by Lori Drake
“Go ahead. We’ll catch up!” she called, flashing him a distracted smile as Eric tried to dance with her. Really, the fellow needed to stick with the guitar.
What she saw in him, Chris hadn’t figured out yet. He wasn’t sure he wanted to figure it out, either. In an effort to not dwell on it, he followed Jessica out the back door. The open air was a relief to his ringing ears, enough so that he didn’t even mind the cold.
Jessica hooked arms with him and led him along the porch to a set of stairs that ran up to the second floor.
“Shortcut,” she said, flashing a smile over her shoulder.
He nodded and followed her up the stairs, then through the door at the top. The music wasn’t nearly as loud up there, even though he could feel the floor vibrating under his feet.
“Aren’t you afraid someone’s going to call the cops about the noise?” he asked.
“Not really. Eric invited pretty much everyone in the neighborhood. The only ones that generally give a shit are the old-timers across the lake, and we have an agreement.”
“What kind of agreement?” He looked around curiously as he followed her down the hall, noting the peeling wallpaper and discolored squares denoted spots where photos or artwork had once hung.
“They don’t call the cops and we don’t TP their house.” She stopped and rapped lightly on a door.
Chris blinked. “What?”
“Kidding. We bribe them with baked goods.” When there was no answer, Jessica opened the door and ushered him inside.
Chuckling, Chris looked her over again. Something about the heavy eyeliner, ripped jeans, and T-shirt held together with safety pins didn’t exactly scream Sally Homemaker. “Oh really? What’s your specialty? Lemon bars? Snickerdoodles?”
“Brownies. Very special brownies, if you know what I mean.” She leaned against the doorframe while he lingered in the hall.
Chris’s brows shot up. “You get the elderly couple across the lake stoned so they won’t call the cops?” He couldn’t decide if it was brilliant or horrible.
“What are you, some kind of Boy Scout?”
He held up three fingers. “On my honor, I will try…”
She laughed. “That’s the Girl Scout oath.”
Chris tilted his head, feigning thoughtfulness. “That would explain the uniform… wait, were you a Girl Scout?”
“Where do you think I learned to make brownies?”
“They have pot brownie merit badges now? That’s progressive.” He stepped into the room and looked around. It had the same outdated decor as the rest of the house, but the furniture hadn’t taken quite as many licks, and it was clean, if shabby about the edges. It was also empty, aside from the two of them. “I thought we were going to meet the rest of your pack?”
Jessica closed the door and pulled out her phone, thumbs tapping rapidly at the screen. “Worried I’ll try to take advantage of you?” She glanced up, lips twitching with obvious amusement.
“After that stunt you pulled downstairs? Absolutely.” He wasn’t, not really, but the banter was fun and he was more relaxed than he had been all day.
Jessica snickered quietly and leaned against the wall, folding her arms. “Don’t worry, your virtue is safe with me. How do you know the Girl Scout oath, anyway?”
“My, uh, sister was one for a while when we were kids.” He sank down on the edge of the bed, feeling that sense of levity misting away as his thoughts turned to Joey.
“Your sister? I thought you were… Oh, you mean Joey?”
“Yeah. You thought I was what?”
“An only child, tragically orphaned as a tot. Everyone knows the story.”
Chris blinked. “They do?”
“Yeah, you’re kind of a legend around here. Or at least your dad is.”
Chris wanted to ask more, but the conversation was interrupted by the door flying open. He leapt to his feet, but Jessica remained where she was, casually leaning against the wall to the left of the door with no more than an unconcerned glance toward the new arrivals.
A man in a cowboy hat held the door open for a tall woman to enter ahead of him, then slipped in behind her and closed the door more quietly than he’d opened it.
“Sorry, partner. Door got away from me there. Slippery as a greased pig.” His Southern drawl partnered well with the hat, but Chris wasn’t able to pinpoint where in the South he was from until he noticed the Lone Star belt buckle.
