I growled, the deep rumble in my chest heard over the music by those nearby.
I slammed back through the dance floor in the other direction, not caring if I bumped people out of my way, stalking through the main area of the bar toward the front door.
Cody caught my scowl as I passed him behind the bar and raised a quizzical brow, but I ignored it and him. I wasn’t going to make problems for him or any of his patrons, if that was what he was thinking–at least as long as they stayed out of my way.
I just needed my mate. Now.
I threw the door open and stalked out on the sidewalk. I’d be able to smell her better out there, with fewer scents to confuse things.
I lifted my nose in the cold air. It was dark, the streetlights giving everything an extra white glow, making the piles of snow at the curb even brighter.
No. She hadn’t been here recently.
It had snowed a foot the night before, but the sidewalk was dry and clear. I should have been cold but… no. My blood ran hot. Too hot. Especially now.
I stepped back inside where the space was cramped and suddenly extra stuffy. I scanned the big room once more. She wasn’t on the dance floor. Or by the mechanical bull. Or at the bar.
If she wasn’t in this area then… the bathroom?
I clomped back around the high-top tables, bumping into Rand, a wolf friend of mine.
“Hey, Boone. Really good to see you. You came down off the mountain!” He slapped me on the shoulder and looked equally pleased and stunned. I didn’t show my face in town for anything more than groceries or other required appointments, and those were few and far between. “Natalie and I are sure liking the new bed.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, passing right by him to head back toward the bathrooms and storeroom.
He and his new wife Natalie, a human, wanted something special, so I’d found the perfect tree, chopped it down, and gave it to my brother, Roy, to do his carpentry magic and turn it into their bed. I chopped. He built. Everyone bought.
“Okay, nice talkin’ to you,” he called after me with a laugh. We’d known each other for years, and thankfully, he didn’t take offense at my rudeness. I knew I was rude. I just didn’t care.
When I explained why I was acting like more of a jackass than usual, he’d understand.
Toward the back of the building, her scent grew stronger. Yes!
Something in me both relaxed and grew more agitated at the same time. My dick stirred, my wolf prowled, eager.
Mate.
Mine.
Claim.
I sucked a deep breath in through my nostrils to calm down, but it backfired, since I got more of her honey scent. Fuck, that smelled so fucking good.
I’m coming for you, mate.
I almost shifted again. A dog-like shiver rippled through my body as I tried to get control. Any human eyeing me would think I was chilled. My canines were already lengthening further, like my wolf was gonna mark her the second she came out of the ladies’ room.
That probably wouldn’t be my best move. It was done–I’d heard of females who got marked in the middle of the mating games, the moment their mate found them–but I should try to show more finesse.
Buy her a drink first.
Flirt a little.
Ha! Me. Finesse and flirting weren’t two of my qualities. Hell, I was shit at both.
I was more the “take her home, fuck her thoroughly, and sink my teeth into her sweet honey flesh” kind of shifter male. Or beat the shit out of your own father and leave him for dead kind of shifter male. Either way, I had no clue what the fuck I was doing, especially with a female, only driven by my wolf.
I attempted to be casual, leaning my back against the white wall next to the ladies’ room and stared at a framed historical photo. I helped Cody install the wood wainscotting here when he updated the saloon a few years ago. Chopped the pine and hewed it myself from the woods surrounding Wolf Ranch to make the trim and the flooring, even finding some recycled wood planks for accents and trim.
