Chapter 7

Leaves crunched under Kyle’s padded paws as his powerful hind legs propelled him forward toward Nick and Darrel, one of the pack’s enforcers. Their howls had been them communicating with each other but also to tell him that danger was near his mate’s cabin. His heart lodged in his throat. His mind raced with thoughts of what could be wrong. What danger was near his mate?

We have to keep her safe. His wolf growled. Kyle was in agreement with his wolf. Adrenaline pushed him forward to his pack mates, where they were circling an intruder into their territory. The nostrils in his snout flared. Nick and Darrel were by the stream near the base of the Rocky Mountains. He pushed his legs to carry him further. Faster. 

The thing that bothered him more than the intruder being in his mate’s land was the fear that pulsed through her when he’d put his hands under her dress. He had longed to fill his hands with her generous curves, and finally he knew what her skin felt like. Smooth and silky. Soft in his calloused hands. Kyle had smelled her arousal, and it had sent his wolf into a frenzy. It had taken all of him to control himself and not tear the dress in half. But she had frozen and the tinge of fear had clouded her desire. What had frightened her so much? He’d be devastated if she had been scared of him. Did he read her body’s needs wrong? No. The sweet tangy smell of her arousal was there. She had wanted him. Just like he wanted her.

Nick and Darrel stood by the bank of the river. Both of them are naked. Their heads swiveled around. Looking for the intruder. Kyle’s body twisted and lengthened as he shifted to his human form.

“Did you lose them?” he growled. His voice a deep animalistic guttural sound. This interloper had encroached on his mate’s land and had frightened her.

“He dove into the river. I think he must have swum to the other side,” Nick answered. He pushed his wet strands back. Frustration marrying his handsome features. 

Kyle growled. “How did you manage to follow him?”

“We sniffed his scent near your cabin. We managed to follow it to the outskirts of Mr. Kilian’s cabin. That’s when he ran to the river. He swam into the river to hide his scent,” Darrel informed him.

Kyle’s lips curled into a snarl. “Do you know what he was looking for?”

“No, but he seemed pretty interested in something at Mr. Kilian’s cabin,” Nick replied.

Kyle’s heartbeat ramped up on Nick’s words. What was the intruder looking for at Isobel’s cabin?

“Okay, let’s go back. But I want daily patrols around our territory and also Mr. Kilian’s,” Kyle commanded.

Darrel’s eyebrow lifted. “Shouldn’t the Alpha give that order?”

Nick gave a low growl as he marched into Darrel’s space. “Are you questioning the next Alpha?”

“Hey Nick. It’s alright. I’ll talk to my father. I’m sure he’ll agree with me.”

Nick glared at Darrel before moving back a few feet.

Darrel glanced at Kyle. “I don’t mean any disrespect.”

“I know Darrel. Come on. There’s no point standing here. He’s long gone.” 

Darrel and Nick swiftly transformed into their wolves. Nick’s wolf was a mottled white color while Darrel’s was a brown color with white fur around its muzzle. They both barked-howled before racing off to their settlement.

Kyle’s bones reshaped until he was standing on four legs. He scampered to Isobel’s cabin, hoping that she had listened to him and stayed inside.

                                                                                ***

A knock sounded on the cabin door, and Isobel jumped. Her heart was thundering in her chest. 

“Isobel. It’s Kyle.”

She breathed out a sigh of relief and scurried to the door and opened it. “Hey. Is everything alright?”

Isobel inhaled sharply as she gazed at Kyle. He had on his jeans, but his shirt and denim jacket were off. His lean and toned chest was on display for Isobel’s pleasure. His glistening abs deeply formed with each inhale.

“Uh,” she stammered. “Why are your clothes off?”

Kyle glanced down, as if surprised that he didn’t have clothes on his chest. “Ahh, I got some dirt on them.” He motioned with his head to be let into her cabin.

She stepped aside, and he strolled in. His steps measured as he walked in. “Is everything okay with you?” he asked.

“Yes. I was worried about you, though.”

He grinned. “You never have to worry about me.”

Isobel scoffed. “So cocky.”

‘No really,” he walked closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders.” Are you okay?”

She knew what he was asked. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lower lip. “I know that earlier I froze when we were…” she coughed and glanced down to their feet that were nearly touching.

“Did I scare you?” he whispered. A pinched look in his eyes.

She touched his forearm. “No. Nothing like that. Can we sit down?”

“Sure,” he led them to the two-person seater sofa.

