by Karen Lynch
I stood slowly, keeping my eyes on him. He lifted his head, and his gaze shifted to me.
“Um, that’s my friend. He’s looking for me.” I picked up my bag and hooked the strap over my shoulder. “You should go before he gets here.”
For a long moment, he stared at me without moving. Then he stood on four legs, and I swallowed when I saw his eyes were level with mine. Power seemed to emanate from him, and I couldn’t help but see the wild beauty in his fierce features.
He blinked and made a chuffing sound, almost like he was trying to tell me something. Turning away from me, he walked into the woods. His steps were so quiet I wouldn’t have known he was there if I wasn’t looking at him. How could such an enormous creature walk with that kind of stealth?
He stopped walking once he reached the cover of the trees. His black fur blended into the shadows, but his eyes glowed in the darkness. I should have felt afraid knowing a werewolf was watching me from the trees, but he hadn’t given me any reason to fear him.
Scott shouted my name again, and I called back to let him know where I was. A minute later, he appeared around the bend in the shore that marked the end of the cove.
“Emma, thank God. I didn’t know what to think when I couldn’t find you.”
“I’m so sorry. I wanted to explore, and I lost track of time. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” He smiled when he reached me. “So you found Wolf Cove? What do you think of it?”
“Wolf Cove?” The name startled me after what I’d encountered.
He laughed. “Don’t worry; we have no wolves here. When my dad was a kid, someone claimed they saw a wolf, and it’s been called Wolf Cove ever since.”
We started walking back to the lighthouse. I stumbled on a rock, and Scott grabbed my arm to steady me. Something that sounded like a growl came from the woods, but I ignored it and kept walking. If Scott heard anything, he didn’t mention it.
I felt the wolf’s eyes on me as we made our way along the beach. When we reached the end of the cove, I looked back at the spot where he’d been. I could no longer see him, but I could almost feel his presence there. A small shiver went through me, and I turned to follow Scott out of the cove.
Roland
I watched Emma and Scott until they disappeared around the bend in the shore, and then I set off after the two wolves who had frightened her. It wasn’t difficult to follow their trail and to know exactly where they were headed. My longer stride covered the ground fast, and within ten minutes, I caught up to them at the edge of the woods behind Brendan’s farm.
I shifted immediately, not wanting to stay in wolf form with these two any longer than necessary. I would have stayed away from them altogether, but I couldn’t let them think what they’d done at the cove was acceptable.
Striding over to one of the run boxes, I grabbed the clothes I’d left there when I went out on patrol. I noticed the two wolves staring at me as I unrolled my jeans, and I presented them with my back. I’d never been shy of my nudity, but the gleam in their eyes made me feel like a steak about to be devoured.
I stiffened when a hand stroked my bare back, and I looked over my shoulder at Lex, who smiled suggestively at me.
“Your wolf is magnificent,” she almost purred. “I bet he’d like to come back out and play.”
I stepped away from her and pulled my T-shirt over my head. “Not today.”
She pouted and put her hands on her hips, drawing my eyes downward. Man, the girl had a killer body, and she knew how to flaunt it.
“Like what you see?” she asked boldly.
The last thing I wanted was to encourage her. She was gorgeous, but I didn’t really like her that much. And there was the matter of her breaking a pack law that had to be dealt with.
“Get dressed, Lex. You too, Julie,” I said to the other girl. “Then you’re going to tell me what the hell you were thinking back there.”
Julie scurried to pull on a sundress. Lex rolled her eyes before she sauntered over to don shorts and a tank top.
I waited until they were fully clothed to speak again.
“Either of you want to tell me whose idea it was to frighten that girl?” I asked harshly, remembering the terror on Emma’s face and the scent of it on her skin.
Lex scoffed. “She was trespassing on pack land.”
“This whole town is in pack territory, and it’s our job to protect the people who live here,” I barked at her. “You two exposed our kind to a human. That’s against pack law.”
Julie gasped. “But at home –”
“I don’t know how you do things up north, but I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to terrorize humans. Maxwell wouldn’t stand for it.” I crossed my arms. “What if she tells someone about you?”
Lex waved a hand dismissively. “Who would believe her?”
Her lack of concern heightened my anger. “How do you know no one would believe her? How do you know word won’t travel and werewolf hunters won’t come sniffing around? Or one of those crazy paranormal investigators?”
Julie paled and Lex looked guilty. It wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t been out by the lighthouse on patrol.
“What are you going to do?” Julie asked shakily.
“You two are very lucky because I know that girl, and I’m going to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone about this.”
Lex’s eyebrow shot up.
I shook my head. “I don’t know if she knows what we are, but her cousin’s one of my best friends. Sara knows all about us.”
“You’re lecturing us about exposing ourselves to humans, but you have human friends who know about us?” Lex asked angrily.
“Sara’s not human. She’s Mohiri,” I said, and their expressions told me they’d heard about her. “But her cousin Emma is human and under my protection.”
