“Hello, Miss Gray.”
I yelped, dropped his phone, and made it into the bathroom before I got a grip on my nerves. How did James know my name? Had Wayne texted him a warning? On second thought, I could only assume James had told him we were meeting to discuss the lease, so it made sense for him to assume I was the so-called lady with him.
Laughing, Wayne retrieved his cell. “Sorry, James. I don’t know what you told her, but you startled her right into the bathroom. Come back here, Joyce. I know you’ve had a long day, but he’s not going to do anything to you, especially not through the phone. James, she’s had a bad time around male lycanthropes. No, don’t put your mate on. I’d like her to be able to talk to you without jumping out of her skin.”
Taking a few calming breaths, I emerged from the bathroom and held my hand out for the phone. Once I secured my grip on it, I took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it, Miss Gray. Wayne said you’ve never had any experience with packs?”
“I don’t. I was infected during an attack, and the CDC let me stay on my own because I haven’t hurt anybody.”
“What do you want to know? Ask all of your questions. I’m happy to answer them.”
“Wayne said lycanthropes cuddle.”
“That’s absolutely correct. We do. There’s a bit of a dance if there is a courting couple participating in our movie night, as males and females alike get exceptionally jealous with minimal provocation. Wayne, as a chronically single hybrid male, typically attaches himself to any of the puppies around or to any couple who isn’t feeling amorous at the time. Sometimes the single males will get together in a pile, but because Wayne is a beta, he’s usually on his own more often than not. This makes him prone to whining. Once he starts whining, the mated females will often comfort him because he’s affectionate and has few outlets for his general tendencies.”
I raised a brow and stared at Wayne. “He says you’re an affectionate cuddle fiend.”
He shrugged. “There’s no point in denying the truth.”
Huh. “So, if I put on a movie and sat on the couch, I would be cuddled?”
“Possibly quite ruthlessly,” James replied. “Don’t get me wrong. He’ll be respectful of your limits, but he’ll accept any attention you give him. It’s a known problem with single lycanthropes. The virus makes us crave pack structure and attention, and a rogue wolf rarely does well alone. It’s harder for single lycanthropes, too, as the virus very much wires us to have permanent companionship. If you don’t want him in your space, tell him no. He’ll respect the boundaries you set. If you choose to lower your boundaries, you’ll have your hands full with an amorous lycanthrope male. The choice is up to you. We try to keep the final decision mutual, with the ladies typically making the first substantial move. But should you make any moves, expect to keep him around for life.”
“I appreciate the warning. What should I expect from the pack?”
“Wayne has spoken to us about your financial situation, although we were unaware of your past problems with male lycanthropes, so we’ll adjust to your needs on that front. The pack’s focus would be making certain you have a stable home environment. We’ll teach you what you should be eating, how much you should be eating, and essentially how we behave within the pack.”
“I signed a five-year lease with Wayne. Was that a bad move?”
James laughed. “Only if you can’t stand seeing him daily.”
“I was notified I would be stuck seeing him daily before I signed the paperwork. For reasons I can’t understand, he wants to hire me as a secretary.”
Wayne smirked.
“You have the patience of a saint, a high tolerance for bullshit, and the ability to handle customers. Everything else you can learn.”
“And here I believed working in fast food would never amount to anything.” I scowled at Wayne’s expression, which turned more and more pleased by the second. “Enlighten me. Why does Wayne look so damned smug?”
“He is a single male lycanthrope alone in a hotel room with a single female lycanthrope who has not evicted him from her territory, and you haven’t barred him from showering you with attention. He is hopeful he will not be single for much longer. This translates to smugness in his specific case,” James replied with laughter in his voice. “While you’re unaware of this, you’ve been accidentally flirting with him by telling him no without driving him out of your territory. It’s a lycanthrope thing. Your virus is interested, correct?”
Annoyed he’d judged my virus’s temperament accurately, I flipped my middle finger at Wayne. “She’s taking a nap because she’s happy right now. I wouldn’t call that interested.”
“Sure, if you say so,” James replied.
I appreciated that he didn’t openly call me out on my bullshit. “Do you actually need him back for any reason? He’s obnoxious.”
“I would like him back in reasonably good health, although if you decide to drag him off somewhere for a week or two to appease your virus, I can live without him for that long. I do ask you return him in generally the same condition, although I’ll ignore if he’s unusually tired for some reason.”
That caught my virus’s attention, and she liked the way James thought. “Anything else I should know?” I asked, hoping he figured out I didn’t actually want any other hints to do something completely inappropriate with a man I’d technically kidnapped despite his general willingness to cooperate without drugs.
Crazy lycanthrope male.
“That covers it. Pack life for you would start getting you used to people in your space with a general intent to cuddle with you or your mate. I am assuming you’ll hunt Wayne at your leisure, but if your leisure could happen sooner than later, we’d be appreciative and likely shower you with gifts for making our lives easier.”
Well, I knew where James stood. “Why would you do that?”
