They’d skipped the interstate and taken the old highways through the northwestern part of Arkansas. The combination of nerves and the winding road were starting to make her nauseous. She needed something to take her mind off it, or she was going to lose her pancakes.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” he muttered. “I wish I had time to school you on shifter life.”
“Seems like maybe you would’ve had time if you hadn’t been ignoring me for hours.”
He glanced at her, his mouth grim. “You don’t have to do this, Kerri. Really.”
“They’re your family, right?”
He nodded, eyes on the road. “Sort of. They were.”
She wanted to push. Why weren’t they still his family? Instead, she said, “And they’re in danger, right?”
He nodded again.
“Then we have to try to help them.”
Silence filled the truck once again. Kerrigan stared out the front window hoping to calm her stomach.
“They aren’t like normal people. Don’t expect that, okay? They’ll know you’re human, and there are other humans who belong to the pack, but don’t expect them to treat you like a human. They’re animalistic. They will want to smell you… like I did.”
Kerrigan froze. That’s what he’d done the night he fell asleep on her couch.
“Smell me?”
He nodded.
“What… do I smell like?”
He breathed a long sigh before he whispered, “You smell wonderful. You smell like you’re mine.”
She stared at his profile, his words making her feel tingly inside. Yes, she was still angry, but when he said things like that, it felt so right. As if it was an irrefutable truth. She was his.
“They’re going to wonder why you aren’t marked.”
“Marked?”
“As my mate, you should carry my mark, but we haven’t… gotten that far yet. This is all happening too fast. I tried to slow things down… I tried to…” He shook his head, glaring at the road. “We’ll tell them I waited to mark you because you wanted a human ceremony first.”
Geez. “Okay.”
“They might test you. Loyalty is very important to wolves.”
“What do you mean? What kind of tests?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Unmated males might—“ he cut off, his jaw clenched tight. “They might show interest in you. Try to seduce you.”
“What?” she squeaked.
“And females too. They’ll challenge you.”
Females? “But I’m not interested in girls.”
Trager shot her a thunderous look. “Not what I meant.”
“Oh. Wait…” It hit her like a smack to the forehead. Her fingers went numb. Females would try to seduce him. The idea did nothing to help her nausea.
“We’ll have to rely on our bond. It will be fine.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
“We have that? A bond?”
His gaze shot to her. “Don’t you feel it?”
She felt something. Everything with Trager had been different than what she’d had before. She cared more than she wanted to. Caring was risky. She’d learned that with her class, with her father, with Ethan.
She turned to stare out the window.
“Do you?” he demanded. “Tell me now, or I swear to god, I’ll pull over and make you feel it.”
“Yes,” she barely whispered.
***
The sun was sinking behind the trees when they finally parked the truck. The dirt road they were on ended and they had arrived at their destination. Which, to Kerrigan, appeared to be nowhere.
Trager turned to her. “Remember, think like an animal. Stay by my side, and follow my lead.”
“Okay.”
He looked like he wanted to say more. She did too, but couldn’t begin to form the words. Didn’t know where to start. Her feelings were too jumbled.
“They’re waiting for us,” he said.
They both got out of the truck, and Kerrigan followed Trager through the trees into a clearing. He stopped walking, his spine going rigid, when three massive wolves prowled out of the woods. Black, white, and one she recognized as Farrow.
She glared at him.
Trager angled his body so he was slightly in front of her.
The black wolf snarled, but before the sound was gone, he’d shifted to human. Kerrigan gasped. Black hair, like night, and a countenance to match, his hateful glare focused on Trager. And dear god, he was stark naked.
“You don’t come to the boundary a human,” he barked, making her jump.
“I come as my mate does.” Trager’s voice was quieter, but just as lethal.
“Your mate?” The black-haired man did a slow, head-to-toe pass before returning his glare to Trager. “This can’t be your mate.”