Page 44 of What a Wolf Wants
“Have a safe trip.”
“Thanks. If Noah calls you, just let me know.”
“I sure will. He’ll probably move to Portland and will take a little time to get settled in before he begins working at the job, which means he might end up taking a drive out here to see me.”
“I hope to be here when it happens.”
“Yeah, me too.” Then she gave Ethan a hug and kiss before he left.
Now she was his kind of she-wolf girlfriend. He gave her a generous kiss and hug back, and then he left to grocery shop and pack his bag. He was thrilled it had come to this so quickly in their relationship. Noah really hadn’t played the game right, especially if he thought Ethan would ever let him ruin what he had with Charlene.
Chapter 12
Despite how Charlene and Ethan had met, she knew he was the kind of wolf she would get along well with. Mainly because he was so apologetic about raiding her house by accident. Noah was the kind of agent who would mark it off as the hazard of being in that business if he had raided her home accidentally and hadn’t already known her.
She really was glad that Ethan was here and dating her. She couldn’t imagine Noah would feel he could keep up any kind of a relationship with her when she lived so far away. Maybe not quite so far away as Florida, but she was not moving back to Portland to see him, and he better not think of quitting his job so that he could join her in Oyster Bay and renew their friendship.
She changed the sheets on the bed because she wanted them to be fresh for when Ethan stayed with her the night, and hopefully he would stay longer than that. She was thrilled and eager to take their relationship further.
Before she could do a load of wash, Noah called. Why did that not surprise her?
“Hello, Noah. I heard you moved to Portland and took Ethan’s position at the DEA.” She started the wash cycle on the washing machine.
“Do you belong to the red wolf pack out of Portland?”
She hesitated to answer Noah, not expecting that line ofquestioning. She thought he would give her hell for seeing another wolf or beg her to reconsider seeing him. But belonging to the local wolf pack? Had Leidolf and Cassie talked to him?
“Yep. I guess since you’ll be in the area, you’ll be joining them too. They’re great wolves. They can really help us out in a crisis.” And keep Noah from causing trouble for Ethan and her.
“Hell, I was already read the riot act by the pack leaders. Did you sic them on me?”
She wanted to laugh. “No. And neither did Ethan. Why? What did they say?”
“That we are in their pack territory, they know about our situation, and I had better not cause any rift in the pack. Even though I’m not a member of the pack, I have to live by their rules because I’m in their territory. Though they offered for me to join them. I wouldn’t have thought their territory would encompass your area since you’re so far away.”
“Ethan has always been a member of the wolf pack. They took me into the pack before I came out here, and there aren’t any other wolves or wolf packs out here. You’re going to join our pack, aren’t you?” She hoped Noah would because he might pay more attention to the leadership and not get himself into hot water that way. Not only that, but they really could be a help to him.
“How do you feel about it?” Noah asked.
She was surprised that he would ask her opinion on it. He usually was hardheaded about doing things his way and he didn’t care what others thought about it. “I love them. And yeah, I would recommend you do it.”
“All right. I’ve never been with a pack and neither have you, so I was wondering how it would work out. But if you think it will be a boon, then I can sure try it out.”
“They have great leadership. They help their pack members out pronto if they get into a bind. So go for it. Truthfully, I didn’t know about them all the month I was living in Portland until right before I left.”
“When Ethan and his team barged into your house thinking it was a drug house.”
“Right. And the pack leaders and others helped get the house back in order. So are you working now or are you still just getting settled in?”
“I’m starting work soon, but I want to see you. Tomorrow maybe? If you’re free?”
“I’m dating Ethan. That’s not going to change. You know how it is for us as wolves. He and I have a physical and emotional connection but also a chemical attraction to each other. There’s no denying what I feel for him already.”
“I still want to see you.”
“All right. But Ethan will be here when you get here.” She didn’t know why Noah thought she would change her mind about them after all this time apart when they hadn’t even spoken so much as a word.
Noah let out his breath. “All right.”
