It was the morning rush at the diner and all my body was begging me to do was to curl up and sleep for the next 24 hours. Running the night before had been fantastic but the day after always left me with a bone deep exhaustion.
"What's up Maggie-May?" Nate's voice was cheerful as he answered my call."I need your help. It's urg
"I think you need to talk to Max." Jonas raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "He's being impossible."
I woke to the rich smell of fresh coffee drifting through the apartment, which was odd as I didn't own a coffee maker. Jerking up I suddenly realised how the delicious aroma had made its way in.
Dating Max was a nightmare. Apparently dating the Pack beta was a communal undertaking, as evidenced by the number of wolves currently populating the diner. It had started within days of me and Max becoming 'official'. Had some sort of memo gone out? Was a phone-tree activated? All I knew was that suddenly my workplace had become the new pack hangout and I was the hot topic of conversation.
Maggie: My life has turned into a bad soap opera.Jess: Yes it has and I am loving it!
The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows across the tablecloth. Quiet music played softly in the background, only muffled by the low hum of conversation. Max and I were on our first official date. It was just the two of us at the restaurant and the word had gone out that no other wolf was to darken its door tonight.
Snuggling down into the deep couch cushions I sighed in contentment. I was warm, well-fed and completely relaxed, a feeling that had been missing since I'd received Zachary's rose. The rhythmic patter of rain on the windows was slowly helping to lull me into a peaceful doze.
The first rays of the morning sun peered through the chink in the curtains, a reminder that the day was just beginning. Groaning, I rolled over, deciding against putting off getting up, but a heavy arm dropped across my mid-section, preventing any further movement out of the bed. Grinning, I flipped over to face my captor.
6 months later Life with Max was...interesting. Good interesting, but never predictable. And I loved every second of it. Who knew that one of the missing pieces in my life was an arrogant, cocky, hot as sin werewolf? Letting down my guard and letting Max, and everything that came with him, in was a decision that I had never regretted. "I still can't believe Jonas has a guest house and I never knew about it." Huffing, I dropped the heavy box to the floor, glad it was one of te last. Unpacking was going to be a nightmare. "Not sure he thought you'd be interested, babe." Max waltzed in, a box under each muscled arm, not an ounce of strain on his face. "It works out well for us though." He was right. After month of long conversations and beggin on Max's part, altough he'd deny it, I'd agreed to move in together. I'd actually been ready a
Zachary was dead and I truthfully had no idea how I felt about that. In accordance with Pack law he had been executed for his crimes, with Max as his executioner. As a victim of his, and man I hated that word, I'd had the right to watch him die. I'd declined. I had no desire to see a man killed, and I really didn't want to see my boyfriend in the role of killer.
Tension was thick in the air, so heavy I was sure that even the unwitting humans could sense it. We were all in a state if high alert; watching, waiting. Zachary still hovered in the reception area, enjoying the results of his handiwork. Meanwhile I remained out of sight in the waiting room, praying that the others didn't lose track of him.
Chaos. That was the only word that got even close to describing the scene at the hospital. How many people had the psycho attacked? Worried relatives crowded the waiting room as my guards and I pushed our way through. The weight of panic pressed down on me.
The sun was sinking beneath the horizon casting a beautiful warm light across the clearing. It was an idyllic scene, one that would inspire poets and painters alike, there was no sign of the violence that was to come. This place of seeming peace and calm had been selected as the location for the fight, soon the serenity would be lost.
He would be fine. He would be absolutely fine.
I was back in the woods, a place I'd been hoping to take a break from after my last trip through them. This time though I wasn't running for my life, and I was with a Pack of wolves I'd trust with my life.
Another rock bit into the sole of my foot, causing me to stumble, but I refused to slow down. Running through the woods in wolf form would have been so much easier, but I wasn't able to shift back again so quickly, it took too much energy. Instead I had to rely on my less than brilliant human senses to help guide me through the wall of trees.
Escape. The single word that ran through my head every hour since Zachary had announced his 'distraction' plan. All I could now think of was that I needed to get out of here and tell the Pack about it, so that they could prevent the impending disaster.