.5

Hello Readers:

I want to apologize for how long it has taken me to get this up. I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life and writing has mostly been on the back burner. That, and my writing mojo completely flew out the window there for a while. I've submitted chapter three to my editor, Mel, who I don't know what I'd do without, and I should have it up in a few days, too.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments and encouragement! Hope you enjoy!

DGN

*

Evander Peirce was not a morning person. Hell, he wasn't even an afternoon person. In fact, if the woman screaming less than two feet from his bed before the ass crack of dawn had been anyone other than his mate, she probably would have been dead by now. Lucky fucking her.

The howl went up almost instantly, and he automatically interpreted as,

"Something's wrong at the Alpha's cabin." Great.

That was exactly what he needed right now, a fucking pack of werewolves breaking down his door and scaring the living shit out of his already terrified mate. And all before his first cup of life-giving caffeine. With the way his day was going, someone would probably die before breakfast.

He ground the palms of his hands into his eyes in an effort to rub away some of his exhaustion, but it didn't work. He'd spent most of the night with a rock solid hard on that he couldn't do anything about, and between it and his mate's bad sleeping habits, he hadn't had a very restful sleep.

No sleep made him cranky.

Mornings made him cranky.

His mate, who was still currently screaming her fucking head off, was really making him cranky.

He could pretty much sum it all up with three little words and a few colorful expletives: Mornings sucked major fucking ass.

Without a word, he slid to the edge of the bed and hauled his feet to the floor. This was apparently his worst idea ever, because his mate only shrieked louder. Her banshee imitation was right on spot. At this point, he was hoping she'd develop laryngitis.

He sighed and dragged a hand down his face in consternation. If she'd been pack, she would have been all over him by now and begging him to fuck her. That would have made his morning a hell of a lot better, and him a whole lot less cranky, but no, the Powers-That-Be had to pair him with a human, and one that appeared to have no mating instincts whatsoever. If he could just get her to shut up, he intended to show her exactly what his instincts were telling him to do and then she'd be screaming for another reason entirely.

Less than five seconds after having that cheerful thought, someone was beating on his cabin door. "My Alpha, is everything alright? We heard a scream," Daemon, his second in command and head of pack security called out. By the gravel in his voice, he was on the verge of shifting, and his pounding was growing steadily louder. If he didn't get a response soon, he'd break down the door.

"Help! I've been kidnapped! Someone call the police!"

Not the response he'd intended. Evander stared blankly at the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with and wondered what the hell the Gods had been thinking. Kidnapped? Seriously? He pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to ten. This day just kept getting better and better, but at least she'd stopped screaming, right?

"My Alpha?" Daemon prompted, too much amusement in his voice for his own good. There was no doubt in Evander's mind that word of his mate's discovery had spread like wildfire throughout the pack, and he was sure the 'kidnapping' thing would keep them entertained for months to come. The thought did not make him the least bit happy.

"I need coffee," he returned gruffly. "Females

only.

And have some breakfast sent over while you're at it, enough for two. I have a feeling I'm going to need all the strength I can get."

"Help! He's going to kill me!" He hadn't thought it was possible, but he was pretty sure she'd just gone up a notch past soprano. If her voice got any shriller, his ears were going to start bleeding. He wasn't completely sure they hadn't already. Someone snickered -- he was pretty sure it was Daemon -- and rolls of laughter quickly followed. Yeah, someone was definitely going to die before breakfast.

"Laugh it up while you can. You're all going to regret it later." There was a moment's pause, as if his security detail was considering his words, and then the laughter started again.

"You think this is funny?! I'm being held against my will by some crazy person with freaky glowing eyes, and you think this is fricking funny? You...you bunch of...ugh!" She stomped her foot in frustration, causing Evander to have to bite back a laugh of his own. She was cute when she was angry. If for nothing else, he'd keep her around for the entertainment value alone.

"First of all," he started, and she jumped, turning to stare at him, or, rather, his eyes. He heard her heart skip in her chest and her breathing hitch. And then there was the subtle shift in her scent. If he couldn't have smelled her, he would have assumed her reaction was due to fear, but fear didn't produce hormones that smelled that attractive. No, that was definitely arousal, and all because of his voice. Maybe she did have some mating instincts after all. He was pleased.

