Wolf Games

Chapter 3

“I’ve changed my mind about heading home. I’m canceling my flight, Maggie. I’m not letting you head off into the wilds of Alaska with this group of misfits.” Pam folded her arms in front of her.

Maggie sighed. Not again. The entire seven-hour drive from Liard to Whitehorse, Maggie had struggled to answer her friend’s endless nosy questions. It didn’t help that during their couple days of sightseeing in Whitehorse before Pam’s fight home, Erik shadowed them everywhere. He seemed to be trying his best to give them a little space but still refused to leave her alone.

“I’m not headed into the wild with them. I’m simply getting a ride to Haines to rejoin my family.”

“Yeah, right. The family you’ve been soooo thrilled about. It’s been years since your parents’ accident. I thought you told me your sister was involved in some kind of a cult at one point. You never wanted anything to do with her friends when we were at university. There was that one time you even hid from them. Or don’t you remember?”

A shiver ran over her skin at the memory. She wished she could forget. “Damn it, Pam. Of course I remember, but things have changed.”

“Right.”

Maggie hesitated. How was she supposed to convince Pam when she wasn’t sure herself? A wolf pack was supposed to be the safest place on earth. A place to be nurtured and cared for, not a hellish trap. That hadn’t been her sister’s experience, or her own. In defense, she’d rejected the pack of her youth, had even managed to reject the whole idea of being a wolf for a long period of her life. She couldn’t do it anymore. Her body wouldn’t let her.

But her heart and mind were terrified to take the next step.

She settled into one of the rigid plastic chairs in the airport waiting area. “Pam, I know it seems strange, but you’ve got to trust me on this. My sister and I have always kept in touch and I love her dearly. Plus she’s married to a wonderful guy now.”

Pam shook her head reluctantly. “I just don’t understand why after all this time you’re deciding to move back to the Yukon. I thought we were going to keep rooming together. I’m…disappointed.” She squatted beside Maggie. “I’m worried about your health. You’ve never shaken off this mono or whatever it is you’ve got. What if you have another attack while you’re on the road?”

“That’s part of the reason I won’t be driving.” She grabbed Pam’s hands. “I’m going to be fine. Really. I’m so glad we got to spend this time together. You kick butt when it comes to singing on road trips.” Pam snorted and they grinned at each other.

“I couldn’t sing my way out of a paper bag.” Suddenly Maggie was wrapped in a huge hug, the breath squeezed from her body. Pam let her go only to shake a finger in her face. “I want regular emails. Let me know when you’re settled and if I don’t hear from you often, I’m coming back with a gun.”

Maggie laughed. “I expect you to visit me in Haines when you can. You’ve been an awesome friend. I’m going to miss you.”

One last final hug and Pam joined the short line winding its way through the security checkpoint. Maggie felt him at her side before she saw him. While it freaked her out a little to have Erik hovering over her, it also felt very right. The two days she’d shopped and visited the theater and museums with Pam, his presence in the background had reassured her. Made her feel safe. No wonder Pam thought she was crazy to go anywhere with him—he was like an obsessed stalker in her friend’s eyes. Now through final security, Pam turned back to wave farewell. She gave Erik a dirty look and held her fingers like a phone, pointing at Maggie and mouthing “call me”.

Maggie would miss her, but dealing with the pack for the first time in years with a human around? Not a good idea.

“She’s a nice girl.” The deep timbre of his voice hit her low in the gut. “You okay?”

She nodded. The familiar protective layers she’d built around her for years were disappearing fast. Now she headed into dangerous territory. Oh damn, was it possible to get comfortable being around a huge group of wolves again? Would she ever feel safe?

“I left the boys at the Canada Games Center to play for a while. I’d like to take my mate out for lunch.” He slipped an arm around her, tugging her to his side.

A thrill shot through her at the layers of meaning she could read into his words. His claim on her—she couldn’t deny it was real. Her wolf pranced at the thought of going anywhere with him. Especially somewhere private where they could remove a few articles of clothing and get intimate.

