Page 14 of Howl For Me
“I asked for permission because I wanted to know if I was already mated to someone or even had pups.”
Damara’s words echoed in his head. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he had to hold back for fear that he would rip the damn thing off. Another man was trying to mate withhismate. Question after question came to his mind with the thought that she may be about to mate with another wolf.
“I’m getting the sense that you’re mad at me.” Her soft voice broke the silence in the SUV.
He refused to look at her because he didn’t want her to see the anger in his eyes.
Not at her.
No, he was angry with the way fate had treated them all. Snatched her from him and her family. Put her in another situation where she had no family, no friends, and had to start over. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was because of fate playing her sick game on them. Another wolf wanted Damara—Brianna.
But she was his.
“No, not mad at you,” he growled, unable to control the emotions riding his voice.
“I don’t really drive but I think if you squeeze the steering wheel any harder, you’re going to break it,” she whispered.
He glanced over at her and caught her wide-eyed stare. He breathed in a deeply and scented the faint smell of her fear.
Fear of him.
Shit.
He tried to will himself to relax and not scare the shit out of his mate. She should never fear him. He would give his right arm to protect her. He had loved this woman from the moment they’d first met. She had consumed his mind for the past five years. Even after the funeral they had held for her, his wolf had refused to glance at another woman.
He had volunteered to take her to the motel she had got a room at so she could collect her things. She would be residing with her parents in her old bedroom. It was agreed that it would be best if she stayed with them instead of some seedy motel near the freeway.
They all hoped that once in a familiar setting such as her childhood bedroom and home, memories might be triggered.
The rest of the drive was made in strained silence. Ten minutes later, Gavin pulled up to the motel, parking in front of the room she had rented. He scanned the area and was glad they had made the decision for her to relocate.
It was well after midnight, and it didn’t appear safe. With suspicious-looking people milling around the parking lot, Gavin would have made her move if that hadn’t already been the plan.
“I won’t be long,” she mumbled, undoing her seat belt.
“I’m coming with you. I don’t like the looks of the people hanging around out here,” he said, turning the truck off and exiting the vehicle.
He followed her to the door and glanced around while she opened it. Before they had left, he had taken her to where she had stashed her clothing in the woods along with her keys to the motel.
She pushed the door, and his nostrils met with the stale air of the cheap motel.
“It isn’t much, but it was all I could afford,” she admitted sheepishly, as if to explain the condition of the place.
The small room was clean and housed the bare essentials. He pushed the door shut behind him while she moved around the room collecting her personal items.
“How long had you been in town?” he asked.
“Two days,” she replied, jogging into the tiny bathroom. She returned a second later with her toothbrush in hand. She gathered her two bags on the bed and began to pack. “To be honest, after tonight I had planned to leave.”
“Why?” He folded his arms in front his chest, leaning against the wall by the door. He had to keep his distance from her. Seeing her standing by a bed had images of their times together in the past coming to mind.
The sounds of her gasps whenever he’d kissed her, or spread her out on his bed and feasted on the valley between her legs. The memory of her calling his name in the midst of her orgasms had his cock straining beneath his jeans.
“My funds are low. I only have enough money to get back to California.”
He watched her shoulders slump at the mention of going back.
“So if I wouldn’t have responded to your howl, you would have left and gone back to California?” Just the thought of what would have happened had he ignored her howl, or not been around to hear it, left him barely able to breathe. It was like someone had punched him in the solar plexus as he struggled to get air in.
