Anthony held his glare for a long moment, then finally looked away in disgust. “Looks like all the other packs are giving in. Bunch of pussies. My pack isn’t signing up for any damn central registry. The rest of you idiots do what you want.” And he got up and walked out of the room, with his pack members following him.
Chapter Fourteen
He stood back and watched the group of Alphas flirting with their stupid little groupies, and the rage that filled him nearly made him choke.
The women, who’d once flocked to him, were avoiding him. It was as if they sensed his weakness.
A busty redhead, foolish and empty-headed, walked by him without even looking. He’d winked at her earlier; once, that would have been enough to make her wet between the legs. But instead, today, she’d flashed him an uncertain smile and then quickly hurried away.
The redhead brushed up against an Alpha from Northern California. “Going my way?” she giggled at him.
“I am now!” he barked happily. As the two of them headed off to his room, the Alpha’s hand wandered south, until it came to rest on her full, round rear. The Alpha cupped her right butt cheek and squeezed, hard. The redhead giggled and squirmed.
“My, what strong hands you have!”
Bitch. Who did she think she was?
He’d be himself again soon. And when he was, he’d find that redhead when she was out for a run by herself, and he’d hunt her down, and he’d show her who was strong. He’d take her, and when he was done with her, he’d tear her into little pieces. Slowly. Oh, so slowly.
* * * * *
It was a weekend, and the playground in downtown Somerville was crowded. Grant was at the lodge for the day. He was working with Cliff, Talbot and Ford, helping to draw up various agreements for different uses of the werewolf central registry. In addition to the central database that identified every werewolf, there were also mating databases and psychic talent databases. The werewolves would send updated pictures of their members once a year, and they would immediately report any pack members who had gone rogue or missing.
Celeste, Truman and Mandy sat on a bench and watched Jeffrey play in a small playground. They’d taken him to a bookstore to buy a few new children’s books, and then he’d begged to stop and play on the jungle gym when they drove by.
“Do you think we’re safe here?” Celeste asked Mandy, trying to stifle her nervousness.
“It’s broad daylight, we’re in a crowded place, we’re nowhere near Somerville, and Truman and I are both here.” Mandy said. She looked around to make sure there was nobody close enough to hear their conversation, then leaned in closer to Celeste. “Have you given any thought to changing?” she asked in a low voice.
Celeste glanced down at her clothes. T-shirt, jeans, sneakers. Grant had told her she looked good enough to eat, just that morning.
“Not your clothes, you twit,” Mandy said. “I mean becoming a werewolf. It used to be risky for humans to be turned by a bite. These last couple of years, with healers working together and exchanging information, we’ve gotten it to the point where there’s zero risk, under the right circumstances.”
Chantelle felt a rush of panic. “You’re assuming that I’m going to stay with Grant.” She already knew she couldn’t bear the idea of leaving, but the thought of committing to anyone, to actually opening up her heart, filled her with fear.
Mandy smiled. “You could do worse. Honestly, even though I give him a hard time, it’s more of a little-sister thing really. He’s a great dad to Jeffrey, and he’s not the worst looking guy.I mean sure, he dresses kind of weird and smells funny, and he has a stupid haircut, but you could learn to get used to all that.”
“He smells great, he tastes even better, his haircut is awesome, and he dresses just fine!” Celeste snapped before she could stop herself. Then her cheeks flamed bright red.
“Um,” she said.
“Ha. Got you,” Mandy said triumphantly. “You’re in luuuuurve. With your mate. And I know that the sex with him is great, because you have that just-been-fucked-and-damn-it-was-good glow to your cheeks.”
“Do you always say exactly what you’re thinking?”
“Yes, that’s part of the beauty of me.” Mandy smiled smugly. “I mean, seriously. Why wouldn’t you stay with Grant? Hot sex, he’s a great dad, and he dotes on you. I can tell by the way he looks at you. Like you’re a meal he wants to eat more of.”
“Ahem! Jeffrey!” Celeste, blushing, called out to him across the playground. He was getting a little too far away for comfort. “It’s time for us to go!”
She hurried over to him.
“Look,” he said. “There’s a puppy over there. Can I pet it?”
She saw him point to a lady standing just outside the park, who had just let her dog off the leash.
“We don’t know if it’s friendly,” she told him. “And also she should have it on a leash, with all these kids around.”
“Dogs always like me. I’ll be quick.” And he was off like a shot, running towards the dog, with her chasing after him.
