The Legend of the Werewolf (22 page)

What was with her and constantly
blurting things out like this?

"Don't be. I wouldn't want someone in
my head either."

"But, if there was someone in my family
who could, I wouldn't shun them." She insisted. Wishing to tell him
that she still accepted and trusted him.

Like the little coward she was, Anne
kept her mouth shut.

Mike smiled at her. Anne just about
jumped when he grabbed her hand and held it as they turned a
corner.

Her face heated, a tiny smile flickering
on her lips. She didn’t attempt to pull her hand away. "I didn't
know you were the type to hold hands."

"I am when there are people
watching."

She looked up, shocked to find herself
on the street where they were married.

Disappointment weighed down on her. The
feeling of his heavy palm in her hand not quite so thrilling any
longer.

Gordon was still there, leaning against
the door of his truck with a whole lot of
where-the-fuck-have-you-been on his face. Brock sat in the back,
five feet away, for the protection of his pack master, total calm
on his face.

Though it hurt that he didn’t really
want to hold her hand, she had to speak. "Listen, before we head
back, I'm sorry I invited myself along. All that sounded pretty
private."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Anne's heart jumped. "Don't be. I came here to see them to begin
with and I'm glad I got to see Bud and introduce him to my new
wife.”

Anne squeezed his hand this
time.

***

Bud burst out the door of his house
like a bat out of Hell. A bat that was on fire, with a bazooka
aimed at its back.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let his
brother leave like this. Bud wasn’t an idiot, even though his
sister liked to say he was. He knew Mike was just going to
disappear again; never write, never call.

Bud wouldn’t have it. Couldn’t have it
because he couldn’t stay in that house any longer.

He recognized the woman now. Took some
thinking but he knew that blonde chick; he’d seen her eating in the
same diner that he sometimes went to. She was all friendly with the
staff, like she was a regular or something. That should be enough
for Bud to track them down.

He needed to tell his brother that he
wasn’t as alone as he thought.

ELEVEN

Bill held the glowing stone and stared as
though it were a priceless work of art. Which it was. It was the
artifact he’d searched for his entire life, created by the hands of
a Goddess.

His hands cradled the stone with the care
one provided to an infant. The perfect, circular shape looked as
though it would be as heavy as dumbbell, but was lighter than a
breeze, yet hard enough to knock a man unconscious when struck with
it.

Bill grinned. Just like the creator it
was smooth, beautiful, and light, yet containing strength only a
Goddess would know.

The illuminated rock appeared out of
place in his aged hands.

"How long has it been doing
that?"

Bill looked up. Gordon stepped into the
room, a mug of steaming coffee in his hands, eyes fixated on the
orb.

"Not long. I think it's calling her."
God, how he hoped so.

"Not even a little curious about the
wedding?"

Bill shrugged. "My granddaughter
wouldn't make a mistake with her life. Besides, I'm sure she would
rather I made an appearance at her real wedding."

"That
was
a real wedding. There were papers to sign
and everything."

Bill waved a finger. "Antoinette would
disagree with you. Her idea of a wedding is the dress, flowers,
cake, and party." He smirked. "Told me about it all the time
growing up."

“Then she can renew her vows at her own
expense.” He took a seat on the couch opposite of where Bill sat.
He held his drink in both hands, no longer staring at the globe
that openly glowed in Bill's hands.

Bill shook his head. "You should be
glad about this."

Gordon looked up at him, a question
mark in his eyes.

Bill held up the glowing stone and wagged
it. "I'm an expert on this legend and, trust me, if your guest
bonded with my granddaughter then there's no way he's the
reincarnation of the first werewolf. Not if Luna really is waiting
for him."

Bill stared Gordon hard in the eyes.
"You don't have to worry about him taking control of your
pack."

"He's already done that. Besides, that's
not entirely what worries me," Gordon grumbled.

"Westley?"

Gordon grunted and nodded.

Bill stood up. "You need to stop this.
Even if he didn't fall for a dragon, the boy doesn't want to be
pack master. You can't force leadership one someone, it’s how
mistakes get made."

"He has potential. I didn’t want to be
pack leader when I was a kid either, but when my pa died, I took
over and I’m doing right dandy by everyone."

Bill shook his head. The orb in his
hands died down until the glow was contained in the crescent moon
carved in the rock. He put it in the giant pocket of his bathrobe.
"I'll go see how Antoinette is. Hopefully not crying her eyes out
now that her wedding is done and over with."

He left the living room and exited the
cabin without looking back at Gordon, still absorbed with staring
into his mug. If the man ever had to make a right decision then he
needed to do it on his own. Heaven forbid he thinks someone might
want to help him.

***

Anne flopped on the bed, a tired sigh
escaping her lips. All thoughts of sleep left her when Mike dropped
down next to her. His weight against the bed springs launched Anne
into the air before she bounced back down.

She glared at him. He didn't look at her
to appreciate it, or even open his eyes. His lips did quirk
though.

"I guess we're sharing a bed
now."

Her laugh and answer was instant. "You
wish. You're still stuck with the couch, there, buddy."

She wasn’t about to share a bed with
him if he had no interest in her. Even though she wanted him,
wanted him to the point where if he didn’t take the couch she’d
throw herself at him.

God. Just thinking about it
…

He opened an eye and didn't return her
smile, which promptly melted the look from her face.

