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Maddox could take care of himself. So could his father. Both were strong alphas in the primes of their lives; their mates would be fine. Dodge was a ghost—except for his upcoming date with the angel of death, nothing could hurt him.
But Shea—
Alpha, damn it. She was already in danger just because her brother was a screw-up. How much worse would it be for her if it got out that she was tied to Colt?
“How did she even know to meet you there?” asked Wright, interrupting Colt’s dark thoughts. “You didn’t even know where we were going until we got to the Para club.”
“She didn’t.” Colt waved his hand. Only then did he notice that his claws had decided to make an appearance. He left them, using his meager reserve of control to keep from snapping at Wright. “It was a coincidence. Her brother—”
“Is a Nightwalker? No fucking way.”
“Nah. But he feeds them. He’s a Donor.”
To Colt’s utter surprise, while Wright’s features twisted in disgust—just like he expected from the openly pro-human cop—there was a sudden light in his hazel eyes that caught Colt’s attention.
From the muffled snort Dodge let out behind him, he wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Wright tapped his chin with his blunt, human fingernail. “Really? Her brother, huh? Why don’t you tell me a little bit more about him…”
16
A couple of days later, Colt slouched in the cab of his truck, his arm resting along the edge of the open window.
He lived for the cold. Always had. His family had never understood it—he was the only arctic wolf shifter in his pack—but he loved everything about it. The snow, the ice, the sleet. How brisk and invigorating it all was. Plus, his favorite: how most of the population didn’t like it so there were fewer people around to bother him.
The street was empty. Grayson had its first snowfall last night, hardly a dusting, and most of it had already melted away before Colt pulled his truck into the spot across from Moonshadow Apothecary.
Eh. That was December for you.
And he knew he shouldn’t be parked out there. Earlier, Colt was able to fight his wolf’s need to return to Shea’s apartment because of his promise to Maddox. Of course, now that he’d sent a runner off with the plans for Maddox’s sled—as well as the necessary tools because, while Mad was a kickass construction worker, he didn’t do so well with intricate woodwork—Colt couldn’t stop himself from taking the drive out.
He expected her to call. Not about the bond, or her attempts to break it—yeah, ‘cause he was beginning to accept that that ship had long since sailed—but because he couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss. He was wondering if Shea was obsessing over it, too.
If she was, he didn’t know.
She didn’t call him.
And, though he knew he had no right to be pissed about that, tell that to his lonely wolf.
Colt lost track of how long he’d spent in the truck. He kept picking up his phone, debating if he should be the one to make the call, then tossing it back on the empty seat beside him when he couldn’t dial the damn thing.
What if she didn’t answer?
He was an alpha wolf shifter and he was afraid of a tiny witch. Was that pathetic or what?
It would’ve been so much easier to just walk in there and talk to her face to face. That was more Colt’s style.
One problem, though.
Moonshadow Apothecary was closed.
He remembered the sting from touching her wards the other night. He might not know a lot about witches and their magic, but he knew how far he could push his wolf. So long as her wards were up, he was basically left out in the cold.
The sun had set. In the winter, darkness fell early, though some of the other shops on the street were still open. Thanks to her wards, Colt couldn’t get a read on if Shea was inside or not. He could see lights streaming out from beneath the shades in her windows. She could be in there—or she could have left the lights on.
Colt was just thinking he might as well head home, maybe run off a little of his agitation in the woods behind the Zoo, when he saw the lights in the shop down below flicker on.
About a minute later, the door opened. A petite figure appeared in the entrance, her dark curls tied in a messy knot on top of her head. She was nearly swallowed by a puffy black coat that left her face showing and that was about it.
