Hawke
Ignoring my outstretched hand, Maddie screamed and scrambled to her feet, and this time, I didn’t need to scent her fear to know she was fucking terrified.
She’d just witnessed a wolf transform into a man before her eyes.
A man who now stood in the middle of a snowstorm, buck naked, hoping like hell I could convince her I was real and not some exposure-induced hallucination.
“Hey,” I said gently, holding up my hands in surrender. “I know this looks balls-out crazy, and I know you’ve got a million questions. I will answerallof them, Maddie. I swear it. But this is real. I’m a wolf shifter, and I’m here, and Ipromiseit’s gonna be alright—I fucking promise you. But I need to get you out of the elements before you go hypothermic.”
Maddie didn’t respond. Just continued to gape, her hand pressed to her heart, breath rushing out in thick white puffs.
“Talk to me, Maddie. I need to knowexactlywhat you’re feeling right now.” I grabbed her upper arms. She flinched, but I didn’t let go. “Any numbness? Dizziness? Blurred vision?”
She finally opened her mouth to speak, but she was shivering so hard she could barely get the words out. “You… you’re… you’re Mr. Wolf?”
“Answer me, Maddie. Can you feel your toes?”
“I… yes.” She closed her eyes, another shudder wracking her body. When she looked at me again, some of the shock and confusion had cleared, but she was still wary. “I’m… cold. And you… you’re awolfshifter? But… what? How?”
“Long story, and I’ll tell you the whole thing. Back home. In front of a fire. With a stiff drink for me and something hot for you. Deal?”
“But you… you’re a… a wolf?” she said again. “And you’re…” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, Hawke. You’re naked!” she exclaimed, as if she’d only just now realized it. “Here—take this!”
She hastily handed over her mitten, and I couldn’t help it—I fucking cracked up, relief more than humor unleashing the laughter inside me.
I dangled the snow-crusted mitten between us. “And I’m supposed to put thiswhere, exactly?”
“Hawke!” she gasped. “You could die out here like that! Or… catch a cold in your… I don’t know. It’s dangerous!”
“No, cupcake. I’m fine—trust me. Shifters are built differently. I can feel the cold, but it doesn’t effect me the same way. Not as a wolf and not as a man. I’m more worried about you right now.”
“I’m… I’m okay. Just… embarrassed? Relieved?” She pressed a hand to her forehead, her eyes clearing. “God, that was stupid. I never should’ve left your place.”
“You got that right.” I grabbed her arms again, looking her over more closely. She seemed okay. Trembling from the cold, probably uncomfortable as hell, but not confused or uncoordinated, especially given the fact I’d just shifted in front of her. I couldn’t tell what condition her toes were in, but she didn’t appear to be hypothermic. “You scared the shit out of me, Maddie.”
“Yeah?” Maddie tried to pull away, but I wasn’t letting her go. Not this time. “Well you… you pissed me off.”
Feeling better, I see.
The wind buffeted my back, shaking loose a pile of snow from the canopy of ponderosas overhead, dusting us both in fresh snow.
But Maddie was undeterred.
“I don’t know what your problem is, Mr. Wolf,” she said, glowering at me, “but you need to get your shit together. Seriously.”
That anger must’ve been fueling her pretty good, because the color had returned to her lips, and now she struggled against me in earnest, pushing on my chest, desperately trying to pry herself out of my grip.
Too damn bad. I had her now. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight.
“Ineed to get my shit together?” I bit back a bitter laugh. “I’m not the one who nearly walked myself off the edge of the earth in the middle of a blizzard. So forgive me if I don’t agree with your keen analysis of the situation, Cupcake, but you ain’t exactly thinking straight, either. And by the way, next time you decide to take a stroll through Rocky Mountain National Park during a snowstorm, you might want to bring your meds.”
Her eyes blazed with fresh anger. “You… you went through mythings?”
“Sorry, Cupcake. You bailed. Technically, they’re my things now.”
She shook her head, skewering me with a look that would’ve shriveled my balls if the wind chill hadn’t beaten her to it. “You are the verydefinitionof a bad idea. I never should’ve—”
“Never should’vewhat, Cupcake?” I leaned in close, so close I could count her fucking freckles. “Never should’ve crashed into my driveway? Knocked on my door? Hiked halfway down this mountain in a crazy-ass storm with no gear?” I dipped my head, my mouth so close to hers we were sharing the same white breath. “Or are you talking about the part where you spread your legs and offered up that pussy like an all-you-can-eat Christmas buffet?”
