Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Pam took the bottle, opened it, and drank straight from it.
“It’s good,” Pam said.
“Shadow picked it.” She walked back into the kitchen. Picking up her bottle of water, she took a long sip and then glanced over at her fridge. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“If you want, I can order pizza?” Pam asked.
“Nah, I don’t want pizza. I’ve got some food in here that needs using up.” She opened her fridge and pulled out some chicken, several leftover blocks of cheese, a few vegetables, such as cauliflower and broccoli, as well as green beans.
Lisa wrinkled her nose, but she was suddenly so hungry. Vegetables, chicken, cheese, and then it came to her—an overloaded chicken-veggie-mac-and-cheese.
“You want to stay for dinner?” Lisa asked.
“I think I need to stay right now. The very thought of going back and seeing Shadow makes me want to punch him in the face.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Lisa said, although it did sound like a good idea at the same time.
She would never punch Shadow. There was no point, he’d more than likely break her fist because of how strong he was. She was no match for him.
“You’re never going to forgive him?” Pam asked.
Lisa glanced at the other woman and shrugged. “Would you?”
“I’m not like you, I’m not human.”
“But you think I should?” Lisa asked.
Pam wrinkled her nose. “No, it’s … pack is different. They don’t react like that, and also as pack we have a close bond.”
“Ah, so you’re saying that is another good reason to be near No Wolves Road. Us humans don’t matter to you, so you can use and abuse us to your heart’s content?” Lisa asked. “You all know we can’t fight you. All we can do is take what you have to offer.”
“Okay, now that you say it that way, it sounds really bad,” Pam said.
“Don’t you see that is what happens? You guys come into town, and there is no problem with it. You play your games, and in the end we are the only people that get hurt. None of you take us seriously. None of you see us as … mating material. I bet you’re the same way with the men. Do you chase after men and not care if they fall in love with you?”
“Did you fall in love with Shadow?” Pam asked.
“That doesn’t matter,” Lisa said, hating that she might have given her feelings away. “Do you do that?”
Pam shook her head. “No, I don’t. I come into town to get away from the pack. I like hanging out around here.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, you guys believe in personal space, and trust me, back at the pack we don’t get a whole lot of that. Everyone is into your stuff, or in your business. It’s not always fun.” She shrugged.
“But at least you have a family. A bunch of people that get you.” She shrugged. “That has to be nice.”
“There are good and bad things to being in a pack, I promise you.”
Lisa thought about Shadow. She had tried not to fall in love with him, but she had, which is why his cold, cruel words had hurt so damn much.
****
Shadow lay on a hammock, rocking side to side, enjoying the late evening and reading the latest thriller he’d gotten at No Wolves Road Library. Growing up, he’d never been one for reading, but as he got older, it had become a fun, relaxing way to pass the time. He was waiting for Pam to return.
He’d left No Wolves Road, and it had grated on his nerves that he’d not gone to see Lisa. This pissed him off. When was she going to get over herself? So he said some bad shit to a bunch of guys. She wasn’t supposed to hear it.
He closed the book and looked up at the sky as it was starting to get dark. Lisa should know he didn’t mean everything he said. He couldn’t recall everything he had said. The conversation had moved so fast.
The strange truth was, he missed her. This was fucked up to him, because he still didn’t have any intention of staying with her forever. She was not a wolf, so long-term was not an option. Only strong females could be his mate, and seeing as she was human, it wasn’t going to happen.
“Fucker!”
He heard the insult seconds before the hammock was suddenly tipped over and he somehow ended up face-first on the ground. He spun to see Pam, one knee bent, glaring at him.
“What the fuck?” he asked.
“Seriously, you had me believing the problems between the two of you had to do with her not liking your wolf, or the fact you wouldn’t bring her to the pack.”
“I didn’t tell you anything.”
“You certainly didn’t tell me the truth, and while we’re at this whole talking and communicating stage, you also made sure no one else could tell me the truth either, didn’t you?”