"Last I recall, I thought the house motto went something like ‘the more the merrier,'” I said. “Besides, it doesn't look like they're sticking to the rules much anyway.” I turned around just in time to see Stephan get tackled to the ground by Matt. “Okay. Maybe you're safer right where you are."
He chuckled. “Why don't you play?"
"I played in high school and college, but it never prepared me for this much savagery. I'm better off right here."
"I'm sure they'd lighten up if you wanted in."
"And ruin their fun? I don't think so.” I paused. “You can sit if you want. Unlike those guys, I won't bite. Besides, you're looking a little lonely standing there by yourself."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing, unless you're into the loner thing. Judging from this afternoon, you look like you spend a lot of your time alone."
"You always so observant?"
I waved a dismissive hand and smiled. “Only when it comes to cute guys."
Adam's face bled a shade of red as he smiled. He peeled himself off the wall and stepped closer. “You're a lot like Vaughn. Always straightforward with people."
"Blatantly so, I'm afraid. It's a handicap."
He laughed. “Then you'll fit in perfect around here. These guys like uniqueness and you're about as unique as they come."
"If you don't mind me saying so, you've been with the pack longer than we have and you still don't consider yourself one of them. Why not?” Eventually, he'd curse me out because I either talk too much or ask too many questions. Curiosity isn't one of my strong suits, but knowing someone else who had a checkered past lessened the gravity of my own problems.
"Don't get me wrong. I like being here. I just don't like that idea of having to be here."
"Really? I thought you were free to come and go as you please."
Adam hesitated before sitting on the steps, but at least this was the first time he looked as if he belonged. He hunched himself over his knees, fingers entwined, taking a moment to gather his thoughts.
"I got in trouble when I got out of prison. The usual, beating up a guy who beat up on his girlfriend first. But when you've been in prison, even a parking ticket counts against you. I got thirty days in jail—go figure—and at the end of the first week I broke out because I needed to change. After a couple of hours, I turned myself in.” He stopped for a moment, shaking off his laughter. Red splotches marred his cheeks and worked up to the tips of his ears. “But I had lost my clothes, so I went back stark-staring naked.” He smiled at me trying to stifle his laughter. “Anyway, that got my time increased and got me moved to a mental institution. The same thing happened again a week later. I broke out when I got edgy, but I came back to finish out my time. Seth heard about it. He pulled a few strings and got me released under his custody. I have to report to my probation officer, but at least the occasional visit from the court-appointed shrink stopped. Given the choice, I like doing my time here and not in jail. My life is already screwed. Becoming a werewolf screwed it up even more."
"But why do you distance yourself? At least someone cared enough to take you in. Someone who understands what you're going through."
"I've been with this pack for almost two years. These guys love each other more than my family ever showed us kids while growing up. They spent too much time beating on each other and sometimes took their kicks out on us. Anyway, it's awkward for me. I don't know how to adjust, so I don't."
"You're fighting your instincts."
"Like I said, I never asked for this life and would gladly give it back if I could."
Stephan sauntered toward us. Sweat dribbled from his chocolate hair, drenching his face and creating a wet bib around his collar and armpits. He smiled, green eyes shimmering between the two of us. He swiped a bottled water from the picnic table and turned it upside down to his mouth.
"Hey, Adam,” he said, slumping on the concrete slab beside me. “Why don't you take my place on the field? It'll give you a chance to beat up on Alexa's husband and put him in an early grave. She'll be available then."
I threw my fist into his shoulder. “What's wrong with you? That court appointed shrink visited the wrong person."
Both men laughed.
Adam leaned back on his hands. “No thanks. I've seen enough brutality to last me a lifetime. But if you two want to be alone—"
"No,” Stephan said, waving at him still. “You can stay. I only wanted to talk to Alexa about quitting her job."
My smile flipped into a frown. “Excuse me?"
"Hold on, before you go loony on me, just listen. I've already talked it over with Matt."
