The Wolf Who Played With Fire: New Adult Paranormal Romance (Cry Wolf) (7 page)

However, I couldn’t help but see a few of the girls in the group, especially Alayna, casting smug glances my way. What did they know that I didn’t? While they were pretty, I only had eyes for Mia. There was no other girl for me.

“That will be all. I’ll update everyone with more information when I’m able to. For now, if you notice anything suspicious about your fellow wolves, let me know.” The Alpha turned away from the audience and I started for the door. Since the meeting was over, I could finally have that conversation with Mia. “I’ll speak with you in private, Ethan.”

The hair on the back of my neck rose, and I froze at the commanding voice requesting my presence. Other wolves walked by me, watching me with fascination. That set me on edge even more.

“Welcome,” Alayna said as she slunk by, running a hand over my arm. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

Something about her smile drew me in, but that’s what she was going for. She had that seductive edge to her, and I could see why Jacob had spent some of his full moons with her. However, I could also see how a smart guy would see past her façade.

I refused to fall for her whims. I had my own girl waiting for me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Mia

The cell phone played its upbeat, catchy ringtone, and I stretched my arms and legs, immediately regretting the last part. My aching foot was propped up on the arm of the couch. I shut off the television, unable to believe I’d fallen asleep while waiting for Ethan. How long had it been since he’d called the first time?

“Hello?” My voice rasped a little, and I cleared my throat trying not to sound as sleepy as I felt.

“Hey, babe.” If I was tired, then Ethan sounded exhausted. “Sorry, I should’ve texted first to see if you were awake. I can call back in the morning. It’d have to be pretty early since I’m working tomorrow, or I won’t be in touch until afterwards. It’ll be a long day.”

“What happened at the meeting? Is everything okay?” From the way he sounded, I guessed it wasn’t. However, I wanted to hear it from him. Besides, I wondered what exactly the Pack meeting had been about, especially if they had Ethan there. Was it just a welcoming meeting? Then again, that didn’t make sense, because wouldn’t that have been planned? Could it be about Jared?

“It’s fine. They just wanted to talk with me about what’s going on with one of their members. That’s all.” He gave a sleepy chuckle. “No need to worry.”

I opened my mouth to dispute that last comment, cite all the things I should be worrying about, namely justice for Jessa and for him. But he was right; if I broke out into all of that now, there wouldn’t be any resolution. All I would do is stress the both of us. That wouldn’t help anything.

However, he was blocking our lines of communication again, bringing me right back to my previous concerns. Did I need to worry about what he was hiding from me? Could Jessa be right that I needed to just back away from Ethan?

“Babe? You’re kind of quiet.” Apprehension spread through Ethan’s voice, and I immediately regretted my long silence.

“I’m okay. Guess I’m just tired.” Normally, this would be the part of the conversation where I’d ask if he’d be coming over tomorrow, but I didn’t know if that was such a good idea. My heart demanded I say something, but my head told me to give him distance.

When he was ready to talk, he’d talk. Until then, I was better off focusing on my magic, taking care of Jessa’s shop, and keeping a low profile with Nolan, especially after how things had been earlier at the poker night. Things had seemed too tense as it was, without me further agitating the situation. I wished I hadn’t even gone over to get the stupid brush.

“Right. I’ll let you get back to sleep. Good night. Love you.”

“Love you too. Good night, Ethan.” I set the phone down, but part of me felt so hollow. The bulletproof connection we shared seemed broken and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.

Pain shot through my leg as I readjusted my position. If I had someone to talk to maybe I’d feel better. Jessa was in the hospital, I wasn’t comfortable talking to Ethan and Nolan couldn’t know about any of this, especially the supernatural part. Although the part about me and Ethan sneaking behind his back and having a relationship wasn’t good to mention to him, either.

I still had Chad’s number from when he’d left me the nasty note on my door, but he wasn’t exactly the person I most wanted to reach out to. Perhaps when I gave Ethan enough time, he’d realize what was important and open up a line of dialogue with me.

