch of her hand on his skin, but the longer she maintained the physical connection, the more he wanted to stop the truck and claim her as his mate. “You might want to take your hand off my arm. I can’t think straight with your skin against mine. Like I said, keep talking. Keep me thinking about something else.”

  “Keep you thinking about what?”

  “About anything but how much I want to bury my face between your thighs and lick your pretty little pussy until you come. Damn it, woman, talk to me about anything but how it would feel to bury my cock so deep inside you that it will change us both forever.”

  “I...uh...um...Oh, my!” Kendra’s eyes widened and her face turned a dark shade of pink.

  Galen would wager that no one had ever told her he wanted her so much he could only think of how making love to her would feel.

  “I—I don’t know what to say to that.” Her voice cracked and she let her hand slip free of his forearm.

  Galen wanted to howl at the loss but kept his attention on the road. “Of course, you don’t know what to say. I have no business talking to you like that.” He hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand so hard it was a wonder he hadn’t bent it. “I can’t apologize enough for the X-rated thoughts I have about you.” He glanced her way for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. “The only excuse I have is that you’re the first woman I’ve been this attracted to in over fifty years.”

  Good God, why did he tell her that? Sighing, he kept his attention on his driving and tried desperately to ignore the fact she sat right next to him, the scent of her body ripe and sweet.

  “You haven’t had sex in over fifty years?” She shook her head. “What a line. Like I’d believe that. You aren’t a day over thirty–five. Are you trying to tell me you haven’t had sex since before you were born? I know I can be naïve, but even I find that difficult to believe.”

  Leaning against the back of the seat, she crossed her arms and thinned her lips. “You must really think I’m stupid, or something.”

  “No, Kendra. I don’t think you’re stupid. There’s one thing you aren’t taking into consideration. I’m a were-being, as are you now. We age differently than humans. We live longer lives. When that crazy asshole injected you with that serum, he may well have extended your life by hundreds of years.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Her eyes widened, telling him that she at least considered believing him.

  “Believe it, sweetheart. I’m ninety-nine years old.” My brother Kalen is ninety and our sister, is forty-five, though she doesn’t look a day over twenty. She is going through shifter adolescence, for lack of a better term. She’s obviously an adult physically, but as far as her shifter genes are concerned, she’s a teenager.”

  “Are you saying that I’m barely a teenager?”

  “I don’t know how old you are, it’s difficult to say. Once the doctor injected you, you would have reverse aged to look like a were-being of the same chronological age.”

  “I’m thirty-fiv
e.” Her eyes grew round and she immediately, grabbed the visor over her head and pulled it down. Biting her lip, she lifted the plastic cover, and the light blinked on, illuminating her face. “Oh. My. God.” Kendra turned to him, her eyes wide as saucers. “I look younger.” Turning back to the mirror, she lifted her hand to her face and touched her cheek. “I look easily ten, maybe fifteen years younger. How is that possible?”

  “I told you. You’ll age more slowly now. It would only make sense that you would look like your thirty-five-year-old werewolf counterpart.” Galen didn’t know if he should smile or stay stoic. Most human women he’d known would have been ecstatic to find out they looked younger and, in fact, wouldn’t age as quickly as other women.

  “Look at it this way, Kendra. You just got a free face lift. Whether you think so now or not, you’ve been given a gift—a rare and precious gift and you should embrace it.”

  “A gift, huh?” She kept staring at herself in the mirror. “So, you think that having my life stolen is a rare and precious gift? I liked my life. I loved my students and now I have nothing.” Her voice cracked, and he was sure she had started crying again.

  He was an idiot. Why couldn’t he say the right things to make her feel better? Instead, he kept saying all the wrong things, making her feel as though she’d lost the best part of her life. Her new reality was that the best part was still to come, although she probably would never believe it.

  Perhaps now was the time to tell her the way he felt. As much as he wanted to wait, maybe he needed to tell her how much he wanted her. How much he needed her. At least she wasn’t left with nothing as she feared. However, that she might fear him more didn’t escape him.

  Galen wanted to tell her she was his mate. He ached to tell her, yet he was unsure of his welcome into her arms, her life. What if he told her they were soul mates, and she rejected him? Could he live with knowing he had a mate and she didn’t want him? Did he really have a choice?

  Taking a deep breath, Galen gathered his courage to tell her the truth. “Kendra, I need to—”