Maddox tried to remain calm, though the way she squirmed in his arms was making it harder and harder for him to hang onto his control.
The pure, rich, honest scent of her—despite the fear and pain that overlaid it and damn near broke him into a million pieces—was a balm to his soul. The way her soft skin brushed against his, even as she hit him, was driving him insane. It was so damn hard to keep his mind out of the gutter when, every time she twisted, her delectable ass brushed up against the bulge in his jeans.
So distracted, so consumed by her presence, it took a second for Evangeline’s words to sink in. When they finally did, it dawned on him that she wasn’t simply squirming in his arms.
She was fighting him.
The realization hit him like a bat to his skull and, for once, his cock decided to behave. He had his mate in his arms and she really, really didn’t want anything to do with him.
She gasped, struggling to get in enough air to breathe. Shaking her head frantically, she clawed at his arms, scrabbling to get out of his unbreakable hold. Maddox still refused to let go. He was too afraid she would hurt herself again if he did.
“Angie, calm down,” he said. He laced his voice with the power of an alpha wolf in an attempt to get her to submit to the predator in him.
It didn’t work.
“No— no! I won’t do it. You can’t make me. This is my life. I get the choice. You don’t get to tell me that I’m yours and that’s that—”
“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to. It is your choice.”
She stilled, hope filling her voice. “Then it’s simple. I choose to go back home.”
“No.”
“So it’s not my choice after all, is it?”
Maddox didn’t answer her again. Instead, he tilted her in his arms, holding her tight in a fireman’s carry, her cheek pressed against the heat of his bare chest.
He started back for the cabin.
“What do you think you’re doing?” demanded Evangeline. “Put me down!”
“On a sprained ankle? No. I’m taking you back and we’re going to put some ice on that.”
With the adrenaline coursing through her, she barely noticed the throbbing. She’d be lying if she said it wouldn’t slow her down. But, even if she couldn’t run away from him again, she refused to let this overgrown caveman treat her like an invalid. “It’s fine. I can manage on my own.”
“Angie,” he growled her name, an obvious warning.
It didn’t faze her. Not now. She left her fear back where she fell. With the sudden understanding that he believed she was his mate, she knew he wasn’t kidding when he said he’d rather die than hurt her.
Pity she didn’t feel the same way for him.
“I don’t need anything from you.” Then, aware of how he winced whenever she corrected her name, she added with a touch of vindictive glee, “And it’s Evangeline.”
Maddox stopped moving but she felt his torso tremble as another growl built its way up his chest. Glaring down at her, his shifter’s eyes flashed, suddenly glowing like a nightlight, while his jaw clenched in obvious anger. It lasted for a few seconds before he let out a shaky breath. Evangeline did the same, and only then did it occur to her that she’d been holding hers.
Okay. Maybe she was still a tiny bit afraid.
The spike of fear in her scent irritated him. She’d never been afraid of him before, not even when she first found out she was destined to be a wolf’s mate.
Why was it so hard this time around?
Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea, but Maddox finally let some of his frustration slip out.
“Evangeline,” he said, purposely using the name, “I’m not going to hurt you, but I’m not going to let you hurt yourself, either. You’re my mate, and I’m going to do everything I can to take care of you. I suggest you get used to that. I’ll do what I think is best for you until you’re back to normal. You might not like it, but you’ll deal.”
She stiffened in his arms again. “As soon as my ankle is better, I’m gonna run.”
That’s not what he meant by back to normal. Too bad Evangeline didn’t know that.
“And I’ll chase right after you,” Maddox vowed. “My wolf is stronger and faster than you are. It knows these woods and can follow your trail wherever you go. It won’t stop. Remember, I’m not some fucking Ant who’s gonna give in to your temper tantrums and let you have your way. I’m a bastard, but I’m your bastard. Like I said, you’ll deal.”
“I won’t,” she said solemnly. Blissful silence followed for maybe five seconds before she demanded, “And what is that anyway?”
Still battling back his fury when it came to her insistence that she could escape, Maddox was looking forward to a quiet walk back to the cabin as he reflected on all the ways he’d fucked this up so far. He was so focused on having her near, it took him a second to realize she was waiting for his answer.
“What’s what?” he asked. What was she even asking him?
“Ant. When you say it, I think it means one thing and it’s not good. What is it?”
Maddox’s body gave a start at the question.
Oh, shit.
He’d said ‘Ant’, hadn’t he?
He jerked, then tightened his grip on Evangeline. Talk about déjà vu. Maddox had had this exact same conversation with her more than four years ago, shortly after she finally accepted that she was his mate. It was their first real fight back then and something warned him against answering her.
He should’ve listened.
“You, uh, you’ve never heard anyone say that before?”
“If I had, do you think I would be asking?”
She had a point.
“Ants… it’s kinda like how humans call paranormals ‘Paras’ when they’re referring to us as a group. They know that there’s countless different races, but they can’t be bothered to differentiate so there’s a catch-all term. Paras think of humans in the same way, I guess. They look around and see humans everywhere, and it reminds them of worker ants. Strong and resilient, good at mindless tasks, but”—and he winced, knowing that it sounded bad, yet unable to stop himself from adding—“ultimately there are way too many of them, easily replaced and, um, easily”—don’t say killed, don’t say exterminated, don’t say—“squashed.”
