Moon Shifter 02 - Primal Possession

long until he reached the main gates. The wooden sign above the already open gates read CORDONA RANCH , but he knew that Connor Armstrong hadn’t been mated long enough to Ana Cordona for them to have made a change. Hell, it was probably the last thingon Connor’s mind right now. Mated males usually didn’t think of much else during the first year other than their mates. Alpha leaders were exceptions, but the draw to be near their mate at all times was overwhelming. Jayce had seen his fair share of males go mad when their females strayed or died.
    He wasn’t sure where to park, so he pulled through the gates and stopped by a giant oak tree. It sat in the middle of an expanse of houses. The houses and cabins formed a huge circle with just enough space for privacy, but it was a tight-knit pack. If he had to guess, the two-story brick house that was just a little larger than everyone else’s was Connor and Ana’s.
    Out of habit, he checked his two daggers and his Springfield .45. As a rule he preferred any blade to a gun, but he wasn’t stupid. His job demanded he be prepared at all times. As he approached the house, he scented Liam behind him. The other wolf’s boots crunched on the fallen snow, but his scent was distinctive.
    Instead of stopping completely, Jayce slowed and waited for him to join him. “You didn’t stay with your female last night?”
    Liam flicked him an annoyed glance. “No. I didn’t sleep out in the cold watching her all night either.”
    Damn.
He hated that the other wolf could see through him. Another strike against being mated. Females made a wolf crazy and predictable. Jayce had slept out all night in the cold watching Kat’s place, and the messed-up thing was, he’d do it again.
    Liam surprised him by continuing. “But I have in the past couple weeks. More than once. Females are fucking complicated,” he muttered.
    The admission surprised Jayce. It was the kind of thing he’d expect his brother to say to him but not anyone else.Even if he wouldn’t acknowledge it to anyone, he missed that family connection. As enforcer for the Council he didn’t have ties anywhere. He couldn’t afford to. His father was dead and his brother was living God knew where. Being with Kat was the closest he’d ever come to having a real connection with someone. A real family. Maybe on a different planet in a different lifetime he’d have had a shot at happiness with a woman like her.
    But not here. Not now.
    Not ever.
    “After this meeting I’m heading to December’s store. I just talked to her and Kat’s gonna be there helping out later today.” Liam threw the last bit in quickly and didn’t make a big deal about it.
    His heart jumped. Like a randy cub, he couldn’t wait to see her. Instead of commenting, Jayce changed the subject. “Where are we having the meeting?”
    Liam nodded at the house they were headed toward. “Right here. Connor, Ana, Ryan, Noah, and Erin are already there. Most of the warriors are out patrolling right now, which is why it’s so small.”
    Jayce nodded. The smaller the better. The only person he was really interested in talking to was Connor anyway. He was the Alpha and had the final say. As pack leader, Connor had the alpha temperament times ten. It was what made him the leader, the
Alpha
, not simply alpha in nature. This pack was unique in that all the males were warriors as opposed to simply alphas, and he didn’t need all that extra testosterone in the room right now. Warriors were alpha in nature but not all alphas were warriors. The warrior class were simply born fighters. They were bigger and badder than the rest of the shifter population and didn’t make apologies for embracing their animal side. Something Jayce could appreciate.His animal side was more prevalent than even that of warriors. It was a constant battle inside him. His beast saw the world in black and white and made no apologies for being a predator. It was why he fought in his human form. He was just as fast and dangerous as a human. As an animal, a shifter often overlooked human reasoning because it didn’t factor into the animal’s decision making. So even though he was a different breed altogether, he usually connected better with his warrior brethren. Didn’t mean he wanted to be in a room full of them right now, though.
    Liam opened the door and entered first, out of respect. If he’d been human, it might have seemed odd, but in the shifter world, entering a room first