Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,13
and twisted its head like an owl, staring off into the distance with blind eyes.
Sam howled.
The wendigo let out a piercing scream before charging after Sam. He held his position until the very last second. Mary Ann rolled into the underbrush, catching the wendigo's attention. Sam used the distraction. He leaped into the air and shifted. His hands forced themselves into the creature's mouth and he tore its jaw loose. The wendigo thrashed and tossed Sam to the ground. He transformed back into the wolf and struck with his sharp teeth. The taste was vile. Thick, congealed blood and gray, rubbery flesh. Sam clamped his teeth tighter, but the wendigo freed itself.
It ran into the trees, leaving behind a macabre trail. Sam searched for Mary Ann and found her curled into a ball on her side. She glanced up at him, and the worry in her eyes made his heart sink. Sam returned to his true form and lifted her into his arms. "You should not have followed me, Mary," he whispered. Her sleepy form snuggled into his body heat with a content sigh.
"I was concerned."
"You're freezin' and that thing could have killed you," he argued. "I just needed to clear my mind so I didn't hurt you. If anythin' ever happened to you, Mary Ann, I'm...I don't know what I would do. Hell, I'm not even sure if I would survive it." Sam glanced down at her as she toyed with the talisman that dangled from his neck.
"But I would never leave you like that, Samuel. I care for you. That means when I see you hurtin', I hurt too."
He nuzzled into her hair and carried Mary Ann back to her home. The cold had entered the house from the broken door, and he winced at his carelessness. Sam bounded up the stairs two at a time and laid her in the bed before starting a fire in the hearth. Mary Ann huddled beneath her blankets. Sam cleaned himself up and dug through the bag of clothing he kept in Leroy's old room for those nights when he failed to make it home after a day of heavy drinking.
The last thing he wanted was for Mary Ann to fear him.
Sam changed into some fresh clothes before he returned to her side. “I need to repair that door or else you’ll be too cold, Mary.” He kissed her cheek and turned to walk away, but she pulled him onto the bed. Sam chuckled, feeling her arms wrap around his neck to keep him close. "I need you to let me go, sweetheart."
She blinked her beautiful eyes up at him, and he could no longer resist kissing her completely. Mary Ann melted against him. It would have been all too easy to lay there with her and forget about the door, but Sam cared about her safety. He forced himself to step away, and he headed down the stairs. The back door wasn't broken too badly. Sam was able to get it upright before using some of the wood from her empty crates to patch up the few holes that were left. A handful of nails and a hammer made quick work of securing Mary's house.
"Samuel."
He spun around quickly and saw her standing in the open doorway of the sitting room. She had removed her wet clothing and donned one of his shirts. Sam could not breathe. The sight of her wearing something that belonged to him, that smelled like him, was too much. It made him think of the pale mark on Mary Ann's body that marked her as his mate. Sam felt himself losing control again, so he took a step back and maintained some distance between them. “Mary, I think I came back too soon. I...I ain’t myself at the moment.”
“If you came back here to tell me that Charlotte is back but we still can’t be together, then I don’t want to hear it,” she scoffed. Mary Ann took one brave step after another until Sam’s back hit the newly repaired door. Her slight limp did nothing to diminish the sensual air about her in that moment. Sam found it ridiculously endearing that the meek woman he had marked long before either of them knew what it meant had suddenly become the seducer. “I want you to show me what it feels like to be loved by you. Even if it’s just for one night.”
“I could never have just one night with you, Mary Ann. The second