Wolf in the Storm: A BBW wolf shifter romance (Shifters of the Glen Book 5)

by Skye Jones

  I ignored him because otherwise, I’d freak out more. “If we have a relationship, then you’ll stay this age, I presume, for many years, while I become a wrinkled old woman. No thank you very much!”

  A warm hand enveloped mine. “Look at me, honey.”

  I did, and warm blue eyes met my gaze.

  “If we have a relationship, you’ll age more slowly, too. Maybe not at the same rate as me, but slower than any human. You’ll match me in many ways. If I die, or something happens to me, then you’ll catch up to your biological age quickly.”

  I considered his words. Wow, that proved to be a big bonus to a boyfriend. Date him and he made antiaging creams redundant. My God, if word got out there were men in the world who could slow a woman’s aging down merely by being in a relationship, the wolfen would have a riot of human women on their hands. Weird wolfy ways or not, they’d be very popular. I decided not to tell Adam this, in case he wanted to ditch me for a better model. Old patterns of thinking died hard.

  “You can drive now,” I merely said. I needed to ponder this new information.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Adam indicated and pulled out into the road with a smirk.

  I wanted to lick the grin off his face…and then lick all over his body. He really was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. Instead, I settled back in my seat and contemplated the crazy world I’d ended up in.

  A few hours later, we arrived outside the steep walls of Adam’s village. It looked kind of foreboding and unwelcoming from the outside. In some ways, it reminded me of pictures of medieval settlements I’d seen in history books, with the high walls surrounding the whole place and big doors set into the walls.

  “It’s not as imposing as it looks, honest.” Adam beeped his horn as he shot me a quick smile.

  A few moments later and the gates opened to reveal a small group of people standing around. A few men and three women all waved as we drove into the compound. Were these guys survivalists or something, as well as werewolves? They were all huge. They lived behind a massive barricade and looked scary as hell.

  Adam pulled up in front of a large wooden house, opened the door, and hopped down. He immediately came around to my side and pulled my door open, helping me down. He opened the back door, and Humphry bounded out, dancing around me on his long, elegant legs.

  “Sorry to spoil your holiday, Dad.” A tall, strikingly handsome blond man came forward and patted Adam on the back.

  “I’ll let you off. Things seem to be happening, and it’s good you called me home.”

  The weight of many curious stares began to unsettle me.

  “Who’s this?” Another handsome man jerked his chin at me.

  I decided I didn’t like him too much on first impressions. He possessed an arrogance about him that rubbed me the wrong way.

  Adam sighed. Oh, great! Just how a girl wants to be introduced, with a long-suffering sigh. I shot him what I hoped was a harsh glance.

  “This is Pamela. Pamela, meet Jake and Drew.” He pointed to the arrogant man first and then the blond. “My sons.”

  Oh, crap. I better try to make a good impression. They both looked perplexed as if waiting for further information, but Adam turned to two striking women and gave them a wave. “Hello, Brooke. Cait.”

  “Hi, Adam. Good to have you home.” The redhead smiled and then came over to me and gave me a big hug. “Don’t let these jerks intimidate you. Their social skills leave a lot to be desired. I’m married to this one.” She tapped Drew on the arm. “And Cait here is married to that one.” She pointed at Jake.

  I smiled and relaxed some under her friendly welcome. Cait stepped forward, too, and gave me a quick but hard hug. “Welcome to the madhouse.” She rolled her eyes at me, and I let loose a small giggle.

  “You do understand the Seer is organizing the Warriors to bring an empathine here, right, Dad?” Jake’s brow furrowed as he glanced from me to Adam. “For you. I did tell you this in the email.”

  What? Some woman was being brought here for Adam? I instinctively looked back to the car, wondering how long it would take me to get to the nearest hotel.

  “I read your email. We have a lot to discuss. But not now. However, the empathine is not going to be brought here for me.”

  “Bit late for that,” Jake muttered.

  “Son, whatever is causing you to be so rude, get a grip on it.”

