Wild (35 page)

Drew was a bartender at Growl and a lot of the time acted as Manny's foil. They played off each other with the ease of longtime friends—and, as she'd discovered, lovers.

Elle was serious about staying on with her veterinarian. All the girls knew she'd always wanted to be a vet, that she had that amazing affinity with animals and her own magical ability to heal them. For whatever reason, it was way too easy to see Elle as a fierce and powerful female wolf. She'd had them all laughing at breakfast, joking about finally deserving the name way too many men had pinned on her: bitch.

“How ya doin', Jules?” Manny draped his arm over her shoulders. They'd been walking single file along a narrow section of trail that skirted a rushing creek, but they'd hit a wide spot. Manny was quick to take advantage of it.

“Doing great. It's amazing out here.” It was, with the craggy mountains and thick stands of evergreens crawling up the steep slopes, the creek they followed through small meadows filled with wildflowers even this late in the summer. The afternoon had turned warm, and the air was filled with birdsong. “I've never been in country like this, though I see the mountains from Portland all the time. I've just never gone to see them up close. I envy you, living here.”

“Do you?” Drew wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on top of her head. “Wouldn't you get bored?”

“You're kidding, right?” She turned and kissed his chin, something she would never have done to a man just a week ago. “I've always wanted to write, but could never afford the time off to do it. I quit my job when I realized what a scumbag my boss was—he's the one I was dating until I discovered I was exclusive but he wasn't—and I actually started a book, knowing I couldn't start job hunting until after this trip. It's been planned for months. Luckily I had some savings, but I realized I liked staying home and writing.”

“What do you write?” Manny slipped an arm around her.

She loved being sandwiched between two killer men. She was positive she could use it in a story at some point. “Don't laugh. I'm writing a romance.”

“Why would I laugh?” Manny leaned away from her, frowning.

“People who haven't read them make fun of the books, call them bodice rippers. They forget the main tenet of a romance other than the romance is that it has to have a happy ending. Yes, they can have graphic sex and sometimes silly stories, but I dare you to read a good romance and walk away from it feeling sad.”

Manny took her hand and led her away from the trail, over to a grassy spot beside a huge incense cedar. Drew pulled a blanket out of his backpack and spread it on the ground. “Time for a break. Sit.”

She sat with a guy on either side. It wasn't awkward at all. It felt right.

“So, any chance Manny and I might turn up in one of your books?” Drew tapped the end of her nose and made her laugh.

“Believe me, gentlemen, whenever I have to write about a sexy hero, you two will be foremost in my mind. I'm going to miss you so much when I leave here. I'm hoping that writing about you will be a way to keep you close.”

“Ya know,” Manny said, “when we first built Feral Passions and opened the doors last spring, we had a rule that if any of the guys met a woman he loved enough to keep, he had to wait until at least a week after she'd gone home to find her and see if she still felt the same about him as he did about her. But that was with women who didn't know what we were, what we were offering. So far, only Brad and Cain and Wils and Ronan have met women they could see themselves spending a lifetime with. Of course, after they followed the girls to San Francisco, they discovered that Cherry had figured out our secret.”

“She said it was eye color that tipped her off.”

“That's right,” Drew said. “That night, when Manny and I came to your room, you called us by name. You were right. How?”

“I don't know. I was asleep. I'd been dreaming about Manny.” She glanced at him and smiled. “Very good dreams, by the way. In my dream, he was a wolf, and when you both showed up as wolves, I knew who you were. No reason. I just recognized you in the wolves, somehow.”

Drew took her hand, played with her fingers. “Freaked us out. We had no idea how you knew.”

“Sorry. Neither did I. I still don't.”

“Jules, Drew and I wondered how you felt about us. Could you see a future with a couple of guys who tend to go furry on occasion? Maybe spend some time on the furry side yourself? Occasionally howling at the moon?”

“What?” She looked from Manny to Drew and back at Manny.

