Two Minutes (Seven Series Book 6) (26 page)

Their faces were stricken with unpleasant memories.

“Well,” Lexi began, wringing her hands under the table. “Denver was another story.”

Naya played with a thin gold chain around her neck. “Darling, you have nothing to worry about. Denver and I tangled for a little bit, but neither of us took it too far.”

“He fought you?” I asked in horror. I’d never been able to attend one of those things because the animals sometimes got out of control.

She pursed her red lips. “We have no control over our animal’s behavior. They worked it out. Wheeler was there, and the pack trusts him. Between him and Austin, they got it under control. I can’t say we get along famously,” she said, waving her hand, “but then again, Denver’s wolf isn’t much of a social butterfly.”

It made me think about how Denver had pushed people away his whole life. Had those feelings somehow influenced his wolf, or were some wolves just naturally more aggressive? Denver ran with the pack, but he often went off on his own.

Ivy rubbed my back. “You needn’t worry. He’ll know who you are. He’s always known, and it won’t matter what form you take. I have no doubt his wolf will hunt for you.”

That was a habit mated wolves did if their other half was in wolf form. Jericho’s was the exception as he occasionally brought in a rabbit to Izzy. She’d wrinkle her nose and kiss his muzzle, but it was a pretty gruesome thing to wake up to at the foot of the bed. Sometimes the animals were still alive, and on three occasions, April had been able to save them. That was about the time they began imposing the rule about wolves in the house, but Jericho’s still managed to find a way to get inside. The Cole brothers were to blame for that; they thought it was hilarious to see him trot up the stairs with a dead animal in his mouth, ready to woo his woman.

“I hope you have an appetite. Hot and tasty! At least, that’s what my mate tells me,” Rosie said with a giggle. She rolled a cart near the table and proceeded to set our plates down, each filled with a mega burger, onion rings, and a jalapeño on the side.

“You are a goddess.” Lexi admired her perfectly cooked burger.

Rosie put her hands behind her head and circled her hips. “That’s what the mister tells me every morning.”

“After?” Izzy said with a smirk as she gobbled up an onion ring.

Rosie winked and turned around. “
Before
. That’s how we get to the after.”

***

Our night out was amazingly fun. I’d always loved going to Howlers as a kid, including the few occasions I’d come home to visit. But now I was experiencing things from a whole new perspective—as a female Shifter.

I had to admit, it was pretty badass. I didn’t have any special powers outside of shifting, but I could suddenly sense who was Breed and who wasn’t. I had instincts I hadn’t before, and knowledge that my inner animal would protect me in all situations, as I would her. My wolf gave me vibes about certain people, and I wasn’t sure if it had to do with their tone, body language, or even a scent I couldn’t smell but she could.

A burly Shifter recognized Izzy from when she used to tend bar. He was blatantly hitting on her, even though everyone knew she was mated to Jericho. She entertained him for a short while, but as soon as he got too friendly, she cut him off and we moved to a booth.

Ivy was a different story. Men were intimidated by her regal demeanor, not to mention everyone this side of Austin, Texas, knew she was mated to Lorenzo Church—one of the most feared Packmasters in the territory.

A few beers later, Lexi decided to hit the dance floor and dragged April with her.

“Will you just
look
at that!” Naya exclaimed. “Those jealous little devils.”

Izzy peered over her shoulder. “Super. Girls’ night out just turned into wolves gone wild.”

The Weston pack strolled through the door like a testosterone parade, looking as dangerous and hot as any Shifter pack could. Wheeler eased up to the bar and slanted his eyes in our direction before ordering a drink. Jericho mingled with a small group of women standing by a pillar, and Austin leaned against the bar on his elbows, pretending he didn’t see us.

“Spies,” Lexi hissed as she returned to the table. “They just couldn’t keep away. Afraid the Weston girls were going to stir up trouble.”

