Alpha Instinct: A Moon Shifter Novel Read Online Free

still carry his mark and possibly his scent. Sometimes even death couldn’t wipe away a bondmate’s scent. Though her mate was now dead, Connor wanted to bury whoever he was all over again. No one else would ever touch what was his.
    Her head snapped back up. He wanted to kick himself at the way he’d spoken to her, but he couldn’t take back the words now. She was his. It was about damn time she figured that out.
    “I don’t understand. You want to mate with me ?” The question came out breathy and seductive as hell. And laced with shock. He couldn’t ignore the not-so-subtle wave that rolled off her.
    Even Liam raised his eyebrows at his bluntness and found a spot on the coffee table to stare at.
    Connor ignored his brother. He had to refrain from growling as he stared at Ana. “I want you as my bondmate.”
    That got her attention. Her spine went ramrod straight. Plenty of shifters mated but they didn’t all bond. Mated shifters could leave if they wanted to, much like how humans divorced one another. Bonding united their kind for life. Even if one of them wanted to leave, they’d be marked and another wolf wouldn’t touch either one of them. It was a big decision and one he knew she wouldn’t make lightly. But when he took her as his mate he wanted her completely.
    “Bondmate?” The word sounded almost angry.
    He abruptly stood. “I don’t expect your answer right away. We’ll let ourselves out, but we’ll be back in the morning to introduce everyone.”
    Frowning, she nodded.
    Once they were outside, Liam punched his arm. And not softly.
    He glared at him. “What are you, twelve?” he muttered.
    “What the hell was that?” his brother growled.
    Connor shrugged and ignored the heated look his brother shot him. “I laid out the stipulations.”
    “That was not part of the plan. You were supposed to give her a chance to warm up to the idea of mating with you. Then you were going to ask that she bond. Not demand it. Damn it, Connor. You’re such a fucking Neanderthal.”
    He clenched his jaw. It probably wasn’t the best decision he’d ever made, but as far as he was concerned his brother was lucky he’d shown as much control as he had. Ana and her family had rejected him once, but things had finally come full circle. It might be selfish to demand her submission now when she was at her weakest, but he couldn’t walk away from her. Not again. “What’s done is done. Let’s go check on the men.”
    His brother muttered something about him being a stubborn asshole, but continued walking with him. The memory of Ana’s sweet scent and the shock in her wide brown eyes rolled over him. He should have eased her into things, but walking away right now was taking all the restraint he possessed. The wolf inside him wanted to take her hard and rough, then soft and gentle. For hours. Until neither of them could walk or think straight.
    The houses and cabins surrounding the ranch fanned out in a circle around the main house. They were far enough apart that the pack members had some privacy, but close enough that they could alert one another if there was trouble. It was like a little village.
    Liam nudged him and nodded toward one of the distant fields. “Hey, what—”
    They both paused as an orange ball lit up the sky. “Fire!”

Chapter 2
     
    C onnor’s heart pounded an erratic tattoo against his chest as he raced back for the main house. He banged on the front door, then opened it.
    From the entryway Analena glared at him. “What the—”
    “Fire. In the west field. Not close to the buildings, but that could change.”
    Wordlessly she turned and fled up the stairs. Seconds later she came barreling back down with her two sisters, Noel and Carmen. Erin wasn’t too far behind.
    “What precautions do you have set up?” he asked as they jogged toward the barn housing the horses.
    “I’ve got a stockade of fire extinguishers and blankets in the barn. If the fire gets out of control, we’ve got