“Don’t listen to him. He just likes to make a dramatic entrance. It’s the showman in him,” his companion said, pushing her iron-straight black hair back over one shoulder.
“Bull rider?” Chris hazarded a fairly stereotypical guess, since he didn’t recognize the man from the band and didn’t have much to go on.
Jessica laughed. “Rodeo clown.”
The man removed his hat and placed it over his heart, revealing a full head of sandy blond hair. “We prefer ‘rodeo protection athlete,’ thank you, ma’am.”
Jessica grinned and left it at that, checking her phone when it buzzed. Hat still in hand, the blond man stepped forward and offered a handshake.
“You must be Chris. I’m Colt, and this little filly is Kate.”
Chris smiled and shook Colt’s hand, then did the same with Kate. “Nice to meet you both.” He looked Kate over with amusement. The “little filly” was nearly as tall as he was. Her Native American ancestry showed prominently in her richly tanned skin, inky hair, dark eyes, and strong jaw. They both lowered their eyes after barely a hint of eye contact. Submissive, but friendly.
More wolves soon followed. Ben turned up with the infamous Brandon, who turned out to be an affable Canadian with obvious affection for Chris’s brother. Then there was Jenny, a shy, quiet girl who couldn’t have been much more than eighteen. At least, Chris hoped she was eighteen, given that her parents were nowhere in evidence. Next came Itsuo, a short man of Japanese origin and rigid formality. He bowed to Chris before shaking hands, but his eyes never left Chris’s until he moved off to stand quietly in a corner.
Last to arrive were Lucy and Adam. Despite Lucy’s bright blue hair, their resemblance was striking. They were the only members of the pack Chris had met so far that were obviously related. Having grown up with the Grants and Newmans, Chris had never experienced the dynamics of a pack that wasn’t structured around a particular bloodline, but he knew they existed. By his count, there were only three alphas among the nine of them. The number seemed low, but it didn’t seem like an opportune moment to ask about it.
“Are there a lot of rodeos in this area?” he asked Colt, deciding to stick to less personal questions.
“Nah, but I’ve been out of that business for a while. I’m an accountant now.”
The two occupations were so starkly at odds that Chris laughed. “Sounds… safer. Provided you’re not helping cartels launder money or anything.”
Colt laughed and shook his head. “Naw, nothing like that. Kate’d have my hide.”
“Damn right,” Kate murmured, from her position beside Colt. Chris wondered if they were an item. They’d stuck together since they arrived, but there hadn’t been any displays of affection. Colt grinned at her.
“Eric’s on his way up,” Lucy announced. She’d had her nose buried in her phone since introductions were made.
Around the room, postures straightened. Movement from across the room caught Chris’s eye as Colt took Kate’s hand, fingers lacing together. Jessica ran her fingers through her hair and touched up her lipstick. Jenny wrapped her arms around her midsection and darted a glance at the window. The only one who appeared entirely unaffected was Itsuo. Chris met Ben’s eyes briefly, but his brother just shrugged and smiled, then leaned over to whisper something to Brandon.
The door opened a few seconds later and Eric sauntered in, sans Joey. His broad smile froze as he took in the scene. “You started without me?”
“You didn’t miss much, just introductions,” Jessica said.
Eric turned, pinning her
with his gaze.
Her eyes widened, but she held her ground as well as his eyes. “Jesus, lighten up. You didn’t tell us to wait.”
A few tense seconds passed before Eric relaxed and smiled again. “Fair enough.” He turned back to face the others. “So, everyone’s introduced? Great, that’ll save some time. Chris, welcome to Seattle. As Alpha of the Granite Falls pack, I declare you welcome in our territory, blah blah, et cetera.”
Chris stood. He’d witnessed enough of the dynamic between Eric and his pack to know that his instincts had been on the money when they’d met. Eric was the sort of Alpha that established dominance firmly and led through intimidation and fear. It’d taken him less than five minutes to figure out. The question that haunted him was: why hadn’t Joey?
