Lesser of Two Evils (7 page)

She passed by the office, but the
door was closed. He was on the phone, she thought, and she didn’t want to
bother him. Through the empty living room and out the front door, she headed
for the pink house.

Kerry knocked on the front door,
and it opened almost immediately.

“Kerry, it’s so good to see you
again.” Thelma chirped.

“Ethan said that you have a garden
and that if I help you tend it, you will plant anything I want.” Thelma laughed
softly. “I don’t have anything in mind but I want to help you take care of it.
Is it close by?”

Thelma closed her front door and
hooked her bony arm through Kerry’s.

“It’s this way.” She led Kerry away
from the house and down the road. “So there’s nothing that you want out of my
garden?” Thelma asked. Kerry shrugged.

“Just something to do.” Thelma
quirked her mouth. “I’m not allowed to hunt or draw and I got tired of
reading.”

Thelma sighed. “I can see why you
aren’t allowed to hunt after yesterday, but why can’t you draw?”

Kerry scrunched her face up. “I
can’t keep control of my wolf. She wants to hunt. I was sketching earlier, a
buck in the back of the house, and before I knew it, I was naked at the window
and trying to get out.” Thelma laughed. “We were really poor, and I had to hunt
to eat. It’s going to be a hard habit to break.”

Thelma led her past several houses,
some with fences and evidence of pups. They turned a corner at a colonial, and
it looked like the beginning of a road, but it dead-ended. Beyond that was a
large rectangle of freshly tilled dirt. Thelma stopped at one end of the garden.
Corn was up, and there were seedlings already sprouting.

“What’s here?”

“Let’s see.” Thelma slipped her
sandals off and started toward the garden. “Here I have snap peas. Try one.”

Kerry went to stand beside her and
took the pea pod that Thelma offered. She stuck it in her mouth and chewed. Her
eyes widened.

“Good, huh?” Kerry nodded. “Well
make yourself useful and pull the weeds you see.” Thelma worked down the row,
pulling out things that didn’t belong. Kerry helped by doing the same.

“How do you like Ethan so far?”
Thelma asked without looking up. Kerry sighed. “That good, huh? Well, you’ll
grow to love him. Ethan seems like a good guy. He’s much better than Alexander.
I’ve been in this pack since birth, and that Alpha was a real piece of work.”
She grunted. “I’m glad he’s dead.”

“How did he die?” Kerry pulled a
long slender stem and tossed it out of the garden.

“I probably shouldn’t say.” Thelma
thought about it a second. “Doesn’t matter now. The pack tore him apart. They’d
had enough of him hooking wolves on the poison that he sold. Ethan assumed it
was some addicts, and we didn’t correct him. It didn’t matter who did it
because the reason was the same. We’re better off without him and without his
drugs. They buried his poison out in the woods. Good riddance, I say.”

Kerry stopped to examine some baby
lettuce. “Can I try this?”

Thelma nodded, and Kerry plucked a
leaf and stuck it in her mouth. She chewed, then grimaced. Thelma cackled
loudly. I’ll put you down for no arugula. It’s peppery.” Kerry nodded and
swallowed, making another face. She and Thelma moved over two rows. Kerry
studied a plant. It was frilly and pretty.

“Kale. It’s good. Break off a
leaf.”

Kerry did and liked it. She moved
down the row, keeping up with Thelma. “Are you sure that there’s nothing you
want me to plant?”

“Is there melon here?”

Thelma glanced up at her. “Like
watermelon?”

Kerry’s eyes widened and she
grinned.. “No, but I will get some seeds for you, sweetie. I like that, too.”

“What’s this one?”

“Lavender. It keeps the bugs away
and it’s good in tea when it blooms. It’s very soothing. I will harvest its
flowers and dry them to put in my drawers. I make sachets in the fall. They
smell nice.”

Kerry heard a bloodcurdling howl
then. “What the hell is wrong now?” Thelma straightened and looked back toward
the houses, her eyes sharp and glittering. Kerry stood and scanned the field
they were in and the street with the houses lined up. A wolf, silver-gray,
streaked across the grass toward them.

