“Listen, guys,” Finn started, sipping the water he had in front of him. He was going to head to a little café in the human town for breakfast later, as he was craving some eggs, but he was embarrassed to admit he couldn’t cook. Neither could any three of his house mates–hence all the pastries and cereal bought from the local grocery store. “I realize that the Moonlight Pack isn’t the most inviting of them all, but they’ve been through a lot. Also, look at our pack back home. We’re not inviting at all, and we’ve never had anything happen to us like these guys have.”
“So, what do you suppose we do, then?” Tatiana asked him. She was sipping her coffee, her black nails making her pale skin even paler than usual. She was always so silent and kept to herself that Finn forgot she was there for a second, even though she was sitting right next to him. Tatiana played with her curly black hair, and Finn couldn’t help but think she looked like a little goth princess.
“I say we start volunteering to do some things,” Finn announced, waiting until the groans around the small kitchen table died out. “When there’s a drive of some sort, volunteer. If Hann or Kato need someone to run to the city, say you’ll go. Do everything you can to make it known that we’re friendly and just trying to help. And learn.”
“Maybe we should just head home,” Desmond moaned, rubbing his beard as he thought of all the different things they could do at home instead of volunteering their free time to a pack that didn’t even want them there.
“Do you really want to go home?” Finn asked, giving him a knowing look.
“Nah, not really,” Desmond admitted, to which Lorelei and Tatiana nodded. They would all have to volunteer and show their support to the Moonlight Pack if they wanted to try to get in their good graces.
It wasn’t like Finn’s pack, the Hollow Lake Pack, was horrible or anything. It was just their alpha that was a pain in the ass. After meeting Hann and discovering what a real alpha was, one who cared and would do anything for his pack, the group decided that they were going to try and stay in Maine as long as possible. Because their own alpha was just such an ass. And it wasn’t like any of them had anything to return to back home. Their lives there were boring and full of ridiculous drama.
At least in Maine, they knew what they were fighting for.
Chapter 2
Lea had the worst hangover. She almost couldn’t believe it herself.
Anyone who knew her would say that her having a hangover on a Tuesday morning was ridiculous. Lea didn’t drink. Lea didn’t party. Lea didn’t do anything crazy like that. From a young age, Lea had been a steady kind of person. She liked to have fun of course, but not if it involved anything dangerous or anything that would make her do anything stupid. Kind of like alcohol did.
And yet, as Lea got out of her car and started walking into the cafe she went to every morning for some coffee, she felt like hell. Her sunglasses were in place, though that didn’t stop the sun from hurting her brain. She felt like she had someone in her head that was beating a drum, over and over and over again. This wasn’t Lea’s first hangover, as she had two when she was in college, but she certainly wasn’t used to them.
Lea and her best friend, Hazel, also a shifter in the Moonlight Pack just like her, had decided to drink some red wine as they watched their favorite reality show together, Real Love. A few bottles later, Lea had crashed at her friend’s place and slept on the couch without even realizing it.
She had to get up, though. Not only did she have to attend Britta’s defense class this morning, but she had to go to work right after. Working at the local human hospital as a nurse was Lea’s dream job. But even she couldn’t imagine it being fun when she was this hungover. She knew coffee would help. Or rather, she hoped coffee would help.
As Lea breezed through the front door of the coffee shop, titled Chez Alfie and named after the owner, she realized that she forgot to call ahead and tell the girls that worked there every morning that she would need only one cup, instead of her usual two–one for her, one for Hazel. When Lea had woken up this morning at her friend’s, Hazel had declared that there was no way she was going to get out of bed. It was her day off, she was upset that her favorite on Real Love was sent home last night, and her hangover was a bit too much. She couldn’t even move.
Lea had sighed, too hungover herself to laugh at her friend’s disposition. She left in a rush to get home and change into her workout clothes, as well as pack her work clothes, so she could just leave from the gym to work. It’d save time, and she really didn’t feel like rushing around doing anything this morning. In her rush to get home and ready for the day, she had forgotten to call the shop. They always made her coffees at 7:00 a.m. sharp, so when Lea would walk in two minutes past seven every morning, they would be ready to go.
Now, as she walked through the coffee shop to the smiling workers behind the counter, she realized that she was just gonna have to pay for the two coffees. She didn’t want them to have to waste it, and in her hungover state, she knew that she could drink the two medium-sized cups. She would probably need it.
As Lea put on a bright and smiling face and said hello to the girls that worked there, she realized just how much she needed coffee. How in the world was she going to get through Britta’s class this morning? She was never drinking that much red wine in one sitting ever again.
“Hey there,” she heard a voice say behind her. Confusion was written on Lea’s face as she turned around to face the stranger that had begun to talk to her–but not before seeing the almost lovey-dovey expression that came across the two girls’ faces that had just handed her the cups of coffee she paid for.
When she turned around and saw who was standing before her, she understood why they looked like they had just come face to face with a Greek god.
