by Celia Kyle
“Sorry, didn’t mean to unload all that on you,” Zeke said with an easy shrug, pretending that the stress of the last year—both parents dying, taking over leadership of the pack, his sister moving away, and now that fucking construction developer Dick McNish causing problems—hadn’t taken a toll.
Apparently, she didn’t buy it. His heart nearly burst from his chest when her warm fingers gently wrapped around his forearm and gave it a little squeeze.
“Don’t be sorry. That’s a hell of a lot for anyone to suffer through. Especially so close together like that. Must have been tough.”
He worked overtime to keep his emotions under control. Life had really thrown him some curveballs, and then she had walked into his town and gotten his wolf all worked up. No wonder he was a mess. Except alphas weren’t supposed to be weepy wrecks. They were expected to be tough leaders, not whiny babies who mourned their parents. He’d be damned if he’d show anyone in his pack how the year from hell had affected him.
But somehow Valerie—a human, for chrissakes—had shown him more compassion than almost anyone in his pack. Which came as a bit of a surprise. Not only because of how she’d given Newman a tidy little smack-down, but also because most of the humans Zeke had ever met were selfish assholes with no consideration for anyone else.
Get ahold of yourself! It was far too late, and he was far too sober to get all mushy with a stranger. Not even one as tempting and infuriating as Val. Quirking an eyebrow at her, he glanced pointedly at her hand on his arm.
“Good thing I’m not a soldier.” He reminded her of how she’d reacted when she’d been touched.
She chuckled and pulled her hand away, leaving a void where her warm touch had been. “Ha! I’d like to see you try and lay a finger on me.”
Damn, her sass was sexy!
He gave her a suggestive smirk and said, “Oh, would you now?”
Any other human female would have blushed and shifted her gaze away, embarrassed at setting herself up like that. Not Valerie. Her smoldering gaze locked onto his and her full lips eased into a smile that set his cock throbbing.
Training his gaze back on the road, Zeke was acutely aware he’d just reacted the way he’d anticipated she would. Sassy and smart. He liked that in a woman. What he didn’t like was the fact she was human. Things were moving in a dangerous direction, and he needed to get them back on track before the unthinkable happened.
“Gotta say,” he said, giving her dog a hard look, “I don’t believe for a second that mutt’s a trained service animal.”
As if to prove his point, Fang scrambled over the armrest and into his lap. She planted her ridiculously tiny paws on the bottom of the steering wheel and barely managed to peer over the dash. The dumb dog thought she was driving!
This time Val did look embarrassed, though it was too dark to see her cheeks pink up. He imagined it, though, and he couldn’t get the image out of his mind as she plucked Fang from his lap.
“Sorry. I let her do that sometimes when I’m driving.” She gave the dog a quick snuggle before plopping her back on her lap. “Yeah, I might not have been entirely truthful about her service animal status. But this sweet girl has had a tough time of it, and I’ll be damned if I let some backwater bartender call her a rat.”
“Maybe Hux deserved a thump, too.” Val seemed to appreciate his suggestion. “By the way, I didn’t mean anything with that question. I don’t care one way or another if she’s certified. You just don’t seem like…”
He couldn’t think of a good way to finish the sentence without sounding like an ass. He just let it hang there, like a slab of smelly meat. In addition to her many admirable attributes, Val also appeared to have a decent sense of humor.
“Like the kind of woman who’d own a teacup Pomeranian? I wasn’t, until a few days ago, actually.”
“Did you rescue her?”
Val stared out the window for a long moment before answering. “I think under Georgia law it would actually be considered theft. But we both consider it a rescue. Don’t we, Fang?”
Fang reached up and licked Val’s face happily. Val smiled and looked over at him, fire glinting in her eyes.
“And I’d like to meet the cop who’s man enough to try and take her from me.”
A woman who didn’t take shit. Remarkable. Why hadn’t Chloe ever brought her around?
Oh. Right. Human.
“Sounds like an interesting story?” he prodded.
