Conquer Me (Sawtooth Shifters, #4) (2 page)

I didn’t really give a shit. Let the human bitch have him. Her senses should be dull enough that she’d have no idea what she was missing.

But he’d chosen a
human
over
me
.

It was the ultimate kick in the gut. And the worst part of the whole thing was everyone in the forest knew it.

Wolves were supposed to mate for love, not money. No pairing had ever divorced. No need to.

No man was fool enough to lay a finger on Walter Ryker’s wife, just because I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. My husband got his malicious reputation from his father. Any wolf or human in Sawtooth Forest equated the infamous Ryker hostility with a death sentence.

He wouldn’t show me any mercy, either. He never had. Other men realized how lucky they were to actually have a wife with so few women in Sawtooth Forest, but not my Walter. He thought
I
was the lucky one.

“You have the memorial tonight,” Connie reminded me, words timed perfectly to twist the knife already sticking into my ribs.

Walter’s father had finally met his match. One of the working class wolves I grew up with, Shadow Channing, managed to kill the bastard. We should’ve been having a party, not a wake.

I’d thought Shadow was dead. There’d been a huge fire at his house and his whole family had been unaccounted for, until they returned to Granger Falls. I hoped this was the beginning of a new era in the forest, but I knew better than to get my hopes up.

“Like hell I’m going.” I put the helicopter back on the top of the bookshelf. Out of sight, out of mind. “I’m glad he’s dead.”

Connie’s mouth dropped. “You don’t mean that.” 

The only part I was sorry about was that I didn’t do it myself. She grabbed my arm before I left the room, gripping tighter when I tried to get away. “You’re going. You’ll be a good wife, pay your respects to your father-in-law, and convince everyone you’re grateful that a man like Walter married wolf trash like you.”

**

“C
assie! I haven’t seen you in forever! I miss you so much.” My best friend, Renee, hugged me in the receiving line. I was so happy to see her, this memorial was torture. I melted against her body, trying to fight back tears for the second time today, as she rocked me back and forth. She peeled back, considering the line. “Can you get out for a couple minutes? You look like you could use some air.”

I nodded, then squeezed Walter’s hand. “I’ll be right back, honey.” The last word tasted like cyanide. He narrowed his eyes at me, stopping just short of a glare. I’d never ask his permission. Let his
human
say please and thank you.

“I love your dress,” Renee said as we stepped outside. I didn’t go as far as to wear red to the service, but I did pick a black dress with bright red flowers. It hugged every curve. I had long legs, a narrow waist, wide hips, and great tits. Walter was losing his mind watching every one of his associates’ eyes roam all over my body. It was the best sex I’d had in a while. Walter couldn’t take that away from me.

“Thanks.” I could see my breath in the night air. It was perfect, I needed to clear my head. Stuck in a room with Walter’s friends and family made me feel like I was trapped under ice. All the she-wolves, happily submitting to their husbands. Who was I to judge? Maybe they actually were happy. The possibility made my heart ache even more. I’d never know, because most of them avoided me. “You look great, too. You’re so tan. Going to the electric beach again?”

“No! But I love it so I might keep it up. Mike surprised me with a cruise for our anniversary! The Mediterranean. Cass, it was amazing. The food, the wine, the views. Paradise. And the sex. You’d think we were on our honeymoon. He got me this, too.” She picked the diamond solitaire pendant up from her chest. “He wanted to upgrade the diamond in my wedding ring, but I’ve grown attached to the thing. I don’t care how small it is. But he insisted on getting me something.” Renee was beaming, the streetlight above us reflecting the clarity in her diamond and her love for her husband. Once she’d been in the same boat I was, in love with a wolf she could never have. She devoted herself to Mike, never looking back, in a way I never could with Walter. Mike worshipped the ground she walked on; maybe that could’ve changed my mind, too. “How are you?” she asked.

Renee pursed her lips together, knowing damn well how I was doing. It had nothing to do with my father-in-law. Everyone in Sawtooth knew Walter fucked around on me, but somehow they thought I didn’t. It was even crueler, like a joke everyone stopped laughing at when I walked in the room.

