“But,” she continued, leaning forward over her plate and dangling her necklace in the scallop sauce, “You’re single – so what’s the deal? Gay? Too kinky for the average babe? Dead ex-wives in your closet?”
She laughed uproariously at her own joke, while Wyatt’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“No, but seriously, what’s the deal?”
She cocked her head to the side, feigning interest. Wyatt sighed. It was going to be a long night.
“Well, I guess I’m just a bit preoccupied with work, and…” he tried to come up with another vague reason to explain his single status, “I just haven’t met the right woman.”
She nodded sagely. Spearing one of her scallops, she pointed it in his direction.
“Workaholic. Could have told you that the moment you walked through the door.”
She paused, as if waiting for applause.
“Wyatt – I know the pain of loneliness. But honey, you can’t bury the pain in work. I know – I know where you’re at. When Bob left me, he was my first husband,” she shoved the scallop in her mouth, “Well, I just buried myself in work. I became the retailer queen of South Dallas. Did it make me happy? No Wyatt, it did not make me happy. What made me happy was the love of a good man – that was Jeremy, my second husband.”
Suddenly she looked up from the table in the manner of a meerkat, and clicked her fingers at a passing waiter.
“More of this,” she tapped her manicured nail on the rim of their empty Merlot.
“Jeremy passed,” she crossed herself, “God rest his soul. But he taught me how to love again. And that saved me.”
She placed her hand over Wyatt’s.
“Let love in, Wyatt.”
This is excruciating. He tried to politely pull his hand back, but she held on, staring into his eyes with all the zealousness of a fire and brimstone preacher.
Wyatt’s cell buzzed in his pocket.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
He hurriedly extracted his hands, and walked swiftly to the restroom. When the door was closed, he checked the screen.
“Colton – are you shitting me?” His tone was curter than he intended.
“Going that well?”
“What were you thinking?” He asked his brother, checking that all the stalls were empty.
“I’m sorry Wyatt, she seemed…you know, vibrant.”
He could hear his brother trying to repress laughter.
“I’m going to kill you.”
“Look – I’m trying, alright? Remember I have a vested interest in this. I thought an older woman might be refreshing, a bit more balanced.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes in the bathroom mirror.
“Colton – she’s about fifty. I’m thirty-one, how did you ever think that would work?”
“Well – she’s had a lot of work done, she could pass for forty, easily.”
Wyatt didn’t deign to reply. He didn’t want to bad-mouth the woman, it really wasn’t his style, but he was utterly fed up with his brother’s ludicrous attempts at matchmaking.
“Okay, Colton – we’ll talk about this tomorrow. Right now I have to go and finish my date, and somehow make a clean exit without offending anyone.”
“If anyone can do that, you can.”
Wyatt wanted to hurl the phone across the room. He hung up abruptly. Turning on the faucet, he doused his face in the icy-cold Alaskan water.
“I ordered us a dessert to share.”
The woman winked at him lasciviously.
“That’s…great.” Wyatt replied, seating himself back down.
“I didn’t think you’d mind – you look like a guy that works out a lot.”
She leaned forward on the table, pushing out her cleavage. She’d undone another button on her blouse, and Wyatt sighed inwardly. This was going to get awkward.
“I work out,” she smiled and sat up straight pushing out her chest, “you can probably tell. It’s so important. I do yoga, Pilates, soul cycle, the works. It’s like, a religion for me, or something. Crazy right?”
She screeched with laughter, and Wyatt wondered if he’d missed something. A waiter approached with an elaborate dessert, and placed it down on the table with unnecessary flourish.
“Wow. That looks incredible,” she screeched.
She poked at the plate’s contents.
“Aw – wait!” She called back the waiter.
“Does this have nuts?”
The waiter paused briefly before replying, “Yes ma’am, it’s the Butter Pecan Truffle you ordered.”
“I cannot eat this. I have serious nut allergies.”
She backed away from the dessert as if it were going to leap off the plate and attack her.
“I’m so sorry ma’am, is there anything else I can get you?”
“I don’t think so. Not in a kitchen where you’re using nuts – and not expressly stating that on the menu.”
“Again, my sincere apologies.”
“It’s okay,” Wyatt interrupted. He’d had enough.
“Can we just get the check, please.”
“Right away sir.”
His companion scowled.
“Wyatt – I’m going to the restroom.”
She rose unsteadily to her feet, holding on to the chair for support. She tried to untangle her purse from the backrest, but it proved too difficult, and so she half dragged the chair across the restaurant floor till the straps finally came lose.
Wyatt massaged his temple with his thumb and forefinger. She was too drunk to drive back to her hotel. He’d have to persuade her to get into a cab.
The waiter came back with the check, and placed it in front of Wyatt.
“I’m so sorry about the dessert, sir.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Did your mother enjoy herself?”
Wyatt suppressed a smirk.
“She’s my date.”
The waiter turned bright red, opened his mouth to say something and then thought better of it. Wyatt nodded in understanding. He placed his card down without checking the amount, and the waiter hurriedly swiped it through the system.
As much as he could happily throttle Colton right now, he understood the method behind his madness.
