Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

male shifters were very territorial about their females. They had a burning need to protect females. It made sense that he was here now a week earlier than he’d told their pack he’d be arriving.
    Liam cleared his throat and broached a subject he wasn’t looking forward to. “You think he knows Ana jumped into the middle of the
nex pugna
?”
    During the sanctioned death fight between his brother and their old neighboring Alpha, Ana had tried to attack the other wolf. While it was stupid and she’d done no harm to the dead wolf, she’d simply acted on instinct. She’d thought her mate was injured and the animal inside her had reacted. Still, interfering in a
nex pugna
was punishable by the Council.
    “No.” Connor shook his head, but a frown carved deep into his face.
    Liam didn’t envy his brother being Alpha. Connor had all the responsibility of taking care of not only hisnewly blended pack but also the welfare and happiness of his new bondmate. Finding a balance between everything had to be hard. Hell, Liam could barely balance his own responsibilities. He wanted to be here for his brother, but lately he’d been consumed with the need to protect December, and he’d been shirking his duties. He’d been a virtual ghost at the ranch, but so far no one had a problem covering for him. Probably because most males understood what he was going through.
    December was almost like an addiction. Finding a mate was bad news for a male in that sense. The need to protect a mate was overwhelming. For him, it felt even worse because of her resistance to what he was and the type of relationship they could have. If she’d been a shifter, she’d have felt the pull like he did. He knew she was attracted to him, but he didn’t know what the effect was for humans. Not to mention she was female. No matter the species, they were so damn different and confusing. He shook his head. He had more important things to worry about. “December’s brother stopped by her place earlier. They lifted some prints from the BMW.”
    Connor’s expression darkened. “Did they find that asshole who tried to hurt her?”
    He shook his head. “No, but I got a name. Mike Taylor. It’s common enough but he did some time in prison and he’s got ties to the APL.”
    “I’ll see what Ryan can dig up,” Connor said.
    Ryan, their oldest packmate, could hack almost any system. The rough-looking cowboy didn’t seem like the type, but computers were his thing.
    “The sheriff made it clear we’re to stay away from him.”
    Connor’s lips curved into a hard smile. “Right. Just like we’ll steer clear of the APL.”
    Good, at least his brother wanted the same thing he did. Not that he’d been worried about his response. The human who’d tried to hurt December was going to pay. “I’m gonna get some shut-eye, but I’ll be here for the meeting in the morning.” At Connor’s nod, he let himself out and headed back to the cabin even though it was one of the last places he wanted to be.
    Right now all he wanted was to be wrapped up in December’s arms.

Chapter 7
    E dward was careful to stick to the speed limit as he drove into town. The sun was peeking over one of the mountains, but it was still mostly gray outside. Since it was Sunday, the roads were quiet.
    He glanced in the rearview mirror. Brianna was right behind him, driving his truck because he was driving Tony’s. As he passed the sheriff’s station, he automatically slowed so that he was a mile under the limit. With a dead body in the back he couldn’t afford to get stopped now. It was covered with a tarp, but if a cop got suspicious enough, it was easily discoverable. And killing a cop brought too much heat.
    Edward steered into one of the main gas stations in town but was careful to avoid the video camera pointed at the front door. Instead he parked on the side of the building and Brianna did the same.
    As he got out, he glanced around, but the streets were empty. He glanced at Brianna through the windshield and motioned for her to stay put. Then he quickly removed the tarp and shoved it into the nearby Dumpster,but left the body right where it was in the back of the truck. Since it was cold out, he likely wouldn’t begin to smell too soon and Edward needed him visible sooner than later.
    He looked at the body one last time and smiled. The son of a bitch had been ripped to shreds by his dogs. His face was gone but he’d be easily identifiable by his dental records and