Crying Wolf (Black River Pack Book 1) (2 page)

The guy behind the bar was handsome in a way you could tell he knew it—a few inches over six feet, with dark hair and dark eyes. He watched me with a smirk on his face as I walked towards him.

“What can I get you?” he asked.

“A job would be nice,” I answered. “I heard you might be looking for a new waitress.”

He chuckled underneath his breath and made no effort to hide the look he gave me as he checked me out. “Not sure you really want to work here, babe.”

“Look, you need a waitress and I need a job. I’ve worked in a bar before, so I know what to expect. It won’t take me long to figure out your system so you won’t have to worry about lots of training. Seems like a perfect fit to me.”

“C’mon. Give her a chance, Parker,” one of the guys sitting at the bar offered in support. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her around here every day.”

“Shit,” Parker muttered. “I’m sure you’d love to have her work here. So would most of the guys, but it’s not what you guys think that I’m worried about. Hunter would be pissed at me—she’s got trouble written all over her.”

“I won’t cause any trouble at all,” I promised. “I just want a job. Nothing else. I’m not interested in dating or drinking, so what kind of problems could I cause?”

“That’s what you say now, but I’m sure someone will try to convince you otherwise,” he grumbled.

“Please,” I whispered, letting some of my desperation show in my eyes.

Parker breathed in deep through his nose and shook his head as he looked at me before he answered. “Come back at four for your first shift. Consider it a trial run. If you’re as good as you say you are, then you’re hired. If not, at least you’ll make some tips to tide you over until you find a different job,” he offered.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Don’t thank me yet. Wear jeans and comfortable shoes. I’ll get you a shirt. I just hope we have one small enough for you since you’re such a tiny thing.”

He found a shirt that would fit me and sent me on my way. I ate a quick lunch at the diner and raced back to the motel so I could get ready for my first day at my new job. I wanted to get there early and walked through the door at three thirty. And that’s when I met him—Hunter Tate.

He was as different from Sam as night is from day. As light as Sam was, Hunter was dark. He was six and a half feet of pure sexiness wrapped in lean muscle with thick, almost black hair and eyes that reminded me of melted chocolate. The moment my eyes locked with his, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. The only other time I’d felt anything close was when I had met Sam, but even that didn’t compare to the intensity of this moment. What I didn’t realize was that falling head over heels for Hunter would more than make up for all the bad that had come before him, because he wouldn’t have it any other way.

CHAPTER 1

Hunter

I glanced around the bar and was pleased to see some of our pack members spread throughout the room. When I opened The Den a couple of years ago, I wanted it to be a home away from home for me, my brothers, and my pack. A place where we could relax, have a drink, and not worry about any raised eyebrows when things got out of hand—as they inevitably did. Wolf shifters tended to be a rowdy bunch, after all. My brother Parker was giving me the rundown for how things had gone the last couple of days and I was listening with half an ear until something he said caught my full attention.

“You did what?” I growled. There was no way I’d heard him right, so I had to have missed something.

“What the fuck was I supposed to do, Hunter?” he asked. “I tried telling her no, but I could smell the fucking fear on her. She reeked of it and you know how I am about women in distress.”

“It’s gonna bite you in the ass someday, too,” I warned him. “Like today when I’m forced to kick yours because you know damn well that we don’t hire outsiders.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “But I told her it’s a trial run tonight. She can come in, make some tips, and then hit the road if it doesn’t work out. It’s not like I promised her the job or anything.”

“Which part of ‘we don’t hire outsiders’ do you not understand? You know what’s at stake, and I don’t like the idea of putting the pack at risk for some chick we don’t even know.”

“I’m asking for one shift, bro. Do me a favor and let her work today. She’s gonna be here any minute. Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll be the perfect match for one of the guys. Problem solved, right? She was hot even though she’s a tiny thing,” he tried to reason with me.

My brother was a sucker for a woman in trouble. All they had to do was bat their eyelashes at him and he wanted to save them from all their troubles. Be their fucking knight in shining armor or something.

