Wild Engagement_A Dark Pines Pride Bonus Story

by Liza Street

  Summer was quiet for a moment. “How did he explain it?”

  “What?”

  “I mean, what was his lie?”

  “Oh. I don’t know. He said something about how I was ‘thinking too hard’ when I told him I’d seen a dog before I hit him. Like I need that kind of patronizing bullshit in my life. Is he gaslighting me? I’m pretty sure I saw a dog, although I know how things can get skewed. He didn’t have to talk down to me like that.”

  “You’re right,” Summer said, reaching out to squeeze Becca’s hand.

  The contact felt comforting. “Thanks,” Becca said.

  “Is that the only thing wrong between you and Nick?” Summer asked.

  “Yeah.” Becca felt a small smile form on her face as she remembered all the things that had been going right. The easy conversation. The sex. The laughter. The way he seemed to get her, understand whatever she was talking about in a way that built on her own thoughts and made them more real and true. “I felt like I was more me with him, you know?”

  “He feels the same about you,” Summer said quietly. “Maybe even stronger. It’s like what Jackson and I have.”

  “What? How would you even know that?” Becca couldn’t keep the disbelief from her voice. “I’ve known Nick for, what, two weeks?”

  “The reason he lied to you is simple, but unbelievable,” Summer said.

  Becca sat back in her chair and stared at her best friend. “How the hell would you know anything about this? What is going on?”

  She wanted to know, more than anything. But the fact that Summer knew something Becca didn’t, and Summer had been hiding it from her.... Becca stood up to leave.

  “Wait,” Summer said. “Please. Just hear me out. There’s a reason for all of this, and if you’d let me explain, I think a lot of issues could be resolved at once.”

  Becca shook her head. But then she looked at her friend. Summer had changed since meeting Jackson. Becca had missed her. If Becca got up now, she might never know why things had changed, and this distance between them might never be completely breached.

  Slowly, Becca sat back down. She took a deep breath. “I’ll listen.”

  Summer leaned forward, her eyes twinkling. “You’re not going to believe me,” she said. Then she lowered her voice even further. “They’re shapeshifters. They can turn into animals.”

  Becca laughed. “I thought you were going to say they’re a highly organized crime unit, or they’re all under witness protection, or they’re under cover working to, I don’t know, solve some environmental issue. But...” She laughed again. “I’m sorry, I can’t even repeat what you just said.”

  “It’s true,” Summer said.

  “Right. Magical creature people.”

  Summer nodded seriously.

  “No, no way,” Becca said. “This is completely insane.”

  Summer smiled. “I can prove it.” She took her phone off the tiny pink table and tapped out a message on the screen. “Now, call Nick and tell him to meet us at my place. Jackson will be there, too.”

  Did Summer need to see a therapist? Did the whole group need to see a therapist? Maybe there was something weird in the water on this side of town. Gently nudging her coffee cup away from her, Becca said, “This is completely irrational. I don’t want to do this.”

  “Remember, back when I first met Jackson, and I was unsure about something that made him different?”

  “Vaguely?” Becca said it like a question.

  “You told me about Grant, and how he used to be different, too.”

  Becca nodded. She remembered the conversation. It had been the first time she’d shared that with Summer. He’d liked to wear women’s clothes around the house. It had been weird at first, but she’d rolled with it, and their relationship had been great, regardless. The clothing thing hadn’t made her love him any less.

  “Well, when I told you about Jackson being different, this is what I was talking about,” Summer whispered. “His shapeshifting ability.”

  Becca sat back, the last half of her cupcake forgotten. Summer was dead serious, and everything about her body language, tone of voice, and eye contact told Becca that Summer was telling the truth.

  There were two possibilities. Summer had been completely misled, or these guys really could change into animals at will.

  “Like, werewolves?” Becca asked.

  Summer nodded. “They’re not dangerous or scary, though. I mean, unless they’re bad people. But Jackson, he’s not a bad person, and neither is Nick.”

