Heart of the Pack

by Kristen Banet

  Riley: I started with mine really casually, too. It seemed like a really awesome idea. Multiple guys to sleep with and they wanted to sleep with me? Sign me the fuck up. The town? Most ignore it. They know we’re a little different and that’s fine.

  Abigail: There it is. Proof that you are still in your twenties. I was waiting for it.

  Riley: Go kiss your wolves and be quiet.

  Abigail: Alright! You, too.

  Riley: I do more than kiss my guys. ; )

  Abigail dropped her phone on the bar, giggling. Damn that girl for being so good. She wasn’t going to question how Riley had this all figured out. She’d been with her five guys for over a year and had it all pretty straightened out. Abigail never heard of drama on their front. She knew Riley was in charge of the relationship in the mansion while Brenton ran the Pride. Both were willing to put a foot up an ass if someone did anything wrong, though Abigail hadn’t seen it happen before. She knew Riley had threatened to leave the Pride a couple of times, though.

  She could hopefully trust Riley on this. Abigail knew Riley was right. It was time to make this defined, not just a thing. Abigail had screwed up by invalidating what was going on by saying it wasn’t real. She should have known better.

  She didn’t want to make it casual. She didn’t want the future to change everything, even though it would. She didn’t really want anything to change at all, even though it already had in just a few days. Abigail took a deep breath, knowing her decision was made. She just hoped she hadn’t already ruined her chance to say it to them. She wouldn’t go chasing after Thomas in the back, whatever he was doing back there, but tonight, she would talk to them.

  7

  Antonio

  Tony was listening to James tune his guitar in the office when Thomas flew in like a hurricane.

  “We’re not a real relationship,” Thomas snarled out.

  Tony raised his eyebrows and laughed in confusion. “What? Thomas, what are you going on about?” Tony asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Abigail…” Thomas growled and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. Tony dropped his cell phone on the desk as James put his guitar down.

  “Continue,” James said, glaring up at their Alpha. Tony almost didn’t want him to.

  “I told her about Chris and her response was something about us not being a ‘real relationship’ so she didn’t think she needed to be involved or fucking something,” Thomas continued to snarl. “We’re not real to her.”

  “Uh…” Tony frowned. “I’m pretty sure we’re real enough. I mean, I can touch the wall and I can’t walk through objects, and we’re not figments of her imagination.” He went for humor, to hopefully lighten the blow his brothers were about to get.

  “God dammit, Antonio,” Thomas spat. “That’s not-”

  “I get what you fucking mean,” Tony cut him off. Time to nail these two to the wall. “She’s also fucking right.”

  “Excuse me?” James snarled this time, turning his glare on him. Tony groaned and rolled his eyes. “You don’t know shit about relationships, Tony.”

  “We’re not official. We’re not a thing. We’re a secret. A probably very badly kept one, but it’s not like we’re taking her out on dates. We keep her at the house and live in a fucking bubble. We’re a fling, not a relationship. And I know my flings, asshole, so don’t fucking tell me we’re not in one.” He crossed his arms and glared at James, daring the other wolf to test him.

  “It is real,” James retorted. “This is fucking real. Don’t pretend like it’s not.”

  “We haven’t asked her for it to be real.” He sighed. “We asked her to be in the Pack and whatever came with it. Sex came with it. Friendship. Those two things don’t always make a relationship, James. Don’t pretend like they do. They don’t to me, and they don’t to her, it seems.”

  “Are you saying you wouldn’t want this to be a thing?” their Alpha asked, narrowing his eyes at Tony. “If we wanted more, you wouldn’t?”

  He shook his head, rolling his eyes with it. “Of course I want this to be a fucking thing, Thomas. Don’t be a moron. I’m…Look, I’ve never had anything more than what we have right now. I’ve never met a woman I’ve wanted more with and no woman has ever asked me for more.” Tony swallowed on that. He’d met women he’d been willing to date before, but his traveling and his job in South Dakota had always made women wary of trying. He’d come to terms with it years ago. It was the same thing with getting a new dog. His life just didn’t fit it. But now it could. They were settled in Wild Junction, and Tony loved the little town and their bar and their house. “I would love it to be a real thing with Abby, though. Thomas, the real question here is if you want it.”

