by Jessic Ryan
He’s like a lump of clay, she thought. One I can mold into a decent boyfriend.
She liked that idea; Randy was a ready formed asshole. She only stayed with him because he lived in the city and was all she could find. At one time she thought she might love him, but his general attitude was too much to handle. Yet she remained with him, settling for whatever was in front of her.
Of course if I stay with Travis I’ll be stuck here in Wounded Bow forever, she thought. He came to my rescue though, he cares about me.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind; it was way too early to be thinking about the future. Besides Travis was still on his quest for revenge, who knew where that would lead?
Travis was a huge departure from Randy, who instigated fights and never had her back. Maybe his arrogance was worth it for the protection and care he would heap upon her. Still, she couldn’t have him looking down on her or her family because they happened to be born human. They had a lot to talk about, she knew that much.
Travis nearly filled one side of the booth, sitting across from Paige and Lily. Lily’s eyes were wide with fear after what she’d just witnessed in the parking lot.
“Are you ok?” Paige asked her, as they sat down.
Lily looked down, unable to speak.
“It’s okay, baby girl,” Paige said, stroking her niece’s long hair. “Randy isn’t going to bother us anymore.”
“He threw you down and was going to stomp on you,” she said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “Daddy said it’s never ok for a man to hit a woman!”
“It’s not,” Paige said. “Thank God my friend Travis was here.”
Lily looked up, her eyes studying Travis up and down. “I thought he left.”
“He forgot something and came back, just in time,” Paige said.
Travis smiled down at Lily, reaching one big hand across the table. Lily’s hand fit in the palm of his hand like a doll’s hand would. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“You better not,” Lily said, standing up and suddenly looking angry. “Take care of my aunt or I’ll be coming for you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Travis said, winking at Paige.
Lily turned and stomped away, heading for the backdoor.
“That one is related to you?” Travis asked.
“She’s my niece,” Paige said. “Billy’s daughter.”
“She is very pretty,” Travis said. “Just like her aunt.”
Paige felt her face grow hot with embarrassment. When she thought Travis was just a drifter that would be on his way shortly she had no problems around him, she even let him lay his head in her lap. But now that he had declared he was interested in her the way she acted completely changed. She felt like a giggling school girl all of a sudden with the quarterback of the football team interested in her. She had never been the girl the quarterback would want so this was a dream come true, literally since she had dreamed of sleeping with Travis already.
“Duncan!” Paige yelled. “Can we have some more burgers? Better bring three for my friend!”
“Coming right up!” Duncan yelled.
“He doesn’t seem to have minded the violence at all,” Travis said, craning his neck to watch Duncan work behind the counter.
“He’s probably so stoned he can’t be bothered,” Paige said.
“Stoned?” Travis asked.
“Yeah. You know, high on drugs?”
“Like the peyote the Indians smoke? Yes I’m very aware of that. Jacob would come into town every now and then to partake.”
“Something like that,” Paige said. It was obvious the tribe had a pretty strong relationship with Jacob. She wondered if they’d be willing to help Travis out.
“Have you ever thought about seeking out help from any of the Native Americans still in town?” she asked.
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Travis said. “But, the only one that we can really trust was Strong Bull and I believe he passed recently.”
“He did,” Paige said, looking at the table. Strong Bull had been a local legend, one of the oldest living Native Americans. The whole town knew when his time came. “Were you close to him?”
“Jacob was,” Travis said, scarfing down a burger as soon as Duncan set it in front of him. “He’s the reason we even had a pack.”
“How so?” Paige asked.
“I told you about the vampire right?” he asked. Paige nodded in agreement. “After Jacob banished him, Strong Bull was the one who created the staff and put the curse on the land. Without that land Jacob would probably still be a lone wolf, cruising the land on his motorcycle.”
“He was a biker?” she asked.
“Nomadic wolves usually are,” Travis said, still stuffing his face. Paige slid her burger across the table and he greedily gobbled it up. “They either ride alone or they form a nomadic pack.”
“A motorcycle gang?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” he said. “I think my dad was in one of those gangs.”
“Are you going to reform the pack or take Jacob’s motorcycle and move on yourself?” she asked.
“Why would I become nomadic?” he asked, one eyebrow rising. “I have you now.”
She smiled and felt the heat of embarrassment hit her face again. “That’s sweet, but we just met.”
“We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, I’d imagine,” he said, leaning forward over the table. “You’re still coming with me tonight right?”
“Of course,” she said, having almost forgotten about his intention to confront the supposed vampire Dario tonight. “If you want me to.”
“Well I don’t know where I’m going,” he said. “Plus I want to get to know you. Consider this the official beginning of my courtship.”
Paige laughed, no man had ever spoken to her like this. “Human men don’t declare that they are courting a girl. They just see what’s up, let things happen.”
“Oh,” he said, looking down at the table. “Perhaps I should watch more television, which seems to be how humans learn things.”
