Page 47 of The Wolf in My Tavern

My wolf stands alert, his ears forward and tail high and proud.

“Ada.”

She jumps before her eyes lock with mine. “Gray?”

I rise and move silently toward her like I am subject to a spell. Somehow I find the presence of mind to keep my movement slow and measured, trying to read her body language and scent lest I traumatize her or spook her.

“Aye, it is Gray.”

I hear her swallow, and she glances over her shoulder as if considering running back up the stairs.

Don’t run, little one, I silently encourage, lest you tempt my wolf to chase.

Chapter Eighteen

Ada

Idon’t know what brought me downstairs. A strange sense of urgency is the best I can determine. I told myself I wanted a drink of water, for in the chaos as I was taken to my room, I didn’t think to bring one.

Yet there was more to it than that, a compulsion that forced me to rise from my restless attempt at sleep.

As I stare across the darkened room, seeing the glow of bright blue eyes, I realize his presence was calling to me.

There is a wolf in my tavern, and he goes by the name of Master Gray.

He steps out of the shadows, reminding me again of his immense size and the otherworldly power that lives within him.

I begin to shake as I recall the recent violence playing out here, the blood splattering, and the bodies on the floor.

Maybe I ought to be more frightened of this man with an inner wolf. Yet I have seen real monsters, and Gray is not one of them. It makes a twisted kind of sense that I would trust a shifter who has killed for me more than my own father.

He steps closer until, finally, a sense of danger prevails, and I back up until I find myself against the wall near the foot of the stairs.

His gaze lowers to my lips, and his nostrils flare.

Gods, he is so huge.

“I’m going to marry Callum,” I blurt out. Maybe I am reminding myself, as much as telling him.

A low growl rumbles in his chest. “Do not mention that whelp.” He lowers his head, getting his nose close to the crook of my neck until his skin touches mine.

I shiver as he draws the tip of his nose the length of my throat. It is snowing outside and cool within the tavern now that the fire has burned down, but that is not the reason why goosebumps spring across my flesh.

“I want to see your wolf,” I say as curiosity wins over nerves.

He growls again. “You don’t know what you ask for, lass,” he says.

“I want to see him. Please.”

My demand is perhaps reckless. But I will soon be wed, Gray will move on, and I might never get to see his wolf. The thought makes me so sad.

“You know he has imprinted upon you,” he says, his voice a low warning.

“I don’t know what that means.” I swallow as the lie rolls off my tongue. I want him to tell me in his own words.

His palms rest against the wall on either side of my head, making a cage for me. Caution dictates I should flee, slip under his arm, run back upstairs to my room, and bolt the door.

I tell myself he is too close, and that I couldn’t get away now, even if I tried. He would stop me if he chose to. Running might even bring out the predator in him.

---