Actually, her head hurt, her shoulder burned, and her skin prickled. Her body warmed from his gentle touch, and desire spiraled through her abdomen. “I’m fine.”
“You’re going to have a physical reaction to the marking, sweetheart. Hopefully not too extreme, but most humans have a difficult time.” Concern furrowed his prominent brow. “Let me help you through the process.”
“What if one bite didn’t do it?” Curiosity filtered through the odd sensations bombarding her.
“Then we’ll do it again,” he said, his eyes glinting.
She cocked her head. “Just hypothetically, what if a human doesn’t take a mating the first time. Does it go away?”
He ruffled his dark hair. “No. It never goes away, but they wouldn’t fully transform. It’s my understanding that it’s a weird limbo situation that is never comfortable.”
Well, that sounded just great. She sighed.
He cupped her face. “Let me help you. Come home with me and spend the day relaxing. I’ll even make you breakfast. We can figure out the situation with the killer in Kentucky.”
It was shocking how tempting a day of domestic bliss with him was to her. She needed time to think. “Thanks, but I have work to do.” Without question, she required distance from the sexy wolf and his devastating touch. “Unless you want to tell me who murdered Ruby and Mandy.” She needed to solve their murders before going back east.
He dropped his hand to his side. “If I knew, I’d tell you. Now you can at least understand that we’ll take care of the situation. The human police force needs to leave it be.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Even if Mia agreed, which she certainly did not, Pete would never drop the case. “I’m still going to do my job.” She still felt like Mandy’s death was her fault.
Seth rubbed his chin while irritation filtered across his handsome face. “You’re a stubborn one. Things are different now. We’re different. You’ll need to learn to trust me and work with me. Ever heard of compromise?”
Discomfort made her hands tremble as she tucked the gun into her jeans. “Um, no. Besides, things aren’t really different. I’m still mostly human. You’re, well, not…this isn’t forever.”
“This could be forever, and you’re not human. I marked you and felt the change.” He grasped her arms, vulnerability darkening the blues in his eyes. “We could have forever.”
Panic increased her breathing. They weren’t on the same side, and she was a crappy bet. Besides, no way could she live in the backward world the wolves had created in this little town. “No. Seth, trust me. Don’t give me your heart.”
He released her, his eyes softening. “My heart? Jesus, Mia. You already have my soul.” Then he turned toward the forest and didn’t look back. “Call me if you have any trouble with the transition.” Several broad strides later, he disappeared from sight.
Transition?
Chapter25
Mia stood outside the door of the station’s single interrogation room while taking several deep breaths to calm her seizing lungs. Chills swept through her, and her stomach cramped.
Pete shoved keys into his pocket and glanced at his phone. “My pals in DC didn’t find any other similar crimes, and bad news on the court file for Eddy Johnson. Somehow, it’s lost.”
Mia huffed. “That’s convenient.”
“Right? Also, the recording from the ATM camera should be in my inbox any minute. Let’s hope Ruby is on it. Maybe whoever killed her is on it, too. We can watch it after you interview Frank Barnby.”
Mia’s brain pounded. Her body didn’t seem to be enjoying the transition, whatever that meant. “Thanks for bringing Barnby in for me.” She’d called Pete right after she’d checked on her mother and Dotty. Both women had slept through the entire standoff taking place outside the cabin at dawn.
Pete nodded. “Barnby didn’t even make a fuss when I brought him in, just said he heard that you and Volk had died in a fire and didn’t know who started it. Cocky bastard.”
Mia forced a smile, her grip tightening on the manila case file. “He thinks I’m dead, huh?”
“Oh, yeah.” Pete failed to return the grin. “Uh, though, whatwereyou doing at Volk’s place last night?”
“Questioning him about Mandy,” Mia smoothly lied. “Then things went south from there.”
“Good thing he had an escape ready.” Pete hitched his pants over his belly. “Though I find the entire situation weird.”
If he only knew. “I’d like to take Barnby alone,” Mia said.
“Fine with me. He’s handcuffed to the table, so he won’t give you any problems.” Pete frowned. “You feeling all right? You’re kind of flushed.”
