Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (34 page)
The men looked between one another and Austin licked his thumb. “There’s always a possibility. There’s not as much land up north, and a lot of those packs haven’t done well. The Councils regulate the packs to make sure it’s kept under control. Not everyone up there has the money to buy land. We got lucky because our parents lived here a while and built up a solid reputation, even though they weren’t in a pack. I still had to jump through some hoops to get this place.”
Naya waved her fork. “It’s not just panthers, Reno. I heard a story about a den of lions who started something in East Texas. They tried to quietly wipe out surrounding packs and take over the entire territory.”
“What about the Council?” I asked.
Austin flicked his eyes around the room. “The Council keeps order, but they’re only a handful of men. A den of lions they could probably handle, but if something bigger came down… Christ. Let’s not bring up this merry topic over dinner. My stomach’s already churning.”
“So is mine, but I think it’s because of the beans,” Melody said with a dramatic groan. “I’m going upstairs.”
“Mel, take the boys’ dishes to the sink for me,” Izzy said. “Next time I’m putting them on dishwashing duty for leaving their plates behind.”
Melody smirked triumphantly. “Good.”
“Hope everyone saved room for pie,” Lexi said in a singsong voice.
The room was thunderstruck.
“Hold up. You didn’t say anything about
pie
,” Reno said. “Goddammit. I wouldn’t have eaten that last rib if I’d known there was pie.”
William pushed his plate forward with a smile. “Pie indeed. Blackberry?”
Lexi stood up with a look of mischief. “This is a celebration for Denver. Do you think I’d just bake a blackberry?”
“Fuck me. Did you bake cherry?” Wheeler asked, dropping his rib on his plate. “You haven’t made that in three years.”
“You’ll see,” she sang.
They watched her carefully, knowing how quickly one pie disappeared in a house full of Shifters. As full as they were, if she so much as whipped a pie out, those men would have turned into hungry jackals. Lexi didn’t bake pies often, but when she did, they were gone within minutes. And cherry pie was not only Denver’s favorite, but also one she baked so infrequently that whenever she did, fights ensued.
“I’ll give you some pie,” Naya whispered in Wheeler’s ear.
Melody scuttled out of the room, turning the corner just as the doorbell rang.
Denver’s wolf growled, letting the sound settle in his throat like a continual thought.
“This was supposed to be a family day,” Austin complained.
The twins raced through the room after having changed into some dirty jeans and sneakers. When I saw Denver’s straw hat on Hendrix’s head, I snatched it off as he ran by and flew out the back door. It was too sentimental to let it get destroyed in an imaginary pack war.
Jericho rubbed his face. “Don’t look at me. I rescheduled Saturday with the band. They know better than to show up here uninvited.”
“Mom, this lady wants to talk to Denver,” Melody called out from the hall.
Nadia entered the room with a graceful step. Her white slacks accentuated her long legs all the way down to her heels. Not many women had the courage to wear all-white pants. Her white blazer was tailored to fit and set off the red shirt beneath. Nadia’s blond hair draped down her shoulders like silk—the kind of hair that men dreamed about running their fingers through. She looked as if she’d just stepped out of a shampoo commercial; all she needed was her own portable fan to blow it around. As she looked about the room, she moistened her ruby-red lips with a sweep of her tongue.
Naya shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Nadia, we weren’t expecting you. Um…”
Denver’s wolf sniffed in her direction and continued nuzzling against me. After Nadia’s gaze traveled around the room, through the process of elimination she figured out which one was Denver.
“There you are.” After admiring his wolf, she looked up at the Packmaster. “Can we speak privately?” It was a silent request for him to force Denver to shift.
Austin leaned back in his chair with a wide grin. “If you can get him to change, he’s all yours.”
A few of the men hopped up from the table and milled around the kitchen near the counter, searching for the hidden location of the pies.
“I’m sorry, but Denver won’t be interested in speaking with you,” I said.
Her brow arched. “Is that so? I think a man should speak for himself. Don’t you?”
“Indeed,” William muttered.
I kicked him under the table.
Nadia approached Denver with her palm up so he could smell her. I saw recognition in his eyes as he leaned forward and made a peculiar sound.
“Let’s go outside,” she said soothingly to him.
Suddenly I didn’t like the way she was talking to him. A fierce sense of possession swept over me, and I felt like doing something irrational. It was a good thing there wasn’t a chocolate pie on the table.
When her hand stroked his muzzle, I snatched her wrist and steered it away. “Don’t you put your paws on him.”
“Mee-yow,” one of the men razzed from across the room. Probably Jericho, because Izzy tossed a peppermint across the room at him.
“I don’t think you know who you’re talking to,” she said.
I stood up and almost tripped when I stepped over the bench. “And I don’t think you know who
you’re
talking to. Denver is mine. Claimed.”
“Mated?”
I glanced down at him and rubbed his ear. “Maybe soon, but it’s exclusive. This is one fight you won’t win, and you need to ask yourself how much you’re willing to fight, because I’m willing to go all the way.”
She sighed dramatically. “Why must it be so difficult to find a man who will worship me?”
Trevor breathed out a laugh, and when April flicked his ear, he put his head on the table. His body rocked with quiet laughter until he released a loud snort.
