“You can kiss me before you go.”
My entire body stills.Her lips part nervously, as if she might take it back.There’s no way in hell I’m letting that happen.
I lower my head slowly, giving her plenty of time to change her mind.
She doesn’t.
The second my lips touch hers, my wolf goes silent.Everything goes silent.
Landry’s mouth is soft and warm beneath mine, and the little sigh she lets out almost brings me to my knees.I keep it gentle.I have to.My hands tremble where they hold her face, and every instinct in me screams to deepen the kiss, to claim, to take, to make sure she never doubts who she belongs to.
But this is her first kiss with me.I won’t ruin it by rushing.
I brush my lips over hers once more and force myself to pull back.Her eyes flutter open.
“Was that okay?”I ask, my voice rough.
“Very okay,” Landry says breathlessly.
My wolf howls so loudly that I wince.
I press my forehead to hers.“I’ll come back to you.”
“You better.”
“I will.”
I press one more kiss to her forehead and leave her to her job search while I shower and change.It’s almost noon by the time I jog back downstairs.I need to hurry to make it to work on time, but I pause once more, listening to Landry typing away in the office.I take a deep breath, forcing myself to turn and leave.
Making sure the door is locked behind me, I run along the path toward the Midnight Haven headquarters.My mind drifts as I go.Tomorrow is the night of the full moon, and I wonder what will happen.
Will Landry be able to feel the mating heat?Will she want me?Will she be ready, or will we wait another month?
No.Tomorrow!my wolf snarls.
I hope so,I tell him.
The headquarters building comes into view, and I hurry inside, nodding to a couple of pack members as I pass.The building looks like a regular log cabin from the outside, which is the point.Inside is where patrol schedules are made, territory maps are updated, and the Alphas handle pack business that humans don’t need to know about.
Russo is leaning against the front desk when I walk in.He looks up, his dark eyes narrowing on me immediately.
“What are you doing here?”I ask.
Russo is a good guy, but he’s not officially part of the Midnight Haven—he fills in when we need him.If he’s here, I wonder if something happened last night.
“I’m filling in for the doctor,” he says.
“Cool.We’ll be on patrol together then.”
He nods and follows me inside.
Russo is one of my closest friends.He’s a bear shifter, big as hell even in human form, and usually too calm for his own good.Not much rattles him.
He nods toward the back hallway, and I follow him into one of the smaller rooms where the patrol maps are spread out over a long table.Pins are positioned along the border, marking the usual routes and recent activity.Too many of those pins are near the cult’s land.
“They’ve been moving around more,” Russo says.“Not crossing the border, but close enough to make everyone twitchy.”
“Any idea why?”
