5. In the Crosshairs

~ RIG ~

“I heard she ignored you when you winked.”

I stood in the middle of the living room of the packhouse, gaping at Mack. The house is mine—purchased for me by my dad for my university years. But all my friends live with me. Dad said it was a good chance for me to learn how to live with other males and establish dominance.

“How the fuck did you hear about that?” I said, trying not to growl and give away my surprise.

“Diana Fowler.”

Even Charlie and Jack in the kitchen groaned. Diana was one of the humans who instinctively sensed the power of the wolves and was drawn to it. She seemed to pop up everywhere. She’d been with Cara the day before when I saw her in the hall. I should have known.

“Diana Fowler wouldn’t know a subtle flirt if it bit her in the ass. I didn’t get ignored, trust me.”

“Whatever,” Mack piped up. He’d been grinning all morning. I could scent the competitive challenge wafting off of him. “Cara’s not going to fall for your shit. I can’t wait to see you rolling on your back and baring your balls for nothing.”

“And you’d know this about her because…?”

“Because I made friends with her last night and she didn’t take my shit, either. I’m telling you, you’re losing this bet, Rig. She laughed at me and almost kicked me out of the library when I offered to pay her so she didn’t have to work.”

A wave of scandalized howls rose as Charlie and Jack rushed into the living room from the kitchen and hallway.

“What the hell, Mack?”

“Wait, she laughed at you?”

“You offered to what?” I snarled.

Mack’s expression flattened as our friends laughed at him, but he shook his head and locked eyes with me when he answered. “Laugh all you want. I didn’t use the Allure. She thinks I got worried about her, and she liked it when I apologized for offending her. We’re friends now. I’m telling you, Rig, this whole smoldering thing you’ve got going isn’t going to work on this one,” he said, circling his open hand to sarcastically indicate my demeanor.

I clenched my teeth, but didn’t let my frustration show. Mack was a lot of things—including a complete asshole sometimes. But he wasn’t a liar. If he said they’d talked and gotten along, he was telling the truth. And if he was warning me, he meant it. He enjoyed the competition as much as I did.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said carefully, then turned to walk into the kitchen.

I only had one ear on the laughter and teasing of my friends after I walked out, but uneasiness bubbled in my gut.

The reality was, that moment with Cara in the little library office had thrown me. I’d known the minute she stepped in that she wasn’t Hannah—her scent was all wrong. But even as I’d registered it, something inside me had shoved forward. I had to have her. It was that simple.

As much as Cara’s reaction to me, my response to her had been stranger.

She didn’t know that, of course. And the guys didn’t either, because thankfully none of them were there. But the further we got from that moment the less it wanted to leave me alone. I’d even dreamed about it the night before. It was fucking weird.

Of course, just to make it even more fascinating, Cara had been less impacted by my presence than most females. That was curious. Usually virgins were the easiest to draw.

I’d never thought before that it was just my Allure that pulled them. Was it possible Mack was right? That without it, I’d be powerless with this one?

I snorted at the thought—and the sudden wave of insecurity. No way. Of course not. I hadn’t used the Allure every time I took a female. I hadn’t needed to. I only used it to smooth away the fear from those with the stronger intuition, whose bodies were more wary of my wolf—even if they didn’t know that’s what made them tense. And I hadn’t smelled fear on Cara… no… she’d desired me. That wasn’t the problem. There was something else holding her back. And I was dying to find out what it was and… use it.

The question was, what damage was Mack going to do at the same time, using the Allure to pull her close?

Half an hour later, I heard Mack grab his keys and leave the house. I waited just long enough for my pack brother to get out of the driveway, then grabbed my bag and followed.

Mack was cocky and ridiculous sometimes, but he wasn’t stupid when it counted.

I wanted to see exactly what effect he was having on Cara. Then I’d know how to combat it. Because I didn’t care how long it took, I was going to win this bet and prove, once and for all, my dominance over my friends. And definitely over a breathless human virgin.

As I reversed my jeep out of the driveway, I chuckled and shook my head at the flash of insecurity that crawled into my veins with the thought of that breathless virgin.

The idea that this weak, human girl could resist me was laughable.

*****

Being a wolf afforded me a lot of advantages—not only are my senses sharper so that I can hear and see more than my human classmates, but I have a knack for moving around unnoticed when I want to.

It’s strange to walk through the halls without the girls flocking, but I can move a lot faster that way.

I’d been following Mack since he pulled into the parking lot of the Lit and Arts building. Sure enough, Mack had scented Cara out in the hallways and sidled up to her, giving her a nudge to catch her attention.

She’d given him a tight but genuine smile when she turned to look at him.

A burst of competitive envy had twisted in my chest at that, but I just followed in their wake, listening to the inane conversation Mack was making with the girl.

I shook my head. Maybe Mack was an idiot after all.

And yet… as they walked, Cara’s shoulders relaxed. And her smile got easier. I growled in my throat and accidentally caught one of my admirers in my glare as they passed.

“Rig! What are you doing here?” The girl—Betty? Brittany? I couldn’t remember—gushed, turning on her heel to fall in step with me, even though I was moving in the opposite direction.

Shit.

“Hey….” I said quietly, flashing her a smile, praying she wouldn’t notice I hadn’t used her name. “It’s Mack’s birthday. I’m just trying to play a joke on him. Did you want to help me?”

The girl’s eyes lit up and her smile broadened. “Sure! What do you want me to do?”

I grinned maliciously at Mack’s back as I explained my idea.

Her smile faltered once when she realized that playing this trick was going to put me squarely in the spotlight of another girl’s attention, but I just let the Allure waft off of me, ever so gently.

She licked her lips and her smile got softer. “Let’s do it,” she said a moment later—her voice husky.

“I’ll owe you one,” I replied, letting my smile grow when she raised her eyebrows.

She flashed me a grin that said she was going to hold me to that, then she threw her shoulders back, tightened her grip on her backpack and hurried forward towards where Mack was walking along right next to Cara.

When Mack smiled and put one, gentle hand to Cara’s back to guide her around a couple guys in the middle of the hall, I wasn’t grinning anymore.

I strode forward, a growl puttering in my throat.