“An entire month?” She stared at him. “What the hell? Why?” She felt uneasiness ripple through her. Roman had reasons for everything that he did. He was a master manipulator. Was he planning on doing something to Maddox in the meantime? She was tempted to tell Maddox to test all of his food before he ate it, but then she’d be collaborating with the enemy.
She forced her concerns down. This was what it meant to be a shifter. Alphas challenged. They protected their pack, they kept order, sometimes they died doing it.
“I have no idea.” Maddox shrugged, not seeming at all concerned. “But you know that I can’t send you back before then.”
She’d be stuck around this infuriating slab of man meat for an entire month. Ever since he’d grabbed her back at the town common, her animal instincts were going crazy. Something about his touching her…all of a sudden, his mere presence made her body betray her, sending shivers of arousal through her whenever he got near.
She couldn’t want Maddox. The Killingworth and Mordhaus packs were oil and water, they didn’t mix. She could just imagine sauntering up to her mother and stepfather and announcing “Hey, Maddox Killingworth is my new mate!” It would be a toss-up whether her stepfather would ban her or kill her. Or ban her dead body.
As if Maddox even wanted her for a mate, she reminded herself. It wasn’t like he was offering.
She needed to stay away as far away from him as possible. She’d just throw herself into helping out with planning out the bridal shower and wedding day festivities and do her best to pretend he didn’t exist.
“We’ll have clothing brought to you,” Maddox told her. “We can give you a TV and DVD player. And you can go out during the day, as long as you have a guard.”
“I’m tired,” she said stiffly. “I’d like to go back to my prison cell, I mean room.”
As she turned to walk out of the room, with Carver trailing after her, Maddox called out “Katrina!”
She turned back, with a quizzical look on her face.
“Thanks for saving Heather today. You could have used that opportunity to escape.”
“Don’t remind me,” she muttered, and let Carver lead her back to her room. Good God, if her stepfather ever found out that she could have escaped but stayed behind to help a Killingworth cub, there would be hell to pay.
Chapter Five
It was noon, and the Bitter Brew tavern was crowded.
Carver set his beer stein down and scowled. Damned Mordhaus pack. They’d been an arrogant, obnoxious, in-your-face bunch of assholes, as far back as he could remember – and they’d gotten even worse when Roman Coffman took over.
As for Katrina, he saw the way Maddox looked at her – even if Maddox didn’t realize it himself. Yet. He’d always suspected Maddox had a thing for her, going back years. He was actually kind of worried about Maddox, not that he’d ever tell his Alpha that.
Bambi, the coyote shifter who’d come to meet him, put her hand on his knee and ran it up his thigh. He felt his cock harden and swell, straining at his jeans.
“What are you looking so grouchy about, wolfie? You’re with me.” She fluttered her lashes at him, and he grinned. They had a casual thing where they got together from time to time, and he always looked forward to it. That was exactly what he needed today – a break from the drama back on pack property, a little afternoon delight.
“And aren’t I a lucky wolf.” He leaned forward and kissed her hard, cupping his thrusting his tongue into her mouth. There was no emotion there, no tenderness, just deep, hungry need, and she responded eagerly, in kind.
When he finally pulled away, she let out a high pitched giggle. “I need to go use the little girl’s room, and then we should swing by my place. You haven’t broken my bedsprings in a while, you naughty wolf.” She winked at him and slid off the bar stool, sauntering off towards the bathroom.
Okay, her penchant for cutesy talk was starting to grate on his nerves a little bit, but it’s not like he actually much spent any time with her outside of the bedroom. No big deal, he told himself.
One of the wolves at the bar let out a loud howl of approval, and he turned to see what the wolf was looking at.
Well, hello. A stunning female brunette wolf shifter had just walked through the door. Her long, straight brown hair was thick and shiny. She wore black jeans and a tank top and motorcycle boots. Yes, please, he thought.
Damn. Now he was sorry he was with Bambi. If he hadn’t agreed to meet her today, he’d have gone for that she-wolf in a heartbeat.
