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Row asked, “Is there any place in town to get a meal?”
“Not this late. Unless you want junk food, which there’s plenty of in the mini mart.”
“Ugh,” Dani said. “No more chips and snack cakes.”
“Thanks,” Row said to the attendant. As he and Dani got into the SUV, he said, “It’s a wooded town. We could go hunting.”
“You mean you could go hunting and I could graze? What if there are humans hunting? I don’t want to get shot.”
“I’ll keep you safe.”
Using the map program on his phone, he found a heavily wooded area nearby. It took twenty minutes to find the road that skirted along the woods. Row parked and got out, going to the back to get the supplies ready.
Dani got out just as Row heard the distant howling of wolves. “Ah, damn it,” he muttered. “We must be in pack territory. Get back in the car, Dani.”
When she didn’t answer him, he stepped around the side of the vehicle and saw her staring into the dark woods. “Dani?”
She turned her head slowly to look at him. “I hear him.”
“Him? Him who?”
“Mine. My…mine.” Her whole body shook and she exploded into her shift, far faster than Row had ever seen her do before. Her clothes hung in tatters around her form. She pawed at the ground with a snort, took one look at Row, and then leaped toward the woods.
“Dani! Wait, it’s too dangerous, they’ll kill you!”
Panic thundered down on him as his sister bounded into the woods and disappeared. Row stripped, shifting into his grizzly form and lumbering after her as quickly as he could. If they were in pack territory, Dani was in trouble. The wolves might not attack Row, but they would definitely go after a reindeer first and ask questions later.
As Row followed her scent through the woods, he became aware of another presence tracking her as well. He snarled, knowing it was a wolf. Row bellowed a warning, but the wolf never stopped moving, a shadow following Dani as closely as Row was. He could see his sister ahead of him, but he couldn’t catch up to her.
Realizing it was futile to get Dani to stop, he decided to intercept the wolf instead. Turning abruptly, he raced toward the wolf, following its scent as he closed in on his target. He barreled into the wolf’s side, shifting as he did so. The wolf shifted as well, and Row pressed them to a tree and snarled, “She’s not prey, she’s my sister.”
A feminine voice wheezed out, “She’s a reindeer.”
His rage surged. “I know that!”
He wanted to tear the female apart to protect his sister, even though he knew he’d never act on that. The wolf was running on instinct, just like Dani was, unfortunately.
Cold fingers pressed to his cheeks, and the female pleaded, “Please don’t kill me.”
At her touch, Row felt everything inside him quiet. He stared at the wolf, really looking at her for the first time, and he was stunned. By the light of the full moon, and with his enhanced eyesight, he could see her clearly. She was beautiful, with pale skin and lustrous dark hair. She licked her lips, and he growled at the sight. His heart clenched tightly enough to make his knees shake. He pressed his face to her neck and inhaled. She tensed, but she didn’t try to get away.
Immediately he knew who she was—his mate.
He wrapped his arms around her and sat down, not caring about the snow, only wanting to protect her from the cold. He stroked his fingers down her throat, taking in her sweet, woodsy scent. She smelled like flowers, and the forest at night.
“Adaramine. I found you. I can’t believe I found you.” The words left his mouth before he realized what he was saying.
He’d been trailing his sister, but he’d found his mate. The fates were smiling on him, and he wasn’t going to waste a second.
“I’m–” She opened her mouth, but he pressed his lips to hers, stifling the words with a kiss that seared him all the way to his soul. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and the taste of her exploded on his tongue like dark chocolate. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she moaned, kissing him back. His bear roared in triumph.
As his fingers trailed down her back, he realized she was scarred, badly. He rumbled angrily, furious at the injuries she must have suffered. “Who hurt you? I’ll slaughter them!”
She struggled to get off his lap, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Who are you? Let me go right now!”
“I’m Row, and you’re mine.”
