Page 52 of Big Bad Wolf

“You know I don’t fuck witches. Not since that last one put a hex on me.” He shuddered and shuffled into the adjoining kitchenette.

“That wasn’t a hex. She told her friends to avoid your dumb ass,” Rafe grumbled.

Theo’s laugh filled the tiny house. “Funny.” Theo had always been the pretty one, the one all the pack women doted on when they were young. He took after his mother, Nell. His eyes were an eerie green like hers, and his hair dark brown and curly when he let it grow. It was short now. Too short. The scar that ran from temple to his jaw was too visible.

“Where’s Phoebe?”

That wiped the smirk off his brother’s face.

“What do you care?”

“Does she know you’re still fucking around?”

Theo leaned his hands on the counter separating them, his eyes flashing. “That’s none of your business.”

“I didn’t get you out of the pack so you could fuck everything that moves. I thought you and Phoebe⁠—”

Theo cut him off with a slam of his hand on the counter. “She’s none of your business. We are none of your business.”

Rafe held his stare, but his little brother didn’t back down. This was a fight they’d had before. Phoebe was around. Rafe could see her touch everywhere. But his idiot brother was still pretending she was nothing more than a friend. What an asshole. Rafe didn’t have time for that today.

“Did you come all this way just to bust my balls? Seems like a text would have done the job.” Theo’s voice was a low growl. In the old days they would have shifted and taken this little discussion out back, but it wasn’t the old days. And as much as he hated the damn thing, Rafe did have a cell phone, but he’d needed to do this in person.

He cleared his throat and ignored Theo’s question. “Have you heard from Knox?”

None of the tension left Theo’s body with the move from one uncomfortable topic to the next, but the defensiveness left his gaze.

“No, of course not. Why?”

“How about anyone else from back home?”

Theo’s eyes widened. He stood up from the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “I talk to some people. Why do you care about the pack all of a sudden?”

Rafe ignored the sudden pang of guilt he felt at the thought of the people he’d left behind. “I think something’s going on.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.”

Rafe nearly growled. Now that it was time to talk about Ruby out loud, he was finding it hard to do. How the hell was he supposed to explain this to Theo?

“My neighbor was attacked.”

Theo’s eyebrow rose. “Your neighbor?”

Rafe cleared his throat. “Distant neighbor.”

“Okay, so? Cut the two-word answers and fill me in, if you want my damn help.”

Help? Who said anything about help? Rafe ran a hand through his hair, memories of the night Ruby was attacked racing through his mind. Okay, maybe a little help would be alright.

“My neighbor was attacked by a wolf. Some asshole named Wyatt. A Highlander. If I hadn’t been there…” He had to clear his throat again, the panic of that night suddenly clamping tight around his windpipe. “I was there, though. That time. I just need to figure out why.”

At some point he’d started pacing, and the amusement on Theo’s face had grown as he spoke.

“And who is this neighbor, exactly? A sweet little old lady? Or maybe a family with adorable kids?”

“It doesn’t matter who it is. They’re in danger.” Something in Rafe’s jaw cracked as he ground his molars together.

Theo smirked and shrugged, bringing his mug to his lips. “Maybe it was just a wolf out for some fun.”