Page 3 of Operation Wolf: Eli
CHAPTER 2
Eli
“YOU MAY NOW KISSthe bride!”
I watched as Gunner grabbed Celine by the waist and pulled her flush against him for a hot, steamy kiss beneath the outdoor wedding arch. The guests erupted into cheers, and I joined in, whooping and hollering right along with the rest of them, as if I were standing in the crowd instead of less than two feet away from the groom.
“Hey, get a room already!” Hunter, one of the groomsmen and a fellow shifter Army buddy, shouted from alongside me.
I’d flown in along with the rest of our former squad to stand as Gunner’s groomsmen, and I was extremely grateful to be here. It gave me a sense of peace, of solidarity, that I’d nearly forgotten was possible to possess since Nick Santorini blackmailed me into joining the Outfit.
Here, among my comrades, I could just about shut out the memory that, just a few days ago, my hands had been covered in blood from beating the hell out of a Gaylords gangster for the heinous crime of selling heroin on the Outfit’s turf. Today, I could almost stop thinking about the fact that I’d left the man bleeding on the street with a rattle in his chest that told me it was entirely possible he wouldn’t survive the night. Almost.
I didn’t know whether or not the man had lived, and I took some small comfort in that. I’d been out of the city, on a plane to New York City, before the media could release the story.
Shaking my head, I pulled myself away from my dark thoughts and back to the wedding. Gunner and Celine had chosen to have the ceremony on the rooftop of Celine’s father’s SoHo hotel, and the weather had accommodated with clear, sunny skies and a pleasantly warm breeze. It was a wonderful day, and I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
Besides, sharing in the joy of my friend’s union made me feel somewhat normal. After all, I could never explain to my comrades just what kind of mess I was in. I had far too much love for these men to drag them into my problems. No, I’d serve the mob for as long as I needed to until my friend’s debt was paid and I was able to figure out a plan that would finally lead me away from that dark world once and for all.
I forced myself to focus on the beautiful couple who stood to the side of me, their smiles contagious and their love so pure you couldn’t help but feel it even in the blackest corners of your heart.
“All right, all right,” Gunner conceded with a cheeky grin, pulling away from his bride. “Darling, you’d better throw the bouquet now.”
Instantly, a gaggle of girls and women appeared in front of the aisle, all shouting and giggling as they jockeyed for position. Celine threw the bouquet, and two women caught it at the same time. A fight broke out over who should keep the damn thing, which I supposed was only natural since they were all shifter women and even cattier and more possessive than their human counterparts.
“Okay, okay, break it up.” I waded in among the throng and plucked the bundle of flowers out of the hands of a pretty woman in a pink dress. “The lady in the yellow got it first, so I’m giving it to her,” I announced a little more loudly. “Anyone got a problem with that?”
The woman in the pink dress looked as though she wanted to say something, but I gave her a look, and she quickly withered. I knew an instinctive menace glittered in my sky-blue eyes and seemed to fill every inch of my broad, muscular frame. Whether it came from my time as a military soldier or a Mafia enforcer, I couldn’t say, but the shifter females all hastily backed off.
“Thank you,” the woman in the yellow dress lisped quietly, accepting the flowers. Then she quickly melted back into the crowd.
Somewhat embarrassed at all the eyes now turned my way, I pivoted on my heel and returned to my place next to the groom, so the wedding party could begin its march down the other side of the aisle.
“Appreciate you stepping in, Eli,” Gunner muttered just before the music started. He offered Celine his arm. “Last thing I need is for those shifter women to start getting into a real catfight in front of all these humans. And you certainly seem to have a way of calming the ladies.”
“Anytime.” I smirked.
Then Gunner was off down the aisle. I stepped in behind him, taking the arm of Celine’s maid of honor, a black-haired she-wolf named Tamara with a killer figure clothed in emerald-green satin. Her eyes sparkled as she took my arm, her ruby-red lips curving into a smile that told me she was plotting how to get me into bed before I left for Chicago.
The next few hours were a blur—standing in the wedding party line to receive greetings and adjourning to the reception hall to dive headfirst into a banquet, followed by dancing and drinking and games galore. I made sure to keep my distance from Tamara, and it wasn’t long before she took the hint and was off seeking greener pastures, flitting between several men on the dance floor.
Oh yeah, someone is definitely getting laid tonight. And, to my eternal frustration, it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me.
“Hey.” Gunner appeared at my side, his bride nowhere in sight. He clapped me, his best man, on the shoulder. “What are you doing, skulking in the corner here, bro? You should be out there, having fun with the rest of us.”
I shook my head. “I had my share of fun at the bachelor party last night,” I confessed with a crooked grin. “Right now, I just feel like relaxing.”
Gunner’s raised eyebrow told me he wasn’t buying it. “I don’t know, Eli. This isn’t really like you. Normally, you’re the life of the party. But here, you are hiding out with a glass of champagne. A drink I know you hate, by the way. Why aren’t you enjoying yourself as usual?”
Sighing, I looked out at the dance floor, my eyes searching for my friends. Hunter, ever the billionaire playboy—his father owned a bunch of oil refineries in Texas—was dancing with two women. His handsome face was flushed, and his hair had already been tousled by female fingers. I had no doubt Hunter would have both women in his bed tonight, possibly even at the same time.
Jordan, a bit more conservative, only had one woman—a bridesmaid, if I wasn’t mistaken—twirling on his arm, but he didn’t seem put out about it in the least. Matt had foregone the dance floor altogether and set up shop, running a game of blackjack at one of the banquet tables and likely making a killing. He was a professional poker player, after all. But even though Matt wasn’t out there dancing with the rest of them, he had a gorgeous blonde in a white dress hanging on his arm.
“Look,” I muttered, setting my glass of champagne—Gunner was right; I didn’t like it—on the tray of a passing waiter, “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now. It’s nothing to do with you or the guys, and I don’t want you to worry about it. Go to your beautiful bride,” I said, gesturing toward Celine, who was currently dancing with her father.
“I see,” Gunner said slowly. “Anything I can do to help?”
I shook my head. “Maybe once, but it’s too late for that now.”
