by Ellis Leigh
Ariel sat on the edge of the porch, her feet resting on the step below, her body curling over her rounded belly in a protective posture.
“Are you going to shift?” she asked, keeping her voice soft and calm. Barely disturbing the quiet of the night. “Are you going to talk to me about what happened today?”
Phego snorted, giving her all the answer he could. Ariel sighed and pulled the sweater she wore around her shoulders tighter. She looked cold. The night had a chill to it, the expectation of one final frost hovering around them. The last of the winter winds were blowing down from the mountains, cooling everything off before spring officially hit. As a wolf, Phego didn't notice. But in human form, he could understand why Ariel seemed so uncomfortable. He growled, doing what he could tell her to get back inside where he hoped it was safe. Not that he knew, not that he could be sure. Not with the two interlopers inside.
“Colt makes me nervous, but I’m okay. I’m calming down around him, and hopefully I won’t be so jumpy once I’m used to his presence in my house.” Ariel tapped her feet, staring out into the darkness, ignoring Phego’s signal. “She's your mate, isn’t she?”
Phego went silent and still, unwilling to admit anything. Not wanting to have Ariel think that fact changed anything. It didn’t. Couldn’t. The fates may have chosen her, but he hadn’t.
Ariel turned, leaning against the railing, her eyes focusing on him. Even in the dark he could feel her gaze, could sense her watching. Investigating. He wanted to escape that stare but was too afraid to move. Too worried about her to leave her in the dark. He was trapped.
“You can trust her, you know,” Ariel whispered. Lying to him the way everyone else would as well. A mate was something special, they’d say. Something to cherish. They’d be wrong. They’d all be wrong, and he’d be the one to pay for their mistakes. A mate was nothing more than an enemy you made the mistake of letting inside your walls so they could destroy you. One the fates threw into your path at random. No. He couldn’t trust Michaela.
Phego released a small snarl, just enough to let Ariel know how he felt about those words. About trusting anyone outside of his very small circle.
“She's my friend,” Ariel said, her voice soft but firm, demanding in a way. “I love her like a sister, and I trust her with my life. With the baby’s life. Thaus trusted her, and he never met her. That’s why I’m learning to be okay with Colt—Michaela wouldn’t have brought him here if he was a threat to me. I know you have issues—”
Phego jumped to his feet and slunk away, disappearing into the darkness, unwilling to listen to the woman speak about his past. The past she shouldn't have known about. He had issues? If she knew the whole truth, she’d know he had more than issues. He had a full subscription…or ten. But those memories and residual fears kept him safe. Kept him alive. Kept him from making the same mistakes again and again. What he'd been through, what he'd managed to survive, was not something you just got over. He had good reason not to trust the shewolf inside. Damn good reason.
Phego stayed outside the cabin for hours after everyone went to sleep. He’d rest until the itch to leave grew too strong then work a trail, running through the woods to get away from Michaela. Unable to sit still, but also unable to leave her. Not the her he was supposed to be worried about—the other one.
There was no noise from the couple upstairs, not that he was listening. Still, the idea of Michaela in a bed she shared with Colt infuriated him. Made his heart burn in ways it never had before, made him tense and angry, wanting to lash out. Wanting to draw blood.
But as Phego turned the corner on his 274th trip around the cabin, a different sort of feeling caught his attention. The feeling of being watched. Of someone else in the woods…someone who shouldn’t be there. Phego came to a quick stop and glanced around, investigating. Seeking the source of the uncomfortable sensation. The cabin was dark, the woods as well. He could sense the three people inside. Hear their breathing. The watcher was not there, wasn’t close to the cabin at all. He was in the woods. In the trees. In the deeper darkness of the wilderness.
Phego paced in small circles, keeping his eyes open, his ears pricked. Something, something, something; it was out there. He could feel it, sense it, practically taste it on the air. Danger lurked in the woods, and this time, it carried more of a threat than the earlier visitors had. Funny how the watcher and the guests of Ariel’s showed up on the same day. Funny, and almost expected.
