“Why?”
“Because I’m not sure what your type is. If you even have one. It’s not that you’ve dated anyone. Ever.” Much to her immense delight. Since they started hanging out more than three years ago, she’d had them all to herself, just the way she liked it. “Hell, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard you’d won the challenge.”
Ezekiel bristled. “Why, didn’t you think I could fight?”
Despite his werewolf DNA, Ezekiel was still very human, especially when it came to stupid things such as his male pride. “I wasn’t surprised you won.” She placated him with unsuppressed amusement. “I mean, look at you. You’re built like a freaking prizefighter.” And that was putting it lightly. Ezekiel didn’t have a six-pack, he had an eight-pack. Hell, his muscles had muscles. “I was surprised there was someone in your life worth fighting for.”
“Then I guess you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“Apparently not.” And that hurt too. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind Daniel and Ezekiel were best friends, but Yvonne had at least thought she was a good friend, if not a best friend. The least they could have done before they broke her heart was to give her a little warning. “Look at you having secrets.”
“It’s not as if I’m the only one.”
“Excuse me? I know you’re not referring to me.” Her life was an open, boring, sleep-inducing book.
“Oh, but I am.”
“What secret do I have?” Apparently it was such a mystery even she didn’t know about it.
“The one about you and Deputy Dawg dating.”
“Dating?” Yvonne rolled her eyes. Not even. She wouldn’t date him if his semen shot out fourteen-carat gold. “I am not seeing Jasper.”
“That’s not what I heard,” Ezekiel said.
“Then you heard wrong. We had coffee. Once.” She grimaced at the reminder of her mistake. One she wouldn’t make again. The African-American man was more in love with himself than any woman could ever be with him. Yes, he was handsome, very, but he was also an ass. And ass trumped handsome any day of the week. “Just once.” In fact, if it wasn’t for her matchmaking grandmother, she wouldn’t have even agreed to have a drink with him. “And trust me, that was enough.”
Her revulsion appeared to amuse them both, especially Ezekiel, who wouldn’t let the matter rest. “And isn’t that a date?”
“No. I have coffee with the women in my book club. That doesn’t mean we’re having a big old daisy-chain gangbang every third Wednesday of the month.”
“Damn.” Daniel snapped his fingers in mock disappointment. “Another fantasy bites the dust.”
“Pervert.”
“Or maybe,” Ezekiel said, not letting up, “you don’t want to admit to me you’re seeing him.”
Now he was being ridiculous. “Why would I lie about it if I were?”
“Because you’re ashamed of your horrible taste in men,” Ezekiel suggested.
That was funny coming from one of the men she was in love with. “I happen to have very good taste in men.”
“Really.” The interest in Daniel’s big blue eyes unnerved her. “Give us an example of someone you fancy, and we’ll let you know whether or not he passes muster.”
“No.” There was no way she was going say anything to the two of them. It would be way too easy for them to recognize themselves as the men she described.
“Why not?” Ezekiel asked.
“Maybe I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Maybe she only likes black men,” Daniel offered as way of explanation.
“You know that’s not true. I like all men.” Yvonne stole a quick look at Ezekiel, who was staring at her intensely with his golden eyes. They were her favorite feature of his, besides his body, that was, and the only attribute on him that stayed the same no matter what form he was in. “Even the ones who turn furry every now and then.”
“Really?” Ezekiel leaned forward. “You’d date a werewolf?”
Not any werewolf. Just the one sitting across from her now, but she couldn’t say that to him at this moment. Not with him only minutes away from picking a mate. “Sure, why not?” Yvonne tried to be cavalier about the whole thing in hopes of hiding her true emotions. “Why, do you know one who might be interested in me?”
“Maybe. You willing to wait around another five years if I do?” His penetrating gaze bore right through her.
Yvonne pushed down the despair she was feeling at the fact it wouldn’t be him she’d be waiting for, and answered honestly. “For the right person, I’d wait forever.”
