by Eve Langlais
“We can call an ambulance once we get inside.”
“No.” Finally, Colin found his voice. “No ambulance. Just need to rest.”
“Are you kidding?” Ellie paused to look up at him. The concern in her expression caused Colin’s chest to swell. “Did you see the cliff face you fell down? It’s a wonder you’re alive. You’ve got to have a broken bone or two.”
Try two hundred and six. Most of the broken bones had healed. Colin’s ribs were still a little tender and his right wrist tilted at an odd angle. A few more hours and he’d be right as rain. The last thing he needed was for Ellie to call an ambulance and get a bunch of know-nothing human doctors involved.
“Not as bad as you think.” Taking a deep enough breath to talk hurt like a bitch thanks to the broken rib that had yet to heal. Colin hated that it made him sound like a gods-damned caveman. “Really. I’ll be fine.”
Ellie let out a disbelieving snort. “You sure seem fine.”
Colin didn’t have the energy to argue with her. But he’d be damned if he let her call an ambulance or anyone else. “Believe me, I’ve been worse.”
Ellie turned to stare at him once again and took a stumbling step that jostled her shoulder into Colin’s ribs. He let out a grunt of pain and she cringed. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just … You’ve been worse? What sort of life are you living?”
Colin wanted to laugh, but he knew it would hurt like a son of a bitch. Ellie would find out soon enough exactly what sort of life he was living. “Wild and free, honey.”
Ellie laughed. The sound was music to Colin’s ears. It warmed him from the inside out and his wolf practically purred with contentment in the recess of his psyche. “Wild and free, huh? Sounds like a recipe for danger.”
Could it be that maybe they were finally getting off on the right foot? Colin sure as hell hoped so. “Obviously. Since you’re practically packing me down the mountain right now.”
“No offense,” Ellie said with a laugh. “But you are heavy. I couldn’t carry you if I tried. Call me a crutch, because that’s literally all I am.”
Thanks to their sheer muscle mass, werewolves were denser and thereby heavier than humans and even some supernatural creatures. Ellie was stronger and sturdier than she gave herself credit for. Without her help, he’d still be lying in that damned bush with its prickly branches poking him in the back.
“What do you do for a living?” Ellie seemed almost embarrassed to ask the question. “Are you like a personal trainer or something?”
“Law enforcement.” It was close enough to the truth, though probably not what Ellie’s idea of law enforcement would be. He was thrilled she’d kept the conversation going. That she was curious about him. Wanted to know more about him.
“For Boise County?” Ellie glanced up at him from the corner of her eye.
It was impossible for a werewolf to lie to its mate. “No. I’m more of a freelance, special forces type of law enforcement.” Yeah, that might’ve been the most transparently bullshit answer Colin had ever given anyone. But telling her the whole truth wasn’t an option, yet.
“Hmmm.” Ellie kept her pace slow as they walked. Her cabin came into view, a rustic log structure that fit perfectly with its surroundings. “No offense, but that answer was a little vague.”
Colin smiled down at her. “It was meant to be.”
Ellie’s brow furrowed and her lips quirked in a half grin. She obviously didn’t know what to make of his honesty and he wasn’t about to give her any more information than he already had. At least not until he could set her down and explain their situation to her.
“You’re sort of a mysterious guy, you know that?”
“No one’s ever called me mysterious before,” Colin said with a laugh. “But I’m gonna take it as a compliment.”
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ellie’s grin widen. “You go ahead and take it however you like.”
Well, shit. It definitely hadn’t been a compliment.
* * *
Ellie didn’t know what to think of Colin. Her first impression had been that he was nothing more than a cinnamon roll–stealing, mouthy jerk. Intentionally antagonistic. Inherently annoying. Of course he was at a disadvantage right now, probably concussed, and definitely dehydrated, but he seemed almost … tolerable. Friendly. Charming and even a little funny. Right now, he was the sort of guy Ellie might find herself interested in. There was no denying Colin was an attractive man, but she’d always needed more than good looks. She wanted to be attracted to someone’s personality. His heart. His soul.
Stop it, Ellie. This is a dead-end road.
It didn’t matter what she thought about Colin, because he would never be anything more than the guy who’d pissed her off and the guy she later had to help down the mountain. He was someone she’d met in passing and would likely never see again. And that was probably for the best. Because even if she wanted it, there could never be anything between them.
Ellie was destined to be alone.
A pang of regret tugged at her chest the closer they got to the house. She’d call an ambulance for Colin and it would likely be the last time she ever saw him. She found herself wanting a few more minutes with him. Wanting to know any small detail about him. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d called him mysterious. He had an odd way of guarding personal details about himself, keeping everything nice and vague. Ellie knew that game. She played it well. Had been playing it for the past two centuries. She’d never met anyone as good at it as her, though. Which made him even more interesting. Her curiosity burned.
They walked on a gravel path that skirted the modest garden at the back of the house. Everything had already been picked and preserved for the winter, leaving nothing but the empty raised beds and the churned-up earth. They stopped at the back door and Ellie reached out to ease it open. Colin was so tall he practically had to duck to get inside. His sheer size astounded her and he seemed so much bigger once inside the cabin.
