Chapter 2
TWO
Luke
I forced myself to focus on the young pup lying on the ground before me, ignoring my wolf, who clamored for me to look at our mate again.
To take in the golden hair that tumbled around her shoulders and the blue-gray eyes that widened when they met mine.
She was tiny and delicate, and instinct urged me to take her in my arms and protect her always.
But I didn’t deserve something so perfect. So fragile.
“He should wake up soon.” Emily stood after checking his vitals. “I only gave him a small dose.”
My mate walked over, and awareness of her every move filled me. Her hands clasped in front of her waist. “What will happen when Eli wakes up?”
“Luke’s wolf will assert dominance to control Eli’s wolf. Then he’ll talk him through how to shift back.” Austin shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’ll clear out. If the boy senses my tiger, it might get his hackles up.”
“You and Emily should go with him.” I crossed my arms. “He’ll be unpredictable when he wakes, and I don’t want him lashing out at either of you.”
“I’m not leaving him.” She shook her head and held up her hand in a staying motion when I opened my mouth to protest. “I’m the only one here he knows. He should have someone familiar nearby.”
“We won’t be far, Katie.” Emily pointed toward the barn. “You’ll be able to see everything and come over once he shifts back to his human form.”
“I’m staying here.”
I growled, my wolf pushing me to speak. “It’s not safe. You need to be safe.”
From the corner of my eye, I caught Austin’s surprised glance. His gaze bounced between my mate and me, a slow grin forming. He leaned over to whisper in Emily’s ear, and my shifter hearing picked up the word mate. My muscles tightened.
“Consider me sufficiently informed of the risks. I’m still staying.” Katie’s breath came out in a rush, and she pressed her plump pink lips into a firm line.
I risked meeting her gaze, the look of determination capturing me and pulling me in. My wolf urged me closer, and before I second-guessed my actions, I took a step toward her. Her head tilted back to maintain eye contact, leaving her neck on display. A neck meant to show off my mark.
I swallowed hard. I had no business thinking about marking her. Even though I didn’t know her, I was still certain she deserved far more than I had to give. The legacy of my past was lies, pain, and fear, and I wouldn’t let that touch her. I cleared my throat and stepped back.
“Fine. Stay if you want, but at least stand back a few feet until he shifts.”
She nodded and moved to stand by my side and back a bit while Austin led Emily away.
I faced the pup again, waiting for him to wake.
It took only a few minutes before he stirred.
I felt more than saw when he realized he was somewhere new.
Panic rolled off him, and he stumbled to his paws, legs wobbling.
I crouched down even with his head and met his gaze, letting my wolf’s aura come forward.
The pup growled and tried to lunge at me.
His legs buckled beneath him. I pushed more of my wolf at him.
If I needed to shift, I would, but I didn’t think it would be necessary.
He got back to his feet and swayed, head dipping slightly under the weight of my wolf’s dominance.
It took about five minutes before the pup lay down and submitted to me. I moved toward him and placed a calming hand on his fur. “That’s better. Now, let’s get you back into your human form.”
I coached him through the change, conscious of my mate as she moved closer.
The first shift was the worst. It was easy to panic mid-shift and lose your focus, making it last even longer.
I kept my voice pitched low and steady, filling the space between instructions with encouragement and giving him something to focus on besides the pain.
Finally, the teenage boy lay on the ground, sweating and panting. I shrugged off my flannel shirt and handed it to him to cover up with. Austin would grab spare clothes from the barn before returning, but I doubted the boy would want to be naked in front of us.
Katie kneeled on the ground next to me. “Eli, are you okay? What do you need right now?”
His cheeks flushed, and his eyes remained trained on the ground. He didn’t speak, but I could almost see all the words filling him, wanting to spill out. He continued to fight it, though, so I helped him.
“First shift takes a lot out of a man. After Austin brings you some clothes, how about we get you some food? Hannah and Mae always have something cooking in the kitchen.”
The boy’s gaze darted to me, and the look in them was a sucker punch. His eyes were too old to be in one so young, but life was sometimes cruel. Like me, Eli had grown up too fast. And now he had to contend with learning he was actually a shifter.
I hadn’t planned to involve myself in this beyond getting the boy back to human form, but now the urge to help him filled me. But if I did, would it mean more time around my mate? Could I continue to resist her if I had to keep seeing her?
I held my hand out. “I’m Luke. Also a wolf shifter. And I can help answer questions about it.”
Eli’s eyes slid over to Katie. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she gave him a soft smile. “You can trust him, Eli. He wants to help you. So do I. And this might explain why you’ve struggled to fit in.”
“It would,” I said, and both their gazes swung to me. “I’ve heard shifter children can be a handful, and we tend to stick close to family. Strangers make the animal-half nervous.”
“That’s interesting. Does that extend to babies as well?” Katie tilted her head to the side. I fought to keep my eyes off her marking spot.
“As far as I know. I don’t have much experience with babies. Ask Ethan or Hannah. They have one.”
Katie nodded and turned to the teen, her warm smile filled with reassurance. “This is the information we need, Eli. This will help me find a place where you fit.”
Yearning flashed across the boy’s face before he quickly hid it again. He shrugged his shoulders and kicked at the dirt. “Whatever.”
I looked over to see Katie’s reaction, but she stayed calm, smiling at him. “It sounds like food is the first course of action. Then we can figure out the next steps.”
Austin and Emily joined us. My brother shot me a wink before turning to Katie. “You and Eli should stay on the ranch while he learns to control his shifter half. There’s an empty cabin next to Luke’s with two bedrooms.”
My muscles stiffened. I knew what Austin was doing.
He’d guessed Katie was my mate and was trying to give me time with her.
