He needed to run, needed to drive the thought of her from his mind before he did something stupid.
He went to the front door, stepped outside, and let his wolf come to the surface, gave it reign over his body. Within seconds, he stood on four paws and darted into the woods. He’d only been running for about twenty minutes when he scented another lycan. A few seconds later, he came through a clearing in the thick trees that allowed a brilliant view of the moon and stars.
When he scanned the area, he saw a black wolf in the tree line staring out with its golden brown eyes. Piers Kavanaugh.
He trotted toward the wolf, but right before he got to him, he turned and went deeper into the woods. Lorent followed him to the cabin he and Sherry stayed in while visiting Sanctuary. Piers shifted back to human and pulled on a pair of jeans that were lying on the porch. When Lorent shifted, Piers tossed him a towel, which he promptly knotted around his waist.
They both sat on the top step of the wood porch, oblivious of the cold night on their near-naked bodies.
“How’s Sherry?”
“She’s okay. She’s resting.”
The way Piers shifted uneasily alerted Lorent that the ancient was worried about something. Lorent didn’t usually pry, but he needed a distraction from Melony, and he also liked Piers and wanted to help if he was able.
“She’s getting close to her due date, isn’t she?”
Piers grunted. “I feel like there’s something she’s not telling me. I don’t know. I mean, Sherry would never lie to me about anything, but something seems off.”
“With the baby?”
“I don’t know.” Piers glanced back at the door and cocked his head for a moment as if he’d heard something inside. After listening for a few moments, he turned back to Lorent.
“It’s probably just nerves. You are having your first baby. While it’s a joyous time, it’s stressful as well.”
“Where did you get all that knowledge from, pup?” Piers smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Yeah, Piers was definitely uneasy about something, but Lorent would be willing to bet it was simply jitters at becoming a father for the first time.
“Watching and learning. When’s the midwife coming in?”
“After Christmas. Sherry’s not due until the end of January, and she refuses to let anyone miss Christmas with their family. She insisted the midwife wait until after the New Year. I’d feel better if she came sooner, but damned if you can talk any sense into a hardheaded woman.”
Lorent had learned that Sanctuary had two midwives lined up to assist with any upcoming births. Both lived within a few hours, and were trustworthy, although still not entrusted with the knowledge of the lycan race. The midwives were told Sanctuary was a religious encampment where members valued their privacy above all else.
While there had been no babies born to Sanctuary as of yet—Sherry and Piers’s son would be the first—once the encampment had been established, the women had demanded that at least one midwife be found immediately. It was something that would make things go smoother now that everything had been done in advance, something the men probably would not have put much thought into until one of their mates had become pregnant.
“So what do you think about Melony, Lorent?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “She’s, um, she’s all right.”
“Just all right, huh? I haven’t had the pleasure to spend much time in her company, but from what I’ve heard and seen, she’s a very lovely young lady.”
“She is.”
Just as Lorent thought he’d have to come up with a fast, probably lame excuse to get away from Piers and his questions about Melony, the door to the cabin cracked open.
“Piers?” Sherry’s voice was laced with the groggy remnants of sleep.
“Yeah, baby. I was just talking to Lorent for a minute, but I’m coming in now. Go get back to bed and keep it warm for me.” Piers smiled at Sherry, and she smiled back.
“Hi, Lorent.”
“Hi, Sherry.”
“Bye, Lorent.”
“See ya.”
Sherry disappeared behind the door. At that moment, Lorent wondered what it would be like to have Melony waiting at home for him, carrying his baby, keeping his bed warm. The stirring of his wolf and cock alerted him that it was way past time to go home.
“I’ll see ya later, Piers.”
“Take care, pup. I’m here if you ever need to talk about anything.”
“Thanks.”
He’d never given much thought to it, but maybe Piers would be sympathetic to his plight. After all, Piers had originally kidnapped Sherry.
While things hadn’t started out great in that relationship, it ended up turning out okay, better than okay. He’d have to mull it around for a while before deciding anything. After dropping the towel from around his waist, he changed before running into the woods and back to his cabin.
Chapter Eleven
Lorent didn’t stop by the next afternoon to take Melony to their lesson.
She hadn’t really expected him to, although she couldn’t deny the disappointment. She walked along the path toward the Learning Center admiring the trees and trying to remember the names of the plants Lorent had told her about the day before. But she wasn’t all that good at remembering names, never had been, and by the time she made it to her destination, frustration burned through her.
That frustration was quickly overshadowed by happiness as she walked through the door and saw Lorent waiting for her. He had his back to her, and she admired the width of his shoulders. He was big, and she wanted to reach out to him and run her fingers down that wonderful play of back muscle. When he stiffened, she knew he was aware of her presence. Damn.
Why did he have to do that? Every time she got near him, it was as if he became wary.
“Hi, Lorent.”
“Hey.”
“And what are you going to teach me today?”
He turned around slowly, and her breath hitched in her lungs. His dark hair was tousled as if he’d been standing outside in a breeze, and his features were etched with something . . . feral? She fought hard not to go closer to him even though everything inside her screamed to do just that. She couldn’t explain his allure, but the way he was staring at her, as if his eyes were searing through her physical being and seeing directly into her soul, made her want to leap on him.
She ached to feel his lips against hers, and the dream she’d had of him had only amplified her need for him. She couldn’t help but war with the confusion that still churned in her, the confusion that begged to understand why she should feel so strongly about a man she barely knew. It was scary, it was exhilarating, it was exciting, but it also had the potential to be dangerous for both of them—dangerous to his well-being at Sanctuary and dangerous to her heart.
God, she had so many things she wanted him to teach her, and not one of them had anything to do whatsoever with learning about the lycan race.
Well, maybe that wasn’t true, because she had a feeling what he was played a big part in how he’d make love.
Lorent sniffed the air, clenched his fists, and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Melony took a couple steps closer to him, and he backed away from her until the back of his knees hit the table behind him. Her eyes widened. Oh my God. Can he read my thoughts? Heat flooded her cheeks, and she knew she was blushing like a schoolgirl who’d just gotten caught smoking in the bathroom.
Part of her wanted to turn and run away in embarrassment, but the bold part of her, the most dominant part, wanted to see just how much he was sensing about her. She smiled at him before nonchalantly plopping into a chair right in front of him.