Truth or Wolf: A Small Town Shifter Romantic Comedy (Wolf Brothers Book 1)

Chapter 14

Fourteen

His eyes, more golden than amber now, looked into the distance. He was wandering somewhere inside his head, and antagonizing him right now wasn’t wise. Somehow I didn’t think that he’d respond with werewolf poetry.

— ILONA ANDREWS

She wanted to go down on me.

My wolf said yes.

I said no.

I invited her for hummingbird cake instead.

I had two reasons for this, possibly three. First, Jennie Dean’s hummingbird cake was amazing. Second, I still intended to take things slow, savor our relationship like the last piece of chocolate. Third, and most importantly, that wolf of mine was close to the surface. Not only did he want to come hard, balls deep in Alice, but he wanted to mark her.

And that was a step too far. I was not marking her, no way, no how.

A wolf put that mark on his lover as a mating sign. There was no taking it off—it was an until-death-do-us-part commitment, more binding than anything Alice and I could have said, standing up with each other in Moonlight Valley’s church.

Once a wolf mated, he had to be near his chosen partner. He couldn’t roam far from her or he’d be unable to shift from his wolf form to his human body.

And then, if you bit your mate a second time, there was a chance—a small one—that you’d change the person you loved so much into a wolf. You put yourself into them with your saliva and what amounted to wolf germs or bacteria—and then you hoped for the best.

Hope was not a strategy.

Momma would have agreed, if she hadn’t been trapped in a wolf’s body, with the mind of an animal and no human left at all.

My brothers and I, for instance, hoped that Momma’s current predicament would improve. She didn’t recognize us, roaming around the thousand acres that made up the Boone spread and hiding from us. She was skittish.

We put out food; we put out cameras. We made sure no one came onto our land to hunt, and we brainstormed feverishly, trying to solve the pickle our family had found itself in.

Darrell was banished to Alaska, trapped in his wolf form because he was far away from Momma and he’d lost his tether to her in the botched transformation, but she was here, equally trapped because of the distance and the bite. Nevertheless, we loved her, would always love her.

And as long as she was out there, running free and safe, there was a minuscule chance she could come back to us.

I would not take chances with Alice, so therefore there we were, stopping for hummingbird cake. Alice had argued strongly for continuing with our make-out session; she’d listed the things we could be doing to each other in the front seat of my truck.

Alice was an outstanding list maker, and it had taken all my willpower to politely refuse and make a counter-argument for cake.

It was not an argument I wanted to win, even though I needed to. My wolf snarled, suggesting we mark her. We don’t have to bring her over, blockhead. We can just mate her. One bite, not two.I wanted that so badly…but I couldn’t. Not unless she knew what it meant to me to be mated. Not unless we had more than twelve months.

So instead I thought about the French Revolution and the guillotine. This was a trick Ranger taught me. No boner could withstand the chop-chop-chop of the heavy blade coming down.

We pulled up in front of Easy Eats, and I put the truck into Park. Alice sighed and set her head on my shoulder. Her left hand petted my right thigh.

“I like your body.”

“My body likes you.”

We like more than her body, my wolf groused. And you might want to use a strong word there.

A smile crossed her face, and for a long moment we sat there together, neither of us in any rush to separate. This was a first, and I loved it.

“Talking to you is so easy.” She sounded wistful. “Like, firefly easy.”

“Do fireflies talk a lot?” I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close.

“They talk by flashing. If you’re a male Photinus, you flash twice to say ‘hey, I’m interested in hooking up and making babies,’ and the female flashes back once. If you flash the light on your phone exactly right, they’ll talk to you. It’s very clear.”

I gave a bark of laughter. “That would make the bar scene easier.”

“Instead of buying endless shots and making drunken asses of ourselves, we could turn the flashlight on our phones on and off. Like an erotic Morse code. You’re the first guy who?—”

My possessive urges howled to life. I shifted so I could see her face. “I’m the first guy who what?”

She shrugged. “Didn’t think I was too weird? Or too much work or too slow to get into bed? Although you’re the sexual slowpoke in this relationship.”

I nipped her ear gently, and she squealed. “Remember that later, when I’m showing you how slow I can be.”

“But I don’t have a whole lot of data points,” she continued. “Not when it comes to guys.”

“Alice, have you ever—” It was none of my business how many people she’d been with, unless she hadn’t been with any. Then it seemed like an important thing to know because I’d read books.

There were supposed to be secret sexual tricks to make a woman’s first time amazing. Which, since I didn’t know them, meant that I’d have to take my time and use my words. Along with my mouth, tongue, fingers, and any other body part I could think of.

I planned to worship Alice in bed, and after that the details didn’t matter.

Alice frowned. “What? No! This won’t be my first rodeo. I had a boyfriend in college. He wasn’t the waiting type, so we had sex in the front seat of his roommate’s car in a parking lot. It had a lot less room than your truck, and I hadn’t had time to research any amazing sex tips.”

It didn’t sound as if she’d had a happy ending. Which sucked and wasn’t right, although it did mean I didn’t have to worry about my competition.

“Just the one guy?”

