Married to the Wolf Read online

  “I don’t see kids,” she said. Come to think of it, there were no kids at the mansion when she arrived either. “You do have babies, right?”

  “Few,” he said. “Our birth rates are declining, and so those who have kids are extremely protective of them. They’re not always allowed to come out during these gatherings.”

  She stared at him. “Are you serious?”

  He laid a hand on hers on her lap. “We’ve come under attack in the past. It hasn’t happened for a long time, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “Today could be the day,” she snapped without meaning to. He had just taken her nervousness up a thousand notches.

  The men all looked at her on high alert, and her throat dried.

  “I mean just because you tell me I don’t have to worry isn’t going to make me not worry. Anything could happen.”

  “No one will hurt you, Sophia. Not without being ripped apart by me.” He climbed out of the car and held his hand toward her. She took it with hesitation. The man was too quick to make crazy statements, but now she was distracted. In all this time she hadn’t thought of children. How could she condone the hunters hurting the little ones? She might need to call Jack and talk to him about it, but she wasn’t sure how she could do it without being overheard.

  Someone pressed a heaping plate of food in her hand, and the scent of the barbecue brought her fingers to sample the fare even before she knew she did it. Tender meat and delicious juices danced on her taste buds. “Good lord, this is some good stuff.”

  Sebastian grinned with pleasure. “No one can cook like our women.”

  She pursed her lips at him. “Well, since I’m not big on it, I’m not going to challenge that statement. Who’s the man waving at us?”

  Sebastian looked away from her to the man wearing plaid shorts and a plaid button down shirt of a different color scheme. He wore canvas sneakers without socks and had elected to part his hair down the middle. Even fashion-challenged types were amid the shifters, she supposed.

  The man waved both hands and grinned so big his cheeks must hurt. Sebastian nodded once, and the man turned to grab the arm of the woman standing next to him and dragged her over to them. For her part, the woman had better fashion sense, wearing a simple halter top, shorts, and sandals. She appeared to be twenty years the man’s junior, and from the sour look she threw him, not a fan.

  “Alpha, welcome to our neighborhood,” the man gushed. “This is your beautiful bride? Oh, you are a lucky man, sir. I’m so glad to meet you Mrs. Alpha. My name is Robbie, and this is my wife Belle.”

  He held out his hand for her to shake, but Sophia was so far taken aback by his calling her “Mrs. Alpha” she forgot to respond. No one she had met so far called her such a stupid name, and no one kissed Sebastian’s ass like this guy either.

  Robbie wiped his hand on his shorts. “Oh, right. I’m sorry. I’m not worthy to shake your hand.”

  “Worthy?” She felt a little sick. “Look, it’s not that serious, okay? It’s nice to meet you, Robbie and Belle. Just call me Sophia.”

  Robbie scraped and bowed some more until Sophia was ready to crack him over the head. Sebastian’s nostrils flared like he smelled something. Sophia gave him a look as if to say “these are your crazy people.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Belle said, but she wasn’t looking at them. Sophia glanced over her shoulder to see if she could follow the woman’s line of sight and could only tell that she stared toward one of the houses.

  While Belle wasn’t paying attention and Robbie talked Sebastian’s ear off, Sophia studied the couple. They seemed to be as unlikely a pair as possible. Mostly because Robbie had grabbed Belle’s hand, and she had promptly yanked it away. He sweated like crazy and wiped his neck with a dirty handkerchief every so often.

  Belle stood still and quiet with her hands clasped in front of her. Wisps of silver streaked dark chocolate hair, and strands flew about her face when a breeze stirred. She hardly seemed to notice.

  “Belle,” Sophia said on impulse, “do you mind showing me where I can get a soda?”

  The woman startled at hearing her name, but she forced a smile. “Sure.”

  They moved away from Sebastian and Robbie, and Sophia took advantage of all the noise to talk with Belle. “Is there something wrong? You seem to be a little distracted.”

