4. Mike

FOUR

The cool night air whipped over Mike's skin like a lashing. He stood in the parking lot, dumbfounded, balled fists at his sides as Beatriz drove off into the night. The external silence was as deafening as the scolding going on inside his mind.

Her scent had washed over him like a gentle breeze, then all at once, like a torrential downpour. It reminded him of that fresh, pleasant fragrance that bathes the earth after rainfall.

Except within the wine and tapas bar, it was far more aggressive.

Mike was at a loss as soon as the reality of what was going on hit him in the face. His wolf crooned inside him, telling a beautifully agonizing truth. Beatriz, the woman that Karla and Nate had hired as their nanny, was his mate.

She startled him in every sense of the word. Her beauty, her melodious laugh, the confident, sexy energy she exuded. It wasn't simple lust. Any shifter knew the difference. Finding one"s mate was like being buried beneath a ton of bricks while at the same time feeling as light as a daisy.

He had thought about Aric and Barbara who were at the bar and both technically his employers. It would have been absurd to grab the nanny by the waist and proclaim her right then and there. Though his wolf desperately longed for it, it didn't make sense, professionally.

Yet, Mike felt like a tool. He didn't even get her number.

He wasn't known as a ladies man. Mike was an enforcer, which meant he had adjusted to the notion of being seen and not heard. It worked in his favor that way, too. People in general, both human and shifter, tended to talk too much and too often. Being quiet allowed the space for reflection, as well as space for someone to slip up.

But that wasn't very helpful when it came to finally meeting his mate and going as silent as a church mouse.

"It's a nice night, isn't it?"

Barbara intruded upon his musings, jingling her keys between her fingers. Mike gave the matriarch a polite smile, unsure how to expose the truth about Beatriz that unsettled him.

"It is," he replied, raising his head to the smooth, midnight-black blanket overhead. "It's different in Vegas. The desert is stunning, but it's nothing like …"

"… Nothing like home."

Mike glanced down at the dazzling blue eyes and a smile that hid soft intentions. He nodded in response, a glow emitting inside his belly.

"Yes. It's not home. It's not Blue Creek, that's for sure."

A full, luminous moon emerged from behind a veil of clouds and poured over them in the parking lot. Barbara tilted her head back up to it.

"Why don't you go for a run? You must be aching for it," she suggested, raising her eyebrows with encouragement. "It's been a long time since you've been home. Take advantage of our property if you'd like. Stretch your legs and get yourself back into the land. It'll be good for you."

Mike knew Barbara was wise, so he took her advice as sound and kind. The desert truly was captivating, especially at night, but it wasn't anything compared to the lush landscape of the forest. The earthy perfume lived inside his bones. The smell of herbs and damp wood would surely settle his unsteady mind.

"You're right. I'm going to do that before I turn in. Thank you, Barbara."

She gave him a wink before turning swiftly and heading for her car.

"It's good to have you back, Mike.""

Mike got into his car and headed for the Wolfe family property. It was vast and majestic, so he was free to roam long past the witching hour without worries of disturbing the family. His heart raced as he rounded the corner to park, a parting of evergreen trees revealing the entire bulbous radiance of the full moon.

His wolf stirred. It was calling to him, rendering the shifter restless at a cellular level. He parked quickly, stripped, and released his beast from its menacing skin.

Mike was finally one with himself. He ran fast and furious into the wilderness, the forest embracing him like a long-awaiting lover. He galloped, finding his stride quickly and sinking his paws into the moist earth.

He was just starting to find his footing, both literally and metaphorically, when her scent hit him. Again. That violent smack in the face was like an overzealous boxer. It nearly stopped the shifter in his tracks, but he convinced himself that he was going crazy. It was a mere sense memory, trying to pry him from the extravagance of the forest atmosphere.

But then Mike hurried through a parting in the forest to a meadow, and what he saw certainly could not have been a hallucination.

A wolf with luxurious hazel fur stood triumphant under the spill of the full moon, regarding him with shocked awe. Mike skidded to a stop when he realized who it was in her wolf form, beckoning him with ethereal grace.

It was Beatriz, without a doubt. She was only six feet away from him, standing tall on all fours with a look in those golden eyes. Mike watched her closely, his heart thumping with distorted drumming.

He waited, her magnificence holding him in place.

Mike expected her to shift into her human form, but to his surprise and delight, she moved toward him in her rich fur. He remained still as she circled him under the illumination of the moon, her nose following the pathway of his paws all the way up to the crook of his neck.

He let her explore him in the way that was natural to wolves. Then she stood still, patient, and calm while he did the same. Her scent engulfed him, excitement surging through his bones like a live wire.

She was serene and solemn, so he continued to wait. With a sudden burst of energy, she took off into the night, racing over the meadow. Mike followed, yipping with ecstasy as he went.

Beatriz kept looking over her shoulder as they playfully frolicked, growling and snarling good-naturedly. Mike had completely lost track of time when they arrived at one of the guest cabins where Beatriz stopped.

That was when she finally shifted into her human form. It happened methodically, the surreal silvery shine of moonlight enhancing her every morphing feature. Mike stood at a respectful distance as she turned back into the woman who had bewitched him at the bar.

Mike did the same as fast as he could. They both stood in the dim, naked and breathless, assessing each other in the same way they had when they were in their wolf forms. She kept her eyes on him the entire time, the golden flecks bold in the shimmer of her chestnut eyes.

He drank in the intoxicating sight of Beatriz's naked body. He admired the way the trail of her waist curved to bulge out an ample bum, her breasts firm and perky. A long, swan-like neck that balanced the head of a queen.

But there was a wild creature tucked under that remarkable body. He could sense it as he approached, her breathing rate increasing, a buzz racing through her body with the subtlety of a jackhammer. The woman before him had a secret side that was untamed and fiercely thirsty for a thrill.

Mike circled her, watching as her skin pricked with anticipation. Her scent was robust and growing zesty with her arousal. He could feel his own surging through his body as he bent toward that heavenly neck, a mere breath away from touching the most precious treasure his lips would ever graze.

He heard her emit a low groan as he breathed in deeply. The coral splash of her erect nipples in the moonlight signaled her approval, while the steel hardness of his cock did the same.

But it wasn't just attraction. It was something far more cosmic.

"Mike …"

The faint whisper of his name sent chills up the shifter's spine. He skulked back around to face her, losing himself in her essence. His human and wolf agreed. She was undoubtedly his fated mate.

Mike grasped Beatriz by the neck firmly, her breath hitching in her throat, and pulled her against him. He crushed her with his lips, and the two of them melted into a single form. She fervently kissed him, an eruption of passion unlike anything either of them had or would ever experience possessing their minds, bodies, and spirits.

"Mike, take me," she growled over his lips. "Take me now."

Mike could feel the wetness of her arousal pressing into his cock, the feverish loss of sanity taking the two shifters over like a glorious possession. He lifted her by the waist in one swift movement, her legs swathing around him with ease, and padded for the door of the cabin.

Thankfully, it opened.