Embracing the Wolf

“I’m going to kill Wade,” he said through clenched teeth. “He put you in harm’s way for his own selfish reasons.”

“Um … no, he didn’t,” I said. “We did it to find out what Anthony was planning, and I didn’t even get a chance to see anything from him.” I was still annoyed with myself that I hadn’t tried to touch his hand or something to see if could summon a vision.”

“Of course he’s planning something,” Adam said. “You think he’s okay with me killing Eve? He’s not going to let that go. That’s why I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

We were at an impasse, but I was not going to tell Adam that. I understood why he wanted me to stay away from him. It wouldn’t go against Anthony’s character to kill me to get back at Adam. Still I could not shake my curiosity at finding out if we were right or not. I knew Anthony had his bad moments, but why hadn’t he tried to hurt me in the truck? Did he know Adam was on our tail, and he wouldn’t have enough time? Maybe he was trying to gain my trust in order to fool me later. Not knowing was driving me crazy. I couldn’t continue to walk around with him in our midst and not do anything about it. If he was planning an attack, and I could get a glimpse into his mind, then that’s what I had to do.

“If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. I’m the one who broke the promise,” I told him. I slid my arms around his waist, clasping my hands behind his back. “Wade really was just trying to help.”

“Unfortunately, my adorably frustrating mate, I find it hard to stay mad at you. One look into your eyes and my resolve crumbles, so I have to direct it at the other person involved.”

I smiled up at him. “Well, then, please forgive us for scheming behind your back. It was done innocuously.”

Adam cupped my face and brought his lips down to mine for a soft kiss. He leaned his forehead against mine and exhaled a heavy breath.

“What in the world am I going to do with you?”

“You have the rest of your life to figure it out.” I smiled.

Chapter Eight

After the drama with Anthony and Adam, I made it into town. It was my job to pick up enough paper plates, napkins, and plastic cups to supply the arriving crowd. I piled packages of each into my cart, pushing it down the aisle in an uninterested daze. Tonight was my alpha ceremony. Tonight, I would be the first made-wolf to rise to elite status, and all of the surrounding packs would stand witness to it. I felt like vomiting. While my pack had shown me nothing but respect, I wasn’t so sure the visiting wolves would. And now that I knew my Chante was from olde blood, it only made our pairing that much more difficult. Not to mention his mother wanted me gone. Would she interrupt the alpha ceremony tonight, embarrass me in front of everyone? Would Chloe or Cadie challenge me to claim my spot?

Relationships never used to be this difficult. Why couldn’t Adam be a regular guy with regular parents and regular problems? I’d gone twenty-three years without succumbing to the mushiness of relationships. Most of my dates had consisted of some guy trying to sweet-talk me while I silently prayed for an asteroid to crash into whatever diner we were at. It all made sense now, the reason why none of my beaus worked out before. I’d been waiting for Adam all along. It was like my soul knew he was out there, somewhere, waiting for me, too.

Two weeks ago we’d been blissfully happy, too engrossed in each other to face the bigger issues. And to be honest, Adam was still in that state. I saw it every time he looked at me. Touched me. Kissed me. The issues were sitting solely on my shoulders. He was the prince in this story and I the waif he’d fallen for. God, it sounded like some bad Lifetime movie—only with a lot more hair and teeth. Maggie’s words haunted me. I wanted to shrug it off as nothing more than a snooty woman not thinking I was good enough for her baby boy. If only it were that easy. I could deal with bitchy in-laws and their upturned noses. What I couldn’t handle, what tortured my mind, was the fact that I was worse than a poor girl who’d captured the prince’s heart; I was a liability.

I closed my eyes for a moment and sucked in a deep breath through my nose. When I exhaled, I imagined all of my problems floating out of me. I couldn’t worry about this shit right now … not when Anthony was in our midst. When Adam rescued me from Eve’s torture chamber, Anthony had promised it wasn’t over between the two of them. For some reason, I wanted to believe we’d all misjudged Anthony. Maybe it was my mind’s way of hoping everything would be okay. I could pretend for only a second, though. I knew Anthony had a motive. I also knew how much he loved Eve, though I couldn’t understand why. I’d never met anyone so disturbed in my life. I still thought of the humans she’d killed. Their screams echoed in my head when I remembered the dreams. With Eve out of the picture, I couldn’t fathom Anthony not wanting retribution for her death. Like he’d said before—“love makes you do crazy things.”

