Winter Craving (7 page)

Chapter Seven

Two days turned
into a week and then another and still Shyla hadn’t come to Cyrus’ cabin. His
deadline loomed. He tried to go about his day like normal. He got up in the
morning and ate breakfast, then spent the rest of the day running his trapline.
In the evenings he worked on skinning and stretching the pelts from his catch.

As the days
ticked by and the three-week mark came even closer, Cyrus had to admit
everything wasn’t right with him. By increments, he felt his humanity slipping.
The animal part of him didn’t understand why he didn’t go to Shyla and claim
her as his, to take her choice away. It reasoned she was meant to be his mate,
therefore, she’d be happy in the end.

He ignored that
part of him as best he could. And he avoided shifting to his wolf form. It was
getting harder and harder to return to his human one. Even his way of thinking
while a wolf would slip. He didn’t think like a man. He hunted like his wild
cousins, consuming whatever prey he could catch. Then there was the fact he
kept lifting his leg and pissing on trees to mark his territory. It was
degrading to his human side.

It was now five
days before he’d reach the end of his humanity. The need to shift and run free
rode him harder than the one to claim Shyla as his mate. He knew he was doomed.
There was no question about it.

Cyrus sat inside
his cabin, not wanting to go out in case he couldn’t stop himself from
shifting. He hadn’t slept, and thinking of eating cooked food made his stomach
roll. He wanted to hunt down his meal and tear into it where it dropped,
consuming it raw. The thought of finding a rabbit made his mouth water.

The cabin door
opened and his entire family filed inside. His father came to stand in front of
him where he sat on the couch. Cyrus looked up and met his dad’s assessing
gaze. A quick glance showed everyone else wore concerned expressions.

“Well, my boy,”
his father said. “I think it’s time you fixed this.”

“What do you
mean?”

“No more waiting
for your mate to come to you. You go to her.”

Cyrus shook his
head. “I promised Shyla she could decide when she’d be ready to see me again.”

“At this rate,
you’ll have lost your humanity when she finally comes to you. And then it’ll be
too late.” His dad took a deep breath. “Does she even know that’s what the
consequence is of you not claiming her?”

“No. I didn’t
tell her that part. She was already having a hard enough time dealing with me
being a wolf shifter and the whole mate business. She was convinced my scent
made her have feelings that might not be true. If I told her about losing my
humanity, she’d have felt pressured. I want her to come to me because it’s me
she wants.”

His mother came
and sat beside Cyrus. “That’s what you want, but I don’t want to lose you to
your wolf.”

Kiel’s mate,
Neha, stepped forward. “Cyrus, let me talk to Shyla. Not so long ago I was in
the same position as her. At first, I was unsure of what Kiel was and didn’t
know if I could accept him as my mate. It was the thought of losing him, and
that if I’d gotten on that plane I more than likely would never see him again,
had me realizing what I’d be giving up. Kiel is the best thing that happened to
me. Just as I’m sure you are to Shyla.”

Kiel came and
put his arm around Neha. He kissed the top of her head. “As you are to me,
love.” He turned his gaze on Cyrus. “I think it’s a good idea to have Neha talk
to Shyla. It’ll give her the human perspective when it comes to having a wolf
shifter for a mate. And since Neha is the first to be claimed by one of our
kind, she’s the only one who can help Shyla come to terms with it.”

“Why are we so
worried about Shyla’s feelings?” Talon asked with an edge to his voice. “Cyrus
has more at stake to lose than she does. I say we get her and bring her here
whether she wants to or not.”

Cyrus snarled
his lip. “I won’t do that do her.”

Talon shook his
head. “Time for that has passed. She needs to be told everything. I’ll leave
right now and get her.”

Cyrus growled,
his wolf side not liking how his brother would force Shyla to come there. She
was his mate. He had to protect her, even from his own family if need be.

“I won’t tell
you where her cousin’s place is,” Cyrus said with another growl.

“Canyon Creek
isn’t exactly that big. I’m sure if I asked around at the general store I’d be
able get someone to tell me where it is.”

Cyrus threw
himself off the couch toward Talon and shifted on the fly. He hit his brother square
in the chest, which knocked Talon off balance. They both landed on the
floor—hard. He snapped his teeth and lunged to take hold of Talon by his
throat, but his brother brought up his hands, took hold of him by the scruff of
his neck and dragged Cyrus off him.

