Feral (Wolf Ranch 3)

21

WILLOW

I showed up at the Wolf Ranch carrying a tray of deviled eggs. I wasn’t much of a cook, but that was the thing my foster mother had always brought to potlucks, so it seemed like the thing to do.

I’d hated these get-togethers as a kid, always feeling out of place. I was just another one of the Johnsons’ many foster kids that everyone kept a sharp eye on because we couldn’t be trusted with their children or their things.

I didn’t particularly want to be at this one, either.

No, that was a lie. I liked being here.

Too much. I liked the closeness of Rob’s family. The way they seemed to have each other’s backs.

The past week with Rob had been delicious. Sinfully delicious. But the whole time, I’d known they were stolen moments. I couldn’t have Rob Wolf.

Being here with his incredible family and pack made that painfully obvious.

I didn’t belong.

I was living a lie. Rob needed to mark a female before he succumbed to moon madness. I knew he believed his wolf had chosen me as his mate, but I suspected that was just biology talking. Like how human females had the biological clock thing going. When they reached the end of their breeding window, they got kind of desperate and married any guy they thought would make a decent father.

Rob had the same thing going. It was his time, and I’d moved in next door. Our chemistry was off the charts, so he was sure I was the one.

But I knew that was impossible.

I was living a lie, and when he found out I wasn’t Natalie, that I was here under false pretenses, he was going to be pissed. No apology would take back that sense of betrayal he would feel.

I shouldn’t have let us get this close—the situation was a guaranteed heartache for both of us.

“Hey, you must be Natalie,” a pretty young woman said, taking the tray of deviled eggs from me. “I’m Marina, Audrey’s younger sister.”

Much younger. I was surprised.

“Nice to meet you.” I followed her to the back yard where a barbecue grill was already smoking with the scent of searing meat.

My mouth watered. “Oh my God, is that peach pie?”

Marina beamed. “It sure is. Baking is kind of my thing.”

“Hey there. You must be Natalie.” Two good-looking younger cowboys sauntered up to me. “I’m Rand,” one of them said. “And I’m Nash,” the other finished.

“They’re ranch hands here at Wolf Ranch,” Marina supplied.

Apparently, all the cowboys at Wolf Ranch were very fine specimens of manhood, not that these two held any candle to Rob.

Rob showed up and reached for my hand, tugging me against him in a hug. “There you are.”

I noticed a number of heads turned as people stared at me. I pulled away from Rob, my defenses going up.

“The pack will love you,” Rob reassured in a low voice. “Your great-uncle was a friend to many here.” But then he pulled away and rubbed his face. “They just may not love the idea of me mating you.”

“Let’s not go there, then,” I said quickly, taking a step back and putting more distance between our bodies.

I couldn’t mate this guy. Did he think I could?

Why then, did having my body apart from his set off a sense of yearning that made my whole body ache?

“Right,” he agreed. “We’ll keep what’s between us private for now.” For a moment, I caught the hint of unhappiness in the lines of his face. The weight of responsibility for his brothers and the whole pack on his shoulders.

I squeezed his arm, the ache in me growing stronger. Rob was an amazing man. Selfless and giving. Strong and protective. And this life he had here on the ranch—I never thought I’d want something like this. My childhood had been so shitty. But now that I was here, now that I got to see what he had—the sense of community, of family—now it felt like exactly what I craved. The refreshing antidote to my childhood. A redo on a beautiful Montana ranch filled with kindness and love.

And really hot kinky sex.

Too bad none of this was real.

“So, Rob,” an older man came up and thumped Rob on the back. “When is the contingent from Canada showing up? Do you have any events planned?”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but the detective in me didn’t miss the way Rob’s jaw clenched and the quick—and guilty—look he darted my way.

“I’ll be right back, Natalie,” he said, stepping farther away with the man, like he didn’t want me to hear.

“You’re not worried about that situation, are you?” Marina appeared at my elbow, speaking in a low voice.

I turned to face her fully. “What is the situation, exactly?”

She flushed. “Oh—um—it’s nothing,” she stammered. “Just some visitors that are coming.”

“What visitors?” I demanded. “Why would I be worried?”