First Shift (The Wolves of Rock Falls Book 1)

by AJ Skelly

  ****

  We took a few miles at a good clip, and though part of me didn’t want to enjoy it, the other part of me, and the wolf, relished the cool air brushing over my fur. It was invigorating and refreshing. It felt so good to stretch my muscles. It was like they’d been cramped for ages and getting out and running was exactly what I needed. The wolf tossed her head and raced forward, passing Sam. With a playful bark, Sam chased after me. He nipped teasingly at my heels. Wolf sprung ahead as the human part of me smiled, realizing that Sam was flirting with me. I narrowed my eyes as I conferred with Wolf, letting her know the plan. As one, we stopped and wheeled around to the side. Sam lunged past us and barked in surprise when he missed me. I laughed, the sound coming out like a chuffing noise. Wolf urged us forward again, going after Sam’s heels. But instead of catching his heels, Sam anticipated and moved slightly to the side. I had overestimated the distance between us, and instead of missing him completely, my teeth caught the side of his flank. Essentially, I bit him in the butt.

  Sam yelped and spun around, totally surprised. I was utterly mortified!

  There was a startled minute between us, then Sam flopped onto his back with snorting, huffing noises coming from his mouth, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He was laughing. At me. He was laughing so hard that he couldn’t even roll over. He just lay there wheezing like a dying goat. I was still too stunned to do anything. Sam reached a paw out and looped it around my head, dragging me down to his side. His other paw awkwardly patted my head, all the while, he was trying to stop laughing.

  It was a little funny.

  Wolf cracked a smile and before long, Sam and I were both laying there in a heap in the grass, a pair of snorting wolves.

  ****

  Eventually we made it back to the cabin, both a little rubber-legged from all the laughing that had released some pent-up tension from the week. I was certain Sam was never going to let me live that one down. He let me have the bathroom first, and as I was getting ready to put my long purple sweater on over my head, I caught my reflection in the mirror.

  My cheeks were flushed, and my eyes were twinkling. I knew that look. Unease slithered down my spine. It seemed to confirm what I refused to think about. Wolf smirked. Shaking my head, I pulled my sweater down over my black skinny jeans and slipped on my socks to go with the boots. I had intended to wear my leopard flats that Sam had replaced. But after watching my expression in the mirror, I thought better of it. Wolf nudged me, unhappy with my thoughts. I swallowed. I had to keep myself in check.

  ****

  Sam put the car in park. We were here.

  Nerves flapped in my stomach, and Wolf pranced around even as Sam opened the car door for me. I left my coat and snagged my purse.

  “Sam,” I whispered, “she’s still all jittery. I don’t like this.”

  “Relax,” he replied softly. He took my hand as we crossed the parking lot and Wolf settled a little. I squeezed his hand.

  “You sure I can handle this? It will be close to dark when we’re done.”

  “Meg, you’ve done fine at school.Yyou’ll do fine here. Besides, your wolf definitely had some action this afternoon.” He smiled and bit back a chuckle, his blue eyes light.

  I snorted. Definitely never living that one down.

  Wolf was jumpy, and the human part of me was trying to ignore the tingles going up my arm as Sam held my hand. Pretending to be dating at school was one thing. But an actual date in public was a bit different. I gave myself a mental shake. I’d been on dates. For mercy’s sake, I could be on a date with Sam Wolfe.

  Sam bought our tickets, and we met the rest of our group in the lobby. We were the last ones there.

  As soon as we reached the rest of the group, Rachel grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the bathroom.

  “We’ll be back in a sec! Save seats for us!” she called over her shoulder. I glanced back and met Sam’s eyes. His mouth tipped up at one corner. He was ridiculously handsome in his navy-blue sweater.

  “Okay, spill!” Rachel squealed once we were in the bathroom and she’d done a quick scan for feet. We were alone.

  “Spill what?” I felt my cheeks flush. Her face said, Seriously?

  “I know you guys are pretending to be dating at school and stuff, but something is different today. Am I right?” she prompted.

  I gulped. The wolf was restless. She was completely on edge today, was that what Rachel was noticing? Or was is that maybe the human part of me was finding Sam to be more than I’d expected?

