Wow. It seemed Shifter children age a little differently. Fascinating.
Turning her attention back to Grace, she said, “Well, you are just perfect, aren’t you?”
Grace laughed and chattered away, her sounds a garbled mix of actual words and nonsense.
“Hunter, can you show Ava where she’ll be sleeping?” Patricia said.
Hunter grunted and turned away, leading Ava to the mezzanine level. The whole space was open, a bed, a couch and bedside table filling it. He gestured to the room.
“It’s not much.”
She readjusted Grace on her hip, saying, “It’s perfect.”
Hunter stared at her with those impossible blue eyes, his gaze moving all over her face as if he were searching for something. “I need to get Gracey her milk,” he said, practically snatching the little girl from her arms and hustling down the stairs.
She watched him go, dumbfounded.
“He’ll warm up to you,” Patricia said, appearing at the top of the stairs.
“Are you sure about that?”
She nodded. “Quite sure. It’s been just him and Gracey for a while now. He’ll get used to having company around soon enough.”
“If you say so,” she replied.
“I do. Just be patient with him. He’s still hurting.”
Hurting? From what? “I think I’ll just stay out of his way, to be honest.”
The older woman shrugged. “Whatever works for you. Now, we’ve released some money from the pack accounts for your upkeep.”
She cringed at that comment. She hadn’t had somebody looking after her since she was a minor. As soon as she’d been old enough to get a job, she’d gotten one, paying her way all throughout high school, undergrad and partially through med school.
“But I also wanted to give you some to go and get some new clothes—clothes you can call your own. I know you’ve been wearing Casey’s for the past few days, but you need some more.” Patricia held out her hand, placing one hundred dollars into Ava’s palm. “I’ll tell Hunter to take you tomorrow. It’ll be a chance to get to know each other better.”
“Okay,” she replied, suddenly overwhelmed.
“Why don’t you lie down, dear? I’ll let Hunter know you’re taking a rest.”
Ava glanced at the single bed, at the quilt cover that looked handmade and well-loved.
“Actually, that sounds great.”
She laid down on the mattress, turning over onto her side and watching Patricia disappear down the stairs. Ava’s eyes were already heavy, the events of the morning more taxing on her new body than she’d thought they would be. All she needed was a nap and then she’d be ready to take on Hunter and his apparent moodiness.
Just a few weeks, she told herself. She could manage him for just a few weeks.
Chapter Three
Hunter rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling. It was just after midnight. Gracey had been asleep for the last six hours, yet he couldn’t manage to get his brain to stop working. All it ever came back to was Ava. Ava, the bitten wolf who was asleep above him. Ava, the woman whose intense green eyes and strawberry blonde hair distracted him more than they should.
After his mom had left, he’d given Gracey her dinner, bathed her and put her to bed. He started on making dinner, but when Ava didn’t come downstairs after he called out, he put the leftovers into the fridge and settled in to watch some mindless TV. It had done nothing to take his thoughts away from her though.
He didn’t like having her here. He didn’t like sharing his space with anyone other than Grace. Throwing the blankets from his body, he sat up, drew his knees up then wrapped his arms around them and staring at nothing. It was clear he couldn’t sleep. He also couldn’t go for a run and leave Grace alone, so he got up and walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of milk. Alone in the dark, he wandered into the living room and sat on the couch, trying to clear his head of Ava. He wasn’t supposed to be with anyone else. He didn’t want anyone else, but his wolf, it seemed, had other ideas.
The sound of creaking floorboards made his head jerk up.
“I’m sorry.” The words were barely a whisper, yet his wolf had perked up
and listened. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore it. “I guess I fell asleep.”
Ava appeared out of the shadows, her hair piled on top of her head, her clothes rumpled from sleep. He stared at her, studied every little nuance. She was tall for a female, her hair looking more strawberry than blonde in the near darkness.
She took a step closer to him but stopped. She glanced over her shoulder then back to him. “I can go back upstairs…”
“No.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “You don’t have to leave.”
He heard her pad a little closer, her feet coming into view in his periphery. “I just wanted to thank you for letting me stay.”
He glanced at her, narrowing his eyes on her face. Fuck, he was attracted to her—his wolf more so. Her nostrils flared delicately, drawing in the scent of his lust. Her brow furrowed but then smoothed out.
“It’s fine.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, I know I’m invading your personal space here. I don’t want to, believe me, but your mother is a hard woman to say no to.”
Yeah, didn’t he know it. Now that Natasha was gone, there was no female figure in power. His mom had taken control of that title temporarily, until he found another mate. Which, if he got his way, would be never.
Ava, his wolf whispered. What the fuck was he thinking? He wasn’t ready to replace Natasha.
“I also wanted to let you know that if you ever want to take a break, I’m more than happy to look after Grace for you.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “Do you have a lot of experience with children?”
“I’ve had my fair share.”
“Your fair share?” he asked, baiting her.
“I’ll have you know I’m the top pediatric surgeon in Seattle,” she said in a quiet voice.
“A doctor, huh?”
She met and held his stare but said nothing more.
Strange.
