“Neither do I, but he lied.” She stared into her empty glass. “I don’t know the details but the pack is behind the real estate sales in the area.”
Trixie jumped to her feet and stormed toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?” She had just gotten here and Betty could really use the distraction and a shoulder to lean on.
“Go get my tranq gun. We’re going shifter hunting tonight. This time he wakes up somewhere unpleasant.”
Betty snorted juice. “I don’t think you’ll be able to sneak up on him again, Trixie.” She recalled the fight with Chris. “And I don’t want you taking chances. A pissed off shifter isn’t someone to trifle with. No matter how tempting.”
Her friend deflated before her eyes. “I thought for sure he was the one for you.”
“Me too.” Betty set aside her empty glass. “I don’t understand why he felt he couldn’t tell me.”
Trixie picked up her glass. “Got any booze?”
She shook her head. “Sounds like a good idea though.” She had a faster metabolism than humans but slower than a shifter’s. If she pounded enough shots, she could get buzzed.
“We’re going out then.” Trixie clapped her hands together as if a queen making a decree. “Get changed. I’m calling in the troops.”
“I can’t. I have the fundraiser to prepare for—”
“All taken care of. Your parents are awesome by the way. Are they up for adoption too?”
Betty chuckled. “They’re all mine. I don’t like to share, but for you, anything is possible.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Slumped in the passenger seat of Ryota’s new vehicle, Ken moaned and clutched his stomach.
“If you vomit, you’re buying me another car.” Ken’s alpha took a sharp turn, not having any mercy on his rolling gut and spinning head. “What were you thinking? Full-moon shine dulls the senses. What if someone challenged you tonight?”
Ken leaned his face against the cold glass of the window. It felt so good. “I don’t care.”
Ryota snarled. The sharp noise cutting though Ken’s eardrums.
“I don’t,” he barked back. At the moment, they were not the leaders of New Port Pack, but father and son. Ken closed his eyes. “What’s the point of being beta?”
“Pack is the point. They need you. You’re the best beta they can have.” High praise coming from Ryota. A week ago, Ken would have been glowing with joy. His father smacked Ken’s thigh, sharp and fast like a whip.
He jumped and rubbed the spot. “Ow!”
“Snap out of it.”
This time, Ken snarled. The sound rivaling the alpha’s. “My soulmate hates me.”
“Fix it then.” Ryota took another sharp turn, which sent Ken’s head bouncing against the window.
He rubbed the spot. “Asshole.”
Ryota grinned. “Is that anyway to speak to me?”
“Sometimes it’s the only way.” Ken slurred his words, but the fog clouding his thoughts didn’t seem so thick. “Will you lift the eviction from the rescue?”
“No, that place is a dump. It’s held together by shit and dirt. We’re trying to clean that neighborhood. The building goes.”
“Postpone it then.”
His alpha gave him a hard look. “Why does she care about that crap hole?”
“It’s not the building. It’s the animals it houses. She needs time to find homes for them.”
Ryota grunted. “You like dogs. Adopt them.”
Ken hung his head. He should have known better than to ask him for help.
“What is she doing now to find them homes?” The alpha asked.
“She was supposed to bring them all to the orphanage fundraiser tomorrow. I’m not sure if she will now.”
“If she really cares about her pets then she will.” Traffic was thick at this time of the night. They were in the club district and Ryota’s car slowed to a crawl.
Ken opened his window for fresh air. That’s when her scent hit him. He filled his lungs. Betty was close by. He opened the car door while the vehicle was still moving and stumbled out. Grant it, Ryota was driving slowly, but Ken fell to his knees and scraped his palms. He didn’t feel it. The scent was fresh and he was on the hunt.
His alpha’s vehicle screeched to a halt. “What the fuck?” Ryota’s voice carried over the club noise.
Ken rose and wiped his knees. People paused to stare and point. Someone laughed. He didn’t care. Her scent flowed along the breeze and he shoved his way through the crowds, back tracking it to a brick building.
