1
WildFire
Saint
T here once was a time in my life when I would have said yes to the question, ' Do you have your shit together? ' Now? I'm not so sure…
There is a restlessness under my skin…an itch I can't scratch.
How is it possible that I'm falling for my best friend's girl? How could I have let this happen? I should have stayed away. I never ever had a chance with her, anyway. The second Artemis walked into our house, she was Jay's.
But those wide brown eyes and that sharp tongue have me entranced.
I should have taken her blonde friend Angel up on going out when she asked me on Samhain. She'd been overly friendly while carving pumpkins and while we'd all been hanging out around the fire. It's not like I'd never noticed her attention on me when the boys and I had gone to the bar before. But that was before Artemis. And, on Samhain, I sat there listening to Artemis and Jay running through the forest instead of focusing on the smiling petite human.
It wasn't difficult to picture exactly what they had been up to while the human girl stood before me, chirping away about all her interests. At the time, I nodded and smiled along with her, barely listening. I caught enough details to follow the conversation, but that's about it. Angel did not notice my distraction, or at least didn't mention it.
It's been weeks since Samhain, and at this point, there is no denying it: I have feelings for Artemis Hunt.
Stick a fork in me; I'm cooked.
Tonight, instead of doing practically anything else, I'm at the bar with Artemis, Jay, and Dante. The problem is that I hadn't even hesitated when Artemis told me we'd all been invited to Coyote Bills to celebrate Angel's birthday. I'd jumped at the prospect of hanging out with my best friend's girl. And now, I stand against the bar, watching them like a creep.
Dante, of course, is oblivious to my problems. He's all kinds of wrapped up in Ivy, watching her every move. Dante has had his eye on the bear shifter for some time, even before Artemis came home to the Hollow. He slips away regularly to see her when he thinks everyone else isn't paying attention. Not to mention that he buys her various little trinkets every time he's in a shop. Artemis' nickname magpie suits Dante well.
Despite myself, I am happy for Dante and Jay. They deserve this.
My wolf whines in the corners of my mind, cinnamon fur bristling as we stand against the bar.
I am happy for my friends, honestly. And yet…I can't help but feel left out.
When I look at Artemis and Jay, jealousy ripples in my gut. I just want to hold her like he does and kiss her like he does.
More than that, though…I want Artemis to look at me like she looks at Jay.
Artemis Hunt is like… a wildfire. She destroyed every notion of what a Pack could be like, and I'm still finding damage weeks later. Every instinct in my body screams at me to go after her.
Once upon a time, Jay and I would have friendly competitions about who gets the girl at the end of the night, but this is different. Artemis is different. Beyond that though, if anyone could make a triad work these days, it's the three of us. They aren't as common as they were once. A trio who work better together rather than apart.
And… that is what I want. A tirad, with Artemis and Jay.
Still, I don't make any moves. I can't. If I had, weeks ago, when Artemis moved in, walking around the kitchen in a thin little body suit that showed off the line of her back, tattoos peeking out from under the waistband of her pants, it might have been different.
Now, Artemis is Jay's girl.
But I want her to be mine, too. The green eyes of my wolf watch her every move from inside my soul. Waiting. Contemplating a future we have no right to imagine. Like waking up with her wrapped around me. She just fits so well…like the final member of our Pack had finally come home. Like she was always meant to be here.
Sighing to myself, I take a swig of my beer and try to focus on the party instead of the blonde with dark eyes and a smart mouth.
The human… Angel… is coming towards me down the bar again, a sultry sway to her hips, IPA bottle firmly grasped in pink painted nails. She has a cheap birthday girl crown atop her head, which is the reason we're all piled inside Coyote Bills. Even in the bar's dim lighting, the strapless pink dress she wears is still obnoxiously bright. Practically neon. The fabric tightly hugs her curves as she saunters over.
She's not dressed for November in Vermont, but she looks nice. I'll give the human that.
Plastering on a smile, I firmly turn my attention away from Artemis and Jay goofing off around the pool tables as the birthday girl struts toward me.
She's hot for a Human, my wolf remarks almost absent-mindedly. I like my girls a little less…breakable, though. A little more wild. My wolf's cinnamon fur bristles under my skin, the itch to shift churning in my gut. More specifically, to run with Artemis. No one knows the forest like her, even after being away for so long.
Angel even smells sweet, like a bakery, her scent filling my nose when she stops just in front of me. My smile falters for one single second when, out of the corner of my eye, I see Jay press Artemis against a wall, his mouth covering hers.
Clearing my throat, I say, "What can I do ya for, Birthday Girl?" Refocusing on the blonde before me is a challenge. She doesn't appear to notice, though. Angel practically glows, reveling in the little bit of attention I'm giving her. Her hair is almost white, whereas Artemis's is more like honey now. She and Sam had been in the bathroom for about three hours one night. When the girls came out, Artemis had hair that almost looked like the color of her wolf's eyes.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to dance?" Angel asks, picking at the peeling beer label, her lip caught between her teeth and twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
"Sure, birthday girl. I'll dance with you," I reply, smiling. The answer is easy because, if nothing else, it will get me away from the bar where I'm just asking for trouble watching my Alpha and his girl like that.
Trouble has honey-blonde hair and brown eyes and goes by the name Artemis Leto Hunt.
Angel's face lights up as she says, "Really?" Her surprise catches me off guard. Was she expecting me to refuse her?
"Consider it my gift to you," I answer. Quickly draining the rest of my beer and plastering on a smile, I lead the birthday girl toward the mob of gyrating hips in the center of the bar. Truthfully, I hadn't brought the blonde a gift. That had been Dante's job. He and Artemis went thrifting and found her a present. Along with many candlesticks for the new house, Dante insisted we needed. I didn't see what they'd gotten her, but the bright pink bag is currently on the gift table with all the others.