Chapter 45
JULIET
I’ve never sat down to eat at the Red Road Diner before. I’ve ordered out plenty of times—enough for Jess, the owner, to recognize me and greet me by name. But I’ve never put my butt in a booth.
Because before today, I would have been eating at the diner alone. Not that I’m opposed to taking myself out for food. Nothing wrong with enjoying a meal when the only company is a good book. But something about the diner made me uncomfortable with that situation.
Maybe it was the atmosphere, which is upbeat, full of chatter and friendly conversations getting shouted across the space. Not really prime reading atmosphere and sure to make me feel even more like an outsider.
But I think what solidified my avoidance was the day I came in to pick up my burger and fries, only to see Roderick, sitting across from a beautiful woman. He was dressed nicer than I’d seen him before, and he stared at his companion intently.
Until he looked up at me. And scowled.
Yeah, no way in hell was I going to get caught eating alone by the abrasive werewolf.
The same one who now guides me to a booth in the back corner. Like that day with the mystery woman, I expect him to settle across from me. Instead, when I plop my butt down, a solid presence looms over me.
“Scoot in,” he orders.
I roll my eyes, fight a smile, and do as he says. Roderick slides beside me, draping his arm along the back of the booth, encircling me in his heat, our thighs pressing together.
The arrangement is surprisingly comfortable, and I find myself leaning into his chest as I read over the menu. A firm pressure on the top of my head feels like his lips. Then there’s a nuzzle and the sound of an inhale, my werewolf scenting my still-damp hair.
Blood floods my cheeks as I recall what we did in my shower. The feel of the water pounding against my back as he tongued me between my legs.
I shift in my seat, feeling a phantom of the orgasm he wrung out of me. Roderick hadn’t been lying when he said he could be quick. But even in a hurry, he made sure to take care of me first.
“You uncomfortable?” His low voice has me replaying the dirty words he growled in my ear not even an hour ago.
Tilting my chin up, I meet a pair of caring eyes. And I feel a sense of righteous empowerment, knowing I won’t have a terrified episode if their color darkens.
“No.” I keep my answer at a whisper, aware that there are other werewolves in the diner that can likely overhear whatever conversation we have. “Just wondering if I might need another shower later.”
Amber seeps to onyx, and a grin slowly unfurls in time with the change.
“Feeling dirty?” he murmurs.
“Aren’t you two just adorable?” The lusty tension breaks as Jess sidles up to our table, wearing a curious but friendly smile. “What can I get y’all to drink?”
Pretty sure I’m failing the fight against my embarrassed flush, I rattle off the first drink I spot on the menu and immediately forget what I said. Roderick orders a coffee, and Jess strides away.
“You need to behave yourself,” I say in the primmest voice I can manage while I stare with determination at the breakfast food choices.
That earns me a chuckle and a quick, hot kiss pressed to the side of my neck.
Trying to keep my composure, I glance around the restaurant for something else to focus on. And that’s when I notice the staring.
It’s not blatant. Well, most of it isn’t. There are a couple of diners openly observing us. Most of the rest cast us sidelong glances, as if they think they’re being covert.
Well, if they’re examining me, I don’t feel any compunction about returning the favor. Sliding my eyes over the rest of the diners, I pick up a distinct similarity.
“Is everyone here a wolf?” I turn to Roderick to ask my question.
He doesn’t seem bothered by my query. In fact, he seems much more interested in fiddling with a lock of my hair rather than scoping out our audience.
“Most. A full-moon run is hungry business. Red Road has the best breakfast in Pine Falls.”
Before I can decide how I feel about this, Jess is back with our drinks—mine is orange juice, thank goodness—and she asks for our food order.
“I’ll get scrambled eggs and home fries, please.” I want something sweet, too, but I’m usually not too hungry in the morning, and I don’t want to waste food. When I glance up at Roderick, I find his eyes on me, as if he knows I’m not done ordering. “If I get a waffle, will you eat half of it?”
“Do you want me to?” One of his eyebrows curves up, and I stifle a grin at the memory of how I had to hide his apology pie from him.
“Yes. You are allowed to eat half. And I want you to.”
After a smirk and a nod, I feel better about ordering the sweet.
“And for you, the usual?” Jess turns her attention to Roderick, and he nods again.
“Two all-Americans. Thank you.”
Before returning my menu to the holder, I look to see what an “all-American” consists of.
Four sausages, four strips of bacon, two sunny side up eggs, four slices of toast, home fries, and a pancake.
And Roderick ordered two.