  “Why?” Thomas growled at him and James scoffed this time.

  “He’s right,” James groaned. “You’re the one with the ex-wife and the baggage around it. If we ask her to make this official or even try to, you’ll need to realize that it’s a commitment again.”

  “I…I know that,” Thomas mumbled. “I do. I’m not okay with her thinking this isn’t already real though. It is to me.”

  “Brenton was right,” Tony sighed. “We should have worked this out before taking it to her. We just went with the flow and ignored his advice. Never really talked about this beforehand. How far we thought this could go or anything.”

  “Yeah,” Thomas said, voice muffled as he rubbed his face again. “I want her, guys. I want her to be ours. She thinks I’m keeping her and Chris apart because it’s her not being…ours.”

  “It’s because we don’t want Chris opening his fucking mouth and being a jackass,” James grumbled. “Obviously.”

  “Not obvious to her,” Thomas reminded him. Tony nodded, understanding that. “I think we should ask her…to make this more serious.”

  “We need a sign from her that she wants it,” James huffed.

  “No, we don’t,” Tony said stubbornly. “We ask. We’re adults. We don’t read fucking minds. If she says no or not yet, then at least we’re all on the same page.”

  “Then let’s make a plan,” Thomas announced. “Come on. How do we convince the girl she wants more with us? You guys are performing tonight. We can make this romantic.”

  “I can do romantic,” James chuckled. “I know a few slow jams Tony and I can do.”

  “Aw, yeah!” Tony laughed. “We can sweep her right off her feet while you dance with her like our bonfires at the house. Head home and really talk about it, ask her in private. The bar can run itself for the night.”

  “Yeah,” Thomas whispered, smiling. “I never thought it would go this far. This thing with Abigail. Guys, from here on out, there’s no considering other women. Clear?”

  “None of us were to begin with,” James grunted. “We’ve been all over her from the moment she gave us the chance. I wouldn’t have it any other way. We need her, and she needs us, I think.”

  Tony pointed at James as he nodded to Thomas. “That. I’ve never fought for something more with a woman. I’m willing to now. That should say it all. She lets me be me. She doesn’t care that I’m a fucking horndog trying to hump her leg all the time or have a quickie when we need to get somewhere. She doesn’t care that I don’t take most shit seriously. She laughs with me and I like that a lot. I’m sure she does something for each of you guys. I don’t care, mind, and I might even like it a little, sharing her with you guys.”

  “Waxing poetic still,” James chuckled. “Thomas, look at him. He’s being a lovesick puppy.”

  “He already was one,” Thomas retorted, grinning now.

  Tony just shrugged, unapologetic over it. He wasn’t sure he loved her. He never really loved a woman before. Oh, he loved women, sure, but not that feeling people said was love. He just knew that he wanted her, and he wanted her for a long time. He wanted to know that she would always be with him, James, and Thomas. He wanted the security around it, the life they were making themselves after they lost so much. She was such
a key part of it, he couldn’t think of losing it now, or the idea of her not wanting more.

  Tony’s mind continued to run through how to make this happen, just like he knew the other guys were thinking about it as well.

  “Did you just leave her down there?” Tony asked, landing on that. If Thomas had just abandoned her down there, that didn’t bode well.

  “Yeah…I did. I’m an ass. I didn’t want her to see I was upset so I just…walked away,” Thomas explained. “I wasn’t sure what else to do. I figured, come up here and vent for a minute. You guys would help get my head back on straight.”

  “Our Alpha, everyone,” Tony proclaimed to a nonexistent crowd in the office, teasing. “Confronted with a hard conversation with a woman and turns tail!”

