chapter 10: Henry’s POV

These have been the longest three weeks of my life. It's been absolute hell, but today I have a spring in my step because I can finally meet my beautiful Fiona. My nights are filled with dreams of her. During the day, my thoughts return to her over and over, wondering where she is and what she's doing. I've spent more than a few nights sleeping on the hill overlooking her house, my wolf more content the closer he is to her.

I'm getting no work done and my short temper is driving everyone around me crazy. Ethan has bumped into her a few times over the last few weeks, by accident on purpose, and some of the mated males from the pack have been keeping an eye on her house in the evenings. While knowing she is okay has kept me sane, it hasn't been close to enough to satisfy my wolf. I'm exhausted from fighting his urges to go to her. My mother's insistence that she saw 'a spark' between Fiona and Marcus when she accosted her in her office has done little to help. I pick up the local paper from last week that I have kept by my side, staring at it every day. Under the front-page article on the accident and my near-drowning, there is a picture of Fiona right beside mine. I must admit, I think we look good side by side.

From what Ethan has told me, she still refuses to accept even the slightest bit of praise for what she did and was not one bit happy to see the story making the paper. She's not loving the attention at all, and I feel bad that it seems to be making her uncomfortable. Modest as well as beautiful. I sent her a thank you card a few days after the accident, but other than that, I've stayed away and not contacted her, afraid the temptation would be too great if I got too close. I had hoped she might respond after I included my number, but I heard nothing.

Fiona told Ethan that the house is hers rather than rented. The knowledge that she's moved to Grey Ridge intending to stay, has laid down roots by purchasing a home, and is working locally, cheered me up. At least she isn't planning on going anywhere in the short term. Draining my coffee and pulling on my boots, I shake out my hands and force myself to remain composed, and not rush out the door.

This whole mate thing still has me reeling. My emotions are all over the place, but if I have any chance of winning her over, I'll need to make sure I don't come across as too aggressive. Alpha males are not exactly known for their patience, but I'll have to temper my natural tendencies until I have her trust. I'll have to tell her at some point about what I am and who she is to me, but I want her to get to know me as a man first so she won't run for the hills as soon as she finds out. That's the plan, anyway. My gut twists at the thought of her bolting. It just cannot happen.

I turn my truck into her driveway, and I take in the house properly for the first time through human eyes. It is in a spectacular location. I can see the potential in it, with the woods behind it, the large lawn out front leading down to the edge of the lake, and the small private jetty to the side providing an amazing view from the full- length front porch. It just needs some love.

As I approach the end of the driveway, I spot her already out in the garden. In an instant, all thoughts of boring renovations go flying out of my head and there is only her. It feels almost surreal that my wait is finally over. She is facing away from me, in shorts again, weeding the flower beds that run along the edge of the lawn at the front of her house. I groan as the sight of her bending over sends filthy thoughts racing through my mind. As she hears the truck tires crunching over the gravel, she turns to see who it is, raising a gloved hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She blows a lock of caramel hair out of her eyes, and it might just be the cutest thing I have ever seen.

I step out of the truck and can tell that she recognises me. Her expression goes from cautious to open in an instant. Her eyes widen, and a warm smile spreads across her face, her delighted reaction fills me with joy. I know in that second that I will do anything in my power to make her smile like that every day for the rest of our lives.

"Hi there. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I'm Henry Mamoa." I introduce myself and remember to walk a little gingerly, like someone recovering from surgery would when they're not yet fully healed. Her gaze drifts over me from head to toe as she crosses the lawn towards me, pulling off the purple gardening gloves as she walks. Her tongue flicks out to moisten her plump pink lips before she speaks, and I clench my fists by my sides to stop myself from just grabbing her and kissing her right there and then.

"Not at all. It's good to see you up and about. You look fantastic," she says enthusiastically. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, her cheeks flush. "Compared to the last time I saw you, I mean!" she corrects, flustered by her blatant admission that she was checking me out. I try not to grin too much, totally thrilled to know that she's not completely unaffected by me. For the first time in weeks, I'm a bit more confident that I can make this work.

