by Dannika Dark
“Well, tonight should be real romantic under the covers.”
I coughed with laughter and quickly covered my mouth. April resumed eating with a straight face, flicking a hard glance across the table at her mate, who was gearing up for his third bowl of spicy beans.
A log snapped in the fireplace to the right, the flame illuminating half the room. White candles lit up our table as well as the countertops in the kitchen. The wood floors, walls, and ceiling absorbed the light like a sponge.
The couples faced each other, with Reno and Lorenzo on my left. Lorenzo and Austin had been talking about the size of their land, which in Shifter speak was the equivalent of comparing penis sizes. Apparently, Lorenzo had a bigger penis, so Austin was thinking about expanding his own girth.
“Austin, we have plenty,” I said for the second time. “Lorenzo has a bigger pack. What would we do with over five hundred acres?”
The look he gave me could have frozen water. Mate or not, I still had to show my Packmaster respect in front of others, but he looked too damn sexy in that blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows. I winked at him and nibbled on my cheese cube.
“Alexia is right, Cole. What would you need with so much land?” Lorenzo asked, his long black hair so straight that it shone like spun silk.
Austin blew the steam from his spoonful of chili. “A man needs to think about the future and prepare. We’re a growing pack.”
“You’ve been saying that for years, yet the only recent addition I can think of is… hmm, let me see. Ah, yes. The old mountain lion.”
Austin dropped his spoon onto his plate and sat back, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin. “For your information, Church, the only reason Maddox is under my roof is because he’s in a serious relationship with one of my packmates. It’s a unique situation since Lynn isn’t a Shifter, so rules were bent. Maybe you need to think about diversifying your own pack. Having a panther and mountain lion gives me an edge.”
Lorenzo turned over his unused fork. He, like Ivy, was also Native American, and wore jewelry indicative of his heritage. Tonight he had on a turquoise bracelet and a leather necklace with an arrowhead affixed to a clasp. “Tactical advantages don’t impress me, not when packmates could turn on one another in the heat of battle. A wolf trusts his brethren, but how can he trust an animal that could be the same as his enemy in battle?”
Austin relaxed his arms on the back of the chair. “I trust my packmates with my life.”
“I hope one day that trust is not tested.”
“Lorenzo,” Ivy said with reproach, “we’re here to break bread with friends, not antagonize them. I happen to agree with Austin. Enemies would never anticipate a pack is sheltering other animals. While my father doesn’t believe in mixing a pack, it would have benefited him a time or two if he hadn’t been so closed-minded.”
“Your father is a smart man.”
She narrowed her eyes, her long braid slipping over her shoulder when she leaned forward. “And since when do you respect my father? You’re just trying to get a rise out of me.”
A smile played on his lips. “Indeed I am, sweet Ivy.”
Ivy sat back and lifted her chin, giving him a private smile. “We’ll discuss this later, Thunder Wolf.”
“Not that I’m complaining,” Reno began, “but I can’t figure out why the hell you invited us over tonight. I thought you two would be… uh, busy up there.” He pointed his spoon toward the loft.
My heart sank when I saw the look of embarrassment on Austin’s face before he quickly concealed it with a broad smile. “We’re wolves, not bunnies.”
Lorenzo laughed and then pinched the bridge of his nose. Ivy’s body abruptly jerked as if she were kicking him beneath the table, and the laughter quickly died in his throat.
“We didn’t just come here to have a good time,” I argued.
Damn, that came out all wrong.
Reno waggled his brows at April. “Speak for yourself.”
If her cheeks weren’t red from the chili, they were on fire from the heat culminating between her and Reno. April had confided in me that even though he was okay with vanilla sex, she had become open to trying kinky things that fired up his engine. After all, they loved each other, so playing with handcuffs and a blindfold wouldn’t hurt anyone. I could only imagine what was going on in cabin number two while Austin and I were playing Scrabble.
