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She had what many television programs deemed a “resting bitch face” with her lips finely set and her eyes sharpened like knives. Fondness sprouted from this observation, as well as a hint of annoyance.
I frowned while thinking,Why does she wear that face in a place where she doesn’t need to look like what these earthlings call a bitch?
Help was being offered, yet she resisted it at every turn. I considered for a moment that perhaps it was men that bothered her. But her behavior with women was just as distrusting, and everyone else for that matter. Macy simply didn’t trust creatures of any species, even her own.
As Raven discussed with Galanthia and Izdor how to handle releasing the news of what had happened atMoss, I watched my dear little wolf. I studied her bowed head, her rapidly shifting eyes, her hunched stance. She was giving a sort of submissive energy to those around her while keeping them at arm’s length. Unimposing, yet unapproachable.
It wasn’t like she’d had many options back at the club. The two men with her were more than happy to give her up to a complete stranger for a whopping four million dollars. To think I had fooled those selfish people with a paper bag of napkins was truly entertaining. But that might have also been the giveaway.
Raven stepped toward me. “Juriah, would you be willing to tell us more details after you and Macy settle in?”
“Of course, Raven. I’d be happy to house her.”
Macy stomped toward me. “You’re not housing me.”
“Do you want to sleep in the woods?” My irritation had hit peak levels. She wasn’t going to turn down shelter. That was just absurd. “You’re coming home with me and that’s final, little wolf.”
She stood on her toes to try to match my height. While it should have been funny, it actually impressed me. Despite her so-called resting bitch demeanor and her resistance to help, she was spectacularly fiery. She stood up for herself—even if it was entirely wrong.
She poked my chest hard. “You better have the right space.”
“I have two bedrooms.”
She poked again. And then once more for show. “Good.Good. I’m not sharing a bed with a creep.”
When I opened my mouth to speak, Izdor stepped in with a jolly smile and a bag of clothes. “Macy, we’re glad you’re staying with us. Galanthia had these lying around and they should be the right fit.”
Galanthia smiled and patted Macy on her upper back. The feisty little wolf coughed and then shrugged her shoulders while adjusting her stance. What a fine woman to handle a friendly slap from Galanthia.
Macy cleared her throat and forced a grin. “Thank you, Galanthia. Don’t you have room in your home for me? We should probably stick together.”
“I share a home with Izdor,” Galanthia admitted. “Juriah is more suited for your stay. He has the spare bedroom.”
Izdor chuckled. “I also have a tendency to snore loudly.”
Macy frowned at Galanthia. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
“I snore louder than him.”
Chuckles came from Raven and a few of the other wolves who had greeted us. Realizing she was being watched, Macy shrank away, tentatively joining my side. She tilted her chin up, which was likely the best she could do since most of the creatures around her were so much taller, and stated her appreciation.
But much like the alleyway, she didn’t hold much confidence in her words.
Once we parted from Raven and the others, I guided Macy to one of the corner cabins down the road with an open backyard that led into the woods. That longing glance she shot at the trees wasn’t missed—and carved a craterous wound in my heart.
I unlocked the door with a key and then waved my hand over the frame. “It’s a light ward to keep nosy people out.”
Macy trailed in after me, nearly running into my backside as I set my key on the small table to the right of the door. A flip of the switch revealed my modest living conditions, my cherry wood furniture, and my television I had received as a gift from Izdor along with the pile of sitcoms on top of a DVD player. Antlers decorated the walls, things that apparently people considered decoration around these parts.
“I noticed your gratitude was lacking with Raven,” I said. “I’d appreciate you showing my leader the respect she deserves. She’s a good woman.”
Macy glared at me. “I’m not showing my captor appreciation.”
“I rescued you from that prison.”
“Yousleptwith me in that prison.”
I stood inches away from her, bending just so I could get level with her face. “They were planning to kill you, Macy. Did you know that? Their auras told me. I didn’t realize it until we were in the middle of fighting them off, but your men were willing to do anything to get rid of you.”
