CHAPTER SIX

IF THERE WAS one thing in the world Jessica recognized, it was the legendary brush off. In fact, she was fairly good at doing it to others in personal situations.  Maiken had pushed her away after being intimate with him, but she couldn’t expect anything other than that. Again, she was only passing through town and would be gone soon, hopefully. With her work and travel schedule, Jess didn’t need the trappings of a relationship to tie her down, no, she was perfectly fine with what’d happened between her and Maiken. Shaking her head, she stood from the sofa and began grabbing her discarded clothing from the floor. They were strewn across the room as if each piece were a breadcrumb trail, leading to the scene of action. And what an action it was. She’d had a few bed partners in her life, but Maiken was something from another planet when it came to getting busy beneath the sheets. Hell, in the middle of the act, she’d forgotten what he really was. Maybe that was the reason he was so good at it—his inner wolf was the one catapulting things into the stratosphere. Shaking her head she tried to rid herself of the absurdity. Normal people didn’t ponder things like wolves and such and as far as she knew, she was normal.

There wasn’t much she could do to change what had happened but Jessica figured the best course of action was to avoid Maiken if she could. Sure, she was in his house, but only for a little while longer if she had anything to do with it. She secretly crossed her fingers that the roads would clear up by the following morning and she could get the hell out of a town where she was already disliked by people who didn’t even know her.

“Going for a run,” Maiken trampled down the stairs, avoiding eye contact with her. He was dressed in only a pair of black athletic short—no shirt, no shoes.

“It’s still pouring outside.” She mentioned as she followed behind him toward the back door.

When he whipped his head around to face her, she jumped. “Don’t worry about me.” His voice was strained like he was holding back anger.

“If you’re pissed off, why hold back? Clearly you have something to say.” She crossed her arms over her chest and proceeded to have a stare down with him. He needed to know one thing about her—she refused to back down.

“Because I don’t feel like competing in a pissing match with you.”

“Fine.” Jessica shrugged her shoulders, then turned away from him. Why did she give a shit whether he had something to say or not? He was of little significance in her life and quite frankly, she would be overjoyed when she saw him in her rearview mirror on the way out of town.

Maiken obviously didn’t care one way or another as he fled out the back door, slamming it behind him. A few pictures on the living room wall vibrated with the force of the slam, while Jessica stood there feeling out of her depth. She knew men were complicated, but when a man was a wolf, it amplified things to a level she couldn’t comprehend.

***

The downpour had tapered off into a light sprinkle by the time Maiken reached the entrance to the forest behind his house. The falling water cooled his naturally hot skin as it pelted down on his bare chest and shoulders. He looked forward to the saturated forest floor squishing under the pads of his paws as he took off for a run. Anytime he felt confused or out of sorts, he’d go for a run in his wolf form. It was a way to let go and be free from anything weighing him down. It wasn’t the best way to handle emotional distress, but it was the only thing he knew how to do well. It was too bad the shitty feelings would still be there when he shifted back to human form. It was like getting tanked off tequila. You could drown your sorrows in the bottom of a bottle, but when you woke up the following morning, the problems would still be there, coupled with a headache and regret. When you had a supernatural side, everything in your life was played to the tenth power, including emotions. Maiken knew he was a slave to his feelings, but he refused to admit it to anyone. He wouldn’t let anyone prey upon his weaknesses.

With a loud grumble, he decided it was time to run. In a way he hated shifting, it wasn’t only painful, it was necessary evil. Dropping to all fours, he reached deep inside himself and found his other self—the wolf self he kept repressed. Letting it take him over, Maiken let out a pained growl as his bones began to shape, his skin covered with thick black fur and his senses began to turn from human to those of a wolf. He could hear for miles and smell things that were reserved for creatures like him. His heartrate doubled as he completed his transition, signaling it was time to run. Nothing felt better than a freeing run and that’s just what he did. The forest was his sanctuary as he hit top speed, trampling the mushy earth beneath him. Twigs and dead leaves crunched under his paws as he finally slowed to a walking pace. His jaunt had built quite a thirst so he stopped beside a creek, taking a drink as he stood on the bank. Suddenly his ears perked up, noticing he wasn’t alone. When he spun around, Izzy stood behind him, also in her fur covered form. She graciously bowed her head showing him a sign of respect. When he’d moved to Blue Creek from Portland a few years ago, Maiken was the Alpha of the Douglas Pack. But since Coleen’s passing, he found himself not wanting to do much of anything that held responsibility, including being a pack leader. He couldn’t be the Alpha they needed him to be while he was consumed with grief—at least he didn’t think he could. Izzy had been trying to talk him into returning to lead his pack, but Maiken just wasn’t ready yet. For now, they would have to be led by Tank.

With a growl from Izzy, Maiken was brought out of his inner musings. Normally he would forget about is human trials when in wolf form, but somehow they bombarded him. Shaking the rain from his coat, he matched his sister’s growl, then began running through the forest once more. As she caught up with him, he was surprised when Izzy jumped on his back in a playful manner and began nipping him. He rolled a bit, tossing her off as they ended up in his back yard. When they heard a gasp, both wolves stood to attention, their ears perked upward and their mouths bearing razor sharp teeth.

