Page 8 of Little Howl of Moon

It didn’t matter that I was three times stronger than him, he had an unyielding iron grip on me.

He leaned over, his voice rough and low. “Don’t ever fucking do that again without my permission. Do you understand?”

“Fuck,” I rasped.

His hold tightened. “It’syesorno.”

“Yes,” I grunted. I inhaled his scent deeply, my cock throbbing in my pants. All my blood had rushed down. My mouth watered as I focused on him. “Yes. Never again.”

I’d already fucked up. My entire body ached with humiliation as he released me, pushing me toward the booth seat.

Everything had been haywire since the last full moon. I could barely think about anything other than mating, and I couldsmell him.His scent made my mouth water. I was going to start drooling.

But now I couldn’t even look at him. I’d been admonished in public and I knew other monsters were staring at us. I knew my family was probably disappointed in me.

My soon-to-be mate hadn’t sat down yet, his gaze still on me. Werewolves couldn’t blush exactly, but every part of my body was hot and feverish with embarrassment.

I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Can you at least tell me your name?”

“Steel.”

“Steel,” he repeated, his tone softening. He let out a low hum and then surprised me by sliding into the booth across from me. “Will you look at me, Steel?”

“I understand if you want to go?—”

“I don’t.”

Oh.My chest squeezed and I finally looked up at him. He had short black hair with a few silver strands along the sides. A short, well-kept beard with another sprinkle of salt. Icy blue eyes, unwavering and pinned on me. He was ridiculously handsome. Older, too, which I hadn’t expected.

“I don’t know too much about werewolves, honestly,” he said. “But I take it you’re in a rut maybe?”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m sorry, maybe I should just go?—”

“Stay.”

My spine stiffened at his tone. It was commanding, and I wasn’t used to that. Fuck, I wasn’t used to any of this.

I was usually the one people relied on. For work, I led a group dedicated to rebuilding communities. Whether we were planting gardens, restoring homes after destruction, or volunteering at food banks, I was usually the one taking charge. I was an Alphaand took the title seriously. My friends and family depended on me to be level-headed. I had a hot temper sometimes, sure, but it never came out unless the reason was justified.

And up until a month ago, I’d sworn up and down that Ineverwanted to settle down with someone. I had no interest in finding a mate or going down that path, at least for a long time.

But then the full moon had hit and something shifted. It’d been different. There’d been a pull that night as I’d run through the woods, all my instincts going wild.

Since then, everything in my life flipped upside down. Everyone I loved was suffering because I was being unreasonable and overreactive. I’d already hurt my relationship with my cousin, Layla, by barging into her cafe and demanding she find me a mate. Then I’d been mean to my sister’s human ex, who’d done nothing except be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’d even gotten a nasty note from her mermaid mate threatening me with an entire oceanic army if I ever acted that way again.

This wasn’t me, at least it wasn’t the me I tried to show the world. It was like all the chaos I’d contained for so long was being unleashed. All the primal instincts, theneeds. Gods, the needs had been keeping me up at night. I didn’t want to be an Alpha behind closed doors. I wanted to be touched and spanked and cuffed andleashed. I wanted to beg and fuck and knot until I came as much as I could.

This rut was killing me.

The Barista came back with a tray of food and two lattes. It wasn’t lost on me that the latte art was of two penises.Really?He put them down in front of us silently, and I did my best not to snap at him when he smirked. Definitely letting me know everyone had just seen me get my ass handed to me.Whatever. He chuckled as he left us alone.

“Well,” Oliver started, clearing his throat. “Steel. Tell me about yourself.”

I picked up my mug of coffee and relaxed a fraction once I scented the bone broth. As infuriating as my uncle was at times, hehadmade me the perfect latte.

“I don’t know where to start, exactly,” I said. “I don’t date much. I work for a community nonprofit, doing all kinds of odds-and-ends jobs. I’m lucky enough that financially, I don’t have any worries, so I like putting my time toward helping others. I have two brothers and a sister. Three parents—two moms and a dad. We have a huge family.” With another sip of coffee, more tension eased out of me.