The Wolf's Concubine

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The Wolf's Concubine Page 12

by Erin St. Charles


  Phelan called out, “I’ll be back in a bit, darling!”

  Lola looked over her shoulder at him and responded through gritted teeth with a forced smile, “I’ll be here, Snookums!”

  Phelan left the apothecary and headed for the Sheriff’s office, and the unpleasant task of confronting Dennis.

  Chapter 21

  Phelan passed Richards Hardware on his way to the police station, looking absently through the plate-glass windows as he went by. The hardware store's sign was flipped to open and the lights were on, but inside it looked deserted. He set aside his irritation with the old man blabbing his business all over town. He reminded himself that he should lay low until the business with the kidnapping was either resolved or blew over. He needed to focus on protecting Lola and convincing her to become his mate.

  The Perdition police department shared a sprawling red-brick building with city hall and the courthouse. In front, there were several slanted parking spots for visitors. The parking lot behind a chain-link fence was designated for police cruisers, along with courthouse and city hall parking.

  He'd make this quick, he told himself as he pushed open the door to the police station. But the visit took longer than Phelan had planned as he was forced to cool his heels in the reception area while Dennis was paged. Phelan struggled to keep a lid on his anger. Where was this clown?

  Like most wolves, he had been brought up to control his shifter aggression. Keeping a rein on emotions was an important survival instinct in the time before humans knew shifters existed, and in the decades since the Prometheus Incident when humans were suspicious of all shifters.

  He didn’t like Dennis, and never had. He generally avoided the man, even when they had both still lived in the same town. Dennis had always been a bit of an outcast in Perdition. He flaunted the fact he was the son of the pack alpha. His mother was human and Dennis hadn’t inherited his father’s shifter physiology, but it didn't stop him from rubbing his status in their faces.

  In retaliation, Dennis had been teased throughout their school years for the perceived defect, and Phelan had to admit he’d been one of the other man’s tormentors. It wasn’t something he was proud about, but the other hand, he had been a kid himself.

  Phelan had enough waiting, and was about to leave, his mind on getting back to Lola, when Sheriff Dennis appeared in the reception area. He wore his drab khaki uniform, whose buttons strained to keep his midsection contained as it spilled over his belt. Without a word, he grimaced and motioned Phelan to follow as he turned on his heel and headed for the back of the office. Without any other options and eager to get this over with, Phelan followed Dennis to his office.

  Once there, Dennis closed the door behind them and stood behind his desk with the air of a petty dictator, and grunted. “What do you want, Cermak?”

  Phelan had always found it strange that Dennis had inherited none of his father’s looks or mannerisms. The pack alpha, who was well into his 60s, had been blessed with the lean, rangy build common to canine shifters. Wolf shifter genes, normally dominant, were not in evidence in Dennis’ appearance. His human mother, sweet, blonde and pleasingly plump, had produced a son who was also blonde, but short and dumpy. Dennis had managed to inherit the dominant temperament of the alpha without any of the strength and fighting spirit of a true wolf. Dennis pulled out his desk chair, sat down, and leaned back.

  “Sit down, Cermak,” Dennis said, giving Phelan a pointed look with his small, piggy eyes.

  “No, thanks. I’m only here for a minute.” Thinking of Lola back at the apothecary, Phelan resolved to get straight to the point. “I had a couple of visitors at my cabin this morning.”

  Phelan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Dennis.

  “Is that right?” Dennis copied Phelan's action and crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk on his face.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Phelan couldn't stop himself from staring the other man down. “A couple of juveniles came running out of the woods behind my place and scared my mate.”

  “Well, that’s a shame,” said Dennis, giving Phelan a barely concealed smirk. “Do you know who they were?”

  “No, I don’t,” Phelan replied with a cold stare. “But I think you probably do.”

  Dennis leaned back even further in his chair, then put his feet up on his desk in a leisurely way that suggested he knew who the boys had been, and didn’t care that Phelan knew he knew. Phelan wasn’t under any illusion that Dennis would tell the truth, but common courtesy demanded he give Dennis the benefit of the doubt.

  “Now why would I know something like that?” Dennis held his hands out in a placating gesture. I don’t even know your fiancée. Why would I do that?”

  Because you’re an insecure prick? Phelan thought to himself.

  “I don’t care why you did it," Phelan said coldly. "I’m just here to tell you to knock it off.”

  Dennis made a show of looking affronted. He swung his feet off the desktop, sat up straight in his chair, and pinned Phelan with small, pale blue eyes.

  “This ain't high school anymore. You ain't the big man on campus anymore, and you can’t just walk in here and talk to me anyway you like." He stabbed his thumb at his chest. "I’m the chief of police.”

  Phelan considered telling Dennis what they both already knew—that if his father hadn’t been pack alpha, Dennis never would’ve been chief. Just like in high school, Dennis relied on his father’s connections to get ahead. He had always lorded his father’s position over his schoolmates because he wasn’t strong enough to win an argument on wolf terms.

  Phelan let out a bitter chuckle. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you? You could never fight for yourself, so you used your daddy’s name to get what you wanted. Now you use your position.”

