Cook, Kris - Primal Desire [Texas Wolf Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)
Texas Wolf Pack 2
Primal Desire
Megan learns that she and her entire family are witches, living side by side with a pack of wolf shifters. Hoping to clear her head, she rides her horse through unfamiliar land and is thrown into the arms of a dangerous and sexy wolf shifter.
Driven by ancient guilt, Luke lives isolated on his land, apart from his tribe. When the gorgeous witch rides onto his property, her sweet scent awakens primal instincts deep inside him. After taking Megan to his cabin to heal from her injury, Luke's need to wholly possess Megan overwhelms him.
As their passions burn hotter, old wounds are exposed. Will this lone wolf open his heart to the one woman who can save him?
Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy, Shape-shifter
Length: 25,140 words
PRIMAL DESIRE
Texas Wolf Pack 2
Kris Cook
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
PRIMAL DESIRE
Copyright © 2012 by Kris Cook
E-book ISBN: 1-61926-661-X
First E-book Publication: March 2012
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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PRIMAL DESIRE
Texas Wolf Pack 2
KRIS COOK
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
“Sis, I can’t believe you’re pregnant.” Megan Bullion shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what she’d just learned from her elder sister Kate.
“It’s true.” Kate patted her belly, which did look to Megan as if she’d put on a couple of pounds. “About a month already. It’s too early for the doctor to tell, but Gran is absolutely positive I’m having twins.”
Kate had always been a knockout with her long, blonde curls and hourglass figure. Their other sister, Heather, constantly turned heads, too, with her auburn locks and gorgeous physique. So unlike Megan, with her dark, unruly hair she struggled to tame each morning and a body that seemed to put on pounds easier than breathing. Hard to believe they shared the same DNA. Still, there was no sibling rivalry between Megan and her sisters. Kate and Heather had always been Megan’s best friends, and being with a pregnant and so very happy Kate now made her warm inside.
“You look radiant, Kate.”
“I feel amazing.” She stood up and patted her belly. “Can you see a baby bump?”
“Not yet. I’ve never seen you like this. And Gran always called me the reckless one.”
“I guess I surprised everyone.” Her sister sat back down and smiled. “You like our place?”
Our place? God, this is surreal. “Yes. It’s great.”
“Why don’t you stay with us? With Gran away, you’ll be banging around the old homestead all by yourself.”
Gran’s house, just outside of Mertzon, had been their childhood home. Megan had been away for a couple of years, but she’d never stopped missing it.
“I need the peace and quiet, Kate. Besides, Gran said she would be home tomorrow.” Megan wasn’t ready to face the weird dynamic of a plural relationship between her sister and the twin brothers, Troy and Rance Keekoti. “A little reading and time alone will work just fine for me.”
“You’re not the loner in the family. Heather is. You’ll be back here in two shakes. Besides, I would love to run some wedding ideas by you.”
“Seriously, the last few days at my job kicked my butt, and I want some downtime. I promise to make it to dinner Friday.”
“That’s three days from now.” Kate’s lower lip stuck out. “Well, I guess I’ll have to just be satisfied with my guys.” Then the lip went in, and she smiled.
“Are you really sure about this? I love West Texas, but you know how people gossip around here.”
“Let them gossip. It’ll give them something to entertain themselves with.” Kate reached across the kitchen table and took Megan’s hand. “Honestly, sis, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
Megan believed her. Kate had always been so serious, and when she went away to college, she’d gotten even more serious. Now, her whole air was relaxed and a bit silly. “I’m really glad you’re happy. I just never would’ve imagined you would’ve come back to Mertzon for good or would’ve settled down with any man, let alone two.”
“Me either. I plan on opening up a practice in San Angelo after the twins are born, but my men think I should wait a few years. They keep claiming it has something to do with tribal law, but I know better. They’re overprotective.”
“You’ve always had a thing for Troy and Rance, no matter how much you denied it, but they’ve always been so cool with you. How the hell did this happen? Details.”
“Well…it’s a long story.”
Megan nibbled on the brownie that Kate had put in front of her. Kate cooks now? All the loose ends of her sister’s life had been tied up into a neat, pretty bow. Megan’s loose ends dangled and knotted into a complete hot mess. Fresh from bein
g laid off from the law firm in Dallas she’d worked at as a paralegal for the past two years, Megan had nothing but time. “Stop stalling. Get to it. I’m a big girl.”
