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“It’s nice to meet you, Kelly.” She was surprised that her wolf reacted the same way she did when around Jace. She noticed that aside from the lighter coloring of his hair, Clay shared a resemblance to Ryan and Jace. She would bet that there was a familial connection there somewhere.
“Why don’t you finish putting your things away, and then I’ll show you around.”
She nodded, accepting his offer and quickly tucking her suitcase into the bedroom.
“That was quick.” He chuckled. Clay had a warm inviting laugh that put her at ease instantly.
“It’s out of the way. I’ll do the actual unpacking later.”
The Yellow Claw pack wasn’t structured very differently from the Coldridge pack. They had a central area where the pack gathered for festivals, rituals and celebrations, though it was smaller than the one back home and there wasn’t a lake like the one in Coldridge territory. She would miss the calming effect the lake had on her while she was here but hoped that she would find peace and the need for calming wouldn’t be necessary.
The forest around the pack territory was just as large as the one back home and teeming with game. If she had been in peak form, she would have shifted and spent hours allowing her wolf to run in the woods chasing rabbits and deer. It had been a least six months since she’d felt well enough to do that though.
In the first few days of settling with the Yellow Claws, she met several of the pack members, and although she did meet both male and female members it was obvious that the pack had been told she was searching for a mate. The number of single men who came to greet her was shocking. They held a meal in her honor and the number of bachelors who made a point to stop by her chair would have been comical, if it hadn’t made her skin crawl as if it were being attacked by fire ants.
Even though they were all polite and charming her wolf wasn’t impressed by any of them and even as weak as she was, her inner animal was growing restless.
Kelly was popping the heat suppressants as if they were candy, cringing when she realized that she was taking more than double the dose she was supposed to now, and still the heat was riding her.
She didn’t seem to mind Clay though. When she was near him the heat was more manageable and that worried her.
Why should you be worried? You came here for a chance at another mate.Kelly tried to ignore the inner voice that urged her to see where a relationship with Clay could go.
Her wolf didn’t like the idea that she would cast aside their mate so easily. It felt disloyal to her wolf and that widened the discord between them.
After those first few days though, Clay became like her shadow, and the other males in the pack seemed to get the unspoken message that she wasn’t for them.
The fact was she spent so much time with Clay that the other members of his pack assumed that they had begun courting each other and were likely to mate. Instead of actively seeking a mate, Kelly used the time to collect the blood and tissue samples from the pack that she believed they needed to examine. She began looking over their records tracking their fertility issues looking for any correlation to the issues the Coldridge pack had experienced.
It had been difficult to get Julian to agree to give her access to the pack records but he’d finally relented when his mate had placed a hand on her belly, the scent of her pain filling the room.
“Do you really believe there is a connection somewhere and that you can solve it?”
“Perhaps not single-handed but I can’t sit by while the women of our race experience such losses. I believe I can make a difference. ”
“You would put this effort in for others with no thought to yourself? You don’t long for a child?” She wouldn’t deny that she wanted a baby, Julian would see through a lie that bold, but it didn’t seem likely to happen if she couldn’t sort through her mating issues. He’d looked at her with such lingering sadness that she’d been forced to look away, afraid that he’d be able to see every secret her soul was desperate to hide.
After that Julian agreed to grant her access to all of their records and even offered her copies to take back to the Coldridge pack.
The thought of home sent a pang of longing through her that was getting harder to ignore.
***
“You confuse my wolf,” she admitted one day as she and Clay walked through the woods together. She’d been with the Yellow Claws for three weeks now. The full moon was approaching, and it would be time for her to return to her pack soon.
The thought scared and saddened her. It was odd, but here among this pack who, up until recently had been considered her enemy, she’d been able to find a small measure of peace, and although her wolf didn’t desire Clay in a passionate way she did feel contentment when they were together.
“How so?” he asked, his steel-blue eyes taking in every nuance of her demeanor
“She likes you,” Kelly stated simply, not certain how to further explain. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck.
“So why should that confuse your wolf? You did come here to find a mate. Didn’t you?” Kelly leaned forward letting her hair fall in a curtain around her. “No, don’t do that, don’t hide from me.” Clay reached out and pushed the hair back from her face. His touch was gentle and comforting but it didn’t cause her belly to flutter with excitement or send a flush of desire rushing to the surface of her skin. It wasn’t the reaction that she should feel when her mate touched her. That realization made her sad and she frowned.
“I don’t want you to think I’m hitting on you.”
“I’m the only one you’ve let close to you while you’ve been here little wolf. I’d already assumed you’d chosen.” The smile he flashed her was full of humor as he tried to lighten the mood and lessen her embarrassment. She tried not to blush at the nickname he’d given her soon after her arrival. She couldn’t deny the truth she was small compared to him, especially in his shifted state.
She sat down on a fallen log her fingers curling into the damp moss that covered the bark. She scuffed her toe in the dirt afraid to look at him.
