The Wolves Next Door (5 page)

A
month ago, if anyone had told Julie she’d have not one, but two gorgeous men
vying for her affections, she’d have laughed out loud and called them crazy.

Now
reality was turning into a manifestation of her most secret fantasies. At
first, she hadn’t wanted to believe it. Both men had come at her from different
angles. Ryan played the romantic while Caine took the more indirect approach,
getting her sweet on him by showing up to help her with her flowers or odd jobs
around the house.

Before
long she started meeting both of them for nights on the town, dancing and
drinking with friends – friends always people known to Caine and Ryan who
seemed all too happy to welcome Julie into the fold. Julie couldn’t say it was
always friendly all round. There were a few who showed how little they thought
of Julie’s budding ‘friendship’ with the popular duo of Caine and Ryan. One to
note was Darcy whom Julie sensed at once considered her a rival.

Julie
didn’t let that get to her though. Caine and Ryan had shown time and again that
she’d won a place in their hearts and as surprised as it made her, she felt her
defenses slowly crumbling down.

She
didn’t understand as yet the vibes she was getting when she was around them
– the way they didn’t seem jealous of each other and even encouraged her
interest in one or the other. It was almost as if…they wanted her to get used
to having both of them around. Many times, she felt struck by the possibility
that they wouldn’t be averse to the thought of sharing her. They never came
right out and said it, but somehow she guessed it from their actions. Julie
thought things over again and again and still told herself she was crazy. Caine
and Ryan might seem close but no way they could be ‘courting’ the same girl, right?
They were all just great friends and she was simply getting to know them
– together.

Or…it
could be far, far more than that. But could she let herself consider that
deliciously exciting and forbidden fantasy?

Even
now she still flushed with pleasure thinking how much they seemed to enjoy
spending time with her. They were always dropping by her place or her to
theirs. And finally, Julie had stopped caring what the nosy women in the
neighborhood thought. She’d always be the outsider to them, but with Caine and
Ryan, she felt like she’d found people she could really trust, who appreciated
her. And she wasn’t going to give that up for anything or anyone.

It
amazed her how well her life had turned out with all she’d been through. She
still woke up to nightmares - but they were few and far between now compared to
the moisture-inducing fantasies of wanton threesomes with two powerful men who
loved her. Julie was starting to believe that she was finally able to put the
past behind her and perhaps she would be able to find happiness. 

If
only she could have seen it coming…if only she could have known that you can
run, but you can never, ever hide.

* * *

Everything
had been going so well. Julie was feeling like her old self again. She’d made
new friends, and had a sense of belonging that she’d been missing for so long.
For the first time, life was all about her, not some man who tried to dominate
her every waking moment. Best of all, she truly believed that she was falling
in love again.

Yet
this was different from any kind of relationship she’d ever known. The woman in
her felt awakened, stirred to new heights of awareness and desire. Oh yes, she
just might be falling in love. With two of the hottest men she’d ever met and
each day, she questioned her ability to hold back her emotions. They grew
bolder, more aggressive, more…compelling. What would happen if she told Caine
and Ryan how she felt? Would they make her fantasies come true and realize,
just like she had the bond that drew them as one? Or would she be the person
who tore them apart? She couldn’t stand the thought of that.

Julie
marveled at her own daring passions. So much had really changed if she was
considering propositioning two men in this way. Still…it went beyond the
physical for her. She trusted them, felt a kinship with them that couldn’t be
denied. What if this was something real? Would she be a fool to keep fighting
it and risk both of them slipping through her fingers?

What
mattered most was that life truly held such promise now and she wasn’t willing
to look back, to lose out on the opportunity for love.

She
heard her phone ringing in the living room and it shook her from her thoughts.
She moved quickly to pull off her gardening gloves, exiting her green house and
headed back to the main section of her home.

She
felt slightly out of breath from trying to catch the call on its last ring.

* * *

Caine
could tell Julie wasn’t her usual bubbly self and when he glanced Ryan’s way,
he knew his best friend had noticed it too. They were having dinner at a
secluded bistro, a small, pack-owned restaurant that was very much off the
beaten path; the kind of place humans would overlook, but was well known by
their pack members. They’d chosen the place because of its romantic décor and
the fact that on this particular night there weren’t too many people around.
They wanted no distractions tonight – and for many reasons.

They
could tell Julie was still wary, and wasn’t sure where she stood with them.
They were about to put her straight tonight. And yet, both men sensed that there
was something bothering her tonight. Her hands seemed to tremble as she reached
for her glass or silverware, and she had a faraway look in her eyes in the
middle of their conversation, like her mind was somewhere else. Caine sent Ryan
another look, questioning this time, and Ryan gave an imperceptible nod.

“Something
bothering you, Julie?” Caine asked gently, his worried eyes resting on Julie’s
troubled face. Her expression cleared and she smiled but it didn’t quite reach
her eyes.

“Oh,
I’m fine. Everything’s absolutely perfect. The food, the wine – the
music. I also love the candlelight…very nice touch.” She sent both of them warm
smiles and on the surface it seemed as if she’d regained her composure but they
weren’t fooled.

“You
trust us, don’t you, Julie?” Ryan asked, in much the same tone Caine had used.
He rested his hand over hers and he felt her somewhat convulsive tremor at his
touch and had to quell his eyes from changing to silver, the eye-color of his
wolf. He wasn’t oblivious to her agitation and it made him grit his teeth
thinking that anything or anyone could make her so fearful. His shifter senses
were tuned in to her every emotion and his beast was clawing out to protect his
– their – mate.

“Of
course I do,” she said, giving Ryan a quizzical look. “You two are my closest
friends now.” She gave a smile that struggled to light up her face and almost
– almost – dispelled the shadows in her eyes.

