Waiting for Wolves: BBW MMF Werewolf Shapeshifter Menage Romance (Shifter Grove Brides Book 5) (2 page)

“That’s what Mama said too.”

“Well, we’re both genuinely intelligent women, dear sister,” Clarissa said, grinning.

Claire smirked. Yes, all of the Delane women were bright as hell, and for some of them, that had caused a lot of trouble. A real Southern woman had to be dainty, sophisticated, and accommodating in all things. Claire had never wanted to be all that sophisticated, and she could only accommodate so much ignorance before she could feel a vein popping on her head. She’d rather get down and dirty with some gardening and landscaping than make finger sandwiches and have tea.

While that sounded like it would sit just right with plenty of local gentlemen, it had yet to be proven true. After a few disappointing run-ins with men barely worthy of the title, she’d just about given up on mankind altogether. If it weren’t for the pesky problem of needing one to start a family, she would have wiped her hands clean of them altogether. That realization was pounded into her all the more clearly whenever she saw one of her younger brothers or sisters, all of them already the proud parents of at least one happy, rosy-cheeked offspring.

“I’d like to think I am as well, but I am at the end of my wits here, I think.”

“What do you mean?” Clarissa asked, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

“I think I need to leave Greenville.”

As soon as Claire said those words, she knew she was right. There was nothing in Greenville or Georgia in general for her anymore. Not since her mother’s passing, anyway. She had devoted the last seven years of her life to taking care of her ailing mother and now with her gone, she found herself as directionless as she’d ever been. She needed something new. Something real. And she wasn’t entirely sure what that could be.

Well, maybe she had a few ideas, but they were just crazy…

“Shut your mouth!” Clarissa yelped, grinning. “Finally!”

Claire cocked a brow at her sister, who was almost clapping as she was bouncing up and down so damn enthusiastically.

“What do you mean
finally
?!”

“Oh, we’ve been waiting for you to discover that you could have a life for
years
now. Dan and I would have taken care of Mama with or without your help. And she always wanted you to go out and actually find some happiness, which is something you seem to be completely reluctant to do for reasons far beyond me. I think it’s a fantastic idea. Where are you going to go?”

Claire smiled, shaking her head. Figures that her sister would be more excited about the prospect of picking up and leaving the only life she’d ever known more than Claire herself was. Or, well, it wasn’t so much a lack of excitement as it was trepidation in the face of the unknown. Just then, though, her phone buzzed in her pocket and she fished it out. She tapped the power button before she remembered that she was sitting right across from her overly nosy sister. When a small smile spread on Claire’s lips, it was already too late.

Clarissa smoothly snatched the phone from her hands, wearing that cheeky grin that Claire couldn’t help but love and loathe in equal measure, and looked at the message Claire had been reading. Clarissa’s eyebrows shot up and Claire couldn’t do much other than groan inwardly and take a big dip of her drink.

“Who the hell is Argo and why is he talking about
Idaho
!?”

CHAPTER TWO

Argo

“You sure about this?” Connor asked, taking a drag from his cigarette.

His weary, soulful gray eyes stared questioningly over the little town rolling out below them, stretching farther and wider with each passing month. Shifter Grove was hitting its stride and becoming more than a backwater town no one knew about. It also incidentally happened to be the closest place to home that Argo Longbrook could be without having to start an all-out war.

“No,” Argo replied calmly, tucking his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans and leaning against the large black truck.

It was loaded up with the few possessions the wolves had deemed necessary to bring along. Some clothes, some mementos, some tools. Not much. They didn’t need much.

“Encouraging,” Cooper said with a chuckle, brushing a hand through his dark brown hair.

Cooper was tall, with strong features and a jaw that made old-time movie stars wish they had his looks. A nose cut straight and true and cheekbones set high. Ruggedly handsome, one would describe him. Cooper was built wider than Argo was, and next to Argo’s fair hair and striking blue eyes, the man looked like something out of a completely different kind of fantasy.

And yet, here they were, getting ready to start their life together. All they needed was a third.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” Argo admitted, rolling back his shoulders.

