“I’ve brought him food before. You can tell him I just dropped it off. You don’t have to say we talked.”
“Will he believe that?”
“That we didn’t talk?” She shrugged. “Leon sees me as a rule-abiding type. I don’t see why not.”
The stranger nodded and returned to the tree. He sat with the meatloaf squares on his lap and patted the ground across from him. “Come on, then.”
“Oh…”
“I can tell you want to stay. I can’t imagine why, but you’re already here. Sit.”
She sat cross-legged facing him and frowned as she tripped over possible conversation starters in her mind.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
She almost laughed, given that she’d wanted to know his name but for the life of her was too distracted to get it. “Maya. Johnson, of the Martin Clan.”
He held his hand out and she leaned forward and took it as he introduced himself, “August Moore. Taylor clan.”
He was impossibly warm, and a tingle of energy flowed through him where their skin touched. The sensation was unfamiliar yet welcome. The feel of lupine, but not of pack. She squeezed his hand, savoring the contact a moment longer than was probably polite, then sat back.
“So, Maya Johnson. Are you always breaking the rules? I thought the Bronze pack was comprised of the squeakiest of squeaky-clean shifters.” He smiled as he spoke.
Her brows rose. “Squeaky clean?”
“That’s what they say. You’re polite, you’re rule-abiding. Reid is supposed to be one of the most modern pack alphas around.”
She tilted her head. “I guess? I’ve never met another pack. We host runners from all over but meeting one lone lupine isn’t the same. I hear things about other packs, but it’s hard to imagine how different we are,” she mused. “Though usually, yes, I follow the rules.”
“Well you’re in fit company. I usually follow the rules, too.”
“Usually,” she repeated. “Except for whatever you’ve done that has you learning discipline now?”
“Exactly.”
“And that was?”
His smile faded somewhat. “You know curiosity killed the cat?”
“Not the wolf,” she replied easily.
“Fair enough.” He relaxed, tilting his head back to rest against the tree’s wide trunk. “You’ve probably heard that some packs track bloodlines. Sometimes just because, and sometimes to arrange marriages?”
“Yeah. It’s ridiculous,” she bristled.
He shrugged. “Sandstone pack tracks them. Usually that’s it. It’s a source of pride. Of history and legacy. Not something we use against each other—or at least not the majority of us.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t buy that nonsense of blood purity or strength.”
“I didn’t say I did, either. I just said it’s tracked.” He exhaled and looked up for a moment. “Well, don’t judge me for it but my line is considered… I dunno. Top quality.”
She bit her tongue before a comment of him looking top quality slipped out. “I see.”
“And our current alpha, Rostom, thought it would be a suitable match to have that sort of blood lead the pack next. He asked me to pair with his daughter.”
“Oh. You’re promised, then?”
“Hardly. It’s definitely a boost to the ego to imagine my kid as the next alpha, but Claudia—his daughter—isn’t the type of lupine who can be ordered to mate. Neither am I, really, but she was definitely more offended than I was.”
“Because that’s her dad. He can’t command her to mate with you,” Maya agreed. “No offense, obviously. You seem nice enough, and you’re gorgeous, but that doesn’t make it right.”
August arched a brow at her. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “I’m nice enough.”
Her ramble played back to her. She’d called him gorgeous. Rather than own up to it, she continued, “I guess you two didn’t click?”
“She thinks I’m old, and I agree. I’ve got ten years on her. It’s not an unheard-of type of pairing, but it doesn’t matter because she’s got eyes on someone else and I’m happy to let that play out. Rostom doesn’t know that yet, though.”
“That’s it? You’re in trouble for not agreeing?”
“That’s it.” He opened his hands and sighed. “Rostom isn’t like Reid. He’s more like your standard alpha. His way is law, and the elders back him.”
“What an ass.”
“Nah.”
“Seriously? He’s backwards and outdated if he’s trying to pair up bloodlines.”
“He’s a dad who wants what he believes is best for his only kid. Up until this point, I’ve never had an issue with his leadership. He’s blinded by this. So what? He’s not perfect. We aren’t either, are we? We’re a couple of rule breakers.”
Maya frowned and leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands and planting her elbows on her knees. “Reid would never do that.”
“Maybe not this specific decision, but as alpha he has to lay down the law when necessary. Reid isn’t a parent, though. He’s also not perfect. Everyone has flaws. Every pack has flaws, come to think of it.”
“The Bronze pack doesn’t have any obvious flaws like bloodline tracing, though,” Maya insisted.
August rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you do.”
“Name one.”
“They think you’re weak.”
The statement took her by surprise. “That’s not a pack flaw. It’s just…”
He looked her over, his gaze critical but flattering all the same. “How does your pack choose mates?”
“Huh?” She startled at the random question. His eyes on her made her warm but that warmth quickly evaporated at the new topic.
“It’s a simple question.”
She curled a fist under her jaw, thinking. “I assume like any others? Couples just find each other. We grow up together, and at some point, the friendship usually becomes more.”
He studied her for a moment and made a curious sound beneath his breath.
