by Jane Jamison
Was it fate or just dumb luck that her car had finally given up its last gasp right in front of the duplex owned by Charles Victor, age sixty-five? The place was run down, but it was clean. Ten minutes after Charles had stepped out of his apartment just after sunset, she was moving into the apartment on the second story, rent-free.
As it turned out, Charles had come to her aid again. Although he’d resisted all her attempts to find out what he’d done for a living, he’d seen one of her paintings and had declared, “You have a talent that should not be wasted.” The next night—for some strange reason she never saw him during the day— he’d arrived with a huge assortment of canvases, brushes, and paints, as well as a beautiful easel. He’d supplied everything any artist could’ve wanted. As long as she gave him a painting every other month, she was free to stay in the apartment with both rent and utilities paid.
“Heather, are you all right?”
She blinked and found Emeline and Betsy watching her intently. “Sure. I guess I kind of zoned out.”
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” Emeline gave her a wicked smile. “I’ll bet it has something to do with the Wilson boys, doesn’t it?”
“What? No.” At least she was telling the truth at that specific moment. “I was thinking about a painting I’m doing.”
“I’d love to see your work soon. Maybe even hang a few of your pieces in my shop.”
Betsy was an enterprising woman. She’d been daring enough to open up her own clothing boutique in Fate where she’d have styles for all sizes, including larger women.
“That would be terrific.” Although she’d sold some of her digital artwork through her art website, she hadn’t had the nerve to put her paintings up for sale. Betsy’s offer could be her best shot at taking that next step.
“Oh, hell’s bells, she’s turning him down.” Emeline’s attention centered on Raven and the Hardwick men. The other two brothers had come inside to join Drake.
“Turning him down to do what?” Betsy let out a loud groan that momentarily drew Raven’s attention.
“To go to the Wolf’s Den.” Emeline jerked backward so she wouldn’t be seen.
Heather eased back in her chair, putting more of her body behind the curtain. If the Wilson brothers asked her to go to the local bar and dance hall called the Wolf’s Den, she’d jump at the chance. That is, if they ever asked and if she could get up enough nerve to say yes. Those were two very big ifs.
Babs, the owner of the store, swept past them into the main room, where Raven stood watching the Hardwick men leave. Heather relaxed then stared down at her half-eaten sandwich. Thoughts of her past had taken away her appetite.
“I need to get back to work.” She stood, gathering the remainder of her food.
“What? Why?” Betsy made motions for her to sit back down. “It’s not like you have a boss or anything. What are you going to do? Fire yourself?”
She’d heard the same argument time and again. “No. But when you’re an artist, you have to be disciplined. No one’s going to force you to work, and if you aren’t self-motivated to do the job, you’re not going to make a living. I don’t want to take advantage of Charles’ generosity forever.”
“She has a point,” added Emeline. “Still, I’m going to stay long enough to finish my lunch.”
Heather headed toward the rear door of the store. “I’ll see you soon, okay? Until then, don’t get into any trouble.”
“Well hell, where’s the fun in that?” quipped Betsy.
Heather laughed and pushed against the door to the alley. Once there, she breathed a sigh of relief. Although she loved being with her girlfriends, it was getting harder and harder not to let her feelings for the Wilson men show.
But were they real feelings? Or just lust in disguise? She’d made that mistake before, and it had cost her dearly. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
She was against his hard body before she knew what had happened. Dropping her brown bag, she bent over to retrieve her half-eaten sandwich and bruised apple. Her breathing picked up, her body recognizing how close he was to her. Adrenaline shot through every nerve ending, every inch of her giving way to a sexual awareness she only experienced whenever she was around one of the Wilson men.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
Brogan.
She closed her eyes, only for a moment, and drew in his intoxicating aroma. How could any man who spent all day with horses, cattle, and manure smell so damn good?
She dared to lift her head and was met with those alluring light blue eyes. “It’s okay.”
He was more than okay. He was magnificent.
He took hold of her arms, and a rush of longing zipped through her, weakening her so much that he had to help her stay on her feet.
“Are you sure you’re all right? You seem a little shaky.”
More than a little, if she told him the truth. Instead, she made the Herculean effort to bring a smile to her face. But not too much. She wouldn’t want him to know she was interested. That he made her want to moan as she dragged her tongue along the curve of his neck, over his cut jaw, and onto the lips she knew had to be both soft and hard.
“I’m fine. Really. I should’ve been watching where I was going.”
Was he laughing at her? Was that the reason for the twinkle in his eyes? Even if it was, she didn’t care.
She lifted her hand to run her fingers through his golden locks and almost didn’t catch herself in time. If she’d done it, how would he have responded? Would he have kissed her? Or shoved her hand away?
“How have you been, Heather? Are you still staying at the vam—” He cleared his throat. “Are you still living in the apartment above Charles Victor’s place?”
“Yes. I like it there. Why?” Did he care? Or was he only making small talk as they’d done so many times before?
His eyes narrowed. “So he’s treating you okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t he?”
“No reason.” The corners of his mouth tweaked upward. “He can be a little strange at times, is all.”
