“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He cupped her face in his big palm, examining her carefully.
She nodded slowly. All she sensed was his concern and desire. She ignored her tangled nerves and forced herself to calm down. He’d been nothing but trustworthy, and he deserved to be treated with respect.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Maggie bit her lip. “Chemical imbalance.” For now, that’s all she wanted to admit.
18
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Wolf Games
He frowned. “You’re a wolf. Change and you’ll heal.”
She scrambled off his lap and wavered for a second before his strong arm supported her. That was one topic she was nowhere ready to discuss with him. “I’m hungry. Can we have lunch?”
Erik eyed her as he led her to his SUV. “Nice try at changing the topic. Why are you fighting this so hard? You need—”
“I need lunch. Something raw. Is that possible here in Whitehorse?”
His smiled wryly. “I know just the place.”
“A combo platter for four please.”
Maggie elbowed him. “Four?”
Erik sniffed. She must be extra hungry, maybe that was part of her problem. Silly women were always on diets when they didn’t need to be. “Sorry, make it for six. Everything raw, extra wasabi on the side, and skip the pickled ginger.” They grabbed spots at the end of the long counter and he held her high-backed stool as she sat, still chuckling.
“You turkey. That’s not what I meant.”
“What?” He captured her hand in his and held it. She might want to go slow but there was no way he would let her completely ignore the fact they were meant to be together. He wanted to touch her, just to torment himself. A flush covered her cheeks and she tugged slightly, testing his hold, before relaxing and squeezing his fingers.
“I’m sorry. I’m not making this easy for you.” Her smile faded, and he hurried to reassure her.
“Trust me, I’ve seen mated pairs in action often enough to know their relationships are not always easy. I’m prepared for anything you send my way.” He brushed the fingers of his free hand against her cheek. “I’m all yours.”
The light chatter of tourists carried around them, the scents of people filled the air, but all he noticed was her. Bright blue eyes stared at him. The teasing light fragrance of her perfume, the stronger scent of her wolf—both filled his nostrils and clouded his mind.
His stomach rumbled and broke the intense connection between them. Concern for her health nagged at him. There was something wrong with his mate, and he struggled to understand. Wanted to fix things and make her better. He needed more details. “You want to tell me what the pills are about?”
She wrinkled her nose. For a second he thought she might try to lie, but then she sighed. “I’ve got some kind of chemical imbalance, and I discovered by chance the pills help change my blood pH enough to knock me back to normal levels for a while.”
“I still don’t see why your wolf doesn’t heal you. Does Missy know about this?”
She nodded slowly.
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19
Vivian Arend
That was good enough for now. For the past two years Missy had often shared her concern for her sister, how she felt Maggie needed to be back with family as soon as possible. He’d have more time to talk about the situation when they were safely on pack land.
“I’ll trust she’ll do what she can to help you. You let me know if I can do anything, okay?” Erik kissed her cheek lightly, using the opportunity to suck in a deep breath of her scent. Hell. This was sheer hell.
The area grew more crowded. Their tray of food arrived, distracting him for a second. Maggie stopped chatting, closing in on herself. Erik glanced around to see other wolves had joined them and now sat at the counter.
One slid closer to Maggie and leered. “Hey, sweet thing. You new in town?”
Erik lifted a brow. Was the man an idiot? Or blind?
It wasn’t even worth making a commotion. Wordlessly, he transferred Maggie from her stool to his lap. He selected a piece of sushi and lifted it to her lips. “Ignore him. You said you were hungry. Try this.”
She shot him a grateful look and snuggled closer. “Thank you, although you need to stop hauling me around like I’m a sack of potatoes.”
She accepted the tidbit and her tongue stroked his skin. He clenched his jaw hard to stop from growling out loud. That’s how she wanted to play it? Okay by him. Anything to keep touching her.
They might have been alone. The new wolves left quickly after realizing he and Maggie were together, and for the first time in a long while, Erik was glad his sheer size was enough to intimidate.
Seated at the end of the restaurant counter, his back to the wall, Erik fed piece after piece of delicate salmon, fresh tuna and other sashimi to his mate. After the first couple of times Maggie shyly picked a portion and offered it to him in return.