Mr. Red Riding Hoode: Poconos Pack, Book 2 (9 page)

“You might want to lay off the booze, man.”

He eyed Dave blearily. Damn, that was some fine tequila. “Why’s that?”

“You’re growling.”

He picked up his glass, surprised when it was empty. See? This was why he didn’t drink. His glass always wound up empty. “Oh.” He laughed, afraid it sounded more like a giggle than anything. “Cool.”

The two men exchanged a look. “You’re happy that you’re growling?” Ben sounded surprised. “It means you’re turning.”

“Your fangs are showing too.” Dave was grinning as he put his arm on the back of Ben’s chair.

He poured another shot into his glass and raised it. “The better to protect you with, my dear.”

Chela was on cloud nine. She had her mate, she had her home, she was Omega of her Pack, and her life was damn near perfect. She was disgustingly cheery this morning, a fact Belle had pointed out with that vapid smile that had more than one grown man running from the room in total, abject fear.

But not Chela. Not today. No, today she was going to stay disgustingly cheerful no matter how much her Luna snarled. She’d been living with her mate for over a week, and things were blissfully happy between them. They talked, they laughed, and she’d even caught signs that his Wolf was beginning to emerge. Not much was going to get her down today.

Besides, Belle was happy for her. She could feel it, like bubbles in champagne. She’d have to check with Ben, see if Belle’s bad hip was bothering her again today.

Belle was the one who’d talked Rick into installing a heated pool and spa somewhere in the lodge. The exercises the Luna did eased her pain greatly, but even so, Ben had told her that Belle was
always
in some pain, that it never ended. Unfortunately, the doctor she’d been seeing, Jamie Howard, had lost his mate to a rogue shifter, nearly dying himself. Only the intervention of one of the local Bears had saved him, and rumor had it that the good doctor hadn’t thanked him for it.

Chela couldn’t imagine losing Steve, and she’d only known him for two weeks. The thought of losing him and surviving? She shuddered. It would be like trying to survive without your soul. She prayed that something happened before Dr. Howard lost himself to his emotional pain, or not even Rick would be able to stop him.

Steve was somewhere in the lodge, his scent faint but present. She grinned, hoping she’d be able to meet him for lunch. She had plans for Christmas for both of them, plans she wanted to hint around. She was hoping he liked what she had come up with, or she’d have to figure out how to live in New York.

No respectable Wolf wanted to live in New York. It was run by
Coyotes.

Chela shuddered.

She scrunched up her nose at the thought of the New York Coyote Alpha and his relationship with Rick. The two had become friends, even going so far as to grant each other unlimited access to each other’s territory, but still.

Coyotes.

She followed the faint scent of her mate, the tantalizing odor becoming stronger and stronger as she approached Lowell’s restaurant. Damn it. He must be eating already. She peeked inside, hoping to join him.

Her heart skipped a beat. Her mate was there, all right.

And he wasn’t alone.

The blonde with him was curvy, with bright blue eyes and a smile that would send strong men to their knees. She was laughing at something Steve had said, her head back, the throaty sound causing more than one male gaze to flitter her way. For a split second, Chela imagined taking that wealth of blonde hair and holding on to it while she cut her damn head off and played soccer with it.

Then she did the smart thing and opened her senses, using her Omega power to see how her mate felt about the blonde.

Affection was the first emotion to assault her, and she nearly cried out in pain until she realized that the affection was similar to what he felt around Ben and, to a lesser extent, Dave. This woman was close to him, yes, but not a lover. The woman’s emotions filled her as well, the closeness a friendly one rather than romantic. This woman was no rival.

Chela could breathe again.

She sauntered toward the table, determined to be introduced to the young woman having lunch with her mate.

A whiff of something strange, something shifter, caught her attention. It wasn’t long before she realized it came from the laughing blonde. What was that? She hadn’t scented it before, but they’d been really isolated before Rick came. Dave had even taken online college courses rather than attended college the way he’d hoped to.

