Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  I stepped into the hallway and Zane wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his side. I stiffened, surprised by the gesture. “We're just about to head out on a dinner date,” he said.

  I relaxed against him and we walked into the club.

  Carly and the others had swept up the broken glass and gotten rid of the furniture broken beyond repair, but the club still looked rough, with more than half the furniture gone and the shelves behind the bar missing most of their bottles. Even the bar top was cracked and appeared to be in danger of crashing to the floor if the heat blew too hard. “Carly and the others left about fifteen minutes ago to grab a late lunch,” Zane said in a low voice. Lunch. I'd forgotten about that, and my stomach growled at the reminder.

  He stilled as we neared the front door, moving his body in front of mine. The door swung open and a familiar man with greasy hair and yellow skin stepped inside.

  “Alpha,” Zane said with a groan. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Alpha paused mid-stride, not having noticed us until Zane spoke. I would have thought he was a human, because wolves have the senses not to get caught unawares, but Alpha and his pack members were regulars at my club so I knew he was a wolf. They didn't tip well and tended to start fights, but they were kind to my staff in their over-grown frat boy way.

  “Zane,” Alpha said, adopting an easy smile. “Surprised to see you here. I'm just stopping by to help out the owner.”

  “Really?” Zane asked. “She give you a key?”

  Alpha nodded, but he must have noticed Zane's cold tone, because he also took a step back. “Sure did,” he said. He smiled at me. “Hey, there, Sissy.” Most people assumed I was just a dancer and didn't know I owned the club. I preferred it that way. Even so, the alpha of the local pack ought to be better informed about the business owners in the community.

  “Hi, Alpha. Sissy is my stage name. You can call me Abigail or Ms. White. You can also call me the owner of this club who didn't give you a key or ask you to stop over.”

  Alpha turned, ready to run, but Zane was faster. He grabbed Alpha by the back of his shirt and lifted him off his feet. “Want to tell us what you're really doing here?”

  Alpha shook his head, his yellow skin going slightly green. “They'll kill me, man. Just let me go and pretend you never saw me. I won't cause any trouble.”

  Zane looked at me, brows high. He was giving the decision to me. I appreciated it, but wasn't sure what to do with the guy. Obviously, he was working for the vamps. We didn't need to question him to figure that out. It was well known around town that the pack was linked to the vamps. “I don't appreciate you breaking into my club,” I said. “You and your pack won't be welcome here in the future.”

  It hurt to ban anyone who brought money into my club, even the measly bit of money the pack brought in, but I couldn't allow them in if they were working for the vamps to destroy me or my club, or both.

  “Hear that?” Zane asked. “You aren't welcome here.” He looked at me, a question in his eyes and I nodded. Alpha wasn't part of Zane's pack, but he was a werewolf and I knew they handled things differently than humans did. “Before you're banned, I want you and your pack to replace everything that's broken in this club.”

  Alpha's eyes widened and he kicked his feet like he wanted to run away. “I can't help her… They'll kill me, man. My pack had nothing to do with this mess.”

  Zane gave the guy a shake. Alpha wasn't as tall as Zane and he was mostly beer gut, with no visible muscle mass, but it was incredibly impressive how Zane held him in the air like he weighed nothing. “You were breaking into this club to do some damage. You and your pack will replace what's been destroyed or I'll go to the council about you vandalizing a human business and working for the vamps.”

  Alpha's eyes somehow got bigger. “Fine, man. Fine. We'll do it, but keep it quiet, okay?” He looked at me. “Don't tell anyone we helped you.”

  Zane dropped Alpha to his feet and shook his head. “What the hell are you doing? Why are you letting them control you?”

  Alpha ignored Zane and focused his attention on me. “You do not want Leopold on your bad side, Sissy. You think the old vamp guard was bad? This guy…” He shook his head. “He won't stop until he owns you.”

  Alpha was a drunk and weak, but he wasn't stupid. I'd learned that from seeing him at my club, watching him watch out for his pack. He was a coward, but it didn't mean he was wrong about Leopold. My already shaky body got shakier, but I gritted my teeth and smiled. “I can handle him.”

