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The mugger glanced at his phone’s screen then took off like a shot...leaving me frozen in place with no way to break free. Well, isn’t this delightful?
I could see it now. After doing my best to keep my nose clean, I—rather than the males who seemed to be ignoring shifter laws right and left—would be the one tossed out of the city on my ear. Or worse.
After all, human travelers would flood the station as soon as the next train arrived. I’d remain locked in place as travelers dashed from train to stairs. Most probably wouldn’t even notice the oddity, but I was sure at least a few would question me, prod at my unyielding form, and try to figure out what was going on.
Then a good Samaritan would call the police. I’d likely be carted off to a human hospital, might be tested and analyzed by doctors who would find my blood work highly irregular...and highly intriguing at the same time.
At which point, the carefully nurtured secrecy protecting shifter society would really fall into disarray.
I didn’t expect any amount of effort to speed up the unfreezing process. But, to my surprise, pins and needles of returning sensation prickled into my fingertips while I was still pondering the implications of my current dilemma. And by the time the last echo of retreating shifter steps rang out from the stairs behind my back, I was up and moving in the attacker’s wake.
Immediately, my feet took two lunging steps forward, my lupine half itching to track down the bastard and give him a taste of his own medicine...then to figure out why in the world this city of ordinary shifters had attracted so many would-be rapists to its streets. But instead, I found myself sinking down onto my butt, never mind the nastiness that threatened to rub off the well-traveled concrete and onto my best pair of slacks. I didn’t exactly descend into a sobbing heap of girlie goo. Still, I’ll admit that a single tear streaked down the curve of my cheek and I allowed my attacker to make tracks with no attempt to chase him back down.
This isn’t what my first adventure was supposed to turn into, I screamed silently inside my own head. The excitement of the journey shouldn’t have descended into a jumble of ruined pastries, a missing brother who stood me up at every turn, and a pack of shifters who acted more like wolves than like men. I wasn’t supposed to feel like such a failure seated amid a heap of fallen dreams.
Pulling out my phone, I stared at the smiling faces beaming back at me out of my digital address book. Despite the sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, the array proved that I was never truly alone. Not when dozens of cousins and uncles and aunts would drop anything to come to my rescue...then never speak of the lapse again.
I couldn’t contact any of them, though. Not when a mere breath of my predicament would send my father on a rampage, initiating an inter-pack battle that would tear our already splintered society apart. No, it was my turn to protect the pack...and that meant keeping my own counsel.
As if I’d called his presence into being, a new notification popped up on my display, halting my scroll through dozens of familiar faces. Dad, the caller ID read, and I smiled around the pain tightening my throat.
Predictably, Wolfie had sensed my moment of terror down the pack bond and had immediately picked up his phone to check in. It warmed my heart to possess a parent so perspicacious...but it also put me in a bit of a pickle.
Because I knew I couldn’t leave Wolfie hanging. But I also didn’t trust my equilibrium sufficiently to speak aloud when my father was bound to hear the tremble in my voice.
So when Wolfie followed up on his failed phone call with a short text—“Are you alright?”—I just tapped out a quick reply in the affirmative before powering the device down.
I wasn’t dodging his calls. I was merely late to my meeting with the Greenbriar alpha. It was time to endear myself to the local pack.
***
CHIEF GREENBRIAR WAS surprisingly cordial when I showed up without either his son or a hostess gift...and fifteen minutes late to boot. The alpha’s spouse, on the other hand, took an instant dislike to me that chilled the room by approximately twenty degrees in an instant.
“You have a little something right here,” Andrea Greenbriar murmured, pointing to the spot above her left eyebrow. And even though she hadn’t meant to draw my attention to her own blemish, I caught sight of a healing laceration that was still visible on the other woman’s brow despite having been carefully caked over with concealer.
So Andrea was the female hunter whose toes I’d stepped on the night before. Not a good first impression...especially considering the fact that her mate intended to bring me into the family as their one and only daughter-in-law.
Of course, Aaron and I had formed an understanding to the contrary. Still, I immediately lifted my hand to pat at the offending area on my own head...and winced when my index finger came away streaked with frosting. Speaking of bad first impressions, turning up at a formal event dressed like a sugar-smeared baker definitely wasn’t the introduction I’d meant to embrace.