It was Finn. And out of all the people in Maine that could be considered god-worthy, he topped the list. Maybe it was his golden-blond hair that fell a little below his ears, always in an unkempt “I just woke up” vibe. Maybe it was his constant flannel dress code that just made him look like a manly man that would go chop wood and then seduce a virgin in his cabin. Why those scenarios? Lea had just read a romance book that followed an alpha male that did that.
And looking at Finn, she could definitely see him doing something like that to her.
She mentally shook her head of all thoughts regarding his gorgeousness, as that was the last thing she wanted to blurt out. Time to be professional, Lea. Time to be friendly and not throw her body at him at seven o’clock in the morning in the middle of a café.
Finn was a shifter from the other pack that came to town to train with her pack–that much she knew. Britta’s first classes consisted of only four people in the very beginning: Lea, Finn, Hazel, and Ethan, a new alpha from another pack. While she had never really talked one-on-one with Finn, the group as a whole were pretty friendly together. Chez Alfie was the last place she thought she’d ever see Finn. After all, it was a human-run café deep in town, and shifters tended to . . . well, not communicate as openly with humans. There were the exceptions, of course, and Lea found that the Moonlight Pack was a little more open to humans than other packs that she had heard of.
Finn was involved with one of those other packs, which was why seeing him in the café was so interesting to her. Also, she found him interesting just as he existed–and she couldn’t help but find him unbearably sexy.
“You’re the last person I expected to see here,” Lea blurted out when she realized that she should probably talk to him and not just stand there looking at him like an idiot. “I mean . . . that’s not an insult or anything.”
Lea cursed at herself mentally. Could she sound any dumber? Well, probably . . . so she’d better just try to act somewhat intelligent.
“I come for the delicious food,” he smiled at her, and Lea tried not to get lost in his baby-blue eyes. She was finding it very difficult not to. “I’ve never seen you here, though.”
“Oh, I come every morning for the
coffee,” she said, holding up the two cups of coffee that were in her hands.
“I usually come after our practice, but I had some time to spare this morning,” he explained, hinting at the reason they probably never saw each other. “Do you normally drink two cups of coffee in the morning? Why not just get a large and save a cup?”
Lea giggled, then immediately stopped. She didn’t want to sound like the immature schoolgirl she was currently portraying.
“I always get one for Hazel, and then we meet up for a few minutes before class,” she explained to him, smiling politely. “Hazel’s not going to class this morning, though, and I forgot to call the girls this morning to tell them I would only need one cup. You see, I come here so often that they’ve memorized our orders. And now I’m stuck with two coffees, and . . . yeah.”
Lea quickly, but obviously not too quickly, realized that she was rambling at breakneck speed. Finn just politely smiled at her, though, and she felt a bit more comfortable in his presence.
“I really didn’t mean to go rambling like that,” she laughed, feeling even more relaxed when Finn laughed with her. “Did you want this cup? It’s just a regular latte, and I’m not gonna drink it.”
Might as well give it away, even though her hungover state was thinking that maybe she should have those two cups of coffee. Sharing is caring, right?
“Oh, thanks,” Finn smiled, grabbing the coffee that she handed to him. Lea didn’t know if she would ever get used to being around him. He was just so attractive and mesmerizing. “Are you heading to practice at the gym now?”
“Yeah,” Lea replied, both of them beginning to walk out of the human-run café and to the parking lot where Lea’s car was. Lea breathed in the spring air. She was so happy it wasn’t as cold, though she knew that once summer came around, she would long for the snow.
“Did you drive here?” Finn asked as they stepped out in the morning sun. Lea looked over at him to see the sun shining through his blond hair. Gosh, he was gorgeous.
“Yeah, you?”
Lea didn’t know how to do small talk with a handsome man like Finn. She hoped she sounded somewhat interesting, though their conversation was actually pretty boring.
“No, I normally shift and run from my house to the gym,” he told her as they slowly strolled through the cars. “I live about a block from here, so I walk in the morning. I don’t want to scare the humans.”
“Oh, they’ve seen their fair share of wolves, don’t you worry,” she laughed with him. “I can give you a ride if you want.”
Lea motioned to the cup of coffee he now had in his hand. If he shifted into his wolf form, he wasn’t going to be able to exactly take his cup of coffee with him.
“That would actually be great,” Finn smiled at her, following her to where she parked her car at the end of the small parking lot. Lea felt her heart quicken in pace with every step she took.
Lea smiled as she glanced to the side of her, taking in Finn’s stature as he fell in place with her.
Yep, he was gorgeous. She knew she was going to make a fool of herself in front of him. She just had to give herself time.
Chapter 3
Finn didn’t know why he walked up to Lea in the coffee shop. Yeah, they knew each other and had been friendly to each other for a while, but Finn didn’t normally do things like that. Well, not in the friendly way that he came across. Did he just strike up conversations with random ladies he thought were attractive? Yes. But he had a type.
And Lea wasn’t really his type.
She was gorgeous, hands down, and he could appreciate her beauty, which was evident, even if she wasn’t his type. But she was a tall blonde, someone that looked like she lived at the beach or was constantly doing something athletic while getting a tan. And while he knew men that would go wild for her–Desmond, in particular–he was more drawn to the girls that were a bit darker. A bit worse. A bit bad.
