Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

“You’re inviting
me
to a party? Will wonders never cease?” She laughed lightly, but her insides jigged a girlie happy dance. Man, she was pathetic. “What time?”

“Around seven,” he replied, before leaning closer to her through the open window. “But no one really shows up until eight.”

“I’ll be there at eight, then,” she promised, trying to ignore the pleasure she got from his proximity.

“No, come around seven so Dad can meet you.”

“I’ve met your dad before.”

“Not like this you haven’t,” he mumbled, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s been a long time, and we’d all love to hear what has happened to you since you left.”

Well, I married a schmuck, graduated, and now turn fuzzy for three days every time the moon is full.

Julianna just stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was up to, but his expression had smoothed into bland friendliness again, hiding his thoughts better than a mask.

“Sure you do,” she drawled skeptically.

“Please, Julianna. I’d really like you to be there.”

She wanted to ask him why. Why now after all these years? But she kept her mouth shut.

“All right. I’ll be there around seven on Friday. Let me know if you need any help setting up.”

“Will do.” A slow, sexy grin spread across his face. “Drive carefully now.”

“Thanks.”

She started the car and backed up, feeling his eyes on her as she pulled out of the parking lot.
What the hell was all that about?
And why did she feel all tingly when he touched her? Why was he touching her at all? It made her want to jump him, to throw him against a wall and wrap her legs around him until he relieved the hot ache between her legs.

Something is really wrong with me. Not only do I turn fuzzy, but I’m turning into a nymphomaniac!

“Good God! He’s human. I’ve got to stay away from him.”

Werewolves were myths, but somehow, she’d become one. She’d never met any others like her, but with her father’s sickness, she hadn’t had the chance to look. The legends she’d studied in college were full of shape-shifters, but stories didn’t equate reality.

How am I going to keep this a secret? I can’t tell Jeff. I shouldn’t go to the party.

Guilt settled on her shoulders as she drove away from the bar and the man she’d lusted after for years. But she couldn’t quite get herself to call the Lightfoots and decline the invitation.

* * * *

Mine! Mine! Mine!

Jeff watched the burgundy Camaro slide away through the sunshine and clenched his fists at his sides to keep from bounding after it. He was fast enough to catch up to Julianna Morris, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for the future packleader of the Callowwood Pack to run after a female like a rabid dog. Protocols had to be followed and appearances had to be upheld. He tried to remind his cock of that, but the damn thing had a mind of its own, and right now it told him to run after his True Mate,
appearances
be damned.

“Dammit, calm down!” he snarled, and pounded his fist against his thigh hard enough to divert his attention from his groin to the pain. “You have to go back inside and face all those bitches and their families.”

The idea made him snarl even harder as he ground his teeth. He didn’t want any of them. They might be alpha females, true enough, but most were simpering, self-aggrandizing whelps wanting him only for his position and the prestige it gave them and their families. Every one of them thought she deserved to be the Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack.

Emphasis on
bitch
, he thought nastily, gulping great breaths of air to settle not only his hard-on but also his primal fury.

Pack policies and leadership protocols required him to interview several alpha female candidates for the position of his mate and Luna, the top Alpha female, for the betterment of the pack. It was tradition, left over from a time when Mates were few and far between. The pack needed a balanced leadership of male and female protection by their Alphas, but the Alpha’s True Mate hadn’t always appeared. The elders of each pack decided, if the future Alpha’s Mate did not appear, the leadership would be chosen by competition, and the future Alpha would choose from a group of likely alpha female candidates who passed a series of tests.

Times had changed. More Moon Singers—werewolves—lived among the humans now and finding True Mates was much easier. However, the tradition of the Luna selection remained in place for the Alphas, and he was bound by his rank to follow it. Before Julianna Morris had returned to Callowwood, the political requirements hadn’t bothered him.

Now everything had changed.

Holy First Canid, even her scent beguiled him. The combination of climbing gardenia and heated ponderosa pine forest wrapped around him with sensuous fingers. His hard-on flared again, along with uncertainty.
Why didn’t I know she was a Moon Singer before?

Jeff had been attracted to Julianna ever since she’d started to develop breasts and hips. She’d flaunted herself at him all through her high school years with her cute, tight shirts and pants, sexy summer dresses and flirty attitude. Raging hormones filled her scent, taunting him with her delicious feminine musk. It was all he could do to treat her like another little sister and stay away from her, throwing himself into cold showers and punishing exercise routines. He’d never been so buff.

Whenever his mind demanded he take her and fuck her hard, he only stopped himself with two thoughts. First, she was too young and not nearly ready for sex, despite her beauty and innocent flirting. Second, she wasn’t a Moon Singer. She hadn’t smelled like one or acted like one, and her parents were human.

When the hell had that changed?

And when had she become his True Mate?

Jeff had felt it at the funeral, her sweet scent making the scents of the other females seem unpleasant. She’d stepped out of her sexy Camaro with her mother, and her scent had slammed into him like a hurricane wind. His body had tightened, and he’d almost grabbed her and claimed her right there. Only Sebrina’s hand on his arm had restrained him.

But nothing could stop him at the reception when he caught her as she’d crumpled, holding her protectively against his chest. He’d relished the weight of her soft body in his arms, and he’d wanted to press his nose to her head, inhaling her seductive fragrance forever while he fondled her beautiful curves. Only her mother’s worried comments had kept him within the bounds of propriety.

Jeff closed his eyes and remembered the silky softness of her hair filled with her scent. He loved her hair. The dark brown, almost black, tresses would feel erotic as hell draped over his thighs as she sucked his cock, humming and moaning with pleasure against his shaft.

