Chapter 3
three
WYATT
I had no fucking idea what to do with the female wolf who followed me back to my house.
The one my own wolf had just claimed as our mate.
What the hell was he thinking?
Wasn’t one round of mated-fucking-bliss enough?
I’d occasionally wondered what my life would’ve been like if fate had paired me with anyone other than Corinne, but I had never wanted a second fated mate.
The only guy in the pack without a mate who actually wanted one was Ethan, and that was purely because he’d never had one.
It felt like there was a rock in my gut as we approached the house.
Shitty memories were coming back in waves. Shittier feelings accompanied them.
I’d like to forget the way I’d found my mate fucking my best friend only hours after rejecting me. Unfortunately, that one was chiseled into my skull like words engraved on bone.
I glanced at Jade’s wolf, hoping she’d be gone.
She wasn’t.
Fuck.
I turned at the last minute, heading for the garage instead of the front door.
The garage was about the same size as the house. My architect had tried to talk me into downsizing it, but I spent more time out there than I did inside.
“I’ve got work to do,” I told Jade’s wolf, discomfort still sitting heavily in my lower abdomen.
There was no way of knowing when she would shift back into the sexy, snarky woman I’d met in the hospital’s waiting room. During the chase, a woman wasn’t trapped in her wolf form the way a man was during the hunt.
Both of my oversized two-car garage doors were already open. The weather was great, and no one would dare try to steal from my pack. Three of the spots were occupied, and the only empty one was the place my truck usually stayed.
One of the guys would bring it back. Nico, Finn, or Ethan, probably.
Nico was on his way back with Abby, and they were planning to find Jade.
Finn would feel guilty for ditching me after the shitshow that had just happened eventually.
Ethan would hear what happened and want to meet the woman who had ended my permanent bachelorhood.
Something within me bristled at the thought of him coming to meet her, all charm and smiles. He’d call her Cupcake.
The bristling wasn’t a good sign.
Then again, neither was the biting that had already occurred. And there was no going back from that.
The car on the far side of my garage belonged to a family in town that couldn’t afford an oil change and some other simple maintenance.
It was a poorly-hidden secret that I handled those things for free when someone didn’t have the money for them.
Putting it off would just lead to larger repair bills, and I had nothing else going on. Didn’t need the money, either.
Most of my pack basically worked as therapists who helped people become one with their wolves.
Hell would have to freeze over before I joined them on that.
Finding peace with your wolf wasn’t rocket science.
You just had to accept that they were their own being, back off, and let them do their thing.
I put on a random pair of work pants I’d left hanging out of a tool box, then turned on some music and grabbed the equipment I’d need.
Jade’s wolf followed me everywhere.
As I set the oil pan down next to the car, a yelp ripped my attention back to the furry little thing at my side.
Her back was arched, and there was pain in her eyes.
She was shifting back.
Shit.
Stella wasn’t there to comfort her.
I wasn’t about to put my hands on a woman who didn’t know me and hadn’t agreed to let me.
“Just, uh, don’t fight the shift,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.
The alternative was touching her.
I had to clench my jaw and grit my teeth as I watched the wolf and woman suffer through minute after minute of a rough, painful shift.
I’d need to get some of the guys to teach her how to shift properly.
Even if she rejected me, it was only fair. My wolf was the reason she was in this mess.
Hers was the longest shift I’d seen in years.
I wanted to help her, but that wasn’t exactly in my skill set, and I wasn’t going to risk making her feel violated.
Eventually, the woman was fully in control again. Her bare, strong body was folded in the fetal position, her forehead pressed against the floor and her back rising and falling wildly as she tried to catch her breath.
Her arms were wrapped around the top of her head, and her nearly ass-length dark hair was sprawled around her wildly.
I shouldn’t have been hard at the sight of her, vulnerable and recovering from what must’ve been a hellish level of pain.
I was anyway.
“Why does that hurt so fucking badly?” Jade finally groaned, not lifting her head.
“You’re fighting the wolf.” My voice was lower and grittier than it should’ve been. Intense attraction was to blame. Fighting it wasn’t worth the effort. The woman was fucking gorgeous.
“How can I be fighting an invisible wolf?”
“The fight’s not physical.”
“None of this makes any sense.”
“I don’t think it’s supposed to. Welcome to Moon Ridge.”
“Thanks, Jones,” the woman drawled.
My cock jumped.
I needed to get my shit together.
Jade finally peeled her face off the ground. “This isn’t epoxy. It’s nicer.”
I blinked.
She was… talking about the floor?
Of all things?
Her hair did almost nothing to cover her tits as she sat up. Now that she’d moved, I could see that there was grease and who knew what else soaking at least a few inches of the soft-looking strands.
