Just the thought that the one woman meant for him had no idea that he was anything other than a grumpy delivery man sent rage coursing through him. His wolf yipped and scratched and whined, begging him to turn tail and return to her.
They might be strangers now. What if he went back and, now that he knew she was fated to be his mate, he tried again?
He thought of her and finding her with Hudson and couldn’t even contain his temper. He just let his anger out.
His ankle might’ve been healing. Better late than never, since his regenerative properties should’ve already started, but it didn’t matter because Colt unthinkingly kicked his left leg out, connecting with his couch, sending the furniture shooting across the room.
As it slammed against the wall, Colt felt a new wave of agony and realized he had broken his Alpha-damned ankle all over again.
With Dodge still hovering nearby, he refused to show any sign that he was that much of a dumbass. Swallowing his pain, he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, marching toward the door. He didn’t limp, though he really fucking wanted to, and he survived by promising himself that he’d let out one hell of a howl once he was locked inside his private work shed.
“Where you goin’?” Dodge called after him.
Shallow breaths.
Don’t snap.
Don’t snap again.
“Out back,” he growled. “I’ve got orders that are waiting for me. Maddox is gonna need me sooner or later. That’s my priority. I might as well get some work done until he gets here.”
“You sure ‘bout that?”
Colt jerked his head in an angry nod. “Oh, yeah. I’m positive.”
He needed to work.
He needed the distraction.
He needed his space.
He needed Dodge to stop egging him on before he listened and sprinted back to Grayson.
And, more than anything, he needed to focus on something instead of a gorgeous black-haired beauty and the erection that just wouldn’t deflate.
4
Looking for a witch for his brother was a good thing. It kept him focused.
It kept him distracted.
It was a good thing that Maddox was absolutely hellbent on claiming his mate for once and for all. With every ounce of his attention devoted to Evangeline, Maddox didn’t have any to spare to notice that Colt was dealing with some shit of his own.
In the weeks following that fateful delivery, Colt had stuck to the decision he made that afternoon. Help Maddox get his mate back and then maybe—just maybe—he might figure out what the hell he was going to do about his own.
His brother might be totally focused on finding his mate again, but Maddox wasn’t a moron. He could tell that something was going on with Colt, though he was willing to let it go whenever Colt made it clear that he wasn’t gonna have a little chick flick moment and talk about his feelings.
Eventually, once Maddox had claimed and bonded Evangeline to him, Colt would have to deal with his brother’s curiosity, but that could wait. Until then, he eagerly accepted Colt’s offer of help.
Colt was prepared to do anything to make this all up to Maddox. So, when Maddox told him that he needed Colt to hunt down a witch and hope that the magic-user could explain what had happened to Maddox and Evangeline’s severed bond, Colt was game. It pissed him off that his brother didn’t mean a literal hunt—his wolf could’ve used the challenge—but he said he would do it.
And that’s when he took that meet with Luciana la Sorcière.
What a mess that had been.
He’d had to drive right into the heart of Coventry. Witch territory. No way around it. Colt was known to be a witch’s enemy so it wasn’t really a big surprise when he couldn’t get a single one to take his gig. His brother’s old friend, Priscilla, was out of town, and everyone else referred him to the local coven.
Witches made up almost the entire downtown area of Coventry. If he needed one, that was where he had to go.