“Well, that’s not what’s happening here,” Rafe informed him. “He’s a criminal, and even if he’s not shifted, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t banished for something.”
Chloe was having a hard time figuring out how she should be reacting to this conversation. Though she was happy Rafe decided to come to her defense—eventually—the longer he discussed this topic with Doc Fischer, the more nervous and on edge she felt. Plus, she could still feel the maybe-Viking’s eyes burning hot on her, which made her feel even more awkward.
“All right, if you say so. I mean, you’re the alpha prince,” Doc Fischer answered. It was impossible not to hear the insincerity in his words. He might as well have said, “You’re being unreasonable, but I’ll just go ahead and agree with you because you’re the entitled alpha prince.”
And apparently Rafe sensed his real meaning, too, because he said, “I’ll prove it. If he came back here for Chloe, then he’d go ape if I kissed her in front of him, right?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, he’s her fated mate, he’d definitely ‘go ape’ as you call it.”
Rafe turned to her and cupped her shoulders. Chloe immediately felt her body tense.
“It’s okay,” Rafe said. “I know you don’t like public displays of affection, but this is for a good cause.”
This didn’t soothe Chloe any. The truth was, she had told Rafe early in their engagement she didn’t like kissing in front of other people, but that had been an excuse to keep their make-out sessions contained. Rafe was outrageously handsome, and she loved talking with him and laughing with him and hugging him and even cuddling with him. However, kissing him gave her a slight case of the heebie-jeebies, and she had to not only brace herself for his kisses, but also concentrate on something else altogether in order to keep it from showing. More than one Black Mountain Woman blog post had been completely composed in her head, while she forced herself to make out with Rafe.
But in this case, she didn’t really have time to fully brace herself before his lips fell on hers. And she immediately set all her attention to fighting the weird urge to rip her lips away from his that always overtook her when they were intimate. However, less than a few seconds into the wildly uncomfortable kiss, they were interrupted by a loud clanging sound.
Rafe pulled away from the kiss, which allowed her to see the source of the sound. It was the maybe-Viking. He was thrashing in the bed, and the handcuffs clanged against the bed’s metal railing, he was straining so hard to break free. His face had turned red with anger, and she could actually see the veins in his neck. And that was before he started spewing his strange language, directing several words toward Rafe that Chloe was fairly sure involved some really harsh threats and expletives.
Seeing this display of temper paralyzed Chloe, rooting her in place. But Doc Fischer, who held degrees in both medical and veterinary science and had apparently seen it all, lazily prepared a syringe before stepping forward and plunging it into the maybe Viking’s arm without a word.
The sedative only took a few moments to take hold, but the maybe Viking fought his restraints the entire time, his eyes bulging and locked on Rafe as he cursed in his foreign language, his face screwed up with rage, until eventually his words began to slur and he fell back against the bed in another heavy sleep.
After he passed out, Doc Fischer regarded them both with the cynical aplomb. “Well, I think that answers our question.”
Chapter 4
FOR as long as Chloe could remember, she had wanted to be part of the Nightwolf family. She could still remember the three weeks she’d spent in their family’s mansion after being found by the side of the road, shivering and alone. The wolf law of every state was that the king had to take in any abandoned children left in his province, which she later figured out was why her parents had chosen to abandon her in this particular place.
Back then, the clan only placed wolves with families of the same race. So though most abandoned children her age were placed in three days or less, it took three whole weeks to find her a home. And they were three of the best weeks of her entire life. Even at the age of four, Rafe had been charming and awesome. Two seconds after she stepped through the door, he had immediately asked her to come up and play in his toy room, which was just what it sounded like, a room larger than the entire one-bedroom apartment she had shared with her parents. It was designated for all of Rafe’s toys, and he’d been more than happy to share with her.
She also instantly loved Rafe’s parents. His father had a booming laugh and considered himself a friend to all—as long as they were Broncos fans. Luckily she had answered with a tentative, “Yes?” when he’d asked her at their first meeting, “You cheer for the Broncos, little girl?” And Rafe’s mother was warm and nurturing in a way her own had never been, hugging her often and assuring her everything would be all right.
When three weeks passed and they had only been able to find Myrna Adams, a local black spinster, to take her in, Chloe had actually been grateful. She wouldn’t be with a family of her own, but at least she’d stay close to the family she now loved the most.
And a year later when she and Rafe entered kindergarten at Wolf Springs Elementary, the only all-wolf public school in Colorado, they’d picked up right back where they started, playing together every day, and soon she and Myrna became regulars at their Sunday dinners. She had grown up with Rafe, and when he proposed to her, it felt like he was not only asking her to be his mate, but also inviting her into his loving, close-knit family, which she wanted more than anything.
Over the pass few years, she had prayed and prayed for her heat night to come, not just so she’d feel more comfortable kissing Rafe, but also so she could take her official place as part of his family and even start one of her own with him. There was nothing in this world she wanted more.
So when some random time-travelling, maybe-Viking werewolf showed up out of the blue all but saying out loud that she was his fated mate, it felt like nothing short of getting stabbed.