She shook her head to break free of the images taunting her. She couldn’t. They shouldn’t. Not…yet. “I told you we’re waiting. I meant it.”

He twisted to face her, their bodies sliding closer. “You think it’s too dangerous to share lunch with me?” Heat rolled off his skin and she had to look way, way up to see into his eyes. Her mouth watered, her hormones kicking into high gear.

Bastard. He knew how much his touch affected her. “You’re a royal pain in the ass.”

“Not yet.” He stroked her hip intimately, cupping her butt cheek in one palm briefly. He winked, then pressed his wide hand on her lower back to direct her steps toward the parking lot. Heat shot through her core, and her wolf sat up and begged. Maggie jerked free from his touch by picking up the tempo. Of course, since her legs were much shorter, she almost had to run to outpace him. She twirled and planted her hands on her hips. She needed to regroup before they headed to Haines.

“Look. I know you’ve got direct orders from your chief Pooh-Bah, but I’d like some time by myself. No one is going to accost me on the streets of Whitehorse. I’m perfectly safe. I used to live here. I just want to be left alone and…”

Lordy, how was she supposed to stay angry with him when every time she gave him hell, he did nothing but smile? It wasn’t just any kind of smile, it was a do-you-want-to-crawl-into-bed-with-me-now kind of smile. The expression had a lot of impact when you placed it on his six-foot-five frame and added in his gorgeous features and his dark sparkling eyes.

Did he have to smell so damn good?

“You can’t walk by yourself in Whitehorse. I don’t know if you noticed over the past couple days, but there are a lot more wolves living here than in Vancouver. Not only are you a member of a rival pack, you’re also related to a couple of the most powerful wolves in the North. Keil thought you were single. He didn’t want any young pups trying to take advantage of you.”

“I am single.”

He growled softly and her core muscles tightened in reaction. Oh shit, she’d pissed off his wolf. Icy fingers of dread raced up her spine and her heart pounded. She wanted to drop to her knees and bare her throat in submission. Another part wanted to scramble away, to flee from his anger. Somehow she kept her eyes open in the hopes she’d be able to duck if he swung at her. With his height advantage, he towered over her, and she felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of the man.

He lifted her chin with a single finger and spoke firmly. “You. Have. A. Mate.” Her wolf panted in agreement and crawled closer to the surface. She grabbed her stomach as cramping pain rocked her. “Damn it, what the hell…?” Erik wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Somehow she ended up in his lap as he squatted on his heels, his back against a rental car. The world spun in circles and she scrambled for the vial of pills in her pocket. He took it from her, shook out a few and handed them over. From somewhere he produced a water bottle and she gulped greedily. She kept her gaze averted. Between her fears and her rising need for him, she felt completely out of balance.

It didn’t take long for the pain to ease. When she opened her eyes it was to stare into his concerned face.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He cupped her face in his big palm, examining her carefully.

She nodded slowly. All she sensed was his concern and desire. She ignored her tangled nerves and forced herself to calm down. He’d been nothing but trustworthy, and he deserved to be treated with respect.

“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Maggie bit her lip. “Chemical imbalance.” For now, that’s all she wanted to admit.

He frowned. “You’re a wolf. Change and you’ll heal.”

She scrambled off his lap and wavered for a second before his strong arm supported her. That was one topic she was nowhere ready to discuss with him. “I’m hungry. Can we have lunch?”

Erik eyed her as he led her to his SUV. “Nice try at changing the topic. Why are you fighting this so hard? You need—”

“I need lunch. Something raw. Is that possible here in Whitehorse?”

His smiled wryly. “I know just the place.”

“A combo platter for four please.”

Maggie elbowed him. “Four?”

Erik sniffed. She must be extra hungry, maybe that was part of her problem. Silly women were always on diets when they didn’t need to be. “Sorry, make it for six. Everything raw, extra wasabi on the side, and skip the pickled ginger.” They grabbed spots at the end of the long counter and he held her high-backed stool as she sat, still chuckling.

