good night. I just wanted to relax with everyone.” How idiotic that she had started to think it would go off without a hitch.
“It’ll be okay. After tomorrow we won’t have to deal with these anymore.” He squeezed her hand as she stood.
“Come back to me in one piece,” she said, kissing him and squeezing his shoulder as she headed for the front door.
Unable to help herself, she turned before she went inside. She had to see the wolf he would fight.
The man who stepped from the driver’s side of the silver sedan wasn’t anything like Rodrigo. His manner of speech wasn’t formal or polite as the first challenger’s had been. He was huge. Where many wolves were built lean, this man had layers of muscle packed on. An enforcer. His head was shaved, and he wore a tight button-down shirt that accentuated his mass. If he had dressed for intimidation, it worked on her. The lines on his face suggested he never smiled, or if he did, it was only a grimace. Her gaze swung from her tall, lithe fiancé to the bulldog by the car. Three of his pack flanked him, all smaller than their alpha, but all scary in their own right. These men would visit her nightmares.
The challenger’s dark, bottomless eyes found her. “Silver Wolf—”
“Don’t. I really don’t care about anything you have to say. I am right where I want to be, and obviously, you aren’t my type.”
She stepped into the house, and when the door snicked closed behind her, she pressed her back against it. The man’s angry, muttered words drifted to her but she didn’t care enough to decipher what he had said. She was too busy trying to keep herself from falling into a million pieces. Grey had to fight him?
“Honey, are you all right?” Mom asked. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine. I’m just nervous about everything going well tomorrow, that’s all. It’s been a long week, and I guess it’s catching up with me.”
Raised voices carried through the walls so she led her mom toward the kitchen. If they got much louder, human ears would be able to hear them.
“Did Rachel show you the wedding cake? It’s in the refrigerator. She baked it today.”
The kitchen was a mix of log cabin meets modern amenities. The counters were made of granite threaded with browns and golds, and the island was a giant block of natural wood. Six chairs sat the edge where Marissa and Brent sat with Lana, frozen in place, listening.
“What was that?” Mom asked. “Out on the front porch. What happened? Everyone was having a good time, and then they stopped talking all of the sudden, and all at the exact same time. Did someone say something wrong?”
Morgan tried to laugh, but she sounded like a lunatic. Her voice wrenched up an octave. “Oh no, there isn’t anything wrong. Everything’s fine.”
What are you doing? Brent mouthed.
She’d been kicked out of high school theater for a reason.
Rachel presented the wedding cake. “I’m having trouble deciding how to finish decorating it. I was thinking of using the flowers she has in her bouquet around the edges, or I could do frosted pearl buttons all over, or leave it plain white with frosted edges. What do you think, Hannah?”
Score one for Rachel. She really was much better at distraction and stalling. Mom and Rachel chatted back and forth about the cake until they’d managed, as a little mixed-species team, to make it perfect.
When they were finished debating, they all migrated to the game room, which was conveniently located on the opposite side of the house from the challenge that had begun outside. Marissa and Brent challenged Mom and Rachel to a game of doubles on the pool table but Morgan hung back, listening and waiting.
At the sound of the first feral snarls, she ran upstairs, feigning a bathroom break. She crept to a darkened window and crouched low by the sill to watch. This fight looked nothing like the first one against Rodrigo. Where Grey and Rodrigo had seemed graceful in their conflict,
“It’ll be okay. After tomorrow we won’t have to deal with these anymore.” He squeezed her hand as she stood.
“Come back to me in one piece,” she said, kissing him and squeezing his shoulder as she headed for the front door.
Unable to help herself, she turned before she went inside. She had to see the wolf he would fight.
The man who stepped from the driver’s side of the silver sedan wasn’t anything like Rodrigo. His manner of speech wasn’t formal or polite as the first challenger’s had been. He was huge. Where many wolves were built lean, this man had layers of muscle packed on. An enforcer. His head was shaved, and he wore a tight button-down shirt that accentuated his mass. If he had dressed for intimidation, it worked on her. The lines on his face suggested he never smiled, or if he did, it was only a grimace. Her gaze swung from her tall, lithe fiancé to the bulldog by the car. Three of his pack flanked him, all smaller than their alpha, but all scary in their own right. These men would visit her nightmares.
The challenger’s dark, bottomless eyes found her. “Silver Wolf—”
“Don’t. I really don’t care about anything you have to say. I am right where I want to be, and obviously, you aren’t my type.”
She stepped into the house, and when the door snicked closed behind her, she pressed her back against it. The man’s angry, muttered words drifted to her but she didn’t care enough to decipher what he had said. She was too busy trying to keep herself from falling into a million pieces. Grey had to fight him?
“Honey, are you all right?” Mom asked. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine. I’m just nervous about everything going well tomorrow, that’s all. It’s been a long week, and I guess it’s catching up with me.”
Raised voices carried through the walls so she led her mom toward the kitchen. If they got much louder, human ears would be able to hear them.
“Did Rachel show you the wedding cake? It’s in the refrigerator. She baked it today.”
The kitchen was a mix of log cabin meets modern amenities. The counters were made of granite threaded with browns and golds, and the island was a giant block of natural wood. Six chairs sat the edge where Marissa and Brent sat with Lana, frozen in place, listening.
“What was that?” Mom asked. “Out on the front porch. What happened? Everyone was having a good time, and then they stopped talking all of the sudden, and all at the exact same time. Did someone say something wrong?”
Morgan tried to laugh, but she sounded like a lunatic. Her voice wrenched up an octave. “Oh no, there isn’t anything wrong. Everything’s fine.”
What are you doing? Brent mouthed.
She’d been kicked out of high school theater for a reason.
Rachel presented the wedding cake. “I’m having trouble deciding how to finish decorating it. I was thinking of using the flowers she has in her bouquet around the edges, or I could do frosted pearl buttons all over, or leave it plain white with frosted edges. What do you think, Hannah?”
Score one for Rachel. She really was much better at distraction and stalling. Mom and Rachel chatted back and forth about the cake until they’d managed, as a little mixed-species team, to make it perfect.
When they were finished debating, they all migrated to the game room, which was conveniently located on the opposite side of the house from the challenge that had begun outside. Marissa and Brent challenged Mom and Rachel to a game of doubles on the pool table but Morgan hung back, listening and waiting.
At the sound of the first feral snarls, she ran upstairs, feigning a bathroom break. She crept to a darkened window and crouched low by the sill to watch. This fight looked nothing like the first one against Rodrigo. Where Grey and Rodrigo had seemed graceful in their conflict,
Similar Books
