Page 17 of Posing for the Artist Wolf

The tension eased in my shoulders. Shauna and Phillip exchanged relieved looks. Even Maddy seemed pleased with the outcome.

Rafe locked eyes on mine, leaving no room for argument. “No more surprises, understood?”

I nodded, the lie bitter on my tongue. Claire’s face flashed in my mind—her wide, frightened eyes as she’d stared at my wolf form.

The way her lips had felt against mine, soft and eager.

My wolf howled, desperate to claim what was ours.

I’d already fucked up so much. I couldn’t drag her into this mess, couldn’t risk putting her in danger.

But as everyone settled in to discuss sleeping arrangements and dinner plans, all I could think about was running back through the woods. Back to Claire. Back to the intoxicating scent of cinnamon and blackberries and shoulders that didn’t tense as soon as I walked into the room.

I couldn’t keep my fists to myself. I couldn’t keep my wolf locked in my skin. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but something would go wrong. I would do something wrong, and Claire would pay.

I’d stay away. I had to.

But even as I thought it, I knew it was a lie.

CHAPTER SIX

KAI

Icouldn’t stop my leg from bouncing under the table. The bell above the diner door chimed for the hundredth time, and my head snapped up. Not her. Again.

“Kai, you’re making me seasick,” Maddy grumbled, nudging my knee with hers.

I forced my leg still, but my fingers found a napkin to shred instead. The pack’s chatter faded into white noise as I stared at the door, willing it to open.

Two days. Two fucking days since I’d seen Claire, smelled her intoxicating scent of cinnamon and blackberries. My wolf paced restlessly night and day and every second in between, demanding we find our mate.

I needed to see her. I needed to talk to her. Fuck it. I needed to devour her from the lips down.

Rafe cut a glare at me from across the table. Right. No surprises.

Obsessing over the new human in town and spreading our secrets without a care would surely fall under his definition of ‘surprise.’

The bell chimed again. This time, my wolf went still.

Claire.

She stepped inside, snowflakes dusting her silver and purple hair. Her eyes scanned the diner, widening when they landed on our group. On me. The dark gray I’d come to crave hardened into steel.

My wolf whined as she deliberately turned away, settling at the counter instead of her usual booth. “Earl Grey and a breakfast sandwich to go, please,” she told Marge.

I half-rose from my seat before Maddy’s squint of confusion stopped me.

But I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Every movement Claire made was seared into my memory. The way she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. How her fingers drummed an impatient rhythm on the counter. The slight hunch of her shoulders as she tried to make herself smaller.

I’d done that. Put that wariness there.

My sketchbook was full of her. Page after page of Claire laughing, Claire biting her lip in concentration, Claire’s eyes sparking with desire. Memories I’d captured in charcoal, trying to sate the hunger that gnawed at me.

It wasn’t enough. I needed her. All of her.

“Order up,” Marge called. Claire grabbed the paper bag, tossing bills on the counter.

“Shit,” I muttered, shoving away from the table. “I have to—I’ll be right back.”

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