Chapter Three
One Month Later
The flowers were lovely, and Lisa couldn’t bring herself to throw them out. She couldn’t grow flowers, so the very least she could do was watch them flourish before they died. When it came to the chocolates, she took them to the coffee shop for anyone who wanted a sweet treat.
The jewelry was sent back. All nonperishable goods were returned to the sender. She would make the courier wait, or whoever he got delivering the items, to wait. Once she opened it, she didn’t even hesitate. They went back.
She wasn’t kidding with Shadow. He wanted a good time. She was looking for forever.
Walking to the coffee shop, Adele was already waiting for her. It was her turn to open.
“You look like shit,” Adele said.
“Thanks, that is what every single woman wants to hear, just how crappy she looks.” She opened the coffee shop, and while she went through to the register to start opening, Adele began to open the blinds, put the chairs back on the floor, and under the tables.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” Lisa said.
“No chocolates today?”
“None. This time I got flowers. A bunch of wild ones,” Lisa said.
“That’s nice.” Adele knew she didn’t accept any of the gifts. Also, whenever Shadow came into the shop, Adele made sure to serve him.
Pam was different. Over the past month, she had gotten close to the other woman. Pam wasn’t trying to get her to make things right with Shadow. She agreed with her. If Shadow wasn’t looking for forever, then it was over.
“Yeah, they were pretty.”
“I’m just throwing this out there, but have you ever thought about … forgiving him?” Adele asked.
This made her pause and look toward her friend.
Adele held her hands up. “For a guy who only wants you for sex, don’t you think he is putting in a little too much effort? Not that you’re not worth it, but come on, it has to make you think.”
Lisa smiled. “You’d think so, but I was clear with him. I told him what I wanted, and he didn’t feel the same way. We both want different things, and I’m not going to give in to him. I want forever, not just a good time.”
Her friend sighed. “Although a good time sounds pretty nice.”
She laughed. “What is going on with you? Since when do you take Shadow’s side?”
“I’m not taking his side. I just … don’t you think it is kind of romantic that he’s getting you all these gifts, and I know he’s talked bad things about you and stuff like that. I don’t know. Ignore me. I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about.”
Lisa smiled at her friend. “You want to believe in romance?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact we’re heading to fall, and I’m going to be watching all my favorite movies and shows, and living here, it kind of sucks.”
“You think living here sucks?”
“Living with men and women that are just after a good time. You know, the romantic in me is dying.”
Lisa pushed some of her hair out of the way. “It’s not always like that. There are married couples here. Then there is Eloise and Beau. They’ve made it work.”
“Yeah, but if you believe the rumor, she had to get pregnant for him to see reason.” Adele sighed. “You know what, ignore me. I was watching a romance movie last night, and I know I shouldn’t because it just makes me sad.”
“Stop it,” Lisa said, rounding the counter and going to her friend. “I get it. Sometimes we watch movies and it only reminds us of what we wanted to be, and somehow we’ve ended up as something else.”
“You get that?”
Lisa nodded. She hugged her friend. “Yeah, I get it. For the longest time, I wanted to meet the man of my dreams, fall in love, get married, have children. I wanted to be the stay-at-home wife, baking pies and cookies, decorating the house for Halloween and Christmas. Being the one they can depend on. You know, it’s kind of silly.”
“It’s not silly,” Adele said. “I’m sorry Shadow is not the guy you thought he might be.”
“The worst part is I still love him.” She shrugged and felt the tears begin to well in her eyes.
“Oh, crap, I made you sad,” Adele said.
“No, no, it’s fine. I don’t know what is happening to me of late. My emotions are all out of whack. I’ll be fine.” She made her way back to the counter and started to prepare, grabbing an apron. She hated how her emotions kept spiraling lately.
Once the coffee shop opened, she had gotten in control, and she was more than ready to face a shop full of people. She kept a smile on her lips and served politely. A couple of men attempted to flirt, but she ignored them. Adele did the same.
Even though her friend wanted to find romance, she still wasn’t going to look in the wrong places, not that she could blame her. No Wolves Road was becoming the place not to find love.
Pam arrived to take her out to lunch. The morning rush had come and gone, and Adele was happy for her to leave, because she was starving.
