They washed off and climbed out of the shower. Chance allowed Maya to dress while he pulled on jeans and a t-shirt which he’d taken from his dresser, and then found a fresh bandage from a box beneath his kitchen sink, which he’d almost forgotten he even owned. Nowhere near as kitted out as the one at the restaurant, but it would do. He felt bad that her leg had started to bleed again.
“I’m sorry, Maya. That was too much,” he said, as he wrapped a fresh bandage around the wound.
She reached out to touch the back of his hand, giving him pause. “I’m a big girl. I can decide for myself what is and isn’t too much.”
He looked up into her eyes. She held his gaze, straightforward and serious. She wasn’t the type of woman who’d just go along with something.
He nodded. “Okay. And are you ready to meet my alpha? Everyone should be starting to get back to the compound now.”
A smile tweaked her cheeks, but it looked forced. “Yeah, I think so. I’m nervous about what he’s going to say.”
“Honestly, so am I, but we need to do this. We have to find out if there’s been a case of a shifter recognizing a human as their mate before. We can’t be the only ones.”
He could see the idea of them being mates was still foreign and overwhelming to her. It was easier for him—he’d grown up with the knowledge it would one day happen, and he had the further insight of being able to scent it on her. It was different for her, but she must feel something akin to what he did, or she wouldn’t be here now.
The shifters tended to gather around the meeting house in the center of the compound when they returned from a night of running as wolves. It would be the place he’d find his alpha, Holton, along with elders of the pack who might understand what was happening.
Chance found himself drawn to Maya in a way he’d never been before. They’d only just fucked, and yet he wanted her again, wanted to touch her skin, to taste her, to lose himself in her. No, it wasn’t a want. It was a need—something driven by his body’s basest requirements.
He gave in to his desires for a moment, pulling her against him and folding her into his arms. Her hands slid up his spine, and he hated that he now had the material of his t-shirt between them. He kissed her, her mouth tasting of honey and sunshine, and his hands lifted to lace through her still-damp hair. How could anything feel so soft? She was like a dream caught up in human form, and he could barely believe she’d wandered into his life.
As much as he wanted her again, he knew he needed to speak to Holton. His alpha wouldn’t be too happy if he discovered Chance had brought a stranger, and a human, onto the compound without going directly to him.
He broke the kiss and pressed his nose and forehead against hers. “It’s time to go.”
She nodded.
Slipping his hand into hers, he led her from his house and through the compound, toward the meeting house at its center. They passed a few other shifters, but spoke to no one, though he sensed curious disapproval radiating from them.
They reached the meeting house. Plenty of shifters were still out running tonight, so the place was quiet.
“Come this way.” He took her via the back of the building, hoping he’d be able to catch Holton without the others around. The last thing he wanted was for this to turn into a whole pack thing. His position in the pack was low enough as it was, something he didn’t want Maya to know about. It embarrassed him. He wished he was able to tell her he was alpha or beta, instead of a subservient wolf who’d been used as bait for other members of the pack.
Chance pushed open the back door and stepped inside, checking quickly then pulling Maya in with him. There was no one here yet, something he wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or annoyed about. He’d told Maya he’d have her back home before dawn, and they didn’t have a huge amount of time.
“They’ll be here soon,” he reassured her.
She chewed her lower lip, and he noted how her skin had paled. “I’m not so sure about this,” she said. “Maybe we should take a rain check.”
“I’m not going to push you into any—”
Movement came from the front of the meeting house. Wolves entered, several of them, with the alpha leading the way. They stopped short when they saw him, hackles raised, lips curled in snarls. He knew their reaction was less toward finding him there, and more that he had a human by his side.
Chance stepped forward, shielding Maya with his body. He sensed the tension radiating from her, in the locked muscles of her body and the thrum of her heartbeat.
He addressed the pack. “I can explain.”