A Wolf's Obsession Read online

  Snarling as his blood boiled and his wolf surged to the surface, Wyatt leapt to his feet leaving a stunned Kass to bounce on the sofa alone as he strode over to where an enormous photograph was. Glancing at his nails, he forced them to grow into deadly weapons and shredded the image until nothing but tatters remained. Chest heaving he turned to look at Kass stunned anew at just how perfect his mate was. Emily had been beautiful but Kass…Kass was perfection. “No it won’t. I thought I loved Emily. Now I know that I didn’t. My heart didn’t beat for her the way it does for you. Now that I’ve touched you, kissed you, held you in my arms I know that no one else will do. You’re my mate. Even if you came back again and again, it wouldn’t be you.” Emotion overwhelming him, he staggered back to her and fell to his knees. “What I felt for Emily is nothing compared to what I feel for you. I let people persuade me to keep living without Emily but I know that I wouldn’t even manage a day if you weren’t in the world anymore. I’d follow you in a heartbeat. You Kass, you’re my obsession and I’m not giving you up.”

  Words of protest began to form on her lips but Wyatt silenced her with a kiss before they could be spoken. Intense didn’t even begin to describe how hard he devoured her mouth. It was like he was trying to climb into her body through her parted lips. His lips clashed against hers with bruising force, his hands ran through her hair keeping her close as his tongue duelled with hers trying to force her submission. The fight was over before it begun. Relaxing into his kiss, Kass let the intensity of his emotions roll through her body and felt her heart lurch. He meant every word he’d spoken and the reality of that made her body limp. As the need for air waged war with her need to keep kissing him, Kass was almost overwhelmed with the reality of her situation. Wyatt really would do anything to protect her even if that meant giving up his own life. Her life was now inextricably bound to another’s and for the first time in a long time she felt hopeful about her chances for survival. She’d fought hard to live before but now she’d be relentless. Wyatt deserved to live.

  And you deserve to be loved.

  His voice crept along the halls of her mind all the more intimate for how completely it merged with her thoughts. She shivered, throwing her hands around his neck and rubbing her tongue sensuously against his as she savoured his minty taste.

  Don’t worry Kass; I’ll take care of everything. I’ll love you harder than any man ever could.

  She had no doubt of that and though her heart would probably not thank her for it she was going to let this man, this wolf, into her life. It was the very least she could do as she suspected he was already worming his way steadily into her heart.

  Chapter Seven

  “Take off your clothes.”

  The breathy request put a very quick stop to Kass’ wandering hands and cooled her passion faster than an ice cold bath. She forced herself to pull away from his addictive lips and put an end to the bone melting power of his kiss. “What did you say?”

  His gaze never faltered even as his fingers reached for the hem of her shirt. Her sharp intake of breath as the pads of his fingers brushed against her stomach went straight to his shaft. “Take off your clothes,” he repeated as his fingers danced over her flesh.

  Scooting back, Kass pulled down her shirt and clutched the material to her chest defensively. “No! I’m not having sex with you.”

  Madness was returning to his eyes as his hands reached for her jeans. “Need you,” he muttered, his eyes darting frantically over her body. “Need you Kass.”

  She slapped his grasping hands away and jumped to her feet. The desperation in his rough voice felt like an aphrodisiac trying to beat back her logic. Her mind knew she couldn’t even entertain the idea of having sex with Wyatt despite the strange connection she felt to him but he was tempting her to throw caution to the wind and her treacherous body was clearly on his side. “Are you crazy?” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Don’t answer that. You might have a very weak grasp on reality but I don’t. Kisses are one thing and sex is another. I can’t go from not knowing you one day to jumping into bed with you the next. Even if I could, I’m not that kind of woman.”

  “You don’t understand Kass.” Clutching his head he tried to stay calm, a task made nearly impossible by the uncontrollable snarling of his wolf.

  Claim her. Do it now. Claim her dammit! She’s ours. Our mate is right here for the taking. Don’t let her get away. Claim her. Claim her. Claim her!