  It was all true. Their pack alpha was a fair man, a standup guy who had unfortunately tried to shelter his fragile son by allowing Dennis to throw his weight around, rather than teach him how to fight like a wolf.

  “What are you doing here, Cermak?” Dennis asked, looking peeved. “I know you have a fancy enforcer job in Dallas. What brings you to Perdition, anyway?”

  Phelan looked into Dennis’s weaselly face. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I have as much right to be here as any other pack member.”

  Dennis waved a hand at Phelan and smirked. “You think you can just boss people around? I’m the chief of police here.”

  Phelan realized this conversation was pointless. Done, he turned to the door.

  “Stay away from my mate,” Phelan warned, his tone sharp and uncompromising.

  “Or what? I don’t know why you think you can just waltz in here whenever you like and throw around accusations like you are, but I’m here to tell you that I don’t know anything about anyone coming out to your place and messing with your little fancy girl.”

  Phelan shook his head at the other man in disgust. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

  Phelan supposed Dennis thought he would take mention of Lola’s profession as an insult and do something stupid as a result. For example, reaching across the desk to pound Dennis’s face into the desk. But Phelan was no longer the hothead he had once been in high school. He would not go after Dennis unless the other man did something to provoke him. It would take more than pointing out what Lola did for a living.

  Phelan eyed Dennis, then rolled his eyes. “That woman has more integrity in her pinky than you’ll ever have. You know the rules, Dennis. Stay away from my mate.”

  Phelan stood and walked out of Dennis’s office before the other man said anything else. He had made his point, and now he had more important business to see to. Wooing his fiancée.

  Phelan made one more stop, loaded his truck, then crossed the street to the apothecary. A large crowd had gathered at the shop with the overflow spilling out onto the sidewalk and crowding the entrance. His anxiety spiked and he worried something might’ve happened to Lola. After the incident at the cabin and his confrontation wi
th Dennis, not to mention the attempted kidnapping that had brought Phelan and Lola to Perdition to begin with, anything was possible.

  He elbowed his way into the apothecary where the crowd was thicker and noisier. He spotted Lola, her small figure dwarfed by the presence of many shifter townsfolk wanting to meet her. Her eyes held a confused, bemused expression, one he could not read well.

  Well shit, he thought to himself. Fucking shifter town…

  The good people of Perdition had gotten wind of their newest pack member, found out where she was, then descended on her with canine friendliness and curiosity. He hadn’t thought to warn her about the overly familiar nature of wolves. Even the pack members who weren’t shifters were nosier than a family of Proboscis monkeys. To be fair, she had partly brought this on herself by trying to leave. Twice.

  Lola looked cute, if a little shell-shocked, standing in a circle of mostly very tall people who peppered her with questions in the overly friendly manner of a large extended clan vetting a new member. He wondered how much information about her had gotten around town, specifically, how had Dennis found out Lola worked in a brothel?

  The punishment for betraying a pack member was banishment from Perdition, so he wasn’t worried anyone in town would do anything to harm her. Still, it was a puzzle that Dennis had known about Lola’s job.

  He pushed through the crowd with the intention of extracting her. Her eyes grew wide with excitement when she saw him. He reached her and draped an arm over her shoulder, then leaned in to get close to her.

  “Sorry about the mob scene,” he whispered in her ear. Her face was practically glowing as she looked into his eyes. He wasn’t prepared for the heart-stopping smile she gave him. It was so unexpected, so in the moment, he about passed out from the pleasure that coursed through him. She placed a hand on his neck and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

  “This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.” Her breathless confession underscored his conviction that the fates had conspired to bring them together. Her warm breath fanning over his neck made his skin tingle and his cock harden. He wanted this woman.

  There were a few faces he recognized, and he knew if he and Lola stuck around for too long, they would have a hard time leaving. Lola gave him a bashful smile. He loved the happy look on her face. He realized then that he hadn’t seen her smile once since he’d met her.

  “My mate and I have a lot to do today,” Phelan told the nosey townsfolk with a friendly smile. He took her bags of purchases and slid a protective arm around her.

  Twyla, who waited tables at the Last Chance Diner, shoved forward to give Lola an enthusiastic hug.

  “Don’t forget what I told you about tonight,” she said, giving Lola’s arm a squeeze before Phelan ushered his woman out the door.

  Outside, he gestured at his truck across the street, the bed of which had been empty when they’d arrived in Perdition that morning, but now held a box covered with a tarp and tied down with bungee cords. Lola looked at it, confused, a slight smile ghosting her lips.

  “What’s that?” She waved at the bed of the truck, then gave him a perplexed smile.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  He helped her into the passenger side of the truck, which he had seen her struggle to get into before. His truck sat well above the ground. Not a problem for his 6’2” body, but her feet dangled a bit when she went to get out of the vehicle. He’d have to do something about that, and soon.

  All the way back to the cabin, Lola kept sneaking glances at the bed of the truck, but she never again asked what it was. When they got to the graveled part of the road, he slowed quite a bit to avoid damaging the cargo he’d placed in the back of the truck.

