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“Why couldn’t you tell him?” Shannon asked.
“That’s the first rule of the pack. We’re supposed to keep ourselves hidden from humans. The pack leaders figure if people ever found out about us, they would hunt us down like monsters. It makes sense, really. The Europeans have stories about werewolves, and the Navajo have their own stories about skinwalkers who turn themselves into coyotes and other animals. Seems like no one is particularly keen on the idea of humans who can turn into animals, or vice versa. It’s better to stay hidden, for the safety of the pack.”
“Did you ever see my father after that?”
“Yes. I still visited him frequently. About a year after I left, I came back and discovered he had a daughter, a baby girl whom he’d rescued from a farm that had been raided. Over the years, that child grew up into a beautiful young woman. The last time I visited Samuel before he passed away, he asked me to keep an eye on that young woman after he was gone, so that’s what I did. The wolf leaders didn’t like me spending so much time away from the pack, but Samuel was like a father to me. I had to respect his wish to protect his only daughter.”
“So you’ve been protecting me all these years?”
Rufus nodded.
Shannon’s heart swelled with emotion. Ever since her father had died, she had often gotten a funny feeling like somebody was watching her. It had never been a scary or disturbing feeling, though. On the contrary, she’d always found it comforting. Sometimes, she told herself it was her father’s spirit watching over her. Now she understood that it had actually been Rufus watching over her on her father’s behalf.
Without really thinking about what she was doing, she moved closer to where Rufus was sitting, put her arms around his big shoulders, and kissed him.
“Thank you for protecting me,” she said.
“It has been my pleasure, Shannon.”
Rufus’ gold-rimmed eyes locked with hers, and she felt a sudden wave of heat sweep through her body. She started to lose her balance, and it was only thanks to Rufus’ muscular arms that she didn’t topple over.
“Shannon?” the shifter rumbled. “Are you okay?”
“She’s fine,” Tanner said calmly from across the fire. “It’s just her heat coming on again.”
Shannon shook her head in denial. “No, I’m fine. Just a little dizzy, that’s all.”
In truth, the throbbing between her legs was almost unbearable, and that funny urge to howl was coming over her again, just as it had done the night before. She was able to control it for the time being, but she probably wouldn’t be able to control it all night.
Tanner pitched the end of his cigarette into the fire and stood up.
“It’s okay, Shannon. No need to be bashful. An omega’s heat usually lasts a couple of days, and it tends to come on stronger at night. Seeing as you’ve been putting off your heat for all these years, yours might last a little longer. Don’t you worry, though. However long it lasts, me and Logan and Rufus are going to be here to take care of it for you, isn’t that right fellas?”
The other two males rumbled in agreement.
Shannon leaned against Rufus and watched with almost hypnotic intensity as Tanner started to unbuckle his belt. She thought he was going to take his jeans down and free the long hard shape that was straining against the weathered denim at his crotch. Instead he removed the belt completely, folded it over once, and clutched the two ends in his big, rough fists.
“We’ll tend to your heat in a minute,” he said. “First we need to tend to something else.”
“What?” Shannon asked, her voice trembling.
“Your discipline.”
CHAPTER 30
“My what?” the omega gasped.
“Your discipline,” Tanner repeated.
This time he couldn’t help punctuating his answer with a snap of the folded belt in his hands, and the omega responded with a sound that was halfway between a whimper and a moan.
Tanner noticed she didn’t pull away, however. If she had, he would have put an end to this game immediately—but he’d known she wouldn’t. Her body wanted to be disciplined, even if her mind didn’t realize it yet. Already, her pupils were dilated as big as dimes, and her scent was begging for domination. Before long, she would start howling again, but Tanner wasn’t going to let it get to that point.
The omega stared up at him for a moment, wide eyes glistening in the light of the campfire, soft lips trembling with a combination of fear and desire. Then her cheeks flushed to the color of a sunset, and her dark eyebrows angled downward in an expression of angry defiance.
“Discipline forwhat?” she demanded.
Tanner suppressed a grin. He’d expected the omega to test him. Hell, he would have been disappointed if she hadn’t. She probably didn’t even consciously realize what she was doing, but she wanted to see if he was alpha enough to really dominate her.
