The Wolf's Darling (The Wolfe City Pack Book 1) Read online

  “Adam,” Heather says, ignoring the fact that I’m completely nude. Nudity isn’t anything new in Wolfe City. When you shift with wolves, when you hunt with wolves, when you live with wolves, you get used to nudity very quickly. “What can I do for you?”

  “Oh, I was just in the area,” I say, leaning on the counter, smiling.

  “No, you were not just in the area,” she says smoothly. “You don’t even work over here. You work at Tony’s, and this isn’t my first day being around you, Adam Hart.”

  I glare. I do work at Tony’s. The little Italian restaurant is the best in town and my friend, Anthony, is an incredible chef. I don’t cook. I’m his manager, and I’m damn good at my job. I’m not rich or wealthy, but I’m good at what I do, and I have a good heart. I could love Amy if she’ll let me. I’ll be good to her.

  “Tell me what you really want,” Heather says. She’s not even looking at me. She’s not even taking me seriously. She’s just staring at her computer.

  “She’s my mate.”

  That gets Heather’s attention.

  “Excuse me?” She looks up, pushing her glasses up. Her hair, which was probably perfectly styled at the beginning of her shift, is now in a messy bun with stray hairs framing her face. “What did you just say? Because it sounds like you just waltzed into my hotel buck-ass naked and told me my latest visitor is your soul mate.”

  “She’s my mate,” I repeat. My voice is strained. It’s hard to get the words out, hard to admit this is what’s happening. It’s been so long. I’ve searched for so long, fought for so long. I’ve tried so hard to find my life-mate and now she’s here within reach, and I don’t know what to do.

  “All right, big boy,” Heather says, motioning for me to sit in one of the plush velvet chairs. “Put a towel down so you don’t get your butt on the chair, and then have a seat. I’ll make us some tea.” Without a backwards glance, she heads through the door that leads to her family’s living quarters.

  I open a cupboard where she keeps random things guests sometimes need, and grab a towel. By the time I finish setting up the towel and getting myself situated, Heather is back with two cups of tea and a plate of cookies.

  “Cookies?” I ask, surprised.

  “You’re going to want comfort food. Now shut up and drink your tea.”

  She sets the tray on the little coffee table and I reach for a steaming mug of tea. I sip it while I wait for Heather to start speaking because if I know one thing about the wolf mistress of the motel, it’s that she tells it like it is.

  I reach for a cookie and it’s only then, when I take my first bite, that Heather begins to speak.

  “Don’t be stupid,” she says, and my jaw drops because that’s not what I was expecting her to say. I open my mouth to protest, but she holds up a hand and keeps talking.

  “Adam Hart, I’ve known you since you were a little kid and I was your babysitter. You were just as impulsive then as you are now and you need to get over that real quick if you want to win this girl’s heart.”

  “I’m not impulsive,” I say, but I set my cookie down sulkily.

  “You are impulsive and right now, I’d say you’re trying to figure out how you can march over to room number four and introduce yourself without being weird. The correct answer is that you can’t, creeper.”

  “I’m not a creeper.”

  “No, you’re not, because I’m not letting you be. You male wolves are all the same,” Heather continues. “You think you can just walk up to a woman, declare you’re her mate, and live happily ever after. I hate to be the one to tell you, Adam, but it doesn’t work that way, especially with a human.”

  “Then what do I do, Heather?” I’m exasperated. I chug the tea. I eat another cookie. “I’ve been waiting for her my whole life.”

  “And she doesn’t even know you exist,” Heather says. “She doesn’t know you’re here, or that you’re destined to be together, or that you’re a damn wolf, so give the girl some fucking time and be patient. You’ve waited 25 years for her, Adam. You can wait a few days.”

  I let her words sink in. I know Heather is right. I don’t want her to be, but she’s right. I need to be patient, especially now. I need to wait. I need to play this cool. Amy only just got to Wolfe City and chances are she’s going to be here for a couple of days. That gives me a few days to plead my case. That gives me a few days to win her heart.

