Web of Lies

by Sara Dailey

I needed to do this. I would do this. I’d made a commitment to my father and to my pack. It wasn’t an option, and there was no turning back now.

  CHAPTER 9

  Drew

  Maybe I underestimated Scarlett. She seemed to think that she had everything under control, and seeing the way she looked tonight, I couldn’t argue. When we arrived, Luke was nowhere in sight, but Scarlett was sure that he would show up.

  Since Luke wasn’t my problem, I told Scar good luck and made my way toward the crowd. It was time for me to get to work. Step One – make my rounds. I needed everyone here to know my name and recognize my face. Just as I was getting a bit too flirty with some girl named Becca, I saw Aiden walk up and join the party. Step Two – befriend Aiden. Lucky for me, this step turned out to be a no-brainer. The guy was pretty cool.

  After shooting the shit for a while, I finally said, “So…I heard a rumor.”

  “Oh hell, which one?” Aiden asked laughing.

  “That many…huh? Well, I heard that you grew up thinking you were human. Is that true?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Yeah, that rumor is true. Pretty messed up, huh?” Aiden laughed, probably at the absurdity of it all.

  “That’s fucking awesome! I can’t believe that. So, how did you find out? Did you wolf out in the middle of school or something?” I asked, feigning interest.

  “No, thank God! Actually, it was my sister, Alli, who started to experience things first. Things were getting pretty bad for her back in Texas so Mom told us what we were becoming and moved us here,” Aiden explained, not really going into detail.

  Even I had to admit that was fucked up. I almost felt bad for the guy. I couldn’t even begin to imagine growing up never knowing that I was really a werewolf. I thought my dad was an ass, but he had nothing on Aiden’s mom. I mean, that’s not even the worst of it. His mother never bothered to tell him who his real father was until the lie finally bit her in the ass. That was a topic I’d have to save for another day.

  Looking over my shoulder, Aiden’s eyes lit up. “There’s my girl,” Aiden said. I turned around to see Teagan headed our way. He pulled her against him and nuzzled his face in her hair.

  “Hi, Gavin,” Teagan said, barely taking her eyes off Aiden to acknowledge me.

  “Hey, Teagan, how’s it goin’?”

  “I’m good, but it’s freezing out here. Hey, I hate to steal Aiden away, but I need his help with something.”

  Aiden didn’t argue. Instead, he patted me on the shoulder and said, “Well, nice talkin’ to you, man. I’ll see ya later.” Then he followed his human back toward his house.

  Once again, luck was on my side because just as Aiden and Teagan left the party, Cade and Alli showed up. I didn’t like Cade, but I could fake it with the best of them, so I put my feelings aside and walked over to him and his mate.

  One brother down. One to go.

  CHAPTER 10

  Luke

  Looks like tonight is going to suck ass after all, I thought as I stood near the lake freezing my balls off. We needed to find a warmer place to hang out. Gage wasn’t here yet, and I didn’t see Scarlett anywhere either. I said a couple of hellos on the way over to the lake, but until I got a few beers in me that was all the small talk I could manage. I’ve never been much of a fan of hanging out by the lake, but with Gage back and the possibility of seeing Scarlett, I figured I could handle hanging around for a bit, at least until I could get Scarlett inside somewhere warm…and private.

  It wasn’t long before I noticed Gage wandering my way. “Dude, this party is lame,” Gage said, walking over to me with his hands shoved in his pockets and visibly shivering.

  That was Gage, for ya. Everything was lame until he had at least a six-pack down him.

  “Is there a reason you are so far away from the fire, besides the fact that you are the most unsociable son-of-a-bitch I know?” he asked.

  I smiled, or at least I tried to since my face was beginning to go numb. “Occupational hazard.”

  “You are not the damn enforcer yet, so let’s go over to the fire before I lose an appendage,” Gage said as he shoved me toward the crowd gathering around the bonfire.

  By the time we made it back over to the party, a few more people had shown up. I smiled at Cami, who was standing and chatting with Shari and Sammy. Normally, I would have walked right over to them, but it just felt too soon to go back to being just friends without any awkwardness.