  “Is this why you’ve been acting weird around me since you and Jackson met?” Becca asked. “Because you were keeping this secret?”

  “Yeah. You know I suck at telling lies. I was worried you’d ask me point blank, and it would be so hard to tell you. But you were also pulling away from me, too.”

  “I know,” Becca said, feeling miserable. She had no idea what to believe. Her mind whirled. Summer was telling the truth. Or something was seriously wrong in this town. “It was a defense mechanism, me pulling away from you. A stupid defense mechanism.”

  Summer smiled at her. “It makes perfect sense, but I wish we’d just talked like this sooner.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Still want proof that they are what I say they are?” Summer asked.

  Becca took a deep breath. The whole idea was beyond bizarre. “I won’t believe it until I see it.”

  Summer shrugged. “Okay, give him a call.”

  “I feel so completely ridiculous,” Becca said.

  “Just text him, then. Ask him to meet us at my place. You don’t have to say why.”

  Becca rationalized that this was simply an evidence-gathering operation. Research. Sometimes she had to do research for work, and this was just like that.

  Except, not at all.

  Sighing, she pulled up the text app and texted Nick. Can you meet me at Summer’s house in 15?

  His response was immediate, and she felt guilty all over again at the long string of his texts she’d ignored. I’ll be there.

  “I guess we’re doing this...whatever it is,” Becca said, holding her phone up so Summer could see it.

  Standing up, Summer slung her purse over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It wasn’t far to Summer and Jackson’s place—just a five-minute walk from Hayley and Marius’s, where Nick had been painting all morning. He wondered why Becca wanted to meet him here, rather than at her place, or somewhere in town.

  Jackson came out onto the porch, holding his phone. “What’s up, Nick?” he asked, not looking up.

  “Becca asked me to meet her here.”

  “Cool. Hang on a sec...” Jackson tapped a few things onto the screen of his phone, then looked up at Nick. “Just wrapping up a couple of interview requests for the Fiddles.”

  Nick nodded. Jackson managed the social media platforms of some indie band. Rock bluegrass, or something like that. Nick couldn’t imagine working at a computer or phone all day—he liked moving around too much. “Has work been going all right?”

  “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ve got a couple of new clients circling.” He stretched his neck from side to side. “You want a beer?”

  “Sure,” Nick said.

  Jackson nodded to the door, so Nick followed him inside. They grabbed some beer from the fridge and brought the bottles back to the front porch. Jackson sat on the edge, looking toward the drive, so Nick followed his example.

  “You know, you fit in okay here,” Jackson said.

  “It’s a nice place,” Nick said, carefully. He wasn’t sure what Jackson was getting at.

  “You ever think about sticking around?”

  Nick took a swig of beer. “I have some things I gotta resolve first, but...yeah.”

  “Cool.”

  Just then, two cars came up the drive—Summer’s Honda, and Becca’s BMW. When Becca got out of her car, Nick was struck again with her beauty. He didn’t deserve her. Hell, he
didn’t deserve anything right now. Not Becca, not the Dark Pines Pride, not even the shirt on his back.

  “I’m sorry about lying,” he said, rushing over to her. “I...” He didn’t know how to finish the sentence. I love you. I want to make it right but I don’t know how. I shift into a wolf. I have some scary shit in my recent past and I need to fix it. I love you. I. Love. You.

  Becca stood before him, waiting. She looked incredibly uncomfortable, her arms folded over her chest as she bit her lip. Her face was pale.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, but the movement was jerky.

  “Guys,” Summer said. “Show her what you can do.”

  Jackson raised his eyebrows at his mate. “What?”

  “You heard me,” Summer said to Jackson. “I told her everything. She needed to know.”

  “Summer, we talked about this—”

  “This is really weird,” Becca said, starting toward her car. “Thanks, Summer, but I should go.”

  “Stay, please,” Summer said.

  Nick looked at Summer, a strange flip-flopping sensation filling his gut. “You told her? About our...other nature?”

