by Sam Crescent
Zadie gave her brother a wave, before taking a seat in the back.
“What’s good to eat here?” Bethany asked.
“Most of it. You won’t get any food poisoning or anything.” She picked up the menu and had already decided on a chicken salad today.
“Fried chicken sounds good. Chicken salad is so not happening. Waffles and fried chicken. I take it you guys eat a lot of fried chicken.”
“Anna likes fried chicken.”
“Sloane’s mate?” Bethany asked.
“Yep. She likes to try different variations and stuff. It’s really good.” Bethany smiled at the waitress, Nicole, and gave her order.
Bethany settled on the fried chicken, and then they were alone, or as alone as they could be in the diner.
“Your brother gave me back my cardigan. There was no rush for it.”
Bethany waved her hand in the air. “It’s fine. My brother is the nice sort of person. He wanted you to have it back. What do you think of my brother?”
“How do you mean?”
“What do you think? Do you think he’s a good man?”
“I barely know him, Bethany. I don’t really know you.”
“Well, I can rectify that problem. Hello, I’m Bethany Locker. Younger sister to Dante. He took over from our pack when our parents were killed in a plane crash, and I also work for him in running the pack smoothly. I’m not mated. I love pop music, romances, and the occasional horror film. I have no desire to get married and settle down right now, but one day it could be in the cards. I also hate the color black, and love pink.”
Zadie adored Bethany’s abrupt nature. It was so refreshing.
“How about you?” Bethany asked. “This is like a crash course in being the best girlfriends in the world.”
“Okay. I like black. It’s a flattering color.”
“Please, black is a nasty color, and just not flattering at all. However, having said that, I bet it makes your red hair just shine.”
Tucking some of her red locks behind her ear, Zadie said, “My parents moved here many years ago, and it has been our home for nearly twenty years. I love pink, blue, and orange. Green as well. I like green. I have a love of spaghetti and meatballs, baking and cooking. It’s what I really enjoy. One day I hope to have children of my own because one of the things I would love to experience is motherhood. To carry my child, and I’m starting to sound sappy, and totally not a feminist. Men are bad, very bad. Kidding, kidding.”
Bethany began laughing. “Oh, I know we’re going to be really good friends.”
“I also like a little country music.”
Bethany gasped in horror. “No!”
“Yep. It has to be said. Blame my brother, and he’s just sitting near the door with a bunch of his friends. His name’s Luke.” Bethany looked behind her.
Luke was glancing toward them, and he gave a wave.
“You’re close with him?”
“Yes. When we moved here no one wanted to talk to us or get to know who we were. We only had each other, and I guess we relied a great deal. He’s one of my best friends.” Zadie clasped her hands together and smiled at Bethany. “What about you?”
“Dante is my best friend and brother.”
“He seems really charming.”
“I’d be careful. That charm will have you in trouble before you know it.”
Zadie shook her head. “You don’t need to worry about me. Your brother is perfectly safe from my charms.” She didn’t have any.
Bethany sat back. “I don’t like how negative you can be about yourself.”
“I’m not being negative.”
“You are. You’re just not seeing it. Don’t worry about it. It will all change soon.”
A shadow landed on the table, and when Zadie looked up, she saw Dante there, smiling. “Ladies.”
“Dante, what are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d come and have dinner with two of the most beautiful women that I’ve seen today.”
Zadie smiled, and turned to Bethany. It was the first real compliment that she had received, and she found herself blushing.
“I don’t think we should let him. What do you think, Zadie? This is an all-girls table?” Bethany asked giving her a wink.
“I’m not getting involved when it comes to siblings. I know what it’s like when I get so annoyed when someone comes between me and Luke.” Her brother was still in the diner, and he’d looked toward her, to make sure everything was okay.
Bethany sighed. “Then I guess it’s only fair that you sit with us. Zadie, this is my very annoying brother and my pack Alpha, Dante.”
“We’ve been introduced,” she said. “He brought me back my cardigan.”
“Yes, I know. Thank you so much for letting me borrow it.”
“No problem.” Zadie placed her arms on the table and leaned forward. “You know the pack are not overly concerned about nakedness. You were perfectly fine last night, and you didn’t have to cover up.”
Bethany placed her hand on Zadie’s. “Let’s just say I have some … boundaries that I won’t cross. Okay?”
“Sure.
Their food came, and the waitress took an order for Dante, promising to be back quite sharp. Zadie moved her bowl of chicken salad toward him. “You can share mine if you want?”
“It’s fine. I’d like to see you eat. Mine will be out shortly.”
She nodded, and took a bite of her chicken. It was so juicy and full of spicy flavor.
“Well, I’ve got to give it to Anna. She knows exactly how good fried chicken can be,” Bethany said. “Yummy. Did you get everything done that you needed to today?” She looked at Dante.
“Yes. I did. I’ve also gone and visited with some of our pack that we brought along. They are enjoying their stay as well.”
“Any mating hope?”
Zadie looked at Dante, and he was staring right back at her. “There is a great deal of hope,” he said.
