Page 13 of Cowboy Wolf Christmas

“That’s not true,” she said. “They’ve already accepted you. You’ve already sworn fealty to the pack.” She’d seen the ceremony with her own two eyes, witnessed it.

“Only for them to throw me in the cells a few days later because they suspected I was out to kill your leader.” Silas snarled. “Tell me they would have done that to atruepackmember.”

Now that he pointed out, she could see the nuance there, even if she struggled to grasp it, understand. But what he failed to notice is that the pack had allowed him to become one of them in the first place. They wouldn’t have done that if they hadn’t meant it. Would they?

“You can’t blame them for making a mistake,” she said.

Slowly, he lifted a hand, hesitated, until she nodded her approval. Gently, he brushed it over her cheek. “They blame me. For all their troubles. You’ve seen it. You said it was unfair.”

She had, yet . . .

“I didn’t mean you shouldn’t forgive them.” Her hands were jittering at her side, dangerously close to flapping now. Maybe she should let them to calm herself, but she didn’t want him to see it. She didn’t want him thinking she was strange. Not him. Not just yet.

“How can you expect to be one of us when you keep pushing everyone away?” she snapped. The words were out before she could draw them back in. Blunt and brutally honest.

Silas snarled. Dropped his hand. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“That,” she said, pointing at him. The harshness in his face. “That’swhat I mean. When you dothat. You can’t expect anyone to like you, to want to be near you when you’re snarling at them all the time. It makes people think you’re grumpy and mean, and you’re not. Not really,” she breathed.

Silas froze. Even in the dark, his whole body seemed to stiffen, recoil. “And how would you know that?” The words dripped with venom. Pain.

“I just . . . do okay?” She couldn’t explain it. “I’ve seen it in you from the start.” She shrugged, fighting to keep her hands at her side. “You try to push people away, but it’s only because you’re scared, hurt. Like a wounded animal.” She shrugged. “My mom always said I was a good judge of character,” she said, repeating the words. Masking. Mimicking.

In an attempt to cope.

“Bully for you.” Silas snarled, stepping away from her.

Bully for—?

Cheyenne watched him prowl through the cabin’s darkness. “What does that even mean?”

“You tell me.”

She lost it then. All sense of control. “You’re not making any sense,” she keened. She couldn’t keep her hands at her side any longer. “I’m ready to go home now. Let’s get the part and go.” She made to move toward the door.

But Silas turned toward her, backlit by the moonlight from where he’d glanced out the window. A gruff curse came from his lips. “We can’t.”

“Why not?” she nearly whimpered, rocking. Forget the part. They could do without it. But shehadto be back home to Wolf Pack Run in time. Shehadto be. Or else she’d miss out on her last Christmas with the pack. Break her routine. Her plans.

The thought alone made her hands start to shake even harder.

“We’re here for the night,” Silas said, as if it’d already been decided.

The finality of those words shook her.

“The vampires are going to be lurking about that long?” She felt herself starting to hyperventilate.

“No, but even if they were, we can’t leave.” Silas’ words were a thinly veiled growl.

“Why not?” They were half words, half shriek. She was full on stimming now. Unable to stop herself. But in the darkness, Silas seemed unaware.

“Because,” he snarled, trying the door and cursing again. “We’re snowed in for fuck’s sake.”

5

Only in Montana could snow plummet to the ground that goddamn fast. It’d been coming down like there was no tomorrow when they were running, so thick he could hardly see. It’d already been starting to pile up then. But instinct and memory had fueled him, driving him to the one place he’d known how to get to even with his eyes closed. All to keep them safe.

Even if it tore him to shreds.

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