“We can sit out here as long as you’d like,” Daniel told her as she turned and saw that almost everyone else had cleared out. There were only a few people left. Tyler stood off to the side, leaning against a tree, watching as some of his wolves filled in the grave. Austin and Trevor were farther away, sending glances her way, looking as if they feared she might have a mental breakdown at any moment. It was a legitimate worry. She mentally shrugged.
She looked over at the bench, then at Daniel. “Do you mind if I have some time alone?”
Daniel’s face looked pained. It was so natural for wolves to want to care for their pack when one was hurting. Touch was essential, and she could tell he just wanted to hold her, not for any reason other than she was a pack mate, and he cared about her. After several heartbeats, he finally nodded and then turned, heading for the other two males from their pack. Tanya looked at Tyler, and he simply bowed his head and then walked away.
Tanya sat on the bench and simply stared at the quickly filling hole. It seemed like such a barbaric thing to do. Burying a person in a box in the ground. Sending them off in a pyre of burning glory was much less nefarious. But then, human ways were often strange to her, and Lisa always found that amusing. The first time Tanya slept over at Lisa’s house, Lisa had been shocked when Tanya had jumped up onto her bed in her wolf form and wrapped herself around Lisa’s prone body. Such behavior wasn’t the slightest bit odd to Tanya. The memory filled her mind, and her lips turned up in a small smile.
“Tanya, why are you furry and in my bed?”
Considering Tanya couldn’t speak to Lisa in her wolf form, she’d phased to her human form, which then left her butt-ass naked—also not a huge deal to her—which caused Lisa to slap her hand over her eyes.
“Wolves sleep in piles sometimes,” Tanya explained. She tried to pry Lisa’s hand away from her face. “It’s a way to stay warm.”
“You have fur, you ridiculous wolf. Why would you need to sleep in a pile to stay warm?”
Tanya stopped trying to pry Lisa’s hand and thought about it before shrugging. “Because touch is essential to wolves. We like to sleep in piles. Why? Don’t humans do that?”
“If they’re into orgies.” Lisa slapped Tanya’s hand, keeping her eyes clamped shut. “Put on some clothes or fur. Now. There will be no naked sleepovers, and you’re lucky I’ll let you put your furry self in my bed. I don’t enjoy shedding.”
“We don’t shed, dork,” Tanya huffed. She jumped up and grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt from one of Lisa’s drawers. Pack shared possessions, often without asking. Lisa also found that to be odd. “I’m decent.” She sighed and then plopped back down on her friend’s bed.
Lisa opened one eye, as if she didn’t trust Tanya to be clothed. Then she opened the other. “We’ve talked about you walking around naked, Tanya. And wearing my clothes.”
“You’re pack. Therefore your clothes are fair game.” She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips. “What’s an orgy?”
Lisa threw her hands up in the air. “What does a human have to do to get some sleep around here?”
“Explain what an orgy is, and then I’ll totally let you sleep. With me. In my fur, which will keep you warm and is very soft. You’re welcome.”
Lisa’s lips pressed tightly together as if she was trying hard not to laugh.
Tanya wiped the tears from her eyes as the memory faded. Her eyes regained focus, and she realized the wolves were done filling in the grave. Now she sat alone next to a pile of dirt with flowers all around it.
“Is that what you wanted?” she asked, as if Lisa sat right beside her. “To be a garden? Because that’s what you are, Lisa. You’re a freaking garden. I’m tempted to let my wolf pee on you.” She waved her hand. “I’m kidding. That would be gross. But not totally undeserving since you left me in my time of need.” She sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. “I just wasn’t ready. I don’t know if you can ever be ready to lose someone you love. But I wasn’t. I’m going to miss the hell out of you, old woman.”
There was nothing more to say. She’d cried herself dry, and Tanya knew no amount of griping at Lisa’s grave would bring her friend back. It was time for her to head home and face her future. Lisa would kick her butt if she didn’t grow a pair, as she often told her to do, and accept what the Great Luna had given her. Dillon wasn’t perfect, but their Creator had never promised a perfect soul mate. She’d simply promised the completion of their soul. The rest would be up to them.
She pushed up from the bench and pulled her shoulders back and her chin up as she walked from Lisa’s grave. “Don’t worry,” she called back over her shoulder. “I’ll be back to visit from time to time. And I’ll tell Tyler to make sure nothing digs you up and chews on your bones.” It was a morbid thing to say, but Lisa would have found it hilarious.
Tanya let out a deep breath and gave a last nod to herself. Yes, it was time to go home.
Chapter
Fourteen
“Sometimes bad things happen because there are bad people in the world. No one is out to get you. The world isn’t somehow keeping score of your rights and wrongs and giving you cosmic karma. There is evil in the world, and therefore, evil things happen to undeserving people.” ~Huck
Huck's muscles ached with every strained breath, the metallic tang of blood thick in the air. He knew they didn't have much time; the wolves that captured them would surely be back soon. Huck rolled onto his side and glanced around the room. He knew they were in the basement of a suburban house because he'd momentarily regained consciousness when the rogues had dragged him and Orson inside. The basement had bare concrete floors, old pipes and insulation, and an ancient, rusted freezer. The room was wide and open, with piles of trash in the center. The walls were lined with old boxes and crates with layers of dust. It smelled of decay and mold.
Huck and Orson had been hauled down a flight of stairs, then thrown into a makeshift cell. Huck stared at the iron bars of the cell that he could tell had been hastily bolted to the concrete floor and the wooden joists of the ceiling. He knew he could break out if he had enough time and was operating at full strength. He heard a door open and groaned. Too late.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs and then ice-cold water hit his face. Huck’s eyes snapped open as he sputtered. “I wasn’t unconscious, asshole,” he snarled at the same time he heard another splash and then Orson cursed.
“Don’t care.” A younger looking wolf stood just on the other side of the cell doors, holding the now empty bucket while staring down at him with a maniacal glee. Huck thought the dude was a hinge shy of a functioning door. “I was told to hit you with some ice water, and what the alpha says, goes.”
“You realize he’s not actually an alpha because your little merry band of psychos aren’t actually a pack, don’t you?” Orson said. Huck shifted so that he could see his friend wiping water out of his eyes.
The other male who’d thrown water on Orson backed up, and both wolves leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the cell. Huck’s eyes bounced back and forth between them. They were young, probably not even thirty in wolf years. He opened his mouth to speak but snapped it close when another set of footsteps sounded on the stairs. A moment later the “alpha,” Gerald, stepped into the room and glared down at them through the bars with glowing, gold eyes.
