When He's Ruthless (The Olympus Pride 4)

“I hate it when you do that,” said Mitch.

Well she knew that. Shifters were used to hearing bones snap and pop—it happened when they made the transformation from human to animal, but those transformations were so super swift that the moment was over in mere milliseconds. Watching someone bend their body in unnatural ways much like a demonically possessed woman from a horror movie? That, shifters tended not to like. Especially Mitch, who she’d chased across a room more than once while doing an imitation of a human crab Exorcist-style.

Noelle let out a put upon sigh. “Do you really think that such a display of mutiny will have us all reevaluate our decision?”

“Oh no,” replied Blair. “The conversation here tonight went pretty much how I thought it would. But that’s okay. I already took measures to ensure that things went my way.”

Noelle stilled. “What?”

“I called Luke before you guys got here. I gave him a quick rundown of the situation and, yeah, he went apeshit.” She tipped her head to the side, hearing the rumbling of an engine in the near distance. “That’s probably him right now.” Her inner animal jumped to her feet, eager to see him.

Embry sighed, his eyes falling closed.

“Why, Blair?” Noelle’s nostrils flared. “Why did you have to pull him into this? It’s pack business.”

“It’s my business,” said Blair. “And, whether you like it or not, I’m Luke’s business. You wouldn’t keep something like this from Dad if you were in my position. You know you wouldn’t. You also know that Luke isn’t quite the villain you make him out to be, but you’re determined to hate him nonetheless. All he’s ever done is what’s best for me—”

“So starry-eyed when it comes to him,” Noelle scoffed. “He’s convinced you that he’s oh so perfect. That he’ll be the perfect partner. The reality is that you have no real clue what kind of mate he’ll be.”

Blair shook her head in annoyance. “Not true.” She was quite aware that being bound to him would be vastly different from simply having him in her life. She knew there’d be challenges to having Luke as a mate—she was under no illusions about that. Hell, the need to take charge was essentially encoded in his DNA. There’d likely be some pushing and pulling until they found their balance, but they would find it.

“Did you also tell him about the phone calls and the gifts?” asked Embry, his voice laced with dread.

Blair nodded. “Yup.” The news hadn’t washed down well at all. He was mad as hell at her for keeping it from him until now.

Embry swore, scrubbing his hand down his face. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“I gave you the chance to address what was happening,” said Blair. “You didn’t. It escalated. A woman is now dead.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t even make sense that a person trying to court you would dump a corpse on your porch.”

“You got any other suspects?”

Embry snapped his mouth shut.

Yeah, that’s what she’d thought.

Blair glanced outside in time to see an SUV pull up near the cabin. Luke smoothly slid out of it, and the sight of him made her inner animal wag her tiny tail.

Blair stood and moved to the doorway to greet him. It had to be said that he was a treat for the eyes. So sexy it bordered on indecent. And decidedly masculine with his distinct jawline, sharp nose, strong arms, and powerful build. Sometimes, Blair couldn’t quite believe he was hers.

He had a great butt, too. Terrific abs. A little stubble that made him look stylish and well-groomed rather than scruffy. His short hair was a deep brown that made her think of burnt umber.

A half-smile often graced his mouth. Not today, though. It was set in a grim line.

His gaze locked on her. So blue. So focused. So openly possessive.

The need that always simmered in her blood ramped up—hot, thick, primitive. The mating urge struck them a few months back, which had come as a surprise. Bush dogs didn’t usually experience it, and it was thought that if one person couldn’t feel it than their mate wouldn’t either. Maybe that was correct, or maybe it differed from couple to couple. It was hard to be certain when bush dogs so rarely mated outside their own kind.

Whatever the case, she and Luke hadn’t been spared it. Kiesha had speculated that maybe nature itself had stepped in when he and Blair hadn’t immediately claimed each other after she turned eighteen; that it had struck them both with the mating urge to speed things along. It was possible, Blair supposed.

Thankfully, its effects had levelled off after a few days. The mating urge was no longer a raging fire inside her that clouded her thoughts, but it was constant and relentless and gave her no quarter; tiring her mentally and physically, making it hard for her to relax or sleep.