She groaned and swung her nose away. Tak knew that wolves were easily spooked by sights and sounds, but familiar smells often provided the distraction needed to settle them.
“Picky eater, huh? Do you want to get away from all these humans? Of course you do. They stink of cologne and city smells. I’m going to take you home, so don’t chew my face off while I’m driving.”
Despite her agitated state, she craned her neck and licked his mouth—an acknowledgment of his dominance.
Now that he’d defused the situation, Tak gingerly started the truck. To his relief, the engine didn’t startle her, but the two jovial men walking down the sidewalk did. She launched to her feet and barked at them. Tak wasn’t about to shove her onto the floor. Hope’s wolf was an impressive creature who could do some serious damage if provoked.
He decided to let her bark.
Before backing out, he noticed the flower he’d given Hope lying on the sidewalk. Maybe he should have left it, but the thought about what Hope had said in the store made his heart clench. Tak hopped out of the truck, shutting the door behind him. A woman like her deserved a lot more than his foolish offering, but the flower reminded him of her.
Wild.
Beautiful.
Dark and colorful.
Perhaps city girls didn’t care for perishable gifts, but Tak was a simple man who enjoyed simple things.
Maybe to a fault.
After heading out, it wasn’t long before Tak turned down yet another unfamiliar street and decided he was lost. What the hell was he going to do if he couldn’t find her apartment? He continued circling the area in hopes of recognizing a street name.
Hope’s wolf had sniffed every crevice inside his truck and finally settled in her seat. What could have set off her panic attack? The grizzly at the bar was an obvious trigger, but there was no danger this time. Maybe it was just being out in public, or maybe it had something to do with that man. Tak bristled when he thought about their strange interaction. If they were old acquaintances, then why did he walk off without saying a word to her? Tak wanted to take a belt to the guy, but a confrontation on these busy streets would have been disastrous.
Smart alphas didn’t make impulsive decisions, especially ones that would land them in hot water with the higher authority. Sometimes the hardest thing to learn is self-control.
When he spied a familiar landmark, he jerked the wheel to the left and plowed through a red light to make the turn. Cars were honking, but he coolly merged into traffic. At least Hope was smart enough to live in a Breed neighborhood. No one would look twice at a wolf entering an apartment building.
Ifhe could find it.
She must have smelled something good, because she whimpered and kept poking her head in the back seat. He glanced at the bag filled with vegetables that Hope had brought him.
First she brings food to my motel room, and then she buys me more.
Shifters provided for the ones they loved. Surely her people were no different than his in that regard. Was it simple politeness or was there more significance behind it? In any case, it stirred all kinds of primal feelings within him. Just thinking about it made him hard.
Memories of their rapturous embrace tangled in his head but were quickly snuffed out by a brutal truth. His love was a curse, and he cared for her too deeply to bring that kind of pain into her life. She deserved a noble alpha who could provide for her.
Tak couldn’t even pay his motel bill.
By some miracle, he finally located her apartment. Uncertain where to park, he pulled up to the front and drove past the signs threatening to tow vehicles until he reached a corner that seemed okay. After collecting the paper sack and her clothes, he glanced out the window and spotted a Sensor performing a sensory exchange with another man on the corner. Where he came from, that kind of transaction went on in private places—not out in the open.
The city was like heaven and hell.
Much like his life.
Tak gave Hope’s wolf a long, stern look. “What are the chances you’ll bolt as soon as I open that door?”
He was a decent tracker, but not in this concrete jungle. After getting out, he slammed the door and walked to the back to collect the items Hope had bought at the market. Hands full, he circled the front of the vehicle, watching her bounce back and forth excitedly.
“This should be interesting,” he said, approaching the door.
Even if he had rope, he wouldn’t consider it. You didn’t leash a female wolf under any circumstance.
Period.
“Here we go,” he muttered, opening the door.
