by C. T. Adams
“No big deal. You just had a scorpion on your back. I got it.”
He felt his jaw drop as she lifted her foot to reveal a small, thoroughly squashed yellowish brown insect with a long tail and stinger. His skin abruptly crawled as he scanned the rest of his clothes. It suddenly felt as though there were a hundred more of them under his shirt. “A scorpion is no big deal?”
“Nah. You get used to them. They’re bark scorpions—live in the trees. They’re not aggressive and the sting isn’t much worse than a honeybee’s. Spray on a little window cleaner and it fixes it right up as fast as we heal. We’ve got bunches of biting things down here that bother me more than scorpions. Fire ants are a pain in the butt.”
She started to walk up the few steps to the porch and he found himself following, shaking his head, thinking about the implications. “We’ve definitely got a lot to talk about before my people move down.” He said the words quietly, so nobody inside heard.
With her hand on the screen door handle she replied in a near-whisper. “True, so let’s try not to stay all night, huh? I’ve got a really busy day tomorrow, so we need to get as much as we can discussed and leave time for me to get a decent night’s sleep.”
Oh, that was just too good an opening to pass up! Yeah, she might get annoyed, but he didn’t think so based on what he’d seen so far. As she pulled back the door to step inside, Adam leaned next to her ear, chuckled lightly, and whispered. “You just let me know what time you want to go to bed. I’m yours to command tonight.”
He was rather pleased to smell that embarrassment wasn’t the only emotion to rise from her when she instantly blushed.
Chapter 12
“SO? TELL US about him!” Rosa’s words came out in a low whisper as the four women leaned over the kitchen table, shredding cooked beef roast with a fork and surrounding it with corn meal before wrapping the works in wafer-thin corn husks.
Her niece Gloria was standing at the counter, showing them samples of party favors, being careful not to get anything too close to the food. Cara had already seen the dress and wow, Raul had been right—she looked like a princess. She didn’t even complain much that the dress was pink. White was hard to find in the stores unless specially made, and pink would make Papi, a native Salvadorean, happy. It was hard to believe she was nearly fifteen. Sometime during this past school year, both her body and mind had transformed into an adult’s. It seemed only yesterday she was parked in front of the television, watching Sesame Street, But now her long dark hair, hazel eyes, and knockout figure were probably turning enough boys’ heads that Cara hoped Rosa had already talked to her about sex.
Like her mother, Gloria kept her voice quiet, but there was no mistaking the hint of girlish awe. “Omigawd, Tia Cara! Adam is totally hot! Please tell me you’re going to bring him to my party! Can you just imagine the look on Mary Rode’s face if I danced with someone that fine at my Quinceanera?”
Gloria was now holding out a picture of a white and pale pink balloon arch and waiting for compliments, so Cara obliged, while being very careful not to answer the question about Adam. He would probably be around for the ceremony, and if he became the alpha, he would definitely need to become one of Gloria’s padrinos, but whether she would bring him to the party… well, who knew? She put a bunch of enthusiasm in her voice, so hopefully nobody would notice she ignored the question. “Pretty! Y’all have done a terrific job planning this!”
Of course, seeing all the favors, from invitations to decorations, reminded her she needed to run to San Antonio and pick up her own contribution to the event—the medalla de oro. The solid gold religious necklace that would set her back nearly a full paycheck. She was just happy she’d put aside a little out of the last few checks so she could afford it.
Rosa raised her eyebrows and her voice held a hint of disapproval. “You just keep your mind on boys your own age, mija, and don’t you worry about what Mary Rode thinks. What would Antonio say if he heard you lusting after a man twice your age? You’d end up walking into your own party alone! You just leave Mr. Mueller to Tia Cara.”
Cara struggled not to blush as she reached for another handful of sticky corn meal with one hand, and a few jalapeno slices with the other. Apparently, Rosa knew full well what she’d interrupted.
“Sheesh, Mom! It’s not like I was planning to rip off my dress and throw myself on him. It’s just a dance.”