"I did not kidnap you," he continued, fighting hard against his increasing desire to hold her down and inhale her - among other things. "I rescued you after you fell and injured yourself while

trespassing

in my forest." Not that he was complaining. He was honestly glad she had trespassed. Otherwise, he might not have found her. "Secondly, no one is going to kill you, although after all the screaming you did, I'm sure that everyone in a ten mile radius thinks I committed murder."

He wasn't sure if it was his words or his voice, but she appeared to relax. Too bad it only lasted a moment, and then she was stiffening up again. He really hoped she wasn't planning on screaming again, because if she did, he was planning on duct taping her mouth shut.

"Why are your eye's glowing?" It was more of a demand than a question, and one that he got more often than she could possibly know. Luckily, he had a good excuse.

"Designer contacts." The words were out of his mouth before he even realized what he was doing. He nearly slapped himself.

Yeah, real smooth Evander. Lies are always the best way to start a relationship that will last a lifetime.

Needless to say, his thoughts were thick with sarcasm.

"Oh." She seemed to relax again, but once more, it didn't last long. He was beginning to notice a pattern that he didn't like. "Why were you in bed with me?"

Now, that was an accusation if he'd ever heard one, and one that wasn't easily answered to. Sure, he could tell her the truth, but he was pretty sure, "You're my mate, and my wolf really wanted to fuck you, but because you were injured, I had to content myself with holding you throughout the night," wouldn't go over well. Instead, he opted for another lie and prayed that karma would understand the purpose of his deception.

"You have a head injury."

Had

a head injury, he amended to himself. "I didn't want to leave you alone in case you stopped breathing, or had a seizure or something."

"Oh," she said again. This time, he didn't bother getting his hopes up and was rewarded with her wary silence. He almost missed her screaming. Almost.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he finally rose from the bed and headed towards the dresser. What he really wanted to do was toss her onto the bed and have his way with her. That, however, would probably defeat the purpose of talking her down from her former state of hysterics. As would the fact that he was naked, if she knew. He pulled out a pair of jeans and proceeded to yank them on as he waited for her to answer.

"I've got a splitting headache, in a strange place with a strange guy who wears freaky glowing contacts, my car is broke down on the side of the road in the middle of fricking nowhere, and I've quite possibly managed to lose one of my boss's biggest clients, but other than that, I'm just peachy." Yeah, she sounded peachy, if by peachy she meant upset, annoyed and pissed off. This did not bode well for his chances of getting laid any time soon. Too bad, he thought while trying to zip up his jeans without permanently injuring himself.

"I can offer you some aspirin for your headache. My name's Evander Pierce and you're in my cabin in the woods. We have a mechanic on site who could probably fix your car, and I'm sure your boss's client will understand your current circumstances. If not, then you should tell him to kiss your ass for being so insensitive. Does that cover everything?"

"You...You're Evander Pierce?" She sounded delightfully shocked, and he had to admit, he liked the way she said his name. It made him want to rumble in pleasure, but that would probably freak her out more than she already was, so he held it back.

"At your service, and you would be?"

"Kayla Morgan, Mitchel and Associates. You're our client." The absolute horror in her voice could not be disguised, though he was almost positive she tried. He imagined her blushing. Damn night vision. Sure, he could make out all her fine details, but interesting color changes was not one of them. He decided to turn on the light.

As soon as he flipped the switch, she let out a squeal of distress and shielded her eyes. He cringed in sympathy and flipped it back off. Her headache must have been worse than he thought. "Sorry. Why don't you lay back down, and I'll go get you that aspirin."

"No, I'll be okay." Yeah, she didn't sound okay. "I brought the paperwork you requested, but it's in my car."

"Paperwork?" Was there no escaping it? And why would Phillip be sending him paperwork on the weekend? At the den of all places. And with a human courier who apparently had no idea who or what he was. Damn vampires. He'd never understand them.

"Paperwork can wait. You're in pain, and it would be extremely inconsiderate of me to allow you to work when you can't even stand to have the lights turned on. How about you take some aspirin now, let them kick in, and then we'll discuss business over breakfast. Sound like a plan?"

"Alright," she agreed, sounding more than a little relieved, and then shuffled a few steps until she collided with the bed. At that point, she collapsed face first on top of the mattress and let out a groan. "Aspirin would be really good right now."

Evander barely managed to resist telling her the best cure for a headache was good sex. Later, he assured himself, and headed towards the bathroom in search of aspirin and a cold shower.