Chapter Six
Christine stared absently at her computer screen. Focusing was impossible as her mind was filled with thoughts of one man. She glanced at Ethan's closed office door. He hadn't arrived in the office this morning. Suspicion nagged at her. Did his absence have anything to do with what she had witnessed last night? She had woken up in his bed to find him gone. Her watch had told her it was 1 am. She had been confused, wondering where he could have disappeared to at this hour. Of course, she had come to learn that the man was a workaholic after dating him for the past month, so there was a good chance he was somewhere in his apartment working on his laptop.
She searched for him but had been unable to find him. By chance, she had been standing by the window and happened to look out. To her astonishment, Ethan had darted out of the woods and across the backyard of his building, completely nude. She had run back to bed, knowing he was on his way up.
Her mind still raced, wondering what he was into. Sure, she had suspected something a bit off about Ethan since first laying eyes on him. There was a dark edge to his appearance and personality. It had set off alarm bells initially, but it had been attractive at the same time. Which woman didn’t secretly love the bad boy type?
She stifled a groan. It was just her luck to find the perfect man only to find out that he was into something shady. What in the world was he doing running around outside naked? She heaved a sigh and massaged the bridge of her nose. She was itching to confront him about what she had seen, but couldn’t muster the courage.
“You don’t seem to be working, Christine.”
She jumped when Nancy’s voice penetrated her deep thoughts. “Err, I am,” she assured the woman staring at her coldly. “I was just-”
“Wasting your time day dreaming? About what or should I say who?”
Christine blushed and busied herself typing. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Nancy.”
Nancy eyed her suspiciously. “Be careful, Christine. You do want to keep your job, don’t you?”
Christine's eyes narrowed. She felt like she had just been threatened. It felt like a great feat had been accomplished, putting up with Nancy's attitude for an entire month and one week. "Of course."
“Good, I expect everything to be finished by tomorrow, even if you have to stay late.”
Christine sighed softly and murmured, “Of course.”
Nancy sent her one last hateful look and turned to leave. Christine didn’t miss the smirk she wore. She gritted her teeth. The woman’s hate for her was getting worse every day. Had she somehow figured out that Christine and Ethan’s relationship was no longer just professional? Making an attempt to push Nancy and Ethan out of her mind, she diverted her attention to the task at hand.
***
“Hey Christine, are you planning to stay here all night?”
“Huh?” She glanced up to see Margaret looking at her questioningly.
“It’s well past five, dear. I’m on my way out. You should get going before it gets too dark out. ”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks, Margaret. See you tomorrow.” She hadn’t realized that it was so late. Thanks to Nancy, she had been buried in work for the past few hours. The woman had already left, leaving Christine to finish up a mountain of clerical work. There was no way she could go home without completing all her tasks or she would face Nancy’s wrath the following morning. She would go another two hours and then head home. With an exhausted sigh, she went back to work.
The ringing of her cell phone in her bag broke her concentration. Reaching for it, she answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Christine.”
The deep, low drawl caused her heart to jump. “Ethan.”
“You don’t sound too excited to hear from me.”
"Uh, of course, I am. I missed you today. Is everything alright?"
“Yes. I’m sorry I haven’t called until now. I had some other business to take care of.”
She pursed her lips, fighting the urge to ask him what kind of business. The image of him running naked from the woods played in her mind. Should she ask him about it? “It’s fine.”
“I trust you are staying with me tonight.” It wasn’t a question but a statement. She had never been able to say no to him.
“I’m still at work.”
“What? Why?”
“Your personal assistant has turned me into her own personal slave.”
He sighed and muttered an expletive. “I’ll deal with her.”
“No, please don’t. If you do, she’ll suspect that we are… involved. I can handle her. I’m almost finished anyway. I’ll leave in another hour.”
“I’ll come and get you.”
“I can take the bus.”
“I’m coming to get you in an hour, Christine.”
Her brows furrowed, annoyed with his arrogance. “Fine.” Hanging up the phone, she went back to work.
An hour later, she glanced out the window. It was now dark. “I must be the only one left in the building,” she murmured to herself. She decided that enough was enough and shut down the computer. But as soon as she stood up, a wave of nausea washed over her. She groaned. She hadn’t eaten anything out of the ordinary for lunch. She rushed to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time as the contents of her stomach were projected.