Evangeline’s gasp of outrage and the spike of betrayal in her scent were like a knife to his heart.
Bravo, Maddox. Genius fucking move, there.
He kind of expected her reaction; it was exactly the same as it had been. That didn’t mean he had to like it as she said, “Is that how you see me?”
Her voice was soft. Too soft. He would’ve taken the brunt of her lectures or her shouts gladly. But this dangerous quiet was a million times harder to hear.
Ah, hell.
If it was even possible, he fucked up worse.
Maybe it wasn’t too late for some damage control.
“Ang— Evangeline, no. I—”
She tucked her chin into her chest, refusing to look at him. He could’ve sworn he saw ice crystals billow out with her breath as she wondered coldly, “Why would you ever want to mate with something so useless?”
Nope. Too late.
Still, Maddox knew Evangeline better than she would ever expect. That was one of the only advantages he had. She might insist that they’d never met before this week, but they’d had a whole life together before the accident. He knew how she liked her eggs, how she cried over ASPCA commercials with puppies and kittens, how she refused to sleep with anything less than four pillows, and how she used a sharp wit as battle armor coupled with her soft voice as a shield. When she got like this, Maddox always backed off and let her win.
But that was before. After they were bonded, she could win any fucking argument they had. After they were bonded. Until then, no matter how dirty he had to play, he was going to win. Losing wasn’t an option. Evangeline was his and, with certainty ringing in every word, he told her e
xactly that.
“Because you’re mine.”
Evangeline clamped her mouth shut, didn’t respond. As far as Maddox could tell, she had resigned herself to being brought back to the cabin. Not that he expected she’d given up on trying to escape—his Angie had always been a fighter—but his wolf finally stopped in its frantic pacing once the cabin was back in his sights.
She started to struggle a bit as he opened the back door, stopping when she realized that he had no intention of letting her tackle the steps that would lead up to the second floor. Evangeline sighed softly, her breath tickling his overheated skin. His cock twitched, a reminder that he was still as hard as a fucking rock.
He was super grateful that Evangeline hadn’t caught on to his arousal yet. Her beautiful scent was finally free of the taint of fear. If for only a few minutes, he wanted to pretend she wasn’t afraid of him.
Though he couldn’t help but feel an ache down below as he brought Evangeline back into the bedroom.
Maddox placed her on the bed gently, warned her not to move, then disappeared through the bedroom door. Evangeline was just working up enough strength to test her weight on her ankle again when he returned, carrying a bag of ice in one hand, a glass of water in the other. He set the glass on the night table before opening his fist.
There were two tiny white pills nestled against his palm.
She held up a slightly shaking hand, warding him off. “Oh, no, no, no. After what happened with my macchiato, I’m not gonna swallow anything you give me ever again. Who knows if I’ll wake up at all next time.”
He frowned, careful not to clench his fists too tightly in case he crushed the pills. “That was necessary. I’m sorry I had to do it but, make no mistake, I’d do it again if I had to. I just want to help you… but if that’s how you feel, I get it. I do. You don’t want to take something for your pain, I’m not going to force you. But don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, thinking you’re getting back at me. It won’t change anything, and you’ll just be more miserable. If it helps any, I swear I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Except stay here against my will, right?”
Maddox set the two pills down next to the glass; if the pain got too bad, he wanted her to be able to take the medicine after he left. Swallowing back a frustrated growl, he told her honestly, “I keep hoping that you’ll change your mind and want to stay with me.”
“That’s not hope, you brute,” Evangeline snapped. “That’s delusion.”
As hard as it was to refrain from snapping back—while they were mated, a good argument often turned into great foreplay that led to out-of-this-world make-up sex—Maddox decided to try another tactic. Losing his patience with Evangeline wasn’t going to make her want to stay with him.
“Here, at least put some ice on your ankle.” When Evangeline opened her mouth to refuse again, he cut her off with a sad smile and an enticing shake of the bag. “If you’re going to try to run again, you’ll need your ankle healed up right.”
That got to her. Snatching the bag out of his hand, she slammed it against her sore ankle. It had to have hurt like hell, the way the ice clanked against the bone, but she was too stubborn to let him see how much.
She didn’t need to. He could sense her pain like a jagged line that nearly split his soul in half.
Maddox’s eyes flashed, his golden irises glowing a vibrant yellow. He’d been hiding it for too long. It felt good to let his wolf peer out at its mate, even if she was purposely looking anywhere but at him.
“I’ll be outside, patrolling the grounds,” he said gruffly. Her pain wasn’t fading and it killed him that he couldn’t make it better for her. She’d never let him. Not now. “Feel free to explore the cabin if you like. It’s as much yours as it’s mine.”
Evangeline refused to comment on that last part as she finally dared to meet his earnest gaze. “You’re not going to lock me in this room again?”
