Wolf at Law by Heather Long (10 page)

Stopping abruptly, Ryan pivoted and faced her. “I’m not a mafia boss or involved in a crime family.” Arguably, pack business was intensely private, but they were also not in the business of making money or power off the suffering of others.

“Then what are you?”

The moment of truth.
Never in his life had he considered himself a coward, but he loathed to see fear in her eyes or, worse, repudiation when she learned his secret. “I will tell you everything, but I need you to promise me something first.”

“Depends on the promise.”

Pride filled his chest. “Good girl. Protect yourself. Always.”

Surprise filtered through her expression. She hadn’t expected his encouragement. “What do you want me to promise?”

“To listen to my whole story, to ask questions, and to think about what I tell you before you react. It might be hard. In fact, I expect it will scare you more than a little when I am honest with you, but I need this promise from you.”

Tiffany frowned. “I’m not sure I can make that kind of promise.” A deep breath pushed at her breasts, lifting them, and he forced his gaze up to her face. Thinking about wanting her right then wasn’t acceptable. Earlier, he’d considered having Zane or Rory shift, so he could be there to explain, but neither he nor his wolf wanted her to see anyone else first.

This was their gift to share. Stripping off his jacket he draped it around her shoulders. She clutched at the fabric, and her nostrils flared. He wanted her covered in his scent, and she didn’t seem to mind. The faith gave his confidence a boost.

“Tiffany, I would never hurt you. Zane and Rory? They will never hurt you or Alexis. Zane adores you and your little girl. He even told Collin to make sure not to forget her pillow. Yes, we have a secret, one I will share with you, but I need you to trust me.”

The nascent trust between them was so fresh, so new. This could destroy it. His wolf struggled under the weight of that knowledge, but at the same time they both wanted her to see him for who he was, animal and man.

“You have been kinder to me than anyone else, ever. I want to trust you, Ryan. I think I do a little, or else I wouldn’t have gotten in the car after the courthouse, but it scares me that you have such a dark secret. After Giles, I can’t…”

“I’m not him.” He focused on her, locking gazes and willing her to believe him. “I will always put you first. Always. That is my only hesitation in being honest with you. Telling you could scare you, and I don’t want you frightened. Especially not of me.”

Rubbing her cheek to his jacket, she took a deep breath. “You haven’t done anything to make me think you’d hurt me, so I’ll try. Okay?”

It was the best he could ask for. Pulling his wallet out of his pocket he led her through the garden to a secluded spot. The sun dappled along a rock and, despite the coolness of the time of year, it was pleasant. Setting the items onto the rock he reached for the buttons on his shirt.

The wolf was hard enough to deal with, or at least that was what some human members of the pack told him. The instinct for fight or flight kicked in hard the first time they were confronted with the animal halves of the pack’s wolves.

“What are you doing?”

Finding a smile for her wasn’t hard. “I promise, this isn’t about sex.”

Eyebrows raised, she quirked her lips as he continued to unbutton his shirt. His ego preened under the hungry gleam he glimpsed in her eyes. “So what you have to tell me, you’re going to tell me naked?”

“Not exactly, but I do have to show you and I’d rather the suit wasn’t ruined.”

“Okay,” she elongated the word, and he nodded to the stone he’d set his wallet on.

“Have a seat.”

“Ryan, what’s going on?”

He couldn’t put it off any longer. After stripping his shirt and setting it on the rock, he toed off his shoes then reached for his belt. The air was cool against his skin. The wolf crouched, waiting for the signal that would free him, as eager to see her with his eyes as it was for her to see him. “I’m not exactly human. Not fully, anyway.”

Disbelief crystallized in her expression. “Excuse me?”

“Do you believe in things you can’t see or touch?” Countering her disbelief, challenging it might help alleviate her fear.

“Depends. I’m not big on leaps of faith. I tried to trust things I couldn’t see and I ended up where I am. I don’t always believe in the surface of things, either.” The admission came out bitter and he paused, his fingers on the zipper.

“Tiffany…”

She waved a hand. “I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind to me. I don’t get it most of the time. I don’t know what I did or what I have that appeals to you. So a part of me has been waiting for another shoe to drop. God, you’re pretty.”

