With each passing hour, my temper soars higher. She kissed me. I kissed her. It was hot. It didn’t mean anything. I want to do it again. What does that mean?
Was it so terrible that she feels the need to avoid me? No, I felt her; she was into it. So, why is she running? Why do I care?
I exhale, forcing myself to remember those twelve women, twelve horrible humans who have tortured us and hurt us. The ones I said I’d never allow to affect me, yet here I am, making the same mistakes as all the times before, thinking she could be different, thinking she might be human.
I keep my nose to the ground but pause often, making sure to make enough noise so I don’t startle her. I find her after an hour of searching. She’s sitting on the branch of a tree, staring off into space, with one knee up and her bow hanging loosely. What is she thinking about?
I shift into my human form and sit, watching her long enough for the wind to pick up. It whips her hair free of its ties, the long shades of brown hair flying around her, making her look wild and untouchable.
With a sigh, she slips off the branch, landing gracefully before walking straight towards me. I stand from my crouch and stare at her until she sees me. She’s not surprised, which proves that I was right.
But everything about this woman is strange and different. Could she be the exception to the past we’ve been strangled by?
“I’ve decided that maybe you guys are right, and I should try finding a…mate. A boyfriend. So, I think we should do this together, all right, choose together? Because I’m not going on dates with shifters.”
I cock my head to the side at the venomous hiss in her voice. I can understand why. She’d be at a distinct disadvantage dating a shifter. I should be happy.
I am happy.
Aren’t I?
“No shifters, got it.”
I concede that dating a human would be her best option. Picturing her with a man freezes me with an uncomfortable and new sensation of horror. I am struck dumb by the bolt of rage that follows, surfacing within me so fast it has me swaying on my feet. I curl my lips.
“Don’t be like that. You don’t know what they can be like. I don’t want anything to do with shifters, ever.” She stalks past me.
I scramble to catch up to her and then pass her, shifting back to my wolf form, ranging on the trail and sniffing for any scents of danger and taking the opportunity to be alone and get some damn clarity on what the hell I just felt.
“All right, the profile will need to be edited, of course, you five have such wonderful views on who I am and what I want for my future, but I’m not okay with being the poster girl for the backwaters.”
I chuff at her, annoyed by her fake cheerful tone.
“The man will have to be…” She trails off, and I look over my shoulder at her. She appears lost. “Well, I don’t really know; I haven’t dated before.”
I snarl my opinion, but quietly enough that she doesn’t hear or pretends not to. We break through the trees, but she stops, staring. I turn to look, too. The log walls make it look smaller than it actually is. It looks cozy and warm, like the cabin I grew up in.
It must be nice to have a home, I think wistfully. If I could have one, it would be like this. Just big enough, full of wilds around us. A warm fireplace, good food I’ve hunted, and a mate…
What?
She goes inside, passing me in a swirl of menthol, unaware of my stunned and conflicted thoughts. I let the transformation take me and enter the house as a man, brushing up against her back just to hear her snarl.
“All right, house meeting,” Casey calls.
I circle around her and bite my lower lip as she steps back into the wall, trying to escape me.
“Stop it!”
“Stop what?” I say innocently.
“You know what!” She just stops short of stomping a foot.
I swipe up her hair, bringing it to my nose and inhaling deeply. There is something there, some quality I can’t place, but the idea of someone else touching her has me ready to set fire to this cabin.
My dad…I remember the way he sounded when he laughed. I remember the pain in his eyes when he found out Mum was sick. It was just the three of us. He sat me down and said he needed me; I needed to step up and be the alpha he knew I could be. I was so determined.
My mum is probably dead. It’s been four years.