“Connor.” Thelma snapped at him,
“What in the devil is wrong with you?”

He shifted and stomped over to
Kerry. “You! Come with me!” He grabbed her arm and dragged her from the garden.
Kerry tried to get loose, but his grip tightened and he tugged her forcefully,
dragging her toward the house. She saw why when they turned the corner of the
two-story white colonial with dark green shutters. Ethan was stalking toward
them. He looked angry, and Kerry tried harder to get free. His eyes were full
of fire and on her. Connor jerked her forward within a few feet of Ethan. A
fist flew past her and met with Connor’s face. She felt the air shift as it
whizzed by her cheek and heard the crunch of Connor’s nose.

“That’s my mate you’re hurting,”
Ethan growled.

“You said to find her. She wouldn’t
come.” Connor let go of Kerry to wipe his bloodied face with his hands.

Kerry bolted and ran inside the
house. She raced through the living room and down the hall to the bedroom. She
darted inside her closet and sat in the corner beside her duffle bag.

When Ethan finally found her, she
had her knees drawn up to her chest and her face buried in her tear-soaked
hands.

“Hey,” Ethan said softly and pulled
her hands away. She kept her eyes squeezed closed. “I’m sorry he scared you.”
Ethan’s fingers skimmed her upper arm lightly. It was bruised, she was sure.
She hadn’t looked, but Connor’s grip had been crushing. He sat down beside her.
“We’re not having a good beginning, are we?” He put his arm around her and
pulled her into his side. “I’m sorry. I thought that you had taken off again. I
was…upset. Why didn’t you say that you were going to work in the garden?”

Kerry was silent for a long time,
but he waited for her sobs to subside. His hand rubbed her arm, and he kept her
against him.

“I heard you on the phone and it
sounded like Alpha business. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I was bored and
I’m not allowed to hunt or draw. You said that Thelma had a garden, so I went
there.” She sniffled. “She won’t want me to help anymore. I’m too much trouble,”
she finished softly.

Ethan scoffed. “Sure she will.”

Kerry shook her head. “He scared
her, too, and when he dragged me out I stepped on one of her plants. I think a
lavender. Now I don’t have anything to do.” The tears started to roll again. “I
feel like a prisoner. I want to go home.”

He squeezed her closer. “I can’t
let you do that.” His voice hardened. “We’re mates. You stay with me.” She
sighed, feeling her body deflate. “Thelma will let you into the garden, and
Connor will never put his hands on you again. I promise.” Ethan got to his feet
and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. When he put her down, she scurried
away.

“Please don’t make me,” she begged.
Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Please, I don’t like it.”

Ethan cleared his throat. “You
don’t like what? What is it that you don’t want to do?” His hands clenched at
his sides and she gulped nervously. “Tell me.”

“I don’t like…sex.” She finished
the sentence with a whisper. He exhaled heavily and stomped from the room
without saying a word. Kerry rolled herself into a ball on the bed and thought
about what had just happened.

She thought about what she’d said
to him. She didn’t want to end up like her mother, but it seemed like this
would turn into that. Her mother always cried after her father forced himself
on her. Kerry would hear them through the thin walls. Her mother trying to
escape and him growling at her. Sometimes he would bite her. Kerry had asked
once why they didn’t leave him. Why would she let him keep doing that to her?
Her mother’s eyes would fill with tears and she’d say, “Not all wolves are
free. We’ll die alone.” She’d been right. Kerry was alone yesterday and she’d
nearly died. Shot an hour away from the house. She was trapped like her mother.
Soon he would mount her and eventually he would bite her. It wouldn’t be gentle
like the mating bite. It would be with force, and she would be prey. Silent tears
rolled down her cheeks.

