Season of the Witch (Claws Clause 2)

He kept walking.

“Wait. I’ve got to go find the car. Hudson—”

“I saw him go in that back room with you,” he interrupted. “Where is he now?”

Shea dug in her heels. He had’t been expecting her to stop short and, as soon as she made it obvious that she wasn’t going with him willingly, he froze.

He reacted exactly the way she thought he would. He might have purposely put distance between them for the last few months, but she knew him better than he thought. He would never force her. Never hurt her. Never push her.

Never trick her into agreeing to be his mate by nearly murdering her brother in front of her…

Going back to Bloodlust after Colton helped her escape was the last thing on her mind. But Hudson… she couldn’t leave him behind with the dangerous Julian.

She shook off his arm. In his surprise—because he knew her, too, and she rarely told him no—Colton allowed it.

The instant she was free, she turned on her stiletto heel and headed determinedly back toward the entrance.

“Shea.” Colton’s growl was a deep rumble that thundered in the quiet night’s sky. “Get back here.”

“I can’t. I have to go get Hudson.”

Her shifter had one thing in common with Julian. He was a predatory Para, too, so he was just as fast, if not faster. She hadn’t even sensed him moving when, suddenly, he was right in front of her, holding out his palms. “No. You can’t.”

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”

“Because I’m asking you not to.”

That was probably the one single thing he could’ve said to make her hesitate. Whoa. Since they met, she could probably count the number of times he’d actually asked her for something—rather than just expecting it from her—on one hand.

No, she amended. Not probably. She definitely could because the answer was zero.

Colton Wolfe wasn’t the type to ask.

Of course, then he had to go and ruin it by saying, “You don’t belong in there. We both know your brother does. Be honest. Do you even think he wants you to go after him?”

Not even a little. “It doesn’t matter. I came with him—”

“Yeah? And if you’re supposed to be leaving with him, why did you walk out of that back room alone?”

Shea let her mouth close with a soft click.

Colton had a temper. She’d learned that in the beginning, even if she’d only witness it herself once or twice. From the level of barely restrained fury rolling off of Colton, she could tell that he was seconds away from wolfing out.

She was right. Seconds later, as she raised her arms to rub some warmth back into her chilly skin, her teeth chattering, Colton’s claws slipped out. He saw her glance toward them and, after taking a ragged breath, he forced them back.

Cursing under his breath, he jerked off his jacket, holding it out to her. When she didn’t take it straight away, he made a small animalistic sound in the back of his throat.

“Fine. I got it. Thanks.”

She put the stupid coat on.

Did she think he smelled good before? That was nothing compared to being wrapped up in a suit jacket that carried both his masculine scent and his cozy heat.

The cold didn’t touch him at all. When he folded his arms, it wasn’t that the chill was getting to him, but because he was obviously still fuming.

Shea stared. She couldn’t help herself. The white button-down shirt pulled across his muscular chest, tight and, in the lamplight, almost see-through. The outline of his pec showed through the stretched fabric.

He was as tempting as he was imposing.