Chapter Nine
Adalyn jumped away from Wade as a knock sounded at the door. She knew what their situation would look like to everyone at Black Paw. They would accuse her of using her powers to seduce the man in front of her, as her mother had done with Bjorn.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and all that bullshit.
She could see the allegations now. She should have kept her cool and denied his kiss. After all, she didn’t even know the man.
No one would believe her. Certainly not her brother or any of his family. For all they knew, shewasa hussy who roamed the woods looking for stray male wolves to seduce. After all, she supposed the gene for that probably ran in her blood. They would probably burn her at the stake.
“Who is it?” Adalyn cried out in a startled voice, trying like hell to pull her sweater back over her head and tame her hair back to its non-sexually tussled manner. She had no idea what to do about Wade’s shirt, or the buttons scattered across the floor.
“It’s Erin. I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”
“Sure. Uh—just a minute.” Adalyn’s eyes grew wide as she got a good look at Wade. His canines had descended. His golden eyes glowed from the passion they had shared. She motioned for him to do something other than stand there, looking like they’d almost jumped each other’s bones. Which was exactly what they had almost done, but she didn’t want anyone else to know that. Good goddess, her lipstick had smeared all over his face.So much for no smudge!How the hell was she supposed to explain that?
We are so freaking busted!
Wade, bless his heart, had finally snapped out of his lust fueled stupor. He moved to stand beside the door, never bothering to adjust his clothes or wipe her lipstick from his face. Almost as if he wore it as a badge of honor.
Maybe she could just talk to Erin through a crack in the door, so her cousin wouldn’t be able to catch on to hers or Wade’s disheveled appearance.
Adalyn cracked the door open wide enough to see that Erin’s patience was running thin.
“I know Wade is in there with you, and I can smell the desire you’re both coated in. Would you please just open the door and let me in?”
Adalyn blew out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.“Busted indeed,”she said silently to her wolf.
“I could have told you as much, but you never ask for my input,”her wolf replied.
She stepped back, away from the door, to invite Erin into the room. She really was going to have to find out how exactly the wolf side of her worked. It wasn’t like she had anyone around when she was growing up to ask. Her mother and everyone around her were pureblooded witches, who held her in low regard. It would have been handy to know someone other than herself and Wade could smell each other’s desire.
“I should have guessed as much, but I know nothing when it comes to being a wolf.” Embarrassment washed over her and settled in her belly like the rotten fowl her cook used to serve. Standing with Erin and Wade, confessing her ineptness, made Adalyn feel worse about herself than she ever had.
Her wolf may have kept her company in her mind all these years, but that was about it. She had no clue what the animal’s abilities were. Adalyn was ashamed to admit as much, especially to a stranger.
Wade and Erin stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “What do you mean?” they asked in unison.
Adalyn continued staring at the floor. “Before today, I had never even seen a real wolf, let alone been in close proximity to any.”
“Surely you’ve shifted to your animal form?” Wade asked, astonishment clear in his voice.
Adalyn shook her head slowly to indicate that she hadn’t ever shifted to an animal form. “I didn’t know I could do that, since I’m part witch.”
Erin sucked in a surprised breath. “She’s the opposite of me. I grew up hiding the fact that I was a witch, with my powers mostly bound until recently. I had no idea what the witch side of me could really do. I’d always relied mostly on my wolf for everything.”
“But you knew your witch existed. You’d excised some of your powers. Think of going your whole life without ever shifting to your beast.” It was Wade’s turn to dissect what his mate had just said.
“Please let me out to run. They will help you, help us. Together, we can figure it out.”
Adalyn’s head snapped up. “You mean, I can—what was it you called it? Shift? My wolf would be so happy to run. She’s begging me now, even as we speak.”
Erin arched an eyebrow at Adalyn’s statement. “I bet she is.”
The idea of changing into an animal both scared and excited Adalyn. What if her wolf liked running so much that she wouldn’t let her change back to her human form? She had so many questions to ask that she didn’t know where to begin.
Wade wrapped a protective arm around Adalyn’s waist. Why he felt the need to protect her from Erin, he had no idea. He was positive she could take care of herself. She’d managed up until now. When it came to Erin though…he’d heard about her abilities. Everyone in the pack had. It was smart to be cautious of her. Smarter to keep your eye on her at all times. “I’ll take you out for a run in a little bit, but first, we should find out what Erin needs.”
How easily she had forgotten about Erin’s interruption. She met Wade’s golden eyes and nodded in agreement before turning to face her cousin. “What is it that you had wanted?”