“Hanging in there.” I forced a smile. Renee knew I wasn’t stupid. How could I be, when he came home reeking of eau de slut with lipstick on his pants. “I keep picturing Walter in that casket. It’s a good look on him.”

“Right? I always thought gray was his color.” Renee laughed, then looked around, motioning for me to follow her. We took a couple steps around the building; she peered back to make sure we were alone. “I saw Major the other day.” She took a deep breath. “He asked about you.”

I couldn’t breathe. “Where? He’s back? What did he say?”

“Yeah. At the bakery, getting coffee. He didn’t say where he’d been, but he said that he was back to work. He looks good, Cass. Real good.” She nodded at my shock. “He wanted to know how you were, but he was all shy about asking. It was cute.”

“Major’s never cute.” Those tears were coming again, for a completely different reason.

“No. Major’s pure fucking sex.” Renee hummed like she’d just had a bite of chocolate. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sorry.”

“No, you should have.” I headed back to the funeral home. “I’m glad he’s back.”

This was exactly the kind of trouble I didn’t need right now.

M
ajor

“The band is paid for, we’ve got a dozen dancers. Some of them do more than just dance, of course.” X wiggled his eyebrows, light jumping in his eyes. “I’m so stoked about this party. We need this so bad, after all the shit we went through. It has to be totally fucking epic. What are we missing?”

“Strippers, band, booze, women, what else could we ask for?” Shea tapped his chin, narrowing his eyes at me. “How about even a drop of enthusiasm from our fucking brother? Come on man, quit moping. These parties are your claim to fame around here. It’s going to be lame if you don’t snap out of whatever funk you’re in.”

“I’m into it,” I lied. I couldn’t give a shit about this party. “You two can handle this. The shop’s a mess. We need to make some money to pay for your dancers, Shea.”

Shea laughed. “Dude, I should show you my phone. They can’t wait to see me. I’m saving you so much money. You’re welcome.” He clapped my shoulder. “I’d let you read the messages, but you’d bust a nut.” 

“It might be good for him.” X grinned. “Screw that, show me.”

I’d started the parties about ten or so years ago as a way to help my pack buddies get laid. We’d get our asses kicked if we even thought about touching a she-wolf. The trick was not to get caught doing it. Easier said than done. I showed my brothers all my tricks, but a couple guys, either dumb or unlucky, got caught with girls promised to those rich dickheads. Their punishment was ugly, almost enough to scare me away. None of us had ever taken a she-wolf to bed. It was torture, but we did it out of respect to the women. We didn’t think they were whores like their future husbands did.

Six months in captivity made me think long and hard about that, being tortured, in many ways, over a woman I’d never had in my bed.

But I would.

Cass had loved to dabble on the dark side, get her hands dirty with me. But she wouldn’t stand up to the system. I could make noise all I wanted, but unless I had a she-wolf by my side, it meant absolutely nothing. 

After all those years of sneaking around, shame, and no satisfaction, the guys in the packs had no idea what to do with a human women. Nothing that a little alcohol and the pull of the moon couldn’t fix. I’d meant to throw the parties once or twice, to get the ball rolling. They quickly became legend in Idaho, and after a couple months we had to sell advanced tickets. I made sure there were always more women than men. Give the pack guys the advantage for once, let women fight over
them
. Every month, we could’ve filled two clubs. If I was doing it for the money, I’d be rich now. Still wouldn’t get me Cass, or any wolf. The only females that were available now were still in diapers.

Fuck that.

“Don’t tell me this is about Cass.” X frowned, clicking out of the website that had the hired dancers’ pictures on them. I recognized a few, and X would bring at least one of them to bed next weekend. “I saw you talking to Renee the other day. Your face lit up like the Fourth of fucking July when she mentioned Cass. I don’t know what bullshit she’s feeding you, but you need to forget it.”

“Renee said Cass was doing great.” The words came from between gritted teeth. It was bullshit. Darkness flashed over her face when I’d asked about her best friend. Walter, Cass’ husband, had been behind us in the line, buying a coffee for the human woman he paraded around town. Renee always loved stirring up drama, and I wouldn’t waste an opportunity to let Walter know that his father died with debts unpaid.

