“A hundred dollars per person is nothing to sneeze at,” he said with a mouthful of pears. “I’m the only one who said panther. We had bets on cougar, mountain lion, bear—”
I snorted. “Who thought I was a grizzly?”
“Get out of here!” Lexi shoved him backward, and I heard the can drop on the floor.
“The fuck? I’m not cleaning that up,” he said.
The next thing I saw was my bag hurling over Lexi’s head and hitting the fridge.
Lexi bent over out of sight, and then I heard the metallic clinking of silverware in the distance.
“You missed!” he yelled out.
“Are you craving anything?” she asked politely.
I waved my hand and stood up. “My old life?”
“Anything you need and I’m here for you. There’s a phone on the table,” she said, pointing to the long table to the left of the door. “Ring me if you need anything, but we’re not locking you in anymore. That was temporary until you shifted back—not that your panther would have figured out how to turn the knob, but I didn’t have any say in the matter. My house is yours, so feel free to come out anytime and walk around.”
I felt like an interloper now more than ever before. A panther in a house full of wolves? No, I didn’t feel the welcome mat rolling out from anyone but Lexi. I unzipped my bag and pulled out something to sleep in. Lexi watched me from the door, eyes brimming with questions, but I knew she was anxious to get back to Austin and smooth things over.
“I suppose this will all be aired out in the morning,” I said. “No need to fuss over me. You’re a darling for letting me stay despite the circumstances.”
Her gaze drifted toward the floor. “No matter how mad Austin is, he remembers what you did for me with Beckett. If someone had discovered the body and called the police, it could have been so much worse. No one asked you to help—you just did it. Maybe that’s why no matter how bad this seems, you have nothing to worry about. He’ll come around, but I get why he’s upset. He has a pack to lead, and Wheeler was pretty stupid for walking you in like that. Anything I can do before I go to bed?”
I hesitated at first, but then dared to ask, “Is Wheeler still awake?”
She hopped on her foot and gave me a peculiar look. “It’s late, and I don’t want him to upset you.”
“Please? Just ask if he’ll come in here for a minute.”
“If you need me, I’m just down the hall… across the house… up the stairs… and down another long hall.” She laughed and covered her mouth before it got out of control. “Good night.”
I smiled reassuringly as she closed the door. Then I went into the bathroom and changed. The request for Wheeler had surprised even me, but suddenly I needed him. I also needed to know how he’d gotten so close to my panther without losing his head.
***
Wheeler twirled the saltshaker on the long wooden table in the kitchen, lost in thought. The lights were out except the twinkle ones strung around the windows along the wall behind him. William sat across from him, picking at the knotty wood on the table.
William Rush had entered the pack around the time Ivy had left. He had an easygoing personality that made it easy to confide in him. It was obvious why he was once Lorenzo’s second-in-command but now slid in third in the Weston pack. Reno was the second, but William had a subtle way of leading that was more politic than direct.
“Austin still pitching a fit?” Wheeler asked.
William ran his fingers through the curls of his dark hair and sat back. “I think his mate is smoothing things over the way only a woman can. Did you notice the way she had him carry her up the stairs, all because of a tiny splinter? Lexi plays a good game with her man’s heart, and she knows exactly what makes it tick.” He paused for a moment before speaking. “I know you weren’t raised in a pack, but Austin’s in a position where he has to make decisions that benefit his family for the short-and long-term. You’re fortunate to be sitting here. Let’s just say had you pulled that stunt in Enzo’s house, he would have strung you up in the tree right beside the panther.”
“I had it under control.”
“Indeed. Walking a two-hundred-pound jaguar into a house full of wolves, humans, and children. Had you lost control, she could have attacked one of us. Austin had a right to be angry, don’t you agree?”
Wheeler cut him a sharp glare. William had a sneaky way of injecting guilt into any man with a simple prick of words. “Maybe I also think my brother could have trusted me and given me a chance to explain.”
“You two should talk it out first thing in the morning.”
“And mayhap I don’t want to,” Wheeler growled.
Some forgotten, juvenile part of him wanted unwavering loyalty among his brothers, who were not just pack to him, but family. But that’s not the way it worked.