So I Married a Werewolf (Entangled Covet) (6 page)

“I’m sorry,” she said, taking off her heels and hooking the straps with her fingers. “I have to go.”

She left Nate in the gazebo and ran down the pier, eager to shift. Desperate to tear through these clothes and be herself again. As she hit the line of trees behind the bar, she let the energy balling in her middle explode outward. Muscles stretched and elongated. She dropped to all fours as a coat of silky brown hair covered her body. The dress fell away to tatters and the heels dropped by the wayside.

Striding through the trees and rain, Faith felt more like herself than she did at the party, in clothes that barely fit her and the heels she had to borrow from a friend.

As she took off alongside the house and headed toward the street, a few howls erupted from behind her. While in wolf form, she could sense the others. And now she was sensing that the wolf pack was confused and concerned, probably worried that she’d let someone on the street spot her. A moment later, she could tell they were sending out a few wolves to track her and bring her back.

She wasn’t stupid enough to get caught.

Paws striking fast, Faith wound around trees and made it to the front gate. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she looked back at the Owenses’ mansion.

The front door opened.

Carter stood in the entryway, hands hanging at his sides, a look of bewilderment marring his gorgeous face.

Chapter Nine

“Faith!” In the dark, Carter banged on her front door, his fists aching from clenching them so hard. The drive home from the party hadn’t cooled him off like he thought it would. Two hours later, even after the moon had arced across the night sky, his blood was still boiling. Faith had left him high and dry. “I know you’re in there! I can smell something baking!”

No answer.

He’d stupidly waited for Faith to return to the party. He’d told the members of the bureau that she didn’t feel well, so she must not have been able to suppress the urge to shift. It happened to the best werewolves from time to time.

But she hadn’t returned.

How she got back to her place without being seen, he had no idea.

He paced along the porch, peeking in the living room windows. She had the blinds shut and the curtains drawn. Humperdinck yelped from inside and scratched at the front door.

“Faith!” He knocked on the window. “I’m not going to leave until you come out here and talk to me!”

Radio silence.

Somewhere inside, a door slammed shut, followed by extensive cursing. Suddenly the stench of something burning stung his nose. What the devil was going on? Was she in trouble? Worry niggled at his gut, replacing the irritation that’d been simmering there.

Desperation seeping in, Carter slid his hand along the top of her doorframe and brushed against her hide-a-key. He took the key, shoved it into the lock, and pushed open the door.

“Faith!”

“Damn it!’ she hollered. Smoke billowed out of the kitchen. The fire alarm went off, blaring at an inconceivable ear-piercing level. “Get the broom! Fan the alarm!”

“Are you trying to burn down the damn house?”

She waved potholders frantically over a burned pan spewing smoke. “The broom!”

He did as he was told, running to the closet and yanking out a broom. By the time he got back to the kitchen, she was hauling ass out the front door and into the rain, the smoking pan outstretched in her shaking hands. Humperdinck yelped and chased Carter down, a wild and horny look in his eye.

Smoke clung to the ceiling and somehow seemed to hover near the ringing alarm. He swished the broom in front of it, driving away the smoke. When the alarm was finally silenced, Faith reentered the living room, minus the burned dessert, huffing and puffing. She was soaked from a few seconds of being in the rain, her WSU sweater clinging to her chest.

“What were you trying to do?” he asked, continuing to swing the broom over his head. The tuxedo coat was tight over his arms, making the motion difficult. “Torch the place?”

“I was baking!” She brushed by him as she stormed into the kitchen and turned off the stove. “I was pissed off as hell and wanting to blow off some steam. I’ve heard baking relaxes people.”

“What people?”

“You know…
people
!”

“I’ve never heard that,” he said, watching the last traces of smoke dissipate. “What were you baking?”

“Fiery chocolate lava cake.”

He laughed and set the broom against the wall. “At least you got the fiery part right.”

She chucked a potholder at him. It hit him square in the chest, and then fell to the floor, nearly missing Humperdinck.

“Wait, how’d you get in here?” she asked, hands on her hips.

“I used your secret key.”