“The
truth is Julie…we were hoping to be far more than that,” Caine spoke up, and
ignored Ryan’s warning look
. Now or never, brother. She has to know. We
can’t keep this up. You’re already close to shift-mode right now. We can’t risk
her finding out the hard way, Ryan.

 “What
Caine’s trying to say,” Ryan whispered, while rubbing his thumb tenderly over
her slender knuckles, “Is that you’ve come to mean a lot to us. A lot more than
you may realize. It’s been only a few weeks, but we’ve known from the very
beginning exactly what our hearts long for – and that’s you, Julie.”

Her
lips worked silently for a few moments, her eyes darting from one man to the
other.

“I’m
not sure exactly where you’re going with this,” she said slowly. She would have
pulled her hand from his but Ryan’s grip tightened just that bit more.

“I
don’t blame you for being confused,” Ryan continued calmly. “Caine and I grew
up together and it was pretty rough because we were both orphans fostered by
abusive parents. We learned how to stick up for ourselves and each other. When
we were old enough we ran from our foster home and found our way here, where we
were lucky to finally find a true family. Here we were able to be with those of
our kind who accepted us without question and made us feel right at home.”

Her
eyebrows arched. “What do you mean, your ‘kind’?”

Ryan
hesitated, and it was then Caine who said, “Julie, there’s no easy way to say
this, but I’ll try. Ryan and I…we’re different. And it’s not just us; we’re a
whole group with similar traits and a bond that links us together for life.”

She
stared at them both for several seconds and each one passed like a life
sentence. What was she thinking? There was no way they could get into her head,
not yet. They could only sense her emotions and just on the surface, at that.
They knew she was more curious than worried, but they still waited for what she
would say next.

“You
and your friends…I mean Vern, and Hawke and many of the other people I’ve been
coming in contact with over the past few weeks,” she began slowly, “You’re all
part of this…’group’?”

Ah,
their mate was intelligent, both men surmised. She must have seen similarities,
qualities that only the very discerning could pick out. They smiled and nodded.

“Yes,
they are members of our pack,” Ryan told her, trying to make her see, to
understand. “You see, we…”

There
was a buzzing sound in the air and it cut through Ryan’s words. Julie looked
down at her phone, her face immediately turning stark white as the blood
drained from it.

Both
men felt the surge of their shifter blood as their fierce protective instinct
where their mate was concerned rose to the forefront.

She
suddenly jumped to her feet and they found themselves springing up as well,
identical defensive stances that gave them a more aggressive look than they’d
have wanted to display in her presence. She looked startled at how quickly
they’d moved, and hastily told them she was fine, that she just needed to go to
the rest room.

They
could tell she simply wanted privacy, perhaps to take the call that had her
phone buzzing, the tone low yet highly perceptible to their more powerful wolf
perception.

“I’ll
be right back,” she said, her forced smile not fooling them one bit, but there
was nothing they could do. They couldn’t figure out what she was hiding, but
they wished with all their heart that she would open to them. That’s why she
needed to know what she truly meant to them and whatever trouble she was in,
they’d help her through it – protect her like any mate should.

“Why
won’t she let us be there for her?” Caine asked aloud, sitting back with a
frustrated sigh. He shoved his hand through his dark locks, looking in the
direction Julie had gone.

“She
still thinks she’s alone; that she should handle her problems herself like
she’s done for this long,” Ryan said thoughtfully. “Whatever’s got her worried,
I bet it’s something to do with her past. That man who hurt her.”

Caine
sat up with interest. “Did she ever discuss it with you? About what must have
happened?”

Ryan
shook his head. “All she let out was that she was over him. Maybe some guy she
was with who hurt her in the process and now she’s trying to get the pieces
back together.”

“What
if it’s him calling her? What if he wants her back?” Caine said suddenly. His
blue eyes had gone dark and then seemed to glow a fierce gold, the color of his
own wolf eyes. Ryan couldn’t help but mirror the fury running through Caine’s
veins at the very notion he’d just suggested.

“Fuck!
No wonder she’s so jittery,” Ryan snarled. “We can’t let him get to her…can’t
give him the chance to hurt her again, after she’s obviously fought to start
her life again.”

Caine
glanced at his watch and scowled. “She’s taking too long back there. What
should we do?”

Ryan
paused, his mind working fast. As the older one between them, Ryan was used to
making the decisions when it came to vital matters and right now, he wanted
nothing more than to go find Julie and make her realize just how much they
wanted to protect her. Wanted to claim her totally. But he knew that it was
harder for him to rein his wolf in. He hadn’t had that much practice since he
was so used to letting go and losing it. Caine, however had always had much
greater control.

“You
should go after her,” Ryan said firmly. “I’ll wait here for you two to get
back.”

Caine
nodded assent, and rose to quickly move through the tables to the back of the
restaurant. He stood outside the door of the ladies room and listened in with
his super sensory hearing. Nothing. It took only a few moments for him to realize
his mate wasn’t in there. He had the immediate sense of danger and he knew in
an instant that she’d left out the back exit.

He
moved so fast his surroundings became a blur. But he still made time enough to
project to Ryan,
Julie’s left the restaurant
.
Go out the front
– I’ll check round the back if I can find her. Now, Ryan.

Caine
knew Ryan would need no second bidding and would move as quickly as possible. Caine
was throwing open the back door of the restaurant, his eyes moving clearly
through the dark night. Just down the street from the restaurant, he saw Julie
standing beside the open door of an SUV and two men trying to pull her in. She
wasn’t struggling but Caine could smell her fear and her reluctance to leave
with them.