In the morning, when she woke up to the pups banging on her door, he was gone.
CHAPTER 25
It had taken her second in command getting between them to separate Brendon Shaw from Bobby Ray.
It had started off like any other morning hunt. The Smith Pack wolves tracking down a deer and taking it down. And just like every other hunt now that lions had become a constant part of their lives, the cats happened on by to steal their meal. If there was only one, Mace or Brendon, they usually put up a fight. But with Mace, Brendon, and Mitch, Sissy thought they’d just let them have the damn thing and go after another one. But Bobby Ray had fought back with a vengeance. Mace backed off immediately, understanding Bobby Ray better than any of them did. She had no doubts you learned a lot about a man when you were stationed with him in a war zone. Mitch enjoyed his job, and Sissy even had the sense he was seriously considering not going back to his police job in Philly, so he’d backed off pretty quick too.
But Brendon seemed more than happy to give Smitty the fight he’d been looking for, the two of them going after each other like the deer at their feet couldn’t simply be replaced by a drive-through run to McDonald’s.
Of course, this had nothing to do with the damn deer. Or the fact that the lions always stole their meals. It was all about that damn She-dog.
It still boggled Sissy’s mind that the little heifer had the nerve to turn down her brother. The best of the batch, in her estimation. Maybe if it had been one of the other four, Sissy could understand Jessie Ann pushing him away. But Bobby Ray wasn’t like her other brothers. And her other brothers probably wouldn’t have given Jessie Ann the option. They would have taken her down like they had that deer.
But Smitty wouldn’t tell Sissy more than, “She don’t want me. That’s all you need to know.”
Sissy doubted that. Actually, she knew that to be wrong. That little geek had wanted her brother since the first time she’d set eyes on him. And it hadn’t changed. Really, in Sissy’s opinion, it would never change. Jessie Ann Ward would always love Bobby Ray Smith. And now that she’d seen him so miserable, Sissy knew that Bobby Ray would always love Jessie Ann.
Yet, for some unknown reason, the two of them insisted on fighting it. So the question for her was how to fix this. She was Alpha Female. She needed to fix this.
By her third fight with Bobby Ray—this time over potatoes—Ronnie Lee dragged her off to the town bar. Lots of cute local talent, but she couldn’t even enjoy flirting since she had Bobby Ray’s drama on her mind. So she and Ronnie sat at the bar, nursing their beers, and occasionally muttering to each other.
Near four o’clock she heard a soft voice with a thick Southern accent say, “Two glasses of champagne, please, Charlie.”
Sissy raised her head and stared at the two females lounging at the end of the bar. She recognized them both from the night at the club when she’d had that run-in with the Magnus Pack Alphas. One of them pulled out a box of high-end chocolate from a glossy shopping bag and placed it on the bar. Their drinks arrived and they sat down on stools and opened the box.
“Let it go,” Ronnie Lee muttered before Sissy had done anything.
“But look at ’em. Sittin’ over there like nothing’s wrong.”
“Sissy, let it go.”
She should. But she couldn’t. She banged her fist on the bar and both She-dogs looked up at her.
“Think you can explain to me what the hell is wrong with your Alpha Female?”
They both stared at her, but neither said a word.
“Does she really think she’s too good for my brother? Because she’s damn wrong.”
Again, the blank stare and the silence.
“What? Something wrong with your mouth? Can’t ya speak?”
The Asian one leaned forward a bit, her hands flat on the bar, her head tilting to the side. After a long moment, she said, “Woof.”
Sissy leaned back a bit, her gaze sliding over to Ronnie’s. As soon as they looked at each other, though, they lost it. Bursting into surprised laughter.
The two She-dogs walked down to their side of the bar, bringing their drinks and chocolates with them.
“Another two glasses of champagne, Charlie.” The Asian one held her hand out and Sissy shook it. “I’m Maylin. Y’all can call me May. This is Sabina.”
“Nice to meet ya.”
“So,” she said, plunking herself down on the bar stool, “what are we gonna do about these two idiots?”
Yup. Sissy liked this one already.
Lord, could he get more pathetic? Sitting in the snow, in the woods, watching Jessie’s house. He couldn’t help it. She spent most of her time out on that back porch watching the pups play in the snow. Sometimes jumping in with a well-placed snowball.
Of course, it wasn’t like Smitty had anywhere else to go. He’d alienated nearly everyone else at Shaw’s house except Dez, who knew how to get a cranky male to back up off her with only a look.
To avoid losing his friends and Pack forever, Smitty had shifted and taken off into the woods. Sometimes he focused on problems much better as wolf. He’d chased a couple of rabbits and a couple of crows. Although that had been a bad idea after they dive-bombed him and tried to shit on his head. Then he’d ended up back here, trying to figure out what the hell Jessie Ann wanted from him.
Okay, so the barn had been a bad idea, but he’d merely been trying to expedite the situation. Once he knew what he wanted, no need to fight it anymore. But when he offered her a soft bed and a romantic marking in the city, she’d acted like he’d offered to take her to an execution in the town square.
Why wouldn’t she just tell him what she wanted? Jessie had never seemed like “other girls” who wanted you to guess everything. When you asked how they were, they’d respond, “Fine.” If Jessie was mad, she sure as shit let you know it in no uncertain terms. But she always told him the reason. Now she wouldn’t and he didn’t know what to do to fix this. And he had to fix it.
He loved her. Maybe he’d loved her forever. But he knew it for sure when he’d wrapped himself around her last night. She’d felt so good in his arms, so perfect. Like she’d been made to order just for him.
Lord, he couldn’t lose her now. But, for once, he was at a loss on how to handle this and her. Years of training to handle nearly any and all situations, but the United States Navy never saw Jessie Ann Ward coming.
Smitty laid his head down on his paws and watched Jessie lob snowballs at Johnny. It must be his birthday since she insisted on his wearing a crown, and Smitty could see through the glass doors and windows the other wild dogs decorating the house and fixing a huge meal.
Jessie squealed and he watched Danny toss her over his shoulder, spinning around until Phil took her and hung her upside down by her ankles. Smitty’s lips pulled back over his fangs and he thought about tearing the little bastards into several pieces.
Snow crunched near him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Mace walking toward him. The big cat lay down beside him. As lion, Mace beat him in weight and size by more than double. But they were friends more than they were predators. Nothing had ever come between them and nothing ever would.
Mace didn’t do anything. He didn’t shift and try to talk to him or drag him out to get drunk and find another girl. He didn’t do anything because he didn’t have to.
They’d had to lie to Jess to explain why they were leaving the house in the middle of the afternoon and just before Johnny’s party. But watching her pretend not to be miserable was hard on them all. May, having grown up around Smiths, had a pretty good idea where she could track down the Smith Pack Alpha Female. And although her idea sounded improbable—why would a couple of afternoon-boozing She-wolves help them or Jess?—Sabina was desperate enough to try anything.