“So, why are we here?” Cooper asked, exhaling a plume of smoke.

Yes, Argo. Why are we here? Wasn’t New York better? Couldn’t you stay there?

“I thought we already talked about this,” Argo said, keeping his tone neutral.

It wouldn’t do to pick a fight with Cooper on their first day in Idaho. Or at least Cooper’s first day in Idaho.

“We did, but I’d like to hear it again so I know that you know that you’re being borderline insane.”

Argo smirked, a wolfish grin that barely reached his eyes. Few things made him genuinely smile these days. Being around Cooper was one of those things, but it still wasn’t enough.

It’s a start,
he reminded himself.

“We’re in Idaho so I could be closer to my ancestral lands. We are in Shifter Grove so I could make sure my little brother doesn’t go off his rocker and blaze through this place, killing anyone he can before the bears tackle and murder him for being an idiot. We’re standing on this hill so we could pick where we want to live. And we are here together because we can’t be alone.”

The last words seemed to strike home. Cooper sighed, putting out the cigarette against the tire of the truck.

“Mister Longbrook, I didn’t know you had a flair for such dramatics,” Cooper said, brushing past Argo on his way to the passenger seat.

“Don’t you lie. You knew that damn well before we came to Idaho,” Argo said with a wry grin.

Cooper snorted with amusement, pulling the door shut behind him. Argo took another moment for himself, his arms crossing over his chest. Yes, being back in Shifter Grove and Idaho was damn near suicidal. After last year and his run-in with Achilles, Argo knew perfectly well that he wasn’t welcome here. But, he was done living his life to the beat of someone else’s drum. Achilles could suck it up and live with it.

It had been a whim that had made Argo keep up with Battle, or Branson Hunt as he and most of the other Longbrook wolves remembered him by. It was a hunch that made Argo come to Shifter Grove when he heard Battle had arrived in town. And it had been sheer dumb luck that he’d heard the low howls of the Longbrook wolves around Shifter Grove that night, telling him that shit was going to go down and that Battle couldn’t handle it on his own.

For years, Argo had blamed himself for losing Adam, his twin brother. It was one dumb decision, one harebrained teenage plan that was supposed to lead to greatness for their pack, but had instead cost Argo dearly and the pack even more so. His insides twisted as he remembered that last conversation he had with Adam before everything went to shit. That wild fire in his brother’s eyes that convinced Argo to get up and follow him and Adriana, even though deep down inside, he knew what they were going to do was wrong.

That darkness spread in him again, threatening to reach his throat and choke him. Faintly, he could feel himself shaking a little, the sunny summer day losing its color and the blissful sounds of the forest around him dimming rapidly. It was then that he felt a hand on his shoulder and he let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Cooper put both hands on his shoulders, gripping them tightly, his fingers digging into the flesh and grounding Argo.

“This is what I’m talking about,” he said in a low voice, close to Argo’s ear. “This is what we talked about. Why I didn’t want to come here. This
Rain Man
act you pull every time I leave you alone here. I know these areas used to be your home, but we can start over anywhere. You don’t see me running back to Minnesota, hoping to get my ass kicked again and maybe getting mangled by my brother. Why do you have to come back here, where you can’t even look at the damn view without going catatonic and boiling with anger?”

“No one else would stop him,” Argo said.

“
Everyone
would stop him. You said it yourself. He’s lost it. And he hasn’t been around for a year now. You would have heard otherwise if he had. He’s keeping his distance. From Battle. From you. Why can’t you?”

Argo felt the tightness slowly leaving his chest as Cooper’s strong, warm hands made the tension leave his body like they had before. He relaxed, just a little, but it was enough. Next thing he knew, Cooper’s arms wrapped around his chest and pulled him tight. Cooper rested his chin on Argo’s shoulder and without thinking about it, Argo’s hand clasped over Cooper’s. Human contact. It still felt odd.

“This is my home. I can’t keep running from it,” Argo said, his gaze drifting over the thick woods and foreboding mountains surrounding Shifter Grove.

“I don’t want you to run. I just want you to pick another place and call that home,” Cooper still insisted.