  “Tell you what,” Heather says, taking pity on me. “I’ll bring her to Tony’s for lunch tomorrow, all right? Herb is going to look at her car in the morning and he’ll let us know how long it’s going to take to fix. I’ll introduce you.”

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Kid, you’re like a little brother. I’ll do anything for you. Now get out of my hotel, and wash that towel.”

  I try to hug Heather goodbye, but she motions at my nudity and simply goes back to her desk and starts playing a computer game.

  “Thanks, Heather. Thank you. For real.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I take the towel with me and walk out of the Wolfe City Motel. With only one short glance back at room four, I head toward my home. It’s only a few minutes away. Let’s be honest: Wolfe City is small enough that everything is only a few minutes away.

  I walk in a daze until I get to my house. Then I open the door and go inside, happy I left it unlocked. Because shifters can’t exactly carry keys, most of the Wolfe City Pack members leave their houses unlocked. We also all have hide-a-keys stashed around town. It’s probably not a good habit, especially when outsiders come to town, but it’s how we live, and it works for us.

  My home is small, but comfortable. I have a little two-story house on the edge of town. The backyard opens up to a beautiful field. Sometimes I’ll take a blanket out there and lie down so I can just stare at the stars and think. Living in Wolfe City is incredible. It’s beautiful. It’s lovely.

  And it’s better now that Amy is here.

  Call me a hopeless romantic, but when I walk into my house, all I can think is that I can’t wait for her to come live with me. I can’t wait to win her heart so I can bring her here and show her my home.

  Our home.

  The first floor has a living room, kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom. The two bedrooms are on the second floor with another bathroom. There’s a large wraparound porch and the master bedroom has a walk-out balcony. It’s tiny and it’s simple, but it’s mine, and I love it. I love my home.

  Once inside, I do lock the door. Then I deposit Heather’s towel in the laundry room and head upstairs to shower. I need to take a long, cold shower. Yes, that’s exactly what I need. I need to shower and clear my head and think about what I’m going to do tomorrow. I need to think about how I’m going to win my mate.

  I need to think about the fact that tomorrow, my entire life is going to change.

  Tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for.

  Chapter 3

  Amy

  The Wolfe City Motel isn’t nearly as bad as I expect it to be. The room is clean and tidy: almost too tidy. I’m worried I’m going to drag dirt into the room. I got pretty sweaty and gross walking to the city, so the first thing I do after I lock the door is to undress and start a hot shower.

  I stare at myself in the mirror for a long time. My blonde hair is tangled and messy and there’s dirt on my arms and legs. I don’t even know how I managed to get so dirty on my walk, but I did, and now I look worn out.

  I look broken.

  Damaged.

  All I want is a fresh start, something new. All I want is to find a way to move forward from my pain, from my heartache.

  After a minute, I climb in the shower and let the water wash over me. For a few minutes, I just focus on the sensations, the feelings. For just a few minutes, I forget about everything except for the fact that I’m warm, that I’m clean, that I’m safe. For a little while, that’s all I need. For a little while, that’s all I want.

  I just want to be safe.


  And then the tears come again.

  It’s not fair, what happened to me. It’s not fair that Jeremy betrayed me. It’s not fair I lost my job over it. It’s not fair that the one person who was supposed to love me no matter what completely gave up on me, on us. It’s just not fair.

  And that’s it, really. It’s the fact that I feel like my life is unjust. I feel like I’ve been a good person and I’ve tried hard and I’ve worked hard. I feel like I tried really, really hard to be a good girlfriend and a good employee and to make good choices. I tried to be responsible. I tried to be kind. I tried to be so many things, and in the end, none of that mattered.

  In the end, Jeremy chose himself over me, and it cost me everything.

  I cry for a long time, long after the water runs cold, and then I finally climb out of the shower and dry myself. I glance at myself in the mirror. My eyes are swollen now, and red, but I’m clean. At least I’m clean.