“You turkey. That’s not what I meant.”

“What?” He captured her hand in his and held it. She might want to go slow but there was no way he would let her completely ignore the fact they were meant to be together. He wanted to touch her, just to torment himself. A flush covered her cheeks and she tugged slightly, testing his hold, before relaxing and squeezing his fingers.

“I’m sorry. I’m not making this easy for you.” Her smile faded, and he hurried to reassure her.

“Trust me, I’ve seen mated pairs in action often enough to know their relationships are not always easy. I’m prepared for anything you send my way.” He brushed the fingers of his free hand against her cheek. “I’m all yours.”

The light chatter of tourists carried around them, the scents of people filled the air, but all he noticed was her. Bright blue eyes stared at him. The teasing light fragrance of her perfume, the stronger scent of her wolf—both filled his nostrils and clouded his mind.

His stomach rumbled and broke the intense connection between them. Concern for her health nagged at him. There was something wrong with his mate, and he struggled to understand. Wanted to fix things and make her better. He needed more details. “You want to tell me what the pills are about?”

She wrinkled her nose. For a second he thought she might try to lie, but then she sighed. “I’ve got some kind of chemical imbalance, and I discovered by chance the pills help change my blood pH enough to knock me back to normal levels for a while.”

“I still don’t see why your wolf doesn’t heal you. Does Missy know about this?”

She nodded slowly.

That was good enough for now. For the past two years Missy had often shared her concern for her sister, how she felt Maggie needed to be back with family as soon as possible. He’d have more time to talk about the situation when they were safely on pack land.

“I’ll trust she’ll do what she can to help you. You let me know if I can do anything, okay?” Erik kissed her cheek lightly, using the opportunity to suck in a deep breath of her scent. Hell. This was sheer hell.

The area grew more crowded. Their tray of food arrived, distracting him for a second. Maggie stopped chatting, closing in on herself. Erik glanced around to see other wolves had joined them and now sat at the counter.

One slid closer to Maggie and leered. “Hey, sweet thing. You new in town?”

Erik lifted a brow. Was the man an idiot? Or blind?

It wasn’t even worth making a commotion. Wordlessly, he transferred Maggie from her stool to his lap. He selected a piece of sushi and lifted it to her lips. “Ignore him. You said you were hungry. Try this.”

She shot him a grateful look and snuggled closer. “Thank you, although you need to stop hauling me around like I’m a sack of potatoes.”

She accepted the tidbit and her tongue stroked his skin. He clenched his jaw hard to stop from growling out loud. That’s how she wanted to play it? Okay by him. Anything to keep touching her.

They might have been alone. The new wolves left quickly after realizing he and Maggie were together, and for the first time in a long while, Erik was glad his sheer size was enough to intimidate. Seated at the end of the restaurant counter, his back to the wall, Erik fed piece after piece of delicate salmon, fresh tuna and other sashimi to his mate. After the first couple of times Maggie shyly picked a portion and offered it to him in return.

He sucked her fingers into his mouth, licking them clean one by one, his gaze never wavering from hers.

She whimpered, soft and low in her throat, and he had to close his eyes to concentrate on keeping his wolf at bay. Everything about the woman called to him, but she seemed to be going out of her way to drive him wild. She was strong, but needed his protection. Smart, yet tender hearted. He drew her close and kissed her briefly, brushing their lips together. His hand skimmed over her thigh, tugging her closer into his lap and against his rising erection.

She had to know he wanted her.

Maggie licked her lips, then returned to feeding him. It was as erotic as they could get in a public place. It was a good thing they were in a public place, or he’d never have lasted. A few of the barriers she’d raised between them seemed to have slipped away. He glanced at his watch. There was just enough time to finish their meal, pick up the boys and be on their way.

He chose another piece and held it to her lips. He was going to enjoy every possible moment with his mate.