  “I think I may be crushing on the wolf boy,” I confessed in a whisper.

  Rachel clapped her hands once with a silly grin on her face. “I knew it!” she whispered back enthusiastically. “So has he kissed you yet?”

  “Um, no, not like that. I mean, we’re still pretending, you know? And it’s only been a week! But, he has, um, quieted my wolf down a few times. But I’m not sure that counts as kissing.”

  Rachel smiled knowingly. “Interesting,” was all she said.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Although—” I covered my face in mortification. “We went for a run this afternoon…and I definitely bit his butt on accident.”

  “You what?” she whisper-shrieked.

  I quickly filled her in on the details.

  She collapsed over the sink, laughing so hard her breathing came in pants.

  “Come on, we’ll miss the movie,” I complained. “Besides, if we don’t go get to our seats, you won’t be able to gawk at Sam and me and help me over-analyze every possible detail later.”

  I smiled despite myself as I dragged a still-gasping Rachel out of the bathroom and found our theater.

  Our group was scattered. Sam and a handful of others were about halfway up and seated in the middle, while I noticed Tammy, Raven, and a few other friends were seated farther down, closer to the front. I smiled and waved at Tammy as I caught her eye on my way up to the seats Sam had saved for us on the end of our row. I took the one next to him, and Rachel plopped next to me on the aisle seat.

  “All good?” Sam leaned in and whispered as he took my hand again. Rachel subtly elbowed my arm. I wanted to jab her back, but Wolf was getting worked up again as she noticed Shelby Atwood on the other side of Sam, practically draping herself over the side of the chair and invading Sam’s space. My wolf did not like that. At all.

  “So nice of you guys to finally join us,” Shelby said. “Poor Sam has been sitting here all alone.”

  Not alone enough, I thought, eyeing her proximity.

  Sam was pressing as far back into his chair as he could, attempting to distance himself from Shelby. I found the gesture gratifying. Wolf snapped at Shelby, and my hand tightened on Sam’s. Something about her put Wolf on edge. Probably her blatant flirting.

  “Shelby, do you want to sit in your own chair, or would you like to come sit in my lap?” Sam asked, sarcasm dripping. My wolf was crouching, ready to pounce at Shelby. Sam squeezed my hand, and Wolf relaxed a fraction but kept her attention on Shelby.

  “Oh, please, Sam. If you wanted me to sit on your lap, you could have said so earlier, while Megan was gone.” She batted her eyelashes, returning the sarcasm but with a hint of innuendo of what might have gone on while I had been away.

  My teeth clicked shut with an audible snap.

  Shelby’s eyes narrowed at me as incredulity stamped her face.

  “Did you just—”

  “Oh, shut up, Shelby,” Ryan interrupted. “I want to watch the movie.”

  Clearly Ryan didn’t care that his date was more interested in another guy.

  Shelby huffed and slumped back into her seat. I tried to relax into my seat, but Wolf was not having it. I took a deep breath the way Sam had taught me. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Feel the air come in. Feel the air go out.

  Shelby assessed Sam. I caught it out of the corner of my eye. She was totally ogling his sweater-clad bicep on the sly. That was the last straw for Wolf. She lunged, and I felt my shoulders
ripple softly.

  No, no, no, no, NO!

  As if in tune with my temperamental wolf, even as I gripped Sam’s hand hard enough to break his bones, he was in my space.

  His lips softly brushed mine, lingering just long enough to quiet my wolf.

  Instantly the wolf settled, practically basking in the presence of Sam’s lips.

  The only problem was that now my wolf was calm, my human side was getting a little friendly. His lips felt so good. I knew he wasn’t really kissing me, only kissing me to calm my wolf. But…I wanted him to kiss me!

  Sensing that Wolf was calmed, he slowly broke away. I knew I should let him go. I did not need the complication of liking Sam Wolfe any more than I already did. Daydreaming about his lips was not going to help. At all. I was going to be human again in a few weeks, and all of this wolf business would only be a weird dream.

  With that comforting thought I resolved to sit back in my chair and enjoy the movie.

