Heart of the Pack

by Kristen Banet

“Of course,” Abigail groaned. “Keep teasing her, though, and she might prove you right and burn the bar down in spite.”

  “She would never do that to me.” He huffed indignantly. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  “That you are always going to tease her or that you feel safe from her fury?”

  “Both.”

  She was still laughing at his answer when they got to the bar. As she walked in, Fenrir trotted up, and she made sure to give him a good scratch behind his ear before finding her friend.

  “Abigail,” Riley called from a table, waving. “Over here.”

  She didn’t just see Riley. Jessie was there, looking tired and cranky, and so was Phoebe, her pink hair a beacon across the bar. When Abigail got there, hugs were given around.

  “What’s the game plan for tonight?” Phoebe asked them, her ocean eyes dancing like they were rough seas.

  Abigail swallowed, unsure she wanted anything this girl might have planned.

  “Party?” Riley laughed. “Abigail is leaving!”

  “Only for a few days,” she reminded her. “It’s just a short trip and I should be back in time for your gallery opening.”

  “You better be,” Riley scoffed. “You miss it and I’ll be upset.”

  “I’ll be upset if I miss it too.” Abigail laughed. “I’m not looking to get wild tonight. Let’s just have some drinks and enjoy a quiet evening.”

  That made Riley and Phoebe laugh. She heaved out a heavy sigh, looking at Jessie, who raised her hands.

  “Oh no. I’m not helping you. I wasn’t even in the mood for this tonight, but there’s no such thing as telling Phoebe no, it seems. Feel bad for me. I’m in a bar and can’t have a drink.”

  “My condolences,” Abigail muttered at her, glaring a little.

  Jessie just shrugged in response and ran a hand over her baby bump. “I’ll live vicariously through you until this baby is born.” She grinned, and Abigail rolled her eyes. “Look, you can keep up with these young women and I can’t.”

  “No, I can’t,” she groaned.

  “No, she can’t,” Riley said at the exact same time. Abigail looked slowly to the cheetah, who gave a careless shrug. “I can’t keep up with Phoebe.”

  “Good point.” Abigail chuckled. No one could keep up with Phoebe.

  “I’ll order the first round.” Riley declared, waving down one of the waitresses that roamed the bar for anyone who didn’t want to go see the bartender. They ordered their drinks quickly and launched into a conversation about the gallery opening Saturday.

  “What’s your gallery going to be called?” Abigail asked.

  “Wild at Heart,” Riley announced, grinning proudly. “It’s a nod to shifters, really.”

  “Are they all your subject matter?” Phoebe said curiously.

  “Yeah. I settled on portraits of the humans and wildlife paintings of their shifted forms,” she explained. “Abigail sat down for one. Jessie hasn’t yet.”

  “I can’t,” Jessie growled softly. “Can’t shift again until the baby is born.”

  “When you can, I would love to do something of you and the little nugget. If you are up for it.”

  “Might be a couple of years until I let the little thing shift but it would be nice, like a fancy photo of it and me,” Jessie agreed softly. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Riley replied brightly.

  “Still unsure of the gender?” Abigail inquired.

  “Still keeping it a secret from myself,” Jessie reminded her. “Because I just like the idea of being surprised. Really, I like the idea of meeting my son or daughter right then, in the moment.”

  “Any name ideas?” Phoebe threw that question out.

  “No,” Jessie chuckled, shrugging. “I really should be working on that, though. I don’t think my baby will appreciate being called ‘baby’ for months while I figure it out.”

  “Oh great,” Riley growled. The mood at the table shifted immediately.

  Abigail looked where Riley was and saw Chris walking to the bar, not noticing them. “You really hate him,” she whispered. “Tried talking to him?”

  “He’s an ass,” Riley scoffed. “From the moment I met him in the compound he’s been a dick. We’re all about to die and he was there, saying some mean shit. I love Thomas, but I hate that guy.”

  “I haven’t spoken to him yet,” Abigail sighed. “Maybe I should try?”

