Tarnished(4)

She’d undoubtedly be at the gathering, but not likely at the meetings where young single people mingled. A claimed woman would have other seminars to attend.

When the bathroom door banged open, Drake flinched. God, I’m losing my mind.

“I’m ready,” Jerrod declared.

He looked anything but with his hair dripping uncombed and his collar tucked under his shirt. The kid wasn’t even in puberty yet. He had no sense of fashion or care for conformity. His pureness made Drake smile.

“Let’s go then.” Drake tugged a dark T-shirt over his head and grabbed his jacket. It was spring in Oklahoma but still chilly in the morning.

With a sigh of resignation, Drake led Jerrod out the door.





Chapter Two


“Geez, are we late?” Jerrod leaned forward to peer out the window at all the cars inching their way into the gravel parking lot.

Drake veered to the left, spotting an open space. “Nope. There is no such thing as late. We get here when we get here.” And we leave as soon as your brothers get their itch scratched.

“Will they have stuff planned for guys my age?”

Dan swatted Jerrod on the head from the back seat of the cab. “Nope, you’ll just have to find a woman and start kissing.”

Drake glared at his brother in the rearview mirror. “Stop it, Dan.” He turned to Jerrod. “Of course. You’ll have plenty of activities with the middle school kids. It’ll be a lot more entertaining than last time when you were with the babies.” He grinned at himself, knowing Jerrod thought of himself as all grown up now that he’d hit double digits.

“I hope so,” he grumbled. “I don’t want to do no kissin’.”

“And Dan and Scott won’t be doing any kissing either if they know what’s good for them.” He shut off the engine and turned around. “Girls don’t like to be pressured. And you guys know that. Act your age. You’re grown men, for Christ’s sake.”

The four brothers piled out of the truck and headed for the entrance with hundreds of other wolf shifters from all over the country. The venue was perfect. Smack in the middle of the country, it was easy to get to from just about anywhere, and the family that owned the land had been gracious enough to host the gathering for twenty years. The property was far enough outside the city of Tulsa to not attract too much attention. And the Albertsons had enough outbuildings to accommodate all the seminars and sessions.

The older members of the wolf-shifting world united to discuss wolf politics and the future of their existence. Drake’s parents had most likely arrived before eight in the morning so they wouldn’t miss anything. The younger members mostly socialized. The twenty-somethings were the most eager to attend in the hopes of finding the perfect mate and claiming a wife or husband.

Scott pushed through the front door of the main conference room, and Drake let his other two brothers enter first. Let the fun begin.

As soon as they checked in, Jerrod raced off with two other boys his age, shouting over his shoulder that he’d meet back up with Drake at dinner. What the hell did I come for?

Dan and Scott scurried off to the main singles hall with Drake on their heels, in no particular hurry to race to that finish line. He had no hope of finding a mate at this event. Nor did he care.

In fact, he sauntered forward without watching where he was going, thus crashing into someone as he rounded a corner in the crowded hall. “So sorry,” he muttered. “Wasn’t watching where I was going—” Oh my God. It’s her. Drake gulped.

The woman nodded, her head bowed, and kept right on walking. In retrospect, she’d also not been watching where she was going, and she looked as though she was about as excited to be there as he was. Her arms were crossed under her chest. She wore blue jeans and a long sweater that covered her ass as she continued down the hall away from him.

Drake stood frozen to the spot. Why wasn’t she with the man from two years ago? He took a long whiff of her lingering scent. She wasn’t mated at all.

She disappeared in the crowd, never glancing back. Her hair was longer. Glorious brown curls that reached way down her back. He swallowed again and itched to run his hands through the locks, pull her head back, and get a good look at her face. His memory was vivid, but he’d been quite a ways from her last time he’d seen her. He remembered her smile, the one she clearly didn’t wear on her face today.

Why did she seem so sad? Was he making this up? Not really. Her distress was in the air, filling his nostrils and mixing with her personal scent. Something floral, probably her shampoo, combined with her pheromones to make him groan inwardly. He stepped forward and then halted. What’cha gonna do, big guy?