Mated to the Wolf Read Online Free Page B

brilliant as sun glinting off steel. “I will not see you fall beneath their fangs and claws, torn slowly to pieces, your powers absorbed by those with less than honorable intentions.”
    “They who?”
    “The Hunters the Society will dispatch if you leave the protection of my home.” Muscles in his shoulders went taut. “That’s what will happen to you, Samantha. So you see, we have to become lovers. Because if we don’t, you will die. It’s as simple as that.”
    “That’s a hell of a choice.” Samantha stared at Grayson in shocked disbelief.
    “A choice better than a cruel, painful death. They will find you. The Society suspended the bounty on your head only because I agreed to mate you.”
    His mouth was beautiful for a man’s, she thought wildly. Full, firm lips, crooked upward slightly at the left from his scar. A beautiful mouth that delivered such a grim ultimatum.
    A mouth that would deliver passionate, demanding kisses. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, she thought. Maybe her powers wouldn’t diminish that much, and if they waned a little, there was always weaponry.
    “And once we mate, what then? I’m free to go?”
    “No. We must stay together.”
    “Because your Society won’t trust me on my own?”
    “Because I never let go of what is mine.”
    The raw possessiveness in his deep voice startled her. His energy shimmered in the air with the strong musk of masculine need. Grayson’s gaze was steady upon her as Samantha hugged her knees tighter.
    “But I won’t be yours. And I’m not exactly the type of person who makes a meek, obedient wife,” she warned.
    “You will be mine,” he said softly. “My kind mate for life. When we agree to take a mate, we don’t walk away. As for meek and obedient…”
    His broad smile startled her with its genuine warmth. “Boring. And you’re anything but.”
    “You don’t know me.”
    “You like to eat sushi, but leave off the wasabi. You’ve never owned a car, but had several racing bikes, crashed some of them. Your mother homeschooled you and your sisters until middle school. You enjoy meeting new people and make friends fast, and people are attracted to your lively energy. Favorite things include rock climbing, racing old cars on lonely country roads, dancing until dawn, sappy romantic comedies, collecting antique angels, and playing with fire on cold nights.”
    A bright orange red flame shot from her opened mouth. It licked the ceiling, then rolled back onto her tongue.
    Samantha sat back, giving him a smug look. It covered her shock over how many intimate details he’d collected about her.
    “Very impressive. Must come in handy for weenie roasts.” His expression grew intent. “One more thing. You’ve never been with a man, mostly because you fear your powers will diminish. But sex can’t diminish your magick.”
    Her mouth opened, then closed. “How do you know?”
    “The Society made it a point of studying your sisters, after they lost their virginity. They’ve kept tabs on all three of you.”
    Anger shimmered inside her. “Like I’m a damned science experiment. Then study this, hotshot.”
    Samantha opened her mouth and breathed fire straight at him. Grayson held up a hand. Flames hit his palm, shot straight into the water and were doused.
    She stared, fascinated and a little afraid. Ancients were unknowns to her, and this Ancient had enormous powers she could barely fathom.
    “Thanks for heating the water. It was getting slightly chilled.” He wagged his brows.
    That irascible sense of humor finally broke her rigidity. Samantha opened her mouth again to release peals of laughter. When she stopped, Grayson nodded.
    “I like that sound of that. And the smell of your laughter makes your scent flare. It’s delectable.”
    Samantha’s breath caught. Silver droplets clung to the dark hairs on his firm chest. One beaded on the brown circle of his left nipple. She longed to taste it, run her mouth over his skin, startle him out of