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Seven weeks later....
Frosty leaves crunched beneath my paws. The red fox in front of me—Kira—turned her head to glare backwards. Then she gestured with her chin toward Harper, who had managed to stay completely silent despite walking beside us in clunky human form.
I rolled my eyes at the two of them. Yes, I got it. I was a slow learner. I hadn’t spent much of my life four-legged, so there was plenty left to pick up on.
Still, it wasn’t as if we were in any danger. We were out for a solstice stroll on Gunner’s land, a prelude to the wild and crazy party I’d heard would take place that evening. I inhaled a deep breath of cold forest and trotted after Kira’s receding tail tip, trying a little harder to keep quiet.
Harper didn’t try so hard. She giggled at our exchange, and neither Kira nor I glared at her. Instead, I grinned and the scent drifting off Kira suggested she did as well.
This was what it had been like ever since we arrived for my sister’s winter break. Tank had broached the topic during one of our ill-fated fae-hunting trips, and as soon as my sister heard about the offer to spend winter break among werewolves she’d insisted I accept. Her instincts had been good. The gruff, growly alpha I’d spoken to on the phone turned out to be a cuddly teddy bear. Mai, his mate, was a font of knowledge about raising a teenaged sister. And the rest of the pack fell all over themselves to make us both feel at home.
Only Tank remained strangely standoffish. That first day, he’d shown me and Harper to a two-bedroom house in the middle of the pack village, one that appeared to have been emptied out just for our use. He dutifully checked on us once a day. Otherwise, though, he left us to our own devices. He’d even taken to dipping his chin around me, as if he was afraid of being judged for his new scars.
Which was why Kira had decided we were going Tank hunting. “I watched him yesterday,” she’d told me and Harper over breakfast. “He heads out into the woods every morning. Doesn’t come back until after sunset. We should follow him. See what he’s up to.”
I’d agreed because of the way Harper’s eyes lit up at the prospect of hunting. But also because a few hours alone in the forest sounded blissful. Gunner’s pack was almost too welcoming. I hadn’t enjoyed a moment to myself since we’d arrived.
And I wasn’t fated to enjoy a moment to myself now either. Kira, despite her chiding over my loud footsteps, wasn’t able to restrain her mischievous nature. As Harper and I rounded a boulder, my sister shrieked as a fox landed atop her head.
They spun in a tight circle, my sister lunging at Kira and Kira dancing from head to shoulders and back again. Add in teenage emoting and the result sounded like a massacre.
No wonder Tank came running. A flannel shirt hung half off his lupine body as he barreled toward us four-legged....
Of course, there’d been no need to run. Because Harper had grown into herself over the last seven weeks. No longer did she default to her friends’ wisdom. Now she made one final grab, this time connecting with the ruff of the fox’s neck. Then she shook Kira just hard enough to get her attention before dropping the smaller creature to the ground.
“Shift back. Now.” Harper’s furrowed brows made her look an awful lot like the pack’s alpha during one of his rare growly moments. And, despite her lack of shifter blood, the effort worked.
A two-legged Kira peered up at us from where she’d landed, buck naked atop the frozen leaves. She didn’t exactly look contrite, but she did look adorable. “Aw, come on. I was just having fun.”
Harper wasn’t so easily swayed. She’d already removed her backpack and now she dropped layers of fabric onto Kira’s head and shoulders. “Clothes. Shoes. Get dressed. It’s time to leave the love birds alone.”
Love birds? Okay, they had a point. Tank and I had both turned human while my sister was dealing with her friend. His flannel shirt had made its way around my shoulders, his right arm settling around my waist.
My left arm followed suit, cupping naked muscles. No wonder the cold of the day abruptly warmed.
“Scat,” Tank growled, pretending to be mad at the teenagers.
Kira hissed at him, even though she was now fully human. “Whatever. Didn’t want to see your naked butt anyway.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen way too many of those lately,” Harper agreed. She graced us both with an attitude-enhanced wave, then she and Kira scampered back the way they’d come.
***
ALONE, THE EASE WITH which my body had pressed up against Tank faltered. During the last seven weeks when we’d been living separately, he and I had carved out date nights and filled entire days with joint projects. The shared hours had melted in my mouth like rich chocolate. Still, it felt strangely different to be here with him amid his pack.