Weakly making her way back to her desk, she grabbed her handbag, hoping she wouldn’t be sick again. She walked to the door, trying to walk steadily. She wasn’t the type to experience nausea and vomiting. Weird. I must be coming down with something.
But then another thought struck her. She stopped abruptly in her tracks. She hadn’t been paying much attention because of her excitement of being in a new relationship. But, if she calculated correctly, her period was almost two weeks overdue. Could it be? She gulped. Oh no. Walking out the door on wooden legs, she nibbled nervously on her nails.
Calm down, you don’t know anything for sure, she attempted to reassure herself. In the back of her mind, she knew it was very possible. She’d had unprotected sex with Ethan their first night together. How could I be so irresponsible? She knew why. She had been swept off her feet by him and thrilled that a man like him was interested in her. Oh God, I’m so screwed. I can’t be pregnant from my boss.
She reached the elevator and stepped in, still lost in thought. She took a deep, steadying breath. She needed to compose herself before Ethan arrived. Stepping off the elevator and into the lobby, she nodded to the security guard and headed out the door. She crossed the street and decided to wait for Ethan at the bus stop. She detected movement in her peripheral vision and turned to check it out. She frowned when she saw nothing.
Looking around, she was starting to feel uncomfortable and regretting not remaining inside or within the security guard’s sight.
“Christine Morrow?”
She swung around startled, to see a burly man walking toward her. “Who wants to know?”
He leered. “By the description I got, I would say that you are.”
She took a step back, eyeing the door across the street, wondering if she could make it across. But, the man drew closer, making that route of escape impossible. Her heart began to pound. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t worry Christine, I’ll make it quick.”
She gasped and took several more steps back. Was it just her imagination or did his eyes flash a different color? “Please, if it’s money you want, I’ll give you whatever I have.” She held out her handbag to him.
With a laugh, he kept stalking her. Whirling around, Christine broke out into a run. It was just her luck that there were no buildings she could dash into on that side of the street. The sound of pounding footsteps behind her stopped. Taking a chance, she slowed down to glance over her shoulder. The large stranger was nowhere in sight. She stopped, finding it strange that she had outrun him. Taking precaution, she ducked behind a bush and waited. Seconds ticked by and he didn’t show up. Thank God. Maybe he had given up the chase.
She stood up slowly and backed away from the protection of the foliage. But turning around she let out a strangled gasp. Gripped with terror, she starred at the very large animal in front of her. She knew there were wolves in Washington, but what was the animal doing in the city? It stooped low and let out a growl, ready to pounce. There was no way she could outrun the animal. A scream escaped her lips as the animal lunged forward, its front paws hitting her in the chest and sending her to the ground with a loud thud.
The impact left her struggling to catch her breath. She stared up into the eyes of the animal, knowing for sure that she was going to die. But suddenly, the pressure of the wolf’s weight was lifted off of her. The sound of the animal whimpering followed by the sickening sound of bone cracking penetrated her terrorized haze. She lifted her head to see another wolf with thick brown fur approaching her, its mouth covered with blood. Her stomach lurched at the sight of the red liquid.
She let out a frightened moan and attempted to back away from the approaching animal. It stopped moving forward to stare intently at her, its eyes changing from yellow to black. It remained still and she frowned. It was almost as if the animal was trying to reassure her. She made eye contact, noting that the animal’s eyes looked familiar. They looked like eyes she had stared into many times over the past month. “It can’t be,” she whispered before spiraling into unconsciousness.
***
Ethan stared down at an unconscious Christine with concern. He was beginning to regret not taking her to the emergency room after she had fainted. She now lay on his couch, her features pale. He wondered how much she had seen or if she would remember anything. Stooping beside her, he stroked her hair. His fear of seeing her pinned beneath another Shifter still had not worn off. The Shifter wasn't a part of his pack, but a member of a long time enemy pack, the same one that had caused his father's death. His brows knitted. Why would one of its members go after Christine?
He glanced down when she let out a soft moan and shifted slightly. Relief poured through him. Her eyes fluttered open and he smiled, staring into her hazel depths. “I thought you’d never wake up,” he whispered.
She frowned. “Ethan? What happened?”
“You fainted.”