  Alpha nodded. “I'll round up my pack, and I'll be back in less than an hour.”

  He left and Zane wrapped his arm around me again. This time it wasn't for show, his arm was tight around my waist, holding me up. “You should lay down in your office,” he said. “I can watch the club for a while.”

  “No. I need to work. I need to make sure…” Tears stung my eyes. Shit, was it the concussion making me emotional? Or was it the thought of losing my club, of my employees losing their income, of becoming a vampire pet? “Know any good defense against a vampire king?”

  Zane grimaced. “He won't get close to you. I'll make sure of that.”

  “He doesn't have to get close to me to hurt me.” I looked around my shattered club, my gaze blurry with unshed tears.

  Zane didn't say anything. He helped me back to my office and to the couch.

  “I need to work,” I said.

  He growled with irritation, but he helped me to my desk. He headed for the door, already pulling his book out of his back pocket.

  “You mentioned a council that would be angry at Alpha for interfering with my club,” I said. “Any chance they have sway over the vampires?”

  Zane pinched his eyes shut. When he opened them, they glowed supernaturally amber. “The council views Alpha's pack as a threat to the acceptance humans have shown for werewolves. They're looking for an excuse to break up the pack and bury them in isolated towns or in woods so thick sunlight can't get through. The vampires… They've worked their own exposure to their advantage and they bring in a lot of money and prestige for members of the council.”

  He didn't have to spell it out for me. It was a lesson I'd seen repeated every day in my club, money is power and power is amoral and hungry for more. “Could you get in trouble with the council for helping me against the vampires?”

  He smiled, his eyes returning to their normal color. “For the time being, the Mule Springs pack is safe. Thanks to Julie and her reality show.”

  Julie Jacobs, former MMA fighter turned werewolf, and wife to the alpha of the Mule Springs pack, had used her social media platform to out the wolves and save the life of the pack alpha, Axel. That had resulted in a year-long reality show and every woman in the country and most of the men, falling head-over-heels in love with the pack. I'd watched a couple episodes of the show, but I hadn't seen Zane until he'd walked into my club. Maybe I'd make the time to watch the rest of the season and learn more about the pack.

  Zane left and I bent my head over my paperwork. It was time to pull money out of nowhere so I could buy all the stuff I knew the local pack wouldn't be able to afford. They couldn't conjure the money to replace the top shelf liquor I'd carried for the few people in town with expensive taste or all the glasses that had been broken in the brawl.

  ***

  “Oh, my god,” I said. I clapped a hand over my mouth and swallowed hard to keep from sobbing aloud. “It's back.” Alpha and his pack had actually replaced a good bit of the stuff that was broken. They'd used their own chairs or tables or some that had been borrowed, none of which matched my chairs and tables, but it didn't matter. I had the seating I needed. There were even glasses, of all shapes, sizes, and colors, lined up on the bar top to replace what had been broken.

  Next to me, Zane cleared his throat. “I'm sorry nothing matches. Leopold and his vamps started the fight, but Axel, Paulie, and I broke more than our fair share of stuff. We would replace it if we could.�
� He straightened. “We will replace it, just as soon as we're able.”

  I waved a hand. “It's fine. It's not like my clientele are the type to notice their chair doesn't look like their neighbor's chair.” I sighed. “I just… Thank you. I know enough about Alpha and his pack to know you probably had to put some pressure on them to actually get them to finish this and replace what was broken.”

  He nodded, looking supremely uncomfortable. “Are you done for the day? Want to get something to eat?”

  The health inspector had shown up while I was in my office working. There'd been no need for me to shadow the poor woman, so I'd stayed in my office until she was done. She'd left before talking to me about her findings, but I wasn't worried. I figured she had a busy day.

  “Sure,” I said, my stomach rumbling. “I could eat.”

  “Know anywhere good?”

