Chapter Two
Liam
I wake to pale light filtering through my girlfriend Kara’s bedroom curtains.
The warmth of her body is pressed against my side, and her sweet perfume fills my nostrils.
She’s still asleep, her red hair fanned across the pillow, one arm draped over my chest. I feel affection as I watch her sleep.
She’s so beautiful and I care about her a lot.
What we have together is comfortable. Familiar.
We’ve been together for a year, and she’s exactly the kind of woman I’ve always been drawn to. Smart. Funny. Easy to be around.
But as compatible as we are, something has kept me from taking the next step.
It worries me that I’m hesitant about doing that with her.
Kara is fucking amazing. Any guy in town would kill to have her.
So why am I dragging my feet when she’s so perfect?
She’s hinted a few times lately that she’d like to be engaged by the end of next year.
But every time she brings that subject up, my gut churns and I tend to change the subject.
I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I’m turning thirty this week.
I should be ready to settle down. I don’t think I’m ever going to find another woman who I’m more compatible with.
She checks all the boxes of what a good romantic partner should be.
We share a lot of the same favorite movies and music.
She wants a family one day, just like I do.
She’s happy to stay here in Golden Peak too, which is a must for me.
I don’t want to leave my pack, so it’s essential I settle down with a woman who loves it here as much as I do.
I’m overthinking it. I’m putting too much pressure on myself.
I sigh and slip out of bed, careful not to wake her.
The hardwood floor is cold under my feet as I pad to the bathroom and turn on the shower.
Steam fills the small space and I catch my reflection in the mirror.
I look tired. I just had a full eight hours, but I don’t feel like it.
My body and mind are dragging. If I’m honest, the last five years I’ve felt like that.
Where’s the guy who used to wake up every morning buzzing with excitement to go out and change the world?
Where’d he go? Am I just feeling this way because I’m leaving my twenties behind?
I step into the shower, letting the hot water run over my head.
As I work lemon-scented shampoo into my hair, for some reason my thoughts drift to that blond wolf I saw at the bar last night.
He was new in town, that was obvious, and Steve was hitting on him.
Of course, Steve hits on everyone. Steve’s ‘gaydar’ is usually spot on, but the guy hadn’t flirted back.
In fact, he’d sat at the bar, shoulders hunched like he was trying to disappear into his burger.
Even though his body language had been antisocial, our eyes met a few times.
Each time it happened, the strangest sense of recognition buzzed through me.
That made no sense because I was certain we’d never met.
Still, stranger or not, my wolf stirred in a way I’d never experienced before.
Not with Kara. Not with any of the women I’d dated.
He’d looked equally uncomfortable, as if he’d been feeling the same illogical recognition.
I laugh self-consciously because I don’t understand why I’m obsessing about this.
What am I actually thinking? That I was attracted to that guy?
Fuck no, that isn’t a thing. I’m not into men.
I’ve never been into men. There’s nothing wrong with being gay, but I’ve always dated women.
Slept with women. I’m sure I’ll end up marrying Kara.
Despite me hemming and hawing about getting engaged, we’re good together.
She’s hung in there with me through thick and thin.
It hasn’t always been easy for her either, because I work long hours.
Our department is small, so we often have to work twelve-hour shifts.
Especially during the busy season, and a lot of times I’m too beat to do anything but crash after work.
She understands that and doesn’t complain.
Feeling agitated, I scrub shampoo through my hair more aggressively than necessary.
I think I’m subconsciously trying to wash thoughts of that stranger out of my head.
He probably seemed familiar because he reminded me of a celebrity or something.
Odds are he’s already left town anyway. I’ll never see him again.
Twenty minutes later, I’m dressed and trying to leave without waking Kara. She stirs as I’m lacing my boots.
“You’re sneaking out on me, Martinez?” Her voice is sleep-rough and amused.
“Nah, I just need to get to the station.”
She stretches, the sheet slipping down to reveal the top of her full breasts. “Come here first.”
I smile and stand, moving around the bed to lean down and kiss her. It’s nice. It’s always nice with Kara. But even as I’m kissing her, part of my brain is elsewhere, which makes me feel like an asshole.
“Dinner tonight?” she asks when I pull back.
