Certainly he has his pick of all the females on his planet.
“Our clients’ reasons for choosing Starlight Lottery are classified.” Violet grabs at the hologram, whisking it back into the data pad.
I stare wistfully at the empty space.
“Right.”
“Now, if he breaks his terms of the contract, then that’s cause for you returning here until a new placement can be found. We do have protections in place for you.”
“His terms?” I ask, only because I think I should.
I can’t stop thinking about the man she just threw in front of me.
Holy hotness.
He looks human.
Except those eyes.
I swallow hard. “Wulfric?” I ask, furrowing my brow. “What species is he?”
What species am I marrying?
“He’s a Wulfric,” Violet says slowly, enunciating as though that will make it clearer.
“Yeah. I don’t know what that means,” I tell her, annoyed in spite of the delicious things the masseuse is doing to my back. Who knew I even had that much tension back there?
“Oh. Let me think.” She does her thinking by rotating the data pad and flipping through the display there.
I wait, slightly exasperated and very intrigued by this entire situation.
Maybe even a little… excited by it.
Five hundred thousand credits is quite a large number of credits.
“Werewolf. That’s the Earth term for them. Yep.”
“Werewolf?” That can’t be right.
“Werewolf.” She nods perfunctorily. “His contract terms are no biting unless approved, as well as no hunting for sport, and no trauma or abuse of any kind.”
I blink. “Do some people, er, species, require that? Is that normal for the Wulfric?” My tongue trips over the word, and my head spins.
“The hunting is part of their courtship rituals, but it won’t be expected of you. We wouldn’t work with a species who would abuse their employees, unless the employee specifically requested that…” She pauses, her fingers wiggling over the data pad. “Which you did not.”
Thank goodness for that.
“Can I see him again?” I ask quietly, somewhere between resigned and excited about my future.
If this is what’s in store for me, what the hell is going to happen to Bridget?
“I had a friend who was taken to another hub,” I sputter. “Can I have her new contact information?”
“Of course,” Violet says smoothly. “As soon as you’re on planet, we’ll send you her new comms details. Does this mean you won’t be a problem for us? You accept your contract… again?”
My throat works over the knot in it as I swallow.
The man—werewolf’s—eyes flash through my mind.
“I accept,” I say.
CHAPTER 4
BREKKER
My heart is a battering ram against my chest, the beast already howling for release inside me, and my bride-to-be isn’t even on planet yet.
I want her.
The past weeks have staggered by, marked by bouts of barely checked bloodlust during the height of the moon and restless, sweaty hours during the Hallec.
The only thing that has done the bare minimum of keeping my beast away is the thought of this human female choosing to come here and mate with me.
Ever since those first test results, I thought a mate was off the table.
My sister’s grinning at me openly, her canines glinting sharply in the setting sun as we wait on the landing pad for the shuttle bringing my new bride to Wulfric.
“You look excited, Brekker,” she says sweetly. Too sweetly.
I growl at her.
“Even your growl sounds soothed by the idea of her.” She laughs as I swipe at her, dodging the playful blow. “I think you owe me a thank-you.”
“We’ll see,” I grumble.
I don’t want to tell her she’s right.
I don’t want her to hear the real truth of it: I’ve been obsessed with the mere idea of the human woman since the moment Tessa displayed her holographic likeness in my office.
The shuttle breaks through Wulfric’s atmosphere with a fiery starburst in the sky high above, disrupting the otherwise peaceful moonrise. My back stiffens, and I strain to see it, as if staring right into the fiery descent will help me determine how much of a mistake this Starlight Lottery woman will turn out to be.
Or how right, a little voice whispers in my head. My beast, barely held back by sheer willpower, wants this woman to be our mate.
I grunt, shifting my weight, and Tessa throws me another amused look.
I don’t glance her way, instead focusing on the shuttle, growing larger and closer by the second. The time it takes to land seems to both pass in the blink of an eye and take an entire lifetime.
The landing pad absorbs the shock of the interstellar vehicle, and I practically vibrate with the need to see her.
To scent her.
To know if my beast will accept her, if it will settle him.
If she will settle me.
How is it I can want someone so badly that I haven’t even met yet?
Hope is a dangerous thing.
When the shuttle’s door begins to open, pressurized air hissing out of the opening, my heart leaps into my throat.
The first being out, though, is male, and I glance away, trying to relax, trying to calm myself. I’m acting like a Wulfric on the verge of their first hunt, all hormones and anxiety, and not like the leader of my clan. Not like the husband I should be to this human woman.
She will need someone to guide her into our society.
She will likely be afraid.
I turn, taking a few steps, then pacing back.
A musky, earthy scent hits me, my nostrils flaring. I’ve never smelled anything so mouth-watering, so delicious and perfect.
I hope it’s her.
Slowly, my heart sluggish and blood thick in my veins, I make myself face the shuttle again. My molars grind against each other, and there—
There she is.
I go completely still, memorizing the notes of her scent, the play of the setting suns on her hair, her skin. Bright red silk wraps around her body, gauzy swathes of it barely concealing the beauty of her curves, her slender waist and the elegant roundness of her hips. She walks down the ramp, paying careful attention to her steps.
A growl rises from my chest as the defined muscle of her thigh flashes through the fabric.
I want that fabric on the floor. I want it in my teeth and claws. I want it around my hips as I rut into this woman.
“Good thing I had the staff ready the cabin. You look like you’re ready to run away with her already.”
“I—” There aren’t words. My throat works as I try to form them, but her scent wafts to me again. Another growl rips from me, unbidden. “Yes,” I finally manage.
The woman stops at the end of the ramp, staring up at me with those sad, luminous eyes. There’s something in them I didn’t see before, though. Something that sets my blood on fucking fire.
I see determination.
And I see hope.
And I fucking like what I see.
Before I can think better of it, I’m striding toward her, my wolf, the beast inside, settling slightly the closer I get to her. She’s smaller in person than I imagined, the top of her pretty head barely reaching my shoulder.
It makes me want to protect her.
“I am Brekker of Clan Claw,” I tell her, pounding one fist over my chest. “You are to be mine.”