Kate looked nervous, suddenly avoiding eye contact. Megan wondered what she could be having so much trouble telling. She’d already delivered the bombshell about living with two men and being pregnant. What could be more difficult to share than that?
“I think it might be best if we wait for Gran, Megan.”
“Why? We’re sisters for God’s sake. We’ve always told each other everything. Now, spill it.”
“Okay. You remember when we were girls and Gran told us she was a witch?”
“Yes.”
Kate nodded. “She really is.”
“Come on, Kate.”
“I’m not kidding. She’s a witch, and so am I. You and Heather might be, too.”
Megan couldn’t believe her ears. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It may be, but it’s true.”
“Prove it.”
“What do you mean, Meg?”
“Make a believer out of me. Cast a spell. Work some hocus-pocus. That’s what it’ll take to convince me.”
Kate frowned. “I’m not really that experienced.”
“Just as I thought.” She folded her hands over her chest.
“Fine. Let me get my book.” Kate stood and walked to the stove. She opened the cabinet to the left of it and pulled out an ordinary-looking tome. “Gran gave it to me. Very rudimentary spells. Look for yourself, sis.”
Megan took the book and opened it. The pages were yellowed and so delicate. Clearly, it was very old and handwritten.
“Read the opening paragraphs, Meg.”
In the winter of fifteen hundred sixty-two, as men mark years, to honor our mother, the most high and mightie Enchantress, Sophia of Bullion, whereas she bestowed upon us, her three daughters, the wisdoms which hath bene laboured by those who came before, an ancestry of womankind, who deserveth esteem and much respect, yet findeth but cold suspicion instead of welcome, we the last of such a mightie matornage, Elisabet, the eldest, Anne, the between, and the youngest, Ruth, to make safe for our descendents that cometh after, we place quill to parchment such spells and incantations our dear, departed mother taught us.
Megan was dumbfounded by what she read. “These are original? The spelling and grammar remind me of some of those archaic English pieces Mrs. Carson demanded the class read in high school.”
“Not Shakespeare, but very old. Yes, though according to Gran, they were scrolls first. Sometime when our family came to the New World, they were bound into several volumes. This is the first and oldest. All the books are spelled, too.” A giddy energy surrounded Kate. “Can you feel the magic on this one, Meg?”
She could feel something akin to static electricity. “You are just messing with me. Has Gran put you up to this?”
“No. It’s all true.”
“Fine, Kate. I’ll play along. Why are the books all spelled?”
“To keep them from disintegrating. Isn’t that cool?”
Her sister’s conviction about this crazy tale stunned Megan. “You’re serious about this. Are you sure this isn’t just another one of Gran’s elaborate ruses to amuse us? She’s pretended to be a witch for years.”
Kate shook her head and took the book back. She turned several pages until landing on a certain page that seemed to satisfy her. “You said to prove it. This should work fine to do that. No potion, just an incantation.”
Megan’s nerves jumped. Was her sister really going to perform magic? She’s got to be pulling my leg. She grinned and mocked, “Please, don’t turn me into a frog, sis.”
“Nothing like that.” Kate nodded then put the book on the counter. She closed her eyes. “Kimirick vee. Mimirick teven. Kimirick vee. Orktoll teven…”
As her sister continued saying the incomprehensible words, Megan sensed an electrical charge in the air. It seemed to grow with each syllable Kate uttered.
When her sister spoke the last word, Megan’s vision blurred. She couldn’t focus on Kate sitting only two feet from her. Suddenly, her sight cleared. The person in front of her was no longer Kate. Instead, the woman Megan saw on the chair made her soul quake. “M–mom?”
Her mother’s lips moved, but the voice Megan heard was Kate’s. “Crap. Do I look like Mom?”
Dumbstruck, Megan nodded.
“Sorry, sweetie. I screwed up the spell.” Instantly, her mother’s image softened then became Kate.
Megan’s jaw dropped. “You’re a witch.”
“I was trying to look like Heather with the spell, but Mom came to my mind just as I was speaking the words.”
Her heart thudded fast in her chest. “You’re really a witch.”
“I am. Are you going to be okay?”
“I suppose so.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m a bit overwhelmed, to say the least. This is all real.”
