Hot Springs Werewolf Complete Series (BBW Werewolf Erotic Romance) (16 page)

I took a deep breath and sipped my drink. I wasn't upset but Red's behavior was giving me the idea that maybe I should be.

"What was going to happen?" I asked after taking a sip of champagne.

"Most werewolves shift before they turn two. It's all in the blood. Their parents play with them and they nip and bite and scratch and somewhere in there the kid gets a bit of blood in their mouth and the parent the same. Then the parent holds the kid really close and changes. It's like dominos then. The parent's blood inside the kid changes and if the kid is worked up enough and ready, they change too. After that they can change by themselves mostly."

"So you thought you'd turn me into a werewolf without my permission?"

"No. I saw a hot girl through the window of a cabin who pulled her clothes off and unlocked the door. When I came into the cabin, she was on the bed naked with her ass up in the air. There was a very limited amount of thinking going on."

I put my glass to my lips and tried to look serious. Red looked so guilty and uncomfortable and the truth was that I didn't really care all that much. It was sex. Crazy hot wild passionate sex and maybe both of us went too far but we definitely went together.

Besides, if the Finch pack hadn't been nearly wiped out and run out of town, there would be some alternate Harper right now who would have been a werewolf since she was a toddler.

"So what you meant in the forest when you said you wanted me to be your mate was that you want to have crazy wild sex with me and at the peak of it, you turn into a wolf so my body follows?"

"I wouldn't put it that way."

"How would you put it? You want to bend me over the desk and fuck me?"

I turned and put my hands on the desk. I moved my hips, tilting them up and looked back at Red over my shoulder. I saw his eye shimmer gold and look down at my ass. I turned back around to face him.

"You want me on my knees, holding my hair with my mouth open and forcing me to suck your cock?"

I kneeled down and traced my finger across my cleavage and up to my lips. I sucked on my finger and saw Red start to breathe faster. I stood up.

"You want me to haul you down on the floor, pull your suit down and ride your thick cock like I'm a cowgirl?"

I slipped my hands up under my dress and pulled my very flimsy underwear off. I balled them up and tossed them at Red. He caught them in one hand and I saw him breathe in.

I was about to walk across the room to him to do any or all of the things I'd just said when there was an ear-shattering howl from outside. It felt like a knife driven through the heart of me. I felt myself sober up instantly and all thoughts of hot sex with Red were chased from my mind. Something was terribly wrong.

Red took two steps towards the window, his hand reaching for the buttons of his shirt, and then he stopped when he saw my face.

"I'm not leaving Harper. I'll protect you. Put your shoes on."

I did as he asked and then took his hand as he pulled me out the door, leaving our champagne glasses sitting on the desk.

We went a different way back than we came and ended up on the ground floor, passing from one corridor through a lush bedroom into the corridor at the front of the house. As we approached the entrance I heard people talking in hushed tones, gathered in the doorway. We rounded the corner and found a small group milling in the entrance.

A tall man I didn't recognize approached us.

"It's a challenge Red. They want to do it tonight."

"Idiots. I beat his brother a few nights ago and suddenly he's challenging? Something isn't right. I'll go."

The man nodded to Red and walked away. Red pulled us through the crowd and outside. He gave his ticket to the valet and then pushed the man to get the car when he stood there looking at it like he didn't know what it was.

"What's happening?"

Red closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he stepped closer to me and hugged me before pulling back, his hands on my arms. He leaned in close.

"A member of my pack has challenged me. It's about the rules I changed. It's about betrothal. It's about you."

"Me?"

"They're not happy I chose an outsider over one of us. I'm going to have to fight him so we can stay free to choose our own mates. So I can be free to choose you."

"I didn't say yes," I whispered.

Red leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"But I did."

I looked up into his eyes and saw they were tinted gold. Then I saw my own reflected back, the same small glimmers of gold in them. The valet pulled up in Red's truck and handed him the keys. Red stuffed some money in his hand and turned back to face me. I saw the look on his face and thought he was going to tell me to go home. To leave him. But then he took my hand and I saw the gold in his eyes intensify.

