The Patient Wolf (Wicked Urban Fantasy #1)

by Karen Hodges Miller

  Chapter 14

  After her grandfather left, Ana got out her books and diligently began catching up on her schoolwork. It was well after lunch when Lindsey came to the back door, and she was glad to take a break.

  “Sophie texted Kaylee the big news and told her she’d see her at school tomorrow. How do you feel about the baby?” Lindsey said as she made herself at home, pulling a mug out of the cabinet, adding water to the coffee maker and taking time over her selection of coffees from the basket Ana had on the counter.

  Ana laughed. With everything that had gone on in the past twenty-four hours, she had totally forgotten that her ex’s wife was pregnant. Funny how something that had seemed so momentous just yesterday suddenly felt very unimportant.

  “Oh, so that’s why you came over. You were worried I was feeling sad. That’s so sweet.” She gave Lindsey a hug.

  “Well are you? Sad?” asked Lindsey, pushing Ana toward the living room where she sat down with her coffee.

  “Not at all. It’s a good thing for Melanie, she’s wanted a baby for quite a while. I’m not really sure how Jonathan feels about it, though. He wants everyone to see him as the perfect daddy, but you know how he is. Most of it is just for show. He doesn’t want to take time away from his career. And a baby does take up a lot of time—and that’s time he would rather be using to further his political aspirations.”

  “Well, I know you’ve said Melanie has wanted a baby for a long time. I hope it goes well for her. She deserves something easy in her life, married to that lunk. And how does Sophie feel about it?”

  “She’s honestly very happy for them and really excited, too. There’s enough age difference there’s no way she can feel jealous. At least I hope not. I really didn’t have a chance to ask her before she left yesterday morning. I’ll find out tomorrow after she gets home from school.” Ana closed her laptop and stacked her notebooks on top of it. “I’m done with studying for today,” she told Lindsey. “Let’s go into the living room. I’ve been sitting in this kitchen for hours.” She picked up her coffee mug and led the way into the next room.

  “And you’re sure you’re okay with this? I know you always wanted another baby. Ooh, the flowers are lovely. You don’t usually splurge like this, but they really make your living room look so pretty.” Lindsey went over to the fireplace to admire the two bouquets. Ana smiled, but decided not to mention why she had two beautiful fall bouquets—an extravagance she usually never would have allowed herself.

  “Maybe I’d have a hard time with it if I didn’t have a date tonight,” Ana said, slyly slipping in the news she’d been dying to tell her friend.

  “Again!” Lindsey turned in surprise. “Joe saw Chris here last night. I must say, he works fast. And here I thought he was the shy type who would need to be prodded along.”

  “Joe is worse than Mrs. Andres!”

  “Well yeah, he is,” Lindsey said almost proudly. “But how else would I learn everything that is going on in the neighborhood? With my schedule at the hospital, half the time I’m working nights and sleeping days. Besides, men always are the worst gossips. They just pretend it’s us women.

  “But you are getting me off the track. How was the date? It must have been great if you are going out again so soon.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be going out with Chris again.” Ana was thinking about her grandfather’s ultimatum. It still worried her, but she couldn’t resist using it to tease her friend.

  “What! But you just said…”

  “I found out some things about Chris. I just don’t think it will work out between us. He’s a very nice person, but we are too opposite, that’s all.”

  There was no way Ana could ever explain to Lindsey just what the problem was between her and Chris. A Hunter and a wolf. It was laughable, really. How could she not have known? How could he? Or did he know? Maybe he did know and he was just playing some kind of sadistic game of “bed the wolf.” Then, when she was complacent, he’d come in for the kill—literally. Well, she wouldn’t let it get that far…”

  “Come on, Ana. Don’t make me beg for it,” Lindsey’s voice cut across Ana’s thoughts, bringing her back to the present.

  “If you aren’t going out with Chris tonight who are you going out with?”

  “Sorry. I guess I just got to thinking about something else.”

  “It must have been your date tonight. So who is it?” Lindsey asked. “Who in Rivelou did you suddenly meet who is so fabulous that you’ve thrown Chris over already?”

