Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

occurred to him. “Do you have your cell?”
    “Yeah. I usually keep that on me too.”
    “Can I see it?”
    Frowning, she nodded, but at least she handed it to him.
    When their fingers brushed, he cursed himself for the shock that went through him. They barely touched and his entire body reacted. “Will you stay here while I search your house?”
    For a moment he thought she might argue, but she finally nodded. “Fine, whatever. You’re going to do it anyway.”
    Damn right he was. “Stay here with her,” he said to Ryan as he took her key ring.
    The second he stepped inside, he was accosted by her soft jasmine scent. It always subtly lingered on her and in her house it was more potent. Probably not to humans, but with his heightened senses it almost enveloped him with its purity.
    As he moved from room to room, it was easy to see December’s feminine touches. Most of the rooms had pale earth tones. Soothing and soft, like her. Once he’d checked each room, every window, and all entrances, he allowed himself a small amount of relief. There were no signs of a break-in and he couldn’t smell the remnant scent of an intruder.
    After the attempted kidnapping at her store Liam had tried to convince her to let him have an alarm installed there and at her house. Even her brother, who basically detested him, had agreed. But December was stubborn. Of course it might have something to do with the fact that he’d
ordered
her to let him take care of it instead of asking her. As second-in-command of his pack—well, technically third now that his brother was mated—he wasn’t used to asking for things, though. Especially not when he knew he was right.
    December might not have accepted that she was his intended mate, but he knew it with every fiber inside him. He didn’t know
how
he knew—he just did. It was as if something inside him flared to life the moment they’d met. A hundred years ago—before his father had turned into a shell of a wolf due to his mate’s death and before Liam’s pack had been slaughtered—his father had told him he’d likely know his mate on sight. Not all shifters recognized their intended mates right away, but Armstrongs usually did. Just like his brother had recognized Ana as his other half. If only Liam could figure out a smoother approach with December. She didn’t come from their world and didn’t understand anything about pack law or…him. And he wanted to change that.
    He might look like he was in his early thirties, but he was over a century old. In all that time Liam and his brother had lived apart from humans. They intermingled with them for business purposes, and as of twenty years ago humans had learned of their existence, thanks to the decision of his Council and a few other shifter Councils around the world. It didn’t mean he’d completely embraced his civilized, human side, however. When he wanted something, his wolf side threatened to take over.The battle between beast and man sometimes seemed never ending.
    Sighing, he flipped open her phone and scrolled to her brother’s name. Bracing himself for the reaction he’d get, he held it up to his ear.
    “Hey, I was just about to call you.” Parker’s voice was friendly as he answered.
    “This is Liam.”
    Like a switch flipping, he went from friendly to hostile in an instant. “Why do you have December’s phone? What the hell is going on? Is she okay?”
    “Someone tried to attack your sister. Again.”
    “What?”
    “On the way home tonight her date tried to stab her with a syringe. She doesn’t know what was in it or what he wanted, but she managed to stop him. From what I can tell, she got him to run off the road and she escaped. I found her running down the highway.”
    “Were you following her?”
    Liam didn’t bother to deny it. “I waited until she left the restaurant with that guy but kept my distance. I wanted to make sure she got home safe, and hell,
someone
needs to protect her.”
    “Are you saying I can’t?” Parker snapped.
    “Damn it, man. You know that’s not what I’m saying. I only meant I’ve been keeping an eye on her. After that bullshit with Dr. Graham and those assholes who tried to attack Ana, I just want to make sure December is safe.” Over two months ago a local doctor had poisoned the local Cordona pack, killing all the males and pregnant females. Ana Cordona—now his brother’s mate—had become leader of an all-female pack by default. Since his brother and