Talon stood and
glared at him. “Calm the fuck down. I know how hard this is on you, but if you
go after me like that again, I will shift and fight you.”

Their father
came to stand between them. “Both of you calm down. Talon, you asked for it.
You were talking about taking some highhanded measures with Cyrus’ mate. He’ll
do what he think is right to protect her. And with him so close to losing his
humanity, the wolf is going to have the stronger influence over him.”

Cyrus shook his
lupine head. His father was right. He was losing himself to his wolf side. Now
that he’d shifted, it grew stronger. His attempt to take on his human form met
with no success. The wilderness outside beckoned him. He needed to run free.
The walls of his cabin seemed to close in on him. He didn’t belong there.

He padded over
to the door. Since there was no doorknob and only a latch, he had no problem
going on his hind legs and using his nose to lift it and gain his freedom. As
he bounded down the steps to the yard, Cyrus heard Memphis call his name. More
of his humanity slipped away as he ignored him and ran into the trees.

* * * *

Shyla flipped through
the channels on the TV, not really interested in anything. She finally settled
on a daytime talk show and partially paid attention to it. As usual, her
thoughts strayed to Cyrus. For the last couple weeks, she hadn’t been able to
get him out of her mind. It was as if he’d become a part of her and she
couldn’t push him out. And she couldn’t blame it on his scent since she hadn’t
seen him. It was all her doing.

Nancy came into
the living room and shook her head. “All right, I can’t keep quiet anymore.
This is getting ridiculous. You’ve been moping around here for two weeks. Snap
out of it and tell me what happened.”

Shyla wanted to
tell her cousin everything, but there was no way she’d hash out the entire
story with Nancy. The other woman would think she’d lost her mind. Nancy didn’t
need to think she had a crazy relative living under her roof.

Nancy sat beside
her. “Talk. You can tell me anything. I know it has something to do with Cyrus
since you came home from his place in this state and have been like this for
days.”

“I don’t know if
I can tell you,” Shyla said with a sigh.

“Fine. Let’s
start with something simple then. How do you really feel about him?”

“Nancy, don’t go
there.”

“I am. If you
didn’t have true feelings for the guy, you would have moved on already. I think
you fell for him hard. Did you two have a big fight?”

“Not really. It
wasn’t like that. I found out something about Cyrus that I’m having a hard time
accepting.” That was as far as she would go to telling Nancy what had truly
happened.

“That’s a start.
Was it so bad you couldn’t overlook it?”

Shyla snorted.
“When I found out, yeah.”

“Was he married?
Already had a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“He cheated on
his taxes?”

“No.”

“He has a bad
habit of picking his nose? Or he farts in his sleep? If it’s the latter, I
think most guys do that. John can let some really loud ones rip, which wake me
up.”

Shyla couldn’t
hold back a laugh. “How am I supposed to face John after knowing that? And no,
Cyrus doesn’t pick his nose.”

“If you have
strong feelings for Cyrus, and it’s short of him being a murderer, can’t the
two of you work it out? I will tell you this. True love doesn’t come around
that often. Once you find it, you should hold on to it and never let it go. You
don’t want to be an old lady and regret where your life went because you gave
up on the one man who made you feel all gooey inside.”

Even though
Nancy didn’t know the reason why Shyla was avoiding Cyrus, her cousin had
nailed it on the head. Shyla had been having an internal argument with herself
for days. His being a wolf shifter still freaked her out a bit, but the love
she’d felt while with him hadn’t faded. It was still there, and she had a
feeling it would always be.

The sound of the
doorbell broke into Shyla’s thoughts. Nancy stood and went to answer it. Shyla
stayed in the living room. She heard the sound of a woman’s voice which she
didn’t recognize, but figured it could be someone Nancy knew.

Her cousin
calling her name had Shyla standing and going to see what she wanted. At the
front door, a woman who looked a little younger than her stood in the doorway.
She smiled when she saw Shyla.

Nancy turned her
gaze on her. “Shyla, she’s here to see you.”

“You are? Sorry,
but I don’t know who you are.”

The woman
smiled. “I realize that. I’m Neha, Cyrus’ sister-in-law. We didn’t get a chance
to meet earlier. I’d really like to talk to you about him.” She glanced at Nancy.
“In private.”

