The Hunted Heart

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “If you say so.” Lexi took a deep breath, audible through the phone. “Okay then. I will see you tomorrow for dinner. I can’t wait to taste what you make for dessert, and I’ll be sure Parker and North know you’re coming as well. Thank you, Emeline. Thank you for everything.”

  She let the other woman go then stared at the phone, her mind on countless other things again rather than what was in front of her.

  “Have you eaten yet, Em?”

  Emeline screamed and jumped off the chair, phone crashing to the floor, claws bared.

  “Noah?” She blinked, her chest heaving. “What are you doing in my home? How did you get in here? And why are you here scaring the life out of me?”

  He smiled at her, and Emeline wanted to strangle him.

  This man. This wolf.

  He just wouldn’t leave her alone.

  The pup was twenty-eight for God’s sake. A mere blip in the radar of her long life. It didn’t matter that her wolf practically preened when he smiled. No, she didn’t want any of that.

  That stupid dimple on his cheek deepened, and Emeline held back a growl. She refused to notice the long, lean lines of his body, the waves of chestnut hair that fell to the back of his neck, or the muscles that bulged just right when he bent to pick something up.

  Nope.

  She didn’t want this pup.

  No matter what her wolf said.

  Chapter Two

  Noah smiled at the wide-eyed look on Emeline’s face. Considering he came to her place at least three times a week, she shouldn’t have been surprised that he was there. However, he didn’t think she really understood why he was there, so maybe he could forgive her for her being startled.

  At least a little.

  Her blond curls lay in a tangle on her shoulders, as if she’d been running her hand through them throughout the day while she was buried in texts. Those violet eyes held a wealth of knowledge and an innocence he didn’t quite understand.

  Or maybe he did and he wasn’t sure what to do with it.

  At least not yet.

  She stood at least a foot shorter than him, all pixie and gentle, until someone pissed her off; then she was all wolf, biting, clawing, and forcing her way to independence

  The perfect woman for him.

  If only she felt the same way.

  “Well, Noah? What are you doing here?”

  Was it wrong to love the little line that formed between her brows when she got angry with him? He had issues, apparently.

  With a small smile, ignoring the fact she didn’t seem pleased to see him, he brought his hand out from behind his back, the clutch of wildflowers he held looking slightly wilted on the edges. His nerves were starting to grate on him.

  Her eyes brightened for a moment—making his wolf howl—before she narrowed them in suspicion.

  “Why are you bringing me flowers, Noah?”

  Noah raised his brows then shrugged before moving past her to the kitchen. He knew where she kept her vases in this new place and took care of getting the flowers in water for her. He could feel her presence behind him, that calm, yet unearthly quality that he was falling for as each day passed.

  It took everything within him not to fall completely.

  She might be his mate, the other half of his soul, but from the way she acted around him, he didn’t think she felt the same way.

  The sharp pang across his heart was as subtle as a dull blade, but he ignored it. He might be only twenty-eight to her five hundred, but he had all the patience in the world.

  He had to, considering fate had given him a sheltered elder for a mate.

  “Noah? You can’t just come in here and start taking over.”

  He placed the vase on the breakfast island counter then turned to face Emeline. “I wanted to bring you flowers, Em. You can at least say thank you.”

  She shut her eyes, her chest lifting as she took a deep breath. She opened her eyes again and the lost look that was always there broke him just that much more. “I’m sorry. Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.” Her gaze drifted to the wilting wildflowers, and Noah held back a wince.

  She probably had received dozens of flowers from her late mate and countless others in her lifetime. Beautiful buds that made his dingy sprouts pale in comparison. He hadn’t thought to bring her any when he’d set out to her place that afternoon. No, he’d seen them on the hillside and thought of her smile.

  He didn’t tell her any of that though. As it was, he was sure he scared her enough with just his presence. He still wasn’t sure how to fix that, but he’d find a way.

  As he studied her face, wanting to memorize every contour for when she sent him on his away again, he saw what he’d missed before. The dark shadows under her eyes had grown more pronounced since the last time he’d seen her, as had the paleness of her face.

  He knew that working on a cure for North’s blindness was taking a toll on her, but right then, she looked even worse. It didn’t help matters that she’d about killed herself when they’d sent the demon Caym, who had almost killed them all, back to hell.

  She’d saved them all with her insight, wisdom, and countless hours spent with her nose in a book.

  And she’d sacrificed her health in the process.

  He’d spent the past year trying to get her to see him while not scaring her away. At the same time, he’d slowly worked on getting her back to a healthy weight and schedule of sleeping and eating.

  By the look of her right then, his efforts hadn’t been good enough.

  “Have you eaten today, Em?”

  She narrowed her eyes again. “Why do you keep calling me Em? My name is Emeline. Use it.”

  He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and the stillness of her body at his touch set his wolf on edge, but he let it pass. He’d get her used to him.

  “I like calling you Em. Everyone else calls you Emeline, so I wanted to use something different.”

  “That makes no sense, Noah. I’m nothing to you. I’m just an elder.”