Naya chuckled. “I thought that was our mission for the evening. Darling, just sit back and pretend you don’t see them. They can hardly help themselves. They’re staking claim.”

Ivy smiled and cocked an eyebrow. “I’m fortunate I don’t have to worry about such wolfish behavior from my mate.”

April peered around Lexi. “Think again. Look who just walked in the door.”

A gust of wind blew Lorenzo’s long hair forward as the door closed behind him. He had on a shirt with a wide collar and a beaded choker circled his neck. The jukebox played an old tune by Fleetwood Mac because Lexi had locked in the next hour with her music, and we’d been listening to Mumford & Sons for the past half hour.

“Not only are they all here,” Naya said discreetly, “but look at how they sexed themselves up for us. Unless I’ve had too many beers, it looks like Wheeler put a comb to his hair. Mmm, and he’s wearing my favorite sleeveless shirt—the one that’s so tight I can see the lines in his abs.”

“Now that you mention it, Austin’s wearing those jeans that make his ass look hot,
and
he’s doing his lean,” Lexi said. “They’re baiting us!”

April played with her earring. “They’re trying to attract women so we’ll get jealous and run over to them. They’ve probably been creating ridiculous fantasies about how all the men up here are seducing us while they’re at home watching reruns of
True Blood
.”

Naya dabbed perfume on her wrists. “It’s a game of seduction.”

Lexi glared over her shoulder again. “Their game of seduction is going to turn into
Game of Thrones
. They’re going to start a fight.”

“Maybe that’s what they want,” I suggested. “Since when have the men in our pack ever been able to control that instinct? They
want
to fight for us.”

I glanced back wistfully and saw no sign of Denver. Perhaps in the human world this would seem like an act of immaturity, but among Shifters, there was a dance involved when it came to mated couples. The women were just as guilty of accidentally showing up at the bar when the men declared a night out. Not often, since boys’ night out usually involved laser tag or paintball. But on the few occasions they’d go to a club or bar, I vividly remember the women putting on their sexiest dresses and heading out the door.

Lexi stood up and slowly peeled off her light sweater to the tune of “The Chain” just as the lyrics kicked in. She draped it over her chair and flipped her hair back, then strategically turned around, just enough to give Austin her body profile, and pulled her tight tank top low to show cleavage. A chilly draft formed goose pimples on her body in every place where a man would desire them.

“You are a
bad
girl,” Naya purred approvingly.

Lexi leaned on the table, displaying her finest asset—one no red-blooded Shifter could ignore.

Especially the dark-haired man directly behind her who rose from his chair as if he were a marionette doll. “Can I buy you a beer?”

Austin shifted his glance toward our table, and his blue eyes went glacial. Like Wheeler, he also had on a sleeveless black shirt. Only, Austin’s tattoos wrapped around his shoulders and upper arms in a tribal pattern. His biceps flexed, and his jaw tensed.

I had a feeling Lexi was watching him from the corner of her eye over her shoulder, because she slowly turned around to face the man behind her. “I’ve already got a drink, but thanks for asking. Didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea; the music is loud and I was just bending over to hear my friend,” she said matter-of-factly.

Austin couldn’t hear what she was saying, but that didn’t matter. Howlers wasn’t just serving Austin beer and hamburgers tonight, but also a reminder of how desirable his mate was to other men. Despite the rogue Shifter hitting on her, Austin’s eyes were all over Lexi’s body—owning it with every heated glance. An amorous look crossed his expression, and I could tell he was itching to step in and intervene. Instead, he played it cool and started up a conversation with Reno.

While April was minding her business in the far end of the booth, Reno looked ready to lay any man to waste who so much as breathed in her vicinity. She was a woman in her prime who looked confident in her skin, and that was an attractive quality to a Shifter. Lots of them were curious about humans, and her shirt sliding off her bare shoulder was helping that along. Men couldn’t help but notice her big hazel eyes, and Reno couldn’t help but notice those men noticing her.

