“What? Why?”
Nate sighs. “You’re safer in a vehicle with someone as protection.” I personally think they don’t want me going AWOL in the middle of the night again. But doing as I’m told I slide into Nate’s dual cab Nissan Patrol. Nate flicks on the radio and I hum along, forcing myself not to sing, no matter how much I love it. I’m completely tone deaf and I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I should never, ever sing in the vicinity of another person, especially a hot and sexy person.
We arrive one vehicle after the other, like a little convoy. I spot Clarissa pacing before the front doors and stopping once she sees us, causing me to think she can’t have recognised the sound of our vehicles as she would have easily heard us coming. We pull to a stop and exit the car.
“Thank God you’re here. Jesse is wound so tight I had to leave, I couldn’t bear being in the building with him. It must be the full moon.”
I glance at the others and see them all doing the same thing. No one is quite brave enough to face Jesse's wrath. I sigh. “It’s my fault we’re late, I’ll go. I need to tell him about Danny and Gareth too.”
“Are you sure?” Nate asks with a raised brow. “I’ll come with you if you want?”
I laugh at his frown of concern. “Thanks Nate, but I’m not scared of the big bad wolf.”
“You should be.” I hear Clarissa mutter under her breath as I walk in the front door, my skin immediately tingling with Jesse’s power hanging in the air. No wonder she couldn't stand being inside. Following his energy I find him pacing his office. His anger hits me full force as I step over the threshold. He looks up hearing the hiss of pain escape my lips and immediately tones down his energy. It's still an uncomfortable tingling against my skin but it's no longer a searing pain.
Chapter Twenty Four
Jesse
Hearing a hiss of pain pulls me out of my pacing, causing me to look up from the carpet I’m currently staring daggers at. Seeing Frankie’s wince of pain, I ground myself with a deep breath and pull my anger back. I shouldn’t be making others suffer because I'm angry; angry with myself because Rick got so close to taking her yesterday. I cross the room and come to a stop before Frankie, now standing in front of my desk. The sight of her safe before me helps reduce my anger slightly. As noon struck and they weren’t here so many scenarios ran through my mind. None of them ended well for Frankie, or myself come to think of it. I couldn't bear to lose her and hate to think what it would do to me. Thankfully, the full moon will keep her here for the next twenty-four hours, protected.
I’m reaching forward and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before I can even think about whether I should be doing it. I need to touch her, to feel her under my fingertips so I know that she’s really here, safe and not just an illusion my mind has conjured up. I’ve spent so long watching her from a distance I’m starting to think I've made her up, just a figment of my imagination. I drop my hand from her face, allowing it to brush her hand on the way past. Our energies flare for a second with the contact, allowing my wolf to finally relax for the first time since I heard her scared voice on the phone yesterday.
“I’m sorry we’re late, it’s my fault. An old friend turned up on my doorstep with a suitcase. To cut a long story short, he came to warn me that an ex is going to be turning up in the next couple of days, expecting me to welcome him with open arms,” she says, her worry shows in the way she's wrapping her arms around herself.
“You’re not looking forward to him arriving?” I question, unsure whether she's worried about her ex's arrival or my reaction to it.
Looking up at me she shakes her head and bites her lip in worry. “Danny’s my ex for a reason, he’s got a nasty temper. I’m worried he’s going to cause trouble for us all. I’ve already brought so much trouble to your front door in the last couple of weeks, I don’t want to add to it,” she says, the sadness in her voice pulls at my heart. She blames herself for Joey’s death and doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.
Unable to bear hearing the sadness in her voice any longer I take her hand in mine and try to comfort her. “We’ll deal with what ever knocks on the door together. We're Pack. Isn’t that how it’s meant to be in a family?”
She smiles, not quite the beautiful full smile I’m used to seeing but a smile nonetheless. “Thank you.” Tears well in Frankie’s eyes and I pull her close, resting her head against my shoulder. She soon relaxes, sinking into me. I enjoy the moment, stroking her back as I hold her against me. I've felt her cuddled up against me as a wolf but to feel her sink into me and trust me to keep her safe in human form feels perfect. I want more of this.
