Eventide

Chapter 4, Outnumbered

Chapter 4

Outnumbered

(Stand My Ground, by Within Temptation)

     Silently, I eased by the branches and through the snow in Brogan’s yard, inching my way closer in the failing light.  His scent grew stronger on the breeze as I crept.  I had to curb my impatience and keep my progress excruciatingly slow so he wouldn’t hear me.

     Brogan sat on his porch as he spoke to someone on the phone.  Mostly, he talked about search and rescue in a businesslike tone.  He’d made three different calls since I began making my way toward him.  

     Our heartbeats had synchronized within minutes of my arrival.  Strange, but that was starting to seem normal to me.  It would probably scare me if I ever heard his heartbeat outside of mine for more than a few seconds.

     Seth patrolled La Push back home.  He knew exactly what I was doing and seemed pleased.  I knew because an annoying, self-satisfied smugness radiated from his every thought.

     Your stupid suggestion had nothing to do with this.  I’m just following Jacob’s orders.

     Oh, of course.  I understand.

     Only, the taunting tenor of his thoughts did not match his words.  My baby brother could be a total pain.

     What?  I’m just patrolling and not saying how right I was about getting to know Brogan.  I could have said how smart I am and how you should listen to me more often.  But nope, not a peep.  All that astounding humility and you call me a pain.

     Laughter filled his thoughts.  Unlike Jacob, he wasn’t angry about Brogan seeing me phase. 

     I ignored him as best I could.

     Once I finally reached my hiding place, I poked my snout through a bush not twenty feet from Brogan and drew a long, slow, quiet breath.  It was okay that his scent scrambled my thoughts and sent my senses reeling.  I didn’t have to carry on a conversation with him or otherwise act normal.

     I was free to go blissfully out of my mind.

     My lips quivered above my canines as I scented a deep, full dose of him, so much more potent to my wolf’s heightened senses.

     Pure ambrosia; heady and delicious beyond all reason.

     Though all my senses were so much sharper in my wolf form, his voice sounded as if he were speaking from the opposite end of a long tunnel and I couldn’t make sense of his words as a delicious ache settled into the hinges of my jaw and began to spread to my teeth.

     The effect this man had on me was truly baffling.

     I’m not sure how long I lay there with my eyes squinted so eye shine wouldn’t give me away, filling my head with his natural cologne.  Melted snow had soaked my belly beneath me, which meant it must have been a while.  So, it was ironic that when his words finally cut through my personal haze I still couldn’t understand a thing he said.

     “Amigo!” Brogan boomed.  Spanish classes in high school had not prepared me for this.  An unintelligible string of Spanish followed so quickly I couldn‘t identify most of the individual words.

     While I could pick out only a few words I recognized at the speed he spoke, I did hear the rolling peaks of his Scottish Brogue throwing the cadence in odd places.  I gave up trying to understand anything he said and just enjoyed the tempo and lovely bass of his tone.  He buried his accent in careful annunciation when he spoke English, so this was a treat.