“Well, if it’s about Kiera, you can fix that yourself.” X had an answer for everything. “We all know Baron hates to fight.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” 

“Last party before we got captured. Come on, you weren’t that drunk. You had a girl on your lap—I thought the two of you were going to go at it right on the bar.” Wouldn’t be the first time that happened at a Full Moon Fever party. “She stood out because she had short hair, and she wasn’t dressed like...you know how they dress at those things. It took me a while to figure out
that
was Kiera. It’s got be killing you to see her with a Channing.”

I remembered Kiera, all right. There was a fire inside her like I’d never seen before. Instead of offering to crawl under the table and suck my dick like most of the party girls, Kiera guaranteed she could drink me under the table. She almost succeeded. We shared one hot kiss, and I’d been about to ask her to come back to my place when she freaked out. Slapped me across the face out of nowhere, and her friend dragged her out of the bar. What the fuck. Never thought I’d see her again, until she led me out of a dog fighting ring. “No. If I’m going to fight for a woman, she’s going to be a wolf.”

**

G
ranger Falls had been suffering from a case of Full Moon Fever only the Lowes could cure. The crowd, spilling out onto the deck on a snowy December night, cheered when my brothers and I arrived at The Redheaded Stepchild. A swarm of half-naked women immediately surrounded Shea, their hands everywhere on his body. He nudged X, and one of his admirers who had a thing for both brothers wrapped him in a promising hug. 

I turned back to the bar, high fiving Jacques, the owner. “Good to have you back, man,” he said, sliding my beer over to me. “I forgot how crazy these things get.”

I was proud of these parties. People out here were humble and hardworking. Wolf or not, they needed to let loose. Girls twisted above our heads on poles in unison, and the band tore through their set. My brothers disappeared fast, most likely back to the VIP area we called Red Heaven.

“Hey, Major,” a blonde woman purred. Her perky tits threatened to spill out of her corset. “I missed you.”

“Tell me all about it.” I leaned on my stool, back to the bar, and she took my response as invitation to straddle my lap. I had no idea who this chick was, but it wouldn’t stop me from enjoying the ride.

“I was so lonely.” She pushed out her cleavage, tracing the swell with her fingers. She pouted when I didn’t move, fluttering her eyelashes in invitation. “Without these parties, I had to take care of my own fever, if you know what I mean.” Her hand dropped to mine, pulling it from my leg and placing it on her crotch.

She was hot, all right, writhing in my lap under my hand. “How’d you do that?” I asked.

She pushed her cleavage so close to my face my beard tickled her skin. Her hair fell down around me and whispered in my ear. “I pretended you took me to Red Heaven and fucked me until I had to crawl out of there on my hands and knees, with your cum running between my legs. Can’t you feel how wet I am for you, Major? Stop wasting time and make my dream come true.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” A voice I hadn’t heard in years startled me. I sat up straight and practically pushed the blonde off my lap. The woman standing beside us was
my
dream come true. Cass didn’t hide her amusement. “Never come on to a man like that. Make him chase you. They’re all animals, you know. That’s what they love, the hunt. Claiming what’s theirs.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “You didn’t tell me you were married, Major.” She stormed off.

“Come here,” I said, holding my arms open. Fuck, was Cass a sight for sore eyes. Red dress hugging every luscious curve, topaz eyes framed by pin-up girl lashes, her dark hair falling above her cleavage. Just a hint, not the whole show like my blonde friend had been willing to give. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, dying to rip that pretty dress off her.

“My eyes are up here,” she laughed.

“I know.” I winked at her. “But I liked what I saw down there. Now get over here.”

“Like hell I’m going climb in your lap and ride you like a pony.” Cass laughed as she pressed against me. “You’d be the one crawling out of Red Heaven on your hands and knees. If we made it that far.”

My cock sprang to attention. “Promises, promises.” Her lips were so close, I wanted to suck the lipstick off of them. Smear it all over her face and smash the façade she was trying to put up. If she knew how good things could be, she’d never go home to her husband. Or she would and I’d have to live with knowing what I could never have. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Cass’ mouth fell open. “I thought you’d be glad to see me.”

“You have no idea,” I whispered in her ear, running my lips over her throat. “But this is no place for a lady.”