  “He’s a professor I’ve been working with, so…”

  “You go, girl!” Lindsey cut in. “But you are always telling what stuffed shirts all the professors are. What made you decide to go out with this one?”

  “Well, he asked me, for one thing. And I couldn’t say no.” Ana shrugged her shoulders. This conversation felt so awkward. She’d been looking forward to telling Lindsey and Monica about her two-date weekend, but now, because of her grandfather—no, because of who she was, she corrected herself, always ready to take the blame—everything had become extremely complicated.

  “You mean he’s harassing you? Oh, Ana, you aren’t worried about your job are you?”

  “No, no. That’s not what I meant. It’s not like that at all. He’s just so elegant and sophisticated and I’m so…” Ana threw up her hands. “So not. I don’t know what he sees in me other than that I’m helping him on a project for the university. He really wants it to be successful.”

  Or that my grandfather is head of the local pack. Either way, I’m not sure he’s interested in me at all, she added silently.

  Lindsey had heard enough. “Don’t put yourself down, honey. I know you too well. Right now you are sitting there coming up with a hundred reasons why a man wouldn’t be attracted to you instead of thinking about the hundred reasons why he would.”

  “Lindsey…” Ana started to protest, but Lindsey cut her off.

  “A lot of men would be—and are, if you’d just notice—attracted to you. You’ve just had your nose to the grindstone for so long, either being a mom or studying, you just haven’t gotten your head out of your books long enough for anyone to ask you out,” Lindsey said, vehemently defending her friend from herself.

  “But enough of the lecture. Tell me more about this professor. He’s obviously incredibly smart since he is attracted to my very beautiful best friend.”

  “Where do I start?” Ana took a deep breath. “First, I guess, he’s very different than, well, Chris. He’s much more sophisticated. Actually I’d say he really is the kind of person Jonathan would like to be. That’s kind of amusing, isn’t it?” she added with a laugh. “One of the differences I had with Jonathan was he was always trying to be this sophisticated person…and he wasn’t. Alexander just is that person and he’s easy with it.

  “He’s traveled; he can talk about a lot of different subjects. Oh, and he dresses like a dream, Lindsey. He always wears suits that are obviously made for him. I don’t mean like having the man at the department store fix them hems and adjust the jacket. Alexander’s suits fit him like a glove. And even yesterday, when he was wearing jeans and a turtleneck, he somehow looked so sophisticated. Not like all the other guys in Rivelou, who just look sloppy when they dress down on a Saturday afternoon.”

  “Ooh, he sounds fabulous. If you decide you don’t want him, send him my way.”

  “Hah! You are much too happy with Joe to ever look at another man,” Ana said.

  “True, but I can still fantasize, can’t I? So you told me about his wardrobe, what does he look like?”

  “Wardrobe! That’s the important question, Lindsey. What should I wear tonight?”

  “Well, where is he taking you?” Lindsey asked reasonably.

  “I don’t know!” Ana said with frustration. “Why do men always do this? Chris did the same thing. Asked me out, then never gave me a hint of what the plan was.”

  “And did you ask him? No of course not. That would have been th
e reasonable thing for you to do.” Lindsey shook her head.

  “Well, I was so surprised at first—both times—that they were asking me out at all, and then when I did think about it, it kind of felt rude, you know?”

  “Yes, I can see exactly how you got yourself into this—both times. You just don’t have enough confidence in yourself,” chided Lindsey. “I could suggest you call this mystery professor up—what did you say his name was?”

  “Alexander Fontaine, and no! I couldn’t.”

  Lindsey shook her head and sighed. “Okay, we’ll just have to work with the information you’ve got. It’s like a game. ‘Where in the world will Alexander Fontaine take Ana?’ You say he is sophisticated. Sounds like the classy restaurant type. No chain restaurants for this guy. That means you need something classy and chic. Let’s check out your closet.” Lindsey shepherded Ana upstairs to her bedroom and happily began to rummage through her clothing.

