Perfect Mate (Book Two: A Werewolf BBW Shifter Romance) (3 page)

He'd told Julia that he'd lost his eyes in an accident, and that much was true. It was a stupid accident to have eaten food left out without knowing whose it was. He was lucky he'd escaped with his life.

The day he'd fought the alpha male had been the worst day of his life. He remembered it vividly now, and as the memory played back in his mind his fur bristled as though a wind had suddenly come through.

He had been hungry, and followed the scent of deer to where the severed haunch was laying against a boulder. The scent of other shifters around it should have been a warning sign, but he thought nothing of it. His pack trampled through these areas regularly, after all. But as soon as he had taken a bite of the meat, he'd scented another shifter.

He could have run. He could have lied, said that another animal had eaten the deer. It infuriated him to think that he had lost his eyes and lost his pack for a bite of meat that didn't even fill his stomach. But he'd stayed, and Lukas had challenged him, and he stood in a clearing at night with the pack surrounding him and Jordan at his back, whispering encouraging words, ready to kill or be killed.

Moonlight lit the scene, and nothing else.

The alpha male had been older, almost entirely wolf, and Damien was overconfident. As Lukas snarled, his grey fur rising on the scruff of his collar, he paced back and forth. Around them wolves growled and yipped, shouting encouragements to the alpha. Nobody would support a young contender against the leader of the pack. Nobody except Jordan, that is.

"He favors the kick," Jordan said softly. "It's how he kills most of his prey. I've seen it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Damien growled. "Wish me luck."

"I'll always love you," Jordan said.

The words gave Damien pause. He'd known of Jordan's affection for him since they'd been pups, but for his best friend to state it so plainly meant that he doubted the outcome of the fight. Still, he was young and agile. Lukas was old; he'd been thinking of stepping down as leader for a couple of years already. It was only his fierce stubbornness that kept him at the front of the pack. He wanted to lose his position by challenge, not by surrender. Like many alphas, he wanted to die while he was still able to shift to human form.

Lukas growled, and Damien turned to face him. The old wolf was large, and strong, and the scars running down the side of his haunches testified to the fights he had already fought, and won. Damien made up his mind that this would not be one of them.

Circling each other, Lukas and Damien sized up their competition. In this regard, Damien had a distinct advantage. He was young enough that the leader hadn't taken any notice of him, and had no idea what kind of fighter he was. Lukas was terrifyingly strong, but also slower, more careful in his motions. The slow circling put Damien on edge. Why wouldn't he attack? His nerves grew more and more tense, his muscles twitching from anticipated combat. Finally he could take no more. Adrenaline surging through his veins, Damien lunged forward.

It was a mistake. Two mistakes, the first that led to the fight, and the second that ended it. Lukas rolled back on his haunches and Damien stumbled, snapping his jaws at the larger wolf's underbelly. The backward step Lukas had taken was just enough to make Damien fall short of his target, and as the wolf's back legs had raised up to strike him, Damien had only one thought:

Wrong. I was wrong.

"Damien?"

Damien shook his head, and earth fell from his fur to the ground.

"Damien, are you done digging?"

Jordan's voice penetrated his thoughts, and he licked his chops, tasting the grit of the dirt underneath him.

"Yes," he growled, leaping up out of the hole in the ground. Without thinking, he had finished the job, and now it was time to bury the dead.

At least he hadn't died in the fight. Small comfort. The wolf they would bury in this hole couldn't see, either.

Julia's fear had subsided somewhat, although he could tell that she was still nervous at seeing him in his wolf form. Well, she would have to stay nervous for a while longer.

Damien went over to the body and gripped the bag with his teeth, pulling it towards the hole. He slipped only once, at the edge of the grave, and his hind leg dangled for a brief second over the empty hollow before he regained his balance. In his mind, he imagined the dead shifter falling on top of him in the hole, imagined the dirt piling onto them both, imagined being buried alive. It did not seem as horrible as it once did. The fear came in part from fear of darkness, he supposed, and his world was already dark. He found his footing and went around to the other side of the bag, using his snout to push the body over into the hole.

