Page 7 of Claimed by the Wolf

Anger, hot and red, flooded my vision. So he was busy. So what? No one was that busy. He could take a second to call me back.

Plans raced through my mind. I couldn’t get back through his gate without permission; there had been a keypad. But I wasn’t giving up just yet. Since he liked hitting up dive bars, maybe I’d find him there again.

It was a long shot, but one I was willing to try. I just knew I couldn’t have any alcohol myself. No sweat.

Full dark had set in by the time I got into my car. It was silly, maybe, but I couldn’t leave until I’d changed into a form-fitting green sheath dress and sparkling black stilettos, fixed my hair, and applied more plum lipstick and mascara. It was for me, I told myself. I needed to feel good before I went out and tried to find my future baby’s daddy and convince him to care.

The thought of trying to pay for everything by myself, trying to be a mother myself, was so huge and horrible, I shoved it right out of my head. Hell, no. Instead, I concentrated on driving. I didn’t know if it was the full moon rising or what, but everyone was driving like a lunatic. I slammed on my brakes just in time to avoid someone cutting right in front of me. To keep from getting hit, someone else whirled and spun out of control and just managed to right their car before slamming into the median.

I dared a horrified glance into the rearview mirror. What was wrong with people?! I sure hoped that driver was all right. Of course, the car in front of me sped up to at least ninety miles an hour and tailgated the cars in front of it, forcing them out of the way.

Holy hell. Maybe I should have stayed home.

But instead, I clutched the steering wheel and focused on the road until I reached the turnoff for the bar. Everywhere I looked, the parking lot teemed with cars, and I had to circle around twice until a spot opened up. What had I been thinking, going out on a Friday night? No wonder people were acting crazy! I gritted my teeth, hoping the person vacating the spot wasn’t too drunk to drive. But it was early yet, so probably not.

With a sigh, I pulled into the space. I got out of the car, and the strength of the moonlight shocked me. It was so bold, so white, so intense, even I was tempted for a second to throw back my head and howl. Just for a second, though. Then the chill hit and chased me inside. Brr!

I scanned the packed room. It seriously was packed, too. For the first time in my life, I felt bad for sardines. This had to be what it was like, packed into that tiny can. I sure hoped everyone here had bathed recently.

But although I got a few appreciative looks from some good-looking men, and a few triflin’ ones, too, I kept looking. I wasn’t here to get picked up; that had already gotten me into this situation, thanks.

Well, maybe if one certain person tried to pick me up . . .

But he had to be here first! I pushed my way toward the bartender and ordered a water with lemon. The bartender, poor guy, did not look impressed. “Got a bun in the oven?” he asked, his eyes lingering on my round belly and instantly eroding any shame I had for not ordering a pricey drink.

“None of your business,” I snapped, grabbing my glass off the counter. Seriously, what was in the air tonight? Had the whole world fallen prey to the moon?

The bartender snorted and turned away to help another customer. “Damn heifers, gettin’ cheaper every day, I swear.”

Heifer? What did he know about my life? My cheeks flamed. I wasn’t cheap by choice. Normally I tipped big. I knew what it was like to work in a service industry. But right now, I couldn’t. Hell, I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t had to come find Grant.

The bartender deserved a full-out tongue lashing. But I forced him out of my thoughts. I had bigger fish to fry—or billionaires to corral, as the case might be.

The more I looked around, the more ridiculous it felt. What had I been thinking, coming out here? Like Grant would ever slum among us again. I’d just have to keep calling. It had only been a day, after all.

I should go home. I knew that. But the thought of my basement room made me want to cry. Enough. I’d had enough. Suddenly I didn’t even have enough energy to fight my way back through the crowd to get to the exit. With a sigh of defeat, I decided to sit and finish my water. The lemon tasted sour on my tongue, just the way my heart felt.

I pulled out my phone just to keep busy, scrolling through pointless Facebook updates about what people had eaten for dinner and people who wanted to spite their partners by posting nasty things about their latest fights. Yeah, classy with a K. At least Avon had never resorted to nonsense like that.

“Hey, girl,” some guy said, walking up to my stool. His leer traveled up and down my body, settling on my chest. “You look lonely. Why don’t you put away that phone and spend some time with me? A fine-lookin’ thing like you shouldn’t be alone on a night like this.”

“Nah, I’m doing all right on my own,” I said coolly, secretly bracing myself for a fifteen-minute argument about why he knew better than I did what I wanted.

To my surprise, the guy shrugged and wandered off to go hit on some other unsuspecting woman. “Your loss.”

Relieved, I scrolled through a few more pointless updates. Grant wasn’t going to come back here. Who did I think I was kidding? Why would anyone come here?

Suddenly a glass crashed a few feet from my stool. My head jerked up just in time to see a fist flying through the air. It connected squarely with a nose, making a sick breaking sound. Blood spurted down the guy’s face, spraying everything nearby.

Before I knew it, a brawl had erupted in the middle of the bar, with men jumping in from all sides. Shrieks flew all around my head, and people rushed past and shoved one another to get to the door. With my heart racing like it was going to burst out of me, I ran for the exit. Then I fell forward as someone pushed me. For a second, I couldn’t breathe at all. Then I stumbled on something slippery and toppled forward into someone’s arms.

It was a guy with blue-green eyes. No, it was a guy with a wolf’s head. I did a double take, then screamed. “Let go of me!”

When I looked again, it was just a guy. A guy who ignored me and made for the door. Desperate to get free, I thrashed against him, but he didn’t even seem to notice. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as the bartender got pulled into the fight. Someone downed him with a right hook almost immediately. I couldn’t help the tiny bit of satisfaction at thinking the bartender might want to watch what he said next time, but the rest of me just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Right before I turned around again, I saw something impossible. I blinked rapidly, but no, the wolves were still there.

Two silver-white wolves leaped out of the fray, growling to make you pee your pants. What the hell were wolves doing in a bar?

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