Page 10 of The Alpha's Arrangement
Carter snaps his finger and the wolf moves. I jump back, but Carter pulls on my hand. I steady my body as the wolf crawls on its belly, inside the door, into my home, and stops at my feet.
The urge to run hits me hard. My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest at any moment.
Carter kneels next to the wolf, who doesn’t move again. He lifts his hand and begins to pet the wolf. I almost jump out of my skin, telling him, “No, don’t!” but I keep my body still, just in case the wolf decides to attack.
The wolf gives out a low whine, but I don’t think it’s in pain.
“Kneel down here and give him a rub.”
“Carter, this has to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Ever.”
Carter smiles, one I haven’t seen before, and I wish I could tell what it means. “Come on, Izzy.”
Thinking and thinking, and thinking some more, I slowly kneel on the floor.
“Go ahead,” he encourages.
My hand shakes as I reach out. The wolf doesn’t make a movement, which doesn’t help the thump inside of me. Its hair is soft, unbelievably soft. A low rumble comes from the animal, but it doesn’t move, so neither does my hand. Over and over, I stroke him, keeping away from his face.
“Wow,” I whisper in amazement. “Are all of them like this?”
“No.”
This makes me pause. “What?”
“Not all wolves are like this one. Some aren’t meant to be in Spear, but those won’t come to your door.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do.” Carter rises, and the wolf’s attention goes to him, his snout rising.
I pull my hand back.
“Time to go,” he says and, like magic, the wolf doesn’t stand. Instead, he scoots back the same way he came in.
Carter closes the door and locks it.
“What about the black one?” I ask out of curiosity.
Carter stares me square in the eye. “Never worry about him. He’ll never hurt you.”
I’m not sure what to think. How can Carter be so certain? He’s confident in a way I can’t describe. It’s like every word he says is law and he knows it. Can he really make it so? Some part of me, deep in my belly, believes he can.
It makes me feel crazy.
GETTING a glass of water in the middle of the night isn’t my normal, but when a hunk of a man wearing nothing but pajama bottoms is two doors down from me, it’s hard to sleep. He kissed me so deeply before he went to the guest room that I was pretty sure I’d pass out, just from the touch. Then I laid there, tossing and turning, aroused beyond belief. I could have relieved the ache, but Carter might have heard.
Scratching comes to the glass door, and I jolt, turning to see the black wolf from the night before. He’s down on his belly, just like the light brown one was earlier. Carter’s words ring in my ears. Never worry about him. He’ll never hurt you. Do I trust it?
The wolf gives a low whine, and just like before, my body reacts with anxiousness.
Ever so slowly, I move to the door and unlock it. With trembling fingers, I then slide the door open, taking a huge step back.
The wolf slowly crawls to me, head down. Once it gets to my feet, it stops.
Letting out a huge breath, I kneel next to him, lift my hand, and move it toward his body. Slipping my fingers into his fur, I feel that it’s softer than the brown wolf’s.
The black wolf lets out a few whimpering sounds that almost sound like comforting ones.