William’s eyes danced with humor as he rose from the table with his empty plate. “I think it’s time to look for some pie.”
I turned back to Nadia. I didn’t care if she had on designer clothes, expensive jewels, imported perfume, manicured nails, diamond earrings, salon hair… Okay. Maybe it bothered me a little bit. “I don’t mean to be a bitch, but this wolf is telling you to back off because Denver is off-limits. That means no more calling his phone, my phone, the house phone, or any phone within a twenty-mile radius of our territory.”
Someone whistled, surprised, and the room fell silent.
There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. “Wouldn’t you rather see him with someone who can give him a better life than this?”
I blinked in surprise. “You would want him to leave his pack?”
Austin cleared his throat and stood up, giving her a pointed stare.
She lifted a shoulder innocently. “Just an observation. Not all women want to be treated like a conquest. Some want to be treated like a queen.”
“Well, you picked the wrong wolf if you think Denver is submissive enough to worship you,” I said.
She smiled knowingly. “I sensed he had a good heart, and that’s a most attractive quality. For that I can overlook his appalling sense of style and inappropriate humor.”
“Really?” I asked. “Because that’s what I love best about him.”
Nadia patted her small clutch against her hip. “I need someone to offer me a ride.”
“How the hell did you get here?” Austin asked.
“Taxi. My plan was to have Denver drive me home, but apparently he’s been leashed.”
Austin snapped his fingers. “Reno.”
Everyone chuckled because that meant Nadia would have to ride on the back of his Triumph motorcycle.
April wasn’t smiling. “I have plans with Reno,” she said possessively, clearly not wanting this woman to be sitting against her mate’s back and holding on tight.
Austin glanced at Wheeler and Jericho.
“Don’t look at me,” Jericho said. “I’m not going anywhere or I’ll miss out on pie.”
The doorbell rang and pulled everyone’s attention away.
“Jesus Christ,” Austin murmured, stepping away from the table and leaving the room.
An awkward moment passed as Denver licked my hand while Nadia watched with mild curiosity.
Denver suddenly spun around and bared his fangs, his feral growl penetrating through the room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to reach for him. He stepped closer to Nadia and that’s when my heart picked up speed.
“Back away slowly,” I said to her.
She smiled and stood close to the counters. “It’s not me he’s growling at, darling.”
Prince entered the room with Austin. Denver’s wolf lunged, but not before I grabbed ahold of his neck. The force yanked me forward and I lost my balance before rolling onto my back. So there I was, staring up at Prince’s crotch with Denver straddling me.
“I heard about the fortunate turn of events,” he said, looking down at me. At this angle, I couldn’t help but admire the high sheen on his dark slacks.
I pushed at Denver’s chest, but he didn’t budge. This seemed to annoy Prince, who leaned forward and said, “Submit.”
Denver’s wolf peeled back his lips and licked his teeth with his tongue, growling so fiercely it vibrated against my chest.
“Denny, that’s enough.” I wriggled from beneath him until I could stand up.
“You weren’t saying much of that back in the prison from what I heard,” Wheeler noted with a rolling chuckle. Naya winked at him in approval.
I felt my face flush when I looked up at Prince. “Thanks,” I said quietly, acknowledging his help with Denver’s situation.
“What’s this?”
“You once asked me to return it to you someday. Take it. I have no use for such things.”
Despite losing out to Denver, he was still thoughtful enough to return something that was mine. My heart saddened to think he might have once put the stone in a setting.
I pinched the diamond between my fingers and smiled wistfully at him. “You’ll find her someday,” I said under my breath so no one could hear.
I moved away from him and handed Austin the diamond. “For the pack,” I said. “Hopefully this makes up for everything.”
Austin gave me a quizzical stare. “You sure you don’t want this for yourself?”
He meant a ring, and I shook my head. Austin placed his hand on top of my head and smiled, the small cleft in his chin deepening.
Prince’s visit wasn’t going over well with Denver. His wolf grew restless and backed up near the table. He knew better than to attack a Packmaster, but I could tell he was itching to.
Prince appraised him with superiority in his eyes. “He’s not much of an impressive wolf.”
Just as soon as the words left his mouth, Denver shifted back into human form. William slid the hat across the table and Denver set it on his head.
I couldn’t help but laugh, because he most certainly
was
an impressive wolf. He didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on but kept his cool and folded his arms when he caught sight of our guest.
Prince failed to conceal his smile when he stepped to the side and revealed Nadia standing behind him. He seemed aware of her presence, although he hadn’t looked at her.
Denver snatched the hat off his head and held it in front of his crotch. “Nadia,” he said, eyes darting around.
She tilted her head to the side and made a dramatic sigh. I smiled wickedly, having my answer that she hadn’t seen him naked until now. Denver was a sight to behold, and she must have felt a twinge of regret.
“I suppose if no one here will offer me a ride, I’ll just call myself a cab,” she huffed.
Prince turned and laid eyes on her for the first time. They shared similar European features, except his hair was dark and hers light. He bowed his head and introduced himself. “I’m Prince.”
A grin touched the corner of her mouth. “Nadia Kozlov.”
Familiarity sparked in his eyes. “Would you be of any relation to Alexei?”
She elegantly inclined her head. “He’s my father.”