Animal Heart(39)

“Oh thank God,” she sobbed like an Oscar winning actress. “I got locked in here somehow when I was sweeping up and checking everything out this afternoon. I saw all these claw marks, look..." She gestured around the container walls. “I think wolves or bears have been using it as a cave or something.” She pointed at the scratched walls and floor.

“But Maddy...” Aden said, playing along, and wiping her tears away with his thumbs... “Why are you here alone?”

“Mia dropped me off. Said she'd be back in an hour, wanted her hair cut or something. I heard her turn up and leave again. I shouted but she didn't hear me.” She started sobbing again in open relief.

What a stellar performance...! He was so impressed.

“You wait 'till I see her... She knows full well no one's allowed to be here on their own. It's just as well the dear sergeant issued me with this search warrant isn't it? You poor love, you could have frozen to death overnight if we had a hard frost,” Aden said, hugging her tightly to his chest with an innocent, grateful smile directed at Filomountie. She was looking more than furious. She was livid. Invisible steam blowing from her ears. She hadn't found anything illegal on him yet, and worse still, in her eyes, she'd helped him with a serious problem he hadn't even known he had!

“There's still another six to go. Shall we finish?” he asked cheerily, moving towards the next container and opening it for her inspection.

“Yes, for crissakes get on with it,” the diminutive, yet quite rotund sergeant spat. She stood behind him in growing fury as one after another of the empty containers were paraded before her narrowing eyes.

“We don't use them all, obviously. Just a few, for essentials, like I explained to our good Mayor Stevens,” he added politely, closing the last door with a clang. “Anything else sergeant? Want to search my stables or the guest accommodation at the ranch next? Perhaps you'd like to look in our freezers, for illegal beaver meat or raid our fridges for eagle eggs? Because I can't think what else we might be doing out there in the wilds that would concern you much.” He couldn't smother the grin which was tugging at the corners of his mouth and gave up, flashing her a broad, victorious white smile, which Maddy accompanied with a loud snigger.

“Just you watch yourself Carr. I don't like being fucked about,” she said in a snarling tone of voice, her evil eyes hard and angry. She was clearly smarting with deep humiliation.

“I'd speak to the Mayor about that, if I were you. He should check his tip offs better in the future,” Aden replied with a straight face.

She stalked off and had a few heated finger wagging words outside the fence with her red faced, livid husband. They both flashed him the most hateful, angry looks he had ever seen, before getting in their cars and driving off fast, back towards town.



His pack joined them in the yard with Cal the biker, who had obviously been filled in by the gang. They all howled with laughter for an age afterwards. They couldn't stop. But despite his laughter, Aden was worried. Although he had enjoyed the Stevens' humiliation, this wasn't a good development at all. He didn't need to fan the flames of their grudge, because it was now fast approaching a raging fire. Above all, they needed to keep a low profile in their lives. A dozen werewolves were likely to slip up now and then, somehow.





Chapter 7

His eye fell across the stable to Maddy. She was looking particularly beautiful this morning. She seemed to get more and more beautiful every day in fact. Or perhaps his eyes were becoming misty and lovestruck. Because that was what he was. Completely in love. Her skin tight black leggings and black sweater hugged every curve of her tightly. She wasn't a voluptuous build, but nevertheless possessed a generous helping of female attributes. He licked his lips and got on with his work, with difficulty. The pair of them had been playing this game all morning. He'd look at her, and then she'd look at him. They pretended not to notice, but they both knew they were doing it.

This was ridiculous. What were they waiting for?

He stalked across the yard and gathered her up in his arms and began kissing her with a fiery passion. He let everything rip inside of him. She responded just as passionately, with a series of moans and gasps, which he swallowed with delight. He picked her up, a little shaky on his feet, his heart pumping like crazy, and began to guide them towards the hay store. She pulled away from their heated embrace to take a deep breath.

“No, please don't...” she began, gasping.

“Fuck... Why the hell not?” he interrupted angrily in frustrated disbelief. “You must know how I feel about you. I'm obsessed, besotted, and completely crazy about you... I know you feel the same...”