Scarlett: (GxG)

Chapter 11

Wherever we were going, Scarlett was driving like we were already late. I gripped the passenger door until my knuckles were bone white. The only good thing about it was that I was so focused on not wanting to get into a car accident, that I wasn't able to focus on how much I was already beginning to dislike being a burden, not only to Scarlett, but everyone else. It was made worse by the fact that I'd never felt so helpless in my life.

It was late afternoon by the time we got to where we were going. The sun burned a brilliant orange overhead, dipping behind just a few of the high rise buildings that surrounded us. I got out of the car and craned my neck up to look at the building. It was half finished with plastic still attached to some of the higher floors where glass windows had yet to be installed. I caught the way the she-wolf at my side looked at me. I could tell she really preferred for me to stay outside, but just short of locking me in the trunk, there was no way to ensure I'd be safe.

My goal was to be silent and to attempt to fade into the background if it would make whatever was so dire go more smoothly. I followed behind, watching the woman's demeanor change. Her head was held a little higher and her body beneath that rock band t-shirt appeared tighter, as if bracing for something that was coming.

We entered a half finished lobby with expensive floors and took one of the doors to the right and then another. I couldn't get a feel on what the new building was supposed to be. When we came upon an actually furnished room, I made the guess that it could have been offices.

A group of three people were waiting somewhat impatiently. I recognized all three of them as pack mates, the ones she'd entered the lounge with the night I'd first laid eyes on her. One of them, a woman, approached first.

She appeared tall while walking confidently on her pointed black heels. Where Scarlett rode a balance between feminine and masculine, this woman was pure feminine grace as she sauntered up. Her hair was shoulder length and a deep rusty red. I recognized the woman's face since she'd been present when Scarlett had embarrassed me at the bar. It had been her hand slipping up the she-wolf's stomach.

"They think it's a game," she said with a shake of her head. "And they don't want to talk to a woman. That was made perfectly clear."

Scarlett's frown deepened.

"I thought Pride's welcomed women in their ranks."

She shrugged.

"Maybe this is some strange sect. I don't know, Scar."

"Well they're in for a rude awakening. We don't have time for games. Do they have the package?"

"They do. They like what they saw."

I watched their hands because I couldn't help but soak in every detail of what was happening around me. There was a brush of fingertips initiated by the nameless wolf, subtle yet intimate in a way only a touch could be.

"Jake, keep an eye on Zoey," Scarlett called out.

"Alright."

Jake's thick stubble had now become a tight beard in a matter of days, making him appear older than the last time I'd seen him at Fire & Ice.

"Scarlett, just be careful on what you say, Deacon was clear that this deal has to go through."

The woman took her small touch a step further and went to press her lips against her collar bone, only for Scarlett to push past. The third wolf who was the only one to remain silent was at her side when the wolfess moved toward the door where the low rumbling of conversation could be heard.

I watched her take a breath, hold it in and then open the door. It was a small glimpse past the toughness she always exuded to something deeper. The real woman under that iron thick skin.