by Josey Alden
"Nothing happened. He gave me some books and escorted me to my car. He was very polite."
"Aaaaaand?"
"Say that one more time, and I'm going to drive right back to that apartment and—"
Cyn shrieked. "No, you won't! It's my place now. All mine."
After she ended the call, Rosa stared at her phone. She'd forgotten to ask Cyn what she should wear to the bar. She sighed and tossed her phone on the bed, thinking about Cyn's claim on the apartment. She wished it were that easy to lay claim to a person. Especially a werewolf with soulful eyes and a shadowed jawline.
______
Chapter 9
Diamonds turned out to be a dive bar with twice the legal capacity spilling onto a back patio. Rosa looked around inside, hoping to quickly find Laren. What she found was a wolf. She froze in place just inside the door. This was her first wolf sighting since she'd moved to the Alpha Lands.
The wolf wasn't looking at her. He was leaning against a woman's denim-clad thigh. The woman absent-mindedly played with the fur on his scruff as she talked to another woman. Rosa didn't know a phased wolf could be so large. Not even Jared's photos could capture their true size in the flesh. The wolf's fur was pure white from snout to tail. His family had probably migrated from a northern climate. Rosa's brain fed her facts that she'd learned from reading about these magnificent creatures most of her life. Her heart was bursting with the excitement of being this close. She had to restrain herself before she could run to him like a child and bury her face in his thick fur.
Then, he turned and looked straight into Rosa's eyes, and she recognized the soul she'd seen in Jared's photographs. The intensity of the connection made her eyes tear up. She saw more in that wolf's expression than she'd ever seen in any pure-blood human.
He gave her a small toss of his head before turning back to his companion.
Rosa immediately wondered how many other phased wolves she would see here. She scanned the crowd and found that about three-quarters of the people were in human form, which left a good number in wolf form.
Rosa suspected she was the only pure-blood in the place. She didn't have an impressive wolf form to display. She had, however, found her most flattering dress in the back of her closet. The thin black fabric showed quite a bit of cleavage and clung to her figure in all the right places. After seeing more than a few pairs of eyes turn to her as she walked toward the back of the bar, she had a moment of panic. What if everyone else wore jeans? How desperate would that make me look? Will they judge me because I have no wolf?
Coming here was a giant mistake.
As these thoughts flew through her head, Rosa felt a hand slip around her arm. It was Laren, coming to rescue her from her paralysis. Rosa let out her breath when she saw that her new friend was wearing a dress, too. Hers was long and flowing, though, and reminded Rosa of a casual spring day.
"Should I go home and change?" she said, tugging the high hemline down.
"Why? You look amazing," Laren said. "And the margaritas here are the best in the lands. Guaranteed. You must order one. Or two."
After the bartender handed her a frozen margarita, Rosa put her money on the counter and followed Laren to the back patio. Ten or so teachers that she recognized were gathered around a large table that was covered with beer bottles, mugs, and glasses. Everyone was in human form, most likely because it was much harder to drink alcohol as a wolf.
Some of the teachers hugged Rosa and made a place for her to sit. She looked for May Hightower, but she wasn't there. It seemed that her coworkers were much more hospitable with beer in their stomachs. Maybe she had wrongfully mistaken their general stress as a distaste for her. Here, they talked and laughed and flirted like she was one of them. Within minutes, Rosa couldn't remember why she'd been so nervous.
Raub, the math and science teacher from school—the one who had declared that she was mating material—sat in the chair next to her.
"How are things going?" he said. "Settling in all right?"
He sounded perfectly normal. Would he suddenly change like he did in her classroom? With so much distance between their second and sixth grade classrooms, she had seen only glimpses of him during the school week.
"It's great. My kids are awesome," Rosa said. "During recess on Thursday, they all got together and planned to bring me an apple this morning. The boy who was supposed to bring it forgot, so they all drew me pictures of apples instead."
"I'm lucky if mine bring me the dead worm from the apple," he said, laughing. "Sixth graders are way past thoughtful gifts."
