Wolf Shifter Diaries: Lies Tamed (Sweet Paranormal Wolf & Fae Fantasy Romance Series Book 2) by E. Hall (books for men to read TXT) 📗

Her smoky eyes meet mine. It’s all I can do not to lower my lips to hers and smother whatever else she’s going to say.

“You abducted me first, Corbin,” she hisses.

“I think of it more like saving your life. Right now, I have a few more on my hands.” Just as I’m about to tell her someone else went missing, a few local hunters enter the bakery.

“I’m going to get that breakfast egg sandwich, the one with the pepper jack cheese and spicy sausage,” says Carl, a thick man with a ruddy face.

“I’ll just grab a coffee. Can’t eat at a time like this,” replies, George, another local.

They both wear camouflage jackets.

Kenna and I shuffle out of the way of the coffee station.

“You hear about that young fellow down by the river?” George asks Pepper, the girl behind the counter.

“Such a shame. I say we need to go on a hunt. Find what’s taking these guys out.” Carl grits his teeth.

Kenna stiffens beside me. Tension creeps into my muscles.

“I heard it’s bigfoot or a yeti,” Pepper says as though trying to lighten the mood.

The shortness of their guffaws suggests an undertone of nervousness.

“I’d say those are tall tales,” Carl says.

“Whatever it is, it isn’t eating the victims.” George fastens the top on his to-go coffee. “At least not all of them.”

“You hear howls from that compound up on the edge of the Montmartres. Could be a werewolf,” Carl says.

My inner wolf growls even though he’s not entirely wrong.

The bell on the door jingles, sending a cool blast of air through the bakery. I instantly scent fae. I turn slowly and recognize the spindly guy, Clove, who turned up at Lonsdale a couple of months ago.

“Hey, Pepper,” he says, approaching the counter.

“It’s all just speculation, anyway.” George’s tries to hide a tremble in his hands.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” Pepper asks the locals.

“This is perfect, thanks,” George says. “Be careful out there.”

She nods and then eyes Kenna carefully. I get the sense she knows more about her identity than the average person should.

“We should go,” I tell Kenna.

Her hand is on her hip. “I have some baking to do. It seems the pack doesn’t appreciate my efforts.”

“What? I told you they devoured those muffins.”

She cocks her head. “I found them in the trash.”

My heart lurches.

Kenna goes still.

“Three people dead. Doesn’t it freak you out, even a little?” Pepper asks Clove. “I’ll be staying off the trails. No hiking for me. You on the other hand...” she says.

The fae smooths his hand down his tweed jacket. He’s got a preppy boy looking going on. “What do you mean? Me?”

Pepper turns her head slowly in Kenna’s direction and then her green eyes meet mine. “What’s the common denominator?”

“Wolves,” Clove says. “Wounds, bites, missing limbs…”

Pepper shakes her head slowly and her gaze travels over to where we stand and then back to Clove. “They’re all male.”

Kenna glances up at me. Inside, something clicks into place. Maybe Melchior was right. The wolf is female, and for some reason, she’s targeting men.

“You know the stories,” Pepper says, but she directs the comment at Kenna.

My mate nods slightly.

Clove turns as though noticing us for the first time. “Hey, Kenna and was it Cory, Conner, Collin?”

“Corbin Stone,” I say. The guy definitely knows who I am.

“It’s nice to see you again. What brings you down here?”

He glances at Pepper and then turns his full focus on Kenna. “I was hoping to run into you. I found something I thought you’d be interested in. You should come up to Lonsdale.”

“I was planning on it. Actually, maybe you can help me. I’m looking for my father, Greyson Slade.”

Energy rises in the room like static in the air before a lightning storm.

From the kitchen, a bell dings. “Must be the bread.” Pepper hurries behind the double swinging doors.

“We’ll come up soon.” Kenna offers a friendly smile.

Clove eyes me and chuckles. “Is he your watchdog, Kenna? You’re a big girl. I’m sure you can handle paying a visit to your own property by yourself.”

Kenna glances at me. “I am a big girl, thank you very much. Corbin, can I borrow the truck?”

Clove snorts slightly.

“We’ll discuss it back home.” A slow-simmer growl grows.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about home. Yeah, we should discuss that too,” she says shortly. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Clove.” Kenna pokes her head into the kitchen. “Pepper, I have to go, but we’ll chat again soon.”

As Kenna and I leave the bakery, I say to  her, “Why do I get the feeling I’m in the dog house?”

“Because you are.” Kenna turns on her heels and marches toward the truck.

Chapter 5

Kenna

If I spend another moment lamenting how my life used to be versus how it is now, it’ll paralyze me. I’ll remain frozen, stuck in a deep, deep hole of my own digging. I wanted excitement, an adventure, and a bright future. I got it. And then some.

Speeding back toward the wolf Headquarters does nothing to alleviate my frustration and uncertainty—at Corbin, the others, or the state of my life. I should’ve gone directly to Lonsdale with Clove. If he found something of interest, at least maybe he can give me answers.

I park the truck in the garage. As Corbin pulls in after me, I’m fuming. Annoyed. The last time I saw him in the Jeep, he left without so much as a goodbye.

What started as an entirely unpleasant welcome, when I was trapped in a room in the lodge, then turned into the greatest crush of my life, is now