JOSH

JOSH

Wow.

Pietra SanDiir.

Wow.

The moment I got out of the car, her scent hit me like a brick wall. Light, floral and utterly delicious, she was like a rare flower blooming in a barren field. I knew from the moment her scent wafted through my nostrils that she needed to be mine.

And acknowledging that was terrifying.

As she walked through the woods towards me, panic rose in my chest. This should not happen. I went back to DownMoor through the caves. I was only here for one reason: to prevent any of my family's dark secrets from being brought to the surface once more, to ensure that my father could rest in peace without the past being re-evaluated. And now that the discovery of the site was made public, there was also the possibility that some other wolf would show up here, eager to claim my family's old territories. I had to be on guard. There could be no distractions.

As I watched her nervously bite her lower lip, my cock springing to life, I knew Pietra SanDiir would be a huge distraction.

This can not be happening.

I had it all planned out. I made up a story about a robbery to induce the last ranger to resign. I managed to flirt during the job interview with Bev, the fifty-something ranger with hair like burnt straw, and I landed the job as the new ranger for DownMoor Forest, overseeing the archaeological digs. All I had to do was sneak into the cave at night, find the paintings, destroy them, and check that there were no other wolves in the area. Then I could go back to the jungle and mourn in peace.

I could never have predicted that my mate would also be here. And now here she was—the woman I was destined for, the woman my body already ached for—offering me a muddy hand to shake.

I didn't dare accept. The air between us was already vibrating with electricity—with the obvious, inescapable force that drew me to her. My veins rose with heat, and the wolf inside me pressed against my skin, threatening at any moment to erupt and claim its mate. If our skin touched, I couldn't guarantee that I'd be able to control myself, I would jump on the young archaeologist and pin her against a tree before I even said, "Hello, the weather is awful isn't it?" It would be considered a bit rude. Then I looked at her hand, and she retracted it.

My rudeness pissed her off, and her pretty face tightened into a grim expression, her fluffy nostrils flaring with anger. God, that was sexy.

Mental note, make her angry again.

She was trying to take me to camp, but I knew I needed to see the cave first, get my scent there, so no more wolves would show up trying to claim it as their own. Also, I wanted to see if it still matched my dad's description.

Pietra pointed to the entrance. It was small, barely enough room for me to move my shoulders. This made perfect sense as it meant only one wolf could enter or leave at a time. This facilitated protection against war packs. Sadly, it didn't save my father's family from a terrible death.

I was hoping Pietra would catch a glimpse of the breach first so I could watch her beautiful ass slide into that dark hole. But she stayed behind, waiting for me. I shoved my legs through the hole and slid down.

Inside, the cave was surprisingly bright. Spotlights illuminated the work area's raised floor, cables extending through a smaller hole in the ceiling and connecting to the solar panels I noticed resting against the rocky ledge outside. The light glinted off the shallow pool of water at my feet, a small river running through the entrance and deeper into the cave.

I looked around, taking it all in. The cave floor, the vaulted room, the small river by the door. It was just like my dad said it was...

I lifted my nose in the air and sniffed. A hundred snippets of scent wafted through my nostrils, mostly the scent of mice and foxes and other small animals that made their home here. The distinct scent of another wolf was absent. Well, I was the first one here. Fortunately, there wouldn't be others.

As I waded through the shallow river, I lifted my arm, rubbing my armpit as casually as possible over the rocks. I noticed that one of the stalactites in the cluster near the entrance had been damaged. A shiver of anger ripped through my body. Archaeologists irritated me so much. They were all interested in evidence of human achievement, human beauty, human triumph. Meanwhile, they roamed through beautiful natural landscapes, destroying things that took thousands of years to form without a second thought.

I spoke briefly with Frances Doyle, the lead archaeologist. She was irritated by my presence. She wasn't wearing her helmet, which made me make a mental note to warn her later. In fact, of the entire team, only Pietra was wearing the correct safety equipment. His helmet looked adorable perched on top of his head.

Even as I was standing in my ancestors' home, a place we'd long thought buried and hidden forever, I struggled to concentrate when I became aware of Pietra SanDiir behind me, her breathing soft, her teeth biting the edge of her lip, the shape of her breasts through the wet fabric of her blouse…

My blood ran hot, my entire body desperate to claim her. How was I going to survive sharing a camp with her? I've been here five minutes and I'm already imagining what she'd look like rolling around naked in the mud while taking it...

No. Focus, Josh. You're not here looking for a mate. You are here for your father.

My father. The pain of his loss temporarily chilled my blood. It had only been a month since he died, and I still couldn't believe he was really gone. My whole life it had been just the two of us. I wanted to talk to him, get his opinion on what I should do about Pietra, but he would never give me his wisdom again.

Through the haze of my thoughts, I heard Frances order Pietra to take me back to camp and light the kettle. Good. Maybe I can get my thoughts in order out of this place. This time, Pietra led the way out of the cave. I climbed up after her with as much dignity as I could muster, deliberately running my palm along the cavern wall, smearing a trail of scent that should have stopped any other wolves from approaching.

Pietra walked in front of me, her sensual ass swaying seductively, even in her mud-covered overalls. She must be feeling the effects of the attraction too. I noticed with an inconsiderable amount of glee that she was looking over her shoulder at me. She was staring at me so intently that she hit a tree and landed in the mud.

She looked miserable sitting in that puddle in the pouring rain, her overalls bunched around her boots. I wanted desperately to help her and wipe all the mud off her ass with my hand, but I knew that if I touched her, I would be claiming her as mine. And as tempting as she was, I couldn't do that. She was perfect, and I was a broken, damaged man, carrying secrets that would chill your soul.

If only I could make my body see that. It would be very, very difficult to keep my mind on the task at hand.