Fire & Gasoline: A Shifter Romance (Audax Pack Book 1)

by Colette Rhodes

  “So, where are you staying?” Indigo asked, sticking to my side like glue even as she tried to wipe down the furthest part of the counter. I took pity on her and came along so she could reach more without breaking contact.

  “I’m staying at a motel nearby. I haven’t looked for a permanent setup yet,” I replied, reorganizing the cups on top of the espresso machine. The motel wasn’t ideal, but I’d lived in far worse places in the two years since I’d left home.

  Indigo frowned. “That won’t do. I know of a room for rent. My friend, Maria, owns the house but lives with her fiancé now. Students rent the other rooms, but it’s not like you’re way older than them or anything.”

  She meant nothing by it, but the comment stung. I didn’t even particularly want to go to college, but it’d be nice to have had the option. Indigo’s arm pushed more firmly against my own as she picked up on my shift in mood.

  “Sounds great. I’ll check it out,” I replied, forcing a polite smile that went entirely against my nature. Roommates had often made for good cuddle buddies, or more, in the past. Maybe I’d get lucky again.

  ✽✽✽

  I met Maria at the slightly run-down home straight after work. It was a simple, white clapboard single-family home with a tidy, plain front yard. Nothing fancy, but I’d lived in worse. Maria — a bored-looking woman in her early 30s who was much more interested in what was happening on her phone until she’d gotten caught up in my aura — let me in through the front door, that led straight into a small, cozy living area. Aside from the garish blue paint that dominated one wall, it was nice enough. A well-worn, but serviceable sectional dominated the room, facing an old TV on a chunky wooden stand in one corner.

  Off the living room was a separate nook for a dining room with an old, somewhat dilapidated table and mismatched chairs, with an old combination ceiling fan and light hanging over top of it. An archway led through to a functional 90s-style kitchen, with faded linoleum floors and laminate countertops. It wasn’t a chef’s kitchen by any means, but I could do more here than I could in the motel kitchenette.

  It was only a ten-minute walk from the liberal arts section of the campus where the coffee shop was located, basically an ideal commute. Plus, the rent was cheap. I filled out the paperwork on the spot. Maria looked like she was about to faint with glee.

  Two young women came down the stairs to meet me, both looking a little wary, but one with far more confidence than the other.

  “Hello, I’m Wren,” I greeted them politely, sticking out my hand for them to shake. The awkward meet-the-roommate routine I could do. This was familiar territory.

  “I’m Ella, this is my little sister, Madison,” the athletic brunette replied, stepping forward to shake my hand.

  “I can speak for myself,” Madison muttered, pushing her chestnut hair behind her ear.

  I grimaced as Ella not-so-subtly angled herself in front of her sister, dismissing her with her turned back.

  Ella didn’t realize she was doing it, but she was angling for a spot as my Beta. She was naturally confident, a born leader, and her instincts told her to prove herself to me. That was the problem with living with humans. They fell into a pack hierarchy unconsciously, swayed by my Alpha presence, no matter how much I tried to tone it down.

  “Madison’s a freshman this year, but our parents wanted us to live together,” Ella explained, ignoring her sister’s grumbling. “I’m a sophomore, like Cam, our other roommate. He isn’t back in town yet.” Ella was confident for a human. While she was finding it difficult to maintain eye contact, she never stopped trying. I respected her pluckiness.

  “What will you be studying, Madison?” I asked the quieter sister, softening my tone to put her at ease.

  “Oh, I haven’t decided on my major yet,” she replied, toeing the ground nervously. “I’m really interested in psychology though.” Ella’s mouth tightened a smidge in disapproval, but she said nothing.

  “I’m studying education,” Ella volunteered.

  “And you all work at Coffee at Carson,” Maria supplied helpfully, straightening out the paperwork she’d been looking over. “This all looks great to me, Wren. I’m sure the girls will answer any questions you have, but call me if you need me. Or if you want to hang out, or anything. I could show you around Carson.”

  She looked at me expectantly, waiting for my permission to leave. I tipped my chin, giving her a small smile and she scurried through the front door. Definitely less dominant than Ella.

