Into the Woods

Grant

Grant looked down at the little woman sleeping against his arm. At first, she'd been stiff, only pretending to sleep, but it seemed she had relaxed into slumber.

He'd been with a few women in his life, and he knew a few things about how to handle them, or so he thought. But this one... She was something else.

Natalia had an innocence about her that made him want to protect her. He wanted to keep her safe and make sure she had everything she needed. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.

She'd also been a complete and total pain in the ass. In fact, he liked it. The challenge was a welcome change from the norm.

Grant rubbed his thumb along her cheek and felt her body relax even further. God, she was soft. Her skin was smooth and warm, and she smelled amazing. The scent of her in his car would linger and drive him crazy for a long time.

Of all the people on the planet she could be, she had to be a Cook. And not just a random woman with the last name, but part of the core family. He should know better than to get involved with someone like that. But damn, the way she'd been looking at him all night had been almost enough to make him forget himself. And he had, he admitted to himself. He never should have kissed her in the restaurant. But after the car he'd been unable to control himself.

The way her eyes lit up, that cocky little smile, and the way she'd stood up to Vadim. Hell, if he didn't care what happened to her, he would leave the poachers in her very capable hands. Grant groaned. That was a mess and a half he would need to deal with sooner than later.

He looked down at her again. Her lips were parted, and she was breathing slowly. He couldn't stop thinking about kissing her. The way she'd moaned, the way her tongue had rolled against his lips, and the way she'd pushed against him.

He shook his head. What the hell was wrong with him? He should have been thinking about getting home, but instead his imagination was running wild.

His phone buzzed twice in his pocket. Grant fumbled, trying to extract it before the ringer kicked in. As he pulled it out, Natalia opened her eyes and sat up.

He groaned when the caller id popped onto his car's screen.

"Gumdrop?" Natalia asked, her eyebrow raised.

Something in her voice, a hint of possessiveness, sent a tingle of pleasure down his spine. She was so fucking cute.

Grant cleared his throat and answered the phone. "It's late for a chat, sis."

Natalia pressed her lips together and relaxed into the seat. He reached over and pinched her side, unable to help himself.

"Where are you, Grant? It sure isn't home!" His whisper-screamed over the phone. The only reason she kept her voice down was because her kids would be sleeping in the next room.

"Hey, take a deep breath. I am on my way back from a dinner date with a friend. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Not ok! We have been trying to reach you for hours! Not even a single text in reply..." His sister drowned on, berating him. Grant sighed and made a hand motion to Natalia, as if urging his sister to get to the point.

"What are you calling about?" He finally got in when she took a breath.

"There is a fire near Raven's Crest. Dad wanted you to go out there but since no one could get a hold of you-"

Grant's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Don't tell me the tribe is involved," he growled, cutting her off.

"Well, yes... of course. Someone had to go put the fire out!"

"Raven's Crest? Where is that?" Natalia asked. "I've never heard of it."

"You probably know it as 'Carnage Crest', or some shitty name the settlers came up with." Grant replied, not wanting to hear his sister's version of the story. His sister chuckled on the other end of the phone.

"We need to go there, Grant. Now!"

"Gnat, it's almost twenty miles off the road. The only way to get there is by foot. It will take hours to walk. It's a stupid idea. The tribe will take care of the fire. If I'm going to take shit for it anyway, I may as well let them do the work."

"Then I'll go by myself. Pull over and let me out."

"Like hell you will. It's freezing out you hardly have any clothes on."

His sister gasped over the phone.

Natalia grabbed his arm. "Grant, pull the fucking car over." She said it so calmly, and with such confidence, that Grant couldn't help but glance at her. Her eyes were wide and focused on him.

"Okay," he whispered, and pulled to the side of the road.

She opened the door and stepped out. Grant shut his eyes and leaned back against the headrest. He was not going to watch this. He was not. "I'll call you later," he said, punching the end-call button on the screen.

Grant jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. Natalia was struggling to make her way through the underbrush on the side of the road. "Gnat, Carnage Crest is the other way."

She frowned; her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "We've already passed the switchback," he supplied. She glared at him, pulling his sweater tighter around her shoulders to ward off the cold. Natalia walked past him, crossing the street, and heading into the forest.

"I swear to god, Gnat. Just stop and talk to me for five minutes. Why do you need to go out there so badly?"

No answer.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

She ignored him, walking deeper into the forest. Grant sighed and followed her. They had gone maybe half a mile when she stopped. Grant didn't think she could have gone any farther. She was breathing hard, and her face was red from the cold.

"You're being ridiculous. Just talk to me." He shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders, turning her to face him. Placing his finger under her chin, he forced her to look up at him. Tears glittered in her eyes, reflected in the moonlight. She looked devastated.

Grant relented, the air leaving his chest at the sight of her pain. "We'll get there faster if you let me carry you." He couldn't believe he was offering. If the tribe saw, they would never let him live it down. But she was so upset and somehow her pain had become a dagger through his heart.

"I'm fine, Grant. I can walk." She tried to pull away, but he held her close.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, unable to stop himself. "I know you can. But it will take you hours to get out there and I'm going to follow you the whole way anyhow. We may as well cut the trip in half." He smiled and took her hand.

Natalia let her head fall against his chest and he took the action as her acquiescence. "You have to carry my clothes though," he teased, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Wait, what?"

"Well, I'm not going to give you a piggyback ride or anything. At least, not in this form. Also, you probably don't want to watch this. It's not as pretty as they make it out to be in the movies."

Natalia pretended not to look as he took off his pants, but he saw her eyes flicker with interest. Her reaction caused an embarrassing chain of events he tried to ignore. He shifted into his wolf form and lay down so she could climb on. Grant felt her fingers combing through the fur at the nape of his neck. Thankfully she couldn't see his eyes roll back in his head at the sensations she elicited.

"How are you so warm?" Natalia asked, snuggling closer. She buried her fingers deeper.

Grant thanked his lucky stars he couldn't talk in this form and started trotting towards Raven's Crest. He would get answers from her soon.