“I don’t know,”
Shyla said.

Neha didn’t give
up. “Shyla, I went through the same thing as you are when I met Kiel.” She gave
her a pointed look. “I understand what you’re feeling.”

Nancy took her
winter jacket out of the closet. “I’ll leave. There are a few things I need to
pick up at the general store, anyway. I’ll take my time.”

Her cousin put
on her boots and bundled up against the weather before she walked out of the
house. Shyla stepped back as Neha came inside. Once she took off her outwear,
Shyla led the way to the living room.

After they were
seated on the couch, she asked, “You aren’t a wolf shifter?”

Neha shook her
head. “No. When I met Kiel I didn’t know they existed, just like you.”

“You’re human
and you let Kiel claim you?”

The other woman
tugged the collar of her shirt aside to show the mate brand on the left side of
her neck where it met her shoulder. It was identical to Cyrus’, except the knot
work was in color.

“You recognize
the mate brand,” Neha said. “I wasn’t sure how much Cyrus had explained to you.
He’s been keeping to himself these last couple weeks. And now…”

Shyla met Neha’s
gaze. “What is it?”

“Cyrus didn’t
tell you everything. He withheld what happens to a marked male wolf shifter who
doesn’t claim his mate.”

She stiffened.
She couldn’t shake the sensation that what Neha was going to say next wouldn’t
be good. “And that is?”

“The male loses
his humanity. He becomes all wolf, unable to take on human form or think like
one. Once the mate brand appears on his skin, he has three weeks to find and
claim his mate. When Cyrus met you, his had marked him the day before.”

Shyla quickly
counted the days since then and felt the blood drain away from her face. “Cyrus
has only four days.”

“We know.
He’s…just about run out of time. I would have come to you yesterday, but
everyone has been busy trying to track Cyrus down.”

“What happened?”

“All of us
confronted him about his coming to see you. Talon suggested he bring you to
Cyrus whether you wanted to come or not. That set Cyrus off. He took on his
wolf form and went for Talon’s throat. Afterward, he got out of his cabin and
ran into the woods. He hasn’t been home since. We think his wolf side has taken
control.” Neha looked her in the face. “His parents believe you’re the only one
who can lure him home because you’re his mate.”

“If I get him to
come home, what then?”

“He’ll claim
you. At least we think that will happen if he’s still able to shift.”

“To make me his
mate, he’ll have to bite me.”

“Yes. It’s not a
bad thing. A wolf shifter mates for life. There will never be anyone else for
Cyrus but you. He won’t cheat on you, and he’ll do everything in his power to
keep you happy and protected. That’s how the males are wired. They live a lot
longer than humans. They get up to a hundred and fifty years. And we think I’ll
live that long as well because of the link that formed between Kiel and I after
he bit me.”

“You think? You
aren’t sure?”

“As far as we
know, I’m the first human to be claimed as a mate by a wolf shifter. You’ll be
number two. So there really isn’t anything to go by. I do heal in a matter of
seconds as they do if I hurt myself. And I haven’t been sick once after being
bitten.”

Shyla got up and
paced in front of Neha. “If I don’t do this, Cyrus as I know him will no longer
exist.”

Neha stood and
stopped Shyla’s movements. “At least Cyrus gave you the choice. Kiel didn’t
give me one, not that I regret that now. When I first found out, I almost left
him. He’d claimed me so he wasn’t going to lose his humanity, but the thought
of never seeing him again, not having him hold me and love me… I couldn’t do
it.”

Shyla furiously
thought through everything Neha had told her. Did she want Cyrus to lose his
humanity when she was the means for him to keep it? She forced herself to picture
her life without him in it. Neha had accepted Kiel for what he was. Could Shyla
do the same with her wolf shifter?

It hit her all
of a sudden that she’d just thought of Cyrus as hers. She no longer could deny
the strong feelings she had for him. She loved him. If she thought of him as
just the human she’d spent time with, she knew he was the one man for him. So
he was a wolf shifter. She could learn to get used to him in his animal form.
He’d been what he was the entire time she’d been with him and not once had he
given her cause to fear him. These past weeks, her life had seemed empty
without him. That was why she’d moped around so much. She missed him. She’d
gotten too caught up in what he’d revealed to her.