  “Hmm…. not this. No, not this,” she murmured, throwing various skirts, blouses, and pants onto the bed.

  “Lindsey. You’re making a mess. You’re as bad as my little sister.”

  “I’ll help you clean up. Here,” she said, finally, holding out a black dress. “Put this on. Let’s see what we can do with this.”

  “I feel so out of my league with Alexander,” Ana said, as she pulled off her jeans and put on the tight black dress for Lindsey’s inspection. “I’m sure he’s really just being nice to me because he wants help with this seminar he’s planning. It is really important to him. I’m sure he isn’t interested in me. Not in that way.”

  Lindsey sighed. “Jonathan really did a number on you, didn’t he?” she said, guiding her friend to the full-length mirror that was nailed to the back of the bedroom door. “Just look at yourself, girl. You are a very beautiful person. You have fabulous hair. It’s thick and full,” Lindsey fluffed Ana’s hair out as she said this. “You’ve also got beautiful eyes and a figure to die for.”

  “And a thirteen-year-old daughter.”

  “And a charming thirteen-year-old daughter, and any man good enough for you is going to appreciate Sophie, too. There are men out there like that, you know. They aren’t all Jonathans.

  “Now, you wait right here. I’m going to get you my pearls. They’ll add just the right touch of class to that dress.”

  Chapter 15

  When Alexander came to the door that evening, Ana was glad she had followed Lindsey’s fashion advice. He was dressed, as usual, impeccably, in a two-button designer suit of smooth grey wool with a grey shirt and grey silk tie and his favorite Patek Phillipe watch.

  Ana still felt she didn’t look sophisticated enough in her black lace dress from the sale rack at Dillard’s. It had seemed so elegant when she tried it on in her bedroom for Lindsey, but beside Alexander’s sartorial splendor, she felt like a country bumpkin. At least the pearls added a touch of class, she thought. And Alexander didn’t seem to notice how dowdy she felt.

  “You look very beautiful my dear,” he said, as they walked to his car in the late afternoon sunshine. Joe, she noticed, was raking leaves on his front lawn—or he had been. He’d given up all pretense of yard work and was staring at the car that was parked in front of Ana’s house.

  “This is beautiful,” Ana said, running her hand over the sleek, black machine as Alexander helped her into it. “What kind of car is it? I have no idea.”

  “A Lamborgini Huracan,” he told her as he got into the driver’s seat. “She has a 600 hp, 5.2-liter V10 engine with a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and will get to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds.”

  “Oh,” Ana said in a small voice.

  Alexander laughed. “That is about sixty miles per hour. Top speed is about two hundred miles per hour.” He revved the engine and gave a wave to Joe. “Your neighbor seems to appreciate good cars,” he said as the headed down the street, at a slightly more sedate pace than one hundred kilometers.

  “I appreciate good cars. But I’ve never driven in anything like this. My brother had a 1968 Shelby Mustang for a little while. He let me drive it once. That’s the closest I’ve come to any kind of supercar.”

  “The original Shelby Mustangs were good muscle cars, but this is much, much more.”

  They continued to talk about cars as they drove through town and into the countryside. Alexander revved the engine and let the car out when they reached a long, straight stretch of two-lane road. Ana tried to surreptitiously hang onto the door handle, but the man (damn him for being so observant) still noticed and laughed. “Don’t worry, Chérie, I’m a very good driver,” he said.

  “By the way, we are going to a little restaurant I’ve heard about that is about an hour from here. I wanted to get away from Rivelou. Find someplace where we could have a private evening and not run into colleagues or your family,” he told her. “It is called The Strawberry Moon. An interesting name.”

  Ana just shook her head in resignation. “It’s an Algonquin name for the June full moon, when the strawberries are in season. And the restaurant is lovely. I’ve been there several times. It is owned by some friends of my grandfather,” she told him.

  “No escape, then?” Alexander asked lightly.

  “No escape,” she replied, grinning back at him.

