Scarlet Disaster by Colette Rhodes

Chapter 8

I was so fucking bored. I was tempted to stir up some trouble, just for something to fucking do. I’d already gone around the rental house in my wolf form and rubbed myself all over Gabriel and Nate’s beds to annoy their cats. I was up to date on my editing, my clients had the images they’d ordered, and I’d listed the spares for sale. I’d even overhauled my entire website yesterday, just for something to do. I was never this on top of my workload.

Maybe I needed to go to a bar and meet someone. A little winter fling might be the solution to all my problems. Or the cause of more. Either way, at least my life wouldn’t be so dull.

At this point, things were so dire that I was contemplating making a video montage of all the pictures I’d taken of Nate looking sad recently, set to The Sound of Silence and playing it for him when he got home.

Honestly, I’d be doing him a favor. At least if he hit me or something, he’d be experiencing some kind of emotion. He’d basically drifted through life in a trance these past few days. Gabriel was contemplating an intervention.

Hm, maybe I should do the montage. Every intervention needed a montage. I’d start on it when I got back to the house.

Nate was at work, and I decided to head to the studio to pester him there for something to fill my time. It’s not like there was nothing to do here, but snow really wasn’t my jam. I’d grown up in Colorado and left as soon as I could, avoiding cold climates as much as possible ever since. My wolf was totally in his element, but I was… not. I wanted to go back to photographing lush, vibrant vegetation and tropical birds. All my photos here were so… monochromatic. Snow, snow, and more fucking snow.

I’d been super into photographing urban decay recently, and I had a list of ghost towns that I could be visiting if I wasn’t stuck here supporting Nate through his premature midlife crisis. I had some amazing shots from Greece that had sold really well. Maybe we could head down to New Mexico next, if Nate wasn’t ready to leave US soil. There was plenty to see on Route 66.

I paused outside the door to Mountain Ink, using my enhanced hearing to make sure Nate was alone before I barged in.

“You sound relaxed as usual,” I announced as I let myself in, the sound of Nate’s angry stomping clear even through the door. Actually, his grumpiness was an improvement over the dead inside vibe he’d been giving off recently.

“What do you want?” Nate grumbled, aggressively cleaning the studio.

“I would love to know what your damage is, for a start,” I remarked, leaning back against the door with my arms crossed. “You were pissy when we arrived in town, but you’ve been downright feral these past few days. Is it so bad having us around?”

“What?” Nate asked in surprise, pausing his manic cleaning. “No, it isn’t you guys. I’m glad you came, even with your delusional ideas about me leaving and your dislike of the snow.”

‘Dislike’ was a massive understatement, but I’d let him get away with it.

“So? What’s eating you then?” I pressed. “Did you meet a nice cougar shifter to settle down with then get cold feet?” I teased.

Nate shot me a withering look, resuming his wipedown of the tattoo seat. The smell of disinfectant burned my sensitive nose, and I wondered for the millionth time how Nate coped. If it wasn’t the chemical smells, there were just so many people smells he had to contend with. “Don’t even joke about that. My mother sent me suggestions last night.”

“Yikes,” I replied with a grimace. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in over a decade, but I could imagine the kind of woman she’d pair me up with. Pure wolf shifter, as high up in the pack hierarchy as possible, and young enough to pop out a bunch of pups. I’d only met Nate’s parents once, but I imagined his mom would have the same criteria, except with cougars rather than wolves.

His parents weren’t terrible like mine were, but they struck me as pretty old school about that kind of thing.

“Big yikes,” he muttered. “It’s not like there’s an abundance of unmated female cougar shifters my age. The ones she sent me were all either eighteen or nineteen, mostly in California. I felt like a filthy old man just for looking at the fucking list.”

“35 isn’t old,” I laughed. God, I hoped not. I was only a couple of years younger. “But you’d have very different life experiences from an 18-year-old I guess.”

