by D. M. Turner
Alright then, why am I so ticked off?
He pulled a thawed venison roast out of the refrigerator, slammed the door, and tossed the hunk of meat on the counter. Seizing a large knife out of the butcher block beside the stove, he unwrapped the butcher paper and cut meat into smaller strips for easier searing.
There he was working to keep her fed and all, and she had to go and compare him to the jerks of the world. Talk about insulting.
Ian froze then shook his head. Of course. That’s what had his dander up. He wasn’t a bully like those other men, and it aggravated him no end that she lumped him in with them as though they were cut from the same cloth. She didn’t even know him. Yet, she had made assumptions that slandered his character.
He slammed the knife down flat on the counter. Yeah, I’m annoyed! Why shouldn’t I be?
A soft whine made him turn. A gray wolf stood in the opening at the end of the breakfast bar, watching him. Ribs and other bones stuck out all over the poor creature under a dull, dry coat. A worried frown furrowed the lupine brow, reflected in amber eyes touched with brown. The animal’s tail waved slow against its hocks.
As he studied it, the head raised and tilted to one side. He didn’t recognize it.
“Where’d you come from?” Oh, wait. He shot a glance at the couch. Unless Sophia had lain flat on the couch, she was no longer there. Ian dropped to one knee but kept his gaze steady on the unfamiliar animal. He took a deep breath through his nose. The only scent besides his was Sophia’s. “Decided not to wait for me, huh? It’ll only take a few minutes to sear this meat for you.” He stood and returned to chopping meat, keeping the wolf in his peripheral vision.
Toenails clicked on the ceramic tile, easing closer. Then her nose stretched to the edge of the counter. A soft whimper accompanied a short breath.
He kept cutting.
She groaned then grunted.
Ian chuckled. “It’s still raw.”
Another grunt.
“Alright.” He offered her a strip of raw venison.
She took it with such enthusiasm, he looked at his hand to make sure all of his fingers were still attached then laughed softly. “I guess you’re hungrier than you admitted. Hold on a second.” He dug a large stainless steel bowl out of the cabinet at his knees and put the meat in it, including the part he hadn’t yet cut. Then he set the bowl on the floor.
Sophia didn’t wait until the bowl reached the floor before she dove in.
Ian straightened and shook his head. “Wow. You are hungry.” Why hadn’t she told him she was so famished? He wouldn’t have been upset. Shoot, he’d even offered to prepare food. She needed to eat for her organs and muscles to regenerate and her weight to stabilize. So, why not just be honest with him?
He washed the knife, dried it, and slid it home in the butcher block then scrubbed the cutting board. By the time he turned around, Sophia had nearly demolished all ten pounds of venison. She’d pulled the large chunk out of the bowl and was using her paws to hold it down while she ripped pieces off. Rather, while she tried to do so. The lack of muscle in her neck and shoulders worked against her.
“I can cut that up more.” He leaned over to reach for it.
She lifted her lips in a partial snarl, her whole body going rigid.
Ian growled and dropped to one knee, laying a hand across the top of her muzzle. “Don’t push me. I’m already unhappy with you. Now, let me have it.” He put the full authority of his alpha status behind the command.
After a brief hesitation, Sophia lowered her head and stepped back.
Keeping his eyes on her, he picked up the roast, set it on the counter, grabbed the butcher knife, and chopped it into more manageable pieces that he dropped one-by-one into the bowl still on the floor.
A few pieces actually made it that far. The rest were snatched out of mid-air.
He re-cleaned the knife, put it away, and wiped the counter thoroughly.
When the last of the meat disappeared, she licked the bowl until it shined. Then she took a step back, looked up at him with her head cocked to one side, and whined.
Something in her gaze made him uneasy. Not an “I’m in danger” type of unease. More the nagging feeling that things weren’t quite right. Which made no sense whatsoever.
“Not now.” Ian shook his head. “I’ll give you more later. If you eat too much in your condition, it might make you sick.” He stepped around her and left the kitchen, glancing back as he passed the breakfast bar.
She remained in the same spot, watching him over one shoulder.
“No more until later.”
No change. Not so much as a shift in expression. He narrowed his eyes. Like she doesn’t understand me. He shook his head. Impossible. What the wolf saw and heard, the human saw, heard, and comprehended.
She moved away, raising her nose to sniff the edge of the counter.
“There’s nothing there.”
No response.
“Come away from there.”
Still no response. Either she ignored him, or she hadn’t realized he’d been talking to her.
“Sophia?”
Not so much as the flick of an ear in his direction. Okay, that’s not right. She should at least acknowledge her name.
He returned to the kitchen and tapped her on the hip. “Sophia?”
Startled, she whirled around and crouched like she might attack.
“Don’t even think about it,” he growled. What in the world…? He’d never seen a wolf act so… disjointed from its human persona. Realization struck like a rock to the head. That’s it! The wolf was there. Sophia wasn’t. But, how was that possible? Why isn’t she feral like I’ve seen in the past when the wolf takes total control? “Come with me.”
The wolf cocked her head then tilted it in the opposite direction and back again, as though trying to understand.