“Let’s get you to the couch. I’m sure you’re thirsty too.”
Colin didn’t argue as they negotiated their way through Ellie’s modest kitchen into the living room. She eased him down on the couch and let out a breath as she straightened and stretched her spine. She might’ve merely been steadying him for the mile-and-a-half walk downhill, but man, that much muscle was heavy.
“Don’t move.” Colin’s brow furrowed at the order and he gave her a lopsided grin. Ellie swallowed down a groan. Where was he going to go? He could barely walk. “Um, yeah, I mean just relax. I’m going to get you some water.”
She had no idea what had her so off her game. It could’ve been the intensity of his eyes, the strange golden glow she could’ve sworn she’d seen in their depths, his charming smile, the deep rumble of his voice, his imposing size and presence, or any of a few dozen other things. Once again, Ellie considered that he might have a girlfriend or be married. He wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t mean anything. And if he was, in fact, single, there had to be something wrong with him. Only a fatal flaw would keep women away from that kind of perfection.
Ellie grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. She grabbed the cordless phone from the cradle and headed back into the living room, handing the glass to Colin before she settled into the chair beside him. He chugged the glass of water in less than five seconds, making Ellie think he’d been on the hillside a lot longer than she’d initially thought. She stood and took the glass from his hand. “Be right back.”
She went back into the living room and handed him the refilled glass. He drank this one a little slower, which was a good sign. Ellie studied his deep blue eyes, searching for any trace of the strange gold she’d seen there. It could’ve been a play of sunlight, but somehow she doubted it. Which meant she was probably just losing her damned mind.
“Okay.” She reached for the phone she’d set on the end table. “Let’s talk about that ambulance.”
Colin leaned forward and plucked the phone from her grasp. “I told you, I don’t need an ambulance. Just rest.”
One thing was certain: The man was stubborn. Ellie’s jaw clamped down and she let out a huff of breath. “You absolutely need an ambulance. And the nearest hospital is two hours away. If I call an ambulance, the EMTs can ask for Life Flight. You need a doctor to check you out, Colin.”
He flashed a sardonic smile that sent a thrill through Ellie’s core. Do not fall for it. You are not allowed to lust after him.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were concerned.”
Ellie cleared her throat. “No. Well, yes. I mean, I’m not a monster. Of course I don’t want you to be hurt.” What was it about this man that flustered her so? Why did his very presence set her on edge with the promise of something she couldn’t quite identify and yet knew she would never have? Ellie rubbed at her chest, as though she could somehow banish the pain that had settled there. The past few days, she’d been unable to stop feeling sorry for herself. The endless days, months, years, decades, and so on had finally begun to wear on her. The appearance of this new, beautiful, interesting person in her life only added to her distress.
“Ellie? Are you okay? What’s the matter?”
She looked up to find Colin studying her, his expression intense. She hated that this perfect stranger could read her so easily, and she straightened in her chair as she forced a pleasant expression to her face. “I’m fine. You’re the one who’s not okay. You need to see a doctor. I’m sure you need X-rays and who knows what else.”
Colin brought the glass to his lips and finished off the rest of his water. His eyes bored into hers, and behind those blue depths Ellie saw something much too intimate for having only met him. It should have frightened her, but all that gaze managed to do was draw her in.
“I don’t need X-rays.” His voice was as smooth and decadent as rich dark chocolate. “I don’t need a doctor. I don’t need stitches, braces, casts, or anything else. I don’t need an MRI. I don’t even need a physical. So I definitely don’t need an ambulance, and I absolutely don’t need Life Flight.”
He wasn’t trying to start an argument or even antagonize her. In his tone, Ellie sensed he was trying to convey something to her. Something he desperately needed her to understand. “You just need rest.” She finished his train of thought, her own words barely a whisper.
“That’s right.” His voice went low to match hers. “And maybe another glass of water.”
Ellie hustled to the kitchen, grateful for a reason to put a little distance between them, and refilled his glass. Her stomach tied in knots and her limbs quaked. She’d never met anyone who had such an instant and visceral effect on her. She didn’t know how to act, how to react. She was in uncharted territory and as nervous as a fawn waiting in the brush for its mama. She went back to the living room and held out the glass. Colin reached out and took it from her, brushing his fingertips along hers in the process. Their eyes met and once again she caught a glint of gold.
She had no idea what was going on, but she had a feeling this man would be her undoing.
CHAPTER 6
Colin’s wolf scratched at the back of his psyche like the bastard was trying to break out. The animal was anxious, excited, and impatient. The animal wanted Ellie to know what she was to them, how vital and important she was to their very existence. The damn animal didn’t care that she was human. Or, at the very least, close to human. That she’d think Colin’s words were the ravings of someone with a concussion who needed to go to the hospital. He needed the animal to calm down. He needed his wolf to focus on healing and not on Ellie. Colin could hardly blame his wolf for being focused on her, though. He even found it difficult to pay attention to anything else.
