Vicki Thompson - Werewolf in Alaska

Yet somehow she had to keep him here at least another day. That would require a creative maneuver on her part. She thought of the large cut of round steak she’d bought at the general store today. Maybe the wolf could be bribed.

• • •

The water helped, but Jake was starving. Shifts always made him hungry, but he’d never had to engineer a midshift reversal before, and he’d discovered that revved up his appetite even more. To make matters worse, he’d achieved only some of the healing he’d been angling for.

He was far from healed, but he planned to blow this taco stand first thing in the morning. She’d have to let him out for obvious reasons, and once she did, he was gone.

The evening had been a fascinating experience, but he’d come way too close to accidentally revealing himself. He wasn’t about to take that chance again, which meant he had to get out of this cabin so he could heal properly. A plane ticket to San Francisco sat in a desk drawer in his cabin, and he would be on that plane, come hell or high water.

He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by Rachel, even if he was currently stretched out on a quilt that smelled like her and made him want to stay. And he couldn’t let himself think about how she’d looked standing in the kitchen doorway wearing a nearly transparent tank top and running shorts, both in apple green.

And holding a baseball bat. His nose ached from that whack she’d given him. Unless he could shift soon, he was liable to end up with a bruise. But he could explain a bruise a lot easier than he could explain shaved fur.

He couldn’t blame Rachel for hitting him, either. She’d sensed something major was happening in her kitchen and she’d been right to react that way. If she’d had the tiniest inkling what those flickering lights actually meant, she would have hit him even harder.

He hated deceiving her, hated it worse than he’d expected to. She’d been so earnest and sweet about his injuries and his need for privacy. She’d jumped to all the wrong conclusions, but she was trying so hard to take care of him, even as he plotted his escape.

A woman like Rachel didn’t deserve to be jerked around like this, but he had no choice. That bothered him. It bothered him even more than the gnawing hunger that kept him awake until the sky grew lighter, signaling another Alaskan summer day.

Rachel woke early, sat up in bed, and immediately looked over at the corner where he lay. “Good morning, wolf. I hope you slept well.”

Not a wink. But he’d taken comfort in knowing that she had slept. He’d listened to her soft breathing and been content. The bears hadn’t come back, but he’d been ready to fight them off if necessary.

She looked adorable all tousled from sleep, her tank top slightly askew. He regretted that this would be the one and only time he’d see her waking up in her bed, because soon he’d be headed through the woods toward home.

Combing her hair back from her face, she swung her long legs out of bed and stood. “I’m sure you need a bathroom break.”

This was it. She’d open the back door, and he’d be out of her life. He’d never be this close to her again, and that was best . . . for him, for her, for the future security of Weres. If leaving her made him sad, he’d just have to let it go.

“When you come back in I’ll have a wonderful treat for you.”

Surely she didn’t expect him to waltz back into the cabin like a trained dog. He wondered what that imaginative brain of hers had come up with.

“I’ll go get it.”

Watching her walk around barefoot in that skimpy outfit was enough of a treat for him. It helped him forget the pain in his side and the empty feeling in his gut. Rising slowly to his feet, he followed her out of the bedroom.

She went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. His stomach clenched. Good thing she didn’t know how hungry he was. When she pulled out a package of meat, he resisted the urge to rip it from her hands. A real wolf would have.

“You can have this after you take care of business.” She pulled the cellophane off a heavenly-smelling slab of beef, opened a cupboard, and took down a platter.

One quick lunge and he’d have that meat. But then what? Could he imagine himself carrying it to some other part of the cabin and eating it off the floor? No, he could not. He was Were. He had his standards.

“Time to let you out the back door.” Opening a kitchen drawer, she took something out and tucked it in the waistband of her shorts.

She’d done it so quickly he hadn’t been able to see what it was. But it was too small to be of any consequence to him, so he forgot about it.

Then she hoisted the platter, walked through the living room, and unlocked the door to the deck. “I’ll leave the storm door and the screen open, and when you’re finished, you can come back and get your steak.”

Oh, she was clever, all right. She’d obviously figured out that he planned to run off the minute she opened that door. She was also smart enough to realize that tying him up was not a solution.

She’d hit upon the one thing he would find nearly impossible to resist. He couldn’t remember ever being this hungry with no immediate way to fix the problem. He longed for that meat.

Standing with one hand on the doorknob and one hand holding the platter at shoulder height like a waitress in a restaurant, she glanced down at him. He licked his chops, unable to help himself. The smell of that steak drove him crazy.

After she opened the door, he could knock her down, take the meat, and be off. But thinking such a thing filled him with shame. She’d been nothing but kind to him. If he shoved her to the floor, she could hit her head or twist an ankle, maybe even break a bone.

He, of course, wouldn’t be around to find out what had happened to her. By talking with Ted, he’d find out eventually what sort of damage he’d caused, but what if he knocked her unconscious and the bears came back?

The knob clicked softly as she turned it. “I know you don’t understand what I’m saying, but if only you did, I’d want you to think about the wisdom of resting here for another day. I’d want you to think about eating this steak and then lying on the quilt in my bedroom while you regain your strength. If you run away, you’ll have to fend for yourself, and you’re not well yet. It could be risky for you.”

She had a point. He’d have to make it around the lake and into his cabin before he could shift again. Shifting outdoors in broad daylight was asking for trouble. So he’d have to go home as he was, slowed by his injuries.

A black wolf moving through the woods during the day could be spotted, chased, possibly even shot by a rogue trophy hunter. When he was fit, he had a decent chance of escaping that fate, but he wasn’t at the top of his game. Then, if he even made it to his cabin, sneaking in undetected would be tricky.

And he was so hungry. He wouldn’t be able to eat until he got home, either. Lack of food was making him dizzy. That would also hamper him on the journey back.

Yet every moment he spent with her in this cabin was filled with danger, too. He was essentially trapped here, and all his Were instincts screamed that he couldn’t let that continue. He had to leave and take his chances getting home.

Maybe he could grab the meat before he left, though. He wouldn’t knock her down to get it, but two could play the game she had in mind. While she tried to coax him in, he’d try to lure her out.

“Okay, wolf. Make the right choice.” She opened the storm door and then the screen.

Freedom! He bolted out the door but stumbled on the steps and almost fell.

“Careful!”

Embarrassed, he straightened and kept going. He really was weak, damn it. He needed that steak to boost his energy level. After ducking around the corner of the cabin to find privacy for the task at hand, he returned to the steps.