very much needed. He seemed strong enough to give her physical relief without her wolf becoming pissed off or bored by a weaker partner.
Solitude and frustration had become her constant companions, and she didn’t expect that to change. She’d been alone for years, and she always would be alone. Expectations of anything more had long ago been burnt away. Her heart was devoid of all but two things—love for pack.
And vengeance.
She bent her head and put her fingers to work composing a reply, the fire burning up her spine balanced evenly with the ice in her soul.
Evan stared at the computer-shop signage, every nerve in his body on high alert. This neighbourhood wasn’t his usual stomping ground, and a computer store? The last place on earth he’d ever go for shits and giggles.
But the closer he got to Bytes Unlimited, the more agitated his wolf became. He paused across the street in the shadows to scope the place out. Make sure there wasn’t a hidden assault team from the mysterious Canyon pack waiting in ambush.
Amy might have thought she was safe, but that didn’t mean her Alpha wasn’t checking up on her. Evan needed to get the woman out of danger, his sensation of uneasiness rising by the second.
Damn the risk to himself, this was happening now.
Evan strode across the road, jaywalking between moving vehicles. He was at the door in no time, jerking the glass open. Somewhere deep in the shop, a gentle buzzer sounded.
From the back of the store, two males turned to face him, welcoming smiles melting into rigid grimaces. Before Evan could say a word, the men vanished.
Gone. Completely.
It was like the coolest magic trick imaginable, only Evan was more pissed than impressed. He stepped into the shop and closed the door behind him, glancing past shelves that were loaded with computer thingies and plastic packaging.
“Hello?” he called into the silence.
And that’s when it hit him.
Peaches. Sunshine. The aroma of a wind that had crossed miles of seemingly empty tundra—wilderness at its rawest yet full of hidden life. All mixed up into one unique package.
It was a full-on dose of the scent he’d caught a hint of nearly two weeks ago. His stomach tightened, his heart rate kicked into overdrive. Instinctively his legs carried him forward as he tracked the scent that grew stronger and stronger.
His mate.
His mate had been in the computer shop. More than once. Often enough that as he moved toward the cash register and the counter, his head was so full of her he had to work hard to remain alert.
What was the deal with the missing staff? Evan kept his gaze moving as he silently padded forward. To one side, he spotted a couple of doors that explained where the men had gone, but not the why.
Until he hit their scent. Wolves.
Two unfamiliar wolves who vanished when they spotted him? Had to be Canyon pack. He’d deal with them later, though. Spend a little time explaining he wasn’t the enemy.
The enticing trail led him to the back of the shop and a narrow set of stairs. He moved like a wolf, noiseless and invisible. Sensing which treads to avoid stepping on to maintain absolute silence.
Easing his way upward was brutal when everything in him demanded that he run. Rush forward and swoop in on the woman who had to be at the top of the stairs.
His wolf clawed at him, eager for the hunt. Evan wrestled that part of himself under control for long enough to reach the top landing and step through the doorframe.
The room was filled with her, the open door pushing her intoxicating scent toward him like a sledgehammer to the brain.
He got a quick glimpse while she was unaware of his presence. Impressions struck like lightning bolts. Short dark hair worn in a simple style that suited her. Smooth creamy-brown skin, similar in shade to his own.
Lots of naked skin as she sat behind a desk and stared at her computer, and he wasn’t even going to ask why the hell she was working in the nude because she was his