“Kerry?” Ethan shook her awake, and
she flinched away from him. “Easy.” His hand stilled on her shoulder. “Dinner
is ready. Come on.” He pulled her into a sitting position, then walked out of
the room. She followed, and the smell hit her. Her stomach growled ferociously.
Turkey. She went to the kitchen where a place was set at the table. The plate had
separate piles of turkey breast, corn, mashed potatoes, and a buttered roll.
None of the foods touched, he was considerate of the way she liked her food
That was nice of him. A glass of water sat beside the plate but she didn’t see
a  plate for him.

“Aren’t you eating?” she asked. He
was rinsing dishes at the sink and putting them in the dishwasher. The corner
of his mouth lifted, then dropped.

“I’m good. You go ahead. Eat.” He
nodded at her plate. She sat down and he left the room. Kerry ate the turkey
and pushed the rest around on the plate until it was too cold to eat. She
wasn’t hungry anymore, and she knew it was because of what she’d done and what
she’d said. Kerry scraped her plate into the trash. Her mother would tan her
hide for that, but she just didn’t want it.

She rinsed the dish and put it in
the dishwasher. When she went to the bedroom, she saw that her things were
gone. Kerry went to find Ethan. He was plugging her laptop in.

“Are you done?” She nodded. “I put
locks on the windows so your wolf doesn’t talk you into anything. I hope this
room is big enough for you. I moved your duffle bag into the closet. You didn’t
unpack.” His brow knitted, but then he said, “I hope you are comfortable in
here. If you need anything, just let me know. Oh, and Lu took delivery of my
packages yesterday when you didn’t answer the door. They’re in the closet
there.” He pointed. “We’re going to work this out,” he said, coming closer. “I
want to be a good mate, and I think that I haven’t been so far. I’m sorry if
this was more than you were ready for, Kerry.” His big hand wrapped around the
nape of her neck and pulled her closer. He kissed her forehead. “It’ll get
better. I promise.” He swallowed, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob.
“Goodnight.”

Ethan closed the door quietly
behind him. Kerry stared at it. What just happened? She was worried. He’d moved
her out of his bedroom. He said that it would work out, so he wasn’t rejecting
her, or was he? If he took her home and her father had to give the money back,
he would kill her. Plain and simple, he would choke the life from her. Kerry
swallowed hard and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her chest felt hollow.

***

Ethan paced the bedroom. The lights
were off and the window clear. A glass of bourbon swung in his huge hand. His
mate rejected him. His mate didn’t like sex with him. His mate felt like a prisoner.
Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this, after all. Maybe he should cut her loose and
go back to enforcing for the council.

Connor told him to “fuck off”
earlier after he’d punched him. Maybe he should. His beta was angry, his mate
in distress, and his mood sourer than it had ever been. He paced in long,
predatory strides. Kerry was in the doorway suddenly, with handfuls of lacy and
satin panties.

“I can’t take these. You have to
take all of this back. Get your money back. It’s not right. It’s too much.”
Tears streaked her cheeks again. His eyes went amber, and she backed away.
“Please, it’s too much. They cost too much, I don’t deserve these or any of
it.” She dropped them when he advanced, and went back to her room. He heard the
lock click. As if that would keep him out. Ethan followed and pulled the pin
from the top of the doorjamb. He pushed it into the hole in the doorknob and
the lock sprang open.

 She gasped and backed away from
him when he filled the doorway. She looked terrified. Ethan stopped and leaned
casually against the door. His goal was not to frighten her any more than he
already had. He did not want to go back to enforcing. He wanted to be a pack
Alpha, have a mate, and have pups. Kerry’s mother had said that Kerry wanted a
house full of them and he knew she was the girl for him.

“We need to get some things
straight.” He took a gulp of the whiskey in his hand, closing his eyes for a
second, then opening them when he’d calmed. “I bought those things for my
mate.”

She started to interrupt, but he
put his hand up. “I want you to have them. You are my mate, even if we don’t
see eye to eye yet. It isn’t too much. I can afford it, so don’t worry. I know
that you have money issues, but please let me do things for you. I like doing
things for you. The clothes stay, and I want you to enjoy them. Please don’t
feel guilty for having them.” He took another sip. Its warmth filled his belly.
“Sit. Please.”

