WithHerCraving (18 page)

“What’s that?” he asked.

“My littermates won’t be accepted in any community the same
way others are accepted if they run into new territory humbly.”

“Why is that?”

There wasn’t any reason not to tell him the truth. Jaeger
was running on her behalf and if he were going to try to sniff out her
littermates, it was important he understood.

“Magda and Leisa look like Malta werewolves.”

His expression didn’t change, nor did his scent. Jaeger did
tilt his head and appear to digest what she’d just told him for a moment.

“Why weren’t they spotted in Prince George when they brought
you to Toubec’s?”

Katrin smiled. “Disguises,” she explained. “They wrapped
their hair up and both of them wore hats. All three of us dressed like that
after we came off the mountain. No one questioned us.”

When Jaeger only nodded, Katrin finished telling him all she
knew about her littermates.

“They discussed crossing back into Canada after taking the
American bus transportation. I’m not positive that they went to either
sanctuary.”

“They probably intentionally didn’t tell you their exact
route to protect you.” Jaeger wasn’t looking at her now, but nodded once as he
stared at the waterfall behind her.

“We’d learned of a pack just outside of Kenora in Ontario.”
Katrin sighed. Her littermates had discussed their plans openly around her. Now
that she howled what she knew, it dawned on her the information they’d given
her would have had them zigzagging here and there. “I guess you might be
right,” she conceded.

“I know some males in a few packs down in the States. I’ll
howl discreetly and see what can be sniffed out.”

“Thank you.” She still searched her brain, doing her best to
remember exactly what her littermates had said prior to leaving her at
Toubec’s.

Leisa and Magda wouldn’t lie to her about where they were
going. They didn’t need to lie to protect her. Katrin would never howl anything
to hurt either of them. Her insides were suddenly in knots over the prospect of
finding her littermates.

“How long will you be gone? Will you bring them here?” she
asked. Katrin would end up running in circles with worry if she didn’t know
Jaeger’s intentions once he found her littermates.

“Shouldn’t be hard to find them. And I will if they’ll run
with me.” He gave her a crooked smile. “Any message for your littermates?”

Katrin thought for a moment. “Tell them to never let their
guard down and be ready to kill before
they
are killed.”

Jaeger nodded, smelling of approval over the words of
advice. He didn’t ask, so she didn’t tell him it was what their sire had always
told them. This way, if he found Magda and Leisa, they would know he had run to
them on her behalf.

Katrin refused to sniff the air to see where Jarvis was
after Jaeger left. Her thoughts remained on her littermates. She worried for
their safety, but had since the day they’d left her at the ranch.

Would they be willing to run back to the mountains? Magda
was so damn stubborn at times.

She couldn’t focus on anything without worrying. Her
littermates, and Jarvis, who was now her new litter, both had her upset. She
relied on Magda and Leisa both being incredible hunters. Both of them knew how
to fight. Wherever they ended up, it would be similar to how it had been for
Katrin on Toubec’s ranch. And hadn’t she survived staying there?

Barely
.

Katrin wouldn’t dwell on what she didn’t know. She would go
nuts. She had to accept that they were fine.

Shifting her thoughts, she focused on her own situation. How
would she run by a male who only loved half of whom she was? It made matters
even worse the moment she discovered why Malta werewolves had been marked for
extinction. Katrin had controlled her desire to push her gift to deeper levels,
to places that could make her dangerous even to herself. If she crossed over
that line that hovered so close, she would no longer run with honor. If that
happened, Jarvis would despise her, as so many others despised her breed.

Her hands shook as she dipped the jugs in the cauldron. The
water was nice and hot now—perfect bathtub temperature. She thought of the tub
Jaeger had mentioned. That would be a task for another time but it would be so
wonderful to soak in a full, hot tub.

Katrin knelt at the edge of the bank, over the cold water
swirling from the waterfall, and bent forward. After gathering her hair over
her head, she reached for the first jug.

Another hand took the jug from her. Katrin yelped.

“Let me help,” Jarvis said, his tone soothing and his scent
suddenly everywhere.

She fought not to smell embarrassed. Her thoughts distracted
her too much. Katrin hadn’t smelled Jarvis approach. Up in the mountains,
letting her guard down might be a death sentence. It would be wise to remain
focused only on whatever she was doing at that moment and not let her mind
stray again. Her littermates weren’t the only ones who knew how to survive.
Although the way she had just cried out like a stupid pup, Jarvis would have a
hard time believing her capable of surviving up here.

Katrin breathed in Jarvis’ scent as if it were her lifeline
and relaxed. Although Jarvis wouldn’t be her backbone. Not that she wanted him
carrying her through life by the scruff of her neck, but he especially wouldn’t
be once he knew her thoughts. Already he hated how she moved wood. If he
learned of her efforts to try to move the water, to understand where her gift
could take her, the smell of his disgust would destroy her.