Fang returned her beady black eyes to the road, allowing Val to give him her full attention. “Not much to it, really. After I left Virginia, my first stop was my mom’s place back home in Jacksonville. Of course, the minute I stepped into her single-wide, I remembered why I’d been so desperate to get out in the first place. And it wasn’t because we lived in a shit-pot trailer park.”
Zeke snorted, but otherwise kept his mouth shut.
“My mom… Let’s just say she doesn’t have the best taste in men. Her latest live-in loser thought I brought just a little too much color to the table.”
Zeke grimaced. “Sounds like a real winner.”
She shrugged, as if that was the least of her worries. “Whatever. I’ve lived with people being assholes to me all my life.” Her tone softened as she stroked Fang’s fluffy fur. “But when he kicked Fang across the trailer and Mom didn’t say anything… That was it.”
Considering how she handled guys hitting on her, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what she’d done to her mother’s racist boyfriend. Curiosity won out.
“What did you do?”
She gave him a sly smile. “I did what any proper young lady would do. I kneed him in the nuts so hard they probably ended up in his throat, and then I scooped up Fang and hit the road.”
Zeke burst out laughing so hard he almost pulled over. Great belly-wrenching guffaws. He hadn’t laughed like that in… he couldn’t even remember. Eventually wiping the tears from his eyes, he gave her a grin. “There are worse ways to start a friendship. Take Drew, Chloe’s… husband.”
He caught himself before he said “mate” again. Werewolves were strictly forbidden from revealing their existence to humans. Accidents were inevitable, but wolves couldn’t tell just anyone what they really were without expecting hellfire to rain down on them from the National Ruling Circle.
“What about him?”
“Well, I’m not exactly proud of this, but I brought him here in the first place.”
Val’s brow crinkled in the cutest way. “Why wouldn’t you be proud of that? I thought you liked him.”
“Because it wasn’t exactly a mutual decision.”
The crinkle grew deeper. “Huh?”
Zeke sighed heavily. “I kidnapped him. He wasn’t too happy about it either. Until he laid eyes on Chloe. After that, all was forgiven.”
It was Val’s turn to laugh hysterically. “What the hell did you do that for?”
“It was impulsive and stupid,” he explained, leaving off the part that nagged him most—it wasn’t how a good alpha should behave. “The short version is that I heard he might be able to help our mother. Maybe I didn’t handle the situation very well, but now we’re friends. I’m still recovering from whiplash over how fast they ran off together, but damned if they aren’t over the moon in love. Right now they’re off camping in the wilds of Colorado for their honeymoon. No phones, no TV, no internet.”
Val gave a wistful sigh. “Oh, man, that sounds like bliss. Always loved being in nature. There was this time on my first deployment, I was out in the desert at night. Dead silence and nothing but the brilliant starry sky overhead. It just kind of hit me that, even though I had a team with me, I was out there on my own. Removed from so much of everything I grew up with. I expected to feel sad, but it was surprisingly lovely. Peaceful.”
“All right, don’t get all poetic on me.”
“Being out there gives you time for that too. When people aren’t shooting at you, of course.”
“Of course,” Zeke agreed.
As they approached the pack house, it occurred to Zeke that he was honestly starting to like her. He could count on one hand the number of people he could shoot the shit with so easily, and not a single one of them was human. Val was scary smart, funny as hell, and as tough as his best sentry. Tougher, he reminded himself. Of course, it didn’t help that he could smell her growing desire for him. His damn wolf might as well have been doing a victory lap.
But another scent lingered under her passion, especially when she spoke of her time in the Army. Pain… but even his wolf couldn’t figure out where exactly she was injured. That in itself was unsettling.
Parking at the side of the house, Zeke hopped out and hurried around toward the passenger side. To his surprise and irritation, she was already on the ground waiting for him.
“What?” she asked when she caught sight of his face in the porch light.
“Nothing,” he started but then thought better of it. “I was going to get the door for you.”