Struggling to sit up, Christine groaned. “How embarrassing. You should know that I’m not the fainting type. Well, I do get a bit woozy when I see blood.” She paused. The memory of seeing blood played across her mind, triggering everything else. She turned to him, her eyes wide with dread. “There was a man chasing me and then he disappeared.” She stopped, shaking her head. “I thought I saw wolves. But that’s ridiculous, right?”
Ethan averted his gaze. “Uh, well what exactly do you remember about the wolves?”
“They tried to eat me of course.” Sitting up, she swung her legs over the edge of the couch. “We need to call animal control.”
“Christine, don’t get up. You still look a bit pale and the animals have been dealt with.”
“So you saw them then? Okay, I’m not going crazy. Did you find me unconscious?”
“Not exactly, you were still awake when I arrived.”
She pinned him with her gaze. “I need to make a police report, Ethan. The man that came after me was sent for me.”
He stood up, alarm mounting. “What do you mean?”
"Before I ran, he called my name and he said someone gave him a description of me. I don't understand. Why would anyone want to hurt me? I'm a secretary, for goodness sake. I don't even go out except when I go out with you. What enemy could I possibly have?"
Ethan stayed quiet, his mind working overtime. “Christine, just calm down.”
“Calm down? You can’t seriously be telling me to calm down. Someone tried to kill me and then I almost got eaten. I mean what are the chances of being attacked by both human and animal in the space of five minutes?” She let out a mirthless laugh. “It is so not my night.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up like that. I’m really stressed right now.”
“It’s okay.”
“I really should report it.”
“You can’t.”
“Why the hell not, Ethan?” She asked outraged and confused.
“The man that attacked you is dead.”
She gawked at him. “What? How do you know?”
Ethan turned away from her and ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. He would have to reveal what he was sooner or later because he didn’t plan on ever giving her up.
Christine stood up. “Ethan, what is it? I don’t understand why you don’t want me to call the police. If there is a dead man lying around, they should know.” Although, she couldn’t figure out what had caused the man’s death.
He turned around to face her. “I killed him, Christine.”
Her heart stopped and she took a step back. “Ethan, you can’t talk like that.”
He took a step toward her. “He was going to kill you and he wasn’t human.” She was starting to feel faint again. “You should sit down.” He suggested.
She looked at him with fear in her eyes. She glanced at the door, wanting to run. Ethan huffed, “For goodness sake, Christine, if I wanted to hurt you I would have done so a few minutes ago when you were unconscious on my couch.”
She made a distressed sound. “You’re talking crazy. What do you mean that man wasn’t human?”
“He was a Wolf Shifter, like me,” he said softly, gauging her reaction.
Christine blinked and then let out a laugh. “A what?”
“A Wolf Shifter.”
“Oh my God, you’re being serious. I’m in love with a crazy person,” she murmured.
His eyes widened. “You’re what?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head. I can’t believe I said that out loud. “Let’s not stray from the fact that you think you’re a wolf or whatever.”
He shrugged. “I have been wondering when to tell you.”
She held up a hand. “Not another word, Ethan. It’s ok. I’m sure we can get you a good psychiatrist.”
His lips twitched. “I’m not crazy, although my brothers would tell you otherwise.”
“You have brothers?” It dawned on her that she really didn’t know much about him. She had chosen to look over the fact that he was always so secretive. She captured his gaze, her mouth falling open. Another memory appeared. She had looked into the eyes of the second wolf and they were identical to Ethan’s. Shaking her head, she whispered, “That’s impossible. The wolf had your eyes.” He remained silent, holding her gaze. “This is ludicrous. There is no way you could have transformed into an animal.”
So she really has no idea about her own half-Shifter gene, he mused silently.
Christine dropped onto the couch. “I saw you the other night. You ran out of the woods naked.”
Ethan froze. He had detected that something was off with her behavior when he took her home the following morning. Now he knew why. He really needed to be more careful. But he had been in a rush to get back before she woke up and discovered that he was gone. “I was coming from a pack meeting.”
“Oh God,” she groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “Pack? As in a group of people who think they are wolves?”
“I am a wolf.”
She sighed. “Alright, say you are whatever you say you are, does anyone else know?”
“No. We can’t afford to let humans know about us. People are afraid of what they can’t understand.”
“Then why would you tell me?”
“You are my true mate.”
Christine was taken aback. “Um, I’m not quite sure what you mean.”