Wyatt was overdue assuming the Alpha position of the Clan. His uncle, Joe Sterling, was getting too old to carry on his duties as Alpha, particularly at a time when there was such a strong degree of civil unrest simmering in the underbelly of Port Ursa.
Clan law decreed that only a mated bear could take leadership, and though Wyatt was the likely choice as elder of the three brothers, he was unmated. Colton was the youngest of the three, and the only one with a mate; Hannah, Port Ursa’s general practitioner who ran a small clinic in town. If Wyatt didn’t find a mate soon, Colton would be called upon to take the Alpha position.
Wyatt idly peeled the label off the Merlot and ran its sticky paper between his fingers. He wondered if perhaps Colton taking the lead wasn’t such a bad idea. His brother could be a complete hothead, often more ruled by emotion than logic, but Wyatt would always be there as a sounding board – all three brothers knew they worked best together as a team.
“Sir?”
Wyatt looked up to see a young waitress peering down at him.
“Yes?”
She blushed, taking in his stern features and impressive build.
“Your…err, date, is in the restroom…”
Wyatt smiled at her blandly, “Yes. Is there a problem?”
“I’m so sorry to trouble you, but she’s passed out. I can’t wake her.”
He wanted to laugh. He’d been thinking that the night couldn’t get any worse, but apparently it could.
“Right.”
He stood up, smiling down at the waitress reassuringly. He was pretty sure that she wasn’t paid enough for this type of drama.
“I’ll sort it out. I might need a bit of help – what’s your name?”
“Katie.” She blushed again,
and fiddled with her notepad.
“Okay Katie. Is she decent?” Wyatt asked as he guided her toward the restroom.
Katie scrunched up her face, “Sort of?”
“Can you make her decent? I’ll wait out here – just call when you’re done.”
The girl nodded rapidly and scuttled off, the door swinging behind her. Wyatt sighed, and looked around the restaurant. It had emptied out, apart from one couple in the far corner practically eating one another’s faces. The coast was more or less clear.
Katie peeked her head round the door.
“Good to go,” she announced.
Wyatt took a deep breath and entered the ladies restroom. His date was slumped beneath the hand dryer, legs out, and the contents of her purse scattered across the floor. Vomit covered her blouse and skirt.
“I’m sorry – about that,” Katie pointed toward the vomit, “I didn’t know what to use…”
“No, don’t be sorry, that’s fine – I’ll take care of it.”
He knelt down and scooped his arms beneath her body. She was breathing steadily, her breath smelling like the inside of a brewery, but Wyatt was relieved that she didn’t seem to be in any real danger.
“Okay, Katie – I’m going to lift her out. Will you hold the door for me, and then call a taxi? It’s probably best if I take her outside, the cold air will do her good.”
Katie nodded, after picking up the contents of the purse and handing it over to Wyatt, she skirted over to the door. Wyatt carried her easily; she wasn’t lying about working out. The woman was practically emaciated.
With the help of Katie, he maneuvered her through the restaurant, and propped her up on a smokers’ bench outside. Katie brought him a bottle of water.
“You’re an angel – here.” Wyatt handed her a fifty from his wallet.
“I couldn’t, really, you’ve had a rough night as it is, sir,” she protested.
“Katie – take the money. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She timidly accepted the money.
“Thank you. The taxi is on its way.”
Wyatt nodded his thanks. He wrapped his jacket round the woman, who was still sleeping peacefully in her drunken stupor. He buttoned it up, covering the vomit and hoped that the driver wouldn’t notice.
He placed the bottle of water in one of the pockets. Somehow, someday, he was going to make Colton pay for this.
Big time.
Chapter four
The three men sat around a table in the back of Jackson’s bar. The blinds were drawn, the air thick with cigar smoke.
“Come on, Colton – play your hand.”
Tucker leaned back in his chair and smirked at his younger brother. Colton cocked an eyebrow and continued to idly chew on a toothpick while he studied his cards.
“Not feeling flush, brother?” Wyatt commented.
“Both of you lay off. I’m trying to concentrate.”
Wyatt gave a snort of derision, “First time for everything.”
Tucker placed his cards face down on the table; he was growing bored with the pace of the game.
“Hey, Wyatt – how did the date go?” He asked.
Colton groaned, “Wrong question.”
Wyatt shot him a menacing look.
“It was a shit show. The most epic one yet. Colton has vowed to give up on his award-winningly terrible matchmaking, so something positive’s come out of it.”
Colton rolled his eyes.
“Shit. What you gonna do Wyatt?” Tucker looked mildly panicked.
“I thought maybe you wanted to try your luck?” Wyatt replied.
“Hell no. Not cut out for leadership.”
“You’re the one with the friendship with Drake,” commented Colton, “It’s a logical option if Wyatt can’t mate.”
“Careful with the ‘can’t’ – it’s more ‘won’t’, I’m not fucking defective.” Wyatt muttered. “But Colton’s right, that friendship is our saving grace at the moment.”
They were referring to Tucker’s friendship with the Yupiq wolf Pack leader; an ex-army buddy of Tuckers who had recently succeeded to power.