“I’ve seriously got to move that.” She blew wet strands of hair out of her face. “Now that you’ve got a fire show, why don’t you show yourself the door?”

“Don’t be like that.” He strode into the kitchen. She backed against the stove. “How’d you get back here without being seen?”

She planted her hands on her hips. “I ran for about a mile and then called Seattle Canine Cab Company. They had a car in the area, so I didn’t have to wait long.”

Seattle Canine Cab Company was a free taxi company paid for by the wolf pack to assist wolves who shifted at inopportune moments. They carried clothes in the trunk—most sizes stuffed in huge pieces of luggage—and dropped shifters anywhere in Seattle. Their Alpha had always been dedicated to keeping wolves out of society, so as not to spook non-shifters. Their private cab company was one way he accomplished that, successfully.

Even though Carter felt better knowing that she’d gotten home safely, with help from the pack, he couldn’t get over one thing…

“Why’d you leave the way you did?” Carter asked. “You really freaked everyone out.”

She swallowed hard and glared at him with a look of utter defiance. “The girl who went with you to the party isn’t me. I can’t be that person.”

“What are you talking about? I went with you.”

“No, you went with a glamorized version of me.” She tugged at her sweater and swiped her hand down her jeans. “This is me. Sweater, jeans, fuzzy slipper socks. The girl in the fancy dress with the heels and makeup is fake. I can’t be like that floozy Paisely Brooks.”

Was she…
jealous
?

“You left because of Paisely?”

“No!” She groaned, and threw another potholder at him. “I left because of who I am and who I will not be for a man. I don’t care how much you’re offering.”

“Whoever you were tonight, the council loved it. They loved you.”

She scoffed. “What makes you think that? Oh, right. You mean from the way they started chasing after me when I shifted.” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that might’ve been a clue.”

“That was precautionary. To make sure you weren’t going to do anything stupid. They like you, but trusting you will take longer.” Carter took off his tux coat, draped it over one of the dining room chairs, and loosened his tie. “Mrs. Owens personally invited us to a couple’s retreat in Victoria on Vancouver Island next weekend. Nate and Paisely were invited, too, but they can’t do it on account of their wedding. It’ll be a perfect time to get their attention trained on us. On me.”

“Oh…that’s nice of her,” she said, resting her hands on the counter behind her. “But count me out. I can’t be the person I was tonight. I was awkward and—”

“Didn’t you hear me? You were a hit. It wasn’t because of your dress or your heels. It was because they genuinely liked you. I told you to be yourself and that was the only way this was going to work.” His feet moved forward as if on their own accord. This close to her, he could pick up the subtle mixture of sugar and rain on her skin. “You can’t back out on me now. We’re in.”

“We’re in.” She spoke the words as if she was in some kind of a daze. “That’s swell, Carter. Should I wear Gucci or Prada next weekend? Should I bring flats in case I trip over something again? Or a backup dress in case I tear the first like I did tonight?”

He looked down at her, seeing a different woman than was on his arm tonight. She was confident earlier, and that self-assurance was sexy. Now she was back in her sweats, with her hair pulled in front of her shoulders, looking physically comfortable and yet completely uncertain. She’d transformed back to the Faith he knew before, the woman he enjoyed spending time with. Her big brown eyes bore into him, and something in his stomach twisted.

Wait a second…that tight, knotting feeling hadn’t been there yesterday.

“I don’t care if you wear these sweats when you meet them again,” he said, “or if you show up with no makeup and a torn and tattered dress. What matters is that you and I are in this together.”

“Together.” She blinked up at him, and when she spoke, her voice was faint. “Remember when I said I don’t like being made to look like a fool? Nate said you and Paisely are still close. Is that true?”

“So this is about Paisely?”

He was so confused. Why would Faith waste two seconds thinking about Paisely, a woman who meant nothing to him?

“Is it true?” she asked again.

“Paisely’s got serious Hollywood Syndrome and has to have all eyes on her, all the time. I finally realized I couldn’t trust her. I bolted. I guess she’s pissed to be the person dumped instead of the one doing the dumping.”

