by K. N. Banet
“That’s good,” I mumbled. “I’m not really involved with politics, so thanks for that news.”
“It’s been going on for months, and no one told you?” He narrowed his eyes playfully, but there was no missing the cunning, curious light in his eyes.
“Nope. I don’t want to be involved. I don’t care to be involved.”
“Strange because…” He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper. No human ears would pick up what he said. “You’re right in the middle of it, letting wolves live near you, in your space.”
“Don’t make me throw you out,” I snapped, suddenly fighting a bolt of hostility. His comment sounded like trouble, and like always, I wanted no part in it. I didn’t want attention. “Out of the bar, my territory, and out of the state. You drag me into anything else, and we’re going to have real problems.”
“I just figured we were on the topic, so I would give you the recent news. I’m not looking to draw attention to myself, promise. Or you. Word is, many supernaturals have been curious and confused by the new living arrangement here, but they don’t have any reason to talk about it. They’re just curious.”
“Once an Alpha, always an Alpha. Natural politicians, the lot of you.” I made it sound like an insult—it was and wasn’t. Supernaturals like Heath stayed alive because they were so good at making the right allies and playing the field without pissing off too many people. Had he made mistakes? Yeah, that was pretty clear from what happened last year, but even I could tell he was a survivor.
Politicians still sucked, though.
“Always, even without a pack. It’s not something I can turn off.”
I had long figured that out.
“Well, forgive me, but I don’t plan on telling you anything on my end. Whenever I learn about something from…” I couldn’t say ‘my family,’ so I trailed off, trying to find the last word. He only watched me, too curious, too insightful for my liking. He wanted to know so much more about me, and I fought to say anything for a minute under his gaze. “When I learn something, it’s normally told to me in confidence. Something that can’t join the world of rumors.”
“Of course.” He was still smiling, though. “The only time I ever hear about…your kind is when one crosses paths publicly with another group.” He had phrased it very carefully, something I was grateful for as I looked over his shoulder and saw Joey watching us with suspicion.
“I can’t tell you all my secrets. Sorry.” I threw in the apology because I knew there was an expectation. He’d given me information I either didn’t know or was purposefully ignoring, and I refused to return the favor. “And can you talk to that man?” I didn’t need to say who. Heath sighed heavily in return, telling me exactly how bad he felt about who I was dealing with.
“I didn’t mean to bring that much attention to you. Honestly, when he first approached me, I had no idea who he was or what it was about. Then he said ‘werewolf,’ which confused the hell out of me. I approached your territory and realized what you were. Since I couldn’t get close to learn more about you, I used him to get me basic information.” Heath sipped his beer before continuing. “Has it gotten worse?”
“Yes, since Carey came down here,” I answered. “It used to be a joke, and now it’s a bit of a game, but its frequency is increasing.”
“Unless you want to tell him...” Heath’s sympathetic look told me everything. There was no fixing it without dragging Joey into the supernatural world. Since neither of us really knew Joey that well, nor was he an employee, there was no incentive for it. Telling someone you can’t trust led to disaster, and that was something I never flirted with.
Unless it’s for Carey. Then I didn’t just flirt with disaster, I took it out to drinks and asked it to fuck me on the first date.
“No, he doesn’t need to know. It just started to make me uncomfortable, and…” I trailed off, realizing what I was about to ask. I was a werecat, and this was my territory, and I was about to ask a wolf to handle his previous spy and get him off my back. “You know what? Don’t worry about. I’ll start throwing him out of the bar if it gets too bad.”
“Good. I’ll finish my beer and get out of your hair early tonight, then.” He nodded slowly, glancing over his shoulder. I saw Joey jerk his gaze away. “Your territory, your decision.”
I didn’t reply to that, quickly beginning to fill glasses as I saw one of my regulars stand up and walk over. By the time she was at the bar, I had three beers and a margarita waiting for her. She took them without comment, and I silently added the drinks to her tab.
It was another thirty minutes before Heath wandered out.
“Drive safe,” I called after him. He waved over his shoulder in response and strolled out of Kick Shot like the night had been like any other.
For some reason, I had a suspicion it hadn’t been. I glanced down at my phone, frowning, that sinking feeling in my gut setting off warning bells in my head.
No, it wasn’t like any normal night at all.
2
Chapter Two
I huffed as I realized I didn’t know what to wear for the day. It was already three in the afternoon, and I was nervous as hell, although there was no real reason. It had occurred to me as I closed up Kick Shot the night before, that this was only the third time I had spent time with Carey and the two werewolves at the same time. I would babysit her, have girl days, play video games, and other things, but I nearly never hung out with her and her family. I saw Heath at the bar often, and Landon sometimes, but I’d only seen all of them together for an extended period twice since they moved into my territory.
This made me nervous, and it didn’t make much sense.
“Therefore, I decide I don’t know what to wear and have even more anxiety,” I muttered to myself, staring at the clothes on the bed.
I looked back at how excited I was when Heath asked me the night before. I had been looking forward to bowling. Now I was dreading being at some Everson Family outing where I didn’t belong. The same thing had happened during the holidays. I felt so out of place, and no one knew what to do about it. Carey had tried so hard to make me feel welcome, but the problem didn’t lie with her or her family, even if they were werewolves.
