by Lola Glass
Jumping to my feet at the bottom of the hill, I wore a grin so massive my cheeks hurt. When I noticed the wave of people barreling down the hill right behind me, I barely managed to lunge out of the way in time to avoid getting smashed. Loud laughter, cheering, and hollering filled the air.
My heart felt light and airy.
This was what a pack was supposed to feel like.
Scratch that—this was what life was supposed to feel like.
“Epic, huh?” Zack slicked his soapy hair out of his eyes, still grinning.
“Definitely.”
We headed back up the hill together once, and then again. An hour passed by rapidly, and then a second. People rotated in and out, coming and going as they got tired or froze or heard about the fun, and I just kept going up and down with Zack and the others who’d planned it.
We came down the slide in a particularly soapy and tangled mess of men and women, getting up while laughing so hard my stomach ached.
“Let’s go down standing.” Someone hollered.
The other six of us—two girls and three guys plus me—were quick to agree, and we hiked up the hill. My legs burned and my toes tingled and I knew I’d be sore from the repeated hill-climbing, but it was worth it.
We slid down the slide with a loud battle cry, legs planted in the steadiest positions we could manage. Two of our group fell on their faces immediately, and the rest of us yelled and laughed as we slipped and slid around. One of the girls took out one of the guys, leaving just me, Zack, and another girl on our feet.
We’d nearly made it to the bottom when a black truck parked behind the one we’d arrived in and Roman stepped out of the vehicle. Despite the wet, half-naked men on every side, his scent and presence distracted me.
One of my legs whipped to the side, knocking me off my feet. I whammed into Zack sideways and he grabbed me to keep us both upright. One of his hands landed on my ass as we fell.
Yikes.
We crashed to the grass at the end of the slide together and a loud snarl tore the fun atmosphere. Zack rolled out from under me in an instant, leaving me on my back on the soapy grass. I sat up and my mouth parted as a giant black wolf lunged for a smaller blond one.
Zack rolled to the side, snapping at Roman as he landed on four paws. Roman snarled back. He lunged again, teeth closing over the air where Zack’s neck had been less than a second earlier.
I threw myself in between the men before one of them lost their head. Most likely, Zack.
“Calm down, Roman.” I commanded.
The black wolf stilled, though Zack was still tense and waiting for the Alpha’s next attack.
I glowered at the Alpha. “Zack caught me when I fell, that’s it. Shift back.”
Much to my surprise, he obeyed. An expanse of those distracting muscles filled my view, and I forced myself to focus on his face rather than his junk. With the pride of a naked man who knew just how nice his body was, Roman strode to the back of his trunk and pulled a pair of basketball shorts from his back seat, never moving his eyes from me.
“How did you do that?” Zack whispered, naked as the day he was born. His shredded swim shorts littered the soapy grass.
I shrugged.
Roman came back to me, throwing an extra pair of shorts at Zack’s face a little harder than necessary.
“What did I say about walking around mostly-naked?” He growled, shoving a hand over his head.
“What did I say about telling me what I could wear?” I put my hands on my hips, ready to go to war over this.
“We’ve been keeping guys who can’t control themselves away from her.” Zack joined the conversation, probably sensing it wasn’t heading anywhere beneficial.
I hadn’t realized they were doing that but hid my surprise.
Roman’s gaze snapped to the guy.
Grabbing his arm before another fight could break out, I dragged the Alpha back to his truck and flung the drivers-side door open, climbing inside and pushing the center console up so I could make room for both of us.
He didn’t make a move to get in.
“We need to talk before you kill someone. Get in the damn truck.” I barked.
With a noise of frustration, he slid into the seat. Shutting the door, his eyes meeting mine head-on.
“If I’d have known starting a fight was the way to get you to talk to me I would’ve done it weeks ago.” He said.
Damn the butterflies in my belly. Damn them all.
“I don’t know what there is to talk about. Your scent changed before I got here.” I said, turning my back to the truck’s door and lifting my bare legs up on the seat so I could watch for lies as we talked.
Also, Roman radiated warmth and I was freezing.
A man’s scent changed when he was pursuing a woman. Something about the hunt did that to them. The pheromones worked to lure women in, making it easier for a male to convince the woman he wanted to mate with him. Unfortunately, they were getting to me.
He started the truck, turning the music up and blasting the heater. It was still warm from his drive there, so the gloriously hot air made my icy toes tingle. I could’ve done without the music but didn’t say so.
“My scent changed when you got here. The moment I caught your scent.”
Blue eyes burned into me.
Of all the things he could’ve said about why he wanted me, he went with the scent thing?
“I don’t want a mate who wants me because I smell like sex, so you can just give the hell up on chasing me. Your scent will go back to normal, and I won’t have to break up another fight when you try to kill someone who accidentally gropes me.”
“Not that part of your scent.” He grabbed a soapy, damp strand of my hair and lifted it to his nose, shutting his eyes and inhaling. “You smell like snow in the forest and cinnamon trees.” His eyes opened, a deep blue that warmed me from within. “You smell like the home I’ve spent my entire life looking for. That’s why my scent changed when I caught yours. Seeing you and being with you only cemented that you’re it for me.”