“Right now he’s the only one who can keep Simeon in check. Joe’s been too soft on him, and one of us is going to need to step up and crush that monster.”
“Well – it’s not going to be me,” Tucker staunchly replied, “Besides, Colton’s the obvious choice.”
He crushed his cigar into the ashtray. Both he and Wyatt looked expectantly at Colton.
“Oh come on – we all know I’d be the worst Alpha. Wyatt, neither Tucker nor I have your patience and moderation. I’d end up putting the whole Pack six feet under – which, incidentally, I’m itching to do already.”
Colton had Simeon permanently at the top of his shit list, ever since the Pack leader had endangered his wife’s life with the help of her ex-husband. He’d never been able to prove Simeon’s involvement, and police were pretty much out of the question when it came to Pack and Clan politics, so Colton was biding his time till he could serve Simeon the justice he deserved.
“What about Lisa?” Tucker commented out of the blue.
His brothers looked at him blankly.
“Lucca’s daughter. She’s good looking, a shifter - she’s great.”
“Tucker,” Wyatt sighed, “I went out with her two weeks ago. We’re not compatible.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry man, I forgot.”
“I’ve officially dated every shifter in Alaska, and a few from the lower 48,” Wyatt clarified.
“So we continue with humans – it’s no big deal,” Tucker replied.
Colton sat up straight in his chair, “Hang on, Wyatt – do you think it’s because of, you know, your bear?”
“What exactly do you mean?” Wyatt asked icily.
“Well – you’re kind of unique in that respect, maybe we ought to be searching colder climates – like…Antarctica?”
Both Tucker and Wyatt looked at him as if he’d gone insane.
“Oh come on,” he replied indignantly to their stares, “Wyatt – you’re a fricken Polar Bear, there’s probably some kind of ice maiden out there waiting for you to warm her up.”
Wyatt felt tension building in his temples.
“Yeah, Colton – this is exactly why you’re no longer on matchmaking duty.” Wyatt heard a strange strangulated sound coming from Tucker, and turned to look at his brother. His face was bright red, tears of laughter pouring down his cheeks.
“Shit, I’m sorry Wyatt…” he took a shuddering breath trying to compose himself, “Jesus, Colton, you’re something else.”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Tucker burst out in gales of laughter. Wyatt smirked and punched his brother in the shoulder. Colton tried to look offended, but Tucker’s merriment was infectious.
“Alright – bad idea.” He held up his hands in surrender, “I’m going to think of something.”
“No you’re not.” Wyatt interjected firmly.
Enough was enough. Wyatt had tried his best, but there was no use forcing it. He still had a several weeks before Joe officially resigned, and it was time to let fate run its course and let the cards fall where they may.
Wyatt arrived home much later that evening. He had a mild headache from the scotch, so he had walked rather than driven. The icy gales that flew up from the sea had helped clear his head, but putting the key in the door and opening his large, silent, dark home he had felt a pang of envy for Colton arriving home to his loving wife.
He’d never had any trouble finding willing women to keep him company, why finding a mate was proving impossible he had no idea. At the beginning of the process he’d almost enjoyed himself – it was fun; he may not have felt that any of the women he met were necessarily right for him, but they were always entertaining and attractive. It hadn’t felt like a hardship. Then, after a few months of fruitless searching he’d started to berate himself for being too picky. Joe had started to put the pressure on, as had his brothers.
It had become much less enjoyable, with Wyatt feeling obliged to take out whatever woman his brothers threw at him, no matter how unattractive he found them – physically or personality-wise.
Colton had suggested that Wyatt might be reluctant to commit, but he didn’t think that was it. He had always wanted a wife and cubs, and had assumed that when the time was right it would just happen.
He understood now that it had been a naive thought. But he concluded that he’d rather spend the rest of his life single than go on another disastrous date.
Chapter five
“Hannah, you home?” Colton called from the hallway.
“Kitchen!”
Colton hung up his coat, wincing at the smell of Cigar smoke that clung to it. The light coming from the kitchen was warm and cozy, and he could hear the sounds of Hannah rifling through the cutlery draw.
“I’m reheating dinner for you,” she called, “that okay?”
He stood in the doorway, admiring her figure from behind; the beautiful curvy body that he worshiped, with her luscious curves and plump backside. The novelty of coming home to her never wore off.
“Course – sorry I’m so late. Game dragged on.”
She spun around to kiss him ‘hello’ and he enveloped her in his arms, gently stroking her hair.
“How’s Wyatt doing?” She asked.
“Not great,” Colton smirked, “Can’t catch a break, that guy.”
Hannah sighed at her husband, “You just need to give him a bit of time. It’s too much pressure all of this – no wonder he can’t find a mate.”
“Yeah,” Colton sat down at the dinner table, “but I think I’ve got an idea -”
“Colton,” her tone held a warning, “Wyatt doesn’t need whatever scheme is cooking in that head of yours, you’d do best to leave it be.”
“Huh – you say that,” protested Colton, “but if Wyatt doesn’t come up with a mate, they’re going to start looking at the only one of the Sterling family fortunate to have such a beautiful, accomplished and sexy-as-hell wife.”
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