Chapter 3

~Alright,~ there was definitely a misunderstanding. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about. Please, get off me,” she pleaded.

Unexpectedly, he complied, sitting back on his heels with a puzzled expression. “Do you have a pack?” he asked slowly, studying her face closely.

She sat up, moving further away from him. “No, I swear. You searched my bag. I don’t have a pack of anything,” she said quickly, gesturing towards her bag, its contents scattered on the floor.

“Wolf,” he stated, just throwing the word out there.

She paused, looking around. “Are you calling me a tease or something? I’ll explain everything if you just give me a chance,” she pleaded.

~Please, no more sexual stuff. No kissing, or lying on top of me.~

He let her explain. She gave him a ~very~ detailed account of how she’d ended up naked next to him that morning. Once she finished, he just nodded, taking time to process the information before speaking.

They both had a rough time. He’d been in a brutal fight with a rival pack wolf, which ended with his chest ripped open. She’d gotten hopelessly lost while wandering in the woods.

Mother Luna had a strange sense of humor. It was no coincidence that he’d been badly injured and needed a night to recover, and his mate just happened to get lost and find his cabin. If he hadn’t been hurt, he wouldn’t have been there to meet her.

He was okay with letting her go home and trying to win her heart the traditional way. As long as she didn’t see him shift into a wolf, he wouldn’t have to take her to the elders.

~But~ the snow had fallen all night, and he couldn’t even open the door, and judging by the sky, more snow was on the way.

“Sorin,” he finally said, after having enough time to think it over.

She looked at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.

“My name is Sorin.”

~Oh.~ She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell this strange man her real name. “Do you really want to know my name?” she asked cautiously.

Sorin nodded eagerly.

“I’ll tell you, but only after you’ve put on some clothes,” she retorted, folding her arms and turning away from his nakedness.

He stood up and looked at himself. “You don’t like my naked body?” he asked, completely serious.

“I don’t like that you’re naked,” she clarified.

He didn’t say anything but disappeared down the hallway where she had found her clothes. When he returned, he was dressed, and she couldn’t help but notice how well the clothes fit him.

“Name,” he demanded.

“Where are my clothes?” she shot back.

His eyebrows furrowed in a scowl. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“I’m changing the terms,” she huffed, still feeling exposed in the thin fabric of the oversized shirt.

He shrugged and started unbuttoning his pants right there.

Scared at the thought of seeing his cock again, she raised her hands to stop him. “Colette,” she blurted out. “My name is Colette.”

“Are you telling the truth?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Yes,” she insisted. “Why did you take my clothes?” she finally asked.

He closed the gap between them and grabbed her wrist, leading her to the window next to the door.

“Look,” he commanded, pointing to the snow outside. It was higher than the porch steps and almost halfway up the front door. “If you had the chance to dress yourself, you would’ve left immediately.”

Which was true.

“It’s still snowing lightly, and it’ll probably get worse later in the day.”

He was right. She would’ve left the moment she woke up. But keeping her captive was wrong.

“I don’t want to stay with you,” she grumbled.

“Do you know the way back to your home?” he asked, but his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

Colette crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “How long until I ~can~ leave? Rough estimate.”

“At least a few days if it doesn’t keep snowing. My guess is that it will. We’re in the middle of blizzard season,” he said ominously.

She’d just moved there a few months ago and hadn’t experienced a winter season yet. “What do you mean blizzard season?” she asked nervously.

He sighed. “You just moved here,” he said. “This town averages nearly two hundred inches of snowfall each season.”

Colette stared blankly in silence. “I’m going to die,” she finally moaned.

“Why would you die?”

She put a hand over her chest and tried to take deep breaths before the panic set in. Her chest tightened, her breathing quickened, and her body started shaking uncontrollably.

“We’re stuck in this deserted cabin with no food or water or heat. The firewood is almost gone,” she cried, frantically pointing to the dwindling stack of firewood.

“Deserted cabin?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

She nodded, tears now streaming down her face. “No one will be looking for me until at least Monday morning, and with a blizzard, maybe not for weeks!” she sobbed.

Sorin was relieved to know that she didn’t have anyone close enough to her who would be worried about her whereabouts. No lover or boyfriend.

He closed the distance between them in a few steps and lifted her face to meet his. She was shaking like a cornered animal.

“Calm down. You’re perfectly safe here.” He tried to reassure her in a more human way. In his pack, mates were calmed by physical contact.

She continued to panic, like a delicate rabbit incapable of handling negative emotions.

Without thinking, Sorin covered her mouth with his own again. The first time he’d kissed her, he hadn’t meant to.

When he’d spun her around to face him, he’d found himself captivated by her soft, pink lips. He couldn’t resist. And the worst part? She tasted incredible. Like the first breath of a crisp, autumn morning paired with a sip of a fall-spiced latte.

She wasn’t exactly receptive to his touch, but she didn’t fight him off either. She just stood there, frozen, as he savored the warmth of her mouth. Was she as untouched as she seemed? Every time, she reacted as if it was her first kiss.

His body tensed at the thought of being the first to claim his mate in such a way. He’d never really given much thought to her before.

The werewolf population was on the decline, with fewer pups being born each year. The odds of conceiving with anyone other than your destined mate were next to none.

But here she was, standing before him, and she was breathtaking. She was smaller than he’d ever imagined, more delicate than any she-wolf, with skin as pale as moonlight and hair as dark as a raven’s wing.

A moan escaped Sorin’s lips as he kissed her. She pushed against him once more. He allowed it. If he didn’t want her to, she wouldn’t be able to resist him.

“What’s your deal, buddy?”