  “I had to,” Summer whispered. “Otherwise, I think we’ll lose both of you.”

  Nick nodded, even though Becca looked perplexed and Jackson looked pissed. “Okay.”

  Nick took off his shirt and began to unfasten his jeans. The furrow between Becca’s brows grew even more pronounced.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

  “Summer told you, right?” Nick said. “That we can turn into animals?”

  Becca nodded, but she didn’t look like she knew what to say or what to expect.

  Summer put her hands on her hips and stared at Jackson. “Strip.”

  Jackson scowled. “Hey, when I said it was sexy for you to order me around like that, I didn’t mean—”

  “Just do it,” Summer said, and it looked like she was biting back a laugh. “This is serious.”

  “You don’t have to be afraid of us when we change,” Nick told Becca. “I’ll be a wolf, and he’ll be a cougar.”

  Becca was shaking her head. “This doesn’t...this is impossible.”

  “Just wait,” Nick said.

  He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he could tell she was too freaked out by the whole thing.

  Summer came over to stand next to Becca. “It’s perfectly safe,” Summer said.

  Jackson was undressing now, too. Nick nodded to him and took off his jeans, shoes, and boxer briefs. Then, Nick crouched on all fours, closed his eyes, and waited for the wolf to take him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Something magical, or otherworldly, was definitely going on. Whatever happened, Becca couldn’t deny that aspect of it. The air around Nick and Jackson seemed to shimmer with an unearthly white-blue light, and their bodies were hazy beyond it. It was impossible, and yet, it was happening right here, before her very eyes.

  Seconds later, a wolf and a mountain lion stood before her. She reached over and squeezed Summer’s hand. “Is that—are they—real?”

  “Yeah,” Summer said.

  The mountain lion was large. Gorgeous, with his tawny coat and Jackson’s bright blue eyes. He padded forward and nudged his forehead against Summer’s hip. Summer laughed and ran her fingers through his fur.

  The wolf, though—he took Becca’s breath away. His gray, black, and light brown coat gleamed, and his ears rose straight up from his head in a friendly, approachable way.

  “Nick?” she asked.

  The wolf cocked his head. Brown eyes, just like Nick’s, stared back at her. Then, with his tongue lolling out, he trotted over. He came to stand next to her, but not too close, as if waiting for her to bridge the gap between them.

  Becca wasn’t sure what to do. Should she...touch him? Summer had touched the mountain lion or Jackson or whatever the hell he was. Should Becca pet this wolf or Nick or whatever the hell he was?

  “It’s okay,” Summer said. “It’s Nick, and he wants to be close to you.”

  Becca reached out and touched his ear. Silky smooth. She moved her hand to the back of his head, and he leaned closer to her. She wrapped her fingers in the ruff of fur at his neck. Coarse and thick.

  “It’s just like petting a dog,” Becca whispered.

  Summer burst out laughing. “One time last winter, I was cold so I asked Jackson to shift into his lion and curl up at my feet. He pouted for days.”

  The mountain lion at Summer’s side gave her a feline glare.

  In front of Becca, the wolf shimmered, and a second later, Nick stood before her, completely naked. Becca sneaked a glance over at Summer, to see if she was at all weirded out by the nudity, but Summer had focused on the mountain lion, who was shimmering and turning back into Jackson.

  “This was what I couldn’t tell you before,” Nick said, reaching out to touch Becca’s cheek. “Then, when I tried...”

  “I wouldn’t take your calls,” Becca finished. “I’m sorry. Summer told me everything, and this makes sense now.”

  “Can we still be together?” Nick whispered.

  Summer and Jackson, hand in hand, took a few steps away, probably to give Becca and Nick privacy.

  The thought of not being with Nick was a miserable one. She’d endured it for the past two days and it had been awful. So he could shift into a wolf—so what? This was supposed to be sexy now, right, what with all those teen movies showing well-muscled young men turning into wolves and vampires and stuff? Becca stared up into his brown eyes, which seemed to swirl with affection and desire for her.

