Chapter 3 #2
Willow was smiling, then it slipped away.
Since the virus hit and the city became all but a ghost town, her smiles were less frequent, and I scented her fear and despair every day.
War curled his fingers around the back of his mate’s neck and leaned in, kissing the top of her head before murmuring something in her ear.
Her pain and worry affected him as well, though they tried not to show it around Violet.
Willow leaned into him, her gaze coming to me. “If you like her, ask her out. There’s still a handful of restaurants open around the city. Well, there were a week ago.”
“We’re just messing around,” I said to her, purposely avoiding the topic of our dying city.
It only heightened the scent of her pain.
“Temp isn’t someone you fuck, she’s someone you mate.
The female has a soft heart. I get the feeling she’d get attached.
” I ignored the way my dick jerked and my beast stirred.
Wills narrowed her eyes at me. “You don’t know that. Not all females are desperate for a picket fence, you know.” She leaned against the table. “Though, you’re probably right. If she’s helping you, probably best not to fuck that up by using her to get your rocks off.”
Warrick shook his head, his lips curling up. “Try not to hold back, dove. To think, I used to be the hard-ass in this relationship.”
She gave War a shove. “I like Tempest, she’s sweet, but she wouldn’t know what to do with a male like Fender. He’s had more females than he’s had hot dinners. He’d scare the hell out of her.” She shrugged. “Then again, the world could end tomorrow, so what the fuck would I know?”
“Dove,” War said roughly.
“Shit, sorry.” She ran her finger over Violet’s cheek.
Her hand trembled, not with fear now, with rage.
“None of us are going down without a fight.” Then she turned to me.
“You’re right. Tempest isn’t someone you fuck with.
She’s been through enough. She needs gentle, patient.
” She smirked. “Not someone slamming her headboard through her bedroom wall.”
Jag and War burst out laughing.
I paused, focused on the first thing she said. “What’s she been through?”
Willow shook her head as she sipped War’s beer.
“I don’t exactly know. I can feel something, though, when I’m around her.
She’s been through something pretty bad.
And she’s almost…I don’t know, naive? Like she’s not used to being around people.
” She took Vi back from War when she got wriggly.
“Like I said, I don’t know. I just think we need to be kind to her, help her if we can.
And after what happened with that wolf, the shit he said to her, we need to tread carefully. ”
My spine stiffened. “Gonna need you to back up, Wills, and tell me what you’re talking about. What wolf? And what did he say to her?”
Wills jiggled Vi when she started to fuss. War took his pup back again and blew a raspberry against her neck, making her giggle.
Wills smiled at them, then turned back to me. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because you look ready to commit murder.”
That would depend on what Willow had to say. “Just looking out for her. Like you said, the female’s like a lost lamb, and I owe her for her help.” Hopefully that convinced her, because I needed to know what she was talking about.
“You won’t go and cause a scene?” she said.
“I won’t.” Not tonight anyway.
“It was Raiden from Silver Claw.”
I bit back my growl. Draven had already been forced to reprimand the wolf several times for being a prick.
If he’d said shit to Tempest, there was no way I was letting that go.
It was past time that fucker was dealt with properly.
“What did he say?” I was impressed with how sane I sounded, because I sure as fuck wasn’t feeling it.
“Apparently, she had a bit of a crush on him and tried to talk to him when he was at the clinic. She asked him out, he declined, so she called the keep to talk to him, then asked him out again when he came in to the clinic a few days later.” Willow’s expression changed to one that would make lesser males take a step back.
“He blew up at her, told her to stay the fuck away from him and said some shit about her looks and her weight. I know the wolves are under stress with everything going on, but the shit he said was just plain cruel.”
I gripped the edge of the table, my beast snarling in my skull.
“I don’t think she’s had much experience, you know?
Not just with males, but in general. It’s like she’s stumbling around trying to work a whole lot of stuff out.
Mags noticed as well, and that’s why she took her under her wing, that and she just likes the female.
Apparently, until recently, she lived a pretty isolated and sheltered life. ”
Yeah, I’d noticed. But the fact that Temp was even interested in that fucker Raiden said all I needed to know about how naive the female was. And yeah, the wolves were freaked with this virus, but to yell at her like that? No fucking way.