  “I don’t recommend it,” Riley muttered, her nose wrinkling in distaste. “I would say it’s not worth the attempt.”

  “I’m about to be out of town for a couple days,” Abigail said thoughtfully. Did she dare go and try to strike up a conversation with the lonely-looking Chris in the corner of the bar nursing a beer?

  She stood up, took two steps, then stopped. She tilted her head as wolves she didn’t recognize walked in. She watched them beeline for Chris and frowned. There were two of them, and he looked happy to see them, grinning and shaking their hands.

  “More wolves,” Jessie growled softly. “I don’t like that.”

  “I don’t either,” Riley hissed. “This is Thomas’ territory and Brenton’s town. Chris shouldn’t be having guests from out of the area, not when he’s an Alpha. Things like this can look bad.”

  “It does look pretty bad,” Abigail whispered. “I’ll go up to the office and tell Thomas or someone what’s going on.”

  “All right,” Riley responded, her eyes still trained on the wolves in the corner.

  Abigail, as she walked off, realized Phoebe had been smartly silent over the exchange, only looking between them, her eyes full of curiosity. The human girl was learning.

  Abigail pushed into the office and saw the guys all sitting around the desk. Thomas was signing forms as Antonio handed them to him and James was filing them away.

  “Hey guys,” she called out softly, trying not to spook them.

  “What’s up, pretty doe?” Antonio greeted her, smiling as he handed another piece of paper to Thomas.

  “Chris just came in,” she started, feeling like she might be overacting. “And then a couple other wolves came in to talk to him.”

  Thomas didn’t say anything, but she saw the temper flare in his eyes. He put down the pen slowly, growling softly.

  “Who?” James asked quietly.

  “I don’t know them,” she whispered, shrugging. “I have no idea who they are.”

  “I’ll handle it,” Thomas snarled. “Thank you for telling us.”

  He pushed out of his chair and stormed out of the room. She turned around to follow him, with Antonio and James hot on her heels. When she made it back into the main bar area, Thomas was looking calm as he shook hands with the new wolves, asking them easy-going questions about who they were and how they knew Chris.

  “Go back to your girlfriends,” James said in her ear, his large hand pushing her gently in that direction. “We got this if it goes sour.”

  “Can you win?” She looked over to him and Antonio.

  Antonio’s mouth spread into a grin that could be described as a snarl as well. “We can win,” he told her confidently.

  James just nodded.

  She nodded back slowly, concerned. The likelihood of a fight was very small, based on how Thomas was doing, but with wolves, a fight could spark without warning to others. There were a ton of things to take into account, like body language, tone, scents, what’s been heard and what isn’t. Abigail was worried, but she would trust her guys.

  To an outsider, to humans, the entire thing seemed innocent. A few guys decided to meet in a bar while one of them was visiting family in the town.

  To her, and to the other shifters in the bar, it was potential for war. Chris had two friends, equaling his numbers with the Wild Junction Pack, her pack. She wasn’t a fighter, so she took herself out of it for a moment.

  Back at her table, Riley put a hand on hers.

  “If he causes trouble for them, the Pride won’t let him stay,” Riley promised. �
�He won’t take Wild Junction, if it comes to that.”

  “My guys would be injured or dead, if it came to that,” Abigail reminded her. They all watched the scene, wolves shaking hands, introducing themselves and talking about their favorite beer.

  Then Chris’ friends left, leaving Chris looking upset at his brother. Abigail didn’t hear the hushed words Chris spat at Thomas because of the music, but judging by Thomas’ face, she could guess they were nasty. Chris left after that, and James grabbed their Alpha and whispered something that made Thomas pale. Antonio snuck off to follow Chris after thumping James on the shoulder.

  She sipped her drink, a Cosmo and her favorite. She watched Thomas walk closer to her and smiled at him.

  “How did that go?” she asked gently, running her hand up and down his arm.

  “Those two are friends of his from Virginia, and they have some business work with Colorado right now. They already knew that Wild Junction was a space that Colorado doesn’t rule,” he explained in a hushed tone. “I don’t like that.”

