Nash felt bad. They were in prep mode for winter, and none of his pack had shifted in two weeks. Fury was the wildest of them all, needing to let his animal free more often than the others. The full moon was coming up in eight days, and they would be required to shift. It was how they were made. He didn’t fault the male for heading out for a few hours in his wolf form.
“Just tell him to find me when he gets home,” Nash told her, kissing the top of his cousin’s head. He stepped back and tossed the ax over his shoulder as he left.
“You okay?” she called out when he started to walk away.
“Yeah, why?” He frowned. His cousin’s nose lifted to the air before a smile pulled at the corner of her lips.
“No reason.” She shrugged and picked up the crate. “I’ll see you later. I need to get these in the root cellar.”
He checked his watch and cursed when he realized he’d taken a little too much time heading up the hill to see Harper. He saw a flash of white in the tree line past their homes and sent out a message to Fury.
We have a human here. Watch yourself.
He could talk to his pack whenever he wanted, but they had to shift in order to call out to him. The gods that had made them hadn’t done everything perfectly. They had their flaws.
Forgetting about his tardiness, Nash entered the main building that doubled as a tiny airport and hotel for their customers only to see Aspen peek her head around the corner from the small kitchen. “Did you tell her?”
“I’ll do it now,” he promised.
The walk to her room wasn’t far. He knocked once and waited. The moment the female opened the door, he grabbed the door frame, almost ripping it from its place. Her scent hit him full on, and his wolf howled again.
“Can I help you…Nash?”
“Aspen wanted me to let you know dinner will be ready shortly,” he blurted, trying to calm his wolf. “There is a small kitchen and dining area on the other side of the check-in desk.”
“Oh, okay.” She blushed after taking a deep breath. Did she scent him, too? “Well, thank you. I’ll be there in just a minute.”
Gods, she was fucking stunning. She was taller than most human females, but that didn’t distract from her body. She was just the right size for a shifter.
He froze. Why the hell was he thinking about her like she was one of his kind?
“See you at dinner,” he replied with a nod and turned to leave. He didn’t look back when she closed the door to her room. He didn’t hear the lock engage, either, and he almost returned to her room to remind her to keep it locked so she would be safe.
Nash grumbled and shook himself. His wolf was acting weird again, and he hurried to the front desk to find something to do to keep from thinking about the human he knew nothing about.
When Mason entered the office a few minutes later, his little brother stopped dead in his tracks. “Why are you putting off a mating scent?”
“What?”
“I can scent it,” Mason smirked. “Is it Isabell?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nash denied, letting his eyes haze over with the presence of his wolf.
“Yeah, yeah,” Mason laughed. “Hey, tell you what…you can fly her to the trail tomorrow. I don’t want to get between you and your mate.”
“She’s not my mate,” Nash warned, but paused. Was she?
He inhaled deeply and caught the scent of something stronger than his own natural scent. The hormones in his body were amplified, and it reminded him of when his cousin was around her mate. Mason was right.
“I don’t even know her,” Nash replied, dropping a stack of papers on the counter he’d just picked up.
“I bet your wolf wants to know her, though,” Mason guessed. As much as Nash wanted to knock his brother’s head in for meddling, he let it go. His wolf whined in his mind at the thought of getting to know the human female a little better, but the confusion of having a human mate made things difficult.
“I don’t know what he wants.” And that was the truth.
Nash had only stayed for a quick meal the night before, excusing himself as soon as she took a seat across from him at the six-person table in the small kitchen. Aspen had talked her head off the rest of the evening, and by the time she decided to turn in, Isabell had found herself a new friend.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about Nash; the tall, stoic man with dark hair and a thick beard. He was rough and big…muscular and quiet. She thought about him and how amazing he had smelled the entire night. At one point, she woke from a dream where he was there, watching her protectively from a small cabin porch. And not in a creepy way, either. No, Isabell liked the idea of him watching over her, but she couldn’t think like that. She didn’t even know the man.
It didn’t matter. She had a hike to tackle and an article to write. A quick glance at the clock kicked her into moving a little faster to pack all of the batteries for her cameras she’d charged overnight and hurry out to the plane. One last check of everything, and Isabell turned off all of the lights to the room, closing the door behind her. Aspen gave her a hug, reminding her to be safe, and sent her through the door beside the desk after she dropped off the key.
Outside, the cool, Alaskan air ruffled her hair for a moment before she used a hair tie on her wrist to put it up into a messy bun. She didn’t need any cold weather gear yet, because by the time she started her hike after they landed, she’d probably work up a sweat.
The tiny bush plane sat idling on the compacted dirt airstrip behind the building. Beyond the airstrip, the land remained flat for several hundred acres before a tall mountain rose to the sky. Isabell loved the view, and she could see why the family had made this spot their home and business. It was her dream one day to live on a larger plot of land. She had enough for herself, but should she ever find a man and settle down and have children, she wanted them to live and play in the Alaskan wild just as she had from an early age.
