Ryne could still taste her, still remember how her pebbled nipple had felt against his tongue, still recall the slick moisture that had seeped from her body onto his hand as he moved his fingers within her. Her body had clenched around him, her head thrown back, and mouth opening in a silent scream as she came. It had been such an erotic sight, watching her orgasm. Her uninhibited response had left him hard and aching, but he’d wrenched back control from the beast within, knowing he couldn’t ease his discomfort with her.
Instead, he’d covered her up and left. Once outside, he’d morphed back into a wolf and run through the woods until he could run no more; the ache in his body replaced by exhaustion. For a moment he had considered visiting Lucy as he had initially planned. She would have taken him in, regardless of the late hour, but he had no heart for it. The very idea seemed wrong; to go from one woman to another. He had some scruples. Not many, but they were there.
And so he’d headed back home. At least Daniel had been in bed, but Bryan had still been up, watching a movie. Ryne had known he must look a mess, his hair tangled, his breathing rough, the smell of sweat and sex emanating from him. Their gazes had locked and Ryne, even though he was Alpha, had shifted uncomfortably under his Beta’s gaze. Bryan hadn’t said anything. He’d merely sniffed the air, frowning until he placed the scent. After giving him a considering look, Bryan had simply nodded and turned back to his movie.
Ryne had stood in the entryway, inexplicably unsure of what to do. He’d felt the need to explain and even opened his mouth to do so, but then shut it again. How could he explain what he himself didn’t even understand? Instead, he had slowly walked to his bedroom, climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling most of the night.
Melody Greene was bad news. No, not the girl herself, but what she represented. Ryne was too smart to be able to attribute her arrival to coincidence. Just a few weeks ago, some woman had been in his old home town of Smythston asking about him. Now, a woman was in Stump River, also wanting to see him. In all the years that he’d openly shown his photographs, no one had ever wanted to interview him, except for the local paper. But now that he had basically vanished, there was a sudden interest.
If he was vain enough, he might have thought that his talent was finally drawing interest from the art world. While it was a possibility, it was more likely that the interest being generated was because of that one damned picture. God, he wished he’d never taken it, let alone had it enlarged and professionally mounted. Why hadn’t he left it as a snapshot in a family album?
Sighing deeply, he steepled his fingers and pondered what he should do about the problem Melody Greene was about to create. He hadn’t told Bryan, but just minutes before his friend had come in, Ryne had called his brother Kane to double check some facts about the inquisitive person who’d been asking about him. He’d been hopeful that it hadn’t been Ms. Greene, but of course that would have made things too easy. Instead, Kane had confirmed that it was the same person and that had led to a very uncomfortable conversation about options.
If he ignored her, would she go away? Instinctively he knew she wouldn’t, not given the fact that she’d travelled all the way to Stump River—and he was still puzzling over how she’d found him. For some reason, she was extremely interested in him, either due to her own curiosity or because someone was paying her. Most likely it was the latter. She’d been too shocked when he’d mentioned the boys were wolves—correction when he’d told her the supposed ‘dogs’ were wolves. There had been no ‘ah-ha’ moment passing over her face, no hint of prevarication. If she really knew what she was looking for, she would have figured it out then and there. While she might be a bit quirky, she wasn’t stupid. Her repartee with him proved that.
So, how to proceed? Did he grant her an interview and tell her a bunch of lies? No. Lies could trip you up too easily. He couldn’t tell her the truth. It went against The Keeping and he didn’t know if she could be trusted. Just a generation ago, the solution would have been simple; kill her and dispose of the body. She’d become simply another statistic. A young woman travelling on her own mysteriously disappears in the wilderness. Her car is found, abandoned by the side of the road. Years later, bones turn up and the verdict would be that she’d left her car, possibly to take a picture and got lost or was attacked by wild animals. It was efficient, but in this day and age more likely to lead to complications, especially if she had a family that might come looking for her.
Ryne smiled grimly. Death was still a possibility—neither he nor Kane had ruled it out—but it was always a last resort. They’d both agreed on that before ending their conversation. Leaning his head back, Ryne studied the ceiling and hoped for inspiration. The Keeping was their most important law. It wasn’t just a matter of what he wanted to do. It existed to protect the whole pack, even the whole race. Their safety took precedence over the individual every time. If Melody Greene became too nosey, if it appeared she was on the verge of discovering the truth, well then...