Mating the Red Wolf: (Book 10, Grey Wolf Pack Romance Novellas) (6 page)

“Are you alright, Marie?” called Kim as she maneuvered Jamie into their room and told her to play quietly.

The elderly woman she-wolf looked up in a daze and blinked at Kim owlishly.  Kim was a little taken aback; Marie looked so small and frail at that moment.  She knew the older woman must be somewhere in her 80’s, but compared to the sharp, ramrod straight woman she met yesterday, she was more like a shadow.

The whole point of coming to the island was to celebrate Marie’s birthday, but Ed had no idea how old his grandmother would be.  The year of her birth was apparently a closely guarded secret that she would take to her grave.  Ed had also stipulated that his grandmother detested receiving presents and above all would not have a birthday cake. 
God help anyone who tried to sing at her
.  Kim had sarcastically thought that it sounded like one hell of a party, but she was getting a free holiday. 
So, who was she to complain?

“Who is that?” asked Marie, in a mixture of fear and suspicion.

Kim took a step toward her and was surprised when the older woman bared her teeth, and a small growl escaped her. 

Kim’s own wolf started to sit up and take notice, but Kim soothed her; the red she-wolf was just disorientated, she wasn’t threatening them.  Kim held up her hands.  “It’s Kim.”

Marie looked at her in puzzlement.  “Kim?”  She furrowed her brow for a few moments, before a look of realization passed over her face.  “Oh, of course, Kim.  Forgive me… I’m…I must be a little tired.”

Kim approached her carefully.  “Do you need me to do anything?”

“I think I’d like to lie down.”

Kim held out her arm but almost darted up the wall when Harold Jr. snapped at her.  “What are you doing?”

He rushed forward and took hold of his grandmother. 
Yeesh, anyone would think that Kim was trying to steal his favorite toy.
  “I was just trying to help.”

“I’m perfectly capable of helping my grandmother, thank you,” he replied stiffly.

As muddled as Marie was at that moment, she still managed to give an exaggerated eye roll as Harold led her away.

Kim sighed.  Harold Jr. did not like her.  That was pretty darn obvious.  Why – she had no idea, and nor did she really care, but for Ed’s sake she would put up with it.  She would go through just about anything to be with Ed. 
Hot coals, broken glass – bring it on.

She'd felt a connection to him the moment she saw him, and on their first date, she knew she wanted to be with him forever.

*

21
st
September

Kim grunted.

“Breathe in, honey.”

“I am; if I breathe in anymore, I might just inhale all the furniture in the room.”

Kim tensed as her mom finally pulled up the zipper. “Yes!” exclaimed Angela in triumph.  “You can relax; you’re in.”

Kim stood up straight and let out a testing breath.  Okay, it wasn’t too bad.  As long as she took shallow breaths and didn’t eat anything she’d be fine.  Although, her breasts seemed to be trying to make a break for it – they were pushing the fabric of the dress to breaking point. 
Ed would probably like that.

“You look beautiful,” gushed Angela as she led Kim over to the chair and started pinning back her hair.

“Thanks Mom,” said Kim smiling nervously.

It was her first date in, oh, about six years, and she was just a tad anxious.  Since meeting Ed, he had been a regular visitor to Bar Luna.  They had flirted, talked, made out and then talked some more.  Kim was pleased that Ed hadn’t tried to push her too fast too quickly.  It annoyed the heck out of her wolf who was all for ravishing the young red wolf on the spot, but Kim was relieved.  She didn’t need some pushy asshole; she’d dated plenty of them over the years and ended up married to one.  She hated the 'me wolf, you wolf, we mate,' caveman bullshit.  She wanted someone who would actually take things a little more slowly, and get to know her. 
And she’d found him.

And tonight was the night they would go on their first date.  She felt as nervous as a 16-year-old who'd just been asked out by her high school crush.

