Dire

I realized my mistake as soon as my fist hit his face, and he was smiling and my fist hurt like hell. If I hadn’t grasped it at that point, I would have seconds later when his fist made contact with my face, and I ended up sprawled on my back in the snow.

Falcon’s laughter came from directly above me. “Weak little human. Just give it up. You’ve lost your piece of ass. Hunter’s got her. If I was in charge I’d have had her in front of you the second you walked into the house. That’s how to do things. Show the inferiors how powerless they are.”

I struggled to move, but my whole body hurt.

“What is it? No snarky comment this time? Just make it easy on yourself.”

I sat up. “No one is touching Mary Anne.”

He laughed, offering no assistance as I stood up. That was good. I didn’t want his help. Falcon was a piece of work. From what I gathered he hadn’t been with the pack long, and he seemed the most likely to want to challenge Hunter. I might be able to use him to my advantage later. Despite the massive headache and sore hand, punching Falcon had been worth it. No one was going to talk about Mary Anne that way. I may not have been as strong as the wolves, but they weren’t going to keep us down. There wasn’t a chance of that.

***

“What happened?” Mary Anne gently touched the bruising around my eye. She’d run right over when I walked in, and I didn’t miss the annoyance on Hunter’s face. I resisted the urge to grin at him. I wasn’t in the mood to add another shiner.

“Just got into an argument. Nothing big.”

I now had Hunter’s attention. “Not that I care about the kid’s face, but what happened, Falcon?”

Falcon shoved his hands into his back pockets. “He hit me first. I was just defending myself.”

Hunter shook his head at me. “You really are more stupid than I thought.”

Mary Anne watched me worriedly. “Could someone get me some ice?”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. Was she really going to try to ice my black eye?

“If he wants ice he can get some snow from outside.” Hunter didn’t find her attention quite as cute as I did. I wonder why?

“I’ll get it myself.” She stepped away.

Hunter moved to block the front door. “No you won’t. It’s cold out.”

“I haven’t been outside all day. I think I can handle a few minutes in the cold.”

A beeping sound went off in the kitchen. I tensed before I realized it was a timer. Understandably I was a little bit jumpy.

“Cookies are ready.” Marni walked into the kitchen. “Come help me pull them out, Mary Anne.”

“Cookies? You guys made cookies?”

“Chocolate chip. Hunter’s favorite.” There was something in the look Marni gave me that came across as a warning. She was trying to keep me away from Mary Anne too. When would these people realize that I wasn’t staying away? The more they pushed, the harder I was going to push back. Mary Anne was leaving with me, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Chapter Eighteen

Mary Anne

I couldn’t spend another afternoon making cookies or doing whatever ridiculous job Marni came up with for me. I also couldn’t stand being so close to Gage without being able to touch him. It wouldn’t have changed anything, but I still longed to hold his hand. The storm had passed, but it had left behind a hefty coat of snow on the ground, and the blistering cold wasn’t going anywhere.

Hunter continued to insist I spend my nights in his bed, and he continued to sleep on the floor. Gage only got that one night in the guest room. After that he was forced to stay at Chet’s. Evidently he’d taken a swing at Falcon, but he was the one who’d been knocked down. Long after his black eye started to fade he was still under close scrutiny by the wolves. For my part I was glad he’d punched him. Falcon just kept getting creepier with me. Hunter was annoying, but at least he kept the innuendo and looks to a minimum.

The highlight of my average day was my shower. As pathetic as it sounds, it was the one time that I could pamper myself, when I could pretend that things were normal. The first few times I worried about someone walking in on me, but Hunter kept the other wolves out of his room, and he was good at giving me privacy.

I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of the hot water running down my back. For such a rustic place, Hunter hadn’t skimped on the hot water heater. I wanted to stay under the spray all day, but I knew I couldn’t, so I reluctantly turned the water off.

I heard the squeak of the door. “Hunter?” It wasn’t like him to walk in on me, but maybe he was tired of playing the gentleman. He didn’t answer.

“Hello?”

With the water off, the cold started to seep in. Maybe I had imagined the noise. I slowly opened the shower door so I could reach for my towel.

The towel was handed to me. “Here you go, hun.”

“Falcon?” I grabbed the towel and slammed the door shut. “Get out of here.”

“I was just making sure you were all right. You’ve been in here a long time.”

“Where’s Hunter?”

“Already done asking for Gage? Poor guy.”

“This is Hunter’s room.” Although I knew he was just playing with me, I hated his insinuation. I had no interest in Hunter, and I never would.

“The Dires do it better, don’t they?”

“Dires?”

“So Hunter hasn’t told you yet, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you need to get out of here.”

“Are you sure I can’t get a little peek?” Through the steamy glass I saw him moving closer.

“Get out of here before I call for Hunter.”

That did the trick. “Anytime you change your mind, just let me know.”

I waited until I was sure he was gone before stepping out of the shower and quickly getting dressed. So much for enjoying my showers. I debated telling Hunter about the intrusion, but my gut told me to keep my mouth shut. Hunter would be more loyal to a member of his pack than he was to me.

The days started to blur together. It had been less than a week, but I felt like it might as well have been a month. Gage and I barely saw each other. Hunter kept him so busy around the property, and other than meals, we rarely crossed paths. When we did see each other we kept our conversations to a minimum, but the looks he sent me said everything. He was worried and just as determined as I was to find a way out. I still couldn’t believe he’d stuck around. Hunter had said he wouldn’t let him leave, but he had so many more chances than I did. He was there for me, and that knowledge both made my heart soar and twisted my gut with guilt. Saying goodnight to Gage each night was always tough. I wanted to sleep in his arms, and without him telling me, I knew he wanted exactly the same thing.