Page 19 of Cursed Wolf

I was envious that Tryn had a place he considered home. One that sounded that perfect for me. I almost asked if I could come for a visit, but that seemed an awfully presumptuous question for someone I just met.

“Do they need any veterinarians out there?” I asked with a smirk. When in doubt, bury your actual question under the veil of a joke.

“Maybe,” he mused. “You ever work on wild animals?”

“Yes!” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice. “I love working on wildlife. We actually just released a wolf who’d been injured. God, he was huge and just so beautiful. Bright golden eyes, luscious thick fur, and such a gorgeous coat pattern. I was sad to let him go, but it was what he needed.” I conveniently left out all the details about the wolf’s super fast healing, my hitting him with my car, or forging my boss’s signature to release him. Whether he was married or not, I didn’t want Tryn to think less of me.

“That’s so cool. You really like wolves, huh?” His voice was warm, if even affectionate.

“Yeah.” I gave him a dreamy smile. “They’re my absolute favorite animal, if I had to pick.”

Tryn looked pleased with that answer, a heart-stopping smile spreading slowly across his lips. “Mine too.”

“We have so much in common.” It meant to come out as a joke, but my heart beat a little faster when I said it.

I really enjoyed talking with Tryn, felt safe and comfortable with him, and we seemed to be kindred spirits in a way. My day could have turned out horribly, but he turned it all around just by being here.

He polished off the rest of his beer and set the empty on the far side of the bar. When Joey asked if he wanted another, he shook his head. Our night was coming to an end, and I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of sadness.

I put some cash on the bar as a tip for Joey while Tryn did the same, then excused myself to the ladies room. When I got back, Tryn was already standing as though he were about to leave.

“Hey listen, Emmaline.” He slid a folded napkin across the bartop toward me and my pulse skyrocketed. “I know you’ve had a rough day and have a lot going on in general. But I loved talking to you tonight, so that’s my number if you’d like to keep in touch.”

“Oh, sure! Thanks.” I took the napkin and slid it into my pocket, all the while yelling at myself to be cool and not weird. “I had fun talking to you too. And thank you again for helping me out earlier.”

“My pleasure.” His voice was low, almost sultry. “I’ll see you around, hopefully.”

“Yeah. Have a good night, Tryn.”

“You too.”

He said a final goodbye to Joey, then turned and left.

I stood there for a good minute, if not longer, wondering if any of that really happened. Only when the roaring of Tryn’s motorcycle faded in the distance did I pull out the napkin to look at his phone number.

My heart sank with crushing disappointment at what I saw.

He’d only written down six digits.

Chapter 7

Tryn

Ilifted my phone from the table and frowned at the screen. Just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, I went to the call records section. Nope, nothing. Voicemail was empty too. The same as it was five minutes ago.

Setting the phone down, I tried to let my surroundings distract me. After giving Emmaline my number, I was back in Vargmore, sitting in the Stout & Spirit tavern with my packmates.

As wolves, we were Howling Death, the ruling pack of the werewolf territory. In our human forms, we fancied ourselves a motorcycle club. Still Howling Death, just with an MC attached to the name.

Ruse, the alpha’s second and vice president, knocked his shoulder into mine. “Why the hell are you checking your phone so much?”

I shrugged, resisting the urge to check it again. “Just thought she’d call by now.”

It had been three days since I last saw Emmaline, four since she released me. Our fate thread constantly tugged at my chest, a tether always pulling and urging me to be near her. Once werewolves found their fated mates, it was a constant struggle to be away from them, as I was quickly finding out. No wonder my two mated packmates, Sawyer and Orson, had gone batshit when their females were in danger.

When can we go back? my wolf repeatedly asked me like a child. When can we see our mate again?

I had no answer for him, and that only made him antsier.

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