“What’s the point?” Maddox asked, snorting. “I know now that locks won’t keep you out or in, but that ankle might. And if you try to run again, I’ll introduce you to my wolf. Trust me, he’s dying to say hi.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. As if that would stop him from picking up on how fast her heart was beating all of a sudden.
“I hate you.”
For a split second, Maddox wanted to howl in agony. His mate was the other half of him. No matter what he had done to deserve her anger, she wasn’t supposed to be able to hate him.
And that’s when he caught the slightest sour tang to her scent. Curdled milk mixed with warm vanilla.
She was… she was lying.
Maddox had hope. It wasn’t a lot, and he knew he had a tough road ahead of him, but he clung to that hope like it was the edge of a buoy and he was fucking drowning.
“If you need me, stick your head out through the window and holler. I’ll hear you.” Maddox paused, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “As I’m sure you realized by now, no one else will. Shame, huh?”
He waited to see if she would say anything else. When she turned to look away from him, he frowned, then shook his head. He thought about his phone and the next step to his crazy plan. Of course, he hadn’t meant for it to happen this way, but desperate times called for drastic measures. Calling up Colt and admitting how badly he’d messed up already—yeah, he was pretty desperate.
“Take it easy on that leg,” he said, lifting the phone to his ear after he pressed a single button. He could hear the beeps echoing around him as the phone automatically dialed. “I’ll be back before you know it, then I’ll cook dinner for us.”
She stuck out her chin. “I won’t be hungry.”
He sighed. Somehow he knew she would say that. “Hungry or not, you’ll sit and eat with me. I won’t let anyone think I can’t provide for my mate.”
“I don’t think anyone will care since I’m not your mate.”
His wolf howled at the flippant way she denied them both. His claws appeared at the end of his fingers, scratching against the glass protecting the front of his phone. He tightened his grip and probably would have crushed the stupid thing if it wasn’t for the fact that the ringing suddenly stopped.
Because this time?
When Evangeline said she wasn’t his mate, she was telling the truth.
“Hello? Mad, you there, bro?”
Maddox’s eyes flared as he looked down at his contrary little mate. It was a good thing that Colt answered the phone when he had. He was two seconds away from showing Evangeline just how wrong she was and, despite the man part of his brain knowing damn well that he needed her to remember him before she could acknowledge their bond, the wolf didn’t care. If it had its way, it would make a new bond when it claimed her for good. She couldn’t deny them when she wore his bite proudly on her skin.
“Hold on,” he snarled into the phone. He narrowed his gaze on Evangeline, his expression one of sensual heat and a promise of retribution. At that moment, biting wasn’t that far off the table. “I will see you for dinner, mate. If you change your mind about the pills, they’re harmless. Just aspirin. I hate seeing you hurt so please think about taking them.”
Then, before she could say anything else that might provoke him, he stormed from the room.
19
Okay. So maybe she might have pushed him too hard. But, well, hadn’t he deserved it?
Evangeline blamed it on the pain. The adrenaline that pushed her to do something so stupid as to try and escape from a room on the second floor had worn off while Maddox carried her injured ass back to the cabin. Her ankle was throbbing when he brought her to her prison cell and it made her feel worse when he came back with the aspirin and the ice. Sure, she wouldn’t have been hurt if she hadn’t been trying to flee from him, but did he have to be so nice about it? It would make it so much easier to hate him if he didn’t seem to want to take care of her.
Of course, that was because he thought she was his mate
. She couldn’t forget that. While he was wrong about any bond they might have, she had to admit that she was going to take advantage of that belief for as long as she could. If he planned on treating her like a shifter’s mate, then that meant she had nothing to fear from him except, well, being forced into a loveless mating with a man who had drugged her in a coffee shop.
The second Maddox left the room, she jumped up from the bed. She was willing to bet he knew, but she didn’t care. Hobbling and trying her best to ignore the way her poor ankle screamed in pain, she put her ear to the door.
Maddox must have stopped right outside of her room to have his conversation because she could hear his growl through the closed door. Part of her was happy to hear that she wasn’t the only one he growled at; at least the animalistic sound made a lot more sense now that she knew he was a shifter. The other part of her—the twisted part that responded to her kidnapper way more than she should—was inexplicably jealous. She purposely quashed that part as quickly as she could, straining to make out what he was saying now.
“Hey, it’s me. Yeah. Sorry about that. She’s… she’s adjusting.” Maddox paused. “How’s it going? Colt, let’s just say it could have gone better.”
Colt again. Colt sounded like a man’s name, something that Evangeline tried to pretend didn’t matter to her at all. Besides, Maddox had mentioned the name before, when she hurt her ankle, and now he was calling him for help which meant that this mysterious Colt obviously knew all about her kidnapping. Evangeline made a mental note to hate him on principle, too.
Now, if only she could convince herself that she did hate Maddox. She definitely wanted to, and she had when she first discovered she was trapped, but he was luring her in with his golden eyes. They were just so familiar; it only made it worse that he seemed to think they’d met before, when Evangeline couldn’t shake the same impression. And then he went and sprung this mate baloney on her as if that excused his law-breaking.
Hungry Like a Wolf Page 18
