Fierce

1 LEVI A human in the bunkhouse. God, this was going to suck. I’d had my fill of living with humans as a teenager. Being forced to suppress my wolf urges. Hiding my true nature when all I’d wanted to do was run wild and howl at the f*****g full moon. Especially with raging teenage hormones. It had practically destroyed me, and the day I turned eighteen, I’d left my human family. Never wanted to live under the same roof as a human again. Until now. I took off my hat, rubbed the sweat away with the bandana that had been tucked in my pocket. Clint, Johnny and I had been herding cattle and were finally done for the day. “It makes no sense.” My fellow ranch hand Johnny hopped down from his horse, dust kicking up around his boots, to close the fence behind us. I leaned against my pommel and waited. “Why have a guy stay here two weeks just to breed a mare?” And why did he have to stay with us in the bunkhouse? I wanted to ask, but I kept my mouth shut. Everyone already knew how I felt about living under the same roof as a human. About my past trauma. “It takes, what? A few minutes to pasture mate once they get down to business?” Johnny continued. “It’s not like the guy’s trying to get some woman pregnant. It’s a dang mare.” “I know,” Clint let his exasperation show in those two words. “Apparently, pasture mating’s too rough for this guy’s prized mare. He wants hand mating, and not by us—by his own vet. He’s like a… chaperone for a horse.” I snorted. “I just don’t get it.” Johnny said. The nuances of horse breeding weren’t his thing. They weren’t mine either, really, but if some rich yahoo wanted to have his personal veterinarian babysit a mare he brought to Wolf Ranch to be bred, what did I care? I just didn’t like the part where the vet had to stay in the bunkhouse with me and Johnny. Clint didn’t disagree with Johnny. He’d always had a calmness about him, but the fact that he smiled all the time was new. He’d met his mate back in the fall, and they’d had a baby only a few months ago. To say he was happy was an understatement. He was in f*****g wolf heaven. A marked mate. A pup. “It takes more than once to get the job done,” Clint reminded us. “It took you only once,” Johnny countered with a sly grin and a wink. Clint and his human mate Becky had gotten pregnant their first go—a one night stand kind of thing. When he finally figured out she was his mate, he’d moved out of the bunkhouse and now lived in a cabin up in the hills with his new family. “There are a lot of high maintenance horse people in this country,” Clint said. “This guy is one of them. If he wants to have a vet remain to supervise his horse breeding and is willing to pay top price for it, he can waste his money all he wants. We can stand having a human around for a couple weeks. It’s worth the money he’s paying, believe me.” Johnny frowned although he had no comeback for that. “Besides,” Clint continued. “If his mare can be bred every other day, not just once, the chances of the horse and the vet leaving Wolf Ranch after the two weeks are even better.” Clint tipped his hat back. “After that, you’ll only have to share the bunk house with this grumpy f**k once again.” He thumbed his shoulder in my direction. “Until he’s voted in as sheriff in the fall, then he’ll be living in my parents’ place in town full time.” I climbed down from my horse and led him over to the rail to loosen the bridle. I wanted the sheriff job. It might not lead to justice for my parents, who were killed over fifteen years ago, but I’d get it for others and protect the secret that shifters resided in this county. I’d crashed at Janet and Tom’s place a few times when the weather was too bad to drive the canyon road, but living in town? I wasn’t so sure about that. The election was months off, so I wasn’t going to borrow trouble with arguing about where I was going to sleep. “He’s on his way in,” Boyd, our alpha’s brother, called. We stopped our work and looked up. He and his mate Audrey were walking our way from the main house. His pace was slow to match his mate’s, who held little Lizzie in her arms. When Audrey wasn’t working at the hospital, the three of them weren’t far apart. “Fancy truck with a fancier trailer.” I nodded once because it was as I expected. Rich, eccentric horse owner, fancy horse fixins, including a twenty-four/seven vet. My pack mates might have been happily settled with their human mates, and I liked their mates all right, but humans in general? Not my favorite. Not by a long shot. Marked mates were one thing, but I’d had grandparents who hated the fact I was a shifter… a life that kept my wolf from forever running free. My wolf snarled at the unhappy memory. I still couldn’t shift because of my grandparents. I’d been forced to stifle it too much. It wasn’t because I was only half shifter. I knew because I sensed my wolf inside of me. He was in there but stuck. The big truck rolled to a careful stop in front of the stable. Boyd hadn’t been kidding about the set-up. This mare, who’d been carefully transported in air conditioned horse trailer splendor, was a pampered princess… was about to get defiled by a Wolf Ranch stallion. The sun cast a glare on the truck’s windows, making me squint. The engine cut off, and a second later, the door opened. “Oh.” Clint stared, eyebrows high enough to get lost beneath his hat. It wasn’t a guy who stepped out of the truck—it was a female. And holy hell, she was all woman. “Damn,” Johnny whispered, eyeing her with blatant eagerness. Clint reached out and smacked him upside the head. But I only saw it out of the corner of my eye because I was too busy taking her in although I wasn’t letting my tongue hang out. She was tall. I guessed five-ten. Lean, but with curves that couldn’t be hidden beneath a pair of jeans. They weren’t painted on but hugged her just right. A white blouse was tucked in, the sleeves rolled up and a few buttons undone to