I shouldn't have allowed her to feel the brunt of my anger. She didn't deserve it. “I’m sorry I was so angry when you came in,” I say, feeling the need to apologise. “I’ve been on edge since I heard your fear through the phone yesterday. The full moon isn’t helping the situation much.”
“Not to mention the sexual tension,” Frankie grunts, making me laugh. “Deny it all you like, I know you feel it too. You have to.”
“I’m not denying anything. I find it highly amusing, how stubborn you are. Your father used to complain about your mother’s stubbornness all the time and I’m starting to understand why.” I feel my smile broaden and wonder if I can ever remember smiling like this before? Or felt this happy? I know I’ve felt at my happiest in wolf form with her at the cemetery, but here and now, in human form this is so much more.
Mate. My wolf allows the word to float through my mind. A mate should make you feel happy. He may be allowing us to sit back and wait for her to choose us, but I don't think he'll be willing to wait much longer. He's already claimed her in his mind. Hell, I won’t be able to bear the distance much longer. She’s ours. Our mate.
Hearing Frankie moan about sexual tension, and seeing her pout at my amusement, I'm guessing her patience is on its way out too.
I allow the words to flow before I lose my nerve, “I’ll make a deal with you.”
Frankie pulls back slightly, to look up and into my eyes. The quizzically raised brow says “spit it out,” loud and clear.
“You’ll meet most of the pack tonight.” Frankie nods and I carry on before my nerve completely slips and I chicken out. “We usually have a big get together a couple of days after. It’ll be at Big Mac’s bar on Monday this month. Any you don’t meet tonight, you’ll meet then.”
Nodding again, Frankie sighs and gives me an impatient look.
“If, after you've met everyone tomorrow, you haven’t found anyone, or your wolf hasn’t found anyone, that interests either of you as much as I evidently do I’ll stop pushing you away. But remember, this can’t be taken lightly. I can’t go through what happened with Claire again.” The name feels foreign coming out of my mouth. The face of the woman it belonged to clear in my mind’s eye, as if she was stood right before me.
Frankie’s hand wiping a tear off my cheek pulls me away from my past and to my possible future that's so close to my grasp, standing in my arms. “Thank you. I promise I will never put you through that. Ever,” she says before reaching up on her tiptoes and brushing her lips gently against mine in a promise. The combination of her chaste kiss and promise is more than enough to fill the room with our mixed scents.
The thought that I could have her forever, if only I’d give in, runs through my mind. Tempting me to do just that and claim her right now.
Frankie steps back breaking the hold of my arms and the thought running through my head. Dropping my arms I allow her the space to step away. “I best go and tell everyone it’s safe to enter. They’re all on the drive not daring to come in and face your wrath, as Clarissa put it,” she states before turning and reaching for the door handle. She flashes me a beautiful smile over her shoulder as she pulls the door open causing a mirrored reflection of the same smile to break out on my own face.
Sitting back down at my desk I contemplate the deal I’ve just made with Frankie and all the horrifyin
g outcomes it could lead to. I’m not denying it could lead to a happy ending but I’ve always been a glass half empty person. I reach into the top drawer and pull my best bottle of whisky out as a heavy knock sounds on the door. Placing the bottle on the desk I pull out two glasses. “Come in,” I call out in answer.
The door opens, revealing the last person I expect it to be. Nate. I fill two glasses placing one in front of the chair on the other side of my desk and take a sip out of the other while gesturing for Nate to take a seat. The furrow of Nate’s brow gives me warning that he has something on his mind. Something he must be deeply worried about if the emotions flowing through the pack bond from him have anything to say about it. Nate has never been one that can be made to talk; he'll talk when he’s good and ready, no sooner. Knowing Nate has been on the other side of this kind of conversation many times before, since I'm the same in that aspect, I sit back, savouring the flavour of my drink as I wait for Nate to talk.
