“I don’t believe it,” Sawyer said. “Sure you don’t like humans, but I can’t see you going on a killing rampage. I can’t believe you’re just going along with this. I can’t believe Adam is going along with this.”
“There’s not much we can do aside from going against the leaders. I’d much rather be shipped off than killed.” I crossed my arms as my stomach rumbled. “Can we go eat now?” I started forward, but Elle stopped me.
“You said you were having dreams.”
I nodded, already tired of having this conversation. It seemed the last few months of my life were dedicated to it.
“What kinds of dreams? Were they visions like today?”
“I don’t know if todays were visions,” I put extra emphasis on the word, thinking how hokey it all sounded. When Elle raised her eyebrow in annoyance, I continued. “In the dreams I was the wolf attacking the humans. They were very real and very scary. The leaders think it’s my subconscious’ way of reminding me of what I’ve done.”
“And today you saw glimpses of things, no murdering?” Elle’s voice was growing more and more interested as if she knew something I didn’t.
“Yeah,” I answered cautiously.
“Hmm.” A smile spread across her pink glossed lips.
“What?”
“Let’s go eat,” she said, ignoring my question. Maybe she was putting a friendly face on all the while getting ready to commit me to the nearest psych ward. With the way my life was going I wouldn’t be surprised.
I awoke to someone getting into my bed. The left side indented; the weight of the person enough to jostle my body. Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Adam. It was still weird my first reaction wasn’t to tell him to get lost. The bond threw all my previous qualms out the window, or maybe I was giving into what I always wanted.
Adam curled up behind me, his arm snaking its way through mine and holding my hand. The warmth of his flesh felt like fire against my skin, arousing my wolf. Her desire pounded through my body, erasing my sleepiness.
“You were quiet tonight,” Adam said, speaking softly. His voice, even as a whisper was a sweet masculine rumble that did funny things to me. It was like a seductive tune that played for my ears alone.
“Just thinking about everything,” I explained. The house was filled with the pack tonight. Adam thought it’d be a good idea to have them all in one place. The rain let up a few hours ago and search teams were out scouring the mountain. When one returned, another would take its place.
“Wade told me they won’t transport you until next week. I’m doing everything I can to find the real killer before then. I’m not losing you, Anna.” I felt the bed shift again. “Hey.”
I turned to face Adam. He was propped up on one elbow, his chest highlighted by the glow of the moon streaming through my window. Shadows played along his face, detailing his strong jawline and high cheekbones.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he said, and I smiled. The words I desperately wanted to hear from my mother came from his lips and comforted me just the same.
“How are you doing?” I asked him. “I know you and Eve weren’t in love, but it can’t be easy not knowing what happened to her.”
Adam trailed a finger down my arm, his eyes following the movement. “It’s difficult…the not knowing,” he admitted. When it came to Eve he never said much. I knew he cared for her, at least in a small way. They’d been together for a while, feelings were bound to grow.
“We’ll find her,” I reassured him.
Adam nodded. “I don’t want to talk about her right now. I want to be here with you, feel your body beneath my fingers, and listen to your heart race as I make love to you.”
I frowned. Using the phrase ‘making love’ was a pet peeve of mine, one that others didn’t seem to share. To me it sounded cheesier than Velveeta. Then again, maybe that was why I was so bad at relationships. I didn’t know how to be in love. Adam didn’t notice my aversion for his words. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips, soft and promising more. Reaching for my arm, he guided my body forward to where I was sitting up and drew me over to him. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he laid down so that I was laying horizontally against the length of his body.
His arms enclosed around my waist as his blue eyes swirled with gold. My wolf had been pretty quiet the past few days, aside from popping up every once in a while to let me know she approved of what I was doing—or who I was doing.
Adam’s hands slid to my backside, his fingers gripping my butt, and grinding me against the growing hardness beneath his cotton pajama pants. I moaned as he continued to move me against his body. Our mouths quickly found each other, hungry and eager for one another.