Shit! She hadn’t meant to grin like an
idiot at the thought of—

Stop it! You’re doing it
again!
She
yelled at herself.

"You're awfully chipper considering the
mess we're in. I mean, look around." He waved his hand around the
spacious room they were in, in the newer and bigger cottage. As if
she hadn’t noticed it yet.

Another pack member and his family
generously offered to vacate so that she and her legendary husband
could have a little more luxury at their disposal.

Outside she smelled barbeque, beer, and
could hear laughter as picnic tables were set up. A small feast to
celebrate Mike’s marriage into the pack.

"We got married today. Doesn't that
bother you?"

She sat up, tucking her knees under
herself. The question didn’t make her regret anything that had to
do with him, but it did make her sad that her wedding came and went
without any build up. "I always wanted the fairytale wedding, but
there are worse things."

Which was true. She could be married to
Westley.

If she had to get married then at least it
was to Mike. His gorgeous body set her on fire, he preferred
females and, if she read the situation right, he, maybe, could be,
possibly, have an interest in her.

Fuck it. They could share the
bed.

He sat up and eyed her carefully. "I
was wondering about this but wasn't sure. You don't care that we're
getting married because it's possible to get a divorce."

Anne ignored the lump building in her
throat. It hurt that he had to point out that possibility so soon.
"Uh, right. Divorce is possible. It’s not like it was ever
outlawed, but …"

“Just not common?”

She nodded.

He sighed again and lay down, cradling
his head in his hands. "Because we're not actually bonded. Good,
that's good."

Anne's heart swelled in a bad way. She
rested her palm over the ache but the hurt remained.

"What about you?"

She jumped at the feel of his hand on
her knee. She looked at him. His eyes were narrowed in apparent
concern.

"What do you mean?"

He sat up with her. Anne's face heated
when his hand stayed with her knee. Their bodies were close now,
close enough that Anne could make out the little whiskers growing
on Mike's chin and jaw, close enough for her to count all the
little grooves and lines in his lips.

"You just said you wanted a fairytale
wedding. You didn't get that out of me today and you have to be
worried about what will happen when your pack finds out that we're
not actually bonded."

She hadn't thought of that. Dread
filled her and emptied sickeningly like how she felt before she was
about to vomit.

Mike rushed off the bed, grabbed her
hands in his and stared her in the eye. "Calm down. Look at me,
look at me! Breathe nice and slow. Everything's going to be
fine."

Anne felt like she was falling but
somehow did what he said. Deep in and out, in and out. She landed
on a cottony soft cloud. She snapped to her senses when she felt
her head being lifted and a pillow being propped under there.
Right. She was still on the bed.

Mike's face hovered above hers, concern
crinkling his brow. "You back with me?"

His body was half on top of hers, his big
hand on her shoulder, holding her down as though he was afraid she
would have a seizure or something.

He was so close their noses nearly
touched. She could barely think. Whether it was because of the way
their bodies pressed together as they were horizontal or because of
her little panic attack, she didn’t know.

His hand felt surprisingly cool against
her forehead, then her cheek. "Do you have a history of panic
attacks?"

She shook her head, adoring the feel of
his palm against her skin. "No."

He removed both of his hands. Anne fought
to keep from moaning at the loss as he scrutinized her. "You really
take your family life seriously."

She nodded.

"That's why you couldn't just pack your
bags and go when Gordon ordered you to get married? It has nothing
to do with any wolf loyalty you have to him, it's because you don't
want to leave your family?"

"Most people would consider that to be
a wolf loyalty."

"Hmm," he said. "Where's your real
family?"

Anne tensed. She wanted to move away but
their positions left her trapped. Though he didn’t touch her, his
body above hers and his hands on either side of her head, made sure
that she couldn't move without arousing his strange suspicions
further.

It didn't seem to matter if she kept
still since his close proximity apparently left him aware of every
twitch she made, including when her body tightened up.

She forgot he was a detective, that he
was trained to notice the little things. Even then, her life was
none of his business. "The pack is my real family."

He lifted a brow at her. "Don't play dumb,
I mean your blood relatives. Your brothers, sisters, parents. All
I've seen is that you have a grandfather who, so far, doesn't seem
to mind if you get married to man you don't love and who didn't
bother showing up to your wedding."

"I didn't show up because I know it's
not real."

Mike leaped off of her just as Anne
launched herself forward, which was good, otherwise their heads
would have smashed together.

Bill stood in the doorway, arms folded
and a smile of interest on his lips. "I hope you have a good excuse
for being in that position with my granddaughter."

"We're married," Mike's voice ground out
from his throat defensively, his fists clenched in the bed
sheets.

Bill tsked. "But not bonded. The two of
you might like to play Gordon for a fool while the rest of the pack
is eating out of your hands, but I know better."

Mike looked from him to Anne, and back
again. Anne wished she could see what swirled around in his head
that made his posture so stiff. "Are you even her real
grandfather?"

Anne shrieked.
"
What?
"

"No." Bill answered.

"Grandpa!"

"It's alright, Annie." Bill stepped into
the room. Anne felt anything other than alright, though Bill seemed
the picture of calm and control.

"The man is an officer of the law, if
he wants to ask questions to make himself feel safer, then we
should answer."