Page 10 of The Wolf's Plus-Size Bride

I let him lead me into the house, where, unsurprisingly, a ton of people have already gathered. From the outside, it almostlooks like a small army is moving within the house. I don’t like it, not one bit. It feels crowded, like I can’t fucking breathe without touching someone.

Rafe and Evan spot us as we step inside, and both of them smile at us greeting. “Jane, good to see you again,” Rafe says, nodding once to me before turning his attention to his cousin. “Reiner, glad you were able to make it.”

It’s Evan who realizes we’re holding hands first, and he motions his attention to our interlocked fingers. “I assume this is the mystery woman, then? The one you told us about the other night, Reiner?”

With a chuckle, Reiner rubs the back of his neck. “It is. Where are my manners? Jane, this is Evan and Rafe, Green Lake’s alpha and beta.”

“We’ve met,” I say, leaving out the part where I was supposed to marry Rafe just a couple years ago. It seems weird to mention it.

“It’s good to see you again,” Rafe says, gracing me with his award-winning smile. He always did have a hell of a nice smile. “I’m glad we’re getting another chance to talk. How’re things going for you in town? I know I’ve kept Piper pretty busy, but I hope you’ve been able to make some new friends?” His gaze swivels to Reiner, and the implication there is clear.

“Yeah, for sure,” I reply. “She’s your wife, of course you’re keeping her busy! And, um, I have, thank you.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Reiner is a good guy at heart. Just don’t go telling him I said that. He won’t let me live it down.”

The Green Lake alpha grins and sips his drink.

“Fucking hell,” Reiner mumbles under his breath. “Jane, c’mon, let’s grab a drink from the kitchen. Then we can mingle a little.”

“Ooh, a drink sounds delightful.” The sooner I can get drunk enough to sort of forget about being here, the better.

“Excuse us, gentlemen.” He pulls me off to the side, but a lot of folks are between us and the kitchen, and it seems every one of them is shocked to see Reiner here with a woman at his side.

“Reiner?” One of the pack members walks up, a shockingly beautiful woman with dark auburn hair, piercing green eyes, and a set of tits that’d make Angelina Jolie jealous. She goes in for a hug, which I’m positive he didn’t expect because his eyes grow wide with surprise, and not in a good way.

“Dani, hey. Wow, you look great.” Reiner doesn’t return the hug, instead stepping back so he can keep his arm around my waist. “This is my…” His voice cuts out, and I raise a curious eyebrow at him. “…Girlfriend. Jane, this is an old friend, Danielle. Dani, Jane.”

“Hiya.” I don’t offer my hand, it doesn’t feel right somehow. Something about the look in her eyes just doesn’t sit well with me. “It’s a pleasure.”

“Friend,” Dani snorts. She runs her eyes over my body, and I can feel the judgment in her glare as if it were tangible.

I’m instantly insecure, pulling at my dress and running my fingers through my hair. Reiner notices, straightening and squaring his shoulders, his hold on my hip going tighter and tensing. He opens his mouth to say something, but I speak up first.

“It was lovely to meet you, Dani.” I look at Reiner and mouth “kitchen,” but he doesn’t catch my hint. “Babe, let’s go get that drink, shall we?” I add.

Not waiting for him to agree, I head in the direction of the bar in the kitchen, weaving my way through the crowd and trying not to look at anyone. Why am I insecure? Who cares what these wolves think? They’re all strangers. None of their opinions matter. I’ll literally never see most of them again after this. And if I’m really lucky, I’ll never see them again after we ditch our scheme.

Taking the first drink I lay eyes on, I sigh and take a sip. When Reiner finally catches up to me, I drink it in long gulps. He raises a brow. “Easy, speed racer. Is everything okay? I didn’t know Dani would be here.”

What? Did he think I was mad that one of his old… friends was here? Hell, no.

“Hey, are you listening? Jane? What’s up with you?”

I drain the rest of the liquid in my glass. “Nothing. Relax. I’m not bothered by it.”

I feel a twinge of… something. Not embarrassment, because what do I have to feel embarrassed over? We’re just pretending. None of this is real. We’re putting on a show, and despite the feelings I thought I had for him a year ago, I’m over him. I really and truly am. I’m doing this to save my butt from my aunt trying to marry me off to the first stranger who offers.

So, what is this feeling in my gut?

I don’t know how long I can pull this off. People are going to start asking questions, wanting details, and I don’t know if I can lie to everybody and continue upholding this whole thing. Christ, this is exhausting, and we’ve only bet at it for a few hours.

Just when I feel like I might start spiraling, Sonya approaches me with a drink in her hand and a broad grin. “Hey! You owe me some girl talk.”

Oh no. As much as I want to get it off my chest, I can’t. I love Sonya, and for the most part, she’s fiercely protective of me, but there’s no telling what she’ll do if she finds out I’m in the process of lying my butt off. “Right, okay, let’s talk,” I say.

She loops her arm through mine, tugging me off in the direction of the back porch. I glance over my shoulder and give Reiner an apologetic smile, because that feels like something a girlfriend would do. He doesn’t look happy as we exit the back sliding glass door. Maybe he is worried I’m going to blab and tell her the truth.

When we get outside, I cross the porch and lean against the banister, running my fingers over the smooth, treated wood, thankful for the cool autumn breeze that ruffles through my hair.

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