“I left.” I earned those groans of disgust. I let these wolves down. Seriously, I had one job. “I met Willow Ulrich. After she talked to Tessa, she was upset. My wolf was drawn to her, and we got a drink so she could calm down. She was crying when she came out of the confessional.” I shot a look at Tessa. “Her friend, the one with video game hair—”
“Luna,” Rick corrected.
“Luna came over to us in a panic and told us her ex was here. Willow wanted to leave immediately. That’s when I found out who her ex was.”
“Then what happened?” Shadow asked.
“Tate threatened us to stay away from each other, and Stephanie and I made sure Willow got back to her apartment safely.”
“That’s when I left them for the night,” Stephanie added.
“Had another run-in with Tate on the way back here. He had the road blocked off, waiting for me. Same shit. Stay away from Willow, and he planned to make a statement through the show.”
“That’s about when the fight happened,” Javier said. “Once you left, the guys came in and started shit. But there were a lot of them and only two of us.”
“And none of that seems suspicious?” Major asked. “That the attack happened after Willow drew Carlos out of the club? And Tate blocked the road so he couldn’t get back?”
“Fuck,” I said under my breath. “I got set up.”
“Looks that way,” Shadow said. “Tate pretty much spelled out his plan to you. He wants to use the show for his own agenda. Taking control of the pack and returning to the old ways.”
“What are we going to do about it?” Major growled.
“First, we need to keep the Werewives safe. Especially the she-wolves who asked for their freedom.” Shadow looked at me. “You did the right thing, making sure Willow got home without incident. Tate’s been a pain in our asses for years. He’s been trying to organize the rest of the disgruntled wolves on the edge of the pack since I became alpha, but once Willow left him, he lost his fucking mind. Thinks it’s my fault. Do you think there’s enough between you and Willow to believably pursue her on the show?”
“Yes.” Tessa and Stephanie said at the same time, which got a few smirks out of the pack.
The Sawtooth pack didn’t give a shit about why I couldn’t take this woman as my mate. And right now, my wolf wasn’t listening, either. Willow and I could have fun, and I could keep her safe until the threat was gone. That’s all this could be.
I wasn’t betraying the memory of Sarah.
“Okay. Do whatever it takes to keep her out of trouble,” Shadow said, like he thought that fixed everything. “If you think she’s working with Tate, then we reconvene and plan our next steps from there.”
My wolf was on full alert. I needed to shift, soon. I’d have the forest to myself. The Sawtooth pack wouldn’t be able to shift until the full moon. “What happens to her if she is working with Tate?”
“She’s out of the pack, and she forfeits our protection.” Major crossed his arms over his chest.
“Does Tate get the boot too?”
“One way or the other.” Shadow didn’t need to elaborate. We’d signed a contract.
“Being openly associated with the show changes our roles in the forest.” Javier gave Stephanie another longing look. He wouldn’t be able to hide his attraction to her for much longer. “Those pissed off wolves won’t spill their secrets to us if they know we’re working with the show, and in turn, you.”
Shadow didn’t answer right away.
“We know who’s making the threats,” Major said. “We’ve let them linger for too long. Now they’re threatening our she-wolves. We made them a promise they could have their freedom. We have to make good on it.”
“The Werewives are all here by their own free will,” Tessa added, like she could read my mind. Willow had been sold to one wolf, and then handed off to another to defend her place in the pack. “There’s no guarantee we’ll find them fated mates. They know that.” Tessa grinned at us. “That doesn’t mean we won’t do everything in our power to make it happen. This pack needs a little more happily ever after.”
After the meeting, my episode with Willow got moved up to top priority. It was a risky move on Tessa’s part. She probably came here thinking it would be all puppy adoption videos and sweet episodes of her daughters falling in love. But the big dogs in the forest were about to get their say.
“I’ve never taken a woman I don’t know out on a date before,” I confessed to Tessa in her little trailer in the parking lot of Forever Home Animal Shelter. “Sarah and I knew we were fated since we were kids. When we went out, there was no pressure. It was fun.”
She smiled at me, and I remembered the expression from her days as a football reporter. This smile was like a secret between her and the audience.
“You’re nervous.”
“There are a few things on the line.” I blew out a breath, but it did nothing to get the tension out of my chest.
“What does going out with Willow mean to you?”
“I thought this was a planning session, not an appointment in the confessional.” I tried to give her a smirk. But she was right. I was nervous.
“It’s a little bit of both. The more I know about your motivation, the better I can tell your story. Some of my Werewives might disagree, but I want to paint anyone who’s brave enough to come on this show in the best light possible. It’s not easy to put your heart on the line with the whole world watching. And originally, that wasn’t your role on the show. You were here to mine information, and make sure we didn’t have any surprises. But now I’ve been tasked with mending two broken hearts and I’d like to do it with the least amount of scar tissue possible.”
Tessa wanted humans who watched the show to understand pack politics. It was a powerful stance.
“This might be the first time Willow is dating someone she chooses to go out with.” Unless that worst-case scenario was true, and she was working with Tate. “And I don’t want to disappoint her.”