Could he hear her heart racing? She’d be surprised if he couldn’t. Her pulse pounded in her ears, yet she should’ve been used to it by now. Every time one of the Wilson brothers came around, she felt her heart speed up and her temperature start to rise.
“I guess he can be. I don’t see him much except every once in a while at night. He’s helped me a lot, especially by giving me a place to live.” She cringed, hoping she hadn’t said too much. Charles had made her promise not to tell anyone about their arrangement.
She didn’t like the way the conversation was going, although any conversation with Brogan was a good one. As attracted to Brogan as she was, she still didn’t like him questioning her friendship with Charles. Sure, the older man was a bit eccentric, but a lot of people in Fate were different.
With different eyes.
And different teeth.
A lot of them were just plain different.
“Good to know.” His tongue peeked out from between his full lips. “Hey, I was wondering… I mean my brothers and I were wondering…”
“Yes?” She couldn’t believe her heart could race any faster, yet it did.
Suddenly, he acted as though he was uncertain. Almost shy. She liked it on him. A big, sexy man acting like a shy guy was a definite turn-on. Almost as much as a guy who knew what he wanted and took it. With the woman’s willingness, of course.
Yeah, as if I can get anymore turned on than I already am.
“We were wondering if you’d like to go to the Wolf’s Den sometime.”
The Wolf’s Den. Unless they wanted to travel to a larger town, the local bar was one of the few options for entertainment in Fate. She hadn’t gone inside the place much.
“So? What do you think?” His ocean-colored eyes sought hers. “Want to hang out with the three of us?”
Hang out? Was he asking her out on a date, or did he just want to get together
as a friend?
“Don’t you go hanging out with that fool boy. You’re a slut, girl.”
Her mother’s awful words came back to punch her hard in the stomach.
She couldn’t put herself out there again. Even after all the years that had passed, she had to be careful. As much as she longed to accept, she couldn’t. Not without knowing if he liked her as a woman or as a friend. Even then, she’d have to be careful.
Ask him.
She’d just gotten up enough nerve to do so when he beat her to it.
“I mean you’re still kind of new and all in town, so I figured my brothers and I could show you a good time.”
A good time? Was that code for saying they wanted to get her in bed?
“I’ll bet you showed that little prick a good time, didn’t you? And see where it got you.”
She shoved her mother’s voice away again. Hadn’t she put her past behind her by now? Until she’d come to Fate and seen the Wilson men, she’d been able to stay aloof, never accepting anything but casual dates with men she could never be interested in.
“Heather? Did you hear what I asked?”
She stared into the handsome face, a face she could easily see waking up to, and felt her throat tightening up. Three men were too many to handle. She wasn’t sure she could handle even one man yet. At least not one she was already half in love with.
Say yes, yes, yes. Hell, yes.
Instead, fear reared its ugly head.
“No thanks. I’m really backed up with my work.” Her stomach clenched as she forced the words out. She eased past him, trying to ignore his confused expression. “Seriously, though, thanks for asking.”
Tell him you changed your mind. Damn it. Don’t wimp out.
The words were almost out of her mouth when he gripped her hand, keeping her from leaving. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No. Of course not.”
She loved the feel of her hand captured in his. His was so large it held hers like a small bird. Gently. Carefully. Would he be as gentle, as careful with her heart? She couldn’t risk finding out.
“Then what’s wrong?”
She pulled her hand free, all the while hating herself for being such a coward. “Nothing’s wrong.” Backing up, she dared to meet his gaze again. “I’m sorry, but I’ve really got to go.”
If I don’t, there’s no telling what I might say—her gaze slipped to his crotch then back to his face—or do.
Spinning around, she hurried down the alley. Tears were in her eyes by the time she’d turned the corner and started running toward her apartment.
Chapter Two
Brogan kicked over the bucket of water, spilling its contents onto the hard, dry ground. He regretted it the moment he did it. Acting like a kid wouldn’t do him any good. He picked up the bucket and headed for the corral where Sterling and Garner were breaking a new horse.
He’d thought that working the ranch, concentrating on his chores, would break him out of the strange mood he’d been in since running into Heather in the alley behind The General Store. Instead, his discontented mood had hung around, not only keeping him awake most of the night but also churning inside him well past when he’d finally given up and gotten ready for work in the early morning hours.
“It’s about time you showed up.”
Garner stepped back from the black filly they were training to take a saddle. Sterling stood nearby, waiting for the horse to buck again and toss the saddle off. They’d keep at it, patiently, until the young horse learned to accept the weight on her back.
“I’m here now.” He lifted his lip into a snarl. As an alpha in the Shadow Ridge Pack of Fate, he couldn’t afford to lose focus. Not with his ranch or with his pack. But it was tough not to. Thoughts of Heather had grown steadily stronger since the day he’d first seen her walking down the sidewalk.
She was hotter than hell, especially for a human. Her hair was a rich, beautiful cocoa color with red and gold highlights, making her hair shine. Her big brown eyes glowed with an inner softness that could melt the hardest of hearts. She was short, standing almost a foot shorter than him, but the amount of sex appeal in her tightly packed body often had his cock growing thick before he was even aware it was happening.
