Xavier rubbed the headache forming behind his eyes.
As the lady said, this could not be happening.
The woman had three mates. Three! And he was one of the three. Hell, she hadn’t met any other werewolves. What were the odds that she could have more than three? One in a billion? One in a trillion? So far she had three from three. Hell, maybe taking her home and introducing her to the pack wasn’t such a hot idea. How many more mates could she have out there?
Xavier took a deep breath, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts. Maybe something was off, and she wasn’t really their mate. He’d never heard of it happening before, but there was always a first time.
Ironically, the thought was a depressing one. He hadn’t planned on taking a mate just yet, but the euphoria of finding the woman far outweighed the inconvenient timing. But if there were some sort of glitch, and she wasn’t meant to be anyone’s mate—apart from the disappointment he would feel soul deep—he would still have one pissed-off, newly made werewolf to deal with.
As leader of his small pack it was his responsibility to make certain she knew the rules and understood the constraints they all willingly lived by.
“Andrea,” he said, stepping closer to the irate woman. He wanted to take her in his arms, but he got the feeling that would be a very poor choice. She wasn’t fragile by anyone’s standard. She was tall, moved like an athlete, and from what he could see of her legs, had quite nice muscle tone. He couldn’t tell through the thick terry robe, but he suspected that she was perfectly curved in all the right places as well.
If she was his mate, at least fate had chosen a woman that would suit him in a physical sense. Now if he could only get her to calm down.
“Andrea!” She stopped pacing and ranting to give him a glare that should’ve melted him into a big pile of goo.
“What?” she growled.
Making a decision he sincerely hoped he wouldn’t regret, Xavier said, “The full moon isn’t for another three weeks. We can give you time to pack away this life, but for your safety and the safety of the humans, you need to be inside the compound before the full moon rises.”
Xavier’s brothers looked ready to protest, but he gave them both his most arrogant stare. He was leader for a reason, and unless they were up to challenging him for control of the pack, they would fall into line.
Isaac, still in wolf form, managed to glare at him, obviously annoyed that Xavier would pull rank in this situation. But at least his younger brother was sensible enough to realize that the woman needed some space. The initial changes to becoming a werewolf were already complete. Strength, agility, all of her senses were already enhanced. Her ability to heal was obviously working, and there were no immediate threats from monster hunters in this area. She’d be safe while she closed off this part of her life.
Of course, that didn’t mean he would leave things to chance either.
“Daegan and Isaac are staying in the motel down the street. They’ll give you their mobile numbers. If you need anything, all you have to do is call.”
She nodded. “What about you?”
He hadn’t been expecting the question. She seemed quite relieved to see them go.
“I need to get back to the pack, but Daegan and Isaac are more than happy to drive you up the mountain and show you around your new home.”
“Uh-huh,” she said skeptically. “And if I refuse to come to the compound before the full moon?”
“Then I’ll come get you.”
* * * *
Arrogant assholes!
Every one of them had kissed her good-bye.
And, hey, hadn’t that been totally awful? So awful in fact that she was considering calling them back and getting them to do it all over again. And maybe this time they could try it lying down, or in the shower, or up against the wall naked. Naked was good. Naked would be very good.
Andrea shook her head, trying to rationalize the arousal coursing through her body. She’d been shot. They’d saved her life. It was just hero worship. Yup, hero worship, nothing more. So why was she staring at the bedroom door, wondering if perhaps she had time to run down the stairs and stop them before they left?
Holy crap! What had they done to her? Her libido had never been this out of control.
She lifted her index finger to her mouth, subconsciously falling into her old nervous habit of biting her nails, but the stench of stale blood filled her nostrils once more. Her stomach heaved slightly, protesting the smell. Maybe she should have another shower.
She glanced at the clock and finally noticed that it was only three in the morning. She didn’t need to get up for another five hours. Making a quick decision, Andrea stepped into the shower, scrubbed herself from head to foot, pulled on her pajamas, and went back to bed.