  Gage and I grabbed some beers and headed over to talk to Ryder and Becca. I’d never been all that fond of Becca, but she did seem a little less bitchy since Kendall Stuart was kicked out of the pack. Well, with the exception of the shit she'd pulled with Teagan. Since then, she had been on her best behavior. I guess she finally realized that she needed to keep her mouth shut before she became the social outcast of the crew.

  “I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but it’s not so bad out here now that Kendall’s not around stirring up drama and shit,” I mentioned when Becca wandered off to get herself another wine cooler.

  “Yeah,” Gage agreed and then looked around to make sure that no one besides Ryder and me could hear him. “Kendall was a piece of work. There is no denying that. And she did have a serious I’m-the-queen-of-the-world complex, but I would have never thought that she was capable of doing what she did. Kidnapping, attempted murder, pack treason—I mean, that’s some serious shit. I don’t think anyone saw that coming.”

  He was right. When Cade mated with Alli, I think Kendall went bat-shit crazy. It was like she lost her damn mind overnight.

  “Speaking of Kendall, where is Cade tonight? He’s coming, right?” Ryder asked me.

  “I’m sure he’ll be here,” I answered. Even though I had no idea what Cade was up to, people always automatically assumed I did.

  “Holy shit, bro! Look who is coming your way,” Gage said.

  I looked over, and my jaw literally dropped. Scarlett was walking toward me. Damn! The girl was built for sin. She was wearing these killer boots over the tightest fucking jeans I have ever seen, and it only got better from there. Her coat fit tightly against her body and was zipped up halfway, exposing the most perfect cleavage I have ever seen. My mouth starting watering from just the sight of her tits crammed into that tiny jacket. My hands twitched at the thought of freeing those puppies from the lace of that bra peeking out from under that sweater.

  I barely heard Gage say, “Have fun with that,” before he and Ryder took off. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the gorgeous girl headed straight for me.

  “Hey Luke, I didn’t mean to run your friends off,” she said hugging me, pressing her entire body flush against mine.

  Shit, those things were now pushed firmly against my chest, making her perfect cleavage bulge even more. I took a quick peek down and tried to hide the fact that I was deeply affected by them. Her tits weren’t the only thing bulging at the moment. When her scent hit my nose, I was suddenly in desperate need of a cold shower. Breathing in a mixture of honeysuckle, roses, and perfection, I had to pull away before I led her out into the woods and took care of business. Completely caught up in all that was Scarlett Reed, I couldn’t remember what she had said.

  “Scarlett, uh, glad you made it,” I said trying to recover when she pulled back to look at me.

  “I’ve been here for a while. I didn’t see you,” she replied. Her eyes traveled down to my lips and remained there for several moments, and I had to resist the urge to cover her mouth with mine right then and there. If she tasted as good as she smelled I would be in serious trouble.

  Shifting my focus toward the lake, I said, “I was down by the water. I guess I missed you.”

  I was prepared for that dreaded moment of awkward silence, but it didn’t come. “Where can girl get a drink around here?” she asked with a wicked little smile.

  “Come on, I’ll get you one.”

  We walked over to the cooler, and I pulled out both a beer and a wine cooler so she could tak
e her pick. She chose the beer, which made me like her that much more, and went over to sit on the far side of the fire.

  “Did you get all settled into your new house?” I asked as I sat down next to her.

  She scooted a bit closer to me and shivered. “Oh yeah. The house is great. There is even a hot tub on the back patio. You’ll have to come over some time and help me try it out.”

  “Absolutely,” I said and wrapped my arm around her to close the distance between us and to keep her warm. Her leg was touching mine, and all I could think about doing was running my other hand all the way up her thigh while kissing her senseless.

  Somehow I managed to push aside, for the most part, all the dirty thoughts I was having about this girl and the fact that her father was probably a trained hit man, and we sat there together for the next hour talking and laughing like we’d known each other for years. Scarlett was more than a hot ass in a tight pair of jeans. She was clever and interesting and hot as hell. But suddenly I realized that I not only wanted her, I liked her too—a lot. It kind of freaked me out. No, not kind of. It really fucking freaked me out. Her smile, her smell, her laugh, her damn chocolate brown eyes. Shit! This was not good.

