Sophia was having a wonderful dream of soft kisses trailing down her chest. A hot, wet tongue was licking her nipples, making her pussy throb. A big hand spread her lips, and she smiled when she heard a groan as a thick finger fondled her wetness.

The wicked digit moved to pump into her slowly, making her squirm and try to ride it. She pouted when the finger left her and heard a chuckle as a thick, long cock breached her cunt in its place.

Desire flooded her. Her eyes opened to find gorgeous, man-candy Chase buried inside her, filling her with his trophy-worthy cock.

She smiled at the look of hunger on his face. She ran her hands over his chest to curl them around his neck and then pulled him down for a mind-numbing kiss. Aggression she wasn’t aware she possessed took hold.

She wrapped her legs around his hips and caught him completely unaware when she flipped him onto his back. His stunned look made her laugh, and she sat up with him still buried deep inside. “Mine.” The possessive instinct rushed through her, insisting she mark him as her own.

“Does my big puppy want to play?” she cooed, laughing when he growled and made a face.

“I’ll show you a puppy, you naughty hellcat.”

“Oooh, I’m scared. I think my big puppy needs to learn who the boss is.” She rocked her hips, making him groan as she started to ride him.

Newfound assertiveness filled her. He’s yours. Fuck him!

He lifted to his elbows so he could suck her nipples. Sophia slammed down harder with every nip he gave the small buds. Her breath hissed out in shallow bursts.

Squeezing around his shaft, she felt his thick length rubbing inside her sensitive channel. Chase squeezed her nipple with one hand, his fingers pinching the tender tip, tightening the knot of tension growing inside her.

“Chase, oh God. I’m going to… Fuck.” She broke off on a moan.

“Come for me, beautiful. I want to feel your hot little pussy tightening around me.” He groaned and lifted his hips off the bed to slam into her as she slid downward.

He rubbed his thumb on her swollen clit and tweaked the other nipple roughly, urging her over the edge. Her head fell back, and she screamed.

Her pussy sucked on him, propelling him into a climax that had him gripping her hips tightly while he jerked and filled her with his semen for long, intense moments.

Boneless, she landed on his chest, closed her eyes, and tried to catch her breath.

Her body felt like a big lump of jelly and was completely satisfied. His big arms curled around her, holding her over him while he rubbed his cheek over her hair in a gesture of affection. Her heart melted at his warm embrace.

If someone had told her Chase was going to screw her until her spark plugs burned out, she would’ve laughed in their face. Yet, here she was, her body still humming over the fantastic multiple orgasms the man had given her, her brain one giant Chase-loving groupie.

She didn’t get a chance to think too many mushy thoughts before her stomach started rumbling…loudly.

“Sophia?” His soft call broke through her happy trance.

“Hmm?” she sighed, too content to move. “Are you planning to have any of the food I brought you, or did you have a different kind of thing in mind to put into your mouth?”

She blinked and lifted her head to look at his grinning face and twinkling eyes.

“You are such a pervert!” Heat flooded her cheeks, and she smacked him on the chest.

It was strange having a man joke around with her. Not to mention the man-candy FBA who now belonged to her. It blew her mind.

“What—why? I’m only giving you choices, darling.” He grinned and left the bed to walk into the attached bathroom.

He left the door wide open as he took care of his business. The man had no shame and was completely at ease with his nudity. It didn’t help that he had such a great ass that she couldn’t stop staring at it while he was facing the toilet.

Disgusted with herself, she pulled on a robe that hung on the back of the door and walked to the tray of food lying on the dresser: fruit, juice, muffins, a couple of half sandwiches, and a large piece of chocolate cake.

She picked up the piece of cake and ate it first. She’d never been much of a chocolate lover, but it called to her.

She absently ate and thought about the events of the previous night. She had actually begged Chase to fuck her? Good Lord, she’d lost every scrap of decency she ever had, and she didn’t even feel bad about it.

