by Viola Grace
Table of Contents
Title Page
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Café Nowhere
Driving through a blizzard angry is stupid, Hailey.
The Menu at Café Nowhere
About the Author
An elemental sold to the highest bidder finds love and death chasing her and she is tired of running.
Hailey has been ignored by her grandfather and his pack until it suits him to sell her to the highest bidder. On the run from her new owner, Hailey hides at Café Nowhere where dark and light collide.
Choosing the heat of an alpha over the cold embrace of eternity, Hailey has to fight with everything in her, even if her fire wolf looks funny.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Fire Wolf
Copyright © 2013 Viola Grace
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Café Nowhere
Fire Wolf
By
Viola Grace
Driving through a blizzard angry is stupid, Hailey.
She took her foot off the gas and her car stopped fishtailing immediately. Sometimes you had to talk to yourself to see sense.
Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight she had to make her hands relax. As soon as her body was calm, her mind flew into uproar again. Her damned grandfather sold her! To the highest bidder, no less. She hadn’t stayed to see who won the auction, but had used her father’s talent to get herself into her car and away from the insanity.
She still couldn’t believe it. Her mother had begged her to go to the gathering when her grandfather had lowered himself to ask her to a wolf pack event. He had disowned his daughter for marrying outside the clan, but seemed to be unbending for her daughter.
If only they had known then that he was planning to sell the last of his bloodline to anyone willing to pay, they would have told him to shove his invitation up his furry tail.
“Moronic son of a bitch.” Hailey muttered, then laughed at her phrasing. He had even had the gall to sedate her for the auction. That was the thing that made her want to burn his whole place down.
He had led her into the ballroom and shown her to the men gathered there. Two had struck her as being intent on having her. One was a pale, beautiful man with silky black hair and eyes that froze her soul. The other was all warm brown colors from his tanned skin to his dark hair and friendly brown eyes. Those eyes hadn’t been friendly when they looked at her though, they had been intent.
The chalky man was looking at her like a bug, an elegant bug to be sure, but a bug nonetheless. Mr. Brown was far more interested in her body than a stranger had any right to be. It had both warmed her and triggered her instinct to run. That instinct was not a good thing in a room full of wolves and other predators, but the adrenaline did start her other talent burning through the sedative that she had been given.
While the bidding got underway, she had simply floated lightly to the door and away from the room full of wolves. Only the gazes of Mr. Pasty and Mr. Brown followed her and neither of them said a word. They merely kept bidding as her price climbed higher and higher.
As soon as she got to the doorway, she slid through and then started to run. The guards had not been prepared for her hands to flame as she grabbed them and shoved, but finding her car keys in her pocket required that she calm down enough to not melt them. In her rear view mirror, she had seen the doors open and men spill out into the yard like ants from a disturbed anthill.
Hah! Sell her, would they? They would have to catch her first and she had horsepower versus their wolf power. A final bit of fury accidentally escaped and she melted the tires of the cars in the driveway. Whoopsie.
Hailey chose the mountain pass as the fastest way home. She had called her mother and let her in on her grandfather’s diabolical plan. Mom had been furious and she had promised to wait until Hailey was at their place before telling her dad. Andrew McMaster would be enraged and it would take his daughter being safe in front of him to keep him calm.
The mountains ended up being a foolish choice. Her car was slowed with the heavy snow and the visibility was almost nil.
As she slowed to turn a corner, she could swear that she saw a wolf out of the corner of her eye. Larger than a wolf had any right to be he was running beside her car. That was distracting enough, but when what looked like a black eagle darted toward her windshield, she lost control of her vehicle and the next thing she knew, she was wiping a bleeding nose and fighting free of the deflated air bag.
She unbuckled her belt, thankful that she had instinctively buckled up. Good habits saved lives. The front of her car was buried in snow, she would be able to melt it out, but if there was loose dirt under the front wheels, she would create mud. It would be better to call Triple A.
Hailey dug her cell out and looked at it in despair. She had used the last of her battery to call her mother and forgotten to put it on the charger, again. “Shit.”
Out of the snow, the wolf loomed in front of her. The eyes gave him away.
“Hello, Mr. Brown.”
He looked confused, but whined and knelt beside her. Even crouched, his back was almost as tall as her head. He rubbed her with this muzzle and his ears flicked. He wanted her on his back.
“That’s quite the turn of positions, but since I am in the category of eventually freezing, why not?”
The quizzical noise he made was cute.
“Normally guys are trying to get me on my back.” She must have been giddy with fire, fury and shock. Normally she would not have been so chipper to see someone who had just been in a bidding war for her body. But then again, this was definitely not normal.