There was something vaguely feline about that scent. Cheetah, maybe? It wasn’t Puma, the only really feline scent she was familiar with, but it had the same warm undertones that the Luna scent did.

“Graciela.” She stopped trying to figure out what the scent was, only to find she’d reached her mate’s table. He was smiling up at her with warmth she hadn’t dared hope to see before the mating instincts kicked in. He stood, offering her a short, sweet kiss and taking hold of her hand. “How has your day been?”

She smiled. “Pretty good. Better, now that I found you.”

His answering smile was almost as happy as she was certain hers was. Her cheeks felt hot, but inside she was dancing with glee. “You want to join us? We haven’t ordered yet. Charlie just arrived.”

The blonde wiggled her fingers hello. “Charlene Lowe, but everyone calls me Charlie.”

Chela stilled. Lowe? Smelling like a feline? Oh, shit. She wondered if Rick was aware a feline
Lowe
was in his restaurant. “Um. Hi.”

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Please don’t do that. It’s why I told Dave not to tell anyone who I was until I after got here.”

Steve looked back and forth between them, the bubbly happiness he’d felt the moment he spotted her disappearing. “What’s going on?”

Chela took a seat with a sigh. “Lowe is the family name of the…” She glanced around the restaurant at the humans eating their meals. “The CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation.”

The shifter Senate ran a legal corporation headed by the Leo, the ruler of the American shifters. It was a charitable organization that was mostly concerned with the conservation of endangered species. They only accepted donations from shifters, so they didn’t fall under public scrutiny. The Wildlife Conservation Foundation did a lot of good, helping to repopulate the wolves in Yellowstone National Park and giving the big cats born in the United States a safe environment to live in. She’d heard that there were more tigers living in the United States than any other place in the world, and the WCF helped to take care of them.

Wariness spiked through Charlie, but her gaze was remarkably bland. “He’s my brother.”

“Oh.” Chela felt faint. She was sitting at the table with the sister of the Leo himself. She’d pictured playing soccer with the woman’s severed head.

She was so dead it wasn’t even funny.

“He’s a pain in my ass.”

Steve chuckled. He had no idea who he was sitting across from, but Chela would make sure he found out as soon as it was safe to do so. “Do tell.”

“He thinks that because he runs a huge corporation he gets to tell me what to do.” Charlie sniffed disdainfully. “As if.”

Chela tried to relax, but the fact that the Leo could show up looking for his errant sister had her shaking in her shoes. “Why are you here?”

Charlie actually sagged in her seat. “I’m here to visit Dave, get a job—”

Oh
shit.

“—and be just a normal, everyday girl, preferably in that order.”

That was good, because Chela didn’t think she could treat the fucking sister of the fucking
Leo
like an ordinary girl.

Charlie eyed her. “Relax, little puppy. I don’t bite.” She winked. “Much.”

“Graciela? What’s wrong?”

Steve’s concern was ratcheting up by the minute, as well as a low, simmering protectiveness that soothed her, let her feel safe. She leaned toward her mate and whispered in his ear, softer than she would have if he had still been fully human. “Her brother is the Leo, the ruler of all the shifters.”

He sat back and blinked blandly at Charlie. “Oh. That must suck monkey balls.”

Charlie nearly spewed out the sip of water she’d just taken. “Oh, I
like
you.”

“Not too much,” Chela muttered. Sister of the Leo or not, she’d still rip her head off if Charlie made a move toward Chela’s mate.

Charlie’s brows rose. “He’s a bow-wow? I didn’t smell anything.” She stared at Steve for a moment, her gaze turning sly. “Oh. You’re so new you still squeak.” She grinned at Chela. “Mates?”

Chela nodded.

“Congratulations.”

Steve’s brows were practically in his hairline. “Bow-wow?”