Rosa laughed, too. "I think it was because I fed them cupcakes on the first day."
"Ah, bribery topped with icing," he said. "A teacher's best tool." Rosa noticed how kind his face looked when he laughed. Whatever had happened between them in her classroom must have been a misunderstanding. She relaxed, but a note of caution still hung in her head.
As Raub talked to her, she could feel the preternatural pull of him. That was one of the more surprising things about being with wolves in person. Rosa had always assumed that when wolves were in human form, they were more or less like the average pure-blood. They did look quite human, but the difference was a matter of scale. They were taller and broader, even the women. Their faces were inherently attractive and expressive. Their wolf intensity bled through in physical contact: handshakes, conversations, hugs, and most likely, sex.
Whoa. She was getting way ahead of herself. Slow it down, Rosa. Remember what you said about not falling for the first wolf you meet?
She started to ask Raub where he lived, but before she could open her mouth, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the eyes of the biggest wolf she'd seen so far. He looked like he had just rolled up in front of the bar with his motorcycle gang. His tight, black t-shirt revealed tattoo sleeves. His jeans looked custom-made for him, and they ended in a pair of beat-up boots. Unlike Raub, his dark gold hair fell wild around his shoulders. Everything about this man screamed alpha, but Rosa knew it took much more than looking like a tough guy to be an alpha.
"I'm buying you a drink," he said, and then waited for her to get up. Her legs were far too rubbery to stand, though.
"I'm good, thanks," Rosa said, hoping her voice wouldn't crack. She turned to the almost-full margarita on the table next to her.
He followed her gaze, picked up her glass from the table, and downed the contents in several large gulps. "Now, you need a new drink," he said.
Rosa looked at Raub with wide eyes, but his eyes were already locked on the guy like he was his mortal enemy.
Oh, shit.
Raub still looked human, but he wasn't the same man he was five seconds before. The muscles along his jawline twitched, and his laser focus gave Rosa goosebumps from head to toe. He leaned forward in his chair slowly like he could spring from it at any second. She would have been fine having a friendly discussion about the situation. Apparently, that's not how it worked with wolves, even when they were casually sitting around a table, drinking and laughing.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. When she turned, she came nose to snout with a pure black wolf. She froze in place, feeling every bit like the deer in those damned headlights. His breath hit her mouth and cheeks like foul steam. It would take just one snap of his jaws to tear her face off, and she had absolutely no way to defend herself. Maybe she should have paid a little more attention to her parents' fears. It was far too late for that, though.
Rosa heard a low growl to her left. Both she and the black wolf turned toward the sound. Raub had shifted into a gray wolf. In the brief time the black wolf was distracted by Rosa, Raub launched himself onto the other wolf. Guttural growls rumbled through the wood planks of the patio. The two wolves were at a decision point: back off or go for broke.
Raub sank his teeth into the side of the black wolf's neck and locked his jaws. Blood ran freely from the bite as the wolf tried to shake Raub off his back. Rosa stood up and scurried backward
s, afraid that the two fighters would end up in her lap. Several wolves came running from inside the bar, barking and howling. Three of them leapt straight into the middle of the fight to wedge themselves between Raub and the other wolf. No one in human form attempted to break it up. It wasn't hard to see why they stayed back and let the wolves handle the situation.
The cacophony went silent instantly, as if the conductor had dropped his baton. Only one wolf remained: the injured black wolf who had set off this violence in the first place. The other wolves had returned to human form. Raub grabbed his bottle of beer off the table, swished a mouthful of it, and spit out blood on the grass behind the patio.
Rosa then realized that every one of the men in the fight, including Raub, was now naked. They'd all shredded their ordinary clothes with the unexpected shift. She burst out laughing, unable to hold it back the strange reaction. This was not something she'd anticipated when she'd dreamed of coming to the Alpha Lands.
Laren came up behind Rosa and put her hand on her back. "Are you all right? What the hell happened?"