Adam gripped my legs and moved them so they rested on either side of his hips. Sitting up, he lifted my tee over my head, throwing it on the floor. Since I didn’t sleep in a bra, my breasts were right in his face, nipples hard nubs begging for his attention. The power this man had over me was astounding. Every fiber of my being craved him, burned for him.
His mouth closed over one of my breasts, his tongue doing clever circles around the areola. I moved my hips, making sure to press hard against his lower region. Adam looked up at me through his lashes; a possessive look promised this man was mine.
“Adam, you in there?” Asher called from outside my door.
“Go. Away!” Adam ordered. He snaked a hand around my neck, tugging to bring me closer to his lips. The bulge in his pants was hard as a rock beneath me, my own panties growing wetter in response.
“Sir, they found her,” Asher said, his voice raising an octave. Adam and I became as still as mannequins, our eyes locked.
“Go,” I told him. “Eve needs you.” Had I really just said that? What I really wanted to do was cuff him to my bed and keep him all to myself. It was some kind of cruel punishment to ignite my body and not tame the flame.
“Is she…alive?” Adam asked, keeping his eyes on me.
“Just barely,” Asher responded. Adam closed his eyes as if in relief.
“Give me a minute,” Adam called. Asher’s footsteps echoed down the hallway until they disappeared completely.
Climbing off of Adam, I scooped my shirt up and redressed myself. My wolf growled in frustration, but I ignored her. My stomach was in too many knots to worry about finding completion with Adam. The air in my bedroom seemed thicker, as if the stress of our situation was enough to suffocate us. I had mixed emotions on the situation. I knew sending him to be with her was the right thing to do, but the illogical side of my brain didn’t give a damn. Adam was mine and nothing else mattered.
Adam walked up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders, and kissed the top of my head. Was it wrong that I wasn’t all that happy they’d found Eve? Of course it was. Just thinking those sorts of thoughts made me hate myself. I couldn’t blame the emotion on my wolf, though she wasn’t happy either. It was jealousy plain and simple.
“I have to deal with this,” Adam began. “As soon as I’m back we’ll pick up where we left off.” He turned to leave, but stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob. “Everything will be alright, don’t look so sad.”
I looked at him as I hugged my arms to my chest. “Saying that doesn’t make it so.” It wasn’t that I was worried about Eve’s recovery and what that meant for Adam and me as a couple. It was that I knew come next week, I’d be in Idaho. Realizing that I was being whiny, I forced a smile onto my face. “Never mind, I’m just tired. Go take care of Eve.” I was proud that my words came out unruffled. Inside I was like an earthquake—shaking and breaking apart.
Adam watched me for a few seconds before nodding and leaving my bedroom. He’d left the door open so I could see the entire house was up and active, all anticipating the return of their alpha female. Again, the illogical side hated him for leaving. I gave into that anger for all of ten seconds before I pushed it away. I couldn’t handle putting on a brave face for the rest of the night, so I climbed out my bedroom
window. Judging by the lightness of the sky I’d say it was around 2:00 a.m. I’d gotten three hours of sleep, but I was too antsy to sleep anymore.
“Making a run for it?”
I gasped and jerked backwards. Looking to the right, Wade was leaning against the side of the house, a cigarette glowing against the darkness as he took a drag.
“No,” I bit back, annoyed he’d startled me. “I just needed some air.”
“Yeah, the return of your lover’s mate can’t be an easy thing to deal with,” he mocked.
I shook my head, too annoyed to deal with a cocky leader. When I walked away, footsteps sounded behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I frowned at Wade following me.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snapped, turning around and continuing my walk to the forest edge.
“Seeing as how you’re being shipped off to another pack because people are dying, I’d say you do,” Wade remarked, not missing a step as I quickened my pace.
Whirling around, I stopped and glared at him. My emotions were in a frenzy of jealousy, fear, and sexual frustration. If Wade kept pushing, I was liable to do something stupid, like attack him.
“I’m going for a run,” I told him.
“Why don’t we go get a drink? The pack will be busy attending to Eve for a while.” Wade took another drag off of his cigarette, the cherry lighting his face.