"Will you come with me?"

I nodded, my words failing me. Red had said yes to me and I'd said no but I knew what I really wanted deep in my heart. I wanted to say yes but my voice wouldn't cooperate. I wanted to say I would be his mate. I think I already was. I'd told Ana I was before I'd punched her.

"I keep you safe," Red said.

"I know," I replied and then we got into his truck and drove off into the darkness.

Drove off to meet his challenger. For Red to fight him so the pack could remain free to choose who they wanted.

So Red could choose me.

But was I worth it? Was any of it?

***

S
tupid is as stupid does.

And right now I was feeling hella stupid. I should have left Hot Springs the moment I discovered there were werewolves living here. I should have left the moment I was (sort-of) threatened by one of them. I should have left the moment I got called the New Finch.

But I didn't and the reason I didn't was the man standing next to me.

Red Guile.

Alpha of the Guile Pack. Also my neighbor. Also my lover.

Also a werewolf.

I looked around us. Red had parked his truck next to what looked like an abandoned log cabin. The moon was up, nearly full, glowing in the sky like a street light. I could see well enough to see the shapes of wolves moving in the darkness between the trees. Was it because Red had taken me to the point of shifting? It would explain the growling. The aggression. Attacking Ana. Although I had the feeling I'd have wanted to smack her one even if I hadn't come close to shifting.

"You'll be safe."

"I know."

I said it even though I didn't know any such thing. Wolves were moving through the trees. Maybe fifty or so. As I tried to count I realized that they were allowing themselves to be seen. Just like Red in the forest when he'd been following me.

As I watched, wolves began to emerge from the forest and shift into human form.

A huge gray wolf turned into a woman in her early fifties. Three slim wolves turned into young naked men, barely in their twenties. The wolves gathered and shifted until Red and I were standing in the middle of them all, clothed, while they were naked. I saw a girl with a body like a supermodel looking at me. She caught my eye and then gave me a slight smile.

Fen and Jake appeared. One tall, one built like a mountain. I tried not to look but it was hard to avoid seeing when no one was bothering to get dressed. Let's just say if Fen and Katy got together, Katy would be having a good time.

Then four wolves walked out of the trees and changed to human. One was Ana, her eye carrying the faintest shadow of a bruise under it. The other three were identical triplets, men, all under thirty and perfect specimens of muscular manhood. They had black hair and dark eyes flecked with gold.

The middle one walked forward and stopped in front of the group.

"I chall-"

"No you don't."

Red had been at my side and then the young man was on his back on the ground with Red standing on his throat with a polished black shoe. I blinked and Red was back by my side. The young man scrambled to his feet, coughing.

"You don't challenge Marcus. You don't want to challenge because as your brother learned a few nights back, I will win. I had that little play-fight with him so you'd get the idea but apparently you haven't learned."

"It is my right to challenge," Marcus said and spat on the ground.

I heard gasps of air around us. It must have been some sort of insult that werewolves took seriously.

"It's the Toulouse pack isn't it. What have they offered you?"

Red lowered his voice as he spoke, forcing people to move in closer to hear him. Marcus and his brothers stepped forward. Ana stayed where she was.

"It is my right-"

"To challenge, yes, I know. And you can challenge me to the death and then I have to fight you and kill you and then your brothers are left alone and your cousin still doesn't get to mate with me."

"The old ways are the best," Marcus spat again. The assembled naked wolves murmured amongst themselves. Red frowned at Marcus and then looked around at the crowd. He sighed and then handed me his hat.

"Very well Marcus. I challenge you. Not to the death. To the broken limb. For me, specifically it will be your right arm because I know you are left-handed and still need to go to work on Monday."

As he spoke, Red slipped off his jacket and passed it to Fen who was standing behind him. He continued to talk as he undressed.