My muscles tensed as the fight-or-flight reaction kicked in, and in response the faintest hint of a smirk curled Andrea’s lips. She was mocking me...which was just the wrong approach to take if the female really did want to chase me out of her clan home.
Up until that point, my wolf had been resting inside our shared belly. But at the first sign of opposition, she woke, straightening my spine and moving my finger to pop one frosting-smeared digit into our human mouth. Rolling our tongue from side to side, we made a show of savoring the sugary concoction. “Mmm, delicious,” I offered...then blanched as I realized I’d mimicked my own mugger’s unfortunate terminology.
This time around, Chief Greenbriar was the one who picked up on my internal angst. “Is everything alright?” the older male asked, drawing me out of the crowd with one hand at the small of my back. And despite his ogling leer the first time we’d met in human form, the similarity of this alpha’s words to those of my own father tempted me to open up. I’m listening, his stance told me. Trust me, added his inner wolf.
But I didn’t fully understand the undercurrents currently flowing through this pack. So, instead of succumbing to the urge to over-share, I merely shook my head and offered: “Long day, no sign of my brother.”
Then, since the pack leader and I had ended up in a secluded alcove where no one else would likely overhear our conversation, I took advantage of the moment to press my own case. “But I wanted to talk to you about something. Is now a good time...?”
“Of course,” the alpha answered cordially, flagging down a passing waiter then pressing a tall flute of something alcoholic into my hand. “And I’ll bet you’ll feel better after a drink.”
I wouldn’t feel better post-imbibing, and I would need my wits about me when playing games with tricky werewolves. Still, I sipped obediently, the bubbles of a quality champagne tickling the inside of my nose. I barely managed to stifle a snort in reaction, proving that my sensitive palate was limited to baked goods alone.
Except my lack of sophistication was beside the point. Forgetting the champagne, I proceeded to launch into my own song and dance. “Something happened on my first night here, before I met you,” I told the pack leader, going on to explain the bare bones of Harmony’s near-rape combined with the scent of werewolf I’d found lingering around her apartment complex the very next day.
“Could you tell who the offender was?” Chief Greenbriar asked, his tone attentive yet calm. I wouldn’t have dared tell a story like this to Wolfie without my mother in the room because Dad had been known to shift into lupine form the instant his protective instincts were aroused. Was my host’s polished poise a sign that Chief Greenbriar possessed more control over his emotions than my hot-blooded father? I hoped so. Still, instinct told me to be vague, and I paid heed.
“It was dark and I was exhausted,” I said by way of reply, telling the truth but not the whole truth and hoping my companion would spin the intended misunderstanding within his own head. “I know it’s tough to do anything without being able to pin down who’s at fault, but I was hoping you could still find a way to protect the human female? She has a pup and doesn’t deserve to be harassed by dangers she can’t possibly understand....”
“Of course. Consider it done.” Chief Greenbriar’s hand landed on my shoulder, the weight meant to be comforting but instead reminding me far too tangibly of my own near-rapist’s touch. Only an effort of will locked me in place when both human and lupine halves of my character itched to wriggle free.
“Now tell me about my son,” the pack leader continued. “And why he couldn’t come out with you tonight.”
This time, I didn’t have to lie. “I have no idea what Aaron’s up to,” I answered, shrugging. “But he was polite when he dropped by to say he had to bail. I hope you won’t hold it against him.” Or me, I added silently.
Chief Greenbriar wanted to, I could tell. But even though he’d ordered my attendance at dinner tonight, he’d forgotten to require me to attend with his son in tow. And here I was, sipping champagne I clearly hated while appearing just as out of place as a baker tends to be at your average white-tie affair.
In the end, the city’s alpha opted for fairness. “Tomorrow night, Aaron will be present,” the older male promised.
Then a shifter hailed my companion from across the room and I was left alone in my corner of the busy party. Sticking the mostly full glass of champagne behind a planter, I slipped out the side door and hoofed it back to the empty subway station.
My duty was done. Now I could finally finish this seemingly endless day.