Page 18 of Hayden's Haven
Her shifter tasted like chocolate and raspberries and she knew from that very moment that she would never have enough of him. As she stepped forward and pressed her body against him, one hand smoothed down her back, stopping just above her ass while the other hand wove through her hair. He cupped her head, holding her steady as he sank into the kiss. His power, his desire, rolled through her until he pulled away suddenly and stared down at her, confusion spreading through his face.
She had misread him. She had projected her own needs,her desires, onto him. He hadn’t been prepared for the kiss, which was why he was pulling away. If he were into her, he wouldn’tneedto be prepared. He’d go with the flow, smile, kiss her back, do something to show he welcomed her advance. Instead, he just stood there, looking shocked, maybe even a bit horrified. She didn’t know Hayden very well, but clearly, she had misread him and his interest in her.
Mila cleared her throat and looked away. She had never been so bold and daring with a guy in her life, and now she understood why. Kissing a guy like that, premature and without invitation, made a girl vulnerable. She had had enough of being vulnerable in her life. She’d left that Mila behind, with her pack. And to top everything off, she’d have to deal with the embarrassment of her forwardness.
‘Socially awkward.’ That was her mom’s phrase, and it described Mila to a T. Just because she liked a guy, didn’t mean he’d like her back. The world didn’t work that way, and Hayden had tried to be gentle with her, warning her off. He had told her himself, without going into too many details, that he enjoyed the company of many women, whenever he wanted. Translation: he didn’t need an insecure woman like her.
Failing to read between the lines hadn’t been her problem. Ignoring them had. Back to that socially awkward quality of hers. Reading social cues and understanding shifters had never been a strength of hers. She had fallen for good looks and strength once before. It’s how she had gotten tangled up with Vance. Well, that and her mother pushing her toward him, telling her she’d never do better.
Mila smoothed out her blouse and her jeans without looking at Hayden and then walked toward Kate and Callen who had discreetly turned away. No one said a word as Hayden brushed past them, leading the way to the car. It was time to leave these wretched woods. One nightmare was ending, and a new one had already begun.
Chapter Four
HAYDEN
Five hours in the car, and Hayden and Mila had barely spoken a word, at least to one another. Mila talked to Kate. Kate talked to everyone, and Callen talked to him and Kate, with an occasional question for Mila about her pack and the virus.
Hayden listened intently to everything Mila said, about how she had been quick to recognize the virus before it had a chance to spread through her pack like wildfire. She had ordered everyone to remain in their own cabins, or any place isolated until it was clear who was sick and who wasn’t, and the patrols had posted quarantine signs around the pack, to keep uninfected shifters out. Her quick thinking had kept two-thirds of the pack from becoming sick. The shifters who had become sick hadn’t fared well without the cure. Most had died, and those who had survived had lost their ability to shift.
Aside from providing an overview of her pack’s situation, Mila remained quiet. Hayden looked in the rearview mirror occasionally, hoping to catch her looking at him. Wishful thinking. She had kissed him and then realized her mistake, and that was the end of it. The best twenty seconds of his life followed by the heart-wrenching realization that she wasn’t truly interested in him.
“Don’t look so nervous, Mila,” Kate said when they finally got out of the car. “Everyone will love you here.”
They were still a mile from camp, but they were home. Now Hayden could get back to his duties and stop thinking about Mila. Being so close in the car, having to breathe in her scent for hours and not being able to touch her had been taxing. His wolf had been clawing at him to run, to fight—to do anything to drive away the unfulfilled need to touch her.
Thankfully, as the group walked up the path to the center of camp, Callen walked at Hayden’s side in silence. That’s what he liked best about Callen. The shifter knew when to keep quiet, unlike Blade who would be ribbing him about whatever the hell was going on between Mila and him. This pack had been Hayden’s home for eight years, enough that he considered a small group of shifters family. Damien was like a brother to him. A frustrating brother at times, but a shifter Hayden could trust and count on, with his life. That was more than Hayden ever had with Drake. Since they were kids, at least.
“Feels good to be back,” Callen said, making small talk. Callen didn’t make small talk.
“Kate put you up to this, didn’t she?” Hayden replied.
“Just talking.”
“Then get to the point, whatever it is.” The women had raced ahead. Kate had said something about smelling cinnamon buns and being starved. Hayden wasn’t sure where he was planning to go. Whether to grab a hot shower or check in with Damien first. He damn well wasn’t going anywhere near the cookhouse.
Damien had moved the pack to their original site, the one they had abandoned a few months back when Drake had infected the pack with HEV, the Human Eradication Virus. Hayden had been away at the time, but coming back to an empty camp and no note had felt like he had been cast out from a pack a second time. He had tracked and found the pack and been warned off, lest he contract the virus that was deadly to the human population. Hayden had served as an intermediary between Damien and Liam at that point. Anna and Alex had eventually found a cure. Even though Hayden had been welcomed at Liam’s pack, he had never felt so lost as during that period.
Despite the many pack members who still didn’t trust or approve of him after all these years, this place, this pack was home now or the closest he’d ever have to one. Even so, he missed the home where he’d grown up, the ones in his memories—the good ones—of his parents and even Drake, before his life, his pack, spiraled out of control.
His family had been happy those first twelve years of his life, or as happy as one can be under the tyrannical rule of a crazy alpha. His grandfather Jacob was harsh, strict, but sane for the most part. It was when his uncle Logan took over after murdering Kate’s parents that everything had declined into madness. The next shifter on Logan’s hit list had been Hayden’s dad, but the nightmare hadn’t ended there. Logan had taken Drake to raise as his own. Hayden and Drake’s mother had been powerless to stop him; they all had. She ended up dead soon after—a message to any who dare interfere with Logan. Hayden hadn’t been strong or smart enough to save his mother or Drake. Logan did a number on Drake, twisting what had once been a sweet child. Drake grew up learning from Logan all too well. Logan’s tyranny continued after Drake took over as alpha, and Hayden. . .he’d been powerless to stop it.
Yeah, that was one hell of a history to spring on a potential mate. Any sane person would go running from him and his family. Mila already had. Not exactly screaming, but she had closed herself off to him.
“What’s bothering you?” Callen asked.
“Nothing.” Everything. “Tired, nothing more. Let’s report in to Damien. Get this over with so I can get some sleep.”
They turned into the main compound. The place was bustling with activity as usual.
“She’s cute,” Callen said. “Sweet girl too.”
“Mila’s hardly sweet to me.”
“I was talking about Abbie over there.”
Hayden looked up. Abbie was waving to him, trying to get his attention.
“Interesting how you thought I was talking about Mila though.”
