Taming the Wolf (Anna Avery #1)

Taming the Wolf (Anna Avery #1) Page 18

“Anna?” Adam knocked and smacked the lusty thoughts from my mind. I shoved against Nicholas, and he growled. The door opened and Adam froze as he saw me perched atop the counter and Nicholas between my legs.

Nicholas smiled. “Until we meet again,” he told me and then pushed past Adam. The look on Adam’s face was enough to turn my veins to ice. He slammed the door and paced back and forth, his hands fisting at his sides. When he looked at me, his eyes were citrine and blazing with anger.

“What the hell was that?”

I fumbled to wrap the towel back around me as tears filled my eyes. Looking away, I wanted to crumple to the ground and bawl.

“Hey,” Adam said softer as he approached me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s not your fault.”

I stared up at him. “I didn’t stop him, and now you probably think I’m a whore.”

Adam placed his hands on my shoulders and brought me towards his body where he hugged me to him. “I do not think you’re a whore, Anna. Nicholas has a sort of superpower. He can influence women. His sexuality is so strong it’s almost impossible for females to say no to him, and believe me, he takes advantage of it. He’s already slept with two of the women here. I’m just happy I walked in when I did, and you didn’t end up number three.”

What he said made me feel better, but I wasn’t completely sure whether Nicholas’ sexuality made me act that way or if it was just me. “Still, I feel like a piece of shit right now—dirty.”

“As do the other woman he tricked into bed, I suspect. I’m sorry and if I could rip his heart from his chest, I would.”

We were quiet for a while before I asked, “What did you want?”

“Hmm?”

“Why’d you knock, what made you come to the bathroom?” I wiped the tears that fell from my eyes and sniffed. I felt like a complete idiot and of course Adam was witness to my embarrassment.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and stepped away from me. “Get dressed, dinner’s almost ready.”

When he turned to leave, I hopped off of the counter and walked to him. “Tell me.” Placing a hand on his arm, I tugged him to a stop. When he turned around he wouldn’t look at me. He really does think I’m a whore.

“I… wanted to see you,” he admitted. “This past month has been difficult.”

My breath caught in my throat and my heart pounded in my chest almost painfully. “Oh,” I breathed.

“I’ll make sure Nicholas leaves you alone,” he said before he slipped out of the bathroom.

We ate outside. The deck was set up with three long tables and piled with food. The pack ate like starving hyenas, but my appetite had waned. The episode with Nicholas turned my stomach sour. Sure I had trouble controlling my urges, but I’d never considered sleeping with a man I didn’t even know. And I’d never given in so easily. I kept my eyes on the untouched food on my plate, so I wouldn’t catch Nicholas’ gaze. The pack chatted about this and that, but I tuned them out and thought about Adam. His admittance that he’d missed me was like a weight being lifted off of my heart. As much as I craved sex, Adam was the one man who I needed. If I were a flame, then he was the oxygen I needed to burn. I hated it and loved it at the same time. Even though he was close, he might as well have been halfway around the world for all the good it did me. It didn’t matter how much he missed me, it wouldn’t change his relationship status.

“I plan to take Anna to town tonight.”

My head snapped up when I heard my name. Wade spoke to the other leaders and Adam. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I guessed this was his solution to integrating my werewolf with humans. Or maybe he was baiting me into attacking one so they’d have a reason to kill me.

“I believe that by keeping her up here on this mountain, you’ve hurt her. The beast within her only associates with other wolves, and therefore isn’t sure how to handle humans,” Wade said to Adam. Multiple pairs of eyes turned towards me. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I excused myself. I’d gotten a lot of shit about being the pup around here, but I didn’t need almost thirty people focusing on my incompetence.

Heading into the house, I cut across the kitchen and living room and went out the front door. Just as I made it down the first two porch steps, Sawyer came around the house.

“Hey,” I said to him. Tonight he was dressed in dark jeans and a gray T-shirt. His dark blonde hair was spiked, and his eyes seemed to glow as he watched me. He was beautiful, and I was an idiot for allowing my feelings for Adam ruin what we had.

“Hey,” he said back casually. “Want some company?”

Not really. “Sure,” I told him deciding it was better than being alone. “I was going to go for a walk.” I wasn’t sure why I’d left the table so abruptly, maybe seeing Adam reprimanded in front of his pack wasn’t as fun as I thought it’d be. I didn’t want to see the leaders belittle the man I cared about or see the look of humiliation on his face as they questioned his methods.

