Sanctuary Found (Pelican Bay 2)

I would, however, watch my back when I was in town.

Well, I’d watch my back more.

Before Nolan or Dallas could question me further, I quickly backed out the door and said, “I’m going to go check on Newt. I’m sure he’s going to want to try on the snow pants I got him.”

I hurried from the office and rounded the corner. That was when I saw Loki come racing toward me.

Just Loki.

The big animal stopped in front of me and began whining, then he circled me several times.

“Dallas?” I called. I yelled his name louder when Loki became more restless. But when the large animal suddenly grabbed my arm between his teeth, I panicked.

“Dallas!”

Fear went through me at the wolf hybrid’s behavior, but the animal quickly released me, then gently grabbed my arm again and tugged.

And a whole new kind of fear went through me.

Newt.

Panic ripped through me as I began running. I heard Nolan call out to me, but I didn’t stop to respond to him.

“Dallas!” I heard someone shout. “Sawyer!”

It was Maddox’s voice.

And he sounded scared.

Oh God, Newt.

I tore around the corner of the livestock fencing and ran down the path leading to the cat building. The snow made it feel like I was going so slow I may as well have been walking backward.

“Newt!” I screamed as Loki flew past me and raced down the trail.

“Here!” Maddox called. “He’s here!”

I almost fell as I turned onto the smaller path that led to the building, and my heart nearly stopped in my chest at the sight that was waiting for me.

Chapter Eleven

Maddox

It’d been a shitty morning, but that was only fitting since it’d been a shitty night the evening before.

Well, except the kissing Isaac part.

That had been unbelievable.

Like life-altering kind of unbelievable. He had the sweetest mouth, and the way he’d clung to me as I’d plundered it and made it mine…

I shook my head as my dick responded to the memory. Sadly, I knew the cold wouldn’t do much to calm my raging libido, since it hadn’t the night before when I’d walked home. The only thing that had managed to make me forget Isaac’s delectable mouth and the red-hot jealousy I was still feeling about him and Sawyer this morning had been the alcohol I’d consumed.

And it had taken quite a bit of it.

Enough that I was nursing the mother of all hangovers this morning. It was the first day in the better part of a few weeks that I’d actually wished I didn’t have an obligation to the sanctuary. Normally, I welcomed both the walk to and from the center and the work that kept my mind occupied throughout the day, but today was different.

Today, Isaac was in my head more than ever and he wasn’t going anywhere.

Besides Isaac, the fact that I’d kissed a guy and loved it was pretty much leaving me questioning a lot of things. Was I gay and I’d just been in denial this whole time, or was I straight and something about Isaac just called to me? Maybe I was bisexual because I had, in fact, been attracted to women in the past, and maybe I’d also been attracted to guys and just not recognized it for what it was?

But how was that even possible? I was thirty-two years old, for God’s sake. Shouldn’t I have known all this shit about myself?

As I made my way from the aviary where I’d been doing some repairs, I let my thoughts drift to Jett and the time he’d kissed me. I couldn’t say I’d particularly enjoyed it, but maybe that was because Jett was my best friend. I hadn’t hated it, either. If anything, I’d just been caught off guard by the kiss.

I’d briefly debated calling Jett to talk to him about the whole thing but had decided against it. I still didn’t know what that kiss had meant to him so many years ago. If he’d been crushing on me, he’d never acted on it. That one night had been the only time I’d even had a hint that he saw me as anything besides a friend. He’d come out to me almost as soon as we’d met and I’d never gotten the sense he was disappointed I was straight.

Fuck, I hated labels.

My parents had been fond of labels.

I sighed and realized there was only person I really wanted to talk to about the whole thing, but he and I weren’t on sure enough footing for that yet. If I was going to talk to Dallas about anything, it probably needed to be to figure out exactly where we were at in terms of our relationship. I hadn’t thought he’d give me a second chance, but Nolan’s words the day before at Thanksgiving dinner had given me an odd sense of hope.