Faith’s breathing rhythm changed, slowed. The tension in her shoulders seemed to ease. “He didn’t make it sound that way.”

“When did you talk to Nate alone?”

“On the pier when I was waiting for you.”

“He saw me leave to get you a drink…”

“I’m assuming so.”

Conniving bastard.
“What did you tell him?”

“That we’re very happy in a secure and loving relationship.” She nudged him away with her forearm. “I painted the picture you asked me to.”

Something about that whole scenario rubbed Carter wrong. Had Nate been trying to figure out if their relationship was a hoax, or had he been using the opportunity alone to flirt with Carter’s fiancée?

Friend
, he corrected.

“So, are you in?” he asked. “Will you come to the retreat next weekend?”

She sighed and glared at him with narrowed eyes. “I’m packing my sweats.”

“That’s fine. All I ever wanted was for you to be you. I never intended for you to pretend you were somebody else. Nobody could keep that up.” He flicked a bag of sugar sitting on the counter. “Just promise to leave your baking supplies behind on the trip. Wouldn’t want you burning down our hotel room.”

“Wait.” She swiped her hand across her forehead, leaving behind a smudge of flour. “Our room, as in…one?”

“We are engaged, Faith.” He picked up the bag of flour and pretended to roll it closed as he turned his back on her. “Don’t you think it’d look strange if we told Mrs. Owens that we’d like her to reserve us two separate rooms?”

“Yes, but—”

“We’ve fallen asleep together on the couch a few times. We should just think of next weekend as an extended Friday night.”

“Fine,” she said from behind him, “but I call the bed.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He reached into the bag and sank his fingers into the flour. He grabbed a handful and spun around. “Surrender the bed and I won’t give you a flour shower.”

“If you think I’m afraid, you’re sorely mistaken. I bet you throw like a girl.” Digging her hand into the sugar bag, Faith pulled out a handful of her own grainy ammo. She faced him, holding the sugar behind her back. “I’m not giving you the bed. You can have the couch or the floor. Or sleep in the bathtub for all I care.”

“The bathtub?” Carter chuckled low and deep. “The porcelain would be fucking cold! The bed is mine.”

“Fine.” She cocked back. “But you’re going to have to fight me for it.”

Faith flinched. Carter didn’t bite. She cocked back farther. Humperdinck skidded around the corner and slid over the kitchen tile. He hopped between them excitedly, his sickeningly cute gaze bouncing back and forth between them. Using the pup as a distraction, Faith let the sugar fly.

Carter ducked below the sugar cloud and ran at her, tangling her arms behind her back. He pinned her against the oven, using his body for pressure. Laughing hysterically, Faith squirmed, elbowing him in the gut.

“Let go,” she said, the laughter lingering in her voice.

“Surrender the bed.” He held her hands in front of her, shackled by one of his own. With his free hand, he dusted her cheek with flour, covering it with a shadow of white. “It’s easy to say:
Carter, the bed is yours
. Try it.”

She nudged her chin at him, smiling. “You think a little flour on my cheek is going to make me buckle? You should’ve stuck with the flour shower. It even rhymes.”

“All right, you asked for it, you stubborn woman.” He held his hand over her and sprinkled flour over her head. “All you’ve got to do is say the words. Just give me the bed and this will all be over.”

“Never surrender!” As she shook her head, giggling into a fit, a clump of flour fell from her hair onto her eyelashes.

“Wait, close your eyes,” he said, and reached up to brush off the flour. She hesitated, her now-white eyelashes resting feather-softly on her cheek. “Almost done.” He gently swiped away the last of it, and then paused, his gaze trailing to her smiling lips. “You almost got a ton of it in your eyes.”

Her smile fell as her eyes fluttered open and she caught his gaze on her lips.

“That would’ve stung,” he said.

He was still holding on to her wrist. Why couldn’t he let go?

Why didn’t he want to?

“The bed is yours,” she said, and twisted out of his hold.

Chapter Ten

Just before four o’clock, when the mist rolled in to take over the city, Carter exited Starbucks, a steaming cup of house blend in hand. He slid into his Tahoe, then double-checked his cell before starting up the engine.