She had backed herself into the corner
of the room.

“Please?” He pointed at the bed,
and she came to it slowly, watching him. Ethan sat next to her but not close
enough to scare her. “We’re strangers, you and I. I should’ve taken all of this
slower. I never wanted to scare you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I
want you to like it here, to like me.”

She watched him and nibbled her
lip. “I want to, but you’re a scary guy,” she said softly, and he grinned down
at her.

“Tell you what, I promise we won’t
have sex again until you want to, okay?”

She nodded.

“I won’t force you. I want you to
enjoy it, I think you did enjoy it once or twice, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” She said softly.

“We can do those things that you
liked again. When you’re ready.” He swirled the whiskey in the bottom of the
glass.

“I had this idea for a long time
when I was enforcing. I wanted something more. I wanted a family, roots, and a
pack. I haven’t had one for many years. When I talked to your mom, she
described someone that I wanted to get to know. Her words about you were so
sweet and eloquent that I knew, before we even met, that you were it for me. So
I am going to fix this. I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner, because you
aren’t. I want you to like this and me. Tomorrow, I’ll show you around the
hunting area, and I want to introduce your wolf to the pack. We’ll visit with
Thelma, too, and get you on garden duty. Since you are going to live here, I’d
like you to help with the cooking and cleaning. Can you cook?” She nodded. “You
get to fix breakfast in the morning.” He cupped her knee and squeezed, he stood
up. “Goodnight, Kerry. Busy day tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed the top of
her head. “I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s okay,” she said, looking up
at him.

“Good.” The corners of his mouth
lifted, but his eyes were sad. He left her alone, the door clicking closed quietly.

***

She wondered how she could fix
this. She’d caused that sadness in his eyes. Kerry hadn’t wanted for him to
move her into another room. She’d almost liked sleeping with him. Her wolf had
relaxed and she slept better. He was warm, too, and she liked that, liked him
being close while she slept. If he couldn’t have sex with her, maybe he didn’t
want her close. “
So I can fuck you when I want to.”
She’d said no, that
she didn’t like it. Of course he didn’t want her in his bed if he couldn’t have
her. She didn’t need to be there. If he couldn’t have her, she was just in the
way and taking up space.

Kerry lay awake in the dark,
watching the shadows shift on the ceiling. Hours passed as she listened to the
house. Listened to the sounds, cracking, popping, her mother used to say they
were the sounds of the house settling. She wondered how her mother was and how
she could find out. There was no phone at her house. She would have to call
Luke, and she didn’t want to talk to him. Tomorrow, she would ask Ethan if they
could visit. Maybe she shouldn’t. He would think the worst since she told him
she wanted to go home earlier. Kerry bit down on her lip hard. She shouldn’t
have said that. It hurt him. She’d hurt his feelings.

She got up and slipped from the
room, making her way to the kitchen. There was milk in the fridge earlier, and
she hadn’t finished her dinner. Her father would beat her for sneaking into the
kitchen after supper, but Ethan wouldn’t mind. He’d said that he could afford
it. It was strange not to worry about where the next bite would come from. It
was stranger to come into the kitchen after dinner. A small shiver of joy raced
over her skin, and she felt her nipples harden. It felt naughty. She grabbed a
glass from the cupboard and padded to the fridge. The milk poured into the tall
glass, and she licked her lips in anticipation.

After putting the gallon jug back
on the shelf, she twisted the lid and stepped out of the way of the door.
Startled by the huge bulking figure standing there when the door was clear,
Kerry screamed and dropped the glass.

Ethan.

“Sorry. I…shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t
know you were here. I heard a noise.” He seemed flustered. There was shattered glass
everywhere. Ethan scooped her up and carried her to the safety of glass free
floor. She mourned the loss of her milk and walked slowly from the kitchen.
“Kerry, are you going to help me clean this up?” Ethan called after her, and
she spun around, hurrying back to help. “Get shoes on first. I think there’s a
pair of flip-flops just outside of the door there.” He pointed.