She had to climb onto her car to get on his back, but once he stood up, she nestled in as snugly as she could. Her hands gripped the ruff around his neck, her belly was flat against his spine and her legs were bent to touch his haunches. Her position was instinctive, but it was a good instinct. As he began to run through the blizzard, she rocked with him, her body warm against his fur and her face protected by his ruff. If she hadn’t been a moron and left her jacket at her grandfather’s home, she might not have taken him up on his non-verbal offer.
His fur was silky soft, not wiry as she had thought it would be and so warm she almost fell asleep. The rocking rhythm of his stride was soporific. Her clenched hands held her in place, but she was not going to be able to hold on forever.
Hailey’s head was pounding furiously, her mind was getting a bit fuzzy as she looked up and saw a building perched on the side of the road. It was a little odd because she could ha
ve sworn that when she drove on that road coming in, there had been a sheer cliff face in that spot.
Her ride slowed to a jagged trot and brought her right to the door. The signage proclaimed it Café Nowhere but it looked warm and welcoming. The glass door pushed open and a woman with a nametag proclaiming her to be Cathy, looked up at Hailey where she clung to the wolf.
“Come in, poor thing. You must be frozen.”
Her words spurred Hailey to unclench her hands and slide off her fuzzy mount. As soon as she was off his back, a very naked Mr. Brown was at her side.
“Excuse me, Cathy, but is there a chance that there is a change of clothing nearby? I seem to have misplaced my pants.” He shooed Hailey into the empty café.
“I’ll find something.” Cathy scampered off, leaving Hailey with her mystery rescuer.
Hailey took a position in the center booth with a view to the snowstorm out the window. Mr. Brown slid in across from her.
“You know, I don’t envy you standing up after sitting naked on vinyl.” It was as good a conversation starter as any.
“Hailey McMaster.”
It was said on a growl, but growls weren’t that warm. The erection he had been sporting was now hidden by the Formica tabletop and she was grateful for the coverage. It was damned distracting to have that thick rod waving at her in the snow.
“That’s my name, what’s yours?”
“Hector Anderson, lone Alpha in association with the Morning Claw Clan.”
She fidgeted a little, but nodded in acknowledgement of his name. “So, who won the bidding after I left? I was sorry to go, but I left some muffins in the oven and just remembered I needed to shave my legs.”
He twitched his lips and was about to answer her when a tall blond man stood next to their booth and handed them menus.
“Hello, I am Adam and today our special is hot wings and nachos.”
“That sounds wonderful, Adam, and I was just wondering, how many naked werewolves frequent your establishment? You and Cathy both seem awfully calm.”
“It isn’t the strangest thing we have seen, miss.” His lips twitched a little, as if he had forgotten how to smile.
Cathy returned with a pair of jeans and some loafers.
“Here we are. Just about your size as well.” She handed them to Hector and smiled at Hailey. “Has Adam taken your order?”
“Yes. Two sets of the special and two cokes and glasses of water.” Hailey smiled and nodded at the wolf who was half-dressed. “He can order his own food.”
Cathy raised her eyebrows, but Adam took the order, and the same for Hector announced in his harsh growl.
“Robert, we have four orders of the special,” Cathy called it at the same time Adam spun the written order into the kitchen.
Adam pulled the cokes while Cathy got the water. They moved like a well-oiled machine. It was obvious that they had done this a few thousand times.
As soon as Hector finished zipping up the new jeans and stepping into the loafers, he was back in his seat across from her.
“Xavier was the last bidder before he noticed you were gone. It was he who sounded the alarm before he sprouted wings to follow you.” Hector drank the water with a grateful gulp.
Hailey couldn’t help but watch a drop of water escape his mouth to trickle down the strong column of his throat. She was suddenly thirsty and wanted to follow that drop with her tongue as it passed down through his chest hair to rest on his left nipple.
To cover the sudden dryness in her mouth, she took a huge gulp of ice water, choking on the ice cube that tried to make it through with the water. Her head pounded as she coughed and spluttered, a warm hand started to rub circles on her back and she relaxed under the persistent touch.
“Here. Her nose is bleeding.” Cathy’s voice stopped near the table and a hand pressed the cool cloth to her nose as soon as she finished releasing the water she inhaled. When the hands tilted her head back, she was looking into Hector’s deep brown eyes. The cloth was applied and the warm coppery flow stopped after a few minutes.
“What happened?” A darker man who must be Robert, arrived carrying two plates with Adam bringing the other two. Cathy was cleaning up the water Hailey had spilled.
“Hailey ended up in the ditch and her air bag must have hit her just right.” Hector checked and cleaned the trail of blood that led down her face. He was very competent with the way he got the blood off her skin, his gentle touch had her mind spinning down improper paths.