Rosa snorted, not budging an inch. “Yes, and dances lead to other things. Remember he’s a wolf… and an alpha. You can’t hide attraction from a wolf’s nose, so you just get it out of your head right now. Your papi is going to have a hard enough time letting you start to date after the Quince without smelling you chasing after older men. Don’t do anything that would make him change his mind—that’s all I’m saying.” She made a small dismissive gesture with the back of her clean hand. “Now, go take that stuff back to your room before something spills on it. Then you can watch the game for an hour before bedtime. Oh, and check on Felix and Raul before you sit down. They should be asleep, but let me know if Raul is reading under the covers again. That boy is going to go blind if he keeps trying to read with that little penlight Luis gave him.”
The turmoil of emotion scents that rose from her niece told Cara that Gloria wanted to stay in the room to continue to argue the point, but she knew better than to push her mother right now. She had far too much to lose this close to the party. She gave a great, heaving oppressed teenager sigh that made Rosa roll her eyes and shake her head, before stomping out, taking the stack of samples with her.
Rosa sighed and passed another wrapped tamale to Cara, who stacked it in the pan. Her fingers moved in almost unconscious harmony with the other women. Of course, since they met to do this nearly every other week, that wasn’t a surprise. It was a tradition Mami started and she and Rosa kept up after losing her. And when Sharon and Penny joined the family… well, it had turned into a way to keep in touch and keep the pack a functioning unit. “Anyway… tell us about Adam, Cara.”
Sharon and Penny had been fighting to keep from smiling during Rosa’s lecture to her daughter, but now they didn’t bother to hide the slightly lecherous looks that said they’d been thinking the same things as Gloria. “There’s not much to tell. He’s a friend of Will’s. He’s visiting. Oh, and he’s the Second of his pack in Minnesota.”
Sharon leaned forward to take a sip of her margarita through a straw. Cara could never figure out why she salted the rim, only to drink through a straw. After the fragrant tequila mix lowered in the glass significantly, she raised her brows. “So, is he with Wolven, too? Is that where he knows Will from?”
Cara nodded and lowered her voice even further. Hopefully, the game in the next room was loud enough that he wouldn’t hear them. “I think that’s how they met. Oh! And that reminds me. I don’t think it’s a secret… at least nobody told me it was, so I think I can tell you. But I’m a Wolven agent now, too! That was part of what the meeting was about. The old council rep for the wolves, Lucas Santiago, is in town and was at the lunch, too. He’s the attorney from Colorado you mentioned, Rosa. He’s the new head of Wolven and is recruiting all over the country.”
Jaws dropped around the table and Rosa let out a small, excited squeal before quickly catching herself with a hurried hand over her mouth. She switching to silent bouncing and then reached across the table and grabbed Cara’s hands, squeezing them with shaking intensity. The bright citrus of pride and happiness swept through the room, and it occurred to Cara that she hadn’t really let it sink in with all the other things going on. A light gloss of tears formed in her eyes as she smiled, because only Rosa truly understood what it meant to her.
“Omigawd, Carita! I’m so proud of you! You’ve wanted that since you were tiny, even when Mami was still with us. I was afraid… really afraid you were going to pine away with a broken heart when you walked out of training. I mean, I don’t blame you after what that woman did, but it hurt me so bad to see you like that. I kn
ow you’re happy now, and made a life for yourself… but Wolven! Oh, hun bun! Tell us everything!”
Questions fired from all three women. “What changed their mind?” “Are you going to have to travel?” “Ay ay ay—and what about your job? Can you do both?”
She answered them as best she could, since she didn’t know everything herself. Sharon was the first to raise her glass with pride. “To Cara, and to the status it brings our pack! Oh, and to Lucas Santiago, for being smart enough to pick her!” Cara laughed and raised her glass. Penny followed and then Rosa. Suddenly nobody cared that they’d have to scrape dried corn meal off the glass stems afterward as they clinked them together and took a sip in celebration.
