Protected by the Rogue Wolf

by Kristen Strassel

  This wolf knew exactly what I needed.

  **

  Jasmine and Marcus stayed with us until I shifted. Under the best circumstances, shifting was a quick physical metamorphosis, but it didn’t come without an emotional cost. The differences between my human side and my animal had never been as stark as they had tonight. In the past, my shifts had been purely ceremonial. Protected from the harsh realities of the Sawtooth pack.

  Tate had many flaws, but he’d provided me with a pair of rose-colored glasses. My freedom meant I saw things as they really were. I wouldn’t go back. Carlos might not have had a huge ranch—I didn’t even know where he lived—or a lot of money, but he had something Tate couldn’t buy. Passion.

  This long hot shower felt indulgent when I had someone else helping my daughter get ready for school, but I needed time to get myself together. I thought about keeping Hazel home, but I had a feeling we’d be having a lot more tumultuous days when it came to pack business. I didn’t want to shield her from it, but I wanted her to understand the animal side of things was normal.

  Especially when she had to deal with humans who didn’t agree.

  Once she was ready, I had the place to myself for the first time since I’d agreed to become a Real Werewife. Tessa and Stephanie were on the street, working out of their van to give me some time to rest. Never too far away. But after what I’d learned last night about the real dynamics of the pack, I wondered how much of that had to do with the show. The guys could settle it their way, but the ladies in the pack knew what it meant to protect what was theirs too.

  I needed a cupcake.

  The box that had come full of goodness last night with Jasmine and Jessica was now poking out of the top of my recycle bin. No judgment, I would’ve polished them off, too.

  I was presentable enough to run over to Sawtooth Sweets. Hazel and I had made many cupcake runs in our pjs.

  The line was always long, so I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted—like I didn’t get the blackberry jam filled cupcake with lemonade frosting every time. My conscience wouldn’t let me leave without one for Hazel even though she very likely had more than one last night. She loved the caramel-coconut cookie, so I’d get her that, and maybe take her skiing this weekend, since I was keeping her. The slopes would probably be empty on a full moon weekend.

  Maybe Carlos would like to come, too... I grinned to myself, thinking about what it would be like to drink hot cocoa by the fire with him after we were done. Not that my apartment had a fireplace, but there were plenty of lodges in town that did. We’d have to bring Hazel, so it couldn’t be too sexy, but it could definitely be romantic.

  Carlos was my mate. I was giddy thinking about it. Hazel had so many questions about him, and I couldn’t wait to see what they’d be like together.

  Maybe I should get him a cupcake, too. I wondered what kind he’d like. I’d get a few just in case. Variety. They certainly wouldn’t go to waste.

  “Willow.” That voice sent my fantasy about sweets and fire shattering all over the ground. “We need to talk.”

  In the past, I would’ve swallowed my annoyance. But I was completely sick of Tate’s shit, so I let it all hang out.

  The happy chatter in the shop had come to a screeching halt. In the past, both of us had been too proud to ever air our dirty laundry so publicly, but any time my ex-husband and I shared oxygen there was no denying the tension was thick enough to strangle anyone who dared to get tangled in our web.

  “Whatever you want to talk to me about, you can do it on camera.”

  He shook his head. “The show doesn’t need to be involved in our family business.”

  “We’re not a family anymore.” My voice was too loud, and I didn’t care. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to see the damage to my property. What do you know about it?”

  “That it’s there and it needs to go away, so my students have a safe place to practice.” I glared at him. “Is that all?”

  It was my turn to order cupcakes. And I ordered way too many. I had plenty of new friends in this pack and they all seemed to have a sweet tooth.

  “No, it’s not even close to all.” There was a hint of a growl to Tate’s voice. I shoved my wallet back into my purse and took the pretty box off the counter. I turned on my heel, not waiting for him to finish, because I was more than done, and I knew where this conversation was going. It didn’t need to happen in Sawtooth Sweets.

  Tessa poked her head out of the van when she saw me on the sidewalk. She must’ve seen Tate go into the shop after me. “Everything okay?”

  “It will be.” I was clutching the box so hard I was about to send frosting dripping onto the sidewalk. I pushed the box at her. “Start filming.”

  “Absolutely not,” Tate snarled.

  Tessa placed the cupcake box on the bench inside the van and picked up her camera. “We don’t take orders from hostile wolves.”

  When I got home I was going to write that on a post-it and stick it to my bathroom mirror. Maybe figure out a way to make mugs out of it. It was my new mantra for life.

  “I’ll sue if any of this makes it to air,” he countered.

  Tessa shrugged. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Now, make this quick. We were all up all night and Willow needs to get some rest before Hazel comes home from school.”

  Tate sighed, another concession. “Enough is enough, Willow. I’m giving you one last chance to come home.”

  I didn’t mean to laugh. “Were you even there last night? I meant what I said. Carlos is my mate. I would try to explain what that meant to you, but you won’t understand.”

  “He’s a bad wolf and I don’t want my daughter anywhere near him.”

  “Do you know how many times I’ve thought that about you?” I was shaking, but saying these things felt so good. “Things have changed. I promise, there’s a she-wolf out there for you. Maybe Tessa can help you find her.”