He’d known not to trust them.
He was just about to stop circling, to begin walking around the cabin once more in a tighter arc, when the sound of a twig cracking from behind him sounded like the shot from a gun. He took off like a rocket, running through the woods as fast as he could, his paws barely touching the ground. Running, chasing, hunting his prey. But whatever was in the woods, whatever the animal was that had been watching him, seemed almost invisible. It had disappeared into the darkness like a shadow melting into the night. Phego couldn't even pick up a scent trail.
But scent or not, sight or not, Phego made out the occasional rustle of leaves being disturbed and the sharp snick of broken sticks and branches. The thing was still there, still running, still close enough to hunt but moving swiftly toward the hills beyond Phego’s property. Phego kept after it, slowing his pace so he could listen better, keeping his ears up and forward.
Before he ran even a hundred yards, though, Phego slid to a stop. Ariel. The thing in the woods could have been a trick, a way to get him away from their true target. He could have been playing right into an enemy’s hands by chasing nothing more than a sensation and a few rustles through the woods. A rookie mistake. He couldn’t be that dumb.
Without a second thought, Phego ran back to the cabin, his steps quick and his growl constant. He focused his senses on Ariel, on making sure she was safe. On feeling every bit of energy from her.
Reaching the little building didn’t even slow him down. He raced up the porch and through the front door, thankful Ariel had left it cracked for him. Once inside, he finally slowed, his claws clacking on the wood floors with every loped step. Not that he cared. He had more important things to worry about—a Dire sister and a baby. The family he’d chosen as part of his own. The ones he had vowed to protect.
Letting his senses take over, Phego investigated the house. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing unexpected. Four heartbeats, three people breathing the cool mountain air, all exactly where they were supposed to be. Mostly. Upstairs, he sensed space between the two bodies. Heard their hearts beating from farther apart than he would have expected if they’d been sharing a bed. Perhaps he’d been mistaken. Perhaps his mate—
No. Ariel. The baby. His mission. He had to stay focused, had to stay on guard. Had to forget the trick the fates had thrown at him.
Brushing aside his desire to pad upstairs and see for himself what was going on, Phego crept back to Ariel's room, silent and tense. Ready to fight. Ready to kill if need be. But up on the high bed, buried under a sea of quilts, Ariel slept soundly. She lay curled on her side with one arm over her belly and her legs pulled up. She was cold, it seemed. Phego bit down on the corner of the extra quilt at the end of the bed and dragged it forward, covering her with the last blanket on the bed, just in case.
This was where his focus needed to be. Where his thoughts needed to stay. He couldn’t fail Thaus, couldn’t let anything happen to her. Finding his mate was a distraction, one he couldn’t let get under his skin. He’d been outside earlier because of his mate, had been running through the woods because of her, too. He needed to stay close to Ariel so he could keep her safe and secure. So nothing could come between them and put her at risk.
With a sigh and a burning in his chest he refused to contemplate, Phego circled the rug at the end of the bed before he plopped down. No one would get close to Ariel. Not from outside the cabin, and not from inside, either. Whatever he'd sensed in the woods, whatever he thought he heard, could have been a trick. Could have been a distraction
. Could have been a damn deer out on a stroll through the woods, for fuck’s sake. It was not his mission, though.
Phego hunkered down close to his ward, nose pointed at the door, tail brushing the leg of the bed. He wouldn't leave her side again—not for his new mate, not for her so-called bodyguard, not for some ridiculous notion of something being in the woods…not for anything.
He would stick to Ariel like glue until Thaus came back, then he’d kick her friends right out of his woods and set his shit back to right.
6
Michaela’s first full day in the little cabin at the edge of the woods dawned bright and warm, the chill of the night burned off the mountain air by the sun above. Her bed was soft, her muscles relaxed, and her mood pleasant. A nice way to wake up for sure. She stretched under the covers, her body languid and her mind clear for one, brief moment.
