Wolf Moon (12 page)

“Brooke…
What did you do?”

I
placed a chaste kiss on his lips before sliding down his body, my hands falling
to his waist. “Just clarified a few things.”

With
an angry grunt, Karl shoved past us. He slammed his shoulder into Nick on
purpose considering how much room was left in the
double-wide
entry. He turned around, eyes narrowed as I met them. “You made a big mistake,”
he said in a low voice before disappearing. Then the front door slammed and he
was gone.

“You
really are trouble,” Nick said, leaning down and kissing my nose.

Little
gestures like that—things he used to do when we were together so many
years ago—continued to remind me just how easy it was to fall into this
role with him.
Maybe too easy, sometimes.

Shaken
and feeling a little guilty for leading him on again, I turned around, taking
his hands and leading him into the kitchen. The rest of the Pack joined us, and
most of the conversation revolved around my putting Karl in his place.
Layla
congratulated me personally, telling me how her own
situation was quite similar.
Minus the broken nose.

Roxanne
was the last to arrive, and she seemed to have an affinity for rolling her eyes
whenever someone addressed me. I didn’t let it get to me though, because I knew
it had to be hard for her.

Miranda
gave the okay for everyone to dish up. Unlike last night, I made sure to put a
little extra on my plate this time, knowing my appetite had increased as of
late. Once everyone had
their
breakfast, Nick grabbed
a stool at the island, and instead of pulling out my own, I hopped onto his
lap, sitting sideways. Simply to keep up appearances, I told myself.

“There
are other chairs,” Roxanne complained from behind us at the table.

“Thanks,”
I said, feeding Nick a slice of bacon. He took it a step further and sucked my
index finger into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the end of it. A warm
tingle zipped through me, and I inhaled a shaky breath as I reminded myself of
my meltdown earlier. “But I’m good right here.”

Licking
his lips, Nick smiled. “Me too,” he confirmed with a wink. He was having way
too much fun.

There
was very little talking while everyone ate, but Nick broke the silence by
addressing Marcus. “You got anything planned for us this afternoon?” he asked.

Marcus
put his empty dishes in the dishwasher and grabbed another cup of coffee.
“Nothing that can’t be postponed a couple hours. Why?”

“Brooke
needs a few winter items, so I was thinking of taking her into Calgary.”

I
swallowed the eggs in my mouth. “
Mmf
. I’ll need to
stop by a bank and exchange my money first,” I told Nick, but he just grinned.

“Not
a chance, babe,” he said cockily. “Today’s on me.”

Not
used to being a kept woman, I shook my head. “No. That’s not necessary. I’ve
got enough to support myself while I’m—” I stopped myself abruptly,
realizing that I was about to make it sound like I was only here temporarily.
That would have been a
mistake
as it would invalidate
my relationship status to the others. “I have money.”

“I
know that,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist, his hand resting on my
ass. It startled me at first, but I didn’t correct him—nor did I want to,
surprisingly. “But I want to do this.”

Figuring
I wasn’t going to win this battle, I acquiesced with a defeated sigh. “All
right. When do we leave?”

T
he drive to the city
wasn’t as long as I’d thought it would be. We drove through the city in Nick’s
brand-new black pickup truck, arriving at one of several Calgary malls around
noon. Even though we’d eaten only a couple hours ago, walking by the food court
made my stomach growl.

“Want
to grab a smoothie?” Nick suggested. “It might help tide you over until we
finish shopping.”

I
quickly agreed, and we stopped and grabbed me a strawberry smoothie. Nick
wasn’t hungry yet, which made me feel like a bit of a heifer, but I just kept
reminding myself it was because of my upcoming shift. This was just a part of
it all. It happened last month with the rare steak and huge meals.

Nick
and I wandered through the mall together, still avoiding what happened between
us. Even though we refused to acknowledge it, we laughed and joked with each
other as if there wasn’t a giant elephant in the room. The more we fell into
this routine, the more it started to feel like a date. It was actually kind of
nice. Though, a little odd since Nick never used to offer to go shopping with
me in the past. Maybe he was over-compensating to make up for that morning.

Nick
took my smoothie and had a sip, noticing the grin on my face. “What?”