Age gap aside, most shifters didn’t travel the way we did. He’d have very little in common with an 18-year-old who’d barely left her territory. Alaska didn’t have much of a cougar population either, and Nate’s mother would expect the girl to move up here and pop out a bunch of babies. It would be… an adjustment, for any young woman, that was for sure.

Nate shuddered like he was imagining an awkward first date and I grinned at him. I didn’t think that this was what had actually been bothering him these past few days, but I let it slide. Nate played things pretty close to the chest most of the time, even with me and Gabriel. It bothered me occasionally, even though it shouldn’t. We weren’t a pack, he didn’t owe me shit.

“Moving back here was my compromise with my family,” he said, finally putting the gross spray away. “I didn’t agree to shit about finding a mate.”

Guilt flashed across his face before he could hide it, and I frowned at him, trying to find the words to tell him that he didn’t need to feel guilty about not taking a mate. Except I wasn’t great with serious chat, and really needed Gabriel for this shit.

“Take a break and come get a coffee with me?” I suggested instead. I’d already tried to drag Gabriel out of the house, but he was working on a blog post for a luxury travel agent website today and refused to be distracted.

“Can’t, I have a client coming in soon.” Nate’s tense posture relaxed slightly, eyes brightening at the prospect of getting to work. “It’s a huge cover up piece. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m glad you’ve got something to get excited about,” I replied with a snort. Workaholic. “I guess I’ll just go drink coffee on my own and be miserable.”

Nate raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me. “You’ve never met a stranger in your life, I’m sure you’ll survive.”

“If I don’t, clear my internet history,” I called over my shoulder as I left the studio. Usually, I was pretty good at meeting people, but I’d been in a funk lately. Maybe Nate’s misery was catching on.

There were cafes close to the studio, but I opted to drive downtown instead. I had my camera with me as often inspiration struck while I was just out and about. Once I was caffeinated, I’d explore a little more and see what I discovered. Maybe I’d encounter a miracle and find something that wasn’t covered in snow.

I parked up in front of The Arctic Brew, which was pretty unassuming looking on the outside, but busy enough to make me think the coffee tasted good at least. I shouldered my satchel and walked briskly from the SUV to the shop, resenting the icy ground every step of the way, but the inside was cozy and smelled delicious, so I supposed it wasn’t the worst place to kill an hour stuck in my own company.

I ordered the most indulgent, sugary coffee on the menu and a pastry before looking around for somewhere to sit. There were a couple of comfy armchairs at the back with small round tables in front of them. One of them was occupied by the prettiest redhead I’d ever seen, working idly on a slim rose gold laptop on the table in front of her, head tilted thoughtfully to the side as she looked at something on the screen.

Fuck me, she was stunning. Dainty features, rich red hair, long dark eyelashes. It wasn’t just that she was objectively pretty with her styled hair and symmetrical features, she just had this energy about her that drew me in. It was like she was trying to look cool and aloof, and pulling it off pretty well, but there was this underlying vulnerability that had me intrigued.

I doubted a human would notice it, but my animal side could spot prey a mile away, and this woman was definitely prey trying to be a predator. My wolf was as fascinated as I was.

Everything about her was perfectly coiffed and styled, which made me think she was a high maintenance kind of girl. But I was a high maintenance kind of guy, so that didn’t bother me too much. These boyband-level good looks didn’t just happen.

I wound my way through the tables, drawing a few second looks from the locals because I was an attractive dude, but no second looks from the woman I wanted to pay attention to me.

“Hello.”

Was I doing my sexy deep voice? Why, yes. Yes, I was.

She gave me a lingering onceover, eyes definitely heating with approval, before shooting me a tight I-am-busy smile and returning to her laptop. There was a familiarity to her delicious chocolatey scent, but I couldn’t identify it underneath the smells of the coffee shop and the faint paint fumes that seemed to cling to her skin. My wolf grumbled in irritation at the chemical stench.

“Ouch,” I laughed. “I must be losing my touch.”

