by Vivian Arend
Her gaze narrowed, her anger focused to a sharp cutting beam. “You’re too damn cocky. Maybe you should turn down the arrogance and turn off the assumptions for a while.”
“I’m your mate. I’m trying to make things go quicker and easier. I hate how much you’re suffering.”
A hard rock shook her again, and she gasped even as she snapped an agreement. “Fine. I’ll explain later why you’re a jackass. Back to the shop for our clothes?”
“Yes. Do you know a place we could go?” Giving her charge of that decision might ease open the door she’d slammed shut between them, and he didn’t care where they went as long as he was with her.
Her emotional pain remained the strongest sensation, and every time she looked at him, her anguish spiked. Deep and intense, heavy enough he wondered how she’d carried the burden, no matter how strong she was.
Amy nodded slowly. “I know a place.”
Evan squeezed her fingers. “We’ll figure this out,” he reminded her. “I promise.”
In the second before she shifted back to her wolf-form, her eyes reflected the haunting hurt inside her. He joined her, his mind racing as she led him back to the shop.
It was barely noon. The past twelve hours had more than shaken him. His world had turned inside out and too many questions remained. How much more would happen before the earth settled, and where would they be in the final standing?
One thing he knew for certain—he’d found his mate, and he wasn’t letting her go.
She insisted she would drive. Evan was smart enough, this time, to shut up and let her have her way. Of course, she knew his Hummer was out of commission at the moment, although he didn’t know that she knew that.
The tangled web she’d woven drew tighter.
Part of her desperately needed to get away from him and think through the implications of their discovery. Finding out Evan was her mate wasn’t just having a rug pulled out from under her, it was having the roots of her existence torn away.
She’d told the truth. At this moment she pretty much hated everyone involved in the mess. Him, herself, her wolf. The only creature she’d give a break was Evan’s wolf because the beast hadn’t fucked up yet, although it had come close.
Amy pulled in front of the Moonshine Inn and waited for him to arrive. Maybe to a casual observer this trip would appear insane. Heading into the bush with the man she’d been systematically working to destroy for nearly a year? Yeah, not a move worthy of the brightest crayon in the box.
But they were wolves, not humans, and that changed everything.
Mating instinct made the trip both less and more crazy. She was safe—he’d never in a million years hurt her. Not physically at least, and she was strong enough to defend herself from an assault.
Emotionally, though? The situation was a ticking time bomb. Her strength meant she was capable of permanently rejecting him, but that denial would tear them both apart. Far more violent than any vengeance she could have planned—ripping their wolves apart forever would be the ultimate revenge.
And yet as hot as her anger burned…she hesitated to take the final step. She wasn’t a fool who would continue to guard the safe once the treasure was stolen. The situation had changed, and until she had all the facts, she’d put her retribution plans on hold.
If part of her hoped for a miracle? She’d blame such romantic sentiments on her wolf. On the part inside her that wanted on a far more visceral and instinctive level.
Her wolf rode close to her skin. Aching for contact with Evan’s wolf—the beast wanted to roll in his scent and wallow at having found her mate.
Amy slapped her down, the internal battle between them nothing new, and yet this time subtly unique. Her wolf was stronger than ever, and Amy worried she could be too easily swayed from human logic if she wasn’t careful.
Human vengeance made no sense to a wolf.
Evan tossed a canvas bag in the backseat and got in, adjusting the shoulder strap as she took off. He glanced in her direction, but she refused to meet his gaze.
“Any troubles getting time off?” he asked.
The first of many secrets she’d have to share. “I own the shop.”
Evan’s body language changed. “Impressive.”
“You’ve been a great supporter. Thanks for crashing your computers so often.”
It was unfair that his soft chuckle amused her, the deep sound sending goose bumps rolling up her arms. Damn the man. She didn’t want to like anything about him. She wanted him to be the evil, self-serving bastard she’d tracked to Whitehorse.
Her wolf snapped at her, and Amy jolted in surprise.
“Whoa, careful.” Evan caught the steering wheel, pulling to correct their dangerous sway into the oncoming traffic lane.
“I’m fine.” Amy adjusted her handgrip. Ten and two positioning, fingers curled so tight her knuckles showed white. “Sorry.”
He didn’t answer her, and the car went completely quiet as she headed out of town and down a logging road leading into the mountains. The gravel was well maintained, but she had to stay alert, the narrow switchbacks taking them toward the mountain peak.
She turned down a side road, crossed the final one-lane bridge over the creek, and rounded the corner.
“Sweet mercy, that’s gorgeous.” Evan leaned forward and peered out the window. “How come I didn’t know this was here?”
“Canyon pack land.”
“Ahh. That makes sense.” Evan pointed into the trees. “Company.”
A wolf stood at attention on the rocky ridge to the south of the cabin, allowing himself to be seen. Amy dipped her chin, and he vanished.