She’d pulled her date clothes out of retirement, and settled on her favorite - her little black dress.  Or rather, her sexy, men fall at my feet, dress.  It was just a tiny bit tighter than she remembered.  It must have shrunk while it was hiding in the back of her closet. 
Yep, no other explanation for it
.

Her mom carefully finished her hair and Kim applied a thin layer of make-up.  Not too much and not too little.

Angela beamed at her in the mirror.  “I gotta get to work, honey.  I love you.”  She kissed the top of her daughter’s head.

Kim blew her a kiss as she left.

“Knock him dead,” called out Angela as she left.

Angela usually worked at the hardware store in town.  The store was owned by a local coyote shifter who found that Angela was good for business.  Men seemed to get a kick out of buying hardware from an attractive six-foot she-wolf.  More than once, an unsuspecting male customer had wandered in looking for nails and come out with several new power tools he had no idea he needed.  However, that night she was covering Kim’s shift at Bar Luna.  Angela insisted; she was more than a little keen for her daughter to get out and enjoy herself.

Kim stiffly got to her feet and made her way downstairs.  She started walking laps of the living room, hoping to loosen up the dress a little.  Jamie huffed at Kim every time she walked in front of the TV. Jamie was sat watching her favorite TV show, Emily Wolf of Wolften Hollow.  It was a very basic cartoon show about a young wolf shifter called Emily.  It was heavy on moral messages about being kind to others and not judging people based on their species.  Although Jamie knew every episode inside out, she would watch them over and over again. 

“Mommy!” admonished Jamie, dark red pigtails bobbing, as Kim stopped in front of the TV to check her watch.

Kim groaned and decided to walk around the kitchen instead.  As nervous as she was about the actual date, and the fact that she was worried about splitting the seams of her dress, she was a little agitated that the babysitter hadn’t arrived.

She usually hired the twin sisters of their pack’s Chief Enforcer, Acksel, but, tonight, both Gwen and Britt were busy.  Instead, Kim had hired the daughter of her mom’s boss.  Hannah was a sweet girl but a little flaky, and easily distracted.

Kim grabbed her phone and almost jumped as it rang in her hand.  She answered to find Hannah on the other end.  Hannah’s grandmother had been injured in a car accident, and the whole family was at the hospital waiting for news.  The young coyote was sorry that she wouldn’t be able to make it for her babysitting duty.  Kim grudgingly had to admit that was a good reason for canceling, and then she felt bad for thinking uncharitable thoughts about Hannah.  She told the coyote shifter that she hoped her grandmother was okay and rang off.

Crap!
  She needed to find a replacement and pronto.  There was a sudden rap at the front door, and Kim groaned.  Of course, he would be on time. 
If only he weren’t so thoughtful!

She went to the door and flung it open to be met by a beaming Ed holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

Ed took her in, head to toe.  “Wow!” he breathed, “just wow.”

Kim, in spite of herself, blushed at his lusty gaze and felt her womb flutter as she surveyed him.  He was dressed in a well-cut black suit, with a white shirt.  It showed off his trim, tight figure to perfection, but certainly didn’t do anything to hide the prominent bulge in his trousers.  It gave her a thrill to see how turned on he was.

“Are those for me?” she asked inclining her head toward the mixture of lilies and lavender. 

“Nah, I just like carrying around flowers, it makes me feel muy macho.”

“They suit you.”

She giggled and took them from him.  He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, eliciting a sweet moan from her.

“You ready to go?”

Kim inwardly sighed.  “I’m sorry; my babysitter canceled.  I don’t have anyone to watch Jamie.”

Ed shrugged.  “It’s fine, you know, we don’t have to go out.  We could just stay in and order a pizza.”

“Really?”  Kim felt a glimmer of elation and her wolf yipped.

It wasn’t that Kim didn’t want to go out to a fancy restaurant and be wined and dined… actually it was kind of that.  She really was more of a pizza and beer kind of girl.  But she had been worried that Ed was expecting something a little bit more sophisticated from her.  He had been happy to drink in Bar Luna, but he did kind of stick out. 
Not that Kim thought that there was anything wrong with that.
  Ed’s well-tailored form and freshly shaven face were a welcome relief from the uncouth louts that made up the majority of her regulars.

