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Chapter Four
Daniel
Daniel heard Hunter drive away,and suddenly, he felt completely lost. Human interaction had never been his strong suit, to say the very least, and now there was a naked woman on his kitchen table.
A naked woman who really, really made him feel weird inside. He felt like an avalanche struck him, utterly without warning, leaving him a tangle of competing impulses and confused signals.
He wanted to tear off his clothes, shift, and forage for dinner. He wanted to leave behind these very distinctly human problems and go claw some trees, tromp through a river or two.
Stay human, he told himself. Shifting can’t solve your problems, it can only put them off.
He made a fist with his right hand and squeezed it in his left, then looked at Kade, who was standing in front of the fireplace, glowering at the woman.
Hard to believe it was already going so poorly.
“So,” he said at last, after the silence had grown totally unbearable, “What’s your name?”
“Right,” she said, half-smiling, even though half her face was still lying on the table. “I’m Charlie.”
“Charlie?”
“It’s short for Charlotte.”
“I’ve never heard that before,” Daniel said.
See, you’re having a conversation!he thought.
Charlie shrugged, then winced.
Seeing her in pain tugged at something deep inside Daniel, something that snarled.
“I’m Daniel,” he said. “This is Kade.”
“You said that already.”
Right. Daniel went silent, wondering what the next step in conversation with a human was supposed to be.
“Could I get that water again?” she asked. She lifted her head just slightly off the table, looking around for the glass.
“Yes! Yeah, sure, here you go,” Daniel said, grateful for something to do.
As Charlie gulped eagerly, he glared at Kade, wishing his mate would do something to clear the awkwardness.
She drained the glass, and Daniel lifted it away from her face.
Suddenly, Kade spoke up.
“What are you doing here?” he said. He hadn’t moved from his spot by the fireplace, his thick arms still crossed over his chest.
Daniel heard Charlie swallow.
“Here?” she asked.
“What were you doing in the forest?” Kade asked.
Daniel had heard that tone of voice a million times before. It was the no-nonsense one that Kade used when he was trying to talk it out with the wolves, or when he was reporting on shifter activity to his bosses. There was something else this time, though. A soft edge, something that Daniel knew only he could hear.
Charlie exhaled, hard. She took a moment to answer.