“I’m sorry about looking like Mom.” Kate took Megan’s hand and squeezed. “I wish she were still with us. She would’ve loved being a grandmother.”
“Yes, she would have. Learning that my sister is in an extremely nontraditional relationship with two men and carrying their baby seems to pale with this revelation.”
Kate shrugged. “I should’ve waited and let Gran tell you.”
“I’m glad you told me. So all Gran’s games and stories about witchcraft weren’t just to entertain us when we were kids?”
“All true, Meg.”
Megan’s hands trembled like leaves in a brisk wind. “Seeing Mom again…”
Kate came around the table and put her arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to do that.”
“Was Mom a witch, too?”
“Gran told me she had some of the gift. Worked a few spells but then gave it up after marrying Dad.”
“She should’ve turned him into a rat. That would’ve been fitting.”
Kate laughed, but Megan could hear the sting in it. Their dad had left years ago and had never returned. “You know, if he ever shows up, I might work a little magic of my own that would make his head spin.”
“I bet you would.” Megan recalled him giving her a dollar bill for her only present for her fourth birthday. That would have been a nice gift if he hadn’t just bought himself a bottle of whiskey and two packs of cigarettes that same day. “If it turns out that I have magic of my own, I might just help you.”
“Meg, there’s one more thing I should tell you.”
“Don’t you think I’ve heard enough for one night? I’m going to have to process this for a while.”
“Troy and Rance are werewolves.”
“What the hell!”
“Actually, the correct term is wolf shifters.” Kate turned to one of the last pages. “I earmarked this one. This is about shifters like my hubbies. Look.” She pushed the open book over to Megan to read.
I, Doranne, descendant of Elisabet, beseech my sisters of Bullion to always be kind to the sons of Loneekawa, children of the moon. In the summer of sixteen hundred seventy, two Loneekawa warriors rescued me and three of my sisters from certain death from the inquisitors of the county of Essex in the Province of Massachusetts. Just as the evil men were about to chain us for trial, the two warriors invoked their ancient magic, changing into wolves before our very eyes…
“What the fuck? Werewolves.” Megan covered her face with her hands.
“Crazy but true, sis.”
She opened her eyes and looked at Kate, the pregnant witch who was engaged to not one but two werewolves. “So our family has been intertwined with the tribe for hundreds of years?”
Kate nodded. “And I am going to tie the knot with two of its sexiest braves.”
“Why not? Everything I thought I knew about the world, my Gran, and my sister turns out to be wrong.” A thought raced through Megan. “What about your twins?”
“Shifters for sure. They might also have the gift, b
ut Gran isn’t sure about that part yet.”
A million thoughts whirled in her mind, and if any one of them were ever shared with a mental professional, it would win her a one-way ticket to the loony bin.
“So, is there anything in this book of yours that will tell me if I’m a witch like you or not?”
* * * *
Luke Keekoti’s shifter senses went into overdrive as his nostrils caught the hint of an irresistible scent coming from south of his cabin. Since his home was exactly in the center of his ranch, the seductive odor had to be coming from a trespasser—an ovulating female.
Luke took in another big whiff of the air, causing his dick to harden, his balls to grow heavy, and a hunger to burn deep inside him. What the fuck! Sure, he hadn’t had pussy in more than a month, but his current reaction to this woman was new to him. He was on the edge of rushing to the trespasser, pulling her body to his, and fucking her senseless, though he had no idea what she even looked like. She couldn’t be from around here since the entire county, including his tribe, knew it was best to leave him alone.
Luke made only four trips a year to Mertzon to stock up on supplies. When he needed to feed his lust, he would travel outside the county to San Angelo or even to San Antonio, keeping the women he bedded in the dark about who—or what—he was. Supply and sex trips were the only times he ever saw another person. He liked it that way. It suited him.
Now this female, who smelled like spice and caramel, was screwing up his routine, and that pissed him off. He curled his hands into fists. Could she be his mate? That would be fucking terrible. Luke knew the tribal lore about life mates. Though he steered clear of society, he’d learned about his cousins, Troy and Rance, recently discovering their mate in Kate Bullion. If the female intruder was his mate, he’d make sure, whatever it took, that she left and never came back. If he failed, her very survival would be in jeopardy.