Right Wolf, Right Time (10 page)

They sat around the large dining table, feasting on chicken. Yard bird. Eh. He preferred a good rare steak. He smiled, realizing Sophie did too. He knew enough about her, and he liked their similarities. Hell, right now he could tell she’d rather be anywhere but here. Just like him. Yet another thing they had in common.

“I still don’t understand how you can live in that great big house. You say your alpha’s brother owns it?” Stacey had no problem asking nosy questions.

Dean winked at him.

“Um, yeah.” Sophie snuck a glance at him before turning her attention back to Stacey. “Theo kind of introduced me to Cougar Falls. He actually owns the grocery store, but he’s never in town, so he told me I could run it if I wanted.” She shrugged and stuck her fork into a hunk of chicken. “I like it.”

Stacey raised a perfect blond brow. “Really? The local grocery store?”

Monty didn’t like her tone, and then Gabby stepped in. “I like it too. It has a homey, small-town feel, and if you think about it, without the town store, we’d have to shop in Whitefish for supplies.”

The women shivered.

“What’s wrong with Whitefish?” Burke sounded offended. “Chastell Tours is there.”

“Yes, dear, it is.” Rachel’s wifely tone made Sophie smile.

Monty smiled with her.

“Rachel…” Burke frowned at her. “You can’t use being pregnant as an excuse to be snarky forever.”

Ty leaned toward Sophie and whispered in a loud voice, “
Snarky
. I taught him that. Big word for a little brain, you know.”

Sophie enjoyed the interplay until Burke shot Ty a glare, and she automatically tensed when the pride leader growled, “Keep it up and I’ll use your bones for toothpicks, fox.” Burke’s scowl unnerved her, but she felt Monty’s hand on her leg under the table and eased.

God, I am such a moron. Relax, damn it!

The others didn’t seem to notice her distress, and the remainder of the dinner focused on the other members of the pride, enough that she finally felt like one of the crowd instead of the main attraction. Quiet Joel started talking about his vegetables and didn’t stop. He’d just gathered beets, broccoli and cabbage and anticipated a heaping of carrots in another week or so. The man had shoulders as big as a football field, but whenever he glanced at his wife, his entire mien softened.

Sophie liked him instinctively. Though she’d been to the pride often enough, she normally spent her time with her fox friends at their respective cabins. A few movie nights at the house had been spent with other women. This huge dinner with everyone was a first for her, and it definitely showed her who was who.

Ty played peacemaker throughout the meal, at times baiting and at other times easing tempers while Julia encouraged him. Sly foxes. Gabby and Grady spent most of their time staring at each other, the newly mated couple still enrapt in each other. For all that Dean and Stacey had just committed to each other, the pair acted like an old married couple that had that sexual spark zinging between them. She found them amusing, though she kept a slight distance from Stacey. Sophie could clearly see the predator in the blonde’s cool blue eyes.

She also liked the way Monty acted among his friends. He seemed more at ease here than he acted in town. Not so guarded, and he teased the female cats from the old Miami pride, treating them like bothersome sisters.
Family, not potential sexual partners. Good.
His attitude soothed her wolf, and she found herself easing into the pride’s rhythm. The teasing and laughter made her feel like part of something bigger, and without thinking about it, she took Monty’s hand in hers and smiled, feeling so much love for her mate she could taste it.

He clutched her hand tightly in his and leaned in for a kiss. The soft, possessive gesture made her sigh, because her wolf rolled over and howled with delight. He’d acknowledged her openly in front of the pack with that simple peck. His wolf. Her wolf. Together.

Not pack, pride
, she corrected her animal spirit, then froze when she realized the room had gone quiet.

Monty kept her hand in his and kissed her again. He winked at her and turned to the gathering. “I have an announcement to make.”

“About frickin’ time,” Grady muttered.

Gabby elbowed him and huffed.

“No shit.” Dean received a slap upside the head from Joel. “Ow. Why is everyone always hitting me?”

“Maybe because you’re an idiot?” Grady offered.

