His Wolf (Wolf of My Heart) (7 page)

"So you really did steal it?" Erik shook his head as if he couldn't quite wrap it around the truth.

"I had no choice, okay? I had to get away, and his truck was just sitting there." My gaze locked with Erik's. "It was old.
A work truck that had definitely seen better days.
I didn't think anyone would miss it."

"But someone has."

"No. Yes. Well, maybe. I can't believe anyone wants that old thing back. It was
beat
up and nasty before the accident."

"And now it's totaled."

I had to look away.
"Yeah."

"Does he have family?"

"Not that I know of."

Erik eyed my cut.  "This sure looks better."

I realized he was right.  I also realized that some of the purple bruises on my arm were already to the greenish stage, as if they were on a healing fast track. 
Wasn't sure what to think about that.

"How long did you work for him?" Erik asked.

"Eighteen months. And 'work' doesn’t exactly describe what I did. I slaved for that man day and night."
For free.

"Night?"

Trust a guy to jump to wrong conclusions. "The relationship was strictly
business
."

Erik was silent for almost a minute as he bandaged my wrist. I noticed that his Henley matched his eyes, which were almost tawny for some reason. I decided it must be the cabin lighting.

"Stealing is stealing, Bronte, no matter why you did it." He snapped the lid of the kit shut.  "And now I'm involved in your drama. Aiding and abetting, I think it's called."

Unfortunately, I couldn't deny that. "I know, and I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen." Unable to sit still any longer, I jumped up and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Things got seriously complicated for me the first time I shape shifted five months ago. I hate what I am now. Hate it. If I weren't a Were, I'd go straight home, re-enroll at
MSU
, and get on with my life. But no, I'm stuck in fantasy land, missing my dad and dealing with stuff that defies belief."

"You don't want to be a wolf?"

Could he have sounded more shocked? I didn't think so, and pivoted to face him.
"Of course not."

He sat back. "But shifting is your birthright."

Or not, but I didn't tell him that. Instead, I switched things around. "Are you saying you'd like to be one?"

"Hell, yeah.
It'd be, like, the coolest thing ever."

"Oh my God."
I flopped on the couch. "I can't believe you said that."

Erik got a faraway look in those brown eyes of his. "Just think about it. A wolf is part of a pack."

"
Which is only good if you're the Alpha.
"

He ignored my cynicism. "But they still run free in the wild, a mystical species revered by humans everywhere on the globe.
And the whole mating for life thing?
Awesome.
Just awesome.
Shifting--the actual process, I mean--must be the neatest feeling ever."

"It's okay, I guess," I murmured, giving in a little. "What I dread is the call of the full moon. The next one is just a couple of days away, but I'm already feeling antsy."

"Antsy how?"

"I'm restless from the inside out, if that makes sense. Anything unfinished begins to haunt me. I want to go somewhere, do something…like see my dad in Lake Village. But how can I?"

"Are you afraid you'll accidentally shift in front of him?"

"That's not possible…or maybe it is. I mean, I've heard of involuntary shifts resulting from extreme shock or sudden danger."

"But during the full moon you can shift right back into a girl. That's what you said earlier."

"Yeah."
I shook my head. "I don't exactly know why I'm worried about seeing Dad. Maybe I'm afraid he'd somehow sense the change in me. I have to be different."

Erik nodded silent agreement. "I said I'd go with you. I could be a buffer just in case things got crazy."

So he'd meant that. "You were actually serious?"

"Sure."

"I'll think about it."

That seemed to satisfy him.

"Sorry I've been so rude tonight. I'm not used to having someone worry about me."

"And I'm not used to worrying about anybody.
Truce?"

"Truce."
We shook on it. Since I was standing, I stretched and then glanced at my watch: 9:00.
Too early for bed.
"No TV?"

"Can't afford the dish."

"Got any cards?"

"Nah."

"Books?"

"My granddad had a few." He pointed to one of the shelves framing the fireplace.

I walked over and read the titles:
A History of WWII,
The
Bourne Identity, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Dream Catcher, Raise the Titanic!
Nothing worked for me, at least in my present mood.

"We could talk."

"Excellent idea."
I walked back to the couch. "Let's start with you telling me more about yourself."

He didn't seem to like my plan much. "I've told you everything there is to know."

"You didn't say why you were living with relatives."

"To save money while I built up a career for myself. Uncle
Greger
had extra beds. I borrowed one in exchange for helping him with stuff at home. His wife Marsha works all hours in real estate. He's got three sons, two of which are in college. The other one is in high school. Uncle
Greger
coaches football. My cousins all play. So to say they're consumed by the game doesn't begin to go there."

