Curves & Courage

by Christin Lovell

  Her scent wasn’t hard to locate. It stood out; it called to me on a primal level. It wrapped itself around my lungs, infusing my soul with attraction. She smelled delicious. Her aroma was enticing, sweet and sensual. I couldn’t turn away from it. I would always turn towards it instinctually, which was why I didn’t understand how she could walk away.

  City schools were overwhelmed with students and under staffed. Even during lunch, the halls were crowded, though in fairness there was actually a smidgen of a walkway down the center at this time.

  My wolf preened himself; the closer I got to her, the higher he pushed himself. Before I rounded the final corner to the history wing, he breeched my surface. I shoved him down, taking a deep breath to rein us in.

  She’d stopped. Her footsteps no longer padded in soft, rapid taps against the floor. She’d actually come to a complete stop and was waiting for me.

  As I turned the corner, I found her standing beside one of the few abandoned areas along the locker-lined hall. Her head was down, her book bag hanging heavily from her shoulders. She didn’t have a locker, I idly concluded. That wasn’t surprising considering there were nearly twice as many students as there were lockers. Her arms were folded around her mid-section as she hunched over.

  Fear seeped into my chest, shoving away some of my anger.

  Her breathing was shallow; her shoulders were trembling slightly. I heard her swallow hard. “What do you want from me?” her voice cracked, her emotions thick. Though I knew she wasn’t crying, I knew she was close to it.

  Her weak question slammed into my gut. My wolf snarled, ready to take up arms for her.

  I approached her slowly, afraid of spooking her. As I rounded in front of her, my heart stopped, splitting in two.

  She was nibbling nervously on her bottom lip. Tears pooled in her eyes, though, to her credit, she was doing her best to hold them back. She didn’t look at me; her gazed was focused downwards.

  I took a steadying breath, checking the area around us. Assured we were safe, I crooked a finger beneath her chin.

  She shook, wincing as my flesh connected with hers.

  My features twisted, unease furling in my gut. Something was majorly wrong here.

  Slowly, I tilted her face upwards, but she still refused to look at me. It felt like a knife was twisting in my heart each second she denied me. Dammit. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I didn’t plan on caring about her so quickly. “Please look at me, sweetie.”

  She gasped for air, her chin quivering; her tears still stayed though. “Please don’t claim me,” she cried, suddenly turning and racing away.

  “Shit!” My fist hit the lockers sideways, denting the door of one.

  She disappeared around the bend and no doubt into the crowd. I could easily follow her scent like before, but she was already distressed. I didn’t want to upset her further.

  Damn. There was nothing like a shy mate to get your ego in check.

  Chapter 7

  Sophie

  He must have sensed how fragile I was because, even though we shared every class for the rest of the day, he gave me my space. It didn’t stop his assessing stares, but it kept him at bay.

  All I needed was time and space. Too bad I couldn’t get the same from my dad.

  I dreaded school, but I feared going home more. My days were easy compared to my nights. Most nights were literally nightmares, my own version of hell. It was why my mate needed to stay away. He couldn’t know. Especially as a future alpha, he couldn’t witness how weak his mate was.

  A shudder worked through me; my wolf whimpered as the dismissal bell rang. I swallowed my anxiety, grasping at the last bit of courage I had within me. I only had one more year with him; fourteen months, to be precise, until I was eighteen. I could survive that; I would survive that.

  I stood, organizing my remaining books. My backpack was filled to the max, ready to burst at the seams. Had I been human, my limbs would have been aching by now. The weight of the worn, thick textbooks was overwhelming, nearly as overwhelming as the idea that I’d learn everything in them before the year was up.

  I stiffened when I caught motion in the corner of my eye. His scent grew stronger as he approached me. I eyed him warily, praying he wasn’t going to push me. I didn’t know my limits with him yet.

  He thrust a torn piece of notebook paper at me. “Just in case.”

  My attention slipped to the paper. His name and phone number were scribbled on it. Dominick. My mate’s name is Dominick.

