To Claim His Mate (8 page)

“Hey!” Another nudge, and Eva giggled. “All right, all right.” He waved Lightning away before looking apologetically back at Eva. “I’d better go ahead and take them.”

“Go on, I’m not going anywhere.” Storm made no attempt to leave the bed and no amount of calling would budge her. Eva laughed, “I guess I’ll have company after all.”

Chapter Seven

Eva donned her robe and, with a mug of soup in hand, retreated to the bedroom to gather some clothes for after her bath. Storm was like a little furry shadow, right by her side for every step she took.

“So you gave up your run to stay here with me?” She chuckled when Storm looked up at her, tongue hanging out with an obvious doggy grin. “Well, we’ll have some girl time while the boys are out then.”

A movement in the mirror over the dresser drew her attention to the window, and she saw that Adam and Lightning were at the edge of the woods. He wore only his jeans, his feet bare. At first, she thought he must have just meant to run around the open yard, but then he removed his pants, leaving him standing, nude, just at the tree line.

She still felt his happiness in regard to their earlier discovery, but there was nervousness, too. Eva was alternately terrified and ecstatic. She had never expected to find someone as wonderful as Adam then to discover that she was his soul mate to boot? Not to mention the amazing bond they now shared. Perhaps, her luck was finally changing for the better.

“Look at him, Storm. He’s just perfect. Good God, the man should just walk around naked all the time.”

Storm huffed.

As Eva continued to watch, Adam’s form blurred, darkening slightly, and when things finally came back into focus, a large wolf stood in his place.

Freedom
.

That feeling immediately winged through her, and she watched the two canines take off into the trees as her shocked mind struggled to process what she’d just seen. Her mug slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor, hot soup splattering her legs as a roaring in her ears told her she was in danger of passing out. Immediately, Eva sat down and put her head between her knees. That was amazing! He’d actually
become
a wolf! How was that even possible?

When Eva finally calmed her breathing enough to raise her head again, she noted Storm facing the door with her fur standing on end.

“Adam?” a female voice called. When Storm’s coat settled and her tail twitched, Eva relaxed marginally but didn’t answer.

“Adam, I’m here for the girl. Are you here?” The voice was getting closer.

Fear swamped her. Someone was here for her? Why? Nobody should be here for her. The sheriff had told her to stay here, in hiding, until Shane showed up again. She trembled as she crept into the closet and quietly searched for a weapon. Then another sound was heard.

Running.

“Stephanie, what the hell are you doing here?” It was Adam, and he sounded mad. “She’s scared shitless. Where is she? What did you do?” he demanded.

* * * *

“Me?” Stephanie pointed at herself, baffled, but Adam was more concerned with Eva. “I haven’t even seen her yet.”

“Eva?” Adam called. “Come on out, baby. It’s just my sister-in-law.”

“How do you know she’s scared?” Stephanie asked, following him into the bedroom.

“Because I can feel it.” He rubbed his chest. “I can smell it, too,” he whispered as he followed the scent of her fear to the small closet in his room.

“That’s wonderful! She’s such a tiny little thing, like a pixie. Did your wolf scare her?”

“No,
you
did,” he grumbled as he opened the closet door. A wire hanger slapped his knuckles as he reached inside, and he snatched his hand back with a yelp. Stephanie dissolved into hysterical laughter.

“I like her,” she gasped. “Hit him again, honey.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. “Eva, what the hell?”

“She said she’s here for me.” Her voice was so small he wasn’t even sure if Stephanie had heard her response. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”

“Nobody is taking you anywhere, hon. This is my brother’s wife, Stephanie. She’s a physician’s assistant, the one who checked on you when I brought you here.”

Silence.

“Will you please come out?” He no longer detected fear, just wariness and a whole lot of confusion.

“I saw you,” she replied.

“Me?” Stephanie asked.

“No. Adam. Outside.”

“
Shit
,” he cursed. “Eva, please come out so I can try to explain. I hate to see you scared.”

“I’m not. I just don’t think I can get up.” Her voice was a bit shaky, and Adam figured her nerves were probably shot after her dream then witnessing his change.