"I've known guys like that. So you're not into sports?"

"I like a lot of sports, just not the ones they obsess over."

I tried to guess his age. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Twenty.
You?"

"Nineteen."

"You'd be what, a sophomore at
MSU
if you went back?"

"Yes. Do you have any college hours?"

"One semester.
Wasn't for me.
All I've ever wanted to do was
sing
and play guitar, and I don't need a degree for that. I figured I'd give Branson a try, and if that didn't work out give college another chance."

"You could always major in music."

He shrugged that off. "I'm determined to make the performing thing work. And it has. I know I'm a lot more confident than when I started out. My voice has gotten better. My playing, too, and I'm managing to pay my bills."

"Will you sing something for me now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm great with crowds, but not so hot one-on-one."

"Hm. Tell me about Gilda."

"Won her at the county fair last year."

"She loves you."

"Only because I feed her."
Silence fell over us and lasted several long minutes. Erik finally faked a yawn and stood. "I think I'll clean up and hit the sack. It's been a long day. I'm beat."

"Which bed is yours?"

"The one on the left."

"Okay. Mind if I stay up for a while?"

"My cabin is your cabin. I'm going to throw some more logs on the fire, which I do every night. But I should warn you that the bedroom will still be chilly, so you should dress warm. Turn off the lights when you're through in here." He yawned again, a real one this time. His eyes watered, anyway. With a nod, he left me. Moments later, I heard the shower running in the bathroom.

I cleaned up the kitchen first thing, which took no time. After returning to the couch, I got the afghan off the back of it and covered my legs before snuggling into a sofa pillow. The fire burned golden-red, crackling and popping as it consumed the logs Erik had earlier thrown in the grate. I watched it for a good while, my thoughts on the werewolves I'd tried to track that evening. Oh, how I hoped I hadn't put Erik in any kind of danger.

I liked him.
As in a lot.
If we'd met in other circumstances, I'd have told him that, too. I wasn't as shy around guys as I'd been pre-kidnapping.  Guess my dealing with the pack could be credited for that, even if most of them were long-distance dealings via the phone or email. But things were different now.
I
was different now. Though Erik seemed fascinated by the
wolfy
side of me, I felt sure he didn't realize the full impact that my being a shifter could have on his peaceful life. And not just because of The Arm.

Being a shapeshifter was biologically confusing, and I had questions no one could answer. For starters, I wondered about the biting thing. What, exactly, had caused me to
become a shifter?
Yarbrough's saliva?
Or maybe he had venom instead of saliva. If so, wouldn't swapping spit produce the same results? Specifically, were my kisses now toxic?

Ew
.

Would wolf genes be passed along to any children I had? Just the thought made me shiver. I tried to picture myself as married and pregnant. If I shifted while expecting, would the embryo be a human inside a wolf body? Or would the kid shift, too, which would mean I'd be carrying a cub? And what if the baby didn't shift back when I did?

Double
ew
.

I suddenly hated Yarbrough with all my heart. He'd not only stolen eighteen months of my past, he'd screwed up my future, as well. A little nauseous, I got up and dug into my bag for the sweat pants and T-shirt I planned to sleep in. With them draped over my arm, I began turning off lights. When the cabin lay in total darkness, I felt my way to the bathroom, where I undressed and put on the shirt and sweats.  I left my socks on for warmth. After that, I brushed my teeth and finally combed out my messy hair.

When I finished, I turned off the bathroom light and felt my way along the short hallway to the Erik's chilly bedroom. There's no dark like the dark in the woods, and the fireplace in the living area a hall away certainly didn't help, which meant I couldn't see anything. If it hadn't been for the eerie luminescence of the snow outside his window, I'd never have found the bed on the right.

Already covered in goose bumps, I pulled back the blankets and hopped under them. Erik cursed; I squealed and rolled off the bed onto the cold, hard floor. "Ouch!"

"What the crap are you doing?"

I got to my feet, rubbing my tailbone that I was sure I'd just cracked. "What do you think?"

"This bed is taken."

"Clearly.
And I'm not sure why. It's on the right."

"Not from my point of view."

I gave up. We'd argued enough for one day. "Just so you know, from the door, it's on the right, okay?"

He didn't answer.

"Sorry. I'll just, um, get in this one." I quickly slid under the covers. The sheets felt so cold that I shivered for several minutes, but I knew they'd warm up eventually and waited for it to happen. "Night, Erik."