  I hastily took the information from him and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans. I didn’t trust myself to speak. I couldn’t. What would I say? Thanks? I couldn’t give him what I knew he was waiting for in return: the same. That opened doors. That gave him access I wasn’t ready to give yet.

  I picked up the stack of books off the desk, making a play to move past him.

  He didn’t hesitate, sliding in beside me. “You walkin’?”

  Panic seized me. He couldn’t walk home with me. If my dad scented him…

  I froze mid-step, closing my eyes to try to control my quickening pulse. He heard everything. He knew. If he ever scented me at home, he would know the truth. He would smell my fear and know.

  His scent intensified as he leaned into me. My body vibrated with awareness. My wolf lifted her chin to sniff at him. It was instinctual. It was natural to want to be close; heck, we were supposed to want to rip each other’s clothes off right away. That couldn’t happen though. I wouldn’t let it happen.

  I opened my eyes to find his face directly in front of mine. It was a challenge to keep my breathing steady as I met his keen stare. My skin tingled, hyperaware of his nearness. I was designed for him. I was designed to be with him. My entire purpose was wrapped around my mate. Werewolves were strong individually, but unstoppable together.

  I wasn’t though. As a future alpha, he would be embarrassed if he knew the verity of my circumstances. Weak wolves died. Weak wolves went rogue; just like my dad. Only, my dad was older, larger and stronger than me, which made him an alpha in our home.

  Males were naturally stronger than females; even though they had the brute strength, we had the endurance. We balanced each other.

  That’s what a mate was: a perfectly created yin to your yang. We would always stabilize each other.

  In the distance, I heard the seconds ticking by on the clock. The longer I took, the closer I cut it. Finally, I could contain my fretfulness no longer. “I have to go,” I blurted. I shoved past him, racing for the door.

  Please don’t let him follow me. Please don’t let him follow me.

  Chapter 8

  Dominick

  Every instinct had me chasing after her, but I fought it. She was hiding something. It didn’t sit well with me. She was supposed to come to me with everything. She had to know that her mate was the one person who would never turn his back on her; I couldn’t turn my back on her. Nature wouldn’t allow it.

  Yet she was. Somehow she was defying Nature. Somehow she was fighting every cell in her body that I knew was demanding for her to come to me. That took strength and determination that I didn’t have.

  “What the hell happened there?” Kris flicked his chin towards my quickly escaping mate.

  “Fuck if I know. She didn’t even tell me her name. She’s got my personal info and I’ve got nothin’ but her maddening scent.” Anger and frustration dueled within me.

  She was mine. Her scent aroused every part of me. Her aroma had me wanting to strip to nothing and cuddle her close. Her smell made my mouth water. She drove me to inappropriate thoughts and desires. I’d never had a thing for curvy girls, but even that was appealing about her. Everything about her called to my wolf and me.

  My wolf made a leap outward. He smelled her. Hell, he could probably taste her scent on his tongue. Wolves are sharp animals with amazing senses.

  I pushed my wolf back down, fighting to remain in control. I had to stay in control.

  Determina
tion built within me. I would remain in control. I would break her down, but I would remain in control. I had patience. I would make her see everything I was willing to give her, everything I would give her and more.

  “Let’s go,” I snapped.

  “You gonna walk around with a stick up your ass the rest of the day?” Kris curled his lips in disgust.

  “Maybe.” I brushed past him, through the swarms of students pummeling each other to break free from jail.

  ~*~

  “How was school?” he asked the moment I rounded the corner.

  I looked up to find my dad, the alpha of our pack, standing outside our high-rise apartment building. He was a ninja, an expert at sneaking up on anyone.

  “I’ll catch ya later, Dom.” Kris breezed past me. “Dan,” he nodded his head to my dad in a gesture of acknowledgement and respect.

  My dad made eye contact and dipped his chin, acknowledging my future beta, before returning his attention to me. “Dom,” he stated my name with authority, implementing my lack of a response to his earlier question.

  “I met my mate,” I blurted. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans, twisting anxiously in place. Damn, this sucked.

