Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(10)

Probably because of who his parents were…and who the little boy was named after. That, though, wasn’t something he wanted to think about. Not when he had this little pudgy kid in his arms who smiled as if there wasn’t anything wrong in the world.

Oh, to be that innocent.

“You look good with a baby in your arms,” Cailin said with a smile. Her green eyes glittered, and Noah snorted.

“One thing at a time, Cai.” He bounced Edward in his arms, loving the high-pitched squeals the little boy made.

Cailin winced but didn’t say anything. After all, Noah was Edward’s godfather and one of his favorite people. What could she say to him?

“So, are you here for a certain wolf?”

Noah rolled his eyes then went to the display case. Willow’s baked goods were seriously amazing, and he could never decide on one thing. Knowing him, he’d get one of each, a cookie or two, three brownies, some cinnamon rolls, and box them up. Actually, that sounded like a plan to him.

Cailin came up to his side, leaning on his shoulder as she held her hand out to Edward. Noah shifted so the baby could grip his mother’s hand, his attention on the cookies and not what was going on around him.

When Emeline’s scent reached his nose, he knew he was in trouble. The fear, anger…disappointment radiating off of her threw him for a loop. He turned, Edward in hand, and Cailin at his side.

Well shit.

“I was just coming in for something to eat,” Emeline said softly then tilted her head. “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore.” Her brows bunched, confusion clear on her face, and then she shot out of the building.

“Go get your mate, Noah. Her emotions are running all over the place with the mating urge riding her so she’s not thinking clearly.”

“You know she’s feeling the mating urge?” he asked quickly even as he handed Edward over, ready to bolt after Emeline.

“Of course. She might not know what it is, but it’s there. Now leave.” She winked. “Then tell me what happens.”

He nodded, kissed Edward goodbye, and then ran out of the building on Emeline’s trail. She hadn’t gone far, but she’d moved faster than he thought she would. Crap. This was not going according to plans.

When her scent increased, he picked up the pace and let out a breath when he spotted her sitting on a fallen log on the way to her home.

“Em.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said, not facing him. “I know she’s mated to Logan. I mean, for goddess’s sake, you were holding her child. It wasn’t as if you were with her in any sense other than being her friend. I honestly have no idea why I acted like that, and I don’t like that I did. I think I was…jealous.” She said the word as though she’d eaten something bad, and she grimaced. “I’m not some jealous groupie, Noah. I don’t like acting like that.”

He cautiously sat next to her then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, letting out a breath.

“Your wolf went a little territorial, and you didn’t know what to do with it. That’s fine.”

“But…I’m not yours…not fully…right?”

He closed his eyes, the pain hitting him hard, like blades against flesh. “Em, we’re dating.” A small word for it, but she would get there. Goddess, he hoped she’d get there. “You’re allowed to want me to be faithful. We’re exclusive. It’s you and me. No one else. So if you walk into a room, and you feel like there needs to be a ten-foot space around me and other women, I’m not going to freak out. We’re wolves. Sometimes we need to stake our claim.” He wished it was a mating claim, but that would be another day. “You trust me, and I trust you. That’s all we need to know.”

“I feel like an idiot for running like that.”

He turned her in his arms and brushed her cheek. “You’re not an idiot. You’re just having an off day. We all have them.”

Have me. Mate me. Find that connection.

Of course, he didn’t say any of that. He just prayed he wasn’t shooting himself in the foot for wanting to wait for her to find it on her own and not force it.

Damn it. Waiting was hard.

When she looked up at him, those violet eyes filled with the same yearning he felt deep down in his soul, he gave in and pressed his lips to hers. She moaned beneath him, flicking her tongue along his lips. He groaned, deepening the kiss, but not pushing it further than that. As much as he wanted to throw them both to the ground and sink his cock into her *, grip her hips, and ride her until they were both spent, he knew this wasn’t the time.

He pulled back, breathless.

“I was going in there to get you something to snack on while we researched for North,” she whispered after a moment.

Noah grinned. “I was there for the same reason. What do you say we go and get a box of cookies then head to my place? We can look over texts and try to help North. Together.”

She smiled then. “That sounds perfect.”

If only she’d find him perfect for her. One day at a time. It might kill him, but he’d wait for her.

Forever.





Chapter Five


Emeline’s paws hit the ground at a run, the wind brushing through her fur. She inhaled the crisp scent of nature, forest, and Pack, letting it sink deep into her soul. While it wasn’t the full moon and, therefore, not a full moon hunt, Emeline had wanted to run as a wolf. All wolves could shift no matter the phase of the moon, and the stronger the wolf, the more times they could change in a given day.