Still no calls from Faith.

He hadn’t talked to her in days. It seemed strange, even though they’d gone through the week without talking before.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Why
couldn’t he stop thinking about her?

She consumed his thoughts. The way she’d looked in that green dress on Sunday night, the way it accented a figure he didn’t realize she had, the way she’d looked in wolf form—lethal yet graceful. The sound of her laughter, light and bubbly, still filled his ears.

The radio on his dash chirped, reminding him that he was on duty tonight.

“Suspicious subject harassing citizens in Seward Park. Caller reports seeing a wolf-man,” dispatch for the wolf pack rattled. “Enforcer Griffin and Enforcer Ramsey on call. Reroute to that location and capture subject before Seattle PD arrives.”

Shit.
There was a werewolf loose in the park. Carter had to find him and bring him in before any other non-shifters spotted him. And then he had to convince the witness that what he or she saw was a giant dog.

“10-4.” Carter floored his Tahoe as he merged onto I-5 toward Bailey Peninsula. “En route.”

Seward Park was a three-hundred-acre forest in the center of Seattle. Hiking trails, fish hatcheries, and lakefront beach access attracted loads of visitors each year. It wasn’t uncommon after the full moon for a werewolf to go berserk and try to find solace in the forest.

Carter turned off the freeway and entered the park just before nightfall. There were a few cars in the first parking lot, but no one walking around. Rolling down his windows and turning off the radio, Carter patrolled around the park slowly, picking up all kinds of scents.

None of them sent off the red flag of a werewolf.

He passed a few non-shifters in hiking gear who nodded and continued walking by. If they’d seen a werewolf, they would’ve been running out of the park, not taking a leisurely sunset stroll.

As he reached the end of the peninsula, a howl split the night.

Swerving off the road, Carter put the Tahoe in park and hopped out. Softwoods and Douglas firs towered over him, creating hundreds of hiding spots for a werewolf lunatic to hide. He charged through the brush, but there was nothing to follow. No other sounds, no smells out of the ordinary for a forest filled with woodland creatures.

“Come on, howl again,” he breathed, checking the Taser on his waistband. He was armed, but if he couldn’t find the wolf, he wouldn’t get the chance to use the weapon.

A black Tahoe matching his own pulled behind him. Nate hopped out.

“Seattle PD will be here in ten,” he spat, charging around the hood. “We’ve got no time.”

“One option,” Carter said, scanning through the trees. “I’m shifting.”

“Don’t.” Nate stormed through the brush, searching the canopies above their heads. “If someone sees you or Seattle PD arrives, they’ll think you’re the threat and I’ll have to ditch out. Not to mention the captain will have your ass in a sling.”

“I know, but if this guy’s crazy, we can’t exactly leave him in the hands of the police.”

“Our hands are tied.”

“Yours might be, but mine aren’t,” Carter said, feeling tendrils of white-hot energy pulsing through his veins. “Shifting is the fastest way to search him out. If he’s a member of our pack, I’ll be able to hear his thoughts. I’ll find him that way.”

Nate grumbled something about being a loose cannon, but didn’t continue arguing. Carter high-stepped over a log as the urge to shift sparked through him. He let the energy swirling inside him ball into a pit in his stomach. He closed his eyes, muscles hardening into anticipatory knots, and let the sensations surge freely through him.

He shifted. Fell to his hands and knees. As his entire body shuddered, coarse fur covered his skin in a blanket of black. His muscles bulked up, stretched to fill his massive wolf form. Tendons pulled and snapped into shape. As a wolf, he was robust and muscular, the top of his back nearly reaching Nate’s shoulders.

“Go get ’em,” Nate said, smacking Carter in the backside. “I’ll keep lookout.”

Carter snapped at Nate’s hand and Nate snatched it back. Carter took off into the forest, his strides eating up the ground. He could sense things easier in this form. Every color was more vibrant, every sound more crisp. The energy of the moon flowed through him, empowering his every stride.

He hadn’t run more than a few minutes before he sensed another wolf in the vicinity.