“Can I help you? I’m going to open the door, so don’t smack me again,” he teased. Stephanie giggled. Eva sat on the floor against the wall with her knees tucked to her chest. He saw fine tremors running through her small frame, and his wolf howled in his mind, hating that she was upset in any way.

“What are you? How did you do that?” Her voice sounded more curious than anything else, and Adam felt a spark of hope. “I think after everything, I deserve an explanation.” She was getting irritated now. He felt it and was glad. It was good to see some of her spunk coming back.

Adam smiled down at her and asked, “Do you want it straight or the whole long, drawn-out explanation?”

“Let’s start with the straight and see if the long-winded version is necessary.”

Stephanie snorted again. “Oh, we’re gonna get along fine, honey. You give him hell while I dip into that soup.” She wiggled her fingers in a wave and flounced out of the room.

“Leave me some!” Adam yelled after her. Her response was another laugh. “Please don’t join forces with that one.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We’d have to lock up the two of you to keep the peace.”

“Stop dodging my question, Adam. How did you turn into that huge wolf?”

“I was born a werewolf.” There he’d said it. And he’d be damned, but he got no reaction from her. At least, not one he expected.

“Well, that explains the growling.”

He blinked back at her in shock.

“Is that how you train the dogs so well?” she asked.

“Y-yeah.”

“You’re stuttering,” she pointed out, still looking remarkably calm.

“You’re not freaking out.”

“Why should I?”

He just gaped at her.

“Listen, I’m not as fragile as you might think. I know I’ve been rather depressed and distraught since meeting you, but I’m fine now. I won’t turn into some screaming, ranting drama queen because A: if you were going to hurt me, you would have done so by now, and B: I’m getting sick and tired of running from things I don’t understand. And besides, you’re my soul mate, Adam. How often do you think you get one of those?”

“
So…
you’re not going to run screaming from my home and try to find silver bullets?”

She laughed, “Not hardly.” Then she scrunched up her adorable little face and appeared to mull over something in her head. “I’m not a werewolf, but apparently, I’m your soul mate. Is that going to cause a problem?”

“Not at all. We’re rare, so if all the mates were werewolves we’d be so inbred we’d have three eyes and six legs.” He smiled when her eyes got wide. “What? It was a joke.”

Eva quickly counted days in her head, the mention of breeding reminding her of her own fertility cycle. Oh, hell. No condom and she should be close to ovulating.
Damn!
Well, no point in mentioning a problem until there was one. She’d know in about ten days. Right now, she had questions.

“What will your family think? I’m not sure—”

Adam placed his finger on her lips and gave her an utterly adorable crooked smile.

“I’ve already told my mother I thought you could be my mate, and she’s practically foaming at the mouth to meet you.” He grimaced. “Okay, not the best analogy, but she’s really excited. In fact, she’s insisting that we have a barbeque to allow you to meet everyone.”

“Are they all werewolves?”

“No. Two of my brothers are mated to humans. Stephanie is human. Otherwise, she’d have known that I wasn’t in the house and she’d have found you without having to say a word.”

Eva felt her eyes go round. “How?”

“Our senses are heightened. Sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. I felt your fear through our bond and came back to the house as quick as I could. I’ll always know what you’re feeling, and I’ll eventually be able to track you through the bond, too—mostly, because it’s stronger when we’re closer and weaker the farther apart we are.”

“Well, now, that’s creepy.” Eva laughed despite herself. “This is all so strange but amazing. It’s like I’m living a storybook tale.”

“So would that make me Prince Charming?” He waggled his brows, and she giggled.

“Or the Big Bad Wolf.”

He frowned, and that only made her laugh harder.

“So what am I missing in here?” Stephanie leaned against the doorframe, and Eva got her first good look at the woman as she continued to nurse her cup of soup. She was several inches taller than Eva, but then who wasn’t, and her long auburn hair hung in heavy waves to the middle of her back. She had an athletic build, long and lean, like a dancer would, and her hazel eyes darted between them as she awaited her answer.

“She called me the Big Bad Wolf,” Adam grumbled.