“Let’s hope that’s not necessary,” Daniel teased, cutting some of the tension in the room.
Thankful for the reprieve, Yvonne forced out a laugh. “I hear you, because unlike you two, I don’t get better looking the older I get.”
“I would disagree with that.” Daniel’s tone suddenly turned serious.
“As would I.”
“Aww…” She only wished their compliments weren’t merely lip service. “What am I going to do without you two sweet talkers around all the time?”
“Hey,” Daniel protested. “He’s the one getting mated, not me. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Thank God. I can’t go losing both my guys at once, can I?”
“Maybe you won’t have to lose either one of us.”
Yvonne shook her head regretfully. “If you think that, Ezekiel, you have a lot to learn about women.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I think it’s a pretty safe bet no matter what woman you pick, she won’t be thrilled with you hanging at my crib to the wee hours of the night watching really bad Asian game shows. Women are possessive creatures.”
“You’re not possessive.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do,” she said, tossing his words back in his face.
A small smile flashed across his full lips. “Touché.”
“I should have known I’d find you here.”
Yvonne looked over the two men’s shoulders and smiled at the robust, distinguished-looking gentleman standing in the doorway. “Lehi.” She walked around the counter and gave Ezekiel’s father a hug. “I didn’t know you were here already.”
“Just came in a few minutes ago.” The older man returned her hug, careful as always of his strength. “Smells good in here. Did you bring something in from the bakery?”
“Of course.”
“And they’re delicious,” Daniel said as he rose from the stool.
“Did you two eat them all? Again.”
“Not all,” Ezekiel denied, joining his father at the door. “She covered them up before we could.”
“That’s because she knows you so well.” Lehi’s expression turned serious. “It’s time to begin, Ezekiel. We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.”
That made one of them. Smiling falsely, she looked at Ezekiel. “You better get out there before the horde huffs and puffs and blows this place down.”
“I thought that was our job,” Lehi teased.
Yvonne rolled her eyes. Stereotypes were so 2008. “Please, there’s nothing big or bad about you.”
“Tell that to Deputy Dawg,” Ezekiel said.
“Did you ever think…” she turned her attention back to Ezekiel, “…Jasper might like you more if you didn’t call him names?”
“Don’t care.” He grinned.
“Of course you don’t.” Yvonne shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“We can discuss it after the ceremony.”
“There won’t be a ceremony if you don’t get out there,” Lehi reminded him.
“True. Come on, Yvonne, let’s go.”
“I’ll be there in a second,” she hedged.
Ezekiel’s easygoing grin slipped away. “No. Let’s go now.”
“I have to fini—”
“It can wait, my dear,” Lehi said jovially as he placed his arm around h
er shoulder. She was barely able to grab her red shawl before he pulled her out of the room. “You don’t want to miss this.”
Says you. “But—”
“No buts. This is a very important day for our families, yes?”
Maybe his. No, that wasn’t fair. The Crawfords had always made her feel as if she was one of them, despite her inability to turn furry. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
While Ezekiel walked with his father to the front of the main room to begin the ceremony, Daniel guided her to the back of the room, where the two of them leaned against the wall to watch. Chilly as usual, Yvonne wrapped the shawl around her shoulders to ward off the cool temperature of the room.
“You look nervous.”
It was nothing compared to how she felt. “As I said earlier, I don’t want to lose either one of you.”
“You won’t.”
“You can’t make a promise like that.” No matter how much she might want him to.
“I know the woman he’s going to choose. Trust me when I say she won’t stand in the way of our…friendship.”
He knew her. Yvonne stole a quick glace at Daniel. “Do you…?” She paused and licked her lips before continuing once more. “Do you think she’ll make a good match for him?”
“Yes.” His voice took on a husky quality. “I approve his choice wholeheartedly. In fact, if he hadn’t picked her for a mate, I would have pursued her myself.”