  I grabbed my backpack when I left my car. It has cothing inside, but no pajamas, so I climb naked under the sheets. I need to sleep. That’s what I need. I need sleep.

  Only I suddenly remember I didn’t call Hope and she’s waiting up for me. Fuck. I grab my phone and sure enough, she called twice while I was in the shower. I quickly call her back.

  “Amy, is everything okay? Where are you?” She asks. Hope doesn’t sound frantic. She rarely does. Somehow, she makes everything in her life seem smooth and easy: being a wife, being a mom. Everything looks simple when Hope does it. I know I shouldn’t compare myself to her, but sometimes it’s kind of hard not to.

  “I’m okay. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. There weren’t any cell towers and everything kind of happened at once.”

  “What happened, sweetie? Where are you? Are you safe?”

  “I’m safe. I’m at a motel. I was driving to Honeypot when my car broke down. I think it’s an engine problem.”

  “Oh, sweetie! Do you want me to come get you? Where are you?”

  “No, no, you don’t need to come,” I assure her. “It’s late, and I found a motel. I’m in Wolfe City. Do you know where that is?”

  Hope hesitates for a second before answering.

  “Yes…yes, I know where Wolfe City is. It’s not too far from here. What are you doing in Wolfe City? Were you able to drive the whole way there? Is your car in the shop?”

  “No. My car broke down while I was driving, so I left it on the side of the road and walked. I got a room in Wolfe City at the motel here. I’m in room four, so you know, if you need to call or anything, you can just ask for that room. The owner,” I take a deep breath because I’m talking a million miles a minute. “Told me her husband is a mechanic and he’ll look at my car in the morning. They’re going to help me get a tow.”

  “Oh good,” Hope sounds relieved. “And they’ll be able to get you fixed up quickly.”

  “I hope so. Hopefully it isn’t anything too serious.” Or too expensive. If I can’t afford to have my car repaired, I’m going to be royally fucked, but I won’t tell Hope that. She has enough to worry about without throwing my problems into the mix.

  “It’ll be fine,” Hope says. “Talk to the mechanic tomorrow and then let me know what he says. I can drive out there and get you. No problem.”

  “To be honest, I’ll probably stay until they fix my car,” I admit. Having a day or two to myself isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. Besides, now that I’m talking to Hope, I’m not so sure I want to tell her exactly what happened between me and Jeremy. It’s too embarrassing, humiliating. It’s too dumb. Hope may have gotten her heart torn out by her ex, but this is different.

  “You can do whatever you like,” Hope says quickly. “But I’m here for you, Amy. Don’t you dare forget it.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Listen,” she lowers her voice. “I know we haven’t really talked about what happened.”

  “It’s okay,” I begin.

  “You’re right,” she says. “It’s okay. It’s okay, but it’s also okay to not be okay. Does that make sense?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Look, no matter what the bastard did to you, you have a right to be sad.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” Hope asks pointedly. “Because I think it sounds like you don’t want to bother anyone. I think it sounds like you’re trying to stay strong, honey.”

  Hope’s kindness is just strong enough to crack my heart right on open again, and I start crying. Fuck. Why am I crying so much? After the shower, I thought I had patched myself up okay, but I guess I didn’t do a very good job.

  “It just hurts,” I tell her.

  “I know.”

  “I don’t feel very special anymore.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t feel very valuable.”

  “He’s a dick, Amy. He’s a dick and you deserve better. You deserve better and you’ll find better because you’re a good, honest person who deserves to have good, honest things happen to her.”

  “I thought so, too,” I admit. “But now I’m not so sure, Hope.”

  “Do you think you should have known? Because you couldn’t have known, Amy. There was no way to predict what he would do to you.”

  “I should have known,” I groan. “I feel so dumb. He completely fucked me over.”

  “You need sleep,” she says. “And you need a break. You know, maybe staying in Wolfe City for a couple of days will be good for you.”

  “You think so?”