The pink neon sign over the door read The Water Hole. Thumping music rebounded off his chest before he even stepped inside. The bouncer at the door was pack. He eyed Ken, dropped his gaze and stepped aside, letting the beta through without question.
On the other side of the threshold, Betty’s scent mixed with hundreds of other smells and Ken lost the trail. Lights flashed off the mirrored walls. He blinked to clear his vision. Where was she? Someone bumped into him and he stumbled against the crowded bar. The place was filled with seedy looking characters. Ken had to protect Betty.
“Sorry, man.” The guy who had walked into Ken pulled him away from the bar and into the crowd. Bodies pressed against him from all sides. The stranger faded away into the throng of people.
The place smelled heavily of humans. The occasional scent of vampire trickled among them. It must be a feeding ground.
Ken shouldered past the humans easy enough and stood a head above most of them. He scanned the crowd for a raven-haired angel. Nothing.
The dance floor looked like a sea of bouncing heads. It made him dizzy. The queasiness in his stomach grew worse. Grandma’s dumplings and soup weren’t sitting well.
A sign for the men’s restroom caught his attention and he headed in that direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar tattooed arm. Ancient, colorful symbols flowing one into the other.
He released a breath he had been subconsciously holding. She’d be safe now.
She sat at a table alone, empty shot glasses lined the table. A group of women blocking his view moved, and he spotted a man sharing her table. He leaned forward to whisper something in her ear.
The world went red. He couldn’t think. Pain stabbed his fingertips as his claws sprang free.
The dude couldn’t take a hint. Betty didn’t want him to buy her a drink, she didn’t want to dance, and she sure as heck didn’t want to flirt. The pounding music made it almost impossible to hear anything he tried to say so he kept leaning against her to speak close to her ear, his gaze wandering toward her breasts each time.
How had she allowed Trixie and Ruby to convince her dancing would help distract her heart? It was either go clubbing with them or have her parents hover around her with chocolate and Kleenex. She was done crying and dulling her senses had sounded good. Betty didn’t care for crowds and was waiting for things to thin out before joining her friends on the dance floor. She’d forgotten about the guys on the prowl though.
She pushed—she couldn’t recall the guy’s name—away as he tried to whisper in her ear again, the stink of whiskey heavy on his breath. “Go waste your money and time on some other girl.” She explained for the third time. “I’m not interested.” She didn’t think she’d ever be interested in men again. Ken had wrecked her for anyone else. Any prospective man had huge boots to fill.
The guy leaned toward her again, but a large clawed hand engulfed his face. He was pushed off his stool and away from her table, his arms wind-milling as he caught his balance.
Ken stood next to her. Teeth bared as if ready to shred everyone within reach. He hadn’t completely changed shape, but he was seconds from a fur explosion.
She jumped to her feet and blocked Ken’s path. “Whoa big boy, take it easy.” She wasn’t going to let him make the worst mistake of his life, no matter what had transpired between them.
The growling noises fell from his lips. More like a garble of words
mixed with wolf snarls. He pointed a clawed finger at the guy, who made a hasty retreat.
Great, another shifter story for the newspapers to print. Ryota would be thrilled about that, she was sure, and probably blame her.
She clasped Ken’s face in between her hands and forced him to focus on her. “What the fuck are you doing here?” She spoke slow and loud so he could understand her.
He brushed the back of his claws over her cheek. “Mine.”
She closed her eyes for a second and resisted the shifter urge to rip his shirt off and bite him. The mating scent enveloped them. There was no escape. Yes, she was his and he was hers. But he was a jerk and she was pissed. The smell of alcohol muddled Ken’s scent and she sniffed his chest. “Are you drunk?”
“Not as much as I think am you.” He straightened and took a deep breath. There weren’t many things that could inebriate shifters. Not much of a market for those things either. Alphas kept a tight lid on full-moon shine and fairy dust because drunk or high shifters were dangerous. Case in point stood in front of her.