Sitting down, she clasped his hand. “I don’t mean to come off hot and cold. It’s just that…I’m a virgin.” She swallowed down her nervousness. It was a half-truth. She was a virgin. But that wasn’t the reason why she’d frozen with insecurity. The deep scars on her body made her scared that if he saw them, he’d leave. Disgusted with her and her disfigurement. 

His shoulders slumped forward. His body losing its stiff posture. “I understand, baby. I’m a virgin too. Truthfully, I haven’t really dated.”

She blinked. Stunned by his confession. “What?!”

He chuckled. “Why are you surprised?”

“Well, look at you?”

“I could say the same for you,” he complimented. “But seriously. I was waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Waiting for you.”

Her mouth fell open. “Me?”

“Yes. And I’m willing to wait until you are comfortable to do anything. I’m not going, anyway.”

She gulped. What if she never got comfortable to be that vulnerable with him? Will he stay? She opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say when Kyle’s body tensed and he quickly stood up from the sofa.

“What’s the matter?” she said.

He took big strides to the window and peeked through the lacy curtains. “I have to go. Promise me you’ll stay inside for tonight.”

“Why? What happened when you left?”

“There was a stray wolf in our territory, but it’s gone now. But I’m asking that you be careful tonight and stay inside.”

“Oh. Okay,” she accepted. A nervous smile hinting at her unease. Her fingers twisting and twirling on her lap.

His eyes softened as he gazed at her. He strolled to her and crouched down to be eye level with her. Gently placing his hand on her twirling fingers, his thumb stroked the edge of her hand lightly. “Hey. you don’t have to worry, okay? Everything is in control. I just have to go home and handle some things. Can I see you tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

He gave her a gentle peck and made his way to the door. Closing the door behind him. Sighing, she leaned back on the sofa, fighting to calm her fast pacing heart from his kiss.

Kyle had scented Nick lurking outside the cabin. Having another wolf shifter hovering near his mate made his wolf bristle inside of him, especially since she was still unclaimed by him. We need to make her ours. His wolf growled. Now!

Not yet, Kyle pushed back. His wolf furiously paced inside him. Unhappy to leave Isobel alone. Kyle agreed with him, but he needed to know what Nick wanted.

When he reached the shadowed cover of the forest, Nick stood back from the bark of the tree he was leaning against.

“Your father needs to see you,” Nick stated.

“Does he know about the wolf that trespassed?”

Nick nodded. “Darrel told him.”

He removed his jeans and toed off his boots, leaving them in a bundle under shrubs blooming with vibrant foliage. Both he and Nick shifted to their wolf forms and loped toward the settlement.

Kyle found his father in their farmhouse kitchen. Greystone poured coffee into his mug and placed the coffeepot back in the holder. “Good. Nick managed to pull you away from your human.” He leaned back on the kitchen counter and took a sip from the steaming mug. The waning sunlight highlighting the gray in his dark brown hair.

“He made it seem like it was important.” Kyle strutted through the kitchen, naked, and stopped a few paces away from his father. The cool spring air created goosebumps in his skin.

“It is. Darrel informed me about the instructions you made about the patrols.”

“I didn’t mean no disrespect.”

Greystone placed a warm hand on his son’s shoulder and squeezed. “No, son. It’s fantastic that you are willing to take control. This will be your pack one day. It’s good to know that you can instruct it. And that others will listen.”

Kyle lowered his head. His father had always implored him to take charge. But Kyle never had the strong desire to lead. He knew that he would. One day. But he always left the decisions to his father. It was because of Isobel and her safety that made him give the instructions about the patrols. He never gave it a second thought, but acted on the need to protect her. She was his priority now.

Greystone set the mug on a coaster. A habit drilled into him by his wife. “A message from the Danvers arrived. It requested that the date for the mating ceremony be set.”

Kyle clenched his hands. The muscles in the forearms bunching from the strain. “What?! You know I have found my mate. I won’t be mated to Laura.”

His father put his hands up in a placated gesture. “I know, son. But you haven’t marked her. You don’t even know if you can knot with her yet. Until you do, we can’t disregard Danver’s request.”

“She’s mine. My wolf knew from the moment he caught her scent. And I knew from the moment I touched her.”

“Then you know what to do. Go do it. We are running out of time.”

Kyle growled. Narrowing his eyes into a glare at his father. Furious that his father was making me rash his courting of Isobel. His father’s lips pulled back into a snarl. A deep rumbling growl tearing through his father’s throat. Kyle lowered his gaze and dipped his head. His body trembled with anger.

“Go,” his father said, his voice a guttural growl.

His father’s insistence that he either claim his mate immediately or mate with Laura made his blood boil. The time for gentle wooing was over. About time! His wolf intoned, his ears up as he leaped in circles.