Hungry Like a Wolf (Claws Clause 1)

She wasn’t his mate.

She wasn’t.

She was free. With no bond to tie her to that monster, Adam saw his opportunity and he took it. Sure, he’d had to wait while Evangeline recovered her strength. The accident was so bad, PT alone took months. And her parents were so traumatized, they started treating their only child like she was a girl again instead of a twenty-seven-year-old woman.

Then came the day that Wolfe’s pretty boy brother showed up at the Cage. It was the moment Adam had been dreading since they forced him to do his year inside. Colton Wolfe had discovered that Evangeline was alive.

And Adam had to make his move.

With her mother’s help, Adam finally got his chance to show Evangeline how much he cared for her. At the same time, he vigilantly kept tabs on his girlfriend, protecting her without telling her what he was protecting her from.

When it came to taking care of Evangeline, her parents were firmly on his side. Adam knew it was because he was human, but he didn’t care. Naomi was as invested in keeping Evangeline away from her old “mate” as he was.

Which was why, when Evangeline went for more than an hour without turning her phone back on, Adam contacted Naomi. Evangeline’s mother already knew that something was up. When she couldn’t get her daughter on her cell phone, she tried the apartment. No answer there, either.

So then Naomi tracked her.

Adam pulled the cruiser up to the curb in front of Mugs. The coordinates for the point where Evangeline’s phone last broadcasted a signal was about a half a block away, but Adam knew it was an approximate guess at best. Since Evangeline was a caffeine fiend who visited Mugs as often as she could, his best bet was to check the shop.

Probably because it was still early afternoon, Mugs was crowded. It took Adam a few minutes to march through the place, checking each table, each face, for Evangeline. When he assured himself that she wasn’t there, he headed straight for the counter.

The girl who stood at the register was all of maybe twenty years old. She was cute, in a kid sister way, with short blonde hair and big brown eyes. She looked puzzled when he cut in front of a college-aged kid about to order, then smiled when it was obvious the kid wasn’t going to argu

e.

“Hi. Welcome to Mugs. What can I get you?”

He had his phone in his back pocket. Because this was his afternoon off—which was the excuse he was going to use for trying to get Evangeline on the phone since he wanted to go see her—Adam was wearing a button-down shirt and khakis. He grabbed his phone, showing the girl at the counter the picture on his lockscreen.

He’d taken that photo of Evangeline during their first date night. She had no idea. It was a three-quarter profile, with Evangeline looking at something in the distance. A sad smile tugged on her pretty lips, her eyes almost lost.

Adam turned it so that the girl could see. “Was she in here today?”

“Uh. Yeah. I recognize her.”

“From today?”

She nodded. “Most days, but today for sure. Like an hour ago, maybe two. During the lunch rush, definitely.”

“Who was she with?”

“What?”

“This woman. Was she alone or was she with someone?”

The girl hesitated.

Trying to hide his mounting frustration and growing worry, Adam leaned in and gave the barista a strained grin. He glanced at her name tag. “Look, Kimberly, this is important. If you know something, I need you to tell me.”

“I’m not sure if I should—”

Wrong answer.

He yanked his badge off of his belt, slamming it against the counter. The girl jumped, and he tried to force himself to dial it back.

“You're police,” she squeaked.

“I'm her boyfriend.”