“Lead the way,” Sawyer said, extending an arm towards the road. I began forward and Sawyer followed.

“So, you wanna tell me why Adam has me watching you?”

I stopped walking. “What do you mean?”

“He said to keep an eye on you earlier tonight. Something about you not being left alone.” Sawyer shrugged, and I smiled. I guess this is what Adam meant when he said he’d make sure Nicholas would leave me alone. Nicholas seemed like the type to make his move when there weren’t any witnesses.

“I’m sorry you got roped into this,” I told him and continued to walk. Sawyer fell into stride beside me. “I know it must be awkward for you considering…”

“I’m a big boy, Anna.” He smiled. “What we had was short, but I don’t hold any ill feelings towards you. I guess you can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“I’m not in love with Adam,” I retorted. Sawyer nodded his head and pursed his lips to mock my words. Was I in love with Adam? How was I supposed to know? I’d never fallen in love before.

“Anyway, I’m sorry. You’re a hot piece of ass, so you’ll land on your feet,” I told him. Sawyer pushed my arm, and I stumbled a couple inches. Laughing, I hit him back.

“Well for that to happen, I’d have to leave Wyoming. If you haven’t noticed there aren’t a lot of pickings here.”

I frowned because he was right. Our pack was seriously lacking in the female department. Poor Elle and Sawyer were bound to end up alone if something didn’t change.

“Hey,” I tapped his arm. “Just sing to them, it made my panties drop.”

Sawyer laughed. “Is that the only thing that made you sleep with me? Are you one of those groupie girls?”

“No, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t help.” Sawyer and I were both laughing when someone called my name.

“Anna?”

We stopped and turned to see Adam and Wade driving up the road.

“Uh-oh, I think it’s time for your experiment,” Sawyer teased.

“Shut up.”

Wade stopped the SUV alongside us. Adam sat in the passenger’s seat, and his eyes flicked between Sawyer and me. Not that he had anything to worry about, Sawyer and I were just friends, but the jealousy in his sapphire eyes pleased me.

“Get in,” Adam ordered. I said goodbye to Sawyer and hopped in the backseat. Wade pulled away and took off down the winding mountain road. The uncomfortable silence hung thick in the air. Both men’s bodies were ridged and hard.

“So, where are we going?” I finally asked.

“Nowhere specific,” Wade said. “Just around town to get you used to humans.” He looked over at Adam. “This wouldn’t be necessary if your alpha would’ve raised you right.”

Adam released a heavy breath and continued to stare out the window. Wade returned his eyes to the road, and I slouched in my seat. In the four months I’d been in Adam’s care, he’d taught me a lot about who I now was. I assumed the reason the leaders were being hard on him was because of the killings. There was a possibility that I was responsible, and Adam was the scapegoat for my alleged actions.

“I went grocery shopping by myself a month ago, and I didn’t attack anyone,” I told Wade like this was the equivalent to winning a gold medal.

Wade looked at me through the rearview mirror and said, “Congratulations, but from what I saw today you still aren’t comfortable with humans.”

I had the strong urge to stick my tongue out, but decided that would be immature and not help my cause. We sat in silence for the rest of the trip, which like everything else in Wyoming, took forever. Buffalo was at least forty-five minutes away, and the view outside my window was land with a few houses every ten miles or so. My mind traveled back to when I was still human. I adapted to living with Adam’s pack so quickly I hadn’t thought about the life I’d lost. Not that I really had a life to speak of, but it was a lot simpler then. Sure I barely made enough money to get by and I came home to a dog at night, but my life was my own. Now, I could be a murderer and was obsessed with a man who was with someone else. Oh how the tides turn. I’d traded one extreme—boring life—for another—exciting and dangerous life.

I eyed the back of Adam’s profile. His blonde hair was tucked behind his ear, giving a clear view of his strong jaw and full lips. Part of me wished I’d given into him a month ago and to hell with the consequences. Of course that’s how I felt now, sans sex. I hated the thought of them sharing a bed or worse—their bodies.

I shook the thought from my mind. As much as I didn’t like Eve, I felt like a horrible person for wanting her man. Adam was hers, and it wasn’t right, or moral, to want otherwise. I felt like one of those bimbos who got involved with a married man and believed when he said “he’s going to leave his wife.” How pathetic was I?