“It’s 2:00 a.m.,” I reminded him.
“I know a bar that doesn’t close until 4:00 a.m.”
My main reason for wanting to change and run was to relieve stress, alcohol would also work. I glanced back at the house. Wade was right. They’d be occupied with Eve for the rest of the night.
“Alright,” I told him, and followed him to his truck.
*
The small, little bar sat back behind a row of hunting and fishing stores. Looking from the street you’d never know it was there. I followed Wade down a tiny alleyway, littered with discarded trash. The brick exterior was painted dark green with the words ‘Wild Things’ on a rectangular board in white. There were no windows on the outside and the metal door had one of those slide thingies that allowed the people inside to peek out and demand a password. Or maybe I’d seen too many movies.
Wade knocked three times, pausing in between as if a special code was being given. The slide moved open, and two orange eyes stared back at us. I knew those sorts of peepers, whoever this dude was, he was a werewolf.
Wade pushed the sleeve of his shirt up and held up his arm, his wrist facing the man. The peephole closed and the clanging of deadbolts being unlocked echoed through the door.
“Back so soon, Mr. Wade?” A large man asked, extending an arm as an invitation to come in. The man, who was as thick and solid as a tree trunk, stood around six-foot-five. What little light there was gleamed off of his bald head like a spotlight. His black T-shirt fit snuggly around each protruding muscle in his arms, which were covered in various tattoos. The one that caught my eye was of two werewolves—one gray and one black—doing the deed under a full moon.
“You’ve got the best whiskey in town,” Wade said, and the man grunted in agreement. His eyes quickly found me, piercing and suspicious. “This is Anna Avery, new one.”
I resented still being called a “new one”. I’d been around for four months. That should have given me some semblance of respect.
“I wasn’t turned yesterday,” I snapped at Wade, extending my arm to the brawny man. “Nice to meet you…?”
“This is Puck,” Wade said, “and he doesn’t like to be touched.”
I let my arm fall and gave Puck a thin lipped smile.
“I don’t mind the pretty ladies touching me,” Puck drawled, smiling in my direction and holding out his arm. I looked at Wade and he nodded. I clasped Puck’s hand; his so large mine nearly disappeared.
“Welcome to Wild Things, Ms. Anna,” Puck smiled and released my hand. A shiver shimmied up my spine, but I did my best to not let my discomfort show. Judging from Puck’s demeanor, this was a place where weakness would be used against you.
Wade and I stepped inside, my eyes roaming over the small space. The bar wasn’t very big, maybe twenty feet by fifteen. A counter, with shelves full of alcohol bottles behind it, sat towards the back. The lighting was low, puffs of smoke swirling within the soft beams. Most of the patrons were men, with the exception of three women who were sitting at the bar. They were dressed in short skirts or shorts, and their tops left little to the imagination. I caught sight of three doors, all with ‘do not disturb’ signs on them. If I had to guess, I’d say this was a werewolf brothel. My suspicions were confirmed when a couple stepped out of one of the rooms, the man buckling his belt and the woman adjusting her shirt. The man handed her a roll of cash and they both went their separate ways.
Wade walked up to the bar, me on his heels. When he stopped I wasn’t watching where I was going and ran into his back. He looked over his shoulder, a smile growing on his lips.
“What do you want?”
“A screwdriver.”
Wade and the bartender laughed. “She’ll have a shot of your famous whiskey,” he told the bartender. “Same for me.” The guy smiled and poured the drinks, sliding them to us.
“Let’s go over here,” Wade said, nodding his head to the right. He walked over to a table that sat further away from the others, and I took the seat across from him. He threw back the shot, and I did the same. The whiskey sliding down my throat burned, warming my cheeks.
“Ew, that’s some strong stuff,” I said around a cough. “So, what’s this all about? You want to liquor me up and see if I’ll confess to the murders?” I leaned back in my chair and stared at him. Wade was a nice enough guy, but he was also a leader. He may have seemed relaxed, but I wouldn’t let that fool me into letting my guard down.
