37. Naomi

Naomi

Yet, what felt like eons later, I was still stumbling, one foot plodding in front of the other — way slower than when I first started out, despite the harsh wind battering me from behind.

Dammit … my lack of experience with the region, along with zero clear reference points other than a flat, open view across the water, had made the house appear closer than it was.

Even worse, a warm, druggy feeling was beginning to replace the cold shivers from before. That couldn't be good, considering I was walking through a real-world November night in sopping wet clothes.

The house in the distance was getting closer, and maybe whoever lived there could help.

But a bone-deep exhaustion began to overtake me. My steps became slower and slower, even as the freezing wind grew stronger and stronger at my back .

A delirium overtook my mind, blurring and multiplying the lights up ahead.

"Hello! Is somebody … ?"

I stopped when I thought I heard a voice in the distance.

But then… nothing.

Just me cursing. I was beginning to hallucinate voices and lights. That meant even my wolf body heat wasn't enough to keep hypothermia at bay.

Tears welled in my eyes. But I was too tired to cry. What was I going to do?

Wait, what is that?

A new scent whipped my head to the side… moss, damp limestone, and a faint whiff of the secret kingdom's overall cavern smell. I sniffed with what felt like the last of my strength and squinted, trying to make my night vision work extra hard. Was there a cave nearby?

No, I discovered after stumbling toward the direction of the new scent.

My "cave" turned out to be a shallow hole in the mountain wall.

Just big enough to fit one exhausted she-wolf if she decided to curl up inside it.

There was no "if" about it, though. Before I could even make a conscious choice, I was already shrugging off the crossbody bag and crawling into the unexpected mountain bastion in my soggy, freezing clothes.

I had never in my life been less comfortable. Every inch of me was soaked and chilled to the bone. But as soon as I tucked myself into the hole, my limbs turned to noodles, and a hot flush stole over me, dragging me down into sleep.

Not a good idea . Some vague survival factoid sparked in my tired mind, warning me of what could happen if I fell asleep in ice-cold, wet clothes. Hypothermia… frostbite… death …

A heavy, black sleep pulled me under before I could finish that ominous thought.

I slept like the dead. Cold, numb, and completely oblivious… until suddenly, warmth jolted me awake.

I blinked, disoriented, as I realized I was no longer in the freezing hole but lying by a warm, toasty fire.

A soft blanket was wrapped around me, and the air was filled with the most wonderful smell — another wolf, I realized with a start. But not like Sea and Wild. His scent was somehow both rich and cool, like freshly baked bread mingled with the crisp, clean aroma of stone and rain.

"Good, you're awake," said a voice.

Warm, lilting, and Irish, it washed over me like a thrilling piece of music, making my heart flutter as if I'd just heard my favorite songfor the very first time.

"I was going to take my chances with a human doctor from the local town if you didn't come to soon."

I sat up to see who was talking, and more of that amazing scent filled my nose. I followed the stronger trail with my eyes to find a shadowy figure standing in the arched entrance of what I could barely make out as a front room, just outside the light's reach.

I'd been saved… by a wolf. A male wolf, like Sea or Wild. But he smelled nothing like Sea or Wild. I squinted into the dimmer room, trying to make him out in the fire's fl ickering light.

"Thank you for saving my life," I said, my voice thick with gratitude. But then I had to ask, "Who are you?"

"Who am I?" my savior asked from the shadows. "Who are you ? Last thing I expected to find on my night walk was a foreign she-wolf tucked into the mountain. What happened, then? Did you miss all those warning signs posted around the lake and fall in?"

His question made my cheeks burn with embarrassment, and I opened my mouth to defend myself with the truth.

But then I thought better of it. Yes, this unmated male was actually talking directly to me, and he'd saved me from dying of hypothermia in that mountain hidey hole. But he just happened to be living right above the secret kingdom?

What if he was some kind of real-world guard or yet another one of Sea's and Wild's minions who hadn't gotten the memo about me being the supposed destined queen to the two Kings of Ireland?

"Could you step into the light?"Suddenly, seeing him clearly became a matter of life and — well, if not death, certainly recapture. But I tried to keep the suspicion out of my voice when I told him, "It's kind of hard to have this conversation with someone I can't see."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to come off like a creeper." The male wolf stepped out of the shadows into the light of the fire and crouched down so that he could be at eye level with me, even though I was sitting on the floor. "How's this?"