"So, what can I do for you?" she asks, gazing up at me now with a serious expression, and my short-lived confidence fades slightly. She has no concept of mates, and it's clear that she isn't going to just leap into my arms as a she-wolf would just because she finds me attractive. In a way, I like it. I'm going to have to work harder, and wolves love a good chase. I rub my hand across the back of my neck, nervous as a schoolboy, as I try to remember what I had planned to say. Any game I thought I had has completely deserted me.

"I wanted to thank you in person for what you did." I look her straight in the eye and I see her pupils dilate slightly, the eye contact between us powerful and intimate. "And to apologise for my mother barging in on you at work. She can be full-on." She lets a big laugh out at that but doesn't deny it.

"I should be the one thanking you. It's been great getting to know Leila. It's nice to meet someone else in town." I must thank my sister for making Hayley feel at home in Grey Ridge, but I notice she ignores my thanks for what she did. Ethan was spot on about the modesty part.

"Ethan mentioned you're doing some work on your place here, and that just so happens to be my line of business." I nod my head towards my truck, which has Jones Construction and our logo printed on the passenger side door.

"So, you're here looking for business?" she asks, tilting her head to the side with a little frown, and I wonder if she is a little disappointed to think that's all I am here for.

"That's definitely not all I'm here for." I lean in closer and revel at the little bloom of colour on her cheeks at the subtle insinuation. "But considering what you did for me, I'd like to do something for you." She narrows her eyes at me suspiciously as she takes a step forward, bringing our bodies dangerously close together. It's my heart rate that picks up this time as a waft of her delicious scent hits me. This is the strongest blast of it I have gotten yet, and it's heavenly.

"I'm not going to let you fix up my house for free," she states simply. Her tone leaves me in no doubt that she means what she's saying, and that bit of defiance turns me on more than I expected.

"I was going to suggest a friend's and family discount," I offer, lying through my teeth. I have no intention of letting her pay me for anything, but I need to get her to agree first. She hesitates for a second and purses her lips, and I can almost see her internal struggle between not wanting to accept help, but still being tempted by the offer. Ethan told me how she is doing as much as she can herself on the weekends, so the savings on time and money must be appealing.

"You don't owe me anything. I was just in the right place at the right time," she hedges, but she taps at her lower lip with her index finger as if she's still pondering my proposal. I can't help but stare at the movement, itching to suck her bottom lip between mine and ravish her mouth until those lips are pink and swollen. Pulling my thoughts back out of the gutter, I look her straight in those gorgeous eyes and sneak another inch or two closer.

"I know, but please consider it. It would make me and my mother very happy. Why don't you show me what you need to do and at least let me give you some quotes? If you decide to go with someone else, I won't hold it against you." I wink at her, and I see her resolve crack a little. She chuckles and smiles openly at me, blushing slightly again at my cheekiness.

"Some help would be great. I've been teaching myself as I go with online videos, but some things are beyond my skills," she admits. That she has nobody to help her with the work all but confirms that there is no other man in the picture. The thought makes my day. Looks like I won't have to fall out with Marcus after all.

"Great. Do you have time now to show me?" I am taking this as a win and decide to press on quickly before she has the chance to change her mind.

"Okay... yeah, sure. Just give me a minute to clean up."

I follow her up the steps onto the wide, ranch-style porch that runs the length of the front of the house and try not to stare at her perfect ass. Not exactly an effortless task when she bends again to toe off her mucky boots. She stows her boots and gardening gloves neatly underneath a bench right beside the front door. Goddess. Biting my tongue, I attempt to think unsexy thoughts to tame the instant boner making my jeans uncomfortably tight. Nothing like a raging hard-on to make things awkward with someone you just met.

"It's a beautiful house," I say, trailing along behind her as she heads in through the front door and around the corner into the large kitchen.

"It is, or it will be again when it's finished. There's nothing major that needs fixing other than the roof, but I want to make some changes to the layout, to open it up a bit. Then do some small repairs and painting. I'll try to do most of the garden myself." She keeps chatting as she washes her hands at the sink with her back to me, and I can't stop my gaze from travelling over the curve of her hips and down her long, bare legs. I bite my lip hard to pull my focus back to what she is saying.

