Page 13 of Never Submit (Bad Wolves #2)

Chapter 13

Ren

E xhaustion never felt like this before. Never this intense, like any movement is going to take a monumental act of a higher power to accomplish.

What the fuck happened to me, and why does it feel like I got run over by a tank? I had a lot of great energy the other night, when I had my own Eiffel Tower moment.

Or does it only count if the guys aren’t high-fiving? I’m not really good at this sort of thing.

Carrigan would know. Hell, she’d throw me a parade for being a little slut, as she so often urged me to be back at the restaurant.

Only now it’s like whatever powered me through it is totally, utterly, depleted. I got back here all hyped up on adrenaline and panic, and once it filtered out, I slept the entire night.

I need some positivity today. And a metric butt-ton of coffee in order to charge my veins.

The change… I guess there’s no kind of manual that tells you how much it takes out of you.

No one tells you the cost .

Human .

I’ve always been human. I’ve lived my entire life that way, knowing I had a deadline to expiration, just like fucking milk, and half believing in legends. Now I’m one of them.

How did it happen?

And more importantly, why? I haven’t had a chance to ask that question yet, but it’s the one most worth knowing. Why did the Moonstone sink into my skin and why did it change me into a white wolf?

After sex in the billiard room, Noble took me back to his room and snuggled beside me on the bed. Real Big Spoon kind of energy, and with him wrapped around me, with his seed inside me, I dropped into sleep like a stone down a deep well.

By the time I wake up, Noble is already gone, although his side of the bed is warm. He hasn’t been gone long.

I stretch my arms overhead, jaw dropping on a yawn, my body deliciously used and sore in the best kind of way.

Sunlight filters in through the sheer curtains on the other side of the room. It’s clean, though, I see through bleary eyes. There aren’t the typical piles of laundry and shit everywhere that I kinda expect out of men.

At least, that’s how all my exes lived.

Maybe it’s a character flaw for them. Or maybe wolves are much neater than regular dudes.

Either way, I like Noble’s room, the warm tones and the comfortable bedding. I like that it smells like him and I want to curl up in his blankets, light a candle, and make a nest.

I struggle out of bed and although my arms tremble a little, at least every movement isn’t as tough. My legs are a little wobbly, and my head takes a nice dive before soaring up to the ceiling .

For a few breaths, I feel like it’s every case of the flu I’ve ever had converged into one and hammering me at the same time. The feeling dissipates after a time.

Okay, no repeats of that. Not fun.

My stomach swirls but growls. A little something to eat might do the trick. Something like bread. Or cheese.

Bread and cheese. And the biggest portion of chips I’ve ever eaten in my life. Ooh, or french fries.

I’ve never been in the kitchen in this place but wolves gotta eat. Don’t they? I bet they eat a lot. Like huge walk-in freezers with whole deer hanging from hooks kind of thing. Or cows. What do wolves eat?

Hysterical laughter bubbles up.

I push my hair out of my face, searching for a scrunchy or something to tie it back. There’s one in the nightstand drawer along with a few sheets of paper and neat writing in black lines.

Noble’s signature is at the bottom and a flash of guilt has me stuffing the papers back in place.

I might be his mate, but I’m not really comfortable snooping. Yet. Maybe I’ll change my mind after I eat.

My shirt from last night is absolutely ruined. So I’m forced to snoop a little bit to find something else to wear.

After using the bathroom, I pull on a clean set of panties and the leggings from yesterday, along with what looks like an old college hoodie.

Half of my mind heads toward Carrigan and Aspen, the last time we were all together. Laughing, drinking. Eating nothing but shit and gossiping as we did so. I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that Torin doesn’t have any kind of junk food lying around. He doesn’t seem the type.

His idea of indulging is probably filet mignon and caviar or some shit like that.

What would the men think if I told them that, growing up, I’d been absolutely apeshit for plain bologna sandwiches on white bread with plenty of mayonnaise? They’d laugh at me.

But damn, right now a bologna sandwich sounds pretty good.

One foot in front of the other, I wobble down the hall on unsteady legs, using the wall to keep myself propped up. Things have finally caught up to me, physically at least, and I wonder when I’ll be able to mentally process everything that’s happened.

Not for a long time.

It’s better, for now, to keep it all tucked away.