“No,” she said, finally meeting his eyes. “We are not... we are not fated mates.”
The maybe Viking stilled in his thrashing and stared back at her, his own eyes softening as if the sound of her voice alone was enough to calm him down.
“Did you lie to me?” Rafe asked, dropping his hands from her arms.
“No!” she said again, turning back to him. “I would never do that.”
The Rafe she knew, the laid back and reasonable one with a great sense of humor, was gone now and in his place was a stranger, with a voice so distinctly hard, it felt like the only thing in the room. “Did you know who he was from the beginning?”
She reached for him, catching his rigid arms beneath her trembling hands, “No, Rafe, I had no idea he thought he was here for me.”
He glared at her. “Do you want to mate with him? Do you want to start kissing him in public?”
“No, no, no!” She shook her head with frantic denial. “I swear I don’t. I swear I had no idea. I would never lie to you. You’re my best friend, and I love you more than anyone else in this world. Please believe me. I feel nothing for him. Nothing.”
Rafe’s face remained impassive as he sniffed the air around her, his nostrils flaring wide.
“She’s not aroused,” he said to Doc Fischer. “Wouldn’t she be aroused if he were her fated mate?”
Relief coursed through Chloe like a river through the desert. The cold stranger had gone and her Rafe was back, once again defending her, just as he had when they were kids and the wolves in their class made fun of her for being a foster pup.
Doc Fischer gave them a long, considering look before saying, “In rare cases, a fated mate can catch the scent of someone who doesn’t return his feelings. Those situations usually get messy and end up with the two males fighting for dominance.”
Rafe set his jaw. “I will be more than happy to put his ass down if that’s what it comes to.”
“Now, now, calm down, young wolf,” the do
ctor said. He pulled out his smart phone. “I’m going to call back my friend at UC Denver. Maybe if get him up here, he can help us out with this language barrier and we can figure this out without any wolves having to lose their lives.”
“Call your friend,” Rafe said, alpha prince to his very core. “But I’m letting you know right now, if he tries to lay one hand on Chloe, it’s not going to end peacefully.”
The doctor gave Chloe a sullen look, as if this entire situation were all her fault as opposed to some unfair trick of fate. But he eventually answered Rafe. “Noted. Now get out of here, I’ve got some calls to make if we want to get this situation resolved before tomorrow’s full moon.”
She wasn’t aroused by the Viking, and she hadn’t lied to Rafe about not feeling anything sexual whatsoever for the strange visitor. If anything, the whole situation had turned her nether regions even more numb. Before, there had been the loud absence of any kind of sexual feeling on her part. But now she was feeling the opposite of aroused, like she’d rather hike up a thousand King’s Trails than have sex with anyone, ever. That’s how horrible the scene back in the clinic had been.
But still, guilt clawed at her insides as Rafe walked her home from the clinic. People kept stopping him to ask who had come through the portal this time.
“Is it true it was a man?” their high school Social Studies teacher asked. “Mercedes Griswold said she saw you two carrying a man’s body into the clinic. Is he dead? Did you have to kill him like your dad had to kill that rabid wolf back in the day?”
Rafe handled all the questions diplomatically, with various versions of, “We’re not allowed to talk about it just yet, but we’ll be making an announcement soon.” The answer sounded neutral enough, but Chloe knew him too well not to recognize the edge in his voice as he answered question after question about their mysterious visitor.
“You don’t have to walk me home,” she told him. “It’s been a long day and I know you probably want to catch up at your office.”
Along with his duties as the alpha prince of Colorado, Rafe was also the vice president of Wolf Springs Timber, one of the largest privately owned logging companies in the world. It was rare for him to take lunch, much less a whole half-day off work.
“You said you were going to do a chicken recipe for your next show. Doesn’t that mean you need me to kill the chicken?” he asked.
She wrung her hands together. “You know what, I’m going to try to kill the chicken myself this time. It’s so ridiculous that I always have to call you to do it for me.”
“That’s what mates are for,” Rafe said, his voice flat. “We help each other out when we need it.”
“Sure, sure,” Chloe answered. “But what kind of werewolf can’t bear to kill a chicken? It’s so embarrassing.”
“Not as embarrassing as what just happened in the clinic,” he answered.
And there it was. Rafe never had been the sort to dance around the elephant in the room.
“I’m sorry that happened,” she said. “I have no idea why the fated mates spell would send that guy forward in time for me, especially since I feel no connection to him whatsoever. You believe me, right?”
He stopped and studied her face for a few moments before deciding out loud, “I do.”
“And if it comes down to a choice between you and him, I pick you, Rafe.”
“I know.”
“You’re my best friend.”
Now something unreadable passed over his face. “You keep on saying that.”
“What?”
“That I’m your best friend. You’ve said it like five times today. But you know what I call you when I talk about you? My mate.”
And just when she thought things couldn’t get any more awkward. “I call you that, too,” she insisted. “And what does it matter what I call you anyway? The most important thing is I love you. I love you so much, more than anybody else in this entire world.”
“I believe you. But this Viking thing...”