But the longer we spent together, the harder it would be to walk away.
But I still agreed. It was selfish, and would only cause me more pain, but I wanted everything I could grab before she left.
Katie
After Eli demolished a plate full of food in the kitchen of the main house, he passed out in the cabin where we would stay while he learned about his shifter self.
I, on the other hand, needed to go back into town and make arrangements with my boss, as well as grab clothes for Eli and me, but I was hesitant to leave him alone.
“He’ll be out for hours.” Austin plopped onto the couch in the small sitting area. “But Emily and I can stick around, just in case.”
“Emily’s my ride.”
“Luke can take you.” He grinned at his brother. “Right, Luke?”
Luke’s lips thinned, but he gave a sharp nod.
Though the look he shot Austin was pure annoyance.
If Luke wasn’t so obviously bothered by being involved with everything, I’d almost think Austin and Emily were trying to set us up.
They’d maneuvered us into sitting together in the kitchen and now were sending us away alone.
I left them my number to call if Eli woke up and followed Luke to a large, older truck.
He opened the door for me, and I slipped past him, my arm brushing against his.
The brief contact set my heart racing, and I took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly releasing it, trying to get myself back under control.
Luke rounded the front of the truck and slid behind the wheel.
He sat there for a minute, hands on the wheel, not moving.
The truck cab was large but felt small with him in it.
His scent—a heady mix of leather, dirt, sweat, and something uniquely him—wrapped around me.
My skin switched on, as if aching for his touch. I swallowed hard.
I seldom dated. Men never interested me enough to tear my attention from work.
But something about Luke called to me. Was it because he was a shifter?
I’d heard they possessed a powerful presence, though never described as attraction—more like nerve-inducing.
I clasped my hands together hard. Attraction had no place between us.
It didn’t matter that this reaction was new to me. I was here for Eli. Nothing more.
Luke cleared his throat as he drove toward the highway. “So, you’re a social worker?”
My gaze darted to him, surprised he was making conversation. “Yes. I work with kids like Eli, who struggle in foster care. The ones who need a little extra help to find where they belong.”
“That’s a tough job.” He kept his eyes on the road. “Most people lose patience fast.”
“I’ve been told I’m stubborn.” I shrugged, not telling him I knew how it felt to wonder where I belonged. That I still wondered most days, though I doubted I’d ever find an answer. “I just can’t seem to walk away when someone still has a chance.”
“Even when they turn into a wolf in front of you?”
The corners of my lips fought to rise. “That’s a new one, I have to admit. But hey, at least he didn’t bite me.”
A chuckle escaped from Luke. “You sound like my mom.”
“That’s a compliment, right?” I shot him a teasing smile.
“Biggest one I’ve got.” He paused, fingers flexing on the steering wheel. “She believed anyone could be saved. Even me.”
I studied his face, which flushed with embarrassment over what he had just shared. I almost let it slip by, but the urge to ask was too strong. “And were you?”
He flicked me a sidelong look but didn’t respond for a good minute. When he did, his voice was rough. “Still working on it most days.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only stubborn one. Or the only one with hope.”
His eyes slid to me, surprise filling them. As if that had never occurred to him before. His expression turned pensive as his gaze found the road again.
I let the silence linger for a few more minutes before changing the topic. “If you turn right up here, my apartment will be on the left. I can grab a bag quickly. My office is just around the corner, so it won’t take me long to run over there to check in with my boss and get Eli’s things.”
He nodded, following my directions. “I need to run to the hardware store. I should be back in less than half an hour. Meet me back here?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I darted into my apartment building, waving to Luke, who waited for me to get inside before driving away. There, I tossed some clothes and toiletries into a large suitcase. Without knowing how long we’d stay at Shifter Ranch, I wanted to be prepared. Then I headed to my office.
After filling in my boss and getting the okay for the plan, I started walking back to wait for Luke at my apartment building, juggling my suitcase and a large, worn backpack filled with Eli’s belongings.
I passed a middle-aged man just as he put out his cigarette and called to me, his voice gruff like a longtime smoker.
“Hey, do you want some help carrying those bags?”
The man’s dark hair streaked with gray was slicked back, and he wore slacks with a button-down shirt. Nothing about his appearance screamed danger, but the hair on my arms lifted. I gave him a polite smile as he fell into step beside me. “Thank you, but I’ve got it.”
“Independent woman, huh?” He chuckled, but it didn’t reach his dark eyes, which were fixed on me. “Like to take care of things on your own?”
“Something like that.” I turned the corner but didn’t see Luke’s truck.
The man kept pace with me. “I think I saw you earlier. With one of those shifters. Don’t they make you nervous?”
My stomach clenched as alarm bells rang in my head. Had he been watching me? Waiting for me to exit the office? My smile tightened. “Not at all.”
Luke’s truck pulled onto the street and parked in front of the apartment building. I watched him scan the street until his gaze landed on me. His eyes widened, and he rushed from the truck, slamming the door behind him.
The man walked backwards, hands in his pockets. “You should be careful about who you get close to.” He flicked his eyes toward Luke, and his smile twisted. “People aren’t always what they seem.”
He disappeared around the corner just as Luke reached me. Luke’s hands fisted, the knuckles whitening. He looked fierce when he turned to me. “What did he say?”
“Nothing important.” I rested my hand on his arm, feeling his strength but forcing myself to ignore the fluttering in my stomach. “Are you okay?”
His dark gaze remained trained over my shoulder, in the direction the man went. His words when he spoke came out clipped. “Fine. We need to get back to the ranch.”
I followed him to the truck. The drive here had held openness and vulnerability, but now a chasm separated us. Luke stayed lost in his thoughts, but about what, I couldn’t guess.