“No,” I say to Angel. “I’m not going to take. I’m not going to ask. And I’m not going to demand. But you, you don’t get to try to use it as a weapon either.”
My hands shake as I inch towards my breakfast and go back to my bedroom. I avoid them successfully all day.
I find myself ambushed while cooking dinner that night. Riot and Hazard corner me with typical wolf-like grace. It’s unnerving to suddenly be the focus of their complete and undivided attention. Hazard pulls himself up on the island and kicks his legs, while Riot glides around me, watching me over my shoulder, and generally leaving his incense scent cloying every bit of free air I have.
“Why are you living out here alone?”
What a weird question! I arch a brow and cut the ends off the carrots.
“Because I like being alone.”
“But don’t you want a family, kids, a mate?” Hazard asks and winks at me.
I pause, forgetting what I’m doing; something wild flutters in my chest. Probably indigestion.
I grunt. “Not particularly.”
Riot comes around the counter, brushing his black hair off his face. “Let me cut those for you.”
He gives me no choice, muscling in, his hand on mine. Warm, hard, so different from my hands. My skin tingles. I abruptly let go and step back. He flicks me one of those panty-melting grins.
Too bad I’ve seen what wolves like him can do.
“So, where is your family?”
What. Is. This? An interrogation now? Why do they want to know about my personal life?
“Other side of the valley.”
“Ah, they live with that pack, then?” Riot asks carefully.
Damn it. I glare at the first painful guest, who continues chopping, smiling at the carrots like he’s going to personally make sure they have a good time, and then the other, who has unbuttoned his shirt and is now looking like some celebrity kitchen social media star. No one has the right to look that hot in a kitchen.
I bark a laugh. “Yeah, I was unfortunate enough to grow up in the pack territory. I lived with them until I moved here.”
“Oh. But you’re human.” Hazard winces. “That was rude, sorry. But you are human, how did you survive?”
“Not rude at all,” I say stiffly, trying to hide how uncomfortable I am. I’m searching to buy time so I can come up with an answer that doesn’t give away all my secrets.
“Was your mother human?”
I shake my head. “My mother was a kind woman.” There, nice and evasive.
“I don’t understand-”
“Hazard!” Riot snaps.
The redhead lowers his head, and when he looks up, I can see the apology on his face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be right back.” I go into the lounge and feel my feet glue to the floor. My lounge looks like someone shaved a freaking wolf in here. My furniture. I’m never going to get that out.
There are clumps hanging from the roof; it’s on the curtains. I’d like to pick the culprit, but it appears to be all of them!
Wrath walks past me, leaning in close. “Oops.”
My temper simmers as I glare holes in the back of his head.
“Oh, that is real mature, Wrath.”