After a minute of thought he finally speaks. “I’m concerned about this Danny guy. I don’t like the thought of him staying in the same house as Frankie. I’m not keen on Gareth staying either, although he does seem like a genuine, nice guy. They are both human and it’s not a good idea to have them here in the middle of all this stuff with Rick.”
I contemplate Nate’s concerns as I watch him pick up his glass and swallow half of its contents. “They’re both staying at Frankie’s?” I ask unable to keep my voice free of worry.
“We left Gareth there just now. He’s sleeping on the sofa, and Kelly said Danny can have his bed because he’ll crash on Frankie’s floor... Didn’t she tell you?” Nate asks tentatively.
I sigh, pushing down the anger that’s once again starting to build, knowing Nate doesn’t deserve to feel the brunt of it. The saying “Don’t shoot the messenger,” flit's through my mind. “She told me they were in town, or arriving soon in Danny’s case. But the fact that they are staying at hers must have slipped her mind,” I say, punctuating it with a grunt before picking up my glass and downing its contents. I watch Nate as I refill my both our glasses, knowing he’s my biggest competition in winning Frankie’s affection, no matter what I told Frankie about her needing to meet the whole pack before she comes to a decision. This caring guy before me is exactly what Frankie is attracted to. That’s why she was such good friends with Joey all those years. It sounds like her friend Gareth is cut from the same cloth. Whereas I have the same brutality Danny seems to have. She's clearly attracted to that also, but how much of that is her and how much is her wolf? Her wolf was dormant when she was with Danny, she’ll have still had some influence, dormant or not but how much is the question.
Nate’s voice pulls me out of my musings. “I know this is none of my business, but Carter overheard your deal with Frankie. Why are you pushing her away? She obviously wants you, we’ve all seen and felt it.” Nate’s voice is gentle but the tension in his shoulders and fists formed on his lap show me exactly how angry he is.
“I know how she feels about me, but I’ve also seen how she looks at you.”
Nate looks across at me with wide surprised eyes. “Me?”
His complete shock causes me to laugh. “Yes. You.” I shake my head in disbelief. How can he not see it? “You, Nate, seem to be my biggest competition.” I sigh, not really wanting to admit this but knowing I need to say the words out loud at least to Nate. “I just want her to be happy. If it’s you that gives her that, then I’d rather she picks you. You know what happened to the last mate I chose.” I shake my head vigorously, not even wanting to contemplate that outcome happening with Frankie. “I don’t want that happening to Frankie. I couldn’t live with myself. Not a second time, and certainly not if it was Frankie.” I finish my drink at the thought and Nate does the same so I top up our glasses once again.
“What are we going to do about Danny?” Nate asks getting back to the subject clearly playing on his mind.
I take a moment to mull over the problem Danny poses. Nate, being the patient man he is, waits quietly knowing I’ll talk when I’m good and ready, just like he had earlier. If it was Carter sat opposite me, he’d be repeating himself left and right and I wouldn’t be able to think about anything other than Carter’s repetitive voice getting on my last nerve. “Kelly’s going to be in Frankie’s room at night, which would be the time Danny would be thinking of making moves on her, so she’ll be safe in that aspect.” The frown he gives me at my words tells me he isn’t convinced she's safe. “You’ve got to remember she’s a werewolf now. He’s just a human. Frankie’ll be able to handle him, even if he gets aggressive.”
Nate purses his lips in thought. “I don’t know. I think she might care for him too much to stop him if he gets out of hand. You know, like the domestic violence cases that are often on the news.” His words make me question whether he’s over thinking things or I’m under thinking them for a second, before I’m brought to my senses as my wolf gives me a huff in annoyance. Do I really think of her as a weakling?
“You’ve felt her wolf, she isn’t that weak. You saw how she reacted to Carter and Clarissa,” I suggest, relaying what my wolf had just told me with his huff.