“Asshole,” she muttered under her breath.
He smiled, despite his overall mood. It seemed this bitten wolf had some fire in her. “So I’ve been told,” he drawled in reply, daring her to say more. She had the grace to look stunned. He tapped one ear. “Werewolf hearing.”
“Right. I’ll have to remember that.” Ava crossed her arms. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
She turned toward the door, but he sprang out of his seat, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a stop. She turned her head, their eyes meeting. Hunter licked his lips, his gaze drifting down to her mouth. It had almost been a year and a half since he’d slept with someone. Honestly, he’d had no desire to until now, it seemed.
“Stay,” he said, his voice hoarse. Forcing his fingers to release her, he retreated back to the couch and sat down. He needed to keep her on his side. He needed to prove he was okay. “My mom said you need some new clothes.”
She cleared her throat after a few tense seconds. “I do.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “We can go out tomorrow and get you some.”
“I don’t want to be an imposition,” she tried to argue, but he stopped her.
“You won’t be. I need to get Grace some more clothes anyway. I’d planned on going tomorrow.”
He wondered why he was lying so easily to her. He’d had no intention of going shopping. His idea of retail therapy was hitting up Amazon and getting shit delivered.
“Well, if you don’t mind me tagging along, I’d love to get some underwear that hasn’t been worn by your sister.”
He turned his head sharply toward her, his mind throwing up all kinds of images of her wearing next to nothing. His mouth began to water. Once more, the scent of his lust filled the air. She stared at him, her eyes dropping to his mouth briefly before she cleared her throat.
/> “Are you hungry?” he asked. “I saved you some dinner.” Hunter walked into the kitchen, popping open the fridge door and letting the cool air swirl around his ankles. This female would be the death of him—he knew it. Reaching inside, he pulled out the plate of chicken along with a bowl of salad and placed them on the countertop. He sensed movement behind him, finding Ava there.
“Plates?” she asked.
“The second cupboard on the left.”
She nodded, pulling two plates from the pile and placing them beside the salad bowl. He retrieved some cutlery for both of them, figuring there was no harm in eating again. It wasn’t like he’d be returning to bed anytime soon.
Pulling the lids from the food containers, he nudged them toward Ava, who grabbed one of the forks and started piling up her plate. He felt a small grin pull at his lips for just a moment.
“Hungry?” he asked.
A blush crept up her neck. “I can’t seem to stop eating,” she admitted. “Is that... is that normal?”
“It’s your new normal.”
She shoveled some chicken into her mouth, chewing slowly, thoughtfully. “I can’t get used to it.”
Filling up his own plate, he waited for her to continue.
“A month ago, I was working nearly seven days a week, barely eating,
barely sleeping.”
He rested his hip against the sink. “It doesn’t sound like much of a life.”
Ava shrugged. “It was the only life I knew.” She sighed. “And now it’s all changed.”
They both ate in silence for a moment longer, each of them staring at the other. Hunter was used to people cowering away from his stare, from his position and power as alpha, but not this female. He wondered if she realized what that meant.
“What happened?”
There was a shift in the air and Ava put down her plate. Her chest expanded and contracted with a deep breath before she said, “I was seeing a guy. He said he wanted to go camping, so I agreed, even though I hate the idea of sleeping outside and shitting in a hole.”
Hunter barked a laugh; the noise startling even him. “I hate to break it to you, but you’ll be doing that a lot if you’re in your wolf’s form any longer than a few hours.”
Her face scrunched up in distaste. “Anyway, we were out camping, he went to get some firewood. An hour passed and he still hadn’t returned, so I went looking for him. I’d heard wolves could be in the area, but I never expected to come face to face with one.”
“What happened?” he asked, picking up a slice of chicken and popping it in his mouth.
“One must’ve been stalking me. It jumped on my back, and it was pure luck that I had literally just picked up a stick. It broke in our fall, and somehow, I managed to drive the sharpened end through its eye. I only realized I’d been bitten after I shoved the body away.”
She pushed back her plate and pulled down the neck of her shirt, revealing the scar on her shoulder. “I was struck down by a fever. I had no idea where I was or where I was going. It turns out I was heading right into your territory.”
“And you survived the first shift.” By some miracle, he tacked on mentally. “You’re an anomaly.”
“That’s what your mom said, too.”
He shrugged, clearing away their plates and putting them into the dishwasher. His actions seemed to shut down their conversation, leaving nothing but silence and stillness between them.
“Do you need anything else?” he asked, breaking the tension.
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“All right. Well, I’m going to go to bed.”
“Sure,” she said with an easy smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
With one final nod, he left the kitchen and returned to his room.
Chapter Four
Ava looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing her hands over yet another set of borrowed clothes. She’d decided she’d do without Casey’s loaner underwear today, the thought of actually having some of her own—with her own scent on them—was a luxury. And how odd was it that she could recognize her own scent now. It was hard to describe because there was a definite wolfy hint to it, but on top of that musk was a more delicate fragrance, something like lavender.