"What's he got to do with it?"
"The Miami trip didn't pan out the way we hoped, and that's fine, considering Matt saved us a lot of money and heartache. We want to keep him on retainer and have offered to help him open his own practice. We've got extra office space at the spa, so he's more than welcome to run it from there. We'll help him with all the details of getting situated, including giving him enough money so that you can concentrate on your real estate classes."
I paused, studying his face. “Have you lost your mind? We—I—can't just jump into something like that without a backup. Suppose something comes up and I decide I don't want to be a real estate agent anymore?” And believe it or not, I had given that some thought as of late, too.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Let me help you understand something. Because of our lifestyle, many of us either work at the spa or go into business for ourselves. It's a lot less stress that way because we're around our own kind and calling all the shots. You never know when there will be an emergency and a regular job won't look kindly on a person leaving at a moment's notice. I'm sure you already know that or you wouldn't be telecommuting now."
"What kind of emergencies are we talking about?” I hoped they wouldn't have any emergencies associated with me. Besides, how much trouble could this Suzie Homemaker cause? Wait. Don't answer that.
"A newer wolf coming into the pack who doesn't know how to control their impulses yet. One of us could have an accident while traveling. A rogue coming into our territory to stir up trouble. We police the whole state of Georgia. That's why we're the Georgia Pack and not the Boston Pack who got dibs on the city and suburbs."
"But—"
Stephan laid his hand on top of mine. “All I'm asking is that you think about it. We're not going to force you to do something you don't want to. If Matt said he didn't have that kind of power over you, then I'm pretty sure we don't either. I'm only thinking about what's best for the pack."
* * * *
Matt and I watched television from our plasma screen TV till he fell asleep spooning me. I turned over and noted the delicate features of his handsome face. Using my fingers, I combed some of his black hair back in place, leaned close, and ran my lips across his. The cutest smile perked his dimples in place. Out like a rock and he never missed a beat when it came down to me making a pass at him. He pulled me closer, legs tangling with mine. My ear listened to his heart beating loud and clear, feeling the blood pulsate through his arteries and veins. I lay like that for a long time, taking in the beauty of the living, breathing creature beside me. I couldn't have done any better when it came to choosing a mate.
My thoughts shifted back to our earlier conversation, when we first came into the bedroom. I told Matt about what Stephan said. Quitting my job was inevitable if I got my agent's license. Maybe this was my golden opportunity. However, someone advising me to quit made me feel pressured into giving up a part of my life that I had worked too hard to attain. Matt assured me that Stephan didn't mean anything by it. I knew our lives would change, but I never thought the pack would play this much of a role. Getting a house of our own sounded better and better. If the real estate thing went well, I planned on quitting my job anyway, but I never thought the future would come this fast. That scared me.
My mental debate went on for another hour before I made up my mind. R
egardless of the pack's motives, I couldn't help thinking how much closer I had come to being my own boss. That was the whole reason for wanting to go into real estate in the first place.
Bundled in a blanket, I waddled over to my laptop and turned it on. It took me ten minutes to write up my resignation letter and five of those I spent on the Internet looking for a good format. I saved the letter on my hard drive to print out first thing tomorrow morning when I had to make an appearance at the mid-month meeting. While still connected to the Internet, I checked my personal e-mail account. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I came across five messages from Dane, all saying the same thing.
Call me. It's urgent.
-Dane.
What the hell? I thought about calling him right away, but not with Matt in the room. I e-mailed him back, asking what the problem was now. I spent the next couple of minutes cleaning out my mailbox of ridiculous announcements about making money overnight or trying to sell me a product to increase my penis size. Wrong gender, morons. I was about to log off when another message from Dane appeared.
We need to talk. I'm in Atlanta.
Chapter 26
The next morning, I rose from the bed and dressed while the entire house slept behind closed doors. Sleep was more important to me than eating and bathing, but not this morning. After packing my laptop and grabbing my purse, I kissed my sleeping husband good-bye and left our bedroom. Taking the steps two and three at a time, I came to the foyer where I leaned against the wall and slid my heels on.