"I just witnessed my first wolf fight, and I think it's all my fault."
Sirens cut through the night. The black wolf was not moving much, but the men were watching him. Soon, paramedics rolled a gurney to the patio and moved him onto it. A pool of blood was left on the deck after they took him away.
"Why did he stay in wolf form?" Rosa asked Raub. "Is he going to die?"
"If a wolf is injured badly, he can't shift back to human form until he's somewhat healed."
Raub was using his torn shirt to clean as much blood off his face, neck, and chest as he could. Rosa went to him and guided his hand to the messiest places.
"This isn't doing much," she said. "You need a shower."
He nodded and threw his shirt into the nearest trash can. "Let's get you home safe, and then I'll worry about my appearance."
As they made their way through the crush of bodies inside the club, no one seemed to notice that Raub was fully nude. At Rosa's Land Rover, he opened the drivers side door for her, and then let himself in the passenger side and buckled his seatbelt like any normal, clothed person would.
At Rosa's den, she insisted that Raub shower first. She changed into jeans and a t-shirt while he was in the bathroom, and then sat on the couch to wait and think. Male attention had never been like this for her. And she was certain no one ever fought over her before. She didn't know whether to be scared or flattered.
When Raub came out of the bathroom he wore only a towel around his waist. "I'm starved. Let's go get dinner."
"In a towel?" Rosa said.
"We can drop by my den for clothes on the way."
Rosa had a thousand questions to ask him, but she could force only one from her mouth. "Where do you live?"
______
Chapter 10
Raub chose a small, quiet restaurant that served "homestyle food" ten miles from Rosa's place. She was grateful that it was the polar opposite of Diamonds. Curious about what "homestyle" meant in the Alpha Lands, she scanned the menu. It was pretty much the same as everywhere else in Texas: steaks, hamburgers, cheese fries.
"I guess I thought the food would be a little more exotic," Rosa said.
Raub gave her a false look of offense. "You don't think an onion ring tower is exotic?"
Rosa laughed. "Um, no."
While Raub looked at the menu, Rosa studied him. He was long and lean, like a runner, with slight baby cheeks that dimpled when he smiled. His glasses made him look like a college professor. He had to be fairly young, a beta making a career for himself to prepare for alpha-hood. When she thought of the fight at the bar, though, she shuddered.
While they waited for their hamburgers, Raub said, "When did you move here?"
"A few weeks ago," Rosa said. "From Dallas."
"That has to be quite a culture shock."
Rosa thought about it for a minute. "No, not really. Then again, I've only been to my den, the school, a photography studio, Diamonds, and here."
Raub's eyes went wide. "You haven't been to the Solano woods yet?"
"No, not yet."
"You're missing the heart of the Alpha Lands, then," he said. A look of concern crossed his face. "Did you talk to anyone about the Wolf Nation before you moved here?"
Rosa shook her head. "Not really. I mean, I had the interview for my teaching position, but we didn't talk much about anything wolf." Not wanting to start eating before he did, Rosa sat with her hands in her lap.
"They should have prepared you better."
Even though he said he was hungry, it took a minute for Raub to notice his plate. He grabbed a couple of fries but continued talking. "Here's what we're going to do. I need to check your den and make sure it's secure. As a pure-blood female living alone, you are as vulnerable as a child."
"You have seen me, right?" Rosa said. "I'm big enough to hold my own."
"Not when your adversary is a giant wolf who wants nothing more than to chew the meat off your bones."
At that lovely visual, Rosa put her hamburger down. "You're serious about this? Because of a bar fight? Believe me, those happen all the time in the human bars."
Raub shook his head. "It blows my mind that no one has given you any guidance. At this rate, we're not going to have many pure-bloods willingly coming to the Alpha Lands to teach."
As they ate, Raub's words kept going through her mind. She looked around at the other other customers. At first glance, they all looked like ordinary humans doing ordinary human things. But when she looked closer, she could see a male sitting at a table alone, gazing just past her. They locked eyes for a second, and Rosa flinched. She couldn't tell if his smile meant, "Sorry to startle you," or "I'm saving room for dessert, and you're the sweetest thing in the room."