“Fine. I’ll give her today, but that’s it. Emotions will be running close to the surface soon, and you know it’s harder to hide what we are from outsiders this time of the month,” I conceded, which was a lucky thing for the girl in question, because without my approval, she’d be out on her ass no matter what my younger brother had told her earlier.

“Thanks,” he was saying as I tuned him out because the beast inside me suddenly pushed for control. I reined him in as hard as I could and was surprised by how difficult it was. He pushed against the bond again, wanting out. Now.

Then a pure, sweet scent drifted my way and my wolf wanted to know where it was coming from so he could roll around in it. Parker was looking over my shoulder with a welcoming smile on his face. A growl crept up my throat at the flirty gleam in his eyes as I turned to see who had caught his attention.

She was the opposite of any woman I’d ever fucked in the past. Everything I’d thought I would never want. Her tiny frame looked practically breakable by human standards, let alone a wolf’s. I had to be at least a full foot taller than she was and more than a hundred pounds heavier. She looked nothing like our she-wolves, who were tall, lithe and athletic. But even though she was small, she had curves that were just begging to be touched.

Licked.

Sucked.

Bitten.

Her full breasts strained against the red fabric of the T-shirt she was wearing, the one with my brand stretched across her chest. The only thing that even remotely resembled the women of my pack was the long, brown hair that flowed down her back and the brown eyes that blinked up at me. But even those were better somehow. Her hair gleamed in the sun that streaked through the windows and her eyes held a softness I was unaccustomed to seeing. They also flashed with awareness as chemistry arced between us. I heard her breath hitch as a blush crept up her neck and spread across her cheeks.

She ducked her head for a moment and took a deep breath before she looked up again. Only this time, her gaze didn’t meet mine as she smiled over my shoulder at my brother. The beast inside me, who’d been howling in appreciation as I’d been staring at her, quickly turned to snarling at the sight of her smiling for another man.

I swiveled my head to glare at my brother. “No trial run,” I said softly. I didn’t want her to overhear our conversation.

“Shit, man. You’re gonna make me tell her no?” Parker muttered under his breath.

“You misunderstand me. She’s hired. Permanently,” I bit out.

Parker’s eyes widened in surprise before he glanced between us. Understanding lit in them as he realized what I was saying.

“The fear,” he said. “She’s stalked by danger, then?”

I nodded briefly. “She must be. Spread the word. She’s untouchable. If anyone fucks with her, then they fuck with me. I don’t care who it is and I don’t care if I haven’t claimed her yet. You make it damn clear that I’m not gonna deal with any bullshit about this. You got me?”

“Yeah, man. I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “But are you really sure about this?”

I inhaled deeply and had to grind my teeth to stop from moaning. She might be human and an outsider, but her scent drew me like none other. It called to my wolf and made him demand that I take her and make her ours. And he didn’t want me to wait to do it either.

“Hey, Parker,” she greeted my brother. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m a little early.”

The sound of her soft voice had the hairs on my arms standing up. My cock jerked in my jeans, straining against the zipper. I turned to look at her and wanted nothing more than to drag her into my office when I saw her tongue slide from the corner of her mouth over her pouty bottom lip.

“Not at all, Grace,” Parker replied. “It means you have a chance to meet my older brother, Hunter. He owns the place.”

Her gaze shifted to me and her eyes widened, a hint of anxiety entering them for a brief moment. I’d spent most of my life cultivating a healthy dose of fear in others, but I hated the sight of it directed at me when it was coming from her.

“The same Hunter who was going to be pissed that I’m here?” she asked softly. She trembled slightly, and there was a hitch in her voice as she spoke.

I could smell the uneasiness coming off her in waves, and I understood better why Parker had insisted I give her a chance. She was definitely a woman in trouble. And I was the man who would fix it for her. But first, I had to get her comfortable with me.

“Parker doesn’t know what he’s saying half the time,” I assured her. I heard a light chuckle behind me and knew that my pack members were listening to this conversation. Normally, I wouldn’t care because we were a tight-knit group, but I felt the need for things to be different with Grace. “How about we talk in my office?”