“Are you up to eating?” Hector sat next to her, his arm around her shoulder, supporting her.
“Yes. I need to eat.” She desperately pushed upright, but his arm stayed around her, ready to catch her if she needed support.
The food looked amazing. Her body ran hot because of her father’s bloodline so she burned more calories than the average half-wolf. Self-consciously, she blotted at her nose with a napkin, making sure that no more blood was appearing. The heat of the chicken wings gave her an excuse to check her nose while she and the strange wolf sat side by side, eating.
Nachos and wings were not a first date food, but by having him sit next to her, she was spared the indelicacy of gnawing at the bones with an audience in front of her. The cheese and tortilla chips spiced with jalapenos and salsa with a side of sour cream satisfied her cravings for sweet, hot, sour and savory.
With noise and satisfaction, she cleaned the fingers of her right hand with licking and sucking, then was about to take the left into her mouth when it was intercepted. Hector took her thumb into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it before sucking strongly.
The reaction of this treatment to her thumb caught Hailey by surprise. A dark tugging started low in her belly in time to his mouth. When he took her limp index finger into his mouth, his dark eyes on hers, she got wet, a moisture emanating from her core to dampen her jeans. She could smell her own heat and it brought a flush to her cheeks, exacerbated by his taking the rest of her fingers into his mouth in turn.
She was positively squirming on the bench seat when he let her hand go and calmly took a wet wipe to her hands, removing the last of the sticky sauce. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion overtook her. She slumped against Hector and he held her tightly.
* * * *
“Hailey, are you alright?”
“Just tired.” She fumbled in her back pocket and withdrew several twenty-dollar bills. “Could you pay the nice people? I need to sleep.”
“You need to transform. It will heal you.”
She mumbled, “Don’t wanna. Look funny.”
He chuckled. “You don’t want to transform because you look funny?”
“Yes.”
“That is a new one.” He cuddled her to him and looked up at the trio who were watching them intently. “Is there anywhere she can get some sleep? I noticed a motel attached to the Café. Can we use one of the rooms?”
He looked down at the bills on the table. “It looks like enough for a night.”
“Please. Don’t trouble yourself about the money. She looks really pale and she should get some rest.” Cathy and the men came together in a triad, holding hands and looking worried.
The relationship between the three was obvious. The lovers seemed more intent on them than they should be, but if they were going to give him someplace to help Hailey, he would take it.
Xavier was still out there, he could feel the creature circling. Whatever he was, Hector wanted Hailey as whole as she could be before Xavier got up his nerve to attack. If she thought her wolf form was funny looking, he would just have to convince her that he wanted her for her scent, not her looks. It wasn’t flattering, but the day Andrew had sent him the swatch of fabric in the mail, he knew that Hailey would be his. The auction that he was invited to was a shock, he had to fight the urge to punch out Marty Aster when he had the nerve to sell his own granddaughter in order to pay off his gambling debts. A more pathetic Alpha had never been seen.
Hailey was out cold. He picked her up easily
. She weighed nothing. If she hadn’t been Andrew’s daughter, he would have been worried about her elevated temperature, but she was half-fire elemental and it came with the territory.
He closed his eyes for a moment as he imagined her extreme heat wrapped around his cock. He could feel it pulse in anticipation and stifled the growl that rose in his throat. He couldn’t do anything until she felt better, and if only a shift would do that for her, he would have to convince her that she was better off funny looking than injured.
He needed to be inside her at their first opportunity, this was beyond normal desire. Something was pushing him to her and he was only too happy to be the tool of fate in this instance.
Hailey grunted as he carried her to the motel room. He took the key from Adam and opened the clean and sparse room. He closed and locked the door to the room behind them, then placed his squirming burden on the bed.
“What? Where are we?” She was up and scrappy, but her eyes were glazed.
“We are in one of the motel rooms so you can get some rest. If you won’t shift, then you need sleep.”
“Don’ wanna shift. I look funny.” She was listing to the left and slumped against the pillows, but her eyes were still open.
“So you have said, but it is the fastest way and the dark creature who flew at your car is still looking for you.” He placed a chair under the knob of the door to hold it shut. “You need to get up and running as fast as you can.”
“Don’ wanna.”
“Fine, then I will appeal to the elemental in you to speed up the process.” Steeling himself for a fight, her mild curiosity was a welcome relief.
“Whatcha doin?”
“I am removing your clothing so that you can let some of your heat out.”
“Good plan.” She nodded sagely and let him strip off her shoes, socks, jeans, panties.
He had to stop and take a deep breath there. The scent of her earlier arousal was still very strong. Then he removed her blouse and bra.
She giggled. “I am naked.” She lifted her foot and prodded his shoulder, innocently opening the wet petals of her sex.