  “Why are you driving so slowly? If you’re not careful, you’re going to go over the allotted eight minutes it takes to go between the cabin and town,” she teased.

  He shrugged. “Better safe than sorry.”

  Her eyes shined with childlike enthusiasm, and he could tell she was dying to ask him about the surprise. He wondered whether she would ask again. He suspected it was because she was unaccustomed to gifts.

  The thought made him sad and angry on her behalf. But her past no longer mattered. He had a lifetime to shower her with surprises.

  She relaxed as Phelan navigated the truck over the ruts in the road. It was probably past time for him to do something about paving the road.

  “What did Twyla mean about tonight?” he asked.

  Her face was once again lit with an animated smile. “She said there’s a carnival tonight, at the church. She said to make sure you brought me.”

  He nodded. “I almost forgot. They hold it every year in the parking lot of Saint Ailbe’s. I was planning on taking you.”

  “Saint Al–” she repeated, struggling with the pronunciation.

  “It’s pronounced all-bay,” he said. “He was the patron saint of wolves.”

  “Huh. I guess that makes sense.”

  “Do you like going to carnivals?”

  Her smile faltered. She settled back in her seat again, quiet.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never been to one.” She stared out the passenger side window with a pensive frown.

  They arrived at the cabin and Phelan cut the engine. He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her face to look at him.

  “I will be honored to be the first man to take you to the carnival.” He barely recognized his own voice, it was so deep and hoarse. How many experiences had she missed due to her upbringing and choice of profession?

  I’ll be the first and last man to take her on a date, he thought to himself.

  Silently, he promised himself he would be the first—and last—man to take her to the carnival and anywhere else she wanted to go.

  She gave him a fragile little smile that made his heart clench.

  “I’d like that.”

  Chapter 22

  Lola watched Phelan jump out of the truck like something was on fire. He raced around the vehicle and yanked open the door to help her out. The carnival wasn't until tonight, but he was acting all eager, like they were going to leave any minute.

  She didn't get a chance to ask as Phelan quickly ushered her into the cabin and stopped in the great room. If not for her newfound ability to sense his emotions, she'd think they were under attack again, he was in such a hurry. Unfortunately, the ability didn't seem to be very reliable. She was picking up… something from him. But she wasn't sure what.

  He guided her to the sectional.

  "Sit, I'll be right back." He took a step away, then nervously turned around. "Close your eyes."

  Lola didn't know what to expect, but she closed her eyes.

  She almost peeked, but stopped herself. It seemed like it was important she keep them closed. With surprise, she realized she actually trusted him. So, she kept her eyes shut and listened. From the sound of his footsteps, she could tell when he left the cabin. Before she could get antsy, he returned. His steps sounded heavier, like he was carrying something. He stopped in front of her and something heavy was set on the floor.

  When his deep voice intoned, “You can open your eyes now,” she didn't know what to expect.

  She didn't waste a moment and opened her eyes. In front of her was the Singer 403 sewing machine she had seen in the window at the thrift store.

  Her mouth fell open in astonishment when she saw what he’d brought her. Eyes wide, she covered her mouth and swallowed the lump in her throat.

  How on Earth could he know that she even wanted this particular machine?

  “How–?” was all she managed.

  “I saw you looking at it in the window of the thrift store more than once. When you mentioned that you made your own clothes, I did some research and found that this is one of the best vintage machines on the market. I knew I had to get it for you.”

  He watched her closely as he told her this, an expectant smile on his face.

  Her heart clenched knowing when she left, she wou
ld have to leave it behind. It was far too extravagant a gift, but she was touched that he would do such a thing for her.

  Lola shoved the thought of leaving aside. For now, she would enjoy it. She fawned over the sewing machine, eagerly searching through the cabinet to see what it came with. She couldn't stop herself from oohhing and ahhhing over the accessories. She barely noticed when Phelan went back outside and immediately returned carrying a giant box. He sat it at her feet with a thud.

  “Open it,” he said, grinning at her.

  The brown box was unassuming. The lid wasn't taped shut, but the flaps were folded together. What could be in the box? It was big enough that she'd have problems carrying it, even if it was light. Her heart hammering in her chest with excitement, she opened the box. Her jaw dropped when she saw several pieces of fabric folded on top. Was the entire box full of fabric?

  She pawed through the box with excitement and realized it was stuffed with fabrics of all textures and colors. “Where did you get all this fabric?”.

  “I guess when people donate their sewing machines, they donate their fabric as well,” he said with a shrug. He looked at her with his arms crossed, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, an expression she could not immediately read. But she could feel his emotional state.

  He’s pleased with himself, she realized. The idea that giving her a gift gave him so much pleasure made her uneasy, but she wasn't sure why. Did she now owe him something? Some sort of return gift? She had not received many gifts in her life and didn't know how to handle it. And never from a man. Lola had always chosen losers for boyfriends; men who weren’t into thoughtful gestures.

  Not that Phelan was a boyfriend, she reminded herself.

  “This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me,” she said softly, running her fingers over the machine.

 

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