Grace glanced at Parker before answering, almost like she wanted him to object and save her from being alone with me. My wolf paced inside me at the thought of her turning to another man. He wanted out so he could mark her as his and warn off all the other wolves—even my baby brother.

I nodded my head in the direction of my office, and she stepped in front of me as we walked to the back of the bar. I watched the sway of her ass with each step she took and had to resist the urge to reach out and grab her. I could so easily picture my hands gripping her firm flesh as I drove my cock inside her warm pussy.

She exuded a natural sensuality that would have called to me even if she weren’t my mate—one that my male pack members had noticed judging by the stares that followed her as she made her way across the room. I leveled a glare at each of them, warning them off. One by one, they lowered their eyes and showed me their neck in gestures of submission. None of them wanted to anger their alpha over a woman. They might not have realized yet that she was going to be my mate, but they weren’t stupid enough to miss my frustration at their even daring to look at Grace.

When we reached my office, I waved her into the seat across from my desk. She sat down rigidly, and I could see her knuckles whiten as she folded her hands tightly in her lap. When I closed the door behind me, she jerked in her seat. Not wanting to startle her again, I walked slowly behind my desk and sat down.

Her scent changed from uneasiness to outright fear, and I realized that it was likely she was running from something. Quick on the heels of that thought was the awareness that someone had probably hurt her. Based on her reaction to me and how Parker described her, odds were it was a man. Someone the animal inside me would enjoy killing if ever given the opportunity.

It didn’t matter what had brought her into my town. Into my bar. I would handle whatever situation she’d found herself in, because the moment I’d laid eyes on her—no, the instant I’d inhaled her scent—none of that mattered anymore because she was going to be mine. No matter who or what tried to stand in my way. It might sound arrogant to some, but there were many reasons why I was the alpha of my pack. Confidence was just one of them.

“I didn’t catch your last name,” I said, starting off the conversation.

“Shaw,” she said after clearing her throat. “Grace Shaw.”

I liked the sound of her raspy voice. It quivered slightly and made me think about how she’d gasp my name as I drove inside her. Mate, my wolf growled in my head upon hearing her speak again. He and I were in agreement—Grace Shaw was ours.

I had been taught as a child the importance of finding my mate. All wolves were. I had known to expect the fierce attraction and certainty I was feeling right now, but it didn’t help to lessen the impact she had on me. Nothing could have prepared me for the reality of her.

As an alpha, I was accustomed to acting with confidence. My pack depended on my ability to make decisions quickly and without regret. But sitting in front of my mate for the first time—my fully human mate—I was struck by a moment of self-doubt. How would I be able to hold my wolf back long enough for her to come to accept me? Especially since her eyes still held fear as they gazed up at me.

She wasn’t wolf, so she wouldn’t understand the urges that drove me. Grace would want me to court her more slowly than a female wolf would expect. I knew I needed to proceed carefully so I didn’t scare her off. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel the need to run again. Not that she’d get very far. Now that I’d scented her, I knew I wouldn’t let her get away from me.

“Grace,” I repeated as I realized I’d been staring at her in an awkward moment of silence. “I’m Hunter Tate.”

“Yes, Parker mentioned you when I was here earlier,” she said softly.

“I’m sure he did,” I muttered, frustrated to hear his name on her lips yet again.

Why the hell did I put him in charge of the damn bar when I wasn’t around anyway? If I’d been here instead, she would have met me first and I would have been the one who’d offered her the job. Maybe then she’d be more comfortable around me and not my damn brother.

“It’s okay that he’s giving me a practice run, right?” Grace asked.

“More than okay,” I reassured her. “We hashed it out and agreed that the job is yours if you want it.”

Her eyebrows shot up and her jaw practically dropped open at my offer. Then she licked her lips nervously before responding. “But Parker said you wouldn’t want me to have the job? Something about me being trouble?”

“Turns out I’m in the mood for your brand of trouble,” I drawled, tossing a grin her way.