One look at Lea, and Finn knew she was a good girl.
So, he couldn’t really describe the feeling that he had when he just decided to walk up to her and strike up a conversation. Maybe his subconscious was putting in place his idea to just try to integrate into the Moonlight Pack a bit more. After all, he did just have a whole conversation with his own pack mates this morning about trying to integrate into their new living situation. Still, the feeling in his stomach of some different emotion, one that he had only felt a few times before, that he felt as she drove him to the gym, was making him feel weird.
Finn didn’t do good girls. He had a rule, and he stuck to that rule. And he sure as hell didn’t want to ruin a good girl like Lea. She was beautiful, funny in that unabashed way, and someone he could consider a friend.
If only he could get thoughts of lust out of his head, things would be good to go. But no, his dirty mind was thinking about what she would be like in bed while she was trying to have a nice conversation with him on the drive over to the gym. He gripped the coffee she’d let him have, noticing that if he gripped it any tighter the throwaway cup would break.
Sometimes, he really hated himself.
Finn and Lea finally got to the gym, and Finn was thankful that they weren’t as close together as they were in her car. He could still smell her flowery scent all over him, though, and he didn’t know how he felt about it. It was like he was on an emotional rollercoaster from the moment he saw her in the café, the morning sunlight lighting up her blonde hair as if she was an angel sent to him from above.
They both walked into the gym together, chuckling and keeping their small talk going. Finn didn’t know what she was thinking about. He knew what he was thinking about, and he hoped that he wasn’t being creepy or anything. He hoped that he was acting normal, and not at all like he was imagining what she looked like naked. Maybe he just hadn’t been with a woman in a while. Now that Finn thought about it some more, it was probably why he was acting like a horny teenager that had never seen a true woman before. He hadn’t relieved any of his sexual tension or had a fun night with a lady since he’d come to Maine.
He was going to have to change that, he knew.
As they walked throughout the main gym, machines, and mats for sparring all around them in a somewhat disorderly, yet organized manner, Finn saw Lorelei staring at them with a smirk on her face from where she was waiting for class to start in one of the corners of the huge open area. When Lea said she’d see him in class and walked to the ladies’ dressing room, Finn beelined over to where Lorelei was now cackling at him.
He loved Lorelei and Tatiana. He would never think of them in any romantic way, and always considered them family. So, as he walked into what he knew would be a bombardment of sarcastic remarks, Finn felt like he was listening to his sister make fun of him. He couldn’t help the smile that slowly crept on his face as he walked nearer to where Lorelei stood alone.
“I don’t even want to hear whatever joke you have running in your head,” he told her, his voice low, as he finally leaned up against the wall with her. He didn’t know why she would be laughing. He was with Lea–so what? Lorelei and Lea knew each other, and as far as he knew, they were friends.
Or as close to friends as you could be with the Moonlight Pack shifters. They were hard to get to know. They seemed to never let their guard down.
“No, I was just thinking you work really fast,” she replied, a smile on her face. When he looked at her with slight confusion, she elaborated. “Just this morning, you were saying that we had to be nice and try and get in with the shifters here. Looks like you’re getting in somewhere, aren’t you?”
“Ha,” he fake laughed at her. “I saw her at the coffee place I went to this morning for breakfast, and she offered me a ride. Don’t be jealous just because I’ve made a new friend and you haven’t.”
“Oh, I’m not jealous, Finn,” she laughed at him. “I’m just surprised. I didn’t know that good girls were your type.”
“It’s not like that,” he rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t deny the we
ird feelings he was having for Lea. It was weird and instant. He felt like he was struck by lightning or something. He quickly finished his coffee and threw it away in the nearest trash can.
“Oh, it looks like you’re gonna seduce her without even trying. That’s what it looks like.”
“Well, you’re blind.”
“Okay, Finn. Whatever you say, my friend.”
Finn shook his head, though he knew that Lorelei was right. He kind of hated her for it. Finn wasn’t the greatest shifter around, and he knew it. He wasn’t going around trying to act like he was some saint or anything, which a lot of shifters did. Hell, a lot of humans did it, too. He was able to realize that good girls weren’t his type, and he never wanted to be that stereotypical “bad boy” that just let “good” girls fall all over him, then left them crushed when he left them because he had major commitment issues.
He wasn’t going to let Lea become interested in him in any way, though Finn doubted someone like her would ever be interested in someone like him. He was nothing special. Lea, though . . . well, she was. That much he already knew.
The plan to stay away from Lea and make sure that he was on his best behavior began to fail when they both realized that they didn’t have partners for today’s class. Hazel, Lea’s partner in crime in literally everything she did, was gone. So was Ethan, Finn’s partner in class. Finn didn’t know where Ethan was, though he knew that the shifter was busy. Ethan was a young alpha from another pack in America, and he was constantly in meetings with Hann - the friendly pack alpha - and Michael-the protector. Finn and Ethan tended to stick together, with both of them being outcasts in the pack, and Finn knew that Ethan regarded every moment he had with Hann a learning moment.
Moonlight Wolves Box Set Page 37
