Chloe turned down the dirt road that led to the secluded cabin, the truck bumping along the rough terrain. I had to give her credit though, she was as careful with my vehicle as I was.
“Stay in the truck and let me look around before you get out,” I stated, unbuckling my seat belt.
The look she gave me should have singed off all my hair. “I don’t think so, Lach.”
“Chloe, I’m telling—”
Her seatbelt clicked then her face was suddenly just an inch away. “Listen to me good, Ian Lachlan, because this will be the first and last time we have this conversation. You and I both know that I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I was the fucking enforcer of the last two packs I joined, which means I had to kick a lot of ass. We also both know that I am the better fighter of the two of us. Added to that, you aren’t back to your full strength and it’s unlikely you will be anytime soon because you barely ate a damn thing at the barbeque tonight. You and I will get out of this truck together and check the propertytogether. Have I made myself clear?”
Though her aggressive behavior pissed off the wolf within me, I still found myself biting back a smile. Calder would have been laughing by now, not at her anger, but at me for thinking that she needed my protection. More than once he’d said he was glad Chloe didn’t want to be the alpha of the MacIntire pack. He knew he couldn’t take her in a fight. He might hold his own, even get in a few good licks, but in the end she would rip him to shreds and smile while she did it.
“You’re right, we should do this together,” I conceded.
Her brows lifted in surprise and she leaned back in the driver’s seat. “You’re not going to argue?”
“Hell, no. I don’t know what I was thinking. In fact, now that you’ve pointed all that out to me, I think I’ll stay in the truck and let you go look around by yourself.”
The anger disappeared from her face and her hazel eyes sparkled in the shadowed cab. In the dim moonlight, I saw the corner of her mouth tug up. “Okay then. I’m glad you see reason.”
When she reached for the door handle, my hand whipped out quickly, grabbing her right wrist and jerking her back over into my space, though not as close as she’d been before.
“Just one thing,” I said. “If I do or say something that you don’t like, do not get in my face like that again. You can talk to me with respect or not at all.”
I expected her to get mad and tell me to go fuck myself. Instead she studied me for a moment, an enigmatic expression on her face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I let the stress of the situation get the best of me, but it won’t happen again.”
I blinked at her for a second, confused. At her gentle tug against my grip, I released her hand.
“Are you ready to get out?” she asked, her face unreadable.
I didn’t get the sense that she was angry, or even hurt. All I saw was acceptance.
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
With that, we both opened our doors and stepped out into the night.
Chapter Nine
Chloe
There were nowolves around the house, only nocturnal animals and trees. I couldn’t hear Lachlan as he moved around the property near me, but I could feel him all the same.
When it became clear that everything was safe, I approached Lachlan. “I’m ready to go inside and take a bath. It’s been a long day.”
He nodded, falling in step beside me as I walked back toward the cabin. We moved in silence through the cool night air. Once we were inside, he moved toward the kitchen. To my surprise, he began digging in the fridge and pulled out the leftover spaghetti from my meal last night.
I didn’t say a word. Grabbing a clean pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, I went into the tiny bathroom and shut the door. The bathroom was just as rustic as the rest of the cabin, but there was a long, narrow claw foot tub set against one wall. The exterior was chipped and discolored, attesting to its age, but it was deep enough that I could submerge my entire body from shoulders to toes. I assumed that Darrell had gotten the tub for free from someone who was remodeling their bathroom and decided to install it here.
Regardless of where it had come from, I was glad to have it. I’d been tense and on edge all night, my muscles tight with unease from being surrounded by Darrell and his cronies and awareness from being so close to Lach. I needed a break from both.
I ran the tub full of scalding hot water, pouring in some lavender bath salts that I’d picked up from the store in town last week. As I inhaled the scent, my mind wandered back to the note that had been left in the driver’s seat of Lachlan’s truck. Despite his suspicions, I believed that the writer wanted to help us rather than warn us off. I only wished I could figure out who’d left it. It was clear that not all the members of the MacArthur pack were content with Darrell’s leadership.
Until the author of that note realized that they could trust me, all I could do was wait. Here, with Lachlan.
I exhaled, sinking deeper into the water and letting my head rest against the back of the tub. I’d left the MacIntire pack to escape the pain of yearning for him so badly yet knowing I couldn’t have him. Though I no longer believed the wound left by grief was mortal, Lachlan was still injured all the same. His soul had been broken and I had my doubts that it would ever heal.
However, tonight in the truck, I’d seen a flash of the Lach I’d known before. The alpha that would never tolerate a wolf speaking to him the way I had. I’d grown so accustomed to being the one in charge after Belinda died that I’d almost forgotten how strong he’d once been. For months I’d made him eat and forced him to get out of bed and get fresh air, watching in agony as his body wasted away.
Tonight was the first time in nearly two years I’d seen even a fragment of who he used to be. It was arresting.
