The Modern Witch's Guide to Faking It With a Werewolf

Max's POV

I stepped out onto the porch, letting the screen door slap shut behind me.

She didn't turn.

Didn't even pretend she wasn't waiting for me.

Instead, she gripped the wooden railing, her knuckles white, staring into the dark like the trees had the answers she was looking for.

I took my time moving closer, watching her shoulders rise and fall too fast, too uneven.

I stopped just behind her, close enough to feel the heat rolling off her body.

Close enough that if I so much as leaned in an inch, I'd be pressed up against her back.

And when I did— her breath hitched.

I kept my voice low. Steady.

"Tell me, Dallas."

She stiffened.

I smirked.

"Is it that you don't want me?" I murmured, letting my words brush against the back of her neck.

"Or is it that you're scared you do?"

Her fingers curled tighter around the railing.

But she didn't say a damn thing.

She just stood there.

Shaking.

Silent.

And that?

That was my answer.

I reached out, dragging my knuckles slowly down her arm.

She shivered.

Like she couldn't control it.

Like her body was already mine, even if her mind hadn't caught up yet.

I leaned in, letting my lips barely graze her ear.

"I don't need you to say it," I murmured.

Her breath came sharper now.

Faster.

But she still didn't turn around.

Still couldn't face me.

So I gave her an out.

For now.

I pulled back, taking a step toward the door, watching as she sucked in a desperate breath like she'd been drowning.

Then, before I went inside, I tossed over my shoulder—

"Our guests are waiting, sweetheart."

I paused just long enough to see her shoulders sag.

She came back inside a few minutes later.

I saw the way she squared her shoulders, the way she forced her breath to even out, the way she looked for me.

"Dallas, honey—come sit." Came her mother's voice from the dining table where she sat with my mother, grandmother, aunt and the Luna of our pack.

I moved in behind her as she hesitated, felt the way her body tensed when I got close.

Still raw.

Still too affected.

I leaned down, voice just for her.

"Go ahead, sweetheart," I murmured. "Let's see what our mothers have been up to."

She sucked in a sharp breath, then moved to the table without a word.