Catching Up with Family and an Old Friend

JAMES

One of the benefits of taking over the Red Moon Pack and spending so much time in Linton is that I’ll get to see more of my brother.

I’m meeting him for lunch at a small restaurant just off the university campus. He’s late, so I grab a table and order a drink while I wait for him to arrive.

I love my younger brother, and I know he has a good heart, but since our dad was killed, he’s changed. Though he was always easygoing and loved a good time, this feels different.

He’s taken to university life with gusto, treating it as one long party. It feels like he’s running away, and I can’t let him do that. He needs to face what happened and accept his responsibilities.

I’m going to make sure he does exactly that while I’m here.

David finally walks in, twenty minutes late, and asks, “What happened to your shirt?”

“It was an accident. I ran into a she-wolf.”

“Really?” He grins. “Anyone I should know about? It’s unlike you to get so close to a woman that you let her rip your clothes off.”

“Don’t exaggerate. It’s a simple tear. Anyway, it wasn’t on purpose. I accidentally slammed into her, and she lost her balance.”

His grin widens. He’s enjoying my discomfort. “Was this she-wolf good-looking?”

I pause. All I can think is, ~Yes. She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.~

Out loud, I say, “She was a rogue. You know better than to think I would get involved with a rogue.”

He stops smiling. “Of course. I know you wouldn’t.”

Who was that girl and why did she affect me like that? It was like she was my mate, but that would be impossible. She’s a rogue. I can’t be mated to a rogue. The moon goddess wouldn’t be so cruel.

It must be a mistake. I was only in her company for a few minutes.

I need to forget about her.

In my head, my wolf snarls. He’s normally silent, under control, and content to stay at the back of my mind, but not today.

Not since we met her.

~Her~. I don’t even know the she-wolf’s name.

I have the takeover of the Red Moon Pack to concentrate on, though, so I push her to the back of my mind.

Rogues have been increasing their attacks on my pack, and the Savage Wolves are circling, looking for any sign of weakness.

I change the subject. “Are you ready to order? I only have forty minutes before I need to get back to the pack.”

“An alpha’s work is never done.”

“It isn’t,” I agree. “The alpha of the Red Moon Pack has finally agreed to my takeover. He knows that without my warriors to protect them they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Savage Wolves.”

My taking over the pack will hold the Savage Wolves back for a while, but it doesn’t guarantee that I can stop them. And having all these rogues running around the town just gives him an in.

How many of them would jump at the chance to help him take down the packs? They’re not to be trusted.

“When do you officially take over the pack?” David asks.

“Today. Chris is finalizing the details. The old alpha will be leaving today.”

“Congratulations!” David pulls me into a hug. “I can’t wait to tell the guys. I’ll give you whatever help and support you need, brother.”

“Good, because I plan to take a more active role with the town and the university, and we need to be in a position to identify and neutralize any threats. Your knowledge of this place will be useful.”

My younger brother may be more interested in partying than helping me run the pack, but he’s always loyal.

“By the way, you should know that Karen is fixating on you,” David says. “She’s been asking me lots of questions about you and is angling for an invite to the pack house.”

He rolls his eyes and adds, “She spent most of last semester trying to convince me that she was ~my~ mate. I made sure she knew that I had no interest in her, but she seems to have moved on to you.”

I hadn’t realized Karen was interested in David. She’s my gamma’s daughter, and it wouldn’t be a bad match. David could certainly do worse. “Why weren’t you interested in her?” I ask.

“Because she is shallow and selfish, and the only person she is capable of loving is herself. I could never be with someone like that. Anyway, her new target is you.”

“I’m not in the market for a gold-digging she-wolf,” I tell him.

Not when I have only one she-wolf on my mind.

ALLIE

That evening, Jason takes me to a bar just off campus, down a side street well off the main drag.

A small sign outside advertises that food and drink are served here, but it’s so unobtrusive that if you didn’t already know there was a bar here you would miss it.

Inside, tables and chairs are scattered around the room in a haphazard manner. The bar runs along the right-hand wall, and a small stage takes up the far end of the room.

“Jason, good to see you,” a voice calls from the bar.

“Hi Archie, how are you doing? This is the friend I told you about.”

Archie peers at me. “Another of your wolves?”

“She is.”

He’s human, and I hope my being a wolf isn’t going to be a problem, but I don’t think Jason would have brought me here if the owner was prejudiced against werewolves.

I’m mostly surprised he knows we exist.

“Well, she’s a looker,” Archie says approvingly. “The regulars would like her. Does she know her way around a bar?”

“Yes. I worked in a bar for four months during the summer. I can pull pints and make cocktails,” I say quickly.

“You sound perfect. I need someone who can work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from six p.m. to one in the morning. Pay is minimum wage. Will that be a problem?”

“No, that sounds great.”

“Arrive here at five next Thursday and I’ll show you around before we open.”

“Great, thanks,” I say gratefully, relieved that I’ve found a job so quickly.

As we start to walk out of the bar, I notice Callum at a table in the far corner. He’s with another wolf, but Callum isn’t focusing his attention on him.

He’s looking at me. His electric-blue eyes stare straight at me, never leaving my face. My cheeks heat up, and I can’t pull my gaze away.

“Just give me a minute,” I tell Jason. “I want to say hi to someone I know.”

“Okay.” He looks at Callum. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

I smile gratefully at him. I don’t know what is between me and Callum, but I feel an urge to speak to him again. I walk toward him. When I reach his table, his companion stops talking.

“I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you at the bus station,” I begin. “You left so quickly.” I don’t mean it to sound like an accusation, but it does.

“I’m not great at goodbyes, and I had somewhere to be,” Callum replies.

It’s not a convincing explanation, and he doesn’t sound apologetic for running out on me. Maybe this was a mistake; he obviously doesn’t care. I shouldn’t have stopped to speak to him.

I turn to leave, but he grabs my arm.

“Allie. It isn’t that I don’t want to spend time with you, but I’m in Linton for a reason, an important one, and I can’t afford any distractions.”

“Distractions! Nice to know that’s how you think of me. I don’t want to waste any more of your valuable time.”

I pull my arm away. He begins to rise to his feet, but his companion pulls him back.

For the first time, I look properly at the wolf Callum is sitting with. He has long, straggly dark brown hair and a scar runs down the side of his face.

His thin lips curl into a sneer as he looks at me. “Now is not the time to be getting involved with random she-wolves,” he tells Callum. “Forget about her and concentrate on what’s important.”

Callum sits and turns away from me. I move, suddenly desperate to leave the bar. Callum isn’t worth it, and I don’t want to spend any more time in the company of his scary friend.

When I get outside, Jason is patiently waiting for me.

“All right?” He looks concerned. He must be able to sense my discomfort.

“Fine. He was just someone I met on the bus journey here. I wanted to say hi and check if he was okay, but I won’t be seeing him again.”

“Probably for the best. I don’t know the guy you were talking to, but the wolf he was sitting with is trouble. I would steer clear of them if I were you.”

I nod, although his comment has sparked my curiosity. “Is he a student?”

“No, he lives on the periphery of the town. He gets involved in all sorts of shady shit. If your friend is spending time with him, it can’t be for anything good.”

“Okay. Sounds like I have had a narrow escape.”

But even hearing his warning, and knowing deep down that Jason’s right to suggest I stay away from Callum, I’m not sure I will.