  “You never know,” Hope says. “Maybe something surprising will happen.”

  “In Wolfe City?” I laugh. “No offense, but it’s a pretty small damn town. I get the feeling it’s the kind of town nothing ever happens in.”

  Now it’s Hope’s turn to chuckle, and I wonder what she knows that I don’t.

  “Care to share?” I ask hopefully.

  “Listen,” Hope says. “Wolfe City is…unique. It’s like Honeypot in some ways, but it really is its own little world.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means keep your heart open, Amy. You never know what’s going to happen there.”

  We chat for a few more minutes before Hope says goodbye so she can get to sleep. I’m lucky she waited up for me, but I feel bad for keeping her up so late. She assures me it’s not a big deal, and then she hangs up.

  I’m left alone in my tiny hotel room and after tossing and turning for a few minutes, I get up. I wrap a sheet around myself and walk to the windows. Then I open the curtains and peek out. The stars are so bright here that I’m not really sure what to do with myself. They’re beautiful. I just want to go outside, lie in a field, and stare at the sky.

  I just want to lose myself in the beauty.

  Maybe Hope is right.

  Maybe Wolfe City will surprise me.

  Heather, the woman at the front desk, was really nice and helpful to me. When I wake up, she’s going to introduce me to her husband, Herb, and he’s going to help me get a tow set up. I have no idea what it’s going to cost and right now, I don’t want to think about that.

  I don’t want to think about anything except the fact that everything is going to be okay.

  “It’s going to be fine,” I remind myself out loud. “Everything will be fine.”

  And for just a minute, I really believe that.

  Chapter 4

  Adam

  After a sleepless night, I’m up at dawn and go to the Wolfe City Diner. The diner is my favorite place to eat breakfast when I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to cook. Most of the time, I’ll make something at home, but sometimes it’s just nice to be able to relax in a booth and have food brought to me.

  It’s not very wolf-like of me. I should be a hunter at heart who only wants to prepare his own meals, but I like eating at the diner. Callie and Clarissa are both excellent waitresses and Case, their brother, is an amazing cook.

  “Good morning, tiger,” Callie says when I walk in. The diner is empty.
Looks like I’m the first customer of the morning.

  “I’m a wolf,” I remind her, but Callie just laughs. Unlike most of the inhabitants of Wolfe City, Callie and her siblings aren’t wolves. They’re bears. You’d never be able to tell by looking at them. The Hampton siblings are all tall, lean, and slender. They’re built like wolves or tigers, but nope. They’re bears, through-and-through.

  “Whatever you say,” she winks. Callie and I actually went on a few dates when she first moved to town, but we both realized we weren’t right for each other. More importantly, we realized we both want to find our mates. She didn’t want to waste time with me when I wasn’t the one for her, and I feel the same way about her. Callie is incredible, but we aren’t destined to be together.

  “Where should I sit?”

  “Take your pick,” she waves a hand around the empty room. “We aren’t exactly at capacity.”

  I choose a spot at the end of the counter.

  “Menu?” Callie calls from the opposite end. She’s fiddling with the coffee pot, getting the first pot of the day going.

  “Nah,” I tell her, making myself comfortable. I’ve basically got the entire thing memorized.

  “What’ll it be?”

  “Eggs and toast, please.”

  “So polite. I like it. Scrambled?”

  “Always.”

  Callie writes my order down and hands it back to Case, who is already in the back.

  “Wait,” Callie says, walking over to me with a glass of ice water. She sets it down in front of me and eyes me up and down. “You’re never this polite.”

  “What?” I ask innocently, blinking my eyes at her. “Yes, I am.”

  “No,” she says suspiciously. “What happened?”

  “What are you talking about?” I sip the water.

  “Look at you,” she puts her hands on her hips. “You’re showered, and your hair is combed, and you’re dressed nice.”

  “I literally do all of those things every day,” I say, pretending to be offended, but also, wondering what I usually look like in the mornings.