She grabbed his hand. “Look, Rafe, if you want to have sex before I go into heat, that’s fine with me. I don’t care what Council law says. I’m twenty-five, old enough to make my own decisions.” Including the decision to ignore the wrenching of her own stomach as she made this offer.
Rafe rubbed the side of his face with his knuckles, considering. But then he said, “No, I’m an alpha prince. I can’t ignore the law.”
A wave of relief swept over her. She could have forced herself to hold still for sex with Rafe, just like she forced herself to accept his kisses, but it wouldn’t have been pleasant at all. For what felt like the millionth time, she sent up a tiny prayer that going into heat would solve everything between them and finally help her body catch up with her heart. She-wolves were actually known for their lusty nature, and she’d seen nerdy and mousy girls from her high school honors classes transform into black leather-wearing, unapologetic sexpots with just one moon cycle and mating. She hoped to God it would be the same for her.
But out loud to Rafe, she said, “Okay, if that’s the way you feel, we won’t break Council law. I just want you to know how committed I am to you, to us, to our being together and starting a family.”
“I know you are.” Rafe took her hand in his and began walking again. “But you know how the wolves gossip. We’re not going to be able to keep this a secret for long.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing to hide. He thinks I’m his fated mate, but I’m with you. Tomorrow, we’ll have Doc Fischer’s professor friend explain that to him, and he’ll go back to whatever time period he came from. The end.”
“How about if he challenges me?” Rafe asks.
“There’s nothing to challenge if I say no-go. This isn’t the dark ages when she-wolves didn’t have any say over who claimed them.”
“We could move in together.”
This time she was the one who stopped walking. “Wait, what?”
Rafe ran a hand through his dark locks. “Listen, I didn’t tell you this…because it’s bullshit. You know how much my dad likes you, but he kind of thinks you haven’t gone into heat because you’re not really in love with me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What? That’s not even how it works. It’s purely physiological. Like getting your period. It happens when it happens. Doc Fischer says she-wolves can go into heat as late as their thirties.”
“I know what Doc Fischer says,” Rafe said. “But Dad’s old-school. He’s not buying it. And he’s the Colorado alpha. So if this guy steps up, claiming you as his fated mate, and you’re not even physically living with me, he might pull the king card and say we can’t get married.”
Chloe studied his face and knew this wasn’t really a hypothetical they were discussing. Rafe was telling her the king was so upset about how long they’d been engaged, he would pull rank in order to end it if he had the right opportunity.
“I wouldn’t let him get away with it,” Rafe assured her, reading her mind as best friends did. “If he tries to pull that shit, I’ll run away with you before I let him tear us apart. But I don’t want it to come to that.”
She clamped her lips together. “I don’t want it to come to that either. And you know, even if your dad said we couldn’t get married, that doesn’t mean I’m going to marry some weird, blood-thirsty Viking who came through the portal. It’s either you or nobody for me.”
“Look at you, getting all angry and defending our love.” Rafe smiled down at her. “I like this side of you. There might be a little wolf in you yet.”
He pulled her into his arms and Chloe nuzzled her face into his chest, her she-wolf loving the way it felt to be packed in close to another body.
It was a very sweet moment until Rafe said, “But think about moving in with me, okay? I mean, we’re going to do it after your heat night anyway, so why wait?”
Her face fell. “Actually, I was hoping you’d move in with me.”
“My place is bigger, “ he pointed out. “Four bedrooms. You�
��ve only got two. Plus, I didn’t buy the house for you to stay there. The plan was to move you out and move somebody else in, so we can start receiving rent on it.”
“Yeah, but…” She tried to figure out a nice way to tell him she’d rather live in the small, cozy cabin which was set up just the way she liked it for her Black Mountain Woman videos, than his man cave of a house with flat screens in every room, including the bathroom and kitchen.
But she already knew what he’d say. This was Rafe. He’d offer to remodel the kitchen and get rid of its small flat screen if it really bothered her that much. But he’d resent her for it. He’d never understood why she preferred to live like a homesteader as opposed to a modern woman in the modern ages, and it was hard to explain the draw of the lifestyle to someone who liked his electronic toys as much as Rafe did.
But ever since Myrna had first taught her to sew on her ancient Singer, she had felt drawn to the idea of doing everything herself. Making her own clothes, her own food, her own just-about-everything and never having to depend on others to provide for her again. Still as passionate as she was about how she chose to live, she didn’t like the idea of getting into a lifestyle battle with Rafe any sooner than she had to.
“Can I think about it?” she asked, when what she really meant was. “Can you give me some time to figure out how to save our engagement, keep you from falling out with your father, and get rid of the Viking who thinks I’m his fated mate without having to move in with you before my heat night?”
“Sure,” he said. An apologetic smile settled on his face. “Listen, I’m sorry we’re having to deal with this bullshit. I wish we hadn’t been the ones to go up there. Sometimes, I wish I weren’t the alpha prince of Colorado. It would be nice to be a normal wolf with normal problems that my dad would judge on a fair basis, not because I’m his son. If this were happening to any other couple, it wouldn’t even be a question of who he’d side with.”
Her Scottish Wolf (Howls Romance): Loving World Page 14