“Really?” That was news to her. Daniel never seemed all that interested in anyone either. “So she’s good people?”
“The best. She’s kind and giving to a fault.”
“Sounds like a paragon of virtue.” And not like anyone she knew who lived in town.
“She’s no saint.” He chuckled. “But she’s as close to perfection as one can get on earth.”
It was beginning to sound as if Ezekiel wasn’t the only one taken with this woman. “As long as she’s deserving of him. That’s all that matters to me.”
“She is.”
“Good.”
“And now…” Lehi’s voice boomed throughout the room, “…my son will pick his mate.”
Yvonne took a deep breath and prayed for the strength to make it through this. Without thinking, she threaded her fingers through Daniel’s and held on tight as Ezekiel began walking down the center aisle toward his destined mate. Her grandmother rushed to her side.
“Yvonne. What are you doing in here?”
Yvonne looked down into the desperate face of her grandmother. “I’m watchi—”
“No. No.” The older woman grabbed hold of her arm and began to tug on her with a strength that surprised Yvonne. “You can’t be in here. You have to leave.”
Frowning, she tried to pull her arm free. “Granny. Stop it.”
“You have to go. Now.”
Daniel held on tight to her. “Let her go, Mrs. Rousel.”
“No. She has to leave. Right now. Right now.”
“The only place she’s going is home with me.”
Shocked, Yvonne turned and stared at Ezekiel, who was standing in front of her. “I choose you, Yvonne.”
This was ridiculous. Crossing his arms over his chest, Daniel sat back in his chair and watched the shit unfold. When Ezekiel told him he was going to fight for the right to mate with Yvonne, Daniel had thought it wouldn’t go well. He hadn’t expected it was going to be this bad though.
After Ezekiel’s announcement, Sheriff Phelps made quick work of clearing out the hall, leaving the Crawfords, the Rousels, the sheriff and Daniel to witness the meltdown occurring now. Not that the rest of the town had gone back to their homes. The parking lot of the town hall was as packed as it was before the claiming, only this time with people standing by in hopes Yvonne would turn down Ezekiel and he’d pick again.
Despite the stunned expression on Yvonne’s pretty brown face, Daniel didn’t have a doubt in his mind she was going to say yes. She loved Ezekiel just as Daniel knew she loved him. She merely needed to come to grips with everything that love encompassed. Hopefully she’d do it soon though, before their little group imploded.
Which wouldn’t be long from the looks of things. The way Mrs. Rousel was carrying on in the corner, one might think she was about to plan Yvonne’s funeral, not her wedding. And her father, the mayor, looked anything but the proud father of the bride. He was as upset as his mother, but with less tears.
Yvonne, on the other hand, was sitting next to her grandmother, trying her best to comfort the older woman as she stole not-so-subtle glances at Ezekiel, who looked as if he didn’t have a worry in the world. Then again, he was backed up by two of the largest men in creation, with several more strolling about outside.
It was easy to be confident when you had might and right in your corner.
“If no one else is going to step forward and say something, I will.” All eyes turned to Jasper, who was standing as he usually did when he felt threatened, with his hand on the butt of his gun. “This must come to an end.”
“This what?” Lehi asked, in a calm and cool manner. Ezekiel’s father wasn’t the Alpha of their pack just because he was a badass motherfucker. He was also their leader because he was the epitome of grace under pressure. He never became flustered and didn’t allow himself to be influenced by the storm around him.
“This debt we pay with the sacrifice of our women. We don’t need your protection anymore. This town can survive without you.”
“Oh shit,” Daniel whispered, sitting up. Things were about to get good.
“Really?” Instead of looking insulted, Lehi appeared amused.
“It’s sick the way you people hold a centuries-old deal over our heads.”
“You people?” Azarel growled.
“Silence,” Lehi warned. “Let the man speak.”
“Maybe back in the day we needed your protection, but we don’t anymore. The only wolves at our door are you.”