  From the glare she gave me, that wouldn’t be happening.

  “I don’t need any help finding my mate. And I’ll stop at nothing to get her back.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. “No. Tate, please. Walk away from this peacefully. Be the bigger man. Violence hasn’t solved anything in this pack.”

  “That’s not true.” His expression had hardened, but this time, he didn’t scare me. I was ready to fight on my terms. “Our enemies can’t cause problems anymore when they’re dead. Carlos knows a thing or two about that.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Carlos

  “Here’s the thing,” Shadow said after I told him what happened on the mountain last night. “I want peace, but any time we give these guys an inch, so to speak, they get bold. It’s your word against Tate’s. In his version of the story, he’ll conveniently leave out the part where he conceded to his ex-wife. He’ll say he let you walk away because he could kill you better later.”

  “Are you calling me a liar?” I absorbed the gasps of the room. Shadow’s brothers, Dallas and Baron, were here. Marcus too. But there was no telling where Matteo was. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t bother me. But there had been a few times in our history that he’d been willing to take risks when I wanted to play it safe. It had been irritating in the past, but now, it could cost me a place in this pack and my mate if he was willing to do what I wasn’t.

  “If I thought you were a liar you wouldn’t be here.” Shadow paced across his office. “I want to honor Willow’s wishes. She’s a member of this pack, and her voice hasn’t been heard for too long.”

  “Then bring her here.” I wish I thought of it earlier. “Listen to her. Talk to the other she-wolves who left their contracts. Or the ones who fled the forest to avoid mating with a man they should’ve never belonged to. Find out how they think it should be handled. Because the she-wolves got their freedom, but they’ve already paid a price. What about the ones who bought them? There’s no punishment.”

  �
��What they did was legal at the time.” Shadow sighed.

  “So last night changes nothing.” I seethed with rage. “You still want me to kill Tate.”

  “I think the official assignment was to take care of the problem.” Shea Lowe shook his head grimly. “I worked for that guy at his ranch. He had a long memory for shit that shouldn’t have mattered. He won’t let this go.”

  “I’m willing to talk to Willow.” Shadow stared at the ground while he mulled over the possibilities. Problem was, they all sucked.

  I was more than willing to relinquish my alpha status with Javier and Rick if it meant I didn’t have to deal with things like this.

  Shadow spoke again, “One of the reasons I wanted to make pack business known to the humans was because it would make trouble like this a lot harder to cover up. I don’t claim to be innocent. I have blood on my hands. My goal is that it doesn’t come to this anymore. That we can settle our differences before we’re ready to rip each other’s throats out. If she’s got ideas, I’m willing to listen.”

  “What if we involve the show? Have everyone hash it out on camera?” Javier asked. “Then everyone who watches can see what goes down, and the humans who are still freaked out about living near wolves will see that we can be civilized.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. If everyone agrees to it,” Shadow said.

  I didn’t think I’d leave the meeting feeling hopeful.

  Javier and Rick stood near their bikes but didn’t get on them.

  “What?”

  “What do we do now?” Rick asked. “Our cover in the forest is blown, so playing detective is out of the question. Don’t feel like wandering around aimlessly and getting caught in the crosshairs with one of Tate’s guys. The Werewives are all about you and Willow right now, so I have to wait to take out my girl—”

  “Your girl?”

  His face brightened. “Yeah. Luna. She’s Willow’s friend.”

  “The one with the video game hair?”

  He nodded. “She’s an amazing artist with a great sense of humor.”

  Javier laughed. “One woman on earth laughs at his stupid jokes and he thinks it’s love.”

  “There are worse ways to start a relationship.”

  “If you guys really have fuck-all to do we always need help at the Forever Home Ranch.” Shea came over to us on the way to his truck. “Don’t know if you have any experience taking care of big animals, but if you’re willing to learn, I can teach you.”

  The guys looked at each other, nodding, and then to me, because they still considered me their alpha.

  “Yeah, we’d like that. We’ll need you to show us the ropes. Thanks for the opportunity,” I said.

  “After hearing what you had to say in there, I know you’ll do the right thing.” Shea opened his truck door. “You can start immediately if you’re free.”

  The guys’ faces lit up. They knew this was one step closer to being a real part of this pack. “Go ahead. I’ve got one thing to do, and then I’ll be there.”

  Technically, it could’ve waited. Tessa swore to me when I left Willow’s apartment this morning she would be under constant surveillance. But I wanted to see that she was safe for myself. After weeks of watching him from the shadows, I knew Tate’s patterns. He could go looking for Willow. Try to get her alone. She’d been conditioned to give him chances. To see the best in him.

  But I knew there was no best.

  And I really wanted to see her again.

  Showing up unannounced was risky, and honestly, it seemed like something Tate would do. I wanted to be the opposite of that wolf in every way possible, so I texted her first.

  Feel like having some company?

  I do, she answered almost right away. We have to talk.

  Shit. I revved my bike way too loud and kicked up dirt on my way out of the Reserve. I was in my head the entire ride into town, almost getting into a couple accidents.

  But when the next car almost ran me off the road, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the one causing the problems anymore.