“What?” she snapped.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You made a sound.”
“A sound.” He smirked.
“Yeah it was like…” She tried to mimic the audible exhale he’d done before. “Like that.”
He chuckled softly. “Okay. You caught me.”
“Explain it.”
He inhaled and blew out his breath. “Fine. Here’s what I know about your pack. You’re a big family. You call each other brother and sister—which, granted, most lupine do. Except, we tend to only call strangers that. I would never address someone I expected to mate with as sister. If a female is around my age, even, that word goes out the window.”
“So?”
“You’ve turned nude time into family time. I get it, we’re wolves, clothing isn’t necessary,” he said quickly. “But, and this is a big ‘but,’ there is a way to do that without removing the obvious sexual nature of being nude. Case in point, your reaction to me the first time we met. You looked like you’d forgotten how to breathe.”
Maya’s face burned but she held his gaze.
“Your pack has a shortage of females, but Leon told me that you’re pretty much off-limits to your pack. I asked about the hypothetical female I saw darting through the trees and he immediately knew who you were and what your story was. I was told not to worry. You’ve been shelved as everyone’s little sister.”
“Hey…”
“That’s a serious flaw, if you ask me. Your pack has become obsessed with being a big protective family, to the point that you have lupine that avoid the natural instincts that every other pack embraces.”
Maya dropped her eyes. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I? Because I gave you an opportunity to judge me as a potential mate and you didn’t even flirt. Didn’t even present an ounce of skin to start things. I know it wasn’t because you had no interest. And here you are again, not because you’re a sweet girl that carri
es around her mom’s meatloaf, but because you probably need attention from a male who isn’t going to smile and call you “sister,” even if you shouldn’t be here, know nothing about me, and could be in danger. Am I wrong?”
His assumptions, true or not, flooded over her in an unsettling wave. She bristled and stood a little too quickly, tripping over her own ankle before catching herself.
“I’m not a danger,” he said gently.
“I didn’t think you were,” she huffed. “Rude, yes. You’re saying we’re prudes?”
“Not exactly, but it’s not a far-off label.”
“And I suppose in your pack couples just hump on sight? Do the males piss on the females to mark their territory?”
He coughed. “I mean… I don’t think it goes that far often. I mean I’ve heard things but—” He held up a hand and shook his head. “Look, I don’t judge others for their kinks. My point was we don’t let the pack bonds interrupt the natural process of mating. Females want to be courted. We let that happen. If that means sometimes the guys need to fight it out over a female, so be it. If that means our females are more aggressive, that’s going to happen, too. We don’t treat others like pups or family. We treat everyone as pack.”
Maya huffed and forced away the stray thought that wondered what type of male would urinate on a female, and what female would like it. Aggressive females? Males fighting over them? The notions made her question what she’d originally thought of August. “Enjoy the meatloaf.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran through the dark forest. Stealth wasn’t her concern this time. She needed to get away from this infuriating male that thought he knew everything about her and her pack after a few days of puttering around the woods.
Chapter Four
“We’re going to town,” Ellie, Maya’s cousin, said in a sing-song voice as she brushed a hand across Maya’s shoulders. “Join us?”
Maya glanced over as Ellie sat next to her on the log where Maya had been quietly contemplating the night before. “Not today. Maybe next time.”
“You’ve been saying, ‘maybe next time,’ for nearly a year. You need to get out.” Ellie nudged Maya’s arm. “We can hit all the gift shops.”
Maya’s mood lifted somewhat. Most lupine visited town for either necessities or companionship. Humans were considered fair game to handle the sexual needs of un-mated lupine, since the alternative—fooling around with other lupine—was highly frowned upon and discouraged. Maya had given up on human men, having never experienced a spark of interest for them. And as for necessities, she didn’t have a desire to shop for toothpaste or shampoo when her cousins were happy to grab it for her.
Trinkets, however, were her weakness. Little statues. Specialized books. Postcards. She loved the items that her parents saw as pointless. Truly, most of the pack didn’t collect items the way she did, and she didn’t understand why. “I suppose I wouldn’t mind looking at the latest figurines.”
“Last time we were there I saw an entire new collection of little ceramic wolves.”
“You never mentioned that. Why didn’t you bring me one?”
Ellie grinned. “Because this way I can entice you to come.”
“I suppose…”
“Or I can stay behind, and you can spill on why you’re sulking on your thinking log.”
“Not sulking,” Maya huffed. And nothing she wanted to discuss. The more time she spent thinking of August’s summary of the pack, the more she got a sinking feeling that he was right about it all. The rest of what he’d said however, the parts about him presenting himself and seeking her response, that still escaped her.
“There you go again,” Ellie said with a groan. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.” Maya hopped to her feet and shook out her curls. “Let me get a shopping list from mom and dad and I’ll meet you.”
“Awesome. You’ve got fifteen. Laurent is driving for sure, and I think maybe Miller?”
Maya suppressed a groan. She had to choose between piling into a car with either Laurent, the guy she’d had a crush on forever and had recently bled upon, or Miller, her particularly overbearing cousin who’d likely preface the trip with a long warning about the dangers of humans. She forced a smile. “I’ll see you then.”