  A casual hookup was what I needed right now. With all the shit going down around here, I didn’t have the time or energy for something more. I didn’t do something more. And I had the feeling that things with Scarlett would be anything but casual. Not when all I wanted to do was take her to my bed and stay there for days, maybe weeks. Still, when she ran her hand down my arm and smiled, I was tempted to give it a shot, even if her dad might kill me.

  I got so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear the last thing Scarlett said to me before she reached over and laced her fingers between mine. I glanced down at our hands together on my leg and my chest tightened. Somehow the simple act of holding hands with this girl felt much more intimate than it should have. More intimate than the countless nights of meaningless sex I’d had over the last year.

  Shit, this was so not good.

  It was at that moment, sitting there with her fingers intertwined with mine that I decided that this was way too dangerous. I really fucking liked this girl. I could really, really like her, if I let myself, but that couldn’t happen right now. I had a feeling this ordeal with Cade and Aiden was about to get ugly, and unfortunately for me, I would probably end up in the middle of it. No, this was not the right time to start anything that could get “real.” Not that I even knew what that actually meant. The closest thing I’d ever had to a relationship was screwing the same girl for a month. Did that even count?

  “What are you thinking about?” she whispered in my ear, breaking me from my thoughts.

  I raised my eyes away from our hands, which turned out to be a big mistake. Her mouth was only inches from mine, and her deep brown eyes were all but begging me to make a move.

  I was tempted—very tempted. She leaned in even closer to me and I was dying to taste her. To feel the sweet pressure of her lips against mine. To run my hands up her denim-clad thighs, past her tiny little waist and up to those heavenly tits of hers.

  I stole one more peek down her shirt. She was so close to me that I could see the rise and fall of her chest. I was no saint. How could I be expected to resist them? When I looked up, I spotted Cami watching me with look on her face that made me feel like a total asshole. I pulled away so fast I nearly fell off the log we were sitting on. Shit!

  Confusion was plastered across Scarlett’s stunning face as I regained my balance. I didn’t want to make her feel bad, but this was exactly what I didn’t need. I didn’t need drama with Cami, or Scarlett, or the damn Fixer, or anyone else for that matter. Knowing I could only screw this up even further if I stuck around, I decided to make my escape.

  Looking down at my watch, I faked being surprised at the time. “Shit, sorry, Scarlett. I need to go,” I mumbled. I walked away before she had the chance to say anything.

  CHAPTER 11

  Scarlett

  What the fuck was that? Did Luke seriously just completely reject me and then get up and walk away?

  This is so not happening right now! I do not get rejected! Who the hell does he think he is?

  There wasn’t a wolf in this pack, besides the two mated idiot brothers, who wouldn’t take me out into the woods and screw me senseless given the opportunity.

  Sitting there completely flabbergasted, I replayed the night’s events in my head. All the right signals were there. He stared at my tits for well past the appropriate amount of time with a hunger in his eyes that spoke volumes. We laughed, flirted, innocently touched each other… One second he looked at me like he couldn’t wait to run his hand over every inch of my body and then the next he acted like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. How could he just walk away? More importantly, why? Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped.

  Suddenly my chest tightened, and I had to fight the urge to take off into the woods, strip, shift, and run until I couldn’t run anymore. Run until I wasn’t pissed anymore. Run until I was too tired to care enough to be pissed. It’s not like I even really liked Luke, but having him practically run off when I was sure he was finally going to make a move made me feel like a complete idiot.

  No, that wasn’t true. Damn it! Who the hell was I trying to fool? Myself, obviously. I did like Luke. And that was the problem.