April smiled at Reno with her hazel eyes, touching the ends of her blond hair, cut just above her shoulders. She had aged gracefully and was no longer the naïve girl I’d met over fifteen years ago. April had matured into a beautiful woman who sparkled like a diamond. Reno’s crown jewel.
“Anyone want pie?” I offered.
Reno’s spoon hit the plate and his dark brown eyes rose to meet mine. “Did you say… pie?”
“Lexi, you didn’t spend all day baking, did you? This is supposed to be a vacation,” April chided.
“It’s not a vacation without pie.”
When I scooted my chair back, Reno shot to his feet.
“I’ll get it,” he said, stepping over his chair and scoping out the kitchen like a wolf on the hunt.
My homemade pies were coveted among the men in the pack; it was the one dessert I rarely made. Pies just didn’t sell in the bakery unless it was a special order.
Ivy stood up and began clearing the dishes.
“Wait a second,” I said over the chatter. “You’re the guest, not the maid.”
Ivy balanced a plate on her forearm as a waitress might. “You and Austin have cooked us a generous meal. This is the least we can do to show our gratitude. No matter who I’m mated to, you will always be family to me.”
“I’ll help,” April said, a flash of guilt on her face.
I could have argued, but I didn’t. Some battles weren’t worth fighting. There was a little wine left in my glass, so I gripped the rounded bottom and moved to Ivy’s chair.
Austin nodded at Lorenzo’s wine. “More grapes? Or would you like a man’s drink?”
Lorenzo’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Wine is a good idea. We should do this more often. The cabin and surrounding territory are impressive.”
The wine made a glug-glug sound as it was poured into Lorenzo’s glass.
Austin set the bottle down. “I know the guy who owns all this land; we go way back. He tried renting it out years ago, but most Shifters aren’t renters. I threw out an offer for a time-share situation, and we created a contract. I can stay anytime I want between certain months in the winter, and the rest of the year belongs to another guy who comes out here to hunt and fish.”
“Wolf?”
Austin shrugged. “Hell if I know. Hector, the owner, keeps everyone’s business private. We get our own linens, towels, and blankets so that it feels less like a motel and more like home. The only thing we have to do is clear out all the food and drinks before we leave. Since Ivy restored a lot of the furniture, Hector made the guy sign a clause that if he damaged anything outside of the normal wear and tear, he’s out.”
Lorenzo lifted his chin, looking about the room. “And this is what you prefer to invest your money in?”
“Only this cabin is part of the deal. Yours and Reno’s I had to negotiate on the side since Lexi wanted to extend the invite.”
“Humph,” Lorenzo mumbled judgmentally. “When I take my woman on a trip, it’s not to socialize with anyone but her.”
Maybe inviting everyone over as a buffer wasn’t such a good idea.
Austin postured in his chair, leaning forward and flexing those delicious muscles, which were sadly concealed beneath flannel.
I had half a mind to spill red wine on his shirt just so I could watch him strip out of it and show off his impressive torso. I squirmed in my chair when I thought about nibbling on his tatted shoulders and hearing his rough, sexy voice whisper, “Baby, keep doing that.”
“Just look at your woman,” Lorenzo continued. “Surely you’ve noticed the lust in he
r eyes; I think we both know what’s coming.”
That snapped me to attention and I gave him a scathing glance. Those two jackasses were talking about me going into heat!
“You knew?” I asked Austin.
He cleared his throat, rubbing the whiskers on his jaw. “I’ve been planning this trip since July, so don’t give me that look. I have a good sense of smell, but not that good.”
“You could have canceled.”
Great. Since we were avoiding pregnancy, my heat cycle would last longer, which meant we were going to be marooned up here for God knows how long. Lorenzo didn’t know our private business, so he was going to get suspicious as to why Austin hadn’t taken care of my needs.
Austin winked at me, humor flashing in his eyes. “I’ll hunt for you, feed you, and make love to you so many times that we won’t need to stay the winter. But I’ve got a feeling you’ll want to. There’s no reason why we can’t stretch this trip out a little longer.”
