Chapter Ten

Smoke

We padded around the meadow for a while until Titan and Xerxes ran off, probably returning to the pack lands. Titan was looking for something when he led us here. He put his nose to the ground like a hound and sniffed in all kinds of places.

Once he didn’t find what he was looking for, he turned and they left.

Only I was left.

Something was up with Titan and, as I lay on my belly, letting the cool grass cool me, I wondered what it was. Titan didn’t get worked up about anything.

Beyond the meadow was a house. It needed a new coat of paint and some of the windows were broken, but it was a large manor. I should know who lived here, but the name of the family didn’t come to mind. It should. I usually remembered these things.

The meadow boasted blooming flowers despite the winter. The thorny vines wrapped through and within the bushes and tree branches gave the whole place a rose-like feel—beautiful but dangerous if you stumbled the wrong way.

My wolf raised its nose as the wind whipped toward me. Once, there was only the smell of the pig at a distance, the dirt, and the faint scent of other shifters but in a second, everything changed.

The scent of cinnamon buns reached my nose before I saw her. My wolf stepped back and lay on the ground, in a hunting pose. Except the woman wasn’t his prey.

He was entranced by her and, through his eyes, I found myself equally enraptured. Her footsteps were heavy even though her body was lithe. I expected the wind to whip up, whisking her away at any moment. She came into the meadow, only the entrance, and plopped herself on a log, shielded by a tall bush—a barrier between her and the house. The female had a bundle rolled up in her apron and took out a chunk of cheese and the butt end of a baguette.

Not enough food for a female, in my opinion. She gobbled it as though she hadn’t eaten in weeks and I believed it.

I scooted closer to her on the ground. My wolf offered no option in that matter. I had to get near her. Take in more of her scent. See her face. The color of her eyes. The way her mouth moved with each bite.

As I slid on my belly, one of my paws caught a thin branch and snapped it under my weight.

Damn it. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her.

“Hello?” she said and I rumbled, letting out a growl at satisfaction. Her voice was something only the wolf goddess could create.

My wolf gave another growl, this time as she stood and approached. Light footsteps barely graced the ground as she came near. My wolf was big, even large for a shifter, so I lowered my muzzle to the ground, submitting to her visit.

Goddess, I might not be able to keep my form if she reached out and touched me.

“You are gorgeous,” she whispered. I inched toward her more but stopped at her swift intake of breath.

My wolf slapped me with a notion about her, but I pushed it away. Maybe it wasn’t too late to catch up to Xerxes.

I had so many questions. Who was this female? Why hadn’t I seen her before? She was more beautiful than any female I’d ever seen and I’d seen a lot lately.