Vivian Arend - Wolf Tracks

He shivered. “God, you keep touching me like that and I’m never going to get this out.”

She stilled her hands. “Just tell me. It’s not like you’re going to shock the daylights out of me.”

“We’re mates.”

She paused. “Sure. We’re best buds. Whatever you say. Now tell me the rest of the news because getting freaked out seems to have made me hungry.”

He shook his head wildly. “No, you don’t understand. Mates, as in the way a wolf takes a mate. You know dogs, you must know a little bit about wolves. We have a lot of the characteristics of wolves, and just like there’s an alpha and an omega wolf, our wolves pick our mate and they pick them for life. You, me. My wolf picked you.”

TJ stared into the fire. It was far too early to be getting up and way too late to still be awake. After his little life-changing revelation, Pam had snatched together the fixings for a sandwich then retreated to the bedroom to “get some space to think”. He’d settled in to wait and see what the verdict would be.

He’d screwed everything up. Everything.

Crap, why had he imagined, even for a moment, that hauling Pam into the bush against her will would make anything easier? Time alone, right. He poked the logs and watched the sparks fly upward in protest. That’s what he had now, time completely alone. Just him and the couch, which was lumpy and uncomfortable, and he’d sleep on it for the next week without a single complaint if Pam would give them a chance.

He’d sleep on it forever if she asked him to.

The floorboards creaked in the bedroom and he stood in a rush, staring at the door in the hopes she’d come out. The freaky part was he sensed where she was—and what she was feeling—just a little. His brother had explained once how the connection between him and his mate Robyn worked. While this wasn’t as strong as Keil had described, it was vivid enough to give TJ a teeny tiny fraction of hope to cling to.

Maybe there would be more to their mate connection than he’d dreamed possible.

When she’d barricaded herself in the bedroom, she’d been royally pissed at him, and he’d taken it in stride. It was the confusion that followed and the tears shortly after that had him on the verge of ignoring her request and breaking down the door, because he knew he could comfort her.

Needed to comfort her.

Now he stood as still as possible, trying to figure out the way to connect with her. They had made love—it had to count for something. In spite of the damn condom, there had to be a bond to help them make it through this rough beginning. She wasn’t sleeping, and she wasn’t mad. An even calm greeted him and now he was the one confused. Calm? After all he’d thrown at her in the past couple days?

Holy shit, she was the most intriguing person he’d ever met and right there in that moment all his doubts washed away.

If he had to turn his back on his family to be with her, so be it. He’d move south, find a job. He’d still have to turn wolf every now and then, but he’d find a way to do that wherever she was. He’d court her properly, and eventually she’d accept him, if not as a lover, then as a friend.

It would kill a part of him, but being with her would be worth it.

The door creaked open an inch and their eyes met. He bit his lip. Let her call the shots. Her lashes were still wet from her earlier tears and something tore at his belly. His resolve wavered. Okay, not comforting his mate? Sucked donkey balls.

“Can we talk?”

TJ nodded so rapidly his vision blurred. Pam opened the door wider. He hauled his gaze off where the oversized T-shirt she wore barely covered the tops of her thighs. This was not the time to get distracted, even though his mate made his knees weak with longing.

“Here’s the deal. I know you’re not lying about being a wolf. I saw it.”

Promising opening.

“I also believe you’re insane, in the nicest possible way.”

Umm, that doesn’t sound as good. Begging commences now… “Tell me what you want me to do that would fix this for you. If you want, I’ll shift to my wolf and run until I find a place with a phone. It will take me a while to organize, but I’m sure I can find a way to get you home early.”

She snorted. “You’re not getting out of this that easy, buster.” Pam stalked to his side and grabbed him by the collar. She eyed him up and down and his fading hope flickered back to life. “You promised me seven days of wilderness adventures, with lots of hot monkey sex thrown in.”

“What are you saying?” He could barely breathe.

“Well, other than you have to offer hot wolfie sex, I’m making you stick to your commitment. But you’ve now got an additional challenge. You say we’re ‘mates’. Fine. You have until the end of the week to prove it.”

The past couple of hours had been sheer agony as Pam fought with herself to pick the right thing to do next.

Step one. Get abducted by a virtual stranger? Check.

Two. Completely forget all rules of safety and have sex with said kidnapper? Check.

Three. Have the guy she was developing suspiciously strong feelings for turn into a wild animal in front of her then suggest they were meant to be together for the rest of their lives? Once you put a check in that box, what the hell were you supposed to do for a follow-up performance?

But it was true. She’d seen him change—it was a reality she had to face, no matter how much her mind rebelled at the thought. Shrieking or wailing wouldn’t move this situation forward.

Logic was always the best thing to fall back on. Logic, and an oversized baseball bat.

TJ rocked on his feet, his hands twisting together until he deliberately shoved them into his pockets. “You don’t want me to get us back to Haines?”

She shook her head. “If we go back now that doesn’t answer any more of my questions, does it? I suspect once we reach civilization we’re going to have a few other issues to deal with.”

TJ’s cringe said it all. Yup—that hierarchy he’d mentioned in passing—she bet he was up the creek without a paddle in their books right now. His big brother was in charge? Thinking back to the way the whole group had worked her at the wedding ceremony, she suspected there were a few well-greased wheels in play. Who knew what weird rules TJ had broken? Someone was undoubtedly on the lookout for them even now.

But this was her life and she would be the one to make the decisions. Not some well-meaning older brother, or even Maggie, although Pam suspected her BFF could answer a few questions.

In spite of the adrenaline rush that had spiked through her for most of the evening and night, or maybe because of it, an enormous yawn overtook her.

TJ spoke quietly. “Let’s call it a night and tomorrow I’ll do my best to show you…well, I’ll show you how this works. But anytime you have questions, you ask. I promise I won’t keep anything from you.”

“Holding your tongue doesn’t seem to be the issue, TJ.”

“Sorry, very true.”

Pam covered her mouth as another yawn hit her. Bed. It was past two and definitely time for some sleep. She turned and paced into the bedroom. The chill in the air encouraged her to dive under the quilt. She pounded the pillows a few times trying to settle in comfortably when she realized she was alone. She sat up to see TJ staring at her from where he still stood in the living room.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“You want me to sleep with you?” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Okay. I mean, I want to join you, but…”

He walked forward slowly, dropping into a crouch beside the bed. His long fingers carefully stroked back a strand of hair from her forehead and his touch sent a shiver through her.