Ivy moved through the room with her phone to her ear and sat on the leather sofa in front of the fireplace. Hope was fourteen and undoubtedly keeping the pack on their toes.
“Austin, I really don’t want to talk about sex in front of my cousin.”
I loved calling Lorenzo my cousin. For whatever reason, it irritated him. Maybe it’s because he’d tried to hook up with me when we first met.
“We’re not related by blood,” he said through clenched teeth. “You should visit and I’ll introduce you to your real cousins.”
My real mother was his aunt by marriage. My real father? Just some rogue drifting through town, from what I’d been told.
“I’ve already got a family; I don’t need yours.” I swallowed a mouthful of wine, the smoky flavor overpowering my taste buds.
Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, his right arm still resting on the table. “I just assumed you would want a larger family, as it doesn’t appear yours is as big as it should be.”
Austin’s fist flew down on the table, rattling the glasses and bottles. I tensed, recognizing Lorenzo had indirectly insulted Austin.
I glanced over my shoulder at Ivy and then back to Lorenzo, keeping my voice low. “I could say the same about you, Mr. Church. A Packmaster with only one child hardly has room to talk.”
He nodded his head in acquiescence and polished off his wine.
Austin settled back in his chair, the angry lines in his forehead easing as he popped a cheese cube into his mouth. A sensible Packmaster didn’t hold grudges. They gave warnings and acted on threats, but men who bottled up hate and carried it around made poor decisions and lost allies.
“What do you know about my real father?” I asked.
Lorenzo choked a little on his wine. “I thought you didn’t care about your father.”
“I don’t care about him. But maybe I’m a little curious as to how he hooked up with my mother and why she would have slept with a rogue when she had a mate.”
Lorenzo laced his fingers together. “What happened between them is only speculation. My father believed that my uncle couldn’t get her pregnant, so she shared her bed with another alpha. Either that or my uncle avoided her because he didn’t want children. I’m sure you can imagine the shame a woman would feel to be rejected by her mate in her most important time of need.”
God, Lorenzo had put his foot in his mouth without realizing we were having similar problems.
“Did anyone ever meet him?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Know his name?”
Lorenzo ran the pointed end of his arrowhead pendant across his lower lip. “You would want to acquaint yourself with a coward who shamelessly impregnated a woman in her heat cycle and destroyed a pack?”
“Maybe he didn’t know she was pregnant.”
Lorenzo scooted his chair back, and the legs noisily scraped against the wood floor. “Every Shifter knows the odds of pregnancy when you mate with a woman in heat. Men like him are no better than dogs.”
“Something you’ll never understand, Lorenzo, is what it feels like to not know where you’re from. Meeting second and third cousins will never get rid of the shitty feeling of knowing my mother is dead and nobody has a clue who my real father is. Maybe he’s no one important, and I never said that I wanted a relationship with him. But it’s the not knowing that’s eating away at me as time goes by. I’m obviously Native American, but what else? German? Irish? Was my father even a wolf? If he’s not, then that means there’s a slim chance that my children could wind up being a deer or moose. How am I supposed to explain that to a child raised by a pack of wolves?”
“Not likely,” he said, turning his glass in a circle.
“But possible.”
“There are many unknowns in life, especially the magic within each of us.” He leaned forward, stroking his smooth chin. “Do you think knowing who made you will change anything? Or will it simply change how you feel? Your confidence and self-worth should come from here,” he said, tapping his forehead. “And here.” Lorenzo placed his hand across his heart.
Austin scratched his jaw. “She has a right to know.”
“And I thought you would support my position on this one, Cole.”
Austin’s brows rose. “Think again, Church. If this is something important to my mate, then it’s important to me. So if you’re concealing any information, then you better give it up. Doesn’t do any good to keep secrets. You of all people should know that by now.”
“I know nothing,” Lorenzo said, holding up his hands. “I was young when all that happened, and there was much talk. My uncle shamed his family and is no longer here to tell the tale.”
I tapped my fingers on the table, deep in thought. “Did she have any sisters or friends she would have confided in? She might have spilled some of her darkest secrets to a close friend.”
