Untamed Wolf by Heather Long Page B

horror tales. Then again…if she’d had a family to look after her, maybe she hadn’t fallen in the same category as Claire. “I’ve heard Sutter Butte’s a lot of desert and can be unpleasant.”
    A blank look rippled across her face. “I never went there…is it close to Utah?”
    His coffee had chilled while he dealt with her hair, so he grabbed his mug and glanced at hers. “Want more?”
    “Yes, please.” She pushed the cup towards him. “Did I say something wrong?”
    “No, why?” He carried them into the kitchen and rinsed out both before refilling them. Emptying the pot meant starting another. He’d have to check the generator fuel level soon and build the fire higher. They needed to conserve their power.
    “You frowned. You get this little crinkle and your jaw has a twitch, like a tremor in a rock during an earthquake.”
    Not sure the description was a compliment, he considered his answer. Dodging for the moment, he asked, “Did I put enough sugar in your last cup?” He couldn’t stand the sweet stuff personally, but he wasn’t the only wolf who used the cabin.
    “Yes.” She followed him into the kitchen and set the two scraped empty plates into the sink before turning some water on and getting soap. Though she washed them, he could feel her staring at him. “What did I do wrong?”
    “Nothing, sweetheart.” He slid her fresh cup toward her, sweetened with a hint of cream. “Just puzzled.”
    “By what?”
    He finished pouring his own mug before adding the spoon to the sink with her washing. Afterward, he flipped the switch on the coffee maker. “You grew up mostly in Utah, that’s Sutter Butte territory for the most part, but you weren’t part of Sutter Butte?” No lie occluded her earlier sentiment.
    “I didn’t grow up in a pack.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know there were packs. Well, okay, that’s not totally true. I knew packs were out there, but I didn’t know where they were specifically.”
    How the hell did she not grow up in a pack?
    “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, because I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but you’ve been really nice. Three Rivers is my first pack…ever.”
    Ever.
    A cold fist clenched in Dylan’s gut. “You were a Lone Wolf?”
    Worry slicked over the warmth in her scent. “Yes, at least until a few months ago when I met Luciana and her mate. They came into the restaurant where I worked. They didn’t come for me, specifically, but they were like me.”
    They were wolves. And, no, they weren’t anything like her. Chrystal was too damn trusting. She was right, he was not the person for her confession. Not when he would have to report the information to Mason, which would then reflect on Three Rivers and the Enforcers.
    She rinsed the last plate, then shut off the water and glanced around. After plucking a towel from next to the stovetop, he handed it to her. “Thank you.” She smiled, then continued. “They sat in my station, and I knew they were like me, but they were very kind. It terrified me that they knew what I was. They waited till I was off work, then offered me a place in Three Rivers.”
    Enthusiasm burst through her tone.
    “I’d never been in a pack, but I didn’t think I should tell them that and they didn’t ask me any questions about my history. Luciana said they didn’t need to know.” The fuck they didn’t . “They promised me a place and said they’d do their best by me. I don’t have a lot of skills. I barely finished high school, but I can paint and I like art. I didn’t have a lot of ties in St. George, so I said yes. Now I’m here.”
    “So you are,” he murmured before taking a drink. How the hell did a child end up a Lone Wolf? Where were the Enforcers? He scented zero lies, though he did detect a dodge or two. If she grew up in the human world—alone—what happened to her mother? A human woman would have been turned by the pregnancy, likely died in the attempt. Chrystal’s survival and