The entire world stopped.

He was clean-cut with strong but approachable features and rich brown hair, slightly tousled and long — but long like he'd just missed a haircut, not long like he was living out some kind of historical cosplay like Sea .

No, he was the complete opposite of the wolves who'd kidnapped us. In fact, if not for his lupine scent, I'd think he was a regular, modern human dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips — not devastating like Sea's or mocking like Wild's. It felt like he was trying not to laugh, and for some reason, I had to tamp down the urge to laugh along. At an untold joke only the two of us could hear.

He was a stranger, yet my gut filled with a knowing sensation, like finding an old friend in a crowd. Or in a foreign country.

I'd grown up cloistered, but for some reason, I wanted to ask him, "Have we…?"

"Met before?" he finished. "Now that we're talking face to face, you feel so…"

He trailed off, but I picked up his thought. Easily. "Familiar."

He expelled an audible breath. "That's exactly the word I'm looking for. Are you famous or something? Once, I had a conversation similar to this at our Brit Awards after-party with someone who turned out to be one of the twins from Sasha and Kasha."

"I'm not famous. At all." I almost told him I'd never even had my picture taken before. But then it occurred to me to ask. "Wait, are you a celebrity? What were you doing at a party with a famous singer?"

"Oh, Norwolf beat Guinness out for the major sponsorship spot at the Brit Awards," he explained, his voice taking on a proud note. "And I'm Norwolf's CEO."

CEO — that was a modern real-world title I recognized and another promising sign that he had nothing to do with the Sea or Wild Wolves. But… "Norwolf? Guinness?" I shook my head. "What kind of companies are those?"

"You don't know Norwolf or Guinness?" His expression became slightly alarmed. "How long have you been in Ireland, then?"

A shrill alarm from another room saved me from having to answer his question.

"Sorry, that would be the porridge letting me know it's done." My savior rose back into a standing position. "You're starving, right? I should bring back two bowls for us to eat together."

Together. For some reason, his correct assumption about me being hungry sent a delicious thrill up my spine.

"Yes, please," I barely managed to choke out.

"Back in a sec," he said, jogging out of the room.

It was an odd parting. His scent lingered, even though he'd gone, and a hollow feeling caved in my stomach — one so weird, it took me a few moments to pin a label on it. Bereft. I felt strangely bereft. My wolf whimpered inside me, lonely and sad, even though I'd only just met this stranger.

What in the world?

And why hadn't I asked him right away to use his phone? What was wrong with me?

I threw off the blanket and stood, determined to squelch…these strange, familiar feelings fluttering inside my chest and ask him for a phone.

But that was when I realized why his scent lingered even after he left the room.

I wasn't wearing any pants. Or underwear, for that matter. Just a shirt with the words IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME FOR NORWOLF written out in green block letters. He'd stripped me out of my wet clothes and redressed me in his clothing. His shirt. And nothing else.

"Do you want to eat at the dining room table then?"

I looked up, my face flushing hot. The stranger was now standing in a different archwayleading directly into a dining room. He held two bowls, which he set on the long table without waiting for my answer.

I tentatively followed him into the dining room, an alcove with a huge bay window. Outside, the first whispers of morning light filtered through, cold and gray.

If he was half as embarrassed about my state of undress as I was, it didn't show.

He said, "Sorry, I've got a puzzle going."

He threw me an apologetic wince over his shoulder as he set two large spoons beside the bowls, a short distance from a nearly completed puzzle — four different views of the same Norwolf gate, one hand-drawn. "Don't tell anybody, or they'll accuse me of being a pensioner. But there's some room here at the end."

"No problem," I answered, suddenly feeling comfortable again.

Was making random she-wolves relax and feel completely at home a special talent of his? I wondered as he pulled out one of the chairs for me.

The dining room was much draftier than my seat by the cozy fire, and I shivered, realizing that I was no longer in the perfectly conditioned world of the secret kingdom.

"I can fetch the blanket if you like," he offered. "Or hold on…"

He dipped out of the dining room's other entrance and returned a few seconds later with a large, thick, cable-knit sweater that opened at the front.