Whole new territory, I assure myself, grabbing the knob of the nearest door and pushing it open. Bedroom. The hallway opens up at the end of the living room and I head toward the opposite wall, practically careening into a coffee table when my knee gives out.

Shifting is not for the faint of heart, it seems.

Or maybe it was the run down the mountain that ruined me.

Too much adrenaline in my system for too long a period of time.

I finally locate the kitchen after a few more doors. A penthouse this large is always full of surprises.

This one includes a grand expanse of white marble and stainless steel. It’s all the modern conveniences in one space and shows absolutely no personality. Which seems to be Torin’s personality.

Does Noble cook? Or do they have people here to do it for them?

Where is the rest of the pack?

It’s hard to picture either of them in this kitchen unless they’re sitting and waiting for a squadron of personal chefs to whip up confectionery delights.

Yeah, that makes more sense.

Although the mental image of me and Noble laughing over a bowl of ramen noodles has merit. Too low-brow for Torin. Mathis, now, he’d enjoy the noodles. And Dax would probably turn his nose up at it unless I plop down a huge bloody steak on top.

Then he’d have at it and spill things everywhere.

I see their individual reactions in my head and it makes me smile. Even as I pull open the refrigerator door and stare at fully stocked shelves.

Oh, hell yes. My stomach growls again, this time in pure childlike excitement, and I start stacking things into my arms.

Sandwiches. I’ve got two piled on the plate, along with apple slices and an entire bowl of chips before I realize I’ve got more food than I need. Except one of the sandwiches slides down so easily that I’m forced to check myself.

This whole wolf thing is a different ballgame, like my muscles have used up double what I’ve given them and I’m making up for it now. Excessive, maybe, but I’m still starving and so far what I’ve eaten isn’t cutting it.

I’m halfway through the second sandwich, still feeling empty, when the sound of voices from the other room becomes painfully evident.

My ears perk up at the familiar tones, two of them in person and the other two on speaker phone. Everything is much clearer now than it used to be. Wolfy senses.

Like Spidey senses, but better.

“Did you suspect it?” Torin snaps out.

Mathis chuckles darkly. “You expect me to give up my secrets? Even if I did have my suspicions about Ren, there’s no way in the blue balls of fucking hell I’d tell you.”

“So much for your truce,” Torin replies.

“I was the first to know.” Dax’s voice comes out as a growl, hardly human. “She was half changed when I found her. Now, I’m going to fuck her as a wolf. Me, her, both of us. It doesn’t matter.”

“You’ll keep your goddamn paws off of her, you fucking son of a bitch,” Noble interrupts. “I don’t want to hear you say a word about my mate.”

I shiver at the dark promise in Noble’s voice. In Dax’s too, for that matter.

And he nearly had, I realize with no small measure of surprise. Fucked me as a wolf. I hadn’t been in control of the change then.

I slide a chip between my lips, crunching as silently as I can and leaning my head to the door. Not that I need to get closer. I hear every word without issue. My stomach gives another growl and I placate it with the chips until it falls silent.

“There was no way for you to have known she’d change. Just as there was no way to know what kind of changes the Moonstone would make in her,” Torin adds. “I know you were just as surprised as I when she said it.”

“No, I didn’t know. Is that what you want to hear?” Mathis sounds ready to explode. “In this case, I have no secrets. She surprised the hell out of me when she said she absorbed the Moonstone.”

“So how do we get it back?” Torin says.

Mathis groans, and then, “I’m not sure we can. It seems to me if the Goddess chose Ren for some kind of favor, then we’re shit out of luck when it comes to retrieving the gem.”

The tension in the room is thick enough to cut, even from here, but I hold myself back from interrupting their little meeting.

Their fault, I reason. They shouldn’t talk this loud when I’m within earshot. And they shouldn’t talk about me. I’ve been left out of the meeting.

It’s bullshit.

I can’t stop munching and force myself to consider this from a distance. Pretend I’m at the movies and I’m watching these characters develop. Hell, I’m one of them.

Do they really think the goddess chose to favor me?

I guess it seems that way, from the outside.

But inside, where worry ought to be, there’s nothing but a strange unsettled numbness. Like I’m still not ready to actually consider what it means to be a wolf, or to have the blessing of a goddess.

What kind of things could the Moonstone do now that it’s inside of me?

