Chapter One

He almost sprained his neck as his head whipped around. He took a deep breath just to be sure. There it was, lavender with an undercurrent of licorice.

It was the most amazing scent in the world. He turned and started to follow her from a distance.

He could just make out her long brown hair as it seemed to float with each step.

She sped up a bit as she noticed the stranger following her. She took a quick peek back over her shoulder and made a turn.

Instead of turning right at the next corner she would cross the street. If he crossed as well she'd know he was really following her and not just going in the same direction by coincidence .

When he turned right she breathed a sigh of relief. How silly to think such a good looking man was following her.

He was much younger than her and way too good looking to be interested in someone like her.

He had seen her glancing back. It wouldn't do to scare her this early on. He turned right as she crossed the street. Cole Baxter had never followed a woman before, especially a human.

He'd never had the need, females usually came to him. As a Beta in the local pack he could find a woman whenever he felt the need, and he usually felt the need quite often.

But if he knew his wolf, that was going to change. He could feel his wolf in his mind pacing, wanting to follow his mate closely in case any other males got too close. Cole had to remind him that they couldn't just jump her on the street.

His wolf would have to learn patience. He'd been waiting for her for close to 200 years, no reason to over react now.

He caught sight of her from two blocks down and continued to follow until she turned into the front door of a medical clinic.

He stood outside the door and glanced inside. He couldn't see her so he waited around the corner.

After what seemed like an eternity, she came walking out with a male who stared straight at him with bright blue eyes.

Cole realized immediately this wasn't a human, he was a Were, one of his kind. The male was holding his mate by the waist, and Cole automatically growled, ready to tear the wolf's throat out to get him away from her.

Wait, his mate? Maybe he was too late. Maybe she was already mated. His heart was pounding as he watched them walking down the street.

He couldn't believe he had waited this long to find his mate only to lose her to another.

Cole struggled to keep his wolf from taking over and challenging the blue eyed Were. That male had the nerve to walk arm in arm with the woman he thought was meant for him, the one he had been waiting almost two centuries for.

Could the fates be this cruel? He continued to watch them walk away, the werewolf turning back to glance at him until they were out of sight. Cole knew he couldn't just let her leave.

He had to know for sure if she was meant to be his. If so, he would make the challenge and fight to the death for his mate.

Cole was the best tracker in the pack, and he was able to follow the faint odor of lavender and licorice without a problem. The time alone gave him a chance to calm his wolf.

Trying to explain to a wolf not to scare his human mate was a difficult thing. That thought made him stop for a second. She's still human, so she hadn't mated with the Were. Did she know she was consorting with a werewolf?

The idea made his wolf push to hurry up and catch up to her, claim her, and take her home. Cole chuckled to himself over his wolf's rash thoughts. He didn't even know who this lone Were was.

Cole hadn't recognized him, and he knew every Were within 100 miles of his pack's territory. A rogue? He would have to do some research when he got home. Maybe check with the surrounding packs for any possible information.

Cole watched from afar as the woman and the blue eyed man walked into a small house at the outskirts of town. He noted the license plate of the car in the driveway and walked away whistling to himself.

He told his wolf not to worry, they would be back. She would be theirs. No rogue wolf was getting in their way. He couldn't stop thinking about her body, much fuller than the pack females.

He wanted to feel her reddish-brown hair running through his fingers. He couldn't wait to have her on her hands and knees in front of him, begging him to take her.

The thought of holding her hips as he pounded into her welcoming pussy made his cock hard instantly and set his wolf pacing again. His wolf was so close to the surface thinking of their mate that his green eyes were almost glowing.

Karen couldn't get the tall hunk of a man out of her head. She had only caught a glimpse of him when she was on her way to meet Gary, but was he ever gorgeous!

Just thinking about him was making her panties wet. Gary noticed she was day dreaming and walked over to put his arm around her. Karen immediately walked over to the couch and sat down. She liked Gary a lot.

He had been a great roommate. But he was really too familiar at times. She liked him as a friend, and she'd told him that several times. But she wasn't interested in any more of a relationship with him.

Every once in a while he got really touchy and made her uncomfortable, like right now. She had to find an excuse to leave the room.

She needed to be alone with her thoughts about those green eyes. "Gary, I'm bushed, I'm taking a nap." She gave him a friendly smile and walked into her bedroom.

She really hoped she wasn't hurting his feelings. Someday he would understand you can't force emotions.

As Karen walked away, Gary watched her with a possessive look, sighed, and walked outside. He immediately shifted into his wolf form, still with the same bright blue eyes.

He took every opportunity when he was alone to let his wolf free. He was going stir crazy being in a house with his mate and not being able to touch her, to make her his.

At night he would sit outside her bedroom door. His wolf was just sure someone would come to her in the middle of the night and take her from them.

When she heard him close the back door, she decided it was as good a time as any for a nice leisurely relaxing bath. She turned out the lights and lit an aromatherapy candle.

As she undressed, her thoughts were drawn again to the nameless man who she thought was following her earlier. In a way she was sad he wasn't.

She couldn't stop thinking about his hot body, wondering what he looked like without his shirt on. She stepped into the tub of hot water, letting out a sigh as she sank down into the calming bath.

She closed her eyes and pictured his face with those big green eyes. She imagined what his smile would look like as he touched her body. She could almost feel his fingers tickling her skin, gliding down her chest to her tits, holding them, weighing them.

She moaned as her hands moved over her body and across her chest. She pretended they were his hands descending from her belly to her pussy, swollen just from thinking about his hard body covering hers.

Her fingers slid into her ready flesh, her clit already hard. She could feel her breathing deepening, her heart pounding, the blood rushing in her veins as she pretended he was here with her.

She couldn't see the blue eyes watching through the window. She didn't hear the thoughts of the werewolf watching her intently, thinking of how once they were mated, no other Were would dare touch her.

He would never let that male near her. Karen would be his for eternity or no one's. He would do what was necessary to protect her from that male!

He watched intently as she started moving her hips, fucking her pussy with one, two, and then three fingers. Even through the closed window he could hear her moans and see the look on her face.

She was in ecstasy, and he knew she was thinking about the male that followed them home, not him! Someday, she would be thinking of him and no other. He would make sure of that.