"Where do you think you're going?” a gruff voice said.
I whirled around and noticed Cook—yes that was his real name or the one he went by—sauntering down the hall. He looked at least sixty-five, meaning his real age was around 180 years old, give or take twenty years. Instead of sporting the bushy look, he wore a long gray braid down his back and the same went for his beard. His stern wrinkled face had a hard edge to it, but whenever he smiled, a few teeth were missing on the sides. His stout chest bulged outward and so did his stomach. He walked with a slight limp that made him swing from side to side like a metronome.
"I have to go to work. Early,” I added. Though he tried to look intimidating, I knew the whole thing was an act.
"You're not going anywhere.” He looped his arm around mine and dragged me down the hall. “I don't let anyone out of this house until they've had something to eat."
"But I'm not hungry."
"That's my call. I'm not sending you out into the streets hungry, and then an hour later have you wishing you had picked something up before going to work."
Cook guided me into a huge dining hall that looked like it stretched the width of the mansion. Beautiful wall paneling and large paintings added elegance to the elongated room. A thick wooden table sat in the center with matching straight-back chairs and enough room for everyone in the pack. Off to the side, a similar table held a ten place seating area I suspected was the kiddie table. Some table. Instead of a string of chandeliers hanging above the length of the table, this one had a single light. In my mind's eye, I pictured werewolves feasting over gluttonous meals that would put the Vikings to shame.
Cook ushered me to the head of the table, where he pulled out a chair. Once he had me situated, he took off through a set of swinging double doors.
I placed the laptop and purse on the table and propped my head on my hands. Dane bogged down my thoughts and suppressed my appetite. The sooner I got to him, the better.
The double doors swung open.
"Here you go,” Cook said. He handed me a thermos, two slices of buttered toast in a baggy, and a napkin. “Human or not, you can't go hungry. I won't allow it."
Astonished, I stared at him, then at the bag, then at him again. A smile cracked across his hard-lined face.
He chuckled. “Don't look at me like that. Word got around about your human appetite from the cookout yesterday. As any good cook would, I made note of it."
Before I lost my nerve, I kissed him on the cheek and headed out the door.
* * * *
Work was the same old same old. Our meeting should have started at nine, but the project managers and VPs had more pressing things to do. Miffed, I ended up working at an abandoned cubicle in the dusty corner of the IS department. My manager left a note on my laptop about wanting me to revamp the psychopharmacological drug reporting program that had taken a team of people more than five years to get it up and running—a section that most programmers steered clear of because they knew it was a nightmare trying to analyze information and drug testing methods from around the world. The man must have thought I put Miracle Worker under Experience on my resume. I couldn't wait to trash this job and tell my brown-nosing micro-manager to kiss my ass on the way out the door.
Noon came, so I packed up my things and headed to the elevator. When the doors slid open on the ground floor, my heart almost jumped out of my chest. Just beyond the reception desk, Dane sat in the waiting area, flipping through a business magazine. Before I could say anything, he lifted his head and a huge smile stretched across his tanned face. He wore an expensive dark gray business suit complete with shiny black shoes and a striped tie. Dane was a handsome man, but a three-piece suit polished him up like a rich playboy.
Shaking my head, I said nothing as I sauntered past him and out the door. I couldn't believe the suave jackass would go so far as to track me down at my job. He knew where I worked, but I never thought he'd actually show up.
Taking separate cars, because I refused to ride in his black Jaguar, we arrived at Cattle Horn Steak House. At Dane's request, the waitress showed us to a booth in the back and away from the noise of the lunch hour crowd. He ordered a huge steak while I settled for a Caesar's salad. Nice and cheap in case I wound up leaving in the middle of a spoiled meal.
