“Best interest? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Those issues you mentioned, let me help you with them. That’s my job. As mates we’re better as a couple. I need you, you need me.”
“Arghh, you are so frustrating.”
“I’m your mate.”
The shouting and laughter from the others got louder as they moved closer. This conversation would have to be put on hold. Erik raised a brow at her. “We’ll have to agree to disagree for now. Let’s head back to the campground. We’ll follow you to Whitehorse in the morning. Keil gave me orders to keep you in sight at all times while we’re there.” He stood and held out a hand to her. She took it reluctantly and he squeezed it. “It’s going to be okay, Maggie, really.”
She shook her head. “You just don’t understand.”
They waded to the stairs and he led her out of the pool. “Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
The bright hope in her eyes calmed his fears. There was obviously something big she wasn’t sharing yet, but they’d deal with it. Together.
“Holy cow, what happened to your neck?” Pam exclaimed as she and the boys crowded around them.
Maggie froze for a second, her face flushing red. Erik stepped in smoothly. “Bug bite.”
One of the boys snorted and Erik elbowed him in the ribs while Pam dug into her bag and pulled out a container of cream. She dabbed some on the mark. “Must have been a hell of a big bug.”
Maggie glared at him and he smiled, turning away to head to the change room. “The biggest around.”
Chapter 3
“I’ve changed my mind about heading home. I’m canceling my flight, Maggie. I’m not letting you head off into the wilds of Alaska with this group of misfits.” Pam folded her arms in front of her.
Maggie sighed. Not again. The entire seven-hour drive from Liard to Whitehorse, Maggie had struggled to answer her friend’s endless nosy questions. It didn’t help that during their couple days of sightseeing in Whitehorse before Pam’s fight home, Erik shadowed them everywhere. He seemed to be trying his best to give them a little space but still refused to leave her alone.
“I’m not headed into the wild with them. I’m simply getting a ride to Haines to rejoin my family.”
“Yeah, right. The family you’ve been soooo thrilled about. It’s been years since your parents’ accident. I thought you told me your sister was involved in some kind of a cult at one point. You never wanted anything to do with her friends when we were at university. There was that one time you even hid from them. Or don’t you remember?”
A shiver ran over her skin at the memory. She wished she could forget. “Damn it, Pam. Of course I remember, but things have changed.”
“Right.”
Maggie hesitated. How was she supposed to convince Pam when she wasn’t sure herself? A wolf pack was supposed to be the safest place on earth. A place to be nurtured and cared for, not a hellish trap. That hadn’t been her sister’s experience, or her own. In defense, she’d rejected the pack of her youth, had even managed to reject the whole idea of being a wolf for a long period of her life. She couldn’t do it anymore. Her body wouldn’t let her.
But her heart and mind were terrified to take the next step.
She settled into one of the rigid plastic chairs in the airport waiting area. “Pam, I know it seems strange, but you’ve got to trust me on this. My sister and I have always kept in touch and I love her dearly. Plus she’s married to a wonderful guy now.”
Pam shook her head reluctantly. “I just don’t understand why after all this time you’re deciding to move back to the Yukon. I thought we were going to keep rooming together. I’m…disappointed.” She squatted beside Maggie. “I’m worried about your health. You’ve never shaken off this mono or whatever it is you’ve got. What if you have another attack while you’re on the road?”
“That’s part of the reason I won’t be driving.” She grabbed Pam’s hands. “I’m going to be fine. Really. I’m so glad we got to spend this time together. You kick butt when it comes to singing on road trips.” Pam snorted and they grinned at each other.
“I couldn’t sing my way out of a paper bag.” Suddenly Maggie was wrapped in a huge hug, the breath squeezed from her body. Pam let her go only to shake a finger in her face. “I want regular emails. Let me know when you’re settled and if I don’t hear from you often, I’m coming back with a gun.”
Maggie laughed. “I expect you to visit me in Haines when you can. You’ve been an awesome friend. I’m going to miss you.”
One last final hug and Pam joined the short line winding its way through the security checkpoint. Maggie felt him at her side before she saw him. While it freaked her out a little to have Erik hovering over her, it also felt very right. The two days she’d shopped and visited the theater and museums with Pam, his presence in the background had reassured her. Made her feel safe. No wonder Pam thought she was crazy to go anywhere with him—he was like an obsessed stalker in her friend’s eyes. Now through final security, Pam turned back to wave farewell. She gave Erik a dirty look and held her fingers like a phone, pointing at Maggie and mouthing “call me”.
Maggie would miss her, but dealing with the pack for the first time in years with a human around? Not a good idea.
“She’s a nice girl.” The deep timbre of his voice hit her low in the gut. “You okay?”
She nodded. The familiar protective layers she’d built around her for years were disappearing fast. Now she headed into dangerous territory. Oh damn, was it possible to get comfortable being around a huge group of wolves again? Would she ever feel safe?
“I left the boys at the Canada Games Center to play for a while. I’d like to take my mate out for lunch.” He slipped an arm around her, tugging her to his side.
A thrill shot through her at the layers of meaning she could read into his words. His claim on her—she couldn’t deny it was real. Her wolf pranced at the thought of going anywhere with him. Especially somewhere private where they could remove a few articles of clothing and get intimate.
She shook her head to break free of the images taunting her. She couldn’t. They shouldn’t. Not…yet. “I told you we’re waiting. I meant it.”
He twisted to face her, their bodies sliding closer. “You think it’s too dangerous to share lunch with me?” Heat rolled off his skin and she had to look way, way up to see into his eyes. Her mouth watered, her hormones kicking into high gear.
Bastard. He knew how much his touch affected her. “You’re a royal pain in the ass.”
“Not yet.” He stroked her hip intimately, cupping her butt cheek in one palm briefly. He winked, then pressed his wide hand on her lower back to direct her steps toward the parking lot. Heat shot through her core, and her wolf sat up and begged. Maggie jerked free from his touch by picking up the tempo. Of course, since her legs were much shorter, she almost had to run to outpace him. She twirled and planted her hands on her hips. She needed to regroup before they headed to Haines.
“Look. I know you’ve got direct orders from your chief Pooh-Bah, but I’d like some time by myself. No one is going to accost me on the streets of Whitehorse. I’m perfectly safe. I used to live here. I just want to be left alone and…”
Lordy, how was she supposed to stay angry with him when every time she gave him hell, he did nothing but smile? It wasn’t just any kind of smile, it was a do-you-want-to-crawl-into-bed-with-me-now kind of smile. The expression had a lot of impact when you placed it on his six-foot-five frame and added in his gorgeous features and his dark sparkling eyes.
Did he have to smell so damn good?
“You can’t walk by yourself in Whitehorse. I don’t know if you noticed over the past couple days, but there are a lot more wolves living here than in Vancouver. Not only are you a member of a rival pack, you’re also related to a couple of the most powerful wolves in the North. Keil thought you were single. He didn’t want any young pups trying to take advantage of you.”