“You’ve already been sentenced, why would I need a confession?” Wade asked, pushing the shot glass back and forth between his hands. “I just thought you could use some time away from the house. I can tell when you’re trying to be strong, yet breaking inside.”
What the hell was I supposed to say to that? “You can?” I asked with skepticism.
“You don’t hide it as well as you think. It’s written all over your face.”
I looked away, annoyed that he was right. I’d always been a horrible liar. “Thanks, Dr. Phil. I’ll work on it.”
Wade released a heavy breath, raising his arm in the air to signal the bartender.
“What is the Idaho pack like?” I asked nervously. It’d been a constant question in my brain since I heard I’d be shipped off. My punishment may have been moving away from my new family and working as a servant for the rest of my life, but integrating myself into a new pack was what really scared me. Werewolves tended to be suspicious, judgmental, and mean towards wolves they didn’t know. It all boiled down to packs being a tight knit group who stuck together. There were so many different packs we sorta had to be that way towards others. If we showed weakness, the surrounding packs would take that as a cue to ambush our homes and claim the wolves, thus making their packs larger. Not all large packs happen this way, but it’s not unheard of when dealing with the ruthless, power hungry alphas.
“It’s a well-functioning pack of around eighty. The alpha’s name is Ben Jenkins. He’s one of the youngest alphas, and the fiercest. He runs his pack like a well-oiled machine and has bested every man who’s challenged his position. Then again, so has your mate.” Wade winked.
Mate—that word didn’t apply to what Adam was to me. It wasn’t strong enough to describe who we were to each other. Surprise filled me though at learning that Adam was undefeated when it came to fights. I never thought about someone going against him to claim the alpha spot. I guess I was still naïve when it came to stuff like that. I’d never seen anyone go against Adam’s judgment, but that didn’t mean men weren’t secretly vying for his position.
“I thought it was pretty cool how you handed Nicholas his ass last night,”
Wade said, interrupting my thoughts. A woman in her forties, wearing a red corset, black shorts and black hose with a lace pattern walked up to our table. She set down two chubby glasses filled with amber liquid and smiled at me.
“You here to interview, honey? You’re hired,” She winked. “With a face and body like that, you’ll be booked for the next year.” The woman, whose hair was obviously dyed blonde, smiled wide, revealing a chipped front tooth.
“I…uh…no,” I muttered, too grossed out at the thought to form a coherent sentence.
“She’s a friend of mine, Ruth. Just here to keep me company,” Wade told the woman, sliding money across the table. Ruth picked the bills up and tucked them into her bra.
“If you ever change your mind,” Ruth said, lying her business card down in front of me. Who knew prostitutes had business cards?
I nodded, at a loss for words. It wasn’t every day I got propositioned to become a lady of the night. When Ruth sauntered away, I started laughing.
“What was that?” I said through a giggle. “Are seedy underbelly places your normal hangouts?”
The thought may have grossed me out, but I could see how alluring a place like this would be to a male werewolf—well any male for that matter. Werewolf men just happened to be a little friskier than the humans.
“It’s part of my job to know the seedy underbelly side of our kind.” Wade smirked.
I wondered just how well he knew Ruth and her kind. I shuddered thinking about it. Wade was a good-looking guy; surely he didn’t need to depend on paid pleasure to satisfy him.
“Let me ask you a question,” Wade said, sitting forward and propping his elbows on the table. “If you’re innocent, then why are you not fighting us on your punishment? You do believe you’re innocent, don’t you?”
“Does it matter?” I questioned. “You guys already have your minds made up. Me throwing a tantrum isn’t going to affect your judgment, right?” I frowned, wondering if maybe I should’ve been fighting more. What logical person would accept being shipped off to a strange new pack without so much as a fight? A normal person might even have thoughts of running away so they weren’t treated like a prisoner for the rest of their lives. Did my lack of argument on the subject make me look guiltier?
01 Taming the Wolf - Anna Avery Page 18