Taking a sip of juice, she remembered how he’d kissed every inch of her body. She raised her hand to touch the teeth marks on the back of her right shoulder. He’d marked her, branded her as his, and made her his mate. A small shiver went through her.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear him approach. She jumped slightly when he wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his head to kiss her neck.

“Not very hungry, were you?” He rubbed his lips over the back of her ear.

She looked down and saw that she’d eaten everything on the tray. Shocked with her overindulgence, she dropped the muffin in her hand and turned around in his arms.

He looked incredibly sexy with his scruffy beard and rumpled look, not to mention all that naked skin on display.

“Why are you stopping? You need to eat if you’re hungry.” He frowned at her.

“No, I’m good. I need a shower.” She pushed out of his arms and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She needed to get her body under control and stop imagining sex with Chase every second of her life. Talk about getting a taste of the good stuff and never wanting to stop. She was already addicted.

She leaned forward with her hands flat against the wall. Letting the water slide down her body, she tried to clear her head of all things Chase, but luck wasn’t on her side.

The curtain rustled, and she knew he had joined her. A moment later she smelled soft vanilla shower gel. His hands rubbed the liquid over her back. She wanted to resist, but her body had other ideas, and she relaxed into his touch.

His hands were absolute magic. They caressed the soap onto her shoulders, down her back, and over the curve of her ass. His head bent to kiss the curve of her neck and suck on the back of her ear. Shudders racked her body at the intense sensation of his tongue on such a sensitive spot.

Slipping soapy hands between her ass cheeks, he fondled her anus, making her breath hitch as his finger slowly circled and dipped into the tight rosette. She pushed into his hands, wanting to feel more. He stopped, moved his fingers to roam her sides, and turned her around to face him.

She looked into his passion-filled eyes and knew she was beyond wet and oh-so-ready for him to sink his hot, hard cock into her. Her nipples beaded to tight points while her sex clenched.

Their lips came together urgently. She sucked and bit his lower lip, purring in the back of her throat. He roughly thrust his tongue into her mouth. The frantic movements increased the heat inside her body and made him growl.

He rubbed more soap over her chest, kneading her breasts and squeezing her nipples. She whimpered. Her hands moved to his shoulders, and she dug her nails into his thick muscles. His long fingers traveled down her belly to settle between her thighs. Dipping into her swollen folds, he found her slick and ready.

He moved her under the spray to remove the soap from her flesh and wrapped his arms around her body, bringing her flush up against him. Her legs curled around his waist and he dug his fingers into her ass cheeks as her back hit the tiled wall.

They groaned when he slid home in one quick thrust. Her pussy clenched and grabbed his shaft, tightly wrapping around him. He thrust and withdrew in and out of her body in short, quick moves. She moaned. He hit a sensitive spot inside her, rapidly bringing her to the edge of reason.

“Chase…Chase, please…fuck me harder…harder…I need—” She broke off when he locked his lips on hers, fucking her with his tongue in addition to his cock.

“You like that, baby? You like it when I fuck your tight little cunt so hard it makes you come? You’re going to like it when I fuck your tight little ass, too. Oh, baby, I can’t wait to lick that special little spot and bury my cock into your virgin ass.”

He took her nipple into his mouth. He rolled the tip with his tongue and nipped it.

He let one of his hands travel the crevice of her wet ass, and very slowly he pushed one soapy finger around the rim of her anal entrance. Her body tensed a little at the unexpected invasion in that position.

“Relax, sweetheart, I’d never hurt you.” He rubbed her in slow circles until her body relaxed into him, pumping his finger in and out of her.

He brought his head down and roughly bit her nipple while he rammed her body hard with his cock.

He fucked her fast and wild. Her breath came in broken whimpers.

“Yes…yes…God, that feels so good. Chase. Oh my God I…I’m—” Her body tightened to an almost painful degree and everything shattered inside her.

Chase gripped her hard, growling into her neck. His teeth clamped down on her shoulder, marking her again, while his hot seed filled her, coating her insides and soothing her sex.

He held her up and shut off the water. Wrapping her in a towel, he carried her back to bed. Neither was willing to go anywhere until her heat passed.

