Growls & Greeting Cards

Part 3

JULIET

The wolf steps in closer, and I don't get the urge to shrink from him.

"Hello. My name is Thad Flannery." He fingerspells each letter in his name, though I'm guessing there's a shortened version. What I remember from my ASL classes is that someone else in the Deaf community usually comes up with whatever gestures make your sign name. You don't create your sign name yourself, especially not if you're hearing. To receive a sign name is an honor.

Still, even with the full version, 'Thad Flannery' doesn't spark any memory for me. Cory never even introduced me to the wolf.

"Hello. My name is..." I take my time, used to fingerspelling my birth name, not the new one. "J-U-L-I-E-T A-D-A-I-R."

Thad nods deeply, and we give each other silly grins.

I think I just made my first true friend in Pine Falls.

Thad gestures back the way I fled, and I fall in step beside him while keeping my body angled slightly his direction so he can see my hands. As we walk back to Main Street, the two of us make small talk as best we can. The man is kind enough to use his voice because my understanding is still slow, but words reform in my memory with every sentence he signs. Thad, unlike the other werewolves I've met, is exceedingly patient.

I tell him how I work at the Pine Falls Library, and he promises to visit me.

He explains he joined the pack a year ago, which means he left Bear Valley long before I did.

"Do you know Roderick?"

His question throws me off, and I glance across the street to where Thad is pointing.

My feet slow as I take in the sight.

Dismounting from a heavy black motorcycle is a mountain of a man. He has the appearance of a bar bouncer, with intimidating muscles, a shaved head, and an aura of strength.

That's right. An aura. He practically glows with power.

Okay, he's not a night light, so there's no actual glow. But after spending so much time around mythical creatures, I've started to recognize the subtle differences between them and plain old humans.

Which is why I suspect this guy, Roderick, is a pack member.

Another werewolf? Great. Couldn't I just deal with one supernatural being a day?

My luck has to have run out by this point. I can't be fortunate enough to run across two decent wolves. I know that Cory said the Pine Falls pack was soft, but my guess is that merely meant they weren't as blood thirsty as my ex was. Like they only get into bar fights every other week instead of every night.

Realizing that I haven't responded to Thad, I shake my head. He offers an encouraging smile and waves for me to follow him across the street.

Damn it. Guess I didn't make clear that part of me hiding means I'd rather not associate with more werewolves.

Briefly, I consider fleeing again, but Thad is carrying my groceries, and running away from a stranger would set off all kind of alarm bells. I'm trying to pass as a completely normal, nothing special about me, small mountain town resident.

Which honestly, is the truth. I'm a pretty boring person all things considered. I like books, paper crafts, the occasional outdoor activity, and keeping to myself.

The only exciting thing about me is that I'm hiding from an abusive werewolf ex-boyfriend.

But that's not Juliet Adair. I silently remind myself. Juliet Adair has no evil exes.

Maybe Juliet Adair has no exes at all. Maybe she never figured dating out, so she hasn't bothered with it. Maybe she's only seen a penis on ethical porn websites and has only ever given herself orgasms.

Okay, well, that last detail applies to both my past and current self. Pretty easy detail to remember.

Also, let's stop thinking about orgasms as I look at the intimidatingly large—fine I guess he's handsome—almost definitely a wolf that Thad wants me to meet.

Doing my best to fully slip into my new identity, I follow after Thad, easily crossing the road that has a grand total of zero traffic. Unfortunately, my new friend almost immediately starts signing to his buddy, which means I can't subtly ask Thad not to mention that I know werewolves exist.

Although, from what I can pick up from his hand movements, there's no mention of wolves or pack. What I get is:

"Juliet ... librarian ...new ... meet ... ASL ... me." Thad motions me forward.

"Hello," I say and gesture at the same time.

As I greet him, I look up. And up. And up.

Until I finally find myself staring into a set of hard eyes.

Solid.

Unforgiving.

This guy Roderick has a gaze of a sheer rock face that would terrify even a seasoned climber.

Or challenge them.

If I stare for long enough, study every nuance, could I find the tiniest of cracks? Just enough of a hand hold to wedge the tips of my fingers in?

But I have no plans to climb this man. I am the ex-less librarian who handles all of her own needs.

And I definitely don't need a werewolf.

"You know sign language?" Roderick asks and gestures at the same time. His hands move with a forceful grace, keeping Thad included in the conversation.

Still, I decide it should be illegal for this man to know ASL. Also, for him to speak. The sight of his controlled finger movements paired with the deep growl of his voice is some kind of crime.

Probably arson, since I think my panties caught fire.

"A little," I respond, also gesturing and speaking simultaneously. Hopefully no complicated questions get thrown my way. I'm going to need a lot more practice before I can hold any type of in-depth conversation.

Also, I think I need to flesh my back story out more with how intensely Roderick is staring at me. My armpits start to sweat, and I mentally repeat my fake social security number to myself.

Not that he would have any reason ever to ask for that, or that I would have any reason to give it to him.

"You're new here."

Despite neither his tone nor his facial expression conveying a question, I still nod. Maybe he's not a questions kind of guy. That would be perfect. If he's one of those stoic men that don't care about other people, he'll just grunt and go on his way, dismissing the inconsequential human.

Perfect. He's abrupt, but that's fine. When we cross paths, we'll just nod in greeting and—

He scowls down at me. "When are you leaving?"

Author's note: What a greeting! An idea what is going on in Roderick's head? We'll find out in the next chapter, but I'd love to hear some guesses...

Also I just saw that Claws & Crochet (the book before this one) reached 1 MILLION VIEWS!! OMG!!! That is so amazing. I am honored this reading community has embraced my wolfy romances. I hope everyone enjoys Juliet & Roderick's story as much as they did Zoey & Warner <3