Soul of the Wolves

“Stay still. Or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you like a

sack of potatoes. You won’t like it.”

Eeek! Sookie quieted in an instant.

She clung to him while pointing the flashlight on the skinny path before them. Ethan moved with ease as if she weighed nothing. She was impressed with his strength considering she wasn’t exactly a pixie. Being so close to him like this stirred some new feeling inside her. Not fear. Something like… fondness? Oh God, she mentally smacked her head. He carries me like this and I fall for him? Just how desperate are you, Sookie?

Ethan’s cabin was situated next to the river’s edge. It had a boathouse and a pier. The moon bounced the light from the surface of the placid water, dimly illuminating the surroundings. He put her down on her feet. Even though the cabin was built in this secluded place, it was equipped with a high-tech security system. Ethan didn’t need keys to open the front door. He only punched the numbers and scanned his thumb on the keypad. The door whispered open. It was reinforced steel cleverly disguised with a wooden façade. She thought that the whole cabin was built the same way. It wasn’t just a safehouse. It was a fortress. Not even a tank could easily blast its way inside.

Actually, the cabin was very cozy. It wasn’t that big. It boasted one bedroom on the main floor and two upstairs. It had two bathrooms, a pantry, a medium living space and decent-sized kitchen with a table that could seat eight people.

Ethan put his bag on the floor next to the kitchen counter. She heard a metallic sound from it. She wondered if Ethan was packing some firepower instead of clothes.

“There are some clothes in the main bedroom if you’d like to get changed,” he said.

That was a good idea. Pretty as it was, the silk gown was a pain in the ass to wear.

“You can take a shower or bath too if you’d like,” Ethan added. “I imagine you might want to get comfy.”

“I’d like a shower. I think I still have a bit of a hangover.”

“I have some anti-nausea pills if you’d like.”

She shook her head. “A shower is just fine.”

“I’ll make you some coffee when you’re done.”

“Thank you.” Sookie watched him settle behind the desk in the living room area. It looked like Ethan’s personal workspace. The desk had a kickass computer with dual screens. A stack of unopened letters was haphazardly perched next to a writing pad. He powered on the computer and worked on his e-mails. “Do you come here often?” she asked.

“Quite.”

Sookie had a lot of questions to ask him but she hesitated.

“Yes?” he prompted when she didn’t do what she was going to do.

“Are you all right?” she asked. “You carried me over when you just recovered from a terrible accident. It was a long walk from the car.”

That earned her a smile, more like a smirk from him. “Are you worrying about me, wife?”

Her face heated in an instant. The way he said “wife” was heavily intoned with mocking. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

Twinkles of amusement danced in his eyes. “Werewolves heal faster than humans, in case you don’t know.”

“I heard something like that. Is it true that werewolves are also allergic to silver?”

“Hmm? Curious, are we? Are you going to stab me with silverware while I’m sleeping?”

A tiny annoyance bubbled up inside her. Can he just answer a straight question? “Yes, I was curious. And that was a legitimate question.” Her voice came a bit harsher than she intended. Whatever. She tried playing nice.

A pause. Another smile. “Common werewolves perhaps. A purebred like me is impervious against silver.”

Purebred. Gah. He sounded so arrogant about his pedigree, as if he was sired by the Holy Pope, Queen of England and the President of United States rolled together. Sookie wanted to ask whether he was registered with the American Kennel Club as well. “Good to know,” she said simply and sauntered to the bedroom.

She could feel the weight of his stare on her back.

That bastard enjoyed this very much.

Chapter Three