Howl

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

On Tuesday night, Lukas once again found himself in a parking lot waiting for Emma. He had met her at Starbucks earlier as she instructed and let him know when and where to meet her. Besides that, she didn't say much, which disappointed Lukas. He really wanted to get to know her better, but he had the feeling that would be impossible until after he'd passed her tests.

In the four days since their last "date," Lukas had worked out a deal with Sophia and the pack. In two weeks, he would officially be working for the Mile High pack. In that time, he needed to return to California and let them know he was leaving and he also hoped to get somewhere with Emma. He hoped that he could at least get her to call him by his name.

Judging by her behavior at the Starbucks earlier, that wasn't likely. She'd been fairly rude to him again, but Lukas refused to let that put him off. The worst part for Lukas was that she'd stopped calling him "Creeper" and decided to rename him once again, this time with "Dumbass." Although he wouldn't have tolerated that from anyone else, Emma was special to him. He just had to give her time to realize that. Had she been a wolf, it wouldn't have been so difficult to convince her, but having a human mate always complicated things.

Emma showed up right on time, and the first thing Lukas noticed was the fact she was smiling. He thought it might be a good sign until he realized it was the same smile she had on earlier at the Starbucks when he asked where they were going. Although he hardly knew her, he knew that smile could only mean trouble.

"Get in Dumbass!" Emma shouted at him as she pulled up in front of him.

Lukas reached for the handle, but she pulled away from him and stopped a few feet away. He knew she would only do the same thing again, but he still tried again. He could hear her laugh as she moved away from him. Although he was sure she was trying to make him mad, Lukas was amused. Despite his normally serious demeanor, he did like having fun and playing stupid games as long as he liked the other person involved.

Instead of going for the door again, Lukas decided to try jumping in the back of the truck. When Emma noticed what he was attempting to do, she started driving away. Although she fully intended on letting Lukas in her truck for their date, she wanted to frustrate him first. She grinned when she noted him chasing the truck, struggling to contain her laughter. She went around a row of cars and was coming up the next aisle in the parking lot, but she didn't notice Lukas in her mirror anymore. She slowed down a bit, waiting for him to catch up.

A loud thud alerted her to the fact that he'd caught her, but she never saw him coming from behind, nor did she even see him jumping into the bed of the truck. When he moved to stand up, she hit the accelerator, sending him flying back, and then she quickly slammed on the brakes.

"Hey!" she yelled at him once she had finally stopped. "Stop playing around and get in! We're going to be late!"

Lukas was a bit shaken up, having hit his head when she hit the brakes, but he managed to climb out of the bed and into the cab. "That was fun," he said as he buckled his seat belt. "So can you tell me where we're going now?"

"Nope."

"I got the job here," he said after a few moments of silence. He wanted to at least try to have a conversation with her. "I'm sure you don't care too much, but at least I won't be in California anymore, right?"

"You're still a Californian to me."

"I only lived there for a few years."

"Long enough to turn you into one of them."

"And how long would it take me to turn back into a Coloradan?"

"Twenty years. Maybe more. Unless you're a Raiders fan. In that case, you can get the hell out of my truck."