Jenn's Wolf
Page 1
Jenn’s Wolf -- Chestnut Rock Shifters, Book One
written by Jane Wakely
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First Edition
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Chapter One
Jennifer glanced at the loud group of guys in the center of the bar. One of them had said or done something to get the rest of them laughing and it drew the attention of everyone in the small but crowded establishment. Seconds later, everyone went back to what they were doing, not giving the group a second thought.
Deep down Jennifer knew they were just having a good time, but she tried to keep her distance from loud, intoxicated people. Before she’d met Christina, she’d never set foot into a bar, even after she hit the legal drinking age. Growing up with a loud, obnoxious drunk for a father kept her hiding away from many social occasions. While he wasn’t physically abusive, his verbal “jokes” and comments were hurtful and embarrassing. Many times she’d been laughed at by his friends when he shared tidbits of her life or commented on her plain appearance. When she was old enough, she’d started spending the night with friends or hiding in her room when his friends came over. When it was time to go to college, she moved as far away from home as possible.
After college, she relocated to the mid-size town of Chestnut Rock in the Pacific Northwest. The ample trees and wildlife combined with most big-city amenities made the town an ideal place to live.
Jennifer and Christina had been college roommates their senior year and became fast friends. They relocated to Chestnut Rock together and now shared a small, affordable apartment. That had been two years ago.
Jennifer was happy she had Christina in her life. Her best friend kept her from locking herself away and hiding from the world. Christina taught her that people sometimes drink in social situations, but they didn’t always get drunk or make a scene. Though she still had qualms, Jennifer could now have a good time in situations where friends may have a drink or two.
Christina had wanted to go what she called “man shopping,” which basically meant “go to the bar and look at hot guys!” Jennifer agreed to come along.
While Christina had no trouble finding dates, Jennifer was a bit more challenged. The two friends were as different as night and day. Christina was tall and blond with blue eyes and a bubbly personality. Jennifer was short with brown hair and brown eyes. She was reserved which most people took as timid and sometimes rude or snobby. It was hard for her to meet people and without Christina’s help, she might have ended up friendless and alone for the rest of her life. Luckily, that didn’t happen and her friend even convinced her to go on a blind date set up by one of her co-workers. The date was tomorrow night.
The group in the center roared with laughter again and the one with his back to her stepped to the right and bent over to look at his friend’s phone. Jenn could see the group more clearly now and her gaze stopped on the tall piece of awesome standing closest to the bar. If they were truly “man shopping,” she’d buy him and take him home.
He was tall but didn’t tower over the rest of the group. Jenn guessed he stood at about six feet. His dark brown hair was thick, wavy and a little too long, the ends flipping up around his collar. He wore a simple dark blue t-shirt that hugged his chest and worn jeans with a ripped back pocket and a hole in one knee. The hand wrapped around his beer looked huge and she imagined the things it could do to her body. His profile was strong and sexy. The only thing that would make him look better in her eyes was if his hand was wrapped around a non-alcoholic drink instead of a beer.
“I’m going to get another drink. Want another soda?”
Startled, Jenn pulled her attention from the man and stared at Christina as she tried to comprehend what her friend had said.
“Yes, please.” She smiled and Christina left to make her way toward the bar.
One of their agreements was that on crowded nights, they would keep to the outside of the throng and Christina would make her way to the bar for refills. The only time Jenn would have to walk through the crowd was when she had to use the bathroom. She had to go alone if it was just the two of them or else they’d lose their table.
When Christina left, Jenn continued to ogle the tantalizing man. No one had stirred her like he did in a long time. The thought of a chance with him made her want to cancel tomorrow’s blind date and wear a sign that said she was available for a night of fun. Jenn had no idea what had come over her, she never approached guys or even made blatant plays for their attention.
Jenn knew that her short stature combined with her trim body that lacked curves and boobs was not appealing to men in the least. While she had a pretty face, she’d been told one too many times she had a great personality as well. Finding a man to be more than a friend was very difficult. Of course, she’d dated and had sex, but the men never stayed for long, always moving on to someone with more beauty, grace, style and curves.