I didn’t know where that last part had come from, but as soon as I said it, I meant it. Emma was Sara’s cousin, and I’d protect her just as I would Sara. I was going to have to call Sara and tell her what happened. I didn’t know if she’d told Emma about us, but there was no way Emma could have mistaken us for normal wolves. The way she’d spoken to me was not the way one would talk to an animal.
“You’re not going to tell Maxwell what we did?” Julie asked in a hopeful voice.
“I don’t know. It depends on whether or not I can do damage control. But if either of you pull a stunt like that again, he’ll hear about it, and you can bet he won’t be happy.”
I understood now why we needed multiple Betas. Maxwell and Brendan couldn’t be everywhere, and someone had to make sure the wolves who lived away from the main pack followed our laws.
With the threat of facing the Alpha gone, Lex’s air of confidence returned. She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up for my benefit. “That was kind of hot. Feel free to scold me whenever you want.”
I almost growled in frustration. Paul was right. I had Alpha blood, so these females weren’t going to give up no matter what I did. If I made it through this gathering with my sanity intact, it would be a damn miracle.
I patted my pockets, looking for my phone. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to call my friend and try to clean up your mess.”
Julie took the hint even if her friend didn’t. “Come on, Lex. Let’s go to the mall and find new outfits for the party tonight.”
“Sure.” Lex smiled as she passed me. “See you tonight.”
Not if I can help it.
Maxwell hadn’t ordered me to go to this one, so I was staying far away from it and all the unmated females. It wasn’t just Lex and Julie I had to worry about. Pack members were arriving every day, so there’d be more of them to fend off tonight. No thanks.
Scowling, I turned to look for my phone, which must have fallen out of my jeans, and came up short when I saw Brendan standing there in wolf form. He had to have heard everything. Why hadn’t he confronted Lex
and Julie for breaking a pack law, or me for letting them off with it?
I waited for him to say something, but he only watched me silently for a minute then loped off into the woods.
“Weird,” I muttered.
Must be that observing thing Brendan and Maxwell had mentioned. I hadn’t talked to Brendan since the little staring contest last Monday, but I had noticed him watching me at some of the cookouts. It would have bothered me if he hadn’t also been looking at Pete and the other Beta candidates. I wished I knew what he and Maxwell were hoping to find in us.
This week, I’d talked to Maxwell about cutting back my hours at the lumberyard so I could work on the Chevelle. At first, I was sure he was going to refuse, and I was surprised when he agreed. I think the fact the Chevelle restoration was a paying job and not a hobby was the main reason he said I could cut back to three days a week for now.
Laughter drew my attention to Lex and Julie, who were standing by the barn talking to my cousin Lydia, who was home from college for the summer, and two other girls I didn’t know. The newcomers looked to be in their early twenties, and my hope they were mated was dashed when they looked at me with unabashed interest.
I was starting to feel like an unwilling participant in a werewolf version of that bachelor reality show my mother liked to watch. But humans could give the ring back and go their separate ways if things didn’t work out. There was no out once your wolf imprinted on another.
You keep it in your pants, I warned my wolf. Those females are nothing but trouble, and we have plenty of time to get tied down.
I spotted my phone in the grass and picked it up. Brushing it off, I hit Sara’s number and listened to it ring. It was night in Russia, but not too late to call her. And I needed to find out what, if anything, Emma knew about the pack before I went to see her. I had planned to wait until tomorrow, but tonight might be better. I glanced at the group of girls who would all be at the party here this evening. Yeah, tonight was definitely better.
* * *
My phone rang as I drove to the waterfront at eight o’clock that night, and I grinned when I saw Pete’s name on the screen. I hadn’t told him about my plans to ditch the party, and he was most likely calling to see where I was.
“Hey, where are you?” he asked when I answered.
“Almost downtown. Going to see Emma.”
“Emma?”
I hadn’t seen him all day, so I filled him in on what had happened at the cove and my call with Sara that had left me with more questions than answers.
“Emma knows what we are? Why didn’t she say anything?”
“I don’t know. All Sara would say was that Emma already knew about werewolves before Sara told her about us. I asked how Emma knew, but Sara wouldn’t tell me.” I let out a loud breath. “You know how good Sara is at keeping secrets. You couldn’t pry it out of her with a jackhammer.”
“Sara told us Emma’s been through a lot. Do you think that has anything to do with how she knows about us?”
“Could be.” I’d wondered the same thing, and if that was why she was uneasy around us. If so, being frightened by Lex and Julie today wasn’t going to help.
Sara had been happy when I told her I was going to go by and make sure Emma was okay. She said she worried about Emma being there alone and hoped the three of us would hit it off. Whatever had happened in Emma’s past, Sara seemed convinced that Pete and I being werewolves would not stop us from being friends.
“When will you be back here?” Pete asked.
“That depends. What time is the party over?”
An edge of panic crept into his voice. “You’re not going to the party?”
I barked a laugh. “Lex almost jumped me a few hours ago. If I’d let her, we would have done it right there in front of Julie and whoever else walked by. And then I saw two more who looked at me like I was something to eat. No way I’m going near that if I don’t have to.”