  His eyes rolled as the wolf’s chanting became incessant, drowning out any thought that didn’t involve sinking into the heat between Kass’ thighs. Struggling to control his wolf and his pounding heart, Wyatt clutched the back of the chair, his razor sharp claws slicing through the material like a hot knife through butter.

  Staring at the destruction he’d caused so easily he felt his heart begin to race. Kass was standing so close that if he reached out he’d be able to pull her back to him. That was exactly what his wolf was demanding but it was the one thing he couldn’t do. If he reached for Kass with his control hovering on the edge he’d cut straight through her soft skin. I’ve hurt her enough already.

  Groaning, he began to rock back and forth trying to force his wolf to relent his assault on his brain. No. Can’t touch her.

  Let me out of here! We need to claim her now. She’s our mate, we need to claim her.

  She said no. Do you want to force her? Is that what you want for her?

  She needs to be protected. Claim her and no one will be able to hurt her. She’ll live forever with us. Claim her now.

  The wolf’s words turned the blood racing through his system to ice in an instant. If he hadn’t believed it before he had all the proof he needed now. His wolf was half feral. He had to be, otherwise he’d never have suggested claiming their reluctant mate without her permission.

  Struggling to his feet, Wyatt crashed into a wall as his feet almost gave out beneath him. Can’t stay here. Can’t hurt her again. Need to get out of here. Clutching the wall with all his strength, he moved slowly away from Kass edging closer to the exit. Until his wolf calmed down he couldn’t be around his mate. The very thought of leaving her almost sent him plummeting into the depths of madness but the very real scent of her fear gave him the strength to stay focused. He needed to protect her from everything and if that meant him then so be it.

  His voice rough and his breathing hard, he locked eyes with her, mesmerised by the glittering white flecks in her dark blue eyes. “Kass.” Each word was a struggle but he needed her to know. “Have to go.”

  “What?”

  “Have to go,” he repeated, clawing his way to the door.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Need you safe.”

  “And somehow my safety is related to us not having sex?” she scoffed.

  Sweat beaded on his brow from the effort it took to hold his wolf back and the amber of his wolf crept into his eyes. “Back soon.” I hope. He gripped the door handle almost tearing it from the wood as his wolf slammed hard into the cage that he’d erected around it. “Stay here.”

  And with that final command he was gone.

  Stunned couldn’t begin to describe how Kass felt staring at the doorway that Wyatt had just fled through. She’d heard of men being led by their baser instincts but she hadn’t thought her putting the brakes on their kiss would lead to him leaving her. How long she stood staring at the woods that lay beyond the cabin she didn’t know but when the shock faded it was replaced with a burning anger that left her gasping for breath.

  “That bastard!” she screamed. Storming to the door she slammed it so hard that the walls shook. “I’ll take care of you,” she sneered, mocking the words Wyatt had said so tenderly to her. “I’ll love you. I’ll protect you. We’re mates. Liar! The bastard clearly only wants to get into my pants and that is not going to be happening any time soon. I should have used my voice on him, made him tell me exactly what he wants with me. How could I be so stupid?” She risked a glance at the shredde
d portrait of Emily that hung limply from the wall. When she’d watched him decimate the picture of the woman she’d once been hope had blossomed in her chest. For the first time in a long time she’d felt safe, cared for, and he’d ruined it. “Men!” she growled. Her hands balled into fists and she wished she had Wyatt’s ability to smash walls.

  Her skin flushed with anger, she took a deep breath trying to calm herself and failed miserably. An angry scream spilled from her lips. She screamed until her throat was raw but her anger still refused to fade. Storming into the kitchen she turned to the one thing that was guaranteed to calm her raging temper. Cupboards slammed one after the other until she found what she needed. Her arm curved around a large mixing bowl and a spoon in the other she beat the butter and sugar she’d thrown into the bowl frantically feeling her emotions mellow with each whisk of the spoon. By the time she was adding the eggs and flour she almost felt like herself again at least until she heard the door creak open. Her body tensed and she eyed up the drawer that she’d seen housed a wide variety of knives her mind contemplating how reasonable it would be to take one of the sharp blades to Wyatt’s flesh. He’d brushed off bullets without a second thought; if she vented her anger at him like that he’d probably not even notice.

