by Celia Kyle
“She’s with me,” Zeke said, casting a quick glance back at Val, who stood in front of the door in a soldier’s stance. Despite her apparent stoicism, Zeke sensed that every muscle in her body was tensed and ready to spring into action if necessary. She really was one hell of a human—but now wasn’t the time for that nonsense. “She won’t say anything.”
“Fine,” Calhoun said, growing more comfortable in his newfound moxie. “Your father was a pragmatist, Zeke. His annual… donation ensured Wolf Woods remained undeveloped. By the way, he never gave me anything remotely close to Dick McNish’s lowest offer, but I worked with him because I felt it was in the best interest of the community as a whole.”
A strange hiss inside Zeke’s head almost drowned out Calhoun’s words, but he couldn’t deny hearing them. He couldn’t quite believe them, either. His entire body vibrated with anger and denial. Bribes? His dad had bribed Calhoun all these years to keep Wolf Woods wild? It didn’t seem possible, and yet… it would certainly explain why Boyd Soren constantly groused about corrupt politicians.
“No. No way.” Zeke shook his head, as if it might shake out this new information and he’d never have to think about it again. “I don’t believe it.”
A cocky smile slid across Calhoun’s flabby face. “You’d better believe it, boyo. It’s the truth, and deep down you know it.”
The worst part of it all was that Zeke believed it. Boyd Soren had been a strong leader, but he definitely had his faults. It would have been exactly like him to justify paying off a public official if it meant retaining control of the woods that separated Soren pack lands from the town of Tremble. Still, Calhoun was a shithead for telling him like that.
“So, what? You waited until I was mourning my father and my mother to drop this bombshell on me, thinking I wouldn’t notice?”
Calhoun rolled his eyes and then returned to his high-back leather chair, no doubt paid for with taxpayer—or his father’s—money. “Check your phone, Zeke. I’ve been calling you for ages. I guess you think you’re too good to do business with me, huh?”
Zeke stared at the mayor, jaw dropped and eyes bugging. Calhoun chuckled.
“Why’d you think I was calling you, boyo?”
Rage and confusion mixed in his blood. It wasn’t a feeling an alpha enjoyed, and that only served to make him angrier.
“To solicit bribes for the public works contracts,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster. His world had been flipped upside down over the course of a couple of minutes. He wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.
Calhoun gaped at him for a second before shaking his head in pity. “Wow, I really overestimated you, Zeke. Your company won those contracts on merit, nothing more. You really think I’m some greasy-palmed scumbag. Don’t you?”
“As a matter of fact,” Zeke seethed, not giving in to the turmoil inside.
It took every ounce of energy he had to hold back his wolf. What sweet revenge it would be to shift right there in the middle of Calhoun’s office and literally rip him a new asshole. Only Val’s presence held him in check.
“Wanna know what else I think?” Zeke asked, his voice dropping to a low, threatening pitch that brought a flash of fear into Calhoun’s beady eyes. “I think you need to remember who you’re dealing with and what kind of sway my family has in this town. Watch your back, Bertrand.”
A small yet strong hand landed on his shoulder and he whipped his head around to see Val standing next to him.
“Down boy,” she murmured to him, though her shark-like eyes never wavered from Calhoun.
Her iron gaze seemed to have even more effect on the mayor than all of Zeke’s shouting and bravado. The coward shrank back into his chair, trying desperately to disappear. When a slow, devilish smile turned her lips upward, Calhoun actually whimpered a little.
“Let’s get out of here, big guy,” she said so softly and with such malice it raised goosebumps on Zeke’s arms. “We’re at City Hall. I’d bet good money there’s an upstanding judge somewhere around here who would be very interested to hear about Mayor Calhoun’s most recent… transaction.”
Zeke allowed her to drag him toward the door, a grin splitting his face in two. Who needed fangs with a sharp tongue like Val’s?
“Wait!” Calhoun jumped from his chair, frantic to stop them.
