She snorted. "Death or life as a werewolf. No pressure. Right." She took a ragged breath and stared at the floor. "You wanted to take a nap."
And the fact she wouldn't look at him made him worry she was intending on trying to slip out while everyone was napping. "With you."
She looked so damned vulnerable, he didn't want to push her into accepting any of this until she could handle it. What was he supposed to do? Letting her know their secrets, but allowing her to live on her own as a human was not an option. But killing her wasn't either.
He ran his hands through her silky hair, wanting to bury his face in the sweet peach-scented strands. "In part, you and your brother are already one of us, if it helps any. It seems Jeremiah Cramer, your great-grandfather, was Seth Greystoke, a friend of my great-grandfather's. One of his great grandsons still lives. Which creates another situation. Maybe the solution, or not. Once Devlyn Greystoke learns of your existence, I'd be willing to bet, he'll want you to join his pack."
Tessa looked so distraught, Hunter took her hand and kissed it, and he noted how small her fingers were compared to his, just like the rest of her--petite, delicate, not tall like his sister or Cara, which meant she'd be a small wolf when she shapeshifted, and most likely unable to deal with the heftier grays if one of them tried her. But touching her turned his body into a torrent of need--the desire to claim her overcoming any rational judgment.
Trying to get his mind off what Tessa's sweet body did to his, he considered the matter of turning her further. He didn't object to making her one of their own for the same reason Leidolf did because of his roots, even though he and Meara were of royal lineage also, but having offspring who were not, didn't matter to him. Turning a reluctant woman did. But if she had wolf roots already and she was willing... "You have a choice, Tessa." As much as he hated to admit it.
"You mean to go with some stranger?" She sounded slightly hysterical, her eyes wide, scared. "I can't leave. My brother--"
"As the last of his kin, I'm certain Devlyn would want to do whatever he could to help free your brother."
Although Hunter had every intention of freeing her brother himself, somehow.
Tessa's expression changed subtly--almost as though she thought family might be more of a help than he would be. And the notion irked him. He was her savior, no one else.
But then she squeezed Hunter's hand and his groin tightened. "What about you?"
Hell, he wanted her, but in reality, since Devlyn was a pack leader and her kin, by their laws, he should decide her future. Hunter chided himself. That was one law he wasn't willing to abide by--not when it came to Tessa's fate.
She bit her lip, her hands nervously rubbing her jeans. "What, Hunter? If it pertains to me..."
"Hell, Tessa." He tugged her from the floor and pulled her toward her bedroom. "If I was being perfectly honest with you, I'd tell you it's out of my hands. That according to our laws, your cousin would decide what would happen to you and your brother."
She slumped a little. "But...? " She looked up at him with a mixture of emotions--hope, worry, insecurity.
"I don't want to give up control." Well, a hell lot more than that. He didn't want to give her up, period.
Her lips twitched up slightly.
"Yeah, well, it's a natural curse when you're an alpha pack leader. Give no quarter."
"But...? "
"If I make you mine to prevent the other grays from having you, Devlyn might choose to fight me because of it--if I didn't get his permission first. All packs have female shortages. He may want to give you to one of his own sub pack leaders."
Not that Hunter wanted that, but alpha leaders didn't mate betas. Both an alpha male and female ran the pack. If Tessa wasn't alpha enough, she would never survive as his mate. Devlyn could pair her off with a subleader or a beta. If Tessa stayed with Hunter, there wasn't any way he was giving her to anyone else and that could put her in harm's way. He couldn't do that. But he didn't have the heart to tell her she might not be able to be an alpha's mate.
He took her into the room and shut the door.
She folded her arms and glowered at him. "Right, damn it. Like some guy I don't even know can come here and tell me who I have to marry."
"Mate. We don't marry."
Her brows rose.
"I have a lot more to tell you about us before you really know what you're getting into." Although he wasn't sure how much to reveal all at once.
For a moment, she looked annoyed, and he figured it had to do with not saying he'd fight for her. He had no qualms about fighting Devlyn for her, but the fact of the matter still remained he had to do what was right for Tessa's safety.
But then Tessa began unbuttoning her blouse. He recognized that devious look in her eyes that meant she was up to something. Get him so worked up he didn't want to give her up, perhaps. He didn't want to give her to anyone, but if it meant keeping her safe, he'd... well, he'd have to do what was right for her.
Hesitating, he didn't want to give her the wrong message. She gave him a wickedly sinful smile in response and that decided it. Talk about having no willpower when it came to the red-haired goddess.
She ran her fingers down Hunter's chest with a provocative stroke of her long nails and reached for his waistband. "What happened to your pack? Are they the ones Leidolf said were in Portland?"
What pack? Hell, his other head was thinking for him now.
He yanked her shirt down to her elbows, leaned over, and kissed her soft throat, his voice husky when he replied, "They weren't happy about losing their homes in California to the forest fire. They thought living in a city would be a nice change. But we're not urban wolves. Leidolf's pack is established in Portland. He has every right to defend his territory against encroachers."
"Hmm," she murmured, lifting her chin as he ran his mouth lower, trailing kisses over her collarbone, down to the top edge of the lacy bra covering the swell of her breasts.
Despite not looking to see where her fingers roamed, she dipped them inside his sweatpants and a shiver of need stole through him.
Lower, he silently pleaded, wanting her to stroke the itch she'd created. And she touched him, smiling when his arousal jumped in her hand.
Unable to restrain the urge to rip off her clothes and have his way with her, he reached down and attempted to unbuckle her belt, vowing she'd wear sweats like him from now on, less to remove and lots quicker.
She chuckled as he fumbled with the belt, and he growled. Somehow, despite his lust-soaked brain, he was able to remove Tessa's clothes without destroying them, baring all that luscious skin, her pert breasts, the nipples already peaked, but screened by her silky mane of red hair. She trembled in the frigid room, and Hunter scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.
"Then you'll have to go to Portland and bring them back."
Bring who back? Hell, all he cared about was Tessa at the moment. And he sure was rethinking the Devlyn situation, cousin or no, alpha leader problems notwithstanding. "I can't leave you behind while I deal with my pack."
He set her on the bed, then climbed onto the mattress and pulled the covers over them to keep the chill out. Trailing a finger around his nipples, she tortured his body, caressing with featherlight touches. "Why does the stalker want me for real?"
Jeez, she had to ask? Everything about her was sexier than sin--just to look at, to touch, to taste, to smell her special scent. But beyond that? She drugged him with her easygoing manner, her innocence, yet her strength to right wrong, to persist when everything told her the situation was futile, to risk her life to protect him. What more could a lupus garou ask for in a mate?