“I talked to her after the party. She’s looking forward to seeing you again.” Tessa wiggled her eyebrows. “I usually don’t make my opinion known about the pairings. I’ve seen some potential disasters work out, and some sure bets blow up in my face. For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’s working with Tate. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t using her as a pawn in his game.”
“I won’t let him do that,” I growled.
Another one of those gotcha smiles. “That’s exactly why I have no worries about you. Do what comes naturally, Carlos.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what that is anymore.”
“Willow said the same thing about herself.” Tessa reached forward and put her hand over mine. This was more than a TV show to her, and I liked that. “If the two of you are fated to be mates, don’t stand in the way of it happening.”
Chapter Seven
Willow
My wet hair had been slicked into a ponytail and I wore my favorite workout gear for an extra layer of kick ass. Tessa met me at the corner of Main and Granger, where my yoga studio was.
Well, it was technically Tate’s studio. His name was on the lease. All the merchandising licenses belonged to him. I had nothing in my name. But I ran the place.
“Ready for your first official day of filming?” Tessa asked. When she’d suggested filming one of my classes to introduce the audience to what was important to me, I agreed. I’d started my practice to cope with being sold to Tate. And it was the thing that ultimately gave me the strength to leave him.
I took a long sip of tea out of my travel mug. Truth was, I was terrified, even after our pep talk. “I hope my nerves don’t ruin yoga class for my students. Granger Falls needs peace and love more than ever.”
“They sure do.” She sighed. “We need to talk before you get to the studio.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and reminded myself to breathe. “Did you change your mind about me?”
“Not at all. But when I drove by the studi
o this morning—"
“What happened to my studio?” My voice was shrill as I ran through the options in my head. I hated that my first thought was about how mad Tate would be when he found out about whatever happened. He might own the studio, but I had to stop letting him rent space in my head.
“Nothing we can’t fix.”
“This isn’t a we, Tessa.”
I charged past her, but she caught my arm. “Everything is a we now. You signed up to be on my show. If that brings you trouble, that’s my problem too. I would never leave one of my Werewives in the lurch.”
“What happened?”
“It’s just some vandalism,” she said. “Any idea who might have done it?”
“Kind of hard to narrow it down when half the town thinks I’m the scourge of the Sawtooth pack.”
Maybe I should’ve canceled class and gone to find Carlos. My she-wolf curled her lip up in satisfaction at that thought. But I didn’t exactly know what his role in—no, not in, with—the pack was yet. But I knew he’d help me.
And I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him.
My breath caught in my throat. Some of my regulars, the faithful who stuck with me after my split, stood outside the studio, staring at the giant storefront window that had always been the source of controversy. Some newbies were reluctant to take classes with us or hid in the far corner so no one could see them. I always told them they had more courage for showing up than anyone who stood on the other side of that window in judgment.
Those words never had more gravity than they did right now.
Luna broke away from the crowd running toward me and swallowing me in a hug. “This is total bullshit,” she said. “The protesters have gone way too far. They can’t treat us like this. We’re pack just as much as they are. I’d like to shove those protest posters where the sun don’t shine.”
I sighed. “I’ve had enough pack justice to last a lifetime.”
She drew away from me, taking me in with a skeptical eye. Leave it to Luna to show up to yoga makeup ready, and I hadn’t even bothered to cover my dark circles. It certainly put the real in reality TV. “Does it have something to do with that wolf you left The Stepchild with, or Tate? Basically, tell me whose ass I need to kick.”
That was exactly what I was trying to avoid. “Neither.”
My heart pounded as I approached the shop. The glass on the door had been smashed, and someone had spray painted the window with the word BEAST.
I couldn’t lie. It hurt. A lot. But as much as Luna wanted to kick ass, violence wasn’t the answer. I could beat some coward with a bottle of spray paint.
Luna squeezed my hand. “You won’t cancel class, will you?”
Like hell I would. My body was shaking, but I forced myself to smile at my students. They didn’t leave when they saw the carnage. The pack was changing, and I was determined to lead the way. “Ready for class?”
An enthusiastic cheer rose through the small crowd, and I carefully unlocked the door. A bullseye radiated from the point of impact and one false move would send shards of glass raining down on me and my students. I held the door open and all of them passed through.
“You’re doing amazing,” Tessa whispered as she passed.
My students took their normal spots. I’d always loved that they gravitated to the same place every class but never appreciated their need for routine as much as I did today.
“I take it everyone knows Tessa Williams?” I said as they settled. “She’s here to film me. If you don’t want to be on camera, raise your hand. We’ll make sure you’re edited out.”
That announcement seemed particularly poignant today, but no one raised their hand.
“We’re hoping she’ll pick us to be on the show,” one of my regulars called out. “Set us up with those hunky wolves.”
Everyone laughed, but we all knew she was married.
“Today, we’ll focus on inner peace.” I usually planned my sequences to make sure we had a smooth flow, but sometimes as I read the room, those plans went out the window. Today I drop kicked them. “As you move through your practice, think about what your response is to the changes that are happening in Granger Falls.”
