There was so much more he wanted to do, but the moment was lost.Astrid went to the door, and she turned to offer him a smile.“Are you coming in?”she asked.
“No,” he said.“I’ve got something I need to do.”
She nodded her head.“Good night.”
The desire to close the distance between them, to pull her into his arms, and to cup her face, tilting her head back, and kissing those full lips was so strong, but he ignored the urge.He might scare her.
There was no way Astrid felt this.This was wolf shit he needed to get under control and the only way to do that was to go running.He was not going to change into his wolf, but he took off into the fields, heading in the direction the fireworks had gone off and spoiled his fun.
With his impeccable hearing, he heard the sound of teenagers, and one scent, and he knew it was a bunch of little pack wolves.They were on his property, setting fireworks off and ruining his evening.
The moment he broke through the bushes, the wolves looked at him with fear.One attempted to run, another stood frozen.He counted six little pups, no more than sixteen years old.They all looked ready to piss their pants.He told them to stay as he went to fetch the one that tried to escape.
None of them moved, and as he rounded them up, he saw them shake.They would be as well, because he was not going to let them get away with ruining his night.
Chapter Four
By Sunday morning,Astrid had convinced herself she was going crazy.She didn’t see Lord at all on Saturday.Not even for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.She went to bed without him even returning home, or hearing him out in the field.
She knew there would be a full moon in a couple of days, and some wolves tended to disappear.She couldn’t get the memory of him out of her mind.The way he held her as they danced.
Astrid had never danced.Another reason she convinced herself not to go to prom.What was the point of going to a dance if she couldn’t do the one thing that was the point of the whole event—dance?The truth was, no one asked her, and she didn’t want to go without a date.
Being in Lord’s arms had felt like way more than just a simple dance.She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was a moment it felt intense.
She was clearly going out of her mind.Lord never even hinted at wanting more to do with her.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she finished the daily dusting and cleaning.There was nothing out of place, nor much in the way of dust.There was no need for her to prepare any food for the ranchers today, as they never worked on Sunday.Lord was the only one to man the field, no one else.
She went to her room, grabbed her current reading book, and made her way to the sitting room.It was still beautiful outside.Some of the leaves were a bright orange and seemed quite stubborn, refusing to part ways with the trees they were attached to.Every now and then, she would look up and watch the slight breeze as it rustled those very leaves.As she watched them, she suddenly realized that within a few days, there was going to be a full moon.
Back home, a full moon meant you stayed indoors.No matter the time of year, if there was a full moon, no human was allowed to venture outside, or they did so at their own risk.
This would be the first time she was not in town during a full moon.She couldn’t help but look up at the sky.She’d spent a lot of time listening, staring out a window, wondering if she would catch sight of a wolf.She heard them all the time.The howling never scared her.
There had been a couple of times she’d been curious and had been so tempted to step outside, just to see what might happen.She never did.
