Mating the Red Wolf: (Book 10, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (16 page)

Chapter Seventeen

30
th
March

Kim clutched at the wheel.  Her wolf howled, half in fury and half in self-pity.  Two weeks they had been bonded,
two freaking weeks
, and already he was sneaking around, taking private phone calls and coming home late.  She couldn’t believe it!  It had taken Wade more than three months to start acting like a tool!

No, really, she couldn’t believe it.  Even though she had witnessed his odd behavior with her own eyes, she still had trouble actually accepting it.

It had started a week ago when Ed kept getting odd phone calls late at night.  Phone calls which he actually ran outside the house to take because he didn’t want her to hear.

Her mind leaped to the possibility that he was having an affair, but neither her heart nor her wolf could really settle on that to be true.  They’d spent months together, plus they were bonded and engaged for hell’s sake!  Why would he suddenly turn around and pick up with another woman? 
A brazen hussy woman, no doubt.

No, there had to be a good reason for what he was doing and she was damn well going to find out what it was.

She was wound up into a tight knot after reading a suspicious text message on his phone.  She hadn't been snooping, no siree. 
Well, not technically
.  Ed had mentioned meeting up for lunch, if he could get away from the office, and Kim had tried calling to make sure he was still up for that.  She tried his cell, and she heard the familiar ring tone of 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' drifting toward her from the kitchen.  He’d left his phone at home.

She'd picked it up and was startled as a message flickered over the screen.  Well, how could she not read it?  It was right in her darn hand!  It was from someone called Sandy Coyle and told Ed that they were running late and would see him at the Angry Moose Diner at 10am.

So who the hell was Sandy Coyle?  Why was Ed meeting her at a Diner at 10am? 

Lord, if he was having an affair, it wasn’t a particularly glamorous affair.  Meeting up with your adulterous partner mid-morning in a dive like the Angry Moose was hardly love story mark two! 

She knew the Diner well – too well.  It was situated half-way between Rose and Alexandria, and Kim had been a frequent, not to mention reluctant, visitor when she and Wade were still together.  It was awful, but they served alcohol all day long and it used to be owned by a friend of Wade’s.  Plus, Kim later found out, Wade had been humping the skunk shifter waitress, who he eventually ran off with. 
Not that Kim really cared by that point…

But why would Ed go there?  He would hardly fit in the with Diner's usual crowd. 

Kim felt queasy, and her animal mewled in sympathy.  She felt her past and current relationships meshing together, and she didn’t like it one bit.

The easily recognizable Diner was within sight.  It looked even more worn and sad than the last time she’d been there.

She glanced at her watch.  It was almost 9.30.  She wasn’t sure what time Ed was due to arrive, but he couldn’t be far away.

Her stomach flipped as she pulled into the parking lot and saw Ed getting out his sports car. 
Flashy, piece of imported trash! 
Ugh, everything bugged her today.  She wanted to cry, scream, yell and throw up at the same time.

Briefly she had the idea of stealthily watching him to catch him in the act of whatever he was doing, but that thought was quashed by overwhelming hurt and fury.

She pulled up next to him and jumped out her truck.

Ed’s eyes widened in surprise.  “Kim?!  What are you…”

“How could you do this to me?” she demanded angrily before bursting into tears.

Ed dropped his briefcase and rushed over to her.  He pulled her unwilling body into his arms and stroked her hair.  “Gorgeous, I’m sorry.  I was going to tell you tonight when it was over; I didn’t want you to get upset.”

Her bottom lip trembled.  “So you are having an affair!” she cried in between hiccups.

“What?!”  Ed looked like as startled as if an abominable snowman had just walked up to him and asked him how his day was going.  His wolf was prancing around in worry.  “Of course, I’m not.”

“But you just said…”

He shook his head.  “I thought you knew about Wade.”

She pulled back; it was her turn to have the abominable snowman look.  “What about him?”

Ed frowned at her.  “So you don’t know why I’m here?” he asked slowly.

Kim’s cheeks pinked a little.  “I saw a message on your phone from someone called Sandy saying they were going to be late.”

Ed sighed and let out a small chuckle of relief; he stopped on seeing the disapproving glare on his mate’s face. 

“Sandy’s a private detective; I hired him to find Wade.”

“I don’t understand.”  Kim bit her lip.

Ed reached out and took her hands in his.  “Right after you told me you were still married I hired someone to find Wade.  I wanted you to marry me, and I knew that couldn’t happen while you were still married to him.”

“But, I told you I was still married the first night I met you.”

He gave her a bashful smile, and she felt herself melt a little.  “Yeah, I knew the first night we met I wanted to spend my life with you.  I didn’t realize it would take so long to find him though.  Apparently, he hasn’t had a permanent address or paid taxes in quite a while.”

Kim groaned. 
Typical
.

Ed continued, “But, a week ago, Sandy found him.  He was living as a wild wolf up near the Canadian Rockies.  Sandy approached him, and Wade would only agree to meet with me to discuss the divorce if I got him some new clothes and paid for a plane ticket back here.”

She cast an eye over the Diner.  “I’m guessing he picked the venue.”

“Not my usual haunt, is it?”

Kim pursed her lips.  “No, but it used to be his.  I spent many date nights here.  Take it all in, this was my life before I met you.”

Ed looked at the Diner with revulsion.  “You deserved so much more.”  His wolf agreed with him vociferously on that matter.

“I already have so much more.”

She curled herself into him for a hug, and he kissed her bonding mark.  She and her wolf trembled in happiness.

“I’m sorry I looked at your phone and came here,” she told him, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

“Don’t be sorry, you are free to look at my phone anytime you want, and hey, if you wanna follow me around, by all means, do.  You might ruin your own surprise parties, but I don’t mind.  Besides, my last stalker wasn’t nearly as sexy as you.”