I frowned, pissed off but also confused at something she’d said. “What did he say about her looks and weight?”
“Yeah, what the fuck’s Raiden talking about?” Roman said. “I don’t get it?”
He’d arrived with a couple more of my brothers a few minutes ago and had been listening to our conversation.
“He tried to make her feel bad because she’s curvy,” Willow said.
I scowled. I still didn’t get it. “Why?” It came out more growl than anything else.
“He obviously prefers thinner females and made sure she knew it.” Willow looked pissed. “He’s an asshole, and Mags let him have it.”
“Tempest’s beautiful,” Brick said, and the pup looked as confused as I felt. “Why wouldn’t he want to be with a female like Temp? I’d jump at the chance to spend time with her, maybe I’ll go see her and—”
“Nope,” I growled. “You won’t go anywhere near her, pup.”
“Not even if I—”
“No,” I growled again.
Brick shut up, but he didn’t look happy. Tough shit.
My brothers were right, though. Hounds didn’t think that way. We liked all females. Yeah, we had types, but curves or no curves, they were all beautiful in their own way.
What I wanted to do was tear out of here, find Raiden, and make that fucker sorry he opened his mouth, then go find Tempest and make sure she knew just how gorgeous she was.
Instead, I forced myself to stay where I was.
My head was so messed up about her; I didn’t trust what I was feeling.
She’s not yours. Fucking up some other male because he hurt her feelings isn’t your job.
I really wanted to, though. “You got anything more on these weapons?” I said to Wills, changing the subject back to why I was here.
If we kept talking about Raiden and Tempest, there’d be no stopping me from hunting the prick down. “Any idea where to start?”
“I have some books for you. I’ll drop them off at your quarters once I get Violet down for her nap.”
“I’ll leave the door unlocked,” I said, because who was I kidding?
I couldn’t just sit here on my hands. I’d promised Wills I wouldn’t go beat the shit out of Raiden just yet, but I at least needed to know Temp had gotten home safe.
I wouldn’t be able to rest until I did. “I need to head back out for a bit.”
“Okay,” she said, and her eyes narrowed. Was she onto me? “You have any questions, just let me know,” she said, instead of calling me out.
“Will do.” Then headed back out to find Temp. Hopefully, home, and tucked up safe and sound in her bed.
What the fuck was she up to?
I’d gone to her place, but her scent had been old, at least eight hours.
She hadn’t been home since she left for work that morning.
Her apartment was, well, weird. There were two doors behind All the Herbs.
The single-story building was not very big, and the store was only open a couple times a week, or it had been before the virus.
I’d gone inside while it was open, and I couldn’t work out where Tempest’s apartment could be.
Unless the door led to a hall and took her into the building beside it.
Taking out my phone, I hit her number and got her voicemail, asking me to leave a message.
I’d called four times, and every time I got the same.
An uneasy feeling gripped me. I needed to know where she was.
The easiest way to track her would be with an item of hers, but I didn’t have anything.
I got back on my bike. My only option was to follow her bus route and figure out where she got off.
I rode to the next stop, then the next, checking for her scent. At the fifth stop, I finally caught it. She’d traveled on foot, gone to several stores, one was a grocery store, another sold toys. Then she’d gotten back on the bus, hit a fucking car yard, then left again on foot.
I parked my bike and, ignoring the stabbing pain in my leg, jogged along the street…until I finally caught up with her. I stood back, watching from a distance as she walked up to a house on a normal, suburban street.
What are you doing here, Temp? I scented the air. She’d plastered a wide smile on her face as she approached the door, but from experience I knew she used that smile to hide behind.
She knocked on the door, and it opened a few seconds later.
A rough-looking male stood there, a witch by his scent.
She held up a couple bags. The male looked down at her, a weird expression on his face that I did not fucking like.
She said something, holding up the bags again.
Finally, he stepped back and let her in, closing the door behind them.
The male had given me a bad vibe. The beast rumbled in my throat and wasn’t stopping.
Pacing, I listened hard, constantly scenting the air. Would Tempest be pissed if I walked in there? Maybe, but what if she was in trouble?
What kind of trouble could she possibly be in?
I was overthinking this. She was fine.
But what if she wasn’t.