She’d always been more of a morning person than not, taking advantage of the quiet just after dawn to get a jump-start on her day. She saw each soft, quiet morning as a time to reset herself before the stress of everyday life kicked in, before the reality around her weighed her down and dragged her mood into the darker places. Those precious few minutes were her favorite moments. She relished them, luxuriated in them. But there was no holding back real life.
Especially not when the silence she so loved was broken by the snore of a man she did not.
Michaela glanced over the edge of the bed and saw Colt lying on the rug in his wolf form. Sleeping. He wasn't the man she wanted to see first thing in the morning, though. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to make that clear to her new mate, though. She doubted they would ever be able to get to the intimate point of sharing a bedroom. Not with a man like Phego. He was so closed off, so harsh, so angry it seemed. Hell, he hadn’t even shifted human yet, hadn’t allowed her the privilege of seeing him in his weaker form. He didn't even trust her enough to shift, and that was a problem. She didn’t expect him to wrap his life around hers and simply accept her as his mate, but he could show her a little respect. Maybe even dig down deep for some manners. But that all seemed unlikely if the previous evening was any indication of how the next few weeks would go.
Weeks…with her mate in his wolf form…ignoring her. Wonderful.
Blank slate of the morning destroyed by her thoughts, Michaela stood from the bed and crept out the door. There was nothing she could do right then about Phego, so she set her sights on another target she desired.
Coffee.
She might've been awake, but that didn't mean she didn't need a little jolt. Ariel had to have coffee somewhere in the house. The two had guzzled it during their residency days, surviving on caffeine and beef jerky sticks to get through the long hours at the hospital. The habit had stayed with her, and she was sure Ariel wasn't much different.
She slipped downstairs, careful not to make too much noise. Waking up a sleeping pregnant woman was bad news. No one needed that stress added to their day. Michaela crossed the living room silently, heading straight for the kitchen. But before she could get there, before she could head around the counter that separated it from the open concept living and dining area, the sound of claws on wood floors stopped her in her tracks. She didn't have to turn, didn't have to wonder who was behind her. She could sense him. Feel his dark energy wrapping around her. Practically taste the want her body let boil to the surface at his presence.
“Good morning, Phego,” she murmured, keeping her voice quiet so as not to disturb anyone else. She waited for something, some sort of response, though why she thought he’d grace her with anything other than a hard stare, she wasn't sure. She’d assumed he had to respond somehow if only to keep up social norms, but she’d been wrong. He did nothing, moved not an inch, didn’t even huff a breath.
Michaela sighed and continued into the kitchen. The coffeepot sat next to the refrigerator, cups on the little stand next to it, but there was no sign of actual coffee. She glanced behind her, meeting the eyes of her mate. He’d come closer, a fact that surprised her. In fact, he was standing in the entryway to the kitchen, watching her. Staring with what looked like interest. A fact that she’d gladly take advantage of.
“Coffee?” Michaela swept her hand toward the cabinets, hoping he'd be able to figure out what she wanted from him at that moment. Coffee was only the smallest desire, really, but it was a start. What she needed, what she truly wanted, was for him to shift, for him to show his human side, for him to talk to her. She wouldn't be getting that anytime soon, though, so coffee seemed like the better option to push for.
Phego padded across the kitchen, coming to stand beside her. His thick fur brushed her bare leg, the top of his shoulder coming up almost to her rib cage. He dwarfed her, took up almost the entire room. He even made the cabin itself somehow feel too small to hold him. How other shifters he’d been around hadn’t figured out he was a Dire Wolf was beyond her. There was no doubt in her mind, yet all the legends spoke of the Dires being extinct. Someone was very, very good at blending in as they stood out.
Phego raised his head and leaned forward, bumping his nose into the bottom of a cabinet to the right of the stove before taking a step back. Giving her room once more.
“Thank you,” Michaela whispered before heading to the cabinet. She did indeed find coffee inside, along with basket liners, sweeteners, and powdered creamer. Phego had directed her to the coffee jackpot.