  “I seem to remember giving Summer some advice, back in October,” Becca said. “She asked if something different would be reason to not be with someone. I told her that if that different thing didn’t stop her from loving him, then she should go for it. Well.” Becca took a deep breath. “I’m gonna go for it.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her, his lips soft and commanding on her mouth. He stepped back suddenly, and Becca looked down at his hardening cock.

  “Think you wanna go for it right now?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

  She smacked his shoulder. “How about you come over for dinner tonight so we can talk all this out. Even though I’m willing to date you, it doesn’t mean my mind isn’t completely blown right now.”

  Because honestly, she’d just seen two men transform into animals.

  “That makes sense to me,” Nick said.

  Becca said her goodbyes to Summer and Jackson, then drove home. The sunlight coming through her windshield seemed brighter, and the pine trees seemed to glow. There was nothing standing between her and Nick anymore. No dishonesty, no lies.

  She chuckled. She really had hit an animal that night. She hadn’t seen a dog—she’d seen a wolf.

  WHEN THE DOORBELL RANG at six o’clock on the dot, Becca felt a wave of sorrow pulse through her. Nick had gone back to ringing her doorbell instead of letting himself in. She should have accepted his calls and read his texts. She should have allowed him to explain.

  She rushed to the door and opened it for him. He stood holding a bag full of food. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hey.”

  “I love it when you smile big like that,” he said. “It shows off your dimples.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled bigger, on purpose, and he laughed. Pointing to the bag, she asked, “What’d you bring us?”

  “I slayed a deer and made it into barbecue for us.”

  “What?”

  “Kidding,” he said, turning the bag around to show her the outside. Emmi’s BBQ.

  Becca rolled her eyes. “Come on in.”

  While they ate in the living room, Nick explained how shapeshifting worked, and who became “shifters,” as he called them. “A little bit of magic, a little bit of genetics,” he told her.

  Like that made any sense at all.

  He explained that shifters, even if they shifted into solitary anim
als like mountain lions, still lived in groups because humans were social. Big cats lived in prides, wolves lived in packs, and bears lived in clans. Some groups were mixtures of animals, though.

  “Back up a sec,” Becca said. “So, if Jackson’s a mountain lion, and all this stuff is genetic, does that mean Hayley and Will are lions, too?”

  “Yeah,” Jackson said. “And Marius is a shifter too—he’s a grizzly.”

  He was patient while he explained everything. As the barbecue disappeared from the coffee table in front of them, they scooted closer and closer on the couch. When they were finished, though, Becca jumped up to put everything away. Nick got up to help her. They rinsed the dishes together, and Becca splashed Nick with the water. He rolled up a hand towel and snapped it at her.

  “I don’t think so,” she said, grabbing the spray nozzle from the faucet and pointing it at him.

  Laughing, he captured her in a hug. He tried to wrest the nozzle from her grip, but ended up soaking them both.

  “I missed you,” he said, finally getting the nozzle away from her.

  The entire front of his t-shirt was soaked, and it clung to his pecs and abs.

  “I missed you, too.” She was breathless, and not just from laughing so hard. Being this close to him, hell, just being in the same room with him, filled her with desire.

  He traced the sopping wet curves of her breasts with his eyes before raising his gaze to her mouth. When he kissed her, she knew that this was their moment, when nothing would ever come between them again. No weird misunderstandings, no needless arguments. She didn’t know how she knew; she just knew it. Maybe, like with shapeshifters, love had a little bit to do with magic.

  WHEN SHE CAREFULLY extracted herself from Nick’s arms to make a quick run for the bathroom, her legs were already sore from their hours of lovemaking—the kind of sore that made her smile. She crawled back into bed just as a text from Summer lit up her phone on the nightstand. Curious, Becca picked it up. Now that you’ve met the right guy...too soon to start thinking about getting married again?