She understood why her pack was watching, but she’d left direct orders none of them were to contact her unless she gave approval.
“Sentries. They’ll leave us alone, but they maintain a constant patrol in the area.” Amy put the car into park, leaving her bag in the trunk. If this didn’t go well, they’d be back on the road in the next hour.
The cabin was beautiful. One side had been built against a stand of towering spruce that guarded the log structure from the bitter north winds. The west windows faced over the expansive valley rolling for miles before them while the tiny back porch looked toward the mountain. When the sun finally rose over the tall peak in the morning, the entire sitting area flooded with colour and warmth.
Fixing up the old cabin had been her contribution to the pack—a place to retreat when needed. Somewhere for souls who craved quiet to find it, only a short distance from Whitehorse.
It was her time to take advantage of the isolation.
Evan stood on the path and took a deep breath, eyes closed as he enjoyed the fresh air and wildness of the place. His bag in one hand, coat in the other, he was this living statue right where she didn’t want him. Right where she had to deal with him, whether she wanted to or not.
There was no retreat for her.
Chapter Six
Bumping too close as they entered the front door only made her wolf more antsy. “Please, keep your distance.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder,” she snapped. Drat. Amy took a deep breath to regain control. “Leave your things at the door for now. You want juice, or something stronger?”
Evan dropped his bag to the floor, set his coat over top, then stepped into the cabin, looking up at the open rafter system. “No alcohol. I want a level head for this conversation.”
Amy paused in the middle of pulling open the refrigerator door to examine his expression. It was far more solemn than usual. Arms folded over his chest, feet spread wide. Another rush of attraction hit, and this time she admitted he was exactly her type. Dark, muscular. Sexual overtures in his every move.
Except for the fact she hated his guts.
She ignored everything but the mundane for the next two minut
es. Poured drinks, brought them to the living room. She slowed to a stop in the middle of the room as she debated where she wanted to sit while they did this. Put the kitchen table between them as a barrier? Sit in the easy chairs that looked over the valley? She certainly couldn’t pick the couch or the loveseat where the buttery-soft leather was all about comfort and decadence.
Stupid things to be worrying about when her brother was dead, her world had been torn apart, and the man responsible for everything stood less than five feet away.
“You look as if you’re holding a bomb in each hand.” Evan pulled one glass from her and gestured to the table. “Come. We may as well start at the beginning. This isn’t going to work like any conversation you’ve had before, so don’t bother trying to anticipate.”
“I don’t like surprises.” Only she obediently dropped into the chair he pulled out for her.
“Seriously. Wait until I tell you about my night.”
There was another secret that would soon be out—that she was the organizer of most of his surprises.
One step at time. She wouldn’t rush. Just do what had to be done and evaluate each move.
Evan eased his chair back, one arm resting on the table, his strong fingers wrapped around his glass. “You want to explain what you meant back there? About your brother?”
That block of ice was back, the one encasing her heart. “You’ve killed so many people you don’t know who I’m talking about?”
His eyes went cold. “I’ve killed a few wolves and a few humans. I never did it impulsively, maliciously or without a great deal of thought. That doesn’t make me a cold-blooded murderer, and it doesn’t answer the question. Who was your brother?”
Amy linked her fingers in front of her, staring at her hands for strength before lifting her gaze to pin Evan in place as she spoke. “Philip de Lorne. Hudson Bay pack.”
The colour drained from Evan’s face, and his jaw tightened. A furrow appeared between his brows as he looked her over more carefully than before. “I don’t remember you.”
“I was too young to be on your radar. I was eight when it happened. You were one of the up-and-coming youth. Seventeen, like my brother.” As she thought back, the knot in her throat only grew bigger. “You remember Philip, though?”
A slow nod. “He was a good friend.”
His words hit like a knife strike to the heart. “Right.”
“I’m serious. I mean, he was very private about his family. I never went to his home, which is probably why I don’t remember you and I meeting. But Phil and I did things together with the youth all the time.” Evan shot to his feet, dragging a hand through his hair as he paced away. A sound of frustration and anguish escaped. She couldn’t see his face, couldn’t read his wolf as he twisted his back toward her, shoulders rigid. “I… It’s complicated.”
Amy stiffened her resolve. “I know what happened. I looked into it, a few years back. What I want to know is why.”
Evan rotated slowly. “You looked into what? The human media reports of the accident? Newspaper accounts?”
“Deeper. I know computers, and I know pack. I found trails…and they led to information that the shifter community had buried deep. The media got the whitewashed story about a mine collapse that killed nearly twenty men. But that wasn’t the whole truth, because it wasn’t a mine that collapsed and trapped them underground. It was an explosion, wasn’t it? An explosion you caused.”
The hard lines of his face and body could have been etched from granite. “I did.”
The icy sensation in her veins returned in a rush. The one she got whenever she’d planned another moment of her revenge, only this wasn’t how the confrontation was supposed to go. Her wolf moved restlessly, uneasy with her inner stillness. Would Evan deny it? “Philip died in the accident you were responsible for.”