Was it my hair? I hadn’t been styling it as much since we’d been here because I was always wearing beanies anyway.

“I highly doubt that,” she replied drily, before scrunching her eyes shut for a moment, like she was annoyed with herself for engaging with me.

“Oh good,” I said cheerfully, dropping down in the armchair next to hers. “That would be a crime. I’m Brooks, what’s your name?”

“Not interested,” she replied primly, barely sparing me a glance.

“Fair enough.” I held my hands up in surrender. I was intrigued by her, but I could take no for an answer. I mean, I’d probably sulk a little, but that was my problem, not hers. “Sorry, Red. I meant no offense.”

She scoffed slightly at the nickname—not my most creative work—but her lips twitched in amusement, so I was taking it as a small win. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf Shifter. It was kind of poetic.

I thanked the server for my coffee and pastry and pulled out my phone to kill time as I snacked, flipping idly through my social media apps. I followed many people that I’d met during my travels from all over the world, and I could admit I was more than a little jealous when I saw their photos come up on my feed. It wasn’t even that they were in warm places, it’s that they were out doing stuff. I wasn’t used to being so idle all the time.

Red made a frustrated noise and I glanced over as her laptop ran out of battery.

“I don’t suppose you’re hiding a laptop charger under all those muscles?” she sighed, glancing at me.

“Ooh, was that a little bit of flirting I detected, Ms. Not Interested?” I teased.

“I thought my name was Red?” she shot back.

“Hey, you’re the one who named yourself ‘Not Interested’. I assume ‘Not’ is your first name, which is why I oh-so-kindly bestowed a cute nickname on you. ‘Not’ is a pretty strange name, you know.”

“And you’re a pretty strange guy,” she laughed. “My name is Lou, but I’m still not interested.”

“Maybe I’m not interested. Maybe I was just saying hello and you assumed I was flirting with you,” I said smugly.

“How presumptuous of me,” Lou agreed seriously. “I mean, you were eyefucking me from the minute you approached, and one hundred percent used your sexiest fuckboy voice to say hi, but you’re right. I shouldn’t assume anything.”

I grinned at Lou, totally losing my “fuckboy” cool in the face of her snarky attitude.

“Okay, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I was flirting with you,” I told her conspiratorially. Lou gasped dramatically, clutching her chest like she was scandalized.

“You rogue,” she chastised.

“You talking dirty to me, Red?” I chuckled.

“Nope,” she replied instantly, popping the ‘p’. “I have sworn off men. No offense, but you’re all the devil.”

“None taken. Well, a bit taken,” I added as an afterthought. “Want me to punch the guy for you?”

“Now who’s talking dirty?” Lou asked, fanning her face. “And no. No punching required. However, I have banned myself from real-life penises for the foreseeable future so, you know. Go shoot your shot with one of the many admirers you seem to have collected since you walked in the door.”

I glanced around, finding a few eyes on me and more than a few on Lou. Pft. She did not have a leg to stand on when it came to calling me out on my many admirers.

Wait, real-life penises?

“Are you passing through Fairbanks?” Lou continued before I could ask an entirely inappropriate follow-up question about fake penises. Or dead penises? Real-life definitely left room for interpretation.

“I’m staying for the winter,” I replied, that reminder killing any joy my dick had been mustering.

“Oh? Are you a fan of subzero temperatures or something?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“How did you know?”

“The hoodie gave it away,” Lou replied, the corners of her mouth lifting as she ran her eyes down my outfit. “Hoodie, jeans, beanie, no snow boots, no gloves. It’s like you want to catch hypothermia.”

Ah, fuck.I probably should make more of an effort to fit in with the human locals. There were plenty of shifters around these parts, but they tended to stick to the woods. Just like my old pack did in Colorado, but I did my best not to think about them or I got all punchy.

“I should probably do some shopping, huh? Maybe you can come with me. Show me how to dress like a local.” I waggled my eyebrows and she snorted in amusement.