She was kind, too. He’d asked around town, trying to be subtle about it, and had heard nothing but nice things about her. Not only did she help out whenever anyone needed it, she also gave children free art lessons and even supplied the materials to do so. She’d called it “paying a kindness forward.” He called it “being damn sweet.” He’d checked out her art on her website and had been pleased to find that a lot of her work included scenes from the countryside surrounding Fate.
As far as he could tell, she had only one fault. She didn’t want to get involved with a man. At least, that was how she acted. Aloof, uninterested. Yet, every once in a while, he saw the glint of something in her eyes.
Could he convince her to give them a chance? If he did, would she take to having three men wanting her? Would she like it? Or would that send her running faster than a rabbit with a coyote hot on its tail?
She was human. That much he knew. Which was weird, since he’d always assumed that he and his brothers would take a female shifter as a mate. Maybe because they thought it would be easier, considering they hadn’t been born werewolves. Then they wouldn’t have to explain what they were. How did a man do that, anyway? How were he and his brothers supposed to tell a human woman that she was about to mate with a couple of werewolves and their still-human brother? Garner had yet to be changed, although he talked about doing so often enough. Although they’d offered to bite and change him, he’d still held back. Was he waiting for something? Waiting to find the woman who would be their mate? He wouldn’t say, other than to tell them that he wasn’t ready.
Mate. It was such a simple word, and yet, for werewolves, it held great power.
As far as he knew, werewolves didn’t instinctually know their mate. It wasn’t as though they could sniff a girl and instantly know she was the one. The concept of having only one woman to share between them had seemed foreign. Still, that was the way most people liked it in Fate.
Being a werewolf was a lot harder than he could’ve ever imagined. Not that he’d given it any thought prior to getting changed. It had been years since he’d been attacked by a rogue werewolf running the streets of New York City. If he’d had to stay in the big city as a shifter, he was sure he would’ve gone crazy.
Hell, he had gone crazy. Crazy enough to lose control of his inner beast and attack his own brother. Sterling hadn’t been given a choice to be changed any more than he had. He’d done to Sterling what had been done to him, and he hated himself for it. Yet his brother, being a big-hearted guy, hadn’t held any grudges. In fact, he said he liked being an animal on the inside.
Fucking New York City. Hell, he’d been living there only a couple of months before the attack.
He and Sterling had gotten out of the city soon after he’d changed his brother. After returning home to North Carolina, they’d been lucky enough to hear about the small shifter town of Fate, Georgia. Lucky that the Shadow Ridge Pack had taken them in. They’d been even luckier to have risen so quickly within its ranks to become secondary alphas by demonstrating their leadership skills. Primary alphas were always the first born werewolf males. One day, he hoped to challenge that rule and become a primary alpha. That was one of the good things about the pack. Rules were meant to be broken and changed.
At least Garner hadn’t been with them during those turbulent first days of being a werewolf. He’d stayed behind on the family farm, as though he’d known his brothers would return home sooner or later. He just hadn’t expected them to come back as shape-shifters. Then they’d needed a real change, a place where there would be more people like them. Once they’d found out about Fate and its werewolf packs, they’d sold the farm in North Carolina and moved to Georgia.
He glanced at Garner. They’d never spoken
openly about it, but he got the impression that Garner resented them for being werewolves. Resented that he was the outsider, the different one in Fate, which made his refusal to be changed harder to understand. Stranger still, it was Garner who had the silver-blue eyes that a lot of their pack had.
“What’s wrong?” asked Garner after catching Brogan staring at him.
Brogan’s gaze met Sterling’s. As another werewolf, Sterling picked up on Brogan’s thinking faster than their brother could.
“He ran into Heather yesterday,” answered Sterling.
“Yeah. Right. Got ’cha.” Garner cooed at the filly, settling her down. “So how’d it go this time?”
This time. How many more times would it take to get Heather to loosen up? Was it her own skittishness that caused her reluctance? Or did she sense that he and Sterling were different? “About the same.”
“Maybe we should hang back and let Garner get to know her first.” Sterling jumped back as the filly kicked up a fuss. The saddle went flying, landing on the ground a few feet away and sending up a cloud of dirt. “Easy, girl, easy.”
Brogan had had the same idea, but it was hard as hell not to be near her. Hard as hell not to take her and claim her. “Could be what we’ll have to do.”
“And if I do get her to say she’ll see the three of us? What then? Are you guys going to show her what you are right off the bat? Or will it take another couple of months to ease into telling her your secret?”
“It’s not much of a secret around here,” said Sterling.
“It is for her,” countered Garner. His brother waited for Sterling to ease the saddle back on to the horse’s back. The filly snorted and put up another fuss, but this time the saddle stayed on. They were making progress.
“Hell, Brogan, we’re fucking alphas. Can’t we just claim her and be done with all this pussyfooting around?”
Brogan wished he could agree with Sterling since he felt the same way. They’d been fortunate enough to earn their way to their secondary alpha status in the pack. The one thing he didn’t want to do was to ruin that with rash action. “I know some males have claimed their mates that way, but we’re new. I’m not sure the majority of the pack condones that way any longer, and I don’t want to rock the boat.”
