Beast Denied by Faye Avalon

common knowledge among the pack, but then, when it happened, she had been living in London with her aunt.
    Initially, he thought about brushing her enquiry aside, making it no big deal. Water under the bridge. But seeing this was the first real conversation he’d had with her for over a decade that actually bordered on civil, he wasn’t about to cock it up by playing dumb.
    Problem was, he didn’t want her sympathy, and already there was that softness in her eyes that signaled compassion. He didn’t want that either. What he wanted was to meet her on equal terms. For her to see him as a fully functioning male. For sure, he was fully functioning in the ways it mattered most to a woman, but he imagined his sexual competence wasn’t exactly top of her list of must-knows right then.
    After that first time, she likely still had him down as a brash, gung-ho type who took care of his own needs before those of his female. He planned on working toward the day he’d get the chance to prove her wrong. And the first step in that process might well be this whole caring/sharing deal.
    He drew in a fortifying breath. “There’d been a big cat sighting on the moor, and the publicity brought in hordes of sightseers. Along with it came the usual rumor and scare-mongering.”
    Panthers roaming the moor had been a legend in the area for as long as Tynan could remember. Humans were fascinated whenever a rumored sighting occurred, and the pack had to shore up and lay low until the current threat passed. At those times, the Council of Principals strongly forbade members of the pack to shift out on the moor, especially the younger members. It was the young panthers and their inexperience that usually brought about the problem.
    “When the publicity machine whipped it up and it started to affect tourism, the human powers-that-be decided they had to do something. They set traps over on the northwest side of the moor, in the hope it would appease the general public and start bringing in the tourists again. They tried to gloss over the more graphic rumors, such as livestock being savaged by what could only be a wild beast, but the animal rights activists got involved because of the traps, and before we knew it, the whole thing escalated on a national scale.”
    Naomi nodded. “I read about that.”
    “Members of the pack who lived on the north side got antsy when their dogs and sheep were mutilated by some of the traps. One of them, Bob Tucker, paid me, Caleb and Nathan good money to clear out the contraptions.”
    He took another breath, the nerves in his leg twitching while he relived the experience. “One of them found me first.”
    Her face went tight, her eyes hard and fierce now. “How did you know where to clear?”
    He shrugged, a little surprised at her question. “Bob Tucker had it worked out based on the animals maimed. He gave us each an area to cover.”
    “Where was yours?”
    Fuck. She was being thorough. “Had to follow the route along the edge of the clay pit. Bastard got me as I was crossing the old copper mine. What the hell they’d planted them along there for is anyone’s guess.”
    She gazed down, her fingers tightening around her cup. “It must have been agonizing, getting trapped like that.”
    Shit . He didn’t want her feeling sorry for him. He planned on getting her into bed, and the last thing he needed was a pity fuck. “It was an accident a long time ago. Memories fade.”
    When she looked up, her eyes boring into his, he wondered if she was thinking along the same lines as he was: to let the damn memories of that night they’d shared fade into the past, and get busy building new ones.
    “But you’ve got to live with the consequences.” Fire burned in her eyes, fierce and furious. “Aren’t you still mad it happened?”
    “No point. One of those freak accidents nobody can predict. No use railing at the world because of it.”
    She shook her head, placing her cup on the table. “I don’t know how