  “Oh, right. As if you didn’t treat our women with utter suspicion. Look at how you treated Izzy because she was a mere human. So, forgive me if I seem a bit surprised at you showing up with some human female in tow, after you’ve spent years making your views on them quite clear.” Jake’s insolent tone and sneer made his feelings quite clear.

  One moment Adam stood next to me, the next he had Jake pinned against a nearby tree by the collar of his shirt.

  “Son, watch your mouth.”

  Jake snarled and I panicked, but two of the men standing amidst the greeting committee broke from the group and pulled father and son apart.

  “Take it easy, guys. Tempers are frayed. We’re all stressed out by this news, but I’m not about to have our alphas fighting for no good reason.”

  The guy who spoke was huge. Scarily so. My God, I’d thought Adam was big, but some of these guys were seriously massive.

  “You’re right, Boyd.” Jake smoothed his shirt and looked from the hulking Boyd to Adam. “Dad, I’m sorry. I’m somewhat shocked. You didn’t mention you were bringing a guest. A female, a human female at that, and one you’re bonding with.”

  Adam had said he might be bonding with me, and now his son thought so too. My mind whirred and didn’t seem able to decide whether to be excited or worried.

  Adam nodded at Jake. “Fair enough, but I’m still your alpha, and you do not disrespect me in such a way—or any guest I choose to bring here.”

  Good lord, these people were so different from any I’d met before, with a clear and rigid hierarchy to their society. They spoke more formally, too, at times. Sometimes they sounded like any other human, but when they talked amongst themselves, the different speech patterns became more evident.

  I glanced to one side to find a severe looking man with dark hair watching me. A wicked scar bisected one side of his jaw, and I swallowed, suddenly scared all over again.

  The man with the scar looked from me to Adam and held Adam’s gaze. “What do you mean, you are still our alpha? I know you too well to believe the phrasing unimportant.”

  Adam came back to my side and put his arm around me, pulling me into him and suddenly making me a whole lot more secure.

  “I’m contemplating stepping down as alpha and letting Drew and Jake take over.”

  “Both of them?” The scarred man spoke again.

  “Yes, Louis. I think they are capable of running the pack together, and with all that’s happening, I don’t think it is fair for the burden to fall on one wolfen. They and their mates will run the pack as a team. And you, Boyd, and the other enforcers will help them.”

  I remembered Adam telling me how the alphas ran the pack, but the enforcers were physically very strong and highly trained fighters who could make or break an alpha if they chose to. As I snuck another look at the scarred man, I shivered a little.

  “Hey, there you are.” A beautiful blonde jogged up to our group, a dark-haired child in her arms. The scarred man’s face instantly softened, and he smiled, completely changing his countenance.

  “Are you okay?”

  The female nodded and gave the scary guy a kiss right on his scarred mouth. “Adam! You’re back.” She saw me then and stilled. “Oh, hi.”

  I hated the confused way she looked around the group. God, I felt like some specimen on display.

  Adam groaned and shook his head. “I’ve messed this up, Pam. Forgive me. I’m a little rusty at this. Everyone, this is Pam. She is my guest and has agreed to come and stay with us for a while. I’m hoping she’ll want to make it a good long while once she gets to know us all, so pl
ease make her welcome. She’s very important to me.”

  And with those words, my stomach flipped a little.

  The beautiful blonde passed the child in her arms to the scary man. “Here, take Belle for a moment, Louis.”

  I tried to commit his name to memory, along with Brooke’s, Cait’s, Drew’s, and Jake’s. I’d never remember all these new people.

  The blonde reached me and wrapped me in a huge hug. She pulled away and examined me for a long beat. “Oh, you poor thing. You look like you need a glass of wine and good gossip with us ladeeez.” She shook her head at the men standing around. “No manners, any of you. Is this the way to welcome a new female to our group? God, honestly.” She looked back to me. “I’m Izzy, and that silly lump there with the baby is mine. The others all belong to these various, amazing ladies. Let’s get your bags inside and you settled, and then you can come over to my place and meet the girls properly. Does that sound okay by you, Adam? Can we pinch your girlfriend for a wee while?”

