Scarred Wolf by Charlene Hartnady

25

Jaxon

Everleigh’s friendhas offices downtown in an area occupied by the corporate set. The glass-and-steel structure is already bustling with suited execs, and I realize I stick out like a sore thumb. It’s not just that I’m dressed completely in black and tower head and shoulders over most of them. I’m meaner than usual – and that’s probably saying a lot. I can feel myself bristling with something bestial, and it surges anytime anyone gets too close to us.

Anyone male, particularly.

Jeez, I’m so screwed!

A sharp-dressed guy looks up at me in alarm, and I realize I’ve just growled at him.

Get a fucking grip, Skau!

I’m prowling at Everleigh’s side, everything in me on high alert. If anyone so much as looks at her, I’ll—

I shake my head. I know what this is. Unfinished business…my blood runs within her, but we haven’t sealed the deal. She’s not yet mine. But I am hers.

And there’s more. My father’s message this morning.

Such a fuck up!

Things are spiraling out of control. I scan the area, taking in the people around us. Most of them are “suits” – soft around the middle. Or the type who are purely gym-hardened. No real threat. Yet I can’t shake the feeling of someone…something watching. I keep scanning, stopping as something snares me. Hulking figures. Menacing forms. Is it me? Am I imagining it? We wolves can pick each other out most days, but in this crowd, and with the way I’m so distracted by Everleigh…I just don’t know. I’ll keep my guard up. Gotta keep it up.

The elevator ride is sheer hell. I slide an arm around her waist and pull her up against my side tightly. Thankfully, she doesn’t resist. Despite the crush of people, there’s a foot of space around us, and everyone is staring fixedly forward. I finally let my breath out in a rush as the doors slide open and we’re released into the open foyer of Bernstein, Bernstein, Collet & Klein.

Stainless steel, black leather and walnut chairs, low glass coffee tables, a glass-enclosed boardroom housing a mile-long walnut conference table – I take it all in briefly. I can’t imagine sitting comfortably in a single one of those chairs.

A smartly dressed woman behind a gleaming white reception desk in front of a stark black wall aims a practiced smile at us. The firm’s name stands out sharply in silver lettering against the dark paint.

“Evie! Good morning,” the receptionist says brightly. Chic, blonde, not a hair out of place. She runs an eye over me, and her composure slips slightly. “Good morning, sir.” I give a tight nod, not trusting my voice. It’s going to come from my wolf. “She’s waiting for you,” she continues, reaching for a phone on her desk. “Ms. Klein?” she says into the receiver. “Ms. Miller is here for you.” She nods in response to whatever is said on the other side, then looks up at us. “Go on through,” she says.

“Thank you, Sarah,” Everleigh says, then turns and strides purposefully down a long corridor, clearly knowing where she’s heading. I follow silently, our footsteps sharp on polished marble tiles. I suspect that on any other day, she might have lingered to speak to the other woman. She’s like that… warm with others. My female is gentle, so sweet. I can’t believe I ever thought she might be anything else. My female? Fuck, what am I thinking? I need to get a grip.

My father will never believe it, though. His message this morning tears at me. It’s half the reason I’m distracted now. Though I understand the urgency of Evie’s own dilemma. The situation with the bitch at the nursing home is weighing heavily on her; I can see that. Who could blame her? And knowing her better now, I can understand why she would be so shaken by the accusations. She loves those people, the ones in her care.

We’re walking briskly, passing clearly expensive, framed artwork on a wall that’s a muted dove-gray. Evie stops outside a door bearing a plaque that reads “D. Klein,” followed by a string of impressive-looking letters. The door opens before Everleigh has time to knock.

Diana has her dark hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. Her crisp black suit is offset by a shirt that glares almost too whitely against it. Pearls at her ears; a strand of them around her throat. All business. I feel relief. She’ll know what to do about Evie’s situation. That’ll free me to worry about the rest. My father, my pack. I didn’t know what to say when Evie asked about my scar. I couldn’t tell her everything. I don’t think she’s ready yet. In fact, I know she isn’t. I pull myself out of my head.

Di stares at us for a moment, keen eyes moving from Evie to me and then back. In that instant, she’s read that there’s something going on between us and somehow seems to sense the depth of it. Yet she puts an arm around Evie’s shoulder and steps between us, moving as if to shut the door in my face.

“I’ll take it from here, Jaxon. Come on in, babe,” she murmurs. I remember how fiercely protective she is. Like a packmate. I realize that in the absence of wolves, my woman has unwittingly gathered her own pack around her. Her defenders, her elders, the ones she can protect… She’s acted instinctively.

But I’m here now.

I rumble deep in my chest and Diana raises an eyebrow.

“It’s okay, Di, he knows everything,” Evie says.

Almost reluctantly, Diana lets me pass. I don’t hold it against her. I’d do the same if I was in her shoes. If I was protecting someone I cared for and a stranger suddenly appeared, bringing with him an inexplicable flurry of events. Yeah…that wouldn’t happen on my watch either.

Evie’s boss is the least of her worries right now. Again, with all that’s going on, how can I possibly tell her what I’ve brought into her world?

My father’s message. The threat laced into the words.

Get your ass back here. You’re pathetic! I’m sending someone to clean up your mess.

He’ll never leave this alone. He won’t listen to a word I have to say. I know it without a shadow of a doubt.

This situation is getting more fucked up by the second.