The Mating Game

by Lana Ferguson

There’s a scent tickling my nose—one that reminds me of rain and sunshine—and I think to myself that it seems terribly out of place here in the snow. Maybe it’s his cologne? It’s really…nice, actually.

This close to her, I smell a blast of something heavy and sweet, and my nostrils flare of their own accord as I try to breathe in more of it, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. The fuck was that?

Dangerous, my brain screams, even as my urges shout, Protect.

She is absolutely in heat, and she’s looking at me like she needs me.

Alpha, I recall. She called me alpha. Like I was hers. Like she was mine.

And when I finally turn…I find the most stunning creature on four legs I’ve ever seen.

“If I ever kissed you…I’d want you to damn well remember it tomorrow.”

“I think everything about you is something I want to remember,” I answer quietly.

“Just remember that you can follow your dreams without giving up everything you love,”