Determined to set a better example, Chris met Eric’s gaze evenly and offered a hand. Eric’s grip was as crushing as it had been the first time, but Chris didn’t flinch.
“Thanks, Eric,” he said. “And you—all of you—are welcome in mine, too. Not that I have much to claim.”
It was a lame joke at best, but Eric guffawed. There was an awkward moment while he was the only one laughing, but then the others joined in to various degrees. Everyone, that is, but Itsuo. The taciturn fellow stood quietly in the corner, watching with his bottomless brown eyes.
“That was a good one,” Eric said, then paused to study Chris for a moment. “Wait. You don’t know, do you?” He dissolved into another fit of laughter, but this time he was alone.
Chris looked around, seeing confusion on almost every face. There was understanding in Jessica’s eyes, and she shot him an apologetic look but remained silent.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s so funny?” Chris asked, brow furrowed.
It was Itsuo who spoke up. “Christopher-san, this is your house. Technically, it is we who are in your territory.”
Joey wanted Chris to get an unfiltered first impression of the Granite Falls pack, so she did the only thing she could think of to keep busy while Eric went upstairs to join the others: she offered to get him a beer. It was a risky precedent to set, but she wanted to stay on his good side. The man was mercurial as hell, all smiles one minute and spitting rage the next. More than once, she’d wondered if he had a split personality.
Still, he could be very charming when it suited him. When her mother had tasked her with getting close to him, Joey hadn’t fully understood why. She had a better idea now, after nearly two months of sticking to him like glue. He was a brute, a con man, and a bully who’d get what he wanted through charm or intimidation—whichever was most expedient. His poor pack bore the brunt of his rage. They were, for the most part, a ragtag group of subjugated sheep. Toothless wolves possessing neither the strength to stand up to him nor the resources to flee. She pitied them, but she didn’t blame them. It just wasn’t in their nature to rebel.
That didn’t explain the actions—or lack thereof—of the pack’s other two alphas, but Jessica was obviously infatuated with Eric, and Itsuo… he was a damn hard nut to crack. She didn’t even realize he knew English for nearly a month after they’d met.
After several months of observation, Joey was certain of one thing: something was off about the Granite Falls pack, and it went deeper than the cock that ruled the roost and the fractures of their broken will. They were hiding something, and she was determined to root it out.
As she headed up the stairs, Joey chewed the inside of her lip. She’d wanted to bring Chris in on her investigation when he arrived, but that hadn’t gone quite as she’d planned. She resolved to talk to him about it on the way home, before things got completely out of hand.
No sooner had she stepped out onto the landing than a door along the hall flew open and Eric stormed out with the scowl of the century on his face.
“What’s up?” she asked, and passed him the beer when he motioned for it.
He lifted the bottle to his lips and downed several long swallows. Behind him, the others began filtering out of the room. He glanced over his shoulder and licked his lips, then looked back at her.
“Pack business,” he said, and brushed past her, smacking her ass on the way by. “Come on, babe, we’re going to play another set.”
Joey’s cheeks heated, but it was anger that surged in her veins rather than embarrassment. She shot him a look over her shoulder, but he didn’t look back. It was probably for the best. He made it difficult to keep her contempt for him off her face sometimes. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
She turned back to find Ben and Brandon approaching. “What’d I miss?”
Brandon grimaced, but Ben grinned. “Homeboy got put in his place.”
Joey blinked. “Chris?”
Ben shook his head. “Itsuo.”
“No shit, really?” Joey looked down the hall in time to see the man in question exit the room. He appeared as unruffled as ever, barely sparing them a passing glance on his way downstairs.
“I shit you not. Eric went at him and he put him on the ground in seconds. I didn’t even see him move.”
Her eyes widened. “I would have liked to be a fly on the wall for that one.”
“You could’ve been. Where were you, anyway?”
“Long story. Chris still in there?” She was already in motion, walking down the hall past loitering Granite Falls wolves.
“Far as I know,” Ben called after her.
Joey nearly collided with Chris on her way in. “Hey, just the man I was looking for.”
