Page 10 of Wolf Duty

Sonya released Karim and took off her jacket. “This is bad,” she whispered.

Bay almost missed the words, because the thin robe she wore clung to generous breasts and flared over hips made for his hands to grab. He swallowed and tore his gaze from her body, focusing on the boy instead.

The little dude stood with arms crossed over his puny chest, watching Bay through narrowed eyes. “Why are you here?”

Bay had thought they’d become friends at the coffee shop, but obviously ogling his sister, mom, whatever she was, had changed that. “I brought you pie.” He held up the bakery carton.

That put a smile on Karim’s face. He reached out, but before his hands could grab it, Sonya took the white parcel. “It’s way too late to eat sugar.” She frowned at Bay as if this was something he should know. “You’re off to bed again, Karim. We have lessons in the morning.”

The boy groaned loudly but headed up the stairs.

Sonya returned the carton to Bay. “I’ll be right back.”

Bay enjoyed the view of the robe’s silky material gliding across her ass as she followed Karim up the steps. When she’d reached the top, he slipped off his shoes. He flipped the lock on the front door and then walked down a narrow hallway that ended with what he assumed was a back door to the garden he’d scoped out at the back of the house. He locked that as well before retracing his steps and checking out the rooms the hallway led to.

A small but cozy living room held a comfortable sofa flanked by matching armchairs. A big-screen TV hung on the wall above a wood fireplace. Across from that, he found a kitchen, where he put the pie in the refrigerator. The shelves were filled with fresh vegetables and meat, plus two gallons of milk. The appliances appeared dated, and the cabinets could do with a fresh coat of paint, but they, and the counters and round table standing in the middle of the small space, were so clean they shone.

What was it like to grow up in a place like this? Bay’s childhood home had been dirty unless he cleaned it, and the refrigerator contained more alcohol than food. He couldn’t remember his mom. A drunk driver killed her before his first birthday. Which made it even more ironic that his dad drowned his grief in booze.

At the sound of Sonya returning from upstairs, he turned to face the kitchen entry. She’d changed into a long-sleeved T-shirt and yoga pants. Even more disappointing, she’d put on a bra.

“Can I get you anything? Tea?” Her eyes darted from his face to the cabinet and back again. She fiddled with her hair and brushed it behind her ears.

“No, thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, and the silence stretched into uncomfortable territory. “I put the pie in the fridge,” he said at the same time as she asked, “Sit?”

She watched him for a beat, then said, “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

He pulled out a chair and sat. “It’s brambleberry,” he blurted out. “I went to the bakery.” When he’d finally found Dale’s house, despite the town not believing in house numbers. He’d scouted the place and smelt the dominant wolf’s scent, but the asshole wasn’t home. After, he’d driven around aimlessly. Thebakery sign had given him the idea of how to initiate contact with the boy again.

She blinked a few times. “That’s very nice of you. It’s Karim’s favorite.”

He couldn’t meet her eyes. He’d gotten the pie to manipulate both her and the boy. That shouldn’t be a problem for him, but somehow it mattered. He cleared his throat. “What’s going on with the pack alpha? Why is he threatening you?” A quiet growl from his wolf rumbled inside him.

Sonya’s eyes widened. “What is that?” She rubbed her chest. “I don’t hear it, but it’s like I feel a sound.”

Oh, fuck.He was so screwed.“Um. It’s a shifter thing.”

Her eyes welled up. “That’s the cause of all my problems,” she said. “That I don’t understand shifter things.”

“Please don’t cry.” Had he blurted that out loud? Her mouth formed an O, and she blinked rapidly. So he must have. He took her hand, and a spark of awareness sizzled through his body. He snatched his hand back and wiped the palm on his jeans. It could be a pure coincidence. Maybe some leftover pack magic ripples wreaking havoc on his senses.

“You felt that, didn’t you?” she whispered, her eyes even larger.

Since he didn’t want to think about what that weird electricity meant, avoidance seemed the best action. “Tell me about your problems with shifter things.”

A frown marred her pretty face, but then she nodded. “It’s a long story, and I have a lot of questions.”

“I’ll answer as many of them as I can.”

The smile she gave him stabbed him deep in the heart. He rubbed his chest while his wolf purred again.

Fuck.

He was beyond screwed.

CHAPTER 7

Bleak winter sunshine bathed her bedroom in shades of blue the next morning. Sonya shuddered as she put her bare feet on the cold floor. She searched for the thick socks she’d worn when she went to bed and must have pulled off in her sleep. Slipping them back on, she yawned big.

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