Chapter 12 #2
I find him, too. About fifty yards from the cabin, I stop short when an oversized wolf comes padding toward me.
I swallow a sudden lump in my throat. “Max? Is that you?”
It has to be. My normal reaction to seeing a wolf—whether it was a shifter or wild—would be to play dead. Duh. But when I see this beautiful creature with the russet-colored fur so similar to Max’s hair, plus a pair of gleaming, golden, intelligent eyes… Max’s eyes… I know it has to be him.
He’s a gorgeous wolf. Of course he is. He’s a gorgeous male in his skin. I expected no less of him when he was shifted.
Max stops when he sees me. I can just imagine the human version of Max gritting his teeth, a muscle jerking in his cheek as he accepts that I did the opposite of what he ordered me to do.
The big wolf shudders. A split second later, his body changes.
A shift is like a snap. It’s one of your shapes remembering that it exists, taking over from the other.
We’re supes. Even if we can’t cast spells like witches, any supernatural creature is touched by magic.
There’s magic inherent to every shift. The force of it is enough to blow off anything we’re wearing that isn’t enchanted to survive the blast.
That’s why shifters try to take off their shoes and clothing before they shift. If they don’t, the shift inevitably destroys them, the material turning to ruined tatters. We’re naked as our beasts. We return naked when we go from four legs to two.
I know that. I’ve been a shifter my entire life. I’ve been caught without a change of clothes more times than I want to admit, and for half of those occasions, I have Roxy to blame.
Nudity isn’t a big deal for shifters. I knew what a penis looked like before I knew what a penis was. The only time it carries a different weight is when sexual attraction is involved.
And, oh, I’ve been attracted to Max Lobo for months now.
He shifts, and it isn’t until he’s standing in front of me without a stitch on that I really appreciate how beautiful a nude male’s body can be. From the muscles to his tapers waist to the cock that’s stirring slightly from the adrenaline of the chase, Max is stunning… he’s naked…
He isn’t mine.
Not yet.
I squeal, and though it’s considered bad form to draw attention to a shifter being bare when you have clothes on, I can’t help it. I cover my eyes.
“Honey—”
“You’re naked.”
“What are you doing out here? I told you to stay in the cabin.”
He did. And if I had, I wouldn’t be standing here with my cheeks flaming. “I wanted to help.”
“Help. Help.” Max makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat, followed by a sigh. “
“Are you covered?”
To my surprise, Max lets out a barking laugh. “What are you, twelve?”
“Twenty-eight, and you’re the Alpha. Tell me you don’t have emergency stores of a change of pants or something tucked along your territory. You’d never let anyone catch you vulnerable.”
An Alpha wouldn’t… so why did Max purposely shift in front of me? Because he wanted to talk… or because he knows?
“Max—”
“Don’t move. I mean it this time, Honey. Don’t move.”
I’ve already pushed my luck once. “Okay,” I say meekly, eyes still covered.
The air shifts, the wind blowing his scent around me. I should just look. By shifting in front of me, he was giving me permission to ogle all I wanted so long as I kept my paws to myself. I should look…
I drop my hand, not sure how I feel when I see that Max is gone. Nervous, definitely. Disappointed? Maybe.
Where did he go?
“Max?”
He reappears, his bottom half covered with a basic pair of grey sweatpants. Ah, grey sweatpants… I can still see an impressive dick imprint against the fabric, but at least I can pretend I can’t.
“Better?” he rumbles, a hint of pure grump in his tone.
Not really. I didn’t mind getting a peek at all Max had to offer, but it wasn’t fair.
Maybe if he knew we were fated to be mates, I could’ve finally stopped pretending like I haven’t been drawn to him for months now.
I want him. I care for him. If he keeps doing everything he can to keep me from becoming dead dead, I could see myself admitting that I love him…
but that’s not fair to either of us to drop that bomb in the middle of a murder investigation.
So I don’t. I don’t answer him, either.
I just look up at him with trust and hope. “Did you find the guy?”
Max scowls.
My heart sinks.
Not even the Alpha could track down an interloper on his territory. What the fuck does that mean?
Unless…
Unless it wasn’t an interloper.
Unless it was a packmate who knows this land as well as Max does.
It’s possible, and I just hope like hell that this was a freak occurrence, that it doesn’t have anything to do with Declan’s murder.
One look at the way Max’s expression closes off to see my hopes dash tells me: keep dreaming, Honey.
Where’s the chocolate chip cookie dough when you need it?
Ah, how cute. He doesn’t even know that we could be mated one day, but already we’ve had our first spat as an almost couple.
Max wanted to send me right back to the cabin. He even pulled the Gus card, asking me if I wouldn’t feel better if I could assure myself that the face I saw in the window hadn’t double-backed and gone after my opossum once I’d chased after Max.
I told him the truth. I told him that, now that he put the idea in my head, I was going back for Gus, but—and it was a big but—if he continued to search for clues without me, then I’d grab Gus and we’d do a little sleuthing of our own.
He pointed out that he’s the Alpha and has the right to lock me in the cabin.
I smile and said he could try. I might be a prey shifter. I’ll give him that. I’m not a powerless human who will stay put because the Alpha flashed his high beams at me.
He unscrewed his jaw enough to say, “Please”.
That almost did it, I admit it. If I didn’t care for Max, I would’ve folded. Only I do care, and maybe it was my anxiety flaring up, but I’d convinced myself that, if I wasn’t there to watch Max’s back, something terrible would happen.
Did I forget that he’s the most powerful predator in Moonburrow? Nah. Could he have sent up another howl, gathering some of the higher-ranked wolves to join us on the search? Of course.
Did he do that?
No. I don’t know why, and I wasn’t about to question it. He gave in. He was still going to do a quick hunt through his immediate territory, and if I wanted to come along, I could.
And if he muttered something about at least he’ll know where I am if I stay with him, I’m sure he’s just taking his Alpha responsibilities super seriously…
We do go back to the cabin. We’re near enough that he wants to do another check to see if the unknown wolf double=backed, and I want to make sure Gus really is okay. Max decides that, if I’ll be his shadow, he’ll stay in his skin. He takes two minutes to get dressed, including putting on shoes.
I decided to do the same, trading my pajamas for a dark green long-sleeved shirt, black leggings, my sneakers, and, ugh, even a bra.
It’s harder to leave Gus behind this time, but to my surprise, it’s Max who explains to my opossum that Gus needs to stay behind and hold down the fort. I swear to Fate, Gus salutes Max before positioning himself in the middle of the rumpled bed I’d been sleeping in.
Max closes the door, gives me a chance to stay behind, and huffs when I smile sweetly, telling him to lead the way.