“Where would you get that idea?” she asked.
“Earlier when I was watching your TV there seemed to be a lot of shows that displayed the lives of others. I thought that was how you learned to act.”
Paige covered her face and tried not to laugh again. “Those are reality shows. They’re just silly shows where we watch the lives of other people.”
“Why would you want to watch someone else’s life when you have your own?” Travis’ face was a mask of confusion.
“Because they have better lives than us. They have money and power.”
“Life is a gift,” Travis said, his face now turning serious. “You should enjoy it rather than wanting for another’s life. You never know when it will be extinguished.”
He would definitely know, Paige thought.
She smiled at Travis, trying to find a way to change the subject. “So what will your courtship entail?”
Smooth Paige, she thought. Real smooth. Now you have him back on this subject.
Travis straightened up, putting one hand under his chin to think seriously. “Well I would get to know you, first of all. Learn about you and your past.”
“Well that sounds pretty normal,” Paige said.
“I would display my strength to you and show off my masculine traits so you know that our children would come from good stock,” he said, puffing out his chest.
“You’ve more than done that already,” she said. If they ever had children they definitely wouldn’t be wimps.
“And I would bring you a fresh kill every night so that you would know I’m a good provider.” His face was dead serious and he was staring at her intently.
Paige felt the color drain from her face. “I don’t need dead animals.”
“It is the wolf way though. Why would you want to mate with me if you did not know I could provide food for you during a harsh winter?”
“Because I can b
uy my own food,” she said weakly.
“Human food will be a thing of the past! As wolf I hunt and kill my food. You will have to learn the sweet taste of raw animal flesh.”
Paige looked up at him, feeling like she was going to be sick. “What the hell?”
Travis continued to eye her intensely. After several heated seconds a smile began to form at the corners of his mouth. Several seconds after that Travis was laughing so hard he was pounding the table.
“You were messing with me?” she asked, trying to contain her own laughter. “That’s not funny! I thought you were going to start leaving dead birds on my pillow!”
“You should have seen the look on your face,” he said, tears starting to stream down his face. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a long, long time.”
“Glad to see you actually have a sense of humor,” she said.
“Of course I do. Laughter is what keeps me human.”
“Is that a joke?” she asked.
“That’s the truth,” he said, smiling.
Chapter 5
The rest of the day passed slowly for Travis. He was restless, ready to strike when he met the vampire. Surely this was the vampire he was looking for, how many vampires would really be in Wounded Bow?
Paige had originally planned to spend the day out of town, but with Travis coming back she stayed. Unfortunately it was a lazy Sunday and they spent the day huddled together on the couch watching TV.
She laid across his lap, the back of her head resting on his chest while his large arms wrapped around her body. He could feel her large breasts smashing down underneath his arms. Each time she took a deep breath they expanded and smashed further into his arms, exciting him.
I never knew a woman with curves could be this exciting, he thought. He was sure she would not reject his advances now. He was sure if he tried to mount her she would willingly accept him and not turn to bite him away like so many pack females do before the courtship has ended. I have a duty. My mind must be sharp for the coming battle. After I have vanquished my enemy I will enjoy the spoil of victory.
As he finished that thought he looked down at her shirt, which did nothing to hide the large, smooth, milky white breasts behind it. He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to concentrate on something else.
“So are you close with your niece?” Travis asked, trying to focus on something else.
“I actually have two,” she said looking up at him. “The younger one was at a friend’s house playing today. I was close with them, but the older they get the less time they have for me or their dad.”
“Pups can be challenging,” he said, smirking. “I know I was a challenge for my mother and then for Jacob.”
“So Jacob wasn’t your real father?” she asked.
“He was not,” he said, remembering his surrogate father. Jacob had been a friend, mentor and father figure, but they were not blood related.
“Did he have his own children?”
“Well yes. He had plenty of his own pups. He was the alpha male after all.”
“How did that work?”
“How did what work?”
Paige sat up and turned to look Travis in the eyes. He became lost in how beautiful and blue her eyes were. “How did his children accept you being tagged the next alpha when you weren’t even blood related to the alpha? Don’t most animals kill the young of other males so they can propagate their own bloodline?”
This was an interesting question to Travis, one he wasn’t sure he had the answer for. Why did Jacob raise him to be the alpha over his own flesh and blood?
“I just always assumed it was because I was the strongest and he knew it,” he said. “He knew I would rule his pack or a rival pack one day, so he didn’t want me to be an enemy.”
“Are there rival packs around here?” she asked. There was a bit of fear in her voice, like she was scared of the thought of more werewolves.
“Not in this area,” Travis said. “There’s a pack that finds home in Lawton, but they’re city wolves.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked.
“Remember how I told you that bikers are usually nomadic wolf packs?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“Well a lot of biker gangs and street gangs are city wolves. Haven’t you ever wondered why they pack up like that?”