It was me. I craved community and having people around, yet ran from it. I could feel it trying to make me shift, walk out in the woods, and become unreachable. Carey was easy to manage. Heath was easy to manage.
But a crowd? More than one person at any given point? That made me wary and uncomfortable, and I couldn’t fight it, no matter how much I wanted to.
“What did Hasan say?” I racked my brain for the advice he’d given me once. “When you feel like running, consider what you would miss out on and if you will be better off without it. If you know you’ll miss it or regret losing the chance, don’t run. Face it.” It sounded like advice every parent would give a child, but it was honestly good werecat advice. We were very good at hiding from the world around us—very, very good. Hasan had disappeared from public life for a century until my fuck up when called to Duty. His mate walked away from their world so long ago, most didn’t even know what she looked like, and that said something in a community of nearly immortal supernaturals.
I considered the pros and cons of skipping bowling, pleading for a day off.
Pro for staying: I get to see Carey and see how competitive she is at something physical. I haven’t been able to convince her to try sports because she knows she’s around creatures she can’t beat. Pro, I get out of the house and do something.
Con: I get out of the house and hang out with two werewolves. If people didn’t think I was strange already, they’ll see me with the Everson family and probably think I’m part of the pack…more than they already do.
I curled a lip at that thought. The idea of subjecting myself to an Alpha like werewolves did was completely against my nature. I knew if I didn’t go, I would think about it all week, sad I didn’t go. Half of that would be guilt ove
r disappointing Carey after already telling her father I was going. If I canceled now, she would be upset, and I’d never canceled on her for anything else. I couldn’t start now.
“But what to wear?” I mumbled, glaring at the clothes on the bed, back at square one. I finally shook my head, mustered my resolve, and grabbed a few items, deciding it didn’t matter. A black t-shirt that wasn’t old or dirty, a pair of decent jeans—easy, simple, relaxed, perfect for bowling. I dressed and stared in the mirror, nodding in appreciation.
Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it, Jacky? See, you can do this. You can hang out like a normal person.
I hoped I could, anyway. There was a lot of evidence against me, but I could do it.
“Why is this so damn hard?” I asked myself, shaking my head in dismay. There was a time when I could jump up and go hang out with anyone. I loved to bowl, I loved to go to the park. I loved life. When did I become a shut-in who was scared to spend a few hours with people?
I knew the answer but didn’t let it get to me as I stomped out of my bathroom, through my bedroom, and down to my living room. I could have gotten ready in the apartment over the bar but had decided to head to my house deep in the woods in the middle of my property. It was a sanctuary. Not even Carey and the wolves were allowed to venture deep enough into my property to get to my house. I needed a space that meant I was well and truly alone, especially since two werewolves lived in my territory, constantly scratching at my magical defenses.
I stepped out after pulling on my boots and swung my leg over my dirt bike, kicking off to head to the bar and my little hatchback. The weather was good with little rain, so I didn’t have any puddles on the path between home and the bar. When I got to my car, I was pleased to find I wasn’t half covered in mud.
As I started driving to the bowling alley, my mind continued to wander. Jabari’s news weighed on me suddenly, trying to dampen the bright day and the good mood I was supposed to have. The problem was, the quiet drive gave me an open space to think.
Dead werecats—two of them in the same region. If I had truly shaken things up so much on accident, it could have been a purposeful attack on werecats. Would I get a text in a week saying more were dead?
Why now?
My mind turned it over for the short drive, my face stuck in a perpetual frown, still frowning as I parked and slid out of the car. I wasn’t paying attention as I leaned on my hood and waited, staring at the bowling alley but not really seeing it.
“You came!” a young voice called out—energetic, surprised, and very much a change from the girl I had met at my bar’s back door.
I didn’t jump, not totally shocked by Carey’s sudden appearance. I had known the wolves were getting close, half paying attention to them with my supernatural radar-like magic.
“I did,” I replied with a chuckle. “I said yes to your dad last night. Didn’t he tell you?”
“Yeah, he did, but…” Carey shrugged, a grin still on her face.
“Have I ever canceled on you before?” I asked, using a somewhat stern tone of voice, daring her to say I had.
“No, but I didn’t think you would want to go bowling. It just doesn’t seem like something you like to do.” The girl’s innocent smile and clean scent told me that she was telling the truth.
“Well, I would have you know, I love bowling,” I retorted. “Or, I used to. I haven’t been bowling in nearly eleven years, so we’ll see. I’m probably rusty.” I moved away from my car and raised an arm, ignoring the two werewolves walking closer. Carey ducked underneath my arm, I nestled it on her shoulder, and she wrapped her closer arm around my waist. It was a comfortable position. We did it whenever we went somewhere, just the two of us.
“So, you haven’t bowled since before…” Carey’s eyes were wide, full of curiosity and questions. Unable to resist, and still ignoring the wolves walking behind us, I answered.
“That’s right. Not at all. I haven’t had anyone to bowl with so…” I shrugged one shoulder. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Of course! I know we have girl night tomorrow, but I wanted to bowl, and three people can’t do teams. I like teams because they give me a real chance of winning.”