In the yard stood Jessica, her face drained of color and the coffee mug in her hand dropping to the ground with a thud. The steamy liquid splashed onto her feet causing her to screech and jump into the air. Maiken stood stock still but Izzy approached his female houseguest sniffing her from just a foot or so away. Jessica didn’t move as she stood there shaking from fear. He knew his sister wouldn’t harm her, but it was rather humorous to see a human get bent out of shape over their wolf forms. 

“Oh God, please don’t eat me,” Jessica said as Izzy moved closer. “If you do, make it quick.” She tried to step backwards, but Izzy rounded her body, trapping Jessica in the yard.

Maiken decided that enough was enough, so he took off around the side of the house where the garage was. He always kept enough room at the bottom of the door so he could slip under it and shift if he needed to. Jessica was already mortified over seeing them in wolf form, and shifting back into a human in front of her would more than likely cause her a heart attack. It didn’t take much time for him to return to human form and when he did, Maiken hurried through the house, grabbing a pair of boxers out of the laundry room on his way. Soon he was stepping out onto the back deck watching Jessica do her best impersonation of a statue, while Izzy continued to stalk around her.

Maiken smiled, then placed his thumb and forefinger to his mouth, blowing out a shrill whistle to get his sister’s attention. When she stopped and looked up at him, he gave a curt wave. He watched her sable fur retreat back into the forest as Jessica let out a pent up breath. “Sorry about that. Iz likes to play.” He stepped down off the deck.

“You call that playing? I could see her freaking teeth.” She approached him with one arm across her stomach and the other over her heart.

“She wouldn’t have hurt you.” He took a seat on the bottom step. “I wouldn’t have let her.”

“Really?” Jessica stood over him.

“If one of us hurts you, that doesn’t bode well for keeping our secret, now does it?”

“Oh so, it’s not about you giving a damn about me as a human being. It’s about you keeping your secret. That’s nice to know.” She angrily said as she tried to pass him on the steps.

Maiken reached over, grabbing her leg so she couldn’t move. “I’m not great at this human interaction shit,” He admitted.

“Trust me, you’ve made that more than clear.” She tried to free herself from his grasp to no avail. “Let go of me,” she kicked her leg.

“I’m sorry,” he released her, then stood, once again blocking her from returning into the house.

“Do you want to know what your problem is?” she asked.

“Sure, lay it on me.”

“I think you act the way you do because you would rather be hated than loved. You want everyone to think you’re an asshole, that way you don’t have to deal with the emotions that come with having close relationships with people.”

Maiken laughed. “Thanks for the heads up, Dr. Phil.”

“I’m out of here,” Jessica pushed past him and into the house but he wasn’t letting her have the last word.

“No, you’re not leaving until I say you can.”

“I’m not staying here a moment longer with an emotionally inept wolf who thinks he can hold me prisoner.” He watched as she  tossed her clothing into her suitcase.

“Jessica,” he growled as he walked closer to her.

“Touch me and I will make it so you never father another child in the future.” She whipped around to face him.

Maiken believed that everything in life happened for a reason. There were no such things as mistakes. As such, he knew Jessica was brought to Blue Creek for a purpose. “I don’t want you to leave.” He lowered his voice.

“Well, I have to.” She slammed the top of her suitcase and pinned him with a stare.

“What’s so important that you can’t stay?”

“I have a life in New York.”

“You can have a life here too.”

“Are you crazy? Even if I wanted to stay, there’s no way you and I would work out. We’re total opposites.” She laughed.

He kept silent at her statement. Maybe she was right. His attraction for her could’ve been fueled by nothing other than the chance to leave his loneliness. Jessica was a beautiful woman who didn’t deserve to be saddled with his baggage. “You’re right.” He sighed. “I’ll call the car rental company in the next town over and have them pick you up.”

“Thank you.” She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

“You never told me why you were driving through here anyway,” he stopped on the first step to go upstairs.

“My mom wanted her ashes spread across a few states. I’m just trying to get it done.” She admitted. “She passed away three months ago.”

“Wow, that’s deep.” Maiken was saddened in a way. Jessica was trying to do something her deceased mother wanted done, and he was treating her like a prisoner in his home. “I have no right to keep you here.” He hung his head and climbed the steps to the second floor. How could he be so insensitive when she was grieving? Hell, he was in the same situation. If someone had treated him like that, he’d have ripped their head off.

***

For a lack of a better term, Jessica knew she and Maiken were like oil and water. Sure, he showed a few signs of kindness while she stayed at his house, but he wasn’t her type. Not to mention the fact that he was a wolf. How was someone supposed to be in a relationship with one? Was she supposed to brush his coat for him, or bathe him with a water hose when he became muddy? Jessica giggled out loud at her own musings. The one thing they did have in common was their grief. He was hurting and she hated that for him, but she was too. Her mom was gone and she would never see her again. Death sucked, point blank. Her best bet was to get out of Blue Creek as fast as she could in the morning and never look back. But would she feel differently when she was actually doing it? That was the million dollar question.