Unease grew. Ian patted his leg and backed up. “Come.”
She trotted toward him.
He pivoted on one heel and headed into the living room.
Toenails clicked across the tiles, trailing behind him.
If Sophia wasn’t there, and he was dealing only with the wolf side of her, how did he get her back? The human mind had to make the choice to return to human form. The wolf hadn’t understood the words he’d spoken in the kitchen. How could he make her understand something as complex as Shifting?
The front door suddenly opened. Ian halted and glanced toward it.
Brett came through and made a visible effort not to slam the door then turned and marched toward Ian. Anger wreathed his face.
The wolf that should be Sophia lowered her head and growled menacingly. The hair on her back stood in a long ridge from the back of her ears to her tail.
Brett’s eyes widened, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
“Don’t challenge her,” Ian murmured, forcing his tone to remain calm. “It’s Sophia.”
The other man averted his gaze. “What’s happening?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say she picked up on the fact you’re royally ticked off and is taking it as a threat.”
“I’m not mad at her, so what does she care?”
Ian glanced down at the wolf standing only a couple of feet away. “The natural wolves at your place. Do you go out to their pen if you’re angry?”
“No. They pick up on it, and it causes problems.” Brett frowned. “I have to make sure I’m calm when I go out around them.”
“Exactly.”
“But… Sophia’s not a natural wolf. She’s a werewolf.” Impatience underlaid the man’s tone.
The she-wolf’s limited muscles bunched ever so slightly.
“Right this moment, I think we need to treat her just as you would the regular wolves.” He took a step closer to her. “She’s not responding to her name or comprehending language. She doesn’t even recognize a word as simple as ‘Come’.”
Brett’s face tightened even more, and he moved a half-step out of the foyer to drop h
is keys on the table to one side, his gaze on the floor.
Sophia launched at him, but Ian had anticipated the move and threw himself on top of her, pinning her to the floor. She snarled then swung her head around and tried to bite his face, the only part of him she had a prayer of reaching.
He tucked his head against her neck near where it met her skull to keep it beyond her reach.
Grabbing her muzzle in one hand to pin her head to the floor, he leaned his weight across her to keep her from wiggling free, while at the same time trying not to crush her under his far superior bulk. It had been a long while since he’d had to take drastic physical measures with another wolf, and he hated it. “Stop!” He put every ounce of willpower he possessed into the command.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brett drop to his knees and brace one hand on the floor, his head lowered and tilted to one side.
She squirmed to get free, grunting and growling softly.
“Behave.” Even if words meant nothing, he knew his tone conveyed displeasure and a demand for obedience.
Sophia fell still. The one eye he could see rolled back to look at him. A soft whimper vibrated through her thin body.
He eased off of her and to one side until he knelt on one knee, maintaining a grip on her scruff in case she tried to go for Brett again.
She rolled upright, slowly got to her feet, and stood with her head down, ears and tail relaxed.
“Alright. Now.” He turned his gaze on Brett, trusting that she wouldn’t break free without warning. “Why are you so upset? Try to explain calmly, or you’ll rile Sophia up again. We’ll deal with your issue first, then come back to hers.”
“Kelly is impossible.” Brett raised both hands as though to throw them up, glanced at Sophia, and lowered them to his side.
“You two had another fight, I gather.”
“Jeremy said she’s supposed to rest.” He snorted. “You try getting her to do that. She’s the most stubborn, difficult woman I’ve ever known.”
“What was she doing?”
“I caught her on the ladder that leads to the attic.” Brett’s nostrils flared as he took three deep breaths. When he spoke again, the words were tight and controlled. “Do you have any idea how bad it would be if she fell from there? And she was carrying a box down the thing!”
Ian sighed. “Your wife is nesting. It’s a normal part of the late stage of pregnancy. Alison rearranged our whole bedroom then started on the living room right before she had Colin. Remember?”
Brett frowned. “I forgot all about that. Didn’t you try to stop her?”
He laughed. “Are you kidding? I valued my life. You know how my mate was when she set her mind to something.” Ian shook his head. “I stayed out of the way, let her do what her heart desired, and prayed the Lord would protect her and the baby.”
His friend’s scowl softened and turned thoughtful. “So… I should just let Kelly do what she wants, even if it’s against doctor’s orders?”
“Unless you can reason with her, yes. Maybe you could offer to retrieve what she wants from the attic, tell her how it scares you to see her on that ladder, much less with something in her hands.”
The frown darkened again.
Ian chuckled. “It’s okay to tell your mate you worry about her well-being, you know. Women like to hear things like that. It reassures them that you care. Swallow your pride, old friend, and tell your wife how concerned you are.”
Resignation emerged. Tension eased from Brett’s body.
As Brett relaxed, so did Sophia, though she kept an eye on him.
“Now, have a seat and help me figure out what’s going on with our visiting she-wolf.”
Chapter 8
His gaze on the floor, Brett moved slowly but purposefully across the living room and settled in the chair on the far side of the area rug, hands resting on the arms.