Chris stepped back, brows drawn together. “Did you know?”
“Know what?” Joey asked, stepping aside as Jenny slid past them and out the door, the last to exit.
“That this was my birth parents’ house.”
Joey rocked back on her heels. “It was?” She glanced around the room, seeing its shabby details in a new light. The fact that Eric had let the place go for years had never escaped her fastidious notice, but knowing it had belonged to Chris’s parents… that made it particularly tragic. “No, I had no idea.”
He gazed intently into her eyes for a moment, as if searching for some hint of duplicity. Then he nodded and moved past her. She caught his arm as he did.
“Chris, wait…”
He stopped and turned, but what she saw on his face stole her breath. Disgust. “What?”
“I— We— Can we…” she stammered, unable to complete the thought.
“You wouldn’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting. He seems volatile.” A muscle in his cheek twitched before he turned away again.
Joey watched him walk away with a white-knuckled grip on the doorframe. She swallowed a growl and pushed off the doorframe, pacing across the room to lean on the dresser. Fortunately, the moon was new; she didn’t need its power amping up her anger in that moment. It was bad enough that she didn’t know who she was angrier at: herself for not telling Chris what was going on, or him for believing the worst of her even after witnessing Eric in his element. How could he think she’d actually be attracted to someone like that?
A quiet knock drew her from her thoughts, and she looked up. The dresser mirror reflected Jenny’s slight form in the doorway behind her.
“Hey, are you okay?” Jenny asked. Barely eighteen, Jenny was a freshman at the University of Washington on an academic scholarship. She was wicked smart, but even more submissive than Sara. Not merely submissive, but downright flighty.
Joey swallowed her anger along with her wounded pride in one big gulp and turned. She’d been working on getting the shy wolf to open up to her for weeks. Maybe the night wasn’t a total waste after all.
“Yeah. What’s up?”
Jenny hesitated briefly before taking a step forward. “I thought maybe we could talk…”
Joey managed a smile, doing her best to not intimidate the girl. “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”
Jessica stepped into the doorway behind Jenny. “You two coming? We’re about to go on.”
Jenny nearly jumped out of her skin, whirli
ng to face the other woman. Joey mentally cursed the alpha’s untimely arrival, but kept her smile in place.
“We’ll be right down,” Joey said. “Just give us a minute.”
Jessica glanced from Jenny to Joey and back again. “We’ve got your favorite song at the top of the set list, Jen-ster. Wouldn’t want to miss it, would you?”
“N-no, of course not,” Jenny stammered, then scampered around Jessica and out the door.
Joey ground her teeth in frustration, but did her best to keep it off her face as Jessica flashed her a smile and turned to go.
Goddamn bitch. She did that on purpose.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, Joey followed them out and shut the door behind her. She was so close to a breakthrough she could almost taste it. All she had to do was be patient and play the game.
7
Chris paused at the foot of the stairs and glanced toward the back of the house. The music had been silenced, but it was a temporary reprieve. Rather than head back to wait for the band to start up, he headed out the front door. The cold air assailed him, but he zipped up his coat and trotted down the front steps. He didn’t know where he was going, just… out. He needed to clear his head, to catch his breath and process what had happened.
His footsteps carried him around the side of the house and down toward the water’s edge as his thoughts wandered. He’d known he owned property in the Seattle area, Adelaide had told him years ago, but he’d been content to let her manage the details and focus on his career. She hadn’t mentioned renting it to another pack, and she couldn’t have been aware of the disrepair the property had fallen into. Chris was sure her property manager would be looking for a new job soon.
Chris stopped on the shore and turned back to look at the house in a new light. Nothing about it was familiar to him, but that shouldn’t have been surprising. After all, he’d been a toddler when his parents had died. A flurry of complex emotion swirled inside him. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about this strange, awkward homecoming, but it was all tangled up in his feelings for Joey and her inexplicable attraction to the man who, it seemed, had desecrated Chris’s house.