Embracing the Wolf - Book #2 (Anna Avery) Page 3

  “Hey, need some help?” Chelsea had taken on the role of mule for the pack. I felt partly responsible. Just weeks ago that was me.

  “Nah, that’s okay,” Chelsea said as she snapped a towel to fold. Her wavy brown hair was twisted up into a bun. Tendrils escaped and grazed her long neck.

  Ignoring her dismissal of my help, I grabbed a shirt and began folding. I smiled when she looked up at me. Things between us had been a bit awkward since she was bitten and turned. I couldn’t blame her for how she felt. When I learned I was going to turn into a hairy monster every full moon it did a number on my head, too.

  “How’s changing going?”

  “Listen, we don’t have to do the whole small talk thing.”

  I stopped folding and stared at her dumbfounded, and a little hurt. “I know we haven’t talked about what happened that night, and I’m sorry for that— ”

  “Sorry for what Eve and her twisted band of followers did to me? It’s not your place to apologize. What’s done is done.”

  “Still,” I continued, “had it not been for me she never would have targeted you. For that, I apologize. I know life up here seems tough at first, but you’ll get used to it and find out this group of “monsters”—I bent my fingers in air quotes—“aren’t as bad as they pretend to be.”

  “Yeah, they’re friendlier than a basket of puppies,” Chelsea retorted with a snort. “So nice in fact, that their warm welcome included turning me into a slave.”

  My bottom lip curled in as I gnawed on it. It was easy to tell someone not to worry or to look on the bright side. Only, I knew from experience how difficult being integrated into a pack was, and how scary it could be. I wasn’t an innocent bystander trying to make her feel better; I was offering firsthand advice.

  “Listen, I know you’re angry. The hormones of the wolf bring every little emotion to the surface. Things feel more intense now. You’re allowed to be frightened, and even a little pissed off, but I hope you know that if you need someone to talk to I’m here. It wasn’t long ago that I was standing right where you are.”

  “Yeah, well we all can’t be Cinderella and have our alpha prince rescue us from our prison.”

  That stung—a lot. My wolf bristled within me, angry and ready to knock her around a little. I snapped my jaw together so tightly the pressure of my teeth grinding into each other made my jaw ache.

  “Your prince may be closer than you think,” I told her before leaving the living room. When I rounded the corner, I leaned against the wall and concentrated on calming my wolf down. She didn’t like when someone picked a fight with us. In her eyes there was only one way to settle it, and it wasn’t through talking.

  “We’ve got company,” Elle said, coming in through the sliding glass doors. She carried a pair of tongs and a bottle of BBQ sauce in her hands. Asher had lent us five large grills that they used at his butcher shop. Currently, they were sitting out on our back deck with clouds of meat-scented smoke rising from them.

  “Who?” I asked, walking over to the counter and plucking a potato skin from a tray. It was a shame Elle’s culinary skills were wasted on a bunch of werewolves. She could have easily opened a restaurant and made a killing.

  Elle shrugged. “A group of five: three women and two men. Joe is getting them settled in Adam’s old house.”

  I shoved the rest of the potato into my mouth and thought while I chewed. Adam had asked me to stay in his house, but I couldn’t make a home with him in the house he shared with Eve. I know that sounds immature, but we wolves are territorial. No part of me wanted any reminder of that crazy woman. I sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep under the same roof she had with Adam. As sick as Eve was, I was sure she cared about Adam in her own twisted way. She may not have loved him like she did his brother, but she cared, nonetheless. Adam hadn’t complained. Instead, he moved into my bedroom in the main house.

  “Earth to Anna.”

  I snapped back to reality. Elle was holding a large tray of meat while juggling utensils under her arms.

  “Can you get the door, your majesty?” She smiled because she knew I hated that royalty, werewolf politics crap. I could tolerate everyone else treating me differently—expect Elle. If she started watching her words around me, I was liable to scream.

  “Only if you address me correctly,” I said, walking over to the door and placing my hand around the handle. I waited.

