Page 60 of Bewitching the Wolf

“Yes, and a deep scratch above your right eyebrow. Oh, and your neck is bleeding.”

I put my hand up and realize that some wounds obviously transcend the wolf/human shift.

“Have you been in a fight?”

“Nah. Just a tangle with a briar bush at the edge of the parklands.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She shrugs, then moves to the other side of Sammy. The energy is clearly awkward between us. Arlo and Sammy exchange glances, no doubt picking up on it.

“Let’s go and eat,” Arlo says with forced jocularity. “You arrived bang on time, Jax.”

We all fall into step.

Tippy stays well away from me, chatting animatedly to Sammy about skin care products for a swelling belly. I have to be patient, I remind myself, bide my time until we can be alone.

“Here we are!” Arlo bellows excitedly as we arrive at a crowded restaurant.

Fangs Fine Dining lives up to its name. The food is delicious.

As we sit and eat around a heavy petrified wood table, the sconces burning brightly around us and the plants that grow here twining around the small gazebos, I have to admit I’m ravenous. So is my wolf. Beating the Braden pack’s asses may have calmed my psyche, but it sure has left a big hole in my stomach.

Tippy sits at the other end of the table. I keep glancing at her as she nibbles on her roll and picks at her food. She seems to have lost her appetite.

If she senses my gaze, she ignores it.

How ironic that I’ve tamed my wolf, and now Tippy will barely acknowledge me.

Maybe she sees our make-out as a huge mistake.

Maybe she’s regretting it.

My confidence wavers, but only for a moment. I can’t forget how she keened and cried out my name when I brought her to orgasm. How she begged me to finish what I’d started.

I’m going to trust my gut for once.

By the end of tonight, I will have told her all the things I’ve held in for the past three years. Not just how much she turns me on, but how much I’ve valued her friendship, her help. Gods, I can even tell her now that she’s cured me of vaping. I can’t believe she hasn’t noticed that I’m relaxed and chatting without that thing rammed between my fingers.

Yeah, I’ve no desire to vape. But that has nothing to do with green smoothies and hideous tasting potions.

It’s pure essence of Tippy.

My doubts pushed away, I focus on enjoying being with Arlo and Sammy. “So, how are things going here for you guys? Are the Trojans looking after you?”

“Like family. We’ve even got our own Trojan guards.”

I raise a brow. “You have guards? Like, personal guards?”

“Yes, they’re just over there.” Arlo points to two huge guys at a neighboring table.

“Fuck! Really?”

“The authorities would stop at nothing to get hold of our youngling,” Arlo says. “And since I’ve stopped working at the clinic, they’ve most likely put two and two together. My cousin’s sperm has only half the enzymes of mine.” He looks a little chuffed—with good cause, I guess.

“When they abducted Clem, we’re pretty sure it was to force her to tell them where Sammy was,” I say.

“Well, they failed,” Sammy responds. “And you were the hero of the day, Jax.”

“Anything to save my sister,” I say gruffly. “Truth is, I had no idea I was going to shift when I faced those guards. It just happened out of the blue.”