The other two nod and since Sterling’s silence is his way of agreeing, I take it as an opportunity to return to Carina and ease my nerves.
Reid stares through the trees where the gathering is in full swing. “Why would you bring an enemy into our sacred space?”
“She goes where I do.” I say nothing less to answer him, but nothing more to tip them off there’s more to her.
Carina Hargrove will be the secret I take to my grave.
Twenty-Eight
CARINA
Even during July and August,Banff’s busiest tourist seasons, I’ve never seen a gathering of this many people in one small location. Maybe at Lake Louise, where tourists arrive by the busload and at any given time, there might be hundreds crowding around the crystal-coloured lake.
People charge straight across clearings to greet one another as some circles break off into other ones. Eventually the larger groups shrink into small duos and trios, a few of them slipping off into the woods. Ryder said a lot of mates find one another at these things, and I wonder if I’m witnessing that.
Conan stays extremely close. Arm practically touching mine close, like a bodyguard. He casts a look my way when I step back. “You heard Alpha. Stay close.”
“Alphaalready marked me, so what’s it matter?”
My snap gains the attention of a few nearby shifters’ attention. Forgetting about his mouth on my skin became my entire goal, starting from the second he walked away. In the time since, my body hasn’t stopped burning.
He held me like he never wants to let go. Like keeping me pinned close was the only way for us to breathe. His lips on myneck ripped through my skin and stole my breath. But his teeth? His little nips, his licks—all a promise of more.
And a realization of how long it’s been since I’ve gotten laid.
In the twenty minutes of Ryder’s absence, I’ve remained in my spot, clenching my hands within the hoodie’s sleeves. Admittingly, it’s warm and hides me better, and it smells like him, so I’m grateful, even if the way he forced me into it deserves a smack.
The more time I spend around him, the more I understand my compulsion for stalking him down by the lake.Somethingurged me his way, even back then. A feeling controlling me even now, wanting to be near him when he’s gone. If only I understood what that “something” is.
Seeing him for the first time was a random accident. Late last summer, after returning from a trip to Red Deer, where they have the best little donut shop, I took a detour into pack territory, oddly and inappropriately compelled to check it out. A glisten from a nearby body of water caught my eye, and though it seemed no different than every other lake or pond, this one tugged on my soul until stopping was my only option.
When I was nearly there, an animal came streaking through from the other direction. Not wanting to be its lunch, I froze. When the animal—the wolf—stopped running, he shifted to human form. All rippling muscles and an ass a loonie can be bounced off of, the beauty of his form stunned me still and had me barely remembering to cast a concealment spell.
For an hour, he sat by the edge of the pond and I remained. After going home, he consumed my thoughts for the remainder of the day, and every day for the next week. Knowingly breaking the treaty, I returned the same time the next week, figuring it was a shot in the dark and not sure if his visit was a one-off thing. When I arrived, so did he.
Thus began my obsession. A pull I felt to Ryder even before knowing him. Something magickal yanked me in that direction, I’msureof it, but no such magick exists. There’s a fact I’m missing, hovering just on the edge of consciousness.
If only Freya could make a re-appearance; perhaps she’d know.
Conan shuffles closer, breaking the memories, which is unfortunate. Better to be lost in my head than acknowledge the many faces around me. Most are curious, some outright hostile. But none will attack, thanks to my bodyguard and their fear I’ll zap them down.
Which isn’t false.
“You okay?”
Conan’s words throw me for a second. “It’s awkward. Makes me wonder what the purpose was bringing me here.”
“Seems Alpha can’t leave you alone.”
From the corner of my eye, a figure starts towards me. My heart thuds, hoping it’s Ryder. It slows when it isn’t.
A guy about my age ambles forward. Literally swaggers, so apparently douches exist within all species. I’ve barely begun cataloguing his features when his path is intercepted by Conan.
“Jace, back away. You heard Ryder.”
The wolf—Jace—sneers at Conan. “Your Alpha should have considered what bringing a witch here would do. So now, he pays the price. Just a little sniff.”
Conan growls, officially gaining the attention of people close by.