Until then, I had to go on, business as usual.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Ethan

The first day back after the holiday break had gone by slowly and was tiring. The checkpoint security had doubled, and it took a while to be cleared to enter the base. Inside there was tension in the air. Something was going on. The anxiety coming from both officers and enlisted was like pins and needles to my sensitive nerves.

The wolf in me didn’t like this kind of commotion. Maybe the fact that I’d been up until the wee hours didn’t help either. Things were different from when I’d last been on base. Now my superiors spoke in lowered voices behind closed doors.

Here and there, I had seen signs of a third party presence. Small changes in where certain vehicles were parked, equipment placement, and backpacks left where any drill sergeant would have thrown a fit and lectured on safety regulations.

The changes made a clear statement. Whoever was here didn’t need to follow our rules. A growl built in my throat, nearly slipping from my lips. I managed to get into the barracks and say hi to some of the familiar faces before the routine kicked in.

One moment everyone was relaxed from leave, the next we were a unit. It was more than changing into the uniform, more than a job; it was becoming part of something greater than us.

Being around this many people, I had a hard time concentrating. New scents that didn’t belong to the barracks still lingered in the air: tobacco, alcohol and a female’s perfume.

My tasks took me near the officers’ area, mostly running over documentation and rosters my lieutenant was too busy to take himself. The task was monotonous, but it confirmed my suspicions. Something was going on. Everyone seemed on edge. However, I’d heard a name thrown around a couple times: Dr. Zeaman.

I might be fishing for answers to the werewolves’ problem, but perhaps this could be a clue. It would solve some of my problems to wrap it all up and find the missing wolf, but I doubted things would work out this easily for me.

That wasn’t the only thing upsetting me. I couldn’t help but feel like my relationship with Mia was tanking. She wanted to talk, but I didn’t want to hurt her.

It had been stupid to call her in the first place. But I’d wanted to hear her voice so badly, especially after the aggravating news. Not only did the Pack want me to don a cape and save the day, but regardless of what Chad had told me, no—promised—the Alpha had pulled me aside to tell me I would be hooking up with a female werewolf.

I couldn’t tell Mia. She wouldn’t take well to that news, and I didn’t want to break her heart. Besides, I was determined to find a way out of this mess.

After work, I sat in my car outside of Mia’s house. She was home, but I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d hold up under the scrutiny of her asking more questions. Besides, she’d been quiet last night, and while I believed she was tired, I also got the feeling the problem went deeper.

Pulling away from the curb, I headed home. I needed a nap before I figured out how to mend all that was either broken or on the verge of breaking, then I’d talk with Chad and hold his ass accountable for some of the shit going on. He needed to help me out here.

When I pulled into the driveway, Nolan was sitting on the porch with a beer in hand and another sitting beside him. He held the second beer up to signal he was waiting for me. Forget the nap, it looked like I’d be mending my friendship with Nolan first.

I got out of the car and headed up the sidewalk slowly, not exactly sure what to expect. He handed me the beer, and I sat beside him on the steps. “Thanks. Sorry I had to bail on poker night so early.”

“I waited up for you after everyone else left. Where were you?” Nolan didn’t sound angry. He spoke just like we were having a normal conversation between friends. I didn’t know what made me more nervous, this or if he’d shown anger.

I hated lying, but I couldn’t tell him I’d been meeting a bunch of werewolves. “It ended up taking a lot more time than I’d anticipated.” I took a swig of beer, doing anything to keep from having to talk further.

“Don’t bullshit me, dude. I know you’re not being honest. I’ve known you forever. Did you spend the night at my sister’s?” He didn’t look at me, but he radiated with held back emotions.

I hadn’t realized how it might look for me leaving so soon after Mia.
Damn it.
“No, I didn’t. What I did had nothing to do with her.” I stared into my beer can, wishing it would tell me some magic answer to make all of this stop. I wanted my life back to how it was before this disaster had rained on my head. If Nolan had picked me up from the airport instead of Mia, none of this would have happened. However, I wouldn’t have been there to help Mia fight the werewolf.