Leave me alone, Enforcer,
a scratchy voice said through the pack’s process of mind-speak.
I mean you no harm.

Carter spun around a fir and headed west, toward the main road. Branches brushed his side and threatened to tangle in his fur. With a single row of trees separating him from the road, Carter stopped.

He was close.

You may not intend to harm anyone,
Carter projected to the wolf,
but you’ve made yourself known to a non-shifter, breaking one of our cardinal laws. Why don’t you come back to the office with me before you get yourself in more trouble?

Seattle PD’s sirens blared in the distance.

And make it quick,
he added.

The wolf emerged from behind a tree. Scruffy brown fur covered a wolf that was no larger than a bullmastiff. Carter could easily talk to the witness and convince him or her that the creature in the park was a dog.

They might make it out of this cleaner than he’d originally thought possible.

A car passed behind the wolf, drawing his attention around. Carter stole the opportunity, leaping into the air, smacking into the wolf full-force. Growling from deep within his belly, Carter pinned the wolf to the ground. But the wolf was squirrely, slipping one of his legs free. Carter ground his back legs into the wolf’s belly, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He slunk forward, upward, slowly releasing himself from Carter’s hold.

No way you’re getting away from me,
Carter forced out.

A pair of park visitors strode across the street, headed right for them.

Sirens blared, closing in.

In the distance, tires peeled against asphalt.

Carter adjusted his grip on the wolf, but the split-second shift in position gave the wolf what he needed to scramble free. He bolted toward the street, his paws striking hard and fast, and headed for the road.

No!
Carter hollered through his mind.
Stop!

The wolf charged forward. A few more steps and he’d out himself to a couple of unsuspecting humans.

Carter did the only thing he could. He dived, stretched out like he was laying out for a pop fly, and clawed at the wolf’s tail. He caught fur and dug in deep. With a strangled cry, the wolf pounced through the last line of trees and ripped his tail free. Carter landed behind him with a heavy
thump
, his momentum slinging him in plain sight.

The couple shrieked, cowering.

Glancing back to check if Carter had followed him, the wolf didn’t see as Nate’s Tahoe pulled up to the curb. The wolf ran squarely into the side of the SUV, then dropped to the ground like a stone. Nate hauled ass out of the driver’s side door and tased the twitching mountain of fur.

Time stood still.

Staring openmouthed, the couple sized Carter up, from his furry muzzle to his larger-than-life back haunches. They were committing the sight to memory, no doubt. Nate stood, his shocked gaze flipping between Carter and the couple.

“Get in the back,” Nate mumbled, dragging the tased wolf toward the back of the SUV. As he popped the rear hatch, Carter hopped in, and then watched Nate heave the wolf in after him.

After rolling into the backseat, Carter shifted back to human form, and then dressed in an extra pair of clothes Nate had stashed into a gym bag in back. Nate handled the couple in the way the bureau had taught them. He smiled and talked with his hands. They nodded. Stared. Nodded some more, looking thoroughly confused. At least the SUV’s windows were completely tinted. Nate took a notepad out of his back pocket and jotted down things as they spoke. He handed them his business card and turned back to the Tahoe, looking like one hell of a pissed-off enforcer.

Seattle PD’s lights could barely be seen blinking through the forest across the way. They’d arrived on the wrong side of the park. Hopefully, everyone would be long gone by the time they made it around.

The lunatic, still in wolf form, twitched on the floorboard, the volts from the Taser still singing through him. Realizing the wolf was in the backseat uncuffed, Carter popped open Nate’s arresting kit that lay beside him and snapped the cuffs on him.

A few seconds later, Nate slid into the Tahoe and glanced back. “You’ve lost it. You’ve seriously lost it. Do you know what the captain’s going to say when he hears that you outed yourself to some hikers in the park?”

They took off onto the freeway and didn’t look back.

“We got him, didn’t we?” Carter said. “What’d you tell the couple back there? Protocol bullshit?”

“No, I told them you two escaped from the Woodland Park Zoo. I’m taking you back to your cage as we speak.” He laughed. “I don’t think they bought it at first, but I’m one hell of an actor.”

