His grandfather had driven home to him more than once that he could lose his power if he used it for ill. Many stories had been told to him about those ancestors who hadn’t heeded the warning and had been stripped of their ability, leaving their Pack vulnerable.
The lodge steps appeared in front of him too soon for his liking. He considered taking a walk-a long one, with Canada looking like a good first stop. Shaking his head, he laughed. What good is running, Micah? And isn’t that the question you ask others, not yourself?
Squaring his shoulders, Micah opened the front door.
Chapter Seven
“Olivia?” Still no response from her. Resting one hand against the frame of her open door, Micah softly spoke her name again. She was so engrossed in her writing that she hadn’t heard him the first time. This seemed to be a pattern for them. She holed up in her room writing and him standing outside trying to get her attention. Still, he wouldn’t mind vying for her attention for a very long time to come.
Stepping closer, Micah said her name with more force. A startled curse rang from her lips as she jumped and knocked over a coffee cup. Fortunately for her laptop, it was empty.
His core sizzled when she hit him with those cornflower blue eyes. Pulsing in his jeans reminded him just how much he wanted this woman. He grinned. Now was definitely not the time to shift because while it was easy to hide his erection behind denim, he wouldn’t be quite as successful as a wolf. She’d have no doubt just how happy he was to see her.
“We need to talk.”
Her laugh threw him off until she explained. “Isn’t it the woman who’s supposed to say that? And the man is supposed to run howling into the woods?”
Answering her with a laugh of his own, he reached back to close the door then covered the distance between them in two easy strides. It felt so right to fold her into his arms and place a gentle kiss on her head.
“We were talking about something and got interrupted.”
Olivia grinned as she tilted her head up to look at him. “Yes, we get interrupted a lot, don’t we? But Talia is napping now. Want to finish what we tried to start?” She nipped at his chin.
“Olivia, you don’t know how much I want to take you to bed and bury myself in your sweet warmth. But we have to discuss the fact that you are different.” She stiffened in his arms but he tightened his hold on her.
“Different just like me, Olivia. Just like me. Sweetheart, you aren’t going to get what I tried to tell you, so I’m going to show you. Promise me you won’t run, okay? Promise you will watch what is going to happen and trust me. Can you do that for me?” He pressed another kiss to her forehead as she nodded at him.
Stepping back from her, he began to take his clothes off. A grin stole across Olivia’s face. “Really, Micah, you were scaring me a bit. If that’s your idea of foreplay, we really do need to talk.”
Micah didn’t answer. Concentrating his energy, he shifted into his large black and gray wolf body. Olivia’s face went white as she took a step backward.
“What the hell? Okay, that’s a pretty good parlor trick, Micah. Where did you go? I’m assuming this animal is tame?” Her voice rose in pitch as she continued moving until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. “Micah?”
Shifting back took less time but Olivia’s jaw dropped even further. “This is not funny, Micah. What’s happening?”
Taking her hands, Micah knelt in front of her. “Liv, this is me. This is us. A monster didn’t kill your parents. You didn’t kill your parents. The shock of having you change in the backseat caused your dad to lose control of the car, but you were not responsible. You should have been with a shifter family. You should never have been with humans. You’re a shifter too, Olivia.”
Blonde hair skimmed her cheeks as she shook her head. “This is too much. Too much. What are you saying? Are you telling me that you can turn into a wolf? That you’re a…” Her voice shattered on the word. “Werewolf?”
Her sweet orange scent suddenly held an overlay of the sharp smell of fear. Micah wanted anything but that. He’d rather she’d rage at him than be scared of him. Filling his lungs with a deep breath, he nodded.
“Yes. Werewolf is one name for us. We prefer shifter since it doesn’t have the Lon Chaney factor built in. We are not murderers. We don’t eat children. We don’t usually steal sheep. We live and work among the humans without them knowing the truth of what we are.”
“We. You keep using we. I’m not like you. I don’t know why you think that, but I am not one of you!” Olivia tore her hands out of his as she scrambled to her feet. Pacing back and forth, she pointed a shaking hand at him.
“Why are you doing this? Who set you up to this? Are you supposed to make me think I’m crazy? Too late. I already know that.”
Micah’s throat tightened at the tears welling up in her beautiful blue eyes. Getting up off the floor, he walked toward her but halted when she threw a hand out to stop him. How could he get her to believe him? Her knowledge of her abilities was crucial.
If she didn’t know she could shift, she would go through life with black holes in her memory and the guilt of murder weighing down her future. Worse, she could injure someone if she didn’t know how to stay with her animal self. Shifters who let their animals rule were a danger to all-especially the Packs who wanted to live in secret.
If she refused to take control of her animal and stayed here with him, the local Pack would be well within their rights to order her exterminated for the good of all. As Alpha, even an unofficial Alpha, it would be his job to carry out that order. Micah’s hands fisted tightly as he tried to calm himself. Worrying about things that hadn’t happened, that he wouldn’t allow to happen, wasted precious time.
Then he realized that telling her again that she could become a wolf was futile. He had to show her. He had to use his power and trust that he was doing it for the right reason. He had to protect Olivia from herself.
“Olivia, will you come outside with me? I want to take you back to that clearing. I can prove my words to you there. It’s a special place. It’s where the Pack comes together during a full moon and other special times. It’s where we celebrate and where we play.” He poured everything he could into the request, hoping she would hear the truth and trust him.
Dear God. Go into the woods with a man who apparently isn’t a man? Olivia questioned her sanity even as she nodded her agreement. For whatever reason, she trusted Micah. She’d always known there was something different, something wrong with her. Now here was Micah telling her-no, showing her-that there truly was more to this world than she had dreamed of.
Olivia paused a moment, fighting back a reluctant chuckle. Quoting Shakespeare only reminded her that she did dream of this. Every night she ran wild in her dreams. Wolves at her side. And if she were crazy, then she’d hallucinated the large wolf. She grimaced when she looked at the hardwood floor where a tuft of silver hair lay in mute testimony to the reality of what she tried to deny. Wait a minute.
“That wolf the other night…the one playing in the snow. That was you?”
Micah’s smile warmed her from the inside out as he nodded. “I tried everything I could to get you to come outside. I’ve never felt quite so foolish.”
It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be taking a risk telling her about himself. She took a hesitant step toward him, hating the fear she felt. This was Micah. Yes, she’d only known him a few short days but it felt like so much more. The intensity-that scared her more than his changing into a wolf.
“I’m ready then. I don’t know what to think right now, Micah, but I know that I do trust you. Not sure why, but I do. Let me bundle back up.”