Rosa lowered her gaze to her plate and kept it there until she was finished eating.
After the meal, they walked out to her car. Again, he opened the door for her. Apparently, manners were a wolf trait. For some wolves, anyway. Despite the warmth of the September evening, Rosa shivered. Raub turned to her.
"I didn't mean to scare you earlier," Raub said.
"You didn't," Rosa lied.
"I still want to check your den. I'm harmless, I promise."
Harmless? Rosa thought. If we asked the black wolf what he thought, would he say you're harmless?
"Would you like something to drink? I have, um, tap water and orange soda."
"That's an enticing offer, but no, I'm fine," Raub said, laughing a little.
"I'm an ace hostess."
Raub pulled the shades aside on her living room window. "Why did they put you on the ground floor? You're right across from woods back here."
"I guess it's all they had available. And the view is nice."
Raub shook his head. "This is the most dangerous location for a female living alone. On Monday, I want you to put in a request for a second floor apartment facing the street. If they can't accommodate that, we'll find you a new den complex."
We? Rosa was grateful for the concern, but Raub was taking this a bit far. How dangerous could it really be? She'd seen few wolves around the complex so far. People in wolf form probably had better things to do than sit around looking at all the humans.
After Raub finished his security assessment and griped a little more about the managers of the den complex putting her in mortal danger, they sat on the couch.
"I'm sorry," Rosa said. "Despite my ace hostess skills, I'm not really set up for entertaining here."
"It's fine," he said, flashing that adorable smile again. "But I don't want to leave you here until you've switched dens."
What was she going to do if he insisted on staying the night? Maybe all this talk about security was really an elaborate plan to get her alone?
"Raub, I understand—"
"You really don't, but it's all right. I'm not dangerous. My wolf is not dangerous. You have my word on that. You can call everyone you know and tell them I
'm here, if that makes you more comfortable."
"All I have to offer you is the couch," Rosa said.
"I don't even need that." He stood up. "Did you see me shift earlier?"
Rosa shook her head, and her pulse quickened. The shift seemed mysterious and somehow intimate. Did she want to see it now? "I was too busy hoping the black wolf wouldn't eat my face."
"I'll show you, if you want," he said. "It's up to you."
Rosa thought about it for a moment, trying to scrape together the courage to say yes. This would be a milestone for her, something that ranked just below losing her virginity.
"Yes," she said. "Please."
"I have to undress, or I'll ruin my clothes, again," he said. "That gets old real quick."
Rosa nodded and tried not to stare as he calmly removed one piece of clothing at the time and folded them on the coffee table. She wanted to laugh at how dull this was. Shifting was supposed to be powerful and passionate, something a person did when they urgently needed to change out of their human form. Here, Raub looked like he was getting ready to see the doctor. It was hard to believe this was the same wolf who fought on her behalf.
"It's fast," he said. Rosa ran her eyes down his body. She was right about the runners' physique. His lightly tanned skin pulled taut over long muscles. Below his waist, the view was as tantalizing as it was earlier, but it was clear he was not aroused by her. At least, not right now. She felt a twinge of rejection in her chest.
"Ready?" he said. Rosa nodded.
He sank to his knees and then onto all fours. One second he was fully human, and then Rosa blinked, and he was wolf. Just like that.
"You weren't kidding about it being quick," Rosa said. "A girl likes a little more foreplay, you know."
Raub wagged his tail. Rosa was beginning to understand that all werewolves were much larger than ordinary wolves. That had to be part of the danger Raub was so worried about. She would be no match for a malevolent werewolf.
Now that she could get a good look, she saw that Raub's wolf was beautiful, with dark grey, light grey, and tan fur forming artistic patterns across his coat. His tail was long and full—she suppressed the urge to make a joke about size—and each paw was larger than her fist.