“What the hell am I supposed to do, Moll?”
Gabe touched the glass of the frame, studying the beautiful features of his wife’s face. It had been so long since he’d seen her. He would give anything to be with her again.
But the wolf was making it more and more clear that the situation with Val was more serious than he wanted for it to be. That private thought she’d had over dinner had smelled better to the wolf than all that food combined. In fact, the wolf was pacing in its cage right at that moment, urging Gabe to throw all his inhibitions out the window and ascend the stairs with utmost urgency.
Gabe was disgusted at himself. Molly had helped him to make this house a home, and now he had invited his biggest temptation there. It had to be done, but it was already starting to feel like the biggest mistake he had ever made, or would ever make. He would never forgive himself if he let the wolf have its way. He refused to betray his wife.
“Gabe?”
Valerie’s voice cut through his thoughts like a sensual blade, and he groaned inwardly, caressing the frame of his wife’s picture one more time before placing it back on the mantel.
“What do you need, kid?” Gabe asked.
Maybe if he focused on the fact the girl was practically half his age, the wolf would let up. The last thing he needed was to feel like a frickin’ pervert.
“This is kind of embarrassing…”
Gabe made his way up to the girl, the wolf eagerly leading the way.
“What’s going on?” Gabe asked, pushing her bedroom door open.
He was startled to see Val in a fluffy pink robe, her long, beautiful legs fully visible. Was this some kind of a trap? Was she trying to get the wolf to surrender?
“I don’t know how to turn the shower on,” Val said.
Gabe looked at her squarely, realizing this wasn’t a ploy at all. The girl was humiliated having to ask him, and refused to meet his eye; her hands covering the chest of her robe and her legs pressed tightly together. This was not inviting behavior. She was flustered.
“All right. Come here and I’ll show you.”
Val took a step forward, still refusing to let go of her robe or meet Gabe’s eyes.
“You see this knob here? It pulls out. You turn the water to the temperature you want it first.”
As Gabe demonstrated, Valerie’s mood seemed to grow darker, but her voice remained bright when she laughed, embarrassed, “Oh. Every faucet I’ve ever had was kind of different. Thanks.”
“You’ve had a lot of faucets?” Gabe asked, sensing sadness in the girl’s voice.
“Yeah…I was in the system. Foster care. My parents didn’t want me.”
Gabe frowned, all traces of the wolf’s longing had gone and was replaced by the fierce urge to protect her.
“Well, you can stay here for as long as you want,” Gabe said, the wolf taking over before he had the chance to filter it out.
“Thank you, but you don’t have to say that. I think I’m going to shower now…”
“Of course!” Gabe exclaimed, suddenly embarrassed. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel like he was making excuses to stay in the room with her half naked.
“Thanks again,” Val called, ushering him out of the room and closing the door behind him.
Gabe stared at the door, just as flustered as Val had been, and then walked slowly to his bedroom. He sat on the bed and ran his hands through his thick hair. It was hard enough having the girl there in the first place. How was he going to handle this?
He stood abruptly and rummaged through his closet, taking down the small box of sentimental items he had left from his wife. He had put a lot of her things in storage already, knowing it would be too hard to stop grieving her with her clothes and possessions still around the house.
Gabe sat back down on the bed, opening the box carefully to look inside. The room was filled with the gentle scent of Molly’s perfume, and a lump formed in his throat. She would probably hate him for what he was doing with this girl. Val was just a sweet, innocent child that his wolf was trying to take advantage of. And now that she was living in his house, it would be all the easier for that to happen.
He would have to be on his guard more now than he ever had been before. Not only to preserve his love for his wife, but to protect the girl he had taken in. Not only from the dangers of the outside world and the shifters who were surely out to get her but from himself. The wolf simply wasn’t to be trusted. It had gotten him into a serious situation; one that could mean his claim on his late wife would soon mean nothing.
Gabe couldn’t let that happen. From then on out, he was going to have to have an iron will. Absolutely nothing could distract him from the task at hand. He had to find the men responsible for breaking into the shops, find out exactly what they were up to, and put a stop to it once and for all.
In the meantime, he would treat the girl no differently than he would have treated his own daughter, had he and his wife been blessed in that way. Unfortunately, Molly hadn’t been able to have children, and he wasn’t even sure he wanted them anyway. It seemed like a hell of a lot of trouble for little reward. He had his pack to act as a family. He didn’t need anybody else.
Gabe looked through the box for a little while longer, then sighed deeply. It wouldn’t do him any good to get all sentimental about the past. He had to focus on the present or he would never get anything done.