* * *

Ratface and his group snuck through the bushes into the scientist’s backyard. She’d been gone for a couple days. They found her car at the sister’s home and had been watching to see if she left.

None of his guys saw hide nor hair of the target outside the house, but she wasn’t anywhere else in town. She had to be there.

Ratface waved his man forward to the back door. Goon pulled his lock pick tools from his pocket. Squeaky giggles rolled off the hyena and Rat slapped him upside the head.

“Shut it or I’ll shut it for you.”

Goon cringed and leaned out of his reach. “Sorry, boss.” A few seconds later, the door swung open.

The group swiftly moved in.

“Search everything,” Ratface said. “We’re looking for scientific stuff.”

One of his men asked, “How will we know if it’s scientific?”

Ratface shook his head. How could he fly like an eagle when he was stuck with the dogs?

He said, “If you can’t tell what it is and it has a bunch of numbers, it’s probably scientific.”

The group looked at each other. Mumbles of, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’s smart,” rolled through them along with titters.

What a fucked-up group of piss ants he worked with. He needed to get away from the big city. Find someplace new where he could start over and she’d never find him. He couldn’t take it any longer.

He wanted to get this gig done and over with and…what? What could he possibly do after being a punk gang member for so long? He’d never held a legitimate job. Didn’t have anyone he could call a true friend. Just those who rode his coattails when he was on a paying job. Fuck.

Ratface left the idiots with him and went into the home’s office and started pulling out drawers and dumping them. He searched for flash drives, files, papers, anything that looked suspicious.

From a closet, he pulled out an old shoebox and flipped the lid off. Inside, a pile of handwritten papers and some envelopes filled the space, one side to the other.

Could this be what they were looking for?

He pulled out a group of several pages folded together. The writing was faded and in pencil. The pretty, looping cursive script flowed across the lines from top to bottom.

He straightened the wrinkled sheets and read the first page:

Dear Nicki,

Summer camp stinks. I wish…

That name struck a chord inside him. He knew a Nicki once. A long time ago. And damn, did he miss her.

The years with her were the happiest of his life. In fact, they were the only happy years he ever had.

They met the summer of her sixteenth year. Back then, there were no phones, no electronic hand-held games, no Facebook. Just person to person conversations.

She was coming in the door of a Kwiki Mart as he was walking out. They saw each other through the glass entrance. He was sure she was staring at his ugly face like everyone did.

He couldn’t help the rodent-like features his face displayed in his hyena body. Somewhere in the family line, someone married or fucked a rat and he was paying the price for it.

Outside the Kwiki Mart, he lit up a cigarette from the pack he just purchased. He felt the rush as nicotine flooded his system and calmed him. He swore he was at the slowest gas pump in the world. It was taking forever to fill the gas tank of his souped-up Mustang.

He paced a few yards from the gas pumps. Not getting close because of the cigarette. He took a big drag into his lungs.

“Hey,” a sweet, feminine voice said behind him, “groovy ride you got there.”

He spun around to see the girl from the store. She held a Coke in one hand and dollar bills in the other.

“Thanks,” he said, then hacked into a coughing fit from the smoke he’d forgotten to exhale.

She laughed and patted his back. “You okay, dude? You look like a fire-breathing dragon with all that smoke coming out.”

He raised a brow at her. Fire-breathing dragon? “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he replied. Most things he heard where rat jokes and negative comments on his looks.

She laughed again. So beautiful. “Dude, you need to hang around different peeps then.”

She was right. He had just dropped out of school a year ago to hang full-time with the gang he belonged to. With them there were no rodent remarks or beatings. They were past that. Went on to other things for entertainment.

He couldn’t get the girl out of his mind. He was so stupid—not getting her name or phone number or anything. He was sure he’d never see her again.

Nichola wasn’t his true mate, but his human side loved her nevertheless. His hyena could get over it.