Manny ran his fingers through her hair. Pulled her close for a kiss. “I can see a lifetime of kissing you, making love to you. I can't imagine growing tired of you.” He raised his head. “Or this guy. You see how it works with Cherry and the guys. That's what we're asking for. With you.”

“But you need to know everything,” Drew said. “We finally convinced Trak that you should know the truth before you really think about it. If you agree, we'd both need to bite you. Not bad, just enough to break the skin, but you'd go to sleep, and when you woke, you'd be able to shift.”

“If you agree,” Manny added, “you will only have sons, not daughters. Werewolf males are born, the females are made, but you'll live far beyond your normal life span.”

This was amazing. Crazy. She'd have to be nuts … not to. “How far beyond?”

“Well, how old do Drew and I look?”

She shrugged. “Low to midthirties.”

Drew grinned. “I'm the kid here. I was born in 1911. This old fart was born in 1897.”

“Holy. Shit.” She stared at the two of them. Manny was born in the nineteenth century! “Manny, you're almost a hundred and twenty years old!”

“And he doesn't look a day past a hundred.” Drew snickered.

Manny mussed his hair and in a shaking voice said, “Be kind to your elders, sonny.”

“I've been thinking of this week as an impossible slice out of time I never want to give up. You're offering me the fantasy for the rest of my life. I'd be crazy to say no.”

Drew took one hand, Manny the other.

“We still have to give you a week away,” Drew said.

“Time to think it through,” Manny added. “Time to think us through. Drew and I have been off-and-on partners for years, never as committed as Cain and Brad. I asked him this week if he loved me enough to be my partner, even if you weren't part of it.”

“And I said yes, because I've loved Manny for years, but I told him it would be a lot more fun if you were part of the mix.”

“I want that,” Jules said. She meant it with all her heart. “I want both of you.”

*   *   *

Dar was the only one by the pool Thursday afternoon. Everyone had found someplace to be—Jules with her guys, Elle and Tuck checking on a mare near town having a tough labor, and Meg with Trak and Zachary.

Lawz had gone into town to check on the sheriff's case against the poachers. They'd arrested all three guys Tuesday night and found a huge freezer filled with frozen game on Wednesday, most likely from the preserve, though at this point there was no way to prove it. No matter, it had been taken out of season, and Trak was paying to have DNA tests done against the carcasses found within the fence line to see if they could make a match. No wolves had been killed, but the men had been charged with attempted murder, poaching, trespassing, and because they all had prior prison records, felons in possession of firearms.

The sheriff assured Lawz they'd be spending a long time behind bars.

Dar picked up the book she'd been reading. Brad had come out and refreshed her margarita, and she honestly couldn't remember feeling this relaxed. She realized that this was the first time she'd actually been alone since the drive down last Sunday. The weird thing was, she didn't miss the girls, her closest friends ever. She missed Lawz. He'd spent the night in her bed, just as he had every night since she'd arrived. He'd been a wolf that first night, but the man was addictive. More than addictive—she wasn't sure she could walk away without a broken heart.

He hadn't made any declaration like Tuck had to Elle, essentially telling her she was his and talking about a future. It felt as if Lawz was hedging his bets, but she wasn't sure why. The attraction between them was off the charts, and they truly enjoyed each other's company, but for whatever reason, while he'd talked about not wanting to let her go, he hadn't asked her to stay.

Maybe she needed to ask him. Men could be so obtuse sometimes.

With that plan simmering in the back of her mind, she went back to her book. She shouldn't have been surprised when Cherry offered the loan of a terrific werewolf romance. So far, though, Dar thought Lawz was a lot sexier than the hero in the story.

*   *   *

Meg stretched and yawned. They'd been out on the deck for the past couple of hours while Traker talked about the pack history. He'd told Zach that he had to trust him to keep their secret, but he didn't want Meg's friends to feel they couldn't talk openly with him and Meg. Trak didn't think that was fair to their friendship. At first, Zach thought they were making fun of him, but then Cain had dropped his pants and turned into a wolf right there in front of them.

