Page 10 of Rescued by the Alpha

I can’t turn him. Nic frowned. Can I?

The burn in his arms as he scrubbed even harder couldn’t stop the thread of hope stealing its way into his mind. So what if Elam felt the pull of his Alpha? He wouldn’t understand what it meant, would be terrified if he knew what Nic was. It’s not as if it was the old days when the world was less modern, and most people still believed in magic and the mysteries of the unknown. No, it was ridiculous to even consider. The pack spirit guide would counsel him on how to proceed and that would be that.

I can keep an eye on him from a safe distance.

His heart calmed a bit as he slowed his movements, the circles he made as he tended to the wood no longer as wide and misshapen. Elam wouldn’t think anything of a wolf being nearby—

should he be spotted. At least Nic could see his mate from afar and fulfill his duty of protecting him.

But what if he goes back to Seattle?

Nic fell back on his haunches, tossing the rag onto the floor. He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. He’d spent so many years convincing himself he was better off alone, that he wasn’t the type who would do well with a mate, that things had turned out for the best. But now that he’d met Elam? Fuck, all he wanted to do was hold him close and never let go, breathe him in, kiss him, make love to him… Build a life together.

Yet, none of that could ever happen because fate thought it would be hilarious by giving him a

human as his one and only.

Dammit.

The sound of feet shuffling nearby jostled him from his agonizing thoughts. He glanced up to see Elam, yawning and stretching, the edge of his tee pulling up enough that a tantalizing patch of belly emerged, the smattering of dark hair around Elam’s navel drawing his gaze.

“Hey. What time is it? I left my cell out here.”

Nic swallowed a couple times to get his too-dry throat to work. “I think it’s close to six. Are you getting hungry yet?”

So far, all they’d done was eat, talk and play cards. At least it had prevented him from doing other things that would get them both in lots of irreversible trouble.

“A bit. I’d offer to help, but you know…” Elam quirked a brow, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Nic barked out a laugh and it sounded foreign to his ears. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d made such a noise. “Well, I suppose you have been awfully good by getting your beauty rest.”

Elam blushed, but recovered nicely by continuing the banter. “Does that mean I get to play in the kitchen this time too?”

Nic snorted out another chuckle as he rose to his feet. “Yes, it’s so much fun. Come on.” He indicated to the kitchen area with a jerk of his head. “We can figure out something to throw together.

The venison stew is officially gone.”

Elam grinned and followed him across the room. “Do you catch all your own meat? Or is it more of a supplemental thing?”

If you only knew. “Most of it. I maintain a low overhead, which I prefer.” Nic glanced at Elam.

“Much fresher that way and I guarantee the whole carcass is used, that nothing is wasted.”

Elam nodded thoughtfully, the idea of Nic dismantling a carcass not seeming to bother him. He is a nature guy. Somehow, he’d assumed that Elam would be more skittish about such things, maybe disapprove, berate Nic for killing off his photography subjects.

“I like that. What you eat isn’t processed, you’re making use of the whole animal—like you said

—and the economics of it makes sense too.” Elam sighed. “I don’t know how good a hunter I’d be, but part of my idea of getting out of the city was to live closer to the land, be less dependent on industry, more self-sufficient.”

That doesn’t sound like someone anxious to go back to Seattle. Nic gave himself a mental shake. Yeah, but give the guy another few weeks living out here in the middle of nowhere and hemight be begging you to drive him to the airport.

Nic checked his cupboards for what they had to work with. He typically provided part of his

fresh kills for his sister and her kids now that her mate had died. Then, she’d give him her jarred preserves and whatever else she might have grown then canned.

“Well, haven’t done much of the minimal shopping I do in a while. And I need to hit up sis for some more of her canned stuff, but there are a few potatoes and an onion left. I could fry that up then add the rest of the sausage.” Nic checked Elam for his reaction.

“Not much of a vegetable guy, are you?” His question had been filled with mirth.