Молли Харпер - How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf

“Which was OK, because we saw Superman, and I convinced Cooper to climb up on the roof with a red towel wrapped around his shoulders . . .”

“How many of your stories end this way?” I asked, finally catching on, as Cooper walked into the kitchen.

“They’re telling you humiliating stories from my childhood?” Cooper asked wearily as he crossed to the stove and inspected my bruised eye. Samson hopped to his feet and poured coffee for Cooper and for Eli, who trudged into the kitchen looking surprisingly chipper.

“Only good things,” Gracie promised.

I made a sour face. “Well, I wouldn’t consider prolonged bed wetting a good thing . . .”

Cooper’s mouth popped open in astonishment, and Gracie gave a long, hooting laugh. I cracked more eggs and stretched the filling for two more omelets as Eli and Cooper gave his mother an update on Noah. The tests showed no evidence of heart attack or stroke, but they were keeping him for observation just in case. Cooper looked down-to-the-bone weary, sagging in his chair against the kitchen table. I slid plates in front of them. Samson moaned in ecstasy as he forked his first bite into his mouth.

I turned back to the stove and heard Samson stage-whisper, “How open is your relationship, exactly?” I smiled to myself when a meaty punching sound was followed by Samson’s colorful string of profanities. “I was just asking!”

“Children,” Gracie warned, but she sounded pleased.

I leaned against the counter with my plate. Gracie tried to get me to sit, but I was happy to hang back, to watch Cooper with his family. But the longer he sat there, the more tense he became. He kept an eye on the front door at all times, occasionally looking up to me to make sure I was, I don’t know, safe? Still there? Eli picked up on his agitation and placed a hand on Cooper’s shoulder.

“We’ve got to go,” Cooper said, rising, shrugging off Eli. “I’m exhausted. Mo’s hurt. I’ll call you this afternoon for an update on Pops.”

The hard edge to Cooper’s voice made my stomach twist. How had the warm, homey feel of the kitchen disappeared so quickly? I finished my eggs and turned to the sink to start the dishes. It gave me something to do with my hands besides wring them and generally behave like a ninny.

“Why don’t you stay for the afternoon?” Gracie suggested, managing to keep the note of pleading from her voice. “Take a nap, get a shower, before you get back on the road.”

He shook his head and gently nudged his forehead against his mother’s cheek. “Time to go.”

I cleared my throat. Cooper shot me a long, uncomfortable glance. I tilted my head toward Eli and mouthed, “Grundy.”

Cooper grimaced and turned back to Eli. “You’ve got to keep the pack from running anywhere near Grundy for a while. There have been attacks, incidents in town. People are being hurt. Hell, two kids are missing, and there were wolf prints all over their campsite. People in town are getting more and more riled up. They’re talking about organized hunts. If they see a wolf anywhere in the vicinity, you could have a dead pack member on your hands.”

Eli nodded slowly, for some reason keeping his gaze steady on me. “We’re aware of the situation. I’ve seen a few things on the news. I’ve told the pack to cut Grundy a wide berth.”

“We usually do anyway,” Samson added. “We know you don’t like to be crowded.”

“But you sent Samson to us last night,” I said. “He could have been spotted. He could have been hurt. There are traps everywhere in the woods.”

Eli looked supremely annoyed with me for speaking. He gave Cooper a sharp look. “Is this a conversation we should be having now?”

“She’s my mate,” Cooper said. “She has a stake in this, too.”

Samson’s eyebrows shot up, and he gave me a speculative sort of grin. Gracie’s lips quirked into a subdued smile. What the hell had just happened? With Samson’s comment earlier, the declaration felt important somehow. What exactly did being Cooper’s “mate” entail?

“We sent Samson running to you because it was an emergency,” Eli said.

“And have there been any other emergencies I should know about?” Cooper asked quietly. “Have you noticed anyone going on solo runs?”

Eli’s grip on his ever-present grin faltered a bit, and for a moment, he looked truly pissed. “Are you asking whether someone from this pack is making a habit of attacking humans in your territory?”

Cooper’s expression hardened. “I just like to know who’s running through my backyard.”

“No one in this pack runs on his own,” Eli ground out. “No one runs without me knowing about it.”

“You’re sure about that?” Cooper asked in that tone of voice I now recognized as his alpha mode. Official leadership status or no, I didn’t think Eli had much choice in answering truthfully.

“Positive,” Eli said dismissively. “Look, Cooper, if you’re worried about being discovered or being hurt, maybe now would be a good time to think about moving home. You’re protected here. You’re safe. And it would only help the situation with Maggie. She can’t stay mad at you when you’re around all the time.”

“What are you talking about?” Cooper asked.

Eli shrugged. “This is what’s best for everybody, Coop. The pack needs its alpha back, someone with real authority. They follow me, but they love you. You saw how everyone responded to seeing you last night. Just seeing you there was enough to set them at ease. I’m a solid logistics guy, but I’m not you. They need you, Cooper. Sure, you got lost for a little while, but every good leader struggles—”

“Eli, I’m not coming home. I have a life to get back to. Just keep the pack as far away from me and Mo as possible, got it?” He took my hand in his. “We’re going.”

Knowing better than to argue at this point, I slipped into my boots and coat and got a mildly inappropriate kiss from Samson and a long, hard squeeze from Gracie. “Come back anytime,” she told me.

Eli kept his distance, giving me a resigned little wave. This suited me just fine. Cooper took my elbow and wrapped his arm around my shoulders to lead me across the treacherously slick pavement. I tried to convince him that I should drive. Between the two of us, I’d at least had a little sleep, even if it was technically being knocked out. But he just shook his head and lifted me into the passenger seat. He tilted my chin up, taking a long look at my shiner. He gritted his teeth, tucked my legs into the truck, and shut the door.

Cooper was silent on the drive home. I used the time to stew. Had I made a mistake in insisting that I go to the valley? Would he be angry with me? What if he just dropped me off at home and disappeared for a few days . . . oh, my God, what if he didn’t come back? What if he decided he didn’t want me for his mate anymore? Whatever that meant.

I wasn’t used to this sort of anxiety in a relationship. If Tim got mad at me and went back to his place for the night, all that meant was that I got control over the TV. Every once in a while, I would start a fight if I wanted to watch a particularly interesting episode of Bones. Tim couldn’t stand crime procedurals.

This left me unprepared for the growing dread settling in my belly as the miles slipped by. He pulled to a stop in my driveway and cut the engine. I unclipped my seatbelt and waited.

Cooper kept his fingers curled around the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. I slumped back against the seat. What if he really was pissed at me for getting into it with Maggie? Or for getting so damned cozy with his mother that morning? Why wasn’t he saying anything? Should I say something? What if he was waiting for me to talk? Oh, hell.