Page 16 of Promise & Artem

Artem’s beast was huffing impatiently as he walked around the campground toward a group of cabins. He didn’t think there were any renters in the cabins, but he did remember hearing from his parents that Ally had said a she-wolf from a pack in Kentucky was coming to hang out for a couple of weeks. She was on some kind of search, but he couldn’t recall what the search was for.

And he wasn’t sure why she popped into his head. At the time, he remembered thinking there wasn’t anything in Little Hope that would draw someone from out of state, unless they really liked hiking in the mountains.

His beast grew more anxious as the cabins came into view.

He inhaled and picked up a sweet, honey scent in the air and he paused, letting his beast out enough to locate the scent.

With a growl, he moved forward, letting his beast lead him to one of the one-room cabins. As he neared the small cabin, the front door opened, and a gorgeous brunette stepped out. She wore shorts that hugged her curves and a tank top with a daring dip in the front that gave him a tantalizing peek at her cleavage.

She pulled the door shut and then froze, her hand tightening on the knob.

Letting go of the knob, she faced him fully, her gaze clashing instantly with his.

His beast bellowed happily in his head and a happy snort sounded entirely too loud in the quiet as it escaped his nostrils.

Her brows drew down and even from the distance that separated them, he could see her eyes turn amber.

The visiting she-wolf.

She was his mate.

His one true mate, the other half of his heart, and the only one who could save him from his fate.

Moving forward to close the distance between them, he opened his mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a grunt.

She leaned forward, planting her hands on a short railing in front of the porch.

Her eyes widened as he came within a few feet of her before he stopped.

Finally feeling like he could speak, he said, “I’m Artem.”

“Promise.”

“Promise what?”

“My name is Promise.”

“I like it.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve had it my whole life. It was a gift from my parents.”

He realized she was teasing him and some of the tension eased from his body. She had a great laugh and sounded just like the female in his dream. He wanted to hear it all the time.

She stared at him for a long, quiet moment, and then said, “You’re Isolde’s brother. The minotaur.”

“Yes. And you’re the she-wolf who came here to look for something.”

“Well, not exactly.”

She stepped off the porch and stood in front of him. She was shorter than him by a foot, all petite and curved in just the right places. His hands actually ached for want of touching her.

She stared up at him and bit her bottom lip for a moment. “I came here looking for you.”

He frowned. “Me?”

“I came here to start my search for my truemate. I knew he wasn’t in my pack. I’m a healing wolf, and so are my mom and sister, so I thought I’d go out on my own and look for my mate. I hoped when I found him, that his people would want a healer around to help out. Because that’s what I really want to do.”

“Help people.”

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