Settled into the passenger seat of Laurent’s car, Maya cradled her newest treasure, an ebony wolf with stern amber eyes. Tiny strokes of grey paint added highlights to the sculpted fur and gave it a strangely soft appearance.
Her own wolf form was similar to the figurine, and while she’d turned it over again and again in her hand to consider it before finally purchasing it, she found herself wondering what August’s wolf looked like.
His human form was large and dark, but that didn’t mean his wolf would be. Or rather, his wolf would likely be massive, just as her wolf was petite to reflect her human size, but the color of his fur could be a range. It wasn’t a thought she often entertained.
She glanced to her left. Laurent’s attention was on the road. Music played faintly through the old stereo as he navigated the long stretches of country road that came before grass turned to the mountainous uphill terrain of home. For the moment, conversation had paused.
Laurent’s wolf was a plain earthy brown with gray around the muzzle. Knowing this meant nothing to her. She wanted to know more about August, but she’d never once wondered about Leon’s wolf. Nor any other strangers’.
Usually a ride like this, seated beside Laurent for the hour-long drive between town and home, Maya would stare, blush, and sputter. His proximity had a way of igniting her anxiety. Not so today. On the way into town she’d been in the backseat, distracted by Ellie’s non-stop chatter and enthusiasm. Now there was no immediate distraction. Laurent was still handsome and appealing, but August…
August was passing through, she reminded herself.
August disapproved of her pack and her alpha.
August was waiting for her to flirt with him.
Her fascination with August went beyond any curiosity or daydreaming she’d had for the male currently seated within touching distance of her. Laurent was an attractive male within the pack, one who often hung around her cousins. That alone had fueled Maya’s teen obsession. Laurent was the ideal mate, by all means, if she ignored the fact that overnight she’d gotten over him.
One glimpse of another option and she no longer felt awkward around him.
“Thanks for driving us,” Maya said to break the silence. “It didn’t seem like you needed anything in town.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t need anything specific, no.”
She looked at the figurine in her hands for another moment before wrapping it in the brown paper it had come with and settling it on the floor. Laurent had returned to silently staring at the road.
“How many more months of training do you have?” she asked. Laurent would be a runner soon, and she’d noticed how tight-lipped he’d grown about his training, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have something to say now.
“Three, and then it’s a matter of waiting for my trial.”
“That’s exciting,” she said.
He chuckled a bit. “Exciting is a word, yeah. I think it’ll really depend on who ends up assigning my trial. Damon or Wyatt. They’ve got different opinions on how to best test me.”
“Isn’t it always the same? You’re brought to a designated spot away from the pack or any cities and you have to make it a month?” She shuddered. “A month by yourself in the wild. Then you make your way back.”
“That’s the gist of things. Winter’s coming, though. Normally the trial would wait for Spring. Damon’s been talking about how I can handle a bit of snow. Not sure if he’s serious or not. Wyatt said something about sending me to the desert for a change of scenery.”
Maya’s brow arched. “Which would you prefer?”
Laurent shrugged and didn’t answer. Maya waited a few minutes but apparently the conversation was over. She
turned to watch the scenery fly by outside the window, a bit confused at how she ever imagined mating with a male who couldn’t even keep a conversation going.
Ellie yawned from behind Maya. The backseat rustled and Ellie appeared, leaning onto Maya’s left shoulder. Ellie’s younger brother, Brody, groaned.
“Your ass is in my face,” Brody protested.
“How much longer?” Ellie asked, ignoring her brother.
“Thirty minutes, give or take,” Laurent replied. He slid one hand from the steering wheel and rested it on the gear shift.
Maya glanced at his hand. Normally she’d daydream of him reaching over and touching her. He’d give her knee a squeeze, gaze into her eyes and confess that he’d always noticed her.
That fantasy no longer appealed to her. She didn’t want him. The revelation of it was long overdue.
“This isn’t the usual route,” Ellie commented.
“I wanted to try something new.”
“Speaking of new, have you heard anything about the runners?”
Maya perked up.
“There’s nothing to hear,” Laurent replied.
Maya grumbled internally.
“Will they be staying on the border the entire time?” Ellie asked. “Or is Reid doing a trial?”
“He would have said if he was doing a trial,” Brody pointed out. “Reid’s always straightforward.” The fifteen-year old’s voice held the obvious admiration that most young lupine displayed toward the alpha.
“Things can change,” Ellie said dismissively over her shoulder. “I thought you’d know, Laurent.”
His head tilted, his eyes moving from the road to the rearview mirror. “Why would I know any more than you?”
“Runner secrets,” Ellie mused. She fell back into her seat. “I figured you either knew the runners out there or knew why they weren’t welcome in the center.”
Laurent clicked his tongue and shook his head. “There’s no runner’s secrets in this case. It’s Reid’s business.”
“Odd he didn’t say more, though,” Maya said neutrally.
“Not our place to question him,” Laurent said.
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 82