She nodded, then added thoughtfully, “I think he needed to do some research. First I had to put his penis inside me for him because he couldn’t aim it right, then he couldn’t finish. It was a disaster. What about you? How many girls have you been with?”

This was not something I liked to talk about. Wolves had reputations, but in my case, it was more chimera than fact. “One.”

“One?” She held up a finger, wagging it in front of my face, as if she needed to check that we were using the same mathematical system.

I nipped her finger gently. “One.”

Was she disappointed? Should I have practiced? I could point out that I was a big reader and motivated to learn what she liked, but those were mostly my opinions.

“One.” She sat up, which was a disappointment. “I guess you really were in love.”

Her words surprised me and had me wondering whether she knew about true mates and how wolves bonded for life. Whether she knew that was how I was feeling about her.

“With Deelie Sue. I guess you did love her. I wondered.”

“Deelie Sue? In love with Deelie Sue? Oh, heck no.” I pulled back so fast I about hit my head on the window.

Alice dissected my face with her frown. For all my insistence on intimacy, this was not something I had planned on sharing. I nodded toward Easy Eats. “Let’s go inside.”

“For the record,” she said carefully, “sex can be a great choice. Just like not having sex can be a great choice. This isn’t a math problem where there’s one right answer.”

“There won’t be a test later? Or a grade?” I teased.

She smiled slowly. “No, but there could be a participation trophy. A really big one.”

I couldn’t help grinning at that.

Also, I totally planned on winning her prize.

I walked around the truck and opened the door for Alice. She muttered a thank you, but let me get the door to the café as well.

For me, it was a way of showing the world that I cared for her and was looking out for her. My wolf would have brought her a dead rabbit for supper, but I figured door-holding was preferable to hunting and gathering in Alice’s eyes.

The café was packed, especially for late at night. We snagged the last two stools at the counter near the door.

I really like you.

I can’t stop thinking about you.

I like your wolf.

Okay, so she hadn’t exactly said that last one, but she’d admitted to liking the big, bad wolf. Unless that was code for a Red Riding Hood kink—and I’d be down with that, as long as she was willing to tell me what she wanted me to do—she liked me. Us. All of me.

“So…Deelie Sue?” Alice prompted. This stopped the Technicolor Red Riding Hood porn playing in my brain.

I nodded, inhaled, and looked her in the eye. The stools in Easy Eats were set close together, so our knees bumped gently. The expression on her face was full of trust, lust, and admiration. This was better than the porn. I did not deserve her, even for twelve months.

The reminder that ours was a temporary relationship sobered me. In less than 365 days, Alice would walk out of my life for good.

“Why did you date Deelie Sue for five years if you didn’t love her? Why not date someone else? Move on?”

She wasn’t you, so it didn’t matter.

I lifted one shoulder, stalling. “She knew what I expected, that I wasn’t ever gonna be serious unless it was for pack reasons.” I dropped my voice for that one because I did not need to announce the existence of werewolves to all of Easy Eats. “It was more we didn’t want the same things. She has her job, so she’s short on time for dating seriously. We were convenient for each other, and certain people had expectations about us.”

I did not know how to interpret the expression on Alice’s face. Excited? Hopeful? Highly skeptical and far too cynical? “So you’ve never hooked up with anyone else? Used a dating app? Been interested in someone?”

“You weren’t here, so no.” This was the truth.

Alice’s eyes widened, and she looked surprised. “You were waiting for me?”

I had been.

And we have the blue balls to prove it, you fool.

“There was no point in seeing someone who wasn’t you.”

Alice looked away at that. I suspected I’d made her uncomfortable. At the very least, she hadn’t anticipated my devotion. She’d agreed to give me twelve months, but she hadn’t signed up for my feelings.

“That’s a tall order.” She blurted the words out, breaking the awkward silence that had been growing between us. The happy noise of Easy Eats was not enough to drown out the tension. “I’m not sure I’m?—”

She searched for a way to finish her sentence.

Staying, maybe that was the word she needed. Or settled. Committed.Certain worked, too. But I wasn’t going to ask her to be any of those things. That would be demanding she change her dreams to fit my life, and then they would be my dreams, not hers.

Instead I raised her hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it. “The only order we’ve got to give is for cake. Or pie, if you’re in that kind of mood.”

Alice beamed at me. “I’ll go get us some slices. Don’t go anywhere.”

She slid off her stool, and I let her go, following her with my eyes as she rushed down the counter. Despite the late hour, the glass rotating display behind the hostess held plenty of slices of pie and cake. I hated letting go of her for that short jaunt, the need to touch her, to feed our connection, tugging at me.

“Boy,” a familiar voice drawled.

My wolf’s hackles rose, and I turned slowly on my stool. The growl that escaped me said it all. I did not want anything to do with Lucky Jansen.

“Lucky.” The irritation and disinterest I felt leaked into my voice.

He’d brought his wolves with him. Several younger wolves I didn’t recognize, plus an older, meaner one who liked to fight. At the back of the pack was Deelie Sue.

Deelie Sue being Deelie Sue, she did not hang around in last place. No sir. She marched up and slid her arm through Lucky’s, staking a claim. At the end of the counter, Alice stepped away, disappearing into the restroom.

