Faith nodded. While she waited for the necessary pack members to assemble she took the time to run back to her room and put on some clothes. It wasn't that everyone was always naked running around the island but it was generally understood that in the event of an unexpected shift, a certain amount of nakedness was to be expected. Or at least that's what she told herself when she wasn't feeling more than a little self-conscious about it.
The others would be dressed; it felt appropriate to do the same. As she dried her hair with a green hand towel, she stared in the mirror. Mate. She'd found him. It had been all but hell coming to Westervelt as a female and turning out to be mateless. Not that she felt desperate for male companionship. Even before she'd found out she was a shifter, she'd been content to have men as friends and nothing more. But the males on the island placed so much hope on the discovery of every new female she couldn't help but be drawn into the disappointment that she was one of them and yet still not part of a mated pair.
It might have helped to know there was a missing male hiding out in the woods and that he could be her mate. She growled deep in her throat. There was no denying it--she was really pissed off.
She closed her eyes and tried to picture him. It had only been a few short moments they'd been together and yet she could picture his face clearly, as if his image had been embedded on her eyes.
Interestingly enough, the first thing she'd noticed had been his strong square jaw line. While all the Kane brothers were gorgeous to look at, Theo held a uniqueness she'd never seen in anyone else anywhere on the planet and it all started in his jaw. He'd clenched his teeth several times when they'd spoken and she'd been fascinated with the way his muscles had compressed from his jaw to his ear when he'd done so.
She wished she'd taken a moment to trace her hands up and down that jaw when she'd pulled him out of the freezing water. But she'd been so focused on not letting him drown that she hadn't taken the time to do any admiring.
But that didn't mean she hadn't noticed how his brown hair, kept shaved down on his head, was so dark it reminded her of her favorite time of the night: three in the morning. No light visible anywhere, pure darkness, it was the same color as Theo's hair and the stubble that covered his face. If they ever made love, it would scratch her in the most delicious ways.
If they ever made love? What the hell was the matter with her? She didn't think thoughts like that.
It's because he's your mate, silly.
Her wolf was in a perpetually good mood and never more so since she'd found Theo. Always near giddy, her furry half resorted to using childish endearments to refer to Faith. None of that could be considered in any way good news. The terrycloth brown tee shirt she'd just put on suddenly felt hot on her skin and she fanned herself a few times.
Cut that out.
Cut what out? Her wolf sounded way too innocent.
Making me feel hot and bothered. Faith wished she could throw something hard and breakable somewhere where it would be sure to smash into a million pieces. But there were no such objects available in the room.
That's nothing to do with me. It's because you're thinking about Theo.
It really could be infuriating to not be able to get away from her wolf. Just for a few minutes, to take a break. But it would be like trying to get away from her liver. It was simply not possible.
His eyes, brown mostly, held specks of gold that danced in his pupils, seemingly moving on their own. Long lashes had sat atop his lids, lucky bastard. She'd never have eyelashes quite like that. Placing both hands down on the dresser in front of her, she forced herself to gain control of her raging hormones.
There was one facet to Theo she still had yet to address. The long jagged scar that led from the bottom of his eye to the top right hand corner of his mouth. It looked hard and swollen, like he hadn't taken proper care of it, hadn't massaged it or oiled it so it wouldn't grow tight and cause him pain. What had happened? Everything Faith learned in the last year taught her that as shifters they healed very quickly with no evidence of damage.
Shaking her head, she pulled on her jeans and decided there was no doubt left. Something very powerful had destroyed the skin on Theo Kane's perfect face.
There was more than one story to demand she be told about her would-be mate who lived by himself in the woods. Dear gods, if she actually took him as a mate would she have to give up modern conveniences and go run around all day like a wolf with him? She swallowed at the thought. No way, no how was she doing that.
Every hair on her body stood at attention that could only mean Tristan had entered the building. Her Alpha's presence never ceased to cause her stomach to churn with anxiety. Granted, the first time she'd met him he had shifted her against her will in the middle of the Mexican jungle. Since then, she'd come to know him as fair minded and reasonable, but first impressions were hard to lose.
Checking her appearance one more time and finding nothing too horrible about how she looked, Faith turned and walked out of her room and back to the corridor that would lead to the meeting room. She sniffed the air as she approached, one of the assets of being a shifter. No one ever caught her by surprise. Well, no one until Theo anyway. All five of the Kane brothers that she knew--after Theo's unexpected arrival who knew how many there actually were--waited in the room as well as Cullen, Summer and Ashlee. The Alpha's mate's scent had recently altered slightly making her think the alpha-female was pregnant--again. Apparently the two felt they needed to repopulate Westervelt all by themselves.
The room where Tristan held closed-door pack meetings felt more like a conference room than anything else. Painted a deep burgundy, the walls held no windows, the only indication the things that went on inside of it were not for public consumption. From the worn looks on the brothers' faces, Faith didn't have to guess to know Summer told everyone the purpose of Faith calling this meeting, but it was the sad look in Tristan's eyes that made Faith pull back from the anger she'd felt earlier. Obviously this was something that caused them all a great deal of pain.
Tristan looked up from the table where he'd been staring, apparently lost in thought. He cleared his throat. "Well, Faith, I hear you ran into someone unexpected during your patrol this morning."
She nodded and diverted her eyes. Until Tristan gave her permission to address him, she couldn't be anywhere near him without feeling completely subservient. His brothers and Cullen walked a different line with their Alpha, but Faith and her wolf felt far too new to take any liberties. She also knew he was capable of causing pain, even unintentionally, if he wanted to.
"Look at me, Faith. You have permission to talk."
She raised her eyes as she listened to the rapid intake of breath from her wolf. This was where they differed. Faith needed to be aggressive, to assert herself and her place in the pack, while her wolf would have preferred to remain submissive.
"Well, my Alpha, as I assume you've just been told, I have just come into contact with a man who claims to be your brother. He calls himself Theo Kane."
Tristan nodded. "And he was in his human form?"
"Ah...yes." This hadn't exactly been the answer Faith had been anticipating. "He was in his human form. He claimed he was being chased, shot at, although I smelled none of that nor did I sense any danger. All of this was after I pulled him out of the lake. He came over the falls." The telling of the story was not doing the experience justice. She shook her head. Obviously she'd left out an important detail. But she wasn't sure that she wanted to admit to everyone yet that she and Theo were mates.