Val’s face squinched up as if she’d just bitten into a lemon dipped in Fang’s shit. “I can kill a man with my pinky. I think I can manage a fucking car door, Boy Scout.”
Without waiting for him to lead the way, she sauntered past him. Maybe Zeke should have been insulted, but instead he found himself chuckling as he followed her.
The view was incredible. Her tall frame moved with purpose, like a lioness on the hunt for prey. The oddly feminine bag and the puffy head that poked out of it were at complete odds with her bearing. Not to mention her choice of clothes—a tank top that showed off her impressive arm and shoulder muscles and jeans that formed to her muscular ass and thighs like they were painted on. If she’d taken the time to shrug into her sexy motorcycle jacket, he might have driven them straight to the Lupine Inn instead of the pack house.
Thankfully, Warren stepped out onto the porch, dragging Zeke back into reality. Warren nodded to his alpha and then let his curious—and far-too-appreciative—gaze rake over Val’s powerful frame for a second longer than Zeke liked.
“Everything okay?” he spoke to Zeke, but his eyes never left Val.
Zeke held on to his feral emotions. “We have a guest for the night,” he shoved the words through clenched teeth.
Warren had been suffering a bit of a broken heart ever since Chloe had rejected him in favor of Drew. Zeke felt sorry for his beta, but that didn’t stop him from giving Warren a low, meaningful growl as they passed on the porch. Nothing else needed to be said. Warren averted his eyes and nodded in understanding.
Val stopped in her tracks and tipped her head as if she was listening for something. “Did you hear that?”
Zeke shot a look over to Warren. “What?”
“It sounded like growling.”
He moved up beside her and pressed a hand to her lower back to keep her moving, the simple touch setting his arm on fire. “Probably just my stomach. I missed dinner.”
After a very short tour downstairs, he led her upstairs to the room right next to his. “Bathroom’s right there.” His voice was tight with the insanity boiling inside him. “Holler if you need anything.”
Val held his gaze, incapacitating him with her intent stare. It seemed as if she searched for something. Something he couldn’t give.
Then she gave him a soft smile. “Thanks for everything.”
He shrugged but still couldn’t tear his eyes from her. “Don’t mention it.”
Only when she turned away could he breathe again, thank god. Reaching for his door knob, he said, “Night.”
“Night,” she replied as she eased her door shut. “Sleep tight.”
Her door clicked home and Zeke pressed his forehead to the cool wood of his own. Sleep would not be happening.
Chapter Five
Smoke burned Valerie’s eyes and ear-shattering blasts filled the murky red air. Chaos surrounded her. Men shouted in a language she didn’t understand, and children screamed. Bodies lay sprawled on the ground, their faces blurry, as if they had no identities. She pushed through it all, determined to find a way out, a way home. Strong hands reached for her. She fought them off with every ounce of strength she had, but there were too many coming from all directions. A blast of light blinded her, and she screamed.
“No!” came a strangled, breathless little yelp from Valerie’s throat.
Startled by her own voice, her eyes fluttered open, blinking in disbelief at the strange—but blissfully peaceful—environment surrounding her. Not a battlefield. No bloody hell scape. Just a quiet, modestly decorated bedroom.
Val closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, taking five deep, long breaths. The time allowed her to disentangle herself from the familiar nightmare and step through the shimmering veil into reality. Afghanistan faded away, back into the dark corners of her mind where it would lie in wait until the next time she let down her defenses.
A soft whine woke her up fully. Fang lay on Val’s stomach, gazing at her with as much genuine concern as a Pomeranian was capable of. Which turned out to be quite a lot.
“Are you worried about your mama, little one?” she whispered, reaching up to scratch behind the dog’s left ear. “Or do you just want some breakfast?”
Val patted her chest and made kissy noises, which Fang took as an invitation to Army-crawl up and joyously lick her master’s face. Val burst into giggles, which only got Fang even more excited. The best way to chase away nightmares was always puppy kisses.
