Page 13 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

Lance smiled to himself and continued to rub his face against Ronan’s. The relationship was moving along nicely; now, all he needed to do was get Jordan Randall out of the way.

Lance informed him that Molly was in the bedroom to his left and across the hall, and, surprise, surprise, Aaron was in the adjoining room. He made a mental note to go into Molly’s room late tonight and lock the adjoining door. Aaron could still enter from the hall, but he would be heard.

Dinner was an experience with the large table in the dining room able to accommodate twelve. Ronan found that every chair had an occupant. He asked if they all lived there, and Lance informed him that they did, and so did several others that were not present for dinner. He asked how many totals lived at the manor and was told the number was not static, and often people moved in and out. This was a place for members who had nowhere else or were in flux in their relationships.

Everyone seemed to accept and be excited for Lance when he continually introduced him as his mate. Ronan understood that the mate meant boyfriend or partner or something similar as Lance had referred to him as a soul mate, but Ronan wasn’t sure how that was all going to play out when he and Molly went on their way.

They had no plans on staying in Lonepine, and Henry was expecting them. He decided to discuss the matter with Lance later and see how it was received. All he needed in his life was one more stalker, although Lance was . . . different. He couldn’t put Lance in the same category as Jordan. Lance was sincere for the most part, and he actually appeared to care. What was even stranger was that Ronan cared about him. Lance made him want things, intimate things, and being near him was pleasant and easy and . . . wow, he was falling for Lance, and he knew it.

It was after ten when he excused himself to go to his room with the intention of checking on Molly before he turned in for the night. Ronan sat at the desk by the window and took out his laptop. Lance had given him the password to their WiFi and also the numbers to the electronic lock on the front and back doors. He acted like he expected him to be staying a long time and not just one night. That thought comforted and scared Ronan simultaneously.

Ronan was checking the local news back in Michigan, but gladly they had been taken off the pages, and other more important news had taken their place, thank God. Their story was minor, and little real explanation had been given regarding the alleged break-in and theft, so the public would move on rather quickly. That didn’t mean that Jordan would move on . . . ever. He wanted what he wanted, and nothing was going to stop him, apparently.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement in the backyard. The yard lights only covered a few yards beyond the back porch, so the tree line was in darkness, but Ronan was certain he could see something. He opened the window and leaned out but saw nothing. He listened closely and could just make out what sounded like a howl, but that could be the local wildlife.

They were in the wilderness, so howling was probably expected. He was just about to pull his head back in and close the window when he saw something come out of the woods and walk toward the porch. It looked like a dog, a large dog no . . . it was a man on his hands and knees no . . .it was a man walking . . . naked. Oh, shit, he muttered, confused and a little disoriented. Ronan rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked again, but the yard was empty, no man, no dog, and unfortunately, no naked man. He anxiously searched the yard again, even leaning out of the window so far as to nearly fall out but still nothing.

Ronan stepped back and closed the window. Tenseness came over him, which indicated something was amiss; he knew it but couldn’t explain what it was. The atmosphere had changed; there was a charge in the air that wasn’t there before. The energy was buzzing, and he could feel it. Carefully he moved towards his bedroom door, interested in checking the hallway for clues to what was going on. The door gave a slight creak as he gradually swung it open and peered out. Nothing, the hall was vacant of everything, including sound.

…

Lance ducked quickly out of sight and onto the porch when he noticed Ronan watching from his window. He wasn’t sure how much he’d seen but was certain that he’d probably seen enough. Lance had planned on introducing the fact that he and the others were a wolf pack. He wanted to do it slowly in small increments so his little human mate would hopefully not freak out in the way humans tended to do when confronted with the paranormal.

That option seemed to be out of the question now. Ronan was very astute, and Lance was certain the questions and accusations would be coming in full force. Aaron met him on the porch as Lance was putting on his jeans.

“Ronan saw you.” He informed.

“Yes, I know.”

“Are you going to speak to him about it?” Aaron eyed him seriously. “If you are, I need to prepare Molly for the same information.” Lance considered the question for some time without responding. Finally, Aaron spoke again while studying his friend closely for clues as to their next move. “He may not have understood what he saw.”

Lance nodded. “I’ll wait to see what he asks before I share all. If I feel that a complete explanation is necessary, I will let you know first so as to include Molly. I just would like to wait until he is more comfortable here with me and with us before laying all of this on him.”

“Speaking of things to deal with, what do you plan to do about Jordan Randall and his obsession with Ronan?”

“I have a plan,” Lance said as he stood and entered the main hall through the back entrance with Aaron close on his heels.

“Does it involve tracking him down and killing him because if it does, I am completely on board?” Aaron was sarcastic but true to his word. Given a chance, he would gleefully put an end to Jordan Randall for all the pain and upset the man has caused his mate.

“He’ll track down Ronan and Molly, and then we’ll handle him.” The feral grin was one that Aaron rarely saw on his Alpha. It had a chilling effect that reached the bone.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ronan moved into the hallway and walked silently to his sister’s door. He knocked but received no answer, so he opened the door a crack and was able to see Molly asleep on her bed from the light coming in from the hall. He moved quickly but quietly across the room and locked the door that adjoined her room to Aaron’s. It did not sit well with him that the mechanic who seemed to have an unnatural attraction to his sister should have such easy access to her.

Aaron seemed on the up and up, but so did Jordan, so Ronan decided to err on the side of caution. He moved away from the bed after checking on Molly, who seemed to be sleeping off some rather powerful pain killers, and headed for the door.

He again checked the hallway before exiting and walked quietly back across to his own room. He nearly hit the ceiling when he turned after closing and locking his door and saw Lance lounging on his window seat. His legs stretched out in front of him, his back resting against the window, casing his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes boring holes through him.

Ronan stiffened and stepped back towards the door. The image of Lance sitting there regarding him with such an intense stare was a little scary but also exciting. Lance stood and walked slowly and seductively toward Ronan without saying a word. In a way, Ronan felt like he was being stalked like prey and easily captured because he could not make his legs move.

He stood there frozen in place, watching the grace with which Lance approached him. Ronan noticed that Lance’s feet were bare, and he was wearing only jeans with the top button undone as if he had hurriedly put them on just recently. He suddenly recalled the man . . . wolf he’d seen outside of his window a few minutes ago, and the similarity hit him. He locked gazes with Lance as the man continued to move into his personal space, causing Ronan to press his back against the bedroom door. He realized too late that he had just trapped himself in the room.

Lance leaned forward and, closing his eyes, breathed deeply, pressing his face into the apex between Ronan’s neck and shoulder. The intimate gesture raised goosebumps over Ronan’s body and caused a sensual shudder to cascade from his head down through his body and end with the curling of his toes.

Lance let his eyes travel over and over Ronan’s face, mapping every expression, every line, and finally came to rest on his plump, red lips. He moved, pressing Ronan against the door to capture the warmth and completion they possessed. All through dinner, all he could think about was the taste of Ronan and looked forward to their next encounter.

Ronan remained still and silent, watching the way Lance took him in and consumed everything about him. Breathless, he waited as Lance pressed his body against him and took Ronan’s lips in a soft caress. Ronan closed his eyes and just melted into the feeling of his body against Lance’s and the obvious arousal straining against him. Lance was everything he ever dreamed of in a lover.

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