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.I remember him just bellowing out, ‘so this is the reason you’ve been absent from the house? You wish to be a momma to some pups? Well, boy, I think it’s time for another lesson.’ I screamed myself hoarse as he snapped that little puppy’s neck.It was the one I had helped get free of its mom.Eleanna came in just in time to see him toss the puppy at me, and reach for another.She yelled at my dad then, ‘don’t you dare harm that puppy! Your son did this for me.You will leave him to it, because it has kept him out of trouble.’ She fought hard for me that day, and didn’t come away unscathed either.Finally, my father relented and allowed me the indulgence of having my pets.I cared for those two dogs until they died of old age not long before I came here to find Evan for my father.”“So, you decided to start a shelter?”“Yeah, well, a rescue.I wasn’t sure if I could get another dog that was mine just yet, but I wanted to at least help other people know what that bond is like, and you know, save a few more dogs along the way too.” He smiled.I had to stop myself from going to hug him at that point.Mikael looked up at me, his eyes locking with mine.I swallowed hard, and was the first to break eye contact.There was no denying that a part of me was very intrigued with Mikael, but I was also full of love for Evan, and mixed feelings about both of them.My head was spinning, so I did the only thing I could.I took a deep breath, peeled my shoes and socks off, and went to sit by the water.Yeah, I was running away from my crazy feelings, but at least I could make it look planned.After a few minutes, I looked back over my shoulder at Mikael, whose eyes hadn’t left me, and I tipped my head in an invitation for him to join me.He walked over, stood beside me, and looked down at the water.“I bet that’s cold.” His deep voice resonated through me.I looked up, and smiled at him.“Only one way to find out.Unless, of course, you’re scared.” I gave him a little pouty lipped face.“The big, bad, cold water might freeze your little toesies.”He bent down, quick as lightning.I thought he was going to scoop his boots off, but no, he scooped me up in his arms, and made like he was going to toss me in.“Why don’t we find out just how cold it really is?”I sucked in a surprised breath.“You wouldn’t dare!”“Wouldn’t I?” He quirked that eyebrow up at me in question again.His dimples were becoming more pronounced as the grin overtook his face.“Asshole, remember?” I didn’t even get to say a thing.He tossed me up in the air, and I squealed the whole time I was flying, then falling.I squeezed my eyes shut tight, preparing for the brutal burst of ice cold water hitting my body, but it never came.Instead, I ended up back in Mikael’s arms.He was laughing so hard, his body shook, and I was surprised he hadn’t dropped me.“You should have seen your face! Priceless!” He whirled around and sat me back down on the blanket, going back for my shoes and socks when he was done.It took me a minute to make my mouth work.“I can’t believe you just did that.I had a mini-heart attack, you know!”“I know! I was watching while you had your little pansy eyes squeezed shut tight.I picked up a pine cone and threw it at him, hard.“Ouch.” He dropped my shoes off by my feet, then flopped down on the blanket with me.The basket was opened, and he was emptying out the contents methodically, while I just sat there and watched.I was also willing my heart to slow itself down a bit.Then I really looked at what he was unpacking.He had little sandwiches, crackers, cheeses, and a big bowl of fresh fruit.Then there was the sparkling grape juice.“What is that?” I pointed to the juice.“I wasn’t sure you were ready to drink with me, so I opted for juice, instead of the real thing.I’ll let you know when you graduate up from the kid table!” I huffed indignantly, which only triggered more laughter from him.“You think you’re very charming, don’t you?”“Well, I’m not the one who brought it up, so I guess the real question is, do you find me charming?”“NO!” I spouted out.Inside, my answer was a little different.I wasn’t about to admit that to him though.“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart!” He grabbed one of the sandwich slices and offered it up to me.“Hungry?” There was a bit of a growl behind the natural gruffness in his voice.That word held a lot more meaning than it was supposed to.I was definitely going to keep telling myself that.I still took it and started eating, because I was actually starving.We sat there, eating in a comfortable silence for a while.I was just taking a sip of my drink when I felt a tingling sensation.It wasn’t quite what I felt when another wolf of power was around, but something similar.I scanned the tree line, and thought I saw a shadow of movement across the pool of water behind me.Mikael must have tuned into my brimming anxiety, because he was on his feet in seconds.“What’s going on, Jess?”“Did you feel that too?”“No, I saw you scanning, and you looked a little panicked just now.”“I felt something, kind of like when we can feel each other’s power signature, but a little different.I thought I saw something move over there [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]