“You don’t even know me.” I tugged my hair from his grip and he let it go without argument.
“I’m not propositioning you or trying to rush anything, Hen. Just telling you the truth.”
“Sometimes it’s better to lie.” I huffed, leaning my head against the window behind me. Roman chuckled.
“A lie doesn’t change a thing.”
“Maybe not for you.” I noticed someone just outside Roman’s truck’s door and grimaced.
“People are staring at us. We either need to get out or drive away.” My eyes drifted to the slip ‘n slide, which only had a couple people around it now. “Correction: You either need to get out or drive away. I’m going back to the slide.”
With no way to know if I’d ever get to do it again, you’d better believe I was going to keep going until I either lost a toe or got shut down.
“Not with Zack.” Roman’s voice had an edge to it.
“He set up the thing. If you don’t like me near him, come along and keep him away from me.”
“I wasn’t invited.”
Since when did an Alpha care about that?
This guy had so many more boundaries than any leader I’d ever met.
“Invite yourself.”
Leaning away from the door, I grabbed the handle and jumped down, striding around the truck. Roman slid out and caught up to me, walking at my side. The street was packed full of people when it had been empty before, so I was fairly certain they’d all been trying to listen in on our conversation.
Roman’s love for rock music worked in favor of our privacy. No way could they have heard us over the music with the doors shut.
Had he done that on purpose?
“Back for more?” Zack grinned at me. I noticed him avoiding eye contact with Roman.
Why hadn’t they invited him? Sure, he was the Alpha, but he didn’t act like it. At least not like the way my other Alphas had.
&
nbsp; “Hell yes. I’ll be cold and dead when you pry me away from this hill.” I declared. Adrenaline surged as we reached the top of the hill. In the excitement of the moment, I stopped overthinking and snagged Roman’s hand. “Come on, it’s better when you get a running start.” I tugged him toward the spot I’d deemed far enough without being overkill. Roman let me lead him, and I ignored all the eyes on us.
“How do we do this?” He lowered his voice. I met his gaze with a mischievous grin.
“Run and dive. Try not to grab my ass on the way down or someone might attack you.”
A self-deprecating laugh slipped from him and warmed me.
“Is that a challenge?”
Was he teasing me?
He was totally teasing me.
Oh hell.
“You wish.”
I sprinted for the tarp. Roman caught up to me, and we dove for the slide together. Our sides bumped as we flew down, and as always it was over far too soon. I jumped to my feet wearing a grin the size of Texas and found Roman with the same expression.
“Want to go again?” I demanded.
“Damn straight.”
Right answer.
He grabbed me around the waist and tossed me over his shoulder, laughing when I yelled and smacked him on the back. Luckily he couldn’t see the grin I was battling. “Don’t you want a ride up the hill?” He teased me.
“You just want to touch me.” I complained.
“So?” he squeezed the back of my thigh and I yelled,
“Bastard!”
Roman set me down on my feet in the place we’d run from the last time. His mouth dropped near my ear as I shook out my icy fingers and jumped around a bit to get the blood flowing back to my toes.
“Run.” His husky whisper was sexy as hell.
“I stand corrected. Horny bastard.” I shot him a glare that only made his grin wider.
“You want me to chase you as much as I want to do it.”
I flipped him off.
And then I ran.
EIGHT
When I realized I’d have to lose my toes to keep going, I finally called it quits. Roman drove us back to his place and showed me to a spare room. A quick sniff of the air told me his was across the hall.
I showered and got dressed but left my hair up in a soapy bun on top of my head because I’d be running with the rest of the pack that night. Arla sat alone in the kitchen in front of a computer when I finished.
“I heard Zack and Roman got in a fight over which one loves you more today.” She said as she tossed me a sub sandwich from one of my favorite shops. I caught it and crossed the room to sit beside her at the kitchen island.
“More like Roman tried to rip Zack’s head off when he accidentally grabbed my ass.” I unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. Arla lifted an eyebrow at me and waited for me to explain.
I had nothing to say, so I didn’t.
“Who stopped him?” she finally asked
“I did.”
“Ah.” She looked like she was trying to decide whether or not to tell me something. I wasn’t in a hurry though.
Four bites later, she finally asked,
“What explanation did he give for that?”
It was none of her business, so I lied.
“He didn’t.”
Lilac and Kyler chose that moment to interrupt the conversation, entering the house with a lively argument.
“If they need to throw a couple of punches to work it out, let them throw a couple punches.” Lilac tossed her hands up in the air. “So what if they leave with a black eye or missing tooth? Maybe it will remind them not to be so stupid next time!”
“It’s our job to keep the peace.”
“Arla.” Lilac yanked the Alpha female into the argument, traipsing into the kitchen. “Don’t you think sometimes we just have to let people fight it out?” she shot Kyler a poisonous look.
Arla studied Lilac for a minute and then looked over at me.
“What do you think, Henley?”