“What did it have to do with then? We’re having major trust issues. I try to not think about them, but they are there.” Nolan sighed, setting down his beer.

I couldn’t talk with him about being a werewolf. Mia fought so hard to keep her life normal, and she was just a witch. Albeit one with actual magical powers, but the fact I would soon be sprouting fur and claws once a month outdid her. She could keep her witchyness under wraps a lot easier than I’d be able to keep my abilities secret.

“There are things I can’t really talk about,” I said, opting for truth. I wiped a hand over my face, feeling the weight of the revelation. Mia was upset I wouldn’t talk with her, but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t personal toward either sibling.

Nolan rested a hand on my shoulder. “Is it about your deployment? If you need to talk to someone about what happened over there, you know I’m here for you. Don’t shut me out.” He stood. “Want another beer? I’m thinking about cooking steaks.”

“Sure.” My mind spun. While I’d witnessed a lot overseas that I still had trouble dealing with, I hadn’t intended for Nolan to think this was about my deployment. I didn’t want his pity over the fact I’d served my country.

I opened my mouth to protest against his assumption, but stopped myself. “Another beer would be great.” I looked up at him, meeting his gaze. “I’ll try to open up. Promise.”

* * *

Dinner with Nolan had been good. We’d talked about what had happened during my deployment, even if I wanted to keep some of that bottled inside. I wasn’t exactly comfortable communicating the hard moments, but this was Nolan. I trusted him like a brother, and I needed to revive his trust in me.

If there was one thing I learned last night, it was I didn’t want our relationship to resemble what I’d witnessed between Shane and Jacob, the missing werewolf. I put my empty can of beer on the coffee table and watched the sports commentary on television.

Nolan was cleaning up in the kitchen when his cell phone rang. I tried to tune it out. Listening in on phone conversations was useful, but it made me feel like an intruder on others’ lives. I wouldn’t want someone doing it to me.

However, a female voice on the other end purred a greeting, and I couldn’t help being a little curious. “Hey, sexy, are you doing anything right now?”

“Hi hon. I’m hanging out with Ethan. What’s going on?”

She laughed a throaty, erotic laugh. “I could really use some company. I bought a pair of furry handcuffs I’d like to try out.”

Heat flooded my cheeks, and I turned up television a few notches. While I could guess what would happen with those handcuffs, I did not need any more information, certainly not about Nolan’s sex life.

No matter how hard I tried, I had a hard time focusing on the TV. However, I relaxed when Nolan walked into the living room.

“I’ve got to take off for a bit. I’ll be home later or possibly in the morning. My girl wants to...” He struggled for words. “Uh, she wants to watch some movies. So we’re going to hang out, if that’s okay? I don’t mean to bail on you.”

“It’s fine.” I winked. “Have fun. Don’t let her talk you into watching any chick flicks.” The fact he’d be gone relieved me. If things weren’t awkward between Mia and me, I’d have called her up, but they were. So I’d reach out to Chad about the female werewolf situation.

With a sigh, I reached for my cell. I dialed the number Chad had given me, partially expecting him to ignore my call. My thoughts were interrupted by a grating sound coming from the phone. The line was horrible.

“Yes?” Chad’s voice came through, and the interference slowly dissipated.

“Hey, I know it’s late, but we need to talk. You got a moment?” I said, tension straining my voice. “It’s about last night. Your father is forcing me into a relationship with a female werewolf. I can’t leave Mia for someone else.”

“Politics inside the Pack right now are delicate. Trust me, you don’t want to test the waters. Mia isn’t in good standing with us because of what happened. If you go against what the Alpha says and complain about his decisions, he won’t be as willing to ensure your safety in the end. I’m risking my name and reputation with my father to keep you alive.” Chad sounded tired. “I don’t think I’ll be able to help.”