At home, she would have brewed half a pot, but she lived alone. Some pregnant women didn't drink caffeine, so she wasn't sure if Ariel would have any coffee at all, but she knew Colt would and she would. The wolf, well, she had no clue. But maybe. She didn’t want to deny him if it was something he liked.
A full pot, it was.
As she waited for the coffee to brew, she collected every scrap of courage she had. She wanted to speak with her mate. Wanted to understand him, get to know him. But he wasn't going to make it easy on her, that she knew up front. So she wouldn't make it easy on him either.
“Hey, Phego,” Michaela said, infusing her voice with an upbeat tone she didn't feel. “Does Ariel know you're a Dire Wolf?”
The beast didn't respond, didn't move. She was pretty sure he wasn't even breathing. A sure sign she’d probably hit a nerve.
Michaela shrugged. “It's the spots, really. I remember seeing them in a book at our pack historical center. One of those ones on wolf-shifter legend. The size of you is enough to turn heads, but the spots are undeniable. You're supposed to be extinct.”
Nada. Nothing. Not a whine or a growl or a huff. Figured.
As soon as the coffee was done and she’d poured herself a cup, Michaela headed to the seating area on the edge of the island, settling onto a barstool. Her wolf didn't move closer, but he didn't run away either. He didn’t leave. She considered that a win. He might not want to answer her, but that didn't mean he didn't want to listen. And she could be a damn fine storyteller when she wanted to be.
“My dad named me Michaela after his brother. My uncle was killed during the European shifter wars of the early 19th century. I assume you know about those, but our pack was hard-hit during that time. Our family was almost decimated before my ancestors managed to escape to the New World. When I was born, an Omega female, the first the pack had ever had, my birth was celebrated. I was brought up loved and cared for, honored by my packmates, and protected by my family. My parents are still alive, and I have three brothers and a sister. I chose to go to medical school when it became apparent that human medicine was advancing quickly, and that I could be of service to the community of wolf shifters and the human towns our land borders. It was a tough go to convince my Alpha to let me leave, but I did it.”
Michaela waited, taking a sip of her coffee to give him time to…what, she didn’t know. Chuff? Snarl? Walk away? He did none of those things, though. He sat quiet and still, attentive, even. As if he was listening to her rambles, wanting more. Something she could provide him.
“It was during med school that I met Ariel. She w
as so spunky, so feisty and confident. I liked her from the start, though it was quite the surprise to walk into an auditorium one day and smell another shifter in the room. Things were tense for all of about two minutes before we realized we had advantages over the humans and could help each other out. We studied together, lived together for a while, and kept each other sane during MCATs and residency. She’s one of my best friends, practically family to me. The last thing you need to worry about is me doing anything to harm her. I'm here to help, to keep her focused during her delivery, and to make sure she and that baby stay healthy. I know you don't trust me right now, but hopefully you will at the end of this.”
Michaela stopped and sipped her coffee again, considering, unsure if the direction of her thoughts was the way to go. But there was more to be said, more he needed to hear, and he was still sitting and watching her. So she took a deep breath and prepared for a reaction.
“Colt is my bodyguard. Even now, even with me being well into adulthood and self-sufficient, my Alpha worries about me. I'm an Omega, and that seems to be a wanted commodity in our society lately. Colt’s here to keep me safe, nothing more. He follows me wherever I go, but we're not… He's not—”
Michaela sighed and looked down at the table. Her wolf hadn't even been in human form yet, hadn't spoken to her. How could she say Colt wasn't meaningful to her life when that implied her mate was meaningful in some way? She didn't know anything about him, didn't know how he would react. Didn't know if he felt a single bit of attraction for her. That sort of admission, stating you had possible feelings when you had absolutely no idea if the other person had an inkling of attraction or not, was hard. Sort of terrifying.
Sort of…intimate.
“It's hard to have a conversation like this when I don't know what you're thinking,” she whispered. “I can't even read your body language or your facial expression. Can you shift, please? Can we—”