A rousing yell from the other room was followed by whoops and general laughter, causing all of them to look up. A few seconds later, Paco swung open the slatted door, which separated the kitchen from the rest of the house. Cara was reminded abruptly why Rosa had been so attracted to him. He was darkly handsome, with expressive dark eyes and sculpted features that could probably put him on magazine covers if he tried. She found herself comparing his looks to Adam’s and realizing something startling. She never thought she’d find a man with blue eyes and a light skin attractive, but here she was, comparing him to every man she knew, from guys she’d dated in high school, to her own brother-in-law.
Thinking of him made her wonder about the laughter in the next room. He was the Second in a big pack. Surely he was good at meeting people. Still, she’d have to ask how he was getting along with people before Paco left the room.
He took a sniff and raised his brows after kissing Rosa on the top of her head and reaching for the refrigerator handle. “You girls must be having some fiesta in here! I didn’t know invitations and balloons were such exciting things to talk about.”
Rosa put her hand on Cara’s shoulder and said with pride, “Cara made Wolven, Paco! That’s what the meeting today was!”
Her Second looked at her in astonishment for a moment and then grinned broadly, a pair of Corona bottles in his hands. “No shit! That’s awesome, Cara! Hey, we’ll really have something to celebrate on the moon—you’re getting the backstrap for sure this month. Only the choicest deer steak for our rising star.”
It occurred to her then that the word would spread like wildfire through the pack, and she really wasn’t sure she was supposed to have said anything. “Okay, but look, guys—I’m not even sure I’m supposed to have told y’all. Keep it secret for now, huh? Let me find out more first and then I’ll make a general pack announcement.” She looked around the table in turn, and they each nodded.
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Music on the television made Paco’s head turn. “I’d better get back. Otherwise, Eddie and Jorge will wind up in here, and start asking questions about the scent.”
Cara nodded then raised her chin in appreciation. “By the way, thanks for changing the channel. It was nice of you to watch the hockey game with Adam instead of the NBA playoffs.”
Paco shrugged. “Hell, I haven’t seen a Stanley Cup game in years. I’ve never really understood hockey, and Adam is answering stupid questions for us. Nice guy and smart. I finally understand what that frigging blue line is for! Besides, you know how I feel about the middle games of the NBA playoffs.”
Cara shook her head and let out a small chuckle before reaching for her glass again. “You’re not going to go on again about how they’re fixed, are you? I’ll bet you wouldn’t dare say that to a player’s face.” She took a sip, feeling the smooth tequila push the salt off the rim into her mouth to dissolve on her tongue.
He jutted his chin defiantly but didn’t raise his voice. It told Cara that while he was still in control, if he put down a few more beers, he was going to start to get obnoxiously opinionated. She’d have to get Adam out of here before that happened. She loved her brother-in-law, but Will was right about him.
“I might. When’s the last time you saw a four-game sweep? Years! That’s because all the playoffs are going to six or seven games now, and that’s because fans have to buy the tickets in advance! People get pissed if year after year they don’t ever get to see a game in their hometown. And I mean… c’mon! When the Bulls are having a year like this one and they trip all over their feet like they did the other night? Nope, I know damned well they’re going to win tonight and it’ll go to game six. At least with the Stanley Cup, I don’t know the outcome.”
She shook her head, and so did Rosa. It was no use trying to change his mind. He was firmly convinced he was right and when he got convinced—“So, real quick, how’s Adam getting along with the others—Chris, Jorge and… Eddie?”
She was more than a little worried about Adam meeting Eddie and had wanted to stay in the room to watch the interaction, but Paco had shooed her into the kitchen. Since Cara had never watched a game with the male pack members, it would seem really odd to do it today without explaining why.
Paco understood the underlying question about his twin brother Eduardo. “I haven’t noticed anything. Adam did give him a little raised eyebrow when Eddie said he was going to spend the weekend in Dallas because José had called to ask him to vamos a coger viejos. I guess Adam must speak some Spanish, because he got a surprised look and stared at Eddie for a few seconds. But he didn’t smell aggressive and let it go, so I think it’s okay.”
