Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

in him. Hell, she also brought out his worst—his jealous, fiercely protective side. For over a month he’d exercised all his restraint, staying away from her while working for the Council.
    After getting only an hour of sleep last night, he was edgy and ready to rip someone’s head off. Maybe it hadn’t been the smartest idea to roll up to see her the moment he’d gotten back into town, but he didn’t care. He needed to see her.
    Craved it so bad, his canines ached at the thought. She could slam the door on him for all he cared. He just needed to
see
her face.
    As he swung his leg over the bike and straightened up, he glanced over when he noticed Ryan getting out of his truck parked across the street. Though he didn’t want to be patient or polite, he waited while the other shifter strode toward him.
    Ryan wore a thick down jacket and jeans and even though Jayce couldn’t see an outline, he knew the guy was packing a few weapons. The chilly January weather wouldn’t have affected Ryan like it would humans, so he knew themain reason the shifter was wearing a jacket was to hide guns and blades. “Hey, Jayce. What are you doing here?”
    Jayce raised an eyebrow at the question. Why the hell wouldn’t he be here?
    Ryan’s lips pulled into a thin line. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t know you’d be back so early. Thought you were still on Council business or something.”
    He shrugged. As the enforcer for the North American Council of lupine shifters, Jayce didn’t answer to anyone. Not Ryan. Not even Connor Armstrong, leader of the Armstrong pack and also Ryan’s Alpha.
No one.
While he might work for the Council, he sure as hell didn’t answer to them either. They needed him and he made damn sure they never forgot it. So even if he didn’t have to answer the wolf in front of him, or that wolf’s boss, he knew projecting his own bad mood wouldn’t win him any friends, and right now he needed all the fucking friends he could get. “Caught an early flight and headed over here. Haven’t called Connor to let him know I’m in town though, so…”
    Ryan nodded. “I’ll let you call him.”
    He cleared his throat. “Thanks.” The word felt foreign on his lips. He should have called Connor the moment he arrived in town out of respect, but he had a lot to discuss with him and some of it needed to be done in person. He’d received information that someone was trafficking vampire blood in the next county. After settling in, he intended to search out some former contacts. Not to mention, he still planned to ferret out any possible dangerous APL members still in the area. But mainly, he just wanted to see Kat, and everything else had taken a backseat. “When did she get home?” Jayce didn’t need to specify whom he was referring to.
    Ryan shrugged. “Few hours ago. She was at the ranch with, uh…Aiden,
training
, but she still won’t move there to live with the pack. Which is why we’re still watching her in shifts.”
    Jayce already knew that. After her attack by those APL fuckers nearly killed her, she’d been fairly defiant in her demand that she live away from what was now her pack. Connor had jurisdiction over her since she technically lived in histerritory, but considering she’d been turned into a shifter without the proper introduction to pack life and rules, Connor was giving her some leeway. But he was a fair Alpha, so Jayce wasn’t exactly surprised. Even if he did hate the fact that Connor wouldn’t force her to live on the ranch where she’d be protected at all times.
    “You have a key to the house?” Jayce asked, though he was already fairly certain of the answer. Connor wouldn’t have left anyone to watch the house without a way to get inside if necessary. Of course, they could break in, but cleaning up a mess was a hassle Jayce knew the Alpha wouldn’t want to deal with.
    Ryan paused but nodded. “Yeah. She’s gonna be pissed if you just walk in there.”
    “I know.” He held out his hand, not asking but silently demanding it.
    Sighing, the other wolf dug a single key out of his pocket and handed it over. As he headed back to his vehicle, Ryan muttered something under his breath about Jayce taking his life into his own hands.
    If he’d had more sleep or was in a better mood, he might have smiled at the statement. A pissed-off Kat was a sight to see. And he’d only seen her truly angry when she’d been human. He could only imagine her attitude as a