Dire Wolf Mates - Chapter 121: Chapter 121

Damn. Damn. DAMN.
Nica waited until after the bar was closed to have her first freak out in the weeks since she’d come to be there. She’d been on edge ever since she escaped Jack’s clutches and despite Derrick’s assurances the Pack could handle a bunch of Crows, she didn’t want to bring that kind of heat down on them.
Crows fought dirty, and the Dire Wolves were just so different from the other predatory Shifters she’d been around. They were loyal and honorable. They seemed to have the deepest respect for community and family, and well, Nica just didn’t know what to do with that. How did you show gratitude for something you never even knew was a possibility?
After the Murder appeared in the bar, she expected the shit to hit the fan, and for the Alpha to rescind his invitation. But that didn’t happen. In fact, no one said a word to her. She’d watched as the guys filed into Derrick’s office after that tense little meet and greet. Nica even stayed close, waiting to be called in. But she wasn’t.
If this situation were reversed, and she’d brought trouble to the Murder, Jack would have had her tied to that horrible post in the trailer park and beaten in front of everyone. That was his go to form of punishment. He’d done it to others, and he did it to her after the countless nights of her refusing his advances.
“Nica, what was all that about?” Sheila asked, sliding up next to her. “Look, I know we haven’t really talked about your past, but that was pretty intense.”
“Crud. I am sorry, Sheila. Derrick and Lucy know everything, but I just didn’t think anyone else cared⁠—”
“Oh, honey, no! We care. We were just waiting for you to open up.”
“Really?” Nica was shocked, but it was time for a break anyway, and Sheila dragged her over to a small table where she had some appetizers waiting.
“Come on, spill,” the redheaded firebrand said.
Ariella, Tracey, and Gwen were there, too. All the women looked concerned, and like they wanted to help. Tears pricked Nica’s eyes, and before she knew it, she’d spilled. Like everything.
“Look, no matter how much you liked or felt sorry for those two women, Ella and Denise, you were right to refuse to become like them,” Tracey remarked, her brows furrowed in anger, but not at Nica.
“They’re just Jack’s possessions,” Gwen added, but she was more upset than she was judging them, Nica could tell.
“Ella was sick when I got away. I feel bad, like I abandoned them,” she confessed.
“No, that is not on you. You had to do what you needed to survive,” Ariella replied, her hand on Nica’s arm, reassuring her. “I don’t know anything about the way Murders are run, but my sisters and I would have torn those Crow males limb from limb. I am glad you got away, Nica, no matter how you did it.” The Lioness nodded, and the others seemed to agree.
“Oh my, thank you all so much. I mean, I never had a lot of friends growing up, but I always imagined what it would be like, and you ladies are blowing it out of the water,” she said, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“Hell, honey, we like you too,” Sheila replied, and Nica felt her own wobbly smile on her face in return.
“Are they dangerous, though?” Gwen asked, and Nica could not dishonor her new friends with a lie.
“Yes. Crows are dangerous, but not in the same way you and your mates are. Oh, they are plenty strong, but worse than brute strength is how they think. You see, Crows are wily, sneaky, and cruel. Very, very cruel,” she replied and worried her lower lip.
They divvied up the last of the mozzarella sticks before break time was over. The next half hour went by quickly, and she mulled over what the Pack females had said. Maybe she was wrong to feel guilty. One thing she knew, this was like a second chance for her, and she was wasting it being idle. She had to speak to Thor.
Sooner than she knew it, closing time approached and Nica was wiping down the bar while most of the Pack males were still inside the Alpha’s office. She moved on with her spray and rag, cleaning every available surface in the bar, and was just tying up the trash bag when she saw them leaving. Of course, her eyes zeroed in on him.
Thor Ulger came out of Derrick’s office, oozing confidence, and barely muted fury. His face was normally a mask, hiding all of his emotions—assuming he had any. And tonight, that assumption was correct.
