Page 6

“ A re you shitting me? Emmet!” Max yelled from the main house.

It was loud enough to reach me clear across the second ranch where I was helping Dante and Kian tear down the rest of the damaged fence. The rain had stopped sometime in the wee hours of the morning, but what was left was an awful muddy mess.

More trees had fallen, and several were weighed down by their heavy, sodden branches and leaves. Zeke was working, cutting them down. After he was done, he’d drag all the branches and trees to the wood chipper to make mulch out of the mess.

I took off my gloves and tucked them in my pocket, checking the time as I jogged to see what Max wanted. Boss man was still getting used to the life of a rancher/farmer, and it was not always easy going for him.

It was a little after eight, and I growled in frustration. I’d wanted to finish this before heading over to bring feed and supplies to Jed and the goats. And maybe stop by Jezebel’s for a cup of coffee or something.

There was no denying the woman was taking up space inside my head. Demon hadn’t stopped snarling since I laid eyes on the female, and after kissing her, well, it was ten times worse.

But more than my own inner battles, there was just something about the woman that drew me to her. Like there was a secret hidden behind her sapphire eyes and I was desperate to learn more.

But first, I’d have to deal with whatever it was Max wanted.

“Emmet!” he snapped as Mrs. O’Hare opened the door.

“Morning, Wolf,” she greeted me gruffly.

The older Witch was a real piece of work. She’d left Max for a few weeks when he came to take over the ranch, forcing the somewhat spoiled Jersey Devil to stand on his own two feet, er , hooves— whatever .

The point was, having learned my lesson when I accidentally crossed a Witch back when I was just a Pup, I was always polite to the woman.

She nodded in approval as I wiped my feet on the outside mat before stepping over the threshold and directly onto the rubber mat she kept for me and the boys in the foyer.

“Emmet, look at this,” Max snarled, slapping a tablet into my hand.

I read the headline and smirked, shaking my head as my eyes ran over the print. It was from the Dry Creek Herald , an online weekly paper that held all the gossip and rumors of the small Northern New Jersey town, including all talk of the monthly rodeo held at the county fairgrounds.

“Let’s see, Motley Crewd Ranch is just another dude ranch in disguise where city slicker Max Leeds is trying his luck at goat herding.

A few lucky wins mean nothing compared to the blood, sweat, tears, and countless hours many of our hometown heroes invest in this monthly contest, and I wonder if the Motley Crewd boys will tough it out.

Only time can tell. Maybe Max and his minions should go back to the bright lights instead.

Shit, Boss. It’s just some pencil pusher speaking out his ass,” I said, handing him back the tablet.

But I could see ol’ Max was surely riled as his skin started to turn a mottled red color, which meant his Devil was on the verge of breaking through.

“Oh no. Do you know who this guy is? He is the nephew of Tyson Peaks-Mill, the owner of Orchard Mill Ranch. This little shit is throwing the gauntlet down and it is our duty as a Crew to pick it up and accept the challenge!”

“Max, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I warned, but I knew my reservations were falling on deaf ears.

“Why not? You won last time. We can win again. We can build up our brand and get more business. It’s a win-win, Emmet,” he said, and I just sighed.

A Devil with an idea was worse than a Wolf with a bone.

“You get fined this month?” I asked, noting with pleasure the way Max’s lips tightened.

“Yeah, but I was close to the sixty percent, I just know it,” he said, and I grinned, handing him my gloves.

Part of Max’s deal with his grandmother was that he had to personally see to sixty percent of all the physical labor on the place. For a supernatural, it was not asking a lot. But for a man who’d never done much of anything his entire life, I imagined it was life altering.

Either way, he’d already proved himself to me and the boys. It was why he was our Alpha, and why Demon felt more grounded than ever before.

True, I owed Max a lot for giving me this second chance. Now that I met Jezebel, I appreciated it even more.

I was determined to see him succeed. So, I came up with a plan on the fly.