That wasn’t going to go over well.
I’d spent an insane number of hours scrubbing myself clean after work every day when Corinne’s wolf was chasing me.
She couldn’t stand the smell of the garage, and it wasn’t easy to remove completely.
If she’d gotten oil in her hair, there would’ve been hell to pay.
I would’ve had to grovel on an entirely new level.
“It’s polyurea,” I said.
“Cool.” Jade sat back on her heels and dragged a hand through the top of her hair.
“Oh, don’t—” I cut myself off with a wince when her hand slid over the grease spot. “…touch that.”
She looked down at the grease on her palm.
Then wiped it on her thigh.
I blinked.
That was far from expected.
“It’s just oil,” she said, and finally stood up. Her legs shook a little, but I didn’t offer a hand. I wanted to, but still didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “I’m more concerned about the fur.”
Right.
Shifting was a bigger deal than oil. She wouldn’t have any idea how hard it’d be to get the grease out of her hair anyway.
I heard tires on the dirt out front and instinctually stepped between Jade and whoever was approaching. With all of the garage doors open, she wouldn’t have much privacy.
My head jerked to the side and my hands left my pockets when she quickly moved away. My eyes followed every flex of her ass and thighs as she crossed the garage, grabbing a t-shirt from the place I’d found my work pants.
I had no idea how long it had been there, and the thing was positively filthy.
She pulled it over her head anyway.
My cock throbbed violently.
Yeah, that was hot.
The hem fell to the middle of her thighs as two trucks pulled into my driveway. Nico was in mine, so I waved him into the garage.
If Jade’s wolf was chasing me, we probably wouldn’t be leaving soon. Not today, at least. There was too much shit to figure out.
Abby hopped out of Nico’s truck while he parked mine. Her expression was somewhere between guilty and excited.
“Don’t even pretend you feel bad about this,” Jade warned, striding toward her friend.
My eyes were on the backs of her thighs again. Even with my shirt on, the view was fucking great.
“I tried to tell you when I met Nico. You were convinced I was high!” Abby exclaimed. “I would’ve told you if I took something.”
“In hindsight, I actually believe that.” Jade reached Abby and leaned in for a hug, but Abby made a face and stepped back.
“No offense, but you’re filthy. What’s in your hair?”
“Oil, I think.” Jade glanced back at me, as if to verify.
I lifted a shoulder.
It could’ve been a few things. I hadn’t bothered cleaning the floors in a couple months. It was a garage. It wasn’t supposed to be spotless.
Abby cringed.
“It’s not a big deal. Unlike the thing where I turn furry.” Jade gave her a pointed look.
“Technically, that’s Wyatt’s fault.”
Jade and Abby both looked at me.
I tucked my hands back into my pockets.
“Easy,” Nico said, striding over to me. “No one knew this was going to happen. Seems like fate has her sight set on our pack at the moment.”
“And our friend group,” Abby agreed.
“This better not keep happening to the rest of the ladies,” Jade grumbled.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Abby said. “Having a mate is kind of the best.”
“Kind of?” Nico teased.
She flashed him a grin. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Stop flirting. I need a summary of what’s coming next,” Jade said. “I thought I was supposed to be stuck in the wolf until she bit Wyatt.”
“Oh, no, that’s only for the hunt. Since his wolf already bit you, now you just wait for yours to be ready to bite him back. She’ll take over sometimes, but mostly she’ll just be watching him through you.”
“Well, that’s ominous.”
Especially when you’ve already been rejected once.
“After she bites him, the sex thing happens?” Jade checked.
“The climax,” Abby agreed.
“Unless my wolf rejects him.”
I clenched my jaw.
“That almost never happens. And besides, Wyatt is great. Your wolf would have to be a moron to reject him,” Abby said.
Jade’s chest rumbled.
Her hand flew to her heart, surprise lifting her eyebrows. “That’s new.”
“Female werewolves are possessive too,” Nico said, stepping over to his mate’s side. His arm went loosely around her waist, but I saw the caution in his stance.
Testing a werewolf in any stage of the mating process was a bad idea.
“We should get going,” Nico added. “You’ll need time to get to know each other before you have to figure out what to do about your jobs on Monday.”
Jade’s forehead creased. “If my wolf’s just going to watch him, why do we need to do anything about our jobs?”
“She’s not going to let him out of your sight until she bites him, remember?” Abby asked.
“What? Why?”
Abby shrugged. “Ask fate. Good luck!”
She and Nico went back to their truck while Jade scowled at their backs. When Abby waved, Jade reluctantly waved back.
Now, I had to figure out how to talk to the woman my wolf had bitten.
Shit.