Filling the grave was a lot easier than digging it had been, and Damien made quick work of the ritual, sprinkling dirt with each of his four paws into the grave before pushing the rest of the earth in. The dirt made a low mound over the body, and Damien knelt in front of the grave. He growled the prayer of the dead, eyes closed, and lifted his head to the sky.

"Amen," Jordan said softly.

Although it was afternoon and he could feel the sunlight on his face through the tree branches, all was darkness. He howled a keening wail, his nose pointed toward the invisible stars of their ancestors. Behind him, Julia shivered in sorrow at the sound of the howl twisting through the trees. The birds ceased their calls, and when he lowered his head, all was silent.

He sniffed out his clothes and shifted back to human form, quickly pulling on his shirt and pants. Both Jordan and Julia had seen him shift, seen him naked, but for some reason he still felt awkward at having them around when he changed. None of them said a word as Damien finished dressing.

"Kyle and Katherine are on their way," he said, after they had left the clearing. Jordan sniffed, his nose raised to the air.

"I barely smell them," he said. "You're sure they're coming?"

Damien nodded, and swerved slightly in their direction. Sure enough, it was only a half-minute before Kyle and Katherine walked into sight. They had already shifted back into human form.

"What did you find?" he asked.

"We followed the trail from the lake to the highway," Katherine said. "It was only his scent. No other wolves."

"His car is parked on the side of the road," Kyle said. "We looked inside, but didn't break in."

"I told Kyle not to break the window," Katherine said. "I thought that it would be best to talk to you first."

"Good," Damien said. He considered his options for only a split second before deciding.

"Jordan, you come with me," he said. "We'll check out the car."

"What about me?" Julia asked.

"Kyle and Katherine will follow you back to your grandmother's house. They'll watch over you."

"I don't need a security guard," Julia said.

"What, we're going to be glorified babysitters?" Kyle said.

Damien growled under his breath.

"The shifter said he was after Julia. Until I have proof otherwise, you're going to be protecting her." He took Julia's hands. "Julia, be careful."

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to find out who this shifter was. If he has a pack in town. If he's been following you for a while."

A new ripple of dread pulsed outward from Julia.

"It's alright. The pack will be around if you need them." He bent down and kissed her, and from her lips drew desire and fear, intermingled. Though he did not want to leave her, he did not want to leave the mystery unsolved for any longer than he needed to.

He motioned to Jordan. "Come with me."

They would find out who this shifter was, and why he had come.

And why he had come for Julia.

CHAPTER FIVE

On the car ride back to the house, Julia ignored the other shifters pointedly, and they seemed happy to ignore her back. Katherine made a few comments about the town, but they fell flat, and the rest of the way was passed in a dull, awkward silence. As they pulled into the front of the old Victorian-style home, Julia was relieved to find that the shifters did not intend to go inside with her.

"We'll wait in the back," Kyle said. "If they come as wolves, we'll smell them before they get too close."

"Sure," Julia said, closing the car door and walking toward her house without hesitation. Katherine always looked at her as though she had no idea what Damien saw in her. And Kyle—she didn't know anything about him, but he seemed skittish. Unnerving.

Creepy. That's what her girlfriends would call him if he came up to them at the bar. There was something about him that didn't quite add up. But as soon as Julia closed the door behind her and smelled the delicious scent of her grandmother's apple crumble, she forgot all about him.

"Granny Dee!" Julia cried out, coming into the kitchen. "Are we celebrating something?"

Her grandmother sat at the table, her head in her hands. She looked up sadly.

"What... what's wrong?" Julia said. She sank into the seat next to Granny Dee.

"The bank called this afternoon," Dee said. "Someone bought the house."

"Oh, Granny Dee—"

"I'm afraid we'll have to leave. I thought this was a good place. Safe, perfect for us. But now—"

"Wait, no," Julia said, her excitement bubbling up through her. "It's Damien. He bought the house."

