Rhett frowned, helping me past a leafless shrub as it grabbed the slick fabric of my coat. “What list?”
“That was a casual way of asking if you’re taking me out to the woods to kill me.”
His frown didn’t budge. “We need to get moving. You don’t have the proper gear, and the snow is going to slow us down.”
“I get that, but what I’m trying to say is that I’m a little terrified to go prancing through the Alaskan wilderness—in a blizzard—without even knowing where I am.”
Rhett pulled out his cell phone, turning the screen so I could see an image of a map. He pointed with his thumb. “We’re about here, right on the edge of pack territory. There should be a cabin at the end of this road, but I don’t know how far we have to walk to get there.”
“Whose cabin?”
“It belongs to the pack. No electricity or running water, just a simple cabin with emergency supplies in case a shifter runs into bad weather while they’re out running, or one of the Wildlings in our pack needs shelter.”
“You have Wildlings in your pack? Aren’t they the ones that live as animals instead of people?”
“It’s more complicated than that. I’ll explain when we get to the cabin.”
I nodded, letting Rhett take my hand. Vicky would call me crazy for doing this, but I trusted him.
My legs sank deep into the snow with every step, making me pant from the effort. At least the exercise was warming me up. I was sweating under my coat, my hair plastered to the back of my neck.
It felt like the sun had only been up for an hour, and it was already setting again. Shadows formed around the base of trees, moving in my periphery and making me jumpy.
“Are you sure it’s safe to be out here in the dark? What about bears?” And wolves and mountain lions and whatever else lived here.
“Most natural predators stay away from pack territory. We’re pretty territorial.” He looked back to see I was lagging behind him. “It’s really the moose and the caribou we should be worriedabout out here. They’re scared of shifters, but they’re more likely to attack when they feel threatened.”
A branch jerked in the wind, casting a shadow like antlers onto the snow, and I shuddered. “That doesn’t actually make me feel better.”
“I can take a moose if I have to.”
“On two feet? As a man?”
“Technically, my wolf has better odds.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek to keep my teeth from chattering. “Wonderful.”
Rhett stopped so fast I bumped into his chest. He caught me by the shoulders.
“Would you feel safer if I shifted?”
“Right now? Here in the snow?”
“I shift in the snow all the time.”
“Yes, I would feel better. A lot better.” Which was crazy because just last night he shifted and I almost peed my pants. Funny what you could get used to.
He didn’t put up any argument, just started taking off his layers and handing them to me one by one. I realized halfway through that I was just staring at him with my mouth hanging open, watching those tight muscles around the tops of his hips work as he stripped.
Blinking to clear my vision, I turned to the side with my arm out to accept the rest of his clothes. His jeans were warm through my glove. I hugged them to my chest, trying to force my attention away from the corner of my eye as he dropped to his knees.
Did I just discover a new kink? Because kneeling naked in the snow was suddenly a huge turn-on.
I shook my head to clear the dirty thought, almost screaming when a wet nose tickled my neck. My feet slid and crunchedthrough layers of snow as I turned, staring down at the wriggling wolf that had taken Rhett’s place.
I’d already seen it with my own eyes once before, but I still found it so unbelievable. It was real-life magic.
And when he wasn’t trying to maul me—or whatever he was doing last night—he was kind of adorable. Giant and dangerous but also adorable.
