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There weren’t enough home comforts high on the mountain. No satellite TV or beauty parlours within walking distance. Plus, I shared the cabin with my brothers, which made things awkward.
While Silas was easy-going, Tanner was a grumpy asshole.
We all attended the mating ceremonies when they took place, usually once a year, but so far, none of us had found our mate. It was strange, but not so unusual. Sometimes shifters never met their fated mates and ended up settling with someone who just fit in other ways.
Nothing stopped any of us from doing that and there were several females who had expressed an interest in both me and Silas, but we didn’t take them up on it.
I preferred to wait for my fated mate to come along. I’d seen what happened when a shifter settled with someone who wasn’t their fated mate. When they finally met the one, the ensuing breakup was painful and messy for all parties.
No way was I going through that - or putting some female through it. And I knew Silas felt the same way.
My eyes drifted back to Eva, dozing on the sofa. She lay with her head on a cushion, her legs tucked beneath her. Some of her blond hair had come loose from the hair elastic.
She looked so young. The tension I saw earlier had disappeared. Her face was softer. Her feet were still bare because the clothes she arrived in, which I had laundered, weren’t dry yet and I hadn’t dug out any socks.
Were her feet cold? Maybe I should cover her with a blanket. Just as I was about to do that, the back door opened and Silas walked inside shaking snow from his shoulders. He was naked from shifting back. Not wanting him to wake Eva, I raised one finger to my lips.
He nodded, understanding, and ducked into the laundry room to pull some clothes on. The last thing we needed was Eva thinking we were some kind of freaky naturists.
The truth was a whole lot more complicated, and while that conversation needed to happen, now was not the time.
Silas
The minute I walked into the laundry room, Cole shushed me. Normally I’d tell him to go fuck himself, but from his tight expression I guessed Eva was nearby and he didn’t want her freaking out at the sight of my dick.
Which was fair. It was pretty impressive. Despite the sub-zero temperatures outside.
I pulled on some sweats and a tee before heading into the kitchen, raking my fingers through my hair.
Eva was curled up on the sofa, half-asleep. Was she still in pain? My wolf whined in my head, worried about her, but I pushed him down and turned to face Cole.
“What’s going on? Is she alright?” My voice rose. He shushed me again. Of course, this just made me want to kill him, which he obviously realized because he yanked me back into the laundry room and closed the door with a click.
“Calm down! She’s fine, well, physically at least.” He rubbed the scruff on his jaw and ground his teeth. This wasn’t like Cole. He was the most laid-back guy I knew. Something was wrong.
“Just tell me before I go back in there and ask her myself.” I growled at him while fighting the urge to break the door down and go to her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” he admitted, sounding worried. “She ate some food and then I suggested she go relax in the living room while I cleared up. After that, she kinda shut down a bit, and then when I dropped a pan and it made a loud noise, she seemed terrified. She’s calmed down a bit since then, probably because of the music, but honestly, something isn’t right with her. The woman is scared of her own shadow, which is really fucked up.”
Ignoring my wolf, who was now whining and pacing restlessly, I leaned against the counter, my fists clenched. “I checked her car. The same guy from last night came back. His scent was all over the area and there were footsteps everywhere. The car was empty, so I think he took whatever Eva had in there.”
“She’s on the run, I reckon. Possibly from whoever that guy is.”
“We need to talk to her and find out what’s going on.”
“Yeah, once I get some details, I’ll run some searches on the cunt, find out what we’re dealing with.” He looked thoughtful. “It’s good that Tanner’s due back. We might need his help if shit hits the fan.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t.” I had no issues dealing with a human scumbag, but the last thing I wanted was to scare Eva more than she already was.
“Is the road closed?”
We walked back into the kitchen, keeping our voices low. I was desperate for food and a coffee having burned up a lot of calories running around the forest. And it was fucking freezing this morning, which used up even more energy.
“I reckon so. The snow was over two feet deep in places and the gray sky suggests a lot more snow is on the way. Tanner’s going to have fun getting up here.”
Cole snorted as he switched the coffee machine on. “Serves the fucker right for taking a job on this late.”
“Maybe he’ll stay in the valley.”