“I don’t know if I can. I’m supposed to meet my new partner today. The Chief wants the department to do a welcome thing for her at the bar after shift.”
She pouts. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you getting a woman partner. What if you fall madly in love with her?”
I laugh and straighten. “No way, baby. I’m all yours.”
She bites her bottom lip. “Promise?”
“Of course. You’re the only woman for me.” I hesitate. “Hey, why don’t you join us? You know everyone and it’ll give you a chance to meet her too. We’re going to The Fox & The Kettle around 5:00 p.m.”
She perks up. “Yeah? You don’t mind if I come?”
I smirk. “Honey, I always enjoy it when you come.”
She giggles and throws a decorative pillow at me. “You know I’m more than just a pretty face.”
“I know.” I move toward the bedroom door, grabbing my jacket off the chair. “You’re also a very nice set of tits.” I dodge another pillow and leave grinning.
The drive to the station takes me through the heart of Golden Peak. In daylight, the town looks charming, hemmed in by mountains that scrape the low winter clouds. Fresh snow blankets everything, softening edges and muffling sounds. I’ve lived here all my life and can’t imagine ever leaving.
The station is a red brick building just off Main Street, two stories with a row of patrol cars parked out front. There’s an American flag snapping in the wind, and the Montana state flag below it.
I pull into the lot behind the building. Inside, the station smells like coffee and some sort of cinnamon pastries. The front desk is manned by Diane, our civilian receptionist. She’s human, in her seventies, with reading glasses on a chain around her neck.
“Morning, Liam,” she says, looking up briefly from her crossword puzzle.
“Morning, Diane. Quiet night?”
“Yep. There were a couple of drunk and disorderlies, but nothing to write home about. Tommy Fletcher got into it with his brother again.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, of course he did. It was a day that ended in Y.”
She laughs. “True enough. Hey, your new partner’s here already. He’s in with the Chief.”
I frown. “Did you say he?”
She glances up. “Yep. I sure did.”
I scratch my jaw. “Uh, I thought my new partner was a woman.”
“Nope. This one is all male.” She winks. “Cute too.”
I ignore her comment about his looks, confused why the chief would have told me my new partner was a woman. As I head down the hallway, I pass the break room where Officer Tom Brown is refilling his coffee.
“Hey, Martinez,” he says, adding cream to his coffee. He looks a little hung over. He was at The Fox & The Kettle with us last night. I guess he overdid it.
“Morning,” I say, heading toward the main bullpen. The station is already stirring despite the early hour. A couple of desks are occupied, radios murmuring in the background. Sally Thompson sits at hers, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, typing up a report from last night’s shift.
She looks up. “Your new partner is here.” She grins, looks around, and lowers her voice. “He’s adorable.”
“So I heard.” I stop beside her. I don’t give a damn how adorable my new partner is, I want to know why things got switched up.
If anyone will have the tea on what happened, it’s Sally.
She’s human and she knows everything that goes on in the station.
“Didn’t Chief say my new partner was going to be a woman from Boise? ”
“He did.” She nods. “But apparently that fell through. I believe that candidate got cold feet. She wasn’t sure life on a mountain was right for her after all. Chief found a replacement from Atlanta PD. This guy’s been on the force longer, so the swap is a good thing.”
“Sure, more experience is always good,” I murmur, heading toward the chief’s office to meet the new guy. But before I can even knock on the chief’s door, he opens it.
“There you are, Martinez.” Chief is a wolf with a solid presence.
In his early fifties with steel-gray hair, he’s a good leader.
We all respect him. He’s the sort of man who people listen to even though he’s soft-spoken.
“How about you get your butt in here and meet your new partner?” His smile softens his words.
I laugh. “I was just about to do that, sir.” I follow him into his office, and I’m floored to find the blond wolf from last night standing near Chief’s desk.
He’s dressed in a crisp GPPD uniform and it suddenly hits me that he must be my new partner.
I blink at him in confusion and shock. I’d never in a million years have pegged the guy as a cop.
His energy was so passive last night at the bar.
When we make eye contact, I see the flicker of surprised recognition in his expression as well. But then the disbelief smooths into something more neutral.