  The words sliced through him, and he had to hold back everything he’d wanted to say to her since he first laid eyes on her in the Alpha’s home. She was his mate. A potential. His wolf had known from the first scent and the man had known from the first look. There were only a few—if not just the one—potentials in the world throughout a wolf’s lifetime that could become a mate. If both parties fell for one another, they’d form a mating bond, connect their souls, and start their journey into their long lives together.

  Noah had never heard of someone finding their potential mate, only to realize that the other felt nothing.

  Fate wasn’t that cruel.

  However, maybe because Emeline was an elder, she was different. Noah knew she had a connection to the moon goddess, their deity that had created wolves in the first place long ago, and had more memories than he could ever dream of, so maybe that meant her wolf worked in a way he’d yet to understand.

  Just because he didn’t think she recognized him as a mate didn’t mean he’d give up. No, he’d take it one day at a time. Court her until she saw in him what he saw in her.

  Until then, he needed to keep her healthy.

  After all, since North was incapacitated until they found a way to heal him, Noah was the Pack doctor—something he never thought he’d truly be doing on his own at this young an age.

  Best not think of him as young when Emeline was already thinking of him as a pup. While others might frown on the age difference, he didn’t care. They were wolves. It wasn’t as though he was a teenager, and it wasn’t as though she actually looked her age.

  No, they both looked to be in their twenties, and though she had more practical experience, he wasn’t about to be left behind.

  He shook his head then cupped her face. She didn’t pull away this time. Progress.

  “Did you eat, Em?” At her sigh, he rubbed her cheekbone with his thumb. “Don’t change the subject like you normally do. You need to take care of yourse
lf.”

  She rolled her eyes then pulled away. He didn’t frown at the loss because at least she’d stayed in his hold for as long as she had. It could have been worse. She could have looked revolted and run away at the first hint of a caress.

  It was the little things—like her momentary acceptance—that made courting worth it.

  “No, I haven’t eaten yet. I got caught up in spells then Lexi called, and I got distracted again.”

  Noah let out a breath then went to her fridge to get out the salad fixings he’d put in there two days before.

  “Noah, I can take care of myself. Stop acting like a dominant ass.”

  He raised a brow then took out a hunk of goat cheese and some apricot and herbed jam he’d bought as well. “I know you can. You’re just spending way too much time worrying about others. It’s okay. North needs us. But now I’m going to make sure you’re cared for as well.” He made her a small plate of goat cheese, jam, and thick croutons he’d made at home for her. The croutons were really more like small bread slices that went well with the softness of the goat cheese.

  “Eat, Em. I’ll make you a salad. You’ll need protein though. Do you still have that salmon?”

  She rolled her eyes then took a bite of the bread and cheese. A small amount of the creamy filling dotted her lip, and her tongue slid across the curve, cleaning her mouth in the sexiest movement he’d ever seen her make.

  Not that she’d done it to be sexy.

  But hell.

  “It’s in the middle drawer where it wouldn’t spoil right away,” she answered then put her hand on his back. He froze, relishing her touch. She didn’t open touch him purposely, no, in fact, it was only when she was bleeding, out of breath, or passing out that she reached out to him. This though, this wasn’t any of those.

  His wolf loved it.

  “Do you need anything to drink?” he asked, his voice oddly thick. Great, he was acting the age she’d always treated him, not the man who’d been through war and had started to fall in love with the woman behind him.

  “Thank you, Noah. I know I’m being stupid by not accepting your help. You do so much for me, and yet I push you away. I just hate that my mind wanders so much that I forget to take care of myself. I’m getting so old and senile it’s a wonder that I’m not put out to pasture.”

  His wolf snarled. He set the salmon and milk jug on the counter and turned, cupping her face. She let out a little gasp, but he ignored it because he needed to get the words out.

  “You are not senile. Your mind works more than any other wolf I know. You’re working your butt off for others, Em. So what if you forget to eat? People younger than you tend to forget what they’re supposed to be doing for themselves when they’re focused on other things. It makes you scatterbrained. Not old. Get the thought out of your head that you need to be, as you put it, put out to pasture, or anything like that. You got me? You don’t get to talk about yourself like that in my presence. You saved us all, Em. You did it with your mind, your heart, and your strength. You’re allowed to forget a meal or two.”

  She swallowed hard, and it took all within him not to bend and brush his lips against hers. She wasn’t ready for that. And come to think of it, he wasn’t sure if he was either. Because once he did, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

  “You get me, Em?”

  “I get you.”

  “Good.” He cleared his throat then let her go. “You want your salmon grilled or baked?”

  “I can help you,” she said, her voice soft. “I’m not an invalid.”

  “Never said you were. And since you’ve got enough salmon for two, can I join you?”

  She raised a brow. “You usually eat with me most days you stop by anyway and you’ve never asked before. You just do it.”

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “I’m trying not to act like a dominant ass.”

  She blushed and ducked her head before taking out the portable grill for the salmon. “I didn’t mean it when I said that before. I’m just a little out of sorts and seem to be taking it out on you.”

  He took out the cutting board and started slicing avocados, orange peppers, and grape tomatoes to go on the top of their salads. If he’d been thinking, he’d have boiled a couple eggs for more protein before heading over, but it was too late now.