“Your last one?”

“Ex-boyfriend of an old client – don’t ask.  I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about trying to find Wade.  I wanted to wait until it was all sorted; I didn’t want you to have anything to do with him.”  His voice took on a hard edge, and he tightened his arms around her.  “But I should have talked to you; I should have checked you were okay with me doing this.  I just wanted you to be free from him, and I wanted Jamie to be mine.”

Kim lifted her head to look at him; her eyelashes with damp with tears but her face looked hopeful.  “What do you mean?”

Ed shrugged lightly.  “I want to adopt Jamie, so legally I’d be her father.  I’d need to get your permission too but I…”

Kim stopped him with a kiss.  At first tender and sweet, it turned hungry and passionate within seconds.  Her wolf roared in glee. 
Their mate was so perfect!

She pulled back panting from the intensity.  “That’s wonderful; I’m so… so…”

She started choking up with tears again, and Ed cocked her a smug smile.  “Yeah, I am pretty wonderful, aren’t I?”

She slapped him on the arm and giggled.

They held each other for a few minutes until Ed sighed.  “I should probably go in.  Wade’s probably waiting for me.  I told him to order whatever he wanted while he waited for me to arrive.”

Kim let out a long breath.  “Big mistake.”

“Right, wait here and…”

“I’m coming too,” she declared, firmly.

His animal growled in disapproval.  “That’s not a good idea.”

Kim wasn’t about to be shaken from her resolve.  “I need to be there.  I want him to show him that he can’t push me around anymore.  I’m stronger than I was when I was with him, and I want him to see that.”

Ed’s jaw ticked as his wolf was scrambling to think of a reason not to let her go in there.  There was the obvious one - his violent nature.  But Ed doubted he would actually try to hurt her in broad daylight in the middle of a Diner. 
No, he preferred to hit women in the privacy of his own home.

“He won’t care that you’re grown, plus your face is blotchy from crying,” he told her sullenly.

“Nice try, but I'm still going in.”  She gave him a sour look and then pulled out her compact for a little damage control.

“Look, I want us to go in there together.  We’re a team, right, babe?”

Ed considered whether he could get away with tying her to the car.  Darn it, he hadn’t brought their handcuffs.  They were covered in red fur – they weren’t exactly something he wanted to drop out of his briefcase in front of clients. “I’m guessing that no matter what I say, you’re going in there, right?”

Kim didn’t say anything.

Ed, in spite of his wolf’s objections, softened his stance a little.  “Yeah, you're right, we’re a team.”

She took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.  “Then let’s go hit a home run.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Gorgeous, I really don’t think you know enough about sports to be using sports analogies.  Besides, when you say team, I think of Batman and Catwoman.”

Her shoulders shook.  “They’re not really a team.”

“Sure they are!  Now let’s get this over with.”

*

Kim immediately spotted him.  He had more white hairs, a spare tire around his once-toned stomach and his rugged face, instead of aging gracefully, seemed to be turning into a craggy mess.  But it was him alright.  He was even sat in the same booth where she’d suffered through so many horrific date nights.

He looked up and smirked when he saw her.  The same feeling of nervous distaste that she’d come to associate with him bubbled within her.

She led her mate over to him and wordlessly they sat down.  Ed gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he looked the other male up and down. 
Thank god Jamie took after Kim
.

Wade yelled at the waitress to bring over another double order of steak, fries and onion rings.

Kim silently huffed.  It was 10 in the morning.  “Do you want some coffee to go with that heart attack?” she asked with mock-sweetness.

Wade fixed her with a cross glare.  “Still got a mouth on you, I see,” he rumbled nastily.

Ed cleared his throat.  “Mr. Harmon, I’m Ed Buchanan, we spoke on the phone.”

Wade grunted and held up his cup.  The irritated looking waitress sauntered over at an unhurried speed and topped him up.  She wearily asked if Kim and Ed wanted anything and they both said no.

Ed started pulling documents out his briefcase.  “I’ll make this quick.  As we talked about on the phone, you are here to sign the divorce papers and the adoption papers.”

Wade leaned an arm over the back of the booth and began picking at his teeth with a toothpick.  Every so often he slathered his tongue over them and then resumed with the toothpick.

Kim simmered at the disgusting noises he was making.  Ed sat placidly watching him, with one hand gently stroking Kim’s thigh.

Wade let out a sound of disgust.  “What do I get out of it?”

Kim’s wolf snarled.  “Ugh!  You already got new clothes, a plane ride, and a mountainous breakfast.  That’s more than you deserve!”

Wade smiled horribly.  “Nice ring, Kim.”

Kim flinched and instinctively looked at her engagement ring.  It wasn’t flashy, but it was beautiful and obviously expensive.

Wade sniggered.  “I’m guessing that if I don’t sign, I can drag out this divorce and custody battle for a couple of years.  Do you think lover-boy here will wait for you, Kimmy?”

Ed breathed in and out a couple of times and flashed his most disarming smile.  He’d come up against some pretty tough judges in his time – Wade had nothing on them.  His beast was raging, but Ed was able to remain calm.  Wade was just a washed-up loser who abused and dumped the best thing that ever happened to him.  He was half the man Ed was.

“I’ll wait as long as it takes,” replied Ed smoothly.  “Although, I doubt it will more than a month or so.  I have some good friends in family court who don’t take too kindly to males who skip out on their wives and pups, or those who hit them.  You have two choices; you can sign the papers now, and you’ll be free to do whatever you want.  Plus, I will gladly give you the five hundred dollars in my wallet to cover your bill here, and then some.  Or, we can take you to court, and you can spend the next four years paying Kim the money you owe her for child maintenance payments you missed.  It’s your decision, but, either way, I already have both Kim and Jamie, so I’m happy.”