You talk and I’ll write. You need to make sure I see your face.
“I’m Keil and that’s my brother, TJ.”
Robyn Maxwell from Whitehorse.
“I’m sorry we frightened—”
Robyn interrupted him by waving a hand in the air and starting to write. It was an accident. I couldn’t hear you and I wasn’t paying attention. Tell TJ I’m sorry I pulled my knife on him.
Keil rotated around to face his brother. Robyn watched as TJ drew up a chair opposite her and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Robyn,” he said drawing out his words in an exaggerated manner.
Oh goodie. TJ was an idiot. Robyn glared at him and shook his hand hard enough to make him pull back in surprise. She grabbed the pad.
I’m deaf, not stupid. Don’t talk weird for my sake. She flipped the pad around to let him read it while she took another drink.
This was the hard way to get to know people. It was much easier when Tad was along, because she could talk to him and he’d pass on messages and it would end up feeling natural and not this ridiculous slow process. She sighed and grabbed the pad back. Keil laid a soft hand on her arm to get her attention and a curious sensation raced through her body.
Heat slid from his hand to her arm, tickling, tingling. What was that all about? She looked down at his hand and felt the warmth still radiating, small bursts of electricity racing up her arm and making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. He gave a slight squeeze to get her attention and she glanced up at his face.
“What pack?”
She pulled back in confusion and shrugged.
“Robyn, you said you live in Whitehorse. Are you Takini or Miles Canyon pack?”
Here it was again. What was he talking about? It was too bad he seemed to be slightly crazy because he was the hottest thing on two legs she’d ever seen.
She hoped he was fun crazy and not kill-people-in-the-middle-of-the-night crazy. Writing a short note she tossed the pad toward him as she got up from the table. Putting on her coat, she took a final quick glance his direction before heading outside for a breath of air.
Yup, he was hot. Out of his mind, but very easy on the eyes. Smelt yummy too. She ignored the strange throbbing sensation in her limbs and forced herself to walk outside.
As the door closed behind her, Keil pulled the pad nearer and read it out loud to TJ.
“Takini is a hot spring. Miles Canyon is where I canoe. A pack is what I carry my gear in. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m getting ready for bed. The sauna has coals if you want it. I will talk to you tomorrow. Good night.”
“You think she really doesn’t know she’s a werewolf?” TJ asked.
“Why would she have any reason to pretend? I don’t understand. She’s full-blood wolf from what I smell.”
“Me too.”
Keil drummed his fingers on the table. She not only smelt like wolf, but another scent flowed from her that tickled the back of his brain and went straight to his cock.
The scent of his mate. The chemical trail that called his wolf to hers and would make them mates for life. He was pretty sure she was it, but until he got a taste of her skin when she was aroused he couldn’t be positive.
Of course at the rate they were going, it would be summer before he’d get close enough to actually find out.
Grabbing clean clothes, the brothers made their way to the sauna. Thirty seconds after closing the door, Keil realized the sauna was a bad idea. Robyn’s scent hung heavy in the closed space, sweet and spicy, filling his head with thoughts that were better not imagined while sitting naked in a small space with his brother.
“You know, she smells good.”
Keil growled at TJ. “Shut it, pup.”
“Well, she does. But, Keil, she smells good like ‘Hey, Robyn, can you help me with this?’ and not ‘Hey, baby, can you help me? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.’ Know what I mean?”
“Please, spare me the Monty Python imitations.”
TJ flicked some snow at his brother. “I’m trying to tell you something serious and you accuse me of imitating MP? I’m cut to the quick. For serious discussion I imitate political personalities. You know that.”
Keil lay back on the bench and tried to ignore his younger brother. TJ was the most irritating, the most annoying…and the most observant person he knew. Leaning up on one elbow, he opened his eyes and cursed.
“Fine. Explain it. What are you trying to tell me and use small words. It’s late and it’s been a hell of a day.”
TJ dropped to the lower bench and grabbed the cedar edging in front of him. “She smells good like I want to trust her and take care of her and I know she’ll take care of me. She obviously affects you differently.”
“Oh. How is that?”
TJ snorted as he pointed. “You’ve got wood from the smell of her left in a sauna, bro. You’ve got it bad and I bet she is your mate because you haven’t even given her a proper sniff yet. I knew you were ready to be Alpha!”
Keil let his head flop back on the hard bench. TJ’s leaps of logic were over the top. How he got from the fact Keil had a hard-on that could pound nails to making him Alpha was incredible.
“TJ, enough. Can we let this drop for tonight? The problem will still be there in the morning.”
TJ’s laugh was long and loud, and finally Keil joined in.
“Okay, bad choice of words. Don’t point it out.” Another howl went up from TJ and Keil gave up. He picked up the bucket of cool water and poured it over himself. He raised the other bucket.
“Want a rinse?”
When TJ nodded, Keil gave an evil grin and poured the contents of the half-snow-filled bucket over his brother’s head. The icy-cold water streamed down and TJ’s scream echoed in the small space.
Now Keil was ready for bed.
Chapter 3
Keil rolled over for the millionth time.
This was impossible.
He’d slept in a cave surrounded by soaking wet, stinking pack members when they’d gotten caught in a storm. He’d slept in a single hotel room with seven buddies on a road trip, all of them snoring loud enough to shake the walls. Both times he’d gotten more sleep than tonight.
All because of the small female body at the end of the platform.
He gave up pretending and sat up to admire her better. The moonlight pouring in the window showed parts of her and his night vision filled in the rest of the details. She was curled into a half-circle, one leg pulled up, her head resting on a pillow made from her extra clothes. She wasn’t in the sleeping bag but under it, her body lying on a small soft blanket.
It was warm enough in the cabin that she’d shrugged off most of her coverings and his gaze slipped over her. He wished he could touch her with his hands. Her skin tone was lighter than his, her light brown hair escaping from the ponytail she’d made before crawling into bed. Keil stared, memorizing the curve of her cheek, the dimple just visible at the edge of her mouth. Her eyes closed in peace had the longest lashes he’d ever seen.
He licked his lips. Looking at her made his mouth water. He was tempted to slide over and take her in his arms, nestle her against his body and—
Shit. He was hard again.
How could she not know about belonging to a pack? As a full-blood wolf, she would have had the ability to shift from human form to wolf starting around adolescence. While the werewolf genes were dormant in most half-breeds, full-blood wolves almost always had their genes triggered while still babies.
Robyn being deaf was unusual, but not a huge issue to him. He could learn to sign, if that’s what it took. When she was in wolf form, they’d have no problem communicating since wolf was ninety percent sign language. As mates, they should be able to speak into each other’s minds anyway.