Love at First Scent
Chapter 13

I’m going to turn into a fox. A furry, little beastie—cute, yeah, but still furry. That certainly wasn’t something everyone could deal with, but if Caroline had to choose, things certainly could have been worse. Honestly, if she thought back on her life, it also would perhaps explain all those instances where she felt like she was going crazy because the voice in her head was so at odds with what she thought she wanted.

Caro sighed and turned around, setting her coffee cup on the counter before she looked up at Craig—who looked way too good for this early in the morning. It just figured she was going to be mated to a morning person.

Whoa, mated? Why am I just accepting this as a done deal?

But it did feel right to her, didn’t it? She took a closer look at the man standing in front of her. His warm brown eyes searched hers as if to find something he could fix for her. She could feel the concern and warmth emanating from him, and it made her realize all the more the things she hadn’t felt with her husband. Peter had looked to her to take care of any of their problems, he’d only been focused on his own work, and he’d had no interest in anything else.

She went with her instincts and moved in to wrap her arms around his torso, laying her head against his ch3st. They both instantly relaxed, and she smiled as he hugged her closer.

“So, tell me, Alpha. When will this fox of mine be making her debut into the world?” she asked. “I have to admit, from what I saw this morning, it’s freaking me out a little.”

“You don’t need to worry, I’ll make sure that we all keep an eye on you, and if I’m there to keep you calm, you should have an easy transition.” He rubbed her back in a soothing pattern.

“When it starts, you will begin to feel an anxious excitement like you can’t sit still. Eventually, that will come to the point when your beast decides it’s time to come out. Then once you shift, we’ll have you shift back to your skin, and after that, it becomes ingrained and you’ll be able to change at will.”

“You make it sound so easy,” she muttered.

“Well, our teenagers do it, so…” he teased, causing her to pull back and see the tipped-up grin on his l!ps.

“You know, you’re lucky you have that dimple, Sir.” She playfully pinched at his sides. “I have a feeling that dimple will end up letting you get away with a lot of things in our future.”

Caro didn’t miss the instant tension in his body when she said the word future, and the smile that bloomed over his entire face called her own out to match it.

“I think I need a nap, perhaps a day spent in the kitchen not thinking about all this craziness, and then you know what I expect?” She stepped back from his arms.

“What’s that?”

“Many, many delicious deep-fried treats, exactly as I was promised.”

“Then, my vixen”—he winked before pulling her hand up to place a k!ss against the back of it—“you’d better wear your eating p*nts tomorrow.”

Caro was elbows-deep in a batch of marshmallows when a smiling Ellie came down the stairs, her wolf boyfriend not far behind.

“I think I’ve officially cleaned you out of ingredients.” She looked over the counter at the various items that she’d made already. “I noticed the store yesterday doesn’t stock a lot of the stuff we’ll need. I guess we’ll have to see if they can order it for us?”

“Yes, I think they probably can.” Her sister grabbed the list Caro had already started from the counter and looked it over. “But I think we can get most of this stuff over in Rigby, they have several grocery stores and a specialty food store there.”

That got Caro’s attention. “I don’t remember driving through a place called Rigby on my way up here.”

“It’s about an hour and a half in the other direction,” Bennett chimed in, “but we can make a run there today if you want. I need to hit the Home Depot anyway.”

“Great idea, babe!” Ellie grabbed a couple of brownies off of the closest tray. “We need groceries. See you in a few hours, sis.”

About forty minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and when Caro opened it, a very tall brunette stood there, her million-dollar smile aimed right at her.

“Hi, you must be Caro!” The brunette waved. “I’m Cheryl. Ellie asked me to take you down to the sweet shop to double-check the equipment in case there’s anything else you needed her and Bennett to pick up while they’re in Rigby.”

“Oh.” Caro paused. “Ellie sent you?”

They hadn’t talked about the equipment they would need to order, but Caro guessed that some of the basics, they could find in a big box store, though why hadn’t she just called her? Oh, well, maybe this was one of those small-town things and Ellie was just trying to help Caro make some new friends. She guessed it couldn’t hurt to go into town and have a look.

“Okay, just let me grab my purse.” She turned to run back into the kitchen.

“Sure thing, doll.”

Caro looked up as the woman’s voice sounded a lot closer than the front door, and as she did, she gasped right before Cheryl’s fist came at her face. Then everything went dark.