Page 47 of Wolf Cursed
“You can’tkeep meanywhere,” I said. “You don’t control me—”
His mouth landed on mine, cutting off my words. I made a sound—shock, maybe protest—but Kai didn’t let up. His mouth was hot and harsh, and everything about the kiss should have been insulting. Instead, I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
His chest pressed against mine, the heat between us threatening to ignite me as I became aware of all the places our skin touched. His hand wrapped around my neck, making it impossible for me to pull away. Not that I had any intention of that.
Kai Stone was kissing me, and all I wanted was for him to keep doing it forever.
But abruptly, he pulled away, ending the kiss and glaring down at me like I’d somehow just offended him.
He dropped his hand from my hip and stepped away, forcing me to let him go. His chest heaved, and for a moment, we just stared at each other as we struggled to catch our breath.
His expression was an accusation.
I hated it.
Even as I wished he’d kiss me again.
“You don’t smell like a wolf,” he said roughly.
Of all the things he could have said...
“But you don’t smell human either.”
“Um.”
“None of this makes any fucking sense,” he ground out.
Before I could say something—or throw something—or do anything, he turned and walked out.
Chapter Eleven
I woke feeling numb. Like maybe last night had been a dream. Between witnessing Kai Stone turn into a wolf—there, I said it—and him kissing me like I was his dying breath, I wasn’t even sure what was real anymore. Up until that moment in the woods, Kai had seemed just like all the other guys in this town. Partier. Womanizer. Asshole. Then again, the way he’d stormed out after our kiss hadn’t done much to redeem him in the end.
Basically, he was the most confusing person I’d ever met. Person. Wolf. Ugh. I didn’t even know what noun to assign him. A fact made all the more complicated by how much I wanted him to see me naked.
The only thing I knew for sure was that Ridley Falls had definitely lived up to the mysterious reputation everyone had given it. Danger. Violence. And hot as hell alpha holes. Someone should put that on a bumper sticker.
I’d only barely wrapped my head around the fact that Kai and Oscar were wolf shifters when I’d remembered that made me a wolf shifter too. Technically speaking. That was a whole different denial train to ride. My father—his secrets, the town he’d left behind, everything he’d never told me about what we really were—had been one big lie.
I had no idea why he’d spent his entire life keeping me from the truth only to send me running straight into the wolf’s den when he’d died. But I was going to find out.
Operation Temporary had become Operation Get Fucking Answers, and I wasn’t going to stop until I knew the truth. About him. Me. My family. And maybe even what sort of threat my father had been running from. I couldn’t believe he’d fled Ridley Falls just because they liked to day drink and bar brawl. It wasn’t enough of a reason to move cities every time the wind changed direction.
He’d obviously been running from something. His fear and paranoia were real even on his drunkest days. I wanted to ask Oscar about it all, but I wasn’t sure how pissed he still might be at me for stumbling into his little shifter rendezvous last night. Not to mention the white wolf I’d seen printed on those biker vests. I needed to find out its significance. But Oscar had made it clear his loyalties lay with the people of this town. And until I knew who to trust, I needed to protect my secret at all costs.
I’d have to uncover that particular mystery on my own.
When I finished my shower and peeked into his room, his bed was empty. I found a note on the counter, reminding me of the shop hours today. A clear message that work came first.
Work.
Such a mundane, normal, human thing to do.
Maybe that’s exactly what I needed in order to get my head on straight again.
Right. Like the shock of finding out wolf shifters existed could be smoothed over by surrounding myself with the overpowering scent of brake fluid and testosterone.
Ugh.