I sensed the perfect storm brewing.

“This should be uneventful,” Ivy remarked. “Lorenzo has never been a jealous man; he trusts me implicitly.”

Naya reached across the table and touched her hand. “Darling, this isn’t about trust. This is about men wanting to show off their peacock feathers. Let them strut around and do their dance until their feathers ruffle; it’ll just make for a steamy end to our evening.”

Ivy looked across the room at Lorenzo and blushed. I found it endearing that a woman could blush after having had children, but Lorenzo was the only one who could put color on her cheeks.

“Sure you don’t want that beer? Maybe something sweet, like a scoop of ice cream,” the man said to Lexi in a growly voice.

Lexi backed up against the table because he was suddenly invading her space. “No. I’m not interested.”

“You heard the lady,” Austin barked from across the bar.

The hair on my neck stood on end.

Austin must have read her lips.
No
was the only word he needed to understand when it came to his woman. He pushed off the bar and stalked toward the table, his fists clenched. Lexi tensed and gripped the table behind her, panic in her eyes. Meanwhile, Naya laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, grinning from ear to ear.

The man turned to face Austin. “What business is it of yours?”

“Maybe you’re not the kind of man a woman like her wants,” Austin said.

Now, while Austin could have ended the game by stating Lexi was his mate, he interestingly chose not to. So in effect, these became two men on equal ground vying for the attention of one woman. Austin didn’t want to claim his mate; he wanted to
win
her.

The man with the jet-black hair folded his arms. “She turned her back to me and bent over. Doesn’t matter what she said.”

“Then why don’t we just ask the lady who she thinks is the better man,” Austin suggested with an arch of his brow.

When Lexi grinned, he looked a little nervous. You never could tell what my sister was going to say or do.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking between them. “You two look like strong, confident men.”

The Shifter wet his lower lip, ravaging her body with his gaze. Austin flicked a glance his way, uncertainty in his eyes.

“Take off your shirts,” Lexi blurted out.

I covered my face with my hands and stifled a laugh. By the time I opened my eyes, the two men had stripped out of their shirts, displaying a visual feast of abs and rock-hard muscles. Lexi’s suitor had bulging arms, but he didn’t hold a candle to Austin’s well-proportioned torso and washboard stomach.

She tapped her finger against her mouth and looked at the stranger. “I’m a dessert kind of girl. What kind of sweet would you buy me?”

He pursed his lips in thought. “Hot-fudge sundae with cherries.”

“Mmm. And you?” she asked Austin.

He smiled wolfishly and reached around to his back pocket, pulling out a round sucker. He removed the wrapper and tucked the stick in the waistband of his jeans, right below his navel.

“I think we have a winner,” Naya said with a chuckle.

Lexi curled into Austin and wrapped her arms around him. “A man after my own heart.”

When they began to kiss intimately, the shirtless stranger realized they were mated and strolled back to his table in defeat.

“You want a lick?” I heard Austin murmur.

“Maybe later,” Lexi whispered as they walked off.

Each of the women at my table had their eyes on their own man, wondering how their game would end.

“I’m going to step outside for some fresh air. You three behave yourselves. No bar fights,” I said, laughing to myself.

When I scooted out of my seat and crossed the room, I glanced back and noticed a man stealing the spot next to Ivy. As I happened to be walking by Lorenzo, I heard him curse under his breath and mutter something about declaring war.

My ears were ringing from the music, so it was a relief to stroll outside where it was blissfully quiet and the dark sky stretched overhead like a velvet cloak. Howlers had a couple of beat-up chairs and a bench on the long porch just outside the door. But my butt was sore from sitting all night and I decided to stretch my legs in the open area in front of the parking lot.

The great thing about the Breed side of town was that you didn’t have to worry about muggers. Since Howlers was primarily a Shifter bar, we didn’t get many of the other Breeds hanging around like the more popular clubs. Howlers had always been a second home to me.