Page 9 of Twisted Howlidays

“I’ve noticed you too. You’ve been showing up on my trail cameras,” she said in a soft voice. “So, what’s your fee?”

“It’s negotiable.” He crossed his arms and grinned at her. God, that grin of his was cocky and sexy all at the same time, making her want to drop her panties right there on the floor.

“All right. I’ll play along. Will you take me up to find bears?” Kendra asked, feeling like she was falling for some trap he was setting up or something.

“I will. We can leave in the morning. The weather should be clear by then. Pack for a two-day trip. I promise, it’ll be worth it. I’ll pick you up at first light. Meanwhile, I need to be going.”

“So soon? You just got here.” Her wolf was even whining at the thought of him leaving.

“Yeah, I just wanted to drop by. See you in the morning, Tree Hugger.”

“Sure thing, Redneck.”

That night, after Kendra returned to the cottage, she couldn’t stop pacing.

Her wolf was front and center in her mind. “You felt that, didn’t you?”

“That? I don’t know what you think that was. But let me sum it up. Ryan is the hottest piece of ass this side of the equator. I’ve been so busy to realize that I haven’t even been on a date for at least seven months, and even longer since I’ve seen any fun. So, what we felt was undeniable lust. Trust me, the physical manifestations of how horny he made me are still lingering.”

“Uh, no. It was more than that! Don’t you understand? This could be it! He must be the one! He’s our mate! I’m sure of it.”

“The old love at first scent story is a complete and total myth.”

“You can’t deny it. You can’t deny me! You’ll realize it sooner or later.” Her wolf wandered to the back of her mind, finally allowing Kendra to get to sleep.

CHAPTER SIX

Ryan’s wolf was beside himself, pacing through his mind. “Are you crazy? Why did we leave our mate? You know she’s the one! The one we’ve been searching our whole lives for! We should have stayed and told her so. Actually, no. We should have marked and claimed her!”

“That is precisely why we had to leave,” Ryan said.

“You’re not making any sense. To finally find your mate and then leave? It goes against our very nature,” his wolf growled.

“First, she’s a city wolf, completely unaware of what was happening. You must have sensed her confusion.”

His wolf growled again. “I did. And I’m certain her wolf was figuring it out.”

“I think her wolf had some idea, but they were having an internal struggle, a huge one. The last thing I want to do is to scare her away right now. The other thing to remember, she is a guest of the Alpha. What did you expect to do? Knock all the food off the buffet table and claim Kendra right there in Daisy’s dining room?”

“Sure. It crossed my mind.” His wolf didn’t see why that would have been a colossal mistake.

“Yeah, that would’ve gone over great!”

“But now we have a bigger problem. You promised to take her out to find grizzly bears. You know damn well that all the bears are tucked away in their mountain dens for the winter.”

“Ha! I have a plan. Just wait and see.”

Ryan steered onto a gravel driveway, pulling up to a cabin nestled among the pines.

“Seriously? Gavin and Bailey? Do you plan to trick Kendra by getting bear shifters to take part in your whacky plan?”

“Hush! Let me handle this.”

Bailey opened the door and greeted him with a hug. “Ryan! It’s nice to see you. What brings you out here?”

“Um, a proposition. Is Gavin around?”

Bailey cocked her head, puzzled by Ryan’s answer. “Sure, he’s inside. Come on in.”

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