Page 18 of The Reluctant Wolf and His Fated Mate
Sophie opened the door to show Tara. “Well?”
Tara scanned her from head to toe. “The dress looks super hot. But with those boots?” She shook her head. “You need something with heels. You have a hot date tonight.” She gestured with her hands. “So you need to look hot.”
Tara was right. The boots with the fluffy tops were cute and functional, but not sexy. “After skiing, my legs might not be up for sexy boots, but we’ll see.”
At their next stop, she picked up a pair of boots with a wedged heel that was both comfortable and Tara approved.
“Better,” Tara noted. “Every guy in this place is going to be drooling over you tonight.”
Sophie didn’t care about that. She only wanted to impress one guy in particular.
She pictured Damon’s amber eyes. They were so intense and penetrating. She remembered their first encounter at the club and a ripple of excitement shot through her. Anything could happen tonight.
Chapter 6
Damon
Shame weighed Damon’s booted steps through the snow as he responded to Rafe’s call for a pack meeting. No doubt it concerned Damon’s transgression.
Snow had begun to fall during his walk down the mountain. Fresh snowfall was always celebrated by the pack as it meant for good ski conditions, but Damon felt little reason for joy. He arrived at the octagonal lodge where they managed resort operations business and handled pack matters. The meeting space had benches arranged in the same octagonal design as the room. Rafe prowled through the space while the pack’s beta, Grayson, stood at parade rest.
Within a few more minutes, over a dozen members had arrived, most of whom served in some capacity in running operations of the resort as well. Valen, an enforcer who Damon often shared ski patrol shifts with, nodded in welcome.
Despite that, Damon felt the eyes of the pack on him. Had they all heard of the incident? Or was he just imagining their scrutiny?
Rafe stopping pacing and faced the pack. “We’ve had an incident with the Sacco pack. I want you to be on higher alert.”
“What happened?” Sebastian, one of the pack’s healers asked.
Rafe exchanged a glance with Damon, a silent question asking how much he wanted to reveal.
Damon nodded and stepped up. It was his fault, and he had to own up to it. “While on patrol, I tracked a woman who had gone off trail. I feared she might be in trouble.” He snarled. “My wolf thinks she’s our mate.”
“Congratulations,” Victoria, a red-haired shifter in her twenties, said. She stole a glance at Grayson, never hiding her feelings towards him. She wanted to be his mate, but he hadn’t reciprocated her interest.
Damon grunted. “I’d hold off on the congratulations.” He exhaled. “I tracked her into Sacco territory where I found her. Unfortunately, so did the Sacco enforcer, and he lunged at me.” After summarizing the fight, he added, “I know I have endangered the peace between packs and will do whatever it takes to undo that damage—even if that means being banished.” He lowered his head before his pack.
More mumbling ensued. Grayson stepped over and placed a hand on Damon’s shoulder in a brotherly gesture. He exhaled. Grayson was the closest thing to family he had left. He’d cared for Damon since his father had run into the wilderness.
“No one will be asked to leave this pack,” Rafe boomed over the mumbling in the lodge. “We are a pack and we will face pack problems together.”
Grayson added, “We have all heard what happens when wolves find their mates.” He exhaled. “Although I haven’t found mine yet, the drive to protect is supposed to be stronger than any other call.”
Victoria made a small sound of disappointment, which she then tried to cover by clearing her throat.
Damon caught Grayson’s eyes.Thank you.
“We cannot fault a wolf who lives according to our nature,” Rafe added.
While the unmated wolves appeared to stare at Damon perplexed—and perhaps with a bit of judgment—the mated wolves appraised him with a gentler look, as if they understood. Damon was humble and appreciative—especially since his unmated alpha hadn’t banished him for threatening the peace between the packs.
“Where is your mate now?” Rose, a shifter with graying hair in her fifties who ran a cafe in the main lodge and was mated to Sebastian, asked.
“She’s here on the mountain.”
“You’ve accepted your mate, that’s wonderful.” Rosa clasped her hands together and exchanged a warm glance with Sebastian before returning it to Damon. “We all know how reluctant you were.”
His jaw tightened. “We’re not mated. She’s only here for one more night.”