A couple days later, he and a buddy were sitting in a car waiting for the right time to go in and rob the mart. No guns or knives during that time. The amateurs never carried weapons in town. It just wasn’t done. Fortunately, he had claws and sharp teeth if the need to defend himself ever arose.

Just before closing, there she was again—going inside. He was out of the car and in the store in a heartbeat. She stood in front of the chilled soft drink bottles, looking over the selection.

“You know,” he said, coming up behind her, “the orange drink is pretty good without too much sweetness.”

She swiveled in her long gypsy-style skirt and loose-hanging shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail showing off her clear complexion.

When she turned and smiled at him, he was a goner. His heart would never belong to another. Needless to say, the robbery scheduled for that night didn’t happen. He received a beating when he got back for botching the plan. But it was worth it. Because she was going to meet him the next day at the beach.

After her initial shock from learning about shifters, she was into the species and wanted to know everything about them. He thought that was so groovy. Until she found out about mates.

Her heartfelt need to be perfect for him became her downfall.

Sudden anger and sadness flooded him. He grabbed onto the closet door and ripped it off its hinges, throwing it across the room. A small two-drawer file cabinet sat next to him. He yanked that off the floor and launched it through the air.

His head tipped back and a lone howl erupted from his throat.

When he came back to himself, he noted the men had gathered around the door to the destroyed office. All looking at him with awe or stupidity. He wasn’t sure which, nor did he care.

He pushed through them and headed out the front door, not caring what the neighbors saw. He was done there. What they were looking for wasn’t in the house. He’d send another group to the lab tomorrow.

He wanted this “job” over and done with so he could go back to his self-destructive habits. That was the only way to keep the memories at bay.

Right now, he just wanted to be away from the looks. From the questions. From the heartache.

* * *

After four days of nonstop sex and food, they’d finally made it out of Julia’s house Wednesday evening. Sophia had called her boss to take the rest of the week off to get over the…whatever was driving her body.

“You didn’t need to come with me, you know,” she protested when Chase drove them to her lab.

“Yes, I do,” he said while holding the steering wheel in a death grip. They’d just left her house and were headed toward her lab in his black SUV.

When they arrived at her house, they found her front door open. Chase, the macho wolf, had made her sit in his car until he checked out her house and ensured there was no danger to her.

Her home office had been completely trashed. It had made her see red to know someone dared touch her stuff without her consent. Chase had called the sheriff, who happened to be a close friend, and told him about the break-in.

“So? Are you ever planning on telling me what you smelled in my house?” she demanded.

“Fine.” His tone was grim when he explained how he scented multiple hyena shifters.

“What would they want with me?” Stunned that other shifters would tear her house apart, she turned to gape at Chase.

“I think someone found out about your research and knows what you can do.” His fingers flexed on the wheel. “We need to make sure your work is secure. Maybe talk to your boss about what’s going on.”

“But…but I was careful with all my work. Every piece of paper I used was shredded and all my samples were stored in my private freezer or destroyed by my own hand.”

“Somehow someone found out, and now they want to get their hands on it. Don’t worry, love, I won’t let anyone lay a hand on you.” Determination lined his features.

She held back from smiling at his words for fear of offending him. He acted like she couldn’t defend herself, but didn’t Chase say she was a shifter now? Well, then she would kick some shifter ass if she needed to.

God, she hoped she would need to so she could finally see what the whole turning into an animal was all about. Get ready, bad guys, there was a new wolf-cat in town, and she was going to shred them to pieces first and ask questions later.

He parked in the back of the building. She noticed how few cars there were. It was after working hours, but most weekdays employees worked late into the night.

Once inside, they walked to her lab where she and Chase found no trace of any disturbance.

“Ew. What is that smell?” She wrinkled her noise in complaint at one of the not-so-fun shifter side effects, a great sense of smell.

“Bleach and ammonia. Someone was in here.” Chase looked around all her equipment, but she had already explained she was extremely careful with her samples and never left anything out so there was nothing to find.

They turned to her secured freezer, where she accessed the inside and pulled out a few vials and beakers and set them on the table workstation.