She brushed hair from her face, turned and looked at him.
Jarvis lifted a jug of water over her head.

He simply muttered “let me,” and pulled her hair over her
head again then slowly began pouring the water.

It felt beyond good. Katrin relaxed, letting him soak her
hair. She closed her eyes, willing all of her problems to flow away with the
water. He used his free hand and combed her hair with his fingers. His gentle
touch, the hot water and his confident, strong scent helped carry her to a
place where she could almost believe there were no problems.

Jarvis took his time, letting the water flow from the first
jug slowly. His strong fingers massaged her scalp. And when all of her hair was
wet and hanging around her face in long, thick strands, he gripped her neck,
putting the jug down. His touch scorched her flesh.

“Already you smell like my mountain.”

“That’s because I need a bath,” she said, trying to keep it
light so he wouldn’t smell her conflicting emotions. Was he trying to make up?

Her insides burned. Wouldn’t it be the perfect cruel twist
if Jarvis had finally decided that she still smelled like the same werewolf she
had been when he first met her? There was no way she could harbor her sudden
revelation from him. It would stink worse and worse until he demanded to know
her thoughts. And he had a right to know the truth.

“That’s because this is where we belong—together,” he added
after a moment of silence.

“Jarvis.”

“Let me howl for a minute,” he said, although there was no
bite in his tone.

Katrin squeezed her eyes closed. He wasn’t issuing a
command, demanding she hear how he, the male, had decided how it would be.
Jarvis would never be that type of mate. Which was what made him so damn
perfect.

“I can smell how upset you are.” He pressed warm lips to her
naked shoulder.

Katrin shivered. Her nipples were hard and suddenly
incredibly sensitive to every little sensation. Not from the cold, or the
almost hot water pouring over her head. With that one kiss, a simple press of
his lips against her wet, bare flesh, he had the power to create a burning
frenzy inside her. Her breasts were swollen. Her nipples puckered and
ultra-sensitive. Every inch of her body reacted to the slightest breeze, each
tiny stream of water that dripped down her exposed flesh, and to Jarvis, who
was inches away. The tiny hairs on her body stood at attention and leaned
toward him like so many exposed nerve endings. If he would only rub against
her, let her feel his hard-packed body press into her tortured flesh…

“I have shampoo and conditioner.”

There she went again, running away with her thoughts. This
time when she inhaled, she smelled her lust. It was pointless trying to stifle
her needs. Katrin saw no point in denying that she physically wanted him.

She smiled and water streamed over her lips. “I never thought
two basic items would ever sound like such a treat.”

Katrin smelled the strawberry-scented shampoo at the same
moment the cold, thick liquid hit her scalp. Jarvis rubbed it into her hair,
gathering her long strands until soapy streams spilled down her face. His
fingers were rough and stimulating. Jarvis massaged, rubbed and stroked until
she relaxed into a trance where finally no thoughts plagued her.

Then he stopped. His fingers left her. Katrin remained where
she was. Her arms were crossed over her breasts. Her puckered nipples remained
excruciatingly tight even as they pressed into her arms.

The sound of the waterfall suddenly reached her. While
Jarvis had massaged her, all her other senses had receded. Katrin hadn’t heard
or smelled anything.

“Hopefully the water isn’t too hot.” His voice was low, not
quite a whisper, but soft enough to tickle her flesh.

Jarvis’ boots barely made a sound when he walked to refill
the jug, then returned to her side a moment later.

“I like it hot,” she murmured.

It seemed as if he washed her worries away with the hot
water. He poured it over her head and she blinked. She felt more than saw the
many trails of soap rush out of her hair. Nothing had ever felt better.

“When Jaeger and I left Toubec’s ranch and we ran to join
you, I believed I had peace with our relationship.” Jaeger left her with soap
racing off her body. His footsteps were faster now when he stepped away to
refill the jug. “Let me know if the water gets too hot,” he whispered over her
head, then spilled the jug’s contents over her, rinsing more soap away.

Katrin shivered, and a moan escaped her lips. The water
was
hot, and the breeze around her cold. Her insides tensed. With each rush of
water it was hard to smell Jarvis’ emotions. She didn’t want to miss anything
he said, or any scent he released.

“It feels fine.” She brushed wet hair from her face. “Go
on,” she prompted.

A moment ago she’d been content for her mate to wash her. It
was an age-old tradition, bathing after a run. As easily as she’d relaxed into
the act, they weren’t there yet. Too much brewed between them. No matter how
badly she ached to simply leap to the point where they would be at peace with
each other, Katrin knew they would have to make that leap together.

“In my mind, I saw you as Cariboo. I believed I had accepted
that other blood ran through you.” Jarvis released a loud breath and gathered
her long hair then twisted and wringed out excess water. “It was easier for me
to believe the honor I smelled on you came from a female willing to run with
the knowledge she wasn’t purebred. I made myself think that you would defeat
the half of you that had brought you scorn within the pack.”