  I considered. Aspens Whiten wasn't a foodie destination by any means, but there were some decent restaurants. “How about Italian? Mama makes it homemade.”

  “Your mother?” he asked, eyes wide.

  I laughed. “No. Far as I know, she doesn't have kids. Everyone just calls her Mama. She makes the most amazing gnocchi.”

  “Anything for us meat eaters?”

  “Sure. She's got everything.”

  We locked up the club and left. I would have suggested walking, but I was still shaky and tired. Zane drove my car the three blocks to the restaurant and parked on the street.

  The place was a nondescript, squat building on a street of nondescript, squat buildings, but my stomach rumbled at the sight of the sign over the door and the sounds of Italian opera flowing out.

  “Hey, Abby,” the hostess, a petite, redhead I'd gone to high school with, said. “It's been a while since I've seen you here.” Her sneer was well-practiced and subtle. She'd been one of the popular kids in school who'd ostracized me and made fun of my dollar-store shoes and hand-me down dresses. She'd considered me weird. My job as a stripper just gave her more reason to dislike me.

  “Hi, Rachel. Have any tables open?”

  She looked over my shoulder at Zane and her eyes widened. She licked her lips, clearly seeing something she liked. Rachel was single, happily so, from all accounts. Clearly, she had ideas about fun with Zane. Zane stepped forward and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. Rachel's smile fell and her subtle sneer returned. “Sure, Abby. Mama's always got a table for you.” Her sneer deepened. She hated that Mama loved me and she couldn't use her minuscule hostess power against me.

  A waitress appeared as if by magic and led us back to a table for two in a dimly lit corner. She left us with two menus and promised our waiter would be there soon.

  “What's good?” Zane asked.

  “Abigail White,” Mama said, floating over to our table with a huge grin. Mama had stark white hair, a plump figure, and the glow of a woman happy with her place in the world and eager to enjoy every pleasure life had to offer. She and Rixton had gotten along beautifully. It was one of the reasons I hadn't eaten there in a while. “Have you been hiding from me?”

  I knew better than to lie to Mama. “I figured you'd be mad I broke up with Rixton.”

  She nodded, tapping her chin with her finger. “I liked that boy. He was good for you. Reminded you to laugh and have fun. You are too serious.”

  Mama had a thick southern accent and a life-long wish that she'd been born Italian. “We're still friends,” I said. “He'll still remind me to laugh.”

  She turned her razor-sharp focus to Zane. “And who is this? Your new boyfriend?”

  Crap, now I had to lie to Mama. She was never going to forgive me if she found out the truth. Mama treasured loyalty and honesty above all else. “This is Zane,” I said. “He and I just recently started dating.”

  She narrowed her eyes in Zane's direction. “You have a problem with Abby taking her clothes off and dancing for men?”

  I suspected I should have warned Zane about Mama, but the only sign he gave that she shocked him was a slight tensing of his shoulders. “Dancing makes her happy,” he said. “How could I have a problem with that?”

  I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding.

  Mama glared at him with narrowed eyes for a moment longer before she smiled. “You're okay. Don't even think about taking her back to that pack of yours in the mountains, though, or I'll change my opinion of you.”

  Mama spun on her heel and left. “Have you met her before?” I asked, wondering how she'd known he was a werewolf. I'd longed suspected Mama wasn't quite human, but Rixton had been tight-lipped on the subject and I hadn't dared to ask Mama.

  “No,” Zane said, watching her go. “She's got a good bit of harpy blood. She could scent I'm wolf. Guess she assumed I wasn't part of Alpha's pack.” He didn't look quite convinced.

  “Mama always seems to know everything about everyone,” I said. “I didn't think there'd been enough time for gossip to spread about you, though.”

  “Hi, I'm Marty, and I'll be your server today,” a tall, lithe teenager with smoky blue eyes said. “What can I get you to drink?”

  We gave him our drink and dinner orders, since we both knew what we wanted.

  “You didn't even look at the menu,” I said to Zane after the waiter left.

  He shrugged. “I like to stick to what I know. I know I like chicken parmigiana and every Italian restaurant serves chicken parmigiana. Why change?”