She set her dreams in the back of her mind and walked across the makeshift tarmac. A man’s legs could be seen on the other side of the plane, and she dropped her bag on the ground, thinking the man would be her pilot, Mason.
“I’ll set my bag here until you are ready to…” She paused in her yelling over the sound of the propeller when the man came around the tail of the plane. “Where’s your brother?”
“Mason won’t be flying you today,” Nash hollered, reaching for her bag. “Jump in your seat. I’m ready to fly.”
Wow. Okay. Nash just spoke more words to her than he had in the last fifteen hours she’d been there.
Isabell left her bags for Nash to put into the plane. She knew better than to help. Most pilots liked to keep their weight distribution in check, because they would usually drop supplies to those living out in the bush when dropping off clients at their starting location. One glance in the back and she saw a small pallet with food in bulk in the center of the small cargo area. She lifted a black aviation headset from a small hook in front of her and put them over her ears. They’d be used for noise protection and communication with the pilot. If he even talked to her.
A few seconds later, Nash hopped into the pilot seat and donned his own headset, leaning away from her as he checked his instruments.
“The flight will take about forty minutes,” he said into his mic. His voice wasn’t as mumbled as it’d been the last few times he’d spoken to her before their meeting on the tarmac. “Aspen told me this isn’t your first flight.”
“No, it’s not,” she replied and buckled in.
He took a second to go over the emergency information should something happen during their takeoff, flight, or landing. She nodded and listened, but not for the information. When Nash Ward spoke normally, it was deep and soothing. And sexy as fuck. She could almost orgasm from him relaying damn safety instructions.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said after clearing his throat. His oddly golden-colored eyes seemed to change, but it could’ve been the sun shining thro
ugh the windshield, too.
She didn’t speak again until they were in the air. The takeoff was probably one of the easiest she’d ever done. Nash took care with his aircraft, checking and rechecking the instruments. His long, thick fingers danced over buttons and his voice remained firm as he radioed in to his sister to let her know his estimated time of return. He’d worn his plaid jacket and gloves, but he leaned away from her like he was afraid to touch her.
“I’ll probably visit with Pastor for an hour after I drop off his supplies,” he announced. Pastor must be the person he was dropping the supplies to after he left her at the north end of the trail. “He doesn’t get visitors but once a month and likes to chat.”
“Be safe and let me know when you’re on your way home,” she offered before the line crackled. Silence deadened the headsets, but the low hum of the prop kept Isabell from talking. She didn’t want to be too talkative, but she didn’t want to come across as rude, either.
“How long have you been doing solo hikes?” Nash finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
“Let’s see,” she paused to think. “I’m twenty-seven now, and I did my first solo right after I got my driver’s license at sixteen. So, eleven years.”
Nash nodded respectfully. “We are expecting a little snow tomorrow, but you should be okay. It’s too early in the year to get more than a few inches.”
“True,” she agreed. “I’m prepared regardless.”
“Good,” he nodded, but glanced her way. “Do you have a way of communication if you should need help? Cell service stops around the eight-mile mark, and you won’t get it back until you are about five miles from the south end.”
“No, I just have my cell and a GPS,” she replied. “My boss wants the article to be about the hike. So, this is an easy assignment. I don’t plan to deviate from the trail much. I shouldn’t have any problems.”
“Assignment?” he asked, confused. When he glanced at her, she noticed his weirdly golden eyes again, but this time, they were slightly hazy. He blinked several times before they cleared.
“I work for an outdoor magazine,” she admitted, feeling prideful about her job. “We cover places in Alaska, and I take photographs and log my journey. After I get home, I’ll write an article, and this one will be featured in the November issue.”
Nash sat quietly in thought, but she wasn’t going to say anything else. His good mood appeared to be going south. “Should you have any problems, there is a cabin at the twenty-second mile marker. Behind that dry cabin, there is a small footpath that leads to a male I trust. His name is Kerry. He has a way of getting in touch with me.”
Male? What an odd saying?
“Thank you for letting me know,” she replied as they started to make their descent toward a flat patch of land next to a mountain lake.
He killed the engine upon landing, and Isabell waited until he gave her the all clear to open her door and slide out of her seat. She walked around to the side door and found Nash already removing her bags. When she started to take them from him, he dropped them to the ground and stepped back.
Way back.
“Everything okay?” she frowned. It was like he didn’t want to touch her.
“Sorry,” he grunted, wiping a hand over his short beard. “I have a thing about touching something that isn’t mine.”
A bit of disappointment tugged on her heart, but she was thankful he was being respectful. The idea of touching him appealed to her more, though. Nothing like a dark, brooding man to make her girly bits sit up and notice.
“That’s very nice of you,” she replied and looked around, hoping her features didn’t give away the fact she was confused…confused as to why she wanted his touch.
“If things were different, Isabell,” he mumbled and hurried to the front of the plane. “Don’t forget about the cabin at twenty-two.”