They left the coffee shop but didn’t go too far as they were only eating at the diner. The food smelled good. There were a few tables outside, and seeing as it was a nice warm day, they opted to eat there.
“Is it me, or does the food smell really good today?” Lisa asked.
Pam chuckled. “The food is always smelling good, so, no, it’s not you.”
Lisa glanced over the menu and the only thing she wanted was juicy beef burgers with loaded fries. Much to her surprise, she ordered two of the burgers and a large of the fully loaded fries. Pam still ordered more than her, but she knew the other woman was surprised.
“I feel so hungry right now.”
“That’s understandable. You’re not eating much at breakfast, and in the mornings, the coffee shop is rarely empty. I can understand why you would need more food.” Pam ran her fingers through her hair. “So, do you know what I was thinking?”
Lisa looked toward her new friend, trying to figure out what she was going to say, but then she just shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t have a clue what you’re thinking half the time.”
Pam shrugged. “I’m thinking you, me, and Adele should go out Friday night.”
Now this was a surprise to her. “Go out?”
“Yeah, we’re heading toward the last days of summer. It won’t be long before the first snowfall hits, and next week the full moon hits. I want to go out and have some fun, just us girls,” Pam said. “Come on.”
“This is not some kind of ruse, is it?”
Pam pursed her lips. “Before you told me the truth, I might have been willing to do that, but afterward…” She wrinkled her nose. “Shadow is on his own. So come on, what do you say?”
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on, how can you say that? You, me, and Adele, living it up and having some fun. There is nothing wrong with any of this, trust me. It will be fun.”
Lisa thought about it. She had never been the kind of person who enjoyed going out and partying. It just wasn’t her thing. But, she’d also never really had any girlfriends to enjoy going out with. It sounded like a lot of fun, a lot more fun than she had ever thought possible.
“You know what, I think that sounds pretty damn good,” she said, laughing as Pam clapped her hands.
“Good, I will be the designated driver, because as we all know alcohol doesn’t really affect me. I’m seeing dancing and just having some fun, you know.” Pam clicked her fingers and did a little dance in her seat.
She loved her energy.
“You make it sound like fun.”
Pam winked at her. Lisa was still chuckling as their food was being brought out to them.
“Speaking of fun, Shadow is still asking about you,” Pam said.
She held onto her burger. Even before the waitress had put her meal down, she was already reaching for it.
“He has?”
Normally, talk of Shadow tended to affect her appetite and her enjoyment of doing anything. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she really needed to eat, so she took a large bite of the burger and couldn’t help but moan. The flavors were on point.
“This is so good,” she said, pointing toward Pam. “Try your burger.”
Pam laughed and took a bite. “It is good.”
By the time Pam had taken two bites, Lisa was already onto her second burger.
“Whoa, are you all right there?” Pam asked.
“I guess all the missed sleep and stuff like that is finally catching up with me,” she said. She felt her cheeks heat.
“Probably. It’s good to see you eating,” Pam said.
****
“No!” Shadow said.
“No? You’re telling me no?” Pam asked.
“That is what I am saying.”
Pam glared at him. “It is already a done and organized deal. We talked about it the other day. I’m going to pick her and Adele up. I’m not asking you for permission.”
He was about to use his Alpha ability on her but she pointed a finger at him.
“Do not even think to start that!”
He was so tempted.
“I promised Lisa a great night out with dancing, and there is going to be food.” She frowned. “There should probably be a lot of food. Lisa has found her appetite and is always starving lately.”
Shadow looked toward Pam. “I don’t like it. There are going to be men there.”
“So what? From what Lisa told me, she asked you point blank if you wanted to have a chance at forever with her. You don’t. Lisa is looking for her Mr. Right, and you’re not it.”
“I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend, and either you’ve got to get your head out of your ass and realize you do want a lot more with Lisa than you admit, or do the manly, grown-up thing!”
“Which is?”
“Leave her alone. Let her move on. You’re not interested in having her as your wife. You don’t want her to be the mother of your children. You’re after a good time. Lisa wants forever. She wants to be a mother, a wife, and to find the love of her life. That’s not you. Leave her alone.”