"You look exhausted,” he said, cutting his medium steak. “Is that why it took you so long to return my messages? What happened?"
"What makes you think I got any sleep? You're here! Of all places!"
He sipped his root beer. “You need to learn how to relax. There's this wonderful place in the Golden Isles—"
"For heaven's sake, would you just get to the point?” I hunched over the table and folded my hands in front of me. “You came here for a reason. And don't tell me it's for the sights, either. Do you have any idea what the Georgia Pack would do if they caught you in their territory?"
He put his utensils down, opened up his inner coat pocket, pulled out two pieces of paper, and handed them to me. “Have you seen these men?"
I looked at the two faces and felt the blood drain out of my own. Mug shots of Adam and Vaughn stared back at me.
"What's this about?” I said, defensively. “You come all the way here—"
"Just answer the question, Lex. Have you seen them?"
I glanced once before focusing all my attention and anger back on Dane. The urge to jab my fork in his eye and storm out of the restaurant was too overwhelming. The waitress returned to check on us, saving him from a tongue lashing. Dane asked her for a refill of whatever I drank because my ill-tempered eyes couldn't focus on anything else. One thing never changed: his relentlessness when it came to work.
"That's all I wanted to know,” he said, folding the papers and returning them to his pocket. “I should have done a background check on the Georgia Pack earlier, but I didn't out of respect for you."
"What changed your mind?"
"Decker. You've been on his mind ever since you left North Carolina. With Jocelyn gone, you're the only female werewolf left in the Club, and close as he'll ever get to being around one. Let's face it, with a ratio of males to females being four to one, we're happy to take anything we can get."
"Thanks,” I hissed.
"I didn't mean it like that.” Dane broke eye contact and went back to slicing his steak. “When I finished fixing your shoulder, I went to his room to check in on him. He caught wind of your scent all over me. His fever kept him on his back, but his heig
htened senses were already in place. The day we left the hotel, he walked into the room where you stayed, sniffing around on the bed, trying to pick up any traces of your scent. He's fixated on you."
"Excuse me, but there is a point to this lunacy? You are getting to how the goof fits in, right?"
Dane sighed. “Decker found the code I use for the movieinfo website—"
I snorted. “Amazing how that keeps happening."
Ignoring me, he continued. “He found a list of active contracts and their last known sightings. These two guys came up, even though they're at the bottom of the list. The point is this ... like us, Decker's developed a strong instinct to protect you. Even if it's from your own pack. H—"
"Wait a minute. Okay? Just stop. Stop.” I took a cleansing breath and continued. “How could you go along with this? A week ago, his life changed forever, and you trust him already? How do you know he isn't still psycho? It takes weeks, sometimes months, before a new wolf can acknowledge and accept their new lifestyle."
"This isn't about Decker. Do you think I'd come down here to start trouble and not check it out first? The last thing I ever wanted to do was disrupt you or your precious family plans. And I mean that. I know how important having a normal life is to you. That's the only reason why I ever let you go in the first place."
"And what were you hoping for? That I'd hand these guys over to you gift-wrapped and ready to go?” I lost my appetite and threw my napkin on the table. A tension headache wormed through my forehead. “This has Graham written all over it."
"You're wrong. He doesn't even know we're here."
"Oh? So that makes everything okay?"
"Angel,” he said, leaning forward. “Adam Russo spent a total of ten years in prison. When he came out, an old friend from the neighborhood bit him. They went on a crime spree, invading other packs’ territories, robbing and killing anyone who got in their way. He and the rest of his group have contracts from four different packs. As for Vaughn, he was responsible for killing a half dozen people, including the Detroit Pack's Alpha. According to them, he came in with a band of humans and started shooting up the place. No one's found the humans, but they're pretty sure Vaughn knows where they are. Since then, the pack has been in shambles. They've been opened up to challenges left and right because they let a bunch of humans get away with our secrets. Who knows what they're doing now, or what they could be planning for our race?"
Half-Breed Page 20