She opened the door and found a
screened-in porch. Kerry turned on a light and stepped out. The floor was
covered in bright green plastic grass that pricked her feet, but the sensation
wasn’t unpleasant. There was a swing and a glider out there. She scented cigars,
but it was very faint. She wondered who the flip-flops belonged to. They were old.
They had worn green soles and the white insole was faded to gray. These could
be bought in any drugstore for a couple of dollars. She’d spent many summers in
shoes just like these. They couldn’t be Ethan’s because they were too small.
His feet were bigger, much bigger. “What’s wrong?” He was in the doorway now.

“Nothing. I found them, but I was
looking around, I didn’t know this was here. Can I sit out here and draw?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea
until you get control of your wolf. Come.” He held his hand out, and she took
it, following him. He had a paper towel roll in his hand and had started
working on her mess by picking out the big pieces of glass.

“I can do it.” Kerry pulled off one
paper towel and pulled the trash can over to where she would be working. He
stood back and watched. She worked with one paper towel, scooping glass and
shaking it out, then wringing the towel out in the trash can. Ethan would’ve
used all of them and cleaned it up quickly. By now, he would’ve been back in
bed, but he let her do it her way. She expanded her circle until she was sure
that she had all of the glass. She rinsed her towel and started wiping the
floor. Ethan shook his head and yawned.

“You don’t have to wait,” she said
on one of her trips to the sink.

“Goodnight, then,” he said quietly.

“’Night,” she said, not looking up.
She listened to him go back to his bedroom and close the door. Kerry had
ulterior motives. He was more patient than anyone she’d ever met, and she usually
liked that, but not tonight. With the floor spotless, Kerry got another glass
and filled it with milk. This time though, she sipped it and felt its cold path
down her throat into her belly. It was heavenly. Turning off the kitchen light,
Kerry stepped out into the screened-in porch again. She turned the light off
and went to the swing. Giving it a push she watched the trees move gently in
the breeze. They looked black against the dark sky. She heard doves cooing and
the screech of an owl. She smiled against the glass as the air shifted and blew
a tendril of hair against her cheek. She sipped the milk slowly, enjoying it.

Pushing the swing again, she heard Ethan
coming down the hall. The door opened. “I thought you would go back to bed once
you’d finished the floor.”

“I still wanted some milk.” She
held the glass up for him to see. “It’s nice out here. Do you ever sit out here
and listen to the night?” He shook his head. She patted the seat next to her.
Ethan approached slowly and sat down on the swing next to her. He looked into
her glass and saw that it was still half full.

“Want some?” She offered it to him.

Growling low in his chest, he took
it and sipped, then handed it back. Her parents never shared food, but she’d
seen other mates in her pack do it and the males always liked it. Maybe it
would make him feel better about what she’d said. The guilt was twisting her
insides uncomfortably because she hadn’t meant it entirely. Some of the things
he’d done to her in bed were good. She pushed with her foot again and the swing
swayed. The breeze caught her hair, and she shivered.

“Are you cold?” His head swung
around and he studied her. She shook her head, but she had goose flesh on her
arms. Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I’ll
keep you warm.”

“Can I sleep with you?” she
whispered. “My room is cold,” she lied.

“Of course, but I thought that you
wanted your space.” She felt his eyes on her but kept her head down.

“I like to sleep with you. I feel
safe and warm with you,” she admitted, afraid to look at him when she said it,
afraid he’d say no, or that he’d mock her for what she’d said earlier. So far,
he didn’t seem spiteful, and if they had to stay together, then sleeping apart
wasn’t good for the relationship. She didn’t like the uncomfortable distance
already and it had only been four hours. This must be resolved. She held her
breath while she waited, and counted the seconds because it took him a while to
answer.

“You’re more than welcome, and I’ll
stick to my word. We won’t do anything that you don’t want to do.” He kissed
her temple. Kerry gave the swing another push.

“There’s no door out here. I might
be able to contain her.. The closest door is the front, right? I like to draw,”
Kerry said. Taking that away was like taking air from her.