“Well, it’s better than what I’d have called you.”

“You realize this is
my
house, right?” he snarled.

“Oh, don’t get your flea collar in a knot,” Stephanie shot back. Eva laughed, and Stephanie smiled. “At least, someone appreciates my sense of humor.”

“How has Abraham not killed or at least maimed you yet?” Adam was still snarling, but Eva got the feeling they were playing with each other more than anything.

“Because he loves me?” Stephanie adopted an innocent expression, complete with big doe eyes, and batted her lashes.

Adam snorted. “Oh, go torture him for a while. As you can see, Eva’s fine, so go report to Mom, and I’ll see you on Sunday.” He made a shooing gesture with his hands before turning back to Evangeline.

“I’ll see you on Sunday, Eva. We can plan a girls’ night.” Stephanie giggled. “The guys always panic a little when we get together.”

“That’s because you usually get into trouble,” he mumbled.

“Nah, we just drink and talk.”

“About us,” he accused.

“A little full of yourselves, aren’t you?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I thought you were leaving.”

“All right, all right.” Stephanie made her way down the hall.

“It was nice meeting you,” Eva called.

“You, too. I’ll get with the girls and call you soon. We’ll rescue you for a few hours, at least.”

“Sounds like fun.” Eva faced Adam, still smiling. “You two pick on each other like a brother and sister.”

“Well, she did marry my brother…”

They both laughed. She could feel Adam’s amazement at how accepting she’d been. She couldn’t imagine most people would be completely comfortable with what she’d had thrown at her, but Evangeline found that she was more curious than anything.

“You have questions.” It was a statement.

She smiled up at him. “Who wouldn’t?”

“So what would you like to know?”

“Does it hurt?” She blushed. “When you change, I mean, does it hurt?”

“Not really, only if you fight it. It’s almost like there’s the spirit of the wolf and the spirit of the man in one body. Even in my wolf form my thoughts are my own, so you’d never have to worry about me hurting you, Eva.”

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms in a soothing motion he didn’t seem to be aware he was making, but Eva wanted to see him. “Will you change for me?”

“Now?”

She nodded.

“You won’t freak out?”

“No,” she replied calmly. “I’ve always loved to watch the wolves in the area, but I was too scared to ever get close. Your wolf is so much bigger than the others.” She could see he was thinking it over and held her breath as she anxiously awaited his response.

“Okay.” Adam shucked his pants, and within moments, his form shimmered out of focus just like before. After a few seconds, a large wolf stood in his place.

He gave his enormous head a healthy shake that ruffled his fur clear down to his tail. He had beautiful, rich-brown fur that matched his hair, and Eva found herself wondering if it felt as soft as it looked.

“Can I touch you?”

His head dipped once, and he sat down as she approached. Evangeline reached out and gently ran her hand over his head and down behind one ear, floored that she could feel the pleasure he got from her petting.

“It’s amazing. I can feel that you like this, and you’re so soft.”

He nuzzled against her hand and let his tongue roll out, causing her to giggle. “You’re like a
seriously
overgrown puppy.”

He huffed, and she laughed, which was abruptly cut off when a long, wet tongue slid up the side of her face.

“Ack!” Okay, not the most attractive sound she’d ever made. “Dude, seriously?”

Adam made an odd snorting sound then shimmered into human form, and she realized he was laughing.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he said.

“At least, tell me you don’t lick your own ass with that tongue,” she grumbled as she swiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Not hardly.” He grabbed his jeans and quickly pulled them on, still smiling at her disgruntled look. “So you’re really cool with all of this?”

“Are you kidding? This is the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“So, are you…uh, still okay with, um…having a relationship with me?”

She could almost see him trying to put a lid on his emotions before she sensed his nerves. No such luck, but his insecurities only served to showcase his human side in an even more appealing way than she’d already witnessed.

“You’re afraid I’ll dump you.” It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t respond but merely continued staring at her. “Adam, you’re like a miracle of nature. You can communicate with animals. Hell, you can run with them, too. You’re sweet, compassionate, brave, patient, loving…”