  “No!” She tensed and then seemed to regret her sharp tone. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m worried about my son. He’s in the house—”

  Sophia stopped walking. “Alone? Kids can get up to all kinds of things when left alone. I know you’re just outside, but I can see why you’re worried.”

  Belle blushed. “Well, he’s not exactly a kid anymore. He’s thirteen.”

  “Oh.”

  “You must think I’m an overprotective mother.”

  Sophia shook her head. “I don’t have much family or experience with kids, so I’m not one to judge. Plus…” She didn’t want to bring up the subject of hunters. Sebastian had mentioned attacks in the past, so it went without saying. As she looked into Belle’s hazel gaze, she tried to imagine her as a wolf and failed.

  “Your husband seems to be relaxed.” She didn’t know what else to say about Robbie.

  Belle’s expression turned sour. “He’s not Marty’s father! Marty’s father was my mate, and he was killed.”

  Sophia gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged, but Sophia was pretty sure she still hurt over it. “I married Robbie because I needed someone to help me financially. I wanted the best life I could provide for Marty. What a load of crock.”

  “Um.” Sophia had wanted to draw her into a bit of light conversation, but Belle was ready to bare her soul. They had just met so she wasn’t sure how to respond. “I’m sure Robbie is a responsible husband and stepfather.”

  The woman glared at her like she couldn’t believe what an idiot Sophia was. “You’re sure, huh? Why, because you think we’re all perfect?”

  Sophia put up a hand. “Okay, dial it down. First of all, with that outfit Robbie left the house in, nobody in their right mind would think your people are perfect. Second, I’m just trying to be nice. I don’t know you. All I’m getting from you is attitude. You don’t want to be friendly? Fine. You’re not hurting my feelings.”

  She spun away, but Belle grabbed her arm to stop her. The second she did she jerked away and stumbled back a step. “S-sorry.”

  “Don’t worry—” Sophia stopped, realizing Belle wasn’t saying sorry to her. Ava stood several feet away, arms folded and looking as usual like she wanted someone to give her an excuse to vent her frustration. She narrowed her gaze on Belle, and her lips didn’t move, but Belle nodded. Sophia tapped a finger alongside her cheek. “Are you reading her mind, or what?”

  “Kind of. Yes.”

  Sophia’s eyes widened. “What? Seriously?”

  “You didn’t know?” Belle was less hostile, and Sophia was pretty sure it had to do with Ava. “It’s not that I’m reading hers, but she’s pressing into my head.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “An alpha class can speak into our minds.”

  “Whose?”

  Belle’s shoulders slumped. She seemed sorry to have to admit her next words. “I’m from a lesser class of wolf shifter. There are three classes. Alpha class, mid class, and lower class. I’m one of the lower classes as I said.”

  “And Ava is an alpha class?”

  “Yes.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means she might have the ability to be alpha. All of the elites have the ability, but it doesn’t mean they will hold the position. An alpha class isn’t the same as being an alpha. There are other requirements, but more often than not, an alpha class will try to get work as a Guard.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty interesting.”

  She shrugged. It probably didn’t interest her all that much because she would never have the potential to be an elite. The shifter world
was so different from her own. She felt that unless someone had mental challenges or some other type of handicap they could be anything they wanted to be. Was it that the upper classes led the lower classes of shifter to believe they couldn’t rise above their station? The mere thought sent a ripple of annoyance through her. She’d have to ask Sebastian about it later.

  Then a new thought occurred to her. If Ava pressed her thoughts into Belle’s mind, that meant Sebastian could do it as well. No wonder his people often looked like they were having a silent conversation with him. And what about her? Could he press his thoughts into her mind? Did that mean he could read her mind?

  She whirled around to seek out her husband only to find his gaze on her already. With his closed expression, it was hard to tell if he overheard the conversation or if he were reading her thoughts right then.

  Are you reading my mind? If you are, get out!

  Amusement transformed his handsome face, and she glared at him. He left the side of the person chattering away to him to come to her. She winced at his rudeness, but the man didn’t seem to think anything of it. He followed behind Sebastian like a trained puppy.

