Page 24 of Enemy Wolf

I waited, counting the seconds.

I only made it to eight before I heard, “Shiloh?”

A sigh escaped my lips as I threw my head back, and I tried not to think about how good it would feel if he moaned my name against my neck.

“Yes, Orson,” I answered tightly. “You can come in.”

Chapter 9

Orson

Standing there on Shiloh’s doorstep made me think of that old vampire myth about needing to be invited inside. It wasn’t true, and I definitely wasn’t a vampire, but I wondered if this kind of situation led to the perpetuation of that myth.

Two people on opposite sides of a divide, shoved reluctantly together by a strange, fickle magic.

When Shiloh called out, “Yes, Orson. You can come in,” all thoughts of vampires left my mind. Instead, I pictured her underneath me, moaning ‘Yes, Orson’ as I moved through her.

Just as quickly, I struck the image from my mind. This felt so wrong. My cock was heavy and aching, and I was about to enter her home on her invitation. But Shiloh and I both knew the truth—neither of us wanted this.

I wanted her, sure. But not like this. Not while she despised me and was only letting me in as a means to an end.

“Orson?”

My teeth sank into my lip, my canines still elongated from my shift despite my wolf being oddly silent right now. I wanted to hear her say my name, over and over again while I wrung the pleasure out of her.

But this wasn’t about me. I could smell Shiloh’s pain through the heady bouquet of citrus and spice. She truly was suffering, and no one was around to help but me.

“I’m coming in.” I gripped the doorknob in one hand while trying to cover as much of myself as possible with the other hand. I hated how sleazy this felt. Like I was some creep sneaking into an unsuspecting woman’s home.

It was a wonder I didn’t rip the doorknob from the wood from how hard my grip was. I swung the door open slowly, so as to not startle Shiloh, then slid in and closed it behind me as soon as there was enough room for my body. I spotted the blanket she had mentioned and grabbed it, wrapping it around my hips like a towel. The length of my erection pressed against my lower stomach, and while the blanket was soft, it was not the kind of friction I was craving. Still, I figured a bulge was better than a tent.

Only when everything was put away and in place did I allow myself to look at Shiloh. She was across the single-room apartment and felt worlds away. In her bed pressed against the opposite wall, she held a sheet to her chest. Sweat dotted her skin, and her face was flushed. Her breaths were ragged, and her delicious scent filled the room.

I needed to fucking breathe through my mouth. Inhaling much more of that scent would make me come into her blanket, and that was the last thing either of us wanted.

Neither of us said anything, so I figured I might as well start. “Thanks for letting me in.”

She gave a slight nod and pulled the sheet higher on her chest. I noticed she still had the bandage on her arm, and I had to hold my breath to stifle the growl that wanted to erupt from my chest.

Fuck, why did she have to be stuck with me to help her through this? Any other wolf would have been making her feel at ease. Charming and relaxing her before getting the job done.

“I’ve never been in this situation before.” Shiloh winced as she made the confession. “It’s never been this strong. I don’t know why this moon is different.”

“It’ll pass, like you said.” I meant to sound reassuring, but it came out dismissive and asshole-ish instead. “And I’ll help you in any way I can.”

Shiloh’s eyes narrowed at me. “Have you done this before? Helped someone through her full moon…stuff.”

It was impossible to lie, even though the truth felt like a betrayal for some reason. “Before I joined Howling Death, yes. A few years ago.”

Those narrowed eyes widened. “When? Where?”

She was asking for information that few people had, information that I was not keen to give out freely. But right then, Shiloh could have asked me to cut off one paw so she could throw it into some witch’s brew and I would have done so happily.

“I was feral before joining Howling Death,” I said. “I lived with the wild packs and the traitor wolves deep in the woods. Sometimes, I would help unmated females through their fertile time at the full moon, just to ease them through it.”

Shiloh cocked her head, and something like understanding flashed across her eyes. I didn’t know what dots were connecting in her head, so I rushed on to explain myself.

“It wasn’t exactly like this.” I gestured between the two of us. “But similar enough, I guess.”

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