“Are you serious about Lex?”
“Yeah. That girl doesn’t take a hint, and she made it pretty clear what she wants. She even tried to get me to shift so our wolves could play.” I laughed without humor. “Word of advice: skip the party.”
“I can’t,” he said almost desperately. “I told Mom I’d help out with the music. I wouldn’t have if I’d known you were blowing off the party.”
“Sorry, man. I figured you knew I wouldn’t go unless I had to.” I turned onto the waterfront. “Listen, I’m almost at Sara’s place. I have to go.”
“Okay,” he grumbled. “But next time, I’m leaving you here with these girls.”
Fat chance.
“Later,” I said as I pulled up to Sara’s building.
Emma had no vehicle, but the light was on in the kitchen so I figured she was home. I was half expecting to find Scott’s red Mustang sitting in her parking spot, and I was glad to see she was alone. Not that I wanted her to be alone. I just didn’t want her hanging around with Scott. Seeing her with him today had angered my wolf, who loved Sara as much as I did. We were both feeling protective of her cousin.
At the door, I stopped myself as I reached for the doorknob and pressed the doorbell instead. It felt strange not walking in as I’d always done, as strange as it was to have someone else living in Sara’s place. It was another reminder of how much our lives had changed in the last year, and it made sadness prick my chest. Funny how we can’t wait to be adults, and then when we are, we miss the days of just hanging with our friends.
“Coming,” called a voice from inside the apartment. The door opened, and I stared at the girl standing there. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a loose bun with strands curling around her face. Her T-shirt and shorts had splotches of paint on them, and there was a small streak of blue on her chin. She was also covered in dark spots of what looked like mud, and she seemed a bit frazzled.
Emma’s expression turned to one of surprise. “Oh, hi, Roland.”
“Hi. I…um…are you okay?”
Her brow furrowed, and she looked down at herself as if seeing the mess on her clothes for the first time. “Yeah, ugh. Had a little mishap in the kitchen.”
My lips twitched. “Are you making mud pies?”
“Not exactly.” Pink tinged her cheeks, and she opened the door wider to let me in. “Sorry about the mess.”
I followed her inside and shut the door. She led me into the kitchen where I stopped to gawk at the dark splotches on the cabinets, wall, floor, and even the window. It looked like a mini mud bomb had gone off on one side of the kitchen.
“What happened?”
Emma huffed and pointed to the metal contraption at the center of the mess. “I was trying to make a latte with this espresso machine Sara bought me. The manual makes it sound easy, but they don’t tell you what happens when you forget to put the little metal basket in the filter before you turn it on.”
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and she shot me a dirty look, which made me laugh even more.
I put up a hand. “Sorry. Come on. I’ll help you clean up.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
I tossed my keys on the table and grabbed some paper towels to wipe down the cabinets, window, and wall.
Emma cleaned the floor and counter, stopping when she got to the espresso machine. With a sigh, she rinsed the removable parts and set them in the draining tray to dry. When she finished, she turned to me with a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ears, and I couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was tonight. Maybe it was because for the first time, her brown eyes were warm instead of guarded when they looked at me. I found myself wondering what it would take to make her smile at me that way more often.
“No problem,” I blurted when I realized she was waiting for me to respond. No way, man, not going there. Sara’s cousin, remember?
“You know there’s a coffee shop next door,” I said.
; She smiled sheepishly. “I thought I could make one without having to get cleaned up.”
“You renovating or something?” I waved at her paint-splattered clothes. “I could help.”
“Thanks, but it’s not that kind of painting. I paint on canvas.”
“Sara draws and you paint. You really are a Grey.” I grinned at her. “Let me guess; you’re working on a painting of the sky.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
I tapped my chin. “You have blue paint right here.”
“Oh.” She rubbed at the dried paint to no avail. “Excuse me. I’ll get cleaned up.”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll run next door and get us a couple of lattes,” I said.
She opened her mouth to say something, but I waved it off and headed to the door. “Be back in a few minutes.”
What are you doing, Roland? I thought as I jogged down the steps. Why was I getting coffee? I didn’t even like coffee for Christ’s sake.
I ordered a latte for Emma and a small iced coffee for me. By the time I got back to the apartment, she had changed into jeans and a fresh top and cleaned the paint off her face. I refused to let her pay for her drink, and we went into the living room to talk.
I could tell by her expression she was wondering why I was there. It wasn’t exactly as if we’d hit it off on our first few encounters. I decided to get right to the point.
“I came by tonight to see if you were okay after what happened at the cove today.”
Her face paled a little. “The cove?”
I nodded and set my drink down on the coffee table. “I called Sara, and she told me you know what we are. I wanted to apologize for today and to let you know you have nothing to fear from us.”
“But those wolves…”
“Those two wolves are visiting from up north, and they were out of line.” I pressed my lips together when I remembered Lex and Julie standing over Emma. “They broke pack law when they showed themselves to you, and they know better than to frighten a human. They’ve been warned not to do it again.”