Hmm, maybe there really was something to the whole service dog thing.
“You must be desperate to go piddle, huh?”
Fang jumped off the bed and ran around in excited circles. Why, Val couldn’t figure out. For some reason, the dog thought prancing around in circles was the ideal way to tell Val she needed a potty break.
With a groan, she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She’d slept in the nude—a small part of her hoping Zeke might knock on her door and help her forget her troubles. Obviously, he wasn’t as attracted to her as she’d thought, dammit.
“Oh well,” she mumbled, as if she didn’t really care. Then why did she feel almost insulted?
Pushing her pettiness aside, she dressed quickly so Fang could relieve herself outside before the pup did it in Zeke’s guest room. Puppy pellets would not be an appropriate way to show their gratitude for his help the night before.
She pulled open the door but then stopped short. A very large, sleeping dog blocked the doorway. No, not a dog. A wolf! Its mahogany fur moved gently as the beast breathed steadily. To her surprise, Fang—who was normally terrified of big dogs, not to mention wolves—trotted right up to the behemoth and panted happily. Like she was downright pleased to meet him.
As Val got a better look at the wolf, it dawned on her that the color of its fur matched Zeke’s hair color.
“Son of a…” She bit off the curse before she woke him.
Zeke must have shifted into his wolf form and slept in front of her damn door all night! Whether to keep her in or to keep others out, she didn’t know, and she didn’t care. Indignation flared in her chest as she stared down at the slumbering beast. Who the hell did he think he was? Furthermore, who the hell did he think she was?
If last night had proved anything, it was that Valerie Logan wasn’t a damsel in distress, nor was she a criminal. She was a captain in the United States Army, for goodness’ sake, and she didn’t require a bodyguard or a babysitter. Fuck that noise!
If Zeke wanted a taste of what that Newman guy got, he could try to stop her from leaving. Taking a big wide step over the sleeping form, Val was just about to pull her other leg over when Zeke’s wolf stirred and struggled to his feet. She was knocked off balance and left straddling his furry back as his big head swung from side to side to see what rode him.
Muscles rolled and tensed between her thighs, and she was alarmed by how her body reacted to touching him. It had nothing to do with his bestial form, but knowing it was Zeke under all that fur and fangs turned her on some
thing fierce. He might have been a bossy brute, but something about him really set her on fire. Probably those big brown eyes that seemed to be flecked with copper. Or his broad shoulders. Or his chiseled cheekbones. Or his…
Shaking all of his finer attributes from her head, Val scrambled off his back, determined to humiliate him as much as he’d just humiliated her. Bending down, she put her hands on her knees and used a cooing tone she reserved exclusively for babies and animals.
“Ooh, who do we have here, Fang? A new friend for you, I see. Who’s a good boy?” She ruffled the wolf’s absolutely massive head and grinned at him. “Okay, come on, you two. Time to go potty!”
Fang pranced after her happily, her pink tongue lolling out as she glanced back at the lingering wolf. After a few paces, Val looked over her shoulder to find the wolf standing in one place, staring at her, his head tilted to one side in confusion.
“Come on, boy,” she said, patting the side of her leg. “Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time to poo-poo, too.”
Only after he moved toward her, very hesitantly, did Val continue downstairs. The wolf rumbled and grumbled the whole way, no doubt at the indignity of it all. Val couldn’t have been happier.
She’d read between the lines of their conversation the night before, and Chloe had educated her enough about her people to know that Zeke had taken over leadership of the pack from his father. He was the alpha, used to giving orders, not taking them. Chloe had also told her that wolves weren’t supposed to reveal themselves to unsuspecting humans, which Zeke clearly considered her to be. Perfect!
Opening the front door, she waved the dogs outside. Fang sprinted down the steps as fast as her stubby legs could carry her and started rolling around in the grass in pure ecstasy. Zeke, on the other hand, paused just inside the door until Val grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him outside.
“Go on, boy. Go sniff Fang’s butt or something.”
