Chapter Four
Jackie managed to work up the nerve to ask Myles about Harley the next day. They were driving out to visit various pack members who hadn't managed to come to the potluck the previous night, with two checkbooks tucked into the glove compartment. Myles tensed at the name, then sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Harley was mated to my sister."
"So he's the girls' father?"
Myles nodded. "They mated when they were young. I never liked him, but Tamara loved him, so I didn't protest. I was a new Alpha back then, and I didn't want to push my authority too far."
Jackie waited for him to continue, but when he didn't she shook her head. "Why doesn't she live with him now?"
Silence swelled between them. Myles gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. "He hit her."
"What?" Jackie's jaw dropped.
"Right after Tamara's youngest was born, I visited her and found bruises on her face. She said it was the first time he’d ever hit her, and I made sure it was the last." Myles's eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted. "We fought. If it wasn't for human laws, I probably would have killed him."
Jackie shivered at the venom in his voice.
"It was the first time I fought as an Alpha, and I wanted to tear his throat out for hurting my sister. After I’d defeated him I let him know that, if he ever came near my sister again, I would kill him. I still would like to kick him off the packlands, but I've already dealt with him, and he hasn't done anything against our laws since."
Goosebumps jumped up on Jackie's arms and she rubbed them. To think that she had been enjoying Harley’s attention! Had he singled her out just because he thought she was Myles's mate and he wanted to find something to use against him?
It shouldn't be surprising. I should have known better than to think two hot werewolves would both think that I'm pretty.
But did Myles think she was pretty, or had he just been being polite that day when he told her she was hot? He wasn't really the kind to hand out false compliments, but then it had only been two weeks. She really didn't know him well just yet.
"What are you thinking?" Myles asked suddenly. He was still rigid, gaze straight ahead.
"I'm not sure," Jackie said slowly, trying to come up with something that didn't include her admitting just how attracted she was to him. She knew it the moment they met and she knew it now–men like Myles Foster didn't go after girls like her. "I thought that werewolves, when they mated, were mated for life."
Myles tensed even more, if that was possible. "We do, within reason. My father implemented divorce in the pack when he was Alpha. It doesn't change the physical bond between them, but if a mate is found to be abusive, or there are irreconcilable differences between individuals, they are allowed to marry others. A second mating isn't possible, but people are not forced to stay with mates they can't stand or who abuse them."
The rigidness in his posture broke suddenly and his shoulders slumped. "It's in situations like this that I wish more than ever that my dad was still around. He'd know what to do with Harley."
Jackie hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing an excellent job. You're taking care of your pack the best way you know how."
Myles shot her a grateful smile, but he didn't continue the conversation, so Jackie folded her hands into her lap and stared out at the fields passing them by, not knowing what to say.
***
Three weeks blew past, and all too soon the PR department called and told her that the worst of the Kathy scandal was over. Myles could return to the public eye without fear of the incident blowing up. Jackie never thought she would miss the slower paced life out on the farm, but somehow she always managed to stay busy. Instead spending hours on the computer or phone every day, she spent her time baking, cleaning, learning how to drive a tractor, helping to feed the animals, or playing with the kids. It was nice to have a break from the city.
The night before they were going to head back, Jackie sat by the window, a book sitting on her lap while she gazed out at the dark fields. Myles's mother and sister had gone to bed an hour ago, but she wanted to be good and tired for the trip back to the city, since the only bearable way to travel was sleeping, and so she was staying up.
She looked up at the sound of footsteps and smiled when Myles entered the family room. He had a mug in one hand and a book in the other.
"Can't sleep?" she asked.
"I never go to bed this early. The night is the only time I really have to myself. I need the time to relax and get my mind off work." He sat in a winged chair across the room from her and set his mug on the coffee table.
Jackie peered at it curiously. "Is that warm milk?"
"Warm milk and nutmeg. It's something my mom always fixed me as a kid and I've kept the habit." Myles grinned at her, as though he expected her to laugh and was beating her to the punch. But Jackie wasn't going to laugh. She thought it was sweet.
"My mom used to tell me stories about princesses who rescued princes and fought dragons," Jackie said. "She was always determined that my sister and I were going to grow up to be strong, independent women. And I guess she got it right with my sister. She has five kids. Never married. Never wanted to. She sat down, created a plan for her future, and never looked back."
Myles smiled gently. "I think your mother did a good job with you, too."
Jackie looked down at her book. "Not really. I lost control when my parents died. I… I wasn't strong enough to handle it. I got severely depressed. I spent days lying in bed eating ice cream because that's all I could do to keep myself alive."
"That's not being weak." Myles set his book on the coffee table and came across the room to sit beside her. "You suffered a heavy blow, and you did what you had to do. North American society doesn't allow you to grieve. Just look at TV shows. A character dies and the next episode, they've been forgotten. Your society is always pushing you to move on no matter how soon your loss was. It's not healthy."
"My society?" Jackie smiled slightly. "You live in North America, too."
"Werewolves understand grieving. When one of us dies, it's not uncommon for the bereaved to be cared for by family or friends for months, even years, until their grief has run its course."
It sounded like a bizarre concept to Jackie, but she had spent the last three years being told it was time to move on over and over again. Maybe the werewolves had a better system of coping with loss. "So in my case, what I did would be seen as normal."
"There is no 'normal' to grief. We understand that. That's the difference between us and you. That and the tail."
Jackie couldn't help but laugh. "We can't forget the tail. Yours must be very small. I've never seen it."
Myles growled playfully. "I assure you, it's much larger than normal. Nothing about me is small."
Was the innuendo just part of her imagination? Jackie blushed, glancing away again. "Well, I can't argue with that. Your hands are twice the size of mine," she said, trying to infuse her voice with humor.
It was just her luck that it trembled instead.
"You're shaking," Myles murmured, one of his hands touching the back of her hand. "Am I frightening you?"
"No." If anything, she was frightened of her own feelings. This close to him, the werewolf thorn scent was so strong she could almost taste it, and as she looked back at him she couldn't break her gaze from his mouth. She wanted to know what his lips would taste like, what they would feel like on her body.
She tried to push aside these feelings. Myles was her boss. Being attracted to him was one thing, but sitting here staring at his mouth like an idiot was something completely different. She was being unprofessional, she needed to look away, say goodnight, go to bed—
"God, you're so beautiful," Myles murmured, shifting closer. "I thought I could handle working with you every day, but the more I get to know you, the more beautiful you are. You smell so good. It's driving me crazy."
Jackie's heart pounded against her chest and her throat suddenly felt very dry as heat soared through her. He really did think she was beautiful? "It is?"
"Yeah." Myles leaned forward. "I should go now. If I stay this close to you, I'm going to kiss you. And it won't end with one kiss. The floodgates will open and..."
At that moment, Jackie wanted nothing more than that. She sucked in a deep breath, forcing herself to stay still as Myles moved closer and closer, his gaze locked on hers. He paused an inch from her face. His breath wafted over her, smelling of mint toothpaste. She couldn’t stop herself and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Myles pulled her closer, hands grasping at her hips, and the floodgates opened.