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I pushed open the kitchen door and found the room empty. Where were the guys? The door to the outside remained shut, so I retreated and checked the living room with the fireplace, also finding it bare. With a quick check of the house, I still couldn’t track themdown.
“Told you we were alone.” Dagen leaned against the doorframe to the bedroom, standing there stark naked, a beam of candlelight glowing aroundhim.
“You want a gold star for beingright?”
He chuckled, and I turned away before I threw something at him. How could I hate and crave someone at the same time? Was that evenpossible?
I stormed into the kitchen and closed myself in, leaning my back against the door. Dagen drove me up the wall with fury, with desire. Standing there all naked with his enormous… I gasped. How dare he call mevile?
“I can still hear you,” he yelled from somewhere in thehouse.
“Agh… If you’re in my head you’ll know I’m not evil,” I screamed, anything to stop the memories swirling out of control, remembering his hardness, the hunger of his lips, and heavens, I so wantedmore.
Helaughed.
I grunted and paced across the kitchen. “Blue skies, birds, herbs. Arrowroot, chamomile, feverfew, lavender, marigold.” I chanted them in myhead.
When the outside door slapped open, I jumped, and my breaths wedged in mythroat.
Nero and Oryn poured inside and kicked the door closed after them. A new scratch ran down Oryn’s arm, and a few marred Nero’s chest, but the blood had alreadycoagulated.
“What happened? Where did you go? Dagen is insane, and he could have killed me.” My words merged into one huge sentence as my breathssped.
“Dagen’s awake?” Oryn asked as he rushed out into thehall.
Nero’s gaze followed him, but he approached me and guided a lock behind my ears. “Did he hurt you, littlelamb?”
I shook my head. “But he wantedto.”
“He never would. That’s just how he is. Growl first, then get to knowsomeone.”
Nero pulled me into his arms, and I molded against his chest. “We scoured fifty acres around the house in every direction to see how many of Oryn’s wolves were near. Close to twenty. We frightened a fewoff.”
That simple notion had me pressing closer, and yet my focus persisted on my earlier encounter in the bedroom. “Dagen hates humans, doesn’t he?” I glanced up to Nero. “And why are there so many wolves so close to cabin? If they broke in, they’d easily overpower the three ofyou.”
“You worry too much. This cabin is strong and no wolf is getting inside. With regards to Dagen, he’s had unfortunate run-ins with humans, and it left him jarred toward yourkind.”
I chewed on my cheek.Wonderful. No matter what my hormones insisted, I would keep my distance from him. And maybe my ability had impacted this whole mating thing, otherwise why else would I consider Dagen anything but an enemy?Oh, crap!No more thinking like that while he tapped into my thoughts. Basil, rosemary, chickensoup.
My stomachrumbled.
“You hungry?” Neroasked.
“I could eat a horse rightnow.”
He smirked. “I can’t offer you that, but how does rabbit stew sound? I caught one earlier this morning while searching foryou.”
“Yes, and I’ll help.” Anything to get my mind off how everything seemed to get worse the longer I stayed in theDen.
When Dagen and Oryn appeared in the kitchen, Nero laughed and strode over to his friend. Both thumped fists and gave each other a man hug, pounding once on each other’sbacks.
“Dagen, never been happier to see you,” Nero began. “Even more than the time that fox-shifter gang kidnappedyou.”
Oryn burst out laughing and caught Dagen in a headlock, rubbing his head. “You made up that shit so you could have a raunchy night with that redhead fox, didn’tya?”
Okay, so maybe Dagen had a niceness in him if the guys were roughhousing and joking with him. I returned to chopping up wild spinach and mushrooms on a plate on the table, listening to the chuckles and jokes about some sexy fox-shifter woman. What was so great about her anyway? She must have been amazing if Dagen had followed her, and I glanced at the long strands of hair over my shoulders, knotted and messed up. Heavens, I must have resembled aporcupine.
“I didn’t follow her, Sharlot,” Dagen responded. “She kidnappedme.”