  “You’re welcome to take anything you want out on me.” Did that sound dirty? Because it sure did to him. He’d have to watch himself.

  “I don’t know how to repay you, Noah. What you did on the field against Caym…” She took a deep breath, and it took all in Noah’s power not to stop what he was doing and hold her. “You saved me. You tell me that I saved the Pack, but without you holding me up, keeping me going, I wouldn’t have made it. The magic I had to use…well…it hurt.” She gave him a small smile at the lie she’d just told.

  Oh yeah, he knew it was a lie. The magic she’d used to send the demon to hell had more than hurt. If they’d been mated at the time, he was pretty sure he could have helped her even more through the bond, but that was neither here nor there. Now he had a woman healing and learning to be part of a Pack again while he was learning to be a greater part of a Pack. They would be great together.

  If only she could see it.

  “Go out with me, Em.”

  She froze, her eyes wide. The salmon popped on the grill beside her, but neither of them moved to take care of it.

  “Out? Like out out?”

  For someone who’d lived centuries, she sure didn’t understand everything she thought she did. No worries, though, he’d teach her. He’d show her everything.

  He set down the knife, turned down the grill behind her—the action forcing her to move closer to him—then quirked his lips.

  “Yes, out out. You and me. On a date.”

  “But why?”

  He tried not to wince at that but failed miserably. He could have said he wanted to go out with her because they were mates and fated to be together. That once they did, once they mated, they would each be destined for a future filled with bliss, babies, and lots of time panting.

  Considering he wasn’t even sure she could feel her wolf wanting him that way, he had a feeling he should keep those thoughts to himself.

  “Why?”

  “No, no, that’s not what I meant. Oh, Noah, I’m sure a nice young wolf would go out with you. You don’t have to pity date the old woman who lives alone.”

  Okay, now he was getting angry. “Don’t patronize me, Em. I asked you out. You. No one else. I want to take you out on a date. You’re not an old woman who doesn’t deserve to be cherished. You’re Emeline. An Elder and a fucking amazing woman. So please, come out with me.”

  She blinked again. “Well then. If you’re so passionate about it. You know I haven’t been on a date in…well…let’s not talk about that.”

  He grinned at her and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  She might not know what she was feeling, but once she knew the world was waiting for her, she’d see. He knew it. He’d just have to hunt her heart like a mate on the prowl.

  Chapter Three

  “I’m a cougar. A cougar on the prowl.”

  Lexi and Bay Jamenson cracked up laughing, almost falling off the bed they were sitting on surrounded by piles of discarded dresses and pants, but Emeline didn’t find it funny. Oh no. Not at all.

  The two of them were her friends. An odd thing to say after so many years of staying within the elder community of eight or so wolves who had grown bored of each other ages ago. Now Bay and Lexi were there to help her dress for her date with Noah.

  Her date.

  With Noah.

  Goddess, what had she been thinking?

  “I’m a cougar, ladies. Isn’t that what it’s called? Some past-her-prime woman who chases after young men so she can have her way with them before tossing them away for a younger version? They want all that virility and energy, and want to remember what it’s like to be youthful. A cougar.
I’m a cougar.”

  “Oh, honey, please stop calling yourself a cougar,” Lexi said, tears streaming from her eyes.

  Emeline put her fists on her hips and scowled. “That’s what I am, aren’t I?”

  “No, Emeline, you’re a wolf,” Bay said, clearly trying not to smile and failing badly. “A female wolf about to go on a date with a very sexy male wolf. Stop calling yourself a cougar. Though, oh my god, that’s hilarious.”

  Good for them to think she was funny. Emeline felt nothing of the sort. Well, maybe on the verge of being a joke, but she was sure she was going crazy.

  Thank the goddess Bay and Lexi were there. Though Emeline was friends with all of the Jamensons, these two were closer to her than the others. Even closer than Reed. Reed, the artist of the family, had known her for the longest—other than his late parents of course. He had worked with her for years on persevering the Pack’s history in art form. He’d always treated her with reverence and extreme care, and that same reverence made it hard now for them to become as close as she was with Bay and Lexi.

  She’d met Bay when the woman had found her locket, the locket Emeline had put in her jewelry case that morning knowing she wouldn’t be wearing it for the evening. Maybe not ever again. Jeffery had given it to her before he’d set off for war against a rival Pack, only to never come home to see her wear it. She’d thrown it into the fire when she found out Jeffery had died, her pain too much to bear. She and Bay had bonded over the shared memories and pain, becoming close ever since.

  Lexi, of course, had become close to Emeline during the trials and research concerning North. Right then, though, none of that was on the table.

  No, today was all about Emeline and Noah.

  And their date.

  “What am I supposed to do on a date with a wolf Cailin used to date?” She ran her hand through her hair, annoyed she’d even said that last part. She loved Cailin Jamenson Anderson. The lone daughter of the set of Jamensons she felt connected to, Cailin had been by her side in the final battle. That didn’t mean she necessarily wanted to think about her or any other woman with Noah.