“Come on before someone calls the cops.” Taking his hand, she pulled him through the crowd.
A waitress chased after them. “Your bill,” she shouted, waving a slip in her hand.
“I’ve got this.” He pushed her hands away from her purse and reached for his wallet. His eyes went wide as he searched every pocket. “It’s gone.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled out the last of her cash. “Did someone bump into you when you arrived?” The area was notorious for pick pockets. Ken’s expensive suit made him an obvious mark.
He gave her a blank stare. His skin had a greenish hue. “I don’t feel well.”
“I bet.” She tipped the waitress and took him out the nearest door. It opened out into an alley. The stench of old trash crashed over Betty in a wave of rotten eggs and fish.
Ken gagged and rushed toward the wall across the alley. Hands pressed to the brick wall, he held himself up as he heaved.
She rubbed his back as he emptied his stomach. It took a while. Shifters could eat a lot.
He leaned his face against the building and gazed down at her, his cheek squished against the brick.
She wiped his chin with the collar of his shirt. “My hero.”
He smiled, crooked and dazed.
The door to the ally opened and out stormed Ryota. His eyes narrowed when they landed on her. “Figures.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“What is that supposed to mean?” Betty blocked Ryota’s path to Ken. “And why are you both following me?” Was this some weird dominant hunter thing that she didn’t understand? Couldn’t a girl get some space to think? Mind you, letting her friends convince her to come to a crowded and noisy bar wasn’t an ideal spot for pondering either.
Ryota lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Follow you? I was driving Prince Charming home when he jumped out of my moving car.” He pointed to Ken and shook his head in what looked like pity. “He must have caught your scent.”
She ran her hands over Ken looking for injuries. “You idiot. Couldn’t you wait until he stopped the car?” All limbs appeared intact.
Ken gave her a crooked smile and looked less wolf-like than a minute ago. “You still care.” He brushed her hair from her face and leaned unsteadily forward for a kiss.
She stopped him with a hand to the chest. “You just puked and I’m still angry.”
Ryota rolled his eyes so far up inside his head, she thought they might get stuck.
“Come on, Romeo.” He slung Ken over his shoulder as if he were still a child.
“How can you let him drink so much?” She followed on his heels. Ken had hurt her but apparently she’d done just as much damage. That hadn’t been her intention.
“Blame that on my father,” Ryota grumbled and kicked a trash can out of his way. “No matter what I do, he manages to smuggle full-moon shine into the city. I’ll text you his number later. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”
She gasped. “Ken Birch, you are in so much trouble.” Her teeth ached from the force she used to grind them. Of all the things to ingest, that stuff could make a shifter do really stupid things, like jump out of moving vehicles.
Ryota tossed her an amused glance over his shoulder. “He’s unconscious.”
“What!” She pulled Ken’s head back and stared at his slack expression. “Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital so they can pump his stomach or something?” Her heart raced and sweat slicked her hands. She’d never heard of a shifter overdosing but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible.
“I think he managed the job on his own.” The alpha gestured back toward the alley where Ken had vomited.
She grimaced. “Will he be okay?” She ran her fingers through her mate’s golden-blond hair.
“He’ll be fine.” They reached Ryota’s parked car a few blocks away and he folded Ken into the small back seat.
“Maybe we should roll him on his side so he won’t swallow his tongue.” That was a thing, right? She tried to maneuver around Ryota to check on Ken’s breathing.
The alpha stopped every attempt. “Betty.” He sounded exasperated. “I tried to stay out of pack matings, but considering that Ken is my son, I am going to break this rule.” He closed the back door and all access to Ken. “What are your intentions?”
She retreated a step and shut her mouth with a painful click.
Ryota set his hands on his hips, eyes narrowed and sharp. She didn’t know what frightened her more—his being alpha or being Ken’s adopted dad. He snapped his fingers. “Speak.”