“Makes sense,” she said, nodding her head like it was all becoming clear. She looked him in the eyes again, starting to say something but stopping herself.
“Go ahead,” he said, rubbing her shoulder. “Ask me anything.”
“Did Jacob’s children resent you?”
“I got along with most of them,” he said. “There were a few that gave me a hard time, especially Liam. He was pretty jealous that I was pegged to be the next alpha; he thought he should be too. In my eyes he was just an omega male playing at being an alpha.”
“So it was undeniable that you would be the next alpha?” she asked.
“I would have had to fight other beta males if they challenge for that right,” he said. “I was the strongest aside from Jacob, though, and everyone knew it. He was grooming me to be alpha. Someone may have challenged me, but they would have been defeated quickly and swiftly.”
“Would they have been kicked out of your pack?”
“If they lost to me? Probably not, but they would have fallen in rank and would not have been looked upon as highly. Many that challenge for alpha strike out on their own and become lone wolves to avoid the humiliation of facing down the loss.”
“Wolf society is so complicated and brutal,” she said, shaking her head.
“It’s the natural order of things,” he said. “We are different than a normal wolf obviously. Our human side provides us different rules and customs, but in the end we are still animals.”
“No you’re not,” she said, smiling at him. “I think you’re a man with a wild side.”
Travis smiled down at her. He knew she was being playful and he was enjoying it.
“Maybe one day you’ll see my wild side,” he said, reaching out and slightly tugging on her hair.
“Maybe I will,” she said, biting her bottom lip and looking back up at him.
The sexual tension was enough to make Travis pass out. He had never had this much anticipation and this much chemistry with someone before. They had only known one another for a day, but he felt a strong connection to this female. He could feel his pants getting tighter, his manhood pressing against the tight denim as she continued to stare at him. It wouldn’t be long before he wouldn’t be able to hold back his animal instincts, he would take her with or without her consent.
“I look forward to it,” he said, snarling at her a little.
“I love it when you do that,” she said. Without warning she leaned over and pressed her lips onto his, kissing him passionately. Her soft lips felt amazing against his and he hungered for more. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in tight to continue the kiss.
He could feel his erection pressing hard against his jeans, wanting to explode out of his pants and claim her. His wolf was growling inside, wanting to get out and mate with this one. Despite the unbearable throbbing in his cock he was able to pull away from her and stop the kiss.
“That was amazing,” she said, opening her eyes and looking up at him.
“It definitely was,” Travis said, smiling. He glanced out the window, seeing the sun setting behind the trees. “We must be on our way soon, the hour is growing late.”
Paige’s eyes grew wide and she swallowed hard-it was obvious she was fearful of what was to come. “Are you going to live?”
“Of course I am,” he said, smirking at her. “I am the alpha wolf; I can’t be killed that easily.”
“This just feels like a bad idea,” she said, pulling away from him and wrapping her arms around her knees. It was obvious she was becoming very scared, afraid for Travis’ life. He enjoyed the fact that she cared about him this much already, but he wanted to put
her mind at ease.
“It will be ok,” he said, rubbing one large hand across her back. “We are just going to talk to him.”
“What if he’s the one? What if all those wererats are in his home and they attack?” She was starting to shake at the thought.
Travis actually hadn’t considered that, his brain had been so muddled with revenge and lust that he hadn’t considered the logistics of what he was about to do. It didn’t matter, he had no pack and no allies except a human female, and he had to see this through even if it meant his life.
“It will be ok,” he repeated, breaking eye contact with Paige. “We should be going.”
Paige stood up, grabbing her car keys off the table in front of her. “Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as I’ll ever be,” he said, standing up and flexing every muscle in his body. There was no way he could shift into lunar form; if the vampire turned violent he would end Travis’ life easily.
Chapter 6
Paige watched her new giant love interest try to squeeze into the front seat of her Mustang. It was funny watching a man that was more than six and a half feet tall, and maybe just as wide, try to lower himself into her car.
“They didn’t design these cars with alpha wolves in mind,” she said, smiling at him. She had to do something to lighten the situation; she was scared to death Travis would die shortly.
She hadn’t expected herself to become so attached to him so quickly, but after he saved her from Randy she was stuck on him. He was strong, virile and protective. He was also rough around the edges, a perfect fixer-upper. Basically he was every woman’s dream. In just one day she’d begun to picture a life with him, a life that revolved around being his queen and raising his children. She hoped it wasn’t just a silly high school crush where she was writing the names of their kids on her notebook, but Travis seemed pretty stuck on her too. The kiss they had shared was passionate with sparks flying like no kiss she’d ever experienced. It had to be the most perfect kiss she’d ever had, and it took place on her dirty couch. Just another day in the life of Paige Strong.
“I can’t believe you use these to get around,” he said, pushing the seat back as far as it would go.
