Free Moon Shine (Takhini Wolves) by Vivian Arend

herself for even responding to his comment, but her wolf’s hackles were up. Damn her world.
    Evan put his plate on the small table beside his chair. He knelt before her and placed both hands on her knees. “From the moment I discovered you were in Whitehorse, I haven’t touched another woman. I know we have more to discuss but, Amy, even if you need to learn to trust me on other things, trust me on this. You are the only woman I want.”
    Her wolf preened, and Amy wanted to smack the beast. “I believe you.”
    She believed him as well because she’d been watching him, closely. There was no scent on him more than what would have been caused by casual interactions.
    And wasn’t that mucked up? That she didn’t know where this conversation was going, but she was fanatically happy to hear no other female had gotten a piece of him recently.
    Evan remained on his knees in front of her, fixing her with a dark intense stare that drove straight into her soul. “I’m dying here, Amy.” He set her plate to the side so he could take her hands in his. “Tell me something. Give me hope we’ll get through this.”
    She shook her head, hating to do it, but unwilling to lead him on with an untruth. “I can’t promise anything yet. There’s so much you don’t know. There’s so much you have to tell me.”
    His face fell, but he nodded. Sat back in his chair and picked up his plate. His expression tightly controlled around the edges. “Your turn. What have you been doing? You own the computer shop. That’s cool.”
    “When I finished high school, I headed into computer programming. By the end of the first year, I’d realized getting a degree wasn’t going to work. The classes were too easy.” Amy stared into her wine glass, swirling the liquid gently. “It was the other parts of going to school that intrigued me. Since I could solve the computer-programming assignments in my sleep, learning to deal with the people around me became far more fascinating.”
    “You’ve spent years learning how to read people?”
    “Shifters, humans, the usual set of misogynists involved in computer sciences,” she admitted. Amy took a deep breath and prepared to make her confession regarding her position in the Canyon pack.
    He didn’t give her a chance. “When you join Takhini, that’s going to help you a lot.”
    Amy guessed Evan was attempting to be reassuring, although it was hard to tell as her blood pressure spiked again.
    “I have no concerns about being able to fit in just fine wherever I go.” She might have snapped the statement a little too hard.
    Evan observed her carefully for a moment then stared over the view. The sun was beginning to set behind the western mountains, and golden-yellow rays streaked across the sky. “It seems at every turn I say things that upset you. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
    “That confession is a step in the right direction,” Amy commented. “Finish eating. I can hear your stomach rumbling from here, and I don’t need a testy wolf on top of everything else. We’ll talk once we’ve done dinner.”
    The setting was far too idyllic considering the tension between them, but Amy took it. She ignored the pressures they still had to face and focused on the beauty of the world around her. Guiltily allowed her wolf to enjoy the presence of the strong, alpha male at her side.
    The clouds were backlit with brilliant colours when the sentinels surrounding the cabin started to howl. Their wolf song was full of respect and appreciation. A shiver raced over her skin as she met Evan’s eyes.
    His focus narrowed, his concentration tightening as the pack continued to serenade her. It wasn’t just because she was there and finally taking a rare night off, it was their way to show they cared.
    The homage was humbling and strengthening all at the same time.
    Evan stood and walked to the edge of the deck, staring into the trees as he listened intently. The position left his face in profile,