  The mention of her grandfather brought a knot to Ana’s stomach. She did not want to tell Alexander her grandfather was summoning him. The man he had met at the flea market was the pleasant, eccentric character her grandfather often played with people he didn’t know well. It was disarming and appealing, and if they were lucky, they never saw the other side of the man.

  Yes, her grandfather loved her. Yes, he had indulged her, maybe, as he had said, more than any of his other grandchildren. But at his core, he was both a traditionalist and a practical leader. He had supported the development of PackNet, a private “dark web” where paranormals of all types, from shapeshifters to vampires to witches and more, could exchange information safely. He was the one who spearheaded the drive to change what they called themselves: from “werewolf” to “shapeshifter.” The newer term held less negative connotations, he explained to the old-timers who hadn’t seen the need for the change. If the pack was going to survive in the new world of cameras in every pocket, being careful not to be seen wasn’t good enough.

  Someone, somewhere, would slip up and be caught on film. When that happened, his pack would be ready. Pack members were quietly in place throughout the three-county area he commanded. They were mayors, bank officials, lawyers, and police officers.

  Hank Bertrand was the head of the family, and the head of the pack. He was in charge, and if he was right, Alexander had violated several pack laws—and there would be a price to pay for breaking the law.

  They drove through Graceton, where the Strawberry Moon was located, just as it was getting dark. The quaint, Victorian-era tourist town offered covered bridges, artsy boutiques, and a variety of festivals throughout the year designed to attract tourists. A banner across Main Street announced the Pumpkin Festival, which took place every year in mid-October, would be held the following weekend.

  As they walked into the restaurant Ana was greeted by Marianne Fletcher, a tiny woman of about sixty.

  “Ana, I’m so happy to see you. I didn’t know this reservation was for you or I would have put you over by the windows.” She turned and snagged a waitress who was walking by. “Ashley, get a table for two ready in section four.”

  “But all those tables are full, Mrs. Fletcher.”

  “Bring another table. Set it up by the window. There is always a special place for Hank Bertrand’s granddaughter.”

  Ana rolled her eyes and considered falling through the floor in embarrassment. She had taken great pains to distance herself from her family, just for reasons like this. She never wanted to stand out, but when your grandfather was Hank Bertrand…and apparently, from what Alexander had said earlier, he had also already noticed the inconvenience of dating Hank Bertrand’s granddaught
er.

  Jonathan had always enjoyed the attention. Until he realized the price he paid for getting those special seats at a restaurant, or that loan at the bank. It meant that everything he said and did was reported back to her grandfather. If he picked a fight, if he criticized her dress or the way she wore her hair, or—god forbid—if he criticized anything about Sophie, if he acted in any way that was considered against pack etiquette, Hank Bertrand heard about it. The problem was, not only didn’t Jonathan know pack etiquette, he didn’t know there was a pack. The one secret Ana had always kept from him was the most important part of her life.

  Yes, Jonathan could be a bully, and he was a definitely a braggart and he had wanted to use her family connections to further his career. Eventually Ana probably would have seen that for herself. Maybe she would have accepted his faults and continued to go on loving Jonathan anyway, but under the watchful eyes of her grandfather’s myriad friends and connections, and with a secret so essential to her very being, their marriage had had no chance at all.

  Alexander, however, didn’t seem to mind the extra fuss as two busboys busily brought in another table and squeezed it into position in front of the center window, where the view of the river was best. Ana was sure he was used to people arranging the best table for him because of his own identity as a public figure, but he didn’t seem to be bothered that this time she was the reason for the special attention.

  “I had no idea I was taking such a celebrity to dinner,” he said with a smile as a few minutes later the waitress escorted them to a table next to the windows.

  The view was beautiful. The back of the restaurant was all glass and they could see not only of the river in the distance, but the surrounding woods, the trees just beginning to be touched by autumn color.

  “I mentioned the Fletchers are old friends of the family. Watch out, here comes Miss Marianne again.”

  “It has been forever, Ana honey, since I’ve seen you at our monthly gatherin’s,” she said in her soft, Southern accent.