Nica gasped as he walked into the room. She could practically feel his rage, and it was stunning in its purity. His dark eyes flicked to hers for one poignant moment, and it was like he sucked all the air out of the room before he mercifully looked away.
She inhaled, hardly aware she was trembling till she looked down at the spray bottle in her hand. Forcing herself to be still, she placed it on the table nearest her. Music played low in the background, some hip-hop song one of the guys played while they cleaned up. But Nica couldn’t name the song or the artist, how could she? When Thor walked into a room, the man simply commanded all of her attention. Every. Last. Bit of it. Like he was a superstar or politician or something.
There was never any opportunity to go to concerts or the big city, despite being so close. Not for Nica, anyway. But she imagined this was how she would have reacted to seeing one of her favorites up on stage or maybe in passing outside of some posh little café in the Village. Her reactions, of course, were grossly embarrassing.
Nica got tongue-tied and turned into a quivering mess whenever Thor was in the same room as her. Liquid pooled between her legs, and her nipples turned into pebbles. She didn’t know why or how to stop it. All she knew was that when he was near, her stomach tensed, breathing grew erratic, and she felt hot all over, like her skin was too tight. Something sparked, and it spread through her veins like molten lava. Even her clothes irritated the hell out of her. It was sort of like when she needed to shift, but different.
Yes, different, her Raven pushed the thought at her, and she exhaled slowly.
Thor was gone. She didn’t have to look up to know that for sure. Nica could tell he’d left by the ease with which she took her next breath. Of all the males in the Dire Wolf MC, Thor was the only one who made her chest feel tight and the baby hairs on the back of Nica’s neck stand up whenever he was near. Her inner Raven watched him, always. But her animal had always been more curious than was good for her. Still, she knew what she saw, and she knew it was bad.
Jack had found her. The Crow King and his men had tracked her to Serious Moonlight. To Thor and his Pack. Damn it. It was time for her to run again. But she couldn’t go yet, not without knowing what the evil man said to Thor about her.
Usually, her hearing was good enough that the distance wouldn’t have mattered, but the bar had been crowded and their speech too low for her ears. Her Raven croaked deep and low, this time the sound was anything but content. Grabbing her courage, she rushed out the side door.
Determination filled her. She needed to track Thor to find out what happened before she took her next steps towards freedom from that horrible Crow. Only, she’d sort of forgotten the very real physical reactions she had when she was near him and rushed to the building where she sensed he’d gone.
“C-can I talk to you?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Nica should have put something on, a sweatshirt maybe, anything to cover herself up. She was highly aware of the low-cut t-shirt she’d worn to tend bar and the fact it revealed way more skin than she was used to showing off. But it was too late now. Nica shivered involuntarily, hovering by the open door of the enormous garage that sat on the other side of the parking lot across from the bar.
Actually, it was a barn the Pack had converted into their own personal garage. A place where they could work on the dozens of motorcycles they owned, and usually displayed in front of the roadhouse to attract other enthusiasts. It was nothing like the Murder’s old trailer park or the shack where she’d spent so many nights in her bird form. Her stomach was all clenched up tight, and she wondered where she had finally found the nerve to approach him.
Meek, weak, small, insignificant thing. Who are you to bother him?
She closed her eyes to quiet those ugly voices inside her head. Jack and the Murder had loved to break down any female who dared speak out. Especially the ones who turned down offers to share their beds. They’d called her stuck up and conceited, a cock tease who needed to be broken. They just couldn’t even see the real problem was with themselves. She shivered again, hating the idea of going back.
No. I won’t go.
They’d have to kill her first, she vowed with renewed determination. Thor still hadn’t looked up from what he was doing, but she’d seen him these past weeks and knew he would answer in his own time. The man simply would not be rushed.
That was okay. She could wait. Besides, she enjoyed looking around at all the bikes and parts. It sure didn’t smell like any garage she had ever seen. Not that there had been many. To Nica, it looked like some sort of motorcycle museum.
