Chapter Five

For the record, Knox told me about the particular werewolf who’s now hanging off his face. Her name’s Joy. I’ve never met her before, but Joy looks exactly how Knox described her.

Big hair.

All-denim outfit.

Strong sense of entitlement.

Oh, Joy.

The topic of Joy came up when Knox and I were sharing our dating history. My side of the conversation was short; I’d only ever kissed Knox. For his part, Knox has dated a lot. As a warden, Knox didn’t think he could take a mate, so he overcompensated with dating. And considering how Knox travelled the world killing Denarii, my guy had a lot of opportunities to date. Joy was on the no-dating list because the first time they smooched, she didn’t so much kiss Knox as over-lick his face. Ick.

I scan the bar, trying not to focus on how Knox keeps pushing Joy away and she keeps not getting the hint. About a dozen guys wait along the walls. Based on their scents, all of them are weres in their human forms. Elle and Alec stand by the front door near the bouncer, Gage.

No one is talking.

All eyes seem to be on me.

My limbs tremble with rage.

A tiny voice in my head—presumably my human side—reminds me that I should be gracious, wait for Knox to scrape Joy off, and then saunter out the front door with my man, Hollywood style. But then, Joy licks Knox’s ear.

That voice doesn’t stand a chance.

I am so pounding this girl into the floor.

“Set me loose,” croons my inner wolf. “I’ll tear out her throat and quickly.”

White-hot fury heats my veins. My wolf form tears out of me, and I do zero to stop it. Within seconds, I’m huge, white, furry, and out of my mind with rage. I dash across the room, bite into Joy’s shoulder, and tear her off my mate. She skids across the floor and then hops up to stand. We weres are quick healers. Whatever bite mark I made on her shoulder is already gone.

“What are you, crazy?” Her poufy hair now has a flat spot on the side of her head—that’s from where I threw her across the floor. It’s an improvement.

“I am Knox’s mate,” I growl.

That gets a big reaction. Half the room gasps, which isn’t surprising. Very few werewolves can speak.

“But Knox is mine…” stammers Joy. “And you…”

I claw the wood flooring with my right front paw. Scrrrratch.

“Leave now or I’ll get angry,” I warn.

Knox saunters to my side. “Look, Joy. I’ve vowed not to fight your pack. But Bry here? Not so much.”

When I speak again, my voice is a low rumble. “This is the part where you leave.”

Joy doesn’t need to be told twice. She races for the front door, shoving Gage out of the way as she speeds toward the street.

The moment Joy’s gone, all the rage seeps from my body. My wolf, who’d been exhausted before, becomes downright catatonic. It’s not so much a thought as a reflex when I shift back. My body shrinks. Bones realign. All fur vanishes.

I’m becoming human again.

And naked.

In a room full of strange weres. Welcome to my personal nightmare.

Luckily, Knox thinks quickly. He grabs a checkerboard tablecloth from a nearby high-top. As I shift forms, Knox wraps it around me like a sheet. In this moment, I’ve never been happier for his quick reflexes.

Once I finish shifting, I pull the cloth more tightly around my shoulders. For the first time, I really scan the male weres around me. There are no females other than Joy, but that’s not surprising. Girl weres are really rare. In terms of the guy weres, it’s a mix of ages, but some of the younger guys seem familiar.

“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” I ask.

“We’re not Knox’s pack, if that’s what you’re asking,” says one guy. He’s got gorgeous shoulder-length blond hair. It’s really impressive, considering how I know for a fact that he can’t use product. Shifting and styling solutions don’t mix.

I shake my head. “That wasn’t what I was asking.” Next to the guy with the awesome hair, there’s a teenager with unruly dark locks and big ears. I scan him carefully. “You look familiar, too.”

He waves at me. “I’m Abe and I’m not pack, either.” He gestures to the guy beside him. “This here’s Hollywood. So you know, the only weres that Knox connects with are you and him. Not us. That sucks because Knox is a warden.” He kicks at the floor. “He’d be a great Alpha.”

“Abe,” growls Knox. “The warden thing is supposed to be secret.”

“Why?” asks Hollywood. “You’re the only massive black wolf with an Alpha aura that I can sense a mile away. And Bry here is clearly your mate.”

Knox pinches the bridge of his nose. “Even more personal stuff.”

“If you made us pack, then it wouldn’t matter.” The way Abe is talking, this is clearly a major disappointment in his life. A memory appears. Az wants Knox to lead the Northeast pack. I’m guessing these guys are some of those wolves.

Hollywood tosses his head, making his golden locks shimmer in the bar light. “We look familiar? We were some of the wolves who saved you from that zombie army.” He taps his chest. “We risked our lives. Now by rights, we should be pack.”

Knox shakes his head. “Az said you helped of your own free will. Bry and I owe you nothing.”

I look to Knox. “Maybe I should head back to the apartment and get dressed. It’s been a long day. And honestly, this is a super-awkward conversation, especially when you’re wrapped in a tablecloth.”

Abe gives me pleading looks. It’s as if it were a hot summer day and I was holding the last ice cream cone in the universe. “Don’t you think we should be pack?”

I clear my throat. Werewolf life rules are something I know zero about. “Well…I don’t know…”

Knox wraps his arm protectively around my shoulder. “You better get going. This is between me, Abe, and Hollywood.”