"I want to keep most of it open plan downstairs, but I'll keep one en-suite bedroom for anyone who has problems with stairs and one room I can use as a separate dining room for guests," she continues. That grabs my attention.

"Wait... what?" I ask sharply, and she turns to look at me as she dries her hands slowly on the towel with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"I told Ethan, sorry, I assumed he would have mentioned it. I'm turning this place into a bed-and-breakfast. There are plenty of rooms and it'll give me some extra income."

Oh, hell no. Absolutely no way. No way is my mate going to be living in a house, unprotected, with a stream of strangers coming in and out through those doors, sleeping just down the hall from her.

Over my dead body. Concern and possessiveness rage through my system in equal measure, and I struggle to push down the desire to demand that she change her plans. Turning away from her, I pretend to consider what changes she could make to the space so she won't see my eyes. I've no doubt they've flashed to gold with my wolf so close to the surface.

"Ethan never mentioned it," I say in what I hope sounds like a casual tone.

I'll kill him. Although I know why he never told me because I would have obsessed over it for the last two weeks.

"Are you sure it's safe?" I enquire.

It's not safe! My brain is screaming at me to tell her that under no circumstances can she have other men staying here. That nobody other than me should sleep under her roof, ever again. If she wasn't a human, that's exactly what I would say. But I force myself to remember that she is human. A bright and independent one at that, moving here on her own, buying this house, and working hard to make her plans happen. I know that acting like a Neanderthal will knock any chance I have with her on the head right here and now, so I keep my mouth shut. She walks around the island and stands a foot away from me, and this close, her scent is intoxicating. I itch to reach out and pull her to me. She looks up and meets my gaze defiantly, with a slight smirk on her face, as if she sees straight through my fake calm façade and knows exactly what I am trying so hard not to say.

"That's funny. That's the same thing that Ethan asked. It's almost as if you boys think a girl like me isn't capable of taking care of herself," she muses. She doesn't wait for me to answer before she turns and goes to step away again. Before she can, I grab her hand and pull her back so she is only a few inches from me. Sparks of electricity fly up my fingers at the skin-to-skin contact. A small gasp passes between her lips as we touch, and her eyes flick up to meet mine. I hope that means she felt it too, and not that I have overstepped the mark.

"I didn't mean it to sound like that. I know you can take care of yourself, but there's nothing wrong with having other people looking out for you sometimes, too." I dip my head down so that we are eye to eye and she can see my sincerity. She eyes me dubiously for a second, then pulls her hand back and brings it up to her chest, unconsciously placing it right over her heart, which is pounding.

"Good, because I seem to remember I was the one who dragged your ass out of the river, not the other way around. You seem to be the one who needs looking out for around here." She rolls her eyes at me, but grins. I realise she's not genuinely annoyed, and it makes me laugh out loud. As the future Alpha of my pack, and a powerful wolf, there are very few people who have the nerve to roll their eyes at me and tease me, but I suppose my mate was always going to be someone strong enough to challenge me.

I spend the next hour following her around the house, taking notes as she points out the various jobs that need doing and making small talk about the town, restaurants to try, bars to avoid, and her work. It's pure bliss just to be in her company at long last. Every time she laughs, it's like sunshine, and it makes me feel like a king to make her happy. I am tempted to drag out my visit because I never want to leave her side again, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable. So I promise to get back in touch soon with some quotes, and details of when I can spare a few of the young guys to help her out.

As I leave, I can't help myself and reach for the doorknob at the same time she does so I can accidentally touch her again, and the feel of her small, soft, hand underneath mine sets my heart racing. I hear her own heart suddenly beating loudly again and she tilts her head up slowly, locking eyes with me. The light-hearted atmosphere between us transforms, and the air suddenly thickens around us with sexual tension. I grab her roughly and haul her body tight to mine for a quick, but searing kiss before I force myself to turn away and pull the door open.

Despite every fibre of my body telling me to do the opposite, I step outside and jog down the steps. I wave as I climb into my truck and I see her in my rear-view mirror. She's still watching me from her porch as I drive away, with a stunned expression painted on her beautiful face.