  Girlfriend? It sounded…serious. I’d only just met him. But then again, who was I fooling? I’d come all this way with him. Entered this compound where, frankly, I could have been murdered or anything, because I wanted to be with him, so yeah…maybe this was getting serious.

  “Of course. If you are happy to go and have some wine with the females?” Adam asked me.

  I nodded. “I’d love a glass of wine and a chat.”

  I needed to find out all I could about this place and these people, and the friendly countenances of the women contrasted blatantly with the scary, giant men still eyeing me as if I’d crawled out from under a pile of dead leaves or something.

  “Great!” Izzy clapped her hands. “Grab a bag for her, Drew darling.” She pointed at one of my bags, and Drew did as told. “Are you staying with Adam?” she asked me.

  “Erm…”

  “Yes, of course she is,” Adam said.

  This all made my head spin. I really did need a glass of wine.

  Ten minutes later and I had stashed my bags at Adam’s, barely getting the chance to look around, splashed my face with water and ran a brush through my hair before getting dragged out of the door by Izzy and to her house.

  I found myself seated around a table with Izzy, Brooke, and Cait, drinking wine.

  “They are great when you get used to them,” Brooke said. “Hearts of gold. But at first! God, they take some getting used to. And you’ve walked into a real storm. It’s a long story, but let’s simply say us women have been upset, and when we are upset, our guys get all stressed out, too.”

  “How did you meet Drew?” I asked.

  She giggled and blushed. “He broke in to my cottage and spent the night watching me sleep.”

  I spluttered as wine went down the wrong way, burning my throat. I’d need to remember to stop drinking while around this pack. It was hazardous to my ability to swallow. “He did what?”

  “Yeah. He was protecting me from rogues, but he wanted me, too. Fine by me, as I wanted him, too. Still, I like to remind him that breaking and entering isn’t a great wooing technique.”

  “Louis saved my life. Literally.” Izzy said. “He’s a bit gruff and not great at small talk and all that human crap, but he’s the best male I’ve met in my life.”

  “So…Adam…” Brooke gave me a pointed look, and Cait laughed.

  “We met in the pub, of all things. I was reading the same book as him. I never imagined I stood a chance. I mean, he’s so gorgeous. And I’m…I’m beyond my best years.” I gave a soft laugh, but it sounded forced even to my ears.

  “You are so not past your best!” Brooke shook her head. “You’re lovely. Absolutely gorgeous. And Adam has obviously bonded with you in a big way. You’re it for him now. These guys don’t mess around.”

  It all sounded both wonderful and terrifying.

  “Yep, it’s mostly been us women who’ve flaked out and freaked out.” Izzy took a sip of her water and fixed me with a serious look. “We all get what you’re going through right now. You see, you’ve gone and gotten it on with a wolf shifter. So your body is doing crazy stuff. You’ll be bonding with him, and your hormones are pushing you toward him, and your body wants to be with him all the time. For Adam, that’s the end of it. But you’ve got your human brain screaming what the fuck.”

  “Yeah.” Cait laughed. “Your mind is all: what are you doing going with a man you hardly know, you crazy, mad woman? But your body is all: ooh, he’s so sexy, we want him, we like him.”

  I giggled because she’d hit the nail on the head. “You’ve got me bang to rights. I’m like some split personality right now.”

  They were all lovely, but I liked Izzy the most. She seemed down-to-earth and a good laugh.

  “You basically are, lovey,” Cait replied. “Your body wants one thing. And it wants it bad. It wants Adam to take you to bed for like a month and screw you senseless.”

  “Cait.” Brooke rolled her eyes.

  “What? It’s the truth. Anyway.” Cait fixed me with a blinding smile. “So your body wants Adam like no one’s business. And not only in a sexy times way, but in a deeper way. But your mind can’t deal with it because it’s not how it’s supposed to work. We’re meant to spend years getting to know someone these days before we even move in together. But these guys… One whiff of us. One night in the sack, our voices, the way we move. All the physical stuff, it nails it for them if we match them. Or…at least, that’s what I thought.”