Charlie made a sound remarkably like Blue from
Blue’s Clues
, and both Steve and Chela laughed.

“What job are you here for?” Chela was feeling more and more comfortable around the Lion, even more so when she felt the good humor in the feline.

“I heard Dave and someone named Belle need a second-in-command to help with the event planning.” She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Partying is my thing.”

Chela bit her lip. “You haven’t met Belle yet, have you?”

The spike of unease told her the Lion wasn’t nearly as calm about all this as she appeared. She genuinely wanted to be here, wanted the assistant’s position. Odd, when among their kind she was considered almost royalty. “Not yet.” She dropped the party-girl persona. “Any advice?”

“Be yourself. Belle will see through bullshit faster than Superman through a brick wall. Trust me. Belle doesn’t mind someone who likes to play, but when she’s talking business you’d better be on the ball.” Belle ran a tight ship in the restaurant, and its reputation had grown as a result.

“That’s what Dave said when I told him I wanted to apply.” Charlie grinned. “We’ve been friends for years.”

“You think it’s a good idea to work with friends?” Steve’s tone wasn’t judgmental, merely curious.

Charlie tilted her head, a slight frown on her forehead. Chela could sense her confusion. Lions might not live in Packs, but they did live in Prides, and the dynamics were similar. Charlie would have an even easier time fitting in than Steve would. “You don’t?”

“Packs are family, Steve.” Chela kept her voice low. No one but Pack should hear what she was saying now. Most shifters did their best to speak about the shifter world in business terms, something the humans around them wouldn’t think twice about. But Steve was still so new he might not understand unless it was stated bluntly. “We’re friends, brothers, sisters, annoying older cousins who steal your dresses and stretch out the ass so you can’t wear it anymore, then ask for it as a cheap gift.”

Steve patted her hand. “That makes things much clearer. Thanks.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “You’re welcome, dear.”

Chapter Seven

Steve was damn near hyperventilating as he stared at himself in the mirror.

Right into his golden-brown eyes.

Steve’s eyes were blue, not brown. Perfectly normal, human, blue eyes.

Not golden-brown wolf eyes.

Fuck. He wasn’t ready yet. Couldn’t the stupid change wait a day or two? Or four?

“Graciela?” He cleared his throat as the raspy squeak left his mouth. “Graciela!”

“Hmm?”

Oh, God. That sleepy rumble had him nearly stumbling back to the bed. She’d moved him into her cabin right after the mating bite, informing him that now they were mated he needed to be close to her. He’d be changing soon, she said, and…

And…

He whimpered as he looked down at his hands.

He had fur between his fingers.

“
Graciela!
”

He heard her fall out of bed. “Steve?”

“I’m fuckin’ furry!”

She stumbled to a halt in the bathroom doorway, taking in his appearance quickly. A sexy, satisfied grin flitted across her face as she leaned against the doorjamb.

He snarled at her. “You don’t have to look so happy about it.” He knew, intellectually, that he was going to become…
like her
, but he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. It was only two days until Ben and Dave’s wedding, three until Christmas, and here he was, all fuzzified and freaked out.

“Get naked.”

He blinked. “Now?” She wanted to make love now?

She laughed, her whole face lighting up. “Perv. No. If you change in your clothes, it can hurt you. You’ll get all tangled up as your limbs change and you go down on all fours.” She waggled her brows. “And you know how much I love you on all fours.”

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the mirror, jumping as he realized he had fangs. He pulled back his upper lip, staring at the white, pointy teeth that looked so foreign in his mouth. “I’m too old to be
Teen Wolf
.”

She snickered, pulling off the nightshirt she’d thrown on before falling asleep in his arms the night before. Underneath, she was gloriously naked, nearly distracting him from the fact that fur was beginning to sprout on his arms. “You’re going to be golden,
amorcito
.” She stroked her hand over his T-shirt, his muscles bunching involuntarily under her fingertips. “We need to get you outside.”