Glancing back down at her salad, she tried to focus on the conversation going on, but all she could think about was the way his thigh was pressed against hers. He was so warm, and the masculine scent of him was highly addictive. Taking another bite of chicken, she chewed, trying to think of something else other than how good it felt being near him.
When she’d gotten home last night to sleep, her dreams had been filled with Dante and a large black wolf that followed her around. She wasn’t afraid of the black wolf, far from it. In fact, she felt protected and safe. In her dreams, she was also happy with Dante.
Now having his leg press against her, it was bringing back all of those hopes and dreams that had died a long time ago.
****
Lunch had gone better than Dante expected. He’d stayed with Zadie and his sister as they walked her back to the nursery. It had been next to impossible to leave, but he didn’t want to scare Zadie off, and he did have an obligation to his pack while he was there. Sloane wanted to connect the packs together, and the only way to do that was through mating.
Sloane had hoped that someone would take a liking to Bianca, his daughter, but Dante had checked with his unmated men. None of them were interested. It would seem Bianca’s reputation proceeded her in many ways.
No one was interested in fighting other men just for the right to be inside her pussy. One of his men had told him that he refused to go where lots of men had been before him.
Sitting in Sloane’s office, Dante checked the time not for the first time. “When does the nursery close?” he asked.
“Around three, and then Zadie stays on until around seven to help with the youth element of our pack.” Sloane said. “You’re really serious about this mating?”
“Yep. Zadie is the one for me. Providing she doesn’t change packs, I don’t see why we can’t be joined in our mating and our marriage.” Just the thought of seeing Zadie in a white gown walking toward him was enough to get his blood pumping.
“What do you mean by her changing packs?�
�� Sloane asked.
“Zadie asked me what would be required of her if the need ever arose for her to leave. I’m guessing this is down to those fucked up names that I’ve been told about. Fat mate. Fat wolf. Why?” He sat back, and stared at Sloane.
“As you can see, she is the only woman in our pack that is f—”
“That better be changed to ‘has curves’. For me, Zadie is a perfect woman, and if your men are too fucking blind, that is their fault. She deserves a lot better. You know it has been a couple of days, and I’ve spent a lot of time walking around, talking with your pack, my pack. Zadie is well loved, well liked. In fact, she’s fucking adored. Yet no one will mate with her, and you wonder why she’s thinking of moving packs? Why it’s even on her mind?”
“Zadie has always been a wonderful person. Everyone has always adored her.”
“She craves a lot more than being a fucking babysitter to the pack. That’s all she is, really. From babies, to kids, to fucking teenagers. She’s the only one that knows how to deal with them, and who they all turn to for help or guidance.” Dante shook his head, angry but so proud of who Zadie was. “And you wonder why I want to mate with her. Why when I’m near her, she fires my blood like no other woman has before? She has a kindness that is rare, a love that is loyal, and as far as I’m concerned, a body made for mating and to carry my children.”
Sloane sat back. “I will talk with Zadie.”
“I don’t want you to say or do anything. That’s what I offer. Our packs will be united together, so long as Zadie is a member of this pack, and agrees to be my mate.” Dante didn’t want to cause a war between their packs, but if for whatever reason, Zadie was hurt, he would fight to the death.
That woman was his mate, and he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and happy.
Even sitting next to her provided him with a great deal of pleasure. The feel of her thigh pressed against his was enough to calm the wolf inside him. Her lemony scent, though, that went straight to his cock, and throughout lunch, he had thought of nothing else but taking her, mating her, and making her his.
Her brother had been close, and had been watching him as well.
Dante finished up his meeting with Sloane, making sure the other Alpha was aware of his intentions. Sloane didn’t want a war between them, and the last thing Dante wanted was to start one. All he wanted was the redhead that called to him like a siren did to seamen.
Making his way across the town once again, he nodded at the men and the women. Bianca came out of a shop, and she had a scarf around her neck. Of course, there were several men and women with her as well.
“Mr. Locker, it is a pleasure of you to come here,” she said.
“Hello, Bianca.” He wasn’t interested in hearing his name from her lips. It was getting late, and he wanted to be on his way.
“You know, I expected us to get to know each other a lot better.”
“Then you’re going to have to be disappointed. I have no intention of getting to know you better, and your father is aware of it.” He looked at the men, who were glaring at him, and smirked. “Believe me, gentlemen, you can have at her. I’ve got my eyes on something better.”
With that, he left Bianca looking somewhat shocked.
Zadie was coming out of the nursery, and several of the teenage boys were talking with her.
“Come on, Zadie, a disco would be amazing,” a black-haired boy said.
“Like I said, Paul, you’ve got to ask Sloane. I can’t help you with this,” Zadie said. She stood up and smiled when she saw him.
“Am I interrupting?” Dante asked.
“We’re wanting a disco, and Zadie says we’ve got to ask Sloane.”
“The Alpha is the one in charge. I’d start working on him,” Dante said. “I’m all for a disco or even better, a party. Go work on Sloane, and I’ll bounce ideas off this one.”
The boys started walking away. “He likes ice-cream,” Zadie said, giving them a hint.
“Do you think he’ll cave?”
