The moment he stepped through the doorway into the coffeehouse her scent hit him like a fist upside the head. He could already taste her on his tongue, the sweetest creamiest sin. His beast rose within him demanding what was his. The erotic promise of the most wicked of temptations. Gabriel tilted his head back and allowed his senses to read the room. The myriad of sounds and scents assaulted him yet she burned through it all like a beam of light.

Hunger clawed at him. A need so forceful, he knew it for what it was. His beast had recognized their mate. His nostrils flared as another drift of her mouthwatering scent crashed through him. He'd had his share of sex in his lifetime, he was lycan, they were highly sexual creatures but this was more. Deeper and raging, his need to claim and bury himself inside her setting off shudders over his body.

He had no choice but to follow the primal dictates of his beast. She was close, her scent washing over him. He drew in deep mouthfuls of air, infusing her taste within himself. His beast snarling, gnashing his teeth together. He wanted her under him, claiming her. He wanted to sink his fangs into her slender throat and lose himself to the hot carnal rush of her blood in his mouth while burying himself, hard and deep between her thighs.

His hands fisted at his sides, his muscles in agony, while trying to control the growl that was straining to be released. He was at the edge of losing control and all because of her scent. Lust filled images blazed across his mind, the room slowly turning awash in red, the sight of his beast, his wolf.

But he was more than just that. He was a guardian, a protector of his lycan pack. A protector of their way of life and defender of the laws that governed them. That he would hunt down and kill any who threatened their existence, rogue wolves who challenged the hierarchy and code they existed by. That's what had brought him here. Being in the city always set him on edge. He hated the noise and congestion. He much preferred the isolation of the mountains. The wolf in him found endless sensory overload a constant source of strain. The continual fight of his instinctual urges whenever a hunt took him into civilization made him restless.

But that was nothing compared to the strain he was feeling at this moment. His mate within reach but not being able to find her amongst the crowd of people. Moving further into the coffee shop, customers moved out of his way. He could only imagine what he looked liked. His nostrils flared following the elusive scent as it got stronger, the deeper he walked in. His body was strung so tight if anyone got in his way the collateral damage would be bloody.

His eyes scanned from left to right as he walked. His frustration growing. He was losing the fight. He opened his mouth to growl when her scent slammed into him so hard, he stumbled. If her scent was capable of bringing him to his knees as a man, in his wolf form it might craze him.

He knew the moment his eyes settled on her, his mate. The woman destined to be his and only his. To soothe the man and calm the beast. She wasn't what he had expected. He always was drawn to tall buxom blondes. But here she stood. All of five feet, an innocent cherub face with long red hair tied in a ponytail by a ribbon. His eyes dipped lower and his wolf came to attention. Tight jeans hugged her curves and a tank top that did nothing to conceal her beautiful breasts.

He ached. A fierce possessive wave of lust poured off of him, his mouth watering for a taste. He wanted to shift and howl, grab her and run. But he waited, barely in control. Then she looked up. His heart stopped and restarted, pounding in his chest as eyes as green as the fields where he ran stared up at him and his world shifted around him. An image so clear struck him, of her wild mass of deep dark red hair flowing over his pillows while she lay beneath him, her eyes heavy and clouded with pleasure, her hips arching to meet his, and that mouth. He groaned out loud. The wild side of his nature was howling with feral anticipation. If he spoke, his words would be barely recognizable, that's how close he was to his beast.

He moved closer to her, his body throwing off molten heat. Her eyes grew large in her pale face. He knew the moment she decided to turn and run. He reached out to touch her, then withdrew his hand. This was not the place to claim his mate or have the discussion he would have to have. ' Let her run ' - he thought. His mate didn't know it yet but she was his. There was no where she could go that he wouldn't follow.