children. If Anna knew so little, then it was more than possible that this wolf didnât know the rules either.
Whether the wolf was ignorant of his crimes or not, Charles still wanted to kill him. When Justin turned around to face him, Charles let his beast peer out of his eyes and watched the other wolf blanch and start back down the stairs.
âYou should find Leo and give him the message,â Charles said. This time he let Justin know that he was following him, let him feel, a little, the way it was to be prey for a larger predator.
He was tough, this Justin. He kept turning around to confront Charlesâonly to meet his eyes and be forced away again. The chase aroused his wolf; and Charles, still angry at the way Justin had manhandled Anna, let the wolf out just a little more than he should have. It was a fight to stop at the outside door and let Justin go free. The wolf had been given a hunt and it was much, much too short.
Brother wolf hadnât liked seeing Anna frightened either. Heâd staked his claim and it had taken all of Charlesâs control not to just kill Justin in Annaâs apartment. Only the strong suspicion that sheâd go back to being afraid of him had allowed him to stay seated until he was sure he could control himself.
Climbing four flights of stairs should have given him enough time to silence the wolf. It might have, except that Anna was waiting for him, rolling pin in hand, on the landing below her apartment.
He paused halfway up the stairs, and she turned around without a word. He stalked her back to her apartment and into the kitchen area, where she set the rolling pin on its standâright next to a small pot that held a handful of knives.
âWhy the rolling pin and not a knife?â he asked, his voice raspy with the need for action.
She looked at him for the first time since sheâd seen his face on the stairs. âA knife wouldnât even slow him down, but bones take time to heal.â
He liked that. Whoâd have thought heâd get turned on by a woman with a rolling pin? âAll right,â he said. âAll right.â
He turned abruptly and left her standing in front of the counter because if heâd stayed there he would have taken her, seduced her. The apartment wasnât large enough either to pace or to get much distance between them. Her scent, blended with fear and arousal, was dangerous. He needed a distraction.
He pulled one of the chairs around and sat on it, leaning back until it was propped on two legs. He folded his arms behind his head and assumed a deliberately relaxed posture, half-closed his eyes, and said, âI want you to tell me about your Change.â He hadnât missed the clues, he thought, watching her flinch a little. There was something wrong with how sheâd been Changed. He focused on that.
âWhy?â she asked, challenging himâstill caught up in the adrenaline rush of Justinâs visit, he imagined. She caught herself and turned away, cringing as if she expected him to explode.
He closed his eyes entirely. Another moment and he was going to put all the gentlemanly behavior his father had taught him aside and take her, willing or not. Oh, that would teach her not to be afraid of him, he thought.
âI need to know how Leoâs pack is run,â he told her patiently, though at the moment he could have cared less. âIâd rather do that through your impressions first, and then Iâll ask you questions. Itâll give me a better insight into what heâs doing and why.â
Â
ANNA gave him a wary look, but he hadnât moved. She could still smell the anger in the air, but it might just have been a remnant from when Justin had been there. Charles was aroused, tooâand she found herself responding to it though she knew it was a common result of victorious confrontations among males. He was ignoring it, so she could, too.
She took a deep breath,
Elmore - Carl Webster 03 Leonard