She jumped. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Are you, or are you not his soulmate?”
“I—I am.” She clutched her hands and tried to peer around him at her unconscious mate. “You should open a window.”
The alpha growled. “Focus, Betty.”
“I’m trying.” She barked back. “It’s kind of hard with Ken sick and you getting in my face. What do want from me? Of course I’m his soulmate. Do you not see me losing my fucking mind here?”
Ryota crossed his arms, not budging from the car door. “So why break his heart today? You told him you never wanted to see him again.”
Her heart dropped between her ankles and got road rash. She had done exactly what Ryota had accused her of.
“Are you playing games? Because I won’t let you. The pack needs Ken whole. If you try to break him, I will do worse to you.” He loomed over her. Alpha power in his glare.
“It’s not like that,” she whispered, her mouth drier than a popcorn fart.
“Then what’s the problem? He didn’t tell you about handling your eviction? Do you think we’d stop an entire pack project for your falling apart building? Do you think you’re so special that he’ll put your needs above the pack’s?”
Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find the right words. The eviction was just the tipping point. “No.” Though deep down inside she suspected Ken would put her needs first. She didn’t want him to, which was why she needed room to breathe. They’d been moving at warp speed and she was losing everything in the process, including who she was.
“I don’t fit.” It popped out. The heart of her panic.
The fury coming off Ryota in waves cooled. He seemed to shrink to normal size, though he hadn’t actually changed physically.
“There’s no place for me in Ken’s life. No matter how much I want to be part of it. I’m a square peg and no amount of hammering is going to make me fit in the circle. He’s smart and professional, I’m—I’m a hot mess. I can’t be the mate he deserves, especially as the pack’s beta. I’m as subtle and diplomatic as-as…”
“A cactus,” he finished for her.
Betty gazed down at her shoes. “Yeah. You don’t want me to wreck things for Ken and neither do I.”
Ryota leaned against his vehicle, hands searching inside his jacket pocket. He pulled out a check book and scribbled something. He handed her the slip
with a lot of zeros on it.
“I don’t want this.”
“I know, but you need it. Go home. Take your animals. Move back to Riverbend. Be close to your family. I’m sure Christopher will be very happy to see you. He seemed very determined to have you back. Maybe he can help you shift shape.” He gave her the alpha look again. “If you choose to leave, don’t ever come back.”
She stared at the check. The amount made her lightheaded. “If I don’t leave?”
“I’m not responsible for the consequences of your actions, Betty.” He buttoned his jacket and gave her a little nod. “I’m only an alpha, not a god.”
Ken woke to the taste of road kill in his mouth. Blinking his vision clear, he was surprised not to see the barred door of Betty’s kennel again. He raised his head and the room spun. Moaning, he clung to the mattress of his childhood bed. He lay on his stomach in his old bedroom. The walls were still decorated with Godzilla movie posters.
The vertigo settled. Sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed, Ken rubbed his aching head. It felt like the monster had sat on his skull. He and Ryota used to stay up late watching the movies together. What was he doing here?
He finally recalled sharing a bottle of shifter strength alcohol with his grandfather. The fact that he was in Ryota’s home did not bode well for Ken’s day. His father didn’t approve of drinking, but the full-moon shine had seemed like a good idea at the time.
Today, he’d hunt down Betty and ask for her forgiveness. Once he could manage to stand. This was such a small hurdle for them to stumble over. He had a lifetime to make it up to her.
He rubbed his temple as memories flashed through the pain. An alley. Vomiting. Betty.
He hung his head. Shit. He had chased her down in a club, publicly threatened a human, then puked on his shoes. She had called him her hero, but her tone had said the opposite. He glanced at the clock.
“Ah, double shit.” Ken jumped to his feet. He was late for the orphanage fundraiser without a car. He rushed out of his bedroom to find Benny, his assistant, sitting in the living room, flipping through a magazine.
Book 2 Not his Werewolf Page 19