Shift Happens(24)

The pack smelled of triumph, confidence and pride.

One smelled of fear. I turned to him and yowled. The sound hung in the air. The young wolf averted his gaze, but held strong.

My thoughts of freedom vanished.

I huffed again and lay my heavy head down on my front paws.

“If you’re done with your temper tantrum, it’s time to shift back,” Wick said.

I turned my feline gaze to him and hissed again.

He held up sweat pants and a t-shirt. “If you shift now, I’ll let you ride back fully clothed.”

I licked the blood off my front paw.

“Just because you have no feathers to pluck, doesn’t mean we’re at an impasse.”

I shifted my attention to my other paw.

“Don’t make this harder on yourself, Andy. We have tranq guns.”

His statement froze my tongue. I hated tranquilizers. The recovery from one shot meant days of feeling like the sludge from the bottom of a stale beer barrel. I’d rather lance boils off homeless people than experience that nausea again.

“Shift.”

I hacked, knowing he was right. They could tranq me and haul my cat ass into a cage. My body shook from exhaustion as soon as my cat form shifted to human. Cold air hit my naked flesh. I shoved my shaking hands under my armpits.

The net lifted. Wick flung the clothes, smacking me in the face, and adding insult to injury. I clutched the soft material in my hands and slowly stood up. The blood I missed caked to the base of my nails. Ignoring the full body ache as best I could, I clambered into the sweatpants and t-shirt. As soon as I pulled the shirt over my head a hand with an iron grip clamped onto my arm.

Wick ignored my glare and hauled me to the nearest SUV. John sat in the driver’s seat and adjusted the rear-view mirror to give me a smug look. I flipped him off. He chuckled and put the vehicle in gear and drove without saying a word. Wick sat in the back beside me, gripping my arm hard. Obviously, he didn’t want to take any chances that I’d get away. Like I’d manage that in an SUV. His anger stunk up the whole vehicle, tickling my nose. I sneezed. The silence was heavy and oppressing.

“Why are you so angry? Did you think I wouldn’t try to escape?” I asked.

Wick shook his head and refused to speak or look at me.

“You would do the same thing,” I said. Why did I feel defensive?

Wick continued to stare straight ahead. The tightening pressure on my arm, the only indication that he’d heard. I let out a big sigh and slumped back in my seat.

After a long, quiet drive back to the house, John pulled up and parked. After taking the keys out of the ignition, he dropped his hands to his lap and waited. No one moved or spoke.

Wick’s soft voice broke the silence. “I will meet you inside, John.”

The other wolf nodded and hopped out of the SUV. I leaned over to get out of the vehicle. A deep sense of apprehension covered me like a blanket and I suddenly had no desire to be alone with Wick. Wick yanked my arm and I flailed in his direction. Smooth.

“Nice try,” he said. He opened his door and pulled me out after him. He turned to me midway up the drive. “Ryan despises you.”

“Because of the crossword thing?” I feigned ignorance.

“Crossword thing?” Wick sputtered, clearly not expecting my response. “No.” He glared. “The seducing and then spraying dog repellant in his face thing.”

I shrugged.

“You have made an enemy.”

I shrugged again. “Not on purpose.”

He gave me a flat look. “In a time where you need all the allies you can get, you made a stupid move.”

“Oh? Are you saying you or anyone else in your pack will run to my defence when I meet Lucien? Or that if I play nice, you’ll stow me away instead of shipping me off to Lucien?”

Wick looked away. Got him there. We stood awkwardly in the driveway. I had a feeling Wick waited for me to say something.

“I wasn’t planning to use him,” I said. Without further words, we walked toward the house. This was the longest driveway ever and this conversation got more uncomfortable by the minute.

“He will see it that way.”

“He shouldn’t. I saw an opportunity and I took it.”

“To seduce him?” His voice raw.

“Of course not. The opportunity was the open window. I could have distracted or incapacitated Ryan in numerous ways. I chose the way I would enjoy the most.” Not completely true.

Wick stopped walking. “What?”

“I like him.” Not exactly a lie. I didn’t specify how I liked him.

Wick must’ve heard the truth in my statement because he pursed his lips and his shoulders sagged a little. “Maybe it’s a good thing he hates you.”