  He studied me for a minute, thoroughly assessing me until I couldn’t take it anymore. Right before I could insert my foot in my mouth, he spoke. “How old is she?”

  I shrugged. “Dunno. She practically ran from me. Actually, she did run from me.”

  He pursed his lips. “Did you get her name?”

  I shook my head negatively. “It’s-” I sighed. “She’s different. She defies everything a wolf should do.”

  He frowned. “Is she human?”

  “No. She’s one of us, but-” I clenched my hands into fists. “There’s something off about her. She’s hiding something.”

  My dad’s eyes scanned the area; his ears perked and his eyes glowed at the edges. He sensed something or someone. He was the most sensitive wolf I’d met. He was so attuned. Witnessing his talent made me worry that I would never be the alpha he was.

  “We’ll finish this inside,” he said.

  I followed him into our apartment. It was sparsely decorated, but the modern design of the space let us get away with it. Truth be told, it could probably use a woman’s touch.

  “I could hack the school’s database and pull up all new enrollments,” he offered. My dad was a computer genius. He was an independent consultant that government entities and international corporations fell over to hire. He solely purchased the entire apartment building for our pack to live in, leaving them only utilities and other basics to worry about.

  It was tempting, so damn tempting, but I knew it would only make me angrier. The information should come from her. Dang it, she should want to tell me everything.

  “You can’t force it. She’ll come around.” There was compassion in his words, assurance in his tone.

  I glanced up at him. I’d always been confident…until I met her. I took a deep breath, expelling in quick. “Yeah. Let’s hope.” I dropped my book bag on the floor by the door and headed to my room.

  “Dinner will be ready at six,” he called.

  “‘kay.” I closed my door; I needed some space to work everything out in my head. I needed a damn muzzle too for my wolf. He fervently snacked on my ribs, on the only protection I had around my heart. He wanted me to fall for her because he’d already fallen for her. I knew it in his reaction; in the way he was fighting so damn hard to surface.

  Chapter 9

  Sophie

  My wolf cowered low and deep inside me as I turned the final block to our new home. I smelled him immediately. He was home. I steeled myself as I covered those final few steps up to the run down building, securing my stack of books a little closer to my chest.

  A shady group of guys gathered near the opposite corner of the building. I caught them eyeing me up and down out of the corner of my eye; tension swam through me, only minimally dissipating when they dismissed me as a potential threat.

  The stairs leading up to the building was once a solid slab of poured concrete steps. Now, chunks of the compound were missing and cracks feathered out across several levels as if someone had taken a sledge hammer to them.

  I slipped inside the building, shuddering at the dirt and grime that covered the walls. The school passed for a pristine palace compared to my latest home. I smelled the aroma of smoke, of burnt food, of sweat, of dust, of mold…of rotting. The scent of the building smelled anything but warm and welcoming. Truth be told, the temporary housing we’d secured over the years had never been either warm or welcoming.

  I slid my books to one arm to pull my key from my pocket. No sooner had I shoved the metal into the slot on the doorknob than it was jerked from my grasp. His oversized hand gripped all the way around my forearm, burning me as his strength stretched and crushed my flesh. He yanked me inside, causing me to lose my careful clutch on my books, sending them flying across the floor. I quickly fell to my knees, gathering them as swiftly as possible as not to give him something else to be upset about.

  “What the hell took you so long?” he growled.

  A tight shudder found its way down my spine. “I…I, um-”

  “Oh, shut up,” he snapped, his black eyes not bothering to look my way. He sunk into the second hand sofa that reeked of smoke and cigarette ash. He snatched the beer off the coffee table and lifted it to his lips.

  I stood, quivering, waiting. I couldn’t move. I didn’t know where to move. I never did. That was the worst part. It wasn’t his bone crunching punches. It was his unpredictability.

  He glared out the window as he took a swig of the brew. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting an unappealing glow on his face. He’d aged considerably since we left the pack. His wrinkles weren’t the soft endearing lines you found on a senior citizen. His were angry slashes that somehow made his face more steely and dangerous. His brows always dipped inwards, heavy in the center under his constant frown of disapproval. He looked like the bitter, scorned man he was. Worse, his wolf was just as angry and spurned, adding fuel to my father’s fire. Together they were an unstoppable duo, an untouchable powerhouse with the lethality of Hitler.

