Page 76 of To Challenge a Wolf

Vivian snorted a laugh, and he all but jumped out of the chair. Hypervigilance? Probably another result of insomnia. Or maybe of the memories that had started this whole cycle. “Just tell me if it would work. And don’t even think about lying.”

Blaine bowed his head a moment. He latched one hand onto the back of his neck, where his wavy hair made a cowlick. Slowly he nodded. “I think it would.”

“It’s settled then. I’ve got my carry-on; you don’t even have to loan me a toothbrush.”

Blaine looked up at last, and his eyes were still dull compared to their usual glint, but now they held hope. “Viv, I can’t thank you enough.”

“Ditto. I’m done holding myself responsible to the universe every time I lose a close parking spot.”

He gave a quiet laugh. “It’s about time.”

Twenty

Rhett was perfectly fine. Probably shouldn’t be, given how much he’d grown to enjoy her company in the last week. Probably should be devastated or something, but he wasn’t, which was proof of everything about him she didn’t want to accept. He slept soundly, got up at six the next morning, and worked on his conditioning—first weights, then a long run.

Working out wasn’t strictly necessary for a wolf. Their bodies built muscle due to some sort of hyper-conversion of energy to muscle mass that scientists didn’t fully understand, partially (if you believed Arlo) because humans didn’t bother funding wolf research, and wolves were too small a minority to get it done themselves. Rhett lifted weights and ran all over his property for the love of pushing his body, feeling his body. He didn’t realize until halfway through today’s run that he was following the path he’d hiked with her.

With Vivian. There. No reason he couldn’t say her name in his head.

About twenty strides later, his chest began to burn. He slowed his pace and only felt worse. He braced one hand against abirch tree, the peeling bark chafing his palm. Sweat began at his temples and soon streamed down his face. He was on fire again. The third time. Well, maybe it would be some kind of charm.

Thanks to the stubbornness she teased him about, he finished his run. By then his heart was a live ember in his chest, and he could hardly endure the heat pouring off his skin. He kept his stride strong down the incline of the foothills he owned and loved. On principle. Whatever this was, he would not give it an inch of control over him.

The scent of visitors at his cabin ripped a growl from his throat. Trevor’s sea salt and pineapple blend. Kelsey’s pure orchid essence. They hadn’t given him even one day before staging some kind of intervention, as if his love life were any of their business. It fit their personalities, but…they weren’t the only ones waiting for him. Two other signature scents—gingery musk and sweet citrus. Malachi and April. All four of them smelled stressed to varying degrees. Why…?

Wait. Trevor and Kelsey had housed her. And Malachi would come as alpha, and April might come too if his business were official. Or if she thought Rhett might accept her support.

He began to run full-out. His wolf voice tore from his throat in a roar. In seconds he reached them. The four stared. Kelsey’s scent spiked with intensifying worry.

He kept roaring, words this time. “What’s happened to her?” Malachi approached, and Rhett rushed him, grabbed hold of the alpha’s shirt in both fists and heard it rip. “What’s happened to my mate?”

The alpha gripped Rhett’s shoulders. “Nothing, Rhett. She’s fine.”

“My Vivian,” he roared. He couldn’t open his fists, couldn’t stop his voice from pouring out of him like blood from a wound. “You tell me what’s happened to my Vivian!”

Malachi’s steel grip tightened. “Rhett, we’re here because you’ve been worrying us. You, not Vivian.”

“Mine,” Rhett snarled.

“Finally,” Trevor said.

Rhett tried to escape the alpha’s hold, but Malachi didn’t let him move. “Are you hearing me, Rhett? Vivian is fine.”

He was losing his words, losing every thought but one.My mate!

“Can you tell me what’s happening?” the alpha said.

The calm tone sank into Rhett’s feverish brain. He held onto the question and tried to answer it, but when he opened his mouth— “My mate.”

“Yes, she is,” Malachi said. “Any idea if that’s why your body temperature is spiking?”

Another thought surfaced. “Let me go.”

“Not yet.”

“Please, Malachi, it’s—confinement, I can’t right now.”

Slowly Malachi’s hold on him loosened. Rhett backed away.Run!No. Stay. Trevor and Malachi would chase him down anyway. And he was so hot. He ignored all four of them, forced a measured pace up onto the porch. He perched on the edge of an Adirondack chair, ready to leap up if he needed to. His body seemed to vibrate with the words that still filled his brain.My mate!He was so, so hot.

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