Damn! Think about something else before you come in your shorts.

He returned his mind to the reception and how he’d forced himself to tamp down the protective instincts with every other male Moon Singer who got near her. Rage resurfaced and began to deflate his arousal. The females had been as much of a threat, their overwhelming scents flooding his nostrils as they’d paraded past the table. He could barely smile civilly at them. He’d scented their disdain for Julianna, and his Brother form had risen up to protect his Mate.

Jeff had never felt the mating bond before, but the moment he touched her, it roared into his awareness as clearly as the neon lights of Vegas. There’d been no doubt in his mind, and he’d been unable to leave her side from that moment on.

It killed him to let her drive away now.

His hormones sang like a rabid rock concert crowd, demanding he go find her and seal the bond now, but he held onto himself like a drowning man to a rope.
No, I have to go back inside and socialize as the next packleader. I have to make it look like I’m considering all of them as potential mates.

His Brother form snarled again.
Screw that! Screw pack politics and protocols. You’ve chosen your True Mate, and you can’t mate with anyone else. Julianna Morris will be your Luna, and all the others can go to hell.

Jeff didn’t want to argue with his Brother, and he took a few more steps toward the street before he could stop himself.

No, no, back to the bar. Let her go for now.

Several of the alpha females in the bar had been in the pack for a long time, but none of them mattered to him. Julianna was his princess, and that was that. He’d play the courting prince like his father wanted, but his choice was clear.

Squaring his shoulders and schooling his expression to show bland amusement, he opened the door to his bar and strode inside. It was going to be a long day, but one thought cheered him as he returned to the posturing females inside. He’d see Julianna at the party on Friday before everyone else arrived. His smile broadened as he faced the wolves in the bar.

Party Politics

Julianna sighed as she parked her car in front of the Lightfoots’ house. It had been a long week getting used to her dad’s absence in the house, and she relished the distraction. She stepped out onto the drive and handed the valet her keys. The young man stared at her car, took the keys almost reverently from her hand, and carefully got into the Camaro as if she was suddenly his hero. He nodded to her before he slowly drove off to find a parking place. She shook her head with bemusement. The Lightfoots needed a valet for their party? How big was this shindig going to be?

Taking a deep breath, she moved toward the house along the front walk. The yard looked just as immaculate as she remembered. Sheesh, not even the weeds dared mar the perfection of the flowerbeds!

Deep breath, Julianna. It’ll be fine.
She followed her own advice as she smoothed the flared skirt of her iridescent, peacock green halter dress and pushed the tendrils of loose hair behind her ears. Scents of hot pavement and cool grass filled her nose, and she concentrated on slowing her breathing as she marched to the front door.

This will be a cinch,
her Sister stated.

Yeah, right.

One of the double doors opened at her knock to reveal a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform. She gave Julianna a sharp once-over before saying, “I’m sorry, the party doesn’t start for another hour, miss.”

“Uh, yes, I was invited by Mr. Jeff Lightfoot to meet the family before the party started. My name is Julianna Morris,” she blurted out, hoping her voice hadn’t become shrill in her nervousness.

Instead of turning up her nose in disdain, the woman’s expression shifted and she offered Julianna a warm smile. “Of course, Ms. Morris. Please come in. The family is expecting you.”

She stepped back, allowing Julianna to enter. As Julianna passed, she caught something teasingly familiar in the other woman’s scent. She frowned and tried to remember where she’d smelled it before.

“If you’ll just follow me, Miss Tawny instructed me to bring you to her as soon as you arrived.”

“Yes, thank you,” Julianna replied with bewilderment, wondering how she’d become an honored personage in such a short time.

She followed the woman through the house to the backyard, still puzzling over the familiar scent. The Lightfoots had a huge amount of land around their house. Forest hemmed in their yard at the foothills of the mountains and the trees seemed to go on for miles and miles. In the open space before the trees, large white tents stood strung with lights like fireflies on tethers. Julianna stared, entranced.

Tables arranged with at least ten place settings each filled the space beneath the tents, with two long buffet tables set to one side, holding Bunsen burners and rectangular brackets. Serving staff briskly set the tables and arranged dinnerware and centerpieces.

Julianna scanned the people around her with her eyes and nose. She caught scents of food mixed with the distinct musk of predator, but she couldn’t pinpoint a single animal beneath the softly glowing shrouds. Tawny appeared out of the crowd of servers, her crimson dress glowing like the flames of a phoenix against their black and white uniforms. Her sandy blond hair was drawn up onto her head with a complex series of clips and diamond dangle earrings fell from her ears. Julianna envied her effortless beauty.

“Miss Tawny, Mistress Julianna Morris has arrived.”

Tawny turned, and her face creased into a warm smile.

“Welcome, Mistress Morris.” Julianna couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you, Lindsey.” The serving woman nodded and left. “I’m so glad you’re here! I haven’t seen you in ages, and you looked so sad and lost at the funeral. My heart nearly bled for you.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m glad Jeff invited you tonight. It’s such a special occasion, and it wouldn’t be right to do it without you, even if you haven’t been in town long.”

Julianna just stared at Tawny, unease sliding through her.
Special occasion?

“Now,” the youngest Lightfoot went on without noticing Julianna’s confusion, “you look beautiful. Did anyone tell you? Like a princess already, and you haven’t even gone through the ceremony. You’ll wow them all, sure enough.”

Ceremony? There’s going to be a ceremony?