Page 7

Chapter 7

Boogie Nights

KEENAN

M y mate is drunk.

Very drunk.

She attempts to adjust a high heel, misses and plummets toward the pavement. I grab her arm and right her. She gives me a lopsided smile and uses my arm to steady herself as she reaches down to adjust her shoe.

She straightens and throws her long hair over her shoulder, catching me in the face. We’re surrounded by her loved ones. It took me a night of celebration to realize that these are the people who matter most to her in the world, which means they now matter to me.

Angel and Laz, of course, attended her dinner-turned-nightclub-hopping celebration and are currently staggering next to us. Pinky swooped in too. She’s wearing a short, frilly red gown that clashes horribly with her hair.

An adult film star named Toya and Timothy, an actor-waiter, have been along for the ride since it started. Cherise and Calvin from the IHOP joined us a while but left before the nightclub part of the evening.

“Girl, I’m done. These shoes are killing me,” says Toya, pointing at her very tall stick-like heels as she swipes her long black braids over her shoulder.

Laz’s agency represents both Toya and Timothy, alongside Vanessa. Timothy gave me pause, especially when he gave Vanessa an overly long hug and a kiss on the cheek. There’d been no increase in her heart rate, and she’d lost interest in talking to him once Pinky showed up. A relief. I hadn’t wanted to quietly drag away and eviscerate her friend. She might miss him.

“We’re out too,” Laz says with a yawn, looking down at his wife who is snoozing against his shoulder while standing. “Time to take my dancing queen home.”

I feel the tug of a smile, which is rare when it comes to people beyond my mate. I enjoy spending time with Vanessa’s friends. They’re a lively group, carefree and spirited. Their love for my mate reflects well and I’m inclined to think favourably toward them.

“Said like a true prince,” Vanessa slurs from next to me, wrapping her arms around my waist to keep herself upright.

I glance down at her, surprised. I hadn’t said anything out loud. Perhaps, in her drunken state, with a brain relaxed from alcohol, she’s more easily able to hear my thoughts.

I give into the urge to run my hand down the silken fall of hair that shines bright red under the streetlights. The soft tendrils sift through my fingers and a shudder goes through me.

The more Vanessa drinks, the more inclined she is to touch me. It started at our first nightclub where she pulled me onto the dance floor. I’ve never danced before and it showed. “Just move your feet and look confident, I’ll do the rest.” I felt stiff as I shuffled my feet, but she grinned at me like I was her favourite person, so I did the same thing at every night club she and her friends dragged me to.

At the second nightclub, Vanessa was recognized from the paparazzi video of our arrest. A group of curious partiers surrounded her, peppering her with questions.

“What movie are you working on, Vanessa?”

“Was the wolf really a prince?”

“Are you going to marry a shifter?”

She answered truthfully while I elbowed people from her vicinity. These aren’t friends and have no business interacting with her.

She laughed and told them I’m her bodyguard, but the seed of an idea formed. One I’ll discuss with her once she sobers.

I decide to end the evening, since the others are calling it quits. “I think we’ll be headed home now, too.”

Pinky steps up to hug Vanessa, staring at me over her shoulder. A shadow flickers over her face and for a moment her eyes flash with dragon fire. I nod, silently telling her I understand the threat. Vanessa goes home to bed and the wolf does not. As much as I yearn for the touch of my mate, I’m civilized enough that it was already a forgone conclusion.

“I’ll call you when I get home,” Pinky says to Vanessa, shooting me another look. “You need to come pick up your owl. He’s set himself up on the roof of my shop, which isn’t cool.” As she walks away from us, she turns back to say, “Congrats on the part, babe! Well deserved!”

“It’s not mine yet!” Vanessa calls after her.

“You’re gold on screen, Van,” Timothy pipes up. “There’s no way Wesselman is going to turn you down. A little media attention was all your career needed. Someone to see how amazing you are. I bet you’ll have your pick of parts after this.”

I reassess the evisceration plan and decide it might still be necessary. Vanessa might not be interested, but the pup definitely wants my mate.

“Don’t get her hopes up,” Laz mutters, but I can tell he’s also feeling hopeful about Vanessa’s career.

I tuck her into the passenger seat of her car, striding around to the driver’s seat. Despite pushing the seat of the Jetta as far back as it goes, I still have one leg crammed under the steering wheel and the other knee cocked out to the side. Next time, we take my Jeep.

Vanessa snores from beside me, giving me the opportunity to think as I navigate traffic back to her apartment.

“What now?” I ask out loud, glad she’s asleep and unable to hear the bewilderment in my voice. “You’ve gone and fucked everything up.”

This mate was never supposed to know me. It’s easier on them if they don’t. They all die anyway, but sometimes they have more time. Once I become involved, they die faster. Usually within months of meeting me.

I glance at her slumbering form. The gentle rise and fall of her breasts against the seatbelt, her head against the window with her hand tucked under her chin, her red hair falling in ribbons over her shoulders.

It’s not just her physical beauty that draws me, but her happy-go-lucky determination to never let anything get her down. Time after time, as she grew, she faced challenges that might cripple others, but she came out of them with grace and compassion.

I stood on the sidelines for years, determined to watch over her until the day she died. I would witness it from a distance, then leave as I did with my last mate. After, I would have returned to Wolf-Haven and awaited the birth of my next mate.

Vanessa and I met thirty hours ago and already I know this mate is going to break me. I don’t think there’ll be any coming back from her. I don’t know how I know. Just a feeling, I guess, but something tells me this is it. When Vanessa dies, I will kill myself and rest for eternity with her. It’s time to end my suffering.

I pull the car into the parking space at her apartment and get out. She doesn’t wake as I carefully pull her from her seat, lifting her into my arms. I kick the door shut and juggle both her keys and purse as I lock the car.

Next challenge comes when I have to use the same set of keys to get the building door open. It doesn’t go well and I drop them twice, having to bend slowly to pick them up so as not to jostle Vanessa.

“Fuck it.” I use my superior strength to break the lock and shove the door open.

I decide not to break Vanessa’s door lock, but I’m less than impressed as I examine the flimsy mechanism. I may have to have a discussion about my mate’s security with the building manager. Either that or convince Vanessa to move into a more secure home.

Inside, I carry Vanessa into her bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. She doesn’t wake, but she clings to me in her sleep, trying to snuggle against my chest as I lean over her.

Though it’s torture, I extricate her fingers. She lets out a tiny grunt and rolls onto her side. Looking her over, I decide it’s probably best to take off her shoes and leave the rest. Humans can be strange about nudity and I don’t know how Vanessa would feel if she woke up alone and naked.

As much as I want to lick, touch and fuck my mate. This isn’t the time. I’m a beast, not a monster. I leave the room, turning on her hallway light as I leave the apartment. As much as I want to stay, I know it isn’t the right time yet.

Besides, I have an owl to murder.