“I don’t know. With Sloane, it’s difficult to tell. He likes the kids to earn their rewards as he believes it gets them better prepared.”
“You don’t think that?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s hard for me to say no to anyone.” She had a couple of empty boxes under her arms. “Today’s reading adventure was a huge success.”
“So you bake?”
“I bake. I cook. It’s what I enjoy, and what I’m good at.” She glanced to the left, and she watched Bianca for several seconds. “You’ve upset her, you know.”
“How many of your pack know about your hearing?” he asked.
She turned toward him. “What?”
“You can hear their conversation clearly, can’t you?” he asked. “It’s rare, I have to admit, for a wolf to carry certain heightened senses. Most of the time they just have their strength, and this insatiable hunger. We also have a bigger appetite for sex.”
Her cheeks went a bright shade of red. “I’ve not told anyone. My brother, he knows. It kind of makes me feel a little like a freak.”
“I’ve got it as well,” Dante said. “Perks of being an Alpha I guess. I have clear hearing as a wolf and as a man.”
She licked her lips, and he saw she wanted to say something else.
“You can trust me, Zadie. I won’t say anything.”
“I’ve also got my strength.”
“Most wolves keep some of their strength.”
“I have all of it,” she said, then glancing down at the floor. “I nearly broke my mom’s back, and if she had been a human, I would have. It’s why I like to keep my distance. I don’t want to hurt anyone. The kids are so sweet, and I would never hurt them. I’m more than careful with them.”
He stared at her. “Are you telling me that in human form, you could probably kill all of your pack?”
“Apart from my brother,” she said. “His strength is the same as mine. It’s rare I know. Usually when we’re wolves it’s all heightened and magnified. I mean, we’re stronger than a human, and have better hearing, but again, not as strong as when we’re in wolf form. Like I said, I feel like a freak.”
“I find that quite … extraordinary.” She didn’t have a clue that he was the same. That most Alphas carried their strengths even into human form. He wasn’t sure about Sloane, but something told him that he was the same as well. Sloane was a great Alpha, fantastic even, and fair. Dante couldn’t fault the man on his love for the pack. When it came to his daughter, however, that was another matter.
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. How about I walk you home?” he asked, offering his arm.
“I’d like that.” She gently placed her hand on his arm, and he found it sweet that she was concerned for him.
He gave her hand a squeeze, showing her without hurting her that he knew what she was going through, and that he understood her more than she even realized.
Chapter Five
“I heard Dante walked you home last night,” Alice said.
Zadie looked up from the newspaper she was reading, and saw all of her family were staring at her. “He did.”
“He joined her for lunch as well,” Luke said.
She glared at her brother. “I was having lunch with his sister. That’s why he joined.”
“There’ve been rumors and whispers that he’s not interested in Bianca. Sloane still wants an alliance though,” Tristan said.
Zadie continued to read the newspaper. She had never been one for politics. Taking another spoonful of her cereal, she chewed as her family talked.
“Are we under any threat?” Alice asked.
“No. Packs unite as a form of strength. With our expanding pack, Sloane’s just reaching out to the nearest one as a show of faith. I think it would be good for us to be united with the Locker pack.”
Closing the newspaper, she got up and washed her bowl. “I’m heading into town today to get some supplies. Is there anything th
at you need?” she asked. Her chocolate chips were almost gone, and their freezers were not looking great.
“No. We’re good. We want you to think of the offer, sweetie,” Alice said.
Zadie released a sigh, and looked back into the room. “I asked Dante what it would take to possibly switch packs.” She’d wanted to avoid this conversation, but with their determination to talk about other things, she didn’t see the reason to put it off.
“Why?” Tristan asked.
“Because this pack, as much as I love it, I know I’m not going to find a mate here, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with people staring at me with pity. Look at you two right now. You’re practically jumping for joy at the prospect of me finding someone. Dante is a nice man, but he would never go for someone like me. Now please, stop. I was going to talk to Sloane about this in a couple of days. I’ve not made up my mind.” She went to her parents, and hugged them. “Please, be happy for me.”
She made her way outside, and began to open the car.
“What about me?” Luke asked. “We’ve been best friends as well. When were you going to tell me?”
Holding onto the door, she turned toward her brother. “I’d not decided yet on what I was doing. I don’t want to hurt anyone. You know what they call me. ‘Fat mate’. That’s what I am to them, and no one wants that. They’ve grown up with me, and they don’t look past what they see. I do want to be happy, Luke. I don’t think that happiness will be found here.”
“Don’t talk to Sloane about it yet. Give us time to talk.”
“I will, Luke. It’s something I’m thinking about.” She made to climb into her car when Dante called toward them. He was running, and the moment he got near, he stopped.
“I thought I was about to miss you then,” Dante said.
“I’m just heading out? Are you lost?” she asked.
“You know, you keep asking me that. I’m starting to get a complex,” he said.
She couldn’t help the chuckle that erupted inside her. “Sorry, it’s an old habit.”
“I don’t think we’ve properly met,” Dante said.
“Luke, Zadie’s brother.”
“Dante Locker.”