  “Funny,” he growled. “I’ve had my fair share of hard conversations with women already. I wasn’t prepared for the one I had with Abigail.”

  “I wouldn’t have been ready either,” Tony chuckled. “You’ll need to make up for that.”

  “I know,” Thomas replied, nodding. “I’ll do that first.”

  “Good luck. Also, don’t ask her to make this official without us? I figure, you can dance with her all night, we take her home and ask her there. How’s that?” Tony wanted to be in that conversation. He wanted to hear her answer, wanted to plead his case if she said no.

  “I won’t say anything, Antonio,” Thomas confirmed. “I’ll just go grovel at her feet for running off for now. You guys get ready to perform.”

  Thomas left, looking less upset than he had coming in, which made Tony feel better. He actually felt great about all of this. Sure, Chris showing up was a real fucking problem, but he quite liked this outcome. They were finally going to try for more with Abigail. He’d honestly been waiting for it, wanting it. He just never said anything, thinking he was the only one, except for maybe James.

  “You look like you’re about to start shaking in excitement,” James noted, and Tony grinned wildly.

  “I’m pumped, man,” he laughed. “Aren’t you?”

  “I’m nervous,” James admitted softly. “You sure you can handle being a one-woman kind of man?”

  “James, I’m going to be real here. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He chuckled. “And now we’re in this town with this bar with this doe. Yeah, I’m seeing a real possibility at it.”

  “Are you even a little nervous she might say no if you want it so bad?” James asked, picking his guitar back up.

  “Of course,” he told the rough wolf, shrugging. “More excited though. I haven’t had a girlfriend, a legitimate one in over a decade…Hell, maybe since high school. I know you have. You dated while in South Dakota. And Thomas has his ex-wife. But me? There’s a first time for everything, right?”

  “Sometimes I question your birth certificate.” James chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re acting like a fifteen-year-old boy.”

  “Come on, James,” Tony groaned, walking over to him. He gently slapped James’ cheek a couple of times. “Be happy. Smile. For real. Let’s see it.”

  “This is me happy,” James laughed, waving Tony away. “She makes me happy,” James continued quieter.

  “I know,” Tony whispered, still grinning. That’s what he wanted to hear. “Now we just need to keep Thomas from being…Thomas.”

  “And keep Chris far away from her,” James added, nodding.

  “And that. Oh, well, we also need to make sure she says yes.”

  “That we do,” James chuckled.

  They practiced for another twenty minutes, running down their song list. They weren’t playing many, just five of their favorites and ones they could direct at Abigail. The band was going to want their stage back eventually, and Tony didn’t want to make them feel like they were being replaced either.

  “Think Thomas is ready for this?” he asked before they left the office, looking for an honest answer.

  “Nope,” James replied, without anything else, not even some emotion in his voice. Only a small smile on his face told Tony it was only partially a joke.

  “I thought so,” he snickered. “He asked for it though.”

  “Yeah, he did,” James agreed, moving his fingers over the strings of the guitar as they walked down the stairs. “You and I will need to keep an eye on him, just in case. I don’t want him getting weird thanks to his shit about relationships.”

  “How are you feeling?” he inquired, leaning against the stairwell’s wall.

  “I’m fine. I know how I feel, just waiting on the rest of you to catch up, or make up your minds, or whatever you need to do,” James answered, shrugging.

  “Not going to inform the class about how you feel?” Tony pried, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “Not yet,” James chuckled. “Come on, pup. Let’s go play some music. Let’s get our minds off Chris and onto wooing her into a ‘real relationship.’”

  8

  Abigail

  Abigail was on her second drink when Thomas came back, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a kiss, gentle and sweet, without words. She was shocked by his sudden reappearance, but also insanely happy for it.

  “I’m sorry for running off,” Thomas whispered when he pulled away. “I needed a moment to think and I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Abigail sighed against his lips. Here he was, apologizing immediately for something that wasn’t really wrong, in her opinion. He was such a good man. Abigail knew it. “Sometimes, we all need to get away for a moment. I’m sorry for what I said. I wasn’t thinking as it poured out of my mouth.”