Pretty
. He could live with that. The compliment stoked the heat in his blood, but he tamped down on his desire. The violent urge to kiss her and take her right there in the grass radiated out like a burn inside his soul. “I’m a wolf, Tiffany.”

“I’m sorry, what?” She blinked, and pulled her gaze from his body to meet his eyes.

“I’m a wolf.” Saying it once had proved both easier and harder than he expected. “I am a part of a pack.”

“Like a gang?”

“No,” he said slowly. “Like a race.”

Her brow wrinkled and drew her eyebrows together. “Ryan…I’m sorry, I’m trying to follow this. What are you talking about?”

“It’s easier to show you.” He stripped down his pants. He was nude, and her lips pressed together. The heat pulsing to his cock wasn’t helping his case, but he chose to ignore it for the time being. “Just—don’t run and don’t be scared, no matter what you see or what happens. You’re
safe.
We would die before we allowed anything or anyone to hurt you.”

“We…?”

Withdrawing a step, he tried to keep his gaze on her eyes, but her attention tracked to his body and back up again. “You have to stop looking at me like that, sweetheart.” The rumble in his chest came more from need than anything else. Every time her gaze touched him, he felt the stroke of it.

“I’m trying, but—you’re built and beautiful.” She tilted her chin, as though physically forcing herself to look at his eyes.

“Thank you. I’m not half as lovely as you, however.” She rewarded his compliment with a small smile and the desire in her scent began to drown out her fear and trepidation.
Now or never.
“Trust me, sweetheart.”

He reached for his wolf, and the animal surged through him. The rush of fur cascaded through him. He was hot, his skin burned as his bones shifted, cracking and snapping to reshape themselves. Suspended for an eternity in a painful bliss, the sensations ended with him on four feet, gazing up at his mate.

Tiffany’s mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. One minute she was upright, and the next she collapsed. He rushed forward, barely able to get between her head and the rock where she would have hurt herself.

Going still, he checked her scent and eased her transition to the grass. A moment later, her eyes opened and she stared up at him. “Oh my God.”

When she regained consciousness, his heart could beat again. He dropped to his belly, and lay next to her. Settling his chin on his paws, he gave her time to accept what her eyes were telling her. She moved with great slowness, then rubbed a hand over her face. Refocusing on him, she released a shuddering breath.

“You’re—you’re—” A hard swallow punctuated the words. “You’re a wolf. A real wolf.”

Flicking his ears toward her, he raised his chin and then nodded.

“Oh my God,” she repeated, then scrambled a retreat, stopping when her back encountered the rock. “You’re really a wolf.”

Another nod, but he stayed low. One thing humans might not understand about body language was that on his feet he was more of a threat. She didn’t know what to believe, and the chaos of her scent told him as much. So patience. She needed patience to absorb the knowledge.

“This is impossible,” she whispered. “But I saw you do it.”

Her pulse jackhammered, and her scent eddied towards panic.

“But I did
see
you.” Her attention returned to him, and she licked her lips. “Ryan?”

He nodded, then edged forward and ducked his head toward her hands. With trembling fingers, she brushed her hand over his head. He eased closer to her and settled his head against her lap.

“How is this even possible?”

A crack of a twig and a familiar scent were Ryan’s only warning to Zane’s arrival. Rising, he put himself between his mate and the hunter. Inclining his head, Zane said, “He’ll want to explain all of it to you himself. I just wanted to make sure you were both okay.”

Zane addressed him, not Tiffany. Lips peeling away from his teeth, he growled a singular warning. The hunter chuckled. “Yes, sir, I will take my happy ass back to the house.”

“Wait,” Tiffany said, and she put her hand on his back. Ryan went still at the contact, the wolf reveling in her willingly touching him. “Are you a wolf, too?”

Glancing to Ryan for confirmation, Zane waited. Ryan granted it with a nod. “Yes. As are Rory and Collin. You are safe,” he said, echoing Ryan’s earlier assurance.

“The gold eyes?” Tiffany curled her fingers into his fur.

Again, Zane waited. Ryan’s automatic urge to beat the crap out of him for his interference diminished. “Yes. And if you’ll forgive me, Tiffany. I will leave you two alone.”

