Chapter Five
Ethan stuffed paper and pencils into his backpack, picked up the easel, and headed down the street next to the shop. There was no way he could stay on the corner and work, not now, not with the temptation of Addison only a few feet away behind a very thin, very breakable, piece of glass. He made it all the way around to the back of the building, to the dirt parking lot in back where he’d left the bike before it happened.
One hand curled around the easel, the other hanging on to the strap of the backpack as if it were a lifeline, he stopped letting the aftermath of what had just happened shudder through him. His mate.
He’d never thought it would happen to him, not in a million years. Not to a street-punk without a job, without a pack, without a home. The packs wouldn’t let a rogue wolf like him within a mile of their daughters and here he’d run into one in the middle of this nowhere tourist town. He’d come to Snowflake just to avoid the people at the Wolf Lodge who usually headed to the more expensive resort towns to ooh and ah over the boutiques. What were the odds Addison would come here? And what were the odds that she’d smell like nirvana and look like the sexiest superwoman of his dreams?
The lines of her thighs in those clingy pants, and the way the narrow edge of her sweater wrapped tightly just below the curve of her ass, hinting at what was hidden under its shadow…oh man. It made his mouth water and his dick go hard. But it was the way she smelled—sweet, soft, and sexy—that had him struggling to get on his bike and leave.
But he had to. She’d walked away without a backward glance.
The agony that rose up inside of him stole his breath and he clenched his fists trying just to hang on.
How could she have done it? Didn’t she feel the same irresistible pull that he felt? The pull to grab her and kiss her and make her his. At the thought of what came next, he started to shake.
Damn! He had to get out of here or he’d turn around and go right back and claim her for his own right in the middle of a store full of moms with strollers and kids with drippy ice cream cones. He snorted. Now, wouldn’t Officer Ben love that! He forced himself to fold the collapsible easel up and stow it in the bag, then walk the last few feet to the bike, and get on and start it. The ride home was slow, not because he didn’t want to burn out his tires on every curve, but because he didn’t trust himself not to push it too far and wipe out. And he couldn’t do that. Not now. Not until he’d seen her again.
If he could get to her. He’d seen the sweet little redhead shifter she’d had with her—Trish Hunter. Her big brother owned one of the most expensive mountain lodges in the area. Ethan didn’t dare show his nose there, they’d take one sniff and chase his ass the hell out of there. No, he needed to think of something else.
As he pulled in behind one of the guy’s bikes and parked, he stared at the rusty metal sides of the trailer and let his mind wander. He’d drawn her in charcoal because that was what had been in his hand, but he itched to get out his Prismacolor pencils and choose just the right shade of rich whiskey brown for her eyes, and a darker seal brown for her hair. He turned off the bike and grabbed his stuff. He wasn’t ready to go inside and deal with the others, instead he headed into the woods.
An hour later his ass was numb from sitting on a fallen log in the woods and he had pages of her—black and white, color—but it wasn’t enough. God, he needed to see her naked, needed to see what shape her nipples were, the exact length of her legs, the width of her thighs, the curve of her belly. He’d had to guess everything in the few seconds he’d been able to take her in. He stared at one sketch he’d drawn of her that wasn’t in manga style, but more old-fashioned American comic book, with a gold and red and blue costume. He’d love to have her pose. In costume, out of costume…
He was still staring at the drawing when he smelled cigarette smoke. Under the acrid scent he picked up the distinct odor of Eddy and Frank walking along the trail. He froze, grateful he’d chosen a spot deeper in the trees.
As they drew closer, he heard them talking.
“Where’d Sven go?” Eddy’s voice was pitched high, kind of whiney.
In contrast, Frank’s voice was rough and gravelly from too much hard living and too much smoke. “You know that trail that overlooks the lodge? They took the ATV up to do that job he’s been planning.”
“I wish they’d asked me to come. I’d love to sink my teeth into some rich pussy.” Eddy laughed. “Besides, it sounds like easy money.”
“I don’t know. We’ve been flying under the radar, just picking off cars. If we do this and get caught, the local pack will be on our ass.”
“Wuss.” Now that was the pot calling the kettle black. Eddy was a whiner and totally undependable. Why Sven kept him around, Ethan wasn’t sure.
“That Lincoln Hunter is big,” Frank said. “And he’s got lots of wolves on his side. I wouldn’t be caught dead going after any of the women from their pack.”
“That’s why I bet Sven planned it this way. They get the girls when they’re out of the lodge, no one will be around. Just the pussy.”
“But it’s still on lodge property.” Frank’s voice was full of doubt.
“Fuck it! Those two women deserve everything they get, hanging out with humans.” Eddy’s growl vibrated through the trees. “Uppity pack bitches, thinking they can do whatever the hell they want. Well, they’ve pissed off the wrong wolf, that’s for sure.”
“I thought those fuckers with packs kept close track of their women?”
“They do. But this Howler bitch is resisting all that mating ritual shit.” He could hear the satisfaction in Eddy’s voice. “They’ll teach her a lesson. Sven and Bart are going to work her over so hard, she’ll be running back whimpering to the pack.”
The men’s voices receded as they walked further away into the woods. Ethan strained to hear the rest of the conversation.
“How do they even know where the girls will be?”
“Inside job, man. Inside job.”
Ethan’s heart pounded so hard he was afraid the other two shifters would hear it through the thin winter brush. Lincoln Hunter. Girls. And two humans. Fuck!
He hadn’t been paying much attention after he’d smelled Addison, but before he’d caught her scent he’d been admiring the way all four women crossed the street. The petite redheaded Hunter girl, Addison, and two humans. After all the crap that had happened to him in his life, he didn’t believe in coincidence.
Addison might not be totally on board with him as her destined mate, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was his mate, and she was in trouble.
Picking up his stuff and stowing it as quietly as he could with the adrenaline racing through his system, Ethan eased to his feet. He had to get to the lodge. Even if Lincoln Hunter and the rest of his kind decided to kill him for trespassing.