"Here you go," he said, wrapping it around my shoulders like a blanket. "Figure that will do you until your clothes are dry."

His kind gesture tugged at something in my chest, warm and intimate. But I had to remind myself that I didn't know this male. He could be one of Sea's or Wild's allies, charming me into a false sense of security.

If so, I had to admit, it was kind of working. The sweater carried his particularly amazing scent, and I found myself on the edge of a swoon as I looked up into a pair of soft gray eyes in the morning light.

"I'm sure you're wondering about your clothes."

He moved past me to take a seat at the end of the table, and my cheeks heated once again because I hadn't been thinking about my clothes at all. But I managed to sit down too and answer, "Um, yes, I'd love to get my clothes back so I can be on my way."

"On your way to where exactly?" he asked, picking up his spoon. "I didn't see a vehicle parked by the lake. Did you hike in?"

"Something like that," I answered vaguely, grabbing my spoon. If this wolf was somehow associated with Sea and Wild, I didn't want him to know about my runaway status. And if he wasn't, I didn't know if I'd be able to convince him that there was an entire secret kingdom underneath his house.

"Sorry, but this place is ancient, without a dryer to be had," he said with an apologetic shake of his head over his bowl of porridge. "Found a YouTuber who says you can throw them in the oven as long as they're not soaking wet — but after your night swim, that's not exactly an option, is it? I'm doing the best I can with a bit of line in the kitchen and the oven set as high as possible."

He regarded me with an expectant look, and I got the feeling this was his way of asking why I had decided to take a night swim in an off-limits lake.

"Not a bad solution," I said after racking my brain for anything better.

"If you're dying to get out of here, I can loan you a pair of my workout trainers, and you can roll them up before you get on your way to…"

Another expectant look.

Which I pretended not to see as I tucked into the porridge. But I could feel his eyes on me, patiently waiting for his answers as I avoided talking with a huge mouthful of what turned out to be… wow… truly terrible porridge. Bland and dry. Like eating paste with texture.

My reaction must have shown on my face because he said, "Sorry, I rarely cook for anyone but myself. I mostly consider breakfast for the calories, not any taste."

"Oh, do you have someone who cooks for you back home?" The question slipped out before I could stop it — jealous and nosy.

His mouth hitched. "No. I usually have lunch at the work canteen, and then it's a few clicks on Deliveroo for dinner. What? You've never heard of Deliveroo either? Did you come from the airport to take a kip into the lake, then?"

Instead of answering his question, I pointed out, "You still haven't told me your name."

He stared at me for a long beat, his expression completely unreadable. But then he answered, "Aidan. My name is Aidan Normanwolf — or Norwolf. The press has been shortening it since the 1800s."

Aidan . For some reason, his first name rippled through me, and with a jolt, I realized I recognized his alternative last name, too.

"Norwolf!" I repeated. "Like whatever this is you're selling on my shirt."

"Exactly," he answered. "I'll tell you what a Norwolf is if you tell me your name, too."

He raised his eyes from his porridge to meet mine again, and a fluttering sensation appeared in my stomach. Not arousal. Something else. A nervous dance of self-conscious butterflies that made me duck my head. Before confessing, "I'm Naomi. Naomi Hamilton."

Silence. And a frisson of fear broke through the butterflies. Did he know who I was, after all? Had he heard about Sea's and Wild's supposed claim on me?

"No wolf-based last name, then?" he asked, clearing away my moment of doubt.

"No, my father was turned," I explained, letting out a breath of relief. "It's kind of a long story, but he wasn't born a wolf. He's from Ghana, actually, and that's why I have a regular last name."

"Why do I get the feeling that everything about you is a long story?" he asked with a wry smile that made his gray eyes crinkle at the sides.

"I'm sorry." I dipped my head. "I know I must sound completely crazy."

"I've heard crazier," Aidan assured me, pushing his bowl away. "Besides, have you ever met an Irishman who didn't enjoy a completely crazy and long story? "

"I…" had to swallow into my suddenly dry throat before answering somewhat truthfully, "I wouldn't know."

Then, before he could follow that up with more questions, I asked, "Is that town on the other side of the mountain a wolf one?"