  “Are you a freshman too?” Madison asked shyly.

  “Ah, no. College isn’t on the cards for me,” I said, shrugging as if it didn’t much bother me either way.

  “Then why are you living in Carson?” Ella asked dubiously. “Did you meet a man?”

  I barked a laugh. “Fuck, no. I go where the wind takes me, I suppose. Carson is where I ended up.” Technically, I go where the wolf takes me, but I couldn’t tell them that.

  “I want to travel someday,” Madison replied wistfully. Ella rolled her eyes.

  “We’re going to pick up our books. Do you want to come for a walk? Otherwise your room is the second door on the right at the top of the stairs. Maria showed you, right? Though that room is so small, maybe you should swap with Madison…” Ella said hesitantly, looking torn.

  “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” I replied, already moving past them towards the hallway. I needed a brief human-free reprieve before trekking back to the motel to grab my bag.

  As the last person in the house, I’d gotten the smallest bedroom. It had a twin bed, bedside table, chest of drawers, and a rickety freestanding wardrobe. Serviceable. Practical. Impersonal. A continuation of my life over the past two years. The sloped ceiling would probably drive me nuts eventually, though. I was about average height for a female wolf shifter.

  Tall for a human.

  At least my new roommates were nice and didn’t reek of booze. Humans were usually friendly. I’d had far more pleasant interactions with them than I’d ever had with wolves.

  My wolf had been unusually calm since we’d arrived in this little nowhere town. She was up and snarling again now, hating the small confines and overpowering smell of human life. The entire house smelled like cleaning products, and the bleach used in the bathroom at the other end of the hall had my eyes watering from here.

  If I got past the six-month mark and my wolf was still happy, I’d find my own place, I promised myself. I could handle living like a human, but living with humans was testing my limits.

  I walked back to the motel to pick up my bag and check out, taking in the town and figuring out my surroundings. My wolf settled instantly once we were out in the open, happy to sit back and take everything in.

  The sun was setting over the town, bathing the buildings in a warm glow and casting the surrounding mountain ranges into shadow. The sky was the most spectacular shade of violet; the clouds floating lazily through the air an almost burned orange. I’d lived in some beautiful places over the past two years, but there was something magical about Carson.

  My wolf pined for the surrounding mountains, and guilt oozed uncomfortably through my system at the reminder she’d been cooped up for two years now. It was cruel. Worse than cruel. For the first year, I’d been scared that if I shifted, she’d head straight back to Azymus Pack territory. Since then, I’d been worried she wouldn’t let my human side return. That I’d go feral and lose myself to my wolf.

  Aside from the longing she was feeling to run, she felt far more settled here than she had anywhere else. Maybe it was time to let go. To give her a chance and hope that it wouldn’t be the end for me.

  I couldn't pretend to be human forever.

  ✽✽✽

  I’d been working with Indigo and the cook, Jax, to get the place ready for the start of semester over the past week. Most of the other staff were students and hadn’t arrived back on campus yet, so I’d been putting in twelve-hour days to get things set up. It didn’t particularly bother me
. Aside from having nothing better to do, the money had come in handy after I’d spent a sizeable chunk of my savings to move. Again.

  Today was the first day of classes, so the rest of the waiting staff were back, and so far they were all remarkably friendly. I’d never worked with so many students before, they were a lot more relaxed than my previous co-workers. Probably because they were more worried about their grades. I envied them a little. It would be nice to have something else going on in my life that I could be proud of. Something that gave me a sense of purpose.

  “Put Wren on the coffee machine whenever you can,” Indigo called out. “She makes amazing espressos.” I suppose that was a sense of purpose. Fates, I needed a hobby.

  Customers trickled in as the campus filled up with liberal arts students starting the new semester. There were a lot of trendy hipsters and studious intellectuals seated around the coffee shop by mid-morning. It was a far more lively environment than the truck stop.