I
shook my head. “Nothing. It’s just weird. You never used to enjoy shopping with
me before.”

Handing
my drink back, Nick shrugged. “I think I just took all of the little things for
granted when we were together,” he confessed. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with
you these last few days, and I figured you’d enjoy getting out and away from
the Pack. Plus…” He paused, looking away from me and shoving his hands in his
pockets. “After this morning…”

I
shook my head and refused to bring our good mood down. “They’re great, you
know.” I paused, biting on my straw. “Or, most of them are. Karl’s kind of a
douche.”

Nick
laughed, drawing the attention of a few younger women. They were taller than
me, thin, and scantily dressed. Clearly the winter weather didn’t affect Canadians
like it did someone from Arizona. While my abnormally high body temperature
helped ease the chill a little, I still wouldn’t go out with eighty percent of
my legs showing and my breasts hanging out.

“Can
I ask what he did this morning?”

I
inhaled
deeply,
worried that I would upset Nick if I
told him exactly what happened. I didn’t want to lie or keep anything from him,
but I didn’t want a repeat of last night.
Especially not in
the middle of a mall full of people.

“Brooke?”

I
slipped my free hand into the crook of his elbow and pulled him off to the
side. “Know that I handled it and that Marcus looked ready to step in if I
needed help.”

Nick
wasn’t convinced. In fact, he looked even more nervous and agitated.

“I
was standing at the counter, talking with Miranda and Colby when everyone
started coming in. He pinned me to the counter and started making suggestive
comments.”

Nick’s
nostrils flared, his breathing deepened, and his heart hammered. I stepped
forward and laid a hand on his chest, hoping it would calm him. “How suggestive?”

“He
said something smelled delicious, and I’d bet my life on the fact that he
wasn’t talking about breakfast. I told him to back off, and he asked what I was
going to do before he grabbed my hip.”

I’d
said too much. Nick’s face turned red, and I worried he was going to snap. “He
touched
you?”

I
shrugged. “Yeah, but I handled it, remember? You saw him.”

Nick
wasn’t appeased. “Marcus should have stopped him. By Pack Law, you’re
mine
.”

While
I knew not to take what he said as a huge step back for all the
work women
have done to gain equality, I couldn’t help it.
Something about being referred to as his property irked me. “Nick, I belong to
no one
. Yes, we’re doing this to keep me
from being targeted, but I’m no one’s property.”

Stunned,
Nick snapped out of his boiling rage. “What? No, I know that. I just
meant—”

“I
know what you meant, but you need to understand, I’d been on my own for five
years before letting another man in. I know who I am, and I am quite capable of
taking care of myself. I laid Karl out. He didn’t even get a chance to fight
back.”

“You
don’t know him,”
Nick interjected softly
,
his eyes wide and worried
. “That won’t stop him. If
anything, he’ll see you as an even bigger challenge now. He’ll stalk you, so to
speak. Learn your weaknesses, figure out when you’re most vulnerable…” A sigh
fell past his lips. “If anything, you’ve only poked the wolf.”

His
warning did worry me a little, so I tried to keep my wits about me. “Well, if
that’s the case, I’ll handle it again. I’m not some weak little girl. I was a
cop—and a damn good one, at that. I can manage without a bodyguard.”
Nick’s tension still polluted the air between us, and I knew I had to clear it
somehow. “
But
, if I find I can’t,
I’ll be sure to ask for your help, okay?”

Nick
took another deep breath, taking my hand and pulling me into a hug. He was resistant,
but knew better than to keep fighting me on it; I always got my way. “I didn’t
mean to upset you,” he told me as I began to relax against him. “I just…I know
what he’s capable of, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to
you.”

Offering
him my best and most reassuring smile, I placed my hand on his slightly scruffy
cheek. “And, as I told you last night, nothing bad is going to happen…” Feeling
a little mischievous, I glanced up at him. “Well, not to
me
…” Nick eyed me quizzically, and I smirked devilishly. “You’re
credit cards might take a bit of a beating today, though.”

With
the mood finally lifted, I took Nick’s hand, and tossed the empty smoothie cup.
I was ready to kick-start our shopping spree, and I’d spotted a really cute winter
jacket just across the way.

