Chapter 2
RODERICK
If I’d had my thoughts in order, I probably would’ve asked the question with more tact.
Unfortunately, the second my wolf caught scent of this woman, the beast was clamoring at me to step in closer, bury my face in her fiery hair, and breathe in deep.
Paper and lemons.
For the past few months, I’ve caught whiffs of the tantalizing scent around town. Just a hint, a tease of a delicious combo that had me wanting to hunt down the source. A handful of times, I gave in, only to find the trail ended at a parking space or the closed library.
Now the second makes sense.
Juliet Adair, decadent scent temptress, is the new librarian. The sight of her is just as addictive as her smell.
Or so my wolf insists.
But I pride myself on keeping my beast on a short leash and my wits about me. That’s a requirement as leader of the Pine Falls pack. I can’t be chasing after pretty girls because they smell like a thick slice of lemon loaf, wrapped in sugar-saturated paper.
My sweet tooth will not rule me either.
I asked my abrupt question to remind my wolf and myself that this woman is an outsider. She’ll be leaving soon, and all I need to know is when.
At the widening of her eyes and huff that’s almost—but not quite—a laugh, I can tell I offended her. Better that way.
“Wow. Don’t even want to learn my name before you’re pushing me out, huh?”
When she first approached me, the small woman had a nervous air to her. Like a cornered rabbit.
Now she stands straight and glares with a sting in her eyes.
“Thad told me your name,” I grunt.
“Well, maybe he was mistaken. We only met a few minutes ago.” Her eyes flick to my pack mate. Her hands are clumsy as she tries to sign her words, clearly forgetting half of them.
Thad, to make up for the holes, has his stare focused on her mouth. I know he’s only trying to read her words as she speaks them.
Still, I barely restrain the urge to gesture at him to get his leering gaze off her tantalizing lips.
Mine. My wolf does not want to share.
He’s not even attracted to women, I argue with the beast, like my psyche has split in two. And she’s not mine. I don’t want her.
“I’m Juliet Adair. The new librarian in town. Working full-time. Setting down roots. Aka not leaving.” She holds out a hand for me to shake.
Her overly sweet tone almost distracts me from the hesitant skip before she spoke her name.
Strange.
Pretty, my wolf adds.
Then her last statement registers, and I barely keep from grimacing.
Maybe she doesn’t have an exact end date, but I’m sure she’ll get tired of a small town full of secrets eventually. All outsiders do.
Reluctantly, I accept her handshake. My wolf shivers with happiness at the touch of her fingers. I’m surprised to notice the rough calluses she sports. This isn’t the hand of someone who just putters around with books all day. I like the feel of it too much.
I mean, my wolf does. I don’t. Couldn’t care less.
When I drop her grip, I wipe my hand on my jeans.
Juliet tracks the movement, but I refuse to regret the action.
My next question is as terse as the last. “Why are you here?”
Juliet stares at me, turns to look at Thad, whose mouth has gone tight, then tilts her head back toward me.
“I’m here because there was a job opening. At your library.” She speaks slowly, as if I might not understand. “I’m the new librarian.”
I glare, not appreciating her sass.
She glares back. “What?”
“You’ll leave.” Better sooner than later. “When you get a better job offer.” Our small-town library is just a stepping stone to bigger things. A chance to learn her trade before moving on.
Juliet gapes at me, her pert mouth hanging open.
Pretty pink tongue. Want to suck on it.
Fuck no. Stop that. I’m not sucking on her tongue.
She snaps her mouth shut, as if in agreement. “Do I smell?”
Perfectly.
I don’t utter the word, choosing to remain silent so I don’t accidentally say what my wolf is thinking.
“Seriously.” She spreads her arms wide, showing off a set of jeans that fit the curve of her hips like a second skin. “What is so wrong with me that in less than five minutes, you’re begging for me to leave?”
“I’m not begging,” I growl.
Pack leaders don’t beg.
“Well, you’re sure as shit not a fucking welcome wagon either.” She bites on the curses, lips curling in a cute little snarl. Then she presses her plush mouth shut, the muscle tightening in her jaw revealing she’s clenching her teeth.
My guess is, librarians aren’t supposed to snarl profanities at their community members.
“You know what?” She huffs. “Never mind. I’m no longer concerned with the opinions of an—” She makes a distinctively rude gesture with her hands that has Thad choking on his next breath.
Juliet turns, giving me her back and awarding Thad all of her attention.
My wolf grumbles unhappily in my chest at being ignored.
“It was nice to meet you.” She emphasizes with her hands that she’s talking about Thad—and only Thad.
“Nice to meet you too.” He signs back before sliding a set of cloth bags off his shoulders and offering them to her.
