Page 23 of Her Wolf's Demands
When I’d visited as a teenager, one of the boys was showing off, claiming that he knew how to get into the great hall when no one was there. I still had him on my Facebook. It would be a ridiculously long shot, but if he still had that information, maybe he could be persuaded to part with it.
“I think there might be a very slight chance we can rescue Bohdi.”
Rolling his eyes, Malone clenched his hands into fists. “I never imagined myself going on a rescue mission to get a cat. Of all pets, why did you have to choose a cat?”
“He’s not a pet,” I spat, offended at his insult. “He’s my familiar, my family.”
Dismissing me with a wave, he watched as I dug out my phone and opened Facebook. A footstep sounded nearby, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Until the scent hit me.
“Hello, Manual.” Malone greeted his friend when he appeared through the trees.
I had smelt the wolf two seconds before he’d shown himself. The knowledge that my senses were enhancing gave me reassurance. Followed by a pang of regret. I was enjoying being a part of the pack more and more. Would it be possible to stay with Malone and keep Drake close too? Or would I have to give one of them up?
“What are you doing skulking around out here?” Manual asked, raising his eyebrows when I held up my phone.
“Trying to find an old acquaintance on Facebook.” Frowning at the screen, I bit my lip. “I so rarely go on here, I’ve forgotten how to do anything.”
Wiggling his fingers at me, Manual indicated that I give him the phone. “I’m a genius,” he quipped, “I bet I’ll find them in three minutes’ tops.”
I glanced at Malone, my own eyebrows raising as the alpha nodded his agreement, trusting that Manual was true to his word.
Gingerly extending my arm, I gave my phone to the werewolf, who flicked his floppy mousy hair out of his crystal blue eyes and winked. “The name?”
“Fredrick…” Shit, what was his second name?
Manual held up one hand while he typed on my phone with the other. “Second name?”
“It’s, um…”
“Patcham?”
“Yes, that’s it. How did you know?”
Flashing me a grin, he held up the phone, showing me the screen. “Is that him?”
Bloody hell, he had found my old friend already. Not that he was a friend anymore. Not since he had bullied me in the great hall, embarrassing me in front of everyone.
The image of his face gave me goosebumps. “That’s him.”
“Can I do anything else?”
I’d been staring at the picture, unable to look away. The boy had grown into a man with a full dark beard and brushed back shoulder length hair. We had met at the library when my father dumped us there on a Saturday morning. We hadn’t spoken often, but when we did, we’d had fun. He was a joker, one who could make my stomach hurt with laughing.
“You’re looking rather nostalgic,” Malone mumbled. “Are you sure he’s just an old acquaintance?”
Lifting my head, I tried not to smile at his narrowed gaze and slightly pink cheeks. Was Malone jealous of the man in the picture?
He was waiting for an answer, his hands still clenched into tight fists. Would he punch something if he believed that I’d been in love with Fredrick? Surely not.
“I did have a little something for him,” I teased, stroking the face on the screen.
A roar exploded from Malone’s mouth, echoing around the trees, and wiping the smile from my face.
Spinning away from us, he thumped his fist straight into a tree trunk, cracking the bark and swearing loudly.
“You should never goad a mated wolf,” Manual said, his lips twitching.
My own beast paced in my mind, whining at Malone’s distress as the alpha turned back to us, his jaw tight and his shoulders square. “Is he your ex?”