  “My beautiful alpha, could you please assist me in opening the door?”

  I flipped the lock and crossed my arms.

  “All right, all right,” Elle squealed as she moved her arm to catch the pair of falling tongs. “Open the damn door or our dinner is going to be served on the floor.”

  I laughed, unlocked the door, and slid it open. “That’s better.”

  As she stepped through the door, she said, “Thank you, my alpha,” followed by a giggle. I rolled my eyes and joined her and the others out on the deck. The food was still cooking, but multiple people sat at the two patio tables chatting and enjoying longnecks. The sun was falling behind the mountains, painting the sky in sherbet orange and pink. A nice breeze whistled through the tall pine and birch trees, bringing with it the scent of summer. I inhaled deep, relishing the wilderness that stirred the beast within me. These woods and mountains were her playground, an endless smorgasbord of moose, elk, and deer.

  I felt Adam before I saw him. My head instinctively turned to the right just as he came around the back of the house. The wind played with his blond hair, fluttering it against his muscular neck. My tongue snaked out and caressed my upper lip as I stared at his masterpiece. Just then, his head popped up, and his eyes connected with mine. A devilish grin bent one side of his mouth up, and he winked, sending my ever-present desire for him into overdrive. I often wondered if I would ever lose this feeling—grow tired of him like I did the others. And every time I thought about it, I knew without a doubt I wouldn’t. There was no end to the want I had for him.

  When his gaze fell from mine, I realized he wasn’t alone. Two women, a blonde and a brunette stood next to him. Before becoming a werewolf I had never been a jealous woman. Then again, I had never found a man worth being jealous over. Now, when a woman was around Adam, all I could focus on were the calculations of their responses to him—the way they placed their hand on his forearm or threw their head back and laughed as though he was the first person to ever tell a joke. My eye twitched as the brunette stepped closer. It wasn’t a huge difference, but the movement had placed her close enough that her breasts brushed against his arm. The blonde bent over in front of him and leaned over the rose bushes growing along the deck. I was all for stopping and smelling the roses, but I never knew it could be used as seductive maneuver. My eyes slid up to see if Adam was appreciating the view, only to find his eyes on me. My cheeks heated, and I whirled around to break our eye contact. The movement was awkward and ungraceful, sending me bumping into Asher’s shoulder as he stepped through the door.

  “Whoa,” he said, placing his hands on my shoulders to steady me. “Hittin’ the bottle early, huh?”

  I know he was teasing, but it sounded like a good idea. Since becoming a werewolf, I could process alcohol a lot better than I could when I was human. A bottle wouldn’t get me drunk, but it would ease my anxiousness.

  “Sorry,” I said, slipping around his large frame and into the house. I headed for the bathroom in a mad dash. Luckily, the only person in the house was Chelsea, and she wouldn’t care enough to ask me what I was doing.

  I shut and locked the door, going to the large mirror over the double sinks. I frowned at my reflection. My blonde hair hung limp against my shoulders, and my skin, though tan, could use a coat of makeup—or two. I looked … plain. My capris and tank top weren’t sexy in the least, especially with a grass stain streaked across my belly. I hadn’t inspected my clothes after changing back to my regular self. I was in a hurry to dress and meet Adam’s parents. I snorted to myself in remembrance of their opinion of me. Mayb
e if I would have changed into something more appropriate, their impression of me would have been higher. Even as I thought it, I knew it was wrong. It wasn’t my wardrobe that swayed their minds; it was the blood running through my veins.

  “Since when do you care what people think about you?” I asked my reflection. I smiled to myself and shook my head, realizing I was freaking out over nothing. Who cared that our two new visitors were tall and built like Victoria’s Secret models? I had a few assets of my own—and Adam. What else mattered?

  Tucking my little green monster away, I exited the bathroom and headed back out to the deck. Just in the short amount of time I was gone more people had arrived. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and wove between the large bodies. I was halted to a stop when someone slung an arm around my shoulders.