  Focus. My wolf coiled inside me. The only thing stopping my shift was that Willow asked for help as a human. I’d assess the situation and shift as needed.

  Pedestrians gave me dirty looks as I tugged on the locked door to her building. We were able to get in easily this morning in our wolf forms. Even with Marcus and Matteo waiting for us, that was an oversight. I figured out which unit was hers and rang the bell.

  She was waiting for me at the top of the stairs with her sweater pulled tightly around her. Dark smudges lined her eyes. She hadn’t slept. At first, I thought she’d been crying. But I misread the emotion, even though it was similar. This was pure rage, and her she-wolf on the verge of another shift.

  “What happened?” I took the stairs two at a time.

  She shook her head and went into the apartment, and for the first time, I considered that anger could’ve been directed at me.

  Stephanie and Tessa were sitting at the table, eating cupcakes. Hazel’s face lit up when she saw me from her seat on the floor, where she was playing with her cat.

  “Are you Carlos?” she asked.

  “I am.” I didn’t want to say too much until I knew what the hell was going on.

  The little girl wrinkled her nose. “You sound different when you’re not a wolf.”

  “Hazel, why don’t you go into your room and play with Elvira there.” Willow shut down the questioning. “We need to have an adult conversation.”

  “But I wanted to ask Carlos some things—”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to do that. Later.” Willow gave me a weak smile as her daughter reluctantly led her cat out of the living room. It didn’t reach her tired eyes. “Would you like a cupcake?”

  A chuckle slipped out. “Sure.”

  “I didn’t know what kind you’d like...I like the fruity ones, and Hazel likes the candy ones. So I picked chocolate cheesecake with raspberry jam. I hope you like it.”

  “This isn’t about cupcakes, Willow.”

  She shook her head as she handed me the treat. “No. It’s not. When I was at Sawtooth Sweets, Tate was there too.”

  My animal was on fucking point. “What happened?”

  Willow took a deep, trembling breath and shook her head. “It’s like last night never happened.” Damn, those words gutted me. “He doesn’t plan on honoring what I asked for. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Just...pissed off that the entire world has changed but Tate won’t accept it.”

  I went over to her and took an indulgent second to relish the energy that rushed from her body to mine. Mate. I wasn’t fighting it anymore. Willow had invited Sarah into our relationship, made her a part of it, and somehow had given me permission to move on. I would never be without her.

  “We can do this. We can fight him with the new rules of the pack.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek, but it didn’t comfort her. “You can make a real change.”

  “I wish I believed that was true.” There was nothing but pain in her eyes. “But he won’t stop until he kills you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Willow

  “What do you want to do about it?” Carlos’ voice sent a chill down my spine. There was a bullseye on his back, and he was way too calm about it.

  “I don’t want to do anything.” I got up and started pacing through my tiny living room, almost tripping over cat toys. Any time I didn’t have to think about Tate, I was happy here. Happier than I ever expected I could be. My life could be simple—just my daughter, my students, and this intriguing new wolf who I’d put directly into the line of fire. “I want my freedom. If we give in to him, it will never end. He’ll destroy everything that’s good in my life.”

  Those gray eyes were like stone. Nothing could penetrate them. “I’ll ask you the same question again. What do you want to do about it?”

  He pushed his beautiful body away from the couch. Nothing but strength in the movement when he came over and put his arms around me
. I hadn’t realized until then how hard I was shaking. But not even he could make me stop.

  “You have choices now, Willow.” His voice was soft, and his lips moved against my hair. I wondered if the cameras even picked it up. My brain was trying to distract me, protect me, from his question. “And a whole pack that will defend your right to be happy.”

  “Make it stop.” The words were barely a whisper.

  “I can do that, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll like the way I do it.” He brushed my hair away from my face. The move was obscenely gentle considering our conversation. “Tell me how far you’re willing to go. It’s a full moon. This can be a fair fight.”

  No matter what happened, I was going to lose someone who was important to me. It didn’t seem very fair at all. “Make it stop.”

  He nodded. “How involved do you want to be?”

  I was taken aback by the question. Tate would’ve never asked me if I wanted to fight. And I could hear his voice in my head, that Carlos wasn’t a real wolf if he couldn’t defend his mate, but it was time for me to fight too. Maybe, just maybe, I could bring some common sense to this.

  A girl could dream.

  ***

  I was getting the hang of the Real Werewife thing. First rule? Expect the unexpected. Second rule? Stop assuming no one wanted to babysit Hazel on full moon weekend. I had more offers to stay with my girl and her almost famous feline than I could accommodate. So I promised to cash them in on future dates with Carlos. Barring a disaster tonight—and I was knocking on every wooden surface I could find because disaster seemed to be another Werewife staple—there would be many more dates in the future.

  The camera crew took some getting used to, but I was glad to have them here. Especially in light of the fact Tate was out for Carlos’ blood and vice versa, and the protesters who insisted on getting their point across. Tessa had a way of giving me a firm shove out of my comfort zone, and Stephanie made it sound like a good idea once I’d ventured into the unknown. They were starting to feel like friends, along with the rest of the ladies on this side of the pack that Tate had been determined to keep me away from.