Page 17 of Wolf

He followed me in silence, and I huffed when he didn’t pick up my bags. I continued walking until I got inside the bar, ignoring the presence behind me, my eyes scanning the crowd. Brothers from all over had turned up to the lockdown, and many were still piling in as the retirees and weekenders filled the room from walltowall.

I spotted Mint behind the bar with Lamb, but upon seeing what followed me, the new recruit ducked away before I could lock onto him. I considered Lamb, but from his growing grin, I figured it was best not to put fuel near the spluttering firebehindme.

I eventually found Pipe talking to one of the younger weekenders, Moon, before I caught his attention. “My bags are by my car. Can you fetch them for me?” I called out to him. His eyes looked up to Wolf, who emitted a controlled, silent rage as he patiently followed behind me, and the prospect was out the door before I could add please. I even watched as Moon quickly followed behind him.Pussies.

With that out of the way, Wolf moved from behind me and began walking toward his office. The crowd parted like Moses and the Red Sea as they all took one look at his face before scuttling out of the way. I trailed after him, knowing it would be better to get this done sooner rather thanlater.

He waited until I shut the door before he beganyelling.

“What the fuck did you think you were doing?” he roared, his eyes almost bulging out ofhishead.

“Collecting my clothes?” I replied with a shrug, my expression a mask of confusion andinnocence.

“Don’t get fucking snarky with me, Anna,” he snapped, punctuating my name with his belovedgrowl.

I couldn’t help my scoff. “Did you hit your head again yesterday?” I wondered, looking up at the bruising around his cheekbone. “Because I swear you must have forgotten whoIam.”

I could see his eyes flash with the memory of what had happened when he’d returned to his room the night before. Of course, upon entering, everything would have looked normal to him. Until he reached for one of the many whiskey bottles on his bedside table he drank before bed without fail. People thought the fact he slept like the dead was a part of his disposition, but it was actually because the bastard drank himself to sleep everynight.

I peeked around him, my eyes peering through the connecting door to his bedroom just enough to see that the bedside table was empty, noting their absence. I would have got rid of them, too. It would be dangerous if someone unknowingly drankfromit.

“Oh, I see what it is,” I cooed, nodding my head with understanding. “You woke up on the wrong side of the bed,didn’tyou?”

It was like there was a little meter on his chest, and with my comment, I saw it fly into the red zone as steam began to pour out ofhisears.

“For fuck’s sake, Anna!” Wolf snapped, his hands coming up on either side of my head. They hit the wall so hard, I wondered if he’d broken a bone or two as his face leaned close to mine, his lip curling up in a snarl. “Stop fuckingpushingme.”

“Why? What are you going to do about it?” I taunted, pushing my face closertohis.

I blew a hot breath across his lips, and much to my surprise, Wolf didn’t bite at my teasing like usual. Instead, he shoved himself from the wall, walked over to his bookshelf, and threw his fist into it with such a force, the wood split around hisknuckles.

“Wolf!” I screeched in surprise. I reached for his hand as he snatched it from the bookcase. Wood splinters crumbled to the floor. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snapped as I checked his bloodiedknuckles.

“You!” he roared. He pulled his hand out of mine and wrapped it around my biceps to give me a rough shake. “You’re my fuckingproblem!”

“What the fuck did I do?” I pulled out of his grasp as my hands defensively propped onmyhips.

“You almost got your head fucking blown off yesterday, that’s what you fucking did!” I watched as his bloodied hand ran through his long hair, tugging on it with such a force, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tore a clump out of his head. As he began to pace up and down the small confines of his office, I felt my hands slide offmyhips.

After my conversation with Wolf yesterday, I’d been left feeling raw and exhausted. Mint still hadn’t returned my car, and the idea of going back to my empty house didn’t appeal to me, so I ended up stealing one of the empty rooms at the far side of the compound. Everyone had heard Wolf’s yelling last night, probably after having a swig of his whiskey, plus whatever the fuck was in the blue bottle I found in the pantry that I addedtoit.

To my surprise, he didn’t to attempt to catch my ass like usual. I managed to pass out from exhaustion and fell into a fitful sleep, riddled with nightmares and flashes from the past trying to crawl back into my mind. So, when I woke, still tired from the day before, to find out that we were going into lockdown, I decided to wrangle my keys from Mint, who had left my car in the parking lot, thank God, and go collect my clothes from my house. That had given me enough time to calm myself before returning to thecompound.

“I don’t see your problem, Wolf. I just went to get some clothes. I was barely gone half an hour,” Isnapped.

“You should have told one of the brothers to go fetch your shit,” heargued.

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed. “I ain’t letting a dirty bastard like Jax loose to enjoy a free-for-all in my pantydrawer.”

“Then you should have taken one of the boyswithyou.”

“I’m perfectly capable of going and fetching my clothes. It’s a ten-minute drive at most.” I walked past him into the bedroom, getting fed up with this conversation, and dropped my ass down on his bed. The softness of the mattress welcomed me; it was like a bomb exploded as I sat down, and I suddenly found myself completely surrounded by the scent of sex, whiskey, and most of all, Wolf. He had a scent that was like a male musk—warm, spicy—and it tasted almost hot on my tongue as I breathed intheair.

I noticed his silence as he watched me, his eyes darkening at the sight of me sitting on his bed. It lasted but a moment before his stubborn annoyance snapped back intoplace.

“You want facts, Anna?” Wolf asked. He dropped onto his haunches in front of me, and despite the fact that his bed was high off the ground, his face was now right in front of mine. Wolf had a habit of liking his face in mine when he wanted to make a point, but actually having him at my level felt odd. “The fact is, that bastard’s goons have seen your face. They killed Lizard because he was spreading the word, and the only reason they didn’t kill you was because you’re quick witted. I know about that hidden knife in your boot. I’ve seen you use it before, and the fact that it’s hidden so well is the only reason you weren’t arrested for murder. But it won’t be long before he knows the information got out. And it doesn’t take an idiot to put two and two together and figure out it was you who his tongue slipped to. Those are the facts, Anna.” His voice seemed to soften, but it still held its crisp tone. His hardened scowl faded as his gaze seemed to look deep into my eyes, like he could see straight inside my mind. “You slipped out of the compound this morning and didn’t tell anybody where the fuck you were going. Nobody fucking knew. That bastard’s goons could have been waiting at your house for you and shot you in the back of your head in a second. That’s a fact.” Wolf took a deep breath. His aged, worn face softened. “I don’t want one of my brothers to come to me one day and tell me they got to you. That’s one thing I won’t let become fact. But you’ve got to work with me, Anna. You’ve got to stop being soreckless.”

I knew he was right. I had been reckless when I went to meet Lizard, even if we’d gained valuable information. I did it for the club, and as much as my reasoning had been justified, it didn’t mean mymethodswere.

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