The other scent she hadn’t been able to get enough of was Hunter’s. It saturated every fiber of his house, and when she laid her head down to sleep last night, it was there too, right under her nose. She had only been a werewolf for about a week now, but everything she thought she understood about human biology and psychology didn’t apply here.
She could feel the wolf who shared her body shift, as if the very mention of the beast inside her stirred in her subconscious. Of course she had noticed the very handsome and brooding alpha and tried to get him to notice her.
There was a knock on the door, and she turned to see the man of the hour standing there, little Grace on his hip. She took a moment just to enjoy that picture—the strong, dependable male with his child.
Fuck, where had that come from?
“Ava?”
She refocused on his face. “Sorry... What?”
“I asked if you were ready to go.”
She glanced around at nothing in particular. “Sure. Yeah. Let’s go.”
Walking toward him, she was hyper aware of the way his eyes tracked down her body. She cleared her throat, her gaze darting to Grace.
“And how’s this little girl this morning?”
Hunter grunted, shifting her to his other hip and just out of her reach. “She’s fine. Let’s go.”
Following after him, she stared at his back, wondering what had changed. Last night, he’d seemed somewhat relaxed with her, only something was different now.
Outside, Hunter popped open the back door of his Jeep and strapped in Grace while Ava opened up the passenger door.
Oh sweet lord. Hunter’s scent was even stronger now—concentrated. Keeping her shit together, she buckled herself in, watching Hunter from the corner of her eye as he slammed the door shut behind him.
His actions were short and sharp as he tugged the seatbelt across his body and started the car. She expected him to take off quickly, speeding down the drive that led away from their property, but surprised her when he practically crept along the gravel, clearly careful not to jostle Grace.
The drive into town was quiet. She spent most of her time looking out the window, longing for the freedom to be back in her own home among familiar surroundings. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a mid-sized mall. Finding a space quickly, they both got out, Ava hanging back as Hunter pulled out a stroller and got Grace settled into it.
In her regular life, she didn’t get to do this a lot—just stroll casually through the mall, taking her time to look at things. She soaked in the simple pleasure of it, watching couples and groups of young girls moving from shop to shop. She glanced at Hunter when she felt eyes on her. He was staring, but she looked away, doing her best to ignore him. The thing was, it was really hard to ignore him. He was a living wall of heat beside her.
She inhaled deeply, letting out a sigh as the familiar red and white target logo came into view.
“I’ll wait for you out here,” Hunter said. She turned to look at him, her gaze darting to the benches outside.
Hadn’t he said he needed to get Grace some clothes? “Are you sure?”
Looking down at Grace, he nodded. “She likes to keep moving. I’ll take a walk and come back.”
“Okay. Sure.” Ava turned toward the store entrance, a plan of attack already in place in her head. Underwear first. Then bras. T-shirts. Shorts. She needed everything but could only afford the absolute essentials. This was going to be a difficult shopping trip. Grabbing a shopping cart, she attacked the clothing department in order of importance, finally lingering where some new-season spring dresses were hanging. Running her hands over the soft fabric, she wondered why she was even looking at this. It wasn’t like she had anyone to wear it for. Ther
e was nobody to impress.
Letting the dress slip through her fingers, she headed to the beauty section to pick out some lotion, shampoo and conditioner as well as a toothbrush and some toothpaste. At least she’d feel a little bit like herself again after she got to wash her hair with her regular brand of shampoo. Asking a Target employee what the time was, she realized she’d been in there for a good three quarters of an hour. Hunter was going to be pissed off with her.
Pushing her laden cart in the direction of the front of the store, she paused as she walked past the baby section. There was a little outfit there that Grace would look perfect in. She glanced toward the entry, wondering if Hunter was already there waiting impatiently for her. Quickly, she flipped through the sizes, finally deciding on the eighteen to twenty-four month size despite Grace only being one.
“What are you doing?”
She paused, turning her head to find Hunter. His eyes had gone from their usual blue to yellow, and she recognized her wolf staring out at her. Swallowing, she saw his eyes dart down to her throat.
Weakness, a voice whispered softly.
“I said, what are you doing?” he repeated, his voice low. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, her eyes darting to the two-piece set on top of her mound of clothes. He snatched up the clothes, throwing them back onto the rack. “You’re not her mother,” he hissed. “You don’t need to buy her clothes.”
“I’m not trying to be her mother. Look, I’m sorry—”
“Yeah,” he said, cutting her off. “So am I.”
Before she could explain, he wheeled the stroller around and left the store. A part of her understood why he reacted the way he had, but another part of her, the female part of her, didn’t know why he was acting like this—like she was his greatest enemy when she was just trying to do something nice. With a small snarl, she paid for her new clothes and supplies, walking out of the store with the shopping cart.
Hunter snapped, “Are you done? Grace needs to take a nap.”
She nodded, too afraid her voice would break if she tried to speak. If he assumed she’d been cowed by his little outburst, he would have another thing coming. She trailed behind him, glaring at his back all the way back to the car. Putting her bags into the trunk, she put her cart back and got into the car. Hunter had just finished strapping Grace in, his mood unimproved.
The Helheim Wolf Pack Novellas: The Complete Collection Page 2