"No." The wry smile disappeared. "At least not as far as I can tell. How do you not know this? I assumed that was where you hiked to the lake from."

"Then what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" I asked instead of answering his question.

"I'm on… vacation — actually more like a working sabbatical. This house is a loaner from… ah, I guess you could call him a distant acquaintance of mine."

I'd only formally met this guy a few minutes ago, but I frowned the way I did with Sadie when I sensed my lifelong friend wasn't giving me the full truth. "What aren't you telling me?"

"What aren't you telling me?" he countered, raising both eyebrows. "You're the stranger that mysteriously fell into the lake with about a thousand signs warning you against going anywhere near it."

"I didn't fall!" I snapped before I could think better of it. I was having a hard time thinking.

This male… his scent. He made it hard for me to think clearly about anything.

"You didn't…" His face fell. "I'm sorry. I should've guessed that you were going through something."

He took a guilty step back. "After we eat, can I drive you somewhere? Maybe Galway?"

"Galway," I repeated. "Like the Ed Sheeran song?"

"Yes, like the Ed Sheeran song. "

What I was beginning to suspect was a semi-permanent wry smile came back. But then he quickly got serious again.

"Also, it's the closest big city. They'll have therapists and people who can help you sort out whatever emotions were making you want to take your life."

"Take my life?" My mouth dropped open when I realized, "Oh, you think I was trying to… no, no, that wasn't it. Just the opposite, in fact."

"Then what were you up to out there? And how did a North American she-wolf end up in an Irish lake?"

"I was… I was actually running away." I exhaled, then decided to just tell him everything — the best I could without sounding like a crazy person. "You see, I have this whole life planned in Canada."

For the first time, I found myself admitting out loud, "I grew up in this extremely strict community where I didn't remotely fit in, and I've spent most of my adult life trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. So I trained myself in physics, passed a general education exam, and applied and got into one of Canada's top institutes of technology. I also signed up for this trip to go to Scotland for my sister's wedding. It's another long story, but the plan was to hide out there until it was time to start university in Canada this winter. Only thing is we — like me and a bunch of other she-wolves from my community — were kidnapped by a gang of…"

I trailed off before I could finish the story. Aidan had gone completely pale.

I had a bad feeling even before he asked, "Are you…? Are you a W?lfennite?"

My stomach dropped. "Oh, God, you're one of the Irish Wolves! You're going to hand me back over to them! "

I leaped up from the table. I had to get out of there. Aidan got in front of me before I could figure out which direction to run. "I'm an Irish Wolf, but I am most certainly not in league with — or anything like — the ones who kidnapped you."

"I don't believe you!" A panicked flush washed over me, like a sudden fever, and I tried to cut in the opposite direction.

Aidan was faster than I was in this manic state, though. He got in front of me again, this time with both hands raised. "I'll take you wherever you want. No more questions asked. I only want to help you escape and get back to the life you had planned. Please, trust me. Naomi…"

His eyes became gravely sincere. "I would never, ever hurt you. Whatever you need from me, I'll do it."

Whatever I need. I let out a breath. Little did he know that offer was the exact right answer to a final test I didn't realize I was administering.

"I just… I just need to use your phone to call my family," I answered.

"Sure, it's still in my coat. I'll just go get it. Call whoever you want. Then I'll drive you into town. Was that where you were trying to get to?"

"Sort of," I confirmed. I opened my mouth to explain the whole story. My escape. The lake. All of it.

But another hot flush rolled over my body, stealing the words. And all my air. Even though my panic had subsided.

What in the world…?

In an instant, it felt like I was drowning again. But not in water this time. A fever stole over me. And it had nothing to do with the embarrassment of finding myself half-naked in an extremely handsome stranger's vacation house.

In fact, suddenly, the few clothes I wore were one t-shirt and a single sweater too many. The fabric tore at my skin like the barbed wire we twisted around the community chicken coop to keep foxes out.

I tore the sweater off and then the t-shirt. But it still wasn't enough.

I stood there completely naked, but it felt like I was drowning in a swamp of heat.

Oh, God… the realization hit me in another wave of fever. And the stricken look on Aidan's face confirmed what I was going through.

Heat . I was in heat.