Dee knitted her eyebrows together.

"Damien?"

"The guy who came over. The blind man."

Granny Dee's face dropped, and for a moment Julia thought that she would explode. Her face twisted into a grimace, then back to a more neutral expression as she calmed herself.

"It's not like that," Julia hastened to explain. "He says that we can still live here. They just want to build cabins on the land."

"Why?" Dee hissed. Julia paused, shocked by her reaction.

"Why? Be-because he likes me. He wanted to help."

"By buying a
house
?" Granny Dee's frown wrinkled her brow. "That's more than just help. What did you promise him?"

"Me? I didn't promise anything! He likes me, that's all! And I like him. And... and..." Julia stuttered, unable to tell her grandmother the raw truth behind the decision. On the surface, it must certainly seem strange that Damien would be so accommodating. It must seem like she had done something else for him. Julia flushed a fire engine red as she realized the implication of her grandmother's words.

"It's not like that, Granny Dee, I swear!"

"How is this even possible?" Dee muttered, half to herself. Julia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What do you mean? Are you saying someone like him couldn't like me?" Tears welled in Julia's eyes. "I know I'm not beautiful—"

"Shh, no, child, that's not what I mean," Granny Dee said, her face softening. "Forget I said anything. But we can't live here with them alongside us. We'll have to move."

"But—"

"If they move in, we move out, and that's final," Dee said.

"But
WHY
?"

Julia's shout was louder than she had intended. Indeed, she'd never screamed at Granny Dee before, and it took her by surprise as much as it did the older woman. Dee reached across the table and took her hand. Her grandmother's skin felt papery and thin under her fingers, and she immediately regretted raising her voice.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, bending her head down. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I don't want to annoy the guests."

"There's nobody here today," Dee said, sighing. Julia blinked back her tears and wiped her eyes with one hand. No guests. It wasn't any surprise that they were being foreclosed on. But if only Granny Dee would let Damien help...

"I just want to protect you," Dee said. "It has nothing to do with who likes you or not, child. That's not the reason we're here."

"But if Damien—"

"Enough about that man," Dee said, in a voice that said she would brook no opposition. "He's dangerous, and we won't take his charity."

"Dangerous?" Julia was aghast. Damien was the kindest, most gentle man she'd ever met. Sure, he'd fought the wolf and injured him, but that was self-defense. She couldn't imagine him ever hurting her intentionally, not in any way.

Dee stood up from the table. Her hands were shaking as she smoothed the folds of her apron down.

"We'll plan to leave this week," she said. "I don't want you to see Damien again."

"That's not fair!" Julia's face turned hot with anger. The injustice of it all! Granny Dee had always supported her. When she was bullied in school and came home crying that no boys would ever like her, Dee told her that one day she would find true love. And now that she had found it...

"Child," Dee said. Her wrinkled face sagged. "You must trust me on this."

"I don't understand," Julia said, her heart tearing between Damien and her grandmother. "Please."

Granny Dee shook her head, her gaze absentminded. She seemed to be remembering something else.

"Put the apple crumble away when you're done with it," Dee said. Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry," Julia said, to nobody in particular. Her stomach turned at the thought of food. She felt like a prisoner trapped inside of the cozy walls of the house. Her grandmother spoke as though she knew Damien's intentions were bad. She hadn't even given him a chance. Julia felt a wetness on her cheek, and wiped away the tears that seeped out of her eyes unwillingly. One tear made it through her fingers and tickled her chin, and this small agony made her want to give up.

She walked to the kitchen window and looked out at the backyard, over to where the meadow ended and the forest began. There, just inside the line of trees, Katherine and Kyle were waiting, ordered to protect her, on guard.

But on guard for what?

CHAPTER SIX

In the car, Damien tapped his fingers against the window impatiently.

"You're the world's worst percussionist," Jordan said. "I thought you were supposed to make up for being blind with heightened senses. Or did that not include a sense of rhythm?"