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

dash dim and the steering stiffens. The minivan suddenly moves in slow motion. Thankfully, there aren’t any other cars on the road, and I ease to the shoulder. In the dim light, I squint my eyes to read the gauges. The gas display says there’s still three quarter of a tank even though it isn’t reliable. My cheeks puff as I exhale. I rub the back of my head.

Kenna’s voice is scratchy in my ear as she rubs her eyes, fuzzy from sleep. “Did you break Rhonda?”

“No, it just—”

“She stopped?”

Kenna checks the mileage. “I don’t think we’re out of gas. We should’ve been good for another hundred miles or so.”

We get out to find a thin layer of snow crunching underfoot and pop the hood.

“I’ll call roadside assistance.” Kenna shivers.

“First, shine the phone light in here, please. Maybe I can figure out what’s going on.”

I comment on it possibly being an issue of the carburetor or fuel injector. The look she gives me suggests I may as well be speaking a foreign language. “Remember, I’ve been around before there were cars.”

“I’m sorry. I thought Rhonda would get us there.” Her crestfallen expression causes my heart to squeeze.

“We will. The van can be fixed.”

“But can we fix our world?”

“I have to believe the answer is yes.” I wrap my arms around Kenna, holding her close to keep warm. We gaze up at the stars, chasing away the what-ifs away, at least for now.

Kenna calls roadside assistance. She tells them our location in western New York state. After hanging up, she says, “Roadside assistance can’t get here until seven a.m. That’s nearly an hour. They said it has something to do with us being out of New Hampshire so it’s a routine call during business hours.”

A truck rumbles by. Even though I’ve been waging a war with myself to keep my distance so our bond doesn’t strengthen further and so Greyson can’t use my love for his daughter against me, I cannot deny the pull she has on me. I’ll do anything to see her smile.

I crouch down and ball up some of the snow. I lob it toward her arm.

She whirls, shouting, “Hey!” But a smile lights up her face.

I duck behind the minivan and scoop up more of the snow, patting it into a ball, ready for her to make the slightest move.

The headlights from a car on the opposite side of the highway betray her shadow as she tosses a snowball at me. I try to run for cover, but I’m too late. The snow knocks into my shoulder.

I follow her laughter as I make chase, picking up snow as I go, hastily shaping balls, and letting them fly. In a field next to the road, a large boulder provides protection. I arm myself with a load of snowballs before sneaking around the side.

Kenna was waiting for me and clobbers me with three perfectly aimed snowballs.

We laugh and hoot, tossing snow at each other until our fingers lose feeling and stop bending.

My wolf wants to let loose and howl.

The sky gradually lightens to the downy gray of the early morning. We cease our battle and wander back to the minivan, catching our breath. The start of early morning commute traffic whizzes by.

We stand on the edge of the road as the citrus glow of the sun peels itself from the horizon. The dawn warms my face, kindling a deep affection for Kenna as I glimpse her expression, watching in awe as the new day begins.

Turning slightly, I position myself so I can meet her eyes, lit up by the dawn. Her gaze lifts to mine, looking at me through her long lashes. A feeling lands in my chest. I cannot deny my potent feelings for her. But I must. At least until all of this is behind us. But what if it isn’t? What if I fail and have to turn her over to the Council or the Klave captures her? These fears are foreign to my Alpha wolf. But there is only one thing he wants. Her.

I drop my mouth toward hers, inhaling that cherry Chapstick scent that sends me into a tizzy. Her breath whispers across my cheek as her slight smile magnetizes me to her. We hover there for a moment longer before our gazes meet and then our lips.

My fingers trail her jawline as her arms circle around me. My hands find their way to the back of her head and then neck, shoulders, and low back. I draw her closer and the kiss deepens.

My wolf growls with delight.

Kenna draws back. A smirk tugs the corners of her mouth. “I heard that.”

I tip my head back and chuckle. “Before long we’ll be able to communicate fully in the wolf-way when shifted and in physical form.” My voice is rough. I want more. More of Kenna, but I’m afraid if I have too much, I’ll make a mistake, betray her, hurt her, or have her taken from me.

But my wolf won’t let me think. Instead, he insists I say what I need to with a kiss. To tell her how I truly feel, deep down. Our lips meet again and it’s like reaching past the sun and into infinity.

A honking sound startles us apart as a tow truck rumbles up and parks behind the minivan. A burly guy in need of a shave exits and asks a few questions about the roadside assistance membership that only Kenna can answer.

“Nice car you got here,” he says with a chuckle.

“Needs a little work,” Kenna says.

He fills the tank with gas from a small red can.

“She sure gets thirsty,” Kenna says with apology in her voice and pink in her cheeks.

“When we get back, I’m buying your mother a new car.”

“She