  “What you said surprised me,” Thomas admitted. He looked like he had more to say, but nothing else came. She could accept that. She could wait to hear his thoughts. She was just glad he came back.

  “Did you tell James and Antonio what I said?” she asked, wrapping her arm around his waist. She figured he did, but she wanted to make sure, so she didn’t stuff her foot in her mouth later.

  “I did,” Thomas replied carefully, seeming a bit nervous. “We’ll talk more on it later?”

  “Of course,” Abigail agreed, kissing his cheek.

  He looked down at her drink and growled softly, a smile taking over his face. “Have you paid for that?” He nuzzled his cheek against hers and she laughed.

  “I put it on my tab. The tab is unpaid, though,” Abigail answered, feeling the five o’clock shadow he had. He didn’t have the rough stubble most men got. His was softer than say, James’. James would get stubble that could give her rug burn if he wasn’t careful, but not Thomas. Antonio kept himself clean shaven and boy-faced, which worked for his playful attitude about everything and lackadaisical charm. “Is that acceptable?”

  “Hard labor,” he reminded her, whispering it huskily in her ear. “Hours of it.”

  “You really like that idea of me paying off the bar,” she giggled, her face growing heated. She was probably redder than a Budweiser can.

  “I really do,” Thomas chuckled. “Can you blame me?”

  It was so easy for her to just ignore what happened earlier now that he was there again. Now that apologies had been given and they promised to talk about it later.

  “I like your definition of hard labor better than most,” she conceded, giggling. She had been a bit of a prude when she met them. Since that day in the woods, though, she’d thrown all of it out the window. These wolves made her crave, made her want, made her shiver with anticipation.

  She loved it. She loved how easy sexuality came for wolves, how honest they were with it. She trusted Thomas, James, and Antonio on top of it.

  Abigail and Thomas drank quietly, closer together than they normally were in public. Their arms stayed wrapped around each other in a display of PDA that they normally didn’t do, not when the bar was busy.

  Then James and Antonio walked out, smiling over something as they got onto the stage.

  “Let’s dance,” Thomas whispered in her ear. “It’ll be fun.”

  “All right,”
she answered softly, putting her drink down and letting him pull her to the floor. His hands settled on her waist and she wrapped her own around his neck. As Antonio’s clear, beautiful voice washed over them, she could clearly remember the chilly night air from the first time she danced with Thomas to James’ guitar and Antonio’s singing.

  “I’m an awful dancer,” Thomas chuckled. “Thank you for always suffering through it with me.”

  “You don’t dance like James and Antonio, that’s for sure,” Abigail laughed as she said it. Those two could dance like strippers. Thomas was more innocent with it and she appreciated that. “But you aren’t terrible or awful.”

  “Sure,” Thomas said, full of disbelief as they circled around. His eyes were dancing though, those sky-blue beauties. She could get lost in them if she wasn’t careful, like staring at the sky on a sunny day, just lying out and watching the clouds roll by.

  “That’s all from us tonight,” Antonio called out, standing on stage. “Time to give the stage back to the band.”

  Abigail gasped and looked over. They were done already? They jumped off the stage and walked over. Thomas just held her close, his arms around her waist still.

  “That’s it?” Abigail asked as they got closer.

  “We just wanted to jam a little, take our minds off the Chris shit,” Antonio explained, grinning at her. “You were all dreamy for Thomas here and missed that we played six songs, more than we planned.”

  “Oh.” Abigail blinked a couple of times. “Really?” She just remembered thinking about the bonfire night and then Thomas’ eyes.

  “Yup,” James cut in. “Let’s get out of here. There’s stuff we need to talk about, if I remember right.”

  “Yeah,” Abigail whispered. “I need to get my things.”

  “We’ll wait,” Thomas told her, letting her pull away. Her nerves started to climb as she realized what they were about to talk about.