  “Have you met our little alpha?” Joe asked, squeezing me closer to his chest. “Anna this is Sage. Sage this is Anna, our new alpha female.”

  I smiled at the woman standing next to Joe. Her raven hair fell to her waist like an oil slick. Almond shaped brown eyes smiled back at me. Her skin was the perfect combination of brown sugar and cream, and she was tall. I felt very tiny by comparison. She wore a leather bustier and low-slung jeans with a tooled leather belt. Turquoise earrings dangled from her ears.

  “Hi, Anna. Thank you for having us to your home.” She held out her hand, and I did the same.

  “No problem, we’re happy to have you.”

  She smiled wider, as though amused with my response. Joe leaned in close and whispered in my ear.

  “Classy, very regal response.”

  I glared up at him, and he chuckled. I realized then that this week was going to be a lot more difficult than I expected. Our pack was laid back in the manners department. How was I to know there were polite werewolves?

  “I should mingle,” I said as an excuse to leave. “I look forward to getting to know you, Sage.”

  She bowed her head and smiled. I took it as my cue to escape the discomfort and made a beeline for Elle. She was in the middle of talking with Sawyer and one of the other females in our pack, Rachel.

  “Hey guys.”

  Sawyer and Rachel stopped talking as soon as I stepped into the conversation. My stomach rolled with nervousness. It seemed I was the odd man out all of a sudden. In a sea of new faces, I felt like the stranger.

  “I see some of the visitors have already arrived.” I was looking at Elle, but slid a sideways glance at Sawyer. He shifted his gaze from my face to Rachel’s. She was pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way. Not much of a talker. In the five months I’d been on the mountain, I think we had only a handful of conversations, though she seemed pretty chatty with Elle and Sawyer. Maybe she just didn’t like me for whatever reason.

  “Yeah, did you see the hot blonde?” Elle said with a smirk and a nod of her head. I looked over my shoulder to see the blonde from earlier. She was sitting on the railing of the deck chatting with the brunette and Adam.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen her,” I said between clenched teeth.

  “Competition sucks, huh?”

  I swiveled my head back to face Sawyer. “He’s just talking to them. I’m confident enough that it doesn’t bother me.” The lie slid through my lips so easily. Sawyer and I were locked in a stare down when Elle cleared her throat.

  “Anna doesn’t have anything to worry about. That girl doesn’t bat for Adam’s team.”

  “How do you know?” Rachel asked. “She looks pretty chummy with our alpha.” She looked up at me and then away, embarrassed. “Sorry,” she muttered.

  “You don’t have to apologize,” I told her and then glared at Sawyer. “I’m not worried about her or any other woman who talks to Adam.”

  Elle flipped a couple steaks, resting a hand on her hip. “Because she’s been flirting with me since she got here.” She turned and looked past me to the blonde. “All I’m sayin’ is, if the beds a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’ tonight.”

  I laughed and bumped her hip with mine. “Don’t worry; no one wants to see that.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Asher said walking up to us. His shaggy brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and his normal scruff was shaved clean.

  “Asher … did you … shave?” My eyes fell to his clothes. “And you tucked in your shirt?”

  He rubbed his stubble-free jawline and shrugged. “I figured I’d clean the mug for the ladies to enjoy this week. And I only tucked the shirt in because there’s a hole at the hem.”

  “You’ll bring ‘em to their knees, you stud muffin.”

  “That’s the idea.” He winked and took a swig of his beer.

  I slapped his arm and laughed. “You’re disgusting.”

  Elle, Rachel, and I were all laughing over Asher’s comments, but Sawyer stepped away. I watched him head down the porch steps and into the yard. Someone had started building a bonfire for later tonight.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told my friends and followed Sawyer out into the yard. I couldn’t stand the awkwardness between us. Just a short time ago, we were sort of a couple, if being forced on dates was considered being a couple. Still, I had grown to like Sawyer and, before bonding with Adam, imagined us being mates. In the end, the undeniable pull toward Adam ruined any chance with Sawyer. I knew it was still a sore subject for him, but ignoring me wouldn’t fix it.

