Grayslake: Never Kiss a Wolf (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Eliza Gayle Page A
Authors: Eliza Gayle
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that we just met, but that's not going to get me anywhere, is it?"
"Nope." He hesitated. "Well, maybe flat on your back. There is more than one way for us to get to know each other."
Her arousal thickened as did her fear. "I get that, I really do," she said. "The need to mate and reproduce is strong in all of us. Unfortunately, you've decided to claim the wrong woman for the job."
The sadness in her voice brought him up short. His attempt at seduction had suddenly gone south. "What does that mean?" he asked.
She tightened her hand on her towel and looked down at the floor. "It means I won't make promises I can't keep. You've seen my anxiety and the resulting panic attacks. I'm afraid it's something I've dealt with for a very long time. I try to hide it and I certainly did not let on to the Itan here in Grayslake that it was a thing. Although Mia pretty much figured it out and has been helping me when she can. She's smart and sneaky like that."
"That doesn't surprise me. But I don't understand the problem. Did you think I didn't notice that you panicked around me multiple times? That's not going to change my mind now."
She shook her head. "You may think you know what you're getting into, but it's complicated. Not to mention probably hereditary."
He still didn't understand the problem.
"Oh my God, Greer. Don't look at me like that. This is a real thing. I grew up knowing I was different and before I was taken from my parent's home my mother taught me how I could prevent pregnancy. We didn't grown up with modern medicine and hospitals so we took more precautions. She said it was too risky for me to pass this on and I agreed. I'm supposed to be giving life to my clan and instead I was preventing it."
"Lily." He reached for her and she scooted out of range.
"Eventually it caught up with me and I got pregnant despite all my efforts. I was thrilled and scared all at the same time. Except over time I began to grow attached and doubted my ability to hand over my child to another woman. I wanted to keep my baby. That's when I started making plans to leave."
This time when he reached for her she allowed him to pull her into his arms. He brushed his fingers across her cheeks and wiped her tears away.
He was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know the rest of the story as much as she had to tell him. "What happened?"
"I lost the baby. One minute I was pregnant and the next it was over. That loss cut me so deep I vowed then I would never go through it again. So I left and spent the next six months in bear form angry at the world. It feels like a miracle that I came back from that. I thank Mia for that. She found me first when I entered Grayslake territory."
Tears were falling freely now and her body shook with grief. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her as tight as he could without taking away her breath. He hated to break it to her, but there was no way he'd let her go now. If he had to move to Grayslake or Alaska to be with her then he would. She needed him.
God, it was no wonder she suffered from anxiety. The burden her clan had put on her shoulders was more than any one person should have to take on. Not that his own clan was immune to fertility issues. They had them too and some of his kin had gone to even more extreme measures to try and ensure the survival of their species.
When her tears subsided, he pulled back and tucked his finger under her chin until she looked up at him. He could easily get lost in those wide, dark eyes that looked at him with uncertainty.
"This changes nothing for me. I'm more determined than every to make you mine. It breaks my heart to see you suffer for even a second, but it also makes me certain that I'm falling even deeper."
She laugh/choked. "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Every word."
"I don't plan to have cubs. Nor do I see myself changing my mind about that and I can't force that decision on you."
"Okay," he said.
"Okay? What the hell does that
"Nope." He hesitated. "Well, maybe flat on your back. There is more than one way for us to get to know each other."
Her arousal thickened as did her fear. "I get that, I really do," she said. "The need to mate and reproduce is strong in all of us. Unfortunately, you've decided to claim the wrong woman for the job."
The sadness in her voice brought him up short. His attempt at seduction had suddenly gone south. "What does that mean?" he asked.
She tightened her hand on her towel and looked down at the floor. "It means I won't make promises I can't keep. You've seen my anxiety and the resulting panic attacks. I'm afraid it's something I've dealt with for a very long time. I try to hide it and I certainly did not let on to the Itan here in Grayslake that it was a thing. Although Mia pretty much figured it out and has been helping me when she can. She's smart and sneaky like that."
"That doesn't surprise me. But I don't understand the problem. Did you think I didn't notice that you panicked around me multiple times? That's not going to change my mind now."
She shook her head. "You may think you know what you're getting into, but it's complicated. Not to mention probably hereditary."
He still didn't understand the problem.
"Oh my God, Greer. Don't look at me like that. This is a real thing. I grew up knowing I was different and before I was taken from my parent's home my mother taught me how I could prevent pregnancy. We didn't grown up with modern medicine and hospitals so we took more precautions. She said it was too risky for me to pass this on and I agreed. I'm supposed to be giving life to my clan and instead I was preventing it."
"Lily." He reached for her and she scooted out of range.
"Eventually it caught up with me and I got pregnant despite all my efforts. I was thrilled and scared all at the same time. Except over time I began to grow attached and doubted my ability to hand over my child to another woman. I wanted to keep my baby. That's when I started making plans to leave."
This time when he reached for her she allowed him to pull her into his arms. He brushed his fingers across her cheeks and wiped her tears away.
He was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know the rest of the story as much as she had to tell him. "What happened?"
"I lost the baby. One minute I was pregnant and the next it was over. That loss cut me so deep I vowed then I would never go through it again. So I left and spent the next six months in bear form angry at the world. It feels like a miracle that I came back from that. I thank Mia for that. She found me first when I entered Grayslake territory."
Tears were falling freely now and her body shook with grief. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her as tight as he could without taking away her breath. He hated to break it to her, but there was no way he'd let her go now. If he had to move to Grayslake or Alaska to be with her then he would. She needed him.
God, it was no wonder she suffered from anxiety. The burden her clan had put on her shoulders was more than any one person should have to take on. Not that his own clan was immune to fertility issues. They had them too and some of his kin had gone to even more extreme measures to try and ensure the survival of their species.
When her tears subsided, he pulled back and tucked his finger under her chin until she looked up at him. He could easily get lost in those wide, dark eyes that looked at him with uncertainty.
"This changes nothing for me. I'm more determined than every to make you mine. It breaks my heart to see you suffer for even a second, but it also makes me certain that I'm falling even deeper."
She laugh/choked. "Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Every word."
"I don't plan to have cubs. Nor do I see myself changing my mind about that and I can't force that decision on you."
"Okay," he said.
"Okay? What the hell does that
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