  I opened my eyes and saw his lips still in front of me.

  With no intention to do so, I leaned my head forward three inches and put my lips back on his.

  We were still for a full second, then his lips moved ever so softly against mine. I didn’t dare pull away, even though a thousand different thoughts jammed in my brain. I forced them all away, intent on being rational about this, and then his mouth moved again.

  His lips were hesitant but eager. They moved against mine again. He’d never done that while calming the wolf. My lips moved, too.

  What was I doing? This was such a huge mistake…

  My treacherous mouth opened, inviting him in.

  He moved slowly. The very tip of his tongue brushed against my bottom lip, and I about melted into the red upholstered seat. Wolf urged me on with an encouraging grunt.

  I might have made a similar noise because with the barest scrape of his teeth on my bottom lip, his tongue was in my mouth. His lips were soft and wanting, his tongue searching, probing.

  My lips and tongue were doing things on their own, but Sam must have enjoyed it because he kissed me harder, pushing my head against the back of the seat. His face pressed into mine; his lips moved over mine with single-minded purpose.

  Someone cleared their throat, and I froze.

  Oh—my—word. We were in a movie theater filled with people. Sam must have heard it, too. We jerked apart at the same time, eyes meeting and then darting away. My face flamed hotter than a super nova. I hoped Sam’s did, too.

  I turned horrified eyes to Rachel, whose mouth was hanging open, her eyebrows raised halfway up her forehead.

  “I’m going to grab a drink. You want one? Okay, I’ll grab you one,” Sam blurted as he bolted from his seat and leaped over our legs. I’d never seen him so flustered. I wasn’t sure I’d ever been this flustered. I watched his retreating back, stunned. I so knew kissing him would be a mistake of epic proportions.

  “Um, so that was hot,” Rachel said.

  I held up my hand. “I have no idea what just happened.”

  Rachel smirked smugly and turned to watch the movie.

  A few rows down at the front, I caught Tammy scowling, her face dark. She turned her back to me.

  What had I done?

  Chapter 31

  Sam

  I hit the bathroom, turning the water as cold as it would go. I doused my hands, wrists, and splashed my face. I needed cold water on other body parts but didn’t think a public restroom was the best place for that.

  I closed my eyes and braced my hands on the sink, head bowed.

  Unbelievable. There was no other word. My wolf leaped around like a pup. This mate thing was going to be even more of a problem now. Every cell in my body was hyper-aware of her. It was bad enough after I kissed her chastely to quiet her wolf. Now that she had kissed me?

  Her lips were like a drug. And when she’d opened her mouth and my tongue slid in—I groaned. I was hot all over. I took a deep breath. Then another. One more for good measure.

  She kissed me. Megan kissed me.

  Was it possible she could want more? I tried not to hope, but it was there. It had taken root. My heart was absolutely getting mangled before this was over.

  I took one more splash of water to the face and grabbed some paper towels.

  There wasn’t a line at the snack counter, and I ordered two different soft drinks. I hoped Meg liked one of them. I thought about getting a bucket of popcorn but settled for chocolate instead. I knew Meg loved chocolate.

  As I turned to go back into the theater, a strange scent caught my attention. It was wolf, but not one of ours. My wolf bristled. It wasn’t unheard of for another werewolf to be in town, but as packs, we were pretty territorial. We tried to give other packs either a wide berth or a heads-up that we’d be in the vicinity but meant no offense.

  My wolf scented again, solidifying the smell to memory. I’d keep an eye out. I wasn’t overly concerned, but Dad wasn’t wild about random wolves roaming around.

  The theater was dark when I came back in, sodas in hands, chocolate wedged in my back pocket. I got to our aisle and immediately felt the tension radiating off Meg. That couldn’t be good. I handed her the drinks and got the box out of my pocket before I sat down.

  “Which one?” I whispered, unsure how to proceed.

  She handed a cup over. I didn’t care what it was. Once drinks were settled, we sat there, an awkward space between us in the dark.

  I held my breath and slowly reached my hand out to her. She didn’t move as I took her hand. The breath rushed out of me as I felt the tension start to slowly ebb from Meg as she twined our fingers.