  “I can cancel my trip, Thomas. Stay here with you guys.”

  “No,” Thomas groaned softly. “Go to your interview and enjoy it. We’ll be fine.”

  “Brenton will skin them if it’s necessary. Or I will,” Riley hissed, grinning.

  Abigail went wide-eyed at her while Thomas just chuckled.

  “See? We’ll be fine. Riley’s bloodthirsty ass will save us,” he teased, trying to act light. He kissed her cheek, but she saw the shadows in his eyes. Something was eating at him. “Keep drinking with your girls, and I’ll make sure you get to the airport tomorrow.”

  “Where did Antonio go?” she asked before he could leave.

  “To follow those two around,” Thomas answered. “I don’t like them.”

  “Okay,” Abigail sighed. She kissed his cheek this time. “I’ll relax. You be safe and relax as well. No reason to worry all night unless you feel Antonio might get hurt.”

  “He’ll be fine. That much I’m certain of.” Thomas sounded positive, and she decided to roll with it. “Have fun. I’ll come down and dance with you when I’m done with my paperwork.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she whispered as he left, smiling to herself.

  “Look at you, half in love with your wolves already.” Jessie chuckled knowingly, grinning.

  “I am not,” Abigail started then blushed. She kind of was. She really liked her wolves. Sweet and caring, every one of them, in their own ways.

  Every shifter at the table could smell her lie, and Phoebe wasn’t dense.

  “Love. I pity you fools. One day, your hearts will break, or you’ll end up like Jessie with a kid,” Phoebe teased. “Me? I see a cute guy at the bar and will be in love with him for the evening.”

  “You know, I got pregnant doing what you do,” Jessie nonchalantly reminded Phoebe.

  Phoebe scoffed. “Protection. I keep it on me at all times.” She stuck her tongue out, wandering away from the table. Abigail watched the girl prowl to her target and lay it on quite easily, getting the young man to dance with her in record time.

  “She’s very good at what she does.” Riley chuckled dryly. “I’ve never seen anyone turn her down.”

  “She’ll slip up one day,” Jessie mumbled. “Believe me.”

  “I would say I’m worried about that, but I’m not,” Riley laughed, patting Jessie’s hand. “Phoebe knows what she’s doing. Stays healthy, knows what to do if the condom breaks. Now she’s on birth control too. She’s a smart cookie, even if she is crazy and noncommittal as hell.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Let’s drink. Let’s dance. Let’s enjoy this last night before Abigail goes off into the great world to get a new job since Brenton refuses to keep her on retainer like I’ve asked him to.”

  “You didn’t,” she groaned.

  “I did.” Riley sighed then took a long swallow of her cocktail. “And he said he would think about it, depending on how your job search was going.”

  “I don’t need a pity job, Riley,” Abigail mumbled.

  “No, but I like having you here. And…let’s be honest, for a moment. Troy and Gabe’s issues could always bother them again one day. Andrew has his own problems. I like what you do for them, too.”

  “That’s nice of you, but I’m fine and if you guys need me, I’ll keep time open for it. I’ll never deny one of you time with me if you need it.”

  “That’s why I love you,” Riley laughed and hugged her. Abigail held on to the cheetah for a moment. “Friend and therapist.”

  “That’s me,” she confirmed.

  “Now, finish your drink, forget about the wolves no one likes and the ones you do, and dance with me,” Riley ordered her, and Abigail groaned. She looked at her Cosmo and tipped it back, finishing it and coughing a little at the burn of the alcohol. She was a sipper, not a shot taker. “Holy shit. Fuck yeah, Abigail. Now let’s dance.”

  She let Riley pull her onto the floor. She wished the Pride guys were around to keep their girl out of trouble, but they were nowhere in sight.

  An hour later, she was taking a shot of burning, cheap vodka.

  Two hours after that, she was more than three drinks and two shots in. Way past her limit.

  When Thomas finally got back downstairs, he had to catch her from stumbling, and she placed her head to his chest as it rumbled in laughter. “Riley likes getting you hammered,” he pointed out.