Shelves were immaculately kept, row after row of parts new and refurbished, some still inboxes. They had powerful looking tools, dozens of them, each cleaned and put in its place. That was how everything was inside there. Everything was either new or clean, kept with the utmost care, and returned to its proper place. Everything but Nica.
Always the odd duck.
She bit her lip, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Finally, he turned to face her, and Nica damn near swallowed her tongue. She normally had to bend her neck back just to look at him, but not this time. She was about eye level with him almost kneeling on the floor.
Even that didn’t stop her from feeling so small compared to him. Thor was crouched down, working on his enormous Harley. Nica had asked Cole about the makes and models one evening when she’d been hanging the wash on the outside line.
Before the Alpha fem had given birth to her triplets, she’d been obsessed with the scent of laundry freshly washed and hung outside to dry. Since Nica didn’t mind the work, she’d kept it up for the weeks she’d stayed there.
Happy to help.
“What is it?” Thor clipped.
His deep, gravelly voice cut through her reverie and Nica startled, clutching her throat and he stood up swiftly, running a hand over his shaved head and cursing to himself.
“Fuckin hell,” he muttered.
“You shouldn’t cuss.”
“I shouldn’t cuss?” he asked, head canted to the side.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t cuss.”
“Is that why you came in here? To tell me not to cuss?” he asked, eyes wide with incredulity.
“What? No! Um, w-what did they say to you?” Nica asked, averting her gaze.
Staring into Thor’s impossibly dark eyes was almost too much for Nica to bear. The tight black t-shirt he wore did nothing to hide the rippling muscles corded around his chest, arms, back, and abs. Same thing went for the well-worn denim clinging to his rugby player thighs.
He was a powerhouse of a man. The few times she’d seen him without a shirt had left her tongue-tied and aching in a way she hadn’t felt since those days when she’d thought Jack Branwen was the sweetest thing in the world. Actually, that was not true.
This feeling eclipsed her first tastes of carnal hunger. But Nica knew better than to let it show. There was no way on earth a man like Thor Ulger would want anything to do with her. And that was what she’d been telling herself every day for the last three weeks.
Hide your feelings. Keep your heart safe.
“What did they say? They who?”
“Them, the, uh, the Crows,” she murmured, hating even saying that out loud.
“You mean your mate,” he growled the word and raw fury flashed in his black eyes.
Nica shook her head. Thor looked furious. His expression was thunderous as he slowly turned towards her. The muscles on his chest and abs flexed as he tried to control his breathing, but they were mesmerizing. Instead of being afraid as she should have been, Nica felt bold and curious, warm all over.
“You’ve got that wrong,” she explained, and started towards him. “Jack’s not my mate.”
“You called him mate.”
“When? Anyway, no, I mean, he was supposed to be, but h-he lied,” she blurted, trying to catch up.
Thor went still, lifting a hand to halt her advance, and Nica fumbled. What the heck was she doing? Why was she so intent on getting closer to a man who could not stand her? Her Raven cawed, and she shook her head, trying to clear some of the fog.
“You said your mate hurt you. The day you fell,” he grumbled.
“I did? Well, I mean, we were supposed to be mated, but he already had two mates when he brought me to the trailer park, and, um, I j-just couldn’t,” Nica replied, racking her brain for more of an explanation.
Thinking was hard with Thor staring daggers at her. Hell, the man must truly hate her to look like that, and the thought made her sad. He seemed to wait for more from her, but the truth was, she simply wasn’t used to talking about herself. And after a couple of years of living as an outcast in the Pine Murder, she was unaccustomed to talking period.
“I’m going to need you to explain what you mean by that, Nica. Start from the beginning.”
Nica swallowed. A cool Autumn breeze swept in through the open door of the garage and she shivered involuntarily. Thor stood there, eyes glittering darkly despite the fluorescent overhead light. He wanted an explanation from her. But why? Curiosity got the better of her, and Nica couldn’t have walked away now if she wanted to. And she didn’t want to, she realized as the word he’d spoken to her the first night after she woke from her healing sleep echoed inside her head.
Stay.