Nausea churned in his gut at the thought, but as the suds slipped from his body and to the shower floor, Murphy refused to let his nerves dictate any more of his decisions. Nessa wasn’t like Sachi; he felt that down to the marrow of his bones. His anxiety could go fuck itself.
The thought of Nessa finding another, of her leaving him behind and falling in love with someone else … It was enough for him to see past his inner turmoil, to see past his fears and indecision and know that he had to try to make this work.
He wanted Nessa; he always had, even though he couldn’t admit it to himself earlier. Now it was time to show her that he was the male she needed in her life.
But how exactly did he do that without frightening her away? She’d made it clear she didn’t want to mate with anyone, at least not right now. And her version of ‘take care of him’ could refer to something strictly platonic.
But she liked his touch. She liked his compliments, too. She also felt safe with him. He could sense that.
There had to be something he could do to subtly show her his interest until she was ready for more. He didn’t care how long that took; his bear was simply eager to be near her, and Murphy didn’t want to push her too far too quickly. Especially after her own past experiences. He could be patient.
If anyone understood she might need time, it was him.
Murphy turned off the shower, grabbing a towel from a wall hook just outside the stall and drying himself off as a few ideas formed. Wrapping the towel around his hips, he moved from the bathroom, through his room, and down the hall to his office, dropping into his desk chair and turning his computer on.
Quickly, he opened a browser, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he typed in the search bar:how to mate a human.
“Oh, what the fuck!” The pornographic images that popped up nearly seared Murphy’s retinas, and just as quickly, he exited the tab.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the right thing to search.Taking a deep breath, he pulled the browser back up, typing instead:how to woo a human woman.
Hundreds of results popped up, and luckily, none of them involved photos of genitalia and sex. Massages, gifts, love notes; there was a wide variety of wooing techniques for him to choose from. Grabbing a pen and paper, he scrawled down several suggestions. He felt more confident than he had only a few minutes prior now that he had a plan.
Eager to begin, Murphy cast a quick glance at the time on the bottom right-hand screen of the monitor. Just past four o’clock in the morning. He hadn’t even slept yet, too wound up to do anything but think about Nessa.
He just needed to wait a few more hours and then he could see her, could spend the day with her at her teahouse. His heart beat faster at the thought, and his bear huffed in exasperation, just as eager to be near her again. Even his fingers itched withthe desire to touch her, to run his fingers through her hair. He inhaled deeply, hoping to catch a faint trace of her scent to tide him over in the meantime.
Just then, he felt a stirring in his mind as a member of his bear clan reached out telepathically. He stiffened, his momentary excitement replaced with worry.
Who the hell was up at this hour?
Murphy?Marcus’s exhausted voice entered his mind.
The tracker was one of the males who’d saved Murphy that night so long ago.Murphy?Marcus began again, a hint of urgency in his voice.Are you awake?
I’m here. What is it?
I caught Dante’s scent less than an hour ago. It was faint, but it couldn’t have been more than a few days old, Marcus informed him, sounding suddenly far more weary than he had only moments ago.
He and his twin brother, Dante, were the two people Murphy had been closest to aside from his own family, until Dante had betrayed them by working with Jason.
He’d helped Jason’s wolf pack sneak into Murphy’s territory. In exchange, Jason had promised to spare Dante’s true mate, Angela, a wolf in his pack, from further harm. No one in the bear clan, not even Marcus, had known Dante had found his mate, otherwise this entire ordeal might have been avoided. Murphy would have done whatever he could to help Angela, but he’d never been given the chance.
Dante was the reason Nessa had almost died, and the reason Hunny had almost been taken from Tank. After the attack, he’d fled like a coward, using a scent blocker to aid in his escape.
Although Murphy had taken the betrayal hard, it was Marcus who was most affected. Until that point, he and Dante had shared everything. And even though Dante’s reasons forbetraying the clan were understandable, it was still a death sentence if he ever showed his face again.
Murphy wouldn’t be lenient with the male. Not after Dante had risked Hunny and Nessa’s lives for his own mate. Dante had made his decision in failing to rely on his pack. On his family.
Murphy dropped his hands to the armrests, fingers curling tightly around the leather material. It creaked in protest and he forced himself to relax, his mouth drawn into a severe frown.
He’s that close? I figured he’d be long gone.
He’d hoped for it, honestly. As much as he wanted retribution for the harm dealt to Nessa, he didn’t relish the idea of killing a once lifelong friend.
Why would Dante be nearby? Was he planning something else? Murphy didn’t think it would be anything malicious, but he hadn’t expected the tracker to turn into a traitor, either. Something had to be wrong.
I did, too,Marcus agreed, his heavy sigh echoing in Murphy’s mind.I haven’t caught his scent at all until now, and I was only in town to run an errand when I noticed it. What if he’s been nearby this whole time, just using a scent blocker to hide?