Dammit. Now I was the one sticking my foot in my mouth. My face flushed with embarrassment, and I took a long sip of wine to steady my quickening pulse. The last thing I needed was Austin to think I’d blabbed about our private affairs to one of my girlfriends. Maizy was the only one I’d told, but she was my sister, and we’d made a pact to never keep secrets from each other. Maybe men can live alone in their pain, but women rely on friends to help us get through the crazy shit. Someone who listens, understands, and reminds us that it’s okay to laugh.
Thankfully, Austin was temporarily distracted when Reno discovered the pie.
“Be sure to save me some of that,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “If I get up and see half that pie is gone, your ass is going out in the snow.”
“Reno!” April hissed, staring at his plate with rounded eyes. “Cut that in two.”
Lorenzo stood up when he overheard Ivy wrapping up the phone call. “Ivy, I want to speak to my daughter.”
“I’ll send her your love,” she called out over her shoulder.
He strode toward her. “I will have no one send affection on my behalf,” he grumbled.
“She’s playing a game with Caleb and Moreland.”
“She is stubborn like her mother. Hand me the phone.”
I laughed and thought about the hell Lorenzo was going to put Hope’s future suitors through.
Austin gripped my chair and pulled it next to his. Then he scooped me onto his lap, and I nuzzled against his whiskery neck, breathing in his musky scent. Damn, I loved the way that man smelled.
Suddenly, I got the tingles.
God, no.
I tried to push him away, but Austin planted his lips on mine. He was a masterful kisser. The things he could do with his tongue, the way he’d pull me in and kiss me harder, the way our bodies seemed to meld together—it was as if he were making love to me with his kiss. The stubble on his jaw scratched against my skin, and another wave of tingles roared through me. I moaned, fighting the urge to straddle him.
Need distance!
I sprang off his lap, steering myself toward the kitchen. Sometimes just being near an alpha mal
e would trigger a heat episode, and I was about to ride him like a Harley in front of all my guests.
“Uh-oh,” April said, licking pie filling off the butter knife. “I’ve seen that look before. Reno, I think it’s time for us to say good night.”
His jaw slackened, hands still gripping his plate of uneaten apple pie.
April laughed and said, “I swear, if that man ever had to choose between me and your pie, I’d be in serious trouble.”
I tried to contain my mischievous grin. “Why make him choose? Go home and put that pie right between your—”
She slapped a hand over my mouth. “Reno, wrap up your dessert and let’s go. It’s late, and we need to head back before it starts snowing again.”
Ivy rubbed my shoulders from behind. “It was a wonderful evening. Thank you for inviting us, and not just for dinner. Both Lorenzo and I appreciate your invitation to join you here in Colorado. We don’t get out as often as we should, and it’s nice to finally see what you’ve done with the pieces I’ve spent years restoring.”
I turned around. “Your furniture is what makes this place feel like a second home. The only thing missing is a throw that will match the décor. We bought blankets, but I want to drape something light over the back of that hideous sofa. I can’t seem to find anything with the right patterns.”
She tapped her finger on her chin. “I have an idea. There’s a woman in our pack who’s a skilled weaver. Leave it to me.”
Everyone gathered near the door and slipped on their coats. April hummed a Billy Joel song while putting on a pair of cute snow boots with white fur around the top. Ivy had on brown mukluks and a knee-length suede coat. She said the fur-lined boots kept her feet toasty warm but weren’t entirely waterproof.
The snowdrifts were deep, but the pathways that connected the cabins through the dense forest were passable. We didn’t have to fear wild animals when traversing through the woods; they could sense a Shifter and usually kept their distance.
I blew out a frosty breath when we stepped off the porch. I was in awe of how a mixture of moonlight and snow could create so much visibility. Our boots crunched across the white blanket of snow as we headed toward the path on the left that led to Reno and April’s cabin. Everyone had chosen to walk since it was a nice evening, and because Lorenzo’s cabin was just down the road, their hike wasn’t as arduous.