I continued chewing. It wasn’t a difficult question; I’d seen a thousand fights as I’d been dragged from pack to pack.
“When two people fight everyone else picks a side. Not good for morale.” My mouth was half-full when I spoke but no one seemed to care.
“Whose side did you pick during the fight today?” Arla’s eyes glittered with mischief.
I stopped chewing, left cheek still full. Did I stop the fight to protect Zack from getting his head ripped off, or to stop Roman’s overreaction?
Great question.
“What fight were you in today?” Lilac frowned at me. I swallowed and then answered both questions with two words.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it?” Arla countered.
“Seriously, what fight are we talking about? I thought you were sticking with Roman all day today.” She sniffed the air. “And why do you smell like dish soap?”
“I was doing a big slip n’ slide all day with some guys in the pack.” I took a huge bite of my sandwich to avoid the other question. Lilac would definitely be hurt if she knew why Roman had attacked Zack. I didn’t know her that well, but she’d always been nice to me and I didn’t want to piss her off over a possible future relationship.
“Roman attacked Zack for grabbing Henley’s ass at the slip n’ slide.” Arla wasn’t on board with keeping the secret, apparently. I tensed, expecting Lilac to go for my throat or something considering how possessive she was over the Alpha.
I worried for nothing. Lilac’s face softened, her lips tilting upward.
“Aww. He’s so sweet, always making sure women are treated with respect.”
I choked on the sandwich. Kyler came over to whack me on the back, and I smacked his hand away.
Lilac crossed the kitchen, pulling open the fridge door and looking over everything inside.
“You have to tell her.” Arla mouthed to me. I jerked my head side to side.
“Nothing is going on.” I mouthed back.
She rolled her eyes.
I flipped her off and stood, bringing the last eighth of my sandwich with me.
“I need some air.”
Slipping out the back door, I crossed to the side of the dark-wood porch and sat down in a hammock that had been strung between the house and porch rail. Soft, navy fabric slid over my skin and surrounded me, blocking my view of the rest of the porch so all I could see was the forest in front of me. A heady masculine smell wafted out of the fabric, telling me the hammock belonged to Roman and had been recently used by him.
My mind wandered to the large Alpha and I steered it away. Whatever feelings I was having for him, I wasn’t ready to deal with them.
Instead, I focused on the guys who had found me in the grocery store with London.
News of me being with the New York pack was rolling out already. It wasn’t surprising; werewolves were wired for loyalty. When one switched packs, they tended to keep in contact with their friends. All it would take was one person mentioning to their friend that they weren’t shifting every night and the news would spread like a wildfire.
The fact that someone was coming after me to take me back to their pack? Also not surprising. It had happened so many times before I would’ve been surprised if no one came for me. I’d wondered if the sheer number of people in the New York pack would make other packs think twice about trying to grab me there, but apparently they didn’t care.
I swung in the hammock, reflecting for a few more minutes until Lilac came bounding out of the house.
“Time for the run.” She sang the words. I slid out of the hammock and Lilac sniffed the air. “Why do you smell like Roman?” She eyed me suspiciously, her gaze borderline threatening. I wasn’t about to mention his truck or the slip ‘n slide, so I pointed my thumb at the hammock.
“He probably sat in there before me.”
She accepted the answer and led me through the house. I followed her, grimacing. It was inevitable. We were g
oing to have issues the next time I had to calm down Roman’s animal instincts. After the events of that day I was confident there would be a next time.
We walked through the neighborhood. Kyler, Arla, and Lilac greeted nearly everyone walking the same direction, all headed to the edge of the neighborhood for the pack celebration. When we got to the edge, Arla left me with Kyler and Lilac so she could go stand with Roman at the front of the crowd.
Lilac saw one of her friends and ducked away, and then it was just me and Kyler.
“So the fight earlier?” he asked.
“I swear, I’m going to punch the next person who asks me about it.” I glared at him. He laughed and lifted his hands.
“No judgment. I’ve heard about six different versions of what went down and wanted to know the real story.”
With a heavy sigh, I dropped my glare and looked out at the forest.
“If I tell you the real story, can you get everyone else to shut up about it? At least around me?”
He agreed, and I gave him a quick rundown. The falling, the ass-grabbing, and the near-throat-ripping.
“That’s even better than the other versions I heard.” Kyler announced.
“Shut up.” I complained.
Roman yelled for everyone’s attention, stepping up on the back of someone’s truck so everyone could see him. He thanked us all for coming and then Arla made a cute little speech about the ‘pack family’ before announcing that it was time for everyone to shift together.
Most of us ducked behind trees before taking off our clothes and shifting forms. I’d like to say I was immune to Roman’s manly wiles in wolf form, but my baser instincts took over. Namely, the mating instinct.
I followed his scent only to discover an entire crowd of females had done the same.
When I realized I would be only one of many chasing the Alpha, my animalistic mind decided the only two options that made sense were to kill anyone between me and the Alpha or run the opposite way and see if he chased me. Since the human part of me still insisted that murder was despicable and all, only one option was really valid.
