Page 13 of A Pack of Lies and a Big Bad Wolf

“I am going to keep training,” I warn him. “I’ll get better at this.”

“Of course you will,” he says, so kindly that I slam my hands into his chest and shove him.

He grabs my wrist, and somehow does this quick spin thing and the next thing I know I’m backed up against the wall.

He’s so tall that I have to tip my head back up to look at him. The feeling of his hand on my wrist, the heat and strength radiating from him…my knees are jello. My panties are damp. If he leaned down and kissed me, I wouldn’t stop him.

“Now…escape,” he growls.

For a long, long moment, I just stand there…because I don’t actually want to escape.

I know he’s an absolute tyrant and he’s got this ridiculous idea that I’m his fated mate and he thinks he can just snap his fingers and I’ll be his, and I still halfway suspect that he’s casting some kind of spell on me to make me pulse with desire for him…and yet.

I feel so safe with him towering over me. Nobody could hurt me with him there. He’d never let it happen.

He brought me over here. He fed me. And he’s looking at me like I hung the moon.

I’ve been the sole caretaker for my brother since I was 17, everything falling on my shoulders. I made sure we were fed and clothed and housed, and if anything went wrong, it was all on me. It’s exhausting, and lonely.

I take a deep breath. He’s leaning in slightly now, as if he actually might kiss me. I can’t let that happen, because if he kisses me, I’ll melt. I won’t be able to stop myself.

He’s leaning closer…I stand on my tiptoes to receive his kiss. My lips part, my thighs part…

The silverware drawer rattles. Every fork in it, all at once. A cabinet door bangs open above his shoulder, and the six mousse dishes chatter on the counter behind me. He starts, and lets out a muffled curse.

In one smooth motion, I rotate my wrist out of his grasp. I spin away from him, stalk over to the table, and grab two chocolate mousse cups.

“I’ll just take these to go,” I say, without daring to look back, and I hurry out of the cabin without a backwards glance.

He doesn’t say a word, doesn’t chase me.

My wolf lets out a long, low, mournful howl.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Olivia

I sleep badly, tossing and turning all night, and wake up hangry.

On the bright side, I still have one of the chocolate mousses left, so I scarf it down as I lean on the kitchen counter, savoring the bittersweet taste.

After I dress and pull a comb through my hair, I head down to the pack canteen where my brother had agreed to meet me for breakfast.

After breakfast, I’m going to go find the pack library. I hear they have some incredibly cool old lorebooks, and my bookbinder heart is yearning to see them. I miss my bookbinding tools desperately.

The air in the canteen is rich with the scent of sizzling bacon, frying eggs, and strong coffee. Dozens of pack members line up with plates or sit at tables chatting. Shifters are pack animals; we’re a social bunch.

My brother is nowhere to be seen, though, and Stephen is never late. My stomach clenches in worry.

I hurry from one end of the room to the other, searching for him. I finally collar a guy and send him into the men’s room to look for him. When that fails, I go outside and call him, and the call goes straight to voicemail.

Now I’m straight-up scared.

Is he injured? They’d tell me if he was, wouldn’t they?

What if they did some kind of horrible experiment on him to bring his wolf out, and it failed? And they were afraid to tell me?