The moment was gone. Argo shook himself from the grip of his Alpha partner, ignoring the slightly hurt look that crossed over Cooper’s features as he did so.

“I’ve made my choice.”

“Don’t be surprised if your home doesn’t choose you back,” Cooper said with a resigned sigh.

“I won’t,” Argo promised.

And he didn’t intend to. If there was one thing he’d learned not to do, it was hope for things to go better than he expected them to.

***

“So, let me get this straight,” Tyler started, throwing glances between Argo and Cooper.

Argo shared a look with Cooper, reflecting Cooper’s mild amusement as they stood straight-backed and heads held high in front of Trey and Tyler Warfang.

“You are a Longbrook. Not just a part of the pack but one of
the
Longbrooks. Best known for going around and being ten kinds of fucked up.”

Argo inclined his head in agreement, noting that yes, Tyler was right. And he was being very subdued about the whole thing, which Argo appreciated. He didn’t need to be constantly reminded that the once-proud Longbrook name was now the equivalent of shitty decisions and random bouts of insanity.

“And you, are, well,
not
a Longbrook,” Tyler continued, looking at Cooper. “And the two of you are an Alpha pair, looking to settle down in Shifter Grove. Did I get that right?”

“You did,” Argo said, masking the wry smile that wanted to pull at his lips.

“Can I ask, where’s your pack?”

“Can I ask, where’s yours?” Argo shot back.

That drew a chuckle from both Cooper and Trey, who had been quietly observing the conversation so far.

“The man has a point, brother,” Trey said, rising up from his seat and stepping closer. “I don’t want to get into your business. That’s not the Shifter Grove way. But are you sure this is where you want to be? We haven’t seen Achilles in a while but whenever we do, he stirs up shit.”

That irritation that Argo had fought so hard on the hill in the morning was threatening to rise up again, but Argo swallowed it down. This wasn’t the time.

Achilles had made quite a name for himself after attacking a recent Shifter Grove addition and his girlfriend over past grudges. The werebear had killed Argo’s and Achilles’s brother Adam, Argo’s twin, and had served his time for it. While Achilles had never let it go, Argo had made his peace with it over the years. It was difficult to hate a man who had been tricked into a situation he didn’t deserve to be in and who was simply trying to protect his Alpha.

Still, the memories of that night haunted Argo and he could feel his throat tightening up. He shook his head, as if shaking the thoughts from himself and focusing on the task at hand. Securing a home.

“I’m sure. This is where I
need
to be,” Argo confirmed, ignoring the apprehensive look Cooper gave him.

“Fair enough,” Taylor said with a sigh, pulling a heavy book closer to him on the table. “Tell me what kind of place you’re looking for.”

“Somewhere as far to the east as you can get me,” Argo said without hesitation.

Another round of questioning looks went through the three other wolves in the room. Cooper shook his head a little.

“You’re really going to be laying it on thick, huh,” Trey commented mildly, leaning against the kitchen island.

They were standing in Trey’s and Tyler’s home, a beautifully built, large cabin that smelled of love and kids and family—all the things Argo wanted and was determined to have, come hell, high water, or rabid wolves.

“Yes,” he said simply.

He knew why they were nervous. There was a delicate balance in the area between Shifter Grove and the old local packs and clans. No one wanted more trouble than they needed and no one wanted to get into it with a pack known for their lack of sane thinking. Though Achilles had not shown himself in a while, Argo was sure he was stalking around somewhere, plotting his revenge, missing one of his ears Argo had torn off.

“Well, we have a big cabin about ten miles from town that might work for you, then. It has three bedrooms and two baths and comes with a pretty big swatch of land. We had a puma inquire about it but we haven’t made a deal with him yet,” Trey said, scratching his chin and looking at the map they had rolled out on the smooth handmade tabletop.

It was dotted with little marks all over, designating houses and cabins and ranches that the Warfang brothers had built in the area. They were getting snatched up faster than ever now, and Argo knew the Warfang brothers were working damn hard to keep up with demand. He’d been doing his research on Shifter Grove for a while.