Page 31 of Wild Wolf
Her smile spoke of mischief. “You were up half the night as well, Mitchell, which made for a very niceevening.”
Nolan laughed. He missed this with Jordan, the clever innuendos, the intimacy they used to share. Jordan, who was unpredictable and made him laugh, the Lupine who did what shewanted.
They had both wanted the same things six years ago. Now he had a pack to run, and a thrivingbusiness.
Fires to putout.
She asked him about his day and he explained about the vineyard and the fungus. Nolan left out the part about the ashes he’dfound.
No point in worryingher.
They finished eating and he helped cart the dishes into the kitchen. As she started to rinse them, he slid his arms around her waist, lifted the long curtain of her red hair. Nolan nuzzled her neck, enjoying her little sigh and her unique scent of cherries, flowers andfemale.
His dick gave a happy sigh as well, pressing hard against the front of hisjeans.
“Forget the dishes,” he murmured. “I have better use for your hands,pixie.”
Jordan turned, hooked her hands around his neck. “You’re not too shabby with your hands either,wolf.”
As he lowered his head for a kiss, his phone rang. Nolan closed his eyes, suppressed acurse.
He wanted to ignoreit.
Couldn’t ignoreit.
He dug his phone out. “This had better be good,” hegrowled.
“Uh, sorry, alpha, but we spotted activity in the vineyard in the north section. Something’s set off the perimeteralarm.”
Coyotes, probably. Nolan let them hunt in the vineyards because they ate small rodents and kept larger predators at bay. Still, it needed to be checked out. If he had a beta, or his trusted head of security, he could easily hand off the duty. He wished Sam, his childhood friend and the former head of security, was around. But Sam had left two years ago and hadn’t returnedsince.
“Stay in position. I’ll be down shortly.” He hung up, glanced at Jordan, regret spearing him. “Sorry pixie. Have to check this out. I won’t belong.”
She sighed. “I know. Packfirst.”
He kissed her again. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get comfortable and wait forme?”
“Don’t be long.” She moistened her lips. “I’ll get lonelyupstairs.”
Nolan made a promise to hurry back as soon as he could. He shifted as he rushed outside, vaulting over the railing to drop several feet below on all fourpaws.
Wolf could run faster to the vineyards than his human selfcould.
Pack first, and then business. It was tradition for his family for generations. Yet where did his new mate fit into allthis?
At the vineyards, he wove in and out of the rows of grapes, their plump roundness glistening beneath the nearly full moon. He spotted two coyotes in the distance and loped up to them. They ran off before he could reachthem.
After making a thorough patrol of the vineyards, he shifted back into Skin. In black corduroys and a black flannel shirt, he inspected one of the vines growing the special grapes reserved for theFae.
In the darkness, the grapes looked whitish, not the mulberry needed for the Fae. Nolanfrowned.
Had the Fae’s magick been so depleted on extinguishing fires that they failed to infuse the grapes with theirpowers?
Lupine senses alerted him to a newcomer among the vines. Nolan whirled, his claws emerging, ready toattack.
Then he picked up a familiar scent andrelaxed.
“Thought I told you to go to our bedroom,” he mildly scoldedJordan.
