Page 43 of Fighting Furry

My eyes widened. “You can smell that?”

Confusion twisted her brow for just a moment before she laughed. “Ew, no. I was actually just guessing. Everyone is talking like you two are engaged, but this town is unreliable for gossip. Now that you've confirmed the gossip, tell me, how serious are you about him?”

The music in the place was loud, but it was pretty quiet in our corner by the wall. I could hear her when she lowered her voice, could tell she was sincere. I wanted to be honest with her, but I didn't bare my soul to anyone. “It's just physical,” I said. “Neither of us is looking for anything serious.”

She frowned. “Sweetie, Axel is looking for something serious. The man doesn't do anything halfway. And the way he talks about you. . .” She stopped herself and waved a hand. “Look at me, I'm becoming as bad as the rest of the gossips around here. I'll stay out of it unless you hurt him. Break his heart and I will kill you.”

She looked fierce when she said that, and I believed her. “It won't be a problem. He doesn't even like me.” He'd told me so, and that was what I was choosing to believe.

She rolled her eyes.

“What's the story with the Aspens Whiten pack?” I asked, desperate for a subject change.

Her eyes widened. “He told you about them?”

“Alpha showed up at his place before we came here.”

“Shit,” she said. “They're getting ballsy. I told Axel we needed to do something to show them we wouldn't just roll over and…” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “You did not just hear that.”

“I didn't hear anything, but I agree. We need to fight. He won't even…”

She shook her head. “Look, I like you, Julie, but you aren't pack. You're just some woman our alpha is sleeping with, right?”

“He said I'm a starburst.”

“You're a starburst. That would be your rank in any pack, but you haven't pledged yourself to this pack and I won't discuss this with you until you do.”

She had a point. I looked at the mingling crowd and tried to picture myself as part of the pack. I could see it so easily. I felt comfortable there, felt like I belonged. I couldn't imagine leaving, finding a new pack…I couldn't imagine doing anything because I wasn't human any more. I needed time to figure out where I belonged. There was still too much about the werewolf world I didn't know or understand, and it would be stupid to join the pack just because they'd been the ones to turn me.

“Look,” Clarissa said. “Join the party, have fun, get to know everyone. You should be deciding if this is your pack, not worrying about the valley wolves.”

Clarissa stood and walked over to a group who'd been trying to get her attention for the last five minutes.

Axel was mingling as he had been since we'd arrived. I'd watched him when he was in my line of sight and I hadn't seen him eat anything. He had to be starving after our run.

I fixed him a plate, piled high with a little bit of everything. I wove through the crowd, narrowly missing having the plate knocked from my hands several times by dancing or clumsy wolves.

The expression on Axel's face when he looked up and saw me walking toward him almost made me drop the plate. He stopped mid-laugh, in conversation with someone else, and looked over at me. His smile lit his eyes and the warmth, the appreciation in those eyes made it hard for me to breathe.

This was bad. It was really bad. I liked that face way too much and I wanted to please him, wanted to see that smile again and know it was because of me.

His smile slipped when I didn't keep moving toward him and my vision went hazy around the edges. I gulped down air and straightened my shoulders. I pushed away the feelings that were overwhelming me and forced a smile onto my face.

I could handle this. I would handle it. I was in a new place, dealing with a major change. It was normal for me to cling to Axel a bit. It didn't mean anything more than that.

His smile fell the rest of the way, and his jaw tightened, like he could hear my thoughts. I hated the way my stomach plummeted with his smile vanishing. Just one more sign I needed to get away.

I forced my smile bigger and carried the plate to Axel. He took it and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he said.

He spun me to face the group. There were four other people, all staring in that way people do when they can sense tension but don't want to let on they're curious. I tried to pull away from Axel, but he just held on tighter. “Raphael, Lara, Burt, Freddie, this is my Julie Jacobs.”

I smiled, my teeth clenched tight. “It's very nice to meet you all, but I'm not his.”

Axel loosened his grip and I escaped him. I hated that he'd made me feel so trapped, hated that he'd put me on the spot that way. He gave me a sad smile. “It's true,” he said. “I misspoke. She's not mine, but I'm hers.”

“You're her girlfriend?” Freddie asked, breaking the tension and making the others laugh. I was so angry I could punch something, but I couldn't help smiling a little bit at the joke.

“I'd be her whatever, if she'd let me,” Axel said, unperturbed by his pack mates calling him a girl.

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