Redeem the Wolf: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Wolf Valley Raiders Book 1) by Harmony Raines Page B

reminder of her mate. His attack hadn’t put her off helping him, though; it was why she was there. To help. Slowly he had begun to trust her. Slowly she had drawn the man back from the brink of insanity.
    More paintings of mountains, forests. Nature at its most beautiful, at its fiercest. The chatter of excited voices told her how well his paintings were being received, and an increasing number of sold stickers were appearing as they were snapped up. But one seemed to draw more attention than the rest and she moved towards it, eager to see what masterpiece he had created, what appealed to everyone here.
    The wine glass nearly slipped from her hand. Only because she was frozen with shock did she hold on to it. With an open mouth, she stood and stared at the face looking back at her. What did it mean? Had she touched him in some way? How else could he have captured her likeness so keenly?
    Because he knows what we are , the voice in her head said. However, Nadine didn’t know what she was. That was the problem: she wasn’t anything, not really. Unable to experience the shift from human to animal, she was as screwed up as the people she treated. The two parts of herself were cut off from each other, unable to bridge the gap to become one. Just like her and her mate.
    She knew she should leave, but it was impossible. She couldn’t drag herself away. If she stared hard enough she thought she could see right through to her soul. Was it her imagination? Because in the eyes that looked back at her, she swore she could see her other self, her animal.
    “Stunning, isn’t it?” a man beside her said, pulling her back from her trance.
    She turned, hoping her hat covered her hair completely, because any stray strand would give her away. Kurt had captured the colour and tone of her hair, the way the light reflected on it, bringing out the fiery auburn streak which ran along the strands at the front where she had been touched by the devil himself, her mom used to say.
    “Yes … Yes, it is?”
    “Shame it’s not for sale, he could have sold it ten times.”
    “It…it’s not?” she stammered like a fool. Talk about drawing attention to yourself.
    “No. My wife tells me he’s got another ten like it in his cabin. Same woman, but won’t sell a single one. Still, the rest of the collection has sold well.” He smiled at her. “I’m Joel, by the way.”
    “Hi, Joel.” She didn’t offer her name. And she wasn’t going to ask who his wife was. She wasn’t going to do this to herself. “Your wife knows the artist well?”
    “My wife is Kurt’s sister. She’ll be along any minute now. She went to drag him out of his cabin. He had been OK with the exhibition up until two hours ago, and then he got cold feet.” Joel smiled amiably as other viewers, trying to get a look at the painting, jostled her.
    “He’s coming here?” she squeaked, trying to cover it by clearing her throat and swallowing a large gulp of wine.
    “If my sister can coax him out. He’s a bit of a recluse.”
    “Oh, why’s that?” she asked. Nadine had hoped he had got over his need to stay away from other people. When she saw the poster for the exhibition, she had hoped it meant he was fully recovered, but he wasn’t.
    At least he has left the hospital , she comforted herself.
    Joel remembered himself, perhaps realising his indiscretion, and said quickly, “You know how poor, tortured artists are. Anything to look more mysterious for their fans.”
    “Oh, of course. Well, I should move on,” she said. More like get out of there . Nadine knew it would be appallingly bad judgement for her to be here when he arrived. She didn’t know how he would behave. What happened if, because of her presence at the gallery, his wolf appeared while he was standing in front of all of these people?
    “Nice to meet you…” He left the sentence hanging for her to fill in her name.
    “Nice to meet you too, Joel.” Other people were crowding around now, and she