  “Kass?”

  The female voice was a surprise but when Dylan walked into the kitchen she began to beat the mixture even harder as her anger returned to the front of her mind. “Did Wyatt send you?”

  Dylan nodded.

  Bastard, couldn’t be bothered to deal with the fallout so he sent his baby sister?

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Dylan said calmly.

  “You wolves mind readers now too?” she snapped in response.

  “No but if you mix whatever’s in that bowl any harder I think it’s going to try and run away from you. I know you’re angry at my brother it’s all over your face.”

  “Good but do you know why I’m angry at him?”

  “Wyatt couldn’t really explain much when we spoke, he just asked me to come over here and stay with you.”

  “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”

  Sighing, Dylan ran a hand through her long locks in a gesture that immediately reminded Kass of Wyatt. He did the same thing when he was stressed. The memory of him running his hands through his hair brought a smile to her face. When Wyatt did it she was constantly tempted to add her own hands to the mix. Just as quickly as the smile had come she forced it off her face. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about him in any way that was complementary. He was an ass.

  Moving closer, Dylan sat down on one of the bar stools and watched Kass behind the counter silently examining her for injuries. Wyatt had sounded desperate when he’d called her and the few words he’d managed to growl over the phone had done nothing to reassure her. He’d sounded like a mad man and when he’d ordered her over to the cabin to check on Kass there had been a moment where she’d thought Wyatt had killed her. “He didn’t manage to tell me much. Why don’t you explain it to me?”

  Kass’ face flushed but her anger allowed the words to flow uninterrupted from her throat. “We kissed. I don’t know how a kiss turned into an open invitation for sex with a practical stranger but that’s what your brother interpreted it as.”

  Understandable, Dylan thought but the look on Kass’ face told her it wouldn’t be wise to express such an opinion.

  “I told him no.”

  Dylan barely managed to stifle her wince. With Wyatt so closely wrapped up with his wolf and after all that had happened to Kass it was only natural that he wanted to claim her. All the threats to her could be eliminated in one fell swoop with the act of claiming joining their lives together.

  “He freaked out,” Kass continued. “Ran from the house as though I had done something wrong. He almost had me fooled with all that ‘you’re my mate, I’ll take care of you’ crap. Don’t worry, I know better now than to believe a word he says.”

  “You don’t understand Kass. He was trying to protect you.”

  “You’re damn right I don’t understand. Wyatt brought me here, claimed that he was going to protect me and then as soon as I don’t spread my legs for him he fucking abandons me. His protection comes at too high price. I don’t care if I ever see him again.” Liar. “I’m not going to jump into bed with him just because he says so.”

  “Exactly!” Dylan crowed.

  Surprised by Dylan's reaction, Kass eyed the other woman up carefully. It was all too possible that madness ran in the family and Dylan was suffering from the same affliction that crippled her brother emotionally.

  “I don’t understand. Shouldn’t you be on his side?”

  Smiling, Dylan got off her chair and moved around the counter until she was standing beside Kass. “I’m always on Wyatt’s side and that means I’m on your side too. You’re his only chance at being happy. What makes you happy makes him happy and so I’ll do anything I can to make you happy. Come.” She put an arm around Kass and led her back to the living room. “Let me explain everything.”

  “Well at least someone is nice enough to talk to me about what’s going on. Shame your brother couldn’t do the same.”

  “He wanted to. Trust me, he wanted to.”

  “Then why didn’t he?”

  “He was about to lose control. He didn’t want to hurt you. Wyatt’s wolf is unstable at best and until he claims you he’s going to be prone to these meltdowns.”