  Okay. Meg kissed me. I was tempted to try for number two, but Meg’s back was still pretty straight. I didn’t want to push my luck and definitely wanted a repeat performance at a later date. I squeezed her hand instead.

  Her eyes flashed up to mine, a shy smile on her face before she turned back to the movie.

  A girl who kissed the way Megan kissed me shouldn’t even be capable of looking shy. My mouth tipped into a grin. We were okay for now.

  ****

  I had no idea what the movie was about by the time the credits were rolling. Meg’s hand was still firmly planted in mine. I had allowed myself the liberty of tracing tiny circles on the back and palm of her hand with my thumb during the movie, and honestly, it was all I could concentrate on. I had replayed our kiss fourteen ways from Sunday and was convinced that the memory of her lips was better than anything on the big screen.

  We started filing down the stairs to the exit, and I felt Meg’s fingers slide through mine. Did she hesitate? Was that reluctance I felt as her fingers left mine?

  Tammy caught up with us as we were entering the long hallway back to the main lobby.

  “Hey. I rode over here with Jake and Cindy, but they’re going out to catch a bite to eat. Can I ride back with you guys? I don’t want to be a third wheel, ya know.”

  I bit back a retort about being a third wheel in my car, too, but swallowed it. “Sure,” I said with what I hoped didn’t sound like false cheerfulness. So much for a ride back alone with Megan.

  Megan and Rachel were chatting ahead of us, and I stepped up and let my fingers graze the small of Megan’s back. Her head came up immediately, a light blush staining her cheeks again. She was so beautiful.

  “Tammy needs a ride back. Do you mind?” I wasn’t sure if it was relief that flashed across her eyes or not, but I hoped it wasn’t.

  “That’s fine. No problem. Rachel, catch you Monday?”

  “You bet. Call me tomorrow if you want.” Rachel winked. My own skin flushed. I had no doubt that Rachel was insinuating The Kiss that she and all humanity witnessed in the theater.

  The ride home was uneventful. Tammy kept most of the conversation going, though she was cold toward Meg a few times. I’d have to ask her about it later. That wasn’t like her. Something must be bugging her.

  ****

  The sun was setting as we pulled into the drivewa
y of the cabin. I glanced over at Megan.

  “How’s the wolf?”

  “Tolerable, but she’s going to need out soon.”

  “I bet there will be a few others out back within the next twenty minutes,” Tammy offered. “We can all go for a pack run together then?”

  “That should be fine,” Meg said.

  I mentally rolled my eyes as I hopped out of the car. That meant Tammy was going to stick around the cabin until then. Which meant being alone with Megan would have to wait until after the pack run. I needed a good run. My nerves were strung so tight after our kiss that I had pent up energy coming out my ears. I wanted to talk to Meg about the kiss, but at the same time, I wanted to savor it and live in the bliss that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t only pretending?

  Gravel crunched outside, and I peeked out the cabin window. Cade and Raven were here along with a few others.

  I glanced back to Meg and Tammy. They were chatting about something going on at school. Tammy’s shoulders were all scrunched up. She wasn’t relaxed like usual. I wondered if maybe she’d had a fight with her mom. They were alike in nearly every way and butted heads frequently.

  I opened the door for the new arrivals as they came to the porch.

  “Hey!” Raven called out.

  Meg smiled back. There was a potential friendship between them. I waved everyone else in but Cade.

  He got to the door, and I grabbed his arm, jerking my head back into the darkening night.

  “Be back in a sec,” I called into the room and shut the door without waiting for a reply, dragging Cade with me.

  We went a respectable distance from the house so we wouldn’t be overheard, but I kept my voice down, in case others were coming on foot for the nightly run.

  “Cade, she kissed me. She kissed me!” I hissed the words. My hand fisted into his shirt as I dragged his face closer to mine. “Seriously, I am never going to recover.”

  Cade laughed. “Dude. That’s awesome.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “So—it was decent?”

  I snorted. “Only mind-blowing. I had no idea a mate bond could be this intense. And we’re not even…you know. I mean, she has no idea!”