  Sebastian reached her and stroked a hand over her arm. The gentle touch sent shivers of delight racing up her spine.

  “You can read my mind, can’t you?” She started to pull away from him, but his fingers curled around her arm to keep her in place.

  “I can’t.”

  “You’re lying, Sebastian. I saw it in your face that you knew what I was thinking.”

  “I could guess based on your conversation.”

  She studied him to try to determine if he were telling the truth but couldn’t be sure. “You heard us over all this noise?”

  “I have a keen sense of hearing, more developed than the others.” He leaned in and let his lips brush the tender area behind her ear. “Besides, I’m always aware of you.”

  She trembled a little. “This is a serious conversation, Sebastian. It’s not the time for you to be coming on to me.”

  His eyebrows rose, and his amusement increased. “Was I doing that?”

  She rolled her eyes at him, but he chuckled.

  “Sir!” The man who was chatting to him earlier inched in as close as he dared to them. “Please, come to my house and talk to my daughter. I don’t know what to do with her. She’s fallen in with humans. I know she’s going to be found out and get into trouble. Just make her obey. If you do it, she won’t have a choice.”

  “What does he mean if you make her?” Sophia said.

  “I’ll talk to her.” Sebastian led the way to the man’s house, and when they drew up to the door, the man ran ahead to throw it open for them. Sophia gazed about the house as they walked to the back where apparently the man’s daughter was. The place looked no different from any house or apartment she lived in or visited, but she didn’t know why she would think it would.

  “Katie, sweetheart,” the man yelled through the girl’s bedroom door, “Sebastian is here. Open up. He wants to talk to you.”

  Music, discordant with the one blaring outside, grated on Sophia’s eardrums. She wondered, if they were so good at hearing, why it wasn’t giving them a migraine. The girl inside the room either didn’t hear or didn’t care that her alpha was present.

  Sebastian leaned over and wrapped on the door. “Katie? It’s Sebastian. I’d like to visit with you if you don’t mind.”

  Sophia had never heard his voice so gentle. Still the girl didn’t answer. Her father rattled on about bad influences and human riffraff. Sophia gave him a dirty look. He needed to watch his mouth. Sebastian must have said something to the man because his gaze zipped to Sebastian, and then he snapped his lips together.

  “Open the door, Katie.” Sebastian’s tone was still gentle, but there was a note of authority this time. The door opened right away, and the girl stood there with bloodshot eyes and defiance written all over her.

  “Did you make her obey?” Sophia whispered.

  Sebastian shook his head. “No. To make my people do anything would be to hurt them, and that is the last thing I want to do. Can we come in, Katie? I just want to talk.”

  “Show some respect,” her father shouted.”

  The girl sighed and dipped one knee almost to the floor. At the same time, she bowed her head. “Sir.”

  She backed off the door, and they moved into the room. Sophia expected to be assaulted with pastels and frills or something girlie. Instead, there were deep rich colors and posters on every square inch of wall and ceiling.

  The girl appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen. She wore a thick black liner around her eyes, and her hair was either heavily moussed or hadn’t been washed in a week. She dropped onto her bed after letting them in and stared at Sophia.

  “She’s the new wife?” A noise of dismissal followed as if she weren’t impressed.

  Sophia saw the answer to this man’s problems right off. The girl needed her butt tanned. If she kept up with the attitude, Sophia wouldn’t mind doing the honors.

  “Watch your mouth,” her father snapped.

  The girl rolled her eyes.

  Sebastian sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand. She tried to pull away, but fully Sebastian style he didn’t let go. She stopped struggling and instead leaned into him while watching Sophia.

  This girl though.

  “My parents don’t understand me, alpha.”

  Sebastian smiled. “You’re angry, but it’s not about your parents. Want to talk about it?”

  She pouted up at him and batted her lashes. Sophia didn’t fully blame her. Sebastian was hot as hell, but the performance was for her benefit.