“That example might not be such a good one. They’ve been getting a lot closer since Joey’s death. Did you hear him tell her he loved her yesterday? She pretty much said it back to him. Well, as close as she could without actually saying the three words aloud. Carter’s even called things off with Clarissa in the hopes of getting Frankie back.” The two have never had much of a friendship between them but the venom in his voice surprises me. I make a mental note to keep an eye on the two of them.
“Don’t worry about Carter, he’ll do something stupid soon enough. That’s what Carter does best.” Nate nods in agreement at my words. I stand and head for the door, seeing Nate out the corner of my eye follow my lead. “Lets go wait for the moon to take control,” I suggest as I pull open the door. I've always enjoyed watching my wolves lose control to the moon, looking and feeling - through the pack bonds - their freest. Other days, even when they are running you can always see the fight between human and wolf either in their eyes or the set of their body. The pull of the moon takes all the fight away. As Alpha I can never lose the fight so it’s a blessing to watch my wolves be free and feel it through the pack bonds.
Chapter Twenty Five
Frankie
Sitting on the window bench in front of the pool table, I pretend to watch the game Kelly and Carter have going on but really, all my instincts are focusing on the heavy wooden door on the wall opposite me, trying my hardest to acquire X-ray vision from the moment Nate shut the door behind him. It doesn’t matter how hard I strain my ears I’m not hearing anything through the door. I don’t know why Nate and Jesse talking privately worries me so much, no doubt they do it all the time since Nate is a strong wolf, high up in the pack. I sigh. Who the hell am I trying to kid? I have a feeling they are talking about me behind that heavy wooden door, that’s what’s bothering me. Nate’s been on edge ever since I’d invited Gareth into my home. Deciding to give up I turn my attention back to the game in front of me only to snap my head back to the door as Jesse's energy pulses through the room. The sight of Jesse walking out of the room with a smile on his face as he glances back at Nate who's following behind him, makes my heart skip a beat. I watch as they stop at the bar and Kate - who’s playing barmaid as usual - pours them both a drink.
Hearing a bikes engine I turn to look out the window and watch as a Colin’s motor cross bike pulls up alongside Ben’s bike. He removes his helmet and places it on the seat, before lighting a cigarette and standing back to admire Ben’s beauty of a bike.
Once again turning back to the game I find two glasses held directly in front of my face. One of amber liquid which smells of Whisky, the other’s scent tells me it’s Captain Morgan’s spiced rum with coke. Glancing past the glasses and up into Jesse’s face I give him a puzzled look as he hands me the Morgan’s. “How did you know
that’s what I drink?”
His smile transforms into a playful grin. “If I tell you that, I’d have to kill you!”
Raising the glass to my mouth I catch onto his ‘spy’ reference and silently berate myself, he’s been following me around for years, of course he would know what I drink. I swallow a mouthful of the heaven in a glass and wonder, not for the first time whether Kate is a professional barmaid because she gets these drinks just right.
“How are you feeling? Is your wolf still calm and collected, or edging to get out?” Jesse asks a slight frown furrowing his brow.
Taking a moment I feel deep inside myself and find her laid happily, with no hurry to get out. “Calm and collected,” I answer my voice high in surprise.
“Most new werewolves would have changed by now, that’s why I had insisted on you coming in early.” He flicks his eyes to the window and points to the cars. “ It looks like some of the other pack members are getting edgy.”
I watch a steady stream of cars pulling up to a stop and people jumping out of them. None of them seem to be coming into the house, though. I spot Mary exit a blue Ford Falcon with two guys, I haven’t met yet. My eyes widen in shock as they strip off their clothes and place them in the car before closing the door. From my view of them I can’t see a sign that they are embarrassed about their nakedness in the slightest. Within a matter of minutes I’m watching three wolves standing beside the Ford Falcon. Their shift hadn’t looked painful. At this distance and with the windows as a sound barrier, it had looked magical. I know different, I’ve felt the pain of a shift and it’s far from painless. I glance at Jesse who is still standing next to me, watching the wolves intently.
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