“Of course.”  Ed looked round her.  “So, do I get to meet Jamie?”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, surprised at the hopefulness in his eyes.  “Well, I, umm, suppose so.”

Ed beamed and Kim tried to smile back, but her stomach seemed to have turned to jelly.  Over the past week, she had briefly considered about how she would broach the subject of ‘mommy dating’ to Jamie, but she just hadn’t realized it would happen quite so soon.

She led him into the house and had a brief panic before her wolf told her to pull it together.  Damnit, she was a feisty she-wolf; she could handle her boyfriend meeting her daughter. 
She hoped.

Kim led Ed into the living room, and Jamie managed to wrench her gaze away from the TV to look Ed up and down; a shy look stole over her little face.

“Jamie, this is Mommy’s friend, Ed.  Ed, this is Jamie.”

“Hello, Jamie,” said Ed, warmly.

She gave him a small wave, and Ed plonked himself on the floor next to her.  “What you watching?”

“Emily Wolf of Wolften Hollow,” she replied in a small voice.

A look of excitement flitted over Ed’s face.  “No way, I love this show!” 

Jamie giggled.  “No you don’t.”

Ed nodded fervently.  “Yes, I do, it’s my favorite show.”

“No, you’re too old,” she told him censoriously.

Ed affected a wounded look, which just made her giggle even more.  “Well, I guess I can’t watch this with you then.”

Ed pulled out a DVD from behind his back, and Jamie’s face lit up.  It contained brand new episodes of the cartoon, not yet broadcast on TV.  She squealed and grabbed it out of his hands.

Kim let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and her wolf roared in contentment.  That was it; now, Jamie loved him.  “What do you say?”

“Thank you,” mumbled Jamie as she started pulling the disc out the case. 
Kim and Ed might as well have been invisible now.

Kim motioned with her head, and Ed followed her into the kitchen.

“Does she need help with that?”

Kim shook her head and put her hands on his shoulders.  “No, she’s better at working the DVD player than I am.  I’m impressed, by the way.”

Ed placed his hands on her waist.  “Thank you, it’s a reaction I’m used to.  I’m pretty impressive.”

“Hmmmm, modest too.”

She brushed his lips with hers, and he moaned lightly.  He smiled.  “So, how about that pizza?”

Kim chewed her lip.  “Are you sure you don’t mind staying in?”

“Of course not, I prefer it.”

Kim raised an eyebrow.  “Really?”

“Yeah, really.  If I took you out wearing that I’d spend the evening having to threaten all of the other males drooling after you.”

Her lips curled up as her hands artfully made their way down his torso and round his back until they rested on his ass.  “How about me?  How could I stand all those other females leering at this gorgeous tushie?” 
Her wolf concurred; no other female should be looking at him.

Ed, likewise, found her ass.  “Tushie?”

“Mmmm hmmmm, gorgeous tushie.”

“Besides, I’m glad I got a chance to meet Jamie.  I hope she likes me.”

Kim was amazed at the sudden worry she noted in the usually confident and easy-going wolf.  “I’m sure she will.”

He waggled his eyebrows.  “Well, what’s not to like?”

She swatted his ass.  “You really care, don’t you?  About Jamie liking you?”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m hoping, that I’m going to be around for a while.” 

He gave her such a puppy dog look that she couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled out of her, but she soon sobered. 

“I think you’re my mate,” she blurted and then cringed at her forwardness.  Her beast, on the other hand, was dancing about gleefully. 
The wolf was all for telling him the first day they met.

Ed studied her quietly, and she was suddenly hit by a twinge of doubt that he didn’t feel the same way. 

“I didn’t mean to freak you out.”  She started trying to wriggle out of his arms, but he clamped his hands on her body.

“I feel the same way,” he told her thickly.  “I felt it the first moment I saw you and scented you – you smell like lavender by the way.”