  “I’m sorry if I ruined that back there,” I said, coming up alongside Sawyer. He looked over at me and then out at the trees. “I can explain to Rachel that nothing is going on between us anymore. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like me, but I can make her listen.”

  “Rachel?” he asked quizzically.

  “Yeah, weren’t you two … you know, hitting it off before I came along?”

  “No, it’s not like that. We were just chatting with Elle. Rachel’s nice, but not for me.”

  I didn’t question why. I wanted our conversation to stay on safe ground, and I was afraid of what his response might be. Not that I thought he was still hopelessly into me, but it’s never easy to talk to an ex about present or future relationships.

  “So, why did you leave?” I sat down beside him on one of the hay bales surrounding the stacked bonfire wood.

  “It’s still a little weird … being around you. I’m happy for you, but I’m not …” He looked over at me. “Ya know?”

  I nodded as my stomach churned with dizzy butterflies. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Sawyer. I wish things would have gone differently.”

  He leaned over so that his arms were resting on his legs and looked over at me. His spiky, sandy blond hair glistened in the falling sun. “How do you mean? You’re not happy with Adam?”

  My bottom jaw dropped in surprise. “What? No. I just meant, if he hadn’t forced me to date you, then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I love talking to you, and now things are just …”

  “Awkward?” Sawyer supplied.

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “And I don’t know how to fix it.”

  “You don’t have to,” Sawyer said. “It’s the way of our world—the strongest prevail.”

  “It’s not like that,” I told him. “I didn’t choose Adam over you because he’s the alpha. I didn’t really have a say in the matter. It just … is what it is. We’re Chantes.”

  Sawyer was nodding his head, but not saying anything. I figured I said what I had to say and staying longer would only undo what I had done. I stood up and was on my way back to the deck when Sawyer finally spoke.

  “It’s not you I’m mad at.”

  I stopped and turned. “What?”

  “Adam knew how he felt about you when he paired us together. He may have been trying to fight it, but he knew damn well he would eventually claim you, and he did. He made me … and then took you … just like that.”

  His green eyes turned hard as he stared at me. I could see the pain hiding within them, and it made my heart break. In a normal situation, a girl would have a choice between the two men. In my predicament, there was n
o question, no doubt who I was supposed to be with. It was Adam. It would always be Adam. Since the bonding, every other man fell off my radar. I didn’t see Sawyer, or anyone else, in the same light as I saw Adam. That just made my relationship with Sawyer that much harder. I couldn’t give him even an inch of hope, and my compassion would only make him think I pitied him.

  “He didn’t have a choice either,” I told him again, turning and heading back to the group. I hugged my arms to my chest and lost myself to my thoughts as I walked. I could feel familiar eyes on me. His gaze licked my skin and awakened my wolf. I lifted my head to see Adam standing on the steps staring out at me.

  “Everything okay?” he asked as I reached him. He wasn’t staring at me anymore. His eyes locked on Sawyer’s back.

  “Yeah, why?” I smiled, hoping he couldn’t feel the inner turmoil roiling through my stomach. There wasn’t much we could hide from each other now that we were Chantes, but I still hoped he didn’t pick up on my guilt.

  “You’re upset,” Adam stated. “Is it because of him,” he nodded toward Sawyer, “or have I done something?”

  “It’s nothing,” I reassured him. “Nobody did anything.” I stepped up the first couple of steps and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. Closing my eyes, I inhaled his scent. It eased my mind and washed away any semblance of worry I had.

  “Food’s ready,” Elle called over the loud crowd. Everyone stopped talking and bowed their heads. Adam bent over, kissed the top of my head, and then grabbed my hand.

  “Come on, my Chante.” Together we walked up the steps to join the others. Adam walked over to the front of the deck. There were at least thirty people on the porch and more lingering in the yard. The ones mingling on the lawn began walking forward.