Perhaps that’s why I took a step backwards, regretting it the moment his arm fell away from me. The absence of warmth reminded me that Tank was completely naked. “You must be frozen.”
“Colder now.” His eyes crinkled and then, yes, his chin dipped.
“What’s with that?” I tilted his face back level with one finger. Asked the question I’d been wondering about ever since I’d made my decision to use Marina’s boon for Butch’s sake. “Do you wish I’d asked Marina to take away your scars?”
Maddeningly, he answered my question with a question. “Do the scars bother you?”
My wolf was the one who growled out our answer. “You know they don’t.”
And...Tank smiled. Didn’t dip his chin at all as he answered. “Then, no. I wouldn’t change a thing about the past.”
For one long moment we stood there, separated by air and unasked questions. His eyes were all I saw, deep wells of kindness and understanding.
Then he rumbled out what sounded like an invitation. “I’d wanted to wait until tonight to show you. Put in a few finishing touches. But we can go now if you want.”
Show me what? Rather than asking, I cocked my head then nodded. And...my hand was in his, Tank’s forward momentum pulling me deeper into the forest.
All the while, I had the most stunning view imaginable. Tank’s naked butt.
I was so intent on the shifting musculature, in fact, that I didn’t realize what he’d led me to. Not until he tilted my chin upwards just like I’d done to him a moment earlier. My cheeks reddened as my jaw dropped.
Because there was a tiny house in front of us. Like the witch’s gingerbread cottage out of Hansel and Gretel. Small but so carefully constructed it was a thing of beauty. I itched to pull out my sketchbook and capture the way the structure perched beside an icy waterfall.
“What do you think?” Tank sounded shy now. Which made no sense.
“It’s stunning. What is it?”
“A retreat. For when the pack gets to be too packish. A place to paint maybe. Or to draw.”
I frowned. Tank was many things, but I hadn’t realized he was an artist. “You draw?”
“You draw,” he corrected. Then he opened the door and led me inside.
There was a fire in a pint-sized wood stove, or so I assumed when I drew closer to the room’s center and was hit by a cascade of warmth. Windows were placed just right to capture the sunlight, which in turn illuminated an easel. One side of the room opened into a miniature kitchen. Above us, a loft was filled with what appeared to be a queen-sized bed.
I raised my eyebrows. Felt my cheeks bunching up into a grin that felt like one of Kira’s. “Tank Morales. Is this a love nest?”
I didn’t realize what I was saying until the words emerged. Love nest. By silent yet mutual consent, Tank and I hadn’t talked about this whatever-it-was growing between us. Hadn’t tried to pin our emotions down into words.
And even though I wasn’t very experienced with relationships, I had a feeling two months together might be too soon to throw around the L word. Once again, I’d put my foot into my mouth.
I started to backpedal and Tank spoke right over me. He straightened, looked me directly in the eyes as if he’d never dipped his chin once. “I want you to know that I would never use an alpha compulsion against you.”
“An alpha compulsion?” I cocked my head, realizing that concern had never even occurred to me. And why should it? I trusted Tank. He’d never order me around the way Rowan had.
“Our partnership would be equal,” he continued. “I want my mate to be happy.”
His mate. The heat from the wood stove was blazing now. As if someone had thrown on ten extra logs...which clearly hadn’t happened. I unbuttoned the top of my borrowed flannel, feeling Tank’s eyes latch onto the triangle of bared skin as if I’d just stripped myself bare.
Well, why not? I undid another button. Another. “Is that a question?” I demanded.
“Would you like it to be?” He stepped forward, huge and imposing and wonderful. His hands helped me wriggle out of the arms of the shirt he’d lent me.
And I didn’t flinch away from either his words or his fingers. Instead, I leaned into both of them.
“Yes,” I told him. “Yes, I would.”
***
I HOPE YOU ENJOYED Moon Glamour! Rune’s adventure is up next in Charmed Wolf, a sneak preview of which beings on the next page. You can also enjoy a bonus scene through Tank’s eyes and a tidbit about face blindness (along with two free werewolf novels) when you sign up for my email list.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t already checked out the Moon Marked series, you’re in for a treat. The trilogy follows Mai and Gunner while allotting plenty of page time for Tank and Kira. The first book, Wolf’s Bane, is free on all retailers.
Thank you for reading. You are why I write.