“Rude” didn’t even begin to describe the act of one pack leader barging into another’s home uninvited. In fact, Wolfie’s behavior was tantamount to an act of war, but I couldn’t avoid the silly grin that spread itself across my face when my favorite wolf stepped over the threshold. My canine half and I could smell his scent—like leaf mold and pine needles—and I realized we were leaning forward as if the young alpha was a huge magnet and our combined wolf and human brains were a pile of iron filings. If the stakes hadn’t been so high and my father hadn’t been present, I don’t think anything could have stopped me from falling into Wolfie’s arms.
And I was now sure that his wolf side, at least, would have caught me as I fell, quite gladly. The younger alpha’s face was grim, but with my new wolf sense, I could see his canine half dancing in circles behind his eyes, as excited as I was to be back together. All at once, the last ache in my stomach faded away as I realized that Wolfie really had known I was acting, as Quetzalli’s presence had suggested, even though I’d been loathe to believe a bloodling could be so poker-faced. Wolfie hadn’t taken my words to heart or held them against me, and he was here now to back me up and to help solve the problem with my father.
As we stood in silence, I could almost feel our canine halves communing without words. What took you so long?, my wolf was saying, and his wolf was laughing at our impatience. As impetuous as a human, he was probably teasing.
The man was a little less sure of himself than the wolf, though. Ignoring Chief Wilder, Wolfie cocked his head and asked me, “Which one did you pick?” It took me a minute to realize the younger alpha was asking about the suitors, then my wolf and I huffed our amusement out through our nose. I couldn’t believe it—Wolfie was jealous.
“Is that why you’re here?” I answered, trying to get Wolfie back on track. Surely, hopefully, he had some kind of plan, not just a possessive urge to come and take me home before I could marry another man. Not that I minded a bit of alpha behavior in this context, but there were larger issues at play.
The young pack leader shook his head, not in negation, but as if trying to force water out of his ears, and I saw the wolf rise up behind his eyes to take command of the conversation. Wolfie’s voice sounded the same, but his energy was more focused when he spoke again. “No, I’m here because your nephew, and your grandson,” he said, turning to face my father at last, “has gone missing. Keith wasn’t pleased when Quetzalli came home without you yesterday, and we now know he hitchhiked all the way to Haven after he found out Terra wasn’t coming back.”
To Haven? Soppy romantic notions were pushed to the back burner as I parsed Wolfie’s words. I was positive I would have known if Keith was kicking around the village, which meant the boy hadn’t arrived. But where could he get sidetracked between the highway and our cluster of houses? Nowhere—unless Keith’s first shift came upon him unaware, in which case the teen werewolf could be running around the woods four-footed and confused.
“And you want permission to go hunt for the boy in my woods,” the Chief said, his words coldly amused as the pack leader’s wolf peered through my father’s eyes to focus on the younger alpha. If Wolfie had the bad sense to request permission, it was obvious the answer would be no, so I figured I’d better derail this standoff before it could go any further.
“Can I speak with you for a moment, Wolfie?” I asked. Ignoring my father, I continued: “Alone.”
***
Even though I had left my childhood behind years ago, I couldn’t help feeling a frisson of forbidden pleasure when Wolfie followed me up the stairs and into my loft. The male werewolf was almost too big for the space, his head bowing down so it didn’t graze the ceiling as he moved to the center of the room—the one spot where he could stand erect. Despite the awkwardness of the low ceiling, though, I could see the tension ease from Wolfie’s shoulders at this brief reprieve from the Chief’s presence, and my wolf and I felt the same way. As we came into the room behind him, we immediately rushed to Wolfie’s side and let the young alpha enfold us in his arms, then we pulled his head down to join us in a hungry kiss.
I would have liked to submerge myself in our shared passion forever, but I knew my father’s patience was very limited, so I pulled back far enough that we could speak, although I didn’t try to wriggle out of Wolfie’s arms. “You forgave me,” I said, smiling up into my mate’s sparkling eyes.