Gray went to her in the night, his heart pounding with excitement and love.

She would be waiting for him, cloaked in the moonlight and the trees in the thick forest. He could smell her essence on the soft breeze and knew that she was as eager ashe was; the thou ght pushed him to incredible speeds across the barrenlawn of the centuries-oldmonastery. He sprang through the foliage, ignoring the branches and brambles that pulled at his skin and hisdark T-shirt. He didn t think about the consequences of his actions or the duty of his family. He was only consumed with imagesof her, memories of the way she d f elt in his arms, the way she d tasted and smelled, the way she d rasped his name in the hea t of passion. Nothing else mattered. Nothing at all. And then she was there, her rich auburn hair luminous in the night, her alabaste r skin a beacon through the dark. She turned to him,her reliefand joy nearlytangible as she pierced his heart as well as his libido with her green eyes. Julia, he breathed, his feet skidding to a stop in the soft grass. Gray, she replied, her full lipscurving into a bright smile. They were immediatelydrawn together, as always. Their bodies collided as they hurried toward each other, their mouths fusing together in a heated, blood-stirr ing embrace. Time stopped for them, its hands simply ceasing in the face of the overwhelming need that emanated from the two lovers. Their tongues met, tangled, laved, and entwined ag ain. Arms enfoldedbodies, hands roamed flushing skin, and guttural, sexual sounds rose int o the heavy air. Drawing on all his willpower, Gray pulled away a few precious inches, his breath hitching as he studied the glorious beauty in his arms. 2 Flesa Black Julia, I have to leave, tomorrow, he told her, his gut twisting when he saw the dreadedspear of desolation that shot through her gaze. I don t want you to, she replied, her voice filled with fear. Please, please just sta y with me, Gray. I can t. I want to, he assured her as he tenderlypulled her against his racing heart , but I can t. I have togoback to myfamily; I have to tell them that I ve found my mate . I have to do this if we re going to be together. Can t you just call them? Or you can takeme with you, she added, her striking featuresilluminating with hope as she looked upat him. I know I sound selfish, bu t I don t care. I love you, and I can t stand tothink of being away from you for even an hou r. I wish I could, sweetheart, more than you ll ever know, but I can t. This has to be done within the family,face to face. If I called, it wouldn t be the same, and it would be an insult to my uncle Brody. If I took you without having myuncle s blessing, they wo uld consider you an interloper. You would be treated like an enemy; they would shun you, maybe evenphysically attack you if they thought they had a reason. Since they do

n t know you, they d think of you more as a danger instead of my fiance. Slowly, Julia let out a deep, resigned sigh. I know you re right; I just don t like i t. You warned me this was coming. I just wasn t surewhen. I wish you would have said some thing to me before about speaking to yourfamily and making arrangements to leave, thou gh. My uncle called this morning, so I jumped atthe chance to tell him that we needed to talk about something important, he explained,twisting inside over the fact that h e d slighted her unintentionally. How long will you be? One, two weeks at the most. I need to ... set some things up with my cousin Mark. But I won t be there any longer than I have to, he promised. It s going to take a lot of w ork and diplomacy to convince my uncle that you are the best choice I could make for a m ate. But I swear to you, as soon as he gives me his permission, I ll come back to you. He cupped her face in his large, calloused hand, softening when she nuzzled her silky cheek against his palm. He wanted to tell her the whole truth; that he wasn t just an average lycan who was requesting permission to take a mate outside of his own kind. He w as going to have to leave the pack, and for someone in his position, it wasn t going to be an easy process. He was the only surviving child of his father, the man who had, through birthrig ht, been the alpha of thepowerful American Lycan Pack. Gray s uncle had taken overleadership af ter his older brother had died,taking in Gray, grooming him to become the alpha when the time was right. He had resigned himself to his fate years ago -- and then he d met Juli a. Sweet, hot-tempered, stubborn, lust-inducing Julia. He d wanted her since the firs t time he d seen her roaming the grounds with Abram. She d shown like a wild rose amon g thickets and weeds, her full, rich laughter carrying over the sun-drenched walls ofthe timeworn monastery. The sound had brought him tohis window, compelling hi m to