Cabin Fever

❄ 4: Finn ❄

He was out of control.

His beast preened at the fact that his mate was wearing his shirt. She looked damn good in it, too. It reached just about mid-thigh, which left a narrow strip of flesh between her high socks and the hem of the shirt. It showed off the plumpness of her thighs in the most complimentary way. The flannel also hugged her hips snuggly and her breasts strained against the thick material. He wished to undo that button that was most precariously containing them within the confines of the shirt.

It settled him a little, but now that she wasn't sick in bed, his beast was desperate to claim her. When their fingers brushed, it took all his restraint not to lift her out of her seat and press her back against the table.

All he could think about was what a little barrier protected her. A miniscule pair of panties - if she was still wearing them. The thought sent a shock of awareness and arousal coursing through him. No. If he lost control with her — show her even a fraction of the monster within — those warm and friendly eyes would look at him with fear and disgust.

He couldn't bear the thought of that.

The room suddenly felt too small, and he needed space. He mumbled through some excuse before stalking to the other side of the room where his boots were. He pulled them on and paused before walking out the door, reminding her to eat.

Instead of heading for the woodpile, which was overflowing, he went over to the side of the house, stripped down, and then shifted to his beast form. It was near indistinguishable from a common wolf in these parts, but he was scaled up a decent bit.

For the average person who had never seen a wolf, the size of him would surprise them, but it was common knowledge that wolves were bigger than people expected. For anyone with a more intimate knowledge, well, let's just say he came out to the middle of nowhere to be freed from prying eyes and most folks around here had a strict don't ask, don't tell policy.

He took off sprinting the moment his paws touched the ground, trying to put as much space between them as he could. This was going to be a long couple of days until some local guy could be pried from his couch to take care of it.

Most full timers out here had their own 4-wheel drive vehicles with custom attachments on the front—or at least snowmobiles for traversing the heavy snowfalls. He probably should have considered investing in a plow truck himself, but 1) he hadn't anticipated getting any visitors and 2) as a shifter, shoveling snow was a good workout and an easy chore.

The day was still early, the afternoon just coming to a close, and with the sun high, it was pleasant weather for a run. In the summer, it was easy to get overheated but in the frigid air, his coat was sufficient protection from the elements and you had to keep moving to keep the chill away.

The wind whipped up the loose flakes into playful flurries, which he chased when the mood took him. Anything to keep his mind and body from thinking about her.

By the time he set his direction to head back, he knew she would probably suspect he had done more than just grab wood. He prepared the excuse that he was out shoveling the lane, which he planned to do tomorrow before dragging her car from the ditch.

At least then, he could tell himself that once the roads were drivable again, he could send her on her way and out of his life. It would be painful as hell. Even thinking about it now brought an ache to his chest, but he knew it was the best for both of them. He hadn't even claimed her yet, and he was already losing his mind over her.

His impulsiveness and lack of control got him kicked from his pack already. He couldn't risk hurting her, too.

The sun was just approaching the horizon when he saw the cabin through the trees in the distance. He was bounding a lazy, winding path towards the house when a familiar scent distracted him.

He dived into the nearest drift of snow and found the source. A fuzzy monster paw slipper came out of the snow, and he huffed in wolfish amusement. He couldn't escape her no matter where he went, but after his exhilarating run, he found the thought more amusing than panic inducing.

When he was nearly at the house, he shifted back to human form, shivering at the feeling of the cold snow against the bare soles of his feet. A flick of motion in the corner of his vision drew his eye, and he saw the curtains swaying back into place.

A chill of unease slithered up his spine as he rushed to change back into his clothes. Idiot. He had been so busy wallowing in self pity that he'd forgotten that his mate was sitting in his cabin.

He hoped she had seen nothing — that maybe she just brushed the curtain walking by or that the wind wormed its way through a small crack in the pane. He grabbed a pile of wood — he still had a facade to maintain, after all — and went around to the front door. He closed his eyes and braced himself for entering the house.

When he opened the door, he knew immediately she had seen him. Her body stiffened, and she stopped mid pace and took a stiff seat on the edge of his bed, giving him wary glances but not meeting his eyes as he set her slipper next to its twin in front of the grate.

An ache bloomed in his chest. He'd lost his mate before he even had a chance to really have her.

Well, he couldn't stay here tonight. Not with her looking at him like that. Not knowing that she was trembling in fear from him. Not when there was the risk of her hurting herself trying to escape from him.

He would have to stay in her car for the night. It was buried enough in the snow that with the couple candles and in his beast form, it should be sufficient to get through the night.

First, he stoked the fire, adding another couple of logs to make sure it would burn through the night without him there. He went to the kitchen and packed up the remaining lukewarm soup into a portable container, then he grabbed some candles, a blanket, and a lamp.

As he was stuffing all his survival items into a pack, a hand covered his. He blinked in surprise and turned his head, meeting her gentle green eyes.