She met his gaze and headed straight for him. Well, this was awkward. Could he get away with asking for her number while Bambi was in the bathroom? It’s not like he and Bambi were exclusive – she’d been with a hyena shifter the night before, one of his friends had told him.
She was standing right in front of him now. One blue eye, one green. That meant she was a healer. Right now he had a swelling that definitely could use some attention. Her body was trim and firm. She had lush red lips. The mild arousal that Bambi had stirred in him earlier was nothing compared to the blazing lust roaring through his body right now.
“Carver Killingworth?” Her voice caressed him, sweet as honey.
“At your service.” He winked at her. “Take that any way you like it. Please.”
She didn’t take it exactly the way he’d expected.
She grabbed a pitcher of beer from the bar and dumped it over his head, leaving him drenched and spluttering with outrage. “What the hell?” he shouted, as the whole bar erupted in howls of laughter, and she turned and sauntered off without a word.
“What was that? Who was she?” Bambi had cut her trip to the bathroom short.
“Sweetheart, I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before.” He grabbed a napkin from the bar and mopped off his face.
“Do I look stupid?” she yelled. He hesitated. He believed in being honest, which meant that he shouldn’t answer that question.
“Well?” she pressed him angrily. “There’s no way that woman just randomly decided to dump a pitcher of beer on your head, you asshole! Obviously you know her! Fine, if you like her so much better than me, why don’t you go fuck her instead?”
She gestured at a coyote who’d been playing pool. “Ferdinand! Want to get laid? Today’s your lucky day.” Ferdinand dropped his pool cue on the floor and hurried after her as she stalked out the door.
Great. So now Carver was drenched in beer, horny as hell, and had no freaking idea what had just happened to him.
One thing he knew for sure, though – he’d love to get that she-wolf’s number.
* * *
“Sorry, buddy.” Katrina glanced down at the unconscious body of Jayden, her guard for the day.
Jayden had made the mistake of turning his back on her while she and he were out for a walk in the woods. All she’d had to do was tell him she needed to pee and she’d appreciate some damn privacy already.
He’d underestimated her. Sure, he could hear her if she tried to run off – but she wasn’t an idiot. She’d never try that. Instead, she gave him a quick karate chop to the neck at exactly the right pressure point, and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious. She might be small, and female, but she had taken self-defense classes. Her daddy had taught her well.
She quickly shed her clothes and rolled them up, grabbed them with her mouth, and shot through the woods like an arrow. She didn’t have much time before someone came looking for her and Jayden.
To her enormous relief, she made it all the way off pack property, and she headed towards town. Her pack was about five miles on the other side of Greenville; once she was in town, she could call someone to come get her.
She was hoping against hope that when she got back, she could get her mother and stepfather together and see if they could come up with an alternative to the death challenge. There must be a way that Mordhause and the Killingworth pack could work together and be allies. They’d be an incredibly strong pack.
She’d pitch it to Roman that if he won the death challenge, a good portion of the Killingworth pack – possibly all of them – would just pack up and leave, now that the Elders had made that an option.
They’d rather give up their lands and all their possession than serve under the Killingworth pack. They’d go somewhere else, find an unclaimed area of land, and rebuild from scratch.
If, on the other hand, the Killingworth pack made an alliance with the Mordhaus pack, there would be two strong packs together. They’d dominate the whole region. Nobody would go up against them.
She also needed to talk to Roman about how the townspeople were reacting to everyone lately. She would put it diplomatically, of course; she’d explain it in business terms. It was all public relations and marketing. If he could make people like him, they’d be more likely to side with him during conflict, and more likely to do business with him.
When she got the edge of town, she paused, turned, and walked in to the one place she was sure wouldn’t turn her away – Morgensterns, the art store on the edge of town. Her friend Frances, a puma shifter, worked there; her mother owned the place. She and Frances had been really close in high school, and Frances was the nicest, sweetest girl she knew.