Page 37 of Enemy Wolf

I couldn’t force it out of her, though, so I busied myself with pepperoni slices as I thought of a subject change. “Whatcha cooking over there?”

“It’s, um, a potion for someone.” Shiloh’s hand shook ever so slightly as she brought the spoon to her nose for a sniff. “Remember that flower I showed you on the trail? This was what I needed it for.”

“I see. What kind of potion is it?”

She gave me a coy smile as she adjusted the heat and returned to stirring. “That’s between me and my client, sorry.”

“Huh, mysterious.” I started adding sliced bell peppers to my pizza. “Is it something Howling Death wouldn’t approve of?”

Shiloh didn’t answer but frowned as she started intently at the pot, stirring methodically.

“Sorry, guess I still need practice with jokes.” Finished with my toppings, I rinsed my hands in the sink.

“No, no, you’re fine. It’s just...” She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “This recipe is just really tricky to get right, and I’m on a tight deadline for it. I’ve been making test batches, but that’s burning through ingredients really quickly and the client is really demanding...” She gave me a sheepish smile. “It’s just been a little stressful.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize.” I dried my hands on a towel. “Can I do anything to help?”

“Actually, um.” Shiloh chewed her lip and the sight of it brought forth the memory of kissing her. Like I’d been able to get it out of my head since that night. “I need more silver deadnettle, I’m almost out. Would you mind telling me where you got it?”

“Sure, but it’s easier to get it myself,” I said. “I can go in the morning.”

Shiloh lifted a hand toward me. “No, you don’t have to do that. I can go.”

“It’s a strenuous, multi-day hike for humans. The plant grows way up near the peaks.”

Her face fell. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. I don’t mind getting it for you.”

“You’re a wolf, not a retriever.”

For you, I’ll be anything. I swallowed. “It’s no problem. And it seems you’ve got enough on your plate already.”

Shiloh looked around the kitchen and scratched her head. “You know what? A multi-day hike might be just what I need to de-stress a little.”

My wolf howled and jumped for joy under my skin. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll close the bar for a few days. Get out of town to go deep into the woods like the old-school witches did.” She smiled. “It’ll be nice to get away.”

I fought to stifle my protective growl. “Well, you’re not going alone.”

“My, my. What are we going to do about that? If only there was a big bad wolf to keep me safe and knew where to find the plant.”

A chuckle rolled out of me, and I rubbed my jaw. “You have a funny way of suggesting I come with you.”

She laughed. I desperately wanted more of that sound. “I know it’ll be faster and easier if I don’t come, but I really want to.” She looked exhausted all of a sudden, staring at the cauldron as if it were a ruined pot of soup. “I need to get away from all this.”

I didn’t exactly know what all this entailed, but sparks lit up my chest. My wolf was excited about spending so much uninterrupted time with her. And so was I.

“I’ll get some off-road tires put on my bike in the morning,” I said. “So we’re not on foot the whole time but we can still go at a good pace. I can pick you up here right after.”

“That sounds great.” Excitement lit up her face, and fuck, she looked gorgeous like that. Even with the shadows of exhaustion under her eyes. My greatest desire was to chase those shadows away for good, if only to see her joy shine through even more.

Some time passed before I realized I was just staring at her. Shiloh turned to her cauldron again and my gaze snapped to my pizza, which was pretty much done.

“Great! I’ll, uh, get those cameras up.”

“I’ll get these in the oven,” Shiloh said as I returned to the main serving area. “Help yourself to a beer if you want.”

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