Evan nodded. “You’re right.”
The light faded from the innermost part of her that had hoped she’d made a mistake somewhere along the way. “Then there’s nothing more to discuss.”
“Wait.” He crossed the room and knelt beside her chair. His nearness like a cage closing around her. His power, his presence. His wolf. “We’re not done, because while I understand what you must think, you don’t know the full truth.”
Amy hesitated. This was the only reason she’d agreed to meet with him alone. “Tell me.”
He was staring. Not at her face, but her hands. “Two weeks ago. A security tape at my hotel caught video footage of a hooded person with your hands snooping around in the kitchen while no one else was there. That was you, wasn’t it? What were you doing there?”
He’d find out soon enough. “It’s…complicated.”
Evan lifted smoky eyes to hers. The dark centers matching his pupils. “Hudson Bay pack went bad from the leadership down. It was a slow growing rot. As soon as I sensed what was happening, I tried to make a change. The first time I challenged the Alpha, Kirk Gatlann broke my arm. The second time he didn’t even try to fight fair, he simply set his Betas on me. I ran out of time before I could make a third attempt, and it came down to triggering the explosion that killed him or watching him systematically destroy the pack I was desperate to protect.”
She listened, she really did, but it didn’t matter that his words were logical, they weren’t enough.
“I was eight. I have few childish memories of the pack, and none of the Alpha.” Amy wasn’t ignoring what he’d shared, but her reality had been completely different. “All I know is that one day Philip didn’t come home, and neither did my parents.”
“What? That’s impossible.” Evan’s shock punched forward, heavy and weighted like a falling anvil.
She was too numb to do anything but continue. “Is it? You know everything that happened during the chaos caused by the explosion, and the shifter cover-up that followed?” She stared out the window, over his shoulder. “One moment my family was there, the next my brother was gone and so were my parents. They were never very attentive—Philip was more of a caregiver to me than they were. I don’t know if they went feral, or had some other reason they bolted, but I was abandoned. I rambled around in our house in the bush for two weeks until social services finally came by and picked me up.”
An agonized growl rumbled up from Evan’s chest. “I’m so sorry.”
“And now…” If Evan was telling the truth, he might have been justified in causing the explosion. She knew how much sway an Alpha held over their pack. How much the leader’s attitude set the tone for how the rest of the members behaved. The hurt and fury she carried inside remained. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Amy.” He touched her carefully, his fingers sliding over hers. “Your brother was my friend, and his death was an accident. There’s more I need to tell you, but we’re too raw. Too tight from the shock of finding each other, and the mating urge, and everything else we’re facing.”
The point of contact between them was like a livewire. Sparking hot, a steady pulse with a pounding rhythm, but even that wasn’t enough to cut through her misery. “I feel cold. In spite of the mating attraction, I’m frozen.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
Evan’s grip tightened on her fingers. “I’m ripped up inside as well. My wolf wants to claim you, but my human side tells me to back the fuck up and give you space. I can feel your agony, and your anger, and both are tearing me apart.”
“I’ve spent years hating you, Evan. Years.” Her claws itched to escape so she could slash out at him. “How do I let go of the pain after a short conversation? Even if you were justified in what you did?”
“You can’t. Switching convictions like that would make no sense.” He hooked the nearest kitchen chair with his foot and pulled it over so he didn’t have to release her fingers as he sat. “It’s going to take time. It’s going to take time for trust to develop between us
, and we can’t force it to happen. We have to allow it to grow.”
“Damn wolves,” she muttered.
Evan stroked her fingers as he pulled back. “The wolf side is right about so many things. Like choosing mates—knowing who is our best partner.”
Fear shot through her again, more intensely than before. Evan as a mate was impossible, and yet the idea of having a mate made her crazy with longing even while every part of her wanted to deny the hope.
The need to control the new hunger was bigger than her thwarted revenge. This was about keeping her expectations low so she could never again be disappointed.
The situation was so much bigger than she’d expected to have to deal with. Amy cursed herself for already missing the physical contact between them. She scrambled for a temporary solution that would cut the pain. “A run. I need to run, and your wolf could use it as well.”
The tension pouring off him was as powerful as the frustration binding her limbs. The fact she could sense his need so strongly—she wasn’t sure if that pleased her, or just made her angrier.
Evan nodded. “Great idea. You can show me around.” He paused. “Will your pack mind the Takhini Alpha roaming their territory?”
She shook her head. “You’re my guest. No one will bother us.”
It wasn’t her fault he hadn’t caught on to who she was, and after his snippy order back in the forest when he’d cut off her confession, she didn’t feel like enlightening him yet. Maybe she was being stubborn, but in light of everything else she was giving him slack on, letting him stay ignorant for a little longer seemed justified.
But before their time of talking was over, she would have to explain so much more.