  “Honey.” Brooke laid her hand over Cait’s and squeezed gently. “You have to let it go. What we’ve found out doesn’t change anything.”

  I looked from one to the other, confused.

  “The fact is, these guys have one taste of us, one glance at us, and they start to fall. Once they have sex…game over.” Brooke took a sip of her wine, but she kept her other hand over Cait’s.

  Something about her words struck me, and I cleared my throat. “But…” Oh, crap. How did I put this? I didn’t want to offend them, but I had a burning question.

  “Go ahead and ask. You won’t upset us.” Izzy patted my hand, which had been rubbing nervously at the worn wooden table.

  “If it’s all based on physical stuff like how we smell, our voices, our looks…. Where’s the depth? All of it can change, can fade. Then they’re left with someone they may not even like.”

  Brooke laughed and shook her head. “Firstly, it never fades. It’s not like simple sexual attraction, it’s deeper. When you bond, things like your heart rates start to match. But they like us plenty for who we are. My guy loves my personality, too.”

  “Yep.” Izzy nodded her head. “I’d say they almost put us on a pedestal, but then, that’s not true either. They understand who we really are. It’s not as if they don’t get that we have faults. My messiness drives Louis mad sometimes. But most of the time he’s all about how brave I am, how strong I am. He sees things in me I don’t see in myself. I love the person I am through his eyes.”

  Her eyes went unfocused for a moment, and tears shone in them. “Oh, ignore me.” She dashed at her eyes impatiently. “I guess I’m still full of hormones or something.”

  “So, are you all totally bonded with your men, then? In this for life?” I took another sip of wine, my belly dancing with nervous excitement.

  Could I do what they had? Turn my back on my life and come live here with Adam? There wasn’t much to turn my back on, except for my daughter. And she’d always be the most important person in my life, but she had a new life in Australia. She’d met a guy, and I doubted very much she’d be back to live in the UK. She might visit from time to time, but I didn’t expect to see her often.

  “I have a daughter who lives in Australia. I can’t imagine never seeing her again.”

  “We have family that comes to visit,” Cait said. “The only difficulty is us not aging. Obviously, our families can’t find out we’ve married wolf shifters, so we are going to be stuck when we don’t age as expected. They are loo
king to see if there’s any sort of magic that can be done to help sort this out.”

  “Magic?” My voice came out high and squeaky. This all still freaked me out.

  “Yes, we have females here who practice traditional medicine and understand some of the ancient magic used for healing. And there are others, not in our pack, who practice powerful magic. The bloody interfering old biddies.”

  The mood around the table tensed, and I looked around, confused.

  “Let’s not dwell on all the shit going on, not right now. We need to celebrate a new addition to our pack. Let’s open the bottle of bubbly I’ve been saving up for when I’m drinking again.” Izzy gave me a smile.

  She headed to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “I’ll have a thimbleful. Still breastfeeding, so can’t really drink.” She poured us all a glass and herself a drop and held her flute up. “To Pamela, a new pack member, we hope.”

  They all clinked glasses and echoed my name, and something warm unfurled in my belly. A feeling of kinship and acceptance. I realized it was something I’d been missing in my life, from long before Roger walked out on me.

  Truth be told, I’d been lonely a long time. My daughter had been busy with her social life before she moved away. Then Roger left, and I found myself with not only an empty nest, but a totally empty life. My bestie was lovely, but she’d always been a tad self-obsessed, and she lived in a whirlwind of socializing that I didn’t have the stomach for. Once I’d also lost my job, I’d ended up spending my days mostly alone, feeling like an unwanted spare part.

  I’d been showered with more warmth in a couple of hours here at the wolfen village than in years back home.

  I clinked my glass against theirs and smiled as the warmth spread throughout my body.

  Chapter Eight

  “You’re doing what? With who? Tell me this again? It all sounds rather dodgy to me.” Diane didn’t mince her words or hide her reaction to the news I’d be staying with Adam for a while.

  “His name is Adam. As you know, I met him in the pub by the holiday cottage, and he invited me back to the eco-village where he works. I said yes, and I’m going to stay awhile.”