  Raising her brow at the unusual words, Kass didn’t try to hide her confusion in her voice. “Claims me?”

  “It’s like sex but so much more. It’s the joining of two souls. When he claims you your lives will be joined and you’ll become as immortal as we are. After he claims you unless he dies then nothing anyone does will be able to kill you. He was trying to protect you. He can’t claim you until you’ve done the claiming ceremony and he knows that but I’m betting his wolf was riding him pretty hard. I can guarantee that he didn’t start kissing you with mating in mind. He probably just wanted to be close to you and then when he smelt your arousal and had you so close, reason went out of the window.”

  “And he couldn’t have just explained this himself?”

  Dylan shook her head. “Wyatt, all of us, have a wolf that lives inside of us. As long as we have the same goal in mind we can live in peace, harmony. Wyatt doesn’t have that anymore.”

  “Because he lost Emily?”

  “Exactly. He’s been at war with his wolf for years and now he’s going at it again. His wolf is stronger than most because of how long he spends in his other form and if we can’t find a way to put them back in balance soon then I think the damage will be irreparable. His mind is going to tear itself apart until he claims you.”

  Kass’ face paled. Her anger disappeared all together and fear filled her veins. “You can’t be serious,” she muttered, shaking her head constantly.

  “Until he can guarantee that you’re going to be safe no matter what happens then his mind is going to keep slipping away.”

  “But I can’t sleep with him.”

  The kind smile on Dylan's face faded. This woman was her brother’s mate and she was the reason that her beloved brother was slowly but surely going down a path that she couldn’t follow. Wyatt would be claiming her, even if she had to strap Kass down to a bed to make it happen. “What do you mean you can’t? Do you have any idea of what’s at stake here?”

  “I can’t sleep with Wyatt. I can’t have sex with anyone. I thought you were a doctor.”

  “I am a doctor,” Dylan snapped angrily.

  “I can’t have sex with anyone because of my heart. You can’t put that kind of responsibility on me when there’s nothing I can do to help him without killing myself in the process.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The last time I tried to have sex I was seventeen. My boyfriend and I had played about before but we’d never actually had sex. The thought never even crossed my mind that there could be a problem. In my mind
sex was just an extended petting session. I was wrong. I had an attack. I almost died that day. That was when I found out about my heart problem. I can’t have sex with anyone because even trying throws my heart completely out of its natural rhythm. I can’t risk trying that again.”

  “Fuck,” Dylan cursed. Standing up she started to pace. “He’s going to need something.”

  “I’m not going to sit here with you and negotiate what goes on between me and your brother. If he wants to talk about this then he knows exactly where to find me.”

  Dylan sighed. “Wyatt isn’t thinking straight.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that he wants to have a relationship with me. If he wants this thing between us, whatever it is, to work then we need to talk.” She got off the sofa and went back to the kitchen where her mixing bowl was calling to her. Her movements slow and methodical she placed her cookie mixture on to a baking tray.

  “I know it sounds strange but if you’d just talk to me then I could tell him everything and then when he got back you wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

  Sighing as she rolled her eyes, Kass put the cookies in the oven and turned to look at Dylan. “You’re a good sister. He told me what you and Erica did when Emily died.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Dylan muttered under her breath. “I doubt it.” If Wyatt had told Kass exactly what they’d done there was no doubt in her mind that Kass would have fled.

  “But he’s a big boy now and he can’t have you fighting his battles for him. Tell him to come home and we can talk.”

  “I don’t know if that’s going to be possible.”

  “He managed to talk to you long enough to get you here, I’m sure you can do the same in reverse.”

  Kass smiled and Dylan knew that the conversation was over. She’d been dismissed as politely as was possible given the circumstances and staying any longer would just make things worse. “I’ll try to call him but it might be difficult.” Considering the fact he could barely speak when he called me and has probably gotten worse. “I don’t know how long it’ll take for him to come back.”