  “Not really.” She cut her eyes to Sophia and then flashed a smile. The straight normal teeth were gone, and in their place were pointed ones with long sharp-looking canines. Sophia couldn’t help jumping back at the sudden change. There had been no warning. The girl laughed, a husky tone, and she let a low growl start in her throat.

  “Stop.” Sebastian’s gentleness disappeared to be replaced by deadly threat. Sophia forgot her own fear when both father and daughter hit the floor hard and rolled over to their sides. The room where just she, Sebastian, and the father and daughter had crowded into was now overrun with the Guard.

  Alex dropped to one knee and reached a massive hand toward Katie. Sophia screeched in alarm and dove at him to shove his hand aside before he could grab the girl. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

  Sebastian left the bed and moved behind Sophia to drag her up and away from the two shifters. Alex hauled Katie to her feet.

  “Let me go, Sebastian. I’m not going to stand here while he acts like that with her. She’s just a kid, and all she did was startle me. I don’t need your abilities to know she was just trying to scare me.”

  “Sit down,” Sebastian ordered Katie. Alex didn’t wait for her to comply. He laid a heavy hand on her shoulder so that her knees gave and she sank to the bed. Sebastian moved from behind Sophia. He had calmed down. “As I said, I’ll help you, Katie, but you won’t get anywhere with me antagonizing my mate. You understand that, don’t you?”

  She didn’t speak or look at him but nodded.

  “Good. Now, talk to me.”

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Obey—” her father began, but Sebastian held up his hand. The man fell silent.

  The girl began to sob. One minute she was angry and defiant. The next she was a little child curled on the bed with her knees drawn to her chest. Sophia’s heart ached seeing her pain, and she wondered what was going on.

  Sebastian dropped to his knees and stroked her tangled hair. “Let me in?”

  She nodded but didn’t stop weeping. Their gazes met, and Sophia couldn’t see Sebastian’s with his back to her, but the girl’s transformed. They went from the common hazel to golden. The dark pupils dilated. All sound snuffed out of the room. Sophia figured Sebastian read the girl’s mind. It was the most amazing thing she had
ever seen. Although she couldn’t hear, to know they communicated in such a way blew her mind.

  At the end of the session, Sebastian leaned down and kissed Katie’s hair. He whispered something to her Sophia didn’t catch, but in an instant all of Katie’s trembling ceased. She settled more comfortably on the bed, and her eyelids grew heavy. Seconds later she slept.

  “What did you do just now?” Sophia asked when he rose.

  “I pressed her to rest,” he said.

  “Pressed her?”

  He appeared distracted as he glanced at Alex. Sophia knew he’d given an order to the man because Alex swung toward the door and walked out. The other two men joined him. Katie’s father must not have been in on the mind talk because his head swung as he looked from Katie to Sebastian and back again. At least Sophia wasn’t the only one in the dark.

  Sebastian moved them both to the hall, and the father followed. He waited in silence although Sophia was sure he longed to question Sebastian. Her husband stroked her arms and kissed her briefly.

  “I’ll see you back home,” he said. “I have business to take care of.”

  “Sebastian, what did she say to you?”

  His gaze cut briefly to the father then back to her. “First, when I said I pressed her, I mean as her alpha I can encourage her to rest with my…let’s call it ability. It helps when one of my people are emotionally distraught.”

  “Okay, I understand that.” She spoke calmly, but she was impressed. “What’s been going on with her?”

  “We’ll speak later.”

  “Sebastian.”

  “Later, Sophia.”

  He shuffled her out of the house and into the car, which they arrived in. All the way to the mansion, she sensed Sebastian’s agitation. Something told her whatever the girl said had upset him. That meant it wasn’t just teenage angst. He intended to go out and solve whatever the issue was. Sophia rubbed her arms, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Katie’s father had said she fell in with humans. Did Sebastian plan to do something to them? She’d seen the pain on that young girl’s face, but Sophia was human, and she couldn’t stomach the thought of Sebastian turning the pain onto her own people.