He didn’t want to do that. For the past month, he’d been trying to figure out ways of getting Lisa to forgive him. The flowers were a good idea, but according to Pam, the chocolates had ended up at the coffee shop for other people to enjoy. She’d not even charged anyone for the pleasure. All the other material gifts—the jewelry, books, furniture—had been returned.
Shadow didn’t know what to do. He’d even been tempted to pay Beau Alpha a visit to ask him what he did, but he knew the outcome of that union. Beau was now mated to the human, the very first in No Wolves Road.
“Maybe you could be happy for her,” Pam said.
“Happy for her?”
“Yeah, she might meet the man of her dreams tonight. Wouldn’t that be something?”
Shadow growled. He couldn’t handle the thought of her being near any other man. The very thought of it was inconceivable to him. There was no way that could happen. No fucking way at all.
“No!”
Pam stared at him. “Are you serious? Do you expect an amazing woman like Lisa Bennett to not find a man of her own? What about when you find a mate or settle down? Will it be acceptable to you then?”
Shadow glared at her.
“Wow, you know what, I didn’t peg you as a selfish bastard, but you are really getting there right now.”
“I am not a selfish bastard,” he said.
“Yeah, you are. What is worse, you don’t even see it. You don’t want to take Lisa for forever, but you don’t want her to be with anyone else. You’re a selfish bastard, and maybe one day you will even begin to see the error of what you’re doing right now.” Pam shook her head. “I’m going to get Lisa, and I’m going to make sure she has a good time.”
There was nothing for Shadow to do or say. He could only watch as Pam left. Putting his hands on his waist, he tapped his foot. It wasn’t any of his business, he knew that. He should just let Lisa go. That would be the right thing to do, but even his wolf wasn’t happy. Neither of them wanted to think of Lisa with another man. Just the very thought of it had him growling low and deep within his throat. His hands clenched, and he felt the skin begin to split as the transition threatened to take control.
He was a grown man. He’d not been at the mercy of his wolf or his emotions in a very long time. At the start of his training to be Alpha, his father had made sure he was in constant control.
Taking some deep breaths, he tried to bring himself back under control, and that felt nearly impossible. But he did so. He was not going to lose control.
Pam was going to take Lisa and her friend out to enjoy a fun night dancing. There was nothing he could do about it. There was also nothing Pam could do to stop him from being there, so he took off, heading toward No Wolves Road Bar.
At the edge of the parking lot, he stopped and looked over toward the bar. The scent of humans and wolves was strong. It was a Friday night, so a lot of people were looking for a partner to spend the weekend with.
Lisa was in there.
Men were in there.
He couldn’t allow anyone to touch his Lisa.
Shadow paused after taking one step toward the bar. What he was doing was selfish, but this was for Lisa’s sake. If she wanted to find a man to cherish her, it wasn’t going to be inside a bar. Nothing good ever came from dating someone in a bar. She deserved to find a man who had similar tastes to herself. Lisa was not a partying woman.
He took one step in front of the other and made his way inside the bar. It didn’t matter how many people were there, he still picked up Lisa’s scent, and he looked in her general direction.
Pam, Lisa, and Adele were at the bar, all three of them in revealing dresses. He didn’t give a shit what Pam and Adele were wearing.
Lisa wore a black dress that plunged at the front, revealing the top part of her breasts. She had worn that dress once before, for him and him alone. He’d been the one to remove it from her body, using his teeth. She’d been begging and moaning, and the scent of her pussy had been heavy in the air. The memory was one of his favorites.
Lisa hadn’t been shy when it came to sex. Although she’d been a virgin, she had trusted him. That first time had been painful for her. The first thrust, that is. The moment he felt her virginity give way to his cock, the temptation to just take her hard and fast had been so strong. Even now, Shadow didn’t know how he’d been able to stop himself.
He’d held himself balls-deep inside her and waited until she was ready. Only then had he made love to her. He hadn’t even fucked her but took all night to make up for the brief pain he caused her. He had forgotten until this very moment that he’d hated hurting her and had never wanted to do it again. That night, holding her while she slept in his arms, he had vowed he would never hurt her again.
I fucked that one up.
With Lisa, he messed everything up and had no idea how to make it better.