Page 16 of A Wolf’s Wound

Hannah

Shadow’s already chittering and gesturing when my alarm goes off. I look at him and shake my head. “It is far too early to talk about Ryder .”

But my little pet follows me down the hallway, and even with the bathroom door closed and the shower going full blast, I know he’s still trying to get me to talk about Ryder. I stomp back into my bedroom and pull a dress out of the closet. “Shadow! Enough!”

I spin to face the little critter. “Can’t I simply enjoy that April’s not mad at me anymore? Let me bask in the relief and not think about Ryder-fucking-Stone for like five minutes, please .”

Shadow shakes his head but lowers his voice. Not that it matters; April’s already left for work. So at least I don’t need to worry about her overhearing our conversation.

“Look,” I tell Shadow, “I don’t know what I’m going to do about Ryder.

Okay? I have no freaking clue. But once I do you know, you’ll be the first to know.

But if you don’t stop pestering me about my love life, you’ll be sleeping in an alley with no dumpsters ,” I warn him. “I swear, you’re worse than Mom .”

That finally gets him to shut up. I blow my pet a kiss as I close the door, relieved to have a ten-minute walk to work. Maybe that will help clear my head.

Except, when I leave the building, I have the strangest sense someone is watching me. Alarmed, I look up and down the street, but the few pedestrians I see aren’t giving me a second glance. A few cars are parked on the street, but none pull out and tail me as I walk.

Shaking my head, I decide I must just be on edge from Shadow’s nagging. Still, I walk to the office faster than usual, arriving a little out of breath.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to jog in those heels,” Melinda says when I come in.

I glance down at my kitten heels and snort. “Don’t worry. I don’t try to jog in any shoes.”

“Amen to that. I hate jogging.” She rolls her eyes. “Or any exercise, save for the horizontal mambo.”

I laugh again at the cheesy expression and continue on to my office, ready to start a Ryder-free day.

Except every time I turn around, I see Ryder. First, I’m going from one patient room to another and bump into him in the hallway. “Ryder!” I jolt in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking on the animals that were brought in the other day,” he answers me. “I hope that’s okay?”

“No, it’s fine.” I wave him away, flustered.

“Let me know if you have any questions.” I open the door to the room before he can say anything else and try to focus on the patient in front of me—a cat with an injured tail.

Except, I’m so distracted by his presence in the building that I forget the poor creature’s name twice and almost get bitten. Which I would deserve.

The next time I see Ryder is right before lunch, when I go to the reception desk to ask Lori if she wants me to get her a sandwich. Ryder’s leaning against the desk, laughing at something she’s said.

“Still here?” I keep my tone as cool as possible.

“Came back, actually.” He grins. “I’m taking the most beautiful woman in Stonehaven out to lunch.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and then focuses on Lori. “Ready, Mom?”

“Oh, that is so sweet. My boy, always the charmer.” Lori smiles wide. “At least I taught one of you how to treat a woman right.”

“So I’ve heard,” Ryder says with a wry grin, looking at me. I try not to blush.

“Have a good lunch,” I say stiffly. “I just remembered that I have to call, um, my roommate. Bye!” I give an idiotic wave and rush to my office, burning with embarrassment and, let’s face it, lust.

The afternoon unfolds without any more Ryder run-ins—thank goodness.

But by midafternoon I realize I don’t need to see the man to be distracted by him.

During a free hour, when I really should be updating patient charts, I catch myself fantasizing no less than six times about our kiss.

His mouth…his lips…the way his tongue felt, thrusting deep inside my mouth…

My last patient is a no-show, and I’m looking forward to going home.

At least there I can let my mind wander without any repercussions.

Because in between my fantasies about Ryder’s mouth, there’s this nagging sense he’s trouble with a capital T.

And that he might know more about the things going on around town than he’s telling me.

I head back to my office to tidy up before I leave, and that’s when I see Ryder waiting outside the door. I shake my head in resignation. “Don’t you have anything better to do than hang around a vet clinic all day?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” I question him as he follows me into my office. He sits down on the small couch in the corner. Thinking it’s wise to keep some distance between us, I go to my usual chair behind my desk.

“I want to make sure you’re okay, after yesterday.” He rubs his hands on his jeans. “After the last few days, really.”

“Yeah, about that…” I tap my fingernails on my desk, a nervous habit that I should nip in the bud. Eventually. “Where can I find the councilman?”

“Why?”

“It occurred to me that I should talk to him,” I answer. “When he came into my apartment, he was going on about how I shouldn’t be here. Why would he say that? Does he know something about me I don’t? I’d like to ask him.”

“You can’t.” Ryder dashes my hopes.

“Oh, please. I can take care of myself. And I’m not an idiot,” I continue heatedly. “I’ll meet him in public, bring April with me, and all that jazz.”

“No, I mean, you can’t because he’s dead,” Ryder tells me, and my heart plummets.

Oh, shit. Did Ryder… kill him for attacking me?

As if he can read my mind, Ryder shakes his head.

“I don’t know what killed him,” he fills in quickly.

“I found his body outside your building the same night he attacked you.”

“How did you know?” I ask.

“That he was dead? It was pretty obvious.”

“No.” I wave his words away. “How did you know that he was attacking me? You were in the middle of a date with April. Right? Blocks from our apartment. And you didn’t know who I was. How did you know to show up when I needed you?”

Ryder shakes his head again, his dark eyes looking pained. “I wish I had an answer for you, Hannah. I really do. All I can say is that I had a feeling that someone—you—needed me. I felt you asking for help. Asking for me.”

“That sounds crazy.” I flop back into my chair.

“I know.” His eyes remain fixed on mine.

“You keep saying you… felt me.” I shake my head. “But I’m human.” Whatever is going on with him has to be a shifter thing. Right?

“I know.” He nods. “I can’t explain it. I’m drawn to you, Hannah.” He rubs his chest, over his heart, as if it were just as confused as the man, er, wolf.

I lean forward and prop my forearms on the edge of my desk, my fingers loosely entwined. “I don’t want to get into anything serious. Especially if that means giving up my freedom to just be another mate in a pack.”

“Hannah, you’d never be just another anything.”

“But still. What you want is something I’ll never be able to give you.” I swallow, still unable to look away. “I think you need to stay away from me.”

“Really?” he asks, standing up and walking toward me. As if in a trance, I rise, too, and walk around my desk until we’re standing so close to each other, I can feel his hot breath against my cheek, the warmth of his body sinking into mine.

“Really.” I nod, my cheek gently brushing his. “I mean it, Ryder. I can’t do this.”

“Okay,” he agrees softly, and I have to look away from the pain on his face, the ache etched into his every feature. “I’m sorry.”

I don’t say anything. I feel like I’m going to cry, which makes no sense. Instead, I remain silent and simply stand utterly still until Ryder sighs and leaves.

I wait ten minutes and then lock up the clinic to begin my walk home. I’m moving on autopilot, feeling numb—hollow. Which is why it takes a block before a tingle creeps up my spine and I realize…

Someone’s watching me.