Val was doing such a bang-up job of handling Calhoun, Zeke followed her lead, just to see how it played out. She stopped with her hand reaching for the doorknob and then slowly turned to face the mayor. Crossing her arms, she waited for him to speak, not giving an inch of gained ground. A total badass.
Calhoun stammered and stuttered for a bit and then finally managed to find his balls. “I’ll give you forty-eight hours to match McNish’s offer!”
Zeke wanted to tell him to shove his offer up his own ass and then go find that judge, but Val’s grip on his arm tightened, telling him to chill.
Sure enough, Calhoun scribbled something on a piece of scrap paper and waved it at Val, ignoring Zeke completely. She watched him for several long beats, showing him exactly who was in charge, before crossing the distance between them. Snatching the paper from his hand, she didn’t even glance at it—just shoved it into her back pocket.
“A week,” Val countered.
Calhoun sputtered, as if it was the most ridiculous request he’d ever heard, but Val remained perfectly still, staring at him. Finally, he coughed and dropped his gaze to his desk.
“Fine. A week.”
Val spun on her heel, a satisfied smirk on her face, and walked briskly toward the door. As she whipped it open, she said over her shoulder, “Nice doing business with you, Bertrand.”
Zeke followed her in a state of amused shock. He’d all but threatened the mayor’s life, yet the piece of shit had stood up to him—knowing full well that Zeke was a fucking werewolf! Yet a little wisp of a human had barely said two words and he’d bent over and asked for more.
What a fine mate!
Zeke frowned at what his wolf was telling him, even if he didn’t totally disagree. His beast was simply enamored with her take-no-prisoners attitude, and while it had come in handy, he wasn’t used to women protecting him. It was supposed to be the other way around.
As they strode through the office, Val gave Dick McNish an icy glare. He returned the greeting with a placid nod. If her death glare didn’t get to him, nothing would.
Zeke struggled to keep his gaze from drifting to her round, muscular ass. Every time it did, his heart would do somersaults in his chest, and that wouldn’t do. Not at all. Val was proving to be a force to be reckoned with, but none of that made her his mate. Still, he couldn’t deny she was pretty special.
For a human.
Chapter Nine
Valerie zoned out as she followed Zeke in her Jeep, listening to the comforting rumble of the engine and the crunch of tires over the gravel roads. The pastoral beauty of rural Georgia—with its trees with long, leafy limbs and impressively thick trunks—was quite beautiful, and part of her wished she was riding with Zeke so she could tell him so.
After their little showdown in the mayor’s office, she’d felt oddly excited. As if every nerve in her body had caught fire, igniting with a spark shared between her and the sexy shifter. Even thinking about the undeniable connection between them was absurd. Surely, she imagined it. That had to be it. After all, she was human, and he was a wolf. Nothing could ever happen between them. It had to be some kind of biological impossibility. So why was she drawn to him like a bee to honey?
Trees turned into greenish-gray blurs as she racked her brain for an explanation. It had been quite a while since her last sexual encounter, so maybe her libido was simply fooling her into thinking Zeke was something more than a smoking hot dude. Every time they were together, heat rolled between them like ocean waves caught inside a small bay.
Although they were both pissed off at the same people, she couldn’t figure out why she was mad in the first place. The situation be
tween Zeke and the mayor shouldn’t have held any interest for her. She wasn’t part of his pack. Hell, she wasn’t even a member of the greater Tremble community. She was an outsider, just passing through, yet she seemed to feel Zeke’s rage as intensely as if it were her own.
It had to be her internal and unwavering sense of justice. Corruption of any kind made her blood boil, especially when it came to men in positions of authority. And she could smell the corruption in Tremble City Hall from a mile away. That had to be it. It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with personal concern for the Soren pack. Yup, it was the general injustice of it all that irked her, nothing else.
When they pulled up to what Zeke insisted on calling “his” house instead of the pack house, Val hopped out before Zeke could hurry to open her door. So-called chivalry made her uncomfortable, mostly because men always wanted to do things for her that she was perfectly capable of doing herself. Besides, considering her attraction to Zeke, the smart move was to keep as much distance between their bodies as possible.