Worried she might object, Ryan flicked an ear toward her, but kept his attention steady on the hunter. They had enough issues. The other man wasn’t challenging his dominance or his choices. His genuine need to protect had led him down the path to the garden. For that, he could be forgiven nearly overstepping. Tiffany’s safety came first.

“Don’t tell Alexis.” Tiffany’s voice gained strength with the order. On that, Ryan agreed. Their child would need time to adapt, and he wanted to handle telling her easier than Tiffany had learned.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. For what it’s worth, Rory is truly sorry she slipped. She’s still young and adapting to being amongst humans who don’t know. It won’t happen again.” The last was meant for him, so Ryan accepted the apology and the declaration. As far as he was concerned, the matter was settled. “Collin will be here soon, and we’ll get dinner started.” He left, but once he was out of sight, he murmured words he knew Ryan would hear. “Toman called and left a message for you at the office. He wants an update.”

Of course, his Alpha wanted an update now
. Ryan wanted to growl, but he swallowed the sound.

“He doesn’t know anything about your mate or her child. I won’t let Collin or Rory take a call from him, but if he asks…” Zane didn’t have to finish the sentence. The hunter could give Ryan time, but not a lot. It was another matter that needed to be settled and soon.

Only after Zane left truly did Ryan turn to study his mate. She pulled her legs into a crisscross position and stared at him. At least all of her earlier anxiety seemed to have gone. “I can’t believe you’re really a wolf. I had no idea creatures like you existed outside of books.”

He sneezed at the word creatures and she grinned. The heart stopping power of her smile floored him.

“Can I pet you?”

Without hesitation, he padded forward and ducked his head to bump her hands. She brought them up to frame his face then stroked down his sides. He settled down easily to lay against her lap. Soaking up her scent into his fur, he sighed. She’d taken his secret so much better than he’d feared.

Sighing, Tiffany murmured. “This is so weird, and yet…I know it’s you. Is that weird?”

Shaking his head, he opened his mouth and gave her a wolfish grin. It was better than weird. It was amazing. The gift of a mate was something every wolf craved, or so he’d been told. His mother once accused him of being a cynic. That when the time came, he would fall hard. Never had he been so grateful to learn she was right.

“Okay, so not weird for you.” She bit at her lower lip. “Does it hurt when you change?”

He nodded once, because he couldn’t shrug. The pain wasn’t a big deal. Not when he experienced ecstasy in the same breath.

Awareness of her pulse calming and the easing of her respiration gave him hope. Her acceptance was all he craved at the moment. Getting her to fall in love with him, to take his bite, to be his mate? He had patience in spades, but she had to accept his wolf.

Sitting there, basking under his mate’s attention was a gift, one he didn’t take lightly. Time ceased to have meaning. She scratched between his ears, then along his jaw and, when he left his head to give her access to his throat, she rewarded him with more pets.

“We should—well,
you
should change, I suppose.” The reluctance in her statement thrilled the wolf. She liked him. He preened under the affection. “We need to talk, but I don’t want you to hurt.”

Rising carefully, he brushed his nose to her cheek. She giggled and the sound buoyed him. His wolf was satisfied with the contact. They would have time for more later, so he withdrew a few paces and the man rushed up. The agony and ecstasy twisted together until he knelt in front of her, both fists braced against the earth.

“Oh my God,” she exhaled the words. “I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to it.”

“You will,” he told her, and heard the rumble of the wolf in his voice still. “One day at a time.”

“You’re really a wolf.” Then she shocked him by rolling to her knees and reaching out to him. She stopped just short of touching his face. “Is it all right?”

Catching her hand in his, he pressed her fingers to his cheek and then she was in his arms. Her gaze never left his as she kissed him. The gift branded him, if he hadn’t been hers before he tumbled over fully. No matter what she needed or when she needed it, Ryan would give it to her. Her mouth opened to him, and their lips fused together.

His cock leapt at the invitation. Every soft curve of her pressed against him and his shift-sensitive skin reveled in the contact. He pulled her into his lap and she straddled him. Her groan invited him to go further, but he hesitated and nipped her lower lip lightly.

Drunk on her scent—on her—he lifted his head. “Not yet,” he told her. “I want to lose myself in you, but you’re not ready yet.”