“You forget, Sheriff Phelps, protection comes in many incarnations. For instance, is it not our money that keeps this town afloat in these nefarious times? Is it not us who brought in contracts for the mills and helped put this small town on the map?” Lehi shook his head in disappointment. “If you really think you don’t need our protection anymore, Sheriff, I suggest you have a talk with the mayor. And after that, the president of the banks, then the good people of this town and ask them if they want us to withdraw our funds and close down our businesses that provide them jobs.”
“Let’s not act too hasty,” Tyrone said, coming out of his self-imposed funk. “No one is saying that, Lehi.”
“Really?” Lehi turned his gaze to Yvonne’s father. “Because that’s exactly what it sounds like to me. This agreement was made between our pack and your town centuries ago, Tyrone. Are you really so willing to end it now that it’s your daughter being called to the altar?”
“No. Not at all,” Tyrone blustered.
“Maybe he should be,” Jasper interjected, not at all dissuaded by Lehi’s speech.
“And maybe the person with the least at stake here should mind his tongue before it’s handed to him on a silver platter.” Daniel was beginning to wonder when Ezekiel would finally speak up.
“Are you threatening me, boy?”
“Boy?” Ezekiel raised a brow. “Did you really just go all ‘back of the bus’ on me? From the way you’re acting, Sheriff, one might think you have more at stake here than is public knowledge.” Ezekiel looked over at Yvonne. “Is that the case?”
“Yes,” Jasper replied. “Yvonne is already spoken for.”
Without bothering to avert his gaze, Ezekiel pressed on. “Is that right? Does this man speak for you?”
Daniel stared intently at Yvonne, willing her to answer in the negative. He had as much riding on this as Ezekiel, and he’d be damned if he let her slip away from him when he was so close to claiming her.
“Tell him, Yvonne,” Jasper ordered. “Tell him you don’t want to be with his kind.”
“Yes,” Eze
kiel said in a cool voice. “Tell me.”
“You’re trying to intimidate her,” Jasper accused.
Daniel shook his head and sighed. He wasn’t fooled at all by his friend’s calm demeanor. Ezekiel was seconds away from pouncing on the sheriff, and the man was too stupid to know it.
“Yvonne.” Lehi said her name in a paternal manner. “Never fear, child. Answer with honesty. Our pack has never forced a woman to intermarry with us. Ever. And we wouldn’t start with you. If this man has prior claim to you, say so, and Ezekiel will ask someone else.”
Daniel seriously doubted that. Ezekiel was too in love with Yvonne to ever consider becoming involved with someone else.
“Great.” Jasper threw his hands into the air in disgust. “Now you want Yvonne to feel as if she’s trading her life for another. This town doesn’t want you or need you, Lehi.”
The patient tone in Lehi’s voice was quickly replaced with ice-cold disdain. “If you represent the entire town, Sheriff, then we could easily relocate and find people who were more accepting of our sickness, as you call it. Our goal is not to make whores of your women, but wives.”
“Lehi.” Yvonne rose from her seat and stepped away from her clinging grandmother. Or at least she tried to. The other woman was holding fast and true, one hand on her granddaughter’s wrist, the other on Yvonne’s red shawl. With a sigh, Yvonne gave up and continued on. “Jasper doesn’t speak for the town or for me.”
“Yvonne,” Jasper cautioned. “Think before you continue.”
“I am, and I don’t need you or anyone else talking for me. I’m my own woman and I’ll thank you to remember that in the future.”
“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself. Let him pick someone else.”
“You don’t care if someone else sacrifices their lives as long as it’s not her?” Daniel couldn’t help but to ask. The hypocrisy of the other man sickened him. “Nice, Sheriff. Very, very nice.”
“Yvonne is special,” her father said, finally finding his voice again. Of course it was at the wrong time and for the wrong reason.
“Yes, she is.” Even Daniel couldn’t disagree with that.
The Better to Eat You With: Urban Fairytales, Book 2 Page 2