He'd never seen anything so astounding, so flat-out mystical, in his life. He'd held on to Meg's hand and realized what had to be impossible was happening right in front of him, and somehow, that made just about anything possible.

Even Meggie loving him. Damn, but he wished he knew what was wrong.

“Zach, honey? I'm going back to the cabin to take a nap. If I don't show up for dinner, will you come wake me?”

“Of course I will.”

She leaned over and kissed him. Her lips felt warm and soft, but her eyes were sad. She'd been sad since he'd gotten here. At first, he thought she was worried about him, but then he began to suspect it was something more. He honestly didn't know what it might be, and if it was that she didn't love him anymore, he didn't want to know.

He watched her follow the trail until she disappeared into the woods. He'd gotten to be friends with Traker, both of them stuck on the deck healing. The man was the pack alpha, a leader, and he definitely had the pulse of his pack. Nothing got by him.

“Trak? I need some advice. What the fuck is wrong? Meggie's just…”

“Do you love her?”

“What?” Frowning, he stared at Trak. Maybe the guy wasn't all that smart. “Good lord, man. Of course I do. Why do you think I was driving down here when I wrecked my car? I missed Meggie so much I couldn't stand it. I'd been awake all night and finally got up at three because all I wanted was to be with her. Why would you ask me that?”

Trak smiled, sort of a big Cheshire cat grin. “Then maybe you need to tell her.”

“I tell her I love her all the time. I asked her to marry me. I've never asked any woman to marry me, figured it wouldn't happen, but when she came along, I knew she was the one.”

“Zach, I knew Meg was troubled as soon as she got here. The others were laughing and teasing the guys, having a great time, and she was keeping to herself, sort of quiet. Even her friends knew something was wrong.”

“Do you have any idea what?”

“I do. Some I got from her friends, some from Meg when I asked her, and she told me the whole convoluted story. What it comes down to is that Meg doesn't think she's good enough for you. She's afraid you're going to wake up about a week after you're married and realize you made a mistake.”

“I don't understand.” He shook his head. Trak couldn't be right. Could he?

“Another thing. Jules once had an abusive boyfriend. Dar asked Meg if you were abusive.”

“Me?” Zach shook his head. “Hell, no. My father treated my mother like shit. Her spirit was totally broken by the time I came along. I would never treat a woman like that.”

“Meg denied it, and then she went on to list enough qualities to make you sound like a fucking saint.”

He laughed then, but Zach still didn't get it. “At least it's not just me thinking she's unhappy. Do you have any idea why?”

“Yeah. It's simple. She said you're so wonderful, she can't believe you really love her because she's nothing.” He held up his hand when Zach interrupted. “I'm just repeating what I heard the others talking about after a hike they took together. That's when they confronted her. I guess Meg's family life wasn't very supportive. Her mother and father were way too open about the fact they hadn't wanted her, that if not for a broken condom she'd never have been born and they wouldn't have married. That's a horrible thing to tell your child, and Meg's self-esteem is in the gutter. Not professionally. I get the feeling she's afraid that she's such a good personal assistant that you're marrying her to make sure she stays on.”

He stared at Trak for the longest time, going over conversations with Meggie since he'd arrived. Nothing. “I can't believe that. Shit.” He sat there on the deck with his head in his hands and tried to recall if he'd ever told Meggie why he loved her as much as he did. He'd tried to show her. Their sex life was amazing—shouldn't that convince her? He said as much to Trak.

Who laughed way too much for Zach's peace of mind.

“Zachary my friend, that is such an egotistical, totally misogynistic statement that it's one for the records. That good sex is Meg's gift to you. Don't ever think otherwise. In the pack, we treasure our women. They're a powerful part of our world, the stability that keeps a pack healthy. That's why we're so desperate to find mates. I would suggest you go back to your cabin right now and tell Meg exactly why you made that long trip from Portland. Let her know you would follow her anywhere, do anything for her. She makes you whole, Zachary Trenton. But she doesn't know that because you've never told her how you really feel.”