Sometimes, I forget how much food wolves can pack away.
“Sure you can eat half of a waffle on top of all that?” I tease.
Instead of answering, Roderick presses a gentle but insistent kiss against my lips. The wolf can’t keep his mouth off me.
When I’m released, it takes a moment to get my breath to a steady pace again. Remembering back to the first few months I knew this man, I never would have imagined the stoic, occasionally surly werewolf would be so physically affectionate.
Not that I’m complaining.
A throat clears near our table, and we both glance up to see a man with a young girl at his side.
“Roderick.” The guy holds out his hand, and my companion immediately accepts it for a shake.
“Wayne.” Roderick turns his gaze to the girl. “Nicole.”
“I go by Nicky,” she declares, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.
Immediately, I like her.
“Sorry,” Wayne says with a shrug, his hand smoothing over the kid’s wild hair. “We’re working on manners.”
Even though Roderick doesn’t smile, I get the sense he finds the girl’s sassy tone as amusing as I do.
“No problem. I’ll make sure to remember. Nicky.” He speaks straight to the girl, and she gives him a stiff nod. From the tension in her neck, it’s clear that she still finds the pack leader intimidating despite her steel spine.
“This is Juliet.” Roderick tips his chin toward me.
“Nice to meet you.” Smiling, I give the two visitors a wave. I’m sure I’ve seen them in the library a time or two, but we’ve never really had a conversation.
Wayne nods at me, and Nicky gives a reluctant half wave back.
“Wayne is a member of the pack, and Nicky is his daughter,” Roderick explains.
The man doesn’t look as old as I would expect him to, having a preteen daughter. Probably those werewolf genes keeping his skin smooth.
“Don’t mean to interrupt your breakfast. Only, since I saw you here, thought I’d let you know I think Nicky is getting to that age.”
“Dad!” she groans.
I wonder what he means by that age. Do pack members have to tell the alpha when a girl’s period starts? Fucking weird thing to do.
Roderick retracts his arm from around my shoulders so he can slide out of the booth. Then he crouches, putting himself on eye level with Nicky.
“You been feeling the call of the moon? Last night make you anxious?” he asks.
Oh. That age. The age when a seemingly normal child starts to turn into a supernatural creature once a month.
Cory gave me a basic outline of how werewolves come to be. A bloodline thing, and the change first happens around the time of puberty.
Hell, dealing with that, plus normal teenage hormones, has to be the parental gauntlet.
“Yeah. My bones hurt.” Nicky glares as she says this, daring Roderick to show sympathy.
But he gives her a stoic nod instead. “You know my sister, Tanya?”
Nicky nods.
“I’ll give your dad her number. She’ll come by your house before the next full moon. Talk to you about the change. Sound good?”
The little girl blinks. Then blinks again faster, a shine to her eyes. “Yeah, uh, yes, sir.”
My heart hurts for her. Clearly, she’s trying to be tough even though she’s scared.
“Thank you, Roderick.” Wayne gives my companion a grateful smile as he cups his daughter’s shoulder. “We’d appreciate that.”
I wonder if the change is different for female wolves than it is for males. Or if the two men just think Nicky would be more open, talking to a woman.
Either way, I’m left with one burning question.
Where is her mother?
The little family walks back to their table on the other side of the diner as Roderick slides in beside me again.
“Sorry. Pack business never ends.” He gives me a rueful smile.
And my chest feels lighter for it. I’m not resentful that the members of the pack have a claim to him.
Not when he acknowledges that it may be an inconvenience.
What always bothered me about Cory’s beta status in Bear Valley was that he not only expected me to be overjoyed about his power, but to also act as his constant hostess. Without notice or consulting me.
As long as Roderick makes clear he’s aware of how it might affect me, I feel seen. I feel respected. I’d never ask him to shirk his responsibility. I only want to maintain my own identity, separate from his alpha-ness.
To reassure him, I squeeze his thigh under the table.
“They seemed nice.” I bite my lip, trying to stifle my curiosity. But, damn it, I really want to know. Aware of the extraordinary hearing most of the diners possess, I lean in until my lips almost brush his ear. “Nicky’s mom?”
When I pull away, it’s to find the smallest grimace at the corner of his mouth.
Roderick leans in, copying how low I asked my question. “Human. Had a fling with Wayne. Got pregnant and didn’t want to raise a wolf cub. She left.”
Only a handful of words, and yet one of the saddest stories I’ve heard.
Meeting his eyes, I offer a commiserating grimace.
And I wonder if he’s missing his own mother.