  A growl erupted from him. “What the hell are you doing? Don’t stand there like a fucking twit. I’m hungry. Get in the damn kitchen and make me something.”

  I dropped my gaze immediately. I went directly to the small galley kitchen. The Formica countertops had certainly seen better days. The appliances were nearly as old as the peeling cupboards. It didn’t matter that only one burner on the stove worked to my dad though. As long as I could still cook his meals, then it was suitable.

  I set my books on the counter. Above my head I heard stomping before a loud smack ensued. I cringed as the yelling followed. The woman’s Spanish vibrated down through the walls. I felt awful for the one she was attacking, nearly as sorry as I did for myself.

  I grabbed a package of ground beef from the fridge. I got to work making a meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes. Most wolves were meat and potato kind of creatures. We had an affinity for expensive red meat, which obviously wasn’t in my dad’s budget. I did the most with what he gave me. I’d learned to survive on a primarily vegetarian diet. Meat was a rarity for me; something I indulged in only on the sparse occasion we had extra money or my dad left a few crumbs on his plate. My hunger was rarely satisfied. I’d adjusted though, as I always did.

  Thirty minutes later, I sat across from him at the lopsided table in a wobbly chair that felt ready to give under my weight at any second should I make any sharp moves. My dad sat across from me brooding despite shoveling the food into his mouth.

  I studied him as inconspicuously as possible. His button up shirt hung open and loose around his collar. His collarbone bone barely blipped up beyond the muscles on his chest and shoulders. The measly excuse for a gym in this godforsaken building was the only reason he took this apartment. Besides being a wolf with a high metabolism
, he worked out in the gym regularly. It didn’t curb his anger though. His fury reached beyond the gym where he could split punching bags. I was much more durable and safe to destroy than a gym he might be liable to pay for.

  My stomach twisted around itself. The potatoes stuck in my throat. My anxiety slowly climbed, as if sensing his keen gaze falling upon me. I focused my gaze on my plate, forcing a bite of food into my mouth. Scrutiny wasn’t welcome; most attention from my father wasn’t welcome or wanted.

  “Didn’t you eat at school?” he scoffed. “Give me that.” He reached across the table and snagged my plate, stealing the only meal I’d touched that day right out from under me. “Go clean up the mess you made in there.”

  Keeping my head down, I carried my fork to the sink and began washing the dishes. My stomach rebelled, rumbling in the absence of the food it was greedy for. I knew he heard it; his hearing was as sensitive as mine. But he ignored it; he ignored so many things. He didn’t see or hear that which he didn’t want to.

  I stiffened as his chair scraped across the vinyl floor, my hand halting mid-scrub of the pot I held.

  “Hurry up. You’re hands aren’t fat and slow like the rest of you.” His tone was biting; his words a painful jab in my chest I was used to experiencing.

  I resumed cleaning the pot. I dried the dishes and stuffed them in the cupboards. The moment the last one was in place, he called for me.

  “Yeah?” I asked, struggling to keep my heartbeat slow and steady. Any change in my pulse, any increase in my heartbeat would have him flying towards me accusingly over anything he could conjure in his demented mind.

  “Bring me another beer and then get the fuck out of my face. I don’t want to see you again tonight.”

  My heart lunged in my chest. Panic seized me. “You want me to go to the room?” The words were like sandpaper on my tongue. Dread snaked through me.

  His eyes sliced sideways, a snarl on his lips as they reached me. “Did I fucking stutter? I want you to get the fuck out of my face.”

  I swallowed hard, fighting the tears that stung the edges of my eyes. My wolf whimpered low and deep within me. The conviction in his tone was nearly as bad as a slap. He didn’t want me. I’d known that for a while now. He didn’t want me, but he didn’t want to get rid of me either. He liked the convenience of me at times. I was useless for the rest of the night to him now. I’d served my purpose today in cooking and cleaning.