show off the long line of her neck. It set off her skin—a warm brown that practically glowed in the sunshine. I realized I’d worked my way up her body because I took in her face last. Holy f**k, she was gorgeous. Not in the supermodel way, no sir. Her eyes were wide set, nose pert. Lips full and lush. With high cheekbones and a square jaw, she didn’t look… dainty. Hell, nothing about her was dainty. Except for the little gold hoops in her ears, the crisp cotton of her top. There wasn’t a wrinkle on her. No, not dainty. Fancy, like her truck and trailer. My d**k punched against my jeans, eager to get to her because I hadn’t seen a woman that made me instantly hard in a long time. Thankfully, Boyd and Clint weren’t getting hard over the sight of her. I shifted my stance to hide that fact and stepped her way. “Hey, there,” Clint said. “I’m guessing you’re not Charlie Baker.” She offered him a small smile and tucked her shoulder length hair behind an ear. It was dark brown and smooth, hanging in long layers around her face. My fingers itched to touch it. What the f**k was wrong with me? Human. She was a f*****g human. Sure, I’d f****d humans before. My d**k had gotten hard for them. But not like this. Clearly, it had been too f*****g long since I’d gotten off with more than my hand. “Actually, I am Charlie Baker. It’s short for Charlotte.” Her voice was husky, deep, but held a nervous catch. Clint tipped his head back and laughed. I stared because it was so new to all of us... that sound. “I’m Clint Tucker. I spoke with your boss on the phone.” “Right. Yes. Nice to meet you,” she replied. “This is Boyd Wolf, his wife Audrey and their little girl, Lizzie.” Boyd took off his hat and ma’am-ed her. “Another woman on the ranch. Finally,” Audrey said. Since Boyd had found his mate in Audrey, the other guys had been dropping like flies. One after the other, each had found a mate, and the sexes on the ranch had been evening out. Especially with two new babies, both female. “Thanks for having me here at your ranch,” she offered politely. Hell if she wasn’t a proper thing. “Well now,” Boyd said with his usual swagger. “This is my family’s land, but my brother, Rob, runs the place. He’s in Billings right now, so you’ll meet him later.” “This is Johnny and Levi,” Clint offered as an introduction. We stepped her way. I took off my hat, nodded. Took a sniff even though my nose wasn’t as attuned to scent as a full shifter’s. It was annoying as hell, and it made me feel defective. At least I had exceptional shifter hearing. I hadn’t been screwed over with that. After offering Johnny a small smile, then turning her gaze finally on me, her eyes widened. I felt as if I’d been kicked in the chest by a horse. My wolf instantly rose. Howled. Pushed me toward her. Yeah, he thought she was hot, too. Definitely fuckable. Her eyes narrowed when I moved in close. Too close for a stranger. She took a small step back. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.” I clasped her hand in mine and energy ran all the way up my arm. A shock of desire. I immediately released her and stepped back, running the affected hand over the back of my neck to alleviate the sensation. “Well, now that we know you’re Charlie but not Charlie, we’ll get you set up in the main house,” Clint said. “I don’t think the bunk house will suit.” “I can just stay at a hotel.” I couldn’t miss the stiffness in her voice. “Town’s twenty miles away. Not all that convenient,” Boyd said doubtfully. Audrey pushed her glasses up her nose and nodded. “Rob and Willow won’t mind you staying at the big house.” “I don’t want to put anyone out,” she said, breaking her gaze from mine and looking to Audrey. “Whatever you originally planned is fine.” “She’ll stay in the bunkhouse.” I spoke before I even knew I meant to. I usually deferred decisions to Rob or Colton or Boyd, but if I was going to be spending two weeks with a gorgeous female, I wanted her nearby. All my crankiness about sharing a roof with a human was out the window. I’d figured Charlie would be a guy and annoying at that, not a d**k-hardening, fuckable woman. This definitely wasn’t a bad idea after all. Clint chuckled. “The bunkhouse is nice and all, but not really meant for ladies. Shared bathroom and all.” “Like I said—” “She’s staying in the bunkhouse,” I insisted, cutting her off and meeting her gaze once more. Holding it. “I’ll make sure she’s comfortable.” She stared at me but spoke to Clint. “Sounds like this could be difficult. I’ll get a hotel room.” Difficult? The only thing that would be difficult would be fitting my hard d**k in my pants with her around. I was like an aroused stallion with a mare in heat. “You’ll stay in the bunkhouse,” I repeated. “Come on, I’ll get your bag.” Her back straightened at my deep tone. I knew it sounded rough, but I couldn’t help it. “Levi, right? I’ve made things awkward. You all had planned for a man, and then there’s me.” She set her hand by her neck, and I couldn’t miss her short fingernails. Manicured with a pale pink color. Yeah, I hadn’t planned for her. I’d planned on some asshole human male who was going to cramp my style for two weeks. Not a beautiful human vet. And very female. “Levi, maybe it would be better if she stayed with Rob and Willow,” Clint warned. I wanted to throat punch him. I whipped my head toward Clint and made sure he could see the way I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll stay in the motel,” she said. “Sounds like that will be easiest.” She was clearly uptight, and I’d made her uncomfortable. Hell, she was like a skittish mare. I needed to treat her like I treated any nervous filly. I forced myself to relax and stepped forward, loose-limbed and friendly. I gave her my most charming smile—straight out of the Boyd Wolf player’s playbook—before he met Audrey, of course. “Definitely not. You’re staying in the bunkhouse. With me.” In my bed, preferably.