Hunter gave me a nod then a gentle but stern reminder. “Remember, she needs to fall for you.”
“Oh, she will.” I was out the door and on my way to get my trip set up. Her anger was starting to make sense now.
Chapter Five
The dreams of him didn’t go away after the first painting; they were back that night. His haunted eyes were etched in my head and I had memorized his face so well. My sketchbook was full of his beauty. The fight in my mind still wasn’t clear. Even though the dream grew, it never got past my telling him to leave. It was so frustrating. I didn’t understand how I could have the same dream over and over again— night after night.
I’d been dealing with so many sleepless nights that I became absentminded. I’d accidentally left my sketches and paintings out when my sister came to visit me and she reveled in teasing me. She pointed out how deliciously handsome he was and how she would love to meet him for herself.
She was lucky I didn’t rip her pretty hair out. I was livid as all hell. Something about her wanting him was too much even though he was just a dream. Even though he never even spoke to me. I didn’t know what he sounded like, but I felt like I knew him in my soul.
Once she left, I was back to my nightly fantasies of my hurting anger.
“Leave now,” I cried.
“No,” he grunted. I felt him get closer to me, invading my space and driving my heart nuts. My breathing was erratic as his head tilted and bent toward me.
Then I was jolted out of my dream, awake and in tears. “Damn it.” This was getting out of control. Pulling out my sketchbook from under my pillow, I tossed it in the kitchen trash. I wanted sleep and this stupid fascination with a fake person was ruining my existence. I had a creative career that needed to flourish and it couldn’t when I spent all day daydreaming of the beastly hot man. Pissed, I took a shower then climbed back into bed, hoping that tossing out the drawings would help me sleep. I closed my eyes and, this time, my sleep wasn’t interrupted.
My cell had to be put on the charger because I was making calls left and right, looking for ways to find Evelyn before she went to bed with another man. Fuck if I was going to let that happen. The internet was a cache for all the information on her acting career, but nothing about her family and home. I found out she was working on a science fiction picture on a studio set in Hollywood, so my flight was booked for two hours from now.
Everything was packed in the back of my truck when Gage knocked at my door. He was Hunter’s younger brother and Chloe’s twin. Gage was our latest historian learning from my great-uncle, the eldest of the historians in our region.
I opened the screen door and he marched in, almost shrugging me out of the way. “Hey, Kane. How are you hanging in there?”
“I’m seeing red and constantly on the verge of shifting.” There was no need to lie about what I was feeling. That shit was etched on my strong-boned face. I was one of the tallest in the two packs and my hulking frame looked frightening to most, but none more so than when I was fit to be tied.
He looked at my open computer, which had the studio lot’s address and image up. “Man, do you think it’s a good idea for you to go there? With the rage Hunter told me about, I’d be shocked if you didn’t shift.”
“I wouldn’t jeopardize our way of life, Gage. Did Hunter send you down here?”
“No, he didn’t, but Arabella asked if I could help you out.” So it was my sister that asked him to watch over me. I wondered about those two. My sister hadn’t reached mating age yet so I didn’t know if Gage was her mate, but they spent so much time together. I hoped that he would be hers that way I could have her close. If she found a mate outside our nearest pack, I wouldn’t know how to handle it. Gage looked back at the screen and made note of the address. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I can manage on my own. Enough men have already seen her unclothed. I can’t risk you walking in on me making her mine.”
“Okay, but I’ll drive you to the airport.”
“That would be great. I’m so frustrated I might run someone over.”
I landed at LAX, picked up the rental car, and headed to the studios. There was no time to check into a hotel; I needed to get to her, so I left my luggage in the car. The lot was extremely secure so I didn’t have a way in without knocking out the guard, which I was sure would be noticed before I found her.
They had tours going on, but only on certain sets of old television shows. I used that as my entry point. Someway, somehow I needed to make a break for it and sneak away from the tour. We passed three different sets before I saw the sign for the lot she was working on. Making my way out of the group, I hatched a plan. I picked up a large studio prop and tried walking it out of the set we were in. It was only a large fan, but it worked. No one questioned me. I was just about to step onto her set when a group of security guards surrounded me.