No. I managed a smile. “Yes, thank you.” My fingers were shaking when I took them, and my stomach let out another painful growl as I all but attacked the food.

I was halfway through my last sandwich, my gobbling bites making me feel more monkey than human, when Carlos walked into the room.

I swallowed my mouthful of ham and bread, embarrassment making my cheeks flush. Crumbs littered the floor around me, and a morsel of food was stuck in my hair. I resisted the urge to lick it off.

“Hi,” I said sheepishly.

Carlos’s lips curved, his eyes tender. “I heard you were back and looking for SF protection. Sounds like you’ve finally said goodbye to the Fire Wolf?”

“Oh, well,” I replied lamely. Had I? “I guess I’m not sure.”

My wolf snarled inside me, then turned that growl on my ex. Yep, Mrs. Wolf wasn’t a fan of the newcomer.

Calm down, I’m not jumping him.

Her lip curled.

“I see.” Carlos leaned against the wall, then shoved his hands into his pockets. His ebony hair shone in the lights as his dark-brown gaze traveled over me, drinking me in.

Since his nostrils didn’t flare, and he didn’t look at me any differently than he normally did, I knew my cloaking spell was also masking my new werewolf scent. Thank the gods.

But my wolf didn’t seem to care. All she did was growl more since Carlos was checking me out. I rolled my eyes internally. No wonder mated werewolf males were so monogamous. These inner wolves were pushy as fuck.

“Thirsty?” Carlos produced a water bottle that he must have had stuffed into his back pocket. It was one of those fancy ones, claiming to be spring water from some far-off mountainous region that was untouched by humans and had been filtered for a thousand years or whatever. He’d probably nabbed it from a vending machine or the staff breakroom.

I gratefully took it. “Yes, thanks.” I took a long swallow, then wiped my mouth. A few crumbs fell, but overall, I thought I was clean and didn’t have mayonnaise spread across my cheek or anything mortifying like that. Still, for good measure, I threaded my fingers through my hair too, just to make sure more food particles weren’t stuck in it.

Once somewhat assured that I didn’t resemble a one-year-old who’d just dived face first into a birthday cake, I tentatively finished the last of my sandwich, but I did it at a slower pace even though my stomach was still cramping from hunger.

Because with Carlos in the room, I was painfully aware of my troll-like manners, and I didn’t feel the comfort with him that I did with the hunter.

When I’d polished off two plates of food yesterday morning, Kaillen had merely watched me acceptingly, even approvingly since I was taking care of myself, and I knew that he genuinely thought nothing of me eating a mountain of nourishment.

Yet, even though Carlos was a werewolf, I felt self-conscious. My usual confidence had blown right out the window when my werewolf traits emerged. And even though my rational side told me that surely he would understand how I was feeling, especially if he knew that I was a brand-new shifter, the other part of me felt closed off. Like I didn’t want him seeing that part of me.

As for why I was all of a sudden feeling so self-conscious around someone I’d never felt that way with before . . .

My wolf’s lips peeled back as her hackles rose.

Ah . . . so that’s why. My bitch of a wolf was needling her way into my very essence.

With a shudder, I sighed and finished the bottled water after I’d officially inhaled all three sandwiches.

“Are you feeling okay?” Carlos asked, his eyebrows rising.

“Yeah,” I said a bit too quickly. “Why do you ask? Do I look like I’m not doing well?”

“No, it’s not that. I just know that when a woman leaves a man that sometimes they’re . . .” He shrugged.

“Oh! No, it’s not like that, really it’s not.” I nibbled my lip because it wasn’t. I hadn’t left the hunter. How could I when we’d never officially been together? But I did need a break from what my wolf brought out in me. Although, no one here knew that. All they saw was a woman running from her mate, but I would see Kaillen again. Surely, I would.

My stomach bottomed out at the thought of not seeing him, and my wolf began to pace inside me, chuffing and letting out soft whines. But that dipping motion in my tummy was my feeling. It had to be.

Or was it?

I let out another heavy breath. Who knew. Seriously, who the fuck knew what was my desire versus my wolf’s desire at this point.

That gnawing sadness scraped at me again. Because if this was even close to what the hunter had been feeling, then how could he possibly be convinced that he, the man, was interested in me, and that it wasn’t entirely from his wolf?

“Did you get my letter?” Carlos asked.

My head snapped up, all thoughts about mating bonds and the dark hunter fleeing from my mind. Carlos’s letter. Right.

Carlos had written to me when I’d been in Oak Trembler. He’d told me that he still loved me and wanted to be with me. He’d also said he was willing to wait for me if needed.

I’d never replied to him, not that I’d had the chance to, given that I’d been abducted the morning after reading it.

“I did,” I replied tentatively.

His eyebrows rose.

Well, okay, then. It looked like we were having this conversation right now, but it was probably for the best. If there was one thing I was certain of, regardless of where the hunter and I stood, it was that my feelings for Carlos were in the past. I’d moved on, even if he was hoping to rekindle something.

“About that.” I slipped a hand into my jacket’s pocket. “I’m glad you brought it up, because I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I read your letter, and I really appreciate—”

“Tala Davenport?” An SF member poked his head into the room. He wore one of the gleaming obsidian suits and had military written all over him. “We’re ready for you.” He gave Carlos a curt nod. “Private Lopez.”

Carlos saluted. “Corporal Braxton, sir.”

“We’re leaving now?” I glanced toward the garage. The flying spaceship, or whatever it was, was fired up and near the mouth of the hanger, obviously ready for takeoff.

“Yes, ma’am,” the SF member replied. “I’m Corporal Braxton of Squad Twenty-eight. We’ll be escorting you to your safe house.”

“Thank you, sir,” Carlos said, then ran an agitated hand through his hair. “Would it be okay if we spoke for another minute, sir?”

The corporal dipped his head. “Two minutes.”

Once the SF member left and strode back to the team assembled near the flying contraption, Carlos took a step closer to me. A pineapple and sunshine fragrance rose from him. Oh gods, this was so awkward. I felt like I was about to break up with someone that I wasn’t even with.

Carlos brushed my side, and a golden glow lit his eyes just as a slight scent of musk rose from him.

My wolf snarled and let out a rumble of rage.

I stepped back, breaking my contact with him.

“What were you saying before we were interrupted?” he said huskily and took another step forward, seemingly oblivious to the space I’d just put between us.

I twisted my hands, then fidgeted from foot to foot. “Um, I was about to say that I really appreciate what you wrote in your letter, and I—”

“Tala Davenport?” A robotic voice blared through the speaker in the room. “Please report to the garage immediately.”

I halted, my body stiffening. Apparently, our two minutes were up.

Carlos’s nostrils flared, but he reached for my bags, taking all of them. A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he gave me an understanding smile. “I’ll walk you out.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.” I ran a hand through my hair, because I didn’t know what else to say or do given that we’d nearly launched into a conversation about our non-existent relationship that one participant was hoping to rekindle and the other wasn’t. Not awkward at all.