Page 20 of Rescued by the Alpha

He stopped so abruptly from the sound of Nic’s weak voice that he slammed into the closed door. When Elam whirled back around, the shock of seeing Nic’s nude form curled up on the braided rug was difficult to reconcile. Where’s the wolf? He rushed forward when it became apparent that Nic was having difficulty getting up. Oh shit, the wolf must’ve hurt him.

Elam dropped to his knees and wrapped an arm around Nic’s shoulders. Nic’s head hung low and it seemed as if he could barely keep himself upright as he supported his weight with both hands.

“Can you stand, Nic? We need to get outta here before that wolf comes back.”

Because I did not just see Nic turn into a gorgeous Arctic wolf. I hit my head hard enoughthat now I’m hallucinating. As soon as they escaped the wild animal that had somehow managed to get inside the cabin, he was going to see a doctor.

Nic shook his head as he lifted it. “No. I just need a minute to recover. Shifting back and forth in quick succession like that is a huge energy drain.”

Elam pulled his arm away. “S-shifting?” The fear had returned. “What are you saying?”

Nic lifted his gaze. “Come on, Elam. You saw. I’m a wolf shifter and so is my family, all the residents of the town where I visited my sister are. That’s my pack, where I’m from.”

Elam scooted back on his butt, placing more distance between him and Nic. “That’s insane.

Why are you fucking with me like this?”

He should be racing out of the cabin instead of sitting around discussing the absurdity of what Nic had just claimed. But he couldn’t. Not when something deep in his gut was telling him that what Nic had just confessed was the truth. That it was the truth that had been evading Elam for the past few days. Something unexplainable. Did he now have that explanation?

Nic’s eyes still held the sadness they had before he’d… shifted. Elam had heard plenty of stories from his grandmother about werewolves in the Old Country, her father having come to America from Eastern Europe. They didn’t know much about that side of his family, but as a child he’d loved to sit on her lap as she’d told him tales of mystical beings that could be so fierce but also protective of those who guarded their secrets. He’d stare at her in open-mouthed awe until his mother would admonish her for filling Elam’s head with nonsense.

Elam swallowed past a lump in his throat. Was it nonsense?

“I’m not fucking with you, I think you know that.” Nic extended a hand to him. “Please. Let me hold you. I’ll always take care of you, keep you safe.”

Elam blinked several times. “Always? That seems…extreme. Abrupt also comes to mind.”

Nic’s forehead wrinkled. “You don’t sense it between us? The urgency, the inevitability of our bond, the need?”

“Well, I…” If he’s going to get technical. Elam chewed his lip, his body still shaking as a strange realization filled him. He really isn’t making this up, is he? I saw what I saw and he’s tellingme the fucking truth. Elam sucked in a shaky breath. “Yeah. I do.”

Nic straightened, his skin less sallow as his strength seemed to return. He extended an arm.

“Then please. Let me hold you.”

All of Elam’s fears evaporated as he pushed into Nic’s embrace, buried his nose in his neck as he wrapped his arms around Nic’s waist. He let go of the struggle to fight against whatever it was that

had been drawing him to Nic all along. Sure, the entire scenario was bizarre, the concept of having a boyfriend who was part wolf difficult to reconcile, yet it made sense to him in its own strange way.

After all, he adored nature, loved to photograph wild animals and wolves had certainly been subjects he’d returned to over and over. Maybe he’d been drawn to this part of Alaska because they were meant to be together.

He chuckled to himself. That might be taking things a bit too far. It was more likely that he’d increased his odds of meeting someone like Nic by being so enamored of the outdoors.

Nic whispered against his ear, “What’s got you laughing?”

Elam rubbed his face against Nic’s skin. “Oh, nothing really. Something kind of silly, that’s all.”

“Yeah? Tell me. I wanna know.”

Elam squirmed against Nic. Even though the guy had just expressed rather serious intentions about them, he was still absorbing it all. “Just a stray thought that it was like a fated thing for us to meet since I love the outdoors and photograph wildlife and you’re…er…well, you’re like wildlife.”

When Nic didn’t respond right away, Elam glanced up and was met with an even more serious expression than his typical one.

“What?” Elam had the feeling he was about to discover something as startling as what he’d already learned.

Nic cupped his cheek. “Not silly at all. You’re my fated mate, Elam.”

Before Elam had a chance to grasp what Nic had just said, his mouth was taken in a soft kiss, Nic’s strange declaration becoming more logical the longer their exchange continued. When Nic broke their connection, he stared into Elam’s eyes, threading his fingers through Elam’s hair while still holding him close.