“I won’t,” she blurted, but he was already starting the aircraft.
She quickly grabbed her backpack and headed toward the small sign announcing the beginning of the trail. With one last look over her shoulder, Nash Ward took off down the dirt-packed runway. She watched his tiny plane as it disappeared over the mountain.
And then there was the sweet sound of silence.
Chapter 3
He shouldn’t have left her.
Nash and his wolf were pacing on the back porch of his cabin. The worry over the human female was eating him alive.
He couldn’t fly back over the trail without her knowing it was him. That would be too weird, wouldn’t it? Aspen had noticed his agitation at dinner, and reminded him Isabell was perfectly prepared for her solo trip. Mason had stopped him and asked if he was okay the moment he landed, too. The pack was feeling his nervousness, and Nash kept telling himself it had to stop. Isabell was human and didn’t belong with him.
“Help me clean up,” Aspen ordered with a low growl as she tugged on his sleeve. His sister wasn’t intimidated by his alpha status, because she held the alpha gene as well. “You need to get your mind straight, because you are driving everyone insane with worry over Isabell.”
“I’m sorry,” he grumbled. “I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“You should’ve gotten to know her better instead of being a complete ass,” she accused, handing him a towel to dry the dishes.
The rest of the pack said their goodbyes after helping put away the food, leaving them alone in the communal kitchen in the main building. They had their own kitchens at home, but Nash preferred all of them to be together for at least one meal a day. Dinner was easier for everyone, and that had been his rule since they’d survived and restructured after the death of their family.
“It isn’t safe for us to involve a human, Aspen,” he reminded her. “If I touch her and the magic inside me tells me we are mates, I would expose our secret.”
“But if you are mates, she will accept you,” Aspen reminded him.
“That’s only a myth, sister,” he replied. They were so secluded away from any other shifters that the only knowledge about their kind was what they remembered from the stories from their youth.
Legend said once you touched your mate for the first time, skin to skin, you would know, and your mate would know that the two of you would be bound for life…soul mates. It’d happened with Harper and Fury, but they were both natural born shifters. If Nash had touched Isabell, and she was his true mate, how would he explain the immediate need to mount her and bite her neck to claim her?
There was a high chance she would run back to Anchorage and tell the humans. If they were outed and other shifters found out there were still werewolves in Alaska, they’d be hunted, again.
And Nash was not going to take that chance.
“You should shift and check on her tomorrow,” Aspen suggested as she closed the cabinet door. She dropped her hand to the old Formica countertop and leaned her hip against its edge. “Shift, run out there, and check on her. She should have covered at least eight miles today. If she stays on that course, she will be at the halfway mark by the time she sets up camp tomorrow night. You can easily get to her by dark.”
They were fast, faster than humans, while in their shifted forms. Nash’s wolf could get to her quickly since he didn’t have to stick to the trails, and because he was a supernatural being, his speed was unmatched by any animal in the wild.
“You know you’re going to do it,” Aspen accused with a heavy sigh. “Nash, just go. You will worry for the next three days if you don’t.”
“Okay.” He nodded, finally giving in. “Okay, I’ll leave in the morning.”
“Mason can cover the flight for you,” she replied, standing on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek before whispering in his ear, “You deserve a mate, big brother.”
He did, but at what cost to his pack?
The end of the second day brought with it the most beautiful scenery of the mountain range and a small lake for Isabell to fish for her dinner. She set up her tent and started a fire
with some dried wood she’d found just inside the tree line next to the trail. She hadn’t seen any of the predicted snow everyone had told her about, and she was hoping it stayed on the other side of the mountains until she passed them tomorrow.
She hadn’t heard another plane fly over since Nash had left. There wasn’t anyone else on the trails unless they were starting at the south end and heading her way. It wasn’t completely uncommon to pass someone on the managed trails, but when you were hiking one as long as the one she was on, it would be a miracle if she saw even a piece of trash. Most hikers knew to leave their areas as they’d found it. It was a rule to carry out anything you brought in with you.
Which reminded her. She’d come across some fresh wolf tracks about three miles back, and she would need to keep her food away from her camp while she slept. Thankfully, she hadn’t run into any bears yet. They were still fattening up for their winter sleep, and Isabell didn’t want to get between one and its meal. She’d had an encounter a few years earlier that really put into perspective just how large the animals were, and she didn’t want to do that again anytime soon.
She used her hiking boot to roll a log to the edge of the water, sitting on it to put together her small fishing pole. She’d only need one fish to go with her dried fruit, and since her fire was ready, she would make a smaller one further down the bank of the lake to keep any animals from coming by later to investigate the scent.
As she sat there working her pole to entice a meal, she thought about Nash Ward, and for some reason wondered where he was…what he was doing. There was absolutely no reason for him to be on her mind, but something about him just stuck with her. Obviously, it wasn’t his charming personality.
His Lost Mate (The Ward Wolf Pack Novella Series, Book 1) Page 2
