Wolf's Wife (Monstrous Hearts #1)

Chapter Four

Alice woke up alone, blinking at the ceiling as footsteps sounded against the roof. A turn of her head was enough to take in the wrinkled pillow beside her. Then it hadn't all been a dream. The landslide had happened and so had the rest.

Alice ran a hand over her face, trying to understand it. She'd dated Magdalene for months before admitting what had happened with her mother. When she rolled over in bed, she could smell Colton on the sheets. An earthy scent that made her think of hips grinding together and skin slick with sweat and semen. Her perspective was changing, and the safety net of viewing him as something to feel sorry for was quickly unraveling.

When hammering replaced the sound of footsteps, Alice found a robe and galoshes to put on before trudging outside. The plastic and duct tape she'd used on the roof were now balled up on the ground beside a ladder. Colton looked down at her from where he crouched on the slanted roof. "Fixed the leak for now. Wouldn't trust these tiles to last through another winter, though."

Alice tried a smile through her bleariness. "Thanks."

That only garnered another glance her way, and she realized words likely didn't mean much to him. "Are you hungry? I can have breakfast ready in fifteen minutes."

When he nodded, she went back inside.

She made a pot of coffee before anything else and had a cup to fully wake up. By the time Colton stepped through the doorway, the ends of his hair dripping with water, she had a plate for him loaded with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

There was a part of her embarrassed by what had happened the night before, and at first her gaze remained on the scrambled eggs on the end of her fork. But her curiosity got the better of her, and her gaze darted to where he sat across the small kitchen table. He looked much better than yesterday, skin a healthy color and showing no sign of favoring his shoulder. Having stripped down to his undershirt, she could see that even the scar from the bullet hole had faded into a faint mark. He was certainly well enough to leave, and while the fact no longer left her stomach cramped with panic, her fingers nervously tapped against the coffee cup at the thought of long hours left to herself.

Her gaze jumped back to his face just as he glanced up. "You're a good cook. Generous."

"Since you're used to starving in the woods, I thought you could do with a big meal or two." Then Alice sighed and set down the cup to keep herself from hiding behind it. "Thank you. For... well, for last night. And for staying."

"Still think I'll leave you trapped here?"

She traced the cup's rim. "It's a worry in the back of my mind."

"I won't. Not if you keep feeding me like this." It was startling how much he could say with his eyes. Just a slight lift of one eyebrow revealed the humor that was missing from his voice.

Forgetting her nervousness, she smiled.

There was plenty left to do for the attic. As helicopters emblazoned with news station logos boomed overhead in their slow circles around the landslide's devastation, Alice and Colton cleaned up the water that had leaked through the roof, dodging jumbled furniture.

Halfway through, he noticed the burgundy trunk with the fresh fingerprints left on its dusty exterior. "So you found the pelt."

Alice pushed stray hairs out of her eyes, realizing too late she'd left a smear of dust on her forehead. "How did you..."

"Seen it once before. Your grandmother showed me it."

"Why?"

"To see if I knew how to help her bring it to life." A sardonic gleam had appeared in his eyes.