It was still weird to speak so openly about pack politics. I’d been raised not to talk about them at all.
“It’s time to kick ass,” Luna sat with her eyes closed, hands in prayer position over her heart, fighting her grin as snickers erupted around her.
“After yoga, maybe you’ll stay for Luna’s basics of street fighting class.” More laughter. We were facing this attack on our own terms. Maybe the cameras made us all brave. “But first, let’s try to find some tranquility.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Way to put me out of business before I even start, Willow.”
My heart pounded when a shadow darkened the door. The broken glass obscured the silhouette. Wolf.
Whoever was on the other side, I was ready.
Chapter Eight
Carlos
Tessa told me Willow thought she had no passion. That was what she’d been so upset about when she ran into me at The Redheaded Stepchild. Now that she was free, she was finding herself. And I wanted to see her in action. Tessa let me know that she planned to film Willow’s yoga class, and I wanted to surprise her.
It could backfire. She might not welcome a surprise visit. Or I’d say something that would give an unintentional advantage to Tate Ulrich. But I was willing to risk it.
I pictured her sitting on her mat, totally serene, and filling the room with love. Then I pictured her doing some crazy moves, and my cock hardened, thinking about what her body was capable of.
I’d find out soon.
I didn’t spend much time in town during business hours. We were usually sleeping after a long night in the forest. I wasn’t used to the long, questioning looks from the townspeople. Maybe they’d seen me at The Redheaded Stepchild. Or maybe they were wondering if the stranger they’d never seen before was one of the dreaded wolves.
Today, I was feeling pretty wolf.
And he almost came roaring back when he saw the front window of Willow’s studio. Some asshole had had the audacity to vandalize it. This wasn’t Tate’s work. He’d given himself an all-access pass to fuck with Willow’s mind, so he didn’t need to resort to something cowardly like this. It was probably one of those people who’d been outside of the bar, holding a sign that said that animals belonged in the forest. Sometimes, I wondered if they were right.
Who the fuck were they to deny us our full nature?
I balled my fist against the glass, gazing at Willow. She’d twisted herself into a complicated pose in the front of the room. Her students mimicked the move, and she walked around, correcting postures and giving encouragement. She hadn’t noticed me yet. No one was looking toward the ruined window. It was a stolen moment, watching this resilient woman do what she loved.
And she thought she had no passion.
Willow glowed as she helped her students.
The next thing I knew, my hand was on the door—it had been smashed up pretty badly—and I was inside. A few of the women gasped when they saw me. A wild wolf in a place he didn’t belong.
Willow’s eyes lit up, but that was her only acknowledgment.
It was probably weird that I was just standing there. Tessa’s camera followed me as I moved to the back of the room. To a place I was familiar with, the shadows. The women were in a pose that looked like a triangle, with one arm on the ground, and the other up in the air.
“Bring your right hand down to frame your front foot. Move that foot back and come into plank pose. Move forward with the breath, and come all the way down to the mat, and up into cobra,” Willow said.
I watched the women around me, who moved with her commands, and tried to copy the movements I saw. Damn, this was harder than it looked.
“Now come into the most beneficial yoga pose, downward facing dog. Let all the stress melt away.” Never did she mention the carn
age on the front window and door. “Focus on your breath. Slowly bring your knees to the mat and come into child’s pose.”
She put her hand gently on my shoulder. “You need a mat.” Magically, she had one in her hand, and unrolled it for me. I nodded and resumed the pose. This time, she put her hand on my lower back and adjusted my posture. My wolf rose in response, and the subtle movement opened my muscles in a way I’d been aching for.
This woman had a powerful touch. And she was still with me, as her students sunk into the pose. My body warmed as she came closer. “You’re just in time for the best part of class,” she whispered.
She had us hold the pose, opening our shoulders and backs, and then asked us to lie flat on our backs.
“Keep your palms up if you’d like some essential oil and a quick head massage,” she said.
Even as she coaxed us to find relaxation, my wolf struggled. It was something I hadn’t had the luxury of doing since the night of the attack.
But my eyes had closed, and her heat startled me when she came close again. She smoothed my hair away from my face, and made small circles starting at my temple. Something smelled good. Minty. I inhaled deeply, keeping my eyes closed because I didn’t want to break the feeling. My lips parted when her fingers moved into my hair, those soft circles getting bigger. She cradled my head, and then put it gently back on the mat. Her fingers moved softly over my eyebrows, and I opened my eyes to find her smiling down at me.
Everything else had faded away. She nodded to me, and even though this moment couldn’t last, it wasn’t lost. She rose and urged the class to come back to consciousness by wiggling their fingers and toes. Before I’d come to the class, I would’ve laughed off this move. But she’d turned me into goo with her touch.
Willow sat cross-legged on the mat in front of the class with her hands in a prayer pose. She brought them to her forehead, thanked her students for coming and taking time out of their busy day to spend with her, and urged them to take this feeling they had right now and to bring it into the world.
“Namaste,” she said with a bow, and they all answered in kind.
Protected by the Rogue Wolf Page 4
