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She sighs again, the sound ripe with annoyance, but she doesn’t speak. Or fight my hold. Within a few moments, her body begins to relax against me, her hand coming to rest over the back of mine where it rests on her belly. In her slumber, she laces our fingers together. I know she’s not ready to accept me, but it gives me hope that she doesn’t loathe me completely.

I just need more time to convince her I’m the male meant for her.

Chapter Five

Hunter

Today is the perfect day for fishing. The sun is out, the breeze is light, but it’s not too cool. The quartet of fish dangling from my line as I walk through the woods might not agree, but they’ll make a delicious lunch.

Hopefully, they will also be enough to entice a stubborn solitary alpha Lycan to eat the noon meal with me. Despite what he claims, the wolf needs a friend. He may not want a pack, but it also isn’t healthy for a Lycan to be alone all the time. Especially an alpha like Conall.

I tilt my face back to let the sun warm my cheeks as I make my way through the trees to Conall’s cabin. Since I bought the old smith’s cottage last month, I’ve tried to stop by to see the wolf at least once or twice a week. He grumbles and complains, but he always seems lighter when I leave. Well, lighter might be a stretch. Less grumpy would be a better description.

I’m nearing Conall’s cabin when I hear it— female shouting. Frowning, I pick up my pace and jog the last bit of the path. As I get closer, the voice seems familiar somehow.

But it isn’t until I hit the gate to Conall’s garden that I recognize the woman’s voice. It’s Scarlett Starwood. My steps falter as her words become clear.

“Move your gigantic, furry ass away from the door! I have to get going, or my grandmother will worry.”

I bite back a snort, and my concern eases. She doesn’t sound frightened, just irate. The low rumble of Conall’s answer isn’t clear enough for me to understand, but her response rings out, despite the thick wooden walls of his cabin.

“Listen, I stayed last night because it was late and I didn’t want to risk walking through the woods after midnight. But it’s the middle of the day now so it’s perfectly safe for me to travel.”

As much as I want to stand here and listen to her harangue Conall, I also know her words will be ineffective if he’s made up his mind. She doesn’t understand how Lycans think. Because she’s smaller than him, he’ll keep her here if he wants to, because his wolf sees her as prey or a creature in need of protection.

It’s amazing she’s gotten away with yelling at him like this. Conall doesn’t want to lead a pack, but he also does not tolerate disrespect. To an alpha like him, her current behavior is the height of disrespect.

I like the little redhead too much to let her get squashed by an angry Lycan. Plus, I’ll never be able to convince her to give me a chance to court her if her mouth gets her in trouble. Conall is usually patient, but he has limits.

Hoping to diffuse the situation, I make my way over to the door and beat on it with my fist. The dull thuds interrupt their argument.

“Thank the goddess!” Scarlett exclaims. “Maybe whoever is visiting will have better comprehension skills than you.”

I manage to hide my smirk when Conall wrenches open the spy hole in the upper part of the door.

“Now isn’t the time, woodsman,” he snarls out. His eyes are the bright gold of his wolf rather than the black he usually has in human form.

Before I can answer, I hear the dull thud of flesh against flesh before he grunts.

His face jerks before a scowl takes over as a scuffling sound emanates from behind the door, but there’s a twinkle of enjoyment in his gaze. Even if the human side of him feels disrespected, his wolf is enjoying Scarlett’s feistiness. I doubt she realizes it because, like most humans, she doesn’t comprehend Lycan pack dynamics.

After another thud, he sighs before he steps aside.

The top of Scarlett’s head appears in the spy hole, the vibrant red strands gleaming in the sunlight. She’s so short I can only see the top half of her forehead through the small square.

“Hunter, is that you?” she asks.

“Yes, Little Red. What sort of trouble have you gotten into now?”

She scoffs. “Stop calling me that, you ass. And I didn’t get myself in trouble! This… this… man found me in the woods last night and dragged me here. Now, he won’t let me leave. Can you please tell this overgrown fur ball to let me go? I have things to do.”

My curiosity piqued, I ask, “He dragged you here?”

“Well, he was in wolf form, so I thought he was someone’s pet. I suspected he was a Lycan, but he was so friendly I wasn’t sure. Please tell him to let me go, Hunter. Or go get help because my grandmother will hear I’ve left my parents’ home sometime in the next couple of days. She’ll worry if I don’t show up at her cottage.”

Scarlett isn’t wrong. She and Vera Youngblood are thick as thieves. Her grandmother will raise the alarm and possibly curse anyone involved in her granddaughter’s informal imprisonment.

I sigh because I know my next words are probably futile, but I have to try. “Conall, why do you have Vera Youngblood’s granddaughter locked in your cabin? And why are you refusing to let her leave?”