We
were a few feet from the store entrance when a tingle of awareness settled in
my neck and shoulders. The hairs there stood on end and
goosebumps
rippled down my spine. I sensed we were being watched. Slowly, I turned around,
looking at all the other mall-goers to see if I could spot our observer.
Nothing seemed unusual, though; just the everyday hustle and bustle in a busy
shopping mall weeks before Christmas.

I
passed it off as paranoia given the events of last night and this morning with Karl,
but the feeling returned when I’d gone to use the washroom before ordering
lunch a couple hours later. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so why couldn’t
I shake the feeling?

After
getting my food, I found Nick at a nearby table, already eating. My purchases
littered the floor beneath our little table for two amongst a sea of people.
We’d spent way more money than I’d ever intended. Not because I felt I needed
all of it, but because when I was undecided between a few items, Nick would
insist on buying it all. I argued with him, of course, but he stood firm.

I
still felt like someone was watching us closely, but when Nick remained unconcerned,
I figured it most definitely had to be my own paranoia. If anyone
was
going to sense something unusual, it would be him. He’d
been doing this far longer than me.

In
an effort to try and force the thought from my mind, I decided to find out a little
more about what he’d been up to during our time apart. Maybe it would also help
me understand how he could afford everything he just bought me.

“Marcus
pays for just about everything,” he told me as I ate my Thai food. “But the
rest of us do some kind of work to appear as normal as possible and avoid suspicion.”

“And
what do you do?” I asked.

“Website
design, actually,” he replied, shoving a couple fries into his mouth. “It
allows me to stay near the Pack if I’m needed, and I can work on the road if
I’m on a mission.”

For
some reason, hearing that some of the Pack held day jobs was a relief to me.
Maybe, if I wound up staying here with them, I could get a job on the police
force. I’d always loved what I did for a living, and I couldn’t imagine doing
anything else—especially sitting dormant twiddling my thumbs or slaving
away in a kitchen while the men-folk supported us. I was incredibly
independent, and while helping out around the house was just as important, I
wanted to work. I was sure there would be some paperwork to do before I could
legally work in this country, but at least the option was there.

After
eating, we headed back to the manor. My shopping bags almost filled the entire
backseat, reminding me further of Nick’s extreme generosity. He said it was
all necessary
since most of my clothes were only good enough
for an Arizona winter. I understood that, and let him buy me quite a few fitted
sweaters, several pullovers that were meant strictly for comfort, a new jacket,
and a great pair of boots.

Okay,
so I didn’t
totally
hate being
spoiled by him.

Back
at the manor, Nick helped me carry everything in, and I went to work hanging it
all up in our closet. While I organized everything, Nick excused himself to go
and check in with Marcus.

“I’ll
be right back,” he promised.

“Sounds
good.”

After
I finished hanging everything up, I went into the bathroom to freshen up. I brushed
my hair and fixed my makeup a little before heading downstairs to see if
Miranda needed help with dinner. I had just opened my bedroom door a crack,
when voices in the hall caught my attention:

Jackson
and Nick.

They
were purposefully keeping their volume down, which naturally only made me more
curious. I kept the door open just a crack. I couldn’t even see them, which
meant they were a little further down, possibly near the stairs, but I could
hear them as though they were right outside the door.

“Is
that an order?” Nick demanded with frustration while Jackson remained silent.
“You think I don’t know that? You don’t think I’ve
tried
?”

“It
wasn’t an
order
,” Jackson hissed, his
angry tone mirroring Nick’s. “In case you’ve forgotten, you outrank me. But you
know you have to tell her. You owe her that.” Heavy footsteps descended the
stairs as I assumed Jackson retreated, and I closed the door gently.

Were
they talking about me?

Confused,
I sat on the bed and tried to figure out what their conversation was about
based on the last little bit I heard. True, I could probably just ask Nick, but
I didn’t want him to think I had been eavesdropping—even though that was
exactly the case. Whatever he had been keeping from me had to be for my own
good, right? Like everything else…

Then
it occurred to me: he must have received another message from
Gianna’s
coven and was trying not to worry me. Maybe I
wasn’t the only one who sensed something at the mall, and he was just really
good at distracting me while evaluating the situation.