She wanted to meet the man across the bar and the thought of approaching him crossed her mind. Normally she’d trash the idea immediately, but something about him made her feel braver than usual. If he separated himself from his friends and she acted quickly, maybe she could at least see him up close and say hello.
Deflated, Jenn watched the couple as their lips met and met again. It was more than a simple peck and though their arms and hands didn’t roam, she could tell when their tongues did. Jealousy overwhelmed her and she pushed it down as she looked away.
When she looked back, Christina was at the bar and the man was talking with his friends again. It seemed like they didn’t even know each other, and when Christina passed the group on her way back to the table, they didn’t acknowledge one another.
“Who is that?” Jenn asked as Christina set the drinks on the table.
“I don’t know. He asked me if he could kiss me and I said sure.”
“What? You’re kissing random guys now?” Jenn couldn’t help the slight anger in her question. Thankfully Christina didn’t seem to notice.
“Well, not usually, but he’s hot! You should see him up close. He was just an okay kisser though—nothing special.”
Mean thoughts crossed Jenn’s mind and she quickly silenced them. Christina had no idea how she felt about the man. She wouldn’t have kissed him if she knew how Jenn felt. It didn’t matter anyway, the one time she planned on approaching a man, he’d been so drunk he’d kissed a random girl in a club. This was definitely not someone she wanted to know, or do anything else with for that matter.
Jenn kept her mouth shut and sipped her soda.
****
Matt smiled and laughed with the group. He had no idea what they were laughing at, but he played along. They’d all been drinking when he arrived and he’d already had four beers. He had no way of knowing how much they drank before he got there, but some of them were definitely way past drunk. Thankfully they always made arrangements for a safe way home prior to going out.
Matt never had to worry about a safe way home. As a wolf shifter, alcohol didn’t affect him like it did regular humans. Four beers would dull his human senses, but his wolf ones went unaffected. He had no idea how much he’d have to drink to be one hundred percent intoxicated, but he really didn’t care to find out.
Tonight he was being a bit more social than usual. He was a wolf without a mate, or even a companion, and sometimes the solitude overwhelmed him. Lately he’d given in to feeling a bit sorry for himself. He dated a bit, but no woman touched his soul like he thought a true mate would. To date he’d never met anyone he wanted to spend his life with.
Being a shifter was often difficult and lonely. While some animals lived in communities together, a sort of make-shift pack, most shifters lived alone. He could think of at least two other shifters in Chestnut Rock, and while their animal senses acknowledged each other, they each kept to themselves. If a shifter didn’t find someone to accept them and share their lives, it was possible for a shifter to die of loneliness. Even having the same lifespan as humans, it was a long time to be alone.
If a shifter was lucky enough to find a mate, and she was willing to change, their love would strengthen with a mating bond. When a mated pair shifts together for the first time after a mate tastes the shifter’s blood, the mating bond is formed. Every shifter dreams of finding someone to share the strong connection.
“Okay, Matt, you have to kiss the next girl that walks by.” His friend’s comment pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Huh?” He hadn’t been listening. They wanted him to kiss someone, but why? He didn’t go around kissing women he didn’t know.
“You lose so you have to kiss the next girl that walks by.”
“How did I lose?”
“You didn’t yell ‘not it’ like the rest of us.” They all broke out in laughter again. Oh geez, he needed to get home. Matt looked around and saw a hot blonde walking toward him. She was tall and cute. He could definitely kiss her. What if she was the one? He didn’t want to miss an opportunity, especially since he’d just been thinking about a lonely death.
He turned to face her right before she passed him.
“Can I kiss you?” He asked.
“Sure, handsome.” Her smile was genuine.
Matt stepped forward, wrapped his hands around her waist and gently touched his lips to hers. His friends were unusually silent—probably surprised he actually did it. The girl placed her hands on his shoulders and he licked her lips before sliding his tongue inside her mouth. It was a bold move, but he decided if he was stupid enough to kiss her, he might as well do a thorough job. She didn’t protest and even kissed him back.
It was nice, but the kiss did nothing for him and he broke away quickly.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Anytime, handsome.” She smiled at him again and walked toward the bar.
He smiled and tried not to lose hope. He had a blind date tomorrow night. While he doubted she’d be the one, he hoped they’d find something to talk about over dinner.
