Page 28 of Wolf Forgotten

Eli was taller, slimmer, and younger than Cole, but he was still muscular. His skin was a soft brown tone that looked like he spent a lot of time in the sun, and his hair was jet black and short. He had the faintest hint of a five o'clock shadow. His dark brown eyes sparkled as they met mine.

The smell of meat hit my nose, and I growled lightly in my throat.Down, girl.

I plopped down at the circular table in between Cole and Eli and stared at the plate that was set for me. I inhaled deeply and could smell each individual ingredient as it entered my nose.

The venison was cooked rare with a fragrant blackberry reduction. It smelled so good I didn’t hesitate to grab my fork and knife, even though in the back of my mind I wondered if it was the deer I had killed that morning.

As I took the first bite, I couldn't stop the small moan from escaping. Both men stared at me with heated eyes.

“Why are you staring?” I knew exactly why they were staring. If they were going to hold me against my will, I would not make it easy on them.

Cole started eating his own dinner, and Eli took a sip of his wine but didn't touch his plate. The silence was killing me, mainly because I had so many questions. The most important question being who the cook was because I needed to get on their good side.

I sighed as I finished the last bite and sat back in my chair. I was glad my body wanted cooked food.

"Do you want more?" Eli gestured to the food on his plate.

Was that why he waited until I was done? I wasn't an expert on wolves, but that was something an omega did; wait until the pack was done eating. Only, I wasn't part of their pack and we weren't sporting tails at the moment.

"I'm good. It was delicious though." I blotted my lips with my napkin and Eli finally started eating. I stayed focused on him, since he wasn't the one proclaiming I was his mate. “My friends and work are going to be worried when I don't show up on Monday.”

Cole took a drink of what looked like whiskey and cleared his throat. “Eli sent an email from your phone requesting a leave of absence for personal reasons. Is there anyone else we need to contact?”

"My phone is still in one piece? I want it back." I looked at Eli, who had his eyes focused on his plate. "Eli, help me out here."

"Can't do that." He cringed and looked up at me through his long eyelashes. Damn, the whole bashful thing from him was cute as hell.

"It's too risky." Cole refilled my wine glass, which got a look of annoyance from Eli.

I stared at him as if he had ten heads and a monkey tail. “Too risky? We're talking about upheaving my entire life! How is letting me talk to people I know a risk? I'm not going to tell them.” Except Riley. Maybe.

I snatched the wine glass and gulped it down. I should have just taken the entire bottle from him and chugged it.

"We'll text people on your behalf. We thought that you could say you're going to a wellness retreat or rehab for a drinking problem." Cole shrugged as if it was no big deal. “It would have been too suspicious for both of us to quit at the same time. Even though I was volunteering my time, I told Barbara I would stay until she found a new pilot."

"A drinking problem?" I grabbed the wine bottle and took a drink from it because I couldn't resist. "You never answered my question."

"I don't trust that you won't expose us." Cole took the wine bottle from me and set it down. "We know nothing about you."

Unbelievable. My patience had worn out, and I grabbed my steak knife, standing with it in my hand. I didn’t quite know what my aim was, but the voice in my head, which I had determined was my wolf, was egging me on. I wasn't going to stab him with it.

Cole stood abruptly and stared me down, his eyes blazing. “Try it.” The challenge hung in the air for several long moments before Eli reached over and pried my hand from the knife.

“Now, now, children. Let's try to get along. Maybe a violent video game will help.” He laughed uneasily and put the knife on the other side of his plate.

“Sit down,” Cole warned, his eyes still locked on mine. He was back to his bossy, infuriating self.

“No.” I folded my arms across my chest. Who the hell did he think he was, bossing me around like I was a child?

“Why is she not-” Eli was cut off by Cole.

“Shut up," he bit out, throwing his napkin that was clutched in his fist on his plate. He took his drink and hastily walked down the hallway where the door to the basement was. I heard a door slam and flinched.

I sat back down with a huff, grabbed the bottle of wine, and took another chug. "What crawled up his ass and died?"

Eli tilted his head slightly to the side as if his wolf was in control, his eyes flashing amber for a moment, like it had come to the surface. “Cole is the alpha and you're in his territory. You shouldn't be challenging him like you are, even in human form. If he says to sit, you sit.”

I snorted in disbelief. The wolf thing, yeah, okay, I was a wolf, and they were wolves. But a pack mentality? I wasn’t sure I could handle taking orders or being a submissive… bitch. “You thoughtthatwas me challenging him? I’m just getting started.”

---