Teacher's Pet Wolf

My heart lurches and I shoot up to sitting, clutching the device. Columbia Inn? That’s not a hotel chain. That’s local.

He’s staying in town. Not Pendleton, not La Grande. Here.

Without thinking, I scramble out of bed and head for the door—and my only thought is getting to him. Seeing him. I’m at the top of the stairs before my brain clears. I’ve got dried elk blood clumping my hair. My feet are filthy, and my quick bath in the stream didn’t clean up everything. I’m a complete mess.

I can’t go to Ranger like this.

Coming to a halt, I pull in a deep, steadying breath. Another. Then text him back.

Alicia: 6pm in the bar okay?

I barely make it down the hall and into the bathroom before his response comes in.

Ranger: Yeah. Aside from one hour being too fucking far away.

Alicia: I’ll make the wait worth it.

Ranger: Seeing you will make this whole damn year worth it.

Not sex with me. But simply seeing me.

Happiness bubbles up in my chest. In the shower, I can’t stop smiling, though usually the sight of blood and dirt swirling down the drain fills me with despair. Today, I don’t care.

And I’m especially thrilled to see that the money I spent at a salon this week wasn’t wasted after a night of werewolfing. I had nearly every part of my body waxed, and I wasn’t sure if it would grow back. But I’m smooth and sleek and feeling deliciously naughty as I finish up in the bathroom and head for my closet.

Because I’m going to see him soon. There’s no long drive ahead. It’ll only take me a few minutes to reach him. Because he’s right here.

In town.

I falter a little then. Because when I shopped for something to wear tonight, I assumed we’d meet in a bigger city, where no one knew me. But everyone knows me at the Columbia. The first floor of the inn doubles as a restaurant, a bar and grill where Sam and I are regulars. And it’s Saturday night. A busy night.

I don’t care if everyone in town sees me with Ranger. I don’t care if they see my overnight bag and know exactly what I’m doing. But the way I want to look for him isn’t at all how they’re used to seeing Miss Simmons, science teacher. And it’s entirely different from what they used to see in Alicia, the shy and nerdy girl that many of them knew and mocked in high school.

This part of myself that I want to show to Ranger…they’ll see it, too. They’ll have more of me than I wanted to give before. And that makes me feel vulnerable in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time.

But I’m not vulnerable. And I’m not going let old insecurities force me into hiding. Not with Ranger.

And, heck. If I’m showing parts of myself that I haven’t exposed before, then they’re lucky to get sexy Alicia—and not the beast.

Who is along for the ride as I drive into town. The monster inside me isn’t nearly as quiet as it usually is following the full moon, but it feels exactly the same way I do. Excited. Nervous. And so, so aroused.

Until I park in the hotel lot and breathe in that odor again, and I’m filled with a confusion and restlessness that’s not my own. The scent I caught a whiff of earlier is so much stronger here—and not just one, but two distinct threads that are similar to each other but also different. All at once the beast is wary, uncertain.

But I’m not. I don’t care what the scent is. I just want Ranger.

Carrying my small tote, I stride toward the entrance, my tall heels clipping along the pavement. A few groups of diners are milling around outside while waiting for a table, and the noise coming from inside the restaurant is a cacophony of conversations and clattering dishes and country music. Yet amid all that chaotic sound, I so easily pick up a deep, smoky voice.

“…course I noticed. I can’t breathe without noticing. But I’m not hunting for it tonight. After waiting here all goddamn day, you think I’ll take off now, when Alicia’s on her way?”

It’s harder to pinpoint who Ranger’s talking to, whether it’s someone with him or if he’s on the phone. Until another man says my name, a rumbling voice that I don’t know, catching my attention in time to hear “—strongest near the middle school.”

“Fuck.” Frustration deepens Ranger’s voice. “All right. First thing tomorrow. We’ll track it down and find out if—”

I step into the restaurant and instantly spot Ranger at the bar, positioned so he’s facing the entrance. Oh my god, and he wasn’t kidding. He is big. Huge. And he’s staring at me, expression abruptly hard and hungry and feral.