Page 49 of Wolf Tamer

Liam murmurs a noncommittal response and still stares at his cereal bowl like the wheat circles inside hold the meaning of life.

“What do you think about it?” I press.

He shrugs. “I think you’re allowed to do what you want as long as you don’t endanger any of us.”

“And you’re sure I won’t?”

I might be a little hard with the questions, but I think Liam can handle it. Call it a sixth sense. There’s more to this guy than meets the eye, and the calm and quiet, almost shy exterior he presents is nothing but surface illusions.

“If my brother thinks you’re to be trusted, then I bow to his wishes.”

It isn’t a glowing commendation, but underneath the shyness, I can sense a genuine affection for Reid, which is a good thing in my book.

“I’m asking what you think,” I push softly, lifting the cup of coffee to my lips for a long sip, nostrils flaring at the bitterness. Too much. I need my creamer.

“What I think doesn’t matter.”

“I say it does. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother sitting here trying to talk to you. Although I’ll admit, I’m not good at conversation. It seems as though you aren’t either. I thought maybe that might make it easier.”

“To what?” he asks.

“To make friends. I don’t know. Julius doesn’t want much to do with me.”

It’s a simple matter of fact, because yes, I am starting with Liam, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried to scope out the oldest Holden. After coming back from the woods yesterday with Reid leading the way, Julius almost seemed to be waiting for us by the back door. And the moment we came into view?

I saw his scowl from a mile away.

Something about the note from their father, the one Julius had hidden in his room that Reid had found almost by accident, puzzles me. There’s more to the story. I know it. And as the oldest, surely Julius had to deal with more of their father’s bullshit than the rest of them. And yet he wasn’t alpha.

Reid had won the mantle.

Undercurrents between them thicken whenever the men are in the same room with each other, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice them.

“Julius wants little to do with anyone,” Liam agrees with a chuckle. His gaze flicks up to meet mine for a split second before he looks away. “Outside of his own interests. Or his reflection.”

“He does seem to be pretty occupied with himself. He’s got a big head.”

“And an ego to match it.”

Liam and I share a smile.Bingo. It’s theinthat I need to start worming my way into his affections. And after a few days, I find I actually enjoy Liam’s company. He’s a decent conversationalist, and one of the only pack members that Reid doesn’t mind me chatting with. The female wolves who aren’t mated keep their distance from me, and if we happen to be in the same room, they sneer.

They don’t like me, and I’m used to that kind of thing. I might be a stranger to them, but I’m one with two legs and a pretty face, and everyone can see that I’m shacking up with Reid. He doesn’t need to tell them a story about our sex life anymore.

And in between my friend-making tactics, I’m searching the halls yet again. My secondary purpose may have changed—odds are good I’ll kill Reid eventually, at some point in the distant future—but my primary goal? I’m here to find out what happened to Carmen.

My first searches of the mountain mansion yielded nothing, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find hidden traces if I continue the search.

Madness, sure.

I’m as mad as they come.

Reid checks in with me only at night for the next few days. I’m in his bed now. He wanted no argument on the matter, and it seems to me like my little skirt with death has changed something inside him. He holds me closer when it’s just the two of us. During the day, however, I’m allowed a certain amount of rope. He lets go of my leash, if only because he has business with the pack to attend to. When I ask him about it, a wall drops down over his face, and I know I’ll have better luck getting blood out of a stone than I will information out of him.

So he does his stuff, and I do mine, and it seems like two days is enough for me to make this a routine. Work out in the morning, check. Coffee with Liam at the table until the two of us seem to have our own little bubble of bitter bliss, check.

Then it’s a casual search of the house and knocking on panels I haven’t knocked on before. It might sound silly, but damn, I’ve been in my fair share of houses built to hide secrets, and you’d be surprised how many of them have secret rooms and shit hidden behind bookshelves.

The library has been particularly interesting, especially since I know Julius spends a lot of his time there. Not that I’ve ever seen him with a book in his hands, but I bet when he does read, he likes any kind of nonfiction about serial killers. Call it a gut instinct.

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