Chapter Two
Jenn couldn’t believe she was going to be late for her own date. Normally she left her job at the library on time, but today there was a lost child somewhere in the building. She and the student volunteer looked for over an hour before finding the boy sleeping under a table.
That fiasco was followed by hitting every single red light on her way home which meant her normal fifteen minute drive turned into thirty.
When the date had been set up, Jenn had asked her friend, Marcy, for Matt’s number but Marcy had given her many excuses before Jenn gave up. She was sure Marcy kept the number from her on purpose so she wouldn’t call and cancel. Not that she would. Okay, if she was honest, it had crossed her mind once or twice, but this was different. Now she had no way to contact him.
Marcy meant well. She was older, married and blissfully happy and she wanted Jenn to find the kind of happiness that she had. Marcy’s husband worked with Matt. Marcy thought they’d make a perfect couple. Jenn rolled her eyes at the thought.
Jenn parked on the street in front of her apartment building and raced to her door. Christina was standing in the doorway with her purse on her shoulder talking to a man standing with his back to Jenn.
“You’re Jenn?” She heard him ask as she approached.
“No—,” Christina said.
“I am,” Jenn said from behind him. “Sorry I’m late.”
He turned to face her and for the first time in the past two hours, she was suddenly nervous. She’d barely had time to run a brush through her hair while sitting at one of the stoplights.
When she saw his profile, her jaw dropped and several breathless seconds passed before she remembered to breathe again. Thoughts of his mouth on hers and in several other places caused a tingling between her legs and she shifted her weight to try and ease the need she felt. Embarrassed by her thoughts, she could feel her cheeks heating as he turned and faced her.
Matt, her blind date, was the hot guy from the club that kissed Christina the night before. Up close he was even more attractive. Dressed in a Kelly green, casual dress shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and khakis; his brown belt matched his shoes. His dark brown hair was still a little too long, parted on the side and one thick, wavy lock threatened to fall in to his dark brown eyes.
Those dark brown eyes looked down on her out of a face that held a frown. Saddened by his reaction toward her, Jenn broke the connection and glanced down only to notice the bulge in his pants.
“I’ve got to go.” Christina said as she stepped around Matt.
“What?” Jenn asked, startled.
“I’m running late. Have fun tonight,” Christina said as she made her way down the path.
Jenn stared at Christina’s retreating back. How was she supposed to have fun when her date wanted the other woman? It didn’t matter how much she wanted to find someone, Jenn wasn’t going to be anyone’s consolation prize.
She turned to face her date and met his fr
own again.
“It was nice meeting you, Matt. Thanks for coming by.” She went to move around him and step through the door.
“Wait! What about our date?”
“I think we both know I’m not what you expected. Let’s just call it a night.”
“Well, it’s true that you’re not what I expected,” he smiled as he said it and the space between her legs tingled again before anger at his words took over. His smile only added to his appearance which made him grow even more handsome in her eyes.
“I think you’d better leave.” She started to close the door.
He stuck his hand out to stop her.
“I want to take you to dinner, Jenn. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Jenn felt a little fearful he might force himself into her apartment. Her instincts told her to push him away.
“I don’t want to get to know you at all. I have no desire to go out with a drunk that kisses random women in clubs, or that isn’t afraid to show his obvious distaste for me. Now please remove your hand before I call the police.”
His hand fell but his eyes never left hers. She thought she saw a look of hurt cross his face before she closed the door, but she shoved it out of her mind. How dare he show up and not even hide his disappointment in her. She wanted nothing to do with him, but she couldn’t keep the tears from falling as she made her way to her bedroom.
****
Matt took a deep breath as he made his way to the apartment door. He hated blind dates, but his little pity party the night before proved that he was lonely. He really did want to meet someone—maybe this was the only way.
Last week, Dan, a co-worker from the construction company where he worked, had invited him to dinner. Dan’s wife Marcy spent most of the night talking about Jenn and how the two of them would be perfect together. He’d only known her for five minutes, and even though Jenn sounded nice, he decided Marcy was setting them up because they were the only two single people she knew. Matt agreed because he respected Dan and he envied Dan and Marcy’s relationship.