Shelly Laurenston: The Beast in Him

She laughed. “You did not.”

“How’s the candy apple?”

“Good. How’s the caramel?”

He held it out for her and she leaned over the counter to bite it while holding hers up for him so he could do the same. Johnny DeSerio really was cute. She knew quite a few girls in her class who thought the whole deep-thinking-artist thing really sexy.

Not her, of course. She liked football players and she adored basketball players. All that height. She’d inherited very little from the wolf side of her DNA. Even shifted she was simply shaggier than the rest of them, but still mostly wild dog. She didn’t mind. Wolves were a little too cranky for her. She liked being happy. Liked enjoying her life. After knowing her biological father she had absolutely no regrets about the fact he’d wanted nothing to do with her or her mother. He’d only made her realize how wonderful her real father was. Danny might not be blood, but it didn’t matter. He loved her, took care of her, and treated her like his own. Nothing else mattered.

Johnny slowly chewed his bite of apple while staring at her. He wanted to kiss her. She knew the signs. She wouldn’t, though. Not yet. Not until the time was absolutely perfect.

“Good?”

His gaze snapped away from her lips to stare into her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s really good.”

“So is yours.”

She licked caramel off her bottom lip and watched in fascination as Johnny turned an interesting shade of red.

“Kristan?”

Kristan spun around. Walt Wilson stood in the doorway of the staff kitchen. When he stopped trying to contact her, she’d prayed he’d given up and gone back to Alabama. Apparently no such luck for her. Shit, shit, shit!

“What are you doing here?”

“You haven’t returned any of my messages.”

She hadn’t. She hadn’t wanted to talk to him. And she didn’t even want to think about how he tracked her down. She’d finally had to admit to herself that the man simply creeped her the hell out. Danny was her dad. He’d always be her dad. And he never creeped her out.

“Sorry. With the snowstorm and all, I haven’t really touched my cell phone.”

“Fine.” And he truly seemed not to care. Danny worried when she was ten minutes late getting home from school. “But I’m thinking, little girl, you need to come with me.”

She felt Johnny tense behind her at the man’s coldly stated words.

“Come with you?” she asked, stalling for time.

She had to get out of this and not let Johnny get hurt. He was dumb enough to do something heroic, and she had no doubts the man standing across from them would kill Johnny without even thinking about it. With Smitty it had been a mere show of strength, putting Johnny in his place among the Pack. But Walt Wilson would kill him, and it would be all her fault because she’d allowed the man into their lives.

Still not comfortable shifting for battle, her eyes strayed over to the block of kitchen knives.

He laughed. “Don’t even think about it, little girl.”

As panic began to set into her bones, the other set of kitchen doors opened and Smitty’s mom, whom everyone called “Miss Janie,” walked into the room.

“There you two are. And eating that bad food when dinner will be ready in another hour.” She took the apples by their sticks and tossed them into the garbage. “Now I want you two to get on upstairs and change into something nice.”

“Why are we doing this again?” Johnny asked, clearly relaxing now that the older She-wolf was in the room.

“Because, little man, this is for your momma and my son. Now move that skinny ass upstairs before I take a switch to ya.”

“It’s New York. We don’t have any switches.”

Miss Janie raised one eyebrow and Johnny held his hands up. “We’re going. We’re going.”

Johnny took her hand and dragged her toward the door. Kristan looked back once at Walt Wilson. Something told her she wouldn’t be seeing the man again.

The sad thing was... she felt relieved.

Janie Mae Lewis faced her very distant kin. “Well, well, well. Walt Wilson.”

“Miss Janie.”

“Your momma told me you were in town. She was very upset. Upset because my son was choosing that little wild dog over kin.”

“I just want to see my daughter.”

“Is that right?” Janie walked toward him and she watched Walt’s body tense at her approach. “That’s funny. ’Cause your momma also said you’re having some money problems and that Bobby Ray should help.”

Walt took several steps back at her approach, but he didn’t break eye contact. “I never asked for that, but I ain’t sure what it has to do with anything?”

“Everything if Kristan’s momma is right and you’re just using that little girl because you’re hoping her Pack will pay you to go away.”

“I’m doing no such—” The boy nearly jumped out of his skin as the swinging door opened behind her and Bubba strolled into the room. She didn’t even have to turn around to recognize his scent, the way his work boots dragged on the floor, the way he growled every time he looked at her ass. Lord, she did love that man.

“Why are you in here?” Janie demanded, hiding her smile.

“Heard there’s candy apples.”

“Bubba Smith! We are eatin’ in another hour.”

“So? Trust me, woman. I’ll eat again.”

Shaking her head in disgust, she looked back at Walt. “Do you believe him? Man has the worst sweet tooth. Now, where was I... oh, yes! The girl.”

“My daughter’s not your concern, Miss Janie.”

“Real funny how she’s your daughter now when not six months ago she was that lie some wild dog told on you.”

“A man can’t change his mind about getting to know his own blood?”

“Of course he can. But my cousin, Micah Lewis, did notice how your desire to meet Kristan seemed to coincide with this magazine coming out... What was it called again, Bubba?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Cables or something.”

“Not cables. Wired. That was it! Wired Magazine. They were buried inside, is my understanding, but you saw ’em fast enough, didn’t you? And then suddenly you wanted to know your kin.”

Walt’s nostrils flared the tiniest bit, and that mean streak his daddy always had came out with a vengeance. “Maybe you should mind your own, Miss Janie.”

“You brought it to my table. You did.”

“I wanted to warn you that your idiot boy was—”

She moved so fast, he never saw it coming. He underestimated her because of her age. Foolish boy.

Janie slapped her hand against Walt’s mouth, her fingers sliding in to grip hold of his bottom lip and jaw while staying away from his teeth. Then she shoved him back until she had him pinned to the wall. They both knew all she had to do was twist and she could either tear his bottom lip off or break his jaw, whichever she might be in the mood for this late afternoon.

“Do you really think Bubba Smith only keeps me around ’cause he likes fuckin’ me?”

“Although I do,” Bubba said while downing that caramel apple.

“I am the meanest woman you’ll ever meet, boy, so listen close. You leave. Tonight. You leave this town and you leave that little girl alone. She don’t like you much anyway from what I can reckon. You leave and you never look back.”

Walt twisted his head around until he could get Janie’s fingers from his mouth. “You can’t keep me away from my own daughter,” he snarled. “Not you and not these weak little dogs. I’ll take Maylin to court to get my rights—”

Not liking what she was hearing at all, Janie wrapped her hand around Walt’s neck, pulled him forward, and quickly slammed him back. She knocked the wind right out of the man too.