Gabby groaned. “Would you two shut up? I’m sorry for them. Sincerely. Go ahead, Monty.”

“You two cats are a major pain in my ass,” he snapped, then turned to Sophie with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, honey.” He cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I have something to say.”

“So talk already. Christ,” Dean grumbled and dodged another slap aimed for his head.

Monty continued. “As you know, I’ve been waiting for the right time to approach Sophie, so I could do what I’ve been dying to since I first saw her. Sophie and I have mated.”

Not that she didn’t already know that, but from what she’d been told, claiming a mate in front of witnesses was as good as throwing on rings and saying “I do.”

The others cheered and congratulated them. And somehow dinner turned into a party full of booze, dancing and laughter.

Sophie had a terrific time swinging around in the arms of her wolf. Monty had sidestepped a bunch of questions about their future and where they might live, saying only that he and Sophie were still discussing things, which of course they hadn’t yet.

But even that didn’t faze her. She had the mate of her dreams, Ac-taw who knew her, liked her and accepted her. The future she’d always wanted seemed right here, right now. Hers to keep. Yet that niggling worry remained. What would they think if they knew the real her? Worse, what would Monty think? She didn’t like the vague anxiety that wouldn’t go away, so she decided to ignore it. She’d hold on to tonight, and as she swung in Monty’s arms, she made a memory. His face, that smile, those eyes—she’d cherish him forever. She only prayed she could keep the man himself, and not a lot of bittersweet memories to keep her warm at night.

Monty thought the night had gone off without a hitch…if it weren’t for the shadows he could see in his mate’s eyes. He had a feeling he’d pushed too hard too soon, but fuck it all, he needed his pack—pride—to know his mate. His wolf wanted validation, acknowledgement and a nod from his alpha.

Burke had taken him aside earlier and congratulated him wholeheartedly. “You lucked out, you mangy mutt. I don’t know what she sees in you, but don’t fuck it up.”

“Thanks, Burke,” he’d drawled back. “That’s really uplifting.”

Burke had laughed, swung Sophie around for a dance, and then handed her winded and wild-eyed back to Monty.

But now, as he and Sophie stood in front of his cabin, nerves struck again. What if she felt pressure and not the vast love he felt? What if she didn’t actually want all this cloying belonging, used to being alone for so long? Hell, he’d gone through the same emotions upon returning to town. A lone wolf thrust back into Ac-taw society. The order had been a nightmare and Burke his saving grace. But he knew Burke. The cat gave him whatever space he needed to roam. What did Sophie need?

He pulled her with him inside his place, glad he’d had the foresight to ask Rachel to help him straighten up. Rather, he’d asked Rachel to have cleaning people out to his place. They’d done a bang-up job. The bad food smell and dirty clothes all over the floor had vanished. The small two-bedroom cabin smelled fresh, like lemons. The rustic furniture gleamed with polish, and his crap had been neatly organized into stacks of stuff—books and women magazines he’d purchased to understand Sophie, a few spare parts for his truck, some sporting equipment and ammo.

Sophie took it all in as he tried to find the right words to say what was on his mind. Finally, unable to think of a good way to say it, he simply asked, “Is this a mistake?”

She turned around, wide eyes on him. “What?”

“Us. Do you think we’re a mistake? I can smell your worry. What the hell’s wrong? It was too much, right? Too many people.” He wanted to hear a
yes
, so he’d know he wasn’t the problem.

She remained quiet long enough to worry him.

“Sophie?” Should he tell her how he felt about her? Would she believe him now, or would she think he said the L word to convince her to stay with him? Shit. He hated not knowing how to deal with her this way. He could handle sex and the happy crap, but Monty normally dealt with conflict by killing it or beating it up.

“It’s not you, Monty. Or your friends. They’re great.” She took a deep breath, and to his horror, he heard it hitch. “It’s all so terrific. I’m just afraid it will go away.”

She looked up at him and her eyes glinted like diamonds. The sheen of tears literally hurt him smack dab in the heart.