  “You weren’t here last year,” a low friendly voice said from the other side of the counter. I looked up and gave the handsome human opposite me a slight smile. He was good looking in a clean-cut, athletic kind of way. Pretty green eyes, wavy dark brown hair, strong jawline.

  He would do nicely.

  "I just moved here," I replied, pitching my voice low and sultry.

  “I thought so. I would have definitely recognized you.” He leaned forward onto the counter with one elbow, looking over at me but not quite meeting my eyes even as I toned down my natural dominance as much as I could.

  “What’s your name?” I purred, grateful that he was the only one in the queue. I was no natural flirt. Fates knew that if my Luna aura didn’t lure the humans in, I’d never get laid.

  "Derek. Yours?"

  "I'm Wren."

  "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he replied, a little too smoothly, and I suppressed an eye roll. "Maybe we could go out some time, Wren?"

  "Sure, that sounds nice."

  “Coffee?”

  “Latte, please.” I flashed him my most winning smile before sliding back behind the coffee machine.

  “What’s your number?” he asked, as confident as he could be without fully meeting my eye. I liked him. I rattled it off while I filled the basket with espresso grinds.

  “I’ll message you later,” he promised. “Hopefully you haven’t given me a fake number.” He grinned.

  “You’ll soon find out,” I laughed, preparing the milk. “So you’re a sophomore?”

  “I am. I’m majoring in philosophy.”

  “That sounds fun,” I lied, tuning out a little as he started talking about the philosophy papers he was most looking forward to taking this semester.

  “Here’s your latte,” I announced cheerfully, sliding the cup across the counter to him and accepting the bills he handed me.

  “It’s been nice talking to you, Wren.” Had it? I barely said anything. “I hope we can hang out again soon.” He flashed me his suavest smile before heading for the door. Jax, the cook, caught my eye through the pass-through kitchen window and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, making me snort. He was at least in his seventies, an overweight man with deep crinkles around his eyes from a lifetime of smiling. I liked him instantly.

  Usually a temporary fling, perhaps a couple of months, that would take care of my need for touch was an appealing idea. My wolf shifted restlessly, her discomfort bleeding into my emotions. Maybe at the ripe old age of 20, I was over the rush that temporary flings with humans that could go nowhere provided.

  It was a dangerous line of thinking since my chances of a relationship with one of my kind were nonexistent. I’d yet to encounter a shifter more dominant than me. He only existed as a hot, alpha blonde fantasy in my dreams each night.

  It was stupid line of thinking to indulge in. Any time I’d gotten near a wolf pack in the past two years, they’d warned me away from their territory. I was a lone wolf, and it looked like I always would be.

  “Indigo, is there a drugstore around here?” I called, taking off my apron and shoving my things in my worn backpack.

  “Sure, hun. On the other side of campus, cut straight through the middle.”

  I waved in thanks, letting myself out into the groups of students milling around the campus, soaking up the sunlight. There were enough people around that they occasionally brushed against me or jostled me. It was heaven. Touch, how I have missed thee.

  Weaving around the back of the large administrative building in the center of the campus, the most tantalizing smell drifted in on the breeze, making my wolf perk up and my mouth water. Fuck. What was that? It smelled like sandalwood and sexual promise.

  I almost moved towards it, before stopping myself and my eager wolf, shaking my head to clear it. That smell was a colossal problem. That delicious sandalwood scent definitely belonged to a male wolf shifter. The faint trace of a second wolf had me rushing across the campus, desperate to find the drugstore, stock up on witch hazel, and get the fuck out of here. I’d covered myself in lavender spray this morning, but I’d been running low and I wasn’t confident it would hold if I got too close.

  I finally found a town my wolf likes, and there are already shifters here. And one of them smells like my own personal fantasy in scent form. Just my fucking luck.

  Chapter 3

  Archer

  Fates, I loved college life. It was everything I’d dreamed it would be.

  My best friend and future Beta, Miles, leaned against the wall of the administration building, chatting with a cute redhead freshman while I took stock of all the fresh faces on campus.

