Page 9 of Her Shifter Pack

Shit. Get it together, idiot.

“Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Let’s go.” I turned the ignition on, planted my foot on the gas, then drove home.

I didn’t speak most of the way. Instead, I spent most of the drive struggling to force my wolf back inside my tightly guarded control.

We pulled up outside the two-story house my brother and I had bought ten years ago. Ollie was standing on the front porch, reaching for the spare key above the door frame.

“Hey,” he called out. “Sorry about before. I was being a dick.”

I snorted. “Nothing new there.” I hauled myself out of the truck, looking forward to his reaction. I stared at Ollie’s face as his lips turned from a smirk into a gasp. His gaze focused on the woman behind me.

I tried to play it cool, though Ollie was not relaxed in the slightest. “Lexi, here, needs a place to stay for the night,” I said. “I offered her Kaity’s room.”

Ollie’s gaze bounced from me to Lexi, and back again. “You... What.... How?”

I shook my head. “We’ll catch you up inside. Let’s get out of the cold.”

I jogged up the steps, unlocked the front door and walked inside.

Inside was marginally warmer than outside, but not by much. Normally, that suited Ollie and me just fine. As wolf shifters, we ran hot. At least three degrees warmer than a human.

Lexie was going to freeze.

I went straight to the thermostat and cranked it up, taking off my jacket, which was mostly for show anyway. The best way to spot a wolf shifter in town was in the middle of winter, when we were all strolling around in t-shirts with not a care in the world about the icy weather around us.

The furnace fired into gear, groaning at the strain.

“Come in, come in,” I heard Ollie call jovially from the front door.

There was a note of excitement in his tone, and once again that hot shot of jealousy had my gut churning. I needed to calm down and get a grip on this situation.

I walked toward the kitchen and turned back to call out, “You want a hot drink? Or a beer?”

Lexie stepped into the lounge room, the sweet smell of her filling my senses and making my knees weak. I grabbed for the door frame with one hand and locked my knees so I didn’t stumble.

Get it together.

“A hot drink would be lovely,” she said, her eyes wide as she stared around the room then back to me. “Hot chocolate? Peppermint tea? Anything really, just no caffeine. I’m already wired from too much coffee today.”

She smiled and if I hadn’t known it already, that was a sure sign I was in trouble. The way her eyes lit up and her lips curved... I’d never seen anyone so beautiful. My heart stuttered, taking my breath for a moment.

“Be back soon,” I mumbled as I tore away from the door frame and forced myself into the kitchen.

I was an idiot. What on earth had possessed me to bring her back here? I shook my head as I walked over to the fridge for the milk, mumbling. “You dumb mother—”

“Hey, Markus, are you okay?”

Her voice was just so damn sweet. She had no right to sound that good.

“Yeah. No problem,” I said, not turning around to face her, but instead opening the fridge and perusing the contents with thoroughness—as if I didn’t know exactly what was inside.

“You seem on edge. If you want me to leave, I can.”

I pressed my knuckles to my forehead, not sure which way to turn. Anxiety ate at me like a disease, making me want to run, hide, and fight, all at once.

“I’ve just got a bit of a headache. Nothing some sleep won’t fix.”

She quietened, so I went about making her a hot chocolate, our sister’s favorite also, and opened a beer for myself.

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