“Get on out there, Boss Man. You help the boys take down the rest of that fence while I swing by Jed’s to bring the feed. Then I’ll run down to the lumberyard to pick up our order so we can get started on the rebuild. Need to get the posts in before the ground freezes,” I told him.

“Fine. But I am signing you up for two events,” he said, giving me a glare before grabbing his boots.

“Penelope at the bakery?” I asked, wondering how our new Alpha fem was faring today.

“Yeah. She went in for a few hours. Why?” Max asked, grabbing a sherpa lined denim jacket from the hall closet.

“Nothing. It’s just very impressive how quickly she is learning to control her new, um, sensibilities,” I replied with no little amount of pride.

Penelope had gotten more than a mate for life when Max had claimed her beneath the last quarter moon before his fortieth birthday. In fact, I’d never heard of someone turning into a supe before, at least not unless they were a Tiger Shifter, and even then, it was rare.

But for whatever reason, maybe just the strength of their bond, Max had gifted Penelope with a Devil of her own. Now the little former human was one of the Crew and learning more about herself every single day.

Controlling the beast inside her in order to keep the supernatural secret was of the utmost importance. I had to admit, I was impressed with her level of control.

There were days when I still feared Demon would take over. I wasn’t proud of that fact, but at least, I could admit it.

“She’s a gem, isn’t she?” he asked, his dark eyes rimmed in the red of his Jersey Devil.

“I’m not going to answer that, Boss, but I am happy for you both,” I told him.

“By the way, I have a check for Jezebel,” Max said, handing it to me.

I frowned, and my Wolf snarled.

“Everything okay?” he asked, looking far too amused than was healthy for either of us.

Last thing I needed was to get into a physical altercation with my new Alpha. Max wasn’t a Wolf. I was strong, but he was something other than a Shifter. He had magic, and I didn’t trust the fucker not to use it.

Besides, it was insanity. Me wanting to hit him. I mean, for what? For paying my girl for the use of her land when that was the deal?

Shit.

She wasn’t my girl. I had to stop thinking of her like that.

Yet , snarled the Wolf.

“Yeah. Um, no. Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to pay for sheltering the herd, Boss,” I said.

“You want to pay her?” he asked.

I was already tearing up his check and putting it on the table before filling out one of the blank ones I kept in my wallet. I doubled the amount I’d seen on the one Max had drawn up.

Just fucking because.

“I think I have to,” I mumbled, rubbing the spot over my chest where Demon was currently trying to chew his way through my skin.

“Settle,” growled Max and just like that the Wolf went silent.

This is why it pays to have a good Alpha.

“Later, Boss,” I said and waved as I left the house and walked off towards my truck.

Excitement hummed in my veins, and my stomach trembled with nerves at the thought of seeing her again. The woman gave me butterflies, and hell, if that didn’t make me grin like the Cheshire cat.

I should have felt even the slightest bit silly. I mean, butterflies were for schoolgirls, not men or even Werewolves. But whatever. There was no pretending to ignore the fluttering sensation that twisted in my gut.

It might seem juvenile, but I couldn’t help it. Thoughts of Jezebel had kept me up most of the night, and I was beyond eager to see her again.

That kiss. I knew I should have stopped myself, but the truth was, I did not want to. She tasted every bit as delicious as I’d imagined.

Dark rum and hot chocolate with toasted marshmallows.

I was fucking obsessed with the idea of sipping from her sweet lips again. But I hesitated, my hands on the steering wheel. I felt torn between the urge to push through my doubts and the instinct to retreat, to protect myself from the potential sting of rejection.

Demon snarled, the Wolf scratching insistently. He had no such qualms about going to see her again.

Mine.

It was safer to hide behind the mask of indifference. To maintain the facade of a man who preferred his own company.

But those butterflies refused to be silenced. Their wings beat faster and harder, growing bolder with each passing moment. Before I knew it, I shifted the truck into drive, and I was already moving.

Ten minutes until I reach her.

Five minutes.

Three.

Then I was coming to a stop outside her door, and what I saw made me frown. Hard.

Grrr.