Elements Unbound by Lorie O'Clare Page A

to take on the unknown like Renee. Those were the qualities needed to be queen bitch.
    Her reasons for running here were valid. Pack gossip washed over the town faster than a tidal wave.
    And he didn’t blame her a bit for escaping to this private paradise to clear her thoughts.
    Renee had her back to him, her long black hair falling to her ass and lifting slightly when the breeze kicked up from the ocean. Her simple dress, common to most females in town, whether human or werewolf, blew around her legs. The light yellow pattern showed off the dark glow of her smooth brown skin. None of the females in the pack compared to how fucking hot Renee was. They didn’t even come close.
    He sucked in the salty air, his cock hardening as he imagined stroking her soft flesh, feeling her mouth on him. God, he needed her more than he needed to breathe. Her hands fisted at her side, her long slender arms waving back and forth slightly alongside her. He knew she was pissed, knew she’d run for a reason. Her sire wished her mated with one of the wealthier, older werewolves in the pack. He used file://C:\Documents and Settings\Chrissy\My Documents\My Ebooks\ElementsUnbound\El...
    5/4/2006
    Elements Unbound
    Page 5 of 44
    her to secure his den, make sure he was comfortable in his old age. The werewolf didn’t give a rat’s ass about Renee’s comfort, or her happiness.
    But Bruno cared. Every day that she walked this island, he’d make sure the elements parted for her, bowed down to her. She would be queen. Never again would she be wronged, used for her beauty and grace. Renee deserved happiness, her intelligence and sultry beauty admired and honored.
    “If my sire sent you, you’re wasting your time.” Renee didn’t turn around.
    The wind blew against her and it impressed him she’d picked up his scent. Not that he’d hidden it from her. Her scent, on the other hand, wrapped around him like an erotic flower, sweet and intoxicating. Add that to the way her dress clung to her, pressing against her soft curves by the brisk wind coming off the sea, and his heart thumped harder, faster in his chest. A more carnal, raw side of him surfaced, eager and ready to claim what he wanted—what he would have.
    “I’d be the last werewolf your sire would send.”
    Renee turned quickly, brushing her hair from her face when the wind captured it. She held it behind her neck, staring at him.
    “Bruno.” She whispered his name slowly. “What are you doing here?”
    Her black eyes widened, her gaze traveling slowly down him and then quickly returning to his face.
    Unbridled curiosity, bordering on lust, hit him hard with the next gust of air. But there was fear too, uncertainty. He wasn’t exactly what most dens would consider mating material. With no den of his own, a rogue werewolf, the old stick-in-the-muds in the pack wouldn’t give him the time of day.
    He worked hard at the plant, kept a den over his head, and always had. Not once had he sought out the pack for help. And when help was needed, he was there, as would be any decent werewolf. It was his lineage that didn’t impress. There was nothing he could do about that. His line would start with him, with Renee. Together they would create a den that would go down in history—he felt it—he sensed it.
    “I’m here because you are,” he answered honestly, taking his time in narrowing the distance between them.
    The late afternoon sun hit his arms and shoulders, adding to the warmth that already simmered inside him. The brightness shimmered in her hair. A rosy hue covered her caramel colored skin, brightening her cheeks while she studied him.
    “Who betrayed me?” she asked.
    He smiled, respecting the werewolves in their pack loyal enough to provide him with information.
    Catching Renee before her sire shipped her off to some overweight werewolf to drool over mattered more than anything. Enough of the pack stood behind him. Renee’s whereabouts had been easy enough to learn.
    “There