There it is. Just as competitive as always.
“Boys versus girls?” I asked softly, trying to sound mischievous. Carey began to nod vigorously, the grin growing wider. “We’ll kick some ass.”
“Watch your language with my daughter, please,” Heath said from behind us. I ignored him as I got the door and held it open for Carey, him, and Landon.
“She’s definitely heard worse from your wolf pack, but I’ll try to behave.”
By the look on his face he obviously didn’t believe me but said nothing. I slid into the building last, realizing it was my last moment to get out of this if I had wanted to run. What I hadn’t counted on was how much Carey calmed me down. Once she was talking to me, the anxiety disappeared. I smiled as I met them at the counter.
“What’s your shoe size?” Landon asked me softly.
“Don’t worry—”
“We’re paying,” Heath cut in.
I raised my eyebrows and stared at him, daring him to try to say it again. It scratched at my independent nature to let this wolf pay for things I could reasonably afford.
His blue-grey stare back was even, not backing down. I held back a territorial growl, one I knew would remind him who was really in charge of the building, the land, and everything within miles of us.
“Jacky isn’t some kid friend, Dad. She can pay for herself!” Carey groaned, pushing her father a little. “Hurry, or we won’t get a good lane.”
He finally broke the stare. With a sharp nod, I let him know that he’d done the right thing. He quickly paid for his family, and I stepped up next, telling the young woman behind the counter my size. Heath was eyeing me as I sat down across from him at our lane and didn’t stop watching me as I put on my shoes.
“What?” I finally hissed out.
“Carey always wants me to pay for everyone because I’m able to,” he replied calmly, but there was no missing the touch of confusion in his voice.
But she didn’t want you to pay for me, and that’s bothered you, huh? I shrugged. He didn’t need an explanation right at that moment.
“I say we do teams!” Carey called out from the score screen, where she was done putting in everyone’s names. “Me and Jacky versus you two! Boys against girls!” She was grinning, and I couldn’t resist grinning back.
“I like it. We’ll kill ‘em.” Holding up a hand for her, I kicked my shoes out of the way for her to sit next to me. She slapped my hand, a classic high five, and sat down with me, leaving her father sitting with a bemused Landon next to him.
“Carey…we’re always on the same team,” Heath said, obviously pretending to be more hurt than he really was. Oh, he was hurt, that I could smell, and if I could, Landon could as well, but he played it up to bother his daughter.
“Nope! I’m with Jacky!” The cheeky eleven-year-old grinned with all her teeth, obviously mimicking a more wolfy smile.
“Hear that? She’s with me.” I puffed up in fake pride at being chosen. “We’re going to put these boys in their place,” I said to her, grinning in the same overly excited fashion.
“Yes…The eleven-year-old and the thirty-six-year-old are going to put the over-century-old werewolves in their place…You hear that, Landon?”
“I do,” the quiet wolf said, a small smile forming. “Little sister is competitive and so is cousin cat, it seems. I think we’re in for a fight.”
I jumped up to find a ball. Everyone except Carey needed a sixteen-pounder, and I wanted to laugh as I realized just how easy it would be to bowl. I wondered if the wolves were going to have as hard a time as I would with how light the heaviest balls felt.
“Does that feel good?” I asked Carey as she picked an eight-pound ball. “You can go down to six.”
“No. This is good.” She beamed at me. “I’m first,
so you sit back and watch them. Make sure they don’t cheat and mess me up.”
“I don’t think they will, but I promise to try.”
When she walked away, I made an exaggerated effort to keep an eye on the werewolves. They tolerated it, and when Heath winked mischievously, I pointed at my eyes then his. It got a chuckle out of him, that masculine thing I hated since the first time I heard it—absolutely hated it.
The clatter of a ball hitting pins made us turn. I clapped my loudest as Carey jumped up and down, proud of her six and waiting for her ball to come back.
“Good job!” I called out.
“I’m going to get the rest, promise!” she said, grinning like a goof. It was infectious as I found myself giving her the same grin in return.
To anyone other than a werecat, the relationship would be strange. A woman in her thirties didn’t become best friends with an eleven- nearly twelve-year-old girl. For a werecat, it was the only thing that made sense. There was a deep-rooted psychology to it Hasan had explained to me after I told him about the new living arrangements. Children were safer, easier to attach to, and less likely to become a threat, something werecats thought of any adult as.
“It’s like introducing a kitten to an adult cat. I should have known you would have a problem letting go of her, especially since you didn’t spend the proper time with me and the family after I Changed you. I didn’t think you would let wolves into your territory, but I knew you would keep talking to her.”
Safe social interaction. That’s what Carey represented. I knew it and accepted it, just letting the friendship do as it wanted and lead me where it would go.
Carey knocked down three pins, and I cheered, taunting her family a little as we high-fived when she came back to the bench. Heath went next, landing a strike, and I joined Carey in booing the man. Landon was a complete failure, knocking down four pins, then guttering his second try.
“Can you not bowl?” I asked, genuinely confused. He was a supernatural. There was no reason for him to miss like that.