“What?” Katrin’s stomach lurched when she smelled Jarvis’
sadness. It was too much, thinking of him being repulsed by who she was. But
the smell of his pity, of his soul-breaking sadness, tore into her like a
deadly poison. “Defeat the half?”

Jarvis cut her off. “I’ve been raised all my life knowing
Malta werewolves were bad. The truth of that smells so clean there was no
arguing it.”

She slipped away from him, hurrying toward her fires she’d
been so proud to make. “And I’ve been raised all my life by a sire who was
Malta werewolf.”

Jarvis scooped a folded towel off the ground and spread it
open, then began drying her. Katrin took the towel and wrapped it around her
middle. She forced her emotions to drain out of her when she turned her back to
the fire and faced him.

God! He was gorgeous. In spite of his tormented scent and
expression on his face, Katrin wasn’t sure she’d ever laid eyes on a more
perfect male. Her heart constricted but she ignored the pain. Doing her best to
keep her voice placid, she raised her gaze to his eyes.

The torment and pain swimming around inside them stole her
breath. It made it harder to get the words out.

“Maybe this won’t work,” she managed to choke out.

“No,” he roared.

Katrin jumped, not ready for his outburst.

Jarvis grabbed her arms, squeezing and lifting until her
feet barely touched the ground. She’d dared dream most of her life for a male
who would stare at her with unadulterated need the way Jarvis looked at her
now. Katrin had always wanted someone who would adore only her, see through her
to whom she really was and love her unconditionally.

Of course, during those lazy daydreams, which usually
occurred after a hard run while she lay content high up on her mountain, her
perfect male lay beside her, frisky and unable to do much more than torment and
tease. She would play coy, the way she’d seen her littermates treat males who had
come sniffing around them. But eventually, unable to hide her love for her
perfect male, she’d submit. Their carnal foreplay, in her imagination, would
have her so hot and bothered that running down the mountain to the secluded
spot where her den was took so much longer than running up the mountain.

“All my life I’ve run with knowledge that the line between
right and wrong was clear-cut,” Jarvis said, his voice gravelly.

“I have too.” The cold breeze mixed with the heat from the
fire and branded her flesh. At the same time the turmoil inside her rose to
take over. ”Maybe something you believed was wrong is, in truth, right.”

Jarvis lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers.
“I don’t smell anything wrong,” he whispered.

Even as Katrin acknowledged that Jarvis hadn’t declared his
acceptance of who she was, she tilted her head and allowed him to deepen the
kiss. She no longer cared that her backside was hot and her front cold.
Especially when Jarvis let go of her arms and wrapped his around her. He embraced
her, pressing her against his hard-as-steel, muscular frame. Jarvis unwrapped
her towel, but instead of dropping it to the ground, used it to trap her to
him.

“I want to make love to you.” His words hovered between
them.

He hadn’t asked her a question. Katrin fluttered her eyes
open and was content to stare at him with blurred vision. Apparently he had
expected a response.

“I want you,” he added. “At any price.”

“I’ve never thought of myself as expensive.”

Jarvis chuckled and his mood instantly lightened. “It’s not
your fault,” he whispered.

He took her sardonic comment as acceptance to work through
their problems. Jarvis didn’t see, or understand, how far they were from seeing
her mixed breeding the same way.

When he tried repositioning the towel once again, Katrin
tugged on it.

“I don’t want you to be cold.” Jarvis raised his head enough
to focus on her. “I forgot about your hair. I’ll brush it for you.”

Then without waiting for her response, he left her gripping
the towel. There was a pile of items that apparently Jarvis had carried with
him when he’d come to her. Katrin hadn’t noticed before now. Jarvis unfolded a
thick blanket and spread it on the ground close to the fires. He then unzipped
a small carrying bag and pulled out a hairbrush.

“Sit,” he instructed, pointing to the blanket.

He’d concluded before coming to her that he’d be able to
reconcile their differences. Katrin’s back hackled instantly but she forced her
temper to cool. Possibly he’d brought the supplies in an effort to appease her.
Or maybe he had just hoped they would smell things the same way.

Katrin stepped onto the blanket and sat cross-legged.
Jarvis’ scent was as clean as happiness could smell.

Before her mind began wrapping around the pros and cons of
this, or whether this upset her or not, Jarvis sat behind her. He stretched his
long, thick legs straight on either side of her and pressed his hand to the
middle of her back.

“Lean forward,” he instructed and pushed.

Katrin relaxed and allowed him to brush all the tangles from
her hair. It was long, but not as thick as her littermates’. Already it was
half-dry. Jarvis didn’t yank out tangles, but took his time working through
them until the brush glided down her back. When he was satisfied he placed the
brush next to him and pulled her into his arms.

“You’re so beautiful.”