He was carrying her bags?
The librarian doesn’t bother to look my way again as she stalks across the street and loads her shopping in the back of a beat-up station wagon.
Even as I stare, watching her leave, Thad steps into my line of vision, his face as angry as his hands.
“What the fuck?”
Instead of answering, I turn away and stride into the hardware store I parked in front of—Sawdust and Supplies.
But if I thought that was the end of things, I was sadly mistaken. As I push through the door, I can hear Thad’s heavy footfalls behind me.
Thankfully, my pack mate doesn’t follow me up and down each aisle. I can shop in peace.
That is, if I don’t count the disconcerting thoughts of the librarian and the pissed-off grumbles of my wolf.
“Setting down roots,” she said. “Aka not leaving.”
My wolf likes that. In my territory. My librarian.
I mentally shove the animal’s opinions to the side. My wolf doesn’t understand human nature.
I give it a handful of months—a year at most—and then our new librarian will be looking to start over somewhere more exciting than Pine Falls, Colorado.
Outsiders always leave. Usually with some kind of destruction in their wake.
When I realize I’ve been staring at the same light switches for five minutes, I growl at myself for getting so bent out of shape about the tiny redhead.
Gathering the rest of my purchases, I stride to the front counter and find Thad waiting for me.
He’s having a silent conversation with my mother, who stands behind the register.
Sawdust and Supplies is a family business. Not that I get a discount.
My gaze skirts over their hands before redirecting, as I try not to eavesdrop. They’re probably talking about me, and I have no interest in what they’re saying. When I get close, Thad waves for my attention. Reluctantly, I meet his eyes, then lower my focus to his hands.
“What happened out there? Why were you mean to her?”
Guess the guy is too pissed off to use his voice. Fine, I’d rather no one overhear me arguing with a pack member.
Dropping my armful on the counter, I free my hands to gesture back. “I wasn’t mean.”
That gets me an eye roll.
“Yes, you were. She’s new to town, and she’s nice. You were mean. Why?”
“Because Roderick is smart.” My mother speaks and signs at the same time. “Outsiders are no good for the pack. Better to keep our distance.”
Even though she’s only repeating the exact reasoning I used, I can’t help feeling the urge to bristle at my mother’s words.
But she’s right.
I was right.
We need to keep our distance from people who are not pack. Even the humans of Pine Falls require a certain amount of separation.
And the new librarian isn’t even one of those. She’s here for a job that she’ll get bored of soon enough.
“What she said.” I nod toward my mother.
“Juliet can sign.” Thad speaks, voice half growl and hushed like a whisper. He’s probably not aware of the volume change.
The wolf blows out a frustrated breath, shares a glare between the two of us, then stalks out of the shop.
As I stare after him, shame encroaches on my defensiveness. Begrudgingly, I admit that he has a right to be angry.
Thad suffered an infection when he was a kid that damaged his eardrums, leaving him deaf in both ears—before he hit puberty and got superior werewolf healing abilities.
He can verbalize, but often chooses not to, preferring to sign.
No doubt the guy was excited to find someone else who speaks his language.
The amount of people in town who are fluent in ASL is limited.
Although there’s definitely more than there were a few years back.
When we took the werewolf into our pack, I saw an opportunity.
Having another means of communication could only help with the safety.
If we’re ever confronted by other wolves, whispering to each other won’t keep our words secret from their advanced hearing, but using sign language might.
Plus, when we ride our bikes, the hand gestures come in handy so we don’t have to broadcast our conversations over helmet radios that could potentially be overheard.
So, I mandated that every member of the pack learn American Sign Language. There was a lot of growling about it at first. But the pack members gave in quicker when I stopped responding to verbal questions for a month.
Plus, we held lessons at The Rabbit Hole, a pack-owned bar, so they got to drink while learning.
Now signing is basically second nature after a year of regular use. My hope has always been that Thad won’t feel different from any other member of the pack. And maybe he doesn’t.
But despite keeping our distance, we still interact with the townspeople of Pine Falls. Hell, a lot of the wolves have businesses that depend on human patronage. Mine included.
And I’m not able to command that everyone who lives in Pine Falls learns to sign. A few have, but overwhelmingly, Thad has to utilize lip-reading and writing notes to communicate.
Finding a person who can converse with him would be like me finding an English speaker if I was suddenly stuck living in a foreign country.
And I just basically told her she should pack up and leave.
Even if Juliet Adair putting Pine Falls in her rearview is inevitable, I’m a shitty leader if I drive away people who can benefit those under my care.
I grimace as I stalk out of the shop and tuck my purchases into the saddlebags of my bike.
The pretty librarian is leaving eventually. But for my pack mate, I can make nice while she’s here.