“Aw, baby. Don’t cry. Please.” He took her in his arms and hugged her, rocking her against him. “If you tell me what’s wrong, I’ll fix it. Is this about me pushing you to shift so we can run together?” It still bothered him he hadn’t seen Sophie’s wolf. The woman had a problem with her animal spirit made flesh, but she was working on it. Or so Gabby had told him the other day when he’d asked her. Sophie, stubborn as a mule, didn’t like talking about her problems. And since he was the same way, he figured he had little room to judge. When the woman felt ready to run with him, she would. Or so he hoped.

“You can’t fix the past, Monty. I wish you could.”

He felt himself tense. “My past or yours?”

“Either. Both. Does it matter? We never talk about it, and I don’t
want
to talk about it. I’m just afraid…”

“I don’t know what happened to you. And until you’re ready to tell me, if you ever are, I don’t care. I want you for you, baby. What happened made you who you are. It’s a part of you, and it doesn’t matter to me.
You
matter, Sophie Tanner.” He swallowed hard and reached for his back pocket. He withdrew a small box—it had cost him two months’ pay and a lot of ribbing from annoying cats. But when he’d seen the stone downtown, he’d known it would look right around her neck. A diamond pendant she could slip on and off when not in wolf form. “I want to marry you.” Shit. He was supposed to ask.

He wanted to go to one knee, but she had a death grip on his arms, so he cleared his throat and pulled back enough to open the box and put it under her nose. “If you’ll have me, I’d be honored if you’d wear this.” Close enough to asking, he figured.

She blinked at the necklace, then at him. “You want me to marry you?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he whispered back, on edge. His wolf paced, not liking this reversal in the way things should be. He’d mated the female already. What the hell did he need a wedding and human ceremony for?

“You don’t care about before? About where I was before, I mean?” she asked, and she sounded so hopeful his heart hurt for her.

“No, baby. I don’t care about your past, only our present and future. Marry me, Sophie. I can’t promise you Paris in a Learjet, but I can promise I’ll love you.” He let out a breath, realizing he’d never said it before. And neither had she. “I love you,” he repeated.

She didn’t say anything. And then she plastered herself to his chest and kissed the breath out of him. “I love you so much.” She was laughing and crying and planting kisses all over his face. And before he knew it, they were somehow naked in his bed, his necklace around her throat, making love like two halves of a whole.

He pushed while she pulled. Their lips and bodies met, magnets of affection connected in the deepest of places. His animal spirit curled around hers and protected, offering everything for her to take. When her spirit accepted his gift, he sighed into her and gave his essence, his soul, to his other half.

She arched into his touch and sighed his name, and as he poured his seed into her with a moan and a plea, she took him in her arms and gave him the haven he’d needed for far too long.

The next two weeks passed in bliss. They’d decided to move her out of Theo’s old house and into his cabin. She had no furniture, only clothing and a few odds and ends to take with her, which he found distressing. Sophie needed girlie things, and he set about trying to fill his house with stuff she liked. Flowers, fancy tea pots and lingerie to suit his bride-to-be. So okay, the lacey crap was more for him than her, but it made her happy.

And
hel-lo
, but his woman had the sweetest pussy he’d ever had the pleasure of licking, sucking and eating. She wanted sex as much, if not more, than he did. He was in heaven.

She made no more mention of whatever troubled her, and he refused to pry. He wanted nothing to mar his bright future. He tried to put Norris out of his mind, satisfied the order could do its damn job and protect the town. Even Rafe’s brief talk hadn’t elicited any anger. The gray wolf had bumped into him on the street, warned him to protect Sophie and treat her right, then moved on as if he’d never tried to take the woman for his own. Not the actions of a man pining for a lost mate.

Satisfied Sheridan had never intended more than a physical joining, Monty’s wolf eased, especially since the bastard had never and would never lay a paw on Sophie Tanner, soon to be Sophie GrayClaw.

Just the thought of marrying his girl made him smile.