He’d have to remember that.

“Does that zoo even have wolves?” Carter asked.

“Hell if I know!”

Thirty minutes later, Nate took the exit for Carter’s home, gunning the Tahoe around a sharp turn. Thankfully, the nutty werewolf had remained zonked out after being tased. Specialized Tasers built for the wolf pack to take out rogue wolves meant the extreme volts were enough to bring down a wolf and keep him knocked out for hours.

“I’m going to call them up later tonight and do damage control,” Nate said. “Get some information on the zoo. I’ll also look up the first witness and tell them the same story so it matches up.”

There had to be something more to do. “It’d probably be a good idea to arrange a wolf transfer to the zoo this year. Just to cover our tracks.”

Nate craned his neck around. “You are good.”

“Call City Tow for my Tahoe, would you?” Carter said, as they pulled in front of his cabin. “PD will probably have towed it by now. I need it back by tomorrow morning .”

Nate nodded. “I’ll put someone at the office on it.”

“ Thanks for having my back, Ramsey.”

“No problem.” Something flickered across Nate’s expression before he smiled. “What was I suppose to do? Leave you hanging?”

Without giving Carter a chance to respond, he peeled out of the driveway, kicking up gravel as he went.

…

Faith curled into the corner of her couch and started up her computer. She’d just gotten off the phone with Carter, and he said he wanted to come by to grab a beer. Neighbors were supposed to borrow a cup of milk, or sugar, but she really wanted to see him, so she didn’t mind. She would’ve driven to the store to buy every beer in stock if it meant Carter would stop by. He said he’d had a bad day at work—the worst, he’d said—but wouldn’t go into detail over the phone.

She couldn’t help but feel like his stopping by was a sign that their relationship was moving in the right direction. He’d stopped by unannounced before, and they’d even talked over beers on the front porch a few times.

But never, not once, had he wanted to come by because he’d had a bad day. Because he wanted to talk it over with her.

She wanted to be the person he came to when things got rough, when he needed to confide in someone or open up about his past. She wanted to be that woman for him so badly it hurt.

Maybe today would be the start.

As her dog blog cued up, she searched through the traffic stats.

“Fifty comments?” She scanned over a few questions from her last post. “Wow. More than yesterday.”

She read:

I have a Chihuahua with “little dog” syndrome. He won’t quit picking on our dalmatian. I can’t keep them apart all the time. What should I do?

Have a Little Faith
’s answer: Watch the behavior carefully. What we might be quick to consider “bullying” behavior might simply be two dogs playing with each other. What is the dalmatian’s response to the little guy? Do they nip and growl or are they attacking each other and biting with force? Those answers will go a long way in determining if your dog’s behavior is something that needs to be addressed or looked over.

How do you get your dog to stop chewing dryer sheets?

Have a Little Faith
’s answer: Keep the dryer sheets off the floor, get a trash can with a lid, and buy your dog some fresh-smelling chew toys.

Faith kicked her feet up on the couch and checked her email. She’d just heard back from her website designer. The layout he’d made featuring dogs and footprints, with easy access to all of her posts and tags, was beautiful. Better than she’d anticipated.

Traffic on the blog had escalated in the last few months, but this new look was going to catapult it out of the doggie blog-o-sphere. At this point, she was making about thirty dollars a month off the widgets on the sidebar where she featured top-selling dog toys and treats. She bought her favorite items in bulk off eBay, repacked them, and sold them via Amazon. All of the items were “
Have a Little Faith
endorsed.”

Pretty brilliant, if she did say so herself.

The front door swung open and Carter walked inside, making a beeline for the refrigerator. Even as a blur of movement, he was assertive, his strides sure and even.

“Honey, I’m home,” he joked, popping the top on a beer. “What’s cooking?”

Her heart fluttered, although she knew he was joking. How different would her life be with Carter in it? She
could
try to have a hot meal for him when he walked in the door from work. He
could
talk to her about his bad day…and then they’d make love in front of the woodstove and all would be right in the world.