Page 3 of Reformed Wolf
Unease skittered up my spine, my stomach tightening. “Vesta?” I called, clasping her hand and leaning forward to shake her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
She gasped then sat back heavily in her chair, the wood creaking as the chair set to rocking. “Right. Off you go then,” she said after a moment, as if nothing happened.
I frowned, unsettled. “Oh… are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again as I rose and set my cup back on the table, still half full.
She scoffed, seemingly insulted. “When have I been anything other than okay?”
“Do you need me to chop any wood before I go?” I asked, reluctant to leave her here alone. I’d never seen her like that before.
“No, no, dear, it’s fine. The weather is about to get warm.” I trusted her weather reports more than any meteorologist. “Just pass me that box of cinnamon buns, would you?”
After drawing out my farewell for as long as could, she thoroughly kicked me out. “Would you go already? I told you, you’ve got someplace else to be. And if that Alpha of yours has an issue with it, tell him to come see me.” She was back to her normal sassy self by the time I walked out the door. Whatever that was had passed. Was that what it was like, being connected to a world beyond our own? It seemed like she’d had one foot in this world, the other somewhere else.
I gave my wolf his fur to run back to camp all the faster, and we made good time. Half an hour later, I was throwing my bag in the back of the truck when Shan found me again. There was always so damn much that needed to be done, and I probably should’ve felt guilty for ditching my responsibilities as Beta, but… Nope! Not a single bit of guilt. I’d earned this time off.
I held my hand up to cut off whatever task Shan had been about to assign me. “Sorry, boss, I’m going to Fairhome. Vesta’s orders.” I shrugged like it was entirely out of my hands. Oh, shucks. “Jude too,” I tacked on at the last minute like a beautiful epiphany.
Jude’s head snapped up from the sawhorse he was leaning over, cutting a corner off a plank. “What?!” he sputtered. “Fuck off.”
“Fuck,” a little voice said, and we all looked down at Mal, with his cherubic cheeks and dark unruly curls. Where did he come from?
“Shit,” Shan swore, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Now you definitely have to go, Jude, or Brody will have your hide.”
“Shit!” Mal repeated. I had to smother my laugh behind my hand.
With perfect timing, I saw a harried-looking Brody step out of their cabin, his eyes zeroing straight in on his son. “There you are, you little Houdini.”
Mal waved at our Alpha Omega. “Shit, Daddy! Shit, ass, fuck!” He sounded so proud of his new words.
Even from this distance I could see the fire ignite in Brody’s glare. “Time to go,” I said, hopping in the truck, Jude running around to the passenger side.
Shan groaned and turned pleading eyes to me. “Take me with you.”
I laughed gleefully, getting way too much enjoyment from my Alpha’s misfortune now that I was on my way to the city to let loose. “No deal! You’re gonna have to face the music sooner or later. Best to get it over with quick, then you can move on to the apologizing. That’s the fun part.” I threw him a wink before turning the key and throwing the truck into gear.
As we bounced and bumped along the narrow track toward the highway, the smile on my mouth felt more real than anything I’d slapped on in weeks. I was going to find myself some sweet, willing bed partner and bury myself straight in.
Relief, here I come!
Chapter 2
Dylan
This was it. The beginning of the end. By Monday, I would be mated.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I decided I didn’t look any different. Dark hair kept short, slicked back. Dark amber eyes fringed by long lashes. My skin was flawless, my white teeth straight, full lips just slightly pouty. I was what alphas loved to call pretty, trim with narrow hips, toned but not bulky, tall but not towering.
I was still the same me as I was yesterday, last week, last year. I certainly didn’t look like a man standing on a precipice. Everything was about to change, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
A knock sounded on the door to my suite, and my muscles tensed reflexively. “Enter,” I said.
The door opened, and I glanced into the mirror past my reflection to see my dad’s man, Edgar, enter. “Your father wants to see you.”
I was being summoned. And you didn’t turn down a summons from Joseph Caruso, not if you knew what was good for you.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” I said flippantly, focusing back to my reflection as I smoothed a hand down the front of my designer suit, all black, fingering the knot of my silk tie.
“I’ll wait,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Meaning he wouldn’t risk giving me a chance to slip away. My father was not a forgiving man, and Edgar had been given a direct order to fetch me. He would follow that order to the letter.