I shook away my thoughts and tried to concentrate on the shopping list Elle had given me. Focusing on something so normal was a nice change of pace. I placed more paper plates into the cart, the fancy ones, per Elle’s instructions. She was making a huge deal out of the visitors, as though the Queen was visiting. Maybe it was my young age and lack of pack dynamics, but I didn’t get it. So far, all the new wolves I’d met had been either pretentious or slutty. If it were up to me we’d be eating hotdogs off the grill with cheap beer and generic chips. Adam was impressive in his own right—freaking royalty. They should be catering to him. Fanning him with banana leaves and shit. I giggled at the thought, and a woman next to me eyed me with wariness. I smiled sweetly at her, and she quickly averted her eyes, feigning interest in flushable wipes.

I headed down the aisle. Making a detour to the dairy section, I picked up a tub of whip cream. Maybe if I made a bikini out of it like in Varsity Blues, Adam would be tempted to lick each sweet dollop off me. My wolf purred with anticipation.

* * * *

Back at the house, I lugged the multiple bags into the kitchen and set them on the table. The house was fuller than before. Wolves occupied every inch of the space. In the living room, the sectional was full of them as they watched EPSN on our flatscreen. Elle stood by the sink, her hip resting against the counter as she talked to a woman with an auburn bob. The woman smiled and laughed at something Elle said, making me smile, too. I wanted so badly for her to find someone to share her life with. She was too great of a person to spend it alone, cooking for an army of wolves.

“Anna,” Elle says, seeing me for the first time. “This is Jill Baker, a wolf from the Nevada pack.” Elle stared at her, besotted. Blinking, she remembers herself and looks at me again. “And, this is the slave driver, Anna,” she said to Jill.

I scoff. “Slave driver? Who sent me all the way into town to pick up supplies?” I retrieved one of the packages of paper plates from the bag and held it up. “I think you might be a tad OCD, Elle.”

Elle came across the kitchen to pluck the plates from my hand. “These are the strongest ones.” She held up the package. “And they’re even pretty to look at.”

I shook my head with a laugh, ignoring her obsession with disposable dishes. I stepped around her and held out my hand to Jill.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Jill clasped my hand and smiled. She was a good two inches taller than I was and had eyes the color of scotch, a perfect balance of caramel and brown. Her thin nose sloped at a flawless angle, and her Cupid’s bow lips were full and as red as a poppy.

“Anna Avery,” she breathed, clasping my hand and giving it a gentle shake. Releasing me, she stared almost in awe. Light sparkled in her eyes, and that friendly smile spread across her lips again. “You’re all the rage back in Nevada. A frickin’ rockstar!”

I laughed, thinking she was joking. She wasn’t.

“My sisters have been counting down the day until they meet you, and we also get to witness your alpha ceremony.” Jill paused to suck in an excited breath. I cast a glance at Elle, unsure whether I should be worried or flattered.

“The girls in Nevada seem to think because of you, they too, will get a chance at their happily ever after.”

I pursed my lips in confusion. “I hope they do, too,” I said. “But why would I have any part in that?”

Jill reached for my left hand and turned it so my palm faced upward. “Because of this.” She tapped my scar—a four-leaf clover pattern with an infinity symbol across it. “You’re proof that things are changing in the packs—that us made wolves can become more than mistresses.” She beamed again, as though her excitement was too vast to contain in such a slim frame. “You’ve given them hope that they could one day snag their own alpha.”

My eyebrows arched so high that the skin on my forehead felt like it’d been stretched over a drum.

“It’s a real life fairytale come true,” she all but squealed. I half expected her to clasp both of my hands and start jumping up and down in hopes I’d join in on her merriment. My life just kept getting more and more bizarre.

“Um … cool,” I said because I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Elle laughed. “Jill, you’re lucky Anna hasn’t come into her alpha status yet, otherwise you’d be doing all of that squirming under the pressure of her teeth.”

Jill stilled, her eyes widening in horror. “Oh my God,” she gasped. “She’s right, you’re an alpha—or soon to be alpha—and here I am treating you like a regular Betty. I’m so sorry.”

My eyes darted to Elle’s face, and I scowled at her. She laughed, raising and lowering her arms in a mock bow. I was finding it difficult to keep the smile off my face so I turned to face Jill. I gripped both of her hands and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Elle is just screwing with you,” I told her. “There is no need to walk on eggshells around me. I’m no more important than you and would appreciate it if you treated me as such.”