Before she took two steps, the front door opened, and Fang tore outside as fast as her spindly legs could carry her. The silly beast jumped around, pranced on her hind feet, ran circles around Val and generally acted like the most adorable idiot on the planet. Val scooped her up and let the pooch give her puppy kisses all over her face. No matter what Val was feeling, Fang kisses always made things better.
“If you needed a shower, you could have just used the one down the hall from your room,” Zeke said, chuckling at the scene.
“Don’t listen to him, princess,” Val murmured at Fang, speaking loudly enough for Zeke to hear. “He’s just jealous. Were you a good little princess while I was gone? Did that stinky mutt from this morning bully you?”
Fang finally settled into Val’s arms, panting happily as she stared at her mistress with unadulterated love. Zeke, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at her before stomping up the porch steps. Val buried her face in the dog’s neck to hide her grin.
A handsome blond man she hadn’t met before leaned casually against the door jamb. He stood slightly taller than Zeke, but with a leaner, less muscular frame. Of course, Zeke had muscles on top of his muscles, so that didn’t mean much.
“Morning, Zeke,” the man glanced pointedly at Val.
Grudgingly, Zeke introduced them. “Warren Edgecomb, meet Valerie Logan, Chloe’s college roommate.”
“Nice to meet you, Valerie.” Warren stepped forward and shook her hand—perhaps for a moment longer than strictly necessary, but not in a creepy way. A soft warning growl came from Zeke’s direction and Warren quickly dropped her hand and flushed red.
“Call me Val,” she replied, amused at Zeke’s jealousy. She was tempted to torture him a bit by flirting with this new handsome fellow, but her heart wasn’t in it. Besides, Zeke no doubt wanted to discuss their encounter with Mayor Calhoun. On top of all that, she was famished. “I think it’s time for these two lovely ladies to get some grub. Isn’t that right, princess?”
Fang yipped her agreement.
Leaving the two men, Val followed delicious smells into the house. Before she was out of earshot, Zeke said something about calling the elders for a meeting that night. They’d no doubt have a lot to talk about.
Fang growled softly as soon as they stepped into the kitchen, and it only took a second for Val to figure out why. Levi stood next to a stunning blonde at the big kitchen island. Even though the enforcer towered over the woman, she was still taller than average. Supermodel tall. And supermodel gorgeous. Long, blonde hair tucked into a messy bun, big curves up top tucking into a tiny waist, flaring back out into voluptuous hips. She looked like a mash-up of Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Rabbit and one of the Kardashians.
Valerie had never felt entirely comfortable around really beautiful women, mostly because they usually had nothing in common. But this woman gave her a gentle smile that carried a hint of sadness, as if she’d lived with it for so long it had become an integral part of her soul. Val instantly wanted to wrap her in a hug, and Val wasn’t the hugging type.
Levi glanced up when he noticed the woman’s distraction, and his face lit up like a Beyoncé concert on steroids.
Oh boy, here we go again.
“Oh hey, Val,” he said, working really hard to not look too eager—and failing miserably. She had no one to blame but herself. “How’s it going?”
“It’s going.”
Levi’s face fell at her curt reply. She shrugged and focused her attention on the food the supermodel packed into a picnic basket. Most importantly, she wanted Levi to get the point that she wasn’t interested in him, but not far behind was the fact she wanted to eat every single thing in that basket.
“Cool.” Awkward silence stretched between them for a beat before he added hopefully, “You look slammin’ today, by the way.”
With a heavy sigh, Val set Fang on the floor and then reached for a loaf of bread that was sitting on the counter. “Thanks.”
She popped a slice in the toaster, hyper-aware Levi stared at her in confusion. Clearly, he’d been hoping for more attention from her. A pang of guilt twisted in her belly. This was her doing, and the best she could do was treat him coldly. That wasn’t who she wanted to be.
Turning to face him—and her responsibility in all of it—she gave him a pitying grimace. “Listen, Levi. You’re cute and seem like a nice enough guy, but… I’m just not into you. Like, at all. I’m sorry for giving you any other impression.”
He jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “Whoa,” he said, holding out his hands. “That’s not how it seemed this morning.”
The blonde’s gaze bounced between them like a ping-pong ball. Val sighed and nodded, relieved that he was handling this uncomfortable situation so calmly.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Still doesn’t change the fact I’m not interested though. Figured I might as well tell you that outright, so you didn’t get too attached.”
The toaster dinged at the same time Val’s stomach grumbled. Not waiting long enough to butter it, she took a big bite, totally dry. Meanwhile, Levi’s face had grown an alarming shade of pink and his eyes flashed a dark amber. He was angry, and she could almost see the hamster wheels in his brain turning frantically, searching for the perfect comeback. Fang took a step forward and growled at him again.
“Whatever,” he snapped, his face twisting into a sneer. “You’re just a stupid human anyway.”
Not even realizing he’d slipped up in keeping his wolfdom secret, Levi stormed out of the kitchen in a huff, followed for a few steps by a yipping Fang. The supermodel hadn’t missed his blunder, though. Her clear blue eyes practically bugged out of her head. Not wanting to get poor, deluded Levi in trouble, Val rolled her eyes.
“And they call us drama queens, am I right?” She stuck her hand out at the woman and introduced herself.
“Trina Edgecomb,” the woman replied, gripping Val’s hand firmly.
Val had met a lot of women who, for some unfathomable reason, thought it was ladylike to shake hands like a dead fish. It was one of her biggest pet peeves. Just thinking about it made her shudder.
“Edgecomb? Are you married to Warren?”
Trina threw her head back and laughed heartily. Normally, if someone who looked like her laughed at something Val said, Val would have ended up feeling like a massive, mold-covered turd. But Trina’s laugh wasn’t derisive in the slightest.
“Sorry,” she finally managed, flapping a hand wildly as her giggles subsided. “But no. No no no. In fact, ew. Warren’s my big brother.”
Val chuckled. “Ah. Yeah, that’s gross.”
They were still grinning at each other when the sound of a cell phone ringing sounded nearby. Zeke walked into the kitchen as he pressed the phone to his face. “Chloe? Is that you?”
Chloe!
Val lunged for the phone, but Zeke grinned and played keep-away. “What’s that? You’re off the mountain? How was it? Oh yeah?”
Ever
y time she grabbed for the phone, he spun this way and that, always managing to hold on to it, just to torment her. Under other circumstances, Valerie would have enjoyed a little play-wrestling with Zeke, but she’d been so desperate to talk to her best friend, nothing would stand in her way.
Turning to Fang, she hissed, “Sic‘em, girl!”
Turncoat that she was, Fang trotted up to Zeke and sat on his foot, gazing up at him with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Obviously, Fang felt Zeke’s alpha nature.
“Traitor!” Val scolded, not that it did any good.
But when Zeke looked down at the dog, it gave Val the perfect opportunity to snatch the phone from his hand. She bolted before he knew what had happened, Benedict Fang hot on her heels.
“Chloe, is it really you?” she panted into the phone as she hurried up the stairs to her room. “It’s me, Val.”
“Val?” Chloe’s voice sounded a little crackly, but otherwise clear. “Oh my god, it’s been forever! What are you doing in Tremble?”
“Looking for you, duh!” She checked the stairwell before closing the door to her room. No sign of Zeke or anyone else. She could speak freely with her friend about everything that had been bothering her. Most of it, anyway.
“I tried calling to set up a time to meet, but I never got your answering machine.”
Chloe laughed through the staticky line. “Yeah, Zeke broke it and you know me. I never bothered to get a new one. Now tell me how you found Zeke.”
If anyone could appreciate the story, it would be Chloe. After Val recounted her arrest and Zeke’s subsequent help in busting her out, Chloe could barely breathe from how hard she was laughing. They barely needed to say two words to get the other cackling all over again. A solid five minutes passed with them just giggling and making jokes before they could continue the conversation.
“Zeke tells me you’re on your honeymoon. You weren’t seeing anyone the last time we talked, and that couldn’t have been more than three months ago. What the hell, girl? Tell me everything!”