“Hi, Ford.” Deelie Sue flashed me her megawatt smile.

She’s traded you in a for a newer model.

Older.

Older, my wolf amended. Super antique. Definitely richer. More successful. Alphahole.

“Deelie Sue.” I swallowed my frustration with her. I’d texted and called her nonstop for the last week. Atticus had also reached out, floating various times for the three of us to meet up and plan how we were going to catch Lucky shifting on camera.

But Deelie Sue had responded only that we should swing by her work if we wanted to talk. Since I didn’t need a new vehicle—and nobody ever left without one—I had dug in my heels and refused.

Lucky glanced at his wolves and then nodded once toward two booths at the back of the café. “Those tables.”

Two of his guys sauntered over to the diners, pulled out some cash, and said something inaudible. Charm and pressure, that was how Lucky worked. And then, if that failed, he sent his goons. This was a demonstration of what he expected from me. He ordered; other people made way for him.

Sure enough, the customers in question slid out of their seats, not looking Lucky’s way. As they’d agreed to give him what he wanted, they got the carrot; if they’d stayed put, sooner or later he would have shown them the stick.

I did not want to become Lucky’s stick.

“Convenient, us meeting up like this,” Lucky said as I watched his wolves finish their booth cleanup and spread out at the back of the restaurant. He smiled benevolently, white teeth flashing as the customers filed past him, stammering out their thanks for their “free” to-go meals. “Saves me running out to your place.”

I leaned against the counter, hoping Alice took a good long time in the bathroom. I did not want Lucky paying her any attention. “You want to borrow my hedge trimmer?”

Lucky looked offended. “I’ve got people to handle my yardwork, boy. We both know I’ve only got one use for you. Three more days, then I’ll be expecting your answer.”

I was tempted to give him an answer right then, one punctuated by my middle finger, but my own luck had run out. Alice was headed my way, carrying a tray with slices of cake and cups of coffee.

Your plan sucks.

Lucky’s gaze followed mine. When he spotted Alice, he stiffened, his shit-eating grin fading, as if the sight of her was unexpected. He did get up from her seat, though.

Alice was beaming, but I knew the exact moment when she realized Lucky had been occupying her spot and was occupying my attention. She inspected him like he was an unexpected bug specimen, the happy smile fading from her face to be replaced by questions and reserve as she approached us warily.

I did not want Alice anywhere near Lucky and his wolves. We needed to go.

“Am I interrupting? I can give you a moment to finish your conversation.” Alice’s gaze bounced between me and Lucky, her fingers tightening on the tray of cake like she figured that was one thing she could save.

“Not at all, Miss Aymes.” Lucky gave her a slick smile. He stood far too close to her. “How is my daughter doing? I hear she gave you a job down at Vanity Fur Salon.”

“She’s good.” Alice looked uncertain how much she should divulge, given that Sanye and her daddy had stopped speaking years ago.

Lucky smiled again, a gleaming, shark-toothed smile that did not reach his eyes. No one outside of the Iron Wolves disagreed with Sanye’s decision to cut ties with him.

“Would you mind grabbing us some boxes?” I said to Alice. “We’ll get this to-go.”

Instead of asking the hundred questions I saw in her eyes, Alice nodded and headed to the hostess stand.

Lucky kept his gaze fixed on Alice. “So that’s who you’re seeing, huh?”

“That’s none of your business, old man.”

Lucky turned his head, his eyes sheeting amber. “Oh, I think it is.”

“How is Alice Aymes any of your goddamned business?”

“Because you’re gonna be part of my pack, boy.”

“Nothing has been settled.”

Lucky talked over me. “Wolves and humans shouldn’t mix, not like that. Do you think you can work for me and see her on the side? Or you’re thinking you’ll hide your wolf, pass as human, hoodwink the Wolf Council into thinking that if you’re so well behaved, your older brother must be as well? Because the evidence I’ve got on Maverick is damned serious, son.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” I ground out.

Lucky bared his teeth at me. If he’d been in his wolf form, his ears would have been up, his eyes squinting. “You got until the full moon to accept it.”

Let’s rip his head off, my wolf suggested. We can take him and his pack.

“I put a reminder in my phone,” I gritted out. I needed to get Alice and get the hell out of here. Because if we didn’t move it, I was going to take my wolf’s advice and swing at Lucky’s goons. Six against one was not in my favor, and I would likely get my ass kicked.

“There’s no future for a wolf and a human. You could take a girl like that to bed, maybe once or twice, but that would be selfish. She’s far too good for the likes of you, and you should leave her alone. You can’t tell her about us, about what we are, so it would be pure selfish to go after her.”

“What Alice and I do or don’t do together is none of your business.”

“Wolves have tried it. Some of mine think they can handle cross-species dating, but no Iron Wolf has made it work. Hell, your own daddy tried it and look what he did to your momma. He went for the bite and he killed her. You want to do that to your girl?”

“I’m not one of the Iron Wolves.”

Lucky cracked a smile. “Not yet. See you on the full moon.”