  I just stared at him. “Because there might be something different out there you've never tried that you'd like even better.”

  The left side of his mouth ticked up. “You didn't look at the menu.”

  “I've eaten here so often that I've tried every vegetarian dish Mama makes. I'm in the mood for gnocchi.”

  “Have you ever tried meat?” he asked. “Maybe you'd like that better than rabbit food.”

  “I ate meat growing up. I love it. I miss it so much sometimes that I want to cry.”

  He frowned like he was worried for my sanity. “So why don't you eat it?”

  I shrugged. “It's healthier for one thing. And it's better for the environment. But I guess I really became convinced when I went to work with my dad one day. He worked at a hog farm. You know one of those factory farms? The hogs were kept in tight enclosures with barely any room to move. They lived their whole lives in a big box, crammed in with other hogs, doing nothing but eating and breathing. It's a terrible system.”

  “You could eat meat from pasture-raised animals,” he said. “You could hunt.”

  “I could. But I've been vegetarian for more than a decade now. My body can't handle meat anymore, no matter how much I miss it. I'm healthy and no animals are killed to feed me. I don't have a compelling reason to change.”

  “Are you close to your parents?” he asked, catching me off guard with the subject change.

  I hated having this conversation. “My parents passed away when I was seventeen.”

  “What happened?” he asked, his voice gentling.

  His gentleness and the way he reached across the table to grab my hand, offering me physical comfort instead of empty words, brought tears to my eyes. I tried not to think of the worst year of my life, the year I learned how cruel life could be, how quickly and carelessly the people we loved most could be taken away.

  He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. “I'm close to my parents,” he said. “Sometimes too close, because they live next door to me. I can't imagine losing them, not having them at my back.”

  I was grateful for the subject change. “When you say next door do you mean…”

  “I mean three steps from my back door, next door.”

  “Wow,” I said, somehow smiling seconds after mention of my dead parents. “That's insanely close. Does your mom still cook for you?”

  He grinned, not at all bothered by me implying he was a momma's boy. The waiter set down our plates of food and left. Zane leaned over his plate. “My mom is a horri
ble cook, but yeah, sometimes my dad cooks for me. Sometimes I cook for my parents. Once, I was having amazing dining room table sex and the two of them walked in on it.”

  I had, unfortunately, just swallowed a bite of gnocchi and I almost choked to death. Zane leapt from his seat, hurried around to my side of the table, and slapped my back until I could breathe again. Once I could breathe, I laughed. “Dining room table sex?”

  He chewed, his eyes rolling back in his head. “This is amazing. I've never tasted anything like it.”

  “Imagine if you'd tried something new,” I said. “Although, I think I'm understanding why, since you can't seem to leave your childhood.” I spoke in a teasing tone, but I didn't fault him for his closeness with his parents. I'd give anything to have my parents still alive and well, even my privacy and independence.

  “Childhood is the best part of life. Why would anyone want to leave?”

  I nodded, my smile turning to a frown. I'd had a happy childhood, with parents who'd adored me. We hadn't had much money, but there'd always been love and support. Until the hog farm closed when I was fourteen and money got so tight we didn't always have enough to eat. My parents had started fighting then, blaming each other for our situation. My mother wanted to leave town, find a new place with more job opportunities, but my dad didn't want to leave the only home he'd ever known. He'd started drinking and my mom had gotten more and more angry and bitter. Their love had turned into something dark and twisted and toxic. They still loved me, but they used me to hurt each other. My mother would point out that I'd lost weight because there was nothing to eat and blame my father, and my father would point out that I was working when I should be doing homework and having fun and suggest my mother get a better job. Things were finally starting to get better, my dad had found a decent job as manager at the grocery store and my mom had gotten a promotion at the hair salon, when they'd run off the road and hit a tree on their way out of town to shop for clothes for my mom's promotion. “I can't imagine why.” Sadness washed over me. I should be over the loss of my parents, but I missed them every single day.