Page 30 of Enemy Wolf

I pushed the thought away just as quickly as it had come. Shiloh’s state of mind was not for me to know. I had no right to it, no right to any of her.

Not checking the tree camera feed for the past week was one hell of an exercise in self-restraint, one that my wolf threw multiple howling tantrums over. But that was the exact reason I had to stop. Protecting and pleasing Shiloh had become an obsession, one that was exacerbated by the full moon. If I saw that building, the Stout & Spirit bar with her little studio apartment on the top floor, I’d pour over the footage for hours just for a glimpse of the pretty witch. The woman my twisted mind kept referring to as my mate.

I had no mate. Fate would never be so cruel to a female, whether human, witch, or werewolf, to saddle them with me for all eternity. Shiloh especially deserved better. After I lost control and stormed past her clearly-laid boundaries that night, the very least she deserved was to never see me again.

After pulling my motorcycle up to the front of the human lodge, I went to help Derric unload his cargo for the feast. The smell of roasted seasoned lamb helped to combat the olfactory memory of citrus and spice.

Fallon, who was no longer an official Howling Death member, went up to the front door first, alongside his mate, Aria, who he’d met in his travels to the human world. She had believed herself to be human all her life, until his mating bite awoke the latent wolf within her. Sawyer’s mate, Riley, was the same, except that she had been kidnapped from the human world by vampires.

The two mated females clearly still had strong ties to their human sides, which must have been why they wanted to celebrate the human holiday.

The heavy door swung open, and a cheerful, white-haired man enthusiastically invited us in. Derric and I followed behind the mated couples. I nodded a greeting at the human, who smiled so hard that his eyes were squinting.

“Happy Equinox, dear friends! We’re so happy to have you join us!”

“Happy Equinox, Bodhi.” Derric shook the man’s hand. “I brought a crown roast. I hope it’s to your liking.”

The human, Bodhi, gasped. “Alpha Derric, you are too kind.”

“Just Derric, please.” The alpha smiled.

“Sweet moon, thank you for this. Here, we’ll put it in the center of the table. Does it need to be warmed up?”

The two of them went off and another human showed me where to put the dinner rolls and wine I carried in. I remembered to say thank you and even tried my shot at a couple of smiles. Derric never told me explicitly, but I knew my behavior was expected to be polite. Courteous. Thank you was important. So was please. I should not take anything unless offered, and I could not start eating until the hosts said we could begin.

All the rules ran through my head. If Tryn were here, I knew his eyes would be burning holes into me.

Unsure how to occupy myself, I stood at the edge of the great room. Much like our own lodge, it was a single open space. Long rows of tables and benches filled the space, with a fire roaring in a stone hearth against a far wall and a large chandelier of deer antlers hung from the ceiling.

It was every bit a hunter’s lodge. Warm and inviting, with people conversing over drinks and appetizers before the main meal.

And it all just made me want to run back to my room. Or maybe run in the woods in my wolf’s fur.

“Orson!” Sawyer waved at me from one of the smaller tables where he, Fallon, their mates, and a couple of humans gathered. “Come sit. Have a drink.”

“Yeah, no need to stand around like a ditched prom date.” Fallon scooted closer to his mate and gestured at the empty space he left.

“I don’t know what that means,” I muttered as I dropped into the seat.

“Neither do I.” Sawyer looked at his mate expectantly and she nodded.

“It’s a human world thing,” Riley confirmed with a pat to his arm.

Fallon’s mate, Aria, leaned across the table to the human couple, a man and woman who looked to be in their twenties. The woman kept touching her belly, and she looked to be in the early stages of pregnancy.

“So you were telling us how humans are related to witches?” Aria implored them. “Go on, it’s so fascinating to me.”

“Right, so we’re both the second generation in our families to live in Vargmore.” The woman gestured to herself and her mate. No, wait, husband was the human term. “After three generations, enough moon magic accumulates in the bloodline that the next generation is born with magical abilities.” The couple beamed at each other, linking their hands over the woman’s belly. “Our daughter will be the first witch of our family.”

“That’s amazing,” Aria gushed. “You must be ecstatic!”

“Well, it’s still a bit early, so we’re being cautious.” The man gazed adoringly at his mate— no, wife. “But the pregnancy is strong and healthy so far. We’re very optimistic.”

“Congratulations to you both.” Fallon raised his glass to them.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Riley leaned across Sawyer to speak to the humans, “how did your ancestors end up in Vargmore? They must have come from the human world, right?”

The couple exchanged a look and chuckled. “Every human in Vargmore has a different story,” the woman said wryly. “My father said he was following the railroad west, looking for work. One night, he had too much to drink, slipped, and rolled down an embankment. When he stopped rolling, he was somewhere completely different, and a huge wolf was growling in his face.”

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