“I have zero desire to witness you undressing. I get the feeling you have it down to a fine art.” I did. “Let me guess, you do the whole pull the t-shirt over your head with one hand thing that makes your biceps bulge and shows off your rippling abs to maximum advantage?”

“Wouldn’t you?” I teased. “I work with what I’ve got.”

“I get that. Trust me, I know the effect of a good bend-at-the-waist to take my pants off,” Lou replied absently, reaching for her coffee while my dick attempted to launch itself out of my jeans. “However, as I said, no more men. Unfortunately, I won’t be available to bear witness to your strip show.”

“In case you lose control and jump my bones?” I asked hopefully.

“I mean, you’re passably good-looking, I guess it’s a small risk,” Lou said drily, eyes sparkling with mischief. I wasn’t used to a woman giving me shit. It was cocky as shit to admit it, but they tended to throw themselves at me because I was pretty, and definitely looked like I was a good time rather than a long time kind of guy.

This conversation was the best foreplay I’d ever had.

“Okay, okay,” I conceded. “What about we just be friends? I’ll try on clothes in the dressing room, with the door shut and everything. And if you change your mind and decide you need to fuck the last guy out of your system, I’ll politely consider your request like any good friend would.”

Lou laughed before she could get her cool girl mask in place, and I grinned at her, already planning all the ways I could get her to make that noise again.

“I guess if you’re only here for the winter, then we can be friends. I’m leaving then anyway,” she said with a shrug, though I was ninety percent sure she was covertly checking me out under those long lashes.

“Oh yeah? Off to see the world?” I teased, not really expecting her to say yes.

“Definitely,” Lou replied with a decisive nod.

“Perfect. We’ll be besties by then. We’ll survive the winter—best friend cuddling for warmth—then jump on a flight to Phuket and you can sleep with your head on my shoulder the whole way, snoring all cute like—”

“I do not snore,” Lou said indignantly.

“—and get adjoining hotel rooms when we get there, then spend a couple of days checking out the tourist attractions and eating street food at Naka Market before we travel to Ko Pha-ngan for the Full Moon Party.” I sighed blissfully at the mental image, tipping my head back against the plush armchair.

Obviously Gabriel would be there too, but one thing at a time. I had to convince Lou to be my friend first, then she could be his friend too. That would probably be okay. I guess.

She blinked at me like I was insane.

“Not keen on Thailand?” I asked, grinning at her. “I’m flexible.”

“Uh, I’m very keen on Thailand. I’m very keen on everywhere,” Lou added, shaking her head slightly. “I’m a little wary of you though. Energetic adults make me nervous. If life hasn’t beaten you down by this point, you’re either a sociopath or on something.”

I choked slightly on my drink. “Are you always this optimistic?”

She shot me a sugary sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Only on days ending with ‘y’. You sure you still want to be my friend?”

“More sure, if anything,” I admitted. “I’ve been bored out of my fucking mind since I got here, and you, Red, are a breath of fresh air.”

Lou chewed on her bottom lip, looking at me like she was assessing the truthfulness of my words, but she wouldn’t find any lies here.

“Have you been to Thailand before?” Lou asked, curiosity finally getting the better of her. Hell. Yes. I had an opening, now I just had to demonstrate that I wasn’t a totally garbage conversationalist. Easy.

“Twice. Want to get some donuts and look at pictures?”

Lou blinked at me. “I’m trying to eat mindfully.”

“Vegan donuts,” I agreed, already heading towards the counter, thinking of the photos I was going to show her. My last trip to Thailand had been when the guys and I spent a month in Koh Chang, and I had some amazing beach photos that I was determined to impress Lou with. I wouldn’t show her any of Nate or Gabriel, obviously. What if she liked one of them better than me? Fuck taking that risk. I’d just throw in a few shirtless pics of me and see what happened. With my new friend.

For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t even the slightest bit bored.