Ian remained where he was, with a tight hold on Sophia’s wolf until the other man had settled. Fingers in the thick fur of her ruff, he led her to the other leather-upholstered chair. He sat and tentatively released her, ready to pin her again if she went after his friend.
She studied Brett, who stared at his lap, then sighed and lay at Ian’s feet. Her chin on his foot, she kept her gaze on the man across the room.
“So, what happened?” Brett pointed to her without lifting his hands.
“I haven’t the foggiest clue. We talked. I went to the kitchen to get her something to eat and turned around to find her standing by the breakfast bar in wolf form.” He shrugged. “I have no idea why she decided to Shift. Even if I knew that, I can’t begin to fathom how the wolf is in charge without a glimmer of human intelligence and reason and not a slathering, bloodthirsty beast.” He frowned. “My real worry is, without the human in control, how will she Shift back? She’s dominant enough, I’m pretty sure even I can’t force her to Return.”
“Then we better solve this mystery before the wolf goes even more berserk.” Brett cast the animal a dark look.
She growled low without lifting her head.
Brett averted his gaze then met Ian’s. “Although, regardless of her obvious dislike of me, she doesn’t seem to be out of control. She responds to you.”
Ian frowned. “Yeah, she does. Though she and I had a battle of wills in the kitchen earlier.”
“Look at her, Ian.” He motioned toward the wolf without lifting his hands again. “She’s content to lie quietly at your feet.” He chuckled and quirked a brow at Ian. “Almost like she’s accepted you as her mate.”
“Oh, brother.” Ian rolled his eyes. “Don’t start that. This has nothing to do with that.” Although… Sophia’s wolf had been relaxed and content in his presence upon waking that morning, even when Sophia herself had wanted to be mad at him.
“What did you just think of?”
He raised a brow.
Brett grinned. “I know that look, my friend.”
Ian sighed. He knows me far too well. A hundred years of friendship didn’t always work in his favor. “Last night, she went into hypothermia.”
“Did you have her outside?”
“No. Jeremy said it was probably a result of organ damage her body is trying to repair. Her internal thermostat went haywire.”
“Okay… so…?”
“He said she could die of hypothermia and suggested I use my body heat to warm her.” He grimaced. “I had to climb into bed with her.”
Brett snickered. “I see.”
“When she woke up this morning, Sophia wanted to be mad, but the wolf was too content.” He chuckled, recalling the way he’d teased her until she actually got mad. “It took her a bit to work herself into an actual fit of temper. She tried to bluff me until then.”
His friend’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Your scent. The wolf has chosen you.”
If Ian had been in wolf form, the hair along his spine would have formed a ridge. “Sophia doesn’t like dominant males.”
“Yeah, well, neither does Kelly, remember?” Brett cocked his head. “Has your wolf chosen her, too?”
“I told you before, many times, I have no desire to be mated again.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Ian glanced down at the she-wolf, whose head rested on one of his feet. She’d relaxed and closed her eyes, no longer watching Brett like she might kill him any second. He leaned back in the chair, resigned to the answer to Brett’s question, even if he didn’t like it. “Yeah, he has, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“She’s here for answers, and then she’ll leave. She won’t be here come the next full moon.”
“Talk her into staying.” Brett smiled. “You and I both know there’s no fighting the mating instinct. As I recall, you had that discussion with Jeremy less than a year ago, when he got so sick during the dark moon.”
“That was different.” Ian shook his head. “He saw Annie every day for months after his wolf chose her. This isn’t the same. Sophia will get
the information she came for and leave. I’ll probably never see her again.” He suppressed the whimper that tried to rise in his throat, clenching his teeth against it. I don’t whine. Never have. Period. I’m not about to start now.
Brett laughed outright. “Do you honestly think you can fool me into thinking that didn’t sit poorly with you? How dumb do I look?”
Tensing, the she-wolf lifted her head and studied Brett then turned her amber eyes on Ian.
“Oops. I think I woke her.” His friend grinned in anything but an apologetic fashion.
Ian scowled. “Do you want her to go after you again?”
After a tense moment, the wolf changed position to stretch out on her side, rested her head on Ian’s foot again, and closed her eyes.
With a sigh of relief, Ian relaxed. “Alright, enough teasing. We need to figure this out. We both know how ugly it can get if she stays a wolf for too long. Her appetite is stellar, so she won’t fade away as we’ve seen some do. I don’t want to have to put her down because she goes berserk.”
“So, you said the two of you talked before you went to the kitchen for food.”
“Yes.”
“What did you talk about?”
“Why she doesn’t like dominant males.”
Brett snorted. “That must’ve been enlightening.”
“Annoying, anyway.” Ian frowned at the she-wolf then shook his head. “She was fine when I left the room. In fact, she looked like she was ready for a nap.”
“So, she was relaxed?”
“For the most part, yes.” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “I don’t think she was too thrilled about the fact I’d told her if I got out of line with the pack, I’d expect one of you to kill me.”
“You felt the need to tell her that… why?”
“She thinks dominant men are abusive bullies. I told her if I ever acted like that, I’d expect to be put down to protect the pack.” Ian met his friend’s gaze. “I went to the kitchen because I got angry and needed time to calm down.”