“If you say so.” It’s an effort not to make eye contact with Abe. He really knows how to work those give me some ice cream eyes.

“You’ve had a big day, Bry. You look exhausted.” Knox glances over to Alec and raises his voice. “You transport Bry and Elle, yeah?”

Alec nods. “Sure thing.”

Going up on tiptoes, I give Knox a quick peck goodbye. After that, I speed-walk over to Elle and Alec. Turns out, it’s really nerve-racking to walk around with nothing but a tablecloth to hide your nakedness.

Knox is still grumbling with Abe and Hollywood. I move to stand behind Elle, using her body as a shield.

“Did you see my butt at all?” I whisper.

“Nope, you’re fine.” Elle shoots me a thumbs-up. “And nice wolf control there, by the way.”

“She wanted out and I let her; that’s not really control yet.” Disappointment weighs onto my shoulders.

My inner wolf rouses from her half-sleep. “I still should have torn out her throat.”

“Noted,” I reply.

Across the bar, Knox and the two weres keep grumbling away at each other. I catch the words “Denarii” and “buzz off.” Knox is the gruff one, while Abe and Hollywood are still looking pleading and pathetic. In fact, they look so miserable, I’m tempted to walk across the room and ask Knox to rethink the whole pack thing. I mean, I have no idea what it means, but these two guys did try to save my life. Who cares if they want to be part of our group of friends?

I’m about to step back to Knox when Alec pulls a few gems from the pocket of his sport coat. “Let’s get you ladies home.”

For a second, I consider passing on returning to the apartment so I can chat with Knox, Abe, and Hollywood. But then I realize it’s very possible that my left ass cheek is hanging out in the breeze. Time to get out of here.

Gripping the stones in his hand, Alec closes his eyes. An electric sense of magic fills the air. Sometimes with warlock power, the energy vibrates through my body until it feels like my teeth are coming loose. Within seconds, tendrils of red cloud swirl around our feet, marking out the three of us for a spell. Waves of magic tingle across my skin. My stomach flutters, and that’s when I know the spell has started.

We’re being magically transported home.

When the smoke clears, Elle and I are back in our apartment. Alec reaches into his pocket once more. “If you don’t mind, I’ll transport back to Lucky’s. Knox has it all under control, but I’m still his wingman.”

I narrow my eyes at Alec. “You think there could be trouble with Abe and Hollywood? They seemed pretty harmless.”

“No trouble.” Alec chuckles. “I like watching Knox grump at someone else for a change.”

“Right.” I can’t help but smile as well. I forgot how Knox is basically Mister Grouchy to everyone else besides me. I’m the only one who gets to see his cuddly side, and I like it that way.

We say our goodbyes, and Alec casts yet another transport spell. Within seconds, he’s gone. The moment me and Elle are alone again, I reposition my tablecloth for the umpteenth time. A blob of ketchup and some kind of brown goo is now smeared across my right boob. That does it. This werewolf-wardrobe situation has officially gone too far.

I turn to Elle. “You know how we planned to go fae shopping next week?”

Elle eyes my nasty tablecloth-toga. The thing smells like old ketchup and fryer grease. “You wanted to get an unshreddable outfit.”

“Think we can go tomorrow?”

Elle grins from ear to ear. “Oh, yeah.” She notices some tooth puncture marks on my shoulder. They’re almost healed now, but there’s a slight redness still. I’ll get better at the healing thing the longer I’m a wolf. Until then, nothing looks like werewolf bite. Elle’s face slackens with shock. “Hey, what happened to you?”

“Knox may have driven me out to the woods and asked me to kill him with my wolf.”

Elle takes a half-step backward. “What?”

“My wolf had been getting out of control. It’s an animal thing. Knox needed to show her who was in charge and show me how to do it as well. I don’t have Alpha power, but there’s a ton of other magic in here.” I tap my chest. “Knox thinks I have more than enough to control her.”

“That’s great!” Elle beams. “I know it’s been bothering you how you can’t control your wolf. Has Knox’s advice helped?”

“My wolf has been borderline catatonic since the fight, so I don’t know yet.” I shift my weight from foot to foot. It’s good to know my wolf can be controlled by magic, but I still don’t know how to make it work.

“All the more reason to go to bed early and let me get things ready. Here’s the deal. Fairies don’t like weres. They don’t like warlocks. They really don’t even like other fairies. If we’re going to go shopping, you need to get a handle on your animal. That wolf pops out, and we’re kicked out of the store for good. And probably cursed. Oh, and murdered in some slow and painful way.” Elle winces. “Fairies. They are all things cruel and horrible in a cute package.”

“Say no more. I’m heading to bed.” I sniff the stinky tablecloth. “You know, after I shower.”

“Good plan.”

As I trudge off to the bathroom, I try to ignore the jittery feeling in my chest at the thought of fae shopping. Sure, fairies hate everyone, but all Elle and I need to do is get one unshreddable outfit. I’m sure my wolf can behave for a few hours.

Pretty sure.

Maybe sure.

I picture Queen Nyxa, the fairy who joined my last birthday party. She enjoyed enchanting mortals into dancing themselves to death. And that was when she was in a good mood. The thought sends a chill up my spine.

It takes an effort, but I’m able to shake thoughts of Nyxa from my mind.

Tomorrow will be fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Hopefully.