“So you made it look like you were carrying empty bags. And you lifted that guy off the ground like he weighed nothing at all.”
“Alaska turns people hard,” he muttered in a half-assed attempt to explain his werewolf strength away. If Ian had seen him showing it in public, he would’ve had to put him in his place. If Clayton caught wind of his actions…well, the head of the Shifter Enforcement Agency, and the Silvers’ asshole father, would issue a kill order on him. Which was probably a healthier option for Nicole. Maybe the McCalls would forget about her if he was dead. He didn’t know. The pack’s vengeance wasn’t based on rational decisions. They were man-eaters, every last one of them, without sanity, logic, or remorse.
“I’ll pay since I asked you,” she said as he held open the door to the small coffee shop.
Wolf didn’t like that, though, and neither did Link. He wanted to take care of her. Needed to. “Can I pay? It’ll be my apology for…everything.” For the hell he’d just dumped her into without her knowledge.
“Okay. I don’t like coffee.”
“Hot chocolate?”
“Sounds perfect. Extra whip cream if they offer it, please,” she said through a shy smile. At least, he thought she was smiling but that damned green scarf covered most of her face, and he could only see her eyes dance and crinkle at the corners.
“Yeah, sure. Go grab us a seat. There’s a heater right above the booth over there.” Which he’d never cared about before, but Nicole was still shaking from cold, nerves, or both. He had the distinct and consuming urge to make her okay again. Dammit, Wolf. He was going to spread his obsession to Link and muddy them both. Nicole should run.
He watched her walk toward the table, her boots squeaking across the tile floor. She pulled off her jacket but left the scarf on her face.
Don’t like that. She hides too much.
And for the first time in a long time, Link agreed with his inner monster.
He made his way to the table with two hot chocolates and settled into the booth across from her. He actually liked coffee, but he didn’t know how big her dislike for the fragrant drink was, so he’d do hot chocolate with her instead.
Good human.
Link gritted his teeth and fought the urge to tell Wolf to fuck off, even if it was just for the hour he had with Nicole.
“Are you a construction worker?” she asked as she cupped her hands around the warm mug he offered her. “Both times I’ve seen you, you’ve been loading repair supplies.”
“Handyman, more like. I’ve always been good at fixing things. I pick up odd jobs and have a house outside of town.” Two miles away from her cabin, but Nicole didn’t need to know that.
“Do you always wear sunglasses? Even inside?”
“Do you always wear a scarf?”
“Touché.” Looking around discreetly, Nicole pulled the scarf lower, but not all the way off.
Her birthmark was as big and dark red as he’d remembered.
I like it. She looks different from everyone else. Pretty markings on our mate. Fuckable. We should kill Hardware Jack for the way he talked about her.
Link jerked his head and kicked himself in the shin with the heel of his boot.
“It’s pretty hideous, I know. This is what it looks like with regular make-up on. I tried to layer it, but the damned mark shows through. My mom would shit herself if she saw me going out in public like this.”
“When did you start wearing make-up to cover it?”
“Age three.”
Link choked on his hot chocolate. “What?”
“The place I grew up was really different from Galena.”
“Where are you from?” Mars?
“A little town right near Kansas City called Mission. Lots of wealthy folks live there, and my family was in society. All my life, I thought covering up the birthmark was for the sake of my mom’s vanity. She needed her family to act and look perfect. But then I found out Buck had one down his neck, and now I don’t know. Maybe my mom was hiding it so she wouldn’t be reminded of him when she looked at me. Or so my dad…er, stepdad…wouldn’t be reminded I wasn’t his. Or maybe it was to hide how different I was.”
“You didn’t fit in?” He knew all about that. He wasn’t a man-eater like the rest of his family, but he wasn’t a bear like the pack he’d chosen either. He had betrayed the McCalls to save Elyse, but he would always ghost the outskirts of the Silver family until the day Ian put him down. He hated that Nicole didn’t feel like she belonged either. It was the loneliest feeling in the world.
She shook her head and moved her scarf down a little farther, exposing her chin now, too.
Good mate.
Link gritted his teeth and barely resisted telling Wolf to shut up again.
“I always felt different, but I couldn’t figure out why. I spend way too much time thinking about it.” She sipped her hot chocolate with a thoughtful look in her soft brown eyes. She wore her hair down today, and it fell in dark, shiny waves down her shoulders. In the stark lighting of the shop, it looked like black silk. He wanted to touch it.
Do it.