  “She really does,” Abigail giggled.

  “I called the Pride before coming down. Johnny sent a waitress up to tell me what you two have been up to. While you’ve been having fun, Antonio is back, safe and sound, though he’s heading home to shower. James is finishing the rest of my work so I can have the evening with you.”

  “That’s very nice of him,” Abigail giggled louder, grabbing Thomas’ shirt. “Is this when you dance with me?”

  “I’m hoping you’ll drink some water first,” he growled softly, smiling. “Then yes, I will dance with you.”

  “Perfect,” she said in a thick, drunk way, wrapping her arms around Thomas’ waist as he waved down someone and whispered for them to bring a very large glass of water.

  Riley was hollering, and she tried to turn to see why. Jessie was laughing too hard for Abigail to feel comfortable. Abigail nearly took Thomas down with her sudden swing to check and saw Zachary catch Riley and lift her. Without a word, he and Andrew took Riley out of the bar, her hanging over Zachary’s shoulder.

  “That’s cute,” Abigail whispered. “The Pride.”

  “Are they?” Thomas asked, chuckling.

  “Yeah,” Abigail sighed wistfully. “They love her so much and she loves them so much. They know each other so well. It’s like a case study on a nearly perfect relationship. I love it.”

  “They have their problems,” Thomas said carefully.

  “But they work them out.” Abigail moaned. “It’s nice. They’re nice.”

  “Okay,” Thomas groaned. He handed her a glass. She didn’t know where it came from, but she drank from it. Clean, cold water washed down her throat and was blissful.

  “Let’s dance,” she commanded when she put the glass down.

  He just smiled at her as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along to the dance floor. He grabbed her hips once there and pulled her into him, her back to his chest. She ground her ass to his crotch and made him growl as they swayed together. This was the sexiest dance she’d ever had with Thomas. He wasn’t nearly as bad as he claimed to be, even if he wasn’t Antonio. He kept one strong arm wrapped around her waist, which she thought was to keep her upright.

  Three songs later, the room was spinning, and the music slowed down. He turned her around and she threw caution to the wind and kissed him hard in front of the bar. He growled into it, holding her to his body.

  When she broke it, she looked into those sky-blue eyes and said something she shouldn’t have.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  He didn’t respond, sort of just
stumbling for a moment in the close dance. “Sorry, two left feet,” he mumbled. She felt her heart crack. “Let’s get you home - it’s late.”

  Did he not hear her?

  “Okay,” was all she could say as he led her off the center dance floor and towards the front door. He held her hand but that was it.

  James met them at Thomas’ truck, looking annoyed.

  “You have too much shit paperwork,” James growled. Then he looked at her and smiled. “How has your night been?”

  “Good,” she replied too quickly.

  “She’s very drunk,” Thomas added quietly. “Time to get home.”

  “All right,” James chuckled. “Home it is.” He opened the truck door for her and helped her by just lifting her and putting her on the seat. “Scoot over.”

  She moved to the middle so he could get in. It left her jammed between Thomas and James. James threw an arm over her and held her to him. She glanced at Thomas, who didn’t look back at her.

  Her heart was still cracking.

  There had been no lie in what she had said. She did love them. The relationship was too new, too fresh, but she did. She shouldn’t have opened her mouth. She probably spooked Thomas. He would probably tell Antonio and James, and they would think she was moving too fast, especially since it looked like she would be living with them soon.

  She didn’t even notice they were home. James helped her out once he brought her back to reality. She was quiet and let him tuck her in to bed, kissing him back when he wanted it.

  She went to sleep regretting those damn three words and hoping her trip went well.

  Her heart was breaking because she had meant them, and Thomas probably thought it was just drunk Abigail talking.

  14

  James

  “She’s asleep,” James whispered, walking back to Thomas in the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Thomas grunted, shaking his head. “Nothing.”

  “Liar,” he growled softly. “You were weird as we were leaving the bar, totally silent on the way home and didn’t help me get her into bed. Something is wrong.”

  “She said she loved me,” their Alpha bit out, glaring up at him.