Page 76 of License to Kill

“She’s also his godmother, and unlike his parents, she’ll light his ass on fire if he doesn’t get his act together, and she doesn’t care if he’s a grown man. Men who behave like boys are treated like boys.”

“Are you his godfather?”

“He’s on parole at the moment. If he behaves, perhaps.”

I glanced at Jake, who was bent over in his seat attempting to pry Lillian’s teeth off his leg with little success. “You don’t look nearly that old.”

“We’re among the older members of the pack. We’re like fine wines. We just get better with age.”

“She doesn’t need more ammunition,” Jake muttered.

“I’m pretty sure I do. So, who is this one on my feet?”

Mason laughed. “Our son, Zack. He’s mated to a lawyer, a Normal. They’ll be having their second child in a couple of months. His wife begged me to get him out of her hair for a while. Apparently, she wants to stay home, eat pickles, and watch movies with my granddaughter, who is eight turning forty.”

I nudged Zack. “You’re fat.”

He showed off his teeth.

“I may be a weakling compared to you, but if you bite me, I will do my best to beat the shit out of you.”

Jake laughed. “She will, too.”

My threats needed a great deal of work, as Zack nipped my leg hard enough I yelped. If he wanted a fight, I’d give it to him. Before anyone could stop me, I unclasped my seatbelt and pounced.

Shifting while dressed presented a lot of issues, especially when bras were involved. Being tangled in my own clothes didn’t help me wage war against Zack, who warbled, snapped his teeth in mock bites, and growled at me whenever I didn’t pay enough attention to him. Since I couldn’t escape my clothes without help, I ended up battling the wolf without the help of my hind paws, and my front paws weren’t much use, either.

Jake wouldn’t stop laughing, which earned him a few nips from me and his godmother. Unfortunately, our displays of displeasure did nothing to put an end to his mirth. By the time we reached our destination almost two hours outside of Baltimore, I lacked the energy to do more than pant and use Zack as an impromptu pillow.

The wolf didn’t seem to mind.

“This is going to be a slow hunt,” Jake muttered. “You can’t be tired already, Karma. We haven’t even started yet.”

I lifted my head and leveled a glare at him.

“Then it’ll be a slow hunt.” Gary killed the engine and got out of the vehicle, opening the back door so I could get out if I could manage without tripping over my clothes. The pack’s Second sighed, shook his head, and began stripping me. When he finally had me peeled out of my shirt, Jake snarled and took over the job.

I found Jake’s reluctance to allow anyone to touch my underwear amusing.

After a few moments, I hopped out of the vehicle and waited for the Fenerec to shift to wolves. Jake sat beside me and licked my muzzle. After battling with Zack, I wanted to find somewhere dark and comfortable to take a nap.

The wolves wanted to hunt, and Jake nudged me with his shoulder until I got to my paws and cooperated, trailing behind the larger wolves who spread out and loped into the trees. In my head, wolves howled, calling to each other, and two distinct voices barked disapproval.

Jake opened his mouth in a canine grin and ran circles around me, wagging his tail as though he were a hyperactive dog. I flicked an ear back and showed him my teeth, which did nothing to discourage him.

Damned obnoxious wolves.

As they’d likely start with their slobbering and nipping and licking if I didn’t cooperate, I forced my paws into motion, trailing after the hunting pack while Jake bounced around me. If there were any prey in the area, his antics likely scared them off long before any of the other wolves could catch anything. I suspected they just wanted to run around and play, choosing to hunt the nearest fast food joint for supper rather than catch any prey.

After an hour, one of the wolves howled, and a rustle in the bushes alerted me to something ahead. A herd of deer bolted from the pack, and the assholes had flushed them in our direction.

Deer tasted good even as a human, and I licked my chops, going still as I picked a target, one of the slower, smaller does. Jake likewise went still and quiet, his ears twisting back.

I waited for the deer to crash through the underbrush and come closer, before gathering the last of my strength and charging my prey of choice. I jumped, slammed into her and buried my fangs into her throat, giving a hard shake to snap her neck.

She fell, and I rolled over her, scrambling to get back to my paws and make certain I’d finished her off in one strike. The other deer scattered, and I took another bite out of the soft flesh beneath her chin, giving another shake and jerking my body back. While the first strike had done the important work, I disliked making my dinner suffer.

Jake took down a buck, opting to go for the animal’s back, well out of the range of the antlers. The buck put up a fight, screaming before my mate finally silenced it. I chittered my disapproval of his lacking finesse, earning a glare from him.