“Look, Mattie boy, I didn’t accept your call because I want to hear about your theories. It’s time we put aside our differences and come together for our common enemy, as you said. Now, the woman knows exactly what we’re up against. And if not specifics, she at least has a better idea than the rest of us. She’s been up close and personal with Andras and the Blood Moon pack.”

I stop chewing, my face screwing up in a scowl. I know Torin did not just call me the woman .

I have to carefully tamp down my emotions, unless Noble feels me through the mating bond. Except when I tug on the connection, he’s already there on the other end, very much present, a little amused, and a little concerned.

Keep quiet.

It’s like his voice is in my head.

Stop talking about me , I snap back .

But you’re very interesting, baby.

He knows where I am. And I’m about to yell at him for talking smack about me where I can hear when Noble comes back with, We’re in the office. Better start getting used to your new hearing.

“I agree,” Mathis adds. “I think the best thing we can do for our combined people is to garner a truce between our packs as soon as possible, and figure out what Ren knows about Andras. That way, we might be able to get ahead of the asshole and stop him before he causes more damage.”

Torin pauses, as though delighted at the news yet surprised to have this outcome so quickly.

“We’ll have to discuss the terms in more concrete detail,” Noble adds. “The terms being that someone keeps his hands and his intentions to himself.”

“I’m not promising you shit,” Dax argues hotly. “Especially not when it comes to your mate .”

“Say it again like that and I’ll rip the teeth out of your mouth one by one,” Noble finishes.

“The two of you are going to have to put your personal feelings aside. This is business. The business of growth, expansion, and protection. Especially considering neither of us has the crystal in our possession any longer.” Torin sounds rational but barely contained.

I can almost see him in my head, stoic and implacable in his suit and tie.

“I’d like to get the details of our truce ironed out as soon as possible. You know where I am. As a show of good faith, I'll allow you and your beta to meet me here, in the penthouse,” Torin tells Mathis.

I’m so shocked, I drop the apple slice I’m holding and it falls to the pristine floor with a thud.

Torin thinks it’s safe to have Mathis and Dax here?

Wow, he really must be desperate to get answers out of me. And a truce between them...what will it mean? Are they doing it just because of Andras, or do I play a bigger factor in it?

My heart thuds wildly. And in spite of myself, the treacherous organ lurches at the thought of seeing the two of them again.

While the four of them hammer out the details, I finish off my plate and hurry back into the kitchen. I tuck it, empty, into the confines of the dishwasher. I’m halfway out the door when I realize both Torin and Noble are in the living room now, staring at me, one amused and the other pissed off and struggling to hide it.

“If you’re going to eavesdrop, then at least try to be discreet about it,” Torin admonishes. “Your scent gives you away.”

I shake my head. “I was hungry. I needed to eat, and I needed to explore. Especially if you guys think you are going to keep me here.” I shoot Torin a glare in return. “Unless you thought you could shove me in a room and water me like a houseplant.”

Noble chuckles and steps forward to draw me into his arms, kissing me fully on the lips. “I would have taken care of you. If you’d been patient. I thought you were asleep. I wanted to give you more time to rest and to recover.”

“Get dressed.” Torin turns on his heel. “We’re about to have company.”

“Unless you’re totally blind, I am dressed.”

Hours ago, I had his dick in my mouth. His beautiful, throbbing dick, and I’d swallowed him down like ice cream.

Torin refuses to look at me again. “You call those clothes?”

I shoot him an unlady-like gesture and think that with his back turned, he can’t see me. Wrong . His back stiffens, and he growls on his way out of the room.

“He’ll come around,” Noble assures me. But he doesn’t sound entirely convinced either.

“Come around to what?” I stare at Noble. “I’m not going to live here with you. I’m not sure where I’m going to live, but I have my own apartment, a job. A life.”

Amusement flickers on his face. “News to me. You’re staying with me, Ren. Better get used to it.” He glances down at his watch. “Which means you really do have to get dressed because the Grey Valley wolves will be here soon, and I’d rather not give Dax anything more to taunt me about.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those legs of yours. They’re a blessing and a curse. I’m sure there are a pair of jeans around that will fit you and show off a little less than those leggings.” Noble smacks me on the ass, and I go warm all over. “Get changed and we’ll play later.”