The moment his fingers brushed against hers, electricity arced between them. Colin’s stomach twisted and turned, tying itself into an unyielding knot. The sudden lust that surged through him nearly shocked his system. His cock jumped to attention, almost as annoying as his damned wolf, ready and willing to take their superficial relationship to a more intimate level.
His body turned traitor to ally with the wolf. Great.
“Thanks.” Colin cleared his throat as he brought the glass to his lips. The walls seemed to close in around them as he broke out into a sweat. He needed to calm the hell down. But most important, Ellie needed to quit looking at him with such intense interest. Because right now, both his wolf and his body were making a good case for why he should throw caution to the wind.
“Is there anything I can do to convince you to go to the hospital?”
Colin smiled. “No. But I appreciate your concern.”
A light blush painted Ellie’s cheeks and she looked away. He found her sudden modesty a little charming. Especially because he’d already seen her fire and knew she was anything but quiet and demure.
“Okay.” Ellie didn’t sound happy, but at least she wasn’t going to argue further with him about it. “Is there anyone I can call for you, then? Or maybe someone you want to call yourself? To come pick you up?”
Was she already trying to get rid of him? Colin wasn’t close to being ready to leave. “No. I don’t need to call anyone. And my truck is parked at the trailhead. If you want, you can give me a ride up there, or I can always hike back up.”
“Of course I can give you a ride,” Ellie said. “But you probably shouldn’t be driving. How far to your house?”
Colin took a drink of water. “Stanley.”
Ellie’s expression turned sad and he wondered at the change. “Oh. Stanley. Probably why I’ve never seen you around.”
Stanley was only fifty or so miles from Lowman, but it was true that Colin rarely ventured past their home base. Now that he’d been hired as a sentry, that was about to change. A lot of things were about to change.
Colin had no idea how to move forward. How to breach the subject of his mate bond with Ellie. Had she been a supernatural creature, this would’ve been so much easier. Had she been a werewolf, there’d be no problem whatsoever. It was true that magic clung to her skin, but it was so faint that he had to assume she was a descendant of a witch many generations ago. She might have seemed “other,” but she was as mundane as any human. She wasn’t any of the things he’d hoped, and wishing it were different wasn’t going to help him.
“Ellie—”
“You kept saying ‘mine’ up on the hill,” Ellie interrupted. “What were you talking about?”
Huh. His wolf had obviously made his stake while Colin had been on the verge of unconsciousness. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as he’d thought.
He met her gaze and held it. “I was talking about you, Ellie.”
Her lips parted on a breath. Colin was struck by her soft beauty.
“Me? Why?” Her disbelieving tone wrenched his heart. Was it so unfathomable that he—or anyone—would want her? “What do you mean?”
“You are mine, Ellie.” Colin hiked a shoulder. There was no way around it. It was best to be straightforward and honest. “My mate.”
She shot up from her seat, eyes wide. “Okay, you definitely have a concussion. Either that or you’re a freaking psychopath who needs to get the hell out of my house right now.”
Well, that could have gone better. Colin pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and let out a slow breath. It’s not like he’d expected her to be immediately receptive. But he’d really hoped she wouldn’t reach straight for the mentally unstable card.
“Try to keep an open mind.” No one ever reacted well when a sentence started that way, and Colin instantly regretted the words. Ellie opened her mouth to speak and he held up a staying hand. “Ellie. The world isn’t as simple as you might think it is. There are things, forces, creatures that exist…” Gods, he was fucking this up big-time.
Ellie’s scent soured with fear and anxiety. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and studied Colin from beneath lowered lashes. “Li
ke witches?”
She spoke so quietly that, even with his preternatural hearing, Colin had to strain to hear her. Her words drove a spike of fear through his chest. He’d been right about the magic that clung to her, but he was beginning to think it wasn’t because of her heritage like he’d assumed. Perhaps the supernatural world wasn’t as foreign to her as he thought. “Yes,” he replied. “Like witches. But there’s also so much more.” His wolf gave a low whimper in the back of his mind. “What do you know about witches, Ellie?”
“I know they’re real,” she whispered. “And that they’re evil.”
His wolf’s whimper turned into a menacing growl. Colin took a deep breath and held it in his lungs. Her scent didn’t bear a hint of deception. Very few humans were privy to the supernatural world. And her experience with it had obviously been unpleasant.
“Some of them are, yes.” Witches, like any creature, weren’t inherently good or evil. The intent of their magic and the spells they cast determined that. “But not all of them. Ellie, do you know what I am?” Colin figured it was best to test the waters and see what she knew about his world before moving forward.
Her brow furrowed. Once again her scent soured. What she knew about his world was superficial at best. “A man?” Her words lacked conviction.
“No. I haven’t been a man for a very long time. I’m a werewolf.”
Ellie backed away and her fear sliced through Colin’s chest. “You hit your head harder than you thought,” she said with a nervous laugh. She reached for the phone. “I think we’d better call that ambulance.”
With preternatural speed, he reached out and snatched the phone from the end table before she could get to it. “I don’t have a concussion, Ellie, and you know it.”
“H-how did you do that?”
“I told you, I’m a werewolf.”
Ellie’s eyes went wide. “No one can move that fast.”