Page 126 of Big Bad Bully
I spy Billy with his human mate holding hands, standing in front of a large floral mural for photographs. A tiny dog stands beside Billy, wearing a tuxedo bib and bow tie. The dog is so completely at odds with Billy’s personality that I stare, trying to reconcile it. Then his mate stoops to pick up the little dog, and it becomes clear. Billy, like any good wolf, would do anything for his mate. Including parent a ridiculous little dog if she wanted one.
Cute.
In the center of the space in front of the mural, caterers have turned several tables into one long epic cheese board.
Madi and Blackthroat join Billy. Another surprising match–the alpha of one of the largest packs in the country with a human. She is a remarkable human, though. Brilliant, generous, and friendly. I don’t know what happened exactly between them, but I believe Blackthroat nearly went moon mad trying to deny the match.
It had something to do with the Adalwulf pack and a job offer because Blackthroat called me in to lipread a video of Madi talking to Aiden Adalwulf, their alpha.
Madi sees me and waves me over.
I sign “hello” as I approach.
Madi introduces me to Aubrey, her best friend and Billy’s mate.
“Aubrey is the artist of this beautiful mural,” Madi speaks and signs at the same time, which takes the mastery of not just someone who can sign but an interpreter.
“It’s beautiful,” I say out loud to Aubrey. “Is the gallery for your work?”
Aubrey laughs and shakes her head. “No. I curated, though. Our next theme will be social justice art–creating change through art, that kind of thing.”
I nod.
“The top floors are artist spaces, and the bottom is a gallery.”
“Congratulations. It’s a bold project,” I say.
Aubrey smiles, then her gaze slides to Billy, who tucks her against his side. He’s changed drastically in the past few months since he mated. He’s no less powerful, but the feral, aggressive edge is gone. He has a more quiet leadership style now.
Blackthroat shakes my hand. “Good to see you here, Noah.”
“I’m honored to be included.”
He doesn’t release my hand for a moment, scrutinizing my face. Maybe he thinks I’m hinting to be let in the pack.
I’m not. I prefer being a lone wolf, but I suspect that’s not acceptable to an alpha like Blackthroat.
I approached finding a job on Wall Street like a human would. I graduated from Harvard with an MBA and applied for jobs in Manhattan. I did apply at both companies owned by wolf packs, thinking my scent might give me an in during an interview.
I also knew it could backfire, if the wolves here were like my birth pack and considered me “defective.” I didn’t approach either pack about membership since I didn’t know how they’d treat me or where I’d land with a job. If I didn’t get a job with either company, I’d just as soon not be affiliated with any pack.
That was my first mistake.
The HR rep at Moon Co was human, so my scent didn’t come into play, but I guess I nailed the interview because I got the job. At the time, I’d loved knowing I was hired based on merit alone.
Then I met the CEO, Brick Blackthroat. He scented me in a meeting and called me to his office afterward. I found myself pinned to a wall by my throat until I swore I wasn’t an Adalwulf spy.
Then he demanded to know why I hadn’t approached him, as alpha of his territory, to join the pack. There’s no lying to an alpha, but telling the truth was my second mistake. He didn’t like me admitting I played both sides for a job.
The third mistake was having lunch with Madi before they were mated. She invited me as friends, and she was unmarked, so I had no idea she belonged to him. He told me in no uncertain terms to stay away from her.
So there’s been no invitation to join their pack. I don’t believe it’s because they’re bigoted and believe me “defective” like my home pack because after Billy saw Madi signing to me at work, he and the rest of the team promptly learned ASL. In my home pack, only my grandmother bothered to learn it. I learned to lip read and speak and did my best to integrate.
But being without a pack has its downsides. I have nowhere to run in the city. I haven’t shifted in months. My wolf grows restless, plaguing me with dream after dream of hunting.
Usually I’m hunting game. Sometimes it’s a beautiful girl with moon-pale hair and wide, unfocused eyes.
Like the one I saw step out of a limo with Aiden Adalwulf.
