Lone Wolf Pack 06 - A Future for His Werewolf Warrior by Anya Byrne Read Free Book Online Page B

describe or even remember the moment Mathias had shifted. Well, he remembered it—but he couldn't pinpoint how it had happened, because it had been so quick not even Ward's eyes could take in all the details. Since he couldn't paint that—and it probably wouldn't have been a good idea anyway—he used his mental image of Mathias's nude form as a model. He channeled his confusion and unsatisfied desires into the painting, trying to understand Mathias's pull, to figure out how someone like Mathias was possible and why the werewolf was even here for him.
    When the fourth painting was done, Ward stepped away and observed it. The fever of inspiration was subsiding, as if he'd exorcised the fire in his blood. He had no idea if it would return, but for now, the muse was satisfied.
    His body, however, was not. He swayed and stumbled, almost spilling his paints all over the floor. Thankfully, he recovered quickly enough and set everything down in a safe place. Really, he should have known better than to binge-paint, but sometimes, he couldn't help it.
    Ward couldn't say he was surprised when he looked at his cell and saw it was over seven pm. Coincidentally, he also had seven missed calls—two from Vera, three from Peter, and one from each of his parents. Ward didn't bother with addressing them, or the voice mail they'd undoubtedly left. He needed to eat first, since he hadn't had anything for more than twenty four hours, and his stomach wasn't happy with him at all.
    This self appointed task led him to the kitchen, and he smiled in bemusement when he found the slab of once-frozen beef still there, where he had left it. He wasn't particularly in the mood to cook, but he supposed he had to do it now, since otherwise, it would go to waste. Besides, Mathias had said he'd drop by to visit.
    It occurred to Ward that Mathias could have already come and gone during the time Ward had been in the 'zone', but somehow, he doubted it. He had this strangest feeling that he would have known if that was the case.
    As Ward set himself to the task of preparing the meat for being cooked, he thought back at everything that had happened. It seemed almost surreal now that he thought about it. Hitting a wolf with the car wasn't in itself unusual, but then taking that wolf home, only for it to turn out to be a shape-shifter... Yes, that wasn't something that happened every day. Could he have imagined it? He supposed it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. In fact, a dream was the most logical explanation—leaving aside the fact that Ward had pinched himself so hard he still had a bruise to show it.
    Ward hated the idea, hated that Mathias might be nothing more than a figment of his imagination. But if he wasn't, if Mathias was real... What then? Where did that leave him, in a new world he now knew to hold werewolves and magic?
    He still hadn't found an answer to that question when he slid his meal into the oven. Since he was too hungry to wait, he opened the fridge to find something to snack on. His gaze fell on the pressed bacon he'd planned to feed to Mathias the wolf before Peter's call. However weird it had all been, Ward couldn't forget holding the wolf and crying in his fur, the same way he couldn't forget that tender kiss on his forehead. He needed to know more, much more before he could draw a real conclusion. After what had happened with Peter, he couldn't trust easily, not even—or especially—a shape-shifting Adonis. But God help him, he wanted to. He was afraid, but he wanted this to be real. And that was perhaps scarier than the werewolf thing.
    He was just taking the cooked meal out of the oven when he heard the car approaching. Confused, he set his dinner on the table. As far as he knew, no one in Willow Cove was aware of his visit. He'd brought along everything he deemed necessary, and after Mathias's departure, he hadn't gone to the town. So who could be driving in to see him?
    In hindsight, the answer was pretty obvious, although