  The campus wasn’t home — home would always be Audax Pack territory — but I’d come to like it here over the past couple of years. The campus was spread out, with red brick buildings dotted all over the place, connected by wide paths and surrounded by large expanses of lawn. Lawn that was currently covered in students, lying in the sun in groups, catching up after summer break.

  I could practically feel the carefree vibes coming off the students as they lounged around, hanging out with their friends. It was addictive. I wanted to capture that feeling and crystalize it into a drug form I could take a hit of in the future. For when shit got a lot less relaxed for me.

  Miles and I were the first members of the Audax Pack to go to college. The campus was only a ninety-minute drive from our territory, but a council of local pack representatives had decided that Carson College would be neutral territory from now on, giving young shifters a safe place to further their education. There was even a shifter on the Board, encouraging young shifters from packs around the Pacific Northwest to attend. So far, only Miles and myself had taken the leap, but word of our success was spreading. Obviously, the human students didn’t know about shifters. They just thought Miles and I were into bodybuilding.

  That the Council had deemed this college neutral territory was thanks in no small part to Miles and I pushing the issue with my father, Alpha Ellery, and the elders of our pack. We had dreamed about having a normal college experience since we were pups. I was the future Alpha and Miles was the future Beta. We were destined for a life of responsibility, and we wanted a few years to ourselves. Well, more me than Miles.

  Classes. Parties. Sleep-ins. Hangovers. Women.

  Camille sauntered over to greet me as she exited the administration building, her long chestnut hair swaying along with the exaggerated movement of her hips. She was a junior too, and we’d had some fun during the last school year. Nothing exclusive, I was always clear about that, but she didn’t seem to mind. Of course she didn’t. I was a dominant as fuck future Alpha. Humans were pre-programmed to give me what I wanted. Without realizing it, Camille would sometimes try to slip into the role of my Luna.

  It’s not like I took advantage of it. I wasn’t some college playboy, getting my dick wet for the sake of it. The opposite, really. I hated sleeping with humans; they were unbelievably fragile. Camille was the only human I’d slept with, and only when
the touch cravings got too much. Usually, I could manage them by making out with girls at parties and snuggling them a bit. It was that or make Miles spoon with me, which always made for an awkward morning-after chat.

  I did my best to keep my expression neutral as Camille approached. Human perfume irritated my sensitive wolf nose, and Camille loved perfume. She always smelled like a cupcake. It was sort of sickly.

  “Archer,” she purred seductively, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. I still had to lean down a little so she could reach. Shifters were naturally tall and as a natural-born Alpha, I was easily 6.5”.

  I pushed my dark blonde hair back, cataloguing the way Cammile’s eyes tracked the movement of my muscles.

  “Camille. Good summer?” I asked, scanning the campus again. It’s not that I didn’t like her, but talking wasn’t really our thing.

  “Fine,” she said dismissively with a flick of her hand, leaning up against me. “I missed you,” she added with a coy smile. It was a lie, I could smell it, but I didn’t call her out on it. She felt compelled to please me, but that didn’t mean she liked me. Chances are, she’d seen a freshman in the courtyard eyeing me up and was just trying to stake her claim.

  “We should hang out again soon. The girls are planning some killer events this semester,” Camille continued, leaning against my arm even as she scrolled distractedly through the notifications on her phone. It must be exhausting being so fucking on all the time.

  Something to look forward to, I reminded myself. When I became Alpha, I’d always be on show.

  “Arch,” Miles called, striding towards me, phone in hand. “Your father’s on the phone, he said you weren’t picking up.”

  “So he called your bestie? That’s so weird,” Camille interjected, looking up from her phone and pressing her breasts against my arm. “Haven’t you ever heard of covering for your friend? Maybe Archer isn’t in the mood to talk to his old man right now.”

  I grimaced, knowing my dad would pick up every word she said. Before she could make it worse, I eased away from Camille and took the phone from Miles, ignoring the thin-lipped look he was shooting at Camille. He was more of a romantic than me, forever looking around the corner hoping his fated mate would materialize out of nowhere and throw herself into his arms. He’d never sleep with a human. I wasn’t even sure he’d slept with a shifter.