  I watched as Aiden and Teagan walked hand in hand in my direction and cringed a bit inside when I realized they were planning to sit next to me. I could only hope the evidence of Luke’s rejection wasn’t written all over my face. Trapped smack-dab in the middle of completely new territory, I wasn’t sure how to handle the feelings brewing inside of me. I always got what I wanted—who I wanted. I never dreamed Luke Stanton would be any different. His reputation preceded him; he might not be a fan of relationships, but that didn’t stop him from making girls swoon right and left. Hell, they knew what Luke was like but that never seemed to stop the revolving door of girls from ending up beneath his perfectly sculpted body. So why wasn’t he making me pant right now? Instead I’m sitting here freezing my ass off with a bunch of strangers.

  Teagan’s voice shook me out of my internal pity party, but I had no idea what she had said. “Sorry, what?” I asked.

  She smiled sweetly and replied, “So how do you like it here so far?”

  “Oh, it’s fine. It’s just odd being away from home, you know?”

  A sadness crept into her eyes as she responded, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Before she could say any more, Aiden’s arms enveloped her, and he pulled her into his lap. She giggled as he planted kiss after kiss all over her cheeks and neck.

  I needed to get the hell out of there. My night hadn’t gone as planned, and there was no reason to sit out here and torture myself any further. As I made my way to my feet, I said, “Hey guys, I’m gonna get out of here. It’s been a long day, and I’m really tired.”

  Teagan was the first to respond. “Awww, really? Already? You sure you don’t want to stick around for a bit?” Her smile was genuine, and there was a kindness about her that seemed to be absent in every wolf I’d ever known.

  “Yeah, I better go before I fall asleep out here. But thanks, Teagan. It was really nice meeting you.” After the words spilled out of my mouth, I realized that I’d really meant it, and the uncomfortable feelings already invading my body intensified. I didn’t want to make friends here. I couldn’t. That would only make it more difficult to do what I needed to do for my father…for my pack. Before I escaped, I looked around at the rest of them and said my goodbyes. Just as I turned to leave, Drew caught my eye, and I knew he would be on my trail in no time.

  I took off toward our new house, already trying to formulate excuses for what happened with Luke. I should have been off in the woods in the midst of a steamy make-out session, not tromping my way back home with my tail between my legs. Drew would have questions for sure, but there was no way I was going to admit what rea
lly happened. He would only make me feel shittier than I already did.

  Just as I assumed, Drew called out my name, and I turned to see him jogging my way. “Hey, wait up, would ya?”

  Over my shoulder, I called, “Well hurry the hell up. I’m freezing my butt off out here.” Before I knew it, Drew wrapped one arm around my waist, pulled me back against him, and grabbed my ass with his other hand. With his lips only a breath away from my ear, he whispered, “Well, give me one minute, and I’ll have you warmed up real quick, baby.”

  My cheeks flushed immediately as I shrugged out of his gasp. “Watch it, Brother! That’s no way to touch your sister,” I warned, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice. If he were anyone else, I would have kneed him in the balls and told him keep his damn hands to himself, but Drew knew the score. He was going to be the next alpha, and I was just another pretty face among his pack, which meant only one thing. He could get away with just about anything, and he knew it.

  Drew let me go, but trailed close by. “Oh come on, Scarlett. You know you want me.”

  I wanted to slap the stupid out of him. Why did our next alpha have to be such a cocky piece of shit? Picking up my pace, I replied, “Only in your dreams, Drew.”

  He shot me a wicked grin before asking, “So how’d it go with Muscles? I didn’t see y’all sneaking off for a romp in the woods, so I’m guessing not great?”

  “Shut up, Drew. I’m easing into things. If I just lie down and spread my legs, who’s to say he will want anything more to do with me after that?”

  As we reached the front door, Drew wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me toward him so he could whisper in my ear. “Well don’t hold out too long. You know, if you do it right, he will be back begging for more. I’d be more than happy to offer you a free lesson or two.”

  My insides twisted in knots, and if his grip on my neck told me anything, it was that he wasn’t joking anymore. I had a feeling that Drew Barnes took rejection worse than I did, so I played the only card I had. The girlfriend card. Cutting my eyes to him, I said, “You know, as tempting as that sounds, I am kind of fond of my limbs, babe, and if Avery every found out, I’m guessing I’d probably lose a few.”