Shit! She hated it when Eddie went bar hopping in Dallas. It always led to trouble. “Damn it! I really wish he wouldn’t, Paco. You know how I feel about him hanging out at the gay bars with illegal immigrants. I mean, I know he can’t get or give diseases, and he carries his ID, but what if he breaks skin on someone during sex or gets picked up in an ICE raid? Can’t you talk to him?”
As usual, he brushed off her concerns with a wave of his hand, which nearly sloshed beer onto the floor. “Eh. You worry too much, Cara. He’s been seeing that one mayate, Juan Carlos, up there—the bricklayer from Zacatecas he met at Bamboleo’s for a couple months now. The guy has a real green card, and he always lets Juan Carlos be the activo, the top, so that’ll never happen. Let’s face it, it’s not like there’s much chance of him finding a stable relationship down here. When we decided to accept his lifestyle so he could remain with the pack, we had to accept the things that go with it.”
What he said was true, but how would the newcomers from Minnesota deal with hunting with a gay male wolf—especially one who spent his weekends with mayates, Mexican immigrants who might or might not have crossed the border hiding in a trunk? Were there other gay pack members? She just didn’t know, but it sure had been a shock to this pack when Eddie came out of the closet. It had taken a long time for him to be accepted by his own family—over a dozen full moons before the others wouldn’t snap at him for standing too close in wolf form. That definitely needed to be one of the topics of discussion with Adam. It hadn’t even been on her mind when she’d discussed cultural attitudes at the restaurant… at least, she didn’t think it had been. But so many things were about to change, for all of them. Maybe this needed to be the first thing.
“Yeah, but that was before he started hanging out at the bars up north, Paco, and before I became sheriff. And now that I’m in Wolven—I just don’t know. Maybe… well, maybe it’s time to look at it again. It’s not just a question of lifestyle anymore because those bars might get raided. Hell, the H-E-B grocery in San Antonio got raided last week, in broad daylight. Even if not this time, then what about next time or the time after?” She shook her head and looked down at the now perfect square of corn meal she was idly playing with. “I need to think about this.”
She noticed Rosa start to nibble at her lower lip and saw why. Paco’s face had gone dark and the sharp jalapeño of his anger was stronger than the peppers in the bowl right in front of her. “No, we need to talk about this. That’s how this pack works, if you remember.”
He’d opened his mouth to continue when a loud knock on the screen door was followed by voices in the next room. Oh, great! More people were
arriving. It sounded like Joe and Tara. Now a full half the pack was here. Rosa got a startled look on her face and stood up in a rush. “Paco, I need to talk to you outside… now!”
She didn’t wait for a response. She just bustled out of the kitchen, her plastic chanclas—flip-flops—clicking against her bare heels like a telegraph machine, leaving the other four to look at each other in surprise. Cara flared her nostrils, trying to get some sense of the emotions her sister left behind, but got nothing other than surprise, with a touch of worry. Paco got an odd look on his face, and Cara knew why. While he might appear to be the tough-as-nails head of the household, it was Rosa who actually ruled the roost. He followed out silently but Cara heard him pause for a moment to welcome the new guests and offer them a beer… just as soon as he came back inside.
The mood at the table took on a decided downward spiral. Penny picked up her glass, emptied the remaining green liquid, and then silently started to attack the spiced meat again with a fork. Sharon’s face remained studiously blank, but it was pretty obvious from her scent that she was curious about what was happening.
That made three of them.
BLOOD DRIPPED FROM Adam’s muzzle as he yanked again, trying to get the deer in his mouth unstuck from where one hind leg had become wedged in the crook of a tree. Finally, he walked around behind the deer and simply freed the still-warm hoof and then lightly leaped over the antlers to begin to drag it again. The taste of fur and meat on his tongue nearly made him want to stop and eat, but no. He was pretty sure he couldn’t.
It must be a test. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
Why else would the events have happened as they did? Paco and Rosa went outside and talked about a lack of food for the guests in his hearing range, while Cara continued on in the kitchen as though nothing was happening. Rosa had made it very clear to Paco that if they fed the guests, it would use all the meat in their freezer and there was still another week until his paycheck. Paco had told her they would worry about that later, but now it was dinner time and they had to be good hosts.