"After I've broken your right arm, someone will take you to hospital and you'll get patched up. And I hope that's the last I hear about a return to the old ways. They were not the best. They left us weakened and if we continued living that way, we would be destroyed. I choose my mate. And I choose Harper Finch."

I felt my stomach flip as the werewolves turned to look at me. Just breathe Harper. Breathe.

Now naked, Red turned his back on Marcus and faced the crowd. There was more murmuring, as though this was something very insulting, dangerous or both.

"We all know the Toulouse pack have not kept our accord. They have killed us. They have tried to deceive us. They are working still to split us apart. But I am Alpha and I will not allow this to happen. We are free to mate with whomever we want. We are free to choose. And we must deal with the Toulouse pack if we cannot get them to stop."

During this speech I kept my eyes on Marcus who had been looking around and back at his brothers as though searching for support. He was breathing faster and I could see he was working himself up to attack.

"Don't worry," Red whispered under his breath to me.

"It's okay Marcus. I don't blame you," he said, louder.

Marcus roared and shifted. Then he launched himself at Red, his teeth bared. I didn't see Red move but I heard the thud as their bodies collided and then the crack of bone. Then the howl of an injured wolf.

I turned to see Red down on one knee, still in human form, holding a wolf on its back. Its right front leg was broken.

"Shift back now," Red said and stroked his hand down the side of the wolf's face.

Marcus shifted and Red helped him up from the ground. He was clutching his right arm which was bent at a horrible angle just above his elbow. Naked werewolves moved forward to help him through the crowd. They took him to the cabin and went inside.

With that, the assembled crowd began shifting back to wolf form and dispersing into the forest. Red dressed, wiped a droplet of blood off his hand and then turned to me.

"Shall we go?"

I threw up.

*

M
orning found me in the city waiting until nine am when I could start calling everyone with the last name of Crisp in the Hot Springs directory until I found Donald Crisp. Yes it was a bazillion numbers but it was my only hope.

I sat in Boris sipping a coffee from Greasy Manna. Sarah had made it for me and offered me breakfast but I just couldn't eat today. Whatever queasiness had taken hold of me last night still hadn't left. She'd forced a potato hash brown on me which now sat on the passenger seat, slowing turning the brown paper bag see-through.

As I sat and sipped I tried to put the night in order. The ball. Red. Katy. Freyr. Red upstairs. A howl, a challenge. A broken arm. Me throwing up.

That was the synopsis but I'd left out the most important part: Red declaring to his pack that he'd chosen me.

And if what he'd told me was true, he needed me like a starving man needed food. He'd been very clear about that. An event almost unheard of for womankind: a man was clear and unambiguous about his feelings.

As for me...

I wanted him. I wanted him on some level that I could barely comprehend and it was terrifying. I couldn't separate what was me and what was her - the wolf's mate. I now knew there was some wild thing within me, waiting to be brought to life. Or perhaps she was already alive and just hiding under the surface, making small trips out to growl at bad cops and to punch crazy betrothed girls in the face.

Whomever she was, she hadn't been around last night after Red had snapped Marcus' arm with no more effort than swatting a fly. Less effort even. Swat a fly and you could be running around the house waving a bit of cheap plastic. Break an arm as a werewolf and there is barely a movement and crack! It's done.

After I'd thrown up, Red had taken me home. We'd hardly talked in the truck and I don't really remember what we did say, little of it as there was. Red had taken me into the cabin and poured me a glass of water like a perfect gentleman. Then he'd left and I put myself to bed, stomach churning.

After a night like that I was expecting to be tossing and turning with bad dreams but none came. Just a heavy sleep that in the morning was difficult to shrug off. Even now with most of a strong coffee inside me, I was still wearing it like a thick fur coat.

I checked my phone. 9am. I looked around to make sure that Office Edward Asshole Toulouse wasn't anywhere in sight and dialed the very first listing of Crisp in the directory.

It picked up instantly.

"Yes, hello? Donald?"

I knew that voice.

"Eadie?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Harper Finch. I was calling to speak to Donald."