“And nothing. He helped carry my bags and left.”
“You’re holding out on me, Calloway. What did he look like?”
Electra found herself smiling despite her embarrassment. “Tall. Dark hair, gray eyes. Very... authoritative.”
“Authoritative? Oh my God, you found yourself an alpha male in the wild! This is perfect. Absolutely perfect. I knew this idea was genius.”
“It’s not like that?—“
“It’s exactly like that. You’ve been writing alpha heroes for years, and now you’ve got one right on your doorstep. Talk about life imitating art.”
The observation hit too close to home, making Electra shift uncomfortably. “I’m here to write, not chase after the local law enforcement.”
“Who says you can’t do both? When’s the last time you felt that spark with someone?”
Never.
“I just got here, Cosette. I’m not looking for complications.”
“Sometimes complications find us anyway. Besides, you were writing tonight, weren’t you? I can hear it in your voice. The creative energy is back.”
Electra glanced at her notebook, pages still open to her rambling observations. “A little. Nothing concrete, just... impressions.”
“That’s more than you’ve written in three months. And I bet I know what inspired it.”
“The setting inspired it. The change of scenery.”
“Sure it did. The setting and those steel-gray eyes.”
Heat flooded Electra’s cheeks.
“I can practically hear you blushing through the phone,” Cosette continued, clearly delighted. “This is exactly what you needed. A hot sheriff to stoke your creative fires. And possibly other fires.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I’m right. You know I’m right. When do you see him again?”
“I don’t. He was just doing his job.”
“In a town with that small of a population, you’ll see him again. And when you do, I want a full report. Every detail, every meaningful look, every moment of sexual tension.”
“There was no sexual tension?—“
“There’s always sexual tension when an alpha male is involved. Trust me on this.”
They talked for another few minutes, Cosette extracting promises to call if anything interesting happened and threatening to drive up herself if Electra tried to hermit away completely. When Electra finally hung up, the cabin felt even quieter than before.
She moved back to the window with her tea, drawn by something she couldn’t name. The forest stretched endlessly before her, silver-touched and mysterious under the moonlight.Somewhere out there, the wolves had fallen silent, but she could feel their presence.
I feel like something’s watching me.
The thought should have frightened her. Instead, she felt a curious thrill.
Electra couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted today. That coming to this place, meeting Sheriff Hale, and hearing those wild calls in the darkness—it was all connected somehow.
FOUR
RUNE