“Crap,” she started, “I still need to write my notes from that night and add them.” She pulled several loose-leaf sheets of paper with scratched writing on them from a shelf and set them next to the vials. She’d use her jotted down notes to jog her memory of the DNA compounds she played with before discovering the right combination.

“Everything looks fine, Chase.” Sophia closed the vault’s door.

A low noise filled the air. It sounded like a laugh and a whine mixed together.

She scanned the inside of her lab but couldn’t see anyone in the large, dimly lit room. Chase tensed and moved to step between her and the lab entrance, giving her his back.

“What is it?” she whispered, unsure if she should be making any noise.

“Hyenas. They’re already in animal form. I need to shift. We can connect through our wolves. Stay back and don’t do anything to make me want to strangle you later, okay, sweetheart?”

Outraged, she fisted her hands on her hips and glared at the broad expanse of his sexy back while he removed his T-shirt. She didn’t like how she was ready to drool at the sight of him shirtless.

She wished they weren’t in danger so she could have him fuck her on one of her lab tables in clear view of anyone that went by. She wanted to slap herself to stop the erotic visuals that kept filling her head. Focus, woman! She was in danger of getting mauled in her lab, and all she could think of was getting fucked.

“You are one depraved, sick woman in need of mental help,” she whispered to herself.

“You can tell me all about it later—and whatever it was that made that delicious scent come out of you.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

She rolled her eyes and turned her back to him.

She glanced around again and thought about what he had said earlier.

Wait a second, did he mean they could communicate via telepathy? She didn’t get a chance to ask because when she turned to glare at his back, he’d already shifted into a large, black wolf.

She sucked in a sharp breath at the size of his animal. He had to be over six feet in length, with a massively muscular body surrounded by thick black fur, and paws as big as her face. Okay, maybe not that big, but he was huge.

Her inner wolf howled with pride, and wicked thoughts of him going feral to protect her brought a fresh flood of arousal.

“Chase?” she called out to him tentatively in her mind.

“Sophia, don’t move from that spot, sweetheart. They will have to come through me to get to you.”

“How many are there?” She worried her lower lip watching the entrance, scared for his safety.

“I see two coming down the hall, but smelled four.”

She wished she could do something to help him.

“Chase, what if I shift—”

“No!” He growled so loud she winced. Well, crap!

“But why not? I mean I can help you—”

“No.” Frustration and anger built inside her. He seemed to have sensed it because he sighed and then continued at a lower tone. “You cannot shift, Sophia.”

“I can try,” she urged, hoping he would change his mind. “I mean, I know I haven’t ever done it before, but I can give it a shot. I mean, how hard can it be, right? And maybe help you in the process.”

She could sense the tension he was feeling at her words.

“It’s not safe for you to shift.” His voice was soft but serious.

“Why?” Her question was drowned by a loud, piercing laugh. A large hyena dove through the air and went straight for Chase. The animal was big with black and brown coarse fur. The thing looked like a cross between a sick lion and a dog on steroids, so ugly, she was sure it had to be some kind of science experiment gone wrong.

Chase immediately crouched and leaped, catching the assailant mid-flight. His wide-open jaws clamped and locked on its front leg and then swung his prey out the door.

The hyena’s body slapped against the white wall with a loud whine, creating a long bloody mark when it slid down to the floor. Another set of the ugly animals attempted to attack Chase, but he swiped his deadly claws, slicing through the enemies with ease.

He bit into the neck of one and crushed the bones, leaving the hyena in a messy pool of blood on the floor. The other assailant came back with the first aggressor and both attacked, clawing at Chase at the same time. They proved to be enough of a distraction to allow a fourth to break in through one of the lab windows.

Shocked into immobility, Sophia watched the man that stood across the room from her. This was a shifter in his human form. He was shorter than Chase but still a great deal bigger than her, with short black hair and dark brown skin.

The guy was not hard on the eyes either. He looked vaguely familiar. He walked forward, and she wondered again if she should try to shift.