hopefully win her over, even if my wolf didn’t agree with me waiting.
I nodded, already hard behind the confines of my jeans just thinking of her. I jerked my head back a little. “What’s her name?”
“Cora Smith.”
“Cora,” I said softly. My body hummed. I fucking loved her name, her curvy body, her blonde hair, and her having the bluest eyes I’d ever damn seen.
Alton chuckled. “Let’s go before you start humping the ground thinking of her.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, then added, “Wait, how the hell do you know where she lives?”
“On the way to the coffee shop, I ran into Beverly Will. She told me how she’s rented her daughter’s place out and hopes they’ll like it enough to stay and buy it.”
My jaw clenched. “She’s out in the middle of fucking nowhere,” I roared.
“Shit,” Alton cursed. “Relax, she might not be living on her own—”
I roared and raced to the car, fighting back the change. My wolf wanted to get to her side right away.
“Christ, Havoc, wait. Alpha, please calm down. She’s alone in the house. All alone.” As we reached my Dodge Ram, his arm swung around my neck in a headlock. Growls erupted from deep inside me. We were pissed at being stopped and were about ready to kill.
“Don’t kill me, Alpha, okay? Seriously, don’t kill me, but you have to calm down. For her. Do it for Cora. Your mate.”
I stilled and took a deep breath. “Get off me,” I demanded.
The weight of him dropped away. “Right, good. Just keep reminding yourself to be calm for Cora.”
“I will,” I clipped with a nod and ignored my wolf still wanting to rip Alton to shreds for touching me. He wanted respect, but I knew Alton had done it to save me from scaring Cora even more than I had in our brief interaction.
Jesus Christ, why did I sniff her right away?
I gripped the steering wheel as we pulled up out the front of the house where my Cora was. Only there weren’t any other vehicles around. Didn’t she say she was going home? Stepping out of the car, I took in a deep breath. She wasn’t close, but I saw movement through the front windows.
Someone was there.
My chest rumbled with unease.
“Alpha,” Alton said gently. “Take a breath.”
Slowly, I turned my gaze to my beta and knew my wolf was shining through my eyes when he gulped.
The front door swung open, and an older woman stood in the doorway with a smile on her face as she waved. She stepped out and moved to the edge of the porch.
Ease swept through me now I knew it wasn’t a man. I made my way toward the house and sensed Alton following.
“Hi, hello, strapping young men. How can I help you?” She looked over her shoulder and said, “Shut it, I do not sound loco.” She faced us again as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Hello, I’m Alton, and this is Havoc. We’re looking for Cora.”
Her eyes brightened in delight, only to quickly dim and turn hesitant. “Why are you looking for her?”
Alton answered for us, saying, “We met her in town and wanted to invite her to the bar tonight for a quiet drink. My ma—wife will be there as well.”
The woman went back to looking happy, wearing a warm smile, and a twinkly in her eyes. “That sounds lovely. I’m Everly, Cora’s mom. Cora isn’t home right now. Why don’t you both come inside and wait?”
Alton and I shared a look. I didn’t know what he was thinking—the only time I could was when we were in wolf form—but all I thought was if I stepped inside this house, there was a chance Cora’s mother would hate me and warn Cora away from me.
“Come on now. I don’t bite,” she said with a laugh. Turning, she walked back into the house without waiting for us.
“Alpha?” Alton whispered.
“Don’t let me fuck this up,” I told him. After I received a nod in return and ignored his smirk, I stomped up the stairs and inside. The place was open-plan—the living, dining, and kitchen all in one, which must have left the bedrooms for upstairs.
“Have a seat, and I’ll get